bigdaddystevieB

january books

2012-01-27T16:52:00.002Z

A Visit from the Goon Squad (Jennifer Egan): I finished this book on the first day of the new year. It seemed like the perfect book for this time of year – a time for reflection and looking forward (and especially, for me, following retirement and also after catching up with some old friends fairly recently – either “in the flesh”, as it were, or via FB). It’s a book about memory and friendship, life stories, opportunities lost and gained and about interconnection. It took me a little time to get into the book, but I was gradually won over. I ended up loving it – it’s an absolutely charming book (literally).
Free Radical: A Memoir (Vince Cable): I generally admire Cable; he seems to be an “honest” politician and a decent bloke. In the book, as well as politics, he talks touchingly about his family – especially the death of his first wife from cancer in 1998. Over perhaps the past four years, he has become the “holy grail of economic comment” (as the Guardian once described him). The book provides frank accounts of his life (including his time working in India and with Shell) – but I was struck by the number of poor decisions he consistently seems to have made throughout his life (especially when it came to trying to get himself elected as an MP!). He is pretty scathing about Gordon Brown’s performance as PM and also about George Osborne (“I have never rated George’s understanding of financial and economic matters”) – although he does acknowledge the latter to be a “political operator of some substance”. Inevitably, there is a hint of “I told you so” in the concluding chapter (essentially referring to the “stormy waters” of the global economic crisis) – although I haven’t been desperately impressed by his performance as Business Secretary in the current coalition!
Freedom (Jonathan Franzen): I thought this was a brilliant novel. It’s a (very long book) about a marriage (and contemporary American life?) - about its joys, frustrations and disappointments. But it’s far more than that. It’s about pride, jealousy, resentment, politics, big business, greed, ecology, sex, honesty, inadequacy, relationships, society, education, risk, delight, truth, compromise, falsehood, lifestyle… I could go on! It’s funny, it’s scathing, it’s poignant and, in my view, it’s a book you NEED to read (it’s VERY readable)! I now definitely want to read Franzen’s highly-acclaimed “The Corrections”.
The Tyrannicide Brief (Geoffrey Robertson): Due to the peculiarities of the fast-tracked “Remove” stream at my grammar school, I was sadly forced to give up History at the end of my first year of secondary education(!). As a result, my knowledge of 17th century British history is sadly lacking. This book, by eminent human-rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson, tells the story of the little-known John Cooke - the lawyer who essentially “sent Charles I to the scaffold”. It’s an absolutely fascinating and impassioned story of a landmark prosecution based on the King’s “tyranny” (depriving his subjects of their civil rights and mass murder on a vast scale). Robertson argues that Cooke has been widely misrepresented by history. When Charles's son was restored to the throne, soon after the death of Cromwell, his father's trial was seen as an act of treason and his legal execution as murder. Cooke's prosecution for these crimes was duly rigged and Charles II attended the disembowelling of Cooke, still alive after he had been part-hanged and castrated. A brilliant book.
A Moveable Feast (Ernest Hemingway): “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast”. I really enjoyed this short set of memoirs written by Hemingway (completed in 1960) about his time as a young writer living in Paris in the 1920s. It’s an evocative, often funny, sometimes rather cruel, account of his daily routines, his lack of funds and the people he met (including F Scott Fitzgerald, Ford Madox Ford, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Hilaire Belloc and Gertrude Stein) in the bars and cafes of the city. His descriptions are quite brilliant and the pieces about FSF, in particular, very amusing.

anyone can teach… can’t they?

2012-01-26T09:51:00.002Z

I blogged about this last September…
I have absolutely no doubt that some former members of the armed forces have much to offer the world of education, but I was saddened this morning to see reports of a proposed school for 11-18 year-olds in Oldham where ALL the teaching staff will be composed of ex-servicemen and women. The school is now actively recruiting prospective pupils with a view to opening next year. Worryingly (and I can’t quite believe that this can be true?), according to Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, many ex-servicemen and women at the Phoenix Free School will have had no formal teacher training: “Turning soldiers into teachers with no training is like trying to turn teachers into soldiers with no training… They seem to believe routine drills and discipline is what these children need. Well, some of them may need it, but not all of them will”.
When I turned 50, I was briefly tempted by the idea of becoming a (primary school) teacher. Having worked closely with teachers in secondary education, I am now relieved that I didn’t. Not EVERYONE can be an effective teacher – and there are key skills that all teachers DO have to LEARN. Very many of my school colleagues were quite BRILLIANT teachers – knowledgeable, intelligent, inspirational, gifted, enthusiastic, intuitive and able to communicate a love for their subject to pupils. The Phoenix project is applying for state funding as a free school which would be run outside of local authority control (of course!) and has the backing of Michael Gove (of course!). To my mind, a school which bases its education philosophy on the core values of the armed forces sounds worrying, to say the least!
I suggest you check out this report on today’s BBC website.
Photo: I couldn’t resist this photograph (and I’m only joking)!

harbourside market: last january sale day

2012-01-22T07:08:00.005Z

Would you buy art from this bloke?
Received this image from good friends Nigel+Janice earlier this week. It was taken at our market stall just before Christmas. Nigel’s e-mail included some words of wisdom, describing me as “a more refined Guardian reading version of Ray Winstone?”!
Yesterday was the second, and last, of my “January Sale Days” of photographs and drawings that were “past their sell-by date” or had just be lying around in boxes in the basement. Although I’d reduced the prices pretty drastically it was very gratifying that, over the two Saturdays, I sold more than half of my 114 “old pieces” (pretty amazing!).
I’ve really enjoyed being a market stallholder but, with various other weekend activities coming up plus my forthcoming two month trip to Iona (and a desire to avoid sitting out in the cold for six hours every Saturday), I’ve decided to opt out of the Harbourside Market until July and reclaim my Saturdays for a while!
Photo: the Ray Winstone of Bristol Harbourside Market?

painting again...

2012-01-17T16:44:00.002Z

One of my retirement resolutions was to get down to doing some painting again. Yes, I’ve done lots of drawings that have included watercolour paints, inks and the like, but the last REAL painting I did was completed some 42 years ago! The main stimulus for wanting to paint again was the memory/influence of one of my former tutors at Oxford School of Architecture – the truly inspirational Tom Porter (who sadly died in 2010, aged 72). He just adored “colour” and encouraged us to use it boldly whenever we undertook our painting projects (which, for me, proved to be important in the first two years of the architecture course). One of my paintings was used for an exhibition poster for the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Sadly, I no longer have any of my college paintings (one of them, painted on chipboard, ended up as the roof hatch to the loft space in our Percy Street house, Oxford – and will, no doubt, have made a fortune for one of its subsequent owners!). In homage to Tom, my first painting (entitled: “Deckchairs for Tom 1”) duly makes use of “bold colour” – and is the first time I’ve ever painted on canvas (60x60cm) OR used acrylic paint. My painting technique is incredibly rusty after all these years (it was never wonderful!) and the result is hardly a “work of art” in terms of quality or composition – but I really enjoyed doing it (playing my music and generally making a mess of my basement workspace) and, hopefully, will continue to paint over the coming years. As a demonstration of this commitment to undertaking more paintings, I went out this morning and bought three more canvases (they were on offer!)!
Photo: one down… three to go (well, actually, I’ve only got plans for painting no.2 thus far)?

retirement review

2012-01-16T06:52:00.005Z

Amazingly, it’s coming up for six months since I retired. Last January, I posted three blogs entitled “Looking Forward to Retirement” in which I outlined my hopes (and fears) as I approached the end of my “working life”. I’ve been vaguely reviewing things over the past few days. The following represents a very quick résumé of my thoughts (under the “sub-headings” of my earlier blogs on the subject):
FINANCE:
We seem to be keeping our heads above water - but it’s very early days.
BOREDOM:
Will I be bored by retirement? Well, no this hasn’t happened (apart from perhaps a couple of days that I just seemed to fritter away unsatisfactorily). I’ve continued to wake early at around 5am, got myself some coffee and breakfast and then, more often than not, read in bed for an hour or so.
HEALTH:
I’m still in good health, touch wood (and the hip pain I referred to last year has, thankfully, disappeared).
PEOPLE:
I did worry that I would miss the daily exchanges and banter with lots of other people – and, although I do miss this, it’s been fine (and I try to catch up with former school colleagues on a regular basis – at The Warwick Arms on a Friday afternoon, for example!).
GOLF:
I’ve only played three times since I retired, but each time has been with some of my “old golf buddies” (Pete, Steve, Ken and Bob) – which has been really lovely. Particularly enjoyed a two-day trip to Celtic Manor in October and the “Bob Head Classic” in November.
WORLD TRAVEL/TRAVEL:
Nothing exactly on the world travel front (and that’s fine – we don’t have any particular yearnings) – although Moira+I did have a wonderful time in France with great friends Chris+Lal (does that count?)… and Moira+I have been talking about another possible Venice trip to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary (next December).
VOLUNTARY WORK:
I decided to ensure that I didn’t commit myself to any voluntary work for at least the first six months of my retirement (and I’m glad I’d done that because it gave me time to adjust to a different “way of life”). Having said that, I have re-joined our local Arts Trail’s steering group – but that’s no problem. I did also apply for an 8-week stint with the Iona Community last July (knowing that a) I wouldn’t hear back from them until this month and b) that the chances of my being selected weren’t particularly high). Last week, I was absolutely delighted to have heard back from the Community – and will be joining them on the beautiful Isle of Iona for a couple of months, starting at the beginning of May.
MUSIC, THEATRE+CINEMA:
I’ve been enjoying these! Music: concerts by Chris Wood and June Tabor; theatre: Royal Shakespeare Company (and Felix will be performing with them this year too: “Twelfth Night”, “The Tempest” and “Comedy of Errors”) and also Tobacco Factory Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic; cinema: just getting back to attending more regularly (have really enjoyed “The Artist” and “We Need To Talk About Kevin”).
SPORT (apart from golf):
Well, I DID manage to get to Taunton (with Chris, Bron and Roger) to watch Somerset play Lancashire – which was very enjoyable. Will definitely be watching more cricket in 2012.
FREEDOM+FLEXIBILITY+SIMPLE PLEASURES/WALKING:
I’ve continued to take pleasure in getting up early and taking full advantage of what I’ve always felt was “the best of the day” – highlights to date have been brilliant sunrises at Glastonbury and Berrow Beach. I’ve tried to keep to my plan of taking daily walks to help keep me fit (no cycling recently though!). I haven’t yet arranged to do any of the Dorset Coastal Walk thus far or finished the Thames Path.
GRANDCHILDREN:
I’ve continued to adore grandparenthood. Being with Mikey, Iris, Dan, Rosa+Jemima gives me SO much pleasure and the arrival of Hannah+Felix’s Ursula just before Christmas has been a brilliant bonus!! I definitely want to see much more of Mikey, Dan+Jemima (and Alice+Dave!) and will hopefully do so over coming year.
PHOTOGRAPHY:
This has also continued to be a source of great pleasure for me – and I try to carry my camera with me everywhere.
DRAWING+PAINTING:
Well, I HAVE actually done some painting (for the first time “properly” since 1970!!)… and on canvas! I’ve also got some plans for a drawing project (essentially, building-related?).
GARDENING:
No real progress on this to date!
PROJECTS:
Still pending, I’m afraid (apart from painting and drawing).
SPIRITUALITY/RHYTHM OF LIFE:
I’m really looking forward to going to the Isle of Iona again this year – that will hopefully give me some time for reflection and to explore aspects of my own spiritual life. Book study has been somewhat limited: further use of Ian Adams’s excellent “Cave Refectory Road: monastic rhythms for contemporary living” plus The Accidental Pilgrim (Maggi Dawn, Salvation on the Small Screen? (Nadia Bolz-Weber), Thinking Out Loud (John L Bell) and Words and Wonderings (Joy Mead). Our weekly “Ithaca” group continues to provide stimulus and food for thought.
FRIENDS:
Some progress made, but lots still to do! Great to meet up again with Tony (and prospects of impending lunch with Charles and Steve) and plans to meet up with John+Laura after simply ages. Very good (as always) to keep up with Ian, Gail, Ken, Debby, Jez and Mags – plus, obviously, local friends. A possible re-union of old college friends is on the cards for 2012.
OTHER STUFF:
The Saturday Harbourside Market: has been a real bonus – I’ve really enjoyed it (haven’t made a fortune sales-wise, but the “craic” has been very enjoyable).

No.1 Harbourside Cafe/Bar has become my regular coffee stop and they make me feel very welcome.
Reading: has proved to be a continuing pleasure (I read over 50 books in 2011!).

Moira also reckons she's enjoying her retirement much more since I retired - which is lovely.
Photo: sunrise at Glastonbury, October 2011.

bristol harbourside market

2012-01-15T12:45:00.002Z

I had another enjoyable day at the harbourside market yesterday (beautiful weather, despite starting off at minus 2C!)… and I'm very grateful for lots of friends dropping by to say hello, including: Tracey, Richard, Maria, Liz, Lou, Paul, Hroth, Emily, Loz and Nick (but sorry I missed you!)… and probably a few other wonderful, lovely people who I’ve forgotten!
After some four months of Saturday markets, running up to Christmas, I’d decided to have a break until the summer (with perhaps one or two exceptions). However, before doing so, I made a commitment to myself to have a couple of “January Sales” sessions. I’d become aware of just how many old mounted photographs/drawings I’d accumulated (and not sold!) over recent years – and that it was probably time I got rid of them!
It transpired that I actually had 114 pieces of work (I counted them!) and so yesterday was the first of my two “studio clearance days” (complete with banner explaining this to the punters!). I decided to put a £5 pricetag on all of the photographs and £15 on the drawings/paintings. In the end, I sold a total of 35 pieces of work - 34 photos and one drawing (the latter, one of my favourites, reduced from £50 – actually, I’ve just realised that it’s the one at the bottom right hand side of my photograph)).
It’s given me much food for thought:
• It’s NOT worth trying to sell one-off original drawings/paintings for £15 (despite them not selling anyway!) – I feel it devalues their true worth (doesn’t that sound pretentious!!).
• However, it has made me think again about the pricing of my photographs. Although I always note that each of them are one of a series of 10, I only occasionally ever print more than two or three copies. Maybe I SHOULD consciously be prepared to produce a number of mounted prints and sell them “cheap” (on the basis that I would therefore sell more?)?
• I probably couldn’t sustain a cost as low as £5, but maybe £10 (ie. less than “normal” price of £15)?
• Was yesterday just a one-off? It’ll be interesting to see how next Saturday’s market goes (the last of my “January Sales”).
• Were people only buying on the basis that they felt they were getting a good deal?
• Were people only buying on the basis that it was a “Sale” and that they mustn’t miss a “bargain”?
Photo: our hall at home in preparation for the “Sale”.
PS: No less than SEVEN of my photographs ended up in the hands of ONE family! First of all I had a 15 year-old(?) coming up to me and saying how much she loved the photos… then her mother appears and tells me that her daughter is desperate to pursue photography as a career and wanted me to advise her what she should do to achieve this (clearly, I had to explain that I hadn’t a clue!)(but I WAS very encouraging). The daughter ended up buying four photographs and then, about 10 minutes later, her aunt returned with the girl’s mother and bought three more images!! Very sweet… and slightly embarrassing. In 20 years time, the girl will probably be giving interviews to respected journalists explaining her successful career in photography can all be put down to a conversation with an old bloke at a Bristol market stall…

the artist

2012-01-08T18:31:00.002Z

Forget “The Iron Lady” – THIS is the film you need to see!
Moira+I went the Watershed this afternoon to see this wonderful, uplifting, funny, clever film - set in Hollywood of the 1920s. Directed by Michel Hazanavicius and filmed in black+white, it’s an ode to silent movies and has no script; the two excellent stars are Jean Dujardin (George) and Berenice Bejo (Peppy). It was absolutely lovely and deserves to take a whole host of awards over the coming months.
My best film of 2012 – well, ok, it’s the ONLY film I’ve seen at the cinema this year but, rest assured, it WILL remain one of my top films of the year.
It’s also one of those films you will NEED to own on DVD to cheer you up on wet Sunday afternoons over the coming years!

happy new year!

2012-01-01T08:28:00.002Z

Moira+I have been very blessed again this year.
My highlights/simple pleasures have included:
• Recent birth of Ursula to Hannah+Felix.
• Thankful for our wonderful family and all the fun+laughter that comes with grandparenthood.
• Regular contact and get-togethers with special friends (and meeting up with some old friends after many years).
• “Proper” retirement in July (and the amazingly generous gift/farewells from his lovely work friends) and seeing Moira now fully enjoying her retirement (despite having me around much more!).
• Trip to France with great friends Lal and Chris on their Dutch barge on the Burgundy Canal/River Yonne, followed by an excellent weekend in Paris.
• Dawn trips to Glastonbury Tor and Berrow beach on gloriously sunny mornings.
• Sleep-overs and playdays with Iris+Rosa.
• Two-day golf trip to Celtic Manor with “old” (literally!) golfing buddies.
• Saturday morning stall at the harbourside market.
• Lots of reading (including regular morning coffee trips to no.1 Harbourside Café/Bar armed with my latest book).
• Live performance (theatre and concerts) – especially being able to see Felix perform three times at the RSC in Stratford.
• Continuing to meet up with former school colleagues (especially at the Warwick Arms “library”!).
• Watching the sunset over Sand Bay.
• Handling some of Turner’s watercolours at the Ashmolian.
• Watching some “live” cricket again.
• Regular walks by the harbourside.
• “Wow, Gorilla!” public art event in Bristol over the summer months (and the Harbourside Festival).
PS: I just KNOW that I will have missed noting SEVERAL other things from the above list (let’s just put it down to old age!).

december books

2011-12-28T07:56:00.003Z

These are my latest books to round off 2011:
The Floating Island (Anna Ralph): I bought this book on the strength of author Helen Dunmore’s enthusiastic endorsement on the sleeve (including: “it has a touch of DH Lawrence about it”). Well, I have to say, I was VERY disappointed. Yes, it was a very readable but absolutely nothing out of the ordinary and, to my mind, of no particular literary merit. I was left wondering why the author had bothered (sorry!).
To the Castle and Back (Vaclav Havel): Vaclav Havel – playright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician - became a leading figure in the “Velvet Revolution” of 1989 (and, ultimately, president), the bloodless end to communism in Czechoslovakia. Strangely, I’d just finished reading this book before his death (on 18 December). It’s an illuminating memoir – part reflection, part interview by journalist Karel Hviz’ala, part diary extracts – of a fascinating period in European politics. Various extracts reminded me of the time I was on holiday in Yugoslavia in August 1968 when Russia (and other eastern bloc countries) invaded Czechoslovakia in order to halt Alexander Dubcek’s political liberalization reforms (although Tito’s Yugoslavia didn’t participate in the invasion, I was aware of what appeared to be an awful lot of “troop movement” within the country at the time). Perhaps not all that surprising given his background, the book is full of references to his speech-writing (he clearly wrote all his own stuff – and just relied on observations from his colleagues – a far cry from West Wing!). He had a powerful motto: "Truth and love must prevail over lies and hate". Amen to that. A charismatic and enjoyable book (albeit a little rambling at times) – he’s funny, frank, wise, lacking in confidence and yet inwardly tough.
The Naming of Eliza Quinn (Carol Birch): This is our book group’s next book. Set in south-west Ireland (it was useful to have been there in Autumn 2010 to help invoke a sense of the area… and the rain!), it recounts a family saga spanning from 1840s (the days of potato famine and fever) to the late 1960s. Beautifully written and a really impressive, powerful book which, for me, certainly captured a desperate sense of rural Ireland in the nineteenth century and the inter-dependence of people, families, land, weather, crops, primitive housing and the hardness of life.
Blood on the Snow (Jan Bondeson): It’s about the assassination of Olof Palme in 1986, when he was the Swedish Prime Minister. He was fatally shot walking home from the cinema with his wife, close to midnight. The murderer still hasn’t been traced. The author castigates what he sees as the police’s pathetic, chaotic bundling and unprofessional approach in trying to solve the crime; he lambasts a number of key politicians and members of the police force. Bondeson is just one of several people who has studied the various conspiracy theories and reassessed the police investigation. It makes for fascinating reading and his arguments are convincingly made (albeit rather tediously so at times!) – but I ended up feeling that it had become an obsession for him and that he needed to take up watching cricket (or something) instead!

