Warpath symmetry
Autumn duck flotilla
Look behind you
Latest recommended exercise
Telegraph 14th Nov - Laura Shirreff
Supposed to help prevent dementia. But, at just four exercises, a wider feasible plan for older people.
1. Aerobics - loads of regimes. Up tp 150 minutes per week in 3 sessions is NICE recommendations. Cycling, swimming, running. Walking if you get sweaty and breathless. I have a rowing machine which isn't used enough. Make your own up 2-3 times a week.
2. Pilates (and/or yoga and tai chi) - I cheated and joined a class a lot of years ago. Two of us go, so no backing out. Coffee after. Once weekly. Flexibilty is the big bonus. Supposedly good for anxiety, but so is gatting out and doing something.
3. Walking - everyone goes on about steps, even buying a machine to count them. This guide suggests 40 minutes a day. It's a challenge. Calculate what you do as part of your day and simply make it up to 40 mins. It's good to be out of doors, preferably in nature, weather permitting. I need to do more.
4. Lifting weights - 45 mins twice a week; I use 2kg dumbbells for arm raises, bicep and tricep curls (10 reps), with 10 kg for a sitting shoulder press (10 reps). Along with 10-20 mins on the bike for quads and the hundred for abdominals. Two circuits are plenty for me.
The article lists all the physical and chemical changes that exercise promotes with references to worthy research. I'm simple by comparison. Get up and out and do something, regularly.
New Mill MVC excursion to North Wales
On paper it could have been a bit of a route march. Port Sunlight, Caernarfon, concert, slate museum, cathedral city, Betwys and the travelling. All in less than 4 days.
Not a bit. The travel was easy and the visits were clear. Helped by a great driver and informative guides. Along with meeting old friends and making new ones.
Port Sunlight is clean and manicured. The slate museum isn't. Sadly it was the source of silicosis, a serious industrial lung disease. Both are monumental, tributes to industrialist and philanthropist William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme and the slate workers. Betwys is like Blackpool without beach and sea, and no public toilets. Caernarfon castle is also a monument, to Edward I, as part of a ring of castles keeping the Welsh under control.
Llandudno
Our go-to resort for a workshop weekend for many years, during Len William's time as MD. Wiki says - 'In 1848, Owen Williams, an architect and surveyor from Liverpool, presented Lord Mostyn with plans to develop the marshlands behind Llandudno Bay as a holiday resort. These were enthusiastically pursued by Lord Mostyn. The influence of the Mostyn Estate and its agents over the years was paramount in the development of Llandudno, especially after the appointment of George Felton as surveyor and architect in 1857. Between 1857 and 1877, central Llandudno was developed under Felton's supervision.' 
Port Sunlight
(from the website) - 'founded by ‘Soap King’ William Hesketh Lever in 1888. The village was built to house Lever’s ‘Sunlight Soap’ factory workers, but today is home to a fascinating museum, beautiful architecture, a world-class art gallery, stunning parkland and a thriving community.'
Caernarfon and Castle
Concert with Cor Meibion Colwyn at St. John’s Church, Llandudno
I think we did okay, albeit with a loud Welsh tenor section behind us baritones.
Slate mining museum
Wiki says - 'The slate industry dominated the economy of north-west Wales during the second half of the 19th century. In 1898, a work force of 17,000 men produced half a million tons of slate. A bitter industrial dispute at the Penrhyn Quarry between 1900 and 1903 marked the beginning of its decline. World Wars, the depression, and competition from other roofing materials, particularly tiles, resulted in the closure of most of the larger quarries in the 1960s and 1970s.' The museum is at Llanberis, site of the former Dinorwig quarry.
Largest waterwheel on mainland Britain. Massive quarry scar.
The trip was a big success.
Not waving but drowning - Stevie Smith
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought.
And not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way
They said.
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.
This is about lack of understanding of other people's lives, a lack of empathy in other words. I have always struggled how a dead man can moan, but I am in tune with being 'too far out all my life'. It's similar to the graceful swan which glides across the calm water, whilst all hell is going on under the surface. My particular spin is overextension - trying to do too much rather than sticking to what one does best. It stems from the basic mantra I grew up with - 'must do better'. The anxiety that generated has been with me always. Successes but a dark side as well of distrust and grumpiness.
Ireland Sept 2024
It could have been a disaster. Great location and accommodation, but to some extent we were out on a limb. We needed to crack public transport with various mobile apps for the information - not easy, but no guarantee buses would arrive on the time specified once we got the apps to work. Trains were different, punctual and quick. Quick is not what road transport does, anywhere. This is Ireland - no different to many places.
