Richard Mascall's Weblog

The Oak Gets a Trim

A couple of years ago, our neighbour's oak tree blew over in some high winds. Although our oak looks the same vintage, its position means it might be less vulnerable.

However it has developed a few dead branches and one of the live ones was growing worryingly close to our roof so we decided to get it trimmed back. One of the tree surgeons we asked to quote thought that it might be safest to have the whole tree cut down but fortunately we found another who felt that a 40% reduction would be enough to save it. The tree man from the District Council, who had a look because there is a Tree Preservation Order on the oak, agreed.

So today the men came along to cut it all back. The first two photos (as always, click on the photo for an enlarged view) show the tree as it was and the other two as it is now.

Photographs In The Country

One of the fomer councillors on the Parish Council is a keen photographer and belongs to a group, T16, whose members share an enthusiasm for creative photographic work. Every year or so they hold an outdoor exhibition and I went down to Mayfield in East Sussex today to see what was on show.

There were lots of imaginative and visually stimulating pieces of art, but what added to the interest was the way in which the surroundings were used as more than just a backdrop.

A Fair Day

Each year on the third Saturday in June, Warlingham has a fair, held at Blanchman's Farm Nature Reserve. Because of the timing I am often on holiday and so miss it, but this year I was around.

The Parish Council has a pitch which we use just to tell people we exist and what we do. One of the councillors had done a fascinating collage of photos of Warlingham's Green over the years with the oldest one dating back to the 19^th century. This drew in passers-by and we were then able to show them details of some of the things the Council does.

Eating at Al-Fayed's

As mentioned before when we went on the London Duck, the IBM Club organises events which retired IBMers can attend, together with partners. Today we went to have an all-you-can-eat buffet at Harrods. The cost is highly subsidised by the Club but the drinks were not. So at £10 a glass (yes, really), we avoided the wine.

Almost The Real Thing

We have been to see the Counterfeit Stones many times, most recently in November 2006. Tonight we saw them again, this time at the Ashcroft in Croydon. As always, they played all the Stones' classics to an unbelievably high standard, interspersed with amusing film clips and authentic sounding banter.

Sadly the auditorium was only 60-70% full which combined with the Ashcroft's design meant the atmosphere was not as intense as it ought to have been. And I do believe that Sympathy For The Devil is the only one to end with. But when I compare tonight with the miserable effort we saw by the Rollin Stoned back in January, I can say there is definitely no-one that can compare with the Counterfeit Stones.

The Mary Rose at Whitgift

I went to my school's Old Boys' Day last year and found it a most enjoyable and interesting occasion. This year the day revolved around the Mary Rose exhibition it is hosting so I went again. The result ? Another most enjoyable and interesting experience !

We were escorted from Big School to the exhibition area by pikemen and musketeers from the Honourable Artillery Company. There there were lots of items on display and bits of information, including :-

• the Mary Rose was a carrack warship, which means it had raised decks fore and aft

• the planks forming its hull were assembled in a carvel way, meaning they touched each other edge on, rather than by overlapping. This meant it was much easier to cut a gunport through the hull.

• The origin of the word “knots” meaning the speed of a boat, comes from the early ways of measuring that speed, which involved the use of a string with knots in being cast into the water

• the state of the shoes was amazing, and their design seemed rather modern too

• the chest of the barber-surgeon (the same man for the two jobs in those days, of course) had been recovered, together with all its extensive and, in some cases like the syringe, frightening contents.

• the everyday utensils, such as bowls and cutlery, that have been found are almost unique, in that the equivalent collections from, say, stately homes are only for the top people

• the lower ranks ate a lot of fish, and the fish was almost exclusively cod

• the long bows on display (made of yew, with arrows made of poplar) required enormous strength to use, so much so that there is evidence in bone damage which identifies the archers

  the Ark Royal is the symbol of the Mary Rose Trust (not sure why) and is also the weathervane on top of the school

• Charles Howard (1^st Earl of Nottingham anfd as commander of the fleet which defeated the Spanish Armada as popular in his day as the Duke of Welllington after Waterloo and Churchill during World War II) owned Haling Park which is now where Whitgift is sited. He was nephew to two commanders of the Mary Rose : Edward Howard and Thomas Howard).

After the exhibition we were treated to a superb lecture by an old boy, a Steven Gunn of Merton College, Oxford. His subject was about life in Tudor times and among the points I noted were :

• after farming, the main economic activity was the making of cloth, and the main international place we traded with was Antwerp, so keeping the sea routes open was vital for our exports of cloth

• people were already eating a lot of cod but of course there could be no fish and chips because we had not yet discovered potatoes

• fish was eaten not just on Fridays but also throughout Lent (although Barnacle Geese counted as barnacles, so they were allowed during Lent too)

• one of Stephen's projects is looking at causes of accidental deaths in Tudor Times and the emphasis on longbow practice meant that quite a few died through being too close to the target area (though the chief cause was wheels falling of waggons)

• there were lots of colliers in Croydon, but producing charcoal rather than real coal

• 8 pints of beer was the standard daily consumption

• one in three people died by the age of five, but if you reached 15 you would probably live into your 60s, and the population rose over Tudor times from 2.6 million to 4 million (considerably less than the 15 million living in France, incidentally, with the result that Henry had much more difficulty raising taxes than the French did)

  “Nuremberg sundials” were the status symbol of the day, portable clocks which in some forms could show the times in other parts of the world too

• there was a Prior in Tandridge which was closed as a result of the dissolution of the monasteries

After Stephen's talk, I sat on the same table as him and was able to ask why in the Field Museum last week I had seen longbows but not crossbows, unlike in Europe. Stephen explained that they did not have the iron and steel use that we did so (a) it was harder to make a crossbow, with its requirement for some very strong components and (b) the Americans did not have to penetrate the thickness of armour we had to. Apparently in Europe the arrow heads become thicker and heavier during the sixteenth century as the armour worn became thicker.

