tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37139481246745808392024-03-18T00:47:05.225-07:00London CallingTONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.comBlogger246125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-10832903344426476142024-01-30T06:34:00.000-08:002024-02-06T00:24:19.910-08:00A REVIEW of Northanger Abbey a play by ZOE COOPER<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6EbJHIeqCXqMqgAA7Cg3k_WVMUWlVcIjMFAjICuBI8yzqxLPXdincgh6j5Hb91M90eGloTTVni-4XmvgO5J2bTV_waj_5BkwPSQRgY3N-_bCl5H1_O8w9FdKRW4uujWJC05jgmDc-OKaxHrZvx817jfLigpnKR1oou41ZNQ3BggEcuX92XMPwj3BugqvA/s3277/IMG_0946.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3277" data-original-width="2053" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6EbJHIeqCXqMqgAA7Cg3k_WVMUWlVcIjMFAjICuBI8yzqxLPXdincgh6j5Hb91M90eGloTTVni-4XmvgO5J2bTV_waj_5BkwPSQRgY3N-_bCl5H1_O8w9FdKRW4uujWJC05jgmDc-OKaxHrZvx817jfLigpnKR1oou41ZNQ3BggEcuX92XMPwj3BugqvA/w400-h640/IMG_0946.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Actors</p><p>HEN: Sam Newton : Henry Tilney. </p><p>CATH Rebecca Banatvala: Catherine Moreland </p><p>IZ: AK Golding : Isabella Thorpe</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>REVIEW </p><p>Jane Austens Northanger Abbey is often seen as a bit of fun. A swipe at the popular Gothic novel genre of the 18th century. A swipe at the gold diggers such as the Thorpes looking to get themselves advantageous marriages to better themselves financially. The personal development of a young girl supposedly with no hope of a prestigious marriage,plain looking, coming from a very average country family, poorly educated, inexperienced in life and who lives in a dream world of fantasy her life enlivened by the vicarious thrills of the Gothic novel. Zoe Coopers play inspired by the novel has all that but each of those elements are seen in an entirely new way making us think about Austen’s novel differently and perhaps more reflectively. It certainly made me think of Austen’s own life in a different way because of this play. </p><p><br /></p><p>Walking through the entrance to the Orange Tree Theatre which is located opposite The Orange Tree public house in Richmond upon Thames we were greeted by a smiling lady welcoming us. Two other ladies , one scanned the bar codes on my phone tickets and the other handed me the copy of the play script I had ordered online. We were welcomed effusively, all smiles and kind words. The process of arriving at and entering the theatre was honestly heart warming. The Orange Tree Theater is located in an old Victorian School House. We found our way into the Lower Circle, a bank of four rows of continuous benches encircling the whole arena with the performance space in the middle. An upper balcony provided more rows of seating encircling the upper level. Intimate, cosy Shakespeares Wooden O. “All the World is a stage.” (As You Like It.) Deep pink carpeted arena and a pink balcony . The whole theatre is small and compact. Five sparkling chandeliers hung from the ceiling. In anticipation of ,”Balls,” no doubt.</p><p><br /></p><p>We found our seats and on my seat there lay a white envelope with my name on it. I wondered what it could be. I opened it and was very pleasantly surprised to see that I had received a handwritten message welcoming me personally to the Orange Tree Theatre.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8YT9h8jbXKzyZfWng0-5Cn2SkwPFdhN1kF-quAw-CUPf9XE2ZrvpUJF1jNOvrYgDOQ1N9YRogbOS9VbQSLIQNFe8yN_FE_n5ply3MTV13pHGPqAC1Axf_FluQMaap5maMAjIBb24MdtAVkLXuHVyO32v4nMhO_KE7uWadwdCH3tRAlkiyupE_pb_1a3Y/s3539/IMG_0950.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2525" data-original-width="3539" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8YT9h8jbXKzyZfWng0-5Cn2SkwPFdhN1kF-quAw-CUPf9XE2ZrvpUJF1jNOvrYgDOQ1N9YRogbOS9VbQSLIQNFe8yN_FE_n5ply3MTV13pHGPqAC1Axf_FluQMaap5maMAjIBb24MdtAVkLXuHVyO32v4nMhO_KE7uWadwdCH3tRAlkiyupE_pb_1a3Y/w640-h456/IMG_0950.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Zoe Cooper has used an academic approach to literacy criticism. Her play is about what lies under the surface of Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey. Queer Theory represents a belief that inborn benign differences between people entitle everyone to equal rights. It is a way to analyze art, literature, music and the world around us. She has picked out personality traits and also how relationships between the characters work together.</p><p><br /></p><p>The seats filled up and the three actors who are to perform for us appeared from three different corner entrances.The prologue began. The actors, made eye contact with some of the audience ,conversed between each other as to who will do what and who needs to don which costumes. This whole improvistaion style lent itself to a fluidity between the three characters, who play all the parts between them, in their relationships and in their sexual orientation. </p><p><br /></p><p>The play begins. Sam Newton dons a full length dress with bulging lump positioned pregnantly over his stomach. He lays on the chaise long in the middle of the arena groaning with agonising birth pains that he / she is obviously beset with. At this part he plays ,Mam, (a northern term for Mum or mother) Mam is Mrs Moreland about to give birth to , they don’t know at first the sex of the baby.After much histrionics, screaming, crouching, pushing and heaving the baby is born.</p><p><br /></p><p>CATH and HEN/MAM ”A boy!”</p><p>IZ/MIDWIFE “It must be a boy…”</p><p>CATH No, it can’t be because we are doing my/birth.</p><p><br /></p><p>As you can imagine There is a lot of slipping in and out of different rolls at this point. It’s hilarious.Although I do wonder at all the mothers in the audience, what they made of a male actor portraying child birth. </p><p><br /></p><p>It was at this point in the play,at the very beginnng, that the term ,Pantomime ,came to my mind. Those of you who are British you will already know exactly what I mean.</p><p><br /></p><p>”Oh no we don’t!” </p><p>“ Oh yes you do!”</p><p>“He’s behind you!”</p><p>“Izzy?”</p><p>( Groan as much as you like!!!!)</p><p><br /></p><p>But for those of you not British, I won’t hold it against you, ( another well used pantomime innuendo)I will explain briefly.</p><p>A pantomime ,is usually based on a fairy tale such as Cinderella.It is an exaggerated form of play, that includes men dressed as women, and women dressed as men. There is a lot of audience participation, like shouting at the actors. Pantomime actors do expect to be shouted at by the audience.There must lots of corny jokes, loads of innuendos and pots of gold. Oh yes and its performed specifically for children.</p><p><br /></p><p>This play has many elements of Pantomime although it really is not a Pantomime at all.The serious points being made are too important.</p><p>The play, for all its fun and humour, takes this Austen novel and dissects it analytically into various levels of meaning.</p><p>The beginning I referred to, the birth of Catherine Moreland , CATH, suggests you question male and female rolls played by individual actors but also the inner feminine and masculine side.</p><p>The character of Henry Tilney, HEN ( another one of those northern terms, for a well loved female friend) lover of lace and choosing female clothing for his sister, supposedly, is one example. Henry also gets as much of lifes experiences from novel reading as Catherine does. A supposedly female pursuit.</p><p><br /></p><p>The role of John Thorpe, on the other hand , the absolute opposite of HEN, also played by Sam Newton, is the supreme pantomime act. A thigh slapping, horse goading testosterone fueled, egotistical maniac.He remnded me of Rik Mayal in the early episodes of Black Adder. Iwonder that his whipping horses, goading them on to faster and faster speeds, is a sexual metaphor or maybe not so much a metaphor . bestiality is not unknown. Would he have beaten Catherine like his horses if ever they did marry.?</p><p>The important relationship though in this play is that of Cath and IZ. They love each other not just on a platonic level. The second act ends in the two of them kissing.They knew soon after they first met I think, although perhaps Cath didn’t have the words for what she was experiencing. Izzy has her male side. She ,”decks,” a soldier with a punch. Some soldiers about town had begun to pester and threaten them. It is quite a threatening moment when the soldiers become aware of Caths accent and country origins. The ,”country,” is played on. “She must be used to cunt try matters” the lead soldier, played by IZ by the way quickly slipping between different characters, is sinister and worse than John Thorpe who is bad enough of course. At other times IZ tells us she dresses in a man’s great coat and hat and wanders the streets unchaperoned and unknown. In the play Catherine dreams of a marriage between herself and IZ taking place in the grounds of her fathers vicarage,her father marrying them and soft petals falling from the cherry tree above. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVs9JkpUAgqi9ZxPqylp5-9MtrZFb1vFVOS-aBb3mpKdCYW2mZYkNpNvTjZWxJ7OQU54A-2k0VFhATM5gj1Iyx7da0XVImwBTDaXngiYhHzLPTkLquam_TRTfH67PQlZyN9njQLqrd_XOkkHETMgHDGokRcYpbt_Fb-aIx6XigtVSD0v0bghc9Dj5A2d7/s4032/IMG_0900.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVs9JkpUAgqi9ZxPqylp5-9MtrZFb1vFVOS-aBb3mpKdCYW2mZYkNpNvTjZWxJ7OQU54A-2k0VFhATM5gj1Iyx7da0XVImwBTDaXngiYhHzLPTkLquam_TRTfH67PQlZyN9njQLqrd_XOkkHETMgHDGokRcYpbt_Fb-aIx6XigtVSD0v0bghc9Dj5A2d7/w640-h480/IMG_0900.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>The use of ,”Mam,” a northern name for mother, is the name given to Catherine Morelands mother. Catherine speaks with a northern dialect, probably a Bolton accent, north of Manchester as do her mother and father. Isabella Thorpe and John Thorpe speak with more received pronunciation. The English aristocracy, of which Jane Austen writes a lot in her novels,we always imagine, from the films, speak with received pronunciation. But are we sure in the 18th century that they all spoke with received pronunciation? Did some of the aristocracy speak with regional accents? Why shouldn’t Austen’s characters speak with a regional accent? </p><p>In this version of Northanger Abbey the village ,CATH comes from is not Fullerton a southern Wiltshire village near Salisbury as it is in the novel. It is a northern village hence her northern accent. I wondered why? This play is having its world premier here in the South at The Orange Tree Theater in Richmnd upon Thames, which is a wealthy upper class sort of place. However from Richmond the play will travel to the Stephen Joseph Theatre in North Yorkshire, The Theatre by The lake in Cumbria in The Lake District ( very beautiful too I must add) and the Octagon Theatre in Bolton. All, apart from The Orange Tree, are in the north of England. Zoe Cooper has written the script to make people feel at home, ‘up north.’ as much as ‘down south.’The emaphasise on the north in the play creates an awareness of the north south divide in the Untied Kingdom. Often the so called divide is seen as a joke but economically it is a real thing. That north south divide would have been there in Austens’ time. Industry happened ,”up north.”Spending the wealth derived from the industries happened,”down south.”</p><p><br /></p><p>Is Catherine the writer of this novel? Is Catherine Moreland Jane Austen? She actually says at one point. “I am the writer.” And the ending of the play suggests so too.We can discern this near the start of the play when the Allans bring Catherine to Bath. The carriage ride is an adventure full of dangers and highwaywomen ( already Cath’s inner life is emerging,excited by a dangerous woman). Of course none of this actually happens. The Allens are a little spooked by Catheirnes wild imagination. Remember Emma Woodhouse, thinks she can direct relationships between people. Has Catherine Moreland achieved it in the fictional /reality of her mind? </p><p><br /></p><p>CATH makes her drab life in a drab country village with ordinary boring parents exciting through her reading and imagination.You wonder what Jane Austen’s life as a spinster would have been if she hadn’t written novels.A pretty drab colourless sort of life I think.I am reminded of Harriet Benn, the impoverished vicars daughter who lived in Chawton near the Austens and Austen often mentions in her letters. And the question arises, what did women do about their sexuality if they didn’t marry in the 18th century? Is it possible for a human to cut themselves off from being a sexual person, from being themselves? Of course not. Can we expect that of Jane Austen or Catherine Moreland?. If they didn’t find the right man because the right man was not out there for them what close relationships did they have? Do all of Jane Austens heroines need and want a happy ending? Is marriage really the happy ending? I often shudder at what happened to Charlotte Lucas in Pride and Prejudice.</p><p>Zoe cooper has chosen her words very carefully and creates maximum impact, sometimes in a humorous way but always she makes us reflect.Towards the end of the play John Thorpe and Cath are at a ball.CATH has tried everything to deflect John Thorpes attentions . He on the other hand takes ,no, for a ,yes. He just thinks she is playing hard to get. </p><p><br /></p><p>HEN/JOHN THORPE: Still never mind,we are here now. Despite your games! Or perhaps because of them. Dancing together!</p><p><br /></p><p>CATH:I am not dancing with anyone. I am dancing near many people. That is the custom for country dancing is it not?... Our dancing is polymorphous.</p><p><br /></p><p>HEN/ JOHN THORPE: Polymorphous! Polyamorous! Poo Poo.I consider the country dance as an emblem of marriage. Fidelity to one man and complaisance to him are the principle duties of both…”</p><p><br /></p><p>This is a little out of the blue.Polymorphous is understandable, but where did polyamorous come from?This throws a whole new light on to the play. Sexual fluidity, different sexual orientations, have all been explored but the idea of polyamorous makes us think again. Who? where? what? Quite something for John Thorpe to come up with at this juncture.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have begun to think Northanger Abbey is a sort of shadow autobiography of Jane Austen written by Austen but through the mind of Catherine Moreland? We can map the events and characterisations in the play on to Austens life. The men Austen knew and had those truncated relationships with. Did she really want to marry a man? She had strong life long friendships with females. Like CATH she had brothers and lived mostly a country life apart from her sojourn in Bath of course. It is worth thinking about. This play certainly makes you wonder. </p><p><br /></p><p>There is a two part ending to the play.We have the bit where Cath has been returmed home in a sudden abrupt manner by General Tilney because he believes she is poor and certainly not the heiress he thought she was. Henry turns up at Caths village soon after. He is mortified by his fathers actions and asks her father for her hand in marriage. In this version CATH has discovered herself. She knows her true love is IZ. Henry himself perhaps has to learn his true nature yet. </p><p><br /></p><p>“CATH: No.We.That is not…</p><p><br /></p><p>Because I did betray you,Henry. And it is..</p><p>That would not have been enough for me anyway. And it must not be enough for you either.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>IZ/HEN…And I don’t expect that you and I shall ever see each other again.</p><p><br /></p><p>An epilogue occurs. </p><p><br /></p><p>HEN: And some years later…</p><p><br /></p><p>CATH , when visiting a shop sees a female figure examining a new volume. It just happens to be this play script. When she turns it is IZ. IZ has discovered herself in this volume. CATH recalls being under the cherry tree at the start of this story in her garden at home ,”where I started to write.”</p><p><br /></p><p>So, no traditional happy ending but a reflective ending.</p><p><br /></p><p>The play is acted strongly by the three very good actors. Sam Newton and Rebecca Banatvala both trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. AK Golding trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.They are very believable in their parts , parts that sometimes alternate between two characters, the same actor playing each part, characters that change their sex and sexuality, changes that often are denoted by a simple piece of costume. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl0VPap_2hG4b_aVyW_Y_w0_j6ym7WAX8Axf7LkkNZnErXVR3vO0qTfR7Lb9ET2N358cq8-AFCUgW8JTayq_neQqGWQ3-4Lku91rUNK11pQWzhF8xBnIZoYEQ5UoWbUXN4wH-h9S_25msHZs_dhUGQPhRJymWtd7o6IHtq0BPIRUfPB0FCMXzwI-dDXGEm/s3054/IMG_0707.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2495" data-original-width="3054" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl0VPap_2hG4b_aVyW_Y_w0_j6ym7WAX8Axf7LkkNZnErXVR3vO0qTfR7Lb9ET2N358cq8-AFCUgW8JTayq_neQqGWQ3-4Lku91rUNK11pQWzhF8xBnIZoYEQ5UoWbUXN4wH-h9S_25msHZs_dhUGQPhRJymWtd7o6IHtq0BPIRUfPB0FCMXzwI-dDXGEm/w640-h522/IMG_0707.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Zoe Cooper plays with words adding meaning and depth. After her first menstrual period enacted during Act One Scene 3 while playing rough games with her brother Nigel, specifically re-enacting Boewulf Nigel goads his sister telling her ,</p><p>” Real life women cannot have any sorts of adventures and must only be sensible …and subservient.” </p><p>Nigel repeats the word, subservient, making much of it, he having recently read it in Dr Johnsons Dictionary. </p><p>It is a word that describes the plight of women in the 18th century. Something that Austen in her novels shows women struggling with and sometimes overcoming or at least finding ways to manage. When she first arrives in Bath with the Allens she is pronounced ready for ,”balls.” Even I had to stifle a giggle.There is of course the mysogenistic soldiers encounterd by IZ and CATH on Milsom Street who play with the word ,”cunt-ry.”</p><p>Austen herself did not like the name Richard. Some aversion to the King Richards in medieval history. She says as much in her own youth when she wrote,”The History of England.” CATH’s father is called Richard to CATH’s mortification. Play on words and word jokes pepper the play. Austen would have loved it. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYlK0WGSN0elyJAaTaeNJeFcsCZPDGOMpRb8aw6gAFsyPl4HKd1DxET80I34KKKkWYBxayDqdwxjkbEWwvL20PabTmPRZqDBjWRzN-7yOj_odJsfQmCzOCy8IDAKCKjf4JywU0zOeQPwx42dQs0-PhmMtmqWC4k6AliOU4-ZywW4OfVGNMJOejPF-PNOq/s4032/IMG_0916.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYlK0WGSN0elyJAaTaeNJeFcsCZPDGOMpRb8aw6gAFsyPl4HKd1DxET80I34KKKkWYBxayDqdwxjkbEWwvL20PabTmPRZqDBjWRzN-7yOj_odJsfQmCzOCy8IDAKCKjf4JywU0zOeQPwx42dQs0-PhmMtmqWC4k6AliOU4-ZywW4OfVGNMJOejPF-PNOq/w640-h480/IMG_0916.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Online video of the play: </p><p>https://orangetreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/northanger-abbey/</p><p><br /></p><p>The Orange Tree Theatre:</p><p>https://orangetreetheatre.co.uk/</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-10866843176334158352023-11-28T05:53:00.000-08:002023-12-30T03:49:16.222-08:00Brixton Pansies ON RAILTON ROAD a review<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLqODoNQNaNfNHCJoxwJd6Lr1_WfFpZ4XtCdJ1Q43KktJfu2hlhvtpvEQ5LGBCYYP5_NRGu-tU7xjOIrZgDEfdEAVCQMO01LE2BAQJzu8OptG2kljq_jlVslauDJ1SEbKpBAM0f2Xs4PVemF-4SQol4isNKPDbXzwa9C8Fqhz1qoSYQxvCuLzu1j36TG98/s3869/IMG_0385.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3869" data-original-width="2700" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLqODoNQNaNfNHCJoxwJd6Lr1_WfFpZ4XtCdJ1Q43KktJfu2hlhvtpvEQ5LGBCYYP5_NRGu-tU7xjOIrZgDEfdEAVCQMO01LE2BAQJzu8OptG2kljq_jlVslauDJ1SEbKpBAM0f2Xs4PVemF-4SQol4isNKPDbXzwa9C8Fqhz1qoSYQxvCuLzu1j36TG98/w446-h640/IMG_0385.jpeg" width="446" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>On Saturday 18th November my wife Marilyn and I attended the matinee performance of ,”ON RAILTON ROAD,” performed at The Museum of the Home,in Shoreditch. The play has been sold out. A great success. I bought our tickets on line about three weeks ago. We were lucky to get tickets. </p><p><br /></p><p> The Brixton Pansies, specifically formed by Ian Giles and Louis Rembges to produce this play ,”On Railton Road,” take their lead from the ,”agitprop, ”style used by the Brixton Faeries whose play ,”Mr Punch’s Nuclear family,” was first performed in 1976 . That play is combined as a play within a play within ,”On Railton Road.” Agitprop is a conjoining of the words ,agitation,and propaganda, to create a politically themed art. It originated in Russia to promulgate political ideas. The Bolshevics used the ,”agitprop train” to travel all over Russia spreading their ideas. The concept came to Europe in the 1920s and became associated with the dissemination of political ideas.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_qcD0lg7E_IL14iZkbvTp6kpB_GoBPA3YxEwnuzz6hgyN77N-emimAxeTqGi7_l6UnNQKu_QS0dZN-WxhSqbWeEDXogBPoKqx5Yu9uqHJul0lZNkVugLZfiJGzJ2WYnlrL-ja0oYaSbOn7waOaU2BJRWWCM7Ca8luEuS2JtGXrplf8Xc3fxGK7gGY1WY/s2209/IMG_0390.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2209" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_qcD0lg7E_IL14iZkbvTp6kpB_GoBPA3YxEwnuzz6hgyN77N-emimAxeTqGi7_l6UnNQKu_QS0dZN-WxhSqbWeEDXogBPoKqx5Yu9uqHJul0lZNkVugLZfiJGzJ2WYnlrL-ja0oYaSbOn7waOaU2BJRWWCM7Ca8luEuS2JtGXrplf8Xc3fxGK7gGY1WY/w438-h640/IMG_0390.jpeg" width="438" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">RAILTON ROAD from Google images</p><p>The play, “On Railton Road,” has been written and performed to commemorate the gay community that lived on the Railton Road, in Brixton, in the 1970s and early 1980s. It relates the struggles they had to survive and to get recognition and legitimacy. It was a fight to normalise gay lives. </p><p><br /></p><p>A play about a community living in squats is an apt play to perform at The Museum of The Home. The museum is about ,”home,” in all its manifestations. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2bgML4ncZntJmwGsOGEuEiKQszcsUZyrc1r_irY7VFuIMn86AZmtuA-X869OIjh2-XLjtbeZhFn2W9dkfbthge-ldX60wmDAKPh09oh38vi7gDY712P6SOgxfJHI-nmqfYzvxhUJGe1adbBx5bWvWKhz2B6RHUhapUloHnV12C_h8njDOayJTkuCFfIx/s2226/IMG_0389.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2226" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2bgML4ncZntJmwGsOGEuEiKQszcsUZyrc1r_irY7VFuIMn86AZmtuA-X869OIjh2-XLjtbeZhFn2W9dkfbthge-ldX60wmDAKPh09oh38vi7gDY712P6SOgxfJHI-nmqfYzvxhUJGe1adbBx5bWvWKhz2B6RHUhapUloHnV12C_h8njDOayJTkuCFfIx/w384-h640/IMG_0389.jpeg" width="384" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Railton Road</p><p>Marilyn began her teaching career in the late 1970s and early 1980s at St Helen’s Primary School next to Brixton Police Station close to the Railton Road. She taught the children of people who lived in some of the squats on Railton Road. There was a whole mix in the area. It wasn’t just the gays who lived there. This is mentioned in the play although the play is specifically about the gay community and its struggles.</p><p><br /></p><p>The different communities didn’t all get on together. The police stirred up hatred towards themselves and the government of the time and eventually it was the police , with stop and search policies targeting, in particular the black community, who ignited the Brixton Riots. This play does not deal with that particular issue. It is mainly about discrimination against the gay community. It is important to see the gay community, though, in a wider context. </p><p><br /></p><p>“On Railton Road,” is one aspect of the cultural mix at the time. It is important social history informing us of the experiences of people who lived it. The play is also a lot more than just a history lesson. It informs us how gay people lived together in those squats and their dreams and aspirations and fears.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbwH40ohvlOMEdHFCe44PkPeL1u3ss_FtOy4iag5MOhyphenhyphenXE5Yo3lGgBfzPfM_A5rA_sjhbnyC5MQrqqEa4Iw4JipEjAIEeWfzDE0EbiO9EOsItxBmEIhbrgVI9IfbIcAlmzx9tep8T9aBu6_qYw_TdH3lB84NlTLNfYXz0YTfujemnESpSXMaH1ktXri6Q/s2532/IMG_0391.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2532" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbwH40ohvlOMEdHFCe44PkPeL1u3ss_FtOy4iag5MOhyphenhyphenXE5Yo3lGgBfzPfM_A5rA_sjhbnyC5MQrqqEa4Iw4JipEjAIEeWfzDE0EbiO9EOsItxBmEIhbrgVI9IfbIcAlmzx9tep8T9aBu6_qYw_TdH3lB84NlTLNfYXz0YTfujemnESpSXMaH1ktXri6Q/w363-h640/IMG_0391.png" width="363" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Number161 Railton Road from Google images.</p><p><u><b>ON RAILTON ROAD</b></u></p><p>There is a lot of humour that informs us at a deep level. The opening scene is the kitchen of a squat , number 161, Railton Road. Ned, a young man who has met Philip, one of the long term squatters, turns up wanting to see Philip. He obviously has a crush on him. Because of their situation as squatters and gay squatters at that, there is a sense of suspicion and lack of trust of anybody new turning up. A lot of joky banter is an obvious defence. The fridge in the kitchen becomes the topic of intense discussion. The plug socket, the source of electricity , the likelihood of fusing the whole house, the possibility of death by electrocution are all subjects for banter. They deflect from Ned wanting to meet Philp and confuse and bamboozle him. </p><p><br /></p><p>The fridge and the squat as a whole are all on precarious terms with the local infrastructure and societal norms. The fridge becomes a metaphor for the precarious situation of the gay community. Exaggeration, banter and loudness cover deeper things.</p><p><br /></p><p>The theme of Ned and Philips relationship explores the different feelings desires and wants of these two characters. Ned ,perhaps naively, wants a monogamous relationship. Philip wants to have more fluid relationships. Their interactions reveal how relationships are for gay people. Theirs is a narrow example of possible relationshsips. It also begs the question what other forms of relationships could be formed? Daire at one point mentions a party when they are all requested to sleep with somebody they haven’t had sex with before. Daire is a character who aims to shock and Ned is suitably shocked. Was a comment like that meant just to shock or was it for real? It opens up ideas about other relationship possibilities. Much of what is said and done in passing requires a deeper analysis on a second reading or watching. </p><p><br /></p><p>There are some great comic cameos of life in the Railton road squats. Should the meat be eaten? Can the so called ,”goats milk,” provided by the next door squat be put into their tea? The next door squat does not have a fridge. We get the idea that all food is suspect apart from vegetables that is. There is a pervasive sense of suspicion that imbues all the interactions in the play. There is an edge to their lives.</p><p><br /></p><p>Facilities are shared between the squats. Garden walls between the properties have been knocked down. It is as though they are creating their own ,”Eden,” their own world. Going beyond the environment of their community always has a sense of risk. Breaking into the local Brockwell Lido and swimming at night when nobody is around is seen as breaking into the ,”real world.” Sinking bellow, the black water, kissing in the moonlight, acts of freedom. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>There are the two strands of affirmative action, peaceful and violent, argued over. (Reminded me of the two strands of Suffragette action) Casper wants to blow up W H Smiths, who have banned the publication Gay News for a number of reasons. Daire wants a more peaceful approach by educating people with demonstrations, banners and street theatre. It certainly makes you think about what is effective and can anything be effective? What processes bring about change?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU0kzNKMpKi0ZIndKodWEf86731Re-_96KlLhs9AbFWboNl9vGgZbL7SDRiv7EJyXD86uu13gNskvXU1b26pgI7JARy3gaPIwUWeQ_36yB5JO-AKFQhFChnqB_lIYpq_wbfgabhnQn8ybgVilK-3r_rnWBYo76FrDr86bXVy2rDOhHqi7_5aElSv1w9vxy/s1566/IMG_0397.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1566" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU0kzNKMpKi0ZIndKodWEf86731Re-_96KlLhs9AbFWboNl9vGgZbL7SDRiv7EJyXD86uu13gNskvXU1b26pgI7JARy3gaPIwUWeQ_36yB5JO-AKFQhFChnqB_lIYpq_wbfgabhnQn8ybgVilK-3r_rnWBYo76FrDr86bXVy2rDOhHqi7_5aElSv1w9vxy/w478-h640/IMG_0397.jpeg" width="478" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Lambeth Town Hall</p><p>The legal processes with the council to get ownership of the properties on the Railton Road is dealt with in detail. How can they get the money to put down a deposit? The tortuous scene when Marie goes to Lambeth Council to get recognition for the squatters is a lesson in dealing with officialdom. Admitting to being squatters is not the right thing. She is ignored. The council only deals with Registered Housing Associations or Housing Cooperatives. You have got to get your terms right. The interaction with the council official is comic, sad and serious all in one. The squatters need to become something recognisable to the government. They turn to Croydon Council and get registered as a Housing Cooperative. Jargon , hoops to jump through, becoming legitimate, playing the game, all come to mind. You’ve got to join them to be recognised by them. Laughable if it wasn’t serious. Once they are official Lambeth Council recognise them.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The non-relationships with other communities in the area is discussed and the effects it has on the gay community. Atom, explains. </p><p><br /></p><p>“ The Jamaicans came to London, Casper. To Brixton. A huge established community on top of another established community. And then came us. Layer upon Layer. And at the moment we are refusing to lace together.”</p><p><br /></p><p>The landlady of the George Pub ejects the gays from her pub. “Talking to people,” was not acceptable apparently. This reveals some of the tensions living in the area. Those layers one on top of the other, not .”lacing together.” The landlady of the pub is a sort of Margeret Thatcher. As the pub landlady she has to make an income from the people locally. She tolerated the gay community for a while . The black community are banned form the pub too. It makes you wonder how she made an income.The ,”talking to people ,”is telling though. What was the talking? Maybe it was an attempt by the gays to ,” lace together.,” the community, make links, break down the barriers. We don’t get to know. The landlady could sense friction perhaps? It makes you wonder cynically that keeping the different layers of society at odds works for her more than if they ,”laced together.”</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyKpNiI2BKVRwD4_xKbBL11SmA-wLw2pm2TUcQ4hzHFd6sNYjRnwfysGDqwTtWOmcw6Nn5RlwX6sTWLfTvj6g3DZgYoMM0Lub0R4b77K-IxBfTDDzM2JQOqf2kA71t2XGtRFIVBHmrnSiQAEeQWr9URxlNpP35M1HX2ASHu-_l89OaaQjHimB1xD6Fuhyphenhyphenv/s2532/IMG_0393.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2532" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyKpNiI2BKVRwD4_xKbBL11SmA-wLw2pm2TUcQ4hzHFd6sNYjRnwfysGDqwTtWOmcw6Nn5RlwX6sTWLfTvj6g3DZgYoMM0Lub0R4b77K-IxBfTDDzM2JQOqf2kA71t2XGtRFIVBHmrnSiQAEeQWr9URxlNpP35M1HX2ASHu-_l89OaaQjHimB1xD6Fuhyphenhyphenv/w296-h640/IMG_0393.png" width="296" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">The George pub was burnt down during the Brixton Riots.</p><p> What appears to be acceptable within the area are things such as The Gay Centre and a 24 hour hotline that has been set up for the whole country. The lack of enthusiasm by the gays for these gay facilities shows their ineffectiveness. The phone line is meant to give support and advice but is mostly abused by pranksters. Why keep that going?</p><p><br /></p><p>The second act shows that the gay squatters communty is eventually fragmented. Have they lost? Or are they just absorbed into society?Casper goes back to his parents in Hampstead. Some of the activists in squats came from wealthy middle class backgrounds and could return home when things got too difficult. Others had to stay. They had no choice. There is a reference to one of them claiming benefits and others who didn’t have to claim benefits. Many kept quiet about where their money came from it seems. Philip becomes head of English at a secondary school.Daire writes a play for street theatre (possibly to be performed outside of W.H.SMITHS). A looping reference to the play now being performed here in the museum in 2023. Daire also has obtained a mortgage. How normal can he get? There is reference to deaths of friends. “Who is still with us? “ A reference to aids. </p><p>So much is got into this play. On one level it is light, comic and loud. But it is densely layered , a well structured play and reveals levels of social comment and personal relationships.</p><p>Things are systemic in our society and makes me think the only way to change is to start again. Maybe on one level I am with Caspar. I think that is called, revolution. </p><p>Apparent change can be superficial.. We only have to look back in history not too many generations. Families, the patriarchy , attitudes to relationships and sexuality, how have they changed? Do things get better or do they morph into something just as virulent. </p><p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqWTKUeUTHiNX5vd_qFYLBzMpRvIroBYxBmhUFKE4aultmgDT7vt3Xl-Hu1nW8ML_44ripvzPqS6rHZN6WorVRCln1SDFIKYh9NXuT6Niy-jPQwBjQgDcyJhiHDvH7hsdvBsmPW40G4-De90svx2FjibWclVV6XW0y_fRWyR-DK0ad0V2C-JX9mj0kjIs/s4032/IMG_0398.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqWTKUeUTHiNX5vd_qFYLBzMpRvIroBYxBmhUFKE4aultmgDT7vt3Xl-Hu1nW8ML_44ripvzPqS6rHZN6WorVRCln1SDFIKYh9NXuT6Niy-jPQwBjQgDcyJhiHDvH7hsdvBsmPW40G4-De90svx2FjibWclVV6XW0y_fRWyR-DK0ad0V2C-JX9mj0kjIs/w640-h480/IMG_0398.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">THE BRIXTON FAERIES performing MR PUNCH'S NUCLEAR FAMILY</div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Taken from a book of photographs from Ian Townson's archive.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">(https://www.revoltinggays.com/drama-queens/mr-punch)</span></div><p> Interspersed throughout the play are scenes from another play, “Mr Punch’s Nuclear Family.“ This was first performed in 1976 by the agitprop group, The Brixton Faeries. It takes the familiar Punch and Judy seaside story from Victorian times and uses it to show the nuclear family with Mr Punch as a misogynist and homophobic father. Things go wrong for Mr Punch when his wife challenges him and exerts her rights. Mr Punch strangles her. He kills his son who he discovers is gay. He is taken to court and the judge exonerates Mr Punch telling him as the master of the house he was put under intolerable stress by his family. It wasn’t his fault. He leaves the court blameless, free to start a new family. The patriarchal family reforming itself. </p><p>One of the main strands of ,"On Railton Road," is about family. Are we born into a family or can we choose our family? Can we form new sorts of family? A family should be about love, acceptance nonjudgement. A dream perhaps. The play illustrates the underlying attitudes of society as a whole to the family, patriarchy and gays.</p><p><br /></p><p>Although this play is specifically about the gay squatters on the Railton Road in the 70s and 80s it is much more than that. By looking at one aspect of society it makes us think much more broadly about the whole of society. How is it structured? What are its prejudices?How does it work against so many people ? Why do these systemic prejudices occur, whether it is homophobia or racism or sexism? How is the struggle to be continued?</p><p><br /></p><p>The acting is joyous. There are flamboyant performances throughout that are larger than life. The audience sits either side of the stage and the play is performed in the middle. We felt as though we were in the action. </p><p><br /></p><p>A musician plays and sings to provide background music. I often got side tracked to focus on her quiet beautiful voice and playing.</p><p>The play ends with quotes from some of our greatest poets. </p><p><br /></p><p>Chaucer: so fair a garden do I know of none.</p><p><br /></p><p>Milton: They hand in hand with wander steps and slow Through Eden took their solitary way.</p><p><br /></p><p>Spencer: “Where justice grows there grows eke greater grace.”</p><p><br /></p><p>Shakespeare: “I know a bank where oxlips and the nodding violets grows.”</p><p><br /></p><p>A world that is within grasp?.</p><p><br /></p><p>SEX EDUCATION TODAY</p><p> We as a society still find it difficult to normalise different groups. In a way there should be no groups, just people, and an acceptance of everybody as they are. There are debates about how we teach sex education in schools? This government, a right wing one, is heavily involved in what and how we teach. The National Curriculum is not education. It is a particular set of things our government think we need to know and understand in the way they want us to understand them. Schools are required to discuss with parents what they are going to teach in sex education. It is the only curriculum area where that happens. Does that mean it’s the parents who write the sex education policies in schools? Is this a way for society to progress or is it a way of freezing our attitudes and nothing changing? The teaching of history can’t be far behind when it comes to government control. The right wing press say and write WOKE with a snarl of disgust. In its simplest definition it means being aware and awake to things. That can only be good. So how can change occur? We need a much more open societal discussion about sex education and different sexualities and what it means. (The ,”talking,” that was attempted in The George and got short shrift.) </p><p><br /></p><p>Recently there was an outcry, during the covid pandemic, about relationships between teenage boys and girls. Some girls decided to publish on social media the misogynistic and rape culture they experienced from certain boys of their own age . Schools were named. This seemed to be more so with single sex schools and, rather pertinently ,seemed to happen more in private schools than state schools. Good sex and relationship education should be a priority for all schools taking into account all sexualities. </p><p><br /></p><p>The conservatives, and in particular Rishi Sunak ,are against transgender children even being allowed to discuss and explore their sexuality. They are condemning children to suffer in silence. That is a form of torture if ever there was. We are who we are. </p><p><br /></p><p>Maybe the answer is to look at family life, school and society again. What should a healthy family look like? What should a healthy school look like? What can we do to change things? It takes a lot of open conversations which of course are not allowed incase some people are upset. We know who will be upset of course.</p><p><br /></p><p>Some Christian churches are tentatively accepting gay marriage. Some refuse to condone gay marriage. Systemic homophobia is part of societies fabric still. We still live in a very narrow thinking society. What can be wrong and dangerous about people wanting to be themselves and all of us joining the conversation.</p><p><br /></p><p>THE MUSEUM OF THE HOME</p><p><br /></p><p> The Museum of The Home is in a struggle to have Robert Geffrey’s statue removed. He was an enthusiastic promoter of slavery in the 17th century. The Museum of the Home would like to set his statue within the context of his life and times, so an informed discussion about his life can take place. A museum, part of the establishment, is at odds with the establishment. How can things really change and develop so we live in a world fit for everybody?</p><p><br /></p><p>NOTES: </p><p>W H Smiths: </p><p><br /></p><p>From the Ian Townson archive. </p><p>“ Throughout his time living in the Brixton gay community in the 1970s, Townson took part in demonstrations regarding other political causes including antifascist solidarity with working class struggles, the W H Smith campaign to defend free speech, defence of Gay News against prosecution and many others.”</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Wikapaedia:</p><p><br /></p><p>“ In January 1978 W. H. Smith dropped Gay News from distribution after a row with the paper over its coverage of the ,”Paedophile Information Exchange.” W. H. Smiths action prompted widespread backlash causing protests outside of its branches and at the firm’s Annual general Meeting.”</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Links:</p><p>The Ian Townson archive: https://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/collections/ian-townson-archive</p><p><br /></p><p>Brixton Faeries: https://www.unfinishedhistories.com/history/companies/brixton-faeries/</p><p><br /></p><p>Brixton Pansies at The Museum of The Home: https://www.thereviewshub.com/on-railton-road-museum-of-the-home-london/</p><p><br /></p><p>The Museum of The Home: </p><p>https://www.museumofthehome.org.uk/</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>“The George,” pub Railton Road Brixton:</p><p>https://boroughphotos.org/lambeth/the-george-public-house-railton-road-brixton-3/</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p></div>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-54907335121668530972023-10-14T02:04:00.003-07:002023-12-21T01:19:23.867-08:00THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS)and my recent experience with it.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipGfs-W_1LMUkrI4qX9iX3j0D6RSJkPVLZl2HUJme31bFw2BPI8txC_gs1QpiaENvKmV12gYNnktwowq4tUBm2oTqdXHbNtZVJsSPhLjKHh67fazNbVOZ5005RxGD1cRcrIgmMOFT4borfV6fw-ObvEZBT3VzyNOmwhkHUeG-zb7yizIEfsGSNqI1MjxHH/s2329/Aneurin_Bevan_and_his_wife_Jenny_Lee_in_Corwen_(15368872658)%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2329" data-original-width="1753" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipGfs-W_1LMUkrI4qX9iX3j0D6RSJkPVLZl2HUJme31bFw2BPI8txC_gs1QpiaENvKmV12gYNnktwowq4tUBm2oTqdXHbNtZVJsSPhLjKHh67fazNbVOZ5005RxGD1cRcrIgmMOFT4borfV6fw-ObvEZBT3VzyNOmwhkHUeG-zb7yizIEfsGSNqI1MjxHH/w482-h640/Aneurin_Bevan_and_his_wife_Jenny_Lee_in_Corwen_(15368872658)%20(1).jpg" width="482" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Aneurin Bevan.</p><p><u>A HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE:</u></p><p>On the 5th July1948 the National Health Service was born. An apt use of personification. The NHS has helped bring ,probably, tens of millions of babies into this world during its 75 years of existence. The NHS took a while to gestate and come into existence, get born. The minister of health in the Clement Atlee’s post war Labour government, Aneurin Bevan, the son of a Welsh coalminer, who left school at the age of 14, brought it to fruition. He inaugurated the NHS at Park Hospital, Davyhulme, Manchester. The motivation to create the NHS was to provide a good healthcare for all. It had three founding principles which are still paramount today; firstly; the service was to help everybody, secondly; healthcare would be free and thirdly; the care required would be based on need rather ability to pay. The NHS was to be financed by the government from taxation. This how it is still financed today, with all the problems of rising costs and staffing issues and continually developing new drugs, procedures and modernising technologies that come along with that. It is an ever evolving organisation which needs managing with foresight, imagination and adaptability.</p><p><br /></p><p>Before the NHS was actually inaugurated many people for decades had thought health care in the United Kingdom was insufficient and needed revolutionising. In 1909 a minority report by the Royal Commission on Poor Law headed by the social reformer Beatrice Webb argued for a replacement to the Poor Law which was still in existence since the time of Victorian Workhouses. However many in authority still believed that the poor and individual citizens should be responsible for themselves.This appears plausible but the vast chasm between the poor and the wealthy made this approach not only narrow minded and promoting self interest but was deadly for the less well off in society. The poor could not afford health care. In one way you could say that the nay sayers believed in a Darwinian approach, the survival of the fittest. From every moral ,social and even economic argument that was not right. Just from a societal economic point of view, If you have a healthy strong population at all levels of society surely the country will profit? We all know if we are healthy and strong we are happier and lead a better life. But, as always, what many had been used to, been brought up to, with attitudes and beliefs from the past ,it is always difficult to overcome. People find it difficult to accept change. Many powerful arguments for change were disregarded by the Liberal Government under Lloyd George. This did not deter those who wanted change and knew change was necessary. Dr Benjamin Moore from Liverpool had a pioneering vision and wrote a book called “The Dawn of the Health Age.”. He was the first to use the term National Health Service in his book. He helped create a state wide Medical Service Association in 1912. In 1929 the Local Government Act required Local Authorities to run medical services for everyone.On the 1st April 1930 the London County Council (LCC) began to run services in London for everyone.They took control of 140 hospitals and medical schools and abolished the Metropolitan Asylum Board. London had the largest healthcare service at that time. </p><p>Dr AJ Cronin wrote a novel called “The Citadel” published in 1937.It promoted new ideas about medical ethics inspiring ideas about a National Health Service. In 1938 “The Citadel, “was made into a film which many of the population watched in cinemas.</p><p><br /></p><p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-65663" decoding="async" height="347" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" src="https://www.historic-uk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/blitz-liverpool-300x141.jpg" srcset="https://www.historic-uk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/blitz-liverpool-300x141.jpg 300w, https://www.historic-uk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/blitz-liverpool.jpg 740w" style="background-color: white; border-style: none; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: #232323; display: block; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; height: auto; margin: 5px auto; max-width: 100%; text-align: -webkit-center; vertical-align: middle;" width="740" /></p><div style="text-align: center;">A site showing the effects of the London Blitz 1941. (70,000 civilians died. and many more injured during the entire Blitz on British cities.)</div><p>By1939 the outbreak of World War 2 came about.The people of Britain were to endure the Luftwaffe Blitzs. All the major industrial cities and ports around the coast of Britain were bombed.Casualties dead and injured were going to be inevitable. Out of wartime necessity a health service fit to react was needed. For the period of wartime a National Emergency Hospital Service was instigated and run by the Government.