I’ve just checked through my 2011 “book blogs” (sad man that I am) and have been somewhat taken aback to discover that I’ve actually read a total of 56 books this year in total (ie. more than a book a week!). As someone whose reading habits used to be limited largely to holidays - perhaps 4 or 5 books a year - I find this new reading diversion a bit scary! Actually, it’s not altogether a new thing – according to the blog(!), I read 34 books in 2010. Think I’d better spend more time in the cinema, or whatever, over the coming months…
Because I very rarely read books when they are first published, my best five “books of the year” won’t be like anyone else’s list – most people (if they’ve read them at all) will probably have read them some time ago! Anyway, for what they’re worth, this is my shortlist:
1. Team of Rivals (Doris Kearns Goodwin)
2. The Harold Nicholson Diaries 1907-1963 (edited by Nigel Nicholson)
3. Italian Shoes (Henning Mankell)*
4. The Wild Places (Robert Macfarlane)
5. AA Gill Is Away (AA Gill)
PS: you’ll note that only ONE of the above is fiction*!
PPS: I’ve been given some lovely new books for Christmas and am really looking forward to reading them over the coming months.

papa’s got a brand new bag

2011-12-26T15:58:00.002Z

My old leather shoulder bag has been one of my fondest possessions. Ruth+Stu brought it back from India for me as a gift in 1999. It’s served me really well over the years but, latterly, has been well and truly feeling its age. It was given a brief reprieve/new lease of life about 18 months ago when some of the unraveling stitching was made good but, sadly, I’d come to realise that its days were numbered (in terms of regular usage).
Well, I’m now the proud owner of a shiny, new, blue shoulder bag (thanks to Moira, Ruth, Hannah, Alice et al) which will now become the “accessory of choice” on my daily jaunts… it’s even got my initials on it! Fancy or what?
Photo: old and new.

coram boy

2011-12-22T19:52:00.003Z

Moira+I continued our “live theatre fest” this afternoon by going to see the Bristol Old Vic’s “Coram Boy” at Colston Hall. It was a pretty ambitious venture – featuring a large cast (with lots of children) plus a full choir and large orchestra pumping out Handel’s “Messiah” (and Colston Hall is a massive venue)! Actually, this formula is a brilliant way of ensuring virtually full houses throughout the Christmas period – with relatives and friends of all the cast members apparently filling a lot of the seats! Moira had read the book, but I wasn’t familiar with the story. The background relates to Thomas Coram’s 18th century Foundling Hospital in London called the "Coram Hospital for Deserted Children"; unscrupulous men, known as "Coram men", frequently took advantage of the situation by promising desperate mothers to take their unwanted children to the hospital for a fee…
The audience duly acclaimed the performance (I did say that it largely comprised the cast’s aunties, uncles and school friends!). Actually, I was disappointed:
• I thought the acting was pretty basic in quality overall (from the professionals – I’ll excuse the younger members)
• The music was very good – but, to my mind, often got in the way of the dialogue (in fact, frequently playing OVER the dialogue) or simply over-dramatising events.
• To my mind, the design/concept seemed rather dated and also fairly basic in quality or originality (eg. plastic sheeting flapped to denote the wild sea) – although the lighting was pretty good.
But, hey, it’s Christmas so everything is forgiven (well, most things) and it was fantastic experience for all the young actors/singers!
PS: amazingly (and sadly), there was no “loop” system for those with hearing difficulties (I know this because Moira told me and the chap in front was VERY annoyed too!)… this seems ridiculous, especially when you’ve got a number of young actors with “thin” voices and the size of the auditorium).

cinderella at the tobacco factory theatre

2011-12-21T23:11:00.002Z

We used to have a family tradition of going to the cinema most Christmases. It probably didn’t happen every year but that’s how it now feels looking back. Since moving to Bristol, going to the Tobacco Factory Theatre at this time of year has DEFINITELY become the “new tradition” for Moira and me. We went along tonight to watch “Cinderella” – featuring the amazing “Travelling Light” theatre company (the same creative team behind “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” from a couple of Christmases ago and the Bristol Old Vic’s “Treasure Island” performed this summer).
It proved to be another wonderful evening. I’m conscious that I frequently end up describing our theatre trips as “magical” experiences and praising “live theatre” to the hilt – but, frankly for me, that’s exactly what it is. The all-age audience was simply charmed and totally engaged by the production – wonderful performances by each of the five actors, great music and lighting and beautifully designed in every detail. Stunning use of imagination, space and general creativity plus lots of laughter, fun, colour and pure enjoyment.
A superb start to the Christmas holidays!
PS: This was also a pretty “dark” version of the tale – birds in lieu of a fairy godmother and toes being hacked off with a cleaver!
PPS: Ruth+Stu took Iris to see the performance last week (Iris was completely captivated by it) and Hannah+Felix went to see it last Saturday (just a few hours before Ursula was born!). They, like Moira+I, ALL had a brilliant time.

ursula olive hayes

2011-12-20T17:56:00.002Z

Moira+I have just spent a magical afternoon with Hannah+Felix and their brand new daughter, Ursula Olive (born at 5.30pm on Sunday 18 December). It was lovely just to sit in front of the wood-burner, catch up on the events of the weekend and, of course, enjoy long, contented cuddles with our granddaughter (Hannah+Felix were in good form too!).
Photo: Miss Ursula Olive Hayes.

99 words...

2011-12-18T07:45:00.002Z

I quite often find myself listening to the excellent Radio4 programme “Something Understood”. Last Sunday and this morning, it has consisted of a pair of programmes which deal with the question: “if you had breath for no more than 99 words, what would they be?”. It’s presented by Liz Gray, who had found herself limited, forced into a strange period of enforced retreat by a whiplash injury and this was the question that had come to her mind. She began asking friends, colleagues, artists and political figures she admired, and gathered together a collection of 99 responses which has recently been published. I think I need to get myself a copy.

They also make fascinating and beautiful radio programmes.
PS: today is the last day you can listen to last week’s episode.

this interim time...

2011-12-16T09:50:00.002Z

Our lovely friends Gail+Ian run a fascinating and inspiring project they call “see:change”.
On its facebook page this morning, at this time of “waiting” in the Christian tradition, they posted these beautiful words by John O’Donohue: “In the waiting time 'we are in a time where everything seems withheld. The path we took to get us here has washed out; the way forward is still concealed from us. The old is not old enough to have died away; the new is still too young to be born'. For the interim time…”
Like a lot of people, I’ve often used this period of Advent and the turn of the year as a time for reflection – both thinking back and looking forward.
About this time last year, when I was working in a secondary school, I was suddenly asked if I could take a House Assembly. It was a case of filling in for someone at the eleventh hour; I had virtually no time to prepare anything.
I ended up telling pupils something about my blog (yes, I was that desperate!) – and explained that it was a mixture of diary of things I’d done and observations of political, social issues of the time. Only a couple of days earlier, I’d been looking up my comments on a film I’d seen at the very start of the previous year and ended up skim-reading through the blog over the subsequent twelve month period… and been really struck at the wealth of (sometimes quite surprising) things in which I’d been involved. As a result, it had made me ask myself the rhetorical question: “I wonder what new experiences/events lie in front of me for the coming year?”. So that became the theme of my assembly – looking forward with a sense of anticipation (and even genuine excitement) at what lies ahead for each of us.
I’m well aware that for some people, the coming months will involve financial/employment uncertainty or broken relationships or, in some case, utter despair… and I’m certainly not underestimating how debilitating and painful these can be.
However, I DO find it exciting knowing that, even if/when there are periods of gloom, there WILL be things that fill me with joy that, at present, I know NOTHING about.
For instance:
• A wonderful book
• A great film
• A brilliant piece of live performance (theatre/concert)
• A stunning sporting moment
• Unexpected meetings with old and new friends
• New hobbies or pastimes
• Simple pleasures
• Something yet to be created
• Experiencing new places
• Spiritual discoveries
• Reconciliation
• Taking pleasure in seeing others grow and develop
• Learning something new
For me, O’Donohue’s words “the path we took to get us here has washed out; the way forward is still concealed from us” capture this interim time perfectly.
Photo: sunrise over Glastonbury.

mary portas: saviour of the high street?

2011-12-14T10:18:00.003Z

I’ve just finished reading Mary Portas’s 50-page independent review into the future of our high streets. She’s obviously a very astute businesswoman and the government would do well to adopt many of her ideas and recommendations.

As you might guess (if you've ever read any of my previous posts on the subject), I was particularly interested in what she had to say about supermarkets!
She DID make a number of pertinent observations on the subject, for example:
• The fact is that the major supermarkets and malls have delivered highly convenient, needs-based retailing, which serves today’s consumers well. Sadly the high streets didn’t adapt as quickly or as well.
• She recommended that the restrictive aspects of the ‘Use Class’ system should be addressed to make it easier to change the uses of key properties on the high street.
• Large retailers should support and mentor local businesses and independent retailers.
• What really worries me is that the big supermarkets don’t just sell food anymore, but all manner of things that people used to buy on the high street. They’ve been expanding their reach into homewares, stationery, books, flowers – you name it. Supermarkets now allocate more than one third of their floor space to non-food sales.
• These critical high street and town centre services must not be simply gobbled up by the major supermarkets.
• Change on our high streets will come from people not just policies. Charismatic, local people with a vested interest in protecting their town centres and revitalising their communities will, if empowered to do so, inevitably lead the charge for change.
• We are burying our heads in the sand about the social and economic impact. A pound spent in a retailer with a localised supply chain that employs local people has far greater domestic economic impact than a pound spent in a supermarket or national chain. What’s more, out-of-town developments are often presented as major new sources of employment but we need to recognise that this ‘job creation’ is often just job displacement.
• We need to put the heart back into our high streets and inspire that connection between local people and their ‘home town’. Localism must truly mean local people having a voice and influence.
• The planning system is too susceptible to those who can afford an army of lawyers and the costs can put off those with legitimate appeals, as a recent study found out. There seems to be an imbalance in the planning system which we need to address.
• We should be getting local people engaged early in the planning process and able to influence the future of their areas. I’ve heard too many examples of communities being against a big development but it going ahead anyway. People need a powerful, legitimate voice and planning needs to be a much more collaborative process than it has been to date. The Government, working alongside the big developers, should explore how the local community can be given sufficient support and a stronger voice in the planning system.
Disappointingly, her review also contained some sweeping statements that seemed to miss the point, such as:
• There should be an explicit presumption in favour of town centre development in the wording of the National Planning Policy Framework (that’s obviously not going to discourage supermarkets in any way!).
• Developers should make a financial contribution to ensure that the local community has a strong voice in the planning system (this smacks of blackmail money being paid out by supermarkets to secure planning permissions – oh, don’t they do this already?).
In the main, I felt that Portas merely acknowledged the “supermarket problem” and actually failed to address the key issues:
• Unless planning policies are changed, supermarkets will happily continue to take over our high streets.
• It’s all very well saying that “charismatic, local people with a vested interest in protecting their town centres and revitalising their communities will, if empowered to do so, inevitably lead the charge for change” but, sadly, we know from our own local experience that council planning committees are influenced by big business and NOT by town planning guidelines, local needs or community action.
Portas’s report included the following telling comment from “The Right to Retail: Can localism save Britain’s small retailers?” by A Schoenborn:
“The majority of shopkeepers polled felt that they had an unfair disadvantage in comparison with major supermarkets in the planning system. In this, they echo a view held by many communities and activist groups that have struggled to exert control of their local high streets. Concerns include that the resources available to major retailers make it significantly harder for local authorities to challenge submissions by supermarkets for planning permission, compared with smaller retailers. Particularly, local authorities’ decisions may be influenced by a cost-benefit assessment on the basis that supermarkets are able to fund costly appeals against refusals and claim costs if they win, or resubmit modified versions of refused applications. Better resourcing also allows major developers to exploit legal loopholes in land usage, offer local authorities “sweeteners” in exchange for planning permission or bypass planning objections by funding major developments.”
I think the government should be commended for commissioning this report – and Mary Portas, with her “tell-it-like-it-is” attitude, was an excellent choice as its author. Unfortunately, however, I don’t think it contains enough “clout” against the power of the “big retailers” (and big business in general)… and, we all know, that the government is therefore hardly likely to take it upon itself to crack down on such organisations.
Who knows, I might be proved wrong!

is there life after west wing?

2011-12-12T14:24:00.002Z

As for most things it seems, I was late in “discover” West Wing and didn’t actually start watching it until January 2008. Since that time, I’ve become completely hooked. Last night, I watched the last episode of the very last season of West Wing and, in doing so, realised that I was about to enter a state of “mourning” (rather like getting to the end of a very good book). I’ve SO enjoyed the programme – brilliantly executed and with a wonderful script and cast. Although it was all fictitious (obviously!), it seemed to place an emphasis on the positives in the world of politics – it made you want your own politicians to behave like the main characters in the series (well, most of the time anyway!). It was utterly convincing and believable – both the individuals and the situations – and (somewhat pathetically, I know) I did find myself close to tears from time to time! I can’t actually recall anything about the programme that I disliked.
My favourite “bits” invariably involved the conversations between White House staff as they strode along the “corridors of power” exchanging questions, ideas, insights, observations and answers at rat-a-tat-tat speed – giving the impression of needle-sharp minds, spontaneous wit and wonderful wisdom – EXACTLY as I aspire to be at all times, you understand! In particular, I loved the “CJ” character (CJ Cregg played by the wonderful Allison Janney)… and have frequently pledged that “I want to be CJ when I grow up” (in ability, character, intellect etc etc!).
After this, all other television is going feel very ordinary!
PS: In anticipation of my after-West Wing “numbness”, I have been watching “The Killing” (Series 2) – on the advice of a number of friends. In my opinion, although it’s not at all in the same league as WW, it is a very impressive programme (I think there are still four episodes to go?)… and I’ve now also borrowed the Series 1 boxset too from Hannah+Felix.

european union (think the clue’s in the title)

2011-12-10T23:23:00.002Z

Where does one start?
The right wing press have hailed Cameron’s veto to block a new EU-wide treaty as a Triumph (oh what a surprise). Similarly, he will receive a hero’s welcome in parliament on Monday from right wing Tories.
In truth, Cameron’s actions at the EU summit hardly came as a shock – as far as I was concerned, he’d been making all the wrong kind of noises long before he departed for Brussels. It’s just that I’d hoped for a minor miracle – which never came. Reassuringly(!), I note that Chancellor George Osborne says that the PM’s actions were "very refreshing" and has insisted that Britain will still play a central role in Europe. He must live in cloud cuckoo land.
A few thoughts:
1. At a time that called for international statesmanship, Cameron’s actions, in the early hours of Friday morning, were almost exclusively focused on domestic politics – with pressure from perhaps 80 Tory MPs helping to dictate the UK’s current predicament.
2. I suspect that the PM felt that his veto would avoid a future referendum (which, reasonably, he judged he would lose). Actually, Euro-sceptics - such as Bill Cash - appear to think that the situation demands a fundamental renegotiation of the treaty and that “that, in due course, will also require a referendum”.
3. The PM no doubt believes that his actions will help to protect the City of London’s best interests (oh, and his rich pals - including a few high-flying bankers). If I was leader of one of the other 26 EU nations, I think I’d be so cheesed off with Britain that I’d insist on avoiding financial business with the City as far as possible. The UK could miss out altogether on future bank talks. I somehow think that what Cameron regards as “defending the interests of the City” might prove only temporary.
4. Britain SHOULD be a leading player in Europe, but it isn’t. The Guardian aptly describes it thus: “The two-speed Europe is here, with the UK alone in the slow lane”.
5. It all feels as if the government still thinks we have an Empire. In many ways, the UK government will be hoping that it “all goes wrong” for the EU – so it can say “we told you so”. I suspect that the next year or so will indeed be very difficult (both economically and politically) for the EU. Whilst I don’t want UK citizens to suffer in the current financial turmoil, it would be gratifying if the EU had started to emerge from the economic gloom before the next General Election (perhaps ahead of the UK)… it would be enormously gratifying!
6. And what about the LibDems? You remember the LibDems – those pledges about student fees and their pro-Europe stance (and all that bull about the need for us “to be there at the table”)? It seems that if the LibDems pledge anything, you might as well just assume the opposite.
7. No one is saying that the situation within the EU isn’t incredibly complicated and dire – but the fact was that we (ie. the UK) were members of the EU team, but refused to act like team players (we seemed to have walked off the pitch in a sulk?). You might have felt that the slogan SHOULD have been: “we’re all in this together” (where have I heard this before?)… but it wasn’t. Britain is now isolated and friendless as far as the EU is concerned… and, from now on (whatever Osborne says) it won’t be able to influence the debate.
That must surely be bad for Europe and, most definitely, bad for Britain?
Photo: “It wasn’t me guv”.

all together now…

2011-11-30T15:09:00.002Z

Despite my retired state (see my previous blog post!), I’ve just been on a demonstration in support of public sector workers over the government’s proposed changes to their pensions. Some 10,000 people (my rough guess – but it did seem enormous and was probably more than half a mile in length! ) marched through the streets of Bristol.
I HAD thought that the decision to strike on the day following George Osborne’s Autumn Statement was completely wrong – that it would greatly curtail scrutiny of his plans. I have now changed my opinion. His statement seemed only to underline his (and the government’s) ideological commitment to cutting the public sector. At a stroke (where have I heard that before?), he demonstrated the government’s ability to do as it pleased as far as its public servants were concerned.
Osborne’s “growth strategy” is actually dividing society (as well as not working!); polarisation is gathering speed - at an alarming rate. How can he can he justify a 0.1% increase for the poorest 10% of earners against a 49% increase last year FTSE 100 chief executives?
Yes, these are very difficult times, but it’s precisely at such times that political leadership becomes crucial. The government’s policies are seen as divisive (and often presented in an almost confrontational manner) – setting private and public sector workers against each other. Sadly, things haven’t been helped by the rather lame performance attitude of the Labour Party opposition over recent months. People ARE ready to make collective sacrifices but, as things stand, the government’s actions make an absolute mockery of the Chancellor’s “we’re all in this together” statement (from October 2009).
If only we were…
Background:
1. In his 2010 Budget, he “declared war on the public sector” and announced a two-year pay freeze (note: Local Authority workers’ pay had already been frozen for a year prior to that – meaning no pay increase for three years)(Teachers’ pay would be frozen from September 2011 as part of a previous 3-year pay deal).
2. Yesterday, in his Autumn Budget Statement, he announced that public sector workers’ pay (once the current pay freeze ended in 2013) would be capped at 1% increase for each of the following two years.
3. Inflation May 2010: 3.34%; inflation October 2011: 5.03%.
4. The OBR’s (Office for Budget Responsibility) earlier prediction that a squeeze on the public sector would mean 400,000 job losses over five years has now been nearly doubled, to 710,000 - as a result of extra spending cuts pencilled in for 2015-16 and 2016-17.
Photo: the back end of the march on Park Street – getting ready for the “off”.

november books

2011-11-29T06:09:00.002Z

I know this is boring, but it’s been quite useful to keep a record of the stuff I’ve read. These are my latest books:
Middles Classes (Simon Gunn+Rachel Bell): An absolutely fascinating book that I bought on impulse at “The Last Bookshop”, Bristol (partly because it was only £2 new!). Written by two of the team who’d made the BBC documentary series “Aristocracy” (which I didn’t see), this book traces the roots of middle-class values in Victorian England through to the great education reforms and changes in the workplace of the 20th century.
Sunset Park (Paul Auster): I’ve become a great admirer of Auster’s books over the past couple of years. This book is set in 2008 in the USA - against the financial crisis that had recently hit the country. The story is divided between a number of characters but with the central player, in his late 20s, reflecting on why, despite his middle-class background, he has ended up in a New York squat. The book is typically Auster in “feel” – minimal dialogue, measured, third-person, past-tense narration – and with a typical lack of “closure”. One of those impressive books that you keep reflecting on long after you’ve finished reading.
And When Did You Last See Your Father? (Blake Morrison): It’s taken me a long time to get around to reading this. A poignant reflection of the author’s larger-than-life GP father (infuriating memories of him jumping traffic queues; “I may not be right, but I’m never wrong” motto etc) as he approached death. Although my own father wasn’t a “larger-than-life” character (or a GP!), Morrison’s reflections on the his father’s final days instantly brought back memories of my Dad’s death (lots of similarities: I think Morrison’s father died the same year as mine – 1992; Morrison and I are similar ages – he’s a year younger; we were both at our fathers’ bedsides when they died). A beautifully observed, honest book and one that has helped to trigger many memories of my own.
Words and Wonderings (Joy Mead): This is a book of conversations between the author and a range of people from different backgrounds, including poets, bakers, environmentalists, artists and musicians. The conversations essentially explore the true meaning of community (beyond the jargon of the “Big Society”!). Some interesting insights and observations. However, I did find the style/format of the book somewhat predictable and a little awkward (and, apart from one or two instances, not convincingly “conversational”). I enjoyed the diversity of the participants and found it useful as a daily source of reflection. This is another of the books our Ithaca group will be “studying” in due course.
The American Future (Simon Schama): This is a book of the television series (again a £2 purchase!) and is typically “Schama” in style – full of rich prose, stylistic “charm” and HIM (I find his ego rather irritating!) - it probably works better as a television programme than a book (although I’ve actually only seen a couple of the programmes). The book, which was written in Barack Obama’s presidential election year, understandably “looks backward in order to see forward” but, to my mind, hardly seems to look forward at all, so I found the title misleading/inaccurate. I felt he was at his most convincing when he provided first-hand encounters with people he’d met and somewhat strangely, given his eminence, found many of his historical accounts rather tedious/overcomplicated in nature (eg. compared with Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals”. Nevertheless, a fascinating book.

within striking distance

2011-11-27T18:12:00.003Z

I’ve been mulling posting something on this subject for the last few days. In principle, I’m supportive of public sector workers’ strike action (especially secondary school teachers!) on 30 November and, despite my retired status, intend to join the College Green demonstration in Bristol on the day.
My thoughts on the subject are somewhat muddled, but here goes (I’ve tried to give a balanced view)…
1. Personally, I can’t really afford to retire but, after making sacrifices and working VERY hard all my life, I am determined to explore and enjoy new things whilst I’m still fit and healthy enough to do so (my parents died when they were 70 and 71).
2. I was an architect in my “former life” and, for nearly 30 years, ran my own practice. Being self-employed and largely responsible for the financial well-being of my staff, this was extremely tough at times. Not only was the idea of me making pension contributions laughably impractical, but I was also frequently having to subsidise the practice in order to avoid having to make staff redundant during difficult times. There were good times too and I endeavoured to try to make up the short-fall, but it remained very difficult. As a result, my pension contributions have been inconsistent and my annuity choices frequently unwise (sometimes disastrously so!). Like many individuals, my annuities have been badly affected by the global financial crisis of recent years.
3. So, against this background, I’m perhaps understandably envious of the guaranteed pension provisions available to public sector workers – providing they are prepared to put in the necessary years of service (and pay extra contributions, work longer etc)… incidentally, it’ll be virtually impossible for teachers still to be teaching at the age of 68 - they will be burnt out LONG before then (and if you don’t believe me, YOU try dealing with some very poorly behaved, confrontational teenagers for six lessons a day)!
4. I know of many low-paid or self-employed people for whom the prospect of private pension provision is impossible. They too will be envious of public sector pensions. Many people in the private sector have no proper pension provision; surely, the government should be acting on this, rather than attacking public sector pensions (85% of public sector employees are in a pension scheme, compared with 40% in the private sector)?
5. On the other hand, many people working in the private sector have very generous pension packages, share options etc. The average director of a FTSE 100 company now has a pension pot worth £3.9million.
6. Large pension deficits in companies’ final-salary pension plans have driven most to close their schemes, removing the benefit from those working in the private sector. I think most public sector workers accept that pension arrangements do have to be adjusted to take account of longer life-expectancies.
7. The government keeps going on about the strikes being wrong because “negotiations are ongoing” (in reality, progress in negotiations has been painfully slow – and it’s in the government’s interests not to “rush” things!). In PR terms, the government actually wants the maximum disruption to the public - it suits its narrative of private sector versus public sector.