Taxi to Manchester airport. Pakistani driver gave us the history of rural family life and the gradual change to urban industry - textiles mainly. Families specialised. Butcher, baker etc. They even had an entertainment family. Ryanair were an hour late arriving. So we were behind all day. Taxi from airport to holiday cottage was excellent in massive traffic and finally fiddled his way beautifully down the Rush country roads to our beachside accommodation.
Rush - first night
Mrs P, our hostess, met us. I had phoned her to say our plane was late, so she tried to help us out. Our main issue was food and drink, so she sent us 15 minutes down the beach to Rush village and the Harbour Bar. Nice spot, Guinness, large portions. Expensive. Pleasant sundown return, through a playground.
Rush on the beach and the cricket club
Ours has a pink park bench in front, easily moveable onto the grass and in the sun. Just a lovely spot, albeit a tad isolated. I had a cat for company. Super location that we were able to take full advantage of.
In order - holiday complex overview, front of the cottage, long view towards Rush, me and the cat, al fresco, Rush harbour, Rush CC, long sit, the lounge.
Rush cricket club was also a bus stop, so not hard to find and walkable. A match must have been planned - lots of cars and young men with expensive large cricket bags. Saturday and they are playing Malahide, a posh village we know quite well from previous visits. Men of colour who can play. They scored 269 - 40 overs. Rush replied and going well by the time I left. Too cold for lots of Guinness. Malahide opening bowlers started on the boundary. One batsman wore a gilete. I thought the light might be an issue, but kept quiet, as did the umpires. BBQ at €5 a pop. Lady behind the bar served Guinness like a veteran. Wandered off half poured. Told me off for picking it up early, "Let it settle," and then "she's ready for you now." So Guinness is female, I didn't know.
I worried about the metal pole up the middle of the lounge holding everything up. We only had the ground floor. Strange buses maybe, but what about the TV. 2000channels - where are the cricket highlights? This is Ireland.
Dublin
A bit too far and full of people not speaking English. Horrendous traffic. Open-top bus was good with very entertaining driver. Went by Dart (local train), bus connection good. Asked for help from a local to get us orientated. Two hours to get back by bus - awful. I can't remember why we chose it. Not the local's fault. O'Connell St and lunch by the river Liffey.
Skerries
Standard fishing boat harbour. Cold and windy. Lonely bird on the beach. Great coffee shop. Memorial garden for lunch. Pic here is at the mill for afternoon tea. Skerries mill is stunning, both to look at and what they achieved. 2 mills. Everything done on site, even growing the wheat. Winnowing, waterwheel power, milling, cooking bread and distributing and selling the loaves. Is that a vertical mill? Sunny afternoon. Discussed bus timetables with a young girl in the return queue. It is confusing even for the natives. Some kids give up their bus for us. Judith very impressed by courtesy. This is Ireland.
Malahide
Great to be back in a village we love, especially Gibney's. We discovered it is the terminus for the Dart. Going forward is on Irish rail. Bus connections worked, though we had to wait when the first one was full - not a long wait. Talking to locals again, apparently they changed all the train times and caused so much confusion, they had to change them back after a few days. Visited the Castle grounds and the cricket club. Home to the Irish international team - temporary stands for 11500 supporters. Otherwise an open field for anyone to use. Marina for lunch.
Edward Thomas 1878-1917
Never heard of him. Wiki says - He only started writing poetry at the age of 36, but by that time he had already been a prolific critic, biographer, nature writer and travel writer for two decades. In 1915, he enlisted in the British Army to fight in WW1 and was killed in action at Arras in 1917, soon after he arrived in France. He was a close friend of Robert Frost how wrote 'The road not taken'. Thomas was described by British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes as 'the father of us all.' Poet Laureate Andrew Motion has said that Thomas occupies 'a crucial place in the development of twentieth-century poetry' for introducing a modern sensibility, later found in the work of such poets as W.H.Auden and Ted Hughes. Wiki says a lot more.
I enjoy these poems because they are short and to the point. The imagery is such that I am in the poem. How many have seen the abandoned roller at the side of the cricket field? Or, stopped at an empty rural railway station?
Tall Nettles
Tall nettles cover up, as they have done
These many springs, the rusty harrow, the plough
Long worn out, and the roller made of stone;
Only the elm butt tops the nettles now.
These many springs, the rusty harrow, the plough
Long worn out, and the roller made of stone;
Only the elm butt tops the nettles now.
This corner of the farmyard I like most;
As well as any bloom upon a flower
I like the dust on the nettles, never lost
Except to prove the sweetness of the shower.
Snow
In the gloom of whiteness.
In the great silence of the snow,
A child was sighing,
And bitterly saying: "oh,
They have killed a white bird up there on her nest,
The down is fluttering from her breast!"
And still it fell through the dusty brightness
On the child crying for the bird of the snow.