</p><p>This was the first iteration of our National Health Service. Out of wartime necessity it was proved that a health service run by the government for everybody and free at point of need could work.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 1941 the Ministery of Health was in the process of agreeing a post war health policy. In 1942 The Beveridge Report recommended ,”comprehensive health and rehabilitation services.” This was supported by all parties.</p><p><br /></p><p>When the war ended people had got used to the National Emergency Hospital Service and expected it to continue in some way. The cabinet endorsed the White paper put forward by the Conservative minister for health, Henry Willink in 1944 which set out the guidelines for a national health service. It was to be funded by general taxation This is still the way it is funded to this day in 2023. Initially everyone including visitors to Britain were to be included. Reciprocal agreements were made with other countries and it was to be free at the point of delivery. This is a fundamental principal that has continued since its founding. When labour got into power in 1945 under the Clement Atlee post war government Atlee got his minster of health Aneurin Bevin to take on the completion of the national health service.which he successfully did. There was and always has been a cross party consensus and agreement about the NHS.The British people consider the NHS a fundamental part of being British.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fbzQ9_Ki8lR6O7CWfEtmUKBE90GoSSjC_VhvxZFTkLa_jcfpW6LQk6LjRe38wak80qIUAeDH5dUfjs7mPL5STUUk69hhQRPcc1vOAqDA8m8mPo4GCBt0hnShhzusA0yx3WT2Xl4aDXUdooJejyMiXTIsi0B8__7RnclyqhEUxOC1JDSiF1-r985wo7Ua/s4032/IMG_9730.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_fbzQ9_Ki8lR6O7CWfEtmUKBE90GoSSjC_VhvxZFTkLa_jcfpW6LQk6LjRe38wak80qIUAeDH5dUfjs7mPL5STUUk69hhQRPcc1vOAqDA8m8mPo4GCBt0hnShhzusA0yx3WT2Xl4aDXUdooJejyMiXTIsi0B8__7RnclyqhEUxOC1JDSiF1-r985wo7Ua/w640-h480/IMG_9730.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">The National Health Service.</p><p><u>A HOSPITAL EXPERIENCE I WASN'T EXPECTING:</u></p><p>Just after my 71st birthday in June this year, I noticed I was having stomach problems. There was nothing major just some niggling symptoms that didn’t seem to go away. I felt fit and strong. I went out jogging most days in the local park. Marilyn was obviously more worried about my symptoms than I was. She persuaded me to phone up my doctor.I described to Dr Chang over the phone what was happening. I remember telling her I actually thought it was one of the pills I was taking that didn’t agree with me.I take statins and clopidogrel for a high cholesterol level which, by the way, is no longer high. My last test showed my cholesterol was at normal levels. Dr Chang sounded doubtful it was the pills and invited me to her surgery that afternoon for a physical check-up. She first felt my stomach. She took my blood pressure and then she took blood samples to send off to be tested. She gave me a ,”poo,” test kit to take home and return to the surgery the next day which I promptly did. The following week Dr Chang invited me back to her surgery. She told me particles of blood were found in my poo. She organised a CT scan, an MRI scan and a colonoscopy for me the following week at Queen Marys Hospital in Roehampton.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, in brief, this is what has happened to me in the hands of the NHS.</p><p>I had a CT (computed tomography) scan followed, days later by a an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan. Both of these took place at Queen Marys Hospital Roehampton. They showed up a number of things I was certainly not expecting. I was given a colonoscopy at Kingston Hospital. You really do not want me to describe that one. In essence, I was diagnosed with various polyps showing up inside my colon. However, there was also a large tumour inside my colon. An apparently benign cyst was also discovered on one of my kidneys. I had to go to Teddington Hospital, for an ultra sound scan on my kidneys. The nurse doing the ultrasound was very off hand and blaze. No concern over my cyst whatsoever. A good thing, I think. </p><p>Every Monday there is a conference in the Kngston, Surrey area between a number of top cancer specialists who deal with problems like mine. Two specialists from the Royal Marsden looked at my scans and results alongside the specialist from Kingston Hospital and a cancer specialist from Croydon Hospital. The two Royal Marsden specialists thought my tumour was a T2 tumour. The others thought it was a T1 tumour. What is the difference, you might ask? There are four layers to the colon. A T1 tumour has only entered the first layer. A T2 has entered the second layer. By the time it gets to a T4 tumour you are in big trouble. The tumour is beginning to spread around your body and a single operation can’t stop it. So what to do? The four specialists couldn’t decide. The two from The Royal Marsden thought I should have the section of my colon with the tumour inside removed and then that would be that. Things would heal up and in the future the stoma I would have could be reversed, and I would be mostly back to normal. The other two specialists thought I might possibly get away with it being removed internally without cutting into the colon. I went with the Royal Marsden surgeons decision which the surgeon at Kingston also changed his mind towards. He was, after all, going to do the operation on me. The specialists at The Royal Marsden are the country’s top cancer specialists. I was told I might be in hospital for seven days , possibly a little longer and I would certainly be up and walking the day after my operation. What could be so bad?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_UyrrmZYrG9G-MxEYMsuyqzmDUtjxkYtzlNAYsDiGUXRAjBvqDHGO8TjlCC-7Jv2JAp1YyHhNfahZWXAQOPuuphABj2Of5utbfg86E_dLvsbCjtjNZCXENFEtYm-kdx6cButek4FNi4shGBDZFMMx7gzvdMCTvzYxhE11GKlGpfV1dqDulmqkqvOOUIQ/s4032/IMG_9727.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_UyrrmZYrG9G-MxEYMsuyqzmDUtjxkYtzlNAYsDiGUXRAjBvqDHGO8TjlCC-7Jv2JAp1YyHhNfahZWXAQOPuuphABj2Of5utbfg86E_dLvsbCjtjNZCXENFEtYm-kdx6cButek4FNi4shGBDZFMMx7gzvdMCTvzYxhE11GKlGpfV1dqDulmqkqvOOUIQ/w480-h640/IMG_9727.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">The Main Entrance to Kingston Hospital.</p><p>Friday 18thAugust Marilyn and I drive to Kingston Hospital at 7am, eventually find a parking space and walk to the building called Kingston Surgical Centre. I register at the reception desk. Oddly enough I have no worries. I don’t feel nervous. A nurse takes me to a room where I change into a hospital gown that reveals my bare backside. When the nurse comes back she gives me another gown to wear in reverse to cover my posterior. Marilyn gives me a kiss, wishes me good luck and tells me she will see me later that evening. Two lovely anaesthetists take over .My wristwatch is taken off me and put into a box which is labelled with my details. One of the anaesthetists is a Scotsman with a big red beard and I remember the other anaesthetist being jolly and jokey. </p><p><br /></p><p>I remember nothing else until I wake up and I am hallucinating. I think I am standing on the ceiling. There are pleated curtains all round me. I can’t get my bearings. I don’t feel any pain until I try to sit up and I get some stabbing jabs in my stomach. I have tubes coming out of me everywhere. One down my nose into my stomach drains my stomach. A black rubber tube coming out of my left side drains blood into a bag attached to my side. I learn that its draining blood out of the operation site. A tube coming out of my bladder drains into a container hooked on to the side of my bed. I only discover that one when I want to go to the toilet and discover there is no reason for me to go to the toilet now. Everything is collected in containers which the nurses empty.I have two drips coming out of my right arm, a saline drip and an antibiotic and then of course there is the stoma bag . I have two buttons to press. One brings me a nurse. The other gives a me a dose of morphine if I need it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Somebody, I think it was the surgeon in one the meetings, with Marilyn and myself, before the operation said that I would feel as though I had been ,</p><p><br /></p><p><i><b>”run over by a bus.” </b></i></p><p><br /></p><p>A medical technical term I think. In reality after the operation I felt as though I had been run over by a bus and it had then reversed back over me. All my energy and strength had disappeared. Marilyn, Abi and Emily appeared round my bed. It was an emotional moment.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>The stages of recovery I went through included not being able to eat, my stoma not working and dehydration. I was sick a lot. I was given ,"St Marks Solution, "an extra strong type of Dioralyte. I had to drink a litre a day. It was like drinking sea water. I was sick again. Dehydration was my biggest problem after the operation. I was always on a saline drip, antibiotics and that bloody ,”seawater,” solution. Getting up and walking I could do although on a couple of occasions my blood pressure plummeted and I had to be helped to a chair. A dietician visited me and urged me to eat. I felt as though I had to do as I was told. So I ate and then vomited.</p><p>Eventually my body seemed to adjust. I started eating. I got stronger and I got home.</p><p>I am feeling good now, taking walks and driving the car again for short journeys. I can’t describe to you what Marilyn has done for me. She has been totally focussed. My diet and the physical changes to my body I still have to get used to,but I am getting there.</p><p>I was in hospital for three weeks. Where did the idea of seven days come from?</p><p><u>THE NURSES , DOCTORS AND STAFF:</u></p><p>The main story I want to tell you though is about the doctors, nurses and staff that looked after me and dedicated their expertise and their love to my recovery. Over three weeks I got to know some of them well.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The first nurse I met was soon after I woke from my operation. He was a short ,jolly ,smiling young man form the Philippines. He rolled a trolley up to my bed with a computer screen and keyboard surmounting the trolley. On his screen he literally had everything about me. Every dealing I have had with the NHS throughout my life including every detail about my recent operation and treatment. He spoke to me gently as he took my blood pressure, heart rate and temperature. He took a blood sample out of my arm and he adjusted the drips going into my right arm. </span><span style="text-align: left;">B</span><span style="text-align: left;">eing an exteacher I know how important it is to know people by name and use their name when you meet them. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Over the next few days the nurses changed.The first set of nurses, including my gentle , kind gentleman from the Philipines disappeard apparently and a new set took over. This happened in a three day cycle. Every three days the same nurses would come back on rotation. They worked a shift system.I got to know them all eventually by name and also something of their lives. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">During my three weeks lieing in a hospital bed I had blood taken everyday. The catheters that joined my arm to various drips had to be replaced almost daily because they tended to come loose after a while. The doctors and nurses ran out of finding suitable veins. They always did in the end but as the days passed finding a good vein was difficult. One young nurse got upset because she couldn’t do it and got a more experienced nurse to place the catheter in my arm One day that same young nurse recognised Abi when she came in to see me. She was in the same year as Abi at The Ursuline Convent. They were able to have a chat together. </span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p>One nurse came form Poland. She was the ward sister on a few occasions.She was short and stocky. I. got to know her quite well. She once was a Polish international weightlifter. She bemoaned ever being persuaded to take up the sport. Ever since she retired from weightlifting she had to keep to a certain diet and also do exercises to keep her muscles up to a certain level. If she didn’t it would affect her body and wouldn’t do her heart any good. She and her husband loved visiting the Highlands of Scotland and went deep sea fishing off the Scottish Coast. </p><p>Another muscular looking young man who told us it was his 21st birthday one day, had an amazing back story. We all told him how we wished we were all 21 again and assured him he had a whole life ahead of him. He went quiet and said to me.</p><p><br /></p><p><i><b>” I have already had a whole lifetime behind me.”</b></i></p><p><br /></p><p> I was surprised and asked what he meant. He told us that from the age of 16 he had gone into the Royal Marines and travelled the world. He had been discharged at the age of 19 and went into nursing. He was an expert free climber on rock faces and he was an expert scuba diver. He was so keen now to develop as a nurse and was applying for all sorts of courses.Us old fogies were taken aback to say the least. There were so many surprising stories like these behind many of the nurses we had.</p><p>A tall young Irishman , very brusque and dry sense of humour was our ward nurse a couple of times. He didn’t appear very often. He told me he lived in north London and it took an hour and half to drive to Kingston. I asked him why he did it. He said he loved nursing. He was registerd with a system called ,”bank,” which draws on nurses when and where they are needed. He said he only worked two days a week as a nurse. He is also a property developer. He and his wife have just bought two houses to renovate and sell on. He has building skills and his dad and brothers are all in the building trades. He said that was where he was going to make his money. I said , </p><p><b><i>“Why do you continue to nurse?” </i></b></p><p><b><i>“I will always be a nurse. I love it too much. I can combine the two careers .” </i></b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I remember one night when a gentleman was moved on to our ward. A jolly West Indian nurse was in charge of us. He had all sorts of problems. He must have had fluid on his lungs and was finding breathing very difficult. This jolly nurse worked the whole night on him getting hold of oxygen and a pump to drain his lungs and the rest of us lay awake, all night, in silence listening. A doctor turned up at one stage and approved the nurses treatment and then left. She pulled her desk and laptop close to his bed so she could be with him all the time. She saved his life. That morning he was sitting up eating his breakfast.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another nurse from Guyana was a ittle disgruntled one morning. She had been watching the Women's World Cup. She told me she had once been an international footballer with the Guyanese team and had played against some of the women in those national teams. She was past her playing days now of course.</p><p><br /></p><p>The doctors came round every day to assess how we were doing They were so helpful and built up our confidence. Every other day the specialist ,who had performed my operation, came to see us. He usually had student doctors with him who stood around smiling and listening. Kingston is a University Hospital but we also got nurses and doctors from St Georges Hospital in Tooting. </p><p>I always felt that myself and everybody else were so well looked after and cared for ,and this was during the time doctors, nurses and specialists took turns on strike demanding better pay from the government. Even during strike days they did not miss a beat. Maybe it was because we were all serious cases . I did ask a nurse one day ,when the specialists were striking.</p><p><b><i>“Well what’s the difference today?I don’t notice anything different. “</i></b></p><p>She just said, </p><p><i><b>“There will be no operations today.”</b></i></p><p>There were three other men on my ward who I also got to know well. We were all retired from our respective careers, a maths teacher, a cancer research scientist who used to work for The Royal Marsden and had lead a team developing radio therapy( I kid you not, nobody escapes the BIG C) and an ex government scientist who worked on artificial intelligence at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington and me an ex primary school teacher. We enjoyed each other’s company. We formed a team and the nurses called us ,”The Gang.” We all had had similar operations, not exactly the same though. Three of us are dealing with stomas. Anthony, on my right had escaped having a stoma. His colon was able to be re-joined during his operation.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then I met ,”Magic.”He was there every day. He was an old Italian man who delivered our lunch and dinner to us. He knew I couldn’t eat much. He offered me delicacies such as cheese on crackers , which oddly enough I craved. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><i>“ Red Leicester?”</i></b> he whispered to me giving me a sly sideways grin. </p><p><br /></p><p><i><b>“Oh yes. I’d love Red Leicester.”</b></i></p><p><br /></p><p>On one occasion Magic gave me an apple. Apples are something else I began to crave oddly. However I couldn’t eat the skin.I asked Magic if he had a sharp knife I could use to peel it. We were only given blunt knives for our lunch and dinner that wouldn’t cut through blancmange if you tried. Magic looked at me. </p><p><i><b>“I got just the thing,”</b></i> he said. </p><p>He came back with a knife, his knife, that was so sharp I could have shaved with it. Magic stood beside me while I peeled the apple in one continuous strip.</p><p><b><i>“Wow Mr Tony.”</i></b> </p><p>He smiled.</p><p>After using that knife I have wondered since whether ,Magic, does a bit of freelance surgery on the side. I don’t know how he got the name, Magic. I heard the nurses calling him that.</p><p><u>GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS:</u></p><p>Last week the Labour Party had its national Conference at Liverpool. This particular conference was important and what was said , everybody in the country needed to listen to. We are coming up to a general election next year and the Conservatives are bankrupt of deas and indeed any moral standing after the debacle of recent years They are a mess and we really do need a proper change of government. Talking about the National Health Service and what Labour will do for the NHS ,Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party is reported to having said in his party conference speech.</p><p><br /></p><p><i><b>“Sir Keir noted that the shifts he planned for the NHS would be funded by cancelling ‘non-dom’ tax status, which allows someone who was born in another country to pay tax in the UK only on their UK income.</b></i></p><p><i><b>He said: “We will invest that money in boosting capacity, we will get the NHS working around the clock and we will pay staff properly to do it.</b></i></p><p><i><b>“More operations, more appointments and more diagnostic tests.</b></i></p><p><i><b>“You will be seen more quickly in an NHS clearing the backlog seven days a week.”</b></i></p><p><i><b>However, the leader of the opposition warned that reform of the health service was unavoidable, arguing that, without it, the NHS would “remain on life support”.</b></i></p><p><i><b>“We must be the government that finally transforms our NHS,” said Sir Keir.</b></i></p><p><i><b>“We can’t go on like this, with a sickness service.</b></i></p><p><i><b>“We need an NHS that prevents illness, keeps people healthy and out of hospital in the first place.”</b></i></p><p><i><b>Labour has also unveiled a new fund which has promised to give the NHS state-of-the-art equipment and new technology in order to help cut waiting times.</b></i></p><p><i><b>Sir Keir said: “We must use technology to overhaul every aspect of delivery, move care closer to communities [and] deploy the power of artificial intelligence to spot disease quickly.”</b></i></p><p>Suella Braverman , our present Home Secretary,should actually spend some time visiting hospitals and wards throughout the country. Our nurses and doctors come from all over Europe and the world. The NHS is a fantastic example of how immigration can improve and strengthen the UK and not weaken it and drain it of its resources as Suella would have you believe.</p><p><br /></p><p>CONCLUSION:</p><p>The NHS has strong roots in the British people’s psyche. It has become a bedrock of our nation. At the 2012 Olympics in London there was a massive display featuring our NHS at the opening ceremony. This year, we have celebrated 75 years of the National Health Service. Our present government, a conservative one under Rishi Sunak, discusses and promotes new ways of how to develop and strengthen the NHS continually as a major government concern and policy.But words don't help. Only real action willhelp the NHS to develop. The NHS has problems with staffing, with pay demands, with overall funding and with its development and modernisation but these issues are always being addressed and plans are always in action to deal with them. It is affected by the economic problems caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine. It was strongly affected by the COVID pandemic and had to learn fast how to deal with that and people did die. It is not always successful, and disagreements about so many issues are permanently on going but it will always be a vital part of the life blood of Britain. The NHS is always in flux but its FANTASTIC!!!!. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>ADDENDUM:</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Information about the structure of and how the NHS is run from the government website.</u></b></p><p><i>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-constitution-for-england/the-nhs-constitution-for-england</i></p><p><i>The NHS provides healthcare services to more than one million patients every 36 hours, and the vast majority of these services are free at the point of use for UK residents.</i></p><p><i>Many people think that the NHS is a single organisation with a central recruiting team, however this is not the case. The NHS is actually made up of multiple organisations, with each individual organisation having its own recruitment team and list of vacancies.</i></p><p><i>The structure of these NHS organisations varies slightly between the four UK nations, which is explained in more detail on the Health Careers website. In England, the organisations making up the NHS include:</i></p><p><i>•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>National bodies that oversee and regulate NHS services</i></p><p><i>•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) that plan and commission care for local populations</i></p><p><i>•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Healthcare provider organisations</i></p><p><i>•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Primary care organisations – independent businesses offering NHS services, including GP practices, dental practices, opticians</i></p><p><i>•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Acute (hospital) trusts – providers of hospital-based NHS services</i></p><p><i>•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mental health trusts – organisations which offer mental health and social care services</i></p><p><i>•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Community trusts – providers of community-based services, such as district nursing, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy</i></p><p><i>•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ambulance trusts – organisations which offer NHS transportation services emergency and non-emergency care</i></p><p><i>WEBSITE: The NHS provides healthcare services to more than one million patients every 36 hours, and the vast majority of these services are free at the point of use for UK residents.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Many people think that the NHS is a single organisation with a central recruiting team, however this is not the case. The NHS is actually made up of multiple organisations, with each individual organisation having its own recruitment team and list of vacancies.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>The structure of these NHS organisations varies slightly between the four UK nations, which is explained in more detail on the Health Careers website. In England, the organisations making up the NHS include:</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>National bodies that oversee and regulate NHS services</i></p><p><i>Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) that plan and commission care for local populations</i></p><p><i>Healthcare provider organisations</i></p><p><i>Primary care organisations – independent businesses offering NHS services, including GP practices, dental practices, opticians</i></p><p><i>Acute (hospital) trusts – providers of hospital-based NHS services</i></p><p><i>Mental health trusts – organisations which offer mental health and social care services</i></p><p><i>Community trusts – providers of community-based services, such as district nursing, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy</i></p><p><i>Ambulance trusts – organisations which offer NHS transportation services emergency and non-emergency care</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-50148692017470075182023-08-06T06:49:00.019-07:002023-08-16T07:47:22.581-07:00PILGRIMAGE ? A meditation on pilgrimage and walking round my local park.<p> </p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtmbEmTKZAEahD79U5H2bB100I4TF1EJi0A4VCOW7QQ1omgTBbq4THQ0wHyhqNg3uSY6uXJ73k08vaTETOIwZN-Kj-f4ouuwOV3kQani_L6QQ4_lDlLWklMtyn0tfep6cvngeU3f002SMrDxjBmEgy7a1csbiOVY8D8ws0XVRfON2eCgU7HSqf5Uco3vX1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="936" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtmbEmTKZAEahD79U5H2bB100I4TF1EJi0A4VCOW7QQ1omgTBbq4THQ0wHyhqNg3uSY6uXJ73k08vaTETOIwZN-Kj-f4ouuwOV3kQani_L6QQ4_lDlLWklMtyn0tfep6cvngeU3f002SMrDxjBmEgy7a1csbiOVY8D8ws0XVRfON2eCgU7HSqf5Uco3vX1=w651-h456" width="651" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>Geoffrey Chaucer depicted in an early version of his Canterbury Tales.</p><p><br /></p><p>Between 1386 and 1387 Geoffrey. Chaucer lost favour with King Richard II. Chaucer’s mentor, John of Gaunt and advisor to the king, was out of the country and the Duke of Gloucester, who disliked Chaucer, was in the ascendancy. Chaucer had time then to reflect and time to write his,” Canterbury Tales.” Perhaps it was the loss of his prestigious jobs alongside this humbling period of his life that put Chaucer in a more contemplative mind. A mind leaning towards pilgrimage and its attendant spiritual benefits. Chaucer felt enabled to say it how it really was. The Monk, The Friar, The Prioress, The Priest and The Wife of Bath, to name a few, are as nuanced human beings as they come, good and bad and perhaps, inadvertently, reveal the corruption in the church and life at the time.</p><p> The reason for ,"The English Reformation," is echoed in many of the things Chaucer highlights. about some of his characters. Profiligate prelates, the selling of indulgences, an ever richer church, it is all there in Chaucers tales. It makes you wonder , reading the obvious cynicism Chaucer has towards the churchmen in his tales, an internal reformation of the church didn't happen sooner. The actual reformation rupturing the Roman Catholic Church came later with Martin Luther's 95 theses, causing the setting up of new Christian denominations? But I suppose, equally cynically, if the status quo worked for the church, the government and the crown, it could continue and ordinary people, those worst affected by the churches greed and ,"worldliness," could do nothing. "The English Reformation," one hundred and twenty two years later, in 1509, was itself a mixture, of self importance, greed, power, theology, religion. A heady mix. </p><p>It took a King, Henry VIII, who was having marital struggles connected with producing a male heir, to cause a rift with Rome about what he could and could not do. "The English Reformation," was backed by a majority of his top clergy schooled in the new theologies, or who were just merely cowards. Those who opposed Henry's changes among the hierarchy lost their heads. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Chaucer begins:</span></i></b></p><p>“When in April the sweet showers fall</p><p>And pierce the droughts of March to the root….</p><p>…..Then people long to go on pilgrimages</p><p>And Palmers long to seek the stranger strands of far-off saints….”</p><p><br /></p><p>So Chaucer writes about a longing to go on pilgrimage. </p><p>Definitions of what pilgrimage means are many and various. Recently John Lodge and I, have encountered The British Pilgrimage Trust and the 250 walks they promote. On their website they describe pilgrimage,</p><p><b><i>“Pilgrimage is a” Bring Your Own Beliefs,” practice – we exist to ‘advance British pilgrimage as a form of cultural heritage that promotes holistic wellbeing, for the public benefit.’</i></b></p><p><b><i>The nature of pilgrimage</i></b></p><p><b><i>Pilgrimage (n.): A journey with purpose on foot to holy/wholesome/special places. Pilgrimage is for everyone, promoting holistic wellbeing via pilgrim practices and connecting you with yourself, others, nature and everything beyond. To turn a walk into a pilgrimage, at the beginning set your private ‘intention’ – dedicate your journey to something that you want help with, or for which you want to give thanks.</i></b></p><p>The ,"Trust,"goes on to explain;</p><p><i>"In Britain, natural landmarks such as wells, springs, trees, caves, islands and hilltops, and pagan sites such as stone circles and barrows, as well as ancient churches and cathedrals reveal a diverse and still unfurling cultural landscape, open to all who wish to connect to these pilgrim places. Public Rights of Way in England and Wales and the Right to Roam Act in Scotland – freedoms particular to Britain – give us a unique opportunity to explore a vast network of green footpaths.”</i></p><p>A pilgrimage then can be about going to a place that is special to us. The destinations for pilgrimage can be limitless.</p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVWK2HJPvtVQupxR3uVU5Cps6YJBlM0bAvy6yXGMTn2X8Uqb7AZYn3q5aw6lgYRyP7fo_4N5LpmX_jSTANYVLZud5bWxanWZtaqSLhgql88Jkles0IXhA6oJPZObx5eip-YjJndGHwcw_RY6suGVi97S3KM4SE4rxYz2ys1LbIRys_SasCTRsZq0b8fhBc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="904" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVWK2HJPvtVQupxR3uVU5Cps6YJBlM0bAvy6yXGMTn2X8Uqb7AZYn3q5aw6lgYRyP7fo_4N5LpmX_jSTANYVLZud5bWxanWZtaqSLhgql88Jkles0IXhA6oJPZObx5eip-YjJndGHwcw_RY6suGVi97S3KM4SE4rxYz2ys1LbIRys_SasCTRsZq0b8fhBc=w640-h374" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>The Pilgrims Progress.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyon, published partly in 1678, is an allegory about the human journey through life from birth to death. Bunyon was a Puritan and a noncomformist. He spent years in prison because of his beliefs. Like ,"Christian," the main character in Pilgrims Progress, Bunyon was beset by guilt and a strong awareness of sin. That seems a very destructive stance and not at all good for mental health. Original sin, guilt, constant atonement is a debiltating state to be in. Its about trying to achieve the unachievable perfection that only an imagined god can be. That is such a hopeless desperate way of being. Life should be joyous. Humans are humans. That is what we have to negotiate. </p><p>John Bunyon has left his influence though. His writing has made generations think of their lives from birth to death as a pilgrimage. Some of the characters and the places ,"Christian," his lead character, meets and visits on his journey have influenced writers such as Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. William Makepiece Thackery’s Vanity Fair is named after a location in Bunyon’s Pilgrims Progress. Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women reference the Pilgrims Progress in some detail. It was written in simple language and could be read by many. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3SblYvqRpcmZmY3XAb4gXMa0nkXT4-9bl71E2fWMUPiWERqeXL6Z3asMU1-c4ucXpaGYz7mxlA6yBhxvahv6NCbhDyTfV3PxzLD_bYmvr6JVJ4W6fwqytQafQkkwZVSBqa0sd6dLfYOCT3tm6atwr3-R_SZchtAOhh9zKHAUUdPR6_01LPv1muHM0_kbm" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="904" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3SblYvqRpcmZmY3XAb4gXMa0nkXT4-9bl71E2fWMUPiWERqeXL6Z3asMU1-c4ucXpaGYz7mxlA6yBhxvahv6NCbhDyTfV3PxzLD_bYmvr6JVJ4W6fwqytQafQkkwZVSBqa0sd6dLfYOCT3tm6atwr3-R_SZchtAOhh9zKHAUUdPR6_01LPv1muHM0_kbm=w640-h394" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p>To promote holistic wellbeing is a primary aim of The Pilgrimage Trust. Wellbeing is an important consideration in helping us live in the 21st century and that makes The British Pilgrimage Trust attractive to many people. People can go on adventures that affect them positively with regards to their , physical, sensory and spiritual well being. The physical and sensory experiences are reasonably easy to explain but what of spiritual experience?</p><p><br /></p><p>I often wonder what that word,”spirituality,” means. Is it a mixture of physical, sensory and emotional interactions? The word, spiritual, can lead us down many, rabbit holes. It seems to me to be something outside of ourselves. The sensory experiences and physical experiences are part of it but add emotions, thoughts, and our human interactions and then, are we getting close? In many ways it is best to stop trying to analyse and let,"spiritual," experiences just happen. Many refer to Paul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus in The Acts of the Apostles as the most famous example of a spiritual experience. He imagines God speaks to him. But what sensory, physical, emotional and social experiences brought him to that?</p><p>I read some of the posts on The Pigrimage Trust site about short pilgrimage walks, a day in length. One lady described a silent walk beginning at the 15th century St Mary’s Church in Chilham, a seven mile walk to Canterbury. She was with a group but they walked in silence. I suppose walking in silence must focus yourself inwards even while being with others. Contemplative orders of Monks and Nuns come to mind. She wrote about her purpose of pilgrimage, experiencing the journey, nature, sounds, sights, the actual experience of physically walking in a given environment. She experienced the other people through their proximity to her. You can learn a lot about people just being in their presence without talking. She finally reached the site of Thomas a Becket’s shrine, now an empty space. Even an empty space can hold meaning and experience it seems.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaAKe6m7M3Mcm_XgHLwO3msv562HiOf1xG1AR8qYZuLrxqVQgiTly9XyGNN8G68MpHmuUGzMLK63_SzHFbGj3pa53ZOP6LAQ-8B4gDO7aa50b8Vni9UE36mGOLTcP_gfjgVplpYM63btBniXYllGenpi57fafG5n6KTrB-a9icSAhhU2Z_bt7HlCCxE-AM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="904" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaAKe6m7M3Mcm_XgHLwO3msv562HiOf1xG1AR8qYZuLrxqVQgiTly9XyGNN8G68MpHmuUGzMLK63_SzHFbGj3pa53ZOP6LAQ-8B4gDO7aa50b8Vni9UE36mGOLTcP_gfjgVplpYM63btBniXYllGenpi57fafG5n6KTrB-a9icSAhhU2Z_bt7HlCCxE-AM=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Sir Joseph Hood Playing Fields, Motspur Park (London Borough of Merton)</div><p>It got me thinking . Could I go on pilgrimage in the area I live? Could all the elements of what people describe as the process of pilgrimage be experienced, walking from my front door to my local park, Sir Joseph Hood Playing Fields and walking around the playing fields, about a kilometre in circumference and then returning home? I have walked and run this often. It is sensory. The physical act of walking from one place to another, no problem. But what about the spiritual part? There used to be a Chinese gentleman, he must have been in his eighties, who used to stand in the middle of Joseph Hood Park performing tai chi.His body moved rhythmically and purposefully. He looked as though his mind was engaged and he seemed completely focussed. I once watched a lady sitting cross legged in the centre of the park , straight backed, elbows on knees, hands with fore fingers and thumbs pressed together., meditating, with birds chirping in the trees, the wind blowing gently, the sun shining from a blue sky, the ground warm and firm beneath her. Were these two experiencing elements of pilgrimage entering emotionally and thoughfully into themselves in these ways? The Chinese gentleman and the lady were experiencing something.They both looked at peace and at one with the world.</p><p><br /></p><p>Immersing in a process , becoming lost in a process mentally, emotionally and physically is that pilgrimage? Is that spirituality? Could becoming immersed in a novel, a painting, a poem, a photograph, a play, a film, a song, a piece of music, be aspects of pilgrimage? Pilgrimage, perhaps, is limitless and experienced in a myriad of circumstances.</p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEik0PrlYS686yw8gohs6so4SS_ZJdmdlHFuXankWEqo2YAyAXCp6oHYm-Sq_yphbtG7gp_gxXf-sBIQt-6mcgnDPblrNAqoY9CUzAF-tK2nKymua3nuKV08Exzg3n_DoYrQytDMAdJuNxIrQ2wmcmQBvaa7JJoSqyPmL8A88qQcGxDiShXCCIkot5PRrXfx" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="904" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEik0PrlYS686yw8gohs6so4SS_ZJdmdlHFuXankWEqo2YAyAXCp6oHYm-Sq_yphbtG7gp_gxXf-sBIQt-6mcgnDPblrNAqoY9CUzAF-tK2nKymua3nuKV08Exzg3n_DoYrQytDMAdJuNxIrQ2wmcmQBvaa7JJoSqyPmL8A88qQcGxDiShXCCIkot5PRrXfx=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>My pilgrimage then. </p><p>Out of the front door. Dressed in a T shirt, sports trousers, walking shoes. I turn right down West Barnes Lane towards the park. Silver birch trees line the road on the grass verges. White, paper thin bark. Peeling in parts. Small, pale green blade like leaves fluttering. Garden shrubbery, hydrangeas, climbing roses, box hedges, sometimes interspersed between the roadside silver birches, cherry and copper beeches grow. Sky, sometimes cloudy, sometimes blue. a breeze that lightly touches, cools. Nowadays this area is covered by roads of mostly 1930s housing with front and back gardens. Getting into a striding pattern. My walking shoes cushion against the stones and the cracks in the pavement. Weeds grow here and there. Some with brightly coloured flowers. Whats the difference between a flower and a weed? Leroy is outside of his house cleaning his ,"souped up," HONDA CIVIC TYPE R (315 bhp). I tell him ,"Hey Leroy that car should be in an art gallery." He's used to me telling him that. He replies, "Not this one. It's not perfect." It looks it to me. The sound of its engine driving down our road is like low rumbling thunder. I cross West Barnes Lane between parked cars. Keith is backing his van out into the road. He sees me and waves, continues reversing out and heads off towards Grand Drive. I approach the shops. EKLEE fruit and vegetable store on my right.Shelving along the front of the shop filled with a myriad of coloured fruits and vegetables. EKLEE is an Iranian owned shop. A lovely family run it. They sell a wide choice of fruits and vegetables, some you wouldn’t normally get in a British green grocers. A variety of peppers, ginger roots, a whole range of chillies and a long long shelf of fresh herbs. Strange shaped and coloured tomatoes among the cabbages and the potatoes. </p><p>I turn left down Marina Avenue towards the white pillared and black wrought iron gates to the park. The pillars are 1930s art deco in style.A car park , tree shaded to my left. A large expanse of green grass extends into the distance. </p><p><br /></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd3v0nJy6HQhHPt85J5Pys31tZhD1hjQHBwkF1tsVLeThw-uczSoKHIn1A_9B38-SV2uK0tNpC4f5qttkYH7fk8xHfT0DSe96wgnxzg4Hd3_9QOf64u_h3b34R4pwGMc-LF9taUSCMsKgfUWPfne-8WpMxS-B5P3Dadg6A-f4t0rcu8kJWlZ1LSuqP7eb4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="904" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd3v0nJy6HQhHPt85J5Pys31tZhD1hjQHBwkF1tsVLeThw-uczSoKHIn1A_9B38-SV2uK0tNpC4f5qttkYH7fk8xHfT0DSe96wgnxzg4Hd3_9QOf64u_h3b34R4pwGMc-LF9taUSCMsKgfUWPfne-8WpMxS-B5P3Dadg6A-f4t0rcu8kJWlZ1LSuqP7eb4=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">"Mares tails," in the sky over the Sir Joseph Hood Playing Fields. ( Cirrus clouds)</p><p><br /></p><p>The grassy area of the park is surrounded by trees. To the right there is the millennium wood, planted in the year 2000, for the millennium. The foresters who look after the vast number of trees lining roads and the copses and small forests inhabiting Merton’s parkland concluded from their evidence that some of the woodland on that sideof the park near the giant unused gasometers, had got to a stage where it could no longer regenerate and that new planting on that side of the park was needed. It is satisfying to know the council cares for our environment. The arguments circle around how quickly change and development should be made to our environment. Too slow, too fast, just right. What to do? It will be uncomfotable. </p><p><br /></p><p>My feet pace the grass. Even paced at a comfortable speed. Swish of boots on grass. Grasses interspersed with clover flowers, daisys now and then, a dandelion, buttercups in season, the brown earth seen through thinned out grass. I love soil and what it is. Sycamores shade the pathway, now drooping with the weight of thousandsof ,”helicopter,” seeds clumped in tight groups at the end of branches, at the end of twigs. The crunch of dried twigs underfoot. I see three Muslim women, dressed in hijabs. One of them leads the other two, who face her, in exercises. I hear her commands."Squat, trunk twist, hold arms out in front."She gives the commands and invents the exercise movements and they all copy. Sometimes I see them walking the perimeter of the park like I do. Purposeful striding. I have taken to saying ,"hello." They reply, ,"hello,"and sometimes wave. They are of different ages, grandmother, mother, daughter, perhaps? They are here every day, bar rain. I come here in the rain sometimes.</p><p><br /></p><p>Mothers push their young in buggies, often doing laps of the park before attending the playgroup that takes place in the sports pavilion. Many people are in the park walking their dogs, throwing sticks or balls for their dogs to chase and retrieve. Some joggers. It is a place alive with birds, chirping, as well as people. Sometimes a jet airliner rumbles overhead coming out of Heathrow. A train passes once in a while through Motspur Park Station. And I continue, breathing rhythmically, almost imperceptibly, arms and legs moving forward comfortably. It feels like entering into my self. This is a journey of experience and self discovery.</p><p>PHILOSOPHY:</p><p>Concider the meaning of ,"existentialism ,"which in turn connects to ,"natural law."The various religions are based on ,"natural law,"to a certain extent which is a sort of universal moral standard that comes from nature and what it is to be human. The various religions make their own laws, which they say come from natural law but are interpretations and unbalance the meaning of what is to be , "human." Many people get left out or are marginalised by religions. Chritianity certainly hasn't got a good record. As one example the Catholic Church and its attitudes to women. The hierarchy of the church is a patriarchy. The Protestant Church of England has gone some way to address patriarchy but still many within its clergy are against the ordination of women. Attitudes towards the LGBTQ community raise some strong issues too.Christian churches use the Bible to argue their point. The Bible causes more problems than it solves. In the 17thand 18th centuries the Bible was interpretted idealogically promoting the rights of slavery for Gods sake!!!.If we are going to explain creation and the world and being human through the Bible that is a very poor , week, starting point. It only gets us so far. We have to concider ourselves in the ,"now," to interpret the world. Our moral code should come from simply what it is to be human and have human interactions. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-yvFC8y9IxQJATINv4wfgpxv1POsFVN5Ed6nk0zBkFRbhDfNdT7Pu34Qg4i2tJPF9Q8XCwoepT9lGHrgtNE1lir6VxwiMx4x8x28960mY-Zjxo5e9E1TUAMGg-lY8JXnun0LlMgkebF9RnxYTxfOzogJwXphTkUTqm8SEN8nca3Q68iKiFOYHbqY6Mszq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="904" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-yvFC8y9IxQJATINv4wfgpxv1POsFVN5Ed6nk0zBkFRbhDfNdT7Pu34Qg4i2tJPF9Q8XCwoepT9lGHrgtNE1lir6VxwiMx4x8x28960mY-Zjxo5e9E1TUAMGg-lY8JXnun0LlMgkebF9RnxYTxfOzogJwXphTkUTqm8SEN8nca3Q68iKiFOYHbqY6Mszq=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> AN OAK TREE</div><p></p><p>THE TREE OF LIFE : </p><p>There are many trees on my walk and I end up meditating on them. They keep me company.</p><p>Many religions incorporate the concept of a ,”tree of life.” The Celts, who’s religion pervaded our islands before Christianity revered the oak tree. In reality, whether you think the oak and other trees are religious symbols or not, trees are complex ecosystems that provide life for a whole range of living organisms, birds, insects, lichens, mosses, squirrels; they provide oxygen for our atmosphere and much much more. They even provide food for us and keep us cool in their shade when the planets temperature rises.Over centuries trees have provided building materials and helped add nutrients to the soil. I have hugged a tree. It feels very pleasant. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYQCvjvGqrH5rR_yU34BwwjLCFXxqkX8oxjGeX1IBrZBcXW1XJnJU5f9uygd9dvtGybF2mDEVEuQ5qJdO7UEW_FbEy3oM6dpnbswR0ZGHo-q2jjbssuyO5yY92JfCMXRiPtHWwX_GElHAdjTqFZsoP3H-nxLRRBTCJAHWPTeFjqwthVpBtrGb30Da7ILCf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="532" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYQCvjvGqrH5rR_yU34BwwjLCFXxqkX8oxjGeX1IBrZBcXW1XJnJU5f9uygd9dvtGybF2mDEVEuQ5qJdO7UEW_FbEy3oM6dpnbswR0ZGHo-q2jjbssuyO5yY92JfCMXRiPtHWwX_GElHAdjTqFZsoP3H-nxLRRBTCJAHWPTeFjqwthVpBtrGb30Da7ILCf=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p>Standing inside a forest of ancient trees the feeling is the same you get standing in the aisles of a magnificent cathedral. It is no coincidence that the stone pillars holding up the roof of a cathedral remind us of the trunks of trees. Often a complex fan structure of stone ribs support the roof of a cathedral and look like the complex patterns that the branches of trees make.These are connections between nature and religion. So my walk around my local park with oaks, elms, ashes, sycamores and plain trees have religious connections, if you look for them. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfCLp7T6fBh_GctaRw4R7y8blNbn8dkSrThFX5JqJWSqwZk0sO7nB8PK126o4Il0oMakbHUsiCZYtRTnGn-5FGpauC3fzW-723C7nFzRgsvZGcXaBSa_Swxc6OIAJNsCZvEgO8A9aCiHhlAxVxBX_wyixGK741Aqrq4ty5ciibUqCfGOeSuLT8ZCW8ZnYQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1784" data-original-width="2500" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfCLp7T6fBh_GctaRw4R7y8blNbn8dkSrThFX5JqJWSqwZk0sO7nB8PK126o4Il0oMakbHUsiCZYtRTnGn-5FGpauC3fzW-723C7nFzRgsvZGcXaBSa_Swxc6OIAJNsCZvEgO8A9aCiHhlAxVxBX_wyixGK741Aqrq4ty5ciibUqCfGOeSuLT8ZCW8ZnYQ=w640-h456" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span>Ancient Assyrian Stone panel depicting the tree of life from the North-West Palace of Ashurnasirpal II (Room I) </span></p></div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span>© The Trustees of the British Museum</span></p></div><p>Returning to Chaucer's ,Canterbury Tales.