8. On average (apparently, according to Channel4 News FatCheckBlog in June this year), private sector employees are now “worse off” in their retirement – and on average their salaries are no longer any higher. Faced with those figures, David Cameron knows that most voters who don’t work for the state will back him on pension reform.

9. The fact is that public sector workers accept, from the time they first start their jobs, the terms and conditions of their employment. They appreciate that they won’t be richly rewarded financially. However, the long-standing pension arrangements are one of the few positive things related to their jobs (apart from job satisfaction for some?). Unlike in the private sector, many public sector workers (eg. most teachers, nurses, those working in the emergency services etc) do not have the same kind of flexibility to swap their careers for equivalents in the corporate world.
10. To my mind, the proposed 3% increase in contributions from public sector workers that the government is seeking to force through, is nothing to do with long-term affordability or sustainability – they’re simply being used to contribute to the short-term deficit-reduction targets over the next three or four years.
In my view, the situation has many similarities with the “occupy” protests of recent weeks – ordinary people have become sick and tired of being asked to pay (literally) for the actions of others - whilst, at the same time, they see the very rich continue virtually untouched.
The banks have not paid for the crisis they have caused. Instead the government is making ordinary people pay through its austerity programme… and, of course, public sector workers (and their pensions) are an easy target! I really think that the government is quite happy for the strike to proceed – in its eyes, it’ll be able to blame EVERY piece of “bad economy news” on the strikers.
I very much hope, even at this very late hour, that an acceptable compromise is reached and that the strike will be avoided… but I’m not holding my breath.
Photo: sign of the times? shop sign in disrepair on Park Street, Bristol.

turning the clock back

2011-11-24T06:43:00.002Z

I met my good friend and former architectural client, Tony, for lunch in Reading yesterday. The last time we’d met was at my retirement party in February 2005. We’d known each other since the early 1980s. Although we hadn’t done an amazing amount of work together, we’d made a point of meeting up for lunch on a fairly regular basis. Amongst other things, these proved to be ideal opportunities for brainstorming, exchanging ideas, expressing our frustrations and generally encouraging (and laughing at) each other.
We both may look a little older, our hair may have become a little greyer, but yesterday’s lunchtime “reunion” was just lovely… in absolutely no time at all, it was as though we’d never been away. In the past six-and-a-half years, Tony had got married and he+Sue divide their time between their houses in the south of France and Berkhampsted and on their dutch barge… plus skiing, cycling, reading, walking etc etc (it’s a tough life!). He still dabbles in development and investment opportunities but, as ever, was focused on enjoying life and being happy (a sentiment/objective I think we both share).
It was just brilliant to meet up.
We talked (and ate and drank, as you do!) for three hours non-stop and have vowed to continue our “session” with a couple of other old work colleagues (Steve and Charles) in due course.
Photo: I didn’t take any photographs of our reunion(!) and no longer have any drawings/pictures of projects we’d done together… but I just found these architectural images in an “arch work” folder on my computer (which will have to suffice in terms of suggesting my former life!).

family likenesses

2011-11-21T14:20:00.003Z

I spent ages last week hunting through old biscuit tins and shoe boxes full of old family photographs. I was searching for one particular photograph – of my grandparents’ wedding (Fred and Rose Broadway). Well, frustratingly, I didn’t find it and stopped searching. As it happens, earlier today I applied for my Senior RailCard and needed to look up my passport details… and, in the envelope containing my passport, birth certificate etc (you’re way ahead of me, aren’t you!), I found the aforementioned wedding photograph!
If you’ve been reading my blog recently, you will recall me “remembering my father”. I WAS going to use the photograph to demonstrate how physically alike my father and grandfather were… but, having recently come across one of my old school photographs, it seems that I also look a little like my grandfather too!
Scary or what!

Photo: left: Fred (circled) on his wedding day 3 August 1912, aged 25; right: me (circled) in May 1963, aged 14.

secret millionaire

2011-11-20T07:35:00.002Z

I COULD have been a millionaire, you know.
The above photograph is clear proof (note: I’m on such good terms with my bank that I’m sure they would have accepted the cheque despite the “Stephano” name!). I was given it “in gratitude” by our lovely friend Liza at the end of the wonderful holiday spent with our mayBe friends at Upper Saltings, St Ives in 2002. Depending what you choose to believe, cheques are valid for either 6 months or 6 years… either way, I realise I’ve now blown my chances!
I’ve recently been clearing out “my” basement cupboard. Not before time. Although it was pretty organised in its early days, some six years or so ago, it’s gradually become one of those “stuff-it-in-and-close-the-doors-quickly” cupboards. Whilst I knew I still had the cheque (plus some of other lovely souvenirs from that holiday) “somewhere” in the house, I came across it by accident when I was going through my old biscuit tins/shoe boxes of old photographs.
A lovely reminder of a very special holiday (and worth its weight in gold!).

finding familiar faces...

2011-11-18T06:22:00.002Z

I was searching through biscuit tins, old shoe boxes and on book shelves the other day in an effort to track down a particular ancient family photograph. It was an image, taken in a small back garden, of my grandparents’ wedding day (Fred and Rose Broadway)… I wasn’t there myself! It was evocative for a number of reasons but, in particular, because of distinct similarities between my father, Ron, and his own father, Fred. Needless to say, I didn’t find it – it’ll no doubt re-appear when I stop searching for it!
However, what I DID find was drawing I’d done of Moira in Easter 1972 (some 9 months before we were married), together with one of my all-time favourite postcard pictures – “Hat Trick with Freesia” by David Remfrey – which has always reminded me of Moira.
Aaaah!

remembering my father

2011-11-17T12:56:00.002Z

I’ve just been reading Blake Morrison’s book “And When Did You Last See Your Father?”. It’s a poignant reflection of his larger-than-life GP father (infuriating memories of him jumping traffic queues; “I may not be right, but I’m never wrong” motto etc) as he approached death. Although my own father wasn’t a “larger-than-life” character (or a GP!), Morrison’s reflections on his father’s final days instantly brought back memories of my Dad’s death (lots of similarities: I think Morrison’s father died the same year as mine – 1992; they both died from cancer that had been diagnosed too late; Morrison and I are similar ages – he’s a year younger; we were both at our fathers’ bedsides when they died).
My father died within six months of diagnosis. I remember my mother telling me “it was serious”, but my father never really accepted this. He refused to talk about it. He seemed to be in complete denial. I recall numerous times when I tried to get him to talk about his life, his family, his childhood - but all to no avail. During his final months (when he was still fit enough to do so), I wanted to drive him to places he loved and for which we had particular memories – like the regular family picnic spot by the river at Aston Cantlow, near Henley-in-Arden, or the Flagpole (or “Tadpole” as younger family members called it!) on Cannock Chase or Llanrhaeadr, near Oswestry, or Bispham, near Blackpool, where we spent so many family holidays. But he just wasn’t interested. Looking back, I think I was trying to prepare myself for grieving him and now feel somewhat guilty that I had pressed him on such matters.
Amazingly, it’s coming up to 20 years since his death and, in many ways (like Blake Morrison), I wish I had written stuff down at the time – so many things have become very hazy, half-remembered recollections.
My Dad, Ron, was a printer for most his working life (compositor and reader). He was a proud and practical man, very organised, quite shy, conscientious and very reliable. He was born and brought up Handsworth, Birmingham (his father worked in the jewelry trade – starting out as a “jeweler errand boy”) and continued to live there for the rest of his life. He was quite an intelligent man who, I think, was very conscious of his working class background. As I grew older, I felt he was almost embarrassed by what he felt was a lack of education (although, of course, he would never have admitted this) - he used to challenge himself to learn new words/meanings on a daily basis via the “Reader’s Digest”. He was very fond of words (but hardly ever read any books, from what I remember?). Whenever he wrote a letter, they frequently “read” overly-formal/flowery and regularly contained words which weren’t quite used correctly – he regularly wrote letters of complaint to the Council or of appreciation to Hollywood stars.
He was a strict disciplinarian. He kept a riding whip hanging over one of the door architraves and used to use it quite frequently – never on me as it happens (was I really such a “good boy”?), but certainly on my brother Alan! He was pretty obstinate at times (surely not something I’ve inherited from him?) and his favourite family saying was: “If I say ‘black’s white’, black’s white”!
I still find it amazing that he used to come home to lunch every day – despite the fact that he worked in Birmingham (Dams+Lock). He had an hour for lunch and, with military precision, this was taken up by a 20-minute bus ride and walk home; 20 minutes to eat lunch; 20-minute walk and bus ride back to work (it’s a very good job the buses were so reliable!)… bearing in mind that it took him 5-10 minutes to walk to the bus stop from home.
He was embarrassingly colour-prejudiced (perhaps this was a result of what he saw as all the changes, for the worse, that had taken place in Handsworth during his lifetime?) and, as I grew older, my only coping-mechanism was to avoid the subject at all costs.
He was a great tinkerer – he could just sit and read a book. I well remember him “digging over” a flower bed at our house in Oxford just a/ few days after Moira had carefully sewn seeds! He and Mary came down to house-sit when we were away on holiday one year; unfortunately (when we lived in Thame), our cat died while we were away and he took it upon himself to get the vet to “get rid of it” – much to the dismay of our girls when we returned – they didn’t even have a body to bury and were completely distraught. I remember us returning home after a few days away and finding that he’d been down to the house and left me a list of things that I “needed to do” on the house!
He was a quite a deep- thinker and quite a creative person in some ways – he always claimed that he invented cellophane wrappings for food, for example (but, obviously, only in theory!)(he’d have a lot to answer for in these eco-conscious days).
Despite his relative shyness, he was quite gregarious in family situations (organising the games at Christmas, for example). Having said that, although he very much loved his family, he seemed to have an awkwardness when it came to dealing with his grandchildren (and his daughters-in-law!).
I think my most treasured memories are our occasional chats in the pub when they came down to Oxford/Thame on a Sunday. That was the time when I think we were closest. These were probably the only occasions that he “let his guard down” a little. He wasn’t a man to tell his sons that he loved them (well, certainly not in so many words!) and was frequently critical of both Alan and me – but, over our pints of beer, I came to appreciate that he was very proud of us both. This sounds awful but, whenever Mary accompanied us to the pub, it was never the same – he would clam up (and so would I!).
Apologies for rabbiting on, but I sense that if I don’t write down some of my recollections now, I may end up forgetting altogether!
He died from lung cancer when he was just 70. He was a thoroughly good man and he’d be incredibly proud of his sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren if he were alive today.
Photo: My mother and father (late 1991? and 1947, Ilfracombe).

golfing and green fingers

2011-11-15T09:17:00.002Z

In an ideal world, I’ve sometimes thought it would be rather nice to have “green fingers”. Clearly, in the real world, I don’t. That was until yesterday. As you might be able to see from the photograph (yes, it’s my ancient-looking hand), I now really do have green fingers!
I went back to my former golf club (Studley Wood near Oxford) yesterday to participate in the annual Bob Head Classic Golf Tournament – to celebrate Bob’s birthday. Last year, at about this time, the golf greens were apparently suffering from some fungal disease. So this year, as a precaution, they decided to spray all the greens with a green dye (which apparently contains fertilizer and some magic potion)(really?). It makes the course look as if it’s trying to impress passing helicopters, for some reason. It also means that your golf balls end up being covered in the stuff… and, of course, so do your hands (well, at least your non-golf glove hand).
It’s now getting on for 24 hours since I played and I must have washed my hands more than 20 times since I finished the round… and, as the photograph hopefully illustrates, my hand is STILL green! I have to say, I’m not very impressed.
Actually, it was a really good day. There were more than 20 of us playing and it was great meeting up with some old friends again (school terms have meant that I’ve missed the past six “tournaments”).
PS: Hardly playing these days means that my golf is somewhat unpredictable in terms of quality. This was well illustrated by my exploits at the first hole (par 4) yesterday: without having hit any practice balls, I played two superb shots to put myself some 10feet from the hole and ended up four-putting!

the awakening

2011-11-14T05:33:00.002Z

Catherine, Gareth, Alan and I went to see Nick Murphy’s “The Awakening” at the Watershed yesterday afternoon (Moira was sorting out her vast collection of knitting needles – true!). I’m not really a horror-/ghost story-lover but I did “enjoy” this film. It’s set in England shortly after the end of the Great War and Rebecca Hall (acknowledged ghost-buster or, rather, ghost-debunker) is summoned to a remote boys’ school to investigate some creepy incidents. Beautifully filmed and containing some suitably scary moments (I may not be prepared to play with our granddaughters’ dolls house in future!). Not sure that I was at all convinced about the ending, but… I did fall for Rebecca Hall!

the dreaded eleven-plus and other stuff…

2011-11-13T12:19:00.002Z

I’ve just finished reading a book about the “Middle Classes” (I know this seems a strange book choice, but I picked it up in a bookshop and became intrigued after reading a few pages). I think we’ve largely left the differentiations between the classes behind, thank goodness, but I did find one of the book’s conclusions worrying: “All the relevant indicators suggest that British society became more unequal and less open in the later 20th century. For example, the poorest 10% of Britons were 13% worse off in 1997 than in 1979; by the 1990s the gap between highest and lowest paid was the widest since records began; and there is clear evidence of declining social mobility among the poorest third of society”.
The book also highlighted the dreaded Eleven-Plus examination – introduced by Tory Minister Rab Butler through the 1944 Education Act. The system was based on the idea of different types of education for different children (ie. differentiation by academic ability rather than by class) - yet hopes that the “secondary modern” would, by virtue of its more practical education, gain a prestige equal to that of the grammar school were never to be fulfilled.
The awful thing was that this creamed off a small minority into the grammar schools while the vast majority were labelled as “failures” (many for the rest of their lives) – just on the strength of one, single, flawed examination.
It made me reflect on my own childhood in the 1950s/60s. My family was very much a loving and supportive one, but definitely “working class”. I did have a very good Grammar school education (although my parents were only informed that I’d passed the eleven-plus the day AFTER everybody else due to the letter having been delivered to the wrong address!), but my brother – who I feel was just as “bright” as me – failed the exam. This wasn’t at all surprising however. As a child, he suffered terribly with chronic asthma and he ended up spending time at an “open air school” in the years before sitting the exam (which clearly had a detrimental effect on his education)… I just LOVE the rather bizarre idea that Birmingham should be considered a suitable location for an “open air school”!
The awful thing is that, while my brother went through secondary school education and left school at 15, I ended up being fast-forwarded to take my O-Level exams a year in advance (despite my father insisting on seeing the headmaster to plead that I shouldn’t be allowed to do so… the headmaster fortunately persuaded him otherwise!). Happily, by the time brother was 20, at his own insistence, he began to study at night-school in order to obtain some qualifications and, amazingly despite all the odds, ended up going to university and obtaining a Surveying degree (but he did so only by continuing to work full time/study in his spare time – it took him something like 10 years). He really is an amazing bloke.
Not many people, in similar circumstances, would have had his guts, determination and sheer endurance (or opportunity?) to battle through such an educational background.
For a variety of reasons (including my brother’s experiences), we took the decision that our own children should be educated under the comprehensive system – deciding to remain in Oxfordshire, rather than Buckinghamshire (where my architectural practice had its offices).
We don’t regret it.
PS: The “Middle Classes” book was fascinating in all sorts of ways. This was just one of the ridiculous things I discovered: “Until the Test and Corporation Acts of 1828, holders of public office had to receive Anglican communion and to reject the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, thus preventing non-Anglicans of any kind from becoming members of parliament. Even then, the same barrier still prevented anyone who was not a member of the established church from taking a degree at Oxford or Cambridge until 1856 or teaching there before Gladstone abolished the University Religious Tests in 1871”. Genius!
Photo: extract from Handsworth Grammar School photograph dated May 1963 (I’m third row from the top, third from the right)(yes, this was just pre-Beatles and I’d just started experimenting with Brycreem!).

what new financial crisis?

2011-11-11T05:04:00.002Z

I trust you’re keeping up with the various downs and downs on the current financial crisis? After Greece, it’s now Italy’s turn to come under the intense spotlight (and who’s next? Spain? Portugal? France?... perhaps then the UK?). There’s even talk of a two-tier eurozone. On Tuesday, Mr Berlusconi said that he planned to resign after failing to win an absolute majority in the lower house of parliament in a vote on the budget. On Wednesday, Italy's cost of borrowing touched a new record (if Italy now tried to borrow money, payable in 10 years, it would have to pay an interest rate of more than 7%). Robert Preston, BBC Economics Correspondent, commented: “When the implicit interest rate rises to that kind of level, investors know that a country with big debts can't afford to repay what it owes”. An Italian financier sadly acknowledged on the BBC’s Six O’Clock News that: “The markets go after the weakest”. Jon Snow, from Channel4 News, gloomily warned: “Make no mistake this is one of the biggest news stories of our generation, one of the most alarming and all-enveloping fogs of uncertainty since the build up of the second world war”.
I’ve just finished reading a book entitled “Middle Classes”. In it is a section about “The City” and the Stock Exchange in days gone by. These are some fascinating extracts:
George Verey (in the 1940s): “It was a gentler world; it was less grabbing. In my day no one picked up a million; five thousand a year was considered good money. The income mostly went on living – the upkeep of the family, holidays, school fees. There were virtually no “perks”. If you knew someone to be greedy, you saw as little as possible of them”.
…. and this (the book was published in 2002):
“The City remained curiously wedded to custom and tradition even by middle-class standards, so that when changes occurred they appeared especially striking. As with other sectors of the British economy, change began to be felt in the City in the early 1970s with the onset of recession. In 1972-3 the stock market crashed as a result of banks over-lending with insufficient liquidity to compensate. As deputy chairman of the Stock Exchange, James Dundas Hamilton recalled, ‘We used to go to visit the governor of the Bank of England every Wednesday and listen to the appalling news of one bank after another closing its doors. The Stock Exchange had a very tough time in that period’. Still more profound in the long term were the effects of the deregulation of the international money markets following the collapse in 1971 of the Bretton Woods agreement, which had underpinned and controlled the international monetary system since the Second World War. Exchange rates had previously been fixed internationally in relation to the US dollar, but from the early 1970s the system broke down and there was nothing to stop large flows of money going from one country to another. Boosted by petrodollars from the profits of the world’s oil-producing countries and by the exchange controls by national governments, new money flooded onto the financial markets over the next decade, largely independent of either world trade or government intervention. These developments had major and lasting effects…. But while these trends augmented the importance of the City of London within both the national and the international economy, they also rapidly destroyed the old-fashioned work practices and culture”.
So, we’ve seen it all before (well, almost)… except that the markets now seem to control everything in these times of GLOBAL economics, while governments appear powerless and are just left tinkering on the sidelines (or am I being terribly unfair?).
Photo: is the sun setting on the eurozone?

the day of the nasturtiums….

2011-11-10T07:05:00.002Z

Triffid-like, the nasturtiums in our small back garden have taken over everything and have been threatening to swamp the whole of Southville. They’d re-seeded themselves from last year.
Well, yesterday was the day that they met their match (well, until they pop up uninvited next year); I spent an hour or so hunting them down (not difficult, they’re everywhere), stuffing them into sacks, taking them down to the local re-cycling place and waving them goodbye. In an ideal world, despite its small size, we’d like to grow some food in our garden. A couple of years ago, thanks to our GrowZone friends, we made an initial effort to get things rolling… not particularly successfully (some strawberries, chard, lettuce, tiny potatoes, small green tomatoes and the odd squash), but at least it was a start. THIS year has been pretty disastrous: we decided to grow fruit and planted (last year) gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes, rhubarb and an espaliered(?) apple tree; plus tomatoes, potatoes, chard, chives, beans and garlic. All we seem to have produced from this is the odd tiny green tomato, more small potatoes (even for perhaps three meals?) plus some chard, chives and some small garlic specimens (and nasturtiums, of course!). If ONLY we’d decided to concentrate on cultivating slugs and snails, we’d have been quids in, but unfortunately we didn’t.
This coming year, we’re going to try again. After our previous disasters, we’re setting our sights pretty low. But I promise to be make daily slug+snail dawn patrols and I will endeavour to water stuff regularly as necessary.
Other suggestions gratefully received!
Photo: the view from our kitchen window (before!).
PS: yes, I know you can eat nasturtium flowers, but….

touching turner's treasures

2011-11-09T06:26:00.003Z

I’ve been fascinated by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) ever since attending an exhibition of his work at the Tate Gallery, London in early 1975. My memory is somewhat vague about precisely how it came about but, shortly after that time, I was given the chance to look at some Turner watercolours (normally kept hidden away) at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Simply wonderful.
Well, following this experience, I vowed that I’d repeat this experience one day. Now that I live a life of leisure(?), I decided that that time had come and so I e-mailed the Western Art Print Room one evening last week and asked if there was a chance of me seeing some of Turner’s watercolours – including three of his Venetian studies. By 10am the following morning, I’d received a really helpful reply (together with a very useful web-link which allowed me to select some additional pieces from their archive) and, as a result, made arrangements to meet one of the print room assistants yesterday morning.
So, Moira and I spent nearly an hour poring over about 50 of Turner’s watercolours – wonderful actually being allowed to handle these works of art (presented with large boxes of mounted watercolours, small desk easel and, of course, white cotton gloves!).
A huge privilege and a truly magical, memorable experience.
PS: The Print Room at the Ashmolean is open to “members of the public, students and visiting scholars alike for the study and enjoyment of drawings and prints from the collection” (quote from the print room brochure)… and it’s free.
PPS: Thankfully, when I went to the Tate exhibition in 1975, I’d decided to buy the accompanying exhibition catalogue and have been looking through it again over recent days. It made me query how many drawings, sketches or paintings I had undertaken in my life (so far!). 500? Perhaps 1,000? I suspect it’s far closer to 500 - even including those undertaken during my architectural career. This pales into utter insignificance when compared to Turner. He left over 19,000 sketches and watercolours in the “Turner Bequest”, hundreds of finished watercolours and well over 500 oil paintings. How on earth did he find the time (he virtually produced a sketch EVERY day of his adult life – and this doesn’t allow for his “finished” paintings!)?
My catalogue gives a pointer: “A true professional, he never stopped observing, recording. Over 250 sketchbooks at the British Museum bear witness to this. Not for him the busy private life: his social life was confined to professional functions at the Royal Academy and basic, safety-valve affairs with his housekeepers”. Brilliant quote!
PPS: The Ashmolean also has drawings and prints by Michelangelo and Raphael (amongst others) – so I’ll be making a return visit in the not-too-distant future!!
Photo: this is one of the watercolours I actually handled yesterday: “Venice: The Accademia, 1840” (this was Turner’s fourth, and last, visit to Venice).

the ides of march

2011-11-07T06:44:00.002Z

Well, it wasn’t like this on West Wing!
Moira, Gareth+Alan+I went to see this George Clooney-directed political thriller at the Watershed yesterday. It focuses on the last frantic days of a closely-contested presidential primary - just two Democrats left in the fight for the presidency and the brilliant up-and-coming press secretary (convincingly played by Ryan Gosling) of one of the candidates (played by Clooney himself) suddenly finds himself involved in a complicated political scandal which threatens to sink his “camp”…..
Loyalty? Trust? Betrayal?
All I’ll say is that it’s an impressive and worryingly convincing film (apart from a couple of issues perhaps?) and definitely worth seeing.