Adlestrop
Yes, I remember Adlestrop -
The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express-train drew up here
Unwontedly. It was late June.
The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat.
No one left and no one came
On the bare platform. What I saw
Was Adlestrop - only the name.
And willows, willow-herb, and grass,
And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry,
No whit less still and lonely fair
Than the high cloudlets in the sky.
And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and father, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
Family break - Scarborough Aug 2024
An extended break and brilliant. Jenson likes to go to The Highlander with grandad. I have a pint of ghost ship and he plays on his mobile phone. The hotel has had a full frotal makeover including a lighthouse. I have been drinking here for many years, initially with the child bride's father. A few changes of ownership and bar staff. There used to be hundreds of full whisky bottles in glass cases up in the cornices and either side of the fire. Disappeared with one of the owners. Now, the cases are either empty or contain non-whisky bottles. I think the barman when I first started was a Scot - was he an owner? There used to be photos of naval ships on the wall at the far end. They had a great coal fire in winter. I recently saw an electric one - I wonder if it will come out again. The clan shields above the fire are still there as is the tartan carpet. The woodwork and dedicated lighting remain at the far end. The 2/3 drinking teams don't appear now - dentist, train guard and putting green manager to name but a few. Mum and dad often travelled with the guard from Hunmanby to Scarborough.
Then you have to do the arcades. A ton of 2ps in the slot and not a cuddly toy in sight. Across the road are the bungie jumps.
North side on the open-top bus and the North Bay Railway. Right next door are the bubbles. Great views of the bay, the crazy golf and the castle. Em enjoyed the tunnel.
Em at the beach, the climbing frame and railway station.
Saturday at the football vs. Farsley Celtic. 2-1 to Scarborough. Great bar and fan zone. Seagull mascot. The ground couldn't accommodate many more folk who were all helpful and pleasant. Close enough for us to walk back to the flat (Louise took us).
because I'm smiling
Filey Bird garden and Animal Park. Clean and orderly, but many exhibits sat still alone in cages. The paddocks for domestic animals looked okay. The swamp for frogs, toads and pond life was the most natural environment, though you don't see a lot.
Very enjoyable quality day on the beach, creating a waterway network. Also played plastic bouncy boules at which Em excelled. Strange boys kept invading our space, rounded up by dad. Cold water swimmers - brrr.
And what a shame, Em had nits. Shampoos and combs for most of the family. Everyone coped.
An extended break and brilliant.
Jedburgh summer 2024
Long journey up the A1 and A68 to 'the Lodge' at Jedburgh to say with Joan and Big Dave, friends from Northallerton days. It's like being at their house in Linlithgow. The mirror is at an Italian restaurant in Denholm, on the way to Hawick. Pleasant meal. We just happened to have a boules set with us, so we did. Not sure what the members would have thought. We didn't have a brush with us to tidy the pitch. Big Dave won.
Kelso CC, founded in1821, is the oldest cricket club in Scotland. Big Dave and Joan discovered they were at home on the Saturday we were staying. Perfect way to spend time in the sunshine. A sponsors afternoon, and convivial. The opposition were a Muslim team from Edinburgh. Competitive game, but not high standard. The bench comprised original seats, date 1887, from the Mound stand at Lords cricket ground. Presented to Kelso in 1986. A nice thing but why? They brought out scotch pies at tea time, for the sponsors. Joan went and bought four. The pavilion clock was stuck at 9.
A walk beside Ettrick Water in Selkirk, a tributary of the Tweed. The walls are flood defences with mosaic murals depicting riders and flag wavers on a common riding, an equestrian tradition mainly in the Borders. Wiki tells us it commemorates the frequent 13th and 15th century Border Rievers raids on the Anglo-Scottish border and the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Flodden. Today, the common ridings continue as annual summer events. The final image is of a kelpie demon, a shape-shifting spirit that inhabits the lochs.
The plaque tells the story in a bit more detail.
Scenery alongside the river including a ford. Weaving sheds are there too, dating from the 1830s, part of the important Scottish textile industry.
Comfortable, well fed, plenty to drink, lots to do. What's not to like.
Comfortable, well fed, plenty to drink, lots to do. What's not to like.
Sea Life Centre. Scarborough, July 2024
Feeding time in the seal enclosure; Sealife Centre, Scarborough
There's a gull in the centre looking hopeful
Likewise for the penguins
Chris and Atlas/Knox on crazy golf
A short enjoyable weekend. Open-top bus to North Bay and a walk along the shoreline. They have a rescued turtle at the centre. Swims around lazily pinching food. Due for release into the wild later this year.