</p><p> Chaucers pilgrims walking to Canterbury , have the apparent aim to reach the shrine of Thomas a Becket and pray for his intercession providing a heavenly favour or gift. The walk Chaucer describes and the stories the pilgrims relate, tell something else. The stories of the pilgrims become intrinsic to their pilgrimage and the passage of time; days and weeks. The end is hardly concidered. </p><p>Two examples of the stories that Chaucers pilgrims tell. </p><p>The Pardoners Tale is a story about discovering ,Death.Three friends want to kill , Death,because they have been told that a character called ,Death, has killed one of their friends.They discover gold under a tree on their search for Death. Through avarice and greed for the gold they turn against each other. </p><p><br /></p><p>“Exactly in the way they’d planned his death</p><p>They fell on him and slew him two to one. </p><p>Then said the first of them when this was done.</p><p>Now for a drink. Sit down lets be merry</p><p><br /></p><p>And as it happened, reaching for a sup</p><p>He took a bottle full of poison up</p><p>And drank; and his companion, nothing loth</p><p>Drank from it also, and they perished both.”</p><p>They indeed find ,Death, when ,Death, of course finds them. The lesson for all the pilgrims from this story is obvious. </p><p><br /></p><p>Another story, that of The Wife of Bath, is pertinent. A woman of the Middle Ages, speaks to men and women of today. Her prologue shows she has the authority and experience to tell us about sex and relationships. She herself has experienced many relationships.She married five times, her marriages being some good and some bad. We learn how she dealt with her various husbands. She is disapproved of by some of the other pilgrims who think marrying five times must be against the laws of god. She adeptly justifies herself by interpretting stories about marriage and married people in the Bible in her own way. The Wife of Bath is a persuasive talker.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjamx6wEYy75jxT-tLQlIBBDyFS82gbXMsGZDPTp8qrydCwnXXws0VUejZATesDrK2DjYka7XzYqAbsxy0uTD5JEBPCC9f5Ha7kxJrCJofR66hgul2vY8qNBKU9Jk1PtVP9bjc3-EUo8bwz5HUDtXxWy7EPW5pnSCb_bPNQmLubNjUuXpA0HXSl8b3h9YqZ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="630" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjamx6wEYy75jxT-tLQlIBBDyFS82gbXMsGZDPTp8qrydCwnXXws0VUejZATesDrK2DjYka7XzYqAbsxy0uTD5JEBPCC9f5Ha7kxJrCJofR66hgul2vY8qNBKU9Jk1PtVP9bjc3-EUo8bwz5HUDtXxWy7EPW5pnSCb_bPNQmLubNjUuXpA0HXSl8b3h9YqZ=w635-h640" width="635" /></a></div><br />The Wife of Bath.</div><p>Her story she sets in the time of King Arthur and a time of fairies. It is about a Knight who rapes a maiden. Visceral stuff. He is taken prisoner and condemned to death by the King. However the Queen asks for the power to reprieve the Knight if he can answer one question. She asks the knight,</p><p><b><i>“What is the thing that women most desire?”</i></b></p><p>The knight is given one year to find the answer.His journey is a journey of self discovery and a developing understating of women. </p><p>An old lady he meets along the way gives him the answer and at the end of the year he reports back to the Queen.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><i>“ My liege and lady, in general,” said he</i></b></p><p><b><i>“ A woman wants the self same sovereignty </i></b></p><p><b><i>Over her husband as over her lover</i></b></p><p><b><i>And master him; he must not be above her</i></b></p><p><b><i>That is your greatest wish whether you kill</i></b></p><p><b><i>Or spare me; please yourself. I await your will.”</i></b></p><p><br /></p><p>All the women of the court nod and agree with his statement. He has saved his life.</p><p>However he has a promise to keep. He promised the old lady anything she asks.The old lady comes forward and demands that he marries her as a reward for her help. He agrees, although very reluctant because of her old, wrinkled appearance. He actually finds her physically repellent. But she has saved his life. She then gives him a choice. Have her as a young beautiful girl or as the old, shrivelled lady he sees before him and take the consequences of either. As a young beautiful maiden others will be attracted to her and want to tempt her away but as an old lady nobody else will show her interest. After some thought he gives her the choice to make. He gives her mastery over him. She turns into the beautiful young lady ( a fairy). </p><p>He has learned his lesson. Is it realistic though to believe he has become a different person? I am not sure but The Wife of Bath makes an important philosophical point.She was an early feminist surely? </p><p>The stories told by the pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales are allegories that explore and explain many of lifes fundamental issues. The relationships between men and women, death, love, class and religion. Many things we still discuss and think about today.</p><p>There is a strong element of realism in The Canterbury Tales. The characters know how to play," the system." For example,The Monk, is a sneaky character used to the good life. He uses his charm and hius positon as a monk withn the church to do very well in life offering forgiveness and indulgences for money. </p><p>It is interesting to note that the pilgrims who met at the Tabard Tavern in Southwark were strangers from various walks of life, both male and female. There is something ,"modern," about the Canterbury Tales; a,"melting pot," using an image from the 1960s.</p><p><br /></p><p>It’s the process of the pilgrimage that really counts in the end, not the arrival at Becket’s shrine. </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcN5e0O9T4Eaoj1qHQmKPoxOYj2IAI3IT_uq2QTOrsLuarB50eYjDTJlZZubci-SeOYhJKGYmnfTN17dbXze4Ybvu0_QK0Xbe_oaYJxdGDOKHudfplt9LDAMV-960ESdQjLHEvk_Le5aLlPWi9l2D5tdtOtbjJeqB0rCib_x157ZxBcu-cI5PldVqSjFc0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="904" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhcN5e0O9T4Eaoj1qHQmKPoxOYj2IAI3IT_uq2QTOrsLuarB50eYjDTJlZZubci-SeOYhJKGYmnfTN17dbXze4Ybvu0_QK0Xbe_oaYJxdGDOKHudfplt9LDAMV-960ESdQjLHEvk_Le5aLlPWi9l2D5tdtOtbjJeqB0rCib_x157ZxBcu-cI5PldVqSjFc0=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">The Tabard Inn Southwark in 1810.</p><p>The British pilgrim Trust are promoting a newly discovered pilgrim route. They call it the Old Way. It is marked on the Gough Map that is held by The Bodleian Library in Oxford. It is the first known map of the British Isles created in the 1370s. The ,"Old Way,"is a route from Southampton following the south coast to Canterbury. The towns and villages, that still exist today, featured on The Gough Map, are the stopping places on the route. You might wonder why it begins in Southampton? In the middle ages Southampton was a major port, as it remains to this day, linked to European ports. It was a place many merchants from Europe entered England. A port for merchants was also a port for pilgrims from Europe to begin their pilgrimage to Beckets tomb in Canterbury.</p><p>The route is described in detail on the trusts website with maps , transport links and places to stay for the night. John and I must do the ,"Old Way," one day. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiPPqPFoKb3q56AJ1rMktDKOWbKEQgZvjImNJtqXl-WaNG6TrWfqJTxhudqlfYArYDm6E1nHlYwxVFDHBNq3_FUYlMw3Y1mH1-jJZNyX2LEgqiQB5hcpwuPMNDVWSgJosr9TXLdfZd9ToU4YMk_RE2mYEq5bliMPk5y87Fi_mMvyqGFuz4wq4JBxfsXoSj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="936" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiPPqPFoKb3q56AJ1rMktDKOWbKEQgZvjImNJtqXl-WaNG6TrWfqJTxhudqlfYArYDm6E1nHlYwxVFDHBNq3_FUYlMw3Y1mH1-jJZNyX2LEgqiQB5hcpwuPMNDVWSgJosr9TXLdfZd9ToU4YMk_RE2mYEq5bliMPk5y87Fi_mMvyqGFuz4wq4JBxfsXoSj=w640-h304" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p style="text-align: center;">The Gough Map 1370.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>https://britishpilgrimage.org/the-bpt/. (THE BRITISH PIGRIMAGE TRUST)</p><p><br /></p><p>https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22120/22120-h/22120-h.htm (THE CANTERBURY TALES by Geoffrey Chaucer)</p><p><br /></p><p>https://www.onestepthenanother.com/pilgrimsway/discovering-the-pilgrims-way-in-england/</p><p><br /></p><p>https://www.canterbury-archaeology.org.uk/pilgrims-steps</p><p><br /></p><p>https://catholicherald.co.uk/ch/a-canterbury-tale/</p><p><br /></p><p>https://intriguing-history.com/english-medieval-pilgrimage/</p><p><br /></p><p>https://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/worship/pilgrimage/</p><p><br /></p><p>THE GOUGH MAP</p><p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gough_Map</p><p><br /></p><p>https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/thomas-becket-murder-shook-middle-ages</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-89775337345354424082023-07-26T04:14:00.010-07:002023-12-03T01:33:03.125-08:00 Highgate and Hampstead, a leafy land of legends. (part three)<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3N7lYTh-cVS6yCC4Q4grUVOkpugDSHCuO_TH8lAakWObrjS8FSV3LHHJAkOOfgkT5zhon0lO2AIvEIuEYt61sQhrFInFvl7mzWqLE3WE-3yYxyBv-oGgnSf06RDAw_TxrBV0w9UnLtm6PjGv8Wfk1ysDja9HvAuBH2mEhAbK4AmCvHkfcRpwSH1JNx1d/s4032/IMG_7786.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3N7lYTh-cVS6yCC4Q4grUVOkpugDSHCuO_TH8lAakWObrjS8FSV3LHHJAkOOfgkT5zhon0lO2AIvEIuEYt61sQhrFInFvl7mzWqLE3WE-3yYxyBv-oGgnSf06RDAw_TxrBV0w9UnLtm6PjGv8Wfk1ysDja9HvAuBH2mEhAbK4AmCvHkfcRpwSH1JNx1d/w640-h480/IMG_7786.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">Back in Hampstead with Tony Brown and John Lodge.</p><p><b>28th March 2023 </b></p><p><br /></p><p>Between walks the three of us, John Lodge, Tony Brown and myself often search for information and further ideas for our walks. I found a website about self-guided literary tours of London created by a group of tour guides who are passionate about getting people interested in London. A tour of literary Hampstead was among the researched walks on offer. I e-mailed a link to the website to John and Tony. They liked it and so we decided to continue our exploration of Hampstead and Highgate by following the tour. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsu2U5e7AM-Ep0G4H4UozLQxzfu6YzhwzNhHjhom-26wQpbZpcXYkdOX8un5asktE2Jl0jq_j3IWaRsw6pQAArtHQQzp2bm8FLAk3SW6qYLMHoK6Zu-WIwq4hJkkltGdWJLBBKSKnvfmgGmVy7p4I1RxqpgH24CXFxtq6hABZoVaw4H-Igt355TZRq-fKg/s4032/IMG_7789.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsu2U5e7AM-Ep0G4H4UozLQxzfu6YzhwzNhHjhom-26wQpbZpcXYkdOX8un5asktE2Jl0jq_j3IWaRsw6pQAArtHQQzp2bm8FLAk3SW6qYLMHoK6Zu-WIwq4hJkkltGdWJLBBKSKnvfmgGmVy7p4I1RxqpgH24CXFxtq6hABZoVaw4H-Igt355TZRq-fKg/w640-h480/IMG_7789.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">John and Tony crossing a road in Highgate.</p><p><br /></p><p>On Tuesday 28th March we met at our usual rendezvous spot, at 10am under the clock at Waterloo. To get to Golders Green station, the start of the literary walk, it was a simple matter of getting on the Northern Line to Edgeware Road. Golders Green is thirteen stops from Waterloo. A long, leisurely ride. </p><p>The web page, "Literary London Self Guided Tour-Hampstead," provided us with a map of Hampstead together with a list of the authors with short biographies, house addresses and a description of the route. This literary tour began outside of Golders Green Station.</p><p>I have never been to Golder Green before. When we got out at the tube staion it was raining. John and Tony had both brought umbrellas. We found a cafe across the road from the station entrance and sat there talking about how we were going to procede. We decided the rain would not stop us. The café was run by a Greek family. A friendly matriarch chatted to us about the pictures covering the walls of the café. They depicted the places in Greece the she and her family came from. </p><p>As we sat drinking our coffee we could see across the road,almost next to the station, the large imposing white stucco Golders Green Hippodrome Theatre that this part of Golders Green is famous for. It is a grade II listed building. It was built in 1913 by the architect Bertie Crewe. It was used for many things over the years. It was often where plays and shows were first performed before they reached the West End Theatres. Laurence Olivier and Marlene Dietrich both performed there. Later, Rock groups such the The Kinks,Queen,Jethro Tull and AC/DC performed there too and the list goes on. The Jam performed an exclusive concert for their fans in The Hippodrome, which was filmed and later became a TV special. The BBC took it over for many years. The John Peel show was broadcast from here. The BBC Concert Orchestra performed here. Some episodes of Monty Python were recorded at the Hippodrome too. It later became the El Shaddai International Christian centre. Since 2017 it is The Centre for Islamic Enlightening, a place that is described, "for Shia enlightenment." Its use for religious purposes has been contentious with the local community which is cosmopolitan but some aspects of different religions obviously clash.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjl3YkUDppAOUsNEUOyXxCwFrk-WJZDJTAc3zwc_35E0hkvxCGziareZQR-NxJyopZlq2s36ARA0-c9Mic2hsP02IPKO-rjTKNMhrG_n88bQrCXUk4fiQIB6UCGEhHuaTAqXlt8v4E_y3-oVQBjsuuOlIfhmQHn0UivstS31tATvu1hCZg67kKHFvkzSyV7" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjl3YkUDppAOUsNEUOyXxCwFrk-WJZDJTAc3zwc_35E0hkvxCGziareZQR-NxJyopZlq2s36ARA0-c9Mic2hsP02IPKO-rjTKNMhrG_n88bQrCXUk4fiQIB6UCGEhHuaTAqXlt8v4E_y3-oVQBjsuuOlIfhmQHn0UivstS31tATvu1hCZg67kKHFvkzSyV7=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The Hippodrome,Golders Green.</div><p></p><p>The rain lessened to a damp drizzle and so we decided to start our walk. We turned right, from the cafe, up the North End Road. We wanted to find number 145. Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966) was born here. He lived in Hampstead on and off throughout his life. I read Brideshead Revisited a few years ago just to find out what sort of a writer Waugh was. It was a terrific book. Before reading it I had an image of it being about posh people and as such superficial. It was about posh people, but it certainly wasn’t superficial.Posh people are analysed and the drama comes often from who they are, how they are and why they are. A great novel. The house he was born and brought up in looked very ordinary and middle class. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7HFMIhE7xs56D7Ob1wNNR0hG-S4WIJFeEpi8TdkDgPwrJHFh_-DMwjfRsEv4uH6LHBPfCD-lIid-Z5kImFah-IYM82rqiasihhbIqiGSXLFDY0Uwd0JKuTZIJDZkUNMHA_essKiMaBtblsptw934hzoCh9ZdT95-vV20GIqTODUx3jAhy2P_-1K17KafD" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7HFMIhE7xs56D7Ob1wNNR0hG-S4WIJFeEpi8TdkDgPwrJHFh_-DMwjfRsEv4uH6LHBPfCD-lIid-Z5kImFah-IYM82rqiasihhbIqiGSXLFDY0Uwd0JKuTZIJDZkUNMHA_essKiMaBtblsptw934hzoCh9ZdT95-vV20GIqTODUx3jAhy2P_-1K17KafD=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Eveline Waugh lived here.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">The tour I had printed off informed us to continue along North End Road to Hampstead Way on our left. On the route there was a lot of traffic, going downhill towards Golders Green. It looked wooded and leafy ahead. We turned down Hampstead Way and came across a cluster of modernist houses set back within their own leafy landscapes and also there were some older Victorian and Georgian houses . From the North End Road we had turned into an idyllic setting. The road lead down hill and turned sharply right. A rambling old building loomed over us to our right . This is called the Old Wyldes.It was the home of John Linnell, an artist and a close friend of William Blake(1757-1827) the artist and poet. Blake, although he lived his whole life in SOHO and Lambeth often visited his friends here at the Old Wyldes and spent weekends with them. Linnell encouraged Blake to become an artist. </span><span style="text-align: left;">John, Tony and I walked into the woods behind the Old Wyldes and I wondered if Blake was inspired to write some of his visionary poetry here seeing angels and devils and mythological beasts in the world around him? It is always interesting to walk in the footsteps and space of somebody as amazing as William Blake and wonder how they saw the world you yourself are walking through as they themselves did. </span></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLEZW9wGzlRaw1Dt9P4S81zVc_gDP__dl2WUvKWuKuFBgufXkdvEEVaOnIVRqOBuXnRC5ZV9u5Om1O3zCrT-JVyFRCC0RpIBpHFM3u-c_Ok9vyyp2e9ELVHR-xqkZkP0IjtsWT5EaUvnnHyzFK2P7xxguHgXaIRLgvqAzrHtunvVVbpB_ySoqoLrFMvtdW" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLEZW9wGzlRaw1Dt9P4S81zVc_gDP__dl2WUvKWuKuFBgufXkdvEEVaOnIVRqOBuXnRC5ZV9u5Om1O3zCrT-JVyFRCC0RpIBpHFM3u-c_Ok9vyyp2e9ELVHR-xqkZkP0IjtsWT5EaUvnnHyzFK2P7xxguHgXaIRLgvqAzrHtunvVVbpB_ySoqoLrFMvtdW=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The Old Wyldes where William Blake often stayed .</div><p></p><p>The map that was provided with the walk showed us paths through this wood which should clearly lead us to The Spaniards Inn where we intended to have a pub lunch. We lost our bearings, it goes without saying. A lady walking her dog was crossing our path and I asked the direction to The Spaniards Inn. She smiled and pointed us the way. We were thankful. On reaching the main road the inn was ahead of us. The traffic was frequent and we had to time our crossing of the road. There was no pedestrian crossing point. </p><p></p><p>And so we entered the famous Spaniards Inn. A small door from the garden area lead us into the timbered interior. No sense of Dr Van Helsing or Mrs Bardell having ever been there. An information sign told us that Keats had sat in the garden here and wrote Ode to a Nightingale but then I have also read that he could have written it in the garden of his cottage , also in Hampstead. A house to visit later.</p><p>Here is the first verse of that poem.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>“ My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains<p></p><p> My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,</p><p>Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains</p><p> One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:</p><p>'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,</p><p> But being too happy in thine happiness,—</p><p> That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees,</p><p> In some melodious plot</p><p> Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,</p><p> Singest of summer in full-throated ease.”</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I am not sure what this says about the beer on tap at the Spaniards Inn, in 1819.</p><p><br /></p><p>Jack Straws Castle, is a large oblong building clad in white weatherboarding and is castellated across its top. The present day building was only built in1964. Its name refers to Jack Straw who lead the Peasants revolt in 1381. It has many literary connections but more recently it is mentioned in Harold Pinters play, ,”No Mans Land.”</p><p>The three of us walked on and came across Katherine Mansfield’s house at 17 East Heath Road followed by Daphne de Mauriers house at 14 Cannon Place.The de Maurier family appeared to have a number of houses in this part of Hampstead. We turned downhill into Willow Road with parkland on our left and came across a modernist terrace of three houses. They are owned and looked after by the National Trust nowadays. An architect named Erno Goldfinger designed this terrace and lived with his family in the larger centre one. To build this terrace Goldfinger demolished two ancient cottages. Local people including Ian Fleming, the writer of the James Bond novels, unsuccessfully complained about the demolition. Fleming got his revenge on Goldfinger later. Goldfinger, incidently, was the architect who built the famous Trellick Tower block of flats north of Nottinghill. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0zCe4oj1jI1ECVx2oCUSYdMuub-gfRPpf4VzeGLa3Ud5r0bXLqRZCwGwkOz27Br2JBvSvrywLzybIAKOQ4sUXdf6X559CQGTPWTz6MBezNt73HLcXm7zjG5rx4r0yVmsT1u7D8kcQl-wq33Ex4peua_PFwGzpZygNT87M_1-CSgThX9LYiXvp4fyEbGH/s2560/1_2_3_Willow_Road_Hampstead_London_20050924.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0zCe4oj1jI1ECVx2oCUSYdMuub-gfRPpf4VzeGLa3Ud5r0bXLqRZCwGwkOz27Br2JBvSvrywLzybIAKOQ4sUXdf6X559CQGTPWTz6MBezNt73HLcXm7zjG5rx4r0yVmsT1u7D8kcQl-wq33Ex4peua_PFwGzpZygNT87M_1-CSgThX9LYiXvp4fyEbGH/w640-h480/1_2_3_Willow_Road_Hampstead_London_20050924.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Erno Goldfinger's terrace.</p><p>So, eventually we came to Keats’s cottage at number 10 Keats Road. The road has been renamed in more recent times to denote its famous occupant. The cottage originally was two houses. You can work out the smaller part of to the left of the main cottage. It was in the smaller extension that Keats stayed.Keats lived for a couple of years from December 1818 with his friend Charles Brown. The adjacent house was lived in by a widow who had a daughter called Fanny Brawne. Keats fell in love with Fanny Brawne and wrote love letters to her from his journey to Rome where he died of tuberculosis at the age of 25.He and Fanny had become engaged to be married.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDZhJO89fRX_fUM_-MwXcXiWZn-Aed3W4ajM4CcnZApJjknw6SIDgnMZPpyffazZk7-QqsUX3H0s8GKDYwQvO-cgAr0fNVZVF0t7uPgKrpndUHvgJ38KZFJFmGpa1oi0YhXu7zj75fShT7LZ94KBCljyRXh_JGzPf8EzNFZSbJgIiv41HVzAmlCx2pnmPz/s4032/IMG_7770.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDZhJO89fRX_fUM_-MwXcXiWZn-Aed3W4ajM4CcnZApJjknw6SIDgnMZPpyffazZk7-QqsUX3H0s8GKDYwQvO-cgAr0fNVZVF0t7uPgKrpndUHvgJ38KZFJFmGpa1oi0YhXu7zj75fShT7LZ94KBCljyRXh_JGzPf8EzNFZSbJgIiv41HVzAmlCx2pnmPz/w640-h480/IMG_7770.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Keat's cottage in Hampstead. </p><p>Eventually , on this particular days walk we finished in Admirals Walk. The house John Galsworthy lived in is next to a taller and larger building with a flag staff and balcony atop its structure called Admirals House. This is where P L Travers ,who wrote Mary Poppins lived. Admirals House, if you have seen the film of Mary Poppins, or read the book, features as the home of the Banks family and from the roof of which the retired admiral fires off his cannon to mark time.</p><p><br /></p><p>The day was getting on so we walked back downhill towards Hampstead High Street and Hampstead Station. We had a look into the extensive Waterstones bookshop they have on the high street. We also found a coffee shop and sat down to rest our legs and chat at the end of our day. Tony felt cynical about the number of blue plaques we came across.They were everywhere in Hampstead. There were of course the world famous ones but there were so many of people , scientists and mathematicians, for instance, that we had never heard of. They are obviously famous within a different sphere of society. One house we passed was that of the American, Lee Millar, the model and famous World war II war photographer. She had been friends with Picasso and famously posed in the nude sitting in Hitlers bath tub in Berlin after Berlin had been taken by the allies.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>21st April 2023</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Literary Houses continued and more cemeteries.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3UOE8Ls_sxH30VImvJjFchETlwEmDMM8XR-cOSB24v3iiN5SaY3Y2gb9_6mdWauoqG-b4Aq17JKzTfrc-ybnqe8G-LRtHa0VnxkAgtKDuqJ6Gj80igNfTqFnz9MXrP9-psfJQ3Zxc1n2ORhCcGLiTUweXBe8FEP1mEVSWyl7MBtyvz8HM56CcixS0RHy/s4032/IMG_8209.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3UOE8Ls_sxH30VImvJjFchETlwEmDMM8XR-cOSB24v3iiN5SaY3Y2gb9_6mdWauoqG-b4Aq17JKzTfrc-ybnqe8G-LRtHa0VnxkAgtKDuqJ6Gj80igNfTqFnz9MXrP9-psfJQ3Zxc1n2ORhCcGLiTUweXBe8FEP1mEVSWyl7MBtyvz8HM56CcixS0RHy/w640-h480/IMG_8209.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">A Georgian house in Hampstead.</p><p>John was on a trip to Sardinia with Marilana, visiting Marilana’s family. Clive was staying with Marilyn and I over here from Canada. He now lives with Barbara in a log cabin on a forty-five-acre plot of forest near the Algonquin Provincial Park with a multitude of small lakes and forests nearby. </p><p>Tony and myself offered to take Clive on our final walk around the literary homes of Hampstead, to complete the walk Free Tours had published on their website. Clive travelled into London with me on the train from Motspur Park and we met Tony under the clock, our usual rendezvous spot, in Waterloo Station.</p><p>Tony, was Clive and my maths and science teacher at St Edwards School, Cheswardine in the 1960s. Clive and Tony had not seen each other for nearly sixty years. Smiles and handshakes began todays walk.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNRzlBAjmqVS3nxUtQj-YGkr0EZmREJ64bVdIuBKjoekBQrJYq5Ce_eivojRR2TLii4dXw0ZG0ge6qddzCc2xT8keMLb0ndB31PUEO9XtGp8HHXZETyXzb4V4ax3g-n1qbwZIlw9_1Ck5m-pGB8bcm0lKBvVWO2ojF6vkNKeWGU_pbXLYXs7APd2jMFlx/s2048/17d6a7b0-ce59-4c79-820e-aff2f2ea703b.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNRzlBAjmqVS3nxUtQj-YGkr0EZmREJ64bVdIuBKjoekBQrJYq5Ce_eivojRR2TLii4dXw0ZG0ge6qddzCc2xT8keMLb0ndB31PUEO9XtGp8HHXZETyXzb4V4ax3g-n1qbwZIlw9_1Ck5m-pGB8bcm0lKBvVWO2ojF6vkNKeWGU_pbXLYXs7APd2jMFlx/w640-h480/17d6a7b0-ce59-4c79-820e-aff2f2ea703b.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">Clive and myself in a café in Highgate High Street.</div><p>We travelled on the Northern Line to Hampstead Station and emerged onto Hampstead High Street for one more time.</p><p><br /></p><p>Hampstead is similar in look to many other outer London suburban towns. Georgian and Victorian architecture , similar branded shops such as Waterstones and Pret a Mange coffee shops but Hampstead is special too. Artisan bakers, greengrocers, restaurants, cafes, unique pubs and local breweries, almost effortlessly populate The High Street as though it is it’s right. Other places struggle to copy. I think. When you walk the streets of Hampstead you just know that it is a place for the wealthy. A Lamborghini drove past us. A Ferrari glided past, its throaty voice grumbling. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfwJIZatckBC_uhXHyI-OQsCyTGG2JN7FpG9vw9yyjeh5ATiQ1WWq7swo660PEZo7wPDKwqM4QfRQ5zG8TWAXgnVQmMUCaUA0p-5FPMe_1IsLzUzeSkCavPa9aKWB0_ly9oJoTSXGtZbFoaAQi7fIxmgDJKwdaZo_xvQjtSB22VwuWRDZ3jCadX7Ki0EA/s4032/IMG_7790.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfwJIZatckBC_uhXHyI-OQsCyTGG2JN7FpG9vw9yyjeh5ATiQ1WWq7swo660PEZo7wPDKwqM4QfRQ5zG8TWAXgnVQmMUCaUA0p-5FPMe_1IsLzUzeSkCavPa9aKWB0_ly9oJoTSXGtZbFoaAQi7fIxmgDJKwdaZo_xvQjtSB22VwuWRDZ3jCadX7Ki0EA/w480-h640/IMG_7790.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p>Admirals House where P L Travers, the writer of Mary Poppins lived.</p><p>To restart our literary tour with we walked uphill taking the raised pavement, high above the road level, from Holly Bush Hill. Hampstead most. Certainly has its steep hills which inform the muscles in your legs in no time. Walking up Holly Bush Hill a wrought iron handrail on our right hand is postioned for those who need its assistance. We walked up at a slow even pace. None of us needed the assistance of the handrail. The raised pavement is a sign of the areas past and present wealth. Raised pavements were constructed first in the Georgian period so that fine ladies didn’t get their long dresses dirtied in the mud and sludge of the unmettled road surfaces. Only well off towns and villages could afford a raised pavement. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PDHqt1LtsP2XuEJYb6c8fqz58WpzeKseMegET2fDzgZrsea6B4xT_JnroEqQ19hxnqGa8TK6SU-fNx7djirzVYGdxvvG89vus37oXwhbQRGOiwUJaNagZapJYW_HTqbPOgQgwv5IeV__MplSHGssallLC2b5GjHF9h3O_INhriF4sGKW_0JTZi5wiMAE/s4032/IMG_8218.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PDHqt1LtsP2XuEJYb6c8fqz58WpzeKseMegET2fDzgZrsea6B4xT_JnroEqQ19hxnqGa8TK6SU-fNx7djirzVYGdxvvG89vus37oXwhbQRGOiwUJaNagZapJYW_HTqbPOgQgwv5IeV__MplSHGssallLC2b5GjHF9h3O_INhriF4sGKW_0JTZi5wiMAE/w640-h480/IMG_8218.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">Clive outsdie the house which is on the site of Edward Elgar's home. (The Dream of Gerontius.)</p><div><br /></div><p>Once we had gone uphill we walked down hill past Mount Vernon past high brickwalled gardens, that burst with trees and shrubs guarding the fronts of private houses. Who lives in them now? Nowadays the great and the good of the 21st century reside behind those elegant facades. We could stand and guess but is that worthwhile? Clive, Tony and I moved on towards Admirals Walk and Admirals house where P L Travers once lived so that we started this days walk at the very location we finished our last walk.</p><p><br /></p><p>We walked onwards up Windmill Hill. Probably a windmill once stood here. I am sure it did in bygone days. It is an ideal location for a windmill , high on a windy hill. We passed the poet Joanna Baillies house on Windmill Hill. Then we continued downwards. The road merged with Frognal Rise and we kept on until we reached Mount Vernon. At number 7 Mount Vernon. Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island, Kidnapped and the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde once lived. The three of us all read Stevenson’s books as children and have seen the films made from his stories. It was quite a thrill to stand outside of where he once lived. </p><p><br /></p><p>We walked on to Holly Walk and then came to a small cemetery on our left across the road from St John’s Church in Church Row.A larger cemetery encircled the church itself. A sign to the smaller cemetery listed names of some apparently famous people buried in it and showed the location of various graves. We wandered around the gravestones trying to find some of the people listed. We were not too successful.We found some interesting graves all the same. We walked across the road and went into the church. Two gentlemen were talking to at the front of the church near the altar. I stopped to ask them about the location of Peter Cook’s grave who we had failed to find in the smaller cemetery across the road. They didn’t know. I had better luck asking about H.G.Wells house at number 7. They directed us to it. We found number 7 Church Row. Wells, unusually for the time, divorced his first wife,a cousin, Mary Wells in 1894 after three years of marriage. Wells was a notorious womaniser and had many affairs.. H G Wells and his second wife, Amy Catherine Robbin, known as Jane, lived in Church Row from 1909 to 1912.He had two sons with, Jane, George Phillip and Frank Richard. Apparently, his family didn’t like seeing a constant stream of funerals passing the front of their house on the way to the church. They moved out in 1912. </p><p><br /></p><p>Having failed to find the grave of Peter Cook comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter we discovered that he had also lived at number 17 Church Row. He along with Dudley More were part of our youth. I know Clive and certainly myself would have loved so much to find the rave of Peter Cook. But, we saw his house. I researched peter Cook’s grave later and discovered that he had been cremated but a small memorial was to be found hidden away at the back of St John’s Church. We had explored tha far. I remember thinking at the time that there appeared nothing to see in the cramped space at the back of the church and none of us considered looking there .</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UqSXDmMY9ODlgJvMaEPi7ok3STmyAeedvmaS3Np1NhxWa-OywqBFHCgJbLmxYBPN415JdkK_f2Glg1a8F3oh7Lk0_JWTbLevFHltpZmOJfFkTDNMKh3cJeB7FdwD7Z_AZyt23UWSYgJSUKq-jDiuPEdMtd_0XuNKwh1Wwnr_e3qPNVZZGbJjrnoJgfcK/s3851/IMG_8212.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3851" data-original-width="2888" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3UqSXDmMY9ODlgJvMaEPi7ok3STmyAeedvmaS3Np1NhxWa-OywqBFHCgJbLmxYBPN415JdkK_f2Glg1a8F3oh7Lk0_JWTbLevFHltpZmOJfFkTDNMKh3cJeB7FdwD7Z_AZyt23UWSYgJSUKq-jDiuPEdMtd_0XuNKwh1Wwnr_e3qPNVZZGbJjrnoJgfcK/w480-h640/IMG_8212.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Clive and Tony outside of Robert Louis Stevenson's house.</div><p><br /></p><p>In the same street at number 26 Church Row, Lord Alfred Douglas, the infamous lover of Oscar Wilde once lived.</p><p>None of these houses had blue plaques commemorating their famous occupants and if hadn’t been for the guide we had printed off we certainly wouldn’t have known about them.</p><p>Some house we merely did not have time to even try and find. Aldous Huxley lived at 16 Bracknell Gardens. Sigmund Feud lived at 20 Maresfield Gardens. T S Elliot lived for a while at Fairhurst Compayne Gardens.</p><p>We walked west towrads The Finchley Road and found an old Victorian pub called The North Star. We went in and ordered fish and chips. We drank pints of Neck Oil which is brewed by Beavertown brewery in Enfield, a north London Borough. We have found Neck Oil for sale in pubs all over London. It is a fruity IPA called a session ale, meaning it is low in alcoholic strength.Neck Oil is 4.5% alcohol. A couple of pints is acceptable. It's usually is served in a glass smothered in small, colourful, cartoon skulls. A marketing ploy by the Beavertown Brewery. Session ales are refreshing, and one pint leads to another and sometimes another. We had two pints each on the day.</p><p>We sat in the cool of the pubs Victorian splendour, drank our pints and ate our fish and chips. The three of us walked to Finchley Road Tube Station and got the underground back to Waterloo Station.</p><p><br /></p><p> After our four visits to Hampstead we felt we were beginning to know the area. Hampstead is well worth a visit.</p><p><br /></p><p>A link to the site promoting the literary tour of Hampstead.</p><p><br /></p><p>info@freetoursbyfoot.com</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-13960326445032593312023-07-05T08:50:00.008-07:002023-07-14T07:46:03.058-07:00Highgate and Hampstead, a leafy land of legends. (part two)<p> </p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgnx4QiUO7uivnDKjLq6Kp-P2XBDz8yJLlZlTZIBwIe1DUP3GiOSm9Y7jLdxukh8cKZhJxROzKAhIw0K2MbV24a4x3lQdPiGdjHwxOyyIbLB6-EDoS2pODgtDOFW-AMbsvJPmDLf3V_9IAp6csXEcXfolvg5dTesx8x14GhCNL2Z6BxSfeCf8iQlc4QFQ/s4032/IMG_7430.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgnx4QiUO7uivnDKjLq6Kp-P2XBDz8yJLlZlTZIBwIe1DUP3GiOSm9Y7jLdxukh8cKZhJxROzKAhIw0K2MbV24a4x3lQdPiGdjHwxOyyIbLB6-EDoS2pODgtDOFW-AMbsvJPmDLf3V_9IAp6csXEcXfolvg5dTesx8x14GhCNL2Z6BxSfeCf8iQlc4QFQ/w640-h480/IMG_7430.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">John and I in Highgate.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>24th February 2023. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>John and I returned to Highgate for a second time and got out at Highgate Tube and walked down the High Street which was becoming familiar territory to us both. We soon found Waterlow Park again and walked through its gardens arriving at the gates to Highgate Cemetery on Swains Lane that cuts the two parts of the cemetery into the older West Cemetery and the newer East Cemetery. We negotiated the graves of the East Cemetery by ourselves. We bought tickets to join the tour of the West Cemetery later.</div><div><br /></div><div>Highgate Cemetery was opened in 1839. It was one of the seven cemeteries that were built on the outskirts of London to accommodate the growing number of London's dead. Since Christopher Wren had built his city churches after the Great Fire of London, London churchyards had been the places for London’s dead to be buried. From the late Georgian period into the early Victorian period London’s population was rising fast and the city churchyards could no longer accommodate those who wished to be buried there. ”The Magnificent Seven,” as the new cemeteries were termed, were planned to deal with the exponential increase. Highgate Cemetery alone has an estimated 170, 000 burials. The day John and I were there there was a funeral and burial taking place.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div> The cemetery is the last resting place of many famous people and it is easy to get star struck. Immediately you walk into the cemetery you discover the graves of the literary greats, historians, scientists, actors, artists, publishers and more darkly, past members of the criminal world. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUp-tjBEn0tPY5OEVTL28pPDXJQRGW37hKNpyGaFUUz3LAd2yU7w4jTsUFwGq-sqeMy1AJU5jpe7BDUh4KYPVhepd982XY70NC5zXaVHZWKM70Wc41cgaoBA9VAZES4Sa3MD0ncUug1MFWaortaypZt0MNg22TB5UBILtlpK0yXvR0b2qm7Xp1lXnUthE/s4032/IMG_7443.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUp-tjBEn0tPY5OEVTL28pPDXJQRGW37hKNpyGaFUUz3LAd2yU7w4jTsUFwGq-sqeMy1AJU5jpe7BDUh4KYPVhepd982XY70NC5zXaVHZWKM70Wc41cgaoBA9VAZES4Sa3MD0ncUug1MFWaortaypZt0MNg22TB5UBILtlpK0yXvR0b2qm7Xp1lXnUthE/w640-h480/IMG_7443.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Bruce Reynolds (1931-2013), the mastermind of The Great Train Robbery (1963)</div><div><br /></div><div>We walked by ourselves around the newer East Cemetery. Just on our left as we entered we saw, positioned on a slight rise of ground, a small grey granite headstone hollowed out to make a niche for a life size bronze bust of a very serious looking man. It looked life like. It may have been taken from a death mask. Across the top of the granite stone was written the name, Bruce Reynolds. He was the mastermind of The Great Train Robbery that took place in 1963. I remember it, as an eleven-year-old, in the newspapers and seeing live reports on the BBC on the black and white television we had at home. The bust of Bruce Reynolds reminded me of the marble busts of Roman senators and emperors Marilyn, and I saw in the Archaeological Museum of Naples a few years ago. It had a sense of somebody serious and all powerful. Looking at the face of Bruce Reynold's bust was a little disconcerting. What is the mind of a criminal?</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmWlPllOZ6xwZ5XADfbMLGL5oVsj0njrvZn7Thz9H6fIkKvuW16WM9_Z7UU0xw2nhfRbYwlV4RwZMBajinRtgwnp57zx5pyPAyhS3EzsMaLbrJHZCB-N-IGRBrieSlUj2MAv-M0eF_uwu4iqmyDL4YMlhqWHswp5CALvKqSldN8HQ2chkhE5-36eQvT3r/s4032/IMG_7451.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmWlPllOZ6xwZ5XADfbMLGL5oVsj0njrvZn7Thz9H6fIkKvuW16WM9_Z7UU0xw2nhfRbYwlV4RwZMBajinRtgwnp57zx5pyPAyhS3EzsMaLbrJHZCB-N-IGRBrieSlUj2MAv-M0eF_uwu4iqmyDL4YMlhqWHswp5CALvKqSldN8HQ2chkhE5-36eQvT3r/w480-h640/IMG_7451.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">George Eliot (1819-1880)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>We wandered on and found the granite obelisk that marks the grave of George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans). I have recently read Middlemarch by George Eliot that was first published in 1871.A tale, told from different points of view, concerning marriage, position in life, money and the lack of it and personal development. In many ways it is a novel of realism and portrays the strengths but more often the weaknesses of the many characters. A modernist novel. It can be pedantic at times in describing characters and preaching a moral viewpoint. George Eliot was a genius. She has been an influence on novelists ever since and is one of the great novelists in World Literature. Other admirers had planted flowers at the base of the obelisk marking her grave. She is squeazed in among other headstones. I am sure these others are worth spending time with but, George Eliot took all our attention in this huddled part of the cemetery. I don’t think we looked at any of the other inscriptions on headstones around her. John and I were definitely star struck.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjA7fF09DoN_bcqHoasGnB14nyefQFaXNOmxUZprRskUNuXcsN3j8YP7tyUv2K-pdIX4p5FrAMeZCMSKIuX_WaSUj6X77jIA_JhX0M4zED1U0xDa-0Ko37LLbuPdOAny39cxKvuo12aRSutttIjnIPxSJiYvgioyke6R_8QGZ5cPRFKeZK2mnpZtZgnF2U/s4032/IMG_7456.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjA7fF09DoN_bcqHoasGnB14nyefQFaXNOmxUZprRskUNuXcsN3j8YP7tyUv2K-pdIX4p5FrAMeZCMSKIuX_WaSUj6X77jIA_JhX0M4zED1U0xDa-0Ko37LLbuPdOAny39cxKvuo12aRSutttIjnIPxSJiYvgioyke6R_8QGZ5cPRFKeZK2mnpZtZgnF2U/w480-h640/IMG_7456.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">John next to Karl Marx ( 1818-1883).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Just beyond the grave of George Eliot, to our right on the opposite side of the path, was the unmissable giant bronze bust of Karl Marx set on a marble plinth. This has become the most famous of all Highgate’s tombs. Maybe it’s the most famous tomb in the world? I suppose the pyramids of Egypt are up there.</div><div>These are the words incised on the marble base. They ring throughout twentieth century history., </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>“ Workers of The World Unite.” Karl Marx.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>” The Philosophers of the world have only interpreted the world in various ways.The point is to change it.’”</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Somebody had left a copy of ,The Communist Manifesto, and there were many bouquets of flowers covering the base of the plinth.</div><div><br /></div><div>Marx and his family were moved to this location in 1954. He, his wife and other members of his family were originally buried in a very ordinary grave with a small headstone about a hundred yards from the present tomb site. John and I tried to find the original grave. We had a map of the cemetery given to us at the entrance. At first the map appeared simple and easy to fiollow. John and I stood on a path that we thought was marked on the map.After a while of looking and looking and trying to find points we could recognise we decided that, unfortunately, the map was not detailed enough. We located another path that was shown to try and get our bearings.We thought we had found the location of the original grave using the marked path and the site of the 1954 tomb we could see before us a little way off in the distance. We got confused and our location didn’t help at all. You have to realise that Highgate Cemetery is set within woodland. Many trees bar your vision and although it was still winter and there were no leaves on the trees the woodland is dense. So finally we didn’t find the original grave and it has left a feeling of failure. We must have been close. One day, one or both of us will go back and we will find the original grave of Karl Marx. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuSrOrWhQoTZHa5w6UCJA8ueCV0eGcAUXtH5jHzSMebbY6B-cYlN02BNi_wnP5V8LMaM-OrZBp6tTLHy3V1ShXc5JR_0C5lAxH2pdTDZLdrqtPTj3sFtQAM4p5iK8sbwSoTUWSo9KwyiLLw-7xYcqZWWAAZnmrK2ddSvdzNzSPWE9OES7WzqacOZE5zzw/s4032/IMG_7467.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuSrOrWhQoTZHa5w6UCJA8ueCV0eGcAUXtH5jHzSMebbY6B-cYlN02BNi_wnP5V8LMaM-OrZBp6tTLHy3V1ShXc5JR_0C5lAxH2pdTDZLdrqtPTj3sFtQAM4p5iK8sbwSoTUWSo9KwyiLLw-7xYcqZWWAAZnmrK2ddSvdzNzSPWE9OES7WzqacOZE5zzw/w480-h640/IMG_7467.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Eric Hobsbawn.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>We walked on and I saw the grave clearly named of Eric Hobsabwn. He was an academic and a historian.A British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and capitalism. I remember reading one of his books when I did a history unit for my Open University degree in the 1980s. I was thrilled to see his grave. John had never heard of him. </div><div><br /></div><div>I do not find cemeteries sad paces at all.I like to read the names and inscriptions on grave stones. Cemeteries are an affirmation of life and living as well as of death. They remember people who lead lives that added something to the world we are in. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLteBk1szCCxUz3NU5JTvYmBdeo3OnZAM3_YK1xnm9qQo2K68N9MlygKz2WnayD1CAOtnn0USLxUc70QEtKlvdtI_3T37PT_E78t7GIjVi0Rja4EQsfP1yGuycH5JCX7EIUP5C9s68yVXyIH_veZCmlxDo3kA99WABNolHowt8c-BxIoX2E0ZNR-ge6lXB/s4032/IMG_7475.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLteBk1szCCxUz3NU5JTvYmBdeo3OnZAM3_YK1xnm9qQo2K68N9MlygKz2WnayD1CAOtnn0USLxUc70QEtKlvdtI_3T37PT_E78t7GIjVi0Rja4EQsfP1yGuycH5JCX7EIUP5C9s68yVXyIH_veZCmlxDo3kA99WABNolHowt8c-BxIoX2E0ZNR-ge6lXB/w480-h640/IMG_7475.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Patrick Caulfield. "Step down this way."</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Then we came across a grave that made me laugh. This particular grave stone was that of Patrick Caulfield (1936-2005) a pop artist. It is a smooth piece of black granite.It is shaped as a series of neatly cut steps proceding from the top left to the bottom right. Each step has a single letter of the alphabet incised into it perforating the solid stone. Four steps that read from top left to bottom right, D E A D. There is something visceral, giving you a jolt, in that decisive word. It couldn’t be more precise and exact. A whole philosophy in one word.</div><div><br /></div><div>So we walked around the East Cemetery. Here are a few more we came across. Robert Keating, another artist. Paul Foot, writer and revolutionary. Alan Sillitoe, author. Who of a certain age hasn’t been affected by Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner? Novels about post war working class life. They probably did as much as anything else to influence politics and life in this country in the1960s. Nearby we passed the grave of Corin Redgrave the actor and film star. We also saw the graves of Anna Mahler, sculptor. Bert Jansch, Scottish folk musician and member of Pentangle, Alan Howard, Shakespearean actor and Jeremy Beadle, the popular TV presenter. The resting place of Jim Stanford Horn has a grave stone in the form of a penguin novel with two of the iconic penguins side by side at the bottom of the design. He was an avid reader. Those who love reading themselevs find this grave a touching tribute. We had only visited the east cemetery, so far. A lot more to come. Where was George Michael buried? He is definitely here but we didn't find him unfortunately.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMUS2gJNIWcaL0URLhHaWHBP93-m6mX1Baz-XaDZYGSGtQVqsNESY8TVPHVdLP3pB04aBu2MquxzzWZ1to6Zw36rbn1cDdPzGg_80L3NTgFwGqcUOnkeJlusEfLp1IxOEkQ5tZ5_tP5OTpM5x61OUhfCz_5yeFfBD9N1p9rq-K4uHPh7FVrBZ_QxulX6D/s4032/IMG_7446.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMUS2gJNIWcaL0URLhHaWHBP93-m6mX1Baz-XaDZYGSGtQVqsNESY8TVPHVdLP3pB04aBu2MquxzzWZ1to6Zw36rbn1cDdPzGg_80L3NTgFwGqcUOnkeJlusEfLp1IxOEkQ5tZ5_tP5OTpM5x61OUhfCz_5yeFfBD9N1p9rq-K4uHPh7FVrBZ_QxulX6D/w480-h640/IMG_7446.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jim Stanford Horn (1976-2010)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The time for our guided walk of the older Western Cemetery was approaching. Like any good park or place of entertainment there are toilets near the entrance to the cemetery. We were enlivened for the next part of our cemetery exploration.</div><div><br /></div><div>We crossed the road to the entrance to the older west part of the cemetery. We walked through the archway of an impressive Victorian gothic gatehouse into a courtyard where many horse drawn hearses over the centuries must have stood. The entrance provides space for a full turning circle for a horse drawn carriage. It is surrounded by a brick built arcade. I presume mourners could have stood under the arches of the arcade out of the rain and snow and wind if the weather was serving up those particular delights on the day. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikN1FR1hu8Z8maVThjKn51R43cArw6_DCviAH_uoODv_lyLtIcNSZf6nuj2P-BomLQ6vSqEtlFP3NZlLtCX0HE-U-Bq4C2fB07BytpvzqRPKcdBkN9w7p7KnrhKmzXs_ktkrY8mxqQ47PyyIrIEVXfEOxdQOBKcMqsNu0No_U070jR79KV1YpAv6woqFMY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikN1FR1hu8Z8maVThjKn51R43cArw6_DCviAH_uoODv_lyLtIcNSZf6nuj2P-BomLQ6vSqEtlFP3NZlLtCX0HE-U-Bq4C2fB07BytpvzqRPKcdBkN9w7p7KnrhKmzXs_ktkrY8mxqQ47PyyIrIEVXfEOxdQOBKcMqsNu0No_U070jR79KV1YpAv6woqFMY=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The entrance to the Western Cemetery.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>A series of steeps steps lead from this entrance area into the environs of the cemetery. A ,”stairway to heaven.” (A little something for you Led Zeppelin fans.) Coffins are carried up these steps and along the paths to the site of internment or burial.</div><div><br /></div><div>The lady leading the tour discussed many of the symbolic elements of the graves. Many are surmounted by stone funery urns with carved drapery slipping from the top of the urn symbolically releasing the soul of the occupant to heaven. Some have Greek pillars broken in half. They have not been vandalised, they symbolise lives cut short.There are many mausoleums of the great and good in this part. Generals, admirals and the family crypts of wealthy families. A massive hound lies at the foot of the grave of his master, Thomas Sayer , the greatest pugilist of the mid 19th century.He was a bare knuckle fighter. He only lost one bout in his career. In 1857 he famously defeated, Willam Perry, the ,”Tipton Slasher.” He retired in 1860. George Wombwell was a menagerist in the late Georgian and early Victorian period. He travelled the country with a wild animal show. His tomb is surmounted by a life size carving of his favourite lion, Nero. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHOEnINxPTOcReH8n6lcx1r_Y8aJ2Qdid1EFHyBpen3GocRYQovhDboIMax_QYp5AaaJLpvlxhYiTRjZeSL384WPxYkImh_JHhab33VXOF2TnimHRmhnh2M_iTMQCpM2Cqgze54oQkXApxZUffWXiUtEjOgix2Dt8W56xhu2TUhZhlMhbdSRpTp9PpYirp/s4032/IMG_7510.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHOEnINxPTOcReH8n6lcx1r_Y8aJ2Qdid1EFHyBpen3GocRYQovhDboIMax_QYp5AaaJLpvlxhYiTRjZeSL384WPxYkImh_JHhab33VXOF2TnimHRmhnh2M_iTMQCpM2Cqgze54oQkXApxZUffWXiUtEjOgix2Dt8W56xhu2TUhZhlMhbdSRpTp9PpYirp/w480-h640/IMG_7510.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">George Wombwell ( 1777-1850) Nero keeping him faithful company.</div><div><br /></div><div>Whilst our guide stopped by one of the largest mausoleums in the cemetery and informed us about the overall history of the cemetery and told us about this particular mausoleum partly buried in the ground and extensive enough to accommodate a whole family for generations, I nearly fell over a small gravestone positioned just behind us. I nudged John and whispered,”Look who we are standing next to.” A small granite stone, severed at a sharp angle across the top like a broken slash was the grave of Alexander Litvinenko. I must admit I felt a slight chill go down my spine. The savagery of Vladimir Putin extends to Highgate Cemetery it seems.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoITHveIqZOLPsdSw0g0xdlpNsGOjX2sNm3G5xbyBktkvHZxARUdSjpotp1bRrcQ396l39FoXR688kJNM1hI7b7-3BEFa4PTVKFHwpC4SajWKfNkpKqWj0ZDOvPvK5EAPwXTUW0nqUjsEM0Jw5rEaTtf2OuwzoCla1SZCukBHbaH26NsJpKazajEhgMfKk/s4032/IMG_7488.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoITHveIqZOLPsdSw0g0xdlpNsGOjX2sNm3G5xbyBktkvHZxARUdSjpotp1bRrcQ396l39FoXR688kJNM1hI7b7-3BEFa4PTVKFHwpC4SajWKfNkpKqWj0ZDOvPvK5EAPwXTUW0nqUjsEM0Jw5rEaTtf2OuwzoCla1SZCukBHbaH26NsJpKazajEhgMfKk/w480-h640/IMG_7488.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Alexander Litvinenko (1962-2006)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Our guide lead us along a sloping pathway up through the wooded cemetery until we came to a large stone entrance flanked by pillars reminscent of an Egyptian temple. This was the entrance to the Egyptian Avenue.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQoA76E5uguXXrHX2b_X44I80uTkzk9xgEIkNPw7GnQWgDNRb-eOK7wTlatnF2KW8QDRL5UvFaO9Jw5mdzt_s4N-HNUEVpds15wleHFYMRoZX67G8q96CfJDBxx94eCKAKpXecndt8-UoFjF7V7xkJ0ZMYiV0LaVD_XFE1pro0Mz4S6TEoDAa2Win9PfNb/s4032/IMG_7492.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQoA76E5uguXXrHX2b_X44I80uTkzk9xgEIkNPw7GnQWgDNRb-eOK7wTlatnF2KW8QDRL5UvFaO9Jw5mdzt_s4N-HNUEVpds15wleHFYMRoZX67G8q96CfJDBxx94eCKAKpXecndt8-UoFjF7V7xkJ0ZMYiV0LaVD_XFE1pro0Mz4S6TEoDAa2Win9PfNb/w480-h640/IMG_7492.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The entrance to the Egyptian Avenue, leading to a rotunda sunken beneath the surface of the ground.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> A tunnel leading from this entrance passed between the bronze doors to crypts ranged on both sides. It opened out into a rotunda area that appeared sunken into the ground. The central drum was the location of more crypts. A circular pathway circled the central drum with further crypts lining the outer wall. One of these had the title ,"columbarium," above an 18th century door. Columbarium at first seems to refer to doves. Within a cemetery it is where funerary urns are displayed. We could not see inside. The bronze door was shut and a security gate was locked in front of it. The cemetery has been vandalised on a number of occasions. After exploring this sunken world of the dead we ascended steps to ground level.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNbT2Lkxc5Ajy3mLFAJOQQ4yobba9bUb3MC9zJU4qCj-X6JoU_NyxKCAH1rPJoSH_cgQGgxa-PRQCqB3vfT58OpmRaKBYe5U1u0t3Qke7X21I2FwKgjCoMFheMsmtsTp55rrnrX8wbgWL9YCn8pdC9QRgVCakXj35f0pjlh8otr2Pz_3YuK9NjEv3wh9AM/s4032/IMG_7505.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNbT2Lkxc5Ajy3mLFAJOQQ4yobba9bUb3MC9zJU4qCj-X6JoU_NyxKCAH1rPJoSH_cgQGgxa-PRQCqB3vfT58OpmRaKBYe5U1u0t3Qke7X21I2FwKgjCoMFheMsmtsTp55rrnrX8wbgWL9YCn8pdC9QRgVCakXj35f0pjlh8otr2Pz_3YuK9NjEv3wh9AM/w480-h640/IMG_7505.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>One part of the cemetery is not open to the public but our guide had the keys to the padlock which gave us entry to an extensive crypt. A long dark corridor, lighted in places from small skylights, stretched in front of us. The sides of this corridor were lined, floor to ceiling with shelves of coffins . We could read the brass name plaques on many of them. It was here, on one of these shelves, that Charles and Catherine Dicken’s daughter Dora was placed until her grave was ready within the cemetery. Dickens hated the crypt. It is a gloomy and macabre place.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjel2eLCBkNU5_6_D5wKTumIxq66cMtNCgge2C4dMAasOBjiV-vYwR6_yOStl72FBszRSzmLJaMOUSg2KaSbjl5nZcxDlKOChPTZx_pwt2PuUPfKjp0c_25doW-ePxXwsyvhB4fb_Vx-vfJxKO8qBsZLpYM1LoyUhe9uU0pU7dF-rqWbkZFbSY7Xs309EQr/s4032/IMG_7517.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjel2eLCBkNU5_6_D5wKTumIxq66cMtNCgge2C4dMAasOBjiV-vYwR6_yOStl72FBszRSzmLJaMOUSg2KaSbjl5nZcxDlKOChPTZx_pwt2PuUPfKjp0c_25doW-ePxXwsyvhB4fb_Vx-vfJxKO8qBsZLpYM1LoyUhe9uU0pU7dF-rqWbkZFbSY7Xs309EQr/w640-h480/IMG_7517.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>A long tunnel of shelving for coffins. It was here Dicken's daughter Dora was laid before burial. Dickens hated this place</div><div><br /></div><div>To finish this bit about Highgate Cemetery, after walking past the graves of Beryl Bainbridge and Elizabeth Siddell as you do, we came across what some people term, the most beautiful grave in the world. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidSWZrvY0hkdRKxROR2CEirZmZ1obLrDMZbkeIgsruLquLcUYrLvKClSiPOEelLpB8AgEANnY_xhydAZBMQAxguRPgIM7VFNI5KKm6FlRaCf4g-fjh1vl-R7uZMGFE33G5tqObxnMlv3wUfQ4qu-qY95DOMnsRjlJF0ZfWKStns5fk02q9WQtIIejpLJzK/s4032/IMG_7533.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidSWZrvY0hkdRKxROR2CEirZmZ1obLrDMZbkeIgsruLquLcUYrLvKClSiPOEelLpB8AgEANnY_xhydAZBMQAxguRPgIM7VFNI5KKm6FlRaCf4g-fjh1vl-R7uZMGFE33G5tqObxnMlv3wUfQ4qu-qY95DOMnsRjlJF0ZfWKStns5fk02q9WQtIIejpLJzK/w480-h640/IMG_7533.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The grave of Mary Nichols.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">That is subjective of course but the grave to Mary Nichols, </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b>“The darling wife of Arthur Nichols and fondly loved mother of their only son, Harold,” </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: left;">must be up there. Her grave is carved in stone as a bed of softly undulating fabric depicting the softest feather bed you can imagine with a beautiful angel , wings tucked behind, lying on her side on </span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: left;">top of it. You look and wonder.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>There are so many more famous and infamous graves in Highgate. </div><div><br /></div><div>Highgate Cemtery was virtually abandoned in the in the mid 20th century. Some of the impressive mauseleums built and owned by wealthy familys had been abandoned. Later members of familes had no wish to be buried in Highgate. Some family lines had died out. and so many sites were left to moulder and decay. Wild animals and especially birds got inside some of the mauseleums and quicked their dereliction. The cemetery is now owned by a charitable trust, the Friends of Highgate Cemetery which was set up in 1975. The trust acquired the freehold of both the east and west cemeterys by 1981.A book aout the cemtery , "Highgate Cemetery: Victoian Valhala," by John Gay was published in 1984.<span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span></div><div><br /></div><div>We completed our second visit to Highgate and Hampstead by walking from the cemetery, uphill, back to Hampstead High Street and found The Angel pub. We wanted to go in here particularly because of the blue plaque on the wall outside. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Graham Chapman,</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>”A very naughty boy,” </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>8th January1944 to 4th October 1989 </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>…Member of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> drank here often and copiously.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I mean, who could possibly walk past without going in? I walked up to the bar.</div><div>"I hope you don't mind me asking? How much is a pint of beer?"</div><div>"£7.50, sir." </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5gapkKrET0cVQxvEtLdiOBccHkuAvnBMAmVVPwgsFxNeTpxceDE4sumv1WG3s1I3kZ0L3vS-LOsq8Bx2bm0G5bwESH_57WzD0Vq1oTbNSDF8FkFFX4l_yiNH3BK1_dWEIWAIKfkE-WLYnBalGgXwUFqFl8deB5Aj7sHAdmvSTEZIxm7h7SkiLRYjWkaWn/s4032/IMG_6958.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5gapkKrET0cVQxvEtLdiOBccHkuAvnBMAmVVPwgsFxNeTpxceDE4sumv1WG3s1I3kZ0L3vS-LOsq8Bx2bm0G5bwESH_57WzD0Vq1oTbNSDF8FkFFX4l_yiNH3BK1_dWEIWAIKfkE-WLYnBalGgXwUFqFl8deB5Aj7sHAdmvSTEZIxm7h7SkiLRYjWkaWn/w480-h640/IMG_6958.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Graham Chapman drank here. </div><div><br /></div><div>John and I, remembering the eye watering price of beer in The Flask from our previous visit, decided that just this once that price was acceptable. It was still a little eye watering We had pints of ,’Neck Oil.” John had fish and chips and I had scampi and chips, to go with our beers. We found a window seat looking out on to the high street. It is quite small inside the pub. </div><div><br /></div><div>Blimey, Graham Chapman actually frequented this pub. WOW!!!!!! A real thrill for both John and me.</div><div><br /></div><div>We then got on the tube at Highgate Tube station and made our way to Waterloo and then our respective trains home.</div><div><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-52275602546228331832023-06-15T12:01:00.011-07:002023-06-28T13:25:28.194-07:00Highgate and Hampstead, a leafy land of legends. (part one)<div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVhoTTiVF2l2dEL7WxpAwTS62SpnlRQu9MHolMpR-6BxoVijOMVIzZeUeR-IwVwPvfuZU2dMzs0td295-Litzlrzn2lnZHuf7hbv_21eVBqmETY7tDxzin1g7yA8pnVN0A9FB4kixeOG1QM4S9XozkqQdGoQTohtleYw3-sn_ZYgQ0rJY_tlAJPoqaQ/s4032/IMG_6939.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVhoTTiVF2l2dEL7WxpAwTS62SpnlRQu9MHolMpR-6BxoVijOMVIzZeUeR-IwVwPvfuZU2dMzs0td295-Litzlrzn2lnZHuf7hbv_21eVBqmETY7tDxzin1g7yA8pnVN0A9FB4kixeOG1QM4S9XozkqQdGoQTohtleYw3-sn_ZYgQ0rJY_tlAJPoqaQ/w640-h480/IMG_6939.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Highgate School</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I wonder if anybody will, or perhaps they already have, written a thoroughly researched study of pollution and waste and its influence on urban development? A chapter may include the development of Highgate and how it became a salubrious and wealthy northern suburb of London? Other town developments happened, like Highgate and Hampstead, for very similar reasons. </div><div><br /></div><div>John Lodge, Tony Brown and myself are always looking for new walks to take us on new adventures. We started to research Hampstead and Highgate. We decided to give Highgate a go, planning to visit some famous locations such as Kenwood House the High Street, Hampstead Heath and Highgate Cemetery. We also were aware of the literary and artistic connections. John and I took part in the first two walks which lead on to two more visits, I must admit we had not planned for initially. Tony Brown joined us on our third expedition to this north London Borough. Clive Baugh on a trip here from his ,”homestead,” in the wilds of Canada, near Maple Leaf, joined us for a fourth visit. Why we have had four walking trips to Hampstead and Highgate in North London will be made clear.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first record of Hampstead is in 1318. It was land owned by the Lord of the Manor of Hornsey who was the Bishop of London. He had a toll gate positioned on the north road leading out of London. As it was located on high land it was termed the, Highgate.</div><div>By the 14th century a settlement was established around the ,”high gate.” Rich noblemen and merchants bought land in the area because it had a high position with wonderful views just five miles from the centre of London. By the 18th century, with its close proximity to the city, five miles away, it had become a small town and because of its high elevation which not only brought great views but also clean air away from the ever more polluted, smog prone city, it was still a sought-after address. Because it was a desirable location only the rich merchants and developing wealthy middle classes could afford to move there. South of London was never an option in the 18th century and early 19th century. The north downs, termed the Surrey hills, were just as healthy with a bucolic environment but they were too far out from the centre of London. Nowadays with modern transport that has changed and Surrey has become a wealthy commuter belt too. </div><div><br /></div><div>During the 19th century the population of London grew to enormous numbers. The dirt and squalor in many areas increased as commerce, trade and industry increased making the rich richer of course.. The 19th century also brought new forms of transport such as much improved roads and the railways. Fortunately for those who lived in Highgate the new major road systems and the railways bypassed them. Highgate remained a very pleasant and health providing place to live. The wealthy population of Highgate increased and housing increased but in a more sustainable way leaving Highgate as it is today still a very desirable place to live.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTjLUPorE508wG107NlgluXyqaknu8WRlSyS04O5wVho7-0XL7TNB-kC_9hcnntzdFzePQ4f-sRpQxHkykMWfPORZ2RKi1uohVbN4U8W5rYNLWI4j2sV8Tm8cIvMaG6O7ZOxVAWuAuJRXYCdt1PCNp97pjeP1ulbE9bmOOFvXzOtOaCnZJ9mMjMD6Fwg/s4032/IMG_6956.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTjLUPorE508wG107NlgluXyqaknu8WRlSyS04O5wVho7-0XL7TNB-kC_9hcnntzdFzePQ4f-sRpQxHkykMWfPORZ2RKi1uohVbN4U8W5rYNLWI4j2sV8Tm8cIvMaG6O7ZOxVAWuAuJRXYCdt1PCNp97pjeP1ulbE9bmOOFvXzOtOaCnZJ9mMjMD6Fwg/w640-h480/IMG_6956.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Highgate High Street</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>23rd January 2023</div><div><div>On our first trip to Highgate John and I got on the northern line train from Waterloo towards Edgware getting off at Highgate Tube Station. We exited the station, not knowing which side of the station to exit from, so we took pot luck. We walked s onto a road that looked like West Barnes Lane ,the road I live in near Wimbledon. The houses consisted of late 1920’s houses with mockTudor beams. They were a mixture of semi detached and detached houses with trees and shrubs in their front gardens. It all felt familiar. But, we didn’t know which way to go.I asked a lady who was emerging from the staiton near us. John and I both felt as though, for those few moments she was in charge. She directed us back into the station to take an underpass to emerge at the opposite side of the station. With Highgate and Hampstead’s reputation as a place for academics,writers and artists and television stars, was she famous in anyway? Perhaps a university professor? She was very efficient, quick witted and eager. We were now on track. We were able to orientate ourselves on the map we had printed off the Hampstead and Highgate website. We headed off down Highate High street towards Waterlow Park. We wanted to find Highgate Cemetery. Also , for later in the day, John had obtained online free tickets to visit Kenwood House set within Hampstead Common.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpEDL8EU_DkE3YXWJFWBWew78jBfYUUDF5xOCAPo5o_4nTOixDLhnBOAyJ6myBdG2bsumEEon_GqswLIrCqZanJyNcKUHQINdqFN64yYp9DZ40uH5v7pMlO_TkZNRioOBHqhMusLacH8IBfBuR73M_MjM2l8-_ejx6f-k3jilNB8bkbHXLoCwqdKE9A/s4032/IMG_6985.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpEDL8EU_DkE3YXWJFWBWew78jBfYUUDF5xOCAPo5o_4nTOixDLhnBOAyJ6myBdG2bsumEEon_GqswLIrCqZanJyNcKUHQINdqFN64yYp9DZ40uH5v7pMlO_TkZNRioOBHqhMusLacH8IBfBuR73M_MjM2l8-_ejx6f-k3jilNB8bkbHXLoCwqdKE9A/w480-h640/IMG_6985.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>WATERLOW PARK</div><div><br /></div><div>Waterlow Park , in Highgate, is difficult to pin down visually. There are many parts to it.. Lauderdale House, which sits to one side of the park was home to the Duke of Lauderdale in 1580. The websites I have found says the park developed from the time of the house was built. I wondered who might have designed it, but there is no information. It certainly wasn’t Capability Brown, or Humphrey Repton who came much later in the 18th century or some other such famous garden designer. There seems to be no overall plan to the park. There are some open spaces and a lake which seems to suggest ideas about countryside and open vistas blending with a natural environment such as a Brown or Repton landscapes but there are also terraces and small compact garden areas hedged off from each other. The house was built before the English Civil War (1642-1652) so it predated Inigo Jones and his Palladian ideas of proportion. So it must have started as an Elizabethan knot garden. The park is interesting because of this mishmash of stiles one added to the other. You don’t know what is just round the corner. Curving paths and slopes leading between terraces create an interesting walk. One comment I found says it was the earliest example of a terraced garden and it is located on the side of a hill.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lauderdale house itself has many stories attached to it. The Duke of Lauderdale himself was a key member of Charles II cabinet and it is reputed that Charles II stayed at the house. Legend has it Nell Gwyn, Charles II mistress stayed there too. Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) the metaphysical poet, once lived in a house within the park. The architect, Sir James Pennethorn (1801-1871) lived in the park and is buried in Highgate Cemetery nearby.From 1856 Sydeny Waterlow lived in Lauderdale House and while there he bought up all the neighbouring properties to extend the park as it is today. He let the house out as a convalescent home. By 1889 Sydney Waterlow had abandoned the house and gave it to London County Council (LCC) as a public park. He thought of it becoming a, “garden for the gardenless.” </div><div><br /></div><div>Philanthropy such as this has always been a feature of the charitable works of the great and wealthy. Landowners would provide housing and life time work very often for their estate workers. Schools for the local people in villages and towns might be provided by the church and again the wealthy landowners. This is all well and good but it makes the general population reliant on the generosity of individuals and the wealthy might not always choose to be benevolent. We have great examples of this philanthropy today with billionaires such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk and the charitable foundations run in their names. King Charles III, our present monarch, is known for beginning The Princes Trust which has done amazing work for young people. His father ,The Duke of Edinburgh, began the award scheme which has also been amazingly successful in developing the lives of young people. This is all well and good but it depends on one person deciding to do this sort of work. The 19th century brought state funded schools. The National Health Service came into being in 1948 after the second world war. These state run organisations financed by everybody through taxes are far more all encompassing and universal and rely on every one of us for their existence. That is a much better situation. The monarchy and wealthy people can continue their philanthropy and I think we should say ,thank you, but society should not be reliant on them. It would be interesting to analyse philanthropical works. What is their effect on our class system and keeping society divided?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj999hGj06Lm-Am7OlBfInN7Gb56Q-5Ysscq1zuivApzJx4fm0yyCQyOWovW8EM7MkQOwi-raJDXX0yhM8dSWAnX6QGNINaNU3dxi1K5Cfp2muuLByrNdrQZfhEzqFY7et29-gPvEqAf5GEuEjE6ZP1Q0x-0k74eG9vZeEkdBJGrID0Tr-tf10PxWWIKA/s4032/IMG_6981.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj999hGj06Lm-Am7OlBfInN7Gb56Q-5Ysscq1zuivApzJx4fm0yyCQyOWovW8EM7MkQOwi-raJDXX0yhM8dSWAnX6QGNINaNU3dxi1K5Cfp2muuLByrNdrQZfhEzqFY7et29-gPvEqAf5GEuEjE6ZP1Q0x-0k74eG9vZeEkdBJGrID0Tr-tf10PxWWIKA/w640-h480/IMG_6981.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">One of the gardens in Waterlow Park.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>On this first trip to Highgate and Hamstead John and I had a coffee in the café in Lauderdale House. Within the shell of the building it consists of a series of white cubes and glass wall expanses looking outside from within. A local photographer was holding an exhibition in the main room downstairs. He was a little overenthusiastic about engaging us in conversation. He wanted to make a sale I think. That sort of situation can make you feel pressurised.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTzqYmuOwPQ4x7DVpJFoCMnEmlOTq7E_LPwoEC1wEx-7x2rWy5yeeTXlNCUSNHy9jxORZqXl707AW3O7GHEJjVypQUvC-sIZ0z0vmBUmRnG-oq4cg-XjO0mbKS2Ubmz-hhO4Aj2eFXVtA-jr4r2hJodBSr6lDfjn2WMH3f40Spc4vv_DUjN4yQ8KtXA/s4032/IMG_6972.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTzqYmuOwPQ4x7DVpJFoCMnEmlOTq7E_LPwoEC1wEx-7x2rWy5yeeTXlNCUSNHy9jxORZqXl707AW3O7GHEJjVypQUvC-sIZ0z0vmBUmRnG-oq4cg-XjO0mbKS2Ubmz-hhO4Aj2eFXVtA-jr4r2hJodBSr6lDfjn2WMH3f40Spc4vv_DUjN4yQ8KtXA/w640-h480/IMG_6972.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Lauderdale House</div><div><br /></div><div>We walked out onto the terrace looking over the park and then wandered through the winding paths and past the hedges leading downhill to the lake. We skirted the park on the left and over the hedgerows noticed the gravestones within a woodland area. Suddenly, deep within the leafless trees that pervade the cemetery like a small forest, we caught sight of probably one of the most famous graves in the world. In the distance we could see the large bust of Karl Marx surmounting his tomb. We intended to walk around Highgate Cemetery, which is full of famous people, and see Marx’s grave close up.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXp-Uxbs0iz3Gu_HLIuf83Tq3jXK1w0wll1uoNEJhAJRsUrR4ZG7UbYbEp-QA4d2WU_123vpLOQOlY4RLSnm72ds1prPsErV1QzNGyJ7j3hNWFyPrMx6VExQRcQPkURV9UCAt6XK5qwLIBIM4tYRV7oRrsky_PQHVKkkUKWMpxA2pnhZJorccQMgoIyA/s4032/IMG_6975.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXp-Uxbs0iz3Gu_HLIuf83Tq3jXK1w0wll1uoNEJhAJRsUrR4ZG7UbYbEp-QA4d2WU_123vpLOQOlY4RLSnm72ds1prPsErV1QzNGyJ7j3hNWFyPrMx6VExQRcQPkURV9UCAt6XK5qwLIBIM4tYRV7oRrsky_PQHVKkkUKWMpxA2pnhZJorccQMgoIyA/w640-h480/IMG_6975.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The gallery space in Lauderdale House.</div><div><br /></div><div>We found the entrance to the cemetery just as we exited Waterlow Park. Stone pillars formed a gateway. A small building to the right of the entrance advertised the entrance charge and times for guided walks. We had just missed the start of a walk. John and I discussed our next move and reluctantly decided to return another day.</div><div><br /></div><div>Highgate and Hampstead is hilly. From the cemetery entrance we walked up the steep hill, Swann’s Lane, onto South Grove and Pond Square, near the centre of Highgate. There are early Victorian and Georgian houses in this area. We came to a junction and found a house with a blue plaque commemorating where Samuel Taylor Coleridge lived for nineteen years from 1823 to 1834 and where he died. Also in the same house at a much later date the novelist, playwright and essayist J.B. Priestley (1894 -1984), lived.In recent years the fashion model,Kate Moss lived too. Layers of history in one house can bring up some unusual contrasts. That is aways a thoughtful moment when you come across a house like this. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9DPV3u9kCCbgFPRfb15H39yAGcU8jiX0UweSPboLvmeAZRM6ucPa-v9jNx0Z1LeDLqNJD56cYpNOEFByL--6bEiaUWj-u03bD8wLu-jctAnYQYnP8dpDVWwMsPdMeeYUyCkjiFVwSKjM5pRhr1PE1JBlo8__ndgvBx0mlfFO6g_W4ZAj4j5EFFHK9sA/s4032/IMG_7007.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9DPV3u9kCCbgFPRfb15H39yAGcU8jiX0UweSPboLvmeAZRM6ucPa-v9jNx0Z1LeDLqNJD56cYpNOEFByL--6bEiaUWj-u03bD8wLu-jctAnYQYnP8dpDVWwMsPdMeeYUyCkjiFVwSKjM5pRhr1PE1JBlo8__ndgvBx0mlfFO6g_W4ZAj4j5EFFHK9sA/w480-h640/IMG_7007.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div>Samuel Taylor Coleridge(lived here from 1823 to 1834) J.B. Preistley (1894-1984) Kate Moss (1974- )</div><div><br /></div><div>Across the road, tucked away in a short lane we found a pub called The Flask, where we decided to have a pint and order a lunch. The Flask was first recorded as a pub in 1716. This area north of London near the Great North Road leading to York was a favoured location near Finchley Common for highway robbers. The famous Dick Turpin is reputed to have stabled his horse, Black Bess, at The Flask. As far as highway robbery goes, John and I settled ourselves into a comfortable nook and cranny within the The Flask. We got served by a friendly waitress. When we heard the price of a pint of beer I think the blood must have drained from our faces, £9 a pint. The food we ordered wasn’t much more in price. We enjoyed the ambience of The Flask and surmised that perhaps Coleridge himself drank there and perhaps J.B. Priestley too and these thoughts about these famous writers. somewhat softened the financial blow. We enjoyed the pint and enjoyed the food. Our visit to The Flask we will put down to experience.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg50G6P-k3raE5CyCBJrjjzOjJxC_9fXp4gZGnFlfht-dBNrY4TaEcRmfeq3J1v8G-S4ewFFhSsBHuWHDueYd-sG9eIe2BjsyRkPQ41BNbEEMOINPfKtLuF_dCpwVqaUdSWjKc8tSRNc4vY5yvffU69lmd0IXj04Zp87yBuAQAvJ_4cqIoPvIsSbnT0Gg/s4032/IMG_7012.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg50G6P-k3raE5CyCBJrjjzOjJxC_9fXp4gZGnFlfht-dBNrY4TaEcRmfeq3J1v8G-S4ewFFhSsBHuWHDueYd-sG9eIe2BjsyRkPQ41BNbEEMOINPfKtLuF_dCpwVqaUdSWjKc8tSRNc4vY5yvffU69lmd0IXj04Zp87yBuAQAvJ_4cqIoPvIsSbnT0Gg/w640-h480/IMG_7012.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The Flask</div><div><br /></div><div>Churches and chapels always have an attraction to go in. Often they are open for passers by to walk in. They can reveal amazing architecture and richly decorated religious artworks. John and I are always keen to explore a church. From The Flask we made our way back towards Pond Square past Pond Square Chapel. We tried the heavy iron door handle on the entrance door but the chael was unfortunately locked. Pond Square Chapel has a non-conformist history going back to the 1665 Five Mile Act. The act stated that any minister ejected from the church of England for their dissenting views could not live within five miles of the church they once preach at. Highgate was located more than five miles from the centre of London so a nonconformist community grew up there among the growing wealthy community escaping London. The Pilgrim s who sailed on the Mayflower to escape persecution for their non-conformist views sailed in 1620 just forty years before the five mile act. It appears, the act, apparently punitive, did allow for some acceptance of the nonconformists allowing them to continue their preaching and their ideas. Progress from 1620 perhaps.? There is always a sense I think that things political or religious do adapt to the reality of life actually lived rather than forcing people to keep to a set of rules and beliefs that don’t necessarily fit their reality. Of course ew groups, new ideas can create similarly draconian strictures. Religions do tend to set rules and beliefs for their followers. To be human is a life’s adventure, not the following of a set of rules and beliefs that are imposed. Cruelty can set in. I’ve always thought qualities such as kindness, love, understanding and self-awareness are most important. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl22-K-sbjFTiShtkBFxVie97M5kxZljZrW7eQNBRw7MEz_fR5wC3d-CdUf4a0IGMbr6LNoDBh3jKsAOcnMlbAeKnj4JINbf-palMoE97N5U0VJeSOmTJsMN4KGoSi6vpq6JipBfY_SCR2m4MbdcmdHC_L8YgCGwHpDpIOXDFPOQZaVndffKOAgvenQg/s4032/IMG_7018.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl22-K-sbjFTiShtkBFxVie97M5kxZljZrW7eQNBRw7MEz_fR5wC3d-CdUf4a0IGMbr6LNoDBh3jKsAOcnMlbAeKnj4JINbf-palMoE97N5U0VJeSOmTJsMN4KGoSi6vpq6JipBfY_SCR2m4MbdcmdHC_L8YgCGwHpDpIOXDFPOQZaVndffKOAgvenQg/w480-h640/IMG_7018.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">St Michael's Church Highgate. Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his family are buried here.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pond Square has another place of worship, St Michael’s Church. </div><div>In 1818 an act of Parliament for the building and promotion of additional churches in populous parishes was made. St Michaels was one of these new churches.</div><div>Inside is a slate tombstone commemorating Samuel Taylor Coleridge(1772-1834) , his wife, his daughter with her husband, Coleridge’s nephew and their son. An extensive family tomb. Originally Coleridge was buried in the chapel of Highgate School at the top of the High Street. When a new chapel was built in 1868 it overhung the Coleridge vault. In 1961 Coleridge’s remains were reburied in the crypt of St Marys. The poet John Masefield gave a reading at the reburial. Coleridge had actually worshipped in the new church of St Mary’s and its red door was visible from Coleridge’s house. He was connected to the site of his reburial. Coleridge was the joint founder of the Romantic movement with his friend William Wordsworth.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the late 18th century Lord Mansfield owned Kenwood House. It was here Dido Belle, the daughter of an enslaved African women, whose father was Mansfield’s nephew Sir John Lyndsey, lived. Dido had been born into slavery in 1761, the daughter of maria Bell, an enslaved woman . Lindsey asked Murray to take on her care and education, and. Elizabeth was baptised Dido Elizabeth Belle in 1766 in London.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It was Lord Mansfield, who some say inadvertently, began the legal process against slavery. The case that Mansfield is most famous for is the James Somerset case. Somerset was a slave owned by an American customs official. While onboard his masters ship at dock in England Somerset attempted to escape but was captured and later put aboard another ship destined for the US. An application was presented to the Court of Kings Bench by three people saying they were Somerset’s godparents. The eventual outcome, after much publicity and strong public opinion on both sides of the argument was given by Lord Mansfield the Chief Justice. He stated that slavery was not legal in England on English soil and that all men were free within England.. All slaves who were on English soil became freed at that moment. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lord Mansfield was born in1705 and died in 1793. He was obviously a man of his time. However, in his judgements he looked at the law from the human level disregarding the prejudices and general held beliefs. It took an intelligent honest man to make the judgements Mansfield made. What can the law do and how should the law be applied to the human condition? That is a very difficult thing to do but Mansfield managed it in this case. This judgement did not have any effect on slavery and the slave trade outside of England though.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitDS2lG3UJkVA052Wq3sZdWetrfloz72Kne1zR9WKQif2fyAqOkZTTKf2_kjrP9ls8OYUa4FDZRX9mjpEgevbPHOtr4frn7Xh0mlMsxHQVeqKULs53MA5Xu631t1WCsjegnEjtsUBK5fgvB02wBZME2m10HE_adInEddSlnslF9DGC-z6dOE3Atqc8VA/s4032/IMG_7032.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitDS2lG3UJkVA052Wq3sZdWetrfloz72Kne1zR9WKQif2fyAqOkZTTKf2_kjrP9ls8OYUa4FDZRX9mjpEgevbPHOtr4frn7Xh0mlMsxHQVeqKULs53MA5Xu631t1WCsjegnEjtsUBK5fgvB02wBZME2m10HE_adInEddSlnslF9DGC-z6dOE3Atqc8VA/w640-h480/IMG_7032.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kenwood House through the trees.</div><div><br /></div><div> Lord Mansfield was also under threat by the Gordon Riots of 1780 lead by the member of Parliament Lord George Gordon. because he defended catholics before the Catholic Relief Act of 1778 and was an important advocate of the act. It was intended to relieve Catholics of some of the discrimination against them. The Gordon Rioters made their way to Kenwood House and threatened to attack it. The story goes that publican at The Spaniards Inn provided free drink to the rioters , they got drunk and the attack on Kenwood was prevented. Whether that story is apocryphal is debateable. </div><div><br /></div><div>Kenwood House is renowned for its art collection and its Robert Adam interiors. It is here in that summer open air concerts are held. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>John and I had wanted to explore Kenwood but as the day went on we ran out of time to visit. We missed our time slot. We walked along a muddy path leading to the east of the house and had a spectacular view of the house and the extensive parkland it is set in. So, at least we saw it and got some great photographs.</div><div><br /></div><div>We also came across Highgate School where John Betjeman (1906-1984) attended as a school boy and we saw a blue plaque commemorating him on the side of one of the old school buildings. It reminded us about our visit to St Pancras Station when we were walking The Regents Canal. We took photographs posing next to Betjeman’s statue on the station concourse.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBvcO-BAyBJDqhEP4np8BHKK2PXVtIv67MSaKlQum7pYEpDdEBlql2UzlzYxvKodyC01jsoSmA_MF7tAJbunNlsppkCexUXZBDAaEjj3j-B6Esx6edr6mWtSiZ56CWxtmp_FhT9nVUw71KOrDpy-TPx7lphwJ_4rIGIowYuvduLFOcZDkxJLyfFrPWg/s4032/IMG_7051.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBvcO-BAyBJDqhEP4np8BHKK2PXVtIv67MSaKlQum7pYEpDdEBlql2UzlzYxvKodyC01jsoSmA_MF7tAJbunNlsppkCexUXZBDAaEjj3j-B6Esx6edr6mWtSiZ56CWxtmp_FhT9nVUw71KOrDpy-TPx7lphwJ_4rIGIowYuvduLFOcZDkxJLyfFrPWg/w640-h480/IMG_7051.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jack Straws Castle.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Just outside of Hampstead to the north on the road passing through the Heath is Jack Straws Castle and to the east of that just south of Highgate High Street is The Spaniards Inn. We walked past both these famous inns. Both are mentioned in Bram Stokers Dracula and the Spaniards Inn was known to Charles Dickens. The litigious Mrs Bardel in Pickwick Papers sojourns at The Spaniards Inn, on her quest to track down Pickwick. Why would Dickens choose The Spaniards Inn? I suppose he what he know and inspired him. The Spaniards inn served his literary purpose. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8RFVIPxEQ-j781c0zlWfhKQ1dSszYRcyQtu4AbtXqYWVcK5ka-sPefhdjz081S_X8YZgXXd6yVz4GNqKCATnOzzEEEGloYXhegr7DY6ilkKAJwxQWqlRdNUuoZ7JhB3-gAAFxGtUWAMtCq7H4LdWKyZkS5L03U7l2J2GpNW0O4T6r5dBf8vlESktXw/s4032/IMG_7046.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8RFVIPxEQ-j781c0zlWfhKQ1dSszYRcyQtu4AbtXqYWVcK5ka-sPefhdjz081S_X8YZgXXd6yVz4GNqKCATnOzzEEEGloYXhegr7DY6ilkKAJwxQWqlRdNUuoZ7JhB3-gAAFxGtUWAMtCq7H4LdWKyZkS5L03U7l2J2GpNW0O4T6r5dBf8vlESktXw/w640-h480/IMG_7046.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Spaniards Inn.</div><div><br /></div><div>Both places located on the Heath in the 18th century were remote and were often the haunts of Highwaymen. Jack. Straws castle has its own ghost stories. Maybe they inspired Bram Stoker to add his spine chilling imagination .The father and mother of Dick Turpin ran The Spaniards Inn. Being in the location of famous events and where famous people from our past walked and whose imaginations were inspired makes you feel as though you are being surrounded by the past. You are existing in the same space of past events.</div><div><br /></div><div>I should think the people of Highgate are used to strangers such as John and I wondering about their village, stopping outside of various houses and staring at the houses and talking about them.</div><div><br /></div><div>John and I decided we must return soon. Highgate Cemetery and all the abodes of more amous writers were still to come.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, this is just part one of our adventures in Highgate.</div></div><div><br /></div>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-90939188999052758232023-02-22T06:21:00.008-08:002023-12-28T09:45:34.918-08:00VOICES IN THE PARK by Anthony Browne a review.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhW5UR1HIROjipZvXoxO8qZ3mdYtOxDWe0m_ko4tXY_C3HVzhI0jeaxsBFxyZkxQlGAVgpckjUJZmHni-Vx4kjIo95CiYoQn-m0JfvM3nX_ogZa5cvaZqCgfVX-UDm79SRjwOCp-5jf9dcvJsw7Q-arm4NS3Nd0tagfDeg4QSToy9JBZ62ko1SxA_2Iog" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="769" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhW5UR1HIROjipZvXoxO8qZ3mdYtOxDWe0m_ko4tXY_C3HVzhI0jeaxsBFxyZkxQlGAVgpckjUJZmHni-Vx4kjIo95CiYoQn-m0JfvM3nX_ogZa5cvaZqCgfVX-UDm79SRjwOCp-5jf9dcvJsw7Q-arm4NS3Nd0tagfDeg4QSToy9JBZ62ko1SxA_2Iog=w346-h460" width="346" /></a></div><br /><br /></div>I recently read a review about a book of essays analysing, MAUS, a graphic novel by American cartoonist Art Spiegelman. The opening essay is by Philip Pullman. Other writers provided their analysis too. It made me think, what illustrated stories I might want to write about. Anthony Browne is a writer I have always found interesting. So here is my take on his book, VOICES. <div><br /></div><div> When I was a teacher, I often had a class reading book, usually chosen by the children themselves, that I would read at the end of the day, just a chapter at a time. It helped the children and me wind down and gave us something to think about and question, away from the successes, hard work,intrigues and sometimes failings of the day. Reading the book, just one chapter at a time, also enabled the children and me to think about the issues, themes and characters in the story at a leisurely pace. Sometimes the book might be a novel such as a Harry Potter and sometimes it was a picture book, such as VOICES by Anthony Browne. The first thing we would do is read the title and look at the picture on the cover. What did the title and the picture tell us about the story we were about to read?
The title, “VOICES” brings to mind a number of thoughts. Are these voices overheard by a person in the park? Are they voices somebody might be hearing in their mind? Differing voices have different viewpoints. This is something that we all need to be aware, that situations, can be seen from different angles, different viewpoints and have different effects on different people. We have our viewpoint and other people have theirs and we must learn to empathise. </div><div><br /></div><div> The picture on the front of VOICES shows a scene set in a park. Parks are egalitarian places. People from different levels of society; employment, education, and work, see each other, pass by and occasionally say hello.
An avenue of trees leads to two small characters facing each other. The boy offers the girl a flower. Behind them, at odd crazy slightly unnerving angles, grow neat green conical bushes. A little unsettling. There is something church like in this scene.The tree trunks are like the columns lining the aisle of an ancient church The canopy of leaves pressing down on the bright green grass and the young couple is somewhat oppressive. It presses down heavily. It is bright red with flashes of yellow at the top part and dark and gloomy at the base of the leaf canopy. Two dogs, also in the distance to the right of the picture run and cavort. The dogs appear carefree and abandoned compared to the reticent and tentative, maybe tender, encounter between the little boy and the little girl. Ominous forebodings or happy encounters? What is to come? </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY8eRNO5Zq84WDi_r-lFIFZgJGXYzgjhk5KGQqc1chUufKBp77TRTnxNYgtG7w6W4pTwyKUCLThj4QNj8fKHwsJrOgo04Yn4zMhQRr8vMeMBCqtNCndpBbO1ozEtTqQdu_uGjMFWqmqctv0um4kkXlOyY8Jsj-zF-da7R6q6pxjdIUM_Dez1YjLJI4tA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="769" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY8eRNO5Zq84WDi_r-lFIFZgJGXYzgjhk5KGQqc1chUufKBp77TRTnxNYgtG7w6W4pTwyKUCLThj4QNj8fKHwsJrOgo04Yn4zMhQRr8vMeMBCqtNCndpBbO1ozEtTqQdu_uGjMFWqmqctv0um4kkXlOyY8Jsj-zF-da7R6q6pxjdIUM_Dez1YjLJI4tA=w319-h427" width="319" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div> The characters are portrayed as gorillas. This is something Anthony Browne has used in other books. It removes the characters from looking like human beings, however, the characters are hyper human, almost more than human. At first you might think, is this a racial slur, but it is not. The characters are you and me or any person from various walks of life. Anthony Browne has been asked about his portrayal of some of his characters as gorillas. His reply has always been, “I like gorillas.” Gorillas have obviously had a deep emotional impact on him. Characters, in his other stories, for istance, ,"Piggybook," who are portrayed as ordinary humans are often monstrous.</div><div><br /></div><div> Four different voices of four characters appear in the story: </div><div><br /></div><div> The first voice is that of a mother with a son called Charles and a pedigree Labrador. They emerge from a large, elegant mansion with manicured lawns on their way to the park. The type of script used to record her voice is a bold Baskerville script. It looks refined. </div><div><br /></div><div>The second voice, the father of the girl, wears overalls and a workman’s jacket. He is unemployed and needs to get out of the house. The four walls must be making him feel crazy. He has a depressed look on his face as he sits in an armchair contemplating. The script used to portray the father is bold and simple.</div><div><br /></div><div> The third voice is that of the little boy, his voice printed in a much lighter and subdued version of his officious mothers script.He leads a lonely, controlled life it seems. His mother is overprotective, controlling and stuffy. </div><div><br /></div><div>The fourth voice is the little girl. She seems to be the most liberated of the four voices, adventurous, open to meeting new people, the most empathetic of the four characters. Her script is uneven, bold, creative, invented. </div><div><br /></div><div>The portraits of the characters, the script used to portray their individual voices and above all their words reveal their characters. We know them. We have all met people like that. Children reading this will empathise with the characters. They will know them as much as any adult reading this story. </div><div><br /></div><div> The four characters portray the social layers of society, attitudes and the effects those layers have on the individual. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGZs82t6a6LBdT2egAgCKpPRt4NAV4i1cgF2_KrwZiZDoS0FXoLUVssvbjSh5F23sgJgONBbvrU8Md8M9agPqD4s4Mpn5gZf_7CuzEr34nlQJ8VCTfPqd0QfhV9rQmSCSu_Xawv2PLLFh7JKMAfw-N1j1EtjjSLJFPxf-qYPBIucvG0K_sOP0fqibqFA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGZs82t6a6LBdT2egAgCKpPRt4NAV4i1cgF2_KrwZiZDoS0FXoLUVssvbjSh5F23sgJgONBbvrU8Md8M9agPqD4s4Mpn5gZf_7CuzEr34nlQJ8VCTfPqd0QfhV9rQmSCSu_Xawv2PLLFh7JKMAfw-N1j1EtjjSLJFPxf-qYPBIucvG0K_sOP0fqibqFA=w333-h444" width="333" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></div><div>The mother, is formal and class ridden in the little things as well as the big things. Her dog is not any dog it’s a ,”pedigree, Labrador”, called Victoria. The son, and she formally calls him," my son," is Charles. The regal connections are obvious.</div><div><br /></div><div>When they reach the park another dog is merely “some scruffy mongrel.” Words such as “bothered,” and ,”horrible,”reveal her attitudes. She orders Charles, </div><div><br /></div><div> “ Sit,” I said to Charles.”Here.” </div><div><br /></div><div>No love, no warmth just cold command. </div><div><br /></div><div>The picture by Anthony Browne that reveals as much if not more than the words, shows Victoria chasing the mongrel dog in the distance. The two dogs look carefree . The mother and Charles, the obedient son sit ,on the park bench, slightly apart looking in opposite directions. The mother with an angry, expression Charles, forlorn.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxUu-UXZxd9L-XwLK0xOwlxVc19zU0vLtJJvzpKtWszmEdds2sfdZEY0esd2NNmZImoHpLHwyJzawye1eJ_6HDqL9QfP9sCp6bLTKQiVI1VjvYibbKGGQf2b2pbXW12_mYcOYM-u6obkYxNZs7EG4I-V9liNPbemLrfBSZghXOnUkT7uerwxDMJST0cA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="769" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxUu-UXZxd9L-XwLK0xOwlxVc19zU0vLtJJvzpKtWszmEdds2sfdZEY0esd2NNmZImoHpLHwyJzawye1eJ_6HDqL9QfP9sCp6bLTKQiVI1VjvYibbKGGQf2b2pbXW12_mYcOYM-u6obkYxNZs7EG4I-V9liNPbemLrfBSZghXOnUkT7uerwxDMJST0cA=w317-h422" width="317" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div>The girls father, makes an appearance sitting on the opposite end to the park bench to the mother. The mother is alarmed. Charles has disappeared. A close up of the mother shows panic. She calls Charles name. She refers to the “frightful types,” you get in the park. She sees Charles ,”talking to a very rough-looking child.” ”Charles, come here. At once!””And come here please, Victoria.”