In the afternoon I took the opportunity to visit an exhibition game of Fives. The courts must be one of the few unchanged parts of the school.

Taking all of the above together with the chance to talk to loads of other Old Boys from both before and after my time, it was a most stimulating day. I wonder what they might be doing next year.

Deer Having Tea

 

I was manning an election committee room, but Pam was at home late afternoon today and could not believe her eyes when she looked down the garden, There was a roe deer, munching some of the bushes.

We have had a visit before, but only once in almost a quarter of a century. (Postscript : The deer returned on Friday so it must like what's on offer.)

May 2009 TV Report

 

See here for April's report.

Total Hours Watched : 35

Programmes watched :

Films :-

The Entertainer (1960)

The Living Daylights (1987)

Working Girl (1988)

Saving Grace (2000)

Documentaries :-

Story of Brian Clough

Incredible Human Journey

South Pacific Nature

Comedy :-

Big Bang Theory Series 2 (Episodes 13, 14, 15 (again), and 16)

30 Rock Series 2 (Episodes 10, 11, and 12)

Other :-

Sky At Night (Asteroids)

Alan Whicker (Islands)

Queens of Pop (Dusty, Sandie etc)

Clapton at BBC (disappointing)

1959: Year of the Cool

“Westminster Bridge”

Chicago Holiday Day 9 of 9

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Summary :

Lobby visiting

Travel home

Detail :

Today we explored more of the centre, in particular going into some of the lobbies. One disappointment is that it is no longer possible to view the trading at the Chicago Board of Trade (guess what, since Sept 11^th, 2001 – what do these people think might happen ?), but the Library had a Lincoln exhibition with lots of photos including of him before he grew his beard. They even had an explanation of why he grew it. (Some little girl on the 1860 campaign trail told him he would look more friendly, apparently.)

We saw the IBM office which was a Mies van der Rohe building and possibly my favourite of all the many wonderful buildings we saw all week. The Chicago Tribune Tower has fragments of buildings from all over the world embedded in its walls and also had moon rock on display. Finally we did a 20 minute audio tour of the Hotel Intercontinental, complete with its 9^th floor 1920s swimming pool where Johnny Weissmuller used to train.

There was still so much to see but our time ran out and at 1730 we took a taxi to the airport. Being away from the UK, BA's lounge was almost empty so we had a relaxing time waiting for the overnight plane. We actually had our meal in the lounge so that once the plane had taken off we were able to put our seats down and go to sleep. By 1200 BST we were at Heathrow.

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Chicago Holiday Day 8 of 9

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Summary :

Field Museum

Detail :

Another cloudless sky with temperatures about 20º which meant we could have a very pleasant walk through Grant Park. Here we saw numerous modern sculptures as well as an allotment project, all with one of the most dramatic manmade back-drops in the world.

Our destination was the amazing and huge Field Museum, a sort of cross between the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, and a bit of the V&A thrown in for luck. The ground floor has the most complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the world, called “Sue”. Almost the only replica component is the skull – the real skull is housed in a glass case upstairs because its weight precludes it being mounted on the now fragile skeleton.

There was masses more to see there but in the end we had to stop for lunch which we ate almost under Sue's tail (rather reminiscent of the Institute Dinner at the Natural History Museum last year.) There was a school brass band playing further down the floor which made me think of what I imagine a Sunday afternoon in Harrogate might have been like.

After looking at yet more exhibits we walked back, past the marina, to see Buckingham Fountain. After this we had a good look at the Pritzker Pavilion, designed by Frank Gehry. Finally, we had yet another explore of the Bean – well, you can never tire of looking at all the reflections.

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Chicago Holiday Day 7 of 9

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Summary :

Walking tour of Modern skyscrapers

Behind-the-scenes visit to Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Detail :

We did the second of our two guided walking tours today, this time with the subject of “Modern Skyscrapers”. For the first time, we had a duff guide who managed to make the tour dull despite the exciting subject matter under our noses (or, more accurately, above our foreheads). We did see some dramatic sculptures and the Sears Building.

As mentioned before, the trip is arranged by Kettle's Yard and after lunch we enjoyed the fruits of another contact. The musician Gerard McBurney left Cambridge to work at Radio 3 for 10 years. He is now working as an artistic director at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and he took us around their building telling us about his work, obtaining funding in the States for the Arts, and the old Cliff-Dwellers' Club which is in the building and on whose balcony we went out to see beautiful views of the lake and the numerous yachts.

Just along Michigan Avenue is the Fine Arts Building, an early twentieth century building which seems unchanged inside since those days, with a warren of little specialist shops, offices, rehearsal areas, and goodness knows what else. Gerard showed us round many of the floors and told us anecdote after anecdote relating to the numerous paintings and former inhabitants.

Later, in the evening, we walked across Grant Park to see some fireworks. They were to quite a high standard but what was particularly enjoyable was that they were unaccompanied by all that blaring music that often mars such displays.