G20, bill gates, bill nighy, rowan williams and the robin hood tax

2011-11-05T05:02:00.002Z

French President Nicolas Sarkozy commissioned Bill Gates to produce a Report for this week’s G20 Summit. In the event, Gates has given a boost to supporters of a Robin Hood Tax by telling the summit that such a levy on financial transactions was "clearly technically feasible". He maintains that it was "critical" that a portion of the money raised from any Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) should be used to help the developing world, rather than simply to shore up ailing First World economies. An FTT - which this week won the backing of the Archbishop of Canterbury was one of a range of measures which Mr Gates said could bring the number of the world's poor states down to "zero".
As things stand, Britain and the USA governments are reluctant to sign up to a levy.
Bill Nighy, an ambassador for Oxfam and a strong supporter of the Robin Hood Tax, has also been in Cannes this week (and he was very impressive on BBC Breakfast earlier this week too - I’ve just watched this recording).
Thursday’s Guardian newspaper included some interesting comments from Nighy:
"I find increasingly any resistance to the idea harder and harder to swallow. It is mysterious. Resistance is becoming less and less easy. The reasons given are suspicious. There is not only support from serious moral people like Archbishop of Canterbury, and the pope, but there are 1,000 economists in support. Both the IMF and EU have done feasibility studies that are very supportive.
"It is very popular because no one is going to have to pay any more tax directly. The value of the derivatives market is now somewhere between $605 and $620tn [£377 and £387tn] – the world economy is only $60tn – and the $620tn is currently untaxed. The 50 pence tax on every £1,000 is all that is being asked for."
When questioned about the world-wide “Occupy” protesters (against accusations that they were “rebels without a cause”), Nighy responded: "The Robin Hood tax expresses in real terms what they are about. The protests around the world are directly linked to the Robin Hood tax matters and I find it very moving. The dignity restraint and powers of these protests is very impressive."

I’ve just added Bill Nighy to my “Dream Team”/“World Eleven” (these two old blogs of mine refer!).
PS: I’ll post an updated version of my latest “Dream Team”/“World Eleven” in due course!

october-november books

2011-11-04T05:20:00.002Z

Latest books:
Theft: A Love Story (Peter Carey): The story is told by two Australian brothers in alternating chapters – Michael, an artist whose career appears to have peaked and Hugh, his “damaged” brother (for whom Michael acts as guardian/caretaker). It starts with Michael fresh out of jail for robbing his ex-wife of his own paintings and proceeds – with the help of a mysterious woman - into an art world tainted with concerns about validation and authenticity…. and potential fortunes. It’s a very funny (and somewhat grumpy and crude!) book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The Harold Nicholson Diaries 1907-1963(edited by Nigel Nicholson): I REALLY enjoyed this book. It draws on diary entries and letters (essentially between Nicholson and his poet/author/gardener wife, Vita Sackville-West)(they had a very happy, but very unconventional marriage). He rightly has a reputation for being one of the great political diarists. He was a diplomat, Conservative MP - he flirted with Labour after WW2 - an extensive author and also worked in the Foreign Office (he attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919). I found the political background to both World Wars historically illuminating. He never achieved high office, but his diaries are simply littered with accounts of his meetings with “the great and the good” of the time. Despite his privileged background (he describes himself as “upper class”) and his smugness and snobbery (at times), I found Nicholson’s book to be a beautifully written, insightful and completely fascinating portrayal of British politics in the first half of the 2oth century.
Thinking Out Loud (John L Bell): This is a book of his “Thought for the Day” recordings for Radio4’s Today Programme (which we’re discussing at our weekly Ithaca sessions). The only trouble with a batch of these bound up in a single volume is that they become somewhat predictable in style. However, I’m a big fan of John Bell and did find his observations both thought-provoking and challenging.
The Betrayal (Helen Dunmore): This is our Book Group’s latest study book. It tells the story of a Russian family in the early 1950s – a time when the country was dominated by Stalin, the secret police and when everyone mistrusted almost everyone. It’s an intelligent, thoughtful novel – I read it very quickly, almost as if it was “thriller”. It reminded me of the time I read Solzhenitsyn’s “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” and had felt somewhat guilty of life’s simplest pleasures (family, friendship, warmth, food, sleep, comfort, home, fresh air, freedom and the like). It’s a very impressive book and brilliantly captures a sense of hopelessness and fear and yet, at the same time, acknowledges the massive strength of the human spirit.
Much Obliged, Jeeves (PG Wodeshouse): It’s been an awful long time since I last read any PG Wodehouse, but I did enjoy this. There’s something rather reassuring about Jeeves+Wooster books – the humour; ridiculous snobbery; language; bizarre characters and the excruciating predictability. Effortless, light reading.

occupy bristol camp

2011-11-03T06:11:00.002Z

I dropped in to the “Occupy Bristol” camp yesterday morning on College Green and chatted to a group of protesters. They seemed in very good spirits and determined to continue the occupation for as long as possible. They appeared to be very organized – they’d just finished one of their daily “open meetings” and scribbles on their white board certainly seemed to have identified a number of key issues/responsibilities and assigned particular individuals as coordinators. I’ve been impressed by the way they’re trying to communicate with the public at large – via signs and messages placed around the site (explaining what they’re doing and that their protest is entirely peaceful and non-confrontational) and also the “drop-in” gazebo(?) where one or two members of the camp can answer any queries from members of the public. I also noticed that they’d put together a schedule of “campsite rules”, which they displayed around the site so that members of the public (and prospective protesters?) were aware. The ten or so rules seemed entirely sensible and appropriate to me (and I think that the today’s open meeting also took a decision to ban alcohol from the site).
I had a long chat to “Greg”. He told me that the camp members had been encouraged at St Paul’s by the changed attitude of the church authorities (and the City of London Corporation) to back away from the enforced eviction actions (and with the ongoing dialogue). He said that, here in Bristol, the relationships with City Council and cathedral authorities was good and that he understood that they were under no immediate threat of eviction. I told him that the Archbishop of Canterbury had written an article in today’s Financial Times indicating his support for the Robin Hood Tax – Greg hadn’t been aware of this prior to our conversation. I asked him how people were able to afford to devote their time to the demonstration and he told me that some people had given up their holidays, some were spending all their “non-work” time at the camp and some simply didn’t have jobs to go to. He said that the most encouraging aspect of the occupation had been the real sense of community that the protesters had experienced. For example: local businesses and individuals had been donating money+food and members of the public had also been turning up and cooking meals for them. He accepted that the protesters didn’t have any “specific” demands – it was simply their intention to raise awareness and basically to say “enough is enough”!
Photo: part of the Occupy Bristol campsite (note: I decided it was best to avoid taking any group pictures!).
PS: This ended up feeling as if I SHOULD have ended it with the words: “Steve Broadway, News At Ten, Bristol”. Apologies!

june tabor and the oysterband

2011-11-02T07:40:00.002Z

Moira and I went to see a remarkable concert last night at St George’s, Bristol. The Oysterband and June Tabor were back on stage touring for the first time for some 17 years. I love June Tabor’s voice and had the booked tickets purely on this basis. I’m sorry to have to admit that I knew very little about the Oysterband and went along very much thinking they’d be her “backing band”. How wrong I was! The Oysterband’s John Jones has a wonderful voice too and the combination of Tabor, him and the highly-gifted band was simply beautiful. They interacted with such ease that it seemed as if they’d be touring together on a weekly basis for ever! June Tabor has an amazing, brooding voice (and she’s even older than me!). Among the highlights for me were covers of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” and PJ Harvey’s “That Was My Veil”… with a wonderful version of the Oysterband’s “Put Out The Lights” to finish (click here to get a sense of the finale – but ours was better!).
My retirement commitment to attend more concerts is a great success… but now I need to book some more dates in my diary!

Photo: Yes, I know the band members are missing (no photography allowed in the concert) - but we had seats in the front of the balcony immediately above the band and I wanted to capture this for posterity!

I'm afraid I'm at a loss....

2011-11-01T08:43:00.001Z

Last week, eurozone leaders agreed a second Greek bailout worth 130bn euros as well as banks agreeing to take 50% losses on their holdings of Greek debt. It was meant to remove uncertainty and to help provide longer-term stability in the world financial markets. But now that deal is up in the air again. The Greek Prime Minister, in response to an increasingly bitter electorate, has now announced a referendum on the bailout deal. No doubt, this will take a little time to organise and, in the meantime, worldwide financial uncertainty (or maybe even panic?) will be back on the agenda (with 60% of Greeks apparently against the austerity measures, it seems likely that they will end up leaving the eurozone altogether).
Political leaders from the EU and beyond had hoped that last week’s measures would end (to some extent at least) speculation on the financial markets…. but surely, this was only ever likely to be short-term relief and that Italy, Spain, perhaps the UK and who-knows-who would be next in line? I don’t blame the Greek people at all – they are having to pay for poor government decisions/policies that probably go back an entire generation.
When it comes to finance on a personal level, I REALLY don’t have a good track record (Equitable Life investor, endowment mortgage etc etc!). However, what seems clear to even financially-naive people like me, is that our own individual efforts count for nothing. We work hard all our lives; we obey the rules; we trust our respective governments to take sensible decisions for the greater good; we strive to make the world a better place…. but, actually, we don’t stand a chance. It seems that the world is about greed; about power in the hands of CEOs, shareholders, bankers, city speculators; about profit and more profit; about dog-eat-dog and ignore the consequences…. and, rather like “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, things have got completely out of hand and no one seems to know how to stop the depressing cycle.
This is background for the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in New York that started in September and have now extended to over 900 cities worldwide – including the “Occupy London Stock Exchange” (OLSX) outside St Paul’s in London. They’ve been protesting about "social justice, real democracy and challenging the unsustainable financial system that punishes the many and privileges the few".
Where’s Superman when you need him (and I’m definitely NOT referring to George Gideon Oliver Osborne)?

protest camp at st paul’s: what would jesus do?

2011-10-31T07:01:00.001Z

Questions, questions, (typical) questions….
How on earth can these people find the time to camp out indefinitely? Haven’t they got jobs?
What do they hope to achieve? They haven’t got any specific demands, have they?
Well, all I know is that I’m glad that these protesters in cities throughout the world ARE making a stand. I’ve signed countless petitions; I’ve written to my MP a number of times; I’ve blogged about all the unfairness and the greed…. but, apparently, all to no avail. These people ARE doing something and it nags away at the powers-that-be and they’re helping to keep the media’s attention on the issues.
They’re acting as MY conscience (why don’t I camp out with them – afterall, I’ve got the time/opportunity – is it because I just couldn’t be bothered?). I want them still to be protesting as we come up to Christmas and we start hearing about the bonuses being paid out to all and sundry in the banking/stock exchange/CEO world – even though it’s ordinary people like us that are actually paying the ENORMOUS price for their mistakes/mismanagement/greed.
Much has been written over the past few days about the decision of the cathedral authorities (and the City of London Corporation) to begin the legal process to evict the protesters currently camping outside St Paul’s. I have to say that I just cannot comprehend the Church’s stance on this. You will recall that Dr Giles Fraser resigned from his post as canon chancellor last Thursday. It was Canon Fraser who told police to allow the protesters to set up camp outside the cathedral on 15 October after they had been prevented from camping by the London Stock Exchange in privately-owned Paternoster Square near St Paul's. What actual harm are the protestors causing as far as the church is concerned? I’m convinced that they would be able to come to agreement to ensure that the cathedral remains open at all times. Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has spoken out about the greed of bankers, financial markets and the “rich” over recent years on several occasions and this was surely an opportunity for the church to stand alongside the protesters.
There was a very good article (in my view) in The Guardian on 29 October entitled “Occupy London could be protected by Christian ring of prayer”. I think the following extracts sum up the feelings of a lot of us:
“Christian groups that have publicly sided with the protesters include one of the oldest Christian charities, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and the oldest national student organisation, the Student Christian Movement, Christianity Uncut, the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust and the Christian magazine Third Way. In addition, London Catholic Worker, the Society of Sacramental Socialists and Quaker groups have offered their support.
“A statement by the groups said: ‘As Christians, we stand alongside people of all religions who are resisting economic injustice with active nonviolence. The global economic system perpetuates the wealth of the few at the expense of the many. It is based on idolatrous subservience to markets. We cannot worship both God and money.’
“Director of the influential religious think-tank Ekklesia, Jonathan Bartley said: "There are some very unhappy people within the Church of England. The protesters seem to articulate many of the issues that the church has paid lip-service to. Many people are disillusioned with the position St Paul's has adopted. To evict rather than offer sanctuary is contrary to what many people think the church is all about. The whole thing has been a car crash."
A car crash indeed!

we need to talk about kevin

2011-10-29T03:59:00.002Z

Blimey! A stunning, unrelenting film, directed by Lynne Ramsay, based on Lionel Shriver’s novel. You know from the start (and I’m not really giving anything away here as the publicity – plus the book - makes it pretty clear!) that the son goes on a high school killing spree. The film flashes back and forth as the mother (superbly played by Tilda Swinton) fruitlessly tries to find out the reasons why. Some brilliant scenes – including the opening sequence at the tomatina festival in Bunol, Spain! Powerful, horrific and haunting - but completely absorbing. Moira+I walked home from the Watershed somewhat subdued (and thankful we only had daughters?).
After writing this, I’ve just read Peter Bradshaw’s excellent review in The Guardian. This is its final paragraph: “My only worry is that some hapless cinemas might schedule this as one of their special "parent-child" screenings. Bad idea”. Agreed!

You must see this film (and Tilda Swinton for an Oscar, surely?).

sunrise at glastonbury

2011-10-28T11:34:00.001Z

I had an inkling that it was going to be a bright, but misty, morning first thing and, when I awoke and peered through the curtains (it was still very dark!), it gave every impression that that was indeed going to be case. So I jumped in the car and headed for the Somerset Levels (as you do). En route - having established that it WAS going to be a beautiful “bright, but misty, morning” – I decided to drive on to Glastonbury. I’m really pleased I did because it was absolutely stunning. Once I’d climbed up the Tor (just as the sun was rising), there were the most amazing views across the Levels – which were completely shrouded in low cotton-wool clouds. Perhaps not surprisingly, there were just three other people on the Tor…. we just smiled at each other and acknowledged that we’d been privileged to be there.
Simply magical.
Photo: as you will note, one of the other people on the Tor was a “proper” photographer!!
PS: you can see some of my photographs by clicking here (not compulsory!).

chris wood at colston hall

2011-10-27T14:42:00.002Z

Moira+I spent a weekend with lovely friends Bruce+Sara in May. I was looking through their CD collection (as you do!) and Sara suggested that I play an album by Chris Wood. Frankly, I’d never heard of him before, but followed her advice and was hugely impressed (so much so that I later bought the CD – “The Lark Descending”).
One of my “retirement resolutions” was to attend some more concerts and so, when I discovered (a few weeks ago) that CW was coming to the Colston Hall in Bristol, I booked a couple of tickets. Ruth+I duly went along to the concert last Friday and it proved to be a brilliant evening. Just Chris Wood and his guitar. He performed some stunningly beautiful songs for nearly 90 minutes and entertained everyone with his straightforward, gentle chat and humour. I’ve since purchased his “Handmade Life” CD – which is excellent and I thoroughly recommend it.
Nothing beats live performance (and thanks Bruce+Sara)!

dismissive

2011-10-26T17:18:00.002Z

A leaked government report, prepared by a venture capitalist/Conservative Party donor, argues that “unproductive workers” should lose their right to claim unfair dismissal. I think this could set a really dangerous precedent.
Clearly, there ARE cases of slackers (or whatever you might call them) but, as someone who employed people for nearly 30 years, I am well aware of the need to ensure that all employees are “on board” as far as the company/organisation is concerned. In my view, trying to ensure that you employ the “right” people in the first place and, crucially, communication are the key factors. In all my time as an employer, I think we only made one “mistake” – and it wasn’t anything to do with the member of staff being “unproductive”, it was the person’s negative attitude towards his work and his colleagues (I didn’t have to sack him, he left after 3 years, but he was definitely a “bad apple”!).
A number of general observations:
1. How do they propose to define an “unproductive worker”?
2. Good personnel management and “fairness” (working both ways) are crucial.
3. Setting a meaningful probationary period (perhaps up to 12 months?), with regular reviews, must make sense?
4. What about poor employers or line managers?
5. Might this just be another case of the government “leaking” a proposal so it can unveil a watered-down version in a few months’ time which doesn't create the same level of negative reaction?
Unfortunately, I can actually see a time when virtually all employees are on fixed-term contracts – with no guarantee of re-employment and people to apply for their own jobs at the end of the term (as/if appropriate).
I feel this could run and run…

family time

2011-10-22T07:09:00.002Z

Grandparenthood is a beautiful thing!
Moira+I have just returned from a few days in Lancashire with Alice+Dave (and Mikey+Dan+Jemima). Although we’re in the very fortunate position of being able to see our other grandchildren, Iris+Rosa (and their parents!), on a very regular basis, we don’t get to meet up with the Leyland branch anything like as often as we’d like. As a result (often with several months between visits) , we don’t see the day-to-day changes that happen as M+D+J’s respective characters develop. However, such occasional snapshots do highlight their physical changes/growth and magnify their evolving sensitivities/sense of humour/likes/dislikes/passions/skills.
Thankfully, it doesn’t take them long to adjust/remember their long-lost grandparents and so we seem to spend an awful lot of our time together laughing and enjoying each other’s company.
It was also (obviously!) LOVELY to see Alice+Dave again. They are amazing parents. I have say that this parenting stuff is definitely for young people – at least for Moira and me in our “advanced” years, we can sit back and relax after two or three days “intensive” effort/activity…. parents, of course, don’t have such luxuries!
Photo: Mikey, Dan+Jemima.

it’s probably just me, but…..

2011-10-17T13:44:00.002Z

Last Saturday morning, as I tended our market stall at the harbourside, I saw two things that have been haunting me since that time.
The first involved what I took to be three young men and their three sons(?). The men were all in their early 30’s, I suppose, and the boys were perhaps 8-10 years of age. Nothing particularly memorable or disturbing about this, of course, and on the positive side, it’s good for fathers and sons to be spending some time together. The problem, for me, was that each of the men was drinking from a can of beer as they passed me; they were loud-mouthed, fairly aggressive in their manner and definitely appeared to be “strutting their stuff” (as if in warning to anyone who might get in their way). Apart from the fact that it was only mid-morning, nothing particularly usual about this you might think. What I found particularly sad was that the three boys were walking directly behind them and, in many ways, were mirroring their fathers’ actions – they each had the same “cocky” gait; they weren’t just talking to each other (and anyone else who might have been interested), they were shouting. In short, they were emulating their fathers – who, sadly and depressingly, were clearly their role-models.
The second incident involved four girls (each perhaps 12 years of age?). I watched them “play” on the cascading steps – running up and down and splashing each other as they did so. Then I saw one of the girls pick up a discarded, polystyrene food container (still half-full of food) and gleefully throw it at one of her friends who was about 5metres away from her – accompanied by much shrieking and shouting. Food was scattered everywhere (but ALL of it in the waters of the cascading steps). It was disgusting. Not a single onlooker seemed to bat an eyelid. The girls thought it was hilarious and soon moved on (to cause havoc elsewhere?). Although I was some 50metres away, I now regret not running along the harbourside myself and confronting the girl in question.
What is to become of us (and them)?

who do you still think you are?

2011-10-13T06:56:00.002Z

Apologies, but I’ve been having a further look at my family history – so this is probably only going to be of interest(?) to family members. Thus far, however, I’ve failed to unearth any fresh insights since I last explored things in 2006. I’ve been looking through records (ie. simply looking at details of my father, grandfather, great-grandfather – not their brothers/sisters etc) and it all appears to be incredibly dull by comparison with the revelations on the BBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” programme!
In the last 225 years, tracing the family tree back six generations to the birth of my great-great-great-great-grandfather Robert, our family “seat” has moved less than 50 miles!
Robert Broadway 1786-1844 (cabinet maker): born Radway, Warwickshire; died: Stratford-on-Avon.
John 1814-89 (cabinet maker): b. Banbury; d. Warwickshire.
Frederick 1840-75 (brass worker/cabinet maker): b. Leamington; d: Birmingham.
Frederick 1864-1943 (brass dresser): b. Birmingham; d. Birmingham.
Frederick 1888-1964 (jewelry worker): b. Birmingham; d. Birmingham.
Ronald 1921-1992 (printer/compositor): b. Birmingham; d. Birmingham.
Steven 1949- (architect): b. Birmingham.