This whole scene feels constipated. It is painful for the mother and it is certainly painful for her son. She attempts to control the situation but her panic shows her helplessness. Her rigid views do not sit comfortably with her, and her son. The dogs are just dogs. They don’t care about class, pedigree and superiority. It means nothing to the dogs and you feel acutely it shouldn’t matter to the human characters in the story either. </div><div><br /></div><div> Smudge[s fathre, needs to get out of the house. You can sense his frustration, boredom, desperation and depression at being unemployed. However, unlike the mother, he senses the vigour , and energy his dog has and wishes he felt like that He spends time looking for a job in the newspaper. He needs some hope even if things are hopeless. His daughter Smudge cheers him up with her chatter. The picture of them on their way home expresses the joy and fun he at least gets from his daughter and his dog. The mother of Charles on the other hand could derive no joy at all from her son and her dog. </div><div>Which of them is better off? </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd7U5fRqXMp59-ixJRgidfUxNkC1ib3UC1obQL6QYL5OFk1_boXp0XFgKnXsJhGYo6B_NuTenpEqSMdP3y85ZTud0o4llsLUkR-LchYJriqc5ReyUCozKokOL0Sa7FxrCtOX--AMGely2eoatoGFNScXJ7njk3rDJtMr__PXHhyBq9FesqbnYESbu0VQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhd7U5fRqXMp59-ixJRgidfUxNkC1ib3UC1obQL6QYL5OFk1_boXp0XFgKnXsJhGYo6B_NuTenpEqSMdP3y85ZTud0o4llsLUkR-LchYJriqc5ReyUCozKokOL0Sa7FxrCtOX--AMGely2eoatoGFNScXJ7njk3rDJtMr__PXHhyBq9FesqbnYESbu0VQ=w309-h412" width="309" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div> Charles is bored at home.The park visit is an epiphany for him. He sees the mongrel dog is friendly with his pedigree dog. He so wishes he could have a good time too. Then he meets Smudge and he plays with her on the slide and the climbing frame. He is amazed at the feeling of fun and joy he feels and thought Smudge was, brilliant. We feel pleased Charles has had this experience. You get the sense he now knows what fun , joy and friendship are. A chink of light in his depressing dark life. He hopes “Smudge will be there next tme.” </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTjsLTrb3noQEh24FeldM3p2PTHOhFxTA0R6Lm5pNqFljVpbSPaUGLVL_jEShG72IGKLP5QK2diqwMOvKTbsE4ptDrHhR3sxDFAoPoqDuqNjQLBQHsqokH_m8KmeRU5W53ehOWeUxnqe04Xb3OZDLMMyNLpGWQUbgh0lf66Il-uUyO4mN0GENiLSqJtg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="405" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTjsLTrb3noQEh24FeldM3p2PTHOhFxTA0R6Lm5pNqFljVpbSPaUGLVL_jEShG72IGKLP5QK2diqwMOvKTbsE4ptDrHhR3sxDFAoPoqDuqNjQLBQHsqokH_m8KmeRU5W53ehOWeUxnqe04Xb3OZDLMMyNLpGWQUbgh0lf66Il-uUyO4mN0GENiLSqJtg=w304-h405" width="304" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div> Smudge is confident and abandoned. She is open to meeting Charles and just being friendly. Charles responds by giving Smudge a flower. It is almost romantic. Smudge brings joy to Charles and also to her own father. Her dog, Albert, has an abandoned free spirit too,</div><div><br /></div><div>”he went straight up to this lovely dog and sniffed its bum (he always does that).” </div><div><br /></div><div>Smudge is a catalyst of hope for all she encounters it seems. She notices the sadness in Charles. She can empathise. </div><div><br /></div><div> If you were to read this with a class of children, what might you discuss? What would their reaction and thoughts be? Have they ever been in a situation or know people like these?
Have they encountered people who are aloof? Why would somebody be like that? Have they experienced loneliness, lack of confidence?. What does this story tell us about dealing with those feelings and situations? Do they know about unemployment, being wealthy, finding themselves in awkward social situations? Have they experienced feelings of freedom? What makes them joyous? </div><div><br /></div><div>Some of those answers children might want to keep to themselves. What is important is that they can learn to empathise with those situations and feelings themselves. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>BIOGRAPHY:
Anthony Browne is an illustrator and writer of children’s books. His books delve into the psychological, social interactions and relationships of children. They are sometimes dark, sinister stories. Empathy is an overriding theme. Great children’s literature helps children deal with deep issues imaginatively. He was born on the 11th September 1946 near Sheffield in the north of England. His mother and father, Jack and Doris, managed a pub called the Red Lion at Hellfire Corner. He did graphic design at Leeds College of Art graduating in 1967. He became a medical illustrator at Manchester Royal Infirmary. Later he designed cards for Gordon Fraser, a company who produce cards for all occasions. After a few years of doing that for a living he began illustrating and writing his own books. Through The Magic Mirror, came out in 1976. He won The Kate Greenaway prize for children’s literature in 1992 for his book ZOO. In 2001 he became a writer and illustrator at Tate Britain helping develop children’s art. In 2009 he became the 6th Children’s Laureate. Previous Laureates include Quentin Blake, Michael Rosen, Michael Morpurgo, Jaqueline Wilson and Anne Fine. The present laureate is Cressida Cowell famous for, How To Train Your Dragon. </div><div><br /></div><div> Anthony Browne has written fifty books for children. The most famous ones are
VOICES,
ZOO,
WILLY THE WIMP,
THE TUNNEL
and INTO THE FOREST.
I have probably missed your favourite ones in this short list. They are all worth engaging with. They provide food for thought for both adults and children.</div>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-38232459762156023202023-01-18T03:45:00.007-08:002023-01-31T04:21:58.968-08:00POEM OF THE WEEK : Lightning Strike by John Clegg<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Within the culture section of the Guardian there is a poem of the week published with a commentary and analysis. This poem, The Lightning Tree by John Clegg was published in The Guardian on the 9th January and reviewed by Carol Rumen. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEik7_Tkm4r3BwD6BJgPlY2mgkWIJlA5QhYuSbK___OtqGcegcSOSm-GQnX6tdQtQscu9-2zFZt2g_ugzVELWUZ6gUeI7hL5rCet9iB8FdsPaTEkrBzLmTGqJOlN7CRRX5ti6QDxtZlXzuZpKksNXNTpYbxBGuKRH_xlry0ui6Zd2LWj0jGdzHvcChJW3A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="936" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEik7_Tkm4r3BwD6BJgPlY2mgkWIJlA5QhYuSbK___OtqGcegcSOSm-GQnX6tdQtQscu9-2zFZt2g_ugzVELWUZ6gUeI7hL5rCet9iB8FdsPaTEkrBzLmTGqJOlN7CRRX5ti6QDxtZlXzuZpKksNXNTpYbxBGuKRH_xlry0ui6Zd2LWj0jGdzHvcChJW3A=w640-h392" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lightning Strikes School Tree</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">No-one saw it but me and I had my eyes shut:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I’d given the class their Thomas Hardy worksheets,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the bell had gone off, hinging our double period,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">everybody was scraping their chairs about,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">there was an agreed low level of laugh and chat</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and doubtless some thought was authentically</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">bent to the poem, some to the fizzy striplight,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">some to the weight of the next forty minutes and some</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">to the far field out of the window</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">where – as I say – with my eyes shut</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I saw not the flash but the mid-distance lime tree</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">pulled flat like the loop in a seam</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">at the fact of a needle: and then when I blinked</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I could still see the needle, and I had my eyes shut.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I read the poem. So many issues about teaching and learning immediately came to mind. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There are lots of things about teachers, teaching, being a learner or pupil and the whole process of learning that just leaps out from this poem. A tree, lightning striking, teaching and learning have so many close interconnections.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The main symbol is a tree. It grows and develops slowly giving out branches, new shoots, buds and fresh leaves in the Spring. It is a habitat and an ecosystem to a multitude of life and provides sustenance to all living things, including us. A classroom is the setting of this poem. A classroom where over a year, the personal development and growth of the minds and the development of the pupils tis supposed to take place. A place to nurture lives, just like a tree.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What the teacher intends for the lesson is obviously not happening. The forty minutes are a waste of time. A study of a Thomas Hardy’s poem or rather filling in a work sheet, a tick box exercise, after presumably having read the poem. Hardy was a rural writer of novels and poems imbued in nature. He would have appreciated the event of a tree being struck by lightning, the visceral moment. He too, like the teacher and students in this poem would have been affected to the core of his being. These pupils in this classroom are not that interested in Hardys poem, presented the way it is being presented, an object, a set of thoughts given to them , apparently,without any context. The teacher has already set the tone of the class, scraping chairs, low laughter and chat are permitted. That agreement does not include the learning process. Some will focus on the strip lighting flickering on the ceiling, some on the long forty minutes of time, some the lightning struck lime tree falling to the ground. Some may give a thought to Hardys poem but I get a sense that that is a far off lost aim in this lesson.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the teacher the lightning strike is what truly really affects them and the class. Even with their eyes shut the image of the strike has struck home, through the retina along the optic nerve, deep into the brain. Something they will remember all their lives.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Inspiration can be just like that, a lightning strike that affects a teacher or pupil deeply and everlastingly and change them in some profound way. However being a human or being a tree, change is usually slow and may have its stops, starts and reversals. The illumination of a lightning strike either on a tree or in personal development happens seldom. We have to grow into change, slowly. I remember reading with my own children when they were at a very young age. We sat cuddled up to each other when they were, one year of age. Comfort, the pleasure of looking at pictures, talking, listening to the sounds of words I read to them. Often the sounds of the repetition of words and phrases was enjoyable. They have all, in their adulthood, become lovers of reading books. Something about reading to young children is the start of a journey, a long process, not a sudden ,"lightening strike,"of inspiration and change.Providing a pleasurable learning experience is the best we can aim for. The lightning strike might happen once in a lifetime.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Perhaps the teacher in the poem needs to start a conversation with his or her students about what they themselves are interested in and what has inspired them and from that discussion, design their lessons around that approach. Make the lesson fit the pupil and not the other way round.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maria Montessori had a similar idea about education. She built her theory through her observations on the principles of individual growth and development. She believed in creating an atmosphere of freedom, interaction with the environment and giving her students a choice. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If all lessons could provide a pleasurable exploration of the world deep change for each individual would gradually develop. A lightning strike would be nice. We can hope.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Guardian link: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Poem of the week: Lightning Strikes School Tree by John Clegg</span></div><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/09/poem-of-the-week-lightning-strikes-school-tree-by-john-clegg?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-size-adjust: auto;">https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/09/poem-of-the-week-lightning-strikes-school-tree-by-john-clegg?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other</a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><br /><br /></div><br /><p></p>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-85940992303395946302022-11-03T06:57:00.012-07:002023-11-02T13:09:48.798-07:00A WALK ALONG THE WEY NAVIGATION from Pyrford Lock to Newark Lock and Ripley Village<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFuQSP2WStLQ8Mo3xOgkXRhhnikG5uu_6w03-WYNGRtTWIFR-yPmkGA8mHH9_u7CpvwEAQEnta9eM8iL1WrQcx1GyNVAheWmixYyWFdytQyn1dgRujFocP8uF39Ai-TTzmD4-7tn8QnNTJtpEWjwDFVSEQRmqFVgWc2OjNRyWQhkxVs2ZU_N6CxsAvEw/s4032/IMG_6212%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFuQSP2WStLQ8Mo3xOgkXRhhnikG5uu_6w03-WYNGRtTWIFR-yPmkGA8mHH9_u7CpvwEAQEnta9eM8iL1WrQcx1GyNVAheWmixYyWFdytQyn1dgRujFocP8uF39Ai-TTzmD4-7tn8QnNTJtpEWjwDFVSEQRmqFVgWc2OjNRyWQhkxVs2ZU_N6CxsAvEw/w640-h480/IMG_6212%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Tony Brown and I beside The Wey Navigation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thursday 6<sup>th</sup> October 2022. Tony and I went for a
walk. We go walking together often, along with John Lodge. John couldn’t make
it this time so Tony and I decided that we would walk the canalised part of the
River Wey from near Wisley. There was no thought of a given distance. We merely
wanted a pleasant walk and a pub lunch in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>whatever establishment we came across. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Walking; it is what our bodies are made for. When we don’t move, we become sedentary. We can lose
our full potential. I love walking , the feel of movement through a place.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tony drove to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>my
house in West Barnes Lane and came in for a cup of tea and a chat with Marilyn
and I. When we were ready , Tony did the driving. We drove down the A3. Once
past The Kingston bypass and the Ace of Spades roundabout we got out of Greater
London. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Is this where the fifty mile an hour speed limit finishes?
“asked Tony.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Yes.” <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so we accelerated up to seventy miles per hour.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I like this drive. It’s not just a long black tongue
of road leading for seventy miles down to Portsmouth. The sense of forest and
wilderness surrounding the road appeals to something primal inside all of us.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We turned off for Wisley, coming off the slip road on the
left and passed under the A3 and drove up the opposite side for
a mile until we came to the partly hidden Wisley turn off shielded
behind trees and shrubs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Wisley Road to Pyrford Lock on The River Wey passes the
entrance to the RHS Wisley Gardens on the left. It is a winding road tree lined
with some depth of woodland in places but also with fields visible through the
gaps in the trees followed by open areas of fields. The road has no pavements.
It is just wide enough for two cars to pass. We passed Wisley Church and thought it would
be a good idea to visit the church on our way back. It is a small stone built
church mostly from the 12<sup>th</sup> century. We wound our careful way to the
Pyrford Lock where The Anchor Pub is located right on the side of the canal. There is a car park next to the river on the right but we drove into the larger car
park on the left across the road from The Anchor. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgfZ8xgqKua8Ryhff1_d91iVCYrXYttyy1ztMsjslqmeN9uJQHcRu4SyOgmjpwby_Jghv0qHltVPeaKiAyxL0CaWWLnTDAZusFLInLVqxl29xUKAvuCEhdfrQg3TjSjUZo0u_vd7dCD5YJimfT8JiXjaQYhTxaqwTdl1r4nfzvlUBU_Q2rzSIdqmYmA/s640/IMG_6210.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgfZ8xgqKua8Ryhff1_d91iVCYrXYttyy1ztMsjslqmeN9uJQHcRu4SyOgmjpwby_Jghv0qHltVPeaKiAyxL0CaWWLnTDAZusFLInLVqxl29xUKAvuCEhdfrQg3TjSjUZo0u_vd7dCD5YJimfT8JiXjaQYhTxaqwTdl1r4nfzvlUBU_Q2rzSIdqmYmA/w640-h480/IMG_6210.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">The Wey Navigation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We set out We discussed the idea that we would walk
along the river and canal for a while and then turn back to have a pub lunch at
The Anchor. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lock gate leaking water to
the lower level was next to the bridge crossing the river here. A pathway wends
its way towards Guildford on the left bank so we started our walk in that
direction. Trees still green with leaves, a few turning autumn yellow. The river
full to the top of the banks after recent rains, glassy smooth, reflecting the
trees and shrubs. It is amazing how walking promotes talking.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Is the river flowing?” Tony wondered. It looked so still
and glassy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We stopped for a moment and observed the surface. We could
see the river moving north to our right almost imperceptibly. It was flowing in the direction
of the Thames which it feeds at Shepperton Lock near D’Oyly Carte Island.We
noticed masses of what at first looked like large clumps of watercress growing
profusely on both sides of the river. Again we stopped to look more carefully.
We decided that it wasn’t watercress but what appeared to be small lily pads
but probably something else entirely. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The banks of the Wey changed as we walked along.
Sometimes the banks were those of a river, winding and curving. At other times,
especially where there were locks the river was straight, sometimes with stone and brick
built sides and sometimes with turf sides. I have never seen a turf sided canal
before. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwJpi35zIifTKjVDckoFBatKfJaLM_nRVeDfDXGmmCqJasHDNMTukj-KwFykcKdEEApgUgPppnVKaUr1uRuocxmPWMm6HoTvC-evNyfQTJ9Z0L9y_mT8yKmGhzK7qzrWR1WMX6YhecUP2n-w6-N-bE2x7k8wGu68tXixfQw101dF5r_ZUawIkBd0whA/s640/IMG_6220.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwJpi35zIifTKjVDckoFBatKfJaLM_nRVeDfDXGmmCqJasHDNMTukj-KwFykcKdEEApgUgPppnVKaUr1uRuocxmPWMm6HoTvC-evNyfQTJ9Z0L9y_mT8yKmGhzK7qzrWR1WMX6YhecUP2n-w6-N-bE2x7k8wGu68tXixfQw101dF5r_ZUawIkBd0whA/w640-h480/IMG_6220.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Lock gate near Pyrford.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Wey River Navigation <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is one of the oldest types of canal in the
country. A turf canal was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>first
constructed along The River Wey between 1618 and 1619 <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">by Sir Richard Weston an owner of the
land stretching either side of the river.He built a three mile cut through his
land in 1618. <span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122;">The Guildford
Corporation petitioned the King to extend the canalisation so that boats could
reach Guildford from the Thames.The work was completed in November 1653. This new
canal, the idea for which came from visits to the Netherlands, improved the
economy of Guildford and mid Surrey well before the Industrial Revolution and the
northern canal systems. Wood to rebuild London after the Great Fire of 1666
came from Surrey via The Wey Navigation. Stone from quarries near Guildford was
moved along the canal and was used for building of St Paul’s Cathedral. Timber,
corn, flour, wood and gunpowder moved north along the canal and then down the
Thames to London. By linking Guildford and hence mid Surrey to The Thames,
exports from Europe<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by the Hanseatic
League, ( a commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and
market towns growing from a group of north German towns in the late 12<sup>th</sup>
century) provided wood, tar, cereals, fish, salt and many other items. Wines from
Italy and Spain and many other links could be accessed from the trading highway
The Thames provided and could be transported to Guildford. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the 18<sup>th</sup> century the,”
triangular trade,” created by The Royal Africa Company involved enslaved
Africans from the West Coast of Africa. The slaves were used on the plantations
to grow sugar cane and the sugar created great wealth for Britain. Products
such as sugar <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>reached Guildford along
the canal.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Nowadays our present government is
critical of any emphasise placed on the effects that 18<sup>th</sup> century slavery
still plays today. We have systemic racism in most large organisations,
denied by our Conservative Government, and racist acts and attitudes are still
prevalent in our society. This can <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>be
directly linked to our attitudes and beliefs derived from our past trade in
slaves. Emphasising the roll of slavery in Britain is very important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> W</span>e have to be aware of
that to be able to address the issues that occur now. By knowing our history and accepting its
consequences <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we can begin to solve
racist problems today. Change only comes through knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzy7dQmjF6UDhUCU4jFvZLl8Xm8vRGXZ3LDsHAiYc4uN-m_ifUrj390peFy82UI4wAW4kLmWbQf74SYy-uLL4PVg-vAWPPGzuqQMohGLjDG_u4rDaLejxQCDmatRxfcaEChcsvYO6zyn3QQSYnSO6Ym9j-1zAXDzhazWKvdAt3kKLOJFJQlhPQPQDVw/s4032/IMG_6230.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzy7dQmjF6UDhUCU4jFvZLl8Xm8vRGXZ3LDsHAiYc4uN-m_ifUrj390peFy82UI4wAW4kLmWbQf74SYy-uLL4PVg-vAWPPGzuqQMohGLjDG_u4rDaLejxQCDmatRxfcaEChcsvYO6zyn3QQSYnSO6Ym9j-1zAXDzhazWKvdAt3kKLOJFJQlhPQPQDVw/w640-h480/IMG_6230.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The path beside The Wey Navigation.</div><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Pathway wending its way along
the side of the Wey Navigation is cared for by The National Trust. The Trust members
these days are divided along <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>political and
social factions because of the different attitudes to historical interpretation, some of which is linked to our slave trade past and some attributed to how we
differ on our views about land management and attitudes to the countryside
as a whole. I am a member of The National Trust. It’s houses, landscapes and gardens
are without doubt national treasures and absolutely amazing to be able to visit.The
National Trust allows all of us to experience, historic houses and their
treasures including the historic landscapes that Capability Brown designed,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> also </span>gardens, forests, moors and mountains. The trust also has to pay regard to current issues about sustainability, the
environment, interpretation of our past history and also take into account the
effects our past has on our present such as the legacy of colonialism and
slavery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some members think there is too
much emphasis on the legacy of slavery. They must be Conservatives. Slavery created the wealth for building
many of The Trusts properties and lands. Therefore the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>role of slavery surely must be part of the
interpretation of those properties ?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">With regards to the landscape and
the grounds of many of The Trust properties, some think The National Trust should
only be involved in keeping the landscapes as they always were. As long as this
does not damage our environment they can do that I think. However, members are divided. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
National Trust by its very name has to take into account national issues. It
can’t be divorced from the real world. The management of our environment helps
us all. The historic landscapes the trust oversees were developed to meet the
needs of past times. Many trust members think that aspects of them should develop
in line with the needs of today. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It appeared to Tony and I that the
fields around The Wey are affected by some of these issues. Fields near us
were in a wild and unkempt state. Tony and I talked about food production in
Britain. There we were surrounded by fields and marshes much of which<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>did not appear to be farmed.One weedy and
overgrown field had a single cow in it. I wondered if this was part of the
rewilding happening on some National Trust properties. Some think rewilding is
wrong. Tony made the point that Britain needs to grow as much food as it can
and be more self sufficient than we are at present. I think both arguments are
right . We need to produce food as a country but we also need to nurture and
care for nature. Some might think that is sentimental . However, I know this
from exploring habitats in school even with young children, that the smallest
habitats interrelate by way of ecosystems and there is a reliance on<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>each part for all parts to thrive. Plants
rely on the soil and climate,insects rely on plants, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>birds and dormice rely on insects, larger
preditors rely<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on the small animals and
so the chain goes on. There are those among us who wonder what all this means
for us humans. Healthy habitats and the larger ecosytems<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>affect the air we breath, the water we drink,
the standards of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>food we eat. All of
life is connected. If ecosystems are destroyed then in the long run we do
indeed destroy ourselves. Rewilding has a very important purpose in sustaining
the ecosystms we need to survive, creating those important environmental
chains. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>humans we need to connect
with nature, as Tony and I were doing on our walk, helping us to become
stronger physically and mentally. Breathing fresh air and the beauties of
nature are good for us in many ways. It makes you feel good and a healthy
environment does you good.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbjLux0nStqPOLXcodRavWC-rxu22k3I52vpUZSJYWEXYy10PBKePjuirKNg-F9nSBQsYaMXAzdGNzdz69ZZpbIzfZEjDIQFzi-EBI1ggCAQfcGSjUW0pAreuTQJqaL_S2Fcz-1q8S6o1YA-oMlppSgKyxjM80sOc7esfm5VEBPysWc7yvC58N8CFRA/s4032/IMG_6231.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbjLux0nStqPOLXcodRavWC-rxu22k3I52vpUZSJYWEXYy10PBKePjuirKNg-F9nSBQsYaMXAzdGNzdz69ZZpbIzfZEjDIQFzi-EBI1ggCAQfcGSjUW0pAreuTQJqaL_S2Fcz-1q8S6o1YA-oMlppSgKyxjM80sOc7esfm5VEBPysWc7yvC58N8CFRA/w640-h480/IMG_6231.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Brightly painted canal boats.</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As we walked along the river,
various locks and sluices have been added and developed over the centuries. One
sluice gate near Ripley had a late 19<sup>th</sup> century date on it . So it
is obvious the canal has not remained exactly as it was when first made in the
17<sup>th</sup> century. The canal has had a history that continues and
develops up to the present day. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">One final point about The Wey path
being cared for by the National Trust.As Tony and I walked along there were
many pristine and shiny house boats , some anchored at the side of the canal,
one or two chugging along gracefully in mid stream. </span><span style="color: #202122; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">The very use of the canal,not only being used
by Tony and myself as a very pleasant walk but the canal also being used in
ways that are appropriate to nowadays. Those arguing for nothing to change have
lost out already.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">One of the things I always enjoy on
a walk is passing other people.Two ladies of our age , probably in the
retirement category like Tony and I walked past us going the opposite way. We naturally
moved to make way for each other and none of us broke step. A nod of
acknowledgement, a smile, a word or two overheard. It was a fleeting human
connection. We have never met them before and they have never met us. We will
never see each other again.It is a few seconds of all our lives. Strange to
think of our life’s journey and obviously their life’s journey leading to those
fleeting seconds. It’s good to acknowledge other humans , a glance, a smile.
That is all it takes.I suppose you know you are not alone on this planet.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cHAR_2NuU4FlUF7zeJvjb0vKZGTfKzycx0rS85djEWE2ZAWq1Wc9kjKdUeEwTcHRiN_x5GYx_T6Mzz4oprDT6BXgGJ4adwe8wgRvCkJ5qam2U06JqwAPS270TnHjd6bI21sR__zNcSEDXxFDfS_ZT8xy06_aFD90AxDt-GGk0mcYDEG7z218nM0PzQ/s640/IMG_6209.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4cHAR_2NuU4FlUF7zeJvjb0vKZGTfKzycx0rS85djEWE2ZAWq1Wc9kjKdUeEwTcHRiN_x5GYx_T6Mzz4oprDT6BXgGJ4adwe8wgRvCkJ5qam2U06JqwAPS270TnHjd6bI21sR__zNcSEDXxFDfS_ZT8xy06_aFD90AxDt-GGk0mcYDEG7z218nM0PzQ/w640-h480/IMG_6209.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">The lodge where Jonne Donne lived. (1600-1604 )</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">John Donne lived near Ripley for a
short part of his life. As we walked along we came across some large houses
partly hidden behind trees and lush lawns. These<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>homes had their own riverside quays to tie up
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>boats . Next to the river on the
opposite side we saw a two storey brick built building with a strange, what
appeared to be an oriental style roof. Tony thought it looked like a Dutch
design. I noticed the brickwork looked weathered and the individual bricks were
narrow and wide. From visits to Hampton Court, as a comparison, they <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>looked like Tudor brickwork. The windows, top
and bottom were lead latticed in a diamond formation which also leant this
building an ancient feel and look. I noticed a plaque on the side of the
building. It read, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“John Donne lived here. 1600-1604”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Jonne Donne the poet and Deane of
St Pauls Cathedral in the City of London, suffered financial problems at one
time in his life and he stayed here as cheap <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>alternative accomodation. This riverside building
had been part of a larger complex, no longer in existence. It belonged to his wife’s
(Anne More) family. I wonder if he felt inspired to write any of his poetry
here? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Perhaps he complained about the sun
waking him in the morning?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">THE SUN RISING<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Busy old fool, unruly sun,<br />
Why dost thou thus,<br />
Through windows, and through curtains call on us?<br />
Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run?<br />
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide<br />
Late school boys and sour prentices,<br />
Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,<br />
Call country ants to harvest offices,<br />
Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,<br />
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time …<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj662nK5I2hs6tLPZQKDlX1VaCpzpskPY4T64Ije6qPBbqdXrVTxgxc4Wn_dZTdwWgkJCSHCz6fbnlWHFDm8wrMIoaRWLvQg5h7IuDnbhQvZhA1T7k2bjO6axvEJtJ2ogdkjLxnpo3VLXzRreleTHmpmyMwV6VjoifTCfstYdnVDd_eyRgsQjFTih0lLg/s640/IMG_6218.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj662nK5I2hs6tLPZQKDlX1VaCpzpskPY4T64Ije6qPBbqdXrVTxgxc4Wn_dZTdwWgkJCSHCz6fbnlWHFDm8wrMIoaRWLvQg5h7IuDnbhQvZhA1T7k2bjO6axvEJtJ2ogdkjLxnpo3VLXzRreleTHmpmyMwV6VjoifTCfstYdnVDd_eyRgsQjFTih0lLg/w640-h480/IMG_6218.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Newark Priory set on an island next to The Wey.</div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Further on we caught sight of Newark
Priory, set in an expansive meadow across the river from us. It was established
in 1189 but redeveloped in 1312.The priory is set on a large island and cannot
be easily reached. It is not open to the public because it is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>privately owned. A service is held once a year
in its ruins lead by the Bishop of Guildford. It stands alone.The parts that
remain are a steeply pitched end wall of what was once a great hall or perhaps
the church that once stood here. Other ruined walls of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>buildings and rooms are clustered there. When
you see a ruined place like this thoughts go to what life was like in a place
like that when it was a vibrant religious establishment. Tony suggested the
priory made its living from mills on the river. The meadows surrounding it
could have been used for sheep farming. I read on Wikipedia that the priory
also owned land and property in the city of London from which it could exact
rents.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">After observing the priory Tony and
I reached Newark Lock. We stood for a while listening to the sound of rushing
water and observing two swans gliding by gracefully. A sign post nearby pointed
us in the direction of Ripley Village. I have never been to Ripley before. It
has a wide main street. Tudor timber frame buildings are interspersed with
white Georgian fronts and Victorian brick built structures. Standing in the centre
of the village <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we could see at least
three pubs . The names of the pubs in Ripley all have nautical names. Ripley
was on the main route from London to Portsmouth, so many sailors passed this
way in the 18th and 19th centuries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk54FVm0AAa1tqk5a7lJj9f0yMCdf-mUWVfujKFiLdqdYyoH4zrlHP9mcAoqtGA7qB3I66N2JfmSI-trHzsIxqZD8FHcBu8X8dvkIxbWXJAoYkkPUCsAhHJH-bAWKlxfXlZprXdTz44rk4T0ztEGLTk97bYRqVNKsZGec1c-rssu0m5MmCV_pAAI0XJA/s640/IMG_6221.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk54FVm0AAa1tqk5a7lJj9f0yMCdf-mUWVfujKFiLdqdYyoH4zrlHP9mcAoqtGA7qB3I66N2JfmSI-trHzsIxqZD8FHcBu8X8dvkIxbWXJAoYkkPUCsAhHJH-bAWKlxfXlZprXdTz44rk4T0ztEGLTk97bYRqVNKsZGec1c-rssu0m5MmCV_pAAI0XJA/w640-h480/IMG_6221.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Just outside of Ripley Village.</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Ship Inn looked inviting but
when we arrived at the door it was closed. Further west down the High Street we
could see the sign for The Anchor. When we reached it it too was a timber frame building. I noticed a small round Michelin sticker on one window as we
passed<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but didn’t give it a lot of
thought. We walked into a low beamed room and walked to the counter in front of
us. A young lady came to enquire our needs. As I approached her I suddenly
staggered to the left. A steep slope in the floor from one level to another
caught me unawares. A little embarrassing. Jokingly I said to the girl that the
restaurant wanted to keep people off balance. She didn’t take it as a joke and pointed out a warning sign below the desk she stood at. The sign
was indeed a warning about the slope but it wasn’t at eye level. I think the restaurant
was at fault but I laughed it off. Another young lady showed us to a table and
gave us each a menu. Looking around it could be seen that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>different rooms from different connected buildings
had been made into one space by demolishing dividing walls. There were lots <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of nooks and crannies which gave it an old
comfortable ambience. We decided we liked it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> The menus were a little,” eye
watering.” They were pricey. I remembered the Michelin sticker in the window
and asked the manageress about this. The restaurant had been awarded a Michelin
approved status. It did not have a Michelin star but the manageress explained
that they were obliged to produce food <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of a Michelin star standard. Having Michelin recognition without the star allowed them to be more experimental and not keep
to the narrow menu a Michelin star might require. Then Tony and I focussed more on the prices of the individual dishes,
took a deep breath and decided, after a pause and a bit of muttering between us,
that we would order food, consoling each other that we didn’t do this sort of
thing often. The pricing was double what we would have normally expected to pay
, but hey, anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We ordered two pints of the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rebellion IPA brewed at the local Ripley
brewery. Local breweries are producing some excellent beers these days and this
particular IPA had a lovely light flowery flavour and at 3.7% it wasn’t too
strong. We had a return journey along the Wey Navigation to achieve yet. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We both ordered from the A La Carte
menu. I ordered a starter of ,”Hand divided Scallops with a raisin and caper
vinaigrette.” My main course was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>,”Seed
crusted venison with a butternut puree pickled blackberries and roast shallots.”
Ok I know what you are thinking. “Blimey.” Well, I can report the food was
delicious. It appeared on square white china plates. The food was laid out on
our plates like works of artwork that Picasso would have been proud of. It
looked fantastic, but, disappointingly, the portions were tiny. For my starter the
waitress presented me with the plate of scallops and then in a dramatic manner
posing like an actress dribbled the vinaigrette sauce in a swirling flourish
over the scallops. Of course when you order ,”posh,” food this is what you have
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to expect. We took our time
sipping our pints of IPA. We also took our time eating the food, not wanting to eat it too quickly, reassuring each
other how good it tasted. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would love
to eat the scallops and the seed crusted venison again but a lot more of it and
at half the price. I think we need these sort of experiences <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>even if only once. The waitress who served us
and the restaurant manager were both very friendly and helpful and they made
for an overall enjoyable, warm, relaxed experience. We ate and drank and then
payed the bill trying not to think about the cost.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">From Ripley Village we retraced our
steps to the weir on The Wey passing an apple tree that overhung the pavement
from a field nearby. Perhaps the remnants of an orchard that once grew in this
field. Who knows? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We tried an apple
each. They were sweet and crunchy. A free dessert!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We reached the Wey Navigation and wended
our way back along the tow path to Pyrford Lock. The <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>pub at Pyrford Lock, also called The Anchor,
has an amazing coffee machine. Chrome levers with a chrome trim encircling the whole
machine, catching the light. Hissing and steaming , the coffee machine provided for all the senses. We sat by the river and drank a coffee and ate a
scone each. There was a noticeable difference between , The Anchor at Ripley and the The Anchor here at Pyrford Lock. The food at Pyrford
Lock is cheap, fish and chips and pie and mash. Perfectly good tasty food but
not Michelin style of course. There is nothing wrong with that. It was the
atmosphere created by the staff at the Pyrford Lock Anchor pub that was noticeable. The restaurant manager and waitress
at The Anchor in Ripley were friendly, warm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>and smiled, a lot . You could sense they their friendliness and
they made us feel good. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Anchor at
Pyrford Lock had a stern bar manager who seemed to create anxiety among the two
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>staff behind the bar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The staff seemed to be ruled by fear. Maybe
a little of an exaggeration but the difference in the two establishments was
certainly stark. The Anchor at Pyrford could learn from The Anchor at Ripley.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6sjzif3KaWO-RSa8_CTdS13A6B0o_6FYpFpkB6Pe3Wt4G8Lxvp54h1cLXVVA1xsLCsyzHPLcB2PuxU8lz7pzf0wwpKtwcwxYCOAZbugA8fEbo49fcP9aiayC1FGYC739MDwKXAL4Rp-9I9RBfwJfHD0M-W9pNuHXy2gAVCjYbwj_Plk-JYl2mErEqQ/s1920/Wisley_Church,_from_the_churchyard.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1277" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6sjzif3KaWO-RSa8_CTdS13A6B0o_6FYpFpkB6Pe3Wt4G8Lxvp54h1cLXVVA1xsLCsyzHPLcB2PuxU8lz7pzf0wwpKtwcwxYCOAZbugA8fEbo49fcP9aiayC1FGYC739MDwKXAL4Rp-9I9RBfwJfHD0M-W9pNuHXy2gAVCjYbwj_Plk-JYl2mErEqQ/w640-h426/Wisley_Church,_from_the_churchyard.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Wisley Church.</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">On the way back, driving along Wisley
Lane we remembered to stop at Wisley Church. It is a small church, almost a
chapel ,set back from the road behind some farm buildings. It is an ancient
church first built in the 12<sup>th</sup> century and like most village
churches added to over the centuries. Although, as Wisley church is a very small
church <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>very few parts have been built on in later
centuries . A wooden north porch was added in the 17<sup>th</sup> century and
the church itself was refurbished in 1872 quite recently in the broad scheme of
things. The font looked as though it might have been part of the original 12<sup>th</sup>
century church. An original tiled reredos behind the altar was uncovered in the
refurbishment of 1872. The thick whitewashed walls of the interior look and
feel ancient too. Walking into a country church like this,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>one of the first things you notice is the
stillness and the quiet. The interior feels cool. Any light and warmth from the
sun can only penetrate through the beautiful stained glass windows. Being
inside a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>church like this encourages
contemplation and thought. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tony and I spent sometime looking
at the various stained glass windows and artefacts inside the church. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Then back into the car and home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As I have described we walked
through and past <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a number of historic landscapes.
. It is reasonably easy to find out historical facts
about these places. Why were they built? Who used <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>them? We can find artefacts in museums locally
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and read historical analysis based on
documents, What we can’t do is know what it was like to actually live at the time
these places were constructed and first in use.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: repeat white; color: #202122; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-55364659194143920722022-05-02T03:00:00.011-07:002022-05-16T00:03:46.668-07:00REGENTS CANAL WALK CONTINUED. Part 2 (Kings Cross to Kingsland Road.) Part 3 (Kingsland Road to Limehouse.)<p> </p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyam_CpAwcr423Uk4ijAWBuyBs2I8wqfAOuMLL-QPhLRoTUv2z12qk_dBr6u09da_qM3PaPn0KKA88BVKfzolcAYYTzN1CGrS4498nEgqr2XcpamsEb04BQZFhyuZHzlC6OCLXyrplA13NZoSGiYaOdxm1-1aXOLTtLzMjuHi9PRyeaWsuPi2OBqkL9w/s6000/DSCF1584.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyam_CpAwcr423Uk4ijAWBuyBs2I8wqfAOuMLL-QPhLRoTUv2z12qk_dBr6u09da_qM3PaPn0KKA88BVKfzolcAYYTzN1CGrS4498nEgqr2XcpamsEb04BQZFhyuZHzlC6OCLXyrplA13NZoSGiYaOdxm1-1aXOLTtLzMjuHi9PRyeaWsuPi2OBqkL9w/w640-h427/DSCF1584.JPG" width="640" /></a><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Tony and John with the statue of Sir John Betjamin in St Pancras Station.</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Part 2</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>KINGS CROSS TO THE KINGSLAND ROAD HACKNEY<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Thursday 24<sup>th</sup>
February John and myself joined by Tony Brown, continued the Regents Canal Walk.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">John and I had finished the first part of the walk at The
British Library and Kings Cross Station, so it was from there we continued
walking the canal path.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We had a wander around St Pancras Station, opened in October 1868 and designed by William Henry Barlow looking at the immense iron and glass arched roofs and
the wonderful Victorian brickwork all around, archways and pillars, brickwork,
windows and doors. A masterpiece of Victorian Gothic. A ,"cathedral," in its own right. St Pancras is now the Eurostar station and the gateway to
Europe from London. Two long sleek Euro Star trains were in the station while
we were there.. The tall giant bronze statue of a couple embracing, the plinth
of which is surrounded by bronze plaques depicting events connected with the
station.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We found the statue to Sir John Betjamin and posed for
photographs with him. Betjamin, star of TV documentaries and accessible poetry,
his poetry always striking me with the depth of its meaning within the simple
imagery and rhythms he created. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
many ways he is the poet of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the mid 20<sup>th</sup>
century landscape<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and buildings of
Britain. Apart from his poems he is known as the saviour of many a Victorian
building that might have been demolished,including St Pancras Station itself. That
is why his statue is here.However he was too late to save the amazing façade of
Euston Station <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a mile down the road from
St Pancras.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: rgb(243, 245, 246); line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-outline-level: 3;">“<span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #212124; font-size: 10.5pt;">Revival ran along the hedge<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(243, 245, 246); line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #212124; font-size: 10.5pt;">and made my spirit whole<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(243, 245, 246); line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #212124; font-size: 10.5pt;">When steam was on the window panes<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: rgb(243, 245, 246); line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #212124; font-size: 10.5pt;">And Glory in my soul"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> By Sir John Betjamin</o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The age of steam, the Industrial Revolution, the glories of
the Victorian age, the rural landscape and practices of the past were what inspired
John Betjamin. I don’t remember, when watching his documentaries as a
youth, whether he ever delved into the detrimental aspects of all that, and may
well have condoned them as necessary; the class system underpinned by poverty,
the coal polluting practices of the Victorian era and so forth. So, in many
ways, the popular poet maybe is not so popular now. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3a4j86eF6sRB_EEUcJ88fekDhlotDBYUJFeV-LILTKvc7s8Zh-z3jKyG2V87_r6cvnA2-cVzCGa9Vqt8axBUzyrYd9IVb4uI8lajsP-phpn-VZeqjSRXg8rBjdroXATRh2KWVfJnPBt9ksx0KuR8hiDfAf78fDrSoJgTSDhoPMJZhc9nx4k1rK2hj2Q/s6000/DSCF1612.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3a4j86eF6sRB_EEUcJ88fekDhlotDBYUJFeV-LILTKvc7s8Zh-z3jKyG2V87_r6cvnA2-cVzCGa9Vqt8axBUzyrYd9IVb4uI8lajsP-phpn-VZeqjSRXg8rBjdroXATRh2KWVfJnPBt9ksx0KuR8hiDfAf78fDrSoJgTSDhoPMJZhc9nx4k1rK2hj2Q/w640-h426/DSCF1612.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Inside The Betjamin Arms set within The Midlands Hotel.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Britain is , on the whole, quite good at keeping the best
examples of our past buildings. We have The National Trust and also English
Heritage which are devoted to keeping many examples of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the great country houses of the Georgian
period, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Medieval Castles,Roman Forts, including more modern examples of architecture and in some cases
buildings kept just because of who lived there. I am thinking here of John
Lennon's Aunty Mamies house in Menlove Avenue Liverpool,an ordinary 1930s semi.
The National Trust has also preserved<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>the council house in Forthlin Road Liverpool where Paul McCartney lived
as a child and as a teenager wrote, along with John Lennon some of their early
hit songs. Houses like those are justly kept. However, our city and town council
planning departments have not been so good at retaining unique examples of
architecture within their city and town boroughs. “Concrete Brutalist,”
buildings , housing estates from the 60s and 70s , often well designed and unique
examples of our built heritage in their own right have been the target of
demolition. Renovation and repurposing are not in many town planning
departments vocabulary, which is a great shame. It begs the important questions,
what is valuable? what should be kept? what can be repurposed or renovated? The
canal walk provides examples of a whole range of architecture, old and new ,
some has been repurposed and some developed in new ways, and also places where buildings have been
demolished and new masterpieces erected. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The three of us had a coffee and a chat about this and that,
as you do, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in the Betjamin Arms bar and
tea room set within the structure of the magnificent Midland Hotel which fronts
St Pancras and overlooks the Euston Road. We could also look back into the station concourse
with those Eurostar trains waiting. The interior of the bar displays all the
Victorian Gothic features Betjamin was so proud of.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From here we walked out of the front of the station passing
the front of The Midland Hotel marvelling at its magnificence.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqkIuH0U1jsn6u_AzXJjgQD-qIPxZwEAPg1lJEVP1AH52OWdbscm62ep7qbksIZjQg0qq6Rxpp62zxm8VBtJD2OigUrVQnsUxCM1TpOE_-MbWAgJozLbjf5zuma1oYK5XXPb-fZEpSy4xcsXZXj9CmXIdpUwkoBd_b18SOmRpuf_oV5tFqCx9vGgNfQ/s6000/DSCF1627.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqkIuH0U1jsn6u_AzXJjgQD-qIPxZwEAPg1lJEVP1AH52OWdbscm62ep7qbksIZjQg0qq6Rxpp62zxm8VBtJD2OigUrVQnsUxCM1TpOE_-MbWAgJozLbjf5zuma1oYK5XXPb-fZEpSy4xcsXZXj9CmXIdpUwkoBd_b18SOmRpuf_oV5tFqCx9vGgNfQ/w640-h426/DSCF1627.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">We reached the canal again just north of St Pancras and Kings Cross.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>turned right beside the British Library next
door <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and headed north towards the canal.