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Chicago Holiday Day 6 of 9

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Summary :

Private Collection

Dinner at Cliff Dwellers Club

Detail :

Our trip is organised by Kettle's Yard, an art gallery in Cambridge we are Friends of.  Through a contact we today had the good fortune to be invited to the home of an Ira and Barbara Wool, a flat on the 14^th floor of an Art Deco building overlooking Lake Michigan.

Ira is a very successful bio-chemist at the University of Chicago and has built up an impressive collection of artworks : paintings, scultures, and furniture. We were taken up to see the collection in small groups using the lift opening out directly into his flat and operated by a liftman. Ira knew all the artist whose work he had bought and indeed some of them had stayed in the flat. So he had a rich store of anecdotes to tell.

I was able to step out onto the fire escape which gave me wonderful views of Chicago and also the ground 14 storeys below. In the main room he had a chair designed by Frank Gehry which we could sit on (so unlike the same type of chair we had seen earlier in the Art Institute !). The room itself had lots of paintings as well as a wonderful view over the lake.

We also went to the top floor to see the ballroom, before ending up out on the roof for more panoramas.

After lunch we had a wander round Chicago on our own, which enabled us to explore the Cultural Centre with many interesting aspects, including a dramatic stained glass dome.

In the evening we had cocktails and then dinner at the Cliff-Dwellers Club, a very smart venue also overlooking the lake and right by the skyscrapers. As the daylight faded we could go out onto the balcony and see the tall buildings lit up.

Finally, we walked down south to Buddy Guy's club, called Legends. They had a perfectly competent blues group playing but then to our surprise, Buddy himself appeared and did a number.

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Chicago Holiday Day 5 of 9

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Summary :

Whole Day at Taliesin East

Detail :

We had an early start, so early we had to use the local McDonalds for breakfast, which must be the first time we have been in one for about ten years. We then had a four hour drive to Taliesin, the Wisconsin base for Frank Lloyd Wright's home and school in the 1910s and after.  We had been to his equivalent place in Arizona, Taliesin West, back in 1998 so this completed a pleasing symmetry for us.

We did two tours of one and two hours either side of lunch, learning more about the man and his work. Apparently he told his students that it wasn't enough to learn the theory about house design – they had to experience the practical side. What a fortunate by-product it must have been that in gaining this experience, the students built all the school buildings and the accommodation without FLW having to spend anything on labour costs.

Our hotel supplied copies of the Financial Times at no charge and we had brought one with us. Since we had seen all the scenery on the way to Wisconsin, we were able to concentrate on the FT crossword during the return. Since this was not that much quicker a journey than the way out, it was a good job we were not too speedy in identifying the answers.

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Chicago Holiday Day 4 of 9

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Summary :

Visits to Oak Park, Illinois Institute of Technology

Detail :

Today we saw work by two of the twentieth century's most influential architects : Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe. We went first to a suburb called Oak Park, which is where Frank Lloyd Wright designed or adapted many of his earliest houses, right back in the 1900s.

Our guide on the two hour walking tour told us about the man's early life and also about the new styles he introduced. We learnt about his inspirations, and also about his techniques. One, for example, was called compression-expansion and this led to low ceilings over doorways which would then draw you into the room proper with its higher ceiling.

After lunch we visited his Unity Temple, which was a very stylish place of worship, if somewhat smaller than its name would imply. The lights, windows, and use of colour all added to the appeal of the building. The local churchman gave us a detailed and clear account of the place, pointing out all the little details which marked this out from the hundreds of humdrum examples of other such buildings. For example, he showed how the design meant that none of the 400 strong congregation would be more than 10m away from the speaker.

Finally we went to the Illinois Institute of Technology(Chicago's equivalent to MIT), where students showed us around the campus. All the buildings here are either by Mies van der Rohe or are inspired by him. We were told that SOM(Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill) designed one of these tribute buildings, accordingly wrapping some of his trademark girders over the roof. Apparently Mies was horrified because he used the absolute minimum of components, so all of his girders were there because they were needed while these girders were ornamentation, something he abhorred.

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Chicago Holiday Day 3 of 9

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Summary :

Visits to Art Institute, Museum of Contemporary Art

Detail :

Taking the opportunity for another exploration, we discovered the James Thompson Center, a modern building with a most impressive atrium.

We spent nearly all of the morning and some of the afternoon in Chicago's premier Art Museum, the Art Institute. We entered via the only-just-opened new wing, once the security guard outside had sorted out the fact that he was locked out.

There was a lot of light in this new wing but not that much content, and the directions were appalling : a triumph of aesthetics over usability, I fear.

But once we found our way into the body of the museum, we were able to see what a vast collection it holds. Or rather we were not able, because it was so big. It had a marvellous Impressionist section where we found the very same painting that was on Pam's bag (Gustave Caillebotte's Paris Street; Rainy Day, 1876-77). The modern section looked good too, but we were familiar with this style of art so instead we spent time on American art from the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Later on, we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, en route seeing an enlarged 3D version of the Grant Wood work, American Gothic, the original of which we had seen a short time earlier. This museum had some small mini-exhibitions, including one which told the story of Buckminster Fuller, albeit not that well.

I was exhausted by this stage but Pam still had some energy so she went up the John Hancock Tower, now the third highest building in Chicago. There were therefore some fantastic views from the cocktail bar on almost the top floor.