On my father’s mother’s side of the family (and following the father-grandfather line etc again), there is a pretty similar picture:
Joseph Flavell 1772-1861 (miner): b. Staffordshire; d. Staffordshire.
William 1795-1856 (cabinet maker): b. Birmingham; d. Warwickshire.
William 1828-1892 (engine fitter): b. Birmingham; d. Birmingham.
Walter 1857-1914 (steam engine fitter): b. Birmingham; d. Birmingham(?).
Rose Flavell 1888-1974 (my grandmother): b. Aston, Birmingham; d. Birmingham.

On my mother’s side, it’s somewhat more difficult. Her grandfather, Albert Walker, appears on the 1901 census in Birmingham – along with his wife Helen and sons Albert 6, Howard 5, Frank (my grandfather) 4 and Joseph 4months… but there’s no sign of any of them on the 1911 census under the “Walker” name. There’s been some family speculation about a name-change from Witcomb or Wickens (when Frank died in 1984, his daughter’s Edna and Mary (my mother) were going through his pockets and found a paper stating he had changed his name from Wickens to Walker!!) and that Albert was a violent alcoholic (according to Frank’s daughter Edna) and ended up living in a hostel. There’s also speculation that the family changed its name after Frank’s father had committed a murder (or jumped ship?). Certainly, we have a certified copy of his birth certificate "for the purpose of employment" dated 1911, signed for by his mother “Helen Witcomb” - referring to his father “Albert Witcomb” as being a brass metal annulater(?)/ journeyman.
The 1911 on-line census is sadly lacking in detail (eg. it fails to list the names of all the people in the household) which makes things doubly hard.
Sadly, thus far, I haven’t been able to come up with anything concrete on the matter (if only the BBC would provide me with some direct assistance!).
With virtually no information as far as my mother’s father’s side, it’s been a little more straightforward as far as my mother’s mother’s side is concerned:
Thomas Bridgens 1806-47 (glass maker): b. Worcestershire; d. Stourbridge, Worcestershire.
William 1826-1909 (glass blower): b. Kingswinford; Staffordshire; d. Shropshire.
Joseph 1862-1917(iron peddler worker): b. Stourbridge, Worcestershire; d. West Bromwich, Staffordshire.
Ada Bridgens 1897-1986 (my grandmother): b. Handsworth, Staffordshire; d. Birmingham.
Given that my ancestors have remained firmed entrenched within a very small geographical area over the past (nearly) quarter of a millennium, I feel somewhat guilty that I’ve broken the family mould and “emigrated” to Bristol!
So, no mariners, no authors, no artists, no politicians, no leading industrialists, no royalty - but it was good to see that we had a late 18th century miner in Joseph Flavell! Just a good(?), straightforward(?), boring(?) working class family.

september-october books

2011-10-09T16:22:00.002Z

Latest books:
Not Dead Yet (Julia Neuberger): This is essentially a manifesto for old age. I bought it (cheap!) to coincide with my retirement. Initially, it made me feel guilty about retiring “early”, but it also contains some important insights into old age and the need to challenge political thinking on the subject. Thought-provoking and challenging (perhaps I’ll become a political campaigner?!).
Over The Top (Martin Marix Evans): The book provides some interesting background to key battles of the First World War. I was particularly keen to learn more about some of the early battles in 1914-16 that involved my grandfather (eg. La Bassee, Aisne, Le Cateau, Ypres and the Somme). Predictably dry, but informative.
Return To Paris (Colette Rossant): I bought this, together with a batch of other cheap books, on the basis that we were ourselves were just about to “return to Paris”. It’s a coming-of-age biography about the author’s life in post-WW2 Paris. Despite being littered with food recipes (don’t read if you’re hungry!), I found it a surprisingly good read and an ideal holiday book.
AA Gill Is Away (AA Gill): Somewhat pathetically, perhaps, I hadn’t really read any of Gill’s articles/books (amongst other things, he’s the restaurant reviewer/television critic for the Sunday Times). This is essentially a travel book - again bought to coincide with our time in France. His writing was a revelation for me. He has a brilliant writing style – punchy, humorous and intelligent (and, on occasions, somewhat maddening!). I really enjoyed this book and will definitely tracking down other stuff by him from now on.
Leviathan (Paul Auster): I think Auster is a fascinating writer. This is a strange and complicated book about two writers who become close friends and it employs typical Auster themes: the connection between freedom and chaos, isolation and the complexity of interpersonal relationships. Ultimately, this novel seems to be about the desire to discard an identity and begin anew. Although I felt it was ridiculously contrived at times, I found it a compelling read.

golfing at celtic manor

2011-10-06T16:58:00.002Z

Have just returned from Wales (well, across the Severn Bridge from Newport!) after a couple of days’ golf with great mates Steve, Pete and Bob. We’d found a very good “deal” which provided two rounds of golf at two of their championship courses – Montgomerie and Roman Road (unfortunately, NOT the Ryder Cup course) - plus an overnight stay in their 5-star hotel for £103 each.
The “youngsters” (Steve and me) took on the “oldies” (Pete and Bob) in a 36 hole challenge match. After leading overnight by three holes, we ended up “thrashing” them 4 up and 3 to play. Actually, that’s not quite accurate. Steve more or less “thrashed” them on his own. I really didn’t play well at all – which probably reflected that I’d only played one round of golf (in April) since Southern Ireland Golf Tour last October! Beautiful courses (especially the Montgomerie) and excellent hotel - despite its awful external appearance (especially when viewed from the M4!). We were also pretty lucky with the weather – very windy both days (gusting 40-50mph at times?); showery yesterday, but mainly bright sunshine today.
Lots of laughs and great banter (of course!).
Photo: Steve, me, Pete and Bob by the first tee on the Montgomerie course.

why, oh why, do I love Paris?....

2011-10-03T08:23:00.002Z

Moira+I had been to Paris a number of times before, but the last time was TWELVE years ago - which seemed a little scary when we realised. We decided to spend three/four days there to round off our boating trip and travelled into Paris on the train, having said our fond farewells to Chris+Lal in Montbard. We found our way to our hotel in Montmartre without any problems (apart from me getting my luggage stuck in the doors of the underground train TWICE within a matter of seconds – much to the considerable amusement/irritation of the other passengers!).
Stayed at the Best Western Hotel in Boulevard Barbes - about 10 minute walk from Sacre Coeur - in what is described as the “lively Montmartre district” (the area certainly had an “edgy” feel to it, especially at night, but we didn’t have any problems). Having dumped our luggage, we walked up to Sacre Coeur to look out across the city. Both the view and the church are stunning beautiful, but I’m afraid it was depressingly (and predictably) FULL of tourists and the cafes and streets felt as if they’d be “Disneyfied”. We sought refuge in the Montmartre Museum (expensive for what it was but, thankfully, lacking in hoards of people!). Had an excellent meal in the evening at La Mandiciotte restaurant in Rue Lepic.
The following (gloriously sunny) day, we caught the Metro to the Eiffel Tour and walked along the banks of the Seine to Notre Dame and then on to the Pompidou Centre. Really lovely walking through Jardin des Tuileries (where we stopped for lunch) and very impressed by Musee de L’Orangerie (Monet’s wonderful “Water Lilies”, plus lots of other beautiful pieces by Chagal, Picasso, Modigliani etc). The last time we’d been in Paris, the Pompidou Centre had been closed and so we were determined to see it this time. Initial impressions weren’t very positive – it looked rather drab (and difficult to keep clean!) and the ground floor entrance area left a lot to be desired. However, the “square” to the west side was full of people, relaxing, and the upper gallery spaces were excellent (with a wealth of good-quality, contemporary art); city views from the top floor terraces were fantastic. Enjoyed another evening meal in another restaurant in Rue Lepic (“Les Trois Coups”).
Sunday was another beautiful sunny day and we caught the Metro south of the river to visit the Musee National du Moyen Age (at Alan+Gareth’s suggestion) – housed in C15th former L'Hotel des Abbes de Cluny. Absolutely beautiful building and some wonderful artefacts (including six charming “Lady with the Unicorn” tapestries). Coffee in Place du Pantheon, followed by simple sandwich lunch, before walking to Place des Vosges (1605-12, classical square) – a rather grander version of Queens Square, Bristol! Sat in the shade of an avenue of trees and read for a while. Returned to the hotel via Bastille – where there was some form of “reclaim the streets” demonstration by hundreds of cyclists (much to the “amusement” of other road-users!). Another evening meal in yet another lovely restaurant in Rue Lepic (“Des Si and Des Mets” – apparently, the first restaurant entirely gluten free in France!).
Final morning spent having coffee in Place Des Abbesses and, finally (we failed on day two!), finding our way into the amazing Cimetiere de Montmartre – a quiet sanctuary set under a raised roadway, packed with family vaults (many looking more like sentry boxes to me!). Arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport in plenty of time – only for our flight to be delayed by nearly three hours (technical fault resulting in them having to swap planes).
The only real “blip” to what, for us, had been a magical return to France.
Photo: montage of Paris images.
PS: As a lover of the “Amelie”, I regret to say that I failed to have a coffee in the café featured in the film (Café les Deux Moulins)!
PPS: you can see more Paris pics by clicking here.

fantastic four go boating in france

2011-10-02T07:20:00.002Z

Moira+ I don’t normally do boats. Neither of us are natural boat people but, when our lovely, generous friends Chris+Lal invited us to spend a week with them on the rivers/canals of Burgundy, we just jumped at the opportunity (I think what clinched it was when Chris asked me if I could tie a bowline knot and I explained that, when I was in the scouts - 50 years ago! - I had learnt how to tie one one-handed.... possibly suspended from a cliff, lock or some such scenario(?). Fortunately, my “skills” were never properly challenged!).
It proved to be a really special week. The weather and the scenery were simply beautiful (and, of course, the company was first class!). There’s something rather lovely and relaxing about motoring down rivers and canals at a stately 6-7km/hour, passing through locks every one or two kilometres, reading in the sunshine, stopping in some stunning locations…. oh, and eating and drinking very well!
Chris+Lal are part-owners of an impressive 50ft long dutch barge – with lounge, eating area and two cabins (each with their own en-suite wc and shower facilities!). The boat was moored in the beautiful town of Auxerre (an area of France neither Moira nor I knew at all), with the cathedral and abbey dramatically dominating the River Yonne frontage. We spent the first evening exploring the town (and finding an excellent restaurant) and the following morning visiting local vineyards (we had our arms twisted, honest!). We then set off up-river as far as Migennes before joining the Burgundy Canal. The following five days saw us reach our destination of Montbard – largely in beautiful sunshine - stopping at St Florentin, Tonnerre, Tanlay and Ravieres along the way (amongst other places). I did scribble out a “log” of our adventures but, to avoid making you feel too envious, won’t bore you with all the details here….
Among the highlights for me were the following:
1. The beauty of Auxerre.
2. The entertaining vineyard proprietor (and successful salesman!).
3. Being sang to by lovely, friendly fellow-boaters at St Florentin (they proved to be 16 French choral singers “on tour”).
4. The STUNNING chateau at Tanlay.
5. The starry, starry sky at Argentenay.
6. The beautiful misty morning at Argentenay.
7. The amazing sunset/red cloudy sky near Ravieres.
8. Gathering loads of walnuts from the boat (from an overhanging tree).
9. Hate to admit this, but I actually enjoyed listening to Chris’s i-pod music (with one or two key exceptions)!
10. Chris+Lal’s generosity (and the comfort that at least THEY knew what they were doing as far as the boating was concerned!).
Photo: Chris, Moira and Lal on board Dorney (you can see other photographs by clicking here).
PS: I think it’s only right that I also point out the following:
a) I did NOT fall into the water once.
b) I did NOT drop my camera over the side.
c) There were a NUMBER of occasions (no doubt, much to the admiration of the lock-keepers?) where I nonchalantly lassoed lockside capstans as we entered locks.
d) There were a NUMBER of occasions (no doubt, much to the amusement of the lock-keepers) where I pathetically FAILED to lasso lockside capstans as we entered locks.
e) I was NOT made to walk the plank (although this was threatened by the skipper on one occasion).
f) I am REALLY good at thanking lock-keepers in the following manner: “merci beaucoup madam/monsieur…. au revoir” (I’m pretty sure they were REALLY impressed by this).
g) I am REALLY good at cycling to boulangeries first thing in the morning and smiling/shrugging (in a rustic gallic way, you understand) and asking for/pointing at the loaves and pastries.

cricket, lovely cricket

2011-09-15T07:00:00.002Z

Spent an excellent day at Taunton yesterday, with Chris, Bron and Roger, watching Somerset play Lancashire in the final County Championship match of the season. Travel was all very straightforward and relatively cheap - with Chris+I catching the train and then ambling the 5 minute walk from the station to the ground. After some pretty wild weather over the past few days, we were incredibly fortunate to have bright blue skies for most of the day.
All very civilised and thoroughly enjoyable (and quintessentially English!) – there’s something incredibly reassuring about watching an old-fashioned, four-day game of cricket. It’s clearly how an awful lot of retired people spend their summer days and, frankly, I think it has much to commend it!
Photo: “the slips go down as the quick bowler races in….”
PS: the day finished with Somerset just 5 runs ahead of Lancashire and with 5 wickets down (with one day left and Lancs’s second innings still to come)…. and facing rather humiliating defeat.

9/11…. ten years on

2011-09-11T05:54:00.002Z

Everyone can remember that day ten years ago…. For me, I was in my office and Jan, one of our architectural staff, had picked up some incredible footage on the internet of a plane hitting one of the twin towers in New York. We all watched in total disbelief – each of us speculating as to what must have happened…. a technical malfunction? pilot error?.... nothing seemed to make sense. Then the second plane hit the other tower and, after various “OMG” exclamations etc, we all went VERY quiet. It seemed clear that this was some sort of deliberate, planned attack. Like many people, I suspect, we didn’t get any work done in the office for the rest of the afternoon…. we kept on checking updates via the internet. I remember getting home and simply staring at the television for hours on end; eventually going to bed but continuing to listen to updates via the World Service.
Completely sickening.
Just over three weeks later, Ken, Steve and I were in New York – as part of our pre-arranged (amazing) golf tour of New York State (Steve+I were in the air as US/UK air strikes took place in Afghanistan). Ken, who had arrived in NYC on business a couple of days earlier, had been brought up in New York; as a kid, he’d watched the twin towers being built. We all knew that our relatively limited time in the NYC would be very harrowing, particularly for Ken. Understandably, we weren’t allowed to get close to the twin towers site (thank goodness… and I only have a few non-digital photos, so I can’t show post them here), but these are some of my key memories of that time:
a) There were stars+stripes EVERYWHERE.
b) Security was massive!
c) Groups of people would be standing and applauding every truck (demolition/construction/fire) that entered the twin tower “zone”.
d) When people knew that Steve+I were British, they were effusive in their praise for Tony Blair (who they clearly felt would make a much better US president than Bush) – for what they saw as his powerful and appropriate words in response to the attack.
e) We were able to eat in one of the best restaurants in Greenwich Village (normally we would have had to have booked weeks in advance) and were welcomed with open arms – by and large, it seemed that people were afraid to venture out of their homes.
f) We took a boat ride on the Hudson river and simply stared at the “void” in the skyline that WAS the World Trade Centre and the ongoing stream of smoke and steam that continued to rise from the site.
g) Ken gave a memorable sermon at St Mary’s church, Thame within a matter of days of 9/11 (I’ve tried to track down a link to a tape but, thus far, without success – Ken: any suggestions?).
I returned to New York five years ago with Ken (plus Moira, Debby, Gail and Ian) and, thanks to his generosity, we stayed in a beautiful hotel in downtown Manhattan (as you do!) - only some 200m or so from the World Trade Centre site itself. I still found it very difficult to take in the full extent of what had happened on 9/11, but going to St Paul’s Chapel (located immediately alongside the site and which, amazingly, survived intact) brought it all into focus. This link gives some idea of what went on there.
My own (badly) patched-together photograph of the World Trade Centre site shown here (taken in 2006) sadly fails to convey the extent of the devastation that took place in September 2001 but, for me, it provides a poignant reminder of that fateful day.
I just hope and pray that there aren’t any major incidents to mark today’s tenth anniversary.

august-september books

2011-09-10T07:04:00.002Z

More books:
The Sea (John Banville): This is our book group’s next book; it’s written in the form of a reflective journal of the storyteller who is trying to come to terms with his wife’s recent death and events from his childhood. It has a strange, almost haunting quality as it contemplates matters of memory and experiences. The story constantly fluctuates between recent events and those that happened in his childhood you can almost sense the writer putting down the words on paper in longhand as things entered his head as. I very much enjoyed the book (although I did find it a little surprising that it had been good enough to have won the 2005 Man Booker Prize).
Team of Rivals (Doris Kearns Goodwin): A truly stunning book about the “political genius” of Abraham Lincoln and how he appointed his fiercest (and better-known) rivals to key cabinet positions. It’s a VERY lengthy, but very engaging and highly-readable, historical narrative which provides a fascinating insight into Lincoln’s presidential election in 1860, political leadership and the American Civil War. It took ten years to write and its 120 pages(!) of notes/references illustrate the author’s extensive research. I particularly liked the description of what was probably the first “proper” presidential debate (numbering seven in all) – where the ”first contestant spoke for an hour, following by a one-and-a-half hour response, after which the man who had gone first would deliver a half-hour rebuttal” in front of “huge” crowds (and with newspaper stenographers working diligently to take down every word!). The day of the “sound bite” had yet to be invented!! My best book of the year without a shadow of doubt – and is the probably one of the best I’ve EVER read. Simply brilliant.
A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway): I’m rather embarrassed to admit that this is the first Hemingway book I’ve ever read (at least, I think that’s the case). It’s a semi-autobiographical novel set in the First World War; the principal character is an American ambulance driver during the Italian campaigns. It contrasts personal tragedy against the impersonal cynicism and futility of war. A powerful book – and I’ll certainly endeavour to read more Hemingway over the coming months and years.
Salvation on the Small Screen? (Nadia Bolz-Weber): The prospect of me reading a book on American Christian television programmes is frankly ludicrous. However, after listening to the author at Greenbelt a couple of times (and I’d previously read her entertaining blog from time to time), I decided that her “take” on watching 24 hours of TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) would, at the very least, be entertaining. It WAS and, fortunately, Nadia simply confirmed all my prejudices!
The Accidental Pilgrim (Maggi Dawn): (Two "religious" books: do you get the impression we might have been to Greenbelt?!). This is a relatively short book about rediscovering what it might mean to be a pilgrim in our fast-moving 21st century. Initially, I have to admit that I felt it was somewhat lightweight in nature but, ultimately, was rather charmed by what she had to say.

friday at the “library”

2011-09-09T18:29:00.001Z

This photograph was taken in the Warwick Arms pub, Clutton at 4.30pm this afternoon. It shows a group of (lovely) Bristol-based teachers who just couldn’t wait to celebrate the start of the weekend (it was, afterall, the end of the first full week of term!). E-mails will have previously been circulated at school arranging to meet at the “library” after school… which, obviously, was mere code for the “pub”! We’d set up this “start-to-the-weekend” facility about a year ago (an extension to the Bristol Self-Help Group!) and it has proved to be a popular “chill time” for getting frustrations off your chest and for comparing highlights of the week.
This happens every Friday and I’d decided to use my bus pass to join them in Clutton today – on the basis that “someone” would give me a lift home (which Andy did!).
It was great to see former colleagues again and good to know that the school was surviving without me….
Photo (left to right): Ben (legs only, sorry!), Emma, Laura, Amy, Iain, Tom, Newby1(?), Charlotte, Newby2, Andy (legs only, sorry!), Helen and Liz (legs only, sorry!).
Apologies for the poor picture (I didn’t have my glasses!).

dreaming in stratford

2011-09-08T14:14:00.002Z

Moira+I went to Stratford yesterday to see the RSC’s latest version of “Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the newly transformed Royal Shakespeare Theatre (Felix was playing “Snug” – and was very funny; he’s also understudying for “Bottom” and has so far had to play that part three times… which must feel very scary!). It’s definitely my favourite Shakespeare play and last night’s performance (despite a rather strange beginning?) was absolutely magical (literally).
Great friends from Thame (Ros+Eric and Christine+Bob) joined us and it was really good meeting up for lunch at Lambs beforehand – before going on an excellent theatre tour.
A really lovely day.
Photo: Moira, Christine, Bob, Ros+Eric outside the RSC.
PS: One rather strange thing: the start of the performance was delayed 5 minutes because a school group was late arriving (don’t know the reason), which was a little irritating, but… then Bob+I noticed that the group didn’t return to their seats after the interval! What on earth was going on? Felix is going to investigate….

goodbye gorillas!

2011-09-07T05:23:00.001Z

Today is the final day of Bristol’s wonderful “wow! gorillas” public art event (artists have decorated 61 life-size gorillas, sponsored by local businesses which have been placed around the city for the last 10 weeks). I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it (even though I haven’t tracked down all the gorillas) and it’s been brilliant to see the reactions from young children throughout that period - Iris and Rosa have thoroughly enjoyed discovering them.
Just brilliant… what’s going to be next?

Photo: a montage of just fifteen random gorillas (my two favourites are pirate gorilla (top row, middle) and Brunel gorilla (middle row, middle).

the hedgehog

2011-09-06T05:54:00.002Z

I have to admit that I had some reservations about seeing this film. It’s “loosely” based on one of my favourite books: “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” by Muriel Barbery and, as always on such occasions, I didn’t want the film to spoil the book. The book is beautifully written from the perspective of two intelligent individuals (the rather grumpy concierge of an apartment building and the precocious eleven year-old daughter, Paloma, of a privileged family who occupy one of the apartments) and one of its endearing qualities is its graceful writing style. For me, Mona Achache’s film (with Josiane Balasko and Togo Igawa very well cast as the concierge and the new, wealthy Japanese tenant) doesn’t capture the magic (or literary quality) of the book – I found Paloma’s film-making, in lieu of her journal-writing in the book, somewhat redundant. It was also sad (but, I suppose, inevitable) that the film missed out so much of the early part of the book – which conveyed important background to her character and her daily routine. However, I did feel that the film very successfully conveyed Paloma’s love of Japanese art and culture.
Like the book, I found the film uplifting, poignant, encouraging and optimistic. It certainly wasn’t one of the best films I’ve ever seen but, nevertheless, it was charming and watchable.

officer class?