We passed </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>under the vast concrete underpass over which the railway lines from
the station pass and then took a turn left up to the canal at Granary Square
where indeed the old Victorian buildings that were used as granaries are
located. There was also a coal depot here, an old<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fading sign on the side of a brick building
informs us so. Our walk continued along the north side of the canal going
east.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is a whole mixture of things the canal is about. It
has its history of horse drawn boats moving goods about the country and helping
in boosting the Industrial Revolution. Iron, sugar, tea, tin, explosives, oil, wool,
items from the West Indies , the coal and the granaries at Granary Wharf all
part of the diverse trade that the canal enabled.There is much left to show us
about its origins. The tow paths are stone edged. Brick sides drop vertically
into the water and there is the complexity of lock gates, at intervals, moving boats
from one level to another. Often the lock keeper’s cottages still remain. Wide
basins that extend off the canal to the north and south of the canal include City Road
Basin, Battlebridge Basin where the London Canal Museum is now located, St
Pancras Basin where we began the second part of our canal walk and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>others. These must have been locations for
industries that required their own quays and piers for loading and offloading
goods produced locally making items for trade with other parts of the country
via the canal system. Some of the old warehouses still remain converted into flats , offices and workshops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along the route of the canal
there is also a cross section of society, social housing, small businesses,
elegant architectural builds, modern executive flats, businesses secreted under old brick
archways beside the canal, boating clubs and of course a multitude of canal
boats. Sometimes you can smell the wood burners on some of these canal boats
from a distance as you approach. Often the spaces on the roofs of the canal
boats are a collection of flower pots, washing lines, stove chimneys, bicycles
lying on their sides and the clutter of canal living.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6KTgEt_7lq2J6-EEtowSFVr982cmWyLcXKbCH-At0FQ5dMLI2Pkw7W__msHzHDVsRT1hhyI6PhepA4iY-yR5qepV37XKJvBHEZGXby4cxbkEcQgQP2-oHt8ZlbCQpbjBioxQ9Ut3noWfZPFZuBt2A4SQGqeilUu4TNUMK_hxzgBybpqJrUMYGdMCvA/s6000/DSCF1759.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6KTgEt_7lq2J6-EEtowSFVr982cmWyLcXKbCH-At0FQ5dMLI2Pkw7W__msHzHDVsRT1hhyI6PhepA4iY-yR5qepV37XKJvBHEZGXby4cxbkEcQgQP2-oHt8ZlbCQpbjBioxQ9Ut3noWfZPFZuBt2A4SQGqeilUu4TNUMK_hxzgBybpqJrUMYGdMCvA/w640-h426/DSCF1759.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Untidy canal life.</div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As we walked, often<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>joggers went past. Cyclists, sometimes, but not often, warned us of
their approach by ringing their bell but sometimes provided no warning at all. Mums with buggies and as the day
proceeded, teenagers making their way home from school. Once in a while we see
the owners and inhabitants of the canal boats, through the open entrance to
their boat or perhaps as they emerge on to the pathway. We have spoken to some,
passing the time of day. I remember seeing one lady ensconced in the cabin of
her boast brewing tea in a cramped area. I looked down at her and she looked up.
I felt a little guilty, perhaps impinging on her privacy. But I am sure she is
used to this with her lifestyle.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As we approached Islington the canal enters a tunnel and
goes underground for 960 meters just short of a kilometre. It was opened in
1818 and designed by the engineer James Morgan. There is no towpath here so we
had to walk above the tunnel following the signs to where the tunnel once again
emerged further along.. We walked along Chapel Street where Chapel Street market
is located . It is a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>multicultural area,
Italian coffee shops, Indian restaurants and fruit and veg stalls, and clothing
stalls. A little reminiscent of Albert Square in Eastenders.. At the end of
Chapel market, near The Angel Islington we went into The Islington Town House
public house for a beer and something to eat. We later rejoined the canal
towpath at Duncan Street and Colebrook Row.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What is prevalent everywhere is the graffiti and tags. Tags
are signature names. Graffitti is more complex and often makes a political or
social commentary.Much of the tags look untidy because the artists have created
their signs and pictures, one on top of another. You can make out most of their
tags though. TAGS are primarily a set of initials sometimes just scrawled swiftly
with a can of spray paint, sometimes intricately formed giving the initials a
three dimensional effect and carefully painted in two or more colours. D.E.X,
MUNS, CHUP, PUAN, MOEX and the tags multiplied as we walked along. The ZERZ tag
was done on a number of locations along the canal, meticulously formed in
silver and sometimes green but always<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in
a three dimensional form. Why would somebody want to leave a mark like that?
This form of street art has been carried out for thousands of years. I remember
visiting Pompeii in the Bay of Naples a few years ago and seeing Ancient Roman
tags in the streets of the ancient city. A particular gladiator had his fan
following in one street in Pompeii. It makes me and other onlookers notice. We
read it. We wonder at the nerve of somebody to do that. A connection is made
with the tag artist. They have made their mark and we have been <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>affected by it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A message saying, I exist, is conveyed. I find
graffiti really interesting. Some people think its an act of vandalism but surely
vandalism is about making<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a comment,
sending a message from the heart and mind and not always destructively. Graffitti and TAGS are often positive things.. Banksy is one of the most famous and
sophisticated of the graffiti artist known all over the world. There is a
famous Banksy in Shoreditch just south of the canal. Shoreditch has its famous
stick people logos by an artist called Stix. Many advertising companies use his
graffiti<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>art work. Often the graffiti <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>around Shoreditch carries importance to the
local community and all of us who see it. Sitting on the top of the 243 bus
from Hoxton to Waterloo the other day I passed a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fence, fencing off a building site that has a
recent mural depicting urban bombing in the Ukraine. A child with a teddy bear
melts into a skeletal form half flesh and half skull. I saw the mural for a
passing moment but feel its emotional impact even now when I think about it. Walls,
roofs, a collection of disused underground trains stacked on top of a building,
bridges and shop fronts are all a canvas for the graffiti artist. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_j_OfJZbr8p2-q3d-sJxqbTeR6NpfjwBqE72Fk8I411g0W6_XZC8NPwIWybcAykWOjw13QNaC9aeAf1PKDj3dFL_0Fb3hrTXx40ScXNyPJHhK4R7LGWReGxcbYGBTBAx9L3_x_qxurA89n4as7O7kxz1n3YT9Snew-LJBjhbw3czfvEYVGBNrc6Kh_g/s2016/IMG_4007.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_j_OfJZbr8p2-q3d-sJxqbTeR6NpfjwBqE72Fk8I411g0W6_XZC8NPwIWybcAykWOjw13QNaC9aeAf1PKDj3dFL_0Fb3hrTXx40ScXNyPJHhK4R7LGWReGxcbYGBTBAx9L3_x_qxurA89n4as7O7kxz1n3YT9Snew-LJBjhbw3czfvEYVGBNrc6Kh_g/w640-h480/IMG_4007.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Graffiti along the canal side.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Just before we reached the bridge over the canal at Kingsland Road in Shoreditch we saw some elegant modern flats with balconies overlooking the canal labelled the ,"Gainsborough Studio Flats." This modern block is the northern canal side of the complex. On the south side overlooking Shoreditch Park in Poole Street is an old Victorian industrial building. It was originally a coal fired power station for the Great Northern and City Railway. A small white surround art nouveau doorway is located at the right this façade and a blue plaque on the wall near this entrance provides further information about this buildings later use. After its first life as a power station it was repurposed as the famous Gainsborough Film Studios.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. Other films were made at Lime Grove and Pinewood Studios. This former film studios was converted into flats in 2004.The studio is best remembered for the Gainsborough melodramas it produced in the1940s.</p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0cm;"><br /></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPtgtpmjg8w0fRkZ5vsNG9dXdTLdhu0t6gHapKYY3qCHPGJfIIR_4xA-NuDmRbWNEs7Mc4FO01SxaVTlYeYtYx4r9tTAQNr3j3KI7JiEp93XnWAZPBKMeS8D4Q78Fq2dn1iTMiiIt6AitOODqb-VvjQzisA3dNEEdWCfaddrNyjf5hjtKYoPblCRDO9Q/s640/IMG_3886.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPtgtpmjg8w0fRkZ5vsNG9dXdTLdhu0t6gHapKYY3qCHPGJfIIR_4xA-NuDmRbWNEs7Mc4FO01SxaVTlYeYtYx4r9tTAQNr3j3KI7JiEp93XnWAZPBKMeS8D4Q78Fq2dn1iTMiiIt6AitOODqb-VvjQzisA3dNEEdWCfaddrNyjf5hjtKYoPblCRDO9Q/w640-h480/IMG_3886.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Gainsborough Studios, apartments.</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Gainsborough
Studios, produced some of Britain’s best-known early films, such as </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YihbNGUNQmU"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-underline: none;">The Lady
Vanishes</span></a><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (1938), </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_TekKYWBj0"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-underline: none;">The Man in Grey</span></a><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (1943) and </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WWV29M_f6o"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1; text-underline: none;">Fanny by
Gaslight</span></a><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (1944),
as well as launching the careers of the many of the country’s cinema stars.
Above all, one of the world’s greatest film directors learned his trade at the
studios, east London-born Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">We climbed
the stone steps from the canal side at Kingsland Road and finished our second
leg of the walk near the mosque on Kingsland Road and got the bus back to
Waterloo Station.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Part 3</u></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>THE KINGSLAND ROAD TO LIMEHOUSE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We continued our walk on the final stretch from the Kingsland
Road bridge over the canal <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on the 16th
March.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After passing more graffiti on walls,
a set of lock gates<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the expected cyclists
and joggers eventually we arrived at Victoria Park, with its Chinese Pagoda and
boating lakes. <span style="background: white; color: #444444;">Victoria Park
opened in 1845 and was created to beautify the East End, provide recreational
space and improve public health. The consultant planner was Sir James
Pennethorne. </span>The park is located in Tower Hamlets. It is bordered by
Hackney, Bethnal Green and Stratford, where the 2012 Olympic Park is located.
We didn’t venture over to the Olympic stadiums because we kept to the canal
footpaths. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4PrtoZZxj2YpHa4qnx4weJCOES7kKkuPvRhWyc8eMAV7UEHNoWRba8P3Z3OII_TzUKXA-BzAlnpQk6-bQq6k2-VjfONhXZFRqXHXy9qSW-BL_9YaRs_T9vsboZEIvx7gu1-fkEroELR_jtChB4up3vL694vPMicpO2VymPkiQ500N4SRB-wwPHGL_g/s2016/IMG_3976.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4PrtoZZxj2YpHa4qnx4weJCOES7kKkuPvRhWyc8eMAV7UEHNoWRba8P3Z3OII_TzUKXA-BzAlnpQk6-bQq6k2-VjfONhXZFRqXHXy9qSW-BL_9YaRs_T9vsboZEIvx7gu1-fkEroELR_jtChB4up3vL694vPMicpO2VymPkiQ500N4SRB-wwPHGL_g/w640-h480/IMG_3976.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">The Chinese pagoda in Victoria Park.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While we were in the park, John had a word with a couple of
police officers patrolling the park. We had had a few near misses with cyclists
speeding past us along the canal towpath. None of them had rung their bells as
they approached us. Tony and I <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>walked on
and only observed from a distance. The police officers looked suitably
concerned and noted John’s complaint it appeared.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Victoria Park must
have witnessed the recreation of so many ,”East Enders.” It is a beautiful
park. All of us from whatever section of society, deserve to experience the
beauty of nature. London is blessed with not only the famous parks, Hyde Park and Regents Park which our canal walk has taken us past, set in central London but
a multitude of local parks in every London borough , often each borough has a
number of wonderful parks not just one, across London. Londoners are very lucky
to have this legacy from as early as <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Victorian times and from the early twentieth century to enjoy , to be able to exercise, taking part in football, cricket,
bowling, tennis, paddling pools and children’s playgrounds. The parks are a
resource that improves the populations health and well being. Local people love
their parks and defend their existence vehemently at times. My own local park
created in the1930s by a local politician Sir Joseph Hood,is the beating
communal heart of my neighbourhood. Childrens’ sports teams, adult sports
teams, a playschool open everyday of the week for toddlers and a place to just
stroll, relax, listen to bird song<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
in one case, I have witnessed, to practice your skills at tai chi.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBX6Bx1u66Fi6xhlfwE4OGiNXruz8Fce7hiIFrHeidrbJ30MSakJIDF3jIKNkeAzIkxJnIkci8sGUbNLX8HMcT78Ghf-W0wHv9CULu1vpRICUKE-Ja9w1jpxoBQkA0EmQfUWuZLPQYYrfx5xM3b3dj_skL0B-13VPwA6JfVtpjNnmMd_u91A6mKrMvw/s2016/IMG_3966.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBX6Bx1u66Fi6xhlfwE4OGiNXruz8Fce7hiIFrHeidrbJ30MSakJIDF3jIKNkeAzIkxJnIkci8sGUbNLX8HMcT78Ghf-W0wHv9CULu1vpRICUKE-Ja9w1jpxoBQkA0EmQfUWuZLPQYYrfx5xM3b3dj_skL0B-13VPwA6JfVtpjNnmMd_u91A6mKrMvw/w640-h480/IMG_3966.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">The entrance to Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As we approached the Limehouse Basin, where the Regents
Canal actually begins, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at the heart of docklands, we were passing some blocks of flats on the opposite side of the canal. We
heard an angry voice shouting abuse at a neighbour. We could not work out what
the gentleman’s anger was about. He was very upset and very angry. And he
didn’t stop his tirade. It continued certainly after we had moved on into the
distance. We could hear the other person trying to reply but not getting a word
in edgeways.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSseeF1UwTB4puD_NYM9mDd2kYAObuKe7vUs9YFhF-KbtkWyed_M-tBKUC4RhJ_hJQao-hFnwEIQ9EM8QuM7mMKAjt0J5n2C44dw4RL2i6yg7uvnWjTYWvFxBsrP2bnCXA3dyXn62lWYbNXSzt1n3nD_fCqAqoMsr01dahqRCtWI3K_Yiz6XLNvyT5Q/s6000/DSCF1761-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSseeF1UwTB4puD_NYM9mDd2kYAObuKe7vUs9YFhF-KbtkWyed_M-tBKUC4RhJ_hJQao-hFnwEIQ9EM8QuM7mMKAjt0J5n2C44dw4RL2i6yg7uvnWjTYWvFxBsrP2bnCXA3dyXn62lWYbNXSzt1n3nD_fCqAqoMsr01dahqRCtWI3K_Yiz6XLNvyT5Q/w640-h426/DSCF1761-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Flats beside the canal.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Limehouse Basin is a large area of water surrounded by quays
where luxury yachts amd motor launches are moored. It is worth taking a moment
to recall what was here before. In the 19<sup>th</sup> century this basin would
have been surrounded by multi-storey brick built warehouses. Doorways high in
the structures would have had cranes with rope winches to haul bales and crates
of products to the upper levels. Steam ships puffing out coal dust, the splash
and rumble of paddle steamers. Thames barges that traded all along the Kent
coast with large brown and red sails would have proliferated . The shouts and
calls of stevedores, the clip clopping of horses pulling canal barges alongside
some of the quays and ships at anchor ready to take on-board produce from all
over the Empire and transport it up the canal system to Birmingham , the
Midlands and the north. It was all here;a hive of activity.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDfraTxk2AHRu69bAP3iXDc2ogtwvw_o80H1O85JM1JOLNipa-5-Z3xoMMq90dJjyeDr04UFM6Uxfp9akBOKUt3sM-hxJYVH3T4_NjUd6zn75t2jeopLx2jaeYdAH0VNRxNYOv03ojYi_5RcpYXnhyshdlH525XEn7mMkmkaB0KdP3VPd2hSN4Jv3Wg/s2016/IMG_4055.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDfraTxk2AHRu69bAP3iXDc2ogtwvw_o80H1O85JM1JOLNipa-5-Z3xoMMq90dJjyeDr04UFM6Uxfp9akBOKUt3sM-hxJYVH3T4_NjUd6zn75t2jeopLx2jaeYdAH0VNRxNYOv03ojYi_5RcpYXnhyshdlH525XEn7mMkmkaB0KdP3VPd2hSN4Jv3Wg/w640-h480/IMG_4055.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Arriving at Limehouse Basin.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now nearly all the buildings are modern, apartments, offices
and small businesses. Very few examples of the 19<sup>th</sup> century infrastructure
remain. The brick chimney of a pump house can be glimpsed behind the Docklands Light Railway Railway viaduct. The bridge archways that support the viaduct that arch over the final part of the canal
as it joins the basin <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>are part of the old canal and basin infrastructure. It is apt to remember
that most of the old docklands were destroyed during the Blitz, the docklands
in the east end being a prime target. We walked around the pathways that lead
over pedestrian bridges across narrow inlets that lead to smaller basins off
Limehouse<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and around the quay side. A
sign post indicated the direction of The Grapes public house. At the end of our
walk we were looking forward to a pint and some grub.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GKYS9QBcLJ0_L7Hr-r6VjM2cJeJIHxkSRpzdzaR6LiRr8zKsEpREJmOOXBR9qbZc09IcdaC0c8AiH7FAAfdx07W87MpQNSIV3H7wkKN3s1wtlatL2c-qefNw0Zq7eMNNcdbUM13DwsAuPkAtfC33aKmudXnhVzftf-DFW7e9nGSmlczE3-EAi76wbw/s2016/IMG_4059.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GKYS9QBcLJ0_L7Hr-r6VjM2cJeJIHxkSRpzdzaR6LiRr8zKsEpREJmOOXBR9qbZc09IcdaC0c8AiH7FAAfdx07W87MpQNSIV3H7wkKN3s1wtlatL2c-qefNw0Zq7eMNNcdbUM13DwsAuPkAtfC33aKmudXnhVzftf-DFW7e9nGSmlczE3-EAi76wbw/w640-h480/IMG_4059.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">A Victorian pump house chimney protruding above the Docklands Light Railway viaduct at Limehouse.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Grapes pub is situated in, Narrow Street, backing on to
the Thames with Docklands stretching east of it. The back of the pub has a
balcony over the Thames itself. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Narrow
Street appears to be a misnomer. It is not narrow. What there is today is a
wide thoroughfare with <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wide green
verges and a small park. Referring to the history of
Limehouse however, Narrow Street was indeed narrow with originally, the row of
houses where The Grapes is situated<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>almost within touching distance of the houses and buildings opposite it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Other streets in the area, Ropemakers Fields, East India
Dock Road, Basin Approach, Shoulder of Mutton Alley all give indications about
the local history.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMAJsmIBlJuARDn6ImOJecBVzHgshH1bIhiwQ_AjF4Kbnx-viZLbNm84d8F6DLRcjvgEYVXm3b1LKuq2TskrbTeDolcmEl5VGr7Pwu5c8PLjFuaowpWeLKWLgTgn-gCr_Bls-4bJgFAVNzBkbOr2g2nvCRf4psaaPHO5dkZ9LjNIyqODIzsc6jDAQwA/s2016/IMG_4070.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMAJsmIBlJuARDn6ImOJecBVzHgshH1bIhiwQ_AjF4Kbnx-viZLbNm84d8F6DLRcjvgEYVXm3b1LKuq2TskrbTeDolcmEl5VGr7Pwu5c8PLjFuaowpWeLKWLgTgn-gCr_Bls-4bJgFAVNzBkbOr2g2nvCRf4psaaPHO5dkZ9LjNIyqODIzsc6jDAQwA/w640-h480/IMG_4070.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Entering The Grapes in Limehouse. (The Six Jolly Fellowship- Porters)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We walked through the door of the Grapes into a narrow
passage to the right with dark brown varnished<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>wood panelled walls giving a gloomy feeling to the place. Old black and
white photographs hung on the walls showing dockworkers from , I presume, the 1930s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sitting in a row each supping a pint of beer. There was a small bar to the left with a smiling welcoming barmaid and landlady standing
behind the counter. We walked on through to the back of the pub which had three
or four beer barrels turned on end as tables and wooden benches. Another bar
opened on to this part of the pub. The windows at the back looked out onto the
Thames. It was obvious the back of the pub was lapped by the river. Some steps
inside the back of the pub lead to a balcony outside overlooking the Thames. We
sat down and perused the menu on the table in front of us. I noticed the walls
were covered in pictures of Charles Dickens and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>some his characters. I didn’t at first give
these pictures much attention. The thought that always occurs when you walk
into an old pub anywhere in London and see Dickens on the walls is that once
Dickens came in here. Dickens walked all over London, finding inspiration. I
was certainly not wrong about, The Grapes. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However the first thing I asked the genial smiling landlady
was , jokingly ,”that’s a big shillelagh you have behind the bar.”A large brown
varnished knobbly stick with a gnarled end was on display. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Oh no, that’s not a shillelagh ,” she said.
“What do you think it might be?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
know why but I immediately said, tongue in cheek, “It’s Gandalphs staff.” “ Yes
it is. Sir Ian McKellen is a part owner of The Grapes.” I was gobsmacked. I
then noticed, near us at the back of the pub, was a miniature statue of Gandalf
the Wizard wielding his staff. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbNdgF22Mu240JIgbL0bMMHHbRiEUBxev9l_KGbC5xVnsFEjFn5HP434Pms5G9oCfhNNRuimCA8c9QXXR9VGdbGgETbpnTncplQRpEy0-9ei8Ndfvl83FnkCUNSYtj1bsDU_LedjUoC7uBUDI91KduY9EDQgQgIAQR1q-2aivSrNufU6sZ1HFiUD46g/s2016/IMG_4086.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbNdgF22Mu240JIgbL0bMMHHbRiEUBxev9l_KGbC5xVnsFEjFn5HP434Pms5G9oCfhNNRuimCA8c9QXXR9VGdbGgETbpnTncplQRpEy0-9ei8Ndfvl83FnkCUNSYtj1bsDU_LedjUoC7uBUDI91KduY9EDQgQgIAQR1q-2aivSrNufU6sZ1HFiUD46g/w480-h640/IMG_4086.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Gandalph is behind me.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then of course I asked about The Dickens connection. Both
the landlady and the barmaid came together , all smiles and enthusiasm and
related to us about the Dicken’s link. The Grapes is ,”The Six Jolly
Fellowship- Porters,” that features especially in the first book of Our Mutual
Friend. Here Gaffer Hexam fell out of favour <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with Miss Abby Potterson, the landlady in the
novel. Here too the soaked and presumed drowned body of Rogue Riderhood was
dragged from the Thames and laid out on a table in the pub and eventually
revived to live on. Here Lizzie Hexam pleaded with Abby Potterson for clemency
for her ,as it turns out, falsly accused father over being too successful at
finding and recovering dead bodies from the Thames. Suspicions had been set
going by Rogue Riderhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Miss Abby
Potterson was a wise and intelligent warm hearted woman who everybody respected
in the area and who laid down the law and looked after her customers wellbeing,
knowing their wives and families intimately. The present day landlady, I never
got to know her name, is just like Dicken’s description of Miss Abby Potterson,
it occurred to me, warm, personable, in charge. So much happens around this pub
in Dicken’s novel and we were sitting there in the bar where a lot of the early
action takes place. Locations like this in London are exciting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to be in and a real privilege. The three of
us had a couple of pints of the local brew and ate a plate of fish and chips,
with napkins and all the condiments provided. We went out on to the balcony at
the back of The Grapes to look over the Thames and Docklands to the east. There,
standing out of the water facing docklands is an Anthony Gormley iron cast
figure, calm, implacable, gazing straight at the international banking area of Docklands.
Perhaps, like Miss Abby Potterson, holding her customers <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to account, this Gormley figure, above the
lapping waves, is holding docklands and its financial commerce to account.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG6_hUcI1bNyjc70RmlQaKys6rmtj2eT_E7dSNz-hxrBhBcQV2CiHyy1vD8sruy-g-WumT3CP3OyXQWRtSUEbf7GhZkzN9UzgwDC9Z2WXr8QYHnCxFVaQcGwTcwhYXicMDkSe1avdzDXHdHVZdv61pmU21GXRuGtfvjZ0kqVdci6ayIwt0sUenIIiMzg/s2016/IMG_4074.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG6_hUcI1bNyjc70RmlQaKys6rmtj2eT_E7dSNz-hxrBhBcQV2CiHyy1vD8sruy-g-WumT3CP3OyXQWRtSUEbf7GhZkzN9UzgwDC9Z2WXr8QYHnCxFVaQcGwTcwhYXicMDkSe1avdzDXHdHVZdv61pmU21GXRuGtfvjZ0kqVdci6ayIwt0sUenIIiMzg/w640-h480/IMG_4074.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Antony Gormley's figure contemplating Docklands. (From the balcony at the back of The Grapes.)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chapter VI Book One Our Mutual Friend<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“ The Six Jolly Fellowship Porters already mentioned as a tavern of
dropsical appearance, had long settled down into a state of hale infirmity. In
its whole constitution it had not a straight floor , and hardly a straight
line; but it had outlasted, and clearly would yet outlast, many a better a
trimmed building, many a sprucer public house. Externally it was a narrow
lopsided wooden jumble of corpulent windows heaped one upon another as you
might heap as many toppling oranges, with a crazy wooden verandah impending
over the water; indeed the whole house, inclusive of the complaining flagstaff
on the roof , impended over the water, but seemed to have got into the
condition of a fainthearted diver who has paused so longon the brink<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that he will nevre go in.”<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yes, that is definitely The Grapes. After leaving The Grapes
we walked along the Thames Path<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to the
Thames Clipper pier nearby. We got a ferry back to Westminster where we
embarked walking a short distance to Waterloo Station and got our trains home.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As an afterthought, if John, Tony and myself created our own
graffiti tags what might they be?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here you are. Have a guess whose TAG is whose.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cDjO8JAYRt4yev5AovZGCozteqKRVgDfHLVzQpo0a9koqSZ_BYC8eDvzzCAbG5kXzVkZqQOt_P-Cwi7xxlrEyRlLmbN88E0Ex4Lux_3k5b-QgPbOhMCRt30l-4Lh9UgVoX10HFrTxMRAT6EmXOz9nooWVtcZAobqEVWvfvih0a611rhHafBQ90rnEA/s611/screenshot%20(2).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="419" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cDjO8JAYRt4yev5AovZGCozteqKRVgDfHLVzQpo0a9koqSZ_BYC8eDvzzCAbG5kXzVkZqQOt_P-Cwi7xxlrEyRlLmbN88E0Ex4Lux_3k5b-QgPbOhMCRt30l-4Lh9UgVoX10HFrTxMRAT6EmXOz9nooWVtcZAobqEVWvfvih0a611rhHafBQ90rnEA/w438-h640/screenshot%20(2).png" width="438" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">References: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Stik graffitti artists: <a href="http://stik.org/">http://stik.org/</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gainsborough Studios: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gainsborough_Pictures">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gainsborough_Pictures</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Limehouse: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limehouse">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limehouse</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens Penguin Classics<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(first published 1865) 1997<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Victoria Park: <a href="https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/leisure_and_culture/parks_and_open_spaces/victoria_park/victoria_park.asp">https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/leisure_and_culture/parks_and_open_spaces/victoria_park/victoria_park.asp</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Park,_London">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Park,_London</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Regents Canal: <a href="https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network/regents-canal">https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network/regents-canal</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regent%27s_Canal">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regent%27s_Canal</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">John Betjamin: <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-betjeman">https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-betjeman</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Canal Boat art: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roses_and_Castles">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roses_and_Castles</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Antony Gormley: <a href="https://www.antonygormley.com/">https://www.antonygormley.com/</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The London Canal Museum: <a href="https://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/">https://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-91216480461747174322022-03-17T01:59:00.006-07:002023-08-12T02:46:12.993-07:00PERSUASION (an adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel by Jeff James and James Yeatman) at The Rose Theatre Kingston upon Thames.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3MQpWJ4JkH5wz3wjkZpItoqLL6_U_YgjGOgAsnBo9T-4dLWTYeTBQzgmtiQlZrvSjcCzbm7p7gfj14wF9CLMQ818nA-yXs1Ze_yV-HERuT31jZw0TuaC_Mu5YdLWawSVW6VWazhvmfPEaMde0Ry9gxIsLj7own_KGOmDPJjb1mwpbkeD_4jqSscOYZQ=s3814" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3814" data-original-width="2808" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3MQpWJ4JkH5wz3wjkZpItoqLL6_U_YgjGOgAsnBo9T-4dLWTYeTBQzgmtiQlZrvSjcCzbm7p7gfj14wF9CLMQ818nA-yXs1Ze_yV-HERuT31jZw0TuaC_Mu5YdLWawSVW6VWazhvmfPEaMde0Ry9gxIsLj7own_KGOmDPJjb1mwpbkeD_4jqSscOYZQ=w472-h640" width="472" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Marilyn and I went to see Persuasion performed at The Rose
on Tuesday 8<sup>th</sup> March. It maybe strange but<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for somebody who professes to know a little
bit about Jane Austen it is a long time since I had actually read the novel. I
have delved deep into Austen’s novels over the years for quotes and to
reference her possible thoughts <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
ideas about life and love,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but I have
failed to read the whole of the novels since I first read them all <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have lost sight. I think, of what Jane actually wrote. So I read
Persuasion again and it wowed me. It is a novel that explores the shifting of
society <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in the early 19<sup>th</sup>
century when much was changing, not just how relationships developed, but the class sytem was adapting and it was the time of the Industrial Revolution. It seems apposite that at the moment when the
world order is actually changing that The Rose Theatre chose Persuasion to
dramatise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1UnVLx-aaj9MCd6clF7nJjzjE9HNvZNHKUCObf0CYL-BMnWaSCM29s2rQHl26piEoX-cfvq3fC2DEDC6LP4XU4cO-ab52qo5OGbUp_1AC8YOLL-WJU6uzg11Pb4iKJlV3OI_3J5CdJyBnGFhxI0_avTG4wZc24605zxVALS7rMEUw1_PBmKWn-Uw1gg=s1365" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1365" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1UnVLx-aaj9MCd6clF7nJjzjE9HNvZNHKUCObf0CYL-BMnWaSCM29s2rQHl26piEoX-cfvq3fC2DEDC6LP4XU4cO-ab52qo5OGbUp_1AC8YOLL-WJU6uzg11Pb4iKJlV3OI_3J5CdJyBnGFhxI0_avTG4wZc24605zxVALS7rMEUw1_PBmKWn-Uw1gg=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The cast.</div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I know that good novels, as you read them
again over time and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as your own
experience of life develops, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>reveal <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>different levels of understanding. So what did
I get from reading Austen’s Persuasion this time round before seeing the
performance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The word ,persuasion, is
used at times during the novel, but not often. The actual consequences of being
persuaded however are felt throughout and drive the novel itself. Anne Elliot
was persuaded , eight years previously, by her father to refuse a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>marriage proposal to Captain Wentworth who she really
loved. Also Lady Russell the family friend
and Anne’s particular friend persuaded her against the match too. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I find </span>Ann <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>annoyingly neurotic. Is that because she has always been pressured
by others to go against her own wishes? Does she feel <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>she has no
control over her life?. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things happen to Anne. She isn't allowed to make things
happen for herself. She analyses every situation, almost every word and look to
an intense degree. She <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>always comes out
worst. In this novel and in the play she eventually learns to decide for herself.
So a major theme has to be how we use people’s advice and how much we should be
persuaded when making life decisions for ourselves.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqPBcsg93shjTa0XyqykUmslgFPNQuVJxRNplWKb3pUVv0I6UiNTpk86XvcbYVWqa7-C_LT2Vp9yBTKJfkIW49HbbSAegprBpTuUqTNKHwArJWEvsMopbioF018r36jJg3kfRkE6pckdrwUVCgdmZQmjjTQTk--ov1J4pbUYhfoxdECxWrQwoHxCZqWA=s1440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1440" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqPBcsg93shjTa0XyqykUmslgFPNQuVJxRNplWKb3pUVv0I6UiNTpk86XvcbYVWqa7-C_LT2Vp9yBTKJfkIW49HbbSAegprBpTuUqTNKHwArJWEvsMopbioF018r36jJg3kfRkE6pckdrwUVCgdmZQmjjTQTk--ov1J4pbUYhfoxdECxWrQwoHxCZqWA=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Anne played by Sasha Frost.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another issue<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>also,
in <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>terms of Jane Austen’s own experience
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>are the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>relationships she describes. How a woman who
never married and who as far as we can tell from the little evidence remaining
in her letters, never had a long term and deep relationship, write about relationships
that are so real? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust, understanding,
empathy, a deep love, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>passion, lust and
sex, how can she possible know? How can she create and explore characters that
have deep emotional relationships, that develop over time? How <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>did she know all this? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reading Persuasion again and seeing this stage
production makes me wonder even more. I suppose we all learn more from failure
than success. Maybe it was Jane’s failures in love that informed her at such a
deep level?<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWsZlqfRcJndRwcM2ZnYWibHqmi54OqUpQT0j_7zm1E-d2b8Rjjb7kp9SKQRCIu002uJkZtnKD8cBtY6XJ2KdkCKHkSc1EWJ1Xh1NK6V-obsjcaDhn_PjZMLGNBmgfxUJpFGNl47OEQvlInQlB_24NTca3xQ-Lb4M55Qe2EpMI1CqVtO48y6lKW4224A=s1080" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWsZlqfRcJndRwcM2ZnYWibHqmi54OqUpQT0j_7zm1E-d2b8Rjjb7kp9SKQRCIu002uJkZtnKD8cBtY6XJ2KdkCKHkSc1EWJ1Xh1NK6V-obsjcaDhn_PjZMLGNBmgfxUJpFGNl47OEQvlInQlB_24NTca3xQ-Lb4M55Qe2EpMI1CqVtO48y6lKW4224A=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Captain Wentworth played by Fred Fergus and Louisa played by Matilda Bailes</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A novel written in the early 19<sup>th</sup> century <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>translated into<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a play set in the 21<sup>st</sup> century,
surely, it can’t be done? They are two worlds far apart. How can they
possibly come together and meet? There are the wise among us that say Austen is
universal in her treatment of relationships. This is true when you drill down
to what happens in a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>relationship <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but all those 18<sup>th</sup> century rules
get in the way to a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>translation across
centuries, surely? Class status, wealth, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>attitudes to money and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the patriarchy<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and what seems to us blatant misogyny but
wasn’t understood as such in the 18<sup>th</sup> century, how does it all get
transferred to the 21<sup>st</sup> century? When I read Persuasion again
finishing the day before we saw the stage adaptation I couldn’t see anyway that
it was possible to achieve that transfer from the 18<sup>th</sup> century to
the 21<sup>st</sup> century.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyzPD4n60LZI9ubFjvrSQvFEASY1OuNFXqrm7UjJ3SegU1U5VeaNfJK6lugb43P7kKHN8J1FZ5yuBvRboF1rhIM-80dps-5KoPol498t719mNI03x6JMXFNmAREfGk83D_aZ13-hEpaf8kDS0mjIwx3yoD_aV2Qa_Wws30-sNq8JHEMGdxB_0BNPIkcA=s1080" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgyzPD4n60LZI9ubFjvrSQvFEASY1OuNFXqrm7UjJ3SegU1U5VeaNfJK6lugb43P7kKHN8J1FZ5yuBvRboF1rhIM-80dps-5KoPol498t719mNI03x6JMXFNmAREfGk83D_aZ13-hEpaf8kDS0mjIwx3yoD_aV2Qa_Wws30-sNq8JHEMGdxB_0BNPIkcA=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Charles played by Dorian Simpson and Mary played by Caroline Moroney.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Think about science fiction, worlds which are created and can’t
exist in reality. This play creates a hybrid world <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that is half 18<sup>th</sup> century and half
21<sup>st</sup> century. Of course there has to be Sir Walter Elliot, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>class riven thinking about his baronetcy and
getting into debt. Elizabeth too is the,” perfect,” 18<sup>th</sup> century
catch, schooled in all the propriety of 18<sup>th</sup> century family and
filial traditions. Which self respecting 18<sup>th</sup> century country
gentleman or member of the aristocracy couldn’t fail to want her as his
accomplished bride? She awaits in agonising suspension both in Persuasion the
novel and this staged version. I almost feel sorry for her . She is
totally unfulfilled. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have the
predatory Mrs Clay, named <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Penelope in
this play and the equally <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>predatory,
nephew and cousin, Mr William Elliot. Kellynch Hall is rented to Admiral and Mrs
Croft. Admiral and Mrs Croft are as loveable as they are in the novel and as
clueless about who will marry whom. What transfers easily are the many misunderstandings
of who is going to marry whom. Its almost like A Midsummers Night’s Dream in
its mistaken who loves who scenarios. The Musgroves, Charles and Mary, Louisa
and Henrietta are the upwardly mobile types and perhaps represent a 21<sup>st</sup>
century married couple in embryo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr and
Mrs Musgrove, their older parents represent the past. The Musgroves as a whole
family represent a changing society. Lady Russel, a family friend and near
neighbour to Sir Walter is as likeable as she is in the novel. She is Annes
true friend. She makes mistakes and get things wrong in her advice to Anne<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but you always feel her heart is in the right
place and she is willing to adapt her views.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgamBR5KCTZ4DL567uK6Hmj41JO8WbSp-dKtAHDV_1dbE-oqJX8-R906s3Z93RqPGkn8kcxBgOdGxm0MhjOoC3dM8vfeR1dX2Qe4HB_RH06P16M0tyepgLTKfP0c7yWPfOLjipUmaPyYNWGmgwitCq1o19Gy11Rq6ZqO8vLreFP6exbu-UR72d1T10QTQ=s3812" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2832" data-original-width="3812" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgamBR5KCTZ4DL567uK6Hmj41JO8WbSp-dKtAHDV_1dbE-oqJX8-R906s3Z93RqPGkn8kcxBgOdGxm0MhjOoC3dM8vfeR1dX2Qe4HB_RH06P16M0tyepgLTKfP0c7yWPfOLjipUmaPyYNWGmgwitCq1o19Gy11Rq6ZqO8vLreFP6exbu-UR72d1T10QTQ=w640-h476" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The first scene is when Sir Walter decides to rent Kellynch
Hall and go to live in Bath. Anne ,who really doesn’t like Bath delays the
inevitable by going to stay with her sister Mary at Marys home three miles away
at Uppercross. Things like dates and distances are highlighted in this
production in a comical way,making fun of what was significant in the 18<sup>th</sup>
century and really is not now.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Mary can’t cope with anything, her unruly children,
her disaffected husband Charles and she generally sinks into a sort of
hypochondria always feeling ill and suffering stress. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only one of Marys children features in this production <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>. He is named ,Samuel, although the children in the novel are merely called, “the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>children.” Samule has an accident and damages his
collar bone. Anne is the only one able<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>to cope of course. Mary tries to escape the action whenever she can. So,
all true to the novel so far. Certain things work in both centuries.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are informed that Captain
Wentworth is of course the younger brother of Mrs Croft and is coming to live
with them at Kellynch. The news makes Anne even more neurotic her emotions and
thoughts <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>going into hyperdrive. I have
always thought Captain Wentworth disappoints in the novel. He takes so long to realise
he still loves Anne. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anne for her part
has never been able to get Captain Wentworth out of her mind. Although statements
by Captain Wentworth such as ,”true love lasts forever,” in both the play and
the novel suggest otherwise about him. He simply appears to not be self aware, while Anne
agonises and interprets her thoughts and feelings and observations in both the
novel and in the play ad finitum.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxir2rhsEnFuncGCEdemzNRGnnVlgseeC1GwD-YqO-ZBqFv2jyDWXiiPkbcjiT9Eq6CEigM4pP7ehaorZscdzE-j50aTrk82xKG00bI05F-TXcp8JaDDnWTN84n_ERKoqE3X9RepU0Bg1-cXtRuSXgnoFqAoU86d6eHTtaxmrMPtzQTNLrC4CSrcwZKw=s1440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1440" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxir2rhsEnFuncGCEdemzNRGnnVlgseeC1GwD-YqO-ZBqFv2jyDWXiiPkbcjiT9Eq6CEigM4pP7ehaorZscdzE-j50aTrk82xKG00bI05F-TXcp8JaDDnWTN84n_ERKoqE3X9RepU0Bg1-cXtRuSXgnoFqAoU86d6eHTtaxmrMPtzQTNLrC4CSrcwZKw=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Anne observing Charles and Mary dancing at Uppercross. Charles compliments Anne on her playing the harpsichord. (I don't think so!)</div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is plenty of music and suggestions of balls and
dancing in the book. At Uppercross,Louisa and Harriet have impromptu balls. Often breaking into, dance. Anne of
course does not like to dance in the novel and in this production too. Ann is known to play the harpsichord. During one music session at Uppercross the Musgroves
home, Mr Musgrove <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>says. “Well played
Anne,” after a piece of electronica drum and base played through speakers set
around the stage. Of course Anne hasn’t played anything, she has<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>merely been standing,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a spectator. The audience have a little
giggle. Charles Musgrove rather disturbingly performs a robotic dance.Think Ricky
Gervais’s David Brent in the English version of The Office<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The stage set is interesting. It consists of two enormous
white oblong blocks laid one on top of the other like chunks of iceberg. The
back drop is a shiny vertically corrugated vinyl blue curtain , representing the
sea, an ever present reference in the play and the book.The great ice
berg blocks shift and turn and slide over each other to represent changes of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>location and mood. For the visit to Lyme the
stage blocks shift and the top most block of ice sticks out like a
cantilever bridge towards the audience. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now this is where the true Janeite might think things get
really silly or even worse, wrong, in a very bad way.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPQO_bw7RZMN09_Vn97PWsAPCf9HdYAbVgWIrCxEZr7Z5Y-N67voSWU9L4b3hVxtl1x9GUo3Gqk3kr1n6OMb_AyEKprWCSSP3_wqI_OUysSycLKSJx702TKhT0qfB_h68uVDUYvDPyneCq6OO5u-6CM8jcMQkb0DvyXs9KEiElu0X12-Mw4SRuH--f4Q=s1440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1440" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPQO_bw7RZMN09_Vn97PWsAPCf9HdYAbVgWIrCxEZr7Z5Y-N67voSWU9L4b3hVxtl1x9GUo3Gqk3kr1n6OMb_AyEKprWCSSP3_wqI_OUysSycLKSJx702TKhT0qfB_h68uVDUYvDPyneCq6OO5u-6CM8jcMQkb0DvyXs9KEiElu0X12-Mw4SRuH--f4Q=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p>Captain Wentworth doing some great dance moves with Louisa and Henrietta.</o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We get to Lyme. Bubbles
pour down in a great bubble waterfall from the,” gods,” and party time begins.
Captain Wentworth boogies in a rather disturbing energetic fashion to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dua Lupa in nothing but a pair of tiny
,”budgy smugglers,” (see the end of this review for a definition). Louisa,
scantily dressed in a shiny gold bikini<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>writhes to the music <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>getting up
very close to Captain Wentworth. Captain Benwick is there looking disconsolate
and trying to enjoy himself mooning over his dead finance Fanny Harville.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should
mention, some characters from the novel do not appear in this stage adaptation.
Captain and Mrs Harville do not. They are alluded to by mention of the dead
Fanny Harville. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary Musgrove is still moaning about her
children and her husband. She seems more stressed out mother now than a
hypochondriac. Although she is an annoying character, she is the
most modern of Austen’s creations in this novel. She is a mother, not a very
good one , but she also wants to have a social life and is interested in things
outside the confines of her home. Mary and her husband Charles <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>try to enjoy themselves, with difficulty and
dance rather disturbingly. (Do not try any of these dances at home)Charles becomes a sweating gyrating mess.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scene set in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lyme is reminiscent of the present day twenty
four hour partying on Ibiza. Suddenly from nowhere strides a tall Adonis, in a pair of brief swimming trunks and magisterially and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>manfully strides through the middle of the
party from one side of the stage to the other and disappears. He gives a hard
meaningful glare at Anne, who is to one side. Anne is dressed in jeans and
striped shirt by the way, which she has been wearing. throughout the play and takes no part
in the hedonism. She merely<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>observes
the mayhem, looking somewhat stunned as indeed do most of the audience. This
stranger is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr Elliot their cousin
unknown to them at this moment, who is to inherit Kellynch Hall and the
baronetcy. He is almost naked as he strides across the stage, causing a few
embarrassed giggles<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in the audience.. An
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adonis more like Fred Flintstone than
Arnold Schwarzenegger. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">Songs by<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frank Ocean, Dua Lupa and Cardi B tracks
provide the music. Some of the lyrics are ,"ripe," to say the least. I am tempted
to quote some Cardi B lyrics here so you can imagine the scene but I will get
banned forever from posting my reviews if I did. (Please see the link at the
end of this review ). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not for childrens
ears or eyes. The tracks relate to modern relationships and describe the good
and the bad and the very bad and relate to Jane Austen’s Persuasion in a
surprising way. Who would have thought Cardi B and Jane Austen had anything in
common? And as for the dancing, Louisa and Henrietta go crazy with some
energetic robotic moves and exaggerated disco dancing throwing arms and legs
around<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in some sort of coordinated wild
frenzy. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDN6P9ery7dNTEaZKAO0uYup1bVWLMSa6e92CejlV31Rzd1Xfos6wXF2Md-Fm6EI9inW92_j7RiNqyTgbMLYmdgXQZD3ZCnxMLDL8GbMlGufGze1LhA0Ijj6eypclhTYrmqxU6zaJNfNIJdAye6ipzdqfKtbb64zDNfr_0ikh9dhtORNNbw48Rb2S9Qg=s1440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="1440" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDN6P9ery7dNTEaZKAO0uYup1bVWLMSa6e92CejlV31Rzd1Xfos6wXF2Md-Fm6EI9inW92_j7RiNqyTgbMLYmdgXQZD3ZCnxMLDL8GbMlGufGze1LhA0Ijj6eypclhTYrmqxU6zaJNfNIJdAye6ipzdqfKtbb64zDNfr_0ikh9dhtORNNbw48Rb2S9Qg=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Louisa and Captain Wentworth get close.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Louisa has her accident sliding between Captain Wentworth’s
legs attempting an energetic dance move set in this mass of bubbles. As she
lays there unconscious, not seen by most of the audience, the bubbles totally
cover her. Anne <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>stands over Louisa and
squeezes tomato ketchup on to her prostrate body. It reprsents blood and gore, in case you
were <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wondering. Louisa is removed from the scene to a local hotel.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The Lyme scene is hedonistic
and rather silly to be honest. There is no way Captain Wentworth can possibly recoup
any respectability from this scene, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>surely? He looks like an idiot , behaves like
an idiot and to be honest, he is. They all, apart from Anne behave embarrassingly
to put it mildly. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is a break in the proceedings at this point. The
audience can go to the loo or maybe have a drink at the bar in the foyer.