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Chicago Holiday Day 2 of 9

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Summary :

River Tour of buildings, Walking tour of historic skyscrapers

Detail :

We started our first full day in Chicago by going on a 90 minute trip through the city on an open-topped boat, looking at the stunning skyscrapers. We had a most knowledgeable guide commentating, so we heard all sorts of interesting anecdotes and histories about all the buildings.

The Chicago Architecture Federation offers lots of two hour walking tours so in the afternoon we did one where the guide told us all about the many “historic” skyscrapers (ie. those built between 1890s and the 1930s).

While we were out we had our first glimpse of “Segway”s, two wheel powered personal transport systems. They were used not just by tourists but by the police too.

Chicago Holiday Day 1 of 9

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Summary :

Fly to Chicago

Walk in Millennium Park

Detail :

We had mixed feelings about our flight out (1200-2000 BST times) on a BA Boeing 777 from Heathrow. There were only 11 of us in our 48 seat section so we had good service, but the lunch was disappointing and although there was an extensive choice of video and audio options, it was not “on demand” so one had to guess the starting times. The only film I watched was the 2008 BBC version of “The 39 Steps”.

Immigration at Chicago was surprisingly swift and by 1535 local (2135 BST) we were in our room at the Palmer House Hilton. This is very centrally placed so when we went for an exploratory walk we were delighted to find that we were only a block away from Millennium Park. This has a wonderful creation by Anish Kapoor whose name is “Cloudgate” but which is more often called “The Bean”. There was another spectacular piece called “Crown Fountain”, two 15m high pillars with videos of faces on the two surfaces facing each other. Every so often their expressions would change and out of the faces' mouths spouts of water would appear.

James Stacks Up

There does not seem to have been much time for cooking anything special lately but yesterday I made one of the quicker puddings from my much-loved James Martin Desserts book I have used many times before.

This time it was a Raspberry Stack, with discs of puff pastry separated by raspberries, mascarpone cream, and double cream set in a pool of raspberry sauce. Delicious.

A Cameraless Walk

Setting out on another training walk today, I was dismayed to find that on the day I took only the one camera, its battery had gone flat so could take no photos (until we reached home when it was possible to use the other camera to snap me having a refreshing cup of tea.)

The walk itself started at the car park on the southbound A22 just before junction 6 on the M25. We crossed over the bridge to travel westwards past Pilgrim Fort along the North Downs Way, via Gravelly Hill past Whitehill Tower within sight of The Harrow, then further west into the Surrey Wildlife Trust SSSI of Quarry Hangars.

Here we had our usual picnic lunch (for the second time in nine days overlooking the M25) before going down under the motorway to walk on the flat past Becks Cottage, Place Farm, the North Park quarry, back over the M25, up the scarp of the North Downs near Freer Farm Kennels, and thence back to the car. It did not seem like it but we had covered about 15 km in 4 hours.

Yes, Somebody Was There

On Thursday afternoon we went to the Cineworld Haymarket to see the latest Michael Caine film, Is Anybody There ? We were a little dubious once we found our seats because they were so low compared with the heights of the backs. Hardly anyone else was there so we did not find out if there would be a problem with viewing over the heads of people in front.

I first saw Caine in the 1964 film, Zulu. In Is Anybody There he plays a magician who ends up in an old people's home, and the story consists of how he and the 8 year old son of the couple running the place build a relationship.

As can be imagined, there are many sad moments but these are accompanied by cheering scenes. I had thought there might be more magic tricks in the film and the plot was unsurprising if not predictable in many ways but there was still enough to keep us interested from start to finish.

Adding in the film's brevity and its welcome lack of swearing, with just the one lapse, this is a film we can certainly recommend.

Lunch Near Nelson

Lunch yesterday was at the Albannach in Trafalgar Square, a smart place Pam found through the Top Table website which allowed us to buy the food at half-price.

The restaurant has a Scottish theme which meant that haggis was available, for example, and whisky was involved in several of the puddings. The serving staff wore kilts while there was a lifesize illuminated paper deer.  It was not as tacky as this all sounds - quite the opposite, in fact.

After we both had the excellent mushroom and leek tart, Pam opted for the Swordfish Steak while I went for the Buccleuch pork chop, with caramelised apples & sage. These were both rather tasty without being that memorable. Then for pudding Pam had the rhubarb crumble, which was perfectly acceptable and I had the chocolate pot, which was small, smooth, and intense.

The service was very friendly, and we had a table on the first floor overlooking a Gaudi-like balcony onto the bar area below. The atmosphere suffered a little because of the rather large number of empty tables but we would happily return again … at least while the food was half-price !

Staging a Trip to the Garrick

As I have mentioned before, Pam belongs to a branch of NADFAS (National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts), which organises talks and outings relating to art topics. This morning we went on a trip they arranged to the Garrick Club near Leicester Square. The Garrick is aimed at actors and the building is full of portraits of people who have trod the boards over the last two hundred years. (Having said that, the first thing we saw at the entrance was an envelope awaiting pick up by Mark Knopfler.)

Our two guides were immensely knowledgeable and were full of stories. They pointed out how the paintings illustrated the importance in the old days of gestures, so that particular stances meant “shock” or “fright” or whatever. They also said how influential they could be, such as the one of an old actor demonstrating madness by plucking insects out of the air. Apparently Lawrence Olivier must have seen this because he once was on stage with Sir Ralph Richardson when the latter had a long soliloquy, and upstaged him by going through this insect-plucking routine, much to Sir Ralph's annoyance, of course. The pictures were also a reminder of how Shakespeare plays were performed in contemporary dress up until halfway through the nineteenth century.