2011-09-03T06:41:00.002Z

Not sure if I’m amused (in a laughing maniacally kind of way) or appalled by the prospect of a new “free school” in Manchester which is due to be staffed entirely by former soldiers. It’s intended that the school (with army captain Affan Burki as headteacher) would offer students “ambitious academic goals, outdoor activities and a demonstration of ‘martial values’”. This coincides with an announcement from Mike Gove that ministers are to scrap a requirement for teachers to record instances when they use physical force, as a part of a wider move to “restore adult authority” in the wake of the recent riots. Tom Burkard (a research fellow at the Centre of Policy Studies who is on the steering committee for the planned Manchester school) – and someone who, no doubt(?), has years of experience at the coalface of education, has helpfully explained that “all the old remedies for poverty, under-achievement and alienation have been tested to destruction. The consequences were starkly before us on the streets of Tottenham and Croydon. But before we put troops on the streets, we should consider putting them in our schools”.
I think they’ve finally lost the plot….

PS: All this just happens to be emerging as the Ministry of Defence gave details of its redundancy programme and coincides with plans by the government to encourage former members of the armed forces to take up teaching, by providing sponsorship and a fast-tracked undergraduate route.

“proper” retirement begins here….

2011-09-01T13:04:00.002Z

It seemed very strange waking up today knowing that my school friends were all starting their new academic year. Today, perhaps for the first time, the reality of retirement finally registered. Feeling the need to mark the occasion, Moira+I went for a coffee at no.1 Harbourside Café (as I often have over recent weeks) and sat outside in beautiful, bright sunshine…. JUST because retirement means we CAN do such things!
Photo: no.1 Harbourside Café (taken on another occasion).
PS: Received a text message from lovely teacher friend Helen first thing this morning indicating the roadworks/traffic lights just down the road from school were STILL in operation…. work had started on 14 February (we know this because it was very close to the heart of many Bristol-based members of staff who had been monitoring its painful “progress”) and was due to take six weeks to complete. After two months, another (replacement) sign appeared saying that the work would be finished by August…. but the job is obviously still ongoing. With the project currently running 23 weeks behind the original completion date (remember, they reckoned it was only going to take them 6 weeks in TOTAL!), you just get the feeling that they might have underestimated the scope (and COST!) of the job. Genius.

greenbelt 2011

2011-08-30T17:44:00.002Z

Moira+I spent the long Bank Holiday weekend having a very good time again at Greenbelt…. once again, enjoying meeting up with lots and lots of very good friends. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that we again gave camping a miss (I blame Moira) and stayed at the local Premier Inn! We got to see/hear lots of brilliant stuff but, inevitably, probably also missed lots of other magical stuff – there’s a VERY full programme and there are always a number of things you’d like to go to that just happen to coincide with other “must see” things. Difficult to sum everything up, but:
SOME OF THE REALLY POSITIVE STUFF:
The Unthanks were absolutely brilliant; also really enjoyed “Show of Hands” (of course!), Kate Rusby, Iain Archer and Martyn Joseph.
Some surprise bonuses (music): Luke Jackson, Edwina Hayes and Lobelia in the Performance Cafe.
Loved Ian Adams’s stuff (especially the poetry) – despite the tiny “venue”!
Loved meeting up with all our friends, but especially Sue, Si, Ed and Jonah (we need to see them more often!).
Was impressed by Nadia Bolz-Weber and Rob Bell (and was somewhat taken aback by the length of his book-signing queue – just 60metres – after one of his talks).
“Where The Wild Things Are” print-making and costume-making was amazing.
Loved the “Sound of Conversations” (Pecha Kucha).
I’m NOT a knitter(!), but was amazed by the number of people (of all ages) who were involved in “Woolly Thinking”.
The Methodist Art Collection included some stunning pieces.
Faisal Islam (Channel 4 News finance guru) was SO impressive!
SOME OF THE SAD STUFF:
Really missed Gail not being there (she’s been suffering from labyrinthitis over recent days).
Feel really bad that I missed Billy Bragg perform on Friday night (we’d already got pretty wet but, apparently, he was superb)(went to see him speak the following morning – good, but not quite the same thing!).
Spent far too much money (on food, books and CDs)!
Anyway, it was another great festival!
Photo montague (left to right from top row down): Billy Bragg, Kate Rusby, Woolly Thinking, Lobelia, Ian Adams, Simon Mayo, Simon Taylor+Paul Roberts, Iain Archer, Rob Bell, Steve Knightley (Show of Hands), Faisal Islam, Mainstage, Rachel Unthanks, Nadia Bolz-Weber and a Citroen catering wagon!

‘appy burfdy jim lad…. and other stuff

2011-08-22T07:39:00.002Z

Moira+I met up with Hannah+Felix in Queen Square sunshine yesterday for a birthday mini-picnic (it was Hannah’s birthday on Saturday) and game of boules (which birthday girl duly won!)…. really lovely. This was followed by an evening at the Old Vic Theatre to see “Treasure Island” - directed by the excellent Sally Cookson (of Ali Baba fame) and including wonderful musical direction/composition from Benji Bower (who was also involved in Ali Baba). The production is set in a specially designed open air theatre directly in front of the theatre building itself (and utilising part of its façade) and was just BRILLIANT!
A really wonderful evening of live theatre at its very best.
PS: it only runs until Friday 26 August so, if you live near Bristol, I thoroughly recommend that you get yourself a ticket before it’s too late.
Photo: Moira, Felix+Hannah doing their stuff on the boules “court”!

walking along the beach at sunrise (and lens issues!)….

2011-08-19T08:19:00.002Z

I just KNEW it was going to be a beautiful, bright sunny morning today (albeit with a little dawn mistiness) and was determined to get up early and head for Berrow beach (35 minute drive away) before dawn. I left the house around 5am and drove down the empty motorway, parked by St Mary’s church and walked across the golf course to the beach. It really was a beautiful morning – clear skies, but VERY cold! I ambled along the deserted beach, past the wreck of SS Nornen (which ran aground in 1897) to the groins just as the sun was rising (at about 6am)… then back home for some espresso and a bacon sandwich.
It beats working!

Photo: groins on Berrow beach.
PS: very frustratingly, just as I was about to take some photograph of the sunrise, my camera lens “got stuck” – resulting in the camera automatically shutting down…. this happened repeatedly and meant that I didn’t actually get ANY sunrise images! I’ve just checked on Google(!) and it seems that this is a bit of a problem with Canon cameras (I’ve very occasionally experienced it before – usually in very cold conditions?)…. various suggestions, one of which was: “remove the batteries from the camera, wait for a couple of minutes, then put them back in and turn the camera on”. Brilliant!!

in search of gorillas (and wellingtons)....

2011-08-16T17:09:00.002Z

Bristol Zoo Gardens celebrates its 175th anniversary this year and they’ve come up with a very popular public art event to mark the occasion called: “Wow! Gorillas”. Artists have decorated 61 life-size gorillas, sponsored by local businesses which have been placed around the city for 10 weeks until 7 September. Children, including Iris+Rosa, have really been enjoying discovering the gorillas (“Gorilla!” is eagle-eyed Rosa’s battle cry whenever she spots one!).
Iris+Rosa+I had a great day yesterday gorilla hunting in darkest Clifton – with our main aim being to see the special “Brunel Gorilla” (or “Gorizambard” as he is now called!) at the end of the suspension bridge. Iris was brilliant and walked the entire way (including the steep trudge up to the bridge itself)(Rosa fell asleep for this section!) from start to finish.
As well as gorilla-spotting, the day included a picnic, a trip to the Museum (to see the stuffed gorilla!), drinks at no.1 Harbourside Café and a ferry ride from the Watershed to “The Cottage”.
Great fun… and pretty exhausting for all concerned!
Photo: Gorizambard+Rosa+Iris plus drinks in the café.
PS: You might notice in the photograph that Rosa is only wearing one wellington boot (wellingtons are her footwear of choice!). That’s because the other one had dropped off when she’d been asleep – as I was pushing her in the buggy. As you can imagine, this was serious stuff… but we came up with a plan at the end of our adventures to re-trace the early part of our walk. I put the surviving wellington in the buggy for safekeeping (for some reason, Rosa refused to hop) and off we went. Amazingly, we DID find it! The celebrations were VERY enthusiastic… but also, sadly, somewhat short-lived because “silly granddad”(!) obviously hadn’t secured the other wellington adequately in the buggy basket and, ridiculously, it meant I had managed to lose wellingtons on two separate occasions. Granddad has taken a lot of “stick” (from Iris) for being so pathetic and Rosa is currently receiving counselling….
In the meantime, if you see a small black wellington with blue trimmings (see pic), can you please let Granddad know (there could be a reward!).

the worst salesman in the world… just got a little bit better

2011-08-14T05:25:00.002Z

Thanks to the encouragement of my wonderful family (and good friend Emma!), my voice coach, my shopping psychologist and pure luck, my second attempt at the Harbourside Market went much better yesterday. Other “virgin” stallholders were even asking ME questions, so suddenly I felt like an old hand! It could also have something to do with the fact that the stallholder two stalls away had a dog that spent the entire day barking at customers (I was very patient and didn’t once tell her to get her dog “seen to”!) – with the result that potential shoppers were seeking solace at the number40 stall.
I realise just how unpredictable it all is, but yesterday was a definite improvement on the previous week AND the Harbourside café gave me a special rate for my coffee because they recognised me as a stallholder!
Of course, next week will probably be back to square one….

Photo: I think I also managed to get a better pitch (on the harbour side).

more supermarket stuff...

2011-08-13T05:24:00.002Z

As some of you will be aware, I’ve previously expressed my strong concerns about the big-six supermarkets and the implications for our High Streets (frankly, it may already be too late). Yesterday, lovely friend Lal made reference to this wickedly amusing blog post on the subject following this week’s riots.
Back in May (to his credit?), Cameron commissioned a review into the future of the high street (led by Mary Porta, broadcaster and retail guru). It’s due to report back in October.
In the meantime, Labour has launched a stinging attack on Tesco – calling it an “almighty conglomerate” (no doubt, Asda and Sainsbury’s will support Labour’s stand – just because it’s anti-Tesco!).
Last weekend’s Guardian magazine contained a powerful (and demoralising) article by John Harris. Examples from Stokes Croft (inevitably!), Sheringham, Frome, and Dorridge are cited in demonstrating the power (and effectiveness) of the supermarkets in gaining planning approval – and how they are constantly able to “win” consents due to the lack of funds available for Local Authorities to fight planning appeals (when compared with the supermarkets’ treasure chests) and the supermarkets’ ready ability to agree Section 106 conditions to enable surgeries, libraries and the like to be funded (or land provided)…. patronising blood money to all intents and purposes. The all-too-familiar stories of how Councils end up capitulating (eventually) to pressure by the supermarket fraternity are worrying (as we well know with our recently-approved, massive Sainsbury’s in Bedminster).
Frighteningly, one planning consent doesn’t mean that the other supermarkets simply go away. Oh no. This situation, as outlined in Harris’s article, is pretty typical, I suspect (note: Eorica Mildmay is an anti-supermarket campaigner from Norfolk): “Back in Sheringham, I mention the campaign in Frome, but Mildmay is not in the mood to make me feel better. ‘These people will not take no for an answer,’ she says. Her face darkens. ‘We have it on good authority that since Tesco won, there's a possibility of Asda and Waitrose coming to Holt. There might be a Lidl in Cromer. People who read the trade magazines were watching us. The worry is that now we've got zapped, it'll become a free-for-all. And heaven help us."
Just a look at the following figures will surely convince you that “things just aren’t right” when it comes to supermarkets. Again, from Harris’s article:
“There are just over 8,000 supermarkets in the UK, and they account for 97% of total grocery sales. Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons take 76% of that market. Their share of non-food retailing currently stands at 14%, a figure up by 75% since 2003. In the two years up to November 2010, planning permission was granted to 480 stores run by the Big Four, which works out at one supermarket every other day. Since 2008, they have accounted for 87% of the retail floor space given planning permission. In May, Channel 4 News reported that by 2014 retail space operated by the Big Four was set to increase by 20%: as its report put it, ‘an expansion drive on a scale never seen before’….
“Once planning permission has been granted and another supermarket goes up, the inevitable happens: local traders suffer, and many go out of business – whether the supermarket is out of town or, in line with modern trends, closer to the centre. I have a stack of personal testimony that makes this point, but the words I usually reach for are those of Gerard Jones, the owner of a window blinds and dry-cleaning business in Ystrad Mynach, south Wales, who has watched as Tesco has done its worst on a site 400 yards from his town centre. ‘Tesco have muscled in and destroyed our community as we know it,’ he told a local planning hearing in late 2010. ‘Every venture we have tried in the town centre has been shanghaied by this organisation. Footfall has fallen and nobody can truthfully say Tesco has brought shoppers into the town centre. It has taken 100 years to build our community. It doesn't take long to throw that all away.’”
The Tory Government, who clearly sees any criticism of its retail policies as a threat to “healthy competition”, has responded with: "Town centre planning policy is not pro- or anti-supermarkets. Planning cannot seek to restrict lawful competition between retailers; in fact, planning policy is blind to whether the operator of a retail proposal is a supermarket or an independent."
Well, actually, I think there's a very strong case to say it SHOULD!

sarah's key

2011-08-12T05:20:00.002Z

If a film features Kristin Scott Thomas then you (well, ok, me!) just know that it’ll be worth seeing. The retired/school-university holiday crew (Gareth, Iona, Eilidh, Moira+me) went to the Watershed yesterday afternoon to see Gilles Paquet-Brenner’s latest film. It’s based on Taliana de Rosnay’s novel about a shocking, little-known moment of French history. It’s partly set in Paris in 1942 and tells the story of when Jews were being rounded up at the Nazis' bidding, herded into a sports centre before being sent on to the death camps. The “Sarah” from the film’s title is a 10-year old who escapes from one of the death camps; KST plays a journalist researching the story. It’s an impressive, powerful film – slightly spoilt, in my view, by the somewhat over-schmaltzy last few minutes.
Certainly worth seeing.
PS: I know this shows my age, but the name of this film reminded me of Sarah Keays (of Cecil Parkinson fame)! Maybe they should have come up with a different name to the film, just to avoid embarrassment to the old Thatcherite faithful?

mindless+beyond understanding: the vicious circle

2011-08-10T12:03:00.002Z

We should fear for society:
• BREAKDOWN OF FAMILY VALUES/LACK OF PARENTAL CONTROL.
• LACK OF MORAL VALUES.
• Complete lack of respect for others and for property.
• Disillusioned teenagers/teenage immaturity.
• Peer pressure.
• Lack of facilities and opportunities.
• Low aspirations/sense of worth.
• Disinterest in education/lack of application.
• No sense of consequences for actions.
• Self-fulfilling outcomes.
• Lack of role models.
• Boredom and a sense of pointlessness.
• Greed in a consumerist society.
• Distain/resentment of police and “authority” in general.
• Power through intimidation.
• Unemployment (or prospect of unemployment).
• BREAKDOWN OF FAMILY VALUES/LACK OF PARENTAL CONTROL.
• LACK OF MORAL VALUES.

What hope for these children’s children?

surely, this can’t be right1?: worth

2011-08-08T05:02:00.005Z

I have a feeling that this blog title might be one that I’ll revisit over the coming months! Please bear with me because I suspect it will take a little time to explain myself….
On Saturday night, I did two rather unusual things (for me). Firstly, I watched some television and, secondly, I stayed up until well past 10.30pm! I hadn’t really intended to do so, but decided to see the start of the Mahler’s Symphony no.2 Prom on BBC2 (my favourite composer) and to see the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela “in action” – I’d heard wonderful things about them after their last Prom performance in 2007. Of course, I ended up watching it to the very end (and became quite emotional in the process!). Their performance was simply mesmerising; absolutely stunning. Although it hardly does justice to the whole piece, you can see/hear the final two minutes or so here. You can also see what the Guardian’s critic made of it by clicking here.
The orchestra, led by its electrifying conductor Gustavo Dudamel, has an average age of just 24. This fantastic orchestra is the flagship of an education system which gives young people the chance to learn an instrument, getting them away from drugs, guns and crime in the barrios. “El Sistema” is a publicly financed voluntary sector music education programme in Venezuela, originally called Social Action for Music; it is a state foundation which watches over the country's 125 youth orchestras and the instrumental training programmes which make them possible. El Sistema has 31 symphony orchestras - but its greatest achievement is the 250,000 children who attend its music schools around the country, 90% of them from poor socio-economic backgrounds. I particularly love its motto: “To Play and to Fight”. For El Sistema’s musicians, this means “undertaking music as a collective experience which also involves individual effort; it entails a relentless pursuit of excellence and, above all, it means persevering until dreams become reality”.
For some reason, I went to bed contrasting this musical experience with the world of football (yes, I know, very strange!).
The orchestra had just played for over 90 minutes. All of its members were stunning musicians in their own right and had rehearsed as a unit to produce a simply magical “team” performance. I don’t know how much they earn for doing this but I don’t imagine it’s mega-money (or anything like it). As just one example, Manchester City FC is a football team awash with several highly-paid “stars”. One of its latest recruits, Sergio Aguero, is a 23 year-old Argentina striker signed recently for £38m. He has a five year contract at a reported weekly wage of £200,000 (that’s just another £52m over the next FIVE years – in other words, an expenditure of just £90million for ONE player!). He will presumably play in most games for 90 minutes; he’s clearly a gifted player technically and he too will have been training with his colleagues in the hope of producing a simply magical individual and “team” performance.
As much as I love sport, I find the contrast of this orchestra and this football player/team worrying in the extreme and just can’t reconcile the massive differences in their respective monetary worth or perceived values. I know people often refer to football as “the beautiful game” but, frankly, after sitting through the orchestra’s sublime performance, I don’t think football – with all its obscene money - comes close by comparison.
Photo: Gustavo Dudamel and Sergio Aguero – contrasting play-makers?
PS: As a complete aside, I’ve just been checking how long it would have taken me to earn the £52million Sergio will be earning over the next FIVE years (taking a conservative view of my old school salary)… the answer is just a LITTLE frightening: 2,849 years – or until the year 4860! I MIGHT not live that long…. Absolutely ridiculous, isn’t it! It's obscene. It's just plain WRONG.

the worst salesman in the world….

2011-08-07T06:35:00.003Z

Day One of our experimental appearance at the Harbourside Market didn’t actually go wonderfully well. I’d decided to have a regular stall during August and September (pitches are free during this time!) and use it as a showcase to sell Ruth’s, Hannah’s and my art work.
In five hours, I sold just ONE item (a £10 print)…. and even that didn’t happen until 5 minutes before the end!
This was the sum TOTAL revenue for the entire day. I didn’t even sell a single card (which I found very hard to comprehend). When Hannah has previously had a stall at the market, I don’t think she’s ever failed to clear £100. Consequently, I’m left feeling a little deflated – especially as I thought that the stuff I was “selling” was pretty good. Some reflections:
1. Clearly, this week’s slump in the world’s stock markets has had an instant devastating adverse effect on the Bristol art market!
2. On the positive side, I did manage to cram the entire stall into the back of our tiny Citroen C2 and managed to erect everything pretty quickly and efficiently.
3. It was lovely to be visited by Stu+Iris+Rosa, Gareth+Alan+Iona+Eilidh, Emma+Liz and Bruce+Gracie during the course of the day (and, of course, Moira – who helped with car parking and general encouragement!).
4. Lots of people said some very nice things about the work I was trying to sell.
5. The weather was pretty good.
6. For the first time in ages, there were plenty of stalls (something to do with the zero charge perhaps?)
7. I couldn’t compete with the Bordeaux Quay bread stall opposite or the cheese stall alongside!
8. The harbourside is a favourite through-route for stag and hen party groups!
9. Next time, I think I’m going to come up with catchy by-line (like that strange greengrocer bloke on East Street?): “come and get ya arty stuff here ladies and gentlemen… you know it makes sense”…. think I’ll need to do a bit better than that (or maybe just a song and a dance?).
10. Clearly, now that the Art connoisseurs of Bristol know about the stall, they’ll roll up in their hundreds next Saturday.
Emma suggested that I needed to ask the question: “What would they do on the Apprentice?”.
I think Sir Alan would just point the finger and say the magic words….
Photo: the art stall BEFORE the crowds came flocking (it looked pretty much like this after they’d been too!) - obviously this doesn't include my happy smiling face behind the counter!

the tree of life… and into the wild

2011-08-05T08:43:00.002Z

Moira+I (+Gareth, Iona+Eilidh) went to the Watershed yesterday to see Malick’s long-awaited latest film. I knew from reactions of other friends who’d seen it that it would be a film to ponder…. and I’m certainly still pondering!
The film opens with a quotation from the book of Job: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" and I think this fittingly set the scene for how Malick wanted us to see the film: perhaps a combination of a prayer, a poem, a family drama and an exploration of humanity, faith and life itself. At times (particularly in sequences at the beginning and end), it felt like watching “2001, A Space Odyssey".
The film follows the story of a mid-western family in the 1950s and, in particular, the life journey of the eldest son: the complicated relationship with his father (played by Brad Pitt)(who saw the survival of the fittest as the key to success in life) and that of his long-suffering mother (whose life encapsulated selflessness and sacrifice)… culminating with him, as a disillusioned adult (on the verge of a break-down?), trying to find answers to the origins and meaning of life. The film wrestles with the following premise: “all of creation can be told in the story of one family and one family fits into the story of all of creation". The theme is telegraphed through the interior thoughts of the mother: “There are two ways in life, the way of nature and the way of grace. You have two choices which to follow.”
The father has some form of redemption in the end as we hear his own inner journey of repentance after one of the sons dies and he loses his job. “I wanted to be loved because I was great. I’m nothing. I dishonoured the glory. I am a foolish man.” Meanwhile, tellingly, the mother ponders, “The only way to be happy is to love. Unless you love, your life will flash by. Do good, wonder, hope.”
It’s a stunningly beautiful film in terms of photographic and musical imagery and one that I will certainly watch again in due course. I got the impression that the 67 year-old Malick was reflecting on his own life – its purpose, its meaning, its regrets and its joys – or, at least, trying to tell us the importance of doing so. No doubt, over the coming days, I’ll continue to ponder aspects of the film… and, maybe, I’ll draw some different conclusions.