Marilyn and I sat there mesmerised at the sight of stage assistants frantically
hoovering up the soap suds and wiping down the huge stage blocks. It took them forever
and we both thought the final part of the play would never happen. The volume of
soap suds to be cleared up was prodigious. I don’t know whether the shock value
of what the audience had witnessed so far had disgruntled some but <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>two ladies sitting in front of us turned to
Marilyn and myself and forcefully <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>complained
that we had been playing music on our phones throughout and they were very
accusatory. Marilyn calmly and firmly explained that the speakers surrounding
the stage had been playing quiet background music <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and it wasn’t us. They turned around again in
a huff.Perhaps their hearing aids were not adjusted correctly. Unfortunately, soon
after, my phone. which I thought I had switched off, rang loudly. Alice our
eldest daughter tried to call me. I had to turn it off swiftly and I must have been
red with embarrassment but hidden by the dim lighting of the
auditorium. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two ladies in front didn’t
turn a hair.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Throughout the performance there is a running gag about the
year 1806 and said as “18 -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>0 – 6.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a somewhat Monty Pythonish way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A reference to events eight years earlier of
course. The other running gag is Sir walter Elliots catch phrase ,”you must be
using Gowlands on your face.” Those who have read the novel will know. However
I have done a google<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>search. Gowlands
has other connotations which I won’t divulge now.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhN-ZM2vbssE20jgBWeN6-nAiGekCz1Q9CN9UN-1cjIaZ9J_8IWDvyrB2l9zRXVWpDaaETccKoOmQvdAdbuyt9zRBTevnCmVVg8BySq5a_dXS4066Ieg84Qj4HA1MtiN3BVNOJeeB6BKK6trDy0CYdNhMeSZLEGPtoRRorXrZxzEJH9V2BQKX-paTvPog=s3841" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2828" data-original-width="3841" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhN-ZM2vbssE20jgBWeN6-nAiGekCz1Q9CN9UN-1cjIaZ9J_8IWDvyrB2l9zRXVWpDaaETccKoOmQvdAdbuyt9zRBTevnCmVVg8BySq5a_dXS4066Ieg84Qj4HA1MtiN3BVNOJeeB6BKK6trDy0CYdNhMeSZLEGPtoRRorXrZxzEJH9V2BQKX-paTvPog=w640-h472" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Biographies of the cast. You will see some actors have more than one part.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The stages tectonic plates shift once more and the stage now
becomes Bath.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lady Russel arrives with Anne. Sir Walter, Elizabeth and Penelope
(Mrs Clay), are already settled in Bath. There is a scene where Penelope
appears to be in charge organising where everybody is to stay. It is suggested Mary
and Charles Musgrove are to stay too. Elizabeth wonders where everybody will
sleep. Penelope has <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>been waiting for the
moment. She suggests, surreptitiously to Elizabeth, that to provide room she
can sleep in Elizabeth’s bed with her and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>kisses her suggestively. Elizabeth is confused
but rejects the idea. In the novel I had wondered about Mrs Clays seemingly
clinging relationship with Elizabeth. One interpretation is made evident here.
Mr Elliot is in Bath and makes his presence known to the Elliots often visiting
them. When he realises the girl he noticed at Lyme is his cousin Anne his
interest is peaked even more. Elizabeth of course thinks his interest is in
her.There is something cold and calculated about Mr Elliot. He has plans.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The major scene in Bath for this adaptation is Lady Dalrymples
party. The denouement is set. Now I must prepare you for this. There is no Mrs
Smith in this adaptation. So we wonder how Anne is to know the full extent of
Mr Elliot’s machinations, but be patient gentle readers. We shall see. All
comes to light. If the Ibizan party time at Lyme might shock, Lady Dalrymple’s
party will stun you completely. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Lights, music, loud electronica and hard
driving drum and base ensues. Wild dancing. Louisa and Henrietta<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>strut their stuff. Mr Elliot has totally
commandeered Anne by now. He has designs on marrying her. Lady Russel, Sir
Walter, Elizabeth, Penelope, everybody think so. They are <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>convinced a wedding is imminent. Just when we
are settling into to a wild party and getting used to that, Ibizan, Lyme style,hedonism the whole thing moves up a few notches. Lady Dalrymple, a double take and yes
it must be Lady Dalrymple, strides onto the stage. An enormous hunky figure at least
6 foot 6 inches tall, dressed head to foot, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in a glistening sequined<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>black rubber ,”gimp,” costume and wearing
skyscraper tall<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>high heels . She/ he,
moves provocatively in a lewd way. The audience gasped then some giggles. I don’t
think anybody knew where to look.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh my
God Lady Dalrymple is a dominatrix. Perhaps she is too in the novel? I hadn’t thought
of that, but now come to think about it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Captain Wentworth appears at the party
and Anne and he talk. Mr Elliot comes over and forcefully, and with a dominant
and even an abusive controlling manner <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>demands she comes away from Wentworth. Anne
stands her ground and refuses him. If she didn’t know his true character before
she does now. She turns him away and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>refuses his marriage proposal. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr Elliot , always cold and calculated, we see
it now so obviously, immediately finds Elizabeth and proposes to her instead.
Elizabeth, who is aware of all that has gone before, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>accepts his proposal. She is shameless and has
no dignity. They are two people not destined for love but to eternally torment
each other. There's will be<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> a</span> marriage based on a desire for <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wealth and position only. Elizabeth has never had
the self-awareness and self-analysis of Anne. She only lives for societies
rules. As she spurned Penelope’s advances she once more<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>denies her true self. A moment of sadness
that the audience is very aware of.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyPaFEkhnbZEMeJY6T_OMr6wcbAdzih5m2pQnI63KWBDdlNDD07K3is4qrIi-SSxDtgQEbZDDCkWXGYFpAqTIEVGDNiu5NuLIb7edgjlJtJgC8VM5XzjrupS7PrInN4JKFK7f8bfZ9DmxrUHBDt90ntre-gR5OM8MfYMBD1tGXHlEW6LBK48OkINg55Q=s1440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1440" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyPaFEkhnbZEMeJY6T_OMr6wcbAdzih5m2pQnI63KWBDdlNDD07K3is4qrIi-SSxDtgQEbZDDCkWXGYFpAqTIEVGDNiu5NuLIb7edgjlJtJgC8VM5XzjrupS7PrInN4JKFK7f8bfZ9DmxrUHBDt90ntre-gR5OM8MfYMBD1tGXHlEW6LBK48OkINg55Q=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Anne and Captain Wentworth at last....maybe.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course it wouldn’t be Jane Austen’s Persuasion without, "the letter. "We don’t see Captain Wentworth write the letter in this production.
It is delivered to Anne during the ball / bacchanalia at Lady Dalrymples by the
young boy who was Samuel Musgrove and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>now plays the part of a pageboy. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The letter is as it should be.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by
such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half
hope…”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The play ends with
Captain Wentworth and Anne professing their love face to face, a love that of
course has never faded since finding love eight years previously. At long last
Anne Elliot finally makes a decision for herself. Lady Russel is persuaded. Sir
Walter Elliot is persuaded. So we think, this is the happy ending of the novel.
But, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this is a hybrid of two differing
centuries. A weird and wonderful world. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">THE LAST PAGE OF THE PLAY SCRIPT SAYS<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">( I suppose this is the happy ending people talk about)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WENTWORTH. I’m happy now<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ANNE. So am I<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WENTWORTH And is It a beginning not an ending<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ANNE I hope so. We haven’t even lived half our lives.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WENTWORTH How do you know there could be another war.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ANNE You could be dead by the end of the Summer.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WENTWORTH Or I could die in bed fifty years from now,
holding your hand.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ANNE Holding my hand? Am I dead or alive at this point?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WENTWORTH It’s impossible to know what will happen.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ANNE To either of us.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WENTWORTH That’s the fun of it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ANNE Whatever’s going to happen to me. I’d like to be with
you while it happens.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WENTWORTH So we just take the risk?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ANNE Life has some risks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WENTWORTH Love is one.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ANNE You’ve been lucky before.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WENTWORTH I hope I’ll be lucky again.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ANNE Good luck Captain Wentworth<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WENTWORTH Good luck Anne Elliot.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">THE END<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So do you think they get married or not? <o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Reference: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Persuasion By Jane Austen (Adapted by Jeff Daniels with James
Yeatman) Published by Samuel French at Concord Theatricals 2017 revised edition
2022<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Rose Theatre Kingston upon Thames:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://rosetheatre.org/">https://rosetheatre.org/</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gimp suit: a bondage costume.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cardi B song lyric:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(
an example) <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/cardi-b/trustissues.html<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Definition of “Budgie smugglers.”: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">a man’s small skin tight swimming trunks that reveal the
outline of his penis and testicles. Usually not a pleasant sight. A budgie,
being a small compact bird, is the shape of what is seen through the bathing
trunks. Hence the phrase.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">GOWLANDS:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">https://pemberley.com/?kbe_knowledgebase=gowlands-lotion-syphilis<o:p></o:p></p>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-9818681234862013312022-02-17T03:21:00.017-08:002022-04-08T10:38:32.841-07:00REGENTS CANAL WALK (Little Venice to Kings Cross)<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrHb5E7E4tXfgl-YqN06BgOdu9k5WNdJ9qscLnwYdoaOJjbPLV605otda2mngLkMdstONJhKLtGPVy96wWoLzXDsVtHoBiG9YGpV0-qinmW1LuUukcYV9aU5P49JGejQiq-XJr6dNohwEFJDD-bo7FeW0uveeZCpm-tIwjkFJv43VD5o1mslO4iWix3w=w638-h225" /></a></div><p> A sketch map of The Regents Canal showing where it joins The Grand Union Canal at Little Venice and its start at Limehouse on the Thames.</p><br />Wednesday 9th February, John Lodge and myself met at Waterloo Station at just a little after 10am. We planned to walk along The Regents Canal, that wends its way from its junction with the Grand Union Canal near the canal basin at ,”Little Venice,” and curves round past Regents Park to Limehouse Basin where the canal meets the River Thames. The walk takes in the Georgian architecture of the Regency, a terrifying Victorian disaster, grand converted industrial buildings, modernist steal industrial units, the shops, pubs and cafes of vibrant Camden, the homes of twentieth century writers and actors, the centre for British folk music, the home of a great war time hero, the grand homes of diplomats and oligarchs, institutes at the forefront of medical research, canal boats clustered together creating cosy communities and on the final part of this first stretch of our walk the grand architecture of St Pancras Station and the new modernist British Library.<br /><br /><br /><br />The canal was first proposed by Thomas Homer in 1802 as a link from the Paddington arm of the then Grand Junction Canal (opened in 1801) with the River Thames at Limehouse. The Regent's Canal was built during the early 19th century after an Act of Parliament was passed in 1812. John Nash was a director of the company; in 1811. He produced a masterplan for The Prince Regent to redevelop a large area of central north London. As a result, the Regent's Canal was included in the scheme, running for part of its distance along the northern edge of Regents Park. The intention was to create a canal that joined The Grand Union Canal leading up to Birmingham, the Midlands and the north with the Thames and the port of London and the trade that came to London from the rest of the world<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0QMCn5wgg_97M3xC87-3o-9xgfp2JNEgb4143GOefYXpZGB0xZAW06rytARJXi5rV0Nc8Xk9BRI2kRDOKoMBSfW9VCOzxziUIq7UxqE_9Yh7UPzn3NeTiUG_DfrMTKZzGIt4OvIDkBdyLrTbENnesUGNcheIfmYWtv4Nfc1JVoPdOhaA_k8R68ZtDWw=w640-h478" /></a><br /><br />John at Warwick Avenue tube entrance.<div><br /></div><div>John and I emerged from Warwick Road tube entrance and walked on to the road bridge that crosses the canal at the point where the Little Venice basin is located and Regents Canal begins.On one side of the road we looked down onto the canal basin where it expands into a large area of water with canal boats moored to its quays at various points. We started our walk on the south side of the road bridge and aimed east towards Regents Park and Camden, along Maida Road. It is edged by large Georgian and early Victorian houses. A blue plaque on one house informed us the John Masefield ( 1878-1967) the poet laureate, lived in this house from 1907 to 1912. He is remembered as the author of the classic children's novels The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights, and poems, including The Everlasting Mercy and Sea-Fever.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0tDmY5RaM4bEcYoOYktr6cnWgeXZcNfGbWfJ0yG9_sy9nxSl-t8S7rd3fC_V7Ps0M7KzB0fNRvGxAMTwA-o3cMT1Qu5JPacYZ1iAZSWc85tHB_a5Eg_E_qOZMKH1KvtLhsNCGNsH2Dnco0hN7YLISHw5jta-wjAdVNRzhJ9hw8lf0uXMhbksnG1GY5w=w480-h640" /></a><br /><br />John Masefield's house. <br /><br /> <br /><br />SEA FEVER by John Masefield <br /><br />I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,<br /> And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,<br /> And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,<br /> And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a gray dawn breaking. <br /><br />I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide<br /> Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;<br /> And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,<br /> And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying. <br /><br />I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,<br /> To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;<br /> And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,<br /> And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over. <br /><br />Just opposite his front door there were only the sight of narrow boats to sooth his sea yearning spirit. None of your,” flung spray and the blown spume.”<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_8Di-5ZGZhsrnyBxxxhcY1jm2WdBUMCTsLLvoIVYBZ6T3dj7z2zs1CeCdRQ2RKqi69VG9KfG8Eiad00H9f4l2b7QsIBZQbb4L7_UvsbdlRpFXfGe421DWyVa73vedlB1vt5vEJOMcWSrV81nMLK2-UovU5mDKCRFcsCpe0UNo4RYrbg2fdvRzgd90Cg=w640-h480" /></a><br /><br />The canal opposite John Masefield's house.<br /><br /> <br /><br />A shiny Maserati sports car was parked at the side of the road in front of John Masefield’s previous residence. The driver’s side door was wide open and the driver sat making a call on his mobile. Red leather upholstered car seats and it had a dashboard reminiscent of a fighter jet control display. The car, the driver and the area exuded wealth. <br /><br />Nearby John Masefield’s house stands a vast cavernous brick built church in the Victorian Gothic style. The Church notice board informed us it was the ,”Catholic Apostolic Church, Maida Avenue W2.”The gates and doors had hefty padlocks on them. We saw that the plants and shrubs surrounding the church were well kept, so the church was not abandoned. Catholic churches are not usually described as Apostolic and they also usually are named after a saint. Both John and I felt it wasn’t a usual catholic church. I researched it and discovered a reference in the Britannica. The Catholic Apostolic Church, was formed in 1832 largely by the Scotsman Edward Irving. He and his followers prepared for the second coming. Apocalyptic groups also formed in the United States. The apocalyptic prophecies of William Miller (1782–1849) in the 1840s led to the formation of the church The Roman Catholic Church calls itself the one apostolic church but this form of Catholicism is different in many ways. Much is similar to and could be mistaken for Roman Catholicism but there are doctrinal differences for instance there is a great stress on symbolism, and in the Eucharist, it rejects both transubstantiation and consubstantiation but holds strongly to a presence. In some ways these philosophical positions appear to have subtle differences but in theological terms they are very different.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgS58RxZJB03COlyIQJ4ImckKg62eUpNcY4_k1Ds2Rtnu4Cup3Yhbk6lV6Jnf6PiqmvYUOmLtj4nLFRrlJDtLQNjQomO991849Bswn5G3x66fdv8d1wobhDa3WT_8QZYe8-8aJpOMpEcPqf_u4zLDMBYhtR3oFbMrLPpw59Ski2QuPt7CCzQSeVPkjybQ=w480-h640" /></a><br /><br />The Catholic Apostolic Church on Maida Avenue.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Most of the canal boats we saw on our walk were privately owned. Many of the narrow boats were personalised and adapted to the owner’s needs. Plant pots, washing lines and smoke stacks protruding from roofs. All were painted in bright reds and greens with intricate folk art flower designs adorning them. One boat had the title, THE ARTIST painted in large letters along the side of its hull. John and I surmised that an artist lived here. Narrow boat life is definitely for the free spirited and the adventurous. The living space is small and clearly narrow. One stretch of the canal, before we reached Camden, had a cluster of boats. Tall wrought iron gates blocked a stretch of the canal footpath on the north side of the canal where these boats were moored.. Wooden sheds and planted areas of the embankment, flowers, shrubs and vegetable patches with bicycles chained to railings depicted what appeared to be a permanent community of boats. A water born village.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBBckTqf3CM6fal5CoxdFyshtWKTJ71zgXnaobahTNhHRCAjISLX54x0uTDYrkE3b0ulGmNU2Kxe2Za5sgXBq6nccwzx1_G47SSg0Z1kRkwFbaO33KKxYhG36CaTh37HIhGxYIYY151ARUh5WzOvPWo1mK_WeMjpDzBjUP9oeoO43thDu5JSrMfK5RFg=w640-h480" /></a><br /><br />A community of canal boats.<br /><br /> <br /><br />We wandered from the canal when places we saw on the map took our interest. We saw that the Cecil Sharp House is located a couple of roads from the side of the canal. It is the centre for ,”The English Folk Dance and Song Society. "We went inside and a young lady at the reception desk said we could look around. It has a vast hall for folk music and dance performances. It has a mural along the length of one wall by Ivon Hitchins and is a modernist depiction of key English folk dances and traditions. It hangs above performance that takes place in the hall. The centre also has a small library packed with many books and manuscripts. The genial librarian told us that they had books that even the British Library didn’t have. The library is named The Vaughn Williams Memorial Library. It holds many of Vaughn Williams’s manuscripts. He was a classical composer who collected folk songs and he included folk music into many of his compositions.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNKlvlaMesxu-2ecxRfAevzw2i_XbyXE-wIlnEww_04ROOsFBFjM6gh0rmsP8QRL0o4Ir69QdrZHv3U0AgoT8WlfEEApmcanRnPJuTHTN8fGHU3-PR-KesmXnbXcmMe4whPBob0CK6vJm9c0xI43O9ZvzI55bG7RdRaFU0y98pMc_iuAKxG6DVf_XNdQ=w640-h480" /></a><br /><br />Cecil Sharp House.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> It always a surprise to come across the houses where people, who are part of British history and culture, once lived. Does where somebody lives tell us about the person? I wonder. We were walking on the south side of the canal and I noticed a blue plaque on a house on the opposite side. We came to a small bridge and crossed to have a look. The blue plaque read, Guy Gibson VC 1918-1944. Piolet. Leader of The Dambusters Raid lived here. You can work it out. He was 26years old when he died. The raid on the German dams occurred in May 1943. My dad would have been excited to see this house. He was in the RAF during the war and served as an armourer on one of the Battle of Britain airfields at Bicester. Guy Gibson lead one of the most daring raids of WWII destroying the Ruhr Dams which flooded and damaged a large proportion of the German industrial capability. The factories were back running within months but the raids hampered the Nazi war effort for a period of time. This white Victorian house in a row of white Victorian houses was the home of a real national hero.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi45jfKSd45kMzh8m_KEqDU6v8mTBO2-ZRF4RM2Q1fXhRkUmyTtgWkxqHYxkhPnCRSWiZpYHWQlFcF3bF02WG5RrzLxsDdJNF2fB2Q0N7P9EKkNGSX4TfTQOeX6bk-esKzHsx1aXVwbiv4o3RVroRYVxqt1u4Q-ZKkEZxQFL74tONTupMwEchIIqXRsog=w640-h480" /></a><br /><br />Guy Gibson's home next to the canal.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Further along the canal on the south side we came across another blue plaque, that of the actor Arthur Lowe. Captain Mainwaring of the Home Guard no less who was one of the stars of Dads Army. A fictional war hero who indeed represented the heroes of the Home Guard.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjMIN42gzW1D-zb1z-28bXQdJ99VuPeUIif63j4U-mj60ficiec9nB86lfkUuNh55QJQKGaFU1-r4sC8Y6-sciKQA_-ZSyQ3PPHmQcd8_AmAt94IsMpCKee_YwrvGwgppayILKaGNXlNyYBef7-GGvsh4df9bvcTkCH3FBCHp6ib72-n9VRdz-WCtPzIQ=w480-h640" /></a><br /><br />The home of Arthur Lowe in Maida Vale.<br /><br /> <br /><br />As we walked along the canal we saw the Regents Park Mosque ahead so we took another detour to visit it. A school party from a local school were being taken in when we arrived. John and I walked around the precinct and stood at the entrance to the great prayer hall. We could have gone inside the hall but we wanted to continue our walk. Preparations such as removing our shoes and mentally getting ready to pray would have been fine for the two of us but we had to move on. Nobody challenged us within the Mosque precincts to ask what we wanted. We sensed a lot of trust. The few people we came across were at prayer.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjk8S1HYGJLtq8H-rF0sOvqRFtfMHP198tv5CY8fQHEj-wYsdIy6T0LYI5_mps3SZ24dB8iIF2eMgRMxWkaVV39sYKNlSOVO6ip4zIGZqBAwK-uSlBILG0qp6DEoIsYTXkSQ3PouUhNqnWw0bSRqy4Won4xgnUiIj72ZrRu8yfRF50KE7ZvRLgN2uBpcg=w640-h480" /></a><br /><br />Regents Park Mosque.<br /><br /> <br /><br />The canal passes to the south of Primrose Hill which is located north of the canal on the opposite side to London Zoo. The area around Primrose Hill is a famous area for writers, actors and musicians who live in the old Georgian and Victorian houses lining the local streets. I have been reading some of Alan Bennett’s diaries, 2005 to 2015. He is a prolific diarist, playwright, screen writer, actor and novelist. He is also famous for his early satirical stage shows with Peter Cook and Dudley More appearing at the Edinburgh fringe festival. Alan Bennett’s talents are prodigious. Some of his plays include the ,”History Boys,” that launched the careers of some very famous actors and was made into a film. He wrote ,”The Lady in the Van,” about a Miss Shepherd who lived in a van for a number of years in the small driveway in front of his house. It too has been filmed with with Maggie Smith playing the part of Miss Shepherd. I had looked up Alan Bennet’s house on the internet which he has now moved from and discovered its address, 23 Gloucester Crescent. The internet even provides pictures of it. Looking at Google maps on my phone John and I could see that Gloucester Crescent was nearby. We found it and halfway round the crescent we discovered Alan Bennetts famous house with large gates in front of the short driveway. It was behind these gates where Miss Shepherd must have lived in her van. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj61Px10iUaSyjlVvoQC62X464CxoG-rebARWTmLiI7MexmMCkRWIHNyF2JnZ3sjp8KZwLzVV1VIUq3PE_Kn17KY5NQm5cZovhNwCjnyA4RInwHmj8EDTar2wlZyA-4XTwF8Qk5GqVNNdb4c_pT2uzzcleSxycK5FPUZOZQV2ST_dx5VGpCLzyDLn0dAw=w480-h640" /></a> </div><div>Alan Bennett used to live at 23 Gloucester Crescent. "The Lady in the Van, "was parked just behind the gates.<br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />Nearby is Camden High Street. We decided to stop and have a pub lunch. There are a few venues to choose from in Camden High Street. We went into The Bucks Head. We sat and ate some delicious fish and chips and drank two pints of Camden Pale ale each. It is brewed locally in Camden . It has a hoppy taste and has a great flavour. I recommend the Camden brew. Many of the shops in Camden are small businesses that sell local clothes designers clothing, shoe makers and artists display and sell their wares too.. It is a young area and innovative crafts are evident in the high street. As we walked along,we noticed people dressed and adorned in avant garde ways. Many appear to not only be experimenting with what they wear but also what they do with their bodies. Some of the pubs are live music venues like the Bucks Head where John and I had our pub lunch and young musicians thrive in the area. Camden High Street leads up to the iconic railway bridge and the canal locks where we re-joined the canal footpath.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-YVVRRSbyToF8SlnxjkRMYleS_I87ERe_wO8LoguHRN8KoZ4YN537gn0nlUROnlbSbnJShV-S5SVNabiP9pBsmWn597yGRebe25694rDThrU1sdo1hRlnTa5zq4ujX9SVwtp7Lx3SNkIhmsTH78xvGvpmFSNvJwg38G7e3e8IAosJH4s-r-dSgrqjXg=w640-h480" /></a><br />Camden Lock.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />One old bridge we walked under beside the canal had three archways constructed from massive black ionic columns made of cast iron. The bridge itself had some intricate iron work topping the walls across its width. Homeless sleepers had left some of their belongings on the banks on both sides under the bridge arches. Two gentlemen lay in their sleeping bags as we passed talking and discussing things. They ignored us. A plaque placed on the embankment related the history of this bridge. <br /><br />“Blow Up Bridge,” At 3am on the 2nd October 1874 the boat Tilbury carrying gunpowder to a quarry in the Midlands exploded demolishing the bridge and killing three people. Locals sprang from their beds feeling an earthquake.When the bridge was rebuilt the pillars were turned around so that they offered a smooth surface for the boats towing ropes. Look out for the rope grooves on either sides of the pillars.” <br /><br />It is mind blowing, no pun intended. Further reading reveals that the boat was carrying petroleum and nuts as well as the gunpowder. A combustable combination. The consequences of this accident brought about, by way of an act of Parliament, a change in the laws concerning transporting gunpowder and petroleum. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3je0PS1w3-wuJN284z91_1_1WS8CzMXfeEavThvMkgXJ0C-b203Xf4aLEwpkdnLhr6rVACoOWlcXCSMU5M62dZnHY9ETbeJz3UL9Un2sMZrLEZDq8ecnKUJDyNeJWgkOg6_QtffwL3hPSVZPLTWqNbKZp6ujHDVQNMzLB1iypLIhaakWpqK1Fey7vgA=w640-h480" /></a><br /><br />"Blow Up Bridge."<br /><br /> <br /><br />While walking past Regents Park, along the side of the canal, we came across a row of six , what appeared to be, large Georgian mansions. I discovered they were designed by Quinlan Terry who was commissioned by the government to design buildings to complete Nash’s vision for Regents Park. They were actually, unbelievably, completed in 2002. The American Ambassador lives in one of them. They each have a name. They are called, Veneto Villa, Doric Villa, Corinthian Villa, Ionic Villa, Gothick Villa and the Regency Villa.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh55nqERs7uN7Ep-qt-YU2Bf79pHy_jWC8IlGN2wnXlzUfM0Cv_UtoDQrebpmkktL9y5OiKT8-Eio3SxIb8UVXriJDhZuE5bR5L-BCupuvoLblujr2ltpOVperQs22TmfcrAj8yRNQTVRzTs-mHJE-jJ2VgifUSTQGMUHYkJ79nJ-Lvx2QXnb6f3vllog=w640-h480" /></a><br /><br />"Regency Villa," on Regents Park outer circle designed by Quinlan Terry, completed in 2002.<br /><br /> <br /><br />As we walked towards St Pancras Station we saw a small park to one side with a stone church in the centre and few gravestones dotted about. I was for continuing on towards St Pancras but John suggested we go and have a look at the church. We soon discovered what we had come across. The first grave stone we stopped to look at had carved into it, “Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Author of The Vindication of the rights of Women.”<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUCXHAu-jWdj9LDYk90knyXMG8kMRl2Mz60CwJRYSL4e5Rn6BhpcGiJGTj8LLOBEXFD9Zz83LjTn1yNhq8Wt17t-kgxJjnRJ0xktta_Uuz_sUz8TjjDRnlxzGyAXmTBmY_1Gpl_Cv42k_PupCiIdb3JUXKbwmfyorITHL0gPuIPuNy8uscMI4gb4ghmQ=w480-h640" /></a><br /><br />Mary Wollstonecraft's tomb in St Pancras Old Church cemetery.<br /><br /><br /><br /> Where were we? It was St Pancras Old Church. When the railways came in the 1860’s when St Pancras Station was being constructed, the churchyard of St Pancras Old Church was in the way. Architects were employed to remove and reposition many of the gravestones. The church was not affected and neither was the tomb of Mary Wollstonecraft. We came to a tree that had many gravestones piled against it. Over the years the roots of the tree have entangled the grave stones and included them into its root system. A plaque near the tree read , “ The Hardy Tree.” So we read on. As a young man Thomas Hardy was an architect working for Arthur Bromfield. He was employed to work on the graveyard here. He spent many hours in St Pancras churchyard removing and repositioning gravestones. It was Hardy who created this cluster of gravestones around the tree. A day of amazing discoveries. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbDZNtOHv9uY5ofNjx72SlM4LfATbdT2g0FqA72Pbvj48NhZXma8ADCg0UGWGP3EMy1hT1xC6IQfTF3EHm2IqUhm6VxhZ50rJEpW_d7vwu-k7O294d6hYpms_XD-5G-TtH6dNiAFeuBJeCz2Oi-nXeXMJgv7yrEjuHWwzREfGpZrSMwHoMtsUjuXfbzQ=w640-h480" /></a><br />The Hardy Tree in the cemetery of St Pancras Old Church. Thomas Hardy created this pile of gravestones.<br /><br /> <br /><br />We walked on towards St Pancras and Kings Cross. We came across the Crick Institute for research into cancers. It is a vast modernist building with a massive glass roof that is reminiscent of an armadillo shell. John and I went inside to see a free exhibition they have in the entrance. Video interviews with scientists and surgeons are part of the exhibition. Its good to know about cancers, if somewhat sobering and thought provoking. As we get old all of us are susceptible to some sort of cancer. But what the Crick institute is doing is absolutely amazing. Their research is saving the world. They give us all hope. <br /><br />After this the British Library was our next call. We went upstairs to the café and had a coffee. We visited the free exhibition they have there. The exhibition displays many documents and books that are so important to British people and the United Kingdom. There is a copy of the Magna Carta, a first folio edition of Shakespeare's collected works published by two of Shakespeare's friends , John Heminge and Henry Condell, who edited it and supervised the printing. They appear in a list of the 'Principall Actors' who performed in Shakespeare's plays, alongside Richard Burbage, Thomas Kemp and Shakespeare himself. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNDrb_ELdfjbwwggpCOmE_CUG6N1BU6uE294RO0sIjFidOhJR1j49TsBlBk0nUD1-BPdLBApnr-yzfIIGivnSpcFsqFjA-B8uDWEXkuHZunaTumEclN0wB44SblLBKRHQ6gZb7KxirfqyUE3VuS5DAVtWQ5jd_zxhcK9I8rB18p2NL-f59ymhgNIXDvw=w640-h480" /></a><br />Shakespeare's Complete Works a first folio.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />There are illuminated manuscripts of the Bible . We came across a poem written in perfect cursive style by Jane Austen to her brother Frank. It lies on the wooden writing slope her father bought her.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsZ8bMaTA2SuBP1uUDsliBDFZfpcvX7wuApQiOb5IDfjO4oiIbPkrBIGCv7Z9rARBsoiSSzB2wOMVlZ4MfTxrYjDC4M_c9UpDwUrSHJr61FnmIubR3OFz9WPebnNYDBmCUeU7cRfua7ctP_4KAyWgN6aegePo-6JXCFOBdRSK3rp8-YotROcP--aRFSg=w640-h480" /></a><br />Jane Austen's handwritten poem to her brother Frank lying on the writing slope her father gave her.<br /><br /><br /><br /> Because it is the 100 th anniversary of Ullysses, by James Joyce published by ,”Shakespeare and Company,” in 1922 there was a first edition on display and a letter from Virginia Wolf and another from Sylvia Beach of Shakepeare and Co. Virginia Wolf politely turned down the offer of publishing the book at her Hogarth press in Richmond. In the display there was a large A1 sized piece of paper where Joyce had planned out one part of his book. It consisted of lists, phrases and words written in blue and red colouring pencil much of which is crossed out showing Joyce included that particular crossed out thought or idea in the novel. A large series of concentric almond shaped ovals nested inside each other, were drawn on part of the paper. Each oval had ideas written within it. A design that can be interpreted in a number of ways. The whole display was fascinating. There was analysis of the structure and themes in the book. I have read Ulysses in its entirety. It was similar to the effort needed to running a marathon. Exhaustion and tiredness could set in. I loved the language and the rhythms of the text, the lilting Irish cadences, phraseology and words.The language entices and seduces you. Much of the dialogue and description is enigmatic. Punctuation isn’t of great concern. Words and phrases tumble together. A great, attractive modernist piece of writing. It still confuses me but It’s good to know, as shown in this exhibition, that Joyce had a structural and thematic concept for it. Near the Ulysses exhibition there was also an extensive display about Angela Carter that I didn’t spend enough time with. <br /><br />So John and I left the British Library, its massive iron statue of Isaac Newton hunched forward focussed on using a pair of compasses based on William Blake’s drawing of Newton. After having explored so many things along the way John and I walked past the front of St Pancras Station’s immense Victorian gothic masterpiece and got the tube from Kings Cross back to Waterloo. From Waterloo, platform one, we got our train back home. The next stage from Kings Cross to Lime House is an adventure for next time. <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">https://www.themodernhouse.com/journal/walking-tour-of-regents-canal/</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/london-areas/regents-canal</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regent%27s_Canal</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">http://www.friendsofregentscanal.org/features/tourism/CIC/Aug-2013/history-panels/image-catalogue.html</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">https://londonist.com/london/great-outdoors/the-regent-s-canal-the-bi-centenary-of-london-s-most-famous-man-made-waterway</a> <br /><br /> <br /><br />Arthur Lowe : <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/523136/index.html</a> <br /><br />Guy Gibson : <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">http://www.helstonhistory.co.uk/local-people/wg-cdr-guy-gibson-raf-vc/</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">https://stpancrasoldchurch.posp.co.uk/</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">https://www.crick.ac.uk/</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">https://www.poetry foundations .org/poets/john-masefield</a> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /></div>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-1671386972366017262022-01-25T00:51:00.006-08:002022-02-04T05:57:51.729-08:00IS OUR GOVERNMENT TRYING TO DESTROY THE BBC ( British Broadcasting Corporation) ?<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0_wxdZphqgyud82ITywbwPIB5Ym9htJcJppF4KmpbAUv20RFoRU0k_9ajuBQrQNzY-ONGK6sn4fp5htGQjkgLfY5aooPejCUAxZ44pSIW7cP748RbV3dRLyUb3RmA9WHsGm97T_dTfO-/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0_wxdZphqgyud82ITywbwPIB5Ym9htJcJppF4KmpbAUv20RFoRU0k_9ajuBQrQNzY-ONGK6sn4fp5htGQjkgLfY5aooPejCUAxZ44pSIW7cP748RbV3dRLyUb3RmA9WHsGm97T_dTfO-/w480-h640/image.png" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">BRITISH BROADCASTING HOUSE north of Oxford Circus. </div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, in the midst of the
Downing Street woes over a party culture in a time of lockdown and CORONA virus
restrictions and rules has found a way, she thinks and it also appears to the
rest of the population of Great Britain,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>of distracting the British public from the infantile, self centred<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>obfuscating<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>behaviour of Boris Johnson. Who does she think she is kidding? Do
anything to save the idiot, seems to be her approach and what will stir
everybody up like a hornets nest, attack the BBC. So she has got her teeth into
something she hates. It’s obvious.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">The Guardian
17.1.2022 Jim Waterson, the Guardian’s media editor writes</span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">“<span style="color: #121212;">The culture secretary, </span></span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/nadine-dorries"><span color="windowtext" face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0cm; text-decoration-line: none;">Nadine Dorries</span></a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">,<span style="color: #121212;"> has confirmed that the BBC’s funding will be frozen for
the next two years – but has softened her stance on the permanent abolition of
the television licence fee.</span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #121212; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
annual levy on television usage will remain at £159 until April 2024, requiring
cuts to the BBC’s output. However, it will then rise in line with inflation for
the next four years – a better deal than had been proposed in some press
briefings from the government.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #121212; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Dorries
also watered down </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/jan/16/bbc-licence-fee-to-be-abolished-in-2027-and-funding-frozen"><span color="windowtext" face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; padding: 0cm; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">her own suggestion</span></a><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #121212; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> that
the licence fee would be abolished from 2028 onwards, raising suspicions that
the focus of her provocative intervention on Sunday was to distract from Boris
Johnson’s woes.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #121212; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Sunday she was virtually announcing the
demise of the BBC in a leaked statement, very undemocratic, but by Monday, to
Parliament, she was back tracking. Probably members of her
own party had a word and explained you can’t just resign something as important
to our culture and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the British public as
the BBC<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to history , just like that, in
some petulant rant. Things seem to have been watered down but the danger to the
.”Beeb,” is still there. Surely the British public should be allowed to have
their say as a minimum requirement. It’s not like getting rid of your garden
waste at the local dump.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #121212; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
BBC has been with us for a century. This year is the BBC’s centenary. It
officially began 1922 although its roots go back to 1920. It is a cultural icon
not only for us Brits but also for the rest of the world by way of The World
Service. It has brought open mindedness, the facts, clear sighted analysis of
events, debate about all the important questions relating to us as human
beings, politics, religion, art, music, history, drama, science, entertainment
and education. Just looking at todays agenda on The World Service, Iran’s negotiations
in Vienna are being discussed. Mexico, Afghanistan, Italy, Buddhism and a coup
in Burkina Faso are just some of the topics covered. These programmes are
broadcast to the people of these countries and in many cases provide the only
news outlet and balanced analysis of what is going on. Often the BBC provides another
side to what is going on in these countries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #121212; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">One
vital aspect of the BBC that has been so important during the COVID pandemic,
is that the BBC has provided <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>educational
output for schools and families. It has provided parents ,teachers and children
with the most amazing resources. Parents have been forced to try their best to
educate their children at home and the BBC has been there to support and lead. It is explorative, questioning and provides high
quality teaching. No educationalist , parent or pupil would argue that learning
online and at home is the best situation for children to learn full time. Learning online has shown its benefits though and that it can be a
useful aspect of learning and teaching. But face to face teaching with friends and fellow pupils in a
school environment will always be vital for immediate teacher feedback and relationshisp and team building. The BBC has got as close as it can to providing good education and done the
best anybody could expect in the circumstances.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #121212; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">People
like Nadine Dorries can argue that the BBC format is outdated. Nowadays we
communicate and get our televisual experiences in so many new ways enabled by
technology. However, SKY, NETFLIX, AMAZON, DISNEY , three of the biggest
providers of entertainment and information online, are companies with investors
and their <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>paramount purpose are profits.
What their political, religious and societal beliefs are , who knows? Whoever
pays them. They pander to the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>audiences
they attract. We read so many reports about misogyny and racism and political
and religious bias inherent in their structures and algorithms. The BBC is
quite able to and is adapting to the new ways of communication. There really is
no argument against it from that quarter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #121212; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
BBC is truly the nearest any body can get to fairmindedness and openness. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In theory it does not have any influences
making it do one thing or another. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Conservative party accuse it of being left wing liberal. But it is not. Jeremy
Corbyn, especially when he was the leader of the Labour Party, came under the
scrutiny of the BBC. Because it criticises and praises everybody when the
situation requires, it <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>will always be
open to criticism. If the BBC says something against or questions strongly <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>what you as an organisation think and are
trying to do then of course you are going to think of it as biased. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #121212; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
spurious argument that people can’t afford the licence fee of £159 a year is a
red herring. Some will obviously find the fee too much for their finances.
These people should be provided for by the government. That licence fee of £159
per annum, in one context sounds a lot but it isn’t. NETFLIX subscriptions cost
anything from £25 per month to £45 per month depending on the package you pay
for. The cheapest of those costs £300 per year the most expensive, £ 540 per
year. How are poor people going to finance that if it is deemed that the £159
is too much? Certainly not from the government. The licence fee pales into
insignificance. What cost freedom of speech and truth being told to power? Do
we want to destroy this democratic, fair minded, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>educational institution over spurious arguments.
Nadine Dorries might not like the BBC and I am sure many others don’t for
different reasons. Do we want one hater to destroy this immensely valuable cultural
organisation? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #121212; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">The BBC’s charter is renewed every few years. Not if Nadine
Dorries gets her way though. </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Its premise
and ethos originally looked very much like that of </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">the </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">British upper classes. It reflected the status
quo of</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">1922. Our society and the world has changed and
developed unrecognisably since then and so has the BBC. However, its central ethos, that it is
required to be fair and honest, that central moral principle, has not changed. In
1922 it was trying to be fair and honest too. </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> As
society and the world changes obviously some changes in its royal charter are
necessary to fit the times we live in.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">This present charter was presented to Parliament by the Secretary of
State for Culture, Media and Sport by Command of Her Majesty in December 2016 and
sets out the key purposes of the BBC. The charter begins with this statement.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“The BBC’s
Mission The Mission of the BBC is to act in the public interest, serving all
audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive
output and services which inform, educate and entertain. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Public Purposes of the BBC are as follows.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I have taken
the five key points from the charter that explain what the BBC is for in more detail.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The first
point, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“To provide
impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the
world around them:”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Everyday of
every week and every year the BBC provides this impartial news through
reporting but also discussion and analysis. The daily TV and radio news
programmes provide the on going evolving news. Programmes such as Question
Time, debate current issues involving people from all sides of the argument.
They discuss questions provided by ordinary people about issues in the news. Panorama,
investigates and discusses single important issues, for instance, education,
poverty, housing, whatever it might be. The early morning Radio 4 programme
team question vigorously and energetically government ministers, heads of
business, scientists and those at the heart of current issues. They are made to
explain themselves and their actions. Programmes discussing more esoteric
topics such as religion , philosophy or morality might be debated in programmes
such as The Moral Maze.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Secondly:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“To support
learning for people of all ages:”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">During the
lock downs and the closures of schools the BBC has provided vitally important
lessons for all school years. They have been providing online material for
teachers for many years but during this pandemic they have really stepped up.No other organisation could have done that. The BBC ‘s independence allows it to
do this. When the OPEN university began the BBC provided lectures and lessons to support Open University degrees. When eventually
schools become, Open Schools, the BBC will be needed to to support everday
schooling. The work done during lockdown can only be built on. Of course
families living in poverty will need to be supported. Some of the funding that
goes into educating every child in this country can be used to support this change
without much extra money being required. The BBC also supports all our learning and teaches every individual in this country through programming about wildlife, history, science, geography, technology,
art, music, drama and literature. No other organisation could dedicate itself
to doing this.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thirdly:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“To show the
most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This refers
to art, music, literature and drama. The BBC because it is funded by the
taxpayer and not some for profit organisation with share holders and people
with their own political agenda, they can take risks. It can
afford to try things which might fail. Some of the most creative and
adventurous television has come from the BBC because of this ability. Much of what the BBC
produces wins awards around the world. It is not only a cultural icon for
Britain but drama and documentaries relevant to many cultures and other
countries has enriched the world as a whole.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Fourthly:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“To reflect,
represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s
nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the
United Kingdom.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Every region
of the United Kingdom has its own regional BBC radio station. They also
have<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>regional television stations too.,
BBC South. BBC London and so on. The national and global output of the BBC is
also available to all of the UK as well. It gives voice to diverse groups within
the UK. It encourages and develops new initiatives within the regions
highlighting art, businesses, music and technologies within those regions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Fifthly:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“To reflect
the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world:”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I mentioned
above the WORLD SERVICE and how that helps educate and inform the rest of the world.
It might be relevant to ask, is that a good thing? Isn’t the British Government,
through The World Service, promoting propaganda to the people of various
countries? Part of the statement in the charter states that the BBC must
promote ,” values of accuracy, impartiality, and fairness.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Of course
this can be argued about. What does it mean? How can we actually tell if this
is what the BBC is actually doing and not just propagandising? We do get feedback
from the people of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>those countries. I
know Americans tell me they would rather listen to the BBC news than their own
news outputs. Friends in South America laud the importance of the BBC. I can
site other examples of what people tell me. I know this is a very small straw
poll but it does give an impression of how the BBC is thought of and valued
round the world. We of course can make our further judgements based on what we
see and hear from other news outlets and of course from what we read. The more
we search and listen and look the more our own assessment is informed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“The BBC is
to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of
impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform,
educate and entertain.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">How many
organisations can say that?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Controlling
or even abolishing the BBC is an act of cultural vandalism by those who want to
escape questioning or rather the questions they don’t want to hear. Schools,
and the curriculum, Universities, museums, public demonstrations, immigrants,
are all in the sights of this government. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oliver Dowden a previous culture minister and now
Nadine Dorries<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>are waging a war on our
culture from free speech to historical interpretation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Late<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>last night I listened to a radio 4 programme
called The Moral Maze. Philosophers<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>were
discussing the morality of our Prime Minister and the moral judgements of our government
in the wake of ,”partygate,” the perceived breaking of lock down rules during
this COVID pandemic. Rules they made themselves and the population as a whole
has had to follow to , often, peoples pain and personal anguish. Only the BBC
would or could hold a discussion like that broadcast to the nation. They explained
a murky situation to say the least. Our Prime Minister is acting immorally was
the bottom line. Listening made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. What
backlash would the BBC receive? Or was it so late at night and on Radio 4 and
that probably very few people would actually be listening, the government might
not notice? Still, the programme is out there. This is what the government wants
to stop, free and open debate. The BBC is still providing it.One previous
Conservative Minister, being interviewed on the programme, stridently put the
point that it didn’t matter that Boris broke the rules his own rules over COVID
restrictions. It didn’t matter to her these small transgressions of the
government. What mattered to her <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>are the
policies they are trying to implement. The panel actually laughed at her
stridency and then pointed out the immorality of her standpoint. I remember
discussing the morality of ,”does the end justify the means,” as a school boy.