We learnt how AA Milne left 25% of his estate to the club, a legacy which became highly significant when Disney bought the film rights for some huge sum ($300m, I read here.) Also, the colours of the club are salmon and cucumber, so if you see someone with a tie, or socks, in those colours, they might well be a member.

We were taken to the library which is THE place to go for theatrical items such as scripts, posters, or programmes. Among the items we saw was a copy of Hamlet with illustrations by Henry Moore and a small thin sculpted piece of metal on the front. It was apparently given to Sir John Gielgud who gave it to Sir Alec Guinness who in turn gave it to the library.

All in all, it was a fascinating experience.

Pecking Away

One of our neighbours pointed out how a green woodpecker had pecked out an almost perfect hole in one of his willow trees, leaving a pile of chippings on the lawn. We always enjoy seeing these birds on our lawn because they seem to have such character, as well as being colourful. Today I managed to take a snap of one on one of our own trees.

Worth Walking on Worth Way

We had to go to Crawley today so we took the opportunity to do a walk, specifically along the Worth Way.

Since this is a former railway line, it was just the opposite of what Pam requires in the way of practice, being so very flat. But it was a most pleasant route and a vivid reminder of the loss it would have been had the local council had its way a few years ago and converted it into a road.

Unroyal Service at Royal Oak

Today we made our usual annual visit to our wood with Roger and Jane but unfortunately we were a little on the late side. Unlike those we saw on Saturday, the bluebells were definitely on their way out.

Then we had another disappointment because when we popped in to the pub in the wood, the Royal Oak, we were told that there was no chance of any food for two hours. The pub was not particularly crowded and we have never had any problems before, but what really upset us was the attitude of the apparent manager : no apology, no expression of regret, and certainly no explanation, just a “no, and be grateful you have a drink” type approach.

We moved on the The Grasshopper at Moorhouse Bank, where we had a delicious meal from the Carvery, something I normally avoid, for just £9.50 each. And the friendly service could not have been a bigger, and more welcome, contrast with the Royal Oak.

Spring Clean for Patio

With last year's bad weather I failed to clean the patio as I did in 2007. But today the sun persuaded us to have another go, with Pam using the power washer and me sweeping the water away as fast as I could.

It was great exercise and it made an impressive difference but we were so slow. After two hours we stopped and we had managed only half the patio.

Lunch watching the M25

The sun was out today so we went for another training session, a bit shorter than one last month. We started off in Woldingham by going through Great Church Wood where the bluebells were tremendous.

We carried on to the scarp slope of the North Downs, ending up on Oxted Downs where we had lunch overlooking the M25, which in the sun was a more scenic sight than it sounds. We then partly retraced our steps before taking the steps up Gangers Hill.

April 2009 TV Report

See here for March's report.

Total Hours Watched : 40+

Programmes watched :

Films :-

The Long Good Friday (1980)

How The West Was Won (1962)

Documentaries :-

World War I Flying Aces

Making of "Streetcar Named Desire"

Jackie Stewart story

Yellowstone (part 3)

The Story of Cool

Shackleton Expedition Re-enactment

Queen Victoria Accession

Cinerama History

Comedy :-

Big Bang Theory Series 2 (Episodes 11, 12, and 15)

30 Rock Series 2 (Episodes 7-9)

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads (Thelma leaves Bob)

Other :-

Sky At Night (Huygens)

Alan Whicker x3

Dr Who Easter Special

Lake District drive

Sandie Shaw Supplement (60s)

Cilla (60s)

Inspector Foyle

Martin Freeman Goes To Motown

Messiah (Howard Goodhall)

IBM Reunion

Tonight was our bi-annual IBM Croydon get-together. As usual in our Spring reunions (although see here for a counter-example), numbers were lighter than for our November ones, but the quality was as good as ever, with a couple of first-timers as a bonus.

Another New House

We met our neighbours, David and April, when we moved here a quarter of a century ago. They had built their own house and since then have built another, which they moved into before selling. Now they are building another and yesterday we popped round to see how the construction is coming along.

We had already seen the plans, which were most impressive, but seeing it in the flesh (or wood) began to bring home how attractive – and environmentally friendly - a place it is going to be.

Windermere holiday Day 8 of 8 – Travelling home

Today was spent driving home, an event free journey starting at 09:30 and finishing about 15:30. En route we stopped at a service station just south of Cannock in order to do a bit of M&S stocking up and to eat our usual picnic lunch.

The place was unusual in that we had to cross the road to reach the shop.

Windermere holiday Day 7 of 8 - Blackwell

Since this was a bit of a wet day, we decided to go to Blackwell, a house run by the Lakeland Trust just the other side of Bowness.

We were very impressed with the house, built in 1898-1900 on the shores of Lake Windermere for a brewery owner called Holt. It was designed, decorated, and furnished in the Arts and Crafts style. About 10 years ago it was acquired by the Lakeland Arts Trust who have restored the place to how it might have looked when it was built.

The printed guide was most informative, drawing our attention to details we might have missed. I find much of the Art Nouveau decoration very attractive and I understand the appeal of the individually created item over a mass-produced one. But some of the Arts and Crafts output smacks of being old-fashioned for the sake of it (for example here, the stained glass was more medieval church like rather than, say, Charles Rennie MacKintosh).