INTO THE WILD:
Hannah had recently seen “Into The Wild” and suggested that I might like it (which I did). Strangely (and these coincidences seem to have happened an awful lot recently – perhaps something to do with my own changing lifestyle?), I found that the film had many similarities with “The Tree of Life”.
Sean Penn’s 2007 film (note: Penn just happens to have played the disillusioned adult son in “The Tree of Life”!) is a true story about a bright young college graduate, Christopher McCandless, who abandoned all his possessions and hiked off into the wilderness in search of a radical re-engagement with nature, unsullied by money or the career rat-race. In 1992, at the age of 24, McCandless was found dead in the Alaskan backwoods in an abandoned bus he was using as a rough-and-ready bivouac. His life story and passion for the natural world of North America was reconstructed from his journals. It includes the following quotes – which I think could easily have been included in “The Tree of Life”:
“Happiness is only real when shared”.
“The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences”.

harbourside market

2011-08-04T06:46:00.002Z

We’ve decided to have an art stall at the Harbourside Market, Bristol (next to the Watershed) over the next few Saturdays – 11am until 4pm. It will feature work from Ruth, Hannah and me – but, as I’m the principle stall-minder, it might be worthwhile dropping by just to witness how NOT to run a market stall (eg. trying to keep the rain off the work/retrieving stuff blown away by the wind/smiling inanely at anyone and everyone/charging the wrong prices/talking for the sake of talking/forgetting to note things down in the little black book)…. it would be great to see you.
Beautiful art at affordable prices (how exciting)!

bristol harbour festival 2011

2011-08-01T04:51:00.002Z

I really enjoy the Harbour Festival (and that’s not just because it’s free!). This year’s was the 40th and, once again, it was blessed with fine weather. There’s always an amazing array of events and venues – stretching for over two miles from SS Great Britain to Castle Park – including music, dance, theatre, circus, children’s play area, food market, stalls and, of course, plenty of boats! There were no less than four main music venues plus four fringe venues. Last year, there were over 250,000 visitors and I suspect this year’s numbers will have been very similar.
It shows Bristol at its very best.

july books

2011-07-31T05:58:00.002Z

My latest books:
A Life Like Other People’s (Alan Bennett): Somewhat pathetically, when I first picked this up, I hadn’t realised that the book was taken from Bennett’s “Untold Stories” – which we already had on our shelves (and unread by me)! It’s about his parents’ marriage and the rest of his family – focusing on his mother’s depression and her relationship with her two, rather more dominant, sisters. It’s everything you’d expect from Bennett: honest, beautifully-observed, touching, occasionally waspish and frequently very funny.
A Time of Gifts (Patrick Leigh Fermor): This is our latest Book Group book. I’d never read any of Fermor’s books before this one and was intrigued by the prospect, after having read a couple of his obituaries (he died last month, aged 96, “a man of action and an intellectual” and once described by the BBC as a “cross between James Bond, Indiana Jones and Graham Greene”!). The book is regarded by many as being his finest and “nothing short of a masterpiece” by fellow travel writer/intellect Jan Morris. It recounts the first part of his European trek - with an allowance of no more than a £1 a day - to Constantinople in 1933/4, aged 18 (this book covers his journey as far as Hungary). He undertook the adventure with a book in mind – but, strangely, didn’t publish this first volume until 1977 (I now understand that there are THREE volumes, but that the third has yet to be published)! Although he kept detailed diaries at the time, the work is clearly one of “mature recollection” and crammed full with amazing historical, artistic, musical insights – as well as sights, conversations and drinking experiences. Rather like Jan Morris, the descriptions of his journey are fascinating but, for me, his experiences with the people he met on his trek proved to be the most enjoyable aspect of the book. The language is often very flowery (and somewhat pompous and showy) and, initially for me, rather off-putting. However, I found his style almost quaint by the time I’d finished the book. I’ll definitely read the second volume…. in due course!
WH Auden (poems selected by John Fuller): I read this short book because I’m woefully unversed(!) in “poetic stuff” and feel the need to educate myself in such things. These poems were from 1927-1973 – almost reflecting the Patrick Fermor dates above (pure coincidence)! Although I enjoyed many of Auden’s poems, I really wanted some brief words of explanation to help put them in context. I DID however enjoy his use of language and found it helped to read many of the pieces out loud.
Remind Me Who I Am, Again (Linda Grant): This is Grant’s brave account of her mother’s dementia. It’s a frank, painful (but often very funny) story of the family’s struggles with both the illness and the various health/social services authorities – along with another powerful story of her Jewish ancestry and how information withheld for decades suddenly began to emerge as her mother's condition short-circuited the barriers she had kept up all her life. Moira+I experienced a little of what the Grant family went through with Moira’s father, who had vascular dementia for the last five years of his life. This isn’t the sort of book I would normally pick up but, with my own poor memory, I felt I ought to read it! Actually, I found it absolutely fascinating.
Sahara (Michael Palin): I want to be Michael Palin when I grow up…. Yes, I know this is essentially a coffee table book to accompany the TV series (I bought a hardback copy for £2!), but he does write very well (and amusingly, of course)! One day I’d like to experience a little bit of desert(!) and this book has certainly kept the flame alive, albeit with some reservations (relating to diet, the “runs” and being constantly surrounded by people trying to sell you things!).
PS: I’m now about to embark on one of my “summer projects”: reading the mammoth “Team of Rivals” (Doris Kearns Goodwin)…. it could take a LONG, long, long time!

"if I remember correctly... "

2011-07-29T16:35:00.004Z

I have a pretty poor memory. I THINK that’s always been the case (but perhaps I can’t remember?). When I was being interviewed for the school job six years ago, I was asked if I had any concerns and I replied: "remembering pupils’ names" (and I was largely right!).
I’ve just finished reading two books which highlighted various aspects of memory. The first is essentially a travel book ("A Time of Gifts" by Patrick Leigh Fermor) about the first part of his trek to Constantinople in 1933/4. To pass the time while marching, he recited aloud "a great deal of Shakespeare, several Marlowe speeches, most of Keats's Odes" as well as "the usual pieces of Tennyson, Browning and Coleridge"! I appreciate that times were very different then but, as someone who had severe difficulties remembering a mere SIX lines in a nativity play some 15 years ago (Mary Ayers will have an absolute field day if she reads this!!), Fermor’s feats leave me feeling totally inadequate! The second book ("Remind Me Who I Am, Again" by Linda Grant), written in 1998, is about the author’s account of her mother’s dementia - an illness which I think we all fear. This is an extract towards the end of her book: "Up to the beginning of the twentieth century in Europe and America people who could not read relied on memory... Now the world is full of artificial memory: books, newspapers, films, television programmes, video-tapes, computer memory. The storage capacity of technology is illimitable. It mocks us with all we have forgotten. And we understand too the importance of forgetting lest we go mad with all there is to remember".
I struggle with remembering all sorts of stuff - names, book titles, authors, celebrities, characters from books, foreign languages, jokes, telephone numbers etc etc (the list is endless!). I know very little about the science of memory or recollection, but I suspect that I have a "visual memory". I can describe a book cover, but I’m unlikely to remember its title or the author; I can’t recall the names of characters in books, but think I recognise the names by the shapes of words and use this as a kind of visual shorthand.
No doubt, in my case, much of the "problem" is sheer laziness! People will doubtless be quick to offer advice (memory games and such like) but, unless I really felt I had a worrying medical condition, I’m happy to muddle on in my own sweet way.
One does learn to adapt, of course. Very many years ago, for example, I realised that making lists was a really good way of avoiding worrying about forgetting things – and I used to make daily lists in my filofax (I still make lists, but perhaps not so obsessively!).
In the meantime, where would I be without Google?

the big picture

2011-07-27T04:39:00.001Z

Ridiculously, apart from “The Way” that I saw with Hannah a couple of months ago (but, for some reason, didn’t blog about), the last film we saw was “True Grit”, back in February. One of my retirement “commitments” is to be a regular cinema-goer so, hopefully, this “blip” won’t be repeated. Alan, Gareth, Iona, Moira+I went to see Eric Lartigau’s “The Big Picture” a couple of days ago – described in the blrb as a “psychological thriller”. Its bizarre plot revolves around a successful French lawyer, played by the impressive Romain Duris, who rather despises his conformist life and harbours secret ambitions to be a photographer and who ends up accidently killing his wife’s lover (a photographer) and stealing his identity....
Very watchable, but I couldn’t help thinking that the film’s logic was somewhat flawed. Surely Google Images would have blown the whistle on his identity?

rosa is two!

2011-07-25T04:42:00.001Z

Rosa was born on the last day of school term, two years ago. Yesterday, we celebrated her birthday with a lovely picnic in the Rose Garden at Ashton Court with a number of Ruth+Stu+Iris+Rosa’s friends (and us, of course!). The sun shone, the food was excellent (and a certain amount of drink flowed!), lots of happy smiling faces.
Happy birthday Rosa!
Photo: Rosa+Iris…. and just some of the spread (with Jen+Ruth!).

hannah+blair

2011-07-24T09:15:00.003Z

Moira+I went to a truly magical wedding celebration party in Sunningwell, Oxfordshire yesterday. Blair and Hannah (our Hannah’s bestest friend) had got married on the shores of Loch Lomond a little while ago – with just half a dozen or so guests. They were keen to celebrate the occasion with their wider family and friends and “persuaded” Hannah’s lovely parents Sue+Tony to let them do so at their home. This doesn’t even BEGIN to tell the story, however…. S+T’s converted barn is one of perhaps half a dozen similar beautiful brick+timber clad homes and outbuildings that surround its own small, horse chestnut-treed green (quintessential English village scene!). S+T clearly get on very well with their very sociable neighbours because agreement was obtained to erect a large marquee plus several gazebos, masses of bunting, outdoor children games, portaloos etc – some gardens were used to accommodate tents (and some of the neighbours had even offered their spare bedrooms!) for overnight stays. As we entered the close (not quite the right word?), it felt as if we’d arrived on some expensive film set!
Here are just three of the many memories:
1. Hannah+Hannah (and Felix) were part of the amazing Thame Youth Theatre – from its origins in 1989. So it was lovely to meet up lots of their youth theatre friends again (lots of them were children of friends of ours) – and incredible to realise just how many of them had continued their involvement in theatre and music professionally.
2. Hannah (new bride Robertson) is a simply wonderful singer (bluesy, jazzy) and she sang three songs – accompanied by Rob Dearing on guitar. This started the entertainment off in great style (and generated a few tears from spectators in the process!).... and this high quality was continued throughout the evening. In addition to Hannah, the highlight for me was a young opera singer named Miranda (she’d been a neighbour of Blair+Hannah’s and they used to listen to her practising from their adjoining London flat!). When she hit the first note, it just took your breath away and the audience was immediately captivated (hairs on the back of your neck stuff!) and, once again, at the end, I could see a lot of people wiping their eyes in sheer joy.
3. Last month, some of you(!), may have read that I’d just discovered that a) Tom Porter, my inspirational college tutor, had died last year and that b) he+his wife had been neighbours of Sue+Tony. Well, last night, I actually met Tom’s wife Andree at the party and she seemed delighted to hear about my very fond memories of Tom from circa 1967. She took me off to show me their amazing house, including Tom’s study – and ended up giving me a copy of his final book “Will Alsop – The Noise”. All very emotional!
It was a simply wonderful occasion. S+T were brilliant, generous hosts.

Photo: regrettably and pathetically, I didn't take my camera! This picture was taken on a country walk last month and sums a happy English summer day - just like yesterday!

shy and retired

2011-07-23T07:36:00.004Z

I’m retired.

It’s a very strange feeling. I am no longer employed. This week at school has been “Activities Week” and, as a result, many staff and pupils have been out of school on various trips (school camp, Germany, France, Spain or just various day excursions). It’s meant that my final working week has been a somewhat surreal experience – LAST Friday definitely felt like the end of term. Despite managing to say my goodbyes to lots of very good friends (involving much hugging!), somewhat predictably, yesterday felt like an anticlimax…. and, because lots of colleagues on school camp had been delayed due to wet tents and general clearing up, not to mention all those en route back from exotic places, there were only a few of us at our end-of-term “pit stop” at the Warwick Arms, Clutton on our respective homeward journeys.
The day ended with another mini get-together drink at the Watershed - with my ex-boss(!) Bex and Ben (having returned from a school trip to Barcelona), Emma (back from school camp) and lift-share Andy (who hadn’t gone anywhere!).... good times!
Photo: Bex, Emma, Ben+Andy at the Watershed.

exit interview

2011-07-19T05:13:00.002Z

I was granted an “exit interview” at school yesterday.
Actually, it was quite funny because, having accepted the offer of an interview by one of assistant head teachers, I was then offered another one by the school bursar (who, rather strangely, is my line manager). When I queried this, the bursar responded by saying “oh dear, communication with SMT leaves something to be desired doesn’t it” (note: SMT is the “senior management team” to you and me)! I felt like replying: “yes, precisely - please refer to bullet point 5 in my submission”… but I resisted the temptation! Actually, I did end up feeling that I’d been given an opportunity to air my views. Don’t mock, but I’d be compiling a folder of “observations” for the past several months and ended up e-mailing her with my FIVE page submission about an hour before we got together! If you’ve read any of my previous comments (on this blog or on facebook), you’ll be aware that I’ve been somewhat critical of a number of school issues over the past six years.
There are, however, several aspects of the school about which I feel very positive and, hopefully, I was also able to convey this during the course of our meeting. It would be unfair on the school for me to go into detail about our discussions. I will simply say that my principle concerns related to the very poor man-management skills of the “powers-that-be”; the lack of consultation regarding key decisions; and my huge worries about the way the school “does” sixth-form education.
I desperately hope that someone pays attention to the points I raised…. but I’m not holding my breath.

murdoch mayhem....

2011-07-17T13:53:00.004Z

People are saying that things will never be the same again.

In the past 10 days or so, there seems to have been something of a revolution. Rebekah Brooks has resigned as Chief Executive of News International (and I’ve just heard that she’s actually been arrested!); Rupert Murdoch has issued a full apology; News Corp have withdrawn their BSkyB takeover bid; politicians have apparently lost their fear of News Corp and found their voices; Milliband has called for new media ownership rules to limit Rupert Murdoch's "dangerous" and "unhealthy" concentration of power and, all of a sudden, the world seems to be a better place. It wasn’t too long ago that the likes of Murdoch and Brooks seemed to be issuing instructions via their editorial columns to the country’s politicians.
The trouble is…. I can’t help feeling that, in a few months’ time, either much of this will be long forgotten or the likes of The Daily Mail will be seeking to take advantage. I just hope that the Commons Culture, Media+Sports Committee prove to be effective interrogators when they grill Rebekah Brooks, Rupert and James Murdoch on Tuesday – and provide an effective warning for any future media bullies.

more from the last, mad, “proper” week of term….

2011-07-17T06:45:00.002Z

The penultimate week of summer term always feels a little unreal. It is effectively the last week of school (next week is “Activities Week” – with lots of staff and students on various school trips to foreign lands, at school camp and music school etc).
Last week seemed even more frantic than usual (in addition to the stuff I mentioned in my previous blog post):
1. Sports Day: This had to be re-arranged due to bad weather the previous week. It’s always a very good event (especially since they started encouraging “proper” crowd participation). In my time at school, despite my competitive nature, our House has never come remotely close to challenging for the top slot (even though we do have some brilliant individual students).
2. Q-Factor (our version of X-Factor!): Due to a mess up by a couple of the other Houses, our House ended up having to fit its “Charities Week” activities into two lunchtimes of last week. Q-Factor has run for the past four years or so and, like X-Factor (even though I’ve never watched it!), encourages “talented” youngsters to perform before their ardent fans. The House staff are usually expected to perform too – but, thanks to Andy+Bex, we managed to get away with appearing in some very funny video clips instead.
3. End-of-Term-Drinks at The Boater, Bath: Always good fun and attended by the vast majority of staff on Friday night. There are always a number of staff leaving (or retiring!) and you can imagine that this gave the evening a surreal feeling for your truly.

As well as some lovely messages and cards from members of staff, I’ve also received some wonderful comments from pupils. These are just three of them (get your hankies ready!):
From a Year 10 student: “Thank you for all your help since Year 7; you have been a great role model and an awesome House Head” (I love the promotion!).
From a Year 10 student: “A huge thank you for all of your help and support throughout some difficult times of mine this year. I feel very glad to have come to you for help and I have found your advice invaluable and I believe your words will stay with me my whole life”.
From a Year 9 student: “This is just a quick message on behalf of my mum and me to say thanks for everything that you have done for us. When I had my operations you were amazing and you helped me out so much; I can't explain how much this is appreciated!
My mum is always commenting on how helpful you are and how quickly you reply to her emails and sort out any situation.
I'm really sad that you're leaving and you will be missed terribly for all the support and encouragement you've ever given. If it wasn't for you my difficulties from my operation would have been ten times harder and you always seem to understand everything which means a lot.
We both wish you the best of luck for the future and we hope you leave knowing how great you were. You will be missed a lot!”
Photo: Quantock athletes parading during the Open Ceremony at Sports Day!

a very tough day at the coal face

2011-07-14T05:20:00.002Z

Yesterday was always going to be a tough day.
Although there’s another 7 days before the end of term (but, hey, who’s counting?), there are so many activities happening over the next few days that the Head Teacher decided that after school yesterday was the time wish formal fond farewells to departing staff (which includes me). I knew I would be expected to say a few words – but, thankfully, there were three senior members of staff (who had clocked up over 100 years of service at the school!) who would be taking centre stage.
These are just five lovely things that happened to me yesterday:
1. Just before lunchtime, a girl who had left school a year ago and had been the bane of my life (behaviour, school refusing, exclusions, attitude etc etc) knocked on the door of the House office. “Sir, I’ve come along to a meeting about my younger brother and have just been told you’re leaving… and I wanted to say goodbye and thank you for all you did… and, sir, I’ve got a job and I’m on hairdressing course and I’ve sorted myself out and I now realise how stupid I was not to have made more of myself when I was at school. But, sir, I DO realise that now!”.
2. Just after lunchtime assembly – Bex (my 27 year old brilliant boss) told me I had to accompany her to a “little” presentation. Fine, I thought, that’s very nice of them – perhaps a handful of House tutors and maybe a bottle or two of red wine handed over? But, instead of being taken into the House office, I was directed into one of the large classrooms in the Language Block – and I suddenly realised that there were about 50 members of staff sitting waiting for me (believe me, with our school’s split lunchtime, this is pretty amazing in itself!). I was made to read out a message contained in a large envelope: “We thought that after 6 years at Norton Hill, you deserved a proper break, so…. we are whisking you and a guest away to Spain for a golfing extravaganza at a time to suit you!”. It transpired that nearly 70 people had clubbed together to make this possible.
I was absolutely gobsmacked…. stunned…. speechless… humbled.
I uttered some incoherent words of gratitude and thanks, but it was one of those occasions when words weren’t really enough.
3. A small group of Year 10 girls (some on the verge of tears) knocked on the House office door and wanted to say goodbye (and have their photograph taken with me – what a thrill for them!) before departing off to school camp the following day.
4. This involved the after-school presentations: I managed to get away with only having to speak for a couple of minutes and, hopefully, was able to convey my genuine appreciation for their tolerance, encouragement and friendship.
5. Finally, I’d put up posters in the staff room at school (and issued invites to school colleagues via facebook) suggested a fun boules evening at Queens Square in Bristol. In the event, 30 people turned (amazing considering that only a dozen or so of teachers at school live in the Bristol area) and we played boules, ate picnics and drank the odd glass of something. It was absolutely lovely.
A truly remarkable, memorable day (or, as Lou Reed would sing: “Just a Perfect Day”).
Photo: I failed to take ANY photographs of the day but these are just two of my amazing bosses, Bex and Kate (I had four during the course of my six years!).

steve+diane’s 25th

2011-07-10T17:58:00.002Z

Moira+I are lucky enough to have lots of wonderful friends who are younger than us. This policy has, of course, been nurtured over several years - with the express intention of trying to kid everyone that we’re MUCH younger than we really are (needless to say, our friends haven’t be fooled). We’ve just got back from a wonderful weekend in a massive country house and converted barn in the beautiful Staffordshire countryside. There were 39 of us in total – all there to celebrate our very special friends’ (Steve+Diane) 25th wedding anniversary. It was just brilliant – we walked, talked, ate, drank(!) and laughed our way through the entire weekend in glorious surroundings and perfect weather. Steve+Diane are AMAZING, generous, lovely people (click here to check out Steve’s 50th birthday celebrations from 4 years ago, for example!). As usual, they’d thought of EVERYTHING – two large fridges were STACKED with bottles of champagne, white wine and beer (note: when we left, the other fridge was jammed full of left-over lasagna from Friday night, copious quantities of exotic cheeses and pizzas …. along with a whole host of other stuff). Outside caterers provided us all with a superb banquet last night and this morning (because we were all clearly in need of yet more food), some of the “boys” cooked up a fantastic full English breakfast – which, of course, we ate outside in glorious sunshine (as you do)…. followed by a “serious” game of boules on the gravelled turning circle (which immediately took on the character of a French town square) in front of the main house.
Happy times, wonderful friends.
Photo: of course, I totally failed to take pictures of lots of happy people consuming food and/or quaffing alcohol. This is the nearest I’ve got – just a few of the party having reserved their seats early - in anticipation of the “Big Breakfast” (and some consuming black coffee or, in Julie’s case, water in a vain attempt to alleviate their hangovers)!