Eyelines
In old man's face
Deep lines are athlete's tracks
He's won his race
Stephen Wade
(Stephen was one of my tutors at University of Huddersfield when I went to English Literature classes. He introduced us to poetry and the haiku. I picked this one up in a local monthly anthology)
Normandy 2024. July
The Boat
Riviera cruise - Jane Austen on the Seine from Paris to Normandy. All-inclusive. Not a premium cabin. But no need for that extra space when you are out and about most of the time. A busy cruise with trips every day - occasional half days on deck watching the river bank go by. The map shows the winding nature of the river, plenty of bridges, modern mostly, but still regular ferries, chalk cliffs on the bank, some small boats, and plenty of large cargo boats, always with a car on the back deck. Gravel and sand, Every village had a Notre Dame. Cheese a plenty - the blue brie was outstanding.
The map shows all the visits, either from the boat directly or catching a coach.
Here we are having dinner or lunch. Views of the deck.
Les Andelys
Two villages on opposite banks. Dominated by Chateau Gaillard, built by Richard the Lionheart in 1196 to protect his Duchy of Normandy, particularly Rouen, from the French King. Changed hands a few times during Hundred Years War, but remained French from 1449. Richard 'was was born in England, where he spent his childhood; before becoming king, however, he lived most of his adult life in the Duchy of Aquitaine, in the southwest of France. Following his accession, he spent very little time, perhaps as little as six months, in England. Most of his reign was on Crusade, in captivity, or actively defending his lands in France.' (wiki), 'The Hundred Years' War was a conflict in the Middle Ages. During the war, five generations of kings from two rival dynasties fought for the throne of France, which was then the dominant kingdom in Western Europe.'(wiki)
Impressive building achievement. The chalk cliffs are visible.
Rouen
The Cathedral is the main attraction and massive - how did they do it in 700 years? There are other buildings (eg. justice), the half-timbered ones are notable, as is the golden clock, ' an astronomical clock, horologium, or orlojis a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets (wiki)'.
The Vikings (Rollo) started the Rouen settlement. Among his descendants, after the Battle of Hastings, were the Dukes of Normandy and the British Royal Family. Rollo and Richard the Lionheart's tombs are in the cathedral. Only Richard's heart. Other bits are elsewhere like Anjou.
Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake here (1431), commemorated by a garden with monument. She said she had a vision claiming she must recover France from English domination. The Cathedral's cast-iron spire, visible from the boat, is covered for repairs and soon after our return to England it went up in a fire.
We went to a road side cafe for drinks and Carl, our decking man, rang to arrange a repair session. Being in France didn't phase him one bit.
Honfleur
Fishing village, preserved as a result of no bombing in WW2. Great market including the colourful cider stall. The church is all wood, carved by axemen of the naval yards. The pillars that hold the church roof up are solid oak tree trunks. Many painters here, most famous being the impressionist Boudin, who tutored Monet.
Bayeur
Tapestry actually embroidery, depicting th Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest. 70 metres long and 29 cm high. Fresh colours even today. It cannot be photographed but there are copies.
Bayeux was the first town to be liberated in the Battle of Normandy, following the June 1944 invasion (Operation Overlord). 4648 graves, 3935 British and 466 Germans. Most were killed during the invasion itself. Beautifully tended by Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Arromanches, Gold beach, British Memorial
Arromanches coastline showing what is left of the 146 prefabricated concrete caissons from 2 temporary Mulberry artificial harbours. Floated across from England to land men and equipment for the invasion (Operation Overlord - June 6th 1944). Le Havre and Cherbourg were not available - in German hands. Built by Royal Engineers. Sunk forming 2 semi-circular breakwaters behind which piers and bridges could deliver the supplies. 600,000 tons of concrete, 33 piers/jetties and 10 miles of roadway. Size of Dover. Colossal effort. 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles and 4 million tons of supplies landed during first 6 months of invasion.
Incredible museum in Arromanches with terrific audio-visual exhibits.
The British Normandy Memorial is a war memorial near the village of Ver-Sur-Mer in Normandy, overlooking Gold Beach. It was unveiled on 6 June 2021, the 77th anniversary of D-Day, and it is dedicated to soldiers who died under British command during the landings' (wiki). Nicholas Witchell was one of the planning group. Over 22000 names are carved in stone on the memorial.
'For Your Tomorrow,' 'Standing in the shadows of Giants' - 1,475 giant silhouettes, in honour of the servicemen who fell on D-Day itself. Across wild flower meadows overlooking the sea. Beautiful and moving.
Monet's House and Garden
Small house, full of paintings, large garden. Monet lived here from 1883 until his death in 1926. His favourite colour was yellow, so that's the colour of the kitchen. He had an oriental period. The garden inspired his impressionist paintings, especially lilies and Japanese bridge.
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