But regardless of some of the individual items, overall the house was a delight to visit, including as it did a small exhibition of modern ceramics and a café serving delicious, and slightly different, meals. On a day with better weather there would have been stunning views of the lake too.

Windermere holiday Day 6 of 8 – Coniston Walk

Today we undertook the longest walk of the whole week : walk 26 in the Jarrold book, up the Old Man of Coniston. We missed the car park we had been looking for, but as a result found a place on a side road, so we enjoyed free parking for the only time this week.

We set off at 10:00 and went up and up for two and a half hours. The route initially followed Levers Water Beck, going past lots of industrial archaeology with the remains of old slate quarries. We passed an attractive small lake called Low Water, a rather dispiriting name given we thought we had climbed quite a bit. The fact that it looked frezing cold did not dissuade a couple of lads from going for a swim in it.

Stopping for breaks gave us the chance to look at the ever more impressive views and we eventually realised that the top was not far away. Once at the 800m high summit, at 12:30, we stopped for a biscuit and a good look at the scenery.

Despite the sun, an icy wind forced us to put fleeces on for the first stage of our descent, down past Dow's Crag to Goat's Water. Since the wind had now dropped, we stopped for our usual delicious lunch.

On our next stage we saw something which we have seen many times on the box but never in real life : a shepherd controlling two sheepdogs by whistles in order to round up three escaped sheep. Later on, we saw a sheep which had apparently given birth to a lamb just a short time earlier because we saw it eating the placenta.

The final stretch of the walk was very pleasant, being flat and alongside Coniston Water. Towards the end we saw both Coniston Hall and, on the opposite side, Brantwood, the home of John Ruskin.

We arrived back at the car at 17:00, thus taking seven hours for the 14.5 km walk.

Windermere holiday Day 5 of 8 – Bowness

Following three consecutive days of serious walks, we took advantage of the lack of sun to restrict ourselves to a walk straight out from our cottage, down through Windermere to Bowness, and then along the lake briefly before returning via footpaths back to our cottage.

After passing a Millennium Memorial, an attractive slab of slate near a small clock tower, we went into a small but exciting art gallery called the Pinfold Gallery. Some of the works were just the sort of thing we liked, and which we rarely find. Although the prices were attractive too we decided we just did not have enough space in the car to transport any home.

We bought postcards and stamps in Bowness but the only place we might have been tempted into for lunch was closed.

Windermere holiday Day 4 of 8 – Place Fell Walk

Today was our third beautifully sunny day out of three. We drove 11 miles over the 450m high Kirkstone Pass to Patterdale where the car park was only £3.50, being owned by the local hotel.

We did walk 25 in the Jarrold book, which was flat at first followed by a steady ascent along the side of a slope with good view of Helvellyn and Striding Edge. At the top of this part we discovered the path went almost straight up to the summit (in fact to Round How) but then the final few metres to Place Fell itself were not so bad. This climb was very steep in places and unrelenting throughout, with the final approach to Round How a scramble. The hot sun and an almost total absence of breeze did not help.

Before the summit we saw 6-10 other walkers but after the summit our route meant we were almost on our own. There were huge views of parallel ridges on both sides as path sloped downwards mostly gradually. Nearly all of the time we could hear only skylarks, and no human generated sounds at all. A buzzard appeared briefly. We had lunch sitting on rock by path 13:50 – 14:15, overlooking Boredale, a most inappropriate name given the grandeur of the steep sided valley.

Immediately after lunch we started a steep descent along the side of Sleet Fell down to Boredale, which was a little painful for the toes. Although sheep, if not lambs, were now in view in general there was not much to see. Finally, about 15:00, we reached Ullswater for what the walks book promised would be “one of the most beautiful paths in the Lake District.” Once again, as for walk 17 yesterday, we found the claim a little exaggerated, with the lake appearing no more than pretty. The ups and downs of the path, together with its rocky uneven surface, did not help either. Indeed, the walk became a bit of a slog, with the path becoming rather more crowded. Finally we reached Side Farm where we shared a bottle of Sprite before returning to the car at 17:23 so the 13km walk took 6hr 50min.

Windermere holiday Day 3 of 8 – The Langdales Walk

Today we did walk 17 in the Jarrold book, around the two Langdale valleys.

We started at 10:45, having again been able to find parking only in a car park costing £6. After a deceptively level start, we climbed up the side of Side Pike, skirting around the summit to descend to the attractive Blea Tarn. Although the paths had loose stones and small rocks which made walking rather tricky, the compensation came in the form of blue skies and spectacular peaks all around.

Blea Tarn was followed by Blea Moss and then we found Ting Mound, a small hump where apparently back in the 9^th or 10^th century locals used to congregate in a rudimentary form of government. We saw something very similar in the Isle of Man last June, only there of course it is still in use.

We stopped for lunch on rocks overlooking Little Langdale Tarn. During the next stretch our walk directions were a little misleading so we found ourselves doing two sides of a triangle rather than the third. But then we enjoyed pleasant sections through Braysbrown and Hag Woods. Unfortunately the last stretch along Great Langdale Beck was both very rough underfoot and ever-undulating, a combination which was rather tiresome. We were back at car at 15:55 after just over 12 km, a walk time of five hours compared with the book's estimate of four.

Windermere holiday - Day 2 of 8 – Wansfell Walk

The purpose of this week is to get Pam as ready as possible for her trek later this year so we are hoping to do as many walks as possible. We are using the Jarrold book of Lake District walks and today are doing walk 20, to Wansfell and Troutbeck.