morals, honesty, integrity…. and greed

2011-07-08T05:15:00.002Z

Was it really only two years ago that we were applauding journalists for exposing the scandal of MPs’ expenses? With yesterday’s decision by Murdoch’s News Corporation to close the News of the World newspaper after revelations and allegations of wide-spread phone-hacking of “ordinary people” (not just celebrities and politicians) by journalists, the boot is now definitely on the other foot. Of course, that’s not quite true – because, for example, it was only in January that Andy Coulson was forced to resign as David Cameron's press spokesman over the role he played in the phone-hacking scandal as editor of the News of The World newspaper (I could go on about Rebekah Brooks, Cameron, Blair....). The police are apparently now investigating some 4,000 possible other phone-hacking targets. Sadly, if an investigation outlined on Channel 4 News last night is to be believed (and Jon Snow is the only journalist I’m prepared to trust these days!), individuals from within the police force are thought to have been paid for tipping-off journalists on various cases.
Thanks to the greed and dishonesty of a relatively few(?) politicians, journalists and police officers, we’re left asking ourselves: “so, who CAN we trust?”.
What a tragic, sickening state of affairs.
Ironically(?), today WAS to have been the day when Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, was going to issue his final definitive ruling agreeing to News Corporation’s bid to takeover BSkyB. In the circumstances, it’s hardly surprising that he’s decided to defer judgement (until September?) – by which time, he’ll no doubt hope that the dust will have settled.... (and he’ll give his consent anyway).
And, as far as News Corporation’s decision to close The News of the World is concerned, this seems to me to be no more than a cynical management manoeuvre. It just so happens that, only last month, News International created a "managing editor structure" at its four newspapers (a move towards a form of integration of daily and Sunday titles?).... oh, and Richard Caseby was appointed group managing editor with responsibility for The Sun and News of the World.... oh, but, of course, the plug is about to be pulled on the News of the World.... oh, will that mean the "Sunday Sun" will rise from ashes?
Genius!

june/july books

2011-07-03T16:42:00.007Z

Sorry, these are my latest batch of books from the last few weeks:
Things Can Only Get Better (John O’Farrell): I first started reading this at a time when I didn’t do very much reading (if that makes sense) and ended up abandoning it – not because it wasn’t a good book, but simply because I seemed to have abandoned reading! I’ve just read it in a matter of a few days and this is a lovely, very funny book (especially if you’re not a supporter of the Conservative Party!). It tells of the “eighteen miserable years in the life of a Labour supporter” and I found it to be both hilariously funny and movingly sad. The final chapter (victory in the General Election of 1997) immediately took me back to that wonderful all-night election-watching time and the glorious, sunny dawn of a new (New?) Labour government on 2 May. How times change!
Silas Marner (George Eliot): This is one of those “classics” that I’d never previously got round to reading. Written in 1861, it’s a tale of morality, community, ethics, love and hope…. and perhaps also a critical response to the industrial revolution, class and the church. Somewhat ironic perhaps, given the book’s connection to fatherhood, that I finished it on Father’s Day!
The Pilgrimage (Paulo Coelho): I first began reading this about 7 years ago, but found it rather tedious and gave up. I decided to give it another try after recently seeing the film “The Way” (with Martin Sheen). It tells of Coelho’s journey along the pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela with his spiritual guide. I was hugely disappointed in the book – a strange combination of magic, occult, mystical exercises and hocus-pocus.
Peter Cook+Dudley Moore: Goodbye Again (edited by William Cook): Essentially, this is a collection of scripts from their sketches dating back to the mid-1960s and includes some absolutely wonderful stuff. Reading the scripts immediately transported me back in time (I felt as if I could actually hear them). My favourite all-time sketch is “One Leg Too Few”: about a one-legged man auditioning for the role of Tarzan! You can see the actual clip here (it’s brilliant). South (Chris Orsman): This is a powerful sequence of poems telling the story of Captain Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole. It provides a wonderful, fresh perspective to a well-known story. I found it compellingly beautiful - particularly the final days.

light at brean

2011-07-02T17:45:00.002Z

Moira+I went an exhibition of monoprints by Bedminster artist Ruth Ander this afternoon. We’d seen her work before at the SouthBank Arts Trail over the past couple of years and been hugely impressed. This exhibition was entitled “Light at Brean” and depicted the changing light and drama of the weather as it rolls up the Bristol Channel. It’s on at the Brean Cove Café until the end of July (you could combine it with a coastal walk!).
You should see it – it’s simply beautiful.
Photo: Moira talking to Ruth Ander next to some of the monoprints.

last leavers' day

2011-06-30T16:39:00.002Z

Yesterday was a special day for Year 11s at our school. Definitely a day for dressing up and arriving at school in style. Of course, there were usual limos, vintage cars and the odd London bus, but the show-stopper was a massive white tank (complete with UN insignia) – hired by fourteen boys at the cost of £120 each! And to cap it all, the BBC’s “Points West” local news team had got to hear about it and decided to feature it in their programme yesterday evening. I was even invited to present the Awards at the Year 11’s own party (these include such highly-prized awards as: “Most Likely to End Up working at MacDonald’s”, “Most Likely to Be Rich”, “Most Spoilt” and “Best Assets”!).
Definitely one of the highlights of the school year.
Photograph: Me with four of my favourite people – Quantock House and Sports Captains (Demi, Dan, George and Eloise).

garden again

2011-06-28T04:35:00.003Z

As I’ve previously indicated, our garden is tiny (5x5m). I’ve been reflecting on how it has changed since we first moved to Bristol in 2003. Initially, we had felt very exposed to our neighbours and, in 2006, we erected a timber screen at the back of the garden which is now well covered by honeysuckle and bamboo. Two years ago we built another timber screen to replace a dilapidated side fence and this too is now starting to mature – we’ve planted an espalier apple tree (which has started to produce fruit) and a climbing rose. Unfortunately, our original aim to grow food hasn’t been wonderfully successful to date – although we do seem to be very popular with the local slug and snail populations!
Photo: garden in June 2009 (top) and in June 2011 (bottom).

may-june books

2011-06-11T06:00:00.002Z

More books (sorry, but it’s a good way for me to remember stuff!):
In The Blood (Andrew Motion): A rather beautiful memoir of Motion’s childhood. I was pleasantly surprised by his simple writing style (I’d half-expected long paragraphs of clever prose) and was immediately drawn into the book by the opening chapter - which tells of an accident to his mother. Motion is two or three years younger than me and I couldn’t help contrasting our respective life styles as I read the book (Prep and Public schooling, horses, hunting, middle class and pretty wealthy – that’s him, not me!) and his detailed recollections compared with my own rather vague memories of childhood.
Wish Her Safe At Home (Stephen Benatar): This is our third Book Group book so I’d best leave my main remarks for the next meeting! It’s definitely not a book that I would normally have chosen to read, but I actually rather enjoyed it. It’s a novel about a woman who inherits a house in Bristol from her great-aunt – she gives up her job, sheds her old life, becomes a woman of leisure, takes up writing and a whole lot more. An amusing, but unsettling, book.
Getting Through (John McGahern): A series of short stories, set in Ireland. Stories of new life; retirement; forgetfulness; death; friendships; dance committees; love; lost youth; priests; whiskey; sex; music and families. Beautiful writing. It made me realise that there was a time when I loved reading short stories – I read so little that a short story felt like an entire book. Now I find that, instead of quietly reflecting on one of the stories, I’m into the next one before I know it.
Love Wins (Rob Bell): I have a somewhat grudging admiration for Rob Bell. When I first came across him (just before reading Velvet Elvis), I had imagined that he was the pastor of a small religious community in the States; it turned out that he’s the leader of a somewhat larger church community and frequently preaches to audiences of 10,000 or more! The fact remains that he’s really a very good communicator and I very much like his writing style. I hope to see Rob Bell at Greenbelt this summer, so will hopefully be able to form a more balanced view of him then. An encouraging, provocative book - which will no doubt cause outrage within the ranks of the evangelical alliance.
Where Three Roads Meet (Salley Vickers): I’m not quite sure what to make of this book – probably something to do with my relative lack of intellect and knowledge of Greek mythology! Vickers’s re-telling of the tale of Oedipus imagines Sigmund Freud, in his final days, listening to the story (and participating in the dialogue) as told by Tiresias, the blind seer who plays a part in the Greek legend. I thought I was going to love this book, but ended up feeling somewhat disappointed.

tom porter

2011-06-10T19:46:00.003Z

I received a text message from Hannah earlier today querying if one my college lecturers had been a bloke called Tom Porter… if so, she’d just discovered that he and his wife had lived next door to our good friends Tony+Sue (parents of Hannah’s bestest friend, Hannah!).… but that Tom had sadly died in April last year (aged 72). I think it’s highly significant that one of my daughters had remembered the name of one of my college tutors. Indeed, I had talked about Tom only a couple of days ago when lovely friends Chris and Felicity friends had visited us in Bristol. Tom was an absolutely inspirational figure to me. I arrived at Oxford School of Architecture in 1967 and, frankly, while having a pretty good eye for design, I was probably a student who might have been prone to “play safe”. Art was an important part of the architectural course for the first two years (I very much doubt this is the case these days, more’s the pity) and, for me - through Tom, it provided a wonderful springboard for my architectural career (significantly, I won the “most improved student award at the end of my second year”). I recall a poster I designed for the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (thanks to Tom’s encouragement); I remember him insisting that I went to see the film “2001, A Space Odyssey”; how he introduced me to the new Habitat store; and I certainly remember accompanying him to the Bauhaus Exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1968. As well as producing books on graphic techniques (in conjunction with my college friend Sue Goodman), Tom’s main interest was in the use of colour in architecture. I clearly remember one of the students having an epileptic fit during one of Tom’s art sessions; Tom seemed only mildly concerned – his key reaction was all about how amazing it was that the student concerned had become SO involved in his artwork that it had resulted in his fit!
I love this photograph of Tom – it was definitely taken in the late 60s/early 70s – and is exactly as I remember him (always wearing a brightly-colour tie, loud jacket and with his flowing dark locks!).
A truly inspirational man and someone I remember with huge affection and gratitude.

kielder challenge FINALISTS

2011-06-09T17:55:00.003Z

Last month, I blogged about our team from Norton Hill+Fosse Way schools (four pupils with disabilities and four without) managing to win the Regional Heats of this brilliant event - by a considerable margin! Well, amazingly, we’ve just heard that the team has actually qualified for the NATIONAL FINAL in the Kielder Forest, Northumberland in September – in other words, they’ve reached the LAST SIX out of more than 200 entries from all over the country! That’s really great news and they thoroughly deserve their success. It’ll be an exciting time for them – flying from Bristol to Newcastle and then staying at the Kielder Forest Adventure Centre. I was lucky enough to accompany a team from our joint schools to the Plate Final in 2006 (just a month before I started blogging – so I can’t get you to click on some old “footage”!) and that was certainly one of the highlights of my time working at the school. Obviously, with retirement imminent, I won’t be with the team this time (in fact, Moira+I will enjoying a French boating holiday with lovely friends Chris+Lal!!). I look forward to hearing all about their adventures from Laura and Jodie.
Photo: teamwork in action at the Regional Heats.

RSC at stratford

2011-06-02T19:57:00.003Z

I love live theatre. I love the possibility of witnessing something very special (ok, sometimes it doesn’t work out quite like that, but…); a unique experience - being captivated by a piece of theatre or by particular actors or by wonderful stage design.
Moira+I have just spent two days in Stratford, where we were really blessed to be able to see two shows by the Royal Shakespeare Company (“Cardenio” and “The City Madam”). They both proved to be completely captivating productions – simply wonderful acting; brilliantly devised and performed. We saw both productions on the same day (two three-hour shows). It was also lovely that great friends Bob+Christine were able to join us for the “Cardenio” matinee. What made the day even more special was that it was the first time that Felix (daughter Hannah’s husband) had been part of the RSC. He didn’t disappoint! Indeed, Libby Purves’s “City Madam” review in “The Times” concluded thus: “Felix Hayes wins my 2011 award for Best Use of Yorkshire Accent while wearing purple ribbons and lace-trimmed boots” (you have to see the play to appreciate this fully!)! She respectively described the two productions as being “a treat” and “a hoot” and I wouldn’t disagree. Having watched the actors in two utterly contrasting plays, their adaptability and all-round talent was breathtakingly impressive.
Magical theatre at its very best.
PS: This same group of actors has also just started rehearsing the THIRD play in this season’s run (“Midsummer Night’s Dream”).
PPS: It was the first time that Moira+I had been to see a performance at “The Swan” and we were very impressed (it’s a beautiful space); “Midsummer Night’s Dream” will be in the recently re-modelled main theatre, so we can’t wait to return to see that in July/August.
PPPS: The one depressing note was the lack of young people in the audience for both plays (sadly, the average age seemed to be very much older than us!); hardly ANY teenagers or twenty-somethings – despite the fact that the RSC offer special tickets for 16-25 year olds at £5 each.
Photo: a rather poor photograph of the beautiful “Swan” auditorium (but, hopefully, it gives you a "feel" of the space).

desert island discs

2011-05-31T05:30:00.002Z

In March 2007, I blogged about having a cunning “business plan” (back in the very olden days!) for producing personalised “desert island discs” for ordinary people like you and me. Well, the BBC has finally got round to inviting the public to do just that (you’ve only got a matter of a few days to respond to Radio4’s invitation to submit your own Desert Island Discs). Somewhat pathetically, I still have a page in my filofax (dated 10 December 1988 – blimey, that’s over 30 years ago!) outlining my own selection. Please note the following: a) I’m still waiting to be asked to appear on the programme, b) my original list contained NINETEEN records, c) I’ve just submitted my own list to the BBC (the telephone will be ringing any minute…) and it only contains TWO of my original selections (Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen) and d) I found it absolutely impossible to restrict the list to EIGHT (I could actually have submitted half a dozen lists of eight records).
Anyway, for what it’s worth and in no particular order, this is my final selection (I’d be very interested in hearing about your own versions!):
1. Love Letter (Nick Cave+the Bad Seeds)
2. Cold Water (Damien Rice)
3. Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell)
4. Suzanne (Leonard Cohen)
5. I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Frank Sinatra)
6. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (June Tabor)
7. Let It Be (The Beatles)
8. Symphony no.5: 4th Movement (Gustav Mahler)
PS: Actually, this is NOT the list I submitted to the BBC! I ended up realising that my list couldn’t ignore The Beatles or Mahler – so, very reluctantly I deleted: To Be Lonely (Joan As Police Woman) and A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (Bob Dylan). How could I?!

bruce+sara's big adventure

2011-05-30T07:11:00.003Z

This time, some two years ago, Bruce+Sara were trawling the English and Welsh countryside in the hope of finding a suitable property and, crucially, some land on which they could continue to explore and develop their ideas for permaculture living. They finally discovered their new home (a dilapidated barn in some 17 acres) in Llangurig, Powys in mid-Wales – within 300m of the river Wye - and exchanged contracts in January last year. Like us, friends of Bruce+Sara will have been following their progress via Bruce’s lovely FB photographs – but, this weekend, Moira+I were able to experience a little of their big adventure for ourselves. Of course, Bruce+Sara were the perfect, generous hosts and it was absolutely lovely to see them again, but it was also encouraging (and somewhat inspiring) to see how far they’d progressed in a such a short time (not to mention producing the adorable Gracie along the way!). They’ve made a wonderful job of converting the main barn (there are three other smaller barns, plus two massive open sheds!) and incorporating lots of eco-friendly design principles; they’ve created lots of raised beds immediately next to the main barn; they’ve started to convert another barn; they’ve got their own chickens; they’ve moulded some of the higher land to enable them to erect a large poly-tunnel, plus more vegetable-growing space; they’ve planted nearly 5,000 trees…. oh, and they’re also well on their way to establishing their own herb tea business!!
Moira+I are full of admiration and have returned home to Bristol feeling incredibly lazy….
We had a lovely time – lovely friends.
Photo: Moira, Sara+Bruce (+Gracie) walking "their land" – it doesn’t include the vast acres on the other side of the valley!
PS: I didn’t take very many photographs (but here are some) and especially regret not doing so (due to the drizzle) during our beautiful Sunday forest walk.
PPS: Bruce+Sara first introduced us to the concept of permaculture in the garden of their rented house in Bristol in March 2009 (as part of GrowZones).

the long goodbye

2011-05-24T05:06:00.003Z

The Year 11 pupils at school are now on study leave preparing for their GCSE exams. Before they departed, the wonderful Quantock House and Sports Captains (Eloise+Demi+Dan+George) wanted to present me with a farewell gift from the whole House – even though I don’t actually retire for another eight school weeks. First of all they’d contrived to organise a whole Quantock House photograph so they could present me with a really good framed copy. Then they encouraged all the House tutor groups to contribute comments/greetings/drawings for a brilliantly entertaining “Thank you Mr Broadway love from Quantock" retirement book. There are lots of really lovely, heartfelt notes of thanks including these particular gems: “Thank you for being a good head teacher” (if only they’d paid me accordingly); “you were there when no one else was”; “you were my favourite teacher” (even though I didn’t teach); “heroic and stunning” (really?); “I hope you get a big villa” (the football team or a palace?); “thank you so much for helping when I had my stomach pains”; “no one will forget you” (is this a threat?); “I will never forget your great handwriting and brilliant fun attitude” (a wonderful combination!); “thank you for looking after me through everything”; “I would never have felt welcome without you”; “thank you for being there for me with my ups and downs”; “thank you for supporting me and showing me the light at the end of the tunnel” (did I?) and, finally, “you are, and shall always remain, a legend and by far the most amazing Assistant Head (?)… words cannot describe how much you will be missed”.
Money can’t buy this sort of stuff… very humbling (as well as funny, sometimes) and it reminds you of all the good things about working with young people in education (of course, I could list a lot of bad things too!).
It now feels wrong to have to go on working for another WHOLE term!
Photo: the cover of my lovely, big retirement book.

kielder challenge heats

2011-05-21T11:05:00.004Z

Our Kielder Challenge team took part in the Regional Heats at Ashton Court yesterday. They were wonderful and we all had a really good day. They ended up Heat winners by a considerable margin and they were absolutely thrilled. There’s even a chance that they might end up at the national finals in the Kielder Forest, Northumberland in September – but only a couple of teams end up qualifying from the Region (and the Region is HUGE!). It’s just a brilliant event.
Photo: Gary, Andrew, Charlie, Charlotte, Chris, Polly, Megan, Roxy and Becky.
PS: Gary was a last-minute substitute for Alihan – who was ill; Charlotte was unable to participate due to an injured foot (she was on crutches) and Polly substituted as reserve.

kielder challenging

2011-05-13T18:05:00.002Z

We’ve just completed the last of our training sessions in preparation for this year’s Kielder Challenge’s local Regional Heat – which take place in Bristol on 20 May. As I’ve mentioned before, four pupils from our school work with the four from Fosse Way (a school catering for young people with physical disabilities and/or severe learning difficulties) in a series of outdoor challenges. It’s such a rewarding event and SO good working with these wonderful individuals.
Photo: Chris, Alihan, Charlie, Roxy, Becky, Polly, Andrew and Megan.

centenary school photograph

2011-05-10T17:04:00.002Z

We had a pretty disrupted afternoon at school today with pupils assembling for a whole-school photograph to mark the school’s centenary. The main photograph was taken in two separate sittings and, somewhat surprisingly perhaps, the arrangements seemed to go remarkably well. We were also incredibly lucky with the weather – it started raining 30 minutes after we’d finished. Sadly, the only staff members appearing on the whole-school version were the Head and Deputy Head Teachers – with a separate staff image taken at the end of school (to avoid complete chaos!). It’ll be very interesting to see the final results. Photo: just a few of the pupils waiting to be snapped this afternoon.

paul lewis at st george's

2011-05-07T06:47:00.004Z

Somewhat pathetically, I decided to forego the second meeting of our newly-formed book group (even though it was at our house AND I’d read the book!) and, instead, attend a Paul Lewis piano concert at St George’s, Bristol. I’d watched one of Lewis’s televised BBC Proms last summer (a Beethoven piano concerto) and had been mesmerized by his performance. I’d missed out on seeing him in February due to Gail’s wonderful birthday celebrations and vowed then that I would try to ensure I saw him perform the next time he was in Bristol – and, of course, one of my “resolutions for retirement” was to be a more regular concert-goer (yes, I know I haven’t retired yet, but it’s important to get in some practice!). Last night featured Schubert’s piano sonata (no.18 in G D894, if you must know!) as the main piece. I’m not a particular Schubert fan but the concert was mightily impressive and I was utterly captivated by Lewis’s stunning, masterly execution. Not only do I struggle to see how anyone can play a musical instrument with such technical accomplishment, but also just how anyone can learn such complicated pieces “by heart” and play for over an hour. A wonderful evening.
Photo: you’re not allowed to take photographs during the concert, so I decided to take one of Lewis’s piano instead, before the concert started! As you can see, I had a brilliant seat in the gallery.
PS: Amazingly, during the interval, I bumped into Richard+Sarah (good friends and Felix’s parents – Felix being married to our daughter Hannah, you understand!), who had travelled down from mid-Wales especially for the concert.
PPS: I actually got back home in time to grab a glass of wine before the Book Group meeting had ended (we call ourselves “The Slow Readers Group”). They were pretty scathing about: a) my concert-going, b) that I was the only member who had cried reading the book and c) that I had taken so much pleasure in the change of font for different chapters featuring the two principal characters!

royal wedding day

2011-05-06T05:25:00.002Z

This time last week, it seems that I was amongst the very few people in the country NOT to have been following the royal wedding. Instead, Moira+Gareth+Alan+I spent the day enjoying the beauty of the Somerset/Wiltshire countryside walking between Freshford and Bradford-on-Avon, along the banks of the Frome and Avon rivers (which also just happened to take in a pub lunch). A really lovely day amid stunning surroundings and rather nice people!
Photo: various images en route.