The walk starts in Ambleside where we found the car park costs £6.00, but at least we found a space. The walk ascended up to Stock Gyhll Force through a wood before going out in the open for very long and steep climb up to Wansfell Pike (484m).

Next we went down a long path, eventually arriving at Troutbeck where we turned right on a road to walk through the long thin “village” (actually more a row of cottages). Having had lunch on a seat just past the Post Office we followed a more gentle climb, which soon revealed beautiful views of Lake Windermere, frustratingly in the sun, though, so no good photos.

Then we continued to Jenkyns Ear, though the view was not as good here as it presumably once was because of trees having grown too high. Finally we did a descent through woods back down to car park, finishing at 15:20, which meant we took 40 minutes more than the estimated four hours.

Windermere holiday Day 1 of 8 – Travel Up

We drove up to Windermere today for a week's holiday. Leaving just after 10:30 we arrived at 16:40. The car told us the driving time had been 5 hours 8 minutes, the average speed had been 58 mph, the distance was 296 miles, and our fuel economy was 48.5 mpg.

The place we are staying in is a conversion of an old school, with two floors being made out of the original tall one. This means the original windows stretch up from our bedroom on the ground floor to our living room on the first.

Apart from the general attractiveness of the place, we were pleasantly surprised to find a Booth's supermarket within five minutes walk. This was a new chain for us but it seemed very well-stocked, including a large selection of “Cook!” products. What a shame we had bought a number of M&S meals at a service station on the way.

Celebrating Without the Birthday Girl

It was our friend Paula's birthday yesterday but we were unable to see her so instead we went out with her mother, Beryl, for lunch at one of her favourite haunts : Galicia's, in South Croydon. We were last there for Beryl's 80th.

Needless to say the lunch would have been enjoyable anyway because of the company but the food also was excellent. They do a fixed price offer, where one can choose two items from a long list of tapas and of course when there are several of you it is possible to share out everyone's choices. We augmented the set offer with puddings and a bottle of wine so it took us quite a time to finish.  As you can see from the photo, it was a bit windy outside but the temperature reached 21º, the hottest so far this year.

We don't know how much Paula enjoyed her birthday but we certainly did.

They Didn't Rock Me

We went to see We Will Rock You last night at the Dominion in Tottenham Court Road. Although I am a great fan of most of Queen's output, the show was a bit of a disappointment.

On the plus side, we had excellent seats, near the centre in the tenth row back, just as the rake of the auditorium starts to lift each row above the one in front. The backdrops to the sets were highly colourful animated displays, full of motion and excitement. Some of the lines were rather amusing (example : a character pulls a chair away from underneath someone called Cliff Richard, who unsurprisingly falls on the floor. "Don't worry", says the man with the chair, "He's indestructible."

But these positives were more than offset for me by the negatives. Worst of all, perhaps, was something that seemed at first to be admirable : the power and volume of the singers. After a while, though, this belting out of all the songs at top volume without any change or restraint became boring and then tiresome. Another problem was the near complete lack of characterisation. I never really got to like, dislike, or react in any way to any of the characters which meant that I ended up not caring. Finally, although some of the lines were OK, as mentioned above, mostly they were unsubtle laboured efforts which, to be fair, were just the job for the many tourists in the audience.

Since I had enjoyed Buddy, Mama Mia, and, above all, Our House, all musicals whose stories were concocted to facilitate the use of songs by a particular artist, I had expected to have a good time (almost a pun) with this Queen based vehicle. But I was sadly let down.

From Handel to Hendrix to Hind... ?

Today was the 250th anniversary of Handel's death so the Handel House Museum in Mayfair opened its doors for free. We could not pass up an opportunity like this so along we went, discovering that, unsurprisingly, we were not the only ones to feel that way. Indeed we had to queue for 60 minutes to get in but once there we felt obliged to stay. We had the crossword to do.

Once inside we discovered another world, with the rooms containing items of Handel related history including scores he had written as well as one in Mozart's writing (it was an arrangement he did of a Handel piece). There were plenty of information panels, people playing pieces of Handel music on harpsichords, and even some clothes to try. From their size it was clear they were meant for somewhat younger visitors but I had a go anyway.

There were also some photos of Jimi Hendrix because he lived next door for two or three years in the late Sixties, which has led to the building having two blue plaques. Given the pattern of names, it seems that the next musician to live there will have to have a surname beginning with Hind.

Looking for Love ... rs Lane

We made the most of the Easter Monday sunshine by going for a walk with Julie, with whom we had done another training session back last month. This time we returned to Reigate Hill where we did a walk in January.

Once again, we concentrated on lots of ascents and descents rather than length. Indeed, we took five hours to cover the 9 kilometres but it was very pleasant. We saw many daffodils that were still thriving plus lots of bluebells that were just coming out.

My route was intended to go as far as Lovers Lane, which the OS map showed as just over the M25. We did find it but it was such a small path it apparently did not warrant its own sign. Hence no photo of it.

Rather Sheepish on the Farm

We often have had dealings with the Downlands Countryside Management Project over the years, for example when we go rhododendron bashing. Yesterday they held an open day at their farm, Old Lodge Farm at Little Woodcote near Purley, and we went along to see the newly born lambs.

We saw lots of ewes in a barn, together with the lambs they had already had, including a couple which had been born that very morning. We learnt that they have already this year had almost as many lambs born as during the whole of the season last year. Currently they are being used to replace some elderly Herdwicks which soon will be too old to continue grazing.

It might sound strange to talk about sheep being too old to graze but the DCMP flocks are used to graze the project's many open spaces, such as Farthing Downs, in order to foster the optimum environment for wild flowers. This means that the grass they eat is low in nutrients and so the sheep have to eat more than an average sheep would.

One other snippet we learnt was how they have concentrated all the lambs' births into a shorter period this year. They did this by exposing a recently castrated ram into the flock of ewes. His smell stimulated the ewes into season which meant that when the real breeding ram was introduced, all the ewes became pregnant at roughly the same time.

Then we were taken out in one of the project's Land Rovers to look at the sheep in the fields around the barn. These are used by the sheep as a base in-between "assignments" to grazing duties on the projects spaces.

It was a most interesting tour, giving us an insight into the difficulties of the project's sheep ownership, breeding, and use.

Chocolate Cake for Easter

I made another cake from my cake book yesterday : a very basic chocolate cake but for me the butter icing on top and in the middle makes it rather tasty.

Badge of the Century

Last year I helped judge a competition in which local scouts designed a badge to mark their centenary. The winning entry was made into an actual badge and today I was most pleasantly surprised to be given one.

Security Gadget

Security of online accounts is a bit of a pain but perhaps it is a necessary one. For a new HBOS account I recently opened I have been sent a little gadget which display a six digit number. This changes every minute but when I logon to the associated bank account I am prompted to enter whatever it is showing at that moment. It lasts for several years before needing to be replaced.

It might be very secure but how would it work if you (a) had several financial sites requiring secure access and (b) each one had their own gadget ? Surely keeping track of which device to use for all of those sites would be a nightmare.

Through the Treetops with Jane - without Tarzan

Just over a year ago we went to Kew and saw the Henry Moore sculptures then on display there. That was with our friends Malcolm and Mandy but today we returned with Roger and Jane, together with her brother Paul whom we saw down in Devon back in June 2007.

The latest attraction is a Tree Walk, 18m high, which one can use to walk through the branches and leaves of various trees.

Remembering Rene Again

Today saw our annual Rene Memorial Lunch day, when between 30 and 40 of Pam's relatives have a get-together in memory of Pam's mother, Rene.

Last year we were at the Duke's Head in Wallington but this time we switched to another Young's pub, the Chequers at Walton-on-the-Hill. This had the advantage of a car park and easier access from the M25 plus the room itself was more atmospheric and spacious.

The food was a little disappointing, with my roast beef being rather on the tough side and my bread-and-butter pudding rather uninspiring. My soup was delicious, to be fair. In any case, the object was not to have a memorable culinary experience but to catch up with other members of the family, most of whom we had not seen since last year.

We took some display boards in on which we pinned many old photographs which stimulated lots of reminiscences.

Learning Lessons From "The Class"

After going to the Ideal Home exhibition Show (see yesterday's comment) yesterday, we went on to see "The Class". This film tells the story of a French schoolmaster teaching his class of Parisian 13 to 15 year olds over the course of a year.

It is a captivating story, engaging because the characters, including the teacher, at different times invoke our sympathy, our support, and our condemnation. I believe the adults are professional actors while the pupils are real pupils given a script too, but you would never guess it from the realistic way they deliver their lines.

The film, which has only about three or four sets, is shot in a fly-on-the-wall style, complete with hand-held camera-shake occasionally.

As for the story itself, it is best not to give too much away but suffice to say it is a reminder how difficult a job it must be to teach in a secondary environment, especially in today's world where the pupils come from so many different backgrounds.

My First Ideal Home

  Using a two-for-one offer, we visited the Ideal Home exhibition today. This was my first time but apparently I did not see it as it traditionally has been experienced. The difference ? Well, there were hardly any people there. When we stopped for a quick bite at lunchtime, the exhibitor we shared a table with told us that normally it was heaving with people. She claimed that EDF, who have taken over the main sponsorship from the Daily Mail, had failed to promote it properly - a sentiment repeated by the man who persuaded us to take part in a wine-tasting (unsuccessfully, though, in that we did not buy any wine).

The Daily Mail must still have been involved because on entering we were given a big plastic bag with a copy of the paper inside, something I quickly dumped lest anyone thought I might read such a publication.

There were many good things about the show : we sat in a cookery demonstration where a Tiffany Goodall cooked three most attractive courses in about 30 minutes. They were seared tuna steak, spiced lamb leg steak, and a rhubarb fool for pud. Ainsley Harriott had a stand and I was able to chat to him and shake his hand (see photo). He was very friendly, being especially good to all the old ladies, and one of the demonstrators confided in us later that Ainsley was just the same behind the scenes as he appears in front of the cameras.  

The demonstrator represented another of the highlights which was the chance to listen to people giving the sales patter - even if you were not interested in what they were selling it was normally a real entertainment to hear their performance. In one case, a chap was demonstrating a mandolin, something we already have. But it was a joy to hear all his jokes and, indeed, to see his techniques which we shall have to practise in the future.

There was a lot of rubbish on display, as you might expect, but also some nifty gadgets and tools. In the five hours we were there, we bought something that was heavy enough to be delivered, a couple of things that we carried in a bag, and a copy of mops which we then carted round London as if we were looking for a fancy-dress party which we were attending in the role of Neptune.

I was even able to enjoy a touch of nostalgia by having a go at Scalextric.