They dismissed her off hand. These are very strange times indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As well as
getting rid of the BBC , which appears to be a veiled way of controlling the
cultural narrative, a new policy statement for culture has been produced by the<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.</span></span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It denies
systemic racism exists and argues against what many minorities and liberal
minded people see as the faults and problems in our society. The government
wants to control the narrative about our country and our culture. There is a
battle over Black Lives Matter, and whether statues should be removed or not.
The government wants to control how we understand and explain these things. It
does not want open debate and free questioning to take place. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The National Trust, is another body under
scrutiny by our right wing government. The National Trust wants to interpret its houses and properties form the stand point of our colonial past. Why shouldn’t we
know that the immense wealth that was made to build these amazing houses and estates
came from slavery? Slavery is an important strand of our nation and its wealth,
power and influence. An understanding of its role should have a more prominent
part in our overall understanding of our history. It hasn’t been highlighted much in the past. These opposing
views to the governments narrative is out there being discussed and supported
by many minority groups and political organisations. This government cannot turn
the clock back and they cannot control the narrative now. Too many people and
society as a whole, can see the evidence for themselves. There seems to be a
cultural battle taking place on many fronts which the government will lose.
They cannot eradicate the arguments and the narrative they don’t like.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the BBC is under attack. If this government
destroys the BBC they will be destroying our society and our freedom of speech
and intrinsically our democracy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">References:<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The BBC Royal
Charter: </span><a href="http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/about/how_we_govern/2016/charter.pdf"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/about/how_we_govern/2016/charter.pdf</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span color="windowtext" face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span color="windowtext" face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Commission on Race
and Ethnic Disparities: The Report March 2021<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<h3 class="title govuk-!-font-size-27 govuk-!-font-weight-regular" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c; font-family: "GDS Transport", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.31579; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-report-of-the-commission-on-race-and-ethnic-disparities</span></h3><div><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><p class="metadata" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; line-height: 1.42857; margin: 10px 0px;">Articles
about the BBC:</p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jan/23/the-bbc-a-peoples-history-by-david-hendy-review-inside-the-nations-moral-improver"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The BBC: A People’s
History by David Hendy review – inside the nation’s ‘moral improver’ | History
books | The Guardian</span></a><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/jan/19/theres-too-much-at-stake-to-risk-losing-the-bbc"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There’s too much at
stake to risk losing the BBC | Letters | The Guardian</span></a><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jan/16/boris-johnson-accused-of-targeting-bbc-to-save-his-premiership"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Boris Johnson
accused of targeting BBC to save his premiership | Politics | The Guardian</span></a><u><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: blue; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3f499042-64c5-40d1-8d83-7d8ca0d817d9"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://www.ft.com/content/3f499042-64c5-40d1-8d83-7d8ca0d817d9</span></a><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-o5gy41" style="background: white; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: #121212; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-32663576093988743472021-09-06T02:31:00.011-07:002021-09-25T04:18:08.241-07:00BATH: AN ADUMBRATION IN RHYME by John Matthews (pub 1795) annotated 2021. A review.<div class="separator"><br /></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTnDBhUt4dI4naKacMMZlBpUYW6nnvCQRJlbll3z98LPa1dlDwo8IgXH807U6CI-wVWrbpiPEFwZNsq6RuKBeEeqoyImYa8_-yrcfKGWzo41LAjLt8Cfi5JgoTDkGInTVoRjKxBefHxHe/s1835/Front+cover+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1835" data-original-width="1193" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTnDBhUt4dI4naKacMMZlBpUYW6nnvCQRJlbll3z98LPa1dlDwo8IgXH807U6CI-wVWrbpiPEFwZNsq6RuKBeEeqoyImYa8_-yrcfKGWzo41LAjLt8Cfi5JgoTDkGInTVoRjKxBefHxHe/w416-h640/Front+cover+%25282%2529.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><br /><p></p><br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adumbration: <o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The act of giving the main facts and not the details about something,
or something that gives the main facts:<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ben Wiebracht of Stanford Online High School , Stanford
University, is the series editor for the “Forgotten Contemporaries of Jane
Austen.” In this first editon of the series Ben is the co-editor<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>along with seven of his students, Joe,
Carolyn, Macy, Sophia, Kate, Lauren and Varsha. They chose to investigate a
poem by John Matthews (1755 – 1826), a contemporary of Jane Austen’s, that relates<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a day in the life of somebody enjoying the
delights of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bath in the 18<sup>th</sup>
century. The inspiration for this book was an article Ben and his students co
authored for ,"Jane Austens World," blog entitled, “A Day In Catherine Morelands
Bath.” This edition begins with an introduction to the series explaining the
premise, that this series,<i><b> “ strives to see Austen in the same way that Austen
saw Elizabeth and Darcy , in Pride and Prejudice and also to uncover some of
the Gardiner’s (Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle) of Austen’s world.” </b></i>In a sense it
is an attempt to see people and characters of the 18<sup>th</sup> century in a
context that helps us in the 21<sup>st</sup> century <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>get at least a glimpse of how life and people
would have actually been in the 18<sup>th</sup> century. Ben and his students,
by comparing Austen and Matthews, provide us with an insight into their thoughts,
attitudes, interests and actions . Something
historians, film makers and us <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>readers
try to do when we immerse ourselves in Austen. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> Ben and his students use the Gardeners, as an example of the
type of people, middle class, and quietly influential ,rising in society <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and who’s importance is not at first apparent <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to the plot, as a template for the type of people they want to write about. It is the Gardeners for instance who influence some of the main action within Austen's novel , but
on the surface appear to be ancillary characters. At the end of the novel they are
shown appreciation<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>main protagonists. Ben and his students quote
the finishing lines of Pride and Prejudice,</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“With the Gardeners, they were
always on the most intimate terms. Darcy as well as Elizabeth really loved
them…. the persons who, by bringing her to Derbyshire, had been the means of uniting
them.”<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many ways this
series is about getting under the skin of the everyday people who make the
wheels of society work.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadQEr-JZzwPW3TX6Rp_LwLBe-sSfsIdjNIH5qAPTuov9zhjEJz1tQGNgZCSU_nBU89DVGd1e8fQYK-W6DO8mbVkrA6a2gFcEucd96BOTuR-ojuBk4NTpgHruJ_7Ma0CkRTvvksjDB4LfP/s1800/COVER+PAGE+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1129" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadQEr-JZzwPW3TX6Rp_LwLBe-sSfsIdjNIH5qAPTuov9zhjEJz1tQGNgZCSU_nBU89DVGd1e8fQYK-W6DO8mbVkrA6a2gFcEucd96BOTuR-ojuBk4NTpgHruJ_7Ma0CkRTvvksjDB4LfP/w402-h640/COVER+PAGE+%25282%2529.jpg" width="402" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The original title page.</div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I think <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this first
edition, “Bath: An Adumbration In Rhyme,” is ground breaking work. First as I
have mentioned above it is an attempt to allow us to experience the 18<sup>th</sup>
century at a deeper level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also from the
teaching point of view Ben has given his students a purposeful aim. They are
not merely writing an academic essay, introduction, key points with evidence
and explanation followed by a conclusion , the usual academic essay format written
for a tutor and never read again, a dry formal process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through the creating of this book ,Ben has
given his students the opportunity to add something meaningful and important to
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>our understating of Jane Austen and the
18<sup>th</sup> century. The editing team have gained valuable experience in
researching, and choosing key evidence. They are also assured of providing
continued pleasure and gained understanding for their readers to come. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONuV6Aq5wZM6uVW42_jk-v7zu3guDG1Qhxzfe76uVp3y7uVdiJNLrZ0xSWFzsde1FFKjeG5V8GErZLhFJR5d1TtYjGXcHm1_tgE17MADBAyUqrhY5Ja5KRLkMAXJSVoV0tdcubCGse-9L/s1536/John+Matthews.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1222" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONuV6Aq5wZM6uVW42_jk-v7zu3guDG1Qhxzfe76uVp3y7uVdiJNLrZ0xSWFzsde1FFKjeG5V8GErZLhFJR5d1TtYjGXcHm1_tgE17MADBAyUqrhY5Ja5KRLkMAXJSVoV0tdcubCGse-9L/w319-h400/John+Matthews.png" width="319" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">John Matthews by George Romney 1786 Tate Britain.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have read<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matthews
poem previously but knew very little about him apart from the obvious that you
can glean from his poem that the writer was part of the well to do, educated
middle classes. The activities and days events Matthews describes in his poem
need money to participate in. The fact that he is a competent poet, I won’t say
a great poet, and references Latin quotations reveals that he is educated to
the highest level of the 18<sup>th</sup> century. Ben provides us with a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>biography of Matthews. He was born in
Herefordshire in 1755 and appears to have lived in Herefordshire for the rest
of his life. He was also very lucky, or very canny, as far as money and fortune
goes. He married a wealthy heiress Elizabeth Ellis and later in 1784 an elderly
spinster Elizabeth Skinner left him her fortune of £80, 000. That was an
enormous amount of money in the 18<sup>th</sup> century. He was a rural
gentleman in the top 5% of the population. He was educated at Eton and
Oxford. He took up a medical career at St Georges Hospital in Westminster London
and later became a member of the Royal College of Physicians. He built a large estate
in Herefordshire. He funded charities. He founded and commanded the
Herefordshire Volunteer Corps in 1798. In 1793 he was The Mayor of Hereford and
in 1803 he represented Hereford in the House of Commons as their member of
parliament. His poetry appears to have been a form of relaxation and escape. He
published mostly anonymously. And, what I like particularly about Mr John
Matthews is his ability to be self-deprecating. One of his more well know poems
is about Cloacina the Roman Goddess of sewers and apparently he thought of his
own publications as worthy of being used as toilet paper. I think he is being
harsh on himself in writing that but you have got to smile or even have a laugh
along with him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">(As an aside, St Georges Hospital eventually moved to Tooting in South London in the 1970s. It is a university hospital and just happens to be my local hospital.)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Matthews attitudes to society , his rejection of democracy as
pursued <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by The French Revolution <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and his opposition to the levelling of society
are all suggested in the poem. A comparison to Jane Austens attitudes to
class and movements between classes can be made . For instance the attempts of
Isabella Thorpe to marry up, the misguidedness of Emma Woodhouse trying to
marry off Harriet Smith and Catherine Moreland’s relationship with Henry
Tilney. Austen was testing the boundaries between
classes whereby Matthews merely disagrees with the blending of society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> T</span>his shows Matthews as a man of his
time, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>conservative in his beliefs and with
little <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>desire for the world to change. <o:p></o:p></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal">As<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a poet his style
was boisterous and earthy. It is pointed out <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that many of Matthews views are shocking to
our modern sensibilities. His cruel lampooning of spinisters for instance, who
came to Bath just to enjoy themselves and have a good time. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His poetry <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>catches us out by making quirky contrasts, This
is an example from The Adumbration, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>”So the beaux in their boots, the belles in their slippers<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Come to walk up and down and peep at the dippers.”</i></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Something elegant turns into something salacious and saucy. He
has a naughty sense of humour. I think this appears again when he is walking
up, or down, Milson Street.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When you’ve with politics done, the beauties to meet,<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You may stroll for an hour up and down Milson Street<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Where the misses so smart, at ev’ry fine shop.<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Like rabbits in burrows, just in and out pop,”<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Burrows, rabbits; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this is suggestive of the sexual appetite of
rabbits of course and the ,”misses,” are there just for breeding. The misogyny
is palpable. We can find further examples.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later, the Victorian
music hall tradition and the advent of the Victorian seaside piers with their peepshow
machines, “ What the butler saw,” are further example of this saucy earthy
humour. It took generations to become unacceptable. Our cinema was at a low
point, depicting this saucy humour, up to the 70s with the very popular ,”Carry
On,” series of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>films. British seaside
postcards had this saucy side to them also before women’s groups and society as
a whole decided they could not tolerate this blatant misogyny and sexism any more.
Matthews was an early protagonist of a very long tradition of British earthy
humour.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What I found most interesting in the discussion about
Matthews poetry was the analysis of the poetic structures Matthews uses. The
rhythm is an anapaestic rhythm rather than the more common iambic pentameter.
If we think of the iambic pentameter in terms of our heart beat, our most
personal rhythm, it is the essence of our life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shakespeare and all the great poets use it.
Comedians on the other hand tend to disrupt natural rhythms to catch us out.
The anapaestic beat is our heart beat with an extra soft beat catching us out,
almost tripping us up. It lends itself to satire and humour and this is what
Matthews uses. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> Matthews himself had been influenced by
the first writer of these type of Bath satires, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a gentleman called Anstye who wrote, “ The New
Bath Guide,” a similar sort of satire to Matthews <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and from which Matthews probably drew inspiration.How
much Austen herself was influenced in her writing by both Anstey and Matthews
is open to debate but there are strong links.What I find that connects Austen,
Matthews and also Anstey strongly is the geography and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the geology <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of Bath. Matthews
describes a day in Bath , meeting friends and acquaintances at The Pump Room
where the health giving waters from the spring could be drunk,(although
Matthews is not sure about the health giving properties of the water for certain
reasons), shopping on Milsom Street, walking around The Royal Crescent and
Landsdown Hill, and attending balls at the Assembly Rooms in the evening. The landscape,
buildings, venues, activities are <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the same as we find in Persuasion and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Northanger Abbey. Some of the types of characters can
be compared too. The difference being is how Austen makes
them live as flesh and blood through their interactions and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>their humanity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> In contrast t</span>he essence of Matthews and Anstey is the
superficial with amusing anecdotes, about people in general.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoe0_hO4OSJirtPVCZycTMc8fESnYybRF5Mx82WFz6SaFAWjsr2GC8NYjTuQe7Qcffjxdtxh0Ewzz-eoBno9V714qz7FR1udpc3Ok9_eG4po2G_JsHz8CFK9s23yI66yaU2EFmt5g4N0Kb/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1655" data-original-width="2000" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoe0_hO4OSJirtPVCZycTMc8fESnYybRF5Mx82WFz6SaFAWjsr2GC8NYjTuQe7Qcffjxdtxh0Ewzz-eoBno9V714qz7FR1udpc3Ok9_eG4po2G_JsHz8CFK9s23yI66yaU2EFmt5g4N0Kb/w640-h530/image.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A map of Bath published in 1810 created by Benjamin Donne and David Wright. </div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben and his students
have kept the somewhat archaic spellings and punctuation where<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the metre and rhythm would be affected if
these were changed. Our understanding is not hindered though. Some words and
punctuation have been modernised to help us where it doesn’t affect the flow. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The annotations to the text Ben and his students have
produced are excellent. As we read through this edition<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> t</span>he left hand
page is Matthews poem and the right hand page are the annotations explaining
words and phrases and providing detailed information. Also, alongside the
annotations are references to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jane Austen where they are<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>applicable,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>referencing Persuasion and Northanger Abbey.
This is the first time this has been done with this text. It extends our
understanding of 18<sup>th</sup> century Bath and also illuminates Austen's achievements.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is a wonderful piece of work. I can’t wait to read the
other editions referencing other authors <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from the time of Austen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I certainly feel that my understanding of Austen’s
works and her world has been enriched by this first edition.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Further Reviews:</p><p class="MsoNormal"> Vic Sanborn at Jane Austen's World has also written a review of this edition. We both had some input into Ben's work with his students, Vic more so than myself.</p><p class="MsoNormal">https://janeaustensworld.com/</p><p class="MsoNormal">References:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">John Matthews: Bath An Adumbration in Rhyme, Series Editor
Ben Wiebrecht, Pixelia Publishing 2021<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You can buy the book at Amazon UK:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bath-Adumbration-Critical-Forgotten-Contemporaries/dp/1737033011/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Bath+An+adumbration+in+rhymr+by+John+Matthews&qid=1630866472&s=books&sr=1-1-spell">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bath-Adumbration-Critical-Forgotten-Contemporaries/dp/1737033011/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Bath+An+adumbration+in+rhymr+by+John+Matthews&qid=1630866472&s=books&sr=1-1-spell</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A DAY IN CATHERINE MORELANDS BATH <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span face=""Verdana",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #333333; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">This article was
researched, written, and designed by LiYuan Byrne, Josephine Chan, Ariana
Desai, Carolyn Engargiola, Ava Giles, Macy Levin, Gage Miles, Sophia Romagnoli,
Kate Snyder, Oscar Steinhardt, Lauren Stoneman, Alexandria Thomas, Varsha
Venkatram, and Dr. Ben Wiebracht.</span></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://janeaustensworld.com/2021/01/04/a-day-in-catherine-morlands-bath/">https://janeaustensworld.com/2021/01/04/a-day-in-catherine-morlands-bath/</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">CARRY ON FILMS:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/group/carry_on/">https://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/group/carry_on/</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">SAUCY SEASIDE POSTCARDS:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.postalmuseum.org/blog/saucy-seaside-postcards-and-censorship/">https://www.postalmuseum.org/blog/saucy-seaside-postcards-and-censorship/</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-68793240791169932762021-08-18T07:04:00.011-07:002021-09-21T02:24:30.725-07:00THE CROSSING by Manjeet Mann A REVIEW<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3EgQKpK-0vO_cOzFtjs58qMXktrwavlWyIIo22XUOlkmYrcPq9fJ2j2aK3EAcrtTdtZoK7bahBW8T2OM6et2bknUOoDy-rrUeBOiY_B9vqt7edcdzjX5uj9xTtMj6foOqp3BW2oe4hHqg/s3084/THE+CROSSING+by+Manjeet+Mann.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3084" data-original-width="1863" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3EgQKpK-0vO_cOzFtjs58qMXktrwavlWyIIo22XUOlkmYrcPq9fJ2j2aK3EAcrtTdtZoK7bahBW8T2OM6et2bknUOoDy-rrUeBOiY_B9vqt7edcdzjX5uj9xTtMj6foOqp3BW2oe4hHqg/w386-h640/THE+CROSSING+by+Manjeet+Mann.jpg" width="386" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Manjeet Mann is an actress, playwright, screenwriter and director. She
is the founder of Run The World- an organisation that works with women and
girls from marginalised backgrounds and helps to empower them through sport and
storytelling. She lives in Kent.”<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Crossing is written as a narrative poem connecting two
teenagers, Natalie, who lives in Dover, Kent and Sammy a teenage boy from
Eritrea. The story relates <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the forces
that cause people to feel so desperate that they are driven to migrate and about
the poverty and lack of chances <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that
some people endure in Britain. It relates <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the creativity and inner strength and courage
that keep <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>both Sammy and Natalie trying
and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hoping. Human dignity, humanity
and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the empathy <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that can exist between people of different backgrounds
and experiences are <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>explored. The story <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is about love and hate and how people can rise
above adversity and help each other.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Manjeet Mann explores what it is to be a migrant from a country like Eritrea. What is it that impels Sammy to leave his mother, his family, his girlfriend Sophia, who has gone missing possibly abducted? The conditions he lives in are dire. Young men like himself are conscripted into the army. They are treated as slaves. They lose their freedom. They are abused. Sammy and his friend Tesfay, who decides to escape Eritrea with him are of conscription age. That would be a strong enough reason. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is an added need to escape for Sammy. The murder of his father, Baba, and also following in his fathers beliefs, his strongly held views about free speech and democracy. Sammy and his family want those freedoms and they won’t get them in Eritrea. He thinks, because his father was hunted by the authorities, he will be watched and targeted too. His mother , like all mothers, wants the best life for Sammy. The family obtain enough money for Sammy to pay for the fake documents that will get him across the border. They gather<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>money to pay the human traffickers who they hope will get them to Europe and eventually Britain.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Nat , in Dover, takes on her mother’s role <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>after her mother’s death. Her mother had worked for an organisation that helps and supports migrants. She was also a cross channel swimmer who swam to raise funds to help migrants. Nat returns to swimming herself, which she gave up after her mother died, and trains hard to do a channel swim to raise money for the same causes her mother espoused, causes that help and support migrants like Sammy and his best friend Tesfay. Mel, Nat’s best friend sets up a donation page for her and supports her friend in her ambition.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Both Sammy and Nat suffer the death of a parent and are grieving. Both have the will to fight to make their lives better and in the case of Nat other peoples lives better such as Sammy’s and Tesfays.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">In contrast, Nats brother, Ryan, becomes disillusioned. He thinks the migrants coming into Dover are taking jobs and homes that he and his father and Nat need. They are on the verge of eviction. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His antagonism for the migrants drives him to join the EDL, The English Defence League, a nationalist right wing group who use violence to make their point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nat can see how her brother becoming a member of this group<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gives<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a purpose to his life but she finds it hard to understand that he can’t <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>see that the immigrants are not the problem. Why doesn't he feel like her and their mother?Other societal issues need to be fought against and fought for. The problem is not immigrants. She thinks of migrants as equal human beings to herself, like her mother did, in need of help, support and love. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ryan, on the other hand,sees the migrants as not deserving of what Britain has to offer. To him they are ,” others,”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>less deserving, perhaps even less human, an invading group, not like him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">There are other important <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>themes explored in this novel. Nat and her friend Mel love each other. The love between them is tender and sweet. Tensions are explored in their relationship such as<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mel comes from a wealthier more comfortable family that Nat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> On the other hand </span>Nat’s family are struggling to find a home for themselves and feed themselves. This causes some friction but their love for each other is much stronger than their differences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are mocked by Kevin a boy in their class at school . Kevin also bullies and demeans Fazel a migrant in their class. The two girls confront Kevin in no uncertain way.The world has many, “Kevins'.” In another novel the issue of Kevin is something that could be explored further.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> The message of this novel is that often the rules of our society <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>need to change and develop to take account of everybody. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This novel shows that real people do not fit into an ideology and it portrays all human beings as equal. If this book does anything it should help us to be open to others through listening and understanding and through positive action. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is not a long story, however it manages to pack in <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>philosophical issues about ambition, hope,
suffering and taking action. What enables Manjeet to do this is the
narrative poem style. Much of it is written in the first person which makes it
direct and visceral. The often short lines are distilled experience and emotion
combined in a few words which pierce right into you. Sometimes the lines are
fragmented into single words, each word draining every bit of meaning and
emotion out of the moment. The book is classed as a Young Adult novel and so it
deals with immediate sensations and emotions and because of that I felt refreshed
and connected to the action.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here is an example. Baba, was Sammy’s father, taken and
murdered by the Eritrean army in front of his wife and his son because of his
outspokenness criticising the regime.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“His blood seeps<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Into my shirt<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Staining my skin<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I breathe into the <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Holes<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chest.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our salty tears<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mix with<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">His iron blood<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Which soaks into<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our skin<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our hair<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our guilt<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That we live<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And he<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Doesn’t.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The story switches quickly and often between Sammy in
Eritrea and Nat in Dover, relating their personal experiences of loss and pain.
Connections and similarities build up at an intense rate.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nat for her part has recently, within a matter of weeks of
this narrative, lost her mother to cancer. Her mother was the driving force and
positive impulse of the family. Her father becomes distant and introverted
after her death.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“ I touch the screen<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Wanting to grab hold of her<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To reach through my phone and<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Pull<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>OUT.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I wish she were still, here Dad.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I know , love, I know,.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dads desperate to keep it together <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">but he is broken<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We all are.”<o:p></o:p> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Ryan, Nat’s brother is being influenced by the EDL, The English Defence League, a national front style organisation that aggressively attacks and confronts immigrants to Britain.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“I try to see<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Try and understand..."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The end word of one piece of narrative about Natalie is
the first word or phrase of Sammy’s next dialogue and vice a versa.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This switching <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>back and forth between the main characters helps
create an empathy between the two characters who do
not know each other or of their parallel lives at the start of the story. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> News cameras and journalists follow the
plight of immigrants from Eritrea and other places people feel the need to escape from on their way to Calais to get to England and to other destinations in Europe.Nat sees Sammy first on the TV news and feels empathy for
him. She later sees his picture in a magazine. She tries to get in touch and after
Sammy has reached Calais somebody helping in the camp gives Nat, Sammys -email.
They start messaging. They talk about their dreams and hopes. After a visit to one of the Calais camps Nat is being driven back to the ferry and Sammy sees her drive
past . There are a number of missed chances to actually meet like this during
the story.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Towards the end of the novel there is a surreal moment when
we think they actually meet. Do they? Nat is swimming the channel with her support
team and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>getting near the French coast.
She is exhausted and begins to a hallucinate. Sammy for his part has become
desperate about his asylum claim. He thinks he will never be granted it.
Walking on the beach and thinking of freedom a few miles across .the channel he
walks into the water and starts to swim. In her hallucinatory state Nat sees
Sammy swimming towards her. They touch hands and then he is gone. She thinks
she is dreaming and swims on to complete her crossing. So was this really
Sammy? There is a strong feeling <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that it
was. Sammy is found drowned pulled up by a trawler in it’s fishing net. News of
his death <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>reaches Nat through social
media and she is so stunned she falls to the floor weeping.We get a sense of
what it is to be really desperate certainly from Sammys point of view and partly
from Nats point of view too.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The story ends with Anthony, a refugee from the Calais camp
who makes it to England and met Sammy, Hamid who also makes it across the
channel, Fazel, Mel and Nat along with other people who have heard about Sammy, altogether standing
on the White Cliffs near Dover. Hamid, Sammys friend from Eritrea reads
messages from Sammy's mother and family and they scatter his ashes over the sea.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The last verses describe Natalie continuing her work supporting
refugees in the migrant camps of Calais feeding them from a makeshift kitchen. Nothing
has changed. Camps are dismantled and migrants moved on but others come to replace
them. And the ending is repeats Nats mothers words of hope and dreams.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Natalie, look at the stars</p><p class="MsoNormal">I will be looking too.</p><p class="MsoNormal">They are the same ones you see.</p><p class="MsoNormal">This is how we are all connected.….”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We do not hear how her father is now coping or what her
brother Ryan is doing. It would be interesting to know.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This book helps the reader empathise and promotes a positive
and loving approach to others especially those who are suffering greatly and
immigrants in particular..<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">An example of how systemic racism works in Britain is our
education system. The National Curriculum includes some colonial history from
the white colonialist point of view and it mentions some Afro Caribbean
History and Indian History. These subjects are kept within separate sections as though they have no connection to the rest of our history. It does not explore how our
whole history is imbued with our colonial past and certainly does not explore
what effect that has on minorities today and the sytemic issues they have to
contend with. Here are the only statements from the National Curriculum hidden
away in a non statutory section that touch on these issues. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“ a study of an aspect of social history, such as the impact through
time of the migration of people to, from and within the British Isles.” <o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Britain’s transatlantic slave trade: its effects and its eventual
abolition.”<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>( Non statutory National Curriculum
Key Stage 3)<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Notice the study of the slave trade is only required up to
the date of abolition. This seems to me to be keeping the problems of systemic
racism we have today, at best, at arm’s length and at worst completely out of sight.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">David Olusogo’s book” Black and British A Forgotten History,”
provides a history of ethnic minorities in the British Isles over
thousands of years. It explains<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>how
racism has developed and been reformed to take on different aspects in every generation from the time of
slavery to the latest iteration. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All of this is relevant to Sammy, Hamza, Natalie and Natalie’s
brother Ryan who is attracted to an aggressive anti-immigration group and also Natalie’s father who is lost and confused. What our government does
in education, immigration law and in its strategies for settling refugees affects us all and the way we live.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“The Crossing,” by Manjeet Mann published by Penguin Books
2021<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">References: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Black and British. A Forgotten History,” by David Olusoga
published by Pan Books 2016<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The National Curriculum (History) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-history-programmes-of-study">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-history-programmes-of-study</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> Key Stage 3 mentions slavery and immigration but only requires a limited study. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239075/SECONDARY_national_curriculum_-_History.pdf">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239075/SECONDARY_national_curriculum_-_History.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-47761039145278313632021-07-12T07:19:00.004-07:002021-09-07T01:30:50.639-07:00Sunday 11th July 2021 8pm Italy v England at Wembley Stadium.<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xIzC0usix8SqJ97nuLkNkr7v7yN5PMMSB1uWs-2o5eSM9BY33mxraTaz_dfMUdn1LfmOkE_40pZviwoajwWVkJWdT_2V621wkoVC66bqAeVYwiSQVurbdZMDJGM9ODBKC-vOUKdMvqng/s640/IMG_1461.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xIzC0usix8SqJ97nuLkNkr7v7yN5PMMSB1uWs-2o5eSM9BY33mxraTaz_dfMUdn1LfmOkE_40pZviwoajwWVkJWdT_2V621wkoVC66bqAeVYwiSQVurbdZMDJGM9ODBKC-vOUKdMvqng/w480-h640/IMG_1461.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The game ended 1-1 after full time, followed by 30 minutes’
extra time that kept the score at 1-1. So penalties followed<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The final score 1-1 with Italy winning 3-2 on penalties.
Those bald facts disguise so much. As the years and decades role on the facts
above will<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>be the most that a Google
search will reveal. Statisticians will see those facts in a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>chart of other finals, other scores and other
nations names and will draw conclusions of a statistical kind. What they will
have lost is what the game meant to me to you, to England, to the UK to our
mood , our hopes and our aspirations. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When Marilyn and I woke this morning we switched on the
radio to listen to BBC radio 4 news and it was full of heart searching
comments<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>about the match. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nick Robinson the presenter had a sombre tone.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The whole nation, if they couldn’t be at Wembley among the
60,000 fans permitted into the vast arena of Wembley Stadium <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>were either watching the game on TV at home, in pubs, clubs, city centres throughout
the country or maybe Trafalgar Square with giant screens showing the game to excited
crowds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Was the game going to relieve the depression of coronavirus
and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>lockdown?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><i><b>Here is my kick by kick account as the match unfolded.</b></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The national anthems of Italy and England took their turn to
be played and sung. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>60,000 sang God Save
The Queen.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The two teams took the knee at the start of the match in
respect for Black Lives Matter. There are things more important than football. A
buzz of expectation and then ”Sweet Caroline,” rang round the ground, a whole
mass of impromptu choristers belting it out at lung bursting intensity. The
atmosphere was electric. I could feel the emotion and the tension coming out of
the television screen.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The captains exchanged flags at the centre spot. A close up
of Giovanni Di Lorenzo the Italian right back hands in prayer eyes to heaven .
Rather obtusely a remote control model car painted in LGBT rainbow colours
delivered the ball to the centre spot.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The referee in pink. The Italian team in blue. England
wearing all white.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At exactly 8pm the referee blew his whistle and Italy kicked
off. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The crowd roared. ENGLAND! ENGLAND! ENGLAND!<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCOLFB9CjI85tL-tWwHpfVexGgDs9OpLsvd9LDPI6uu2GkoplPmPpjCKBgNob-COmaX5Qf1NQIHD9-4a6WTkGE052QRm275AsGqW7dXrPeo5b9YMc8fQr0zwHRwtGtgrxBaC4K55TBDhF/s640/IMG_1462.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCOLFB9CjI85tL-tWwHpfVexGgDs9OpLsvd9LDPI6uu2GkoplPmPpjCKBgNob-COmaX5Qf1NQIHD9-4a6WTkGE052QRm275AsGqW7dXrPeo5b9YMc8fQr0zwHRwtGtgrxBaC4K55TBDhF/w480-h640/IMG_1462.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">FIRST HALF:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1 minute. A slow, calm, measured start. Italy passed the ball along their
defensive back line. England got the ball and also moved at a slow pace passing
it around, feeling their way into the game. Italy and England, two prize
fighters sizing each other up warming to the,” battle,” beginning. A faster
tempo takes over.. The crowd hushes, near silence but still a buzz murmurs
about the stadium. Maguire gives away a corner to Italy. Maguire clears. He is
a dominant confident defender. Harry Kane strides down the right. Crosses it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ball arcs over the Italian players and a
couple of England players to the left and Luke Shaw gliding swiftly into
positon, in one glorious fantastic movement strikes the ball like a bullet from
a gun and GOAL!!!! England score! 1-0. What a fantastic goal. The crowd go
wild. The England players are euphoric. We, are all euphoric. 2 minutes and 12
seconds into the match and England lead. The Italians looked rocked. England
players look elated. The crowd is elated. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After the restart a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>cynical tackle by the Italians. England free kick. Is this how it’s
going to be?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Shaw challenges Chiesa, the Italian’s mercurial star.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Free kick near the England penalty area.
Pickford sorts out the defence. Close up view of England supporters praying.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Insigne shoots high over the bar. Mancini, the Italian
manager looks pensive. Gareth Southgate, England’s manager frowns, hands in
pockets. Sterling, gets a free kick. Italy are looking unsure, not exactly
rattled but searching for a way to play.. England are looking confident. Italy
take out Harry Kane . Very physical. Italy are going to play tough its obvious.
The game has burst into life. Its all hell for leather.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">11 minutes. England cross into the Italian area. Lorenzo
puts it out for an England corner, The crowd expects.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">13 minutes. Jorginho gives away another corner to England.
Italy looking shaken. Not sure how to handle the England team. Struggling to
break down England.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">16 minutes. Italy beginning to attack more. They seem to
have got the measure of England now.This game is far from over. The Italians
are trying long range balls up to their attackers missing out the midfield. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mancini doing a lot of shouting from the side-line. The
sound of the crowd buzzes likes waves of rising and falling energy. An
elemental force.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">20 minutes. Trippier makes a long run through the Italian
midfield and defence. He forces a throw in. He takes the throw, a long arcing
lob into the Italian penalty area. Its smothered by the Italian defence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">23 minutes. The England defence are looking strong and
secure.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">27 minutes. Italy looking frustrated again. England seem in
control once more.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">30 minutes. England free kick <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but in our own half. England seem to be
controlling the game for the time being. Italy now passing the ball, keeping it
but still unable to break down England.. The pace has slowed. The usually well-oiled
Ferrari engine of the Italian is unsure, trying to work it out. A spanner in
the works perhaps.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">35 minutes. Chiesa slices through the England defence and shoots
just to the right of the goal. Pickford nowhere near it. England escape. In a counter
attack Luke Shaw penetrates the Italian defence. He is playing well. He gets a
probing cross into the box. No England players there to finish it. Where was
Harry Kane?.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">39 minutes. Italy attack. England defence secure, strong,
robust, they still <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>look confident.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">40 minutes. Italian free kick. Dangerous. John Stones clears
with a header.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">44 minutes. Italy attacking strongly at the end of the half but
England hold out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4 minutes added for
extra time. England need to get to half time with a clean sheet. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Italy are <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not the force we were all expecting. The crowd
roar. “ENGLAND! ENGLAND! ENGLAND!”. John Stone blocks a strike on goal. Italy
dangerous all of a sudden.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>47 minutes Now
England attack. Shaw and Kane slice through the Italian defence like a hot
knife through mozzarella,cheese.. Italy clear. The crowd whistle. A shrieking
storm of whistles. Bonucci has a long shot that is easily gathered up by
Pickford.The crowd cheer.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">49 minutes . The referee blows his whistle for half time.
The score 1-0 to England.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Television pundits in the studio.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gary Lineker, “Half way there folks.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alan Shearer, “ England have been absolutely fantastic.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alan Shearer.” We didn’t let them settle.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jurgen Klinsman on the touch line. “Oh my God, it’s rocking
here.”<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL-QRGKffUV7GenUJ_ISDkXz5dM5Wc32r5VqTeCgUIFSwUUFc8uACrmoirjCIQ-KYCxyOTOcA5oaFniPBcEkrtTsipN6cIR1ML4xSG3BsQWTmDP8Hv9ZJPECqbzQpnrz1loVuX1ItHNGW/s640/IMG_1464.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL-QRGKffUV7GenUJ_ISDkXz5dM5Wc32r5VqTeCgUIFSwUUFc8uACrmoirjCIQ-KYCxyOTOcA5oaFniPBcEkrtTsipN6cIR1ML4xSG3BsQWTmDP8Hv9ZJPECqbzQpnrz1loVuX1ItHNGW/w480-h640/IMG_1464.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">SECOND HALF: Things get intense:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">46 minutes. Both teams are cagy at the start of the second
half. England must keep up the tempo. What can Italy do?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">46 minutes. Kane taken out by Nicolo Barella. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Italian frustration showing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sterling goes down in the Italian area. The referee is in a
good position. No penalty.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">49 minutes. Italian free kick on the edge of our penalty
area. Lorenzo Insigna takes it. Shoots. Close, but past the post.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">England really need a second goal to be secure.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">51 minutes. Italy attack. England defence break down the
Italians. It goes nowhere. Insigne<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is
the most dangerous Italian player at the moment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">53 minutes. The Italians make substituions. Imobile off. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">55 minutes. England free kick. Luke Shaw takes it.OOOH!!
Maguire heads over the bar. Crowd chant. ENGLAND! ENGLAND! ENGLAND!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">56 minutes Italy dangerous, getting chances. Italians
putting us under a lot of pressure. England need to weather the storm. Italy
keep possession. Warning signs for England now. Declan Rice surges forward for
England. England defence are playing well frustrating Italy.Chiesa makes a
great shot. Pickford dives to his left and makes a brilliant save.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">62 minutes. England corner. Stones heads but the ball is
guided over by the giant Italian goalkeeper, Donnarumma.. Chiesa is beginning
to cause problems for England.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">66 minutes. Italy score!!!!!A scramble in the England
defence and Bonucci slams the ball into the net from close range.
Opportunistic. Television camera close up of Pickford. He is angry.
Gesticulating at his defence. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">68 minutes. The centre is taken. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is an uneasy feeling around Wembley. Italy have started
to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>enforce their authority on the game.
What is going to happen next? Italy now are attacking strongly. They have been revitalised.
They have the bit between their teeth. England have not dominated at all in the
second half. They have stopped playing. Shaken by the Italian goal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">70 minutes. Saka on for Trippier.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Gary Lineker commentating in the TV studio.” Must be a shift
in formation now. Perhaps a 4-3-3 formation?”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">72 minutes. England need to get back on the front foot.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">73 minutes. Benucci gets contact on a crossed ball. Very
close.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Henderson is now on. Italy are breaking through at will.
England on the ropes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">75 minutes. England seem to have lost their way. Need to be
brave, Need to press higher. In their own half too much at the moment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">MarcoVeratti fouls Maguire . Free kick.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Italians seem to be all over the England players. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Camera looks at the England crowd. Praying, hands together,
concerned faces. The Italians look lively on the attack. England worried,
desperate.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Italy attack swiftly again. England look uncomfortable.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">80 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>England
must move up a gear. Worrying times. England fans tense, subdued.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chiesa injured on the side line. Chiesa takes to the field
again. He is one Italy’s best forwards. We could have done with him staying off.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">83 minutes. England with a chance. We are attacking,
pressing again. England have suddenly come to life. We can HOPE!! Insigna fouled
Trippier. Yellow card. England free kick. Cleared. Shaw shoots too high. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">85 minutes. Chiesa off. Bernardessi on. Chiesa must have
been more badly injured before than he thought, than we thought.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">86 minutes still 1-1. England supporters sing out.
“Football’s coming home.” I wonder. Is it?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">88 minutes. Great attack from Sterling. It takes a few
Italian defenders to stop him.He’s like an electric eel working his way through
them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">90 + 6 minutes. Injury time. Sterling attacks again. Gets a
free kick in England’s half.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">93 minutes. Italy stalking England. England doing their best
to keep them at bay. So tense all around Wembley. Italy playing with fa
freshness and a freedom all of a sudden.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">95 minutes. Chiellini literally gets Mount by the collar of
his shirt and pulls him to the ground. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mount was about to break free on the attack.
Cynical, calculated. Chiellini is yellow carded. A professional foul.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">96 minutes. The referee blows his whistle for full time. Its
1-1 with Italy on the up.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05K5J91tGaAq1bcJVHe1UZnmseqC158ok8Q6nPz7sux-pIMoHJxFl_3db1WMM-ZsXkCiS4RW3o1PGDV0LzMheVFFz5B7WlY3NQVrpzL4YU07bneZcjIBoSTEdjDoQNUETJ6dTPIow6e-K/s640/IMG_1465.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05K5J91tGaAq1bcJVHe1UZnmseqC158ok8Q6nPz7sux-pIMoHJxFl_3db1WMM-ZsXkCiS4RW3o1PGDV0LzMheVFFz5B7WlY3NQVrpzL4YU07bneZcjIBoSTEdjDoQNUETJ6dTPIow6e-K/w480-h640/IMG_1465.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>30 minutes extra
time to be played.<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Both team squads get into their respective close circles.
Mancini in the middle of the Italian players. Southgate crouches forward,
hunched , tense in the middle of the England players. He looks impassioned, resolute,
determined driving home his points to the team.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">. The whistle goes for the start of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>extra time. “COME ON ENGLAND!!” Belloti comes
on for Insigne.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Southgate has made no changes so far.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Emerson blocks Henderson.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">5 minutes. Sterling attacks down the wing and earns an
England corner.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">5.54 Varrati off Locatelli on. Mancini is making the
changes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The ball comes <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to the
edge of the area and Phillps has a shot. He pulls it wide to the left of the
post.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">8.47 Jason Mount off. Jack Grealish on. Can HE do anything?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Grealish and Saka attack the Italian defence slicing through
but take the ball too far, between them, for a goal kick.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">11.34 England must attack. Italy nearly score but the England
defence<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>scrambled the ball away.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">13.29. Worrying moments.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">15 minutes +1 Italy still on the attack. Hand ball. England
free kick. Luke Shaw to take. Shoots wide.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Half Time in extra time.Whistle blows. Exhausting
emotionally for us who watch and those who play. The England team must be
shattered. Unbelievable.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">16 minutes. Are Italy playing for penalties? The nightmare
approaches.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">England must remain positive.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">3 minutes to go. Sancho and Rashford on. Henederson and
Walker replaced. Is this in preparation for penalties? Why do England do this?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">28 minutes. Italy are playing for penalties now surely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Italian corner. That was close. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">34 minutes gone. Referee blows his whistle. It ends at 1-1. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">PENALTY SHOOT OUT . <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">OH NO!!! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Penalties: Italy won the penalty shoot out. 3-2.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98XdhCP9_vZE6Mo2XJNfLL60SLe3zOcDYfeXC3qz_1fIfpf56gaO2tqqAn0NubRoj2ywT4j8VY1B4XXma2yiG6gYzjeSRXgg1ffucJTLkofM47anMO-rzUGf1iCpL-LOT6VSPr-ePNcTh/s593/IMG_1467+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="450" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98XdhCP9_vZE6Mo2XJNfLL60SLe3zOcDYfeXC3qz_1fIfpf56gaO2tqqAn0NubRoj2ywT4j8VY1B4XXma2yiG6gYzjeSRXgg1ffucJTLkofM47anMO-rzUGf1iCpL-LOT6VSPr-ePNcTh/w486-h640/IMG_1467+%25282%2529.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Did England lack creativity throughout the game? If they
did, so did Italy. But what is it about the psychology of England players,
maybe there is something particular about English football, maybe our national
psyche that prevents us, always, from winning penalty shoot outs? What does
taking a penalty make an England player feel in this high pressured emotive
moment?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Marilyn , at the start of the match wondered if the black
players like Rashford and Saka would face abuse online. It has proved so. They
both missed penalties but the cruellest abuse is that meted out to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bukayo Saka, merely 19 years old. He missed the
deciding penalty. He is a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>teenager for
goodness sake!. It is appalling that he or anybody should suffer racial abuse.
It will stay with him for the rest of his life. What does abuse say about us as
a country as people of one nation?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The radio 4 discussion, Marilyn and I lay in bed listening
to, with Nick Robinson, about the game was tinged with disgust at
the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>terrible racist abuse online after
the match targeted against Marcus Rashford<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>and Bukayo Saka. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are all being
asked to behave responsibly when lockdown and all restrictions are removed from
our lives from the 19<sup>th</sup> July.Personal responsibility is very
important, we are all individuals and have to make balanced <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>decisions about our lives. But it appears
personal responsibility has a nasty side. Racist abuse is prominent it seems.
Boris Johnson, Pretti Patel and other Conservative ministers rebuke those who
take the knee in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. They don’tsee the
point. Our government does not understand societies response to the statues of
colonialists and slave owners that dot our country. They deny systemic racism
exists in Britain. Are they therefore responsible for racists feeling they can
abuse the black players? Responsibility should come with understanding and
balance with regard to others. Are we as a society capable of that? The,”
libertarians,” have pushed for an opening up of society from the coronavirus
lockdowns. They get their wish from the 19<sup>th</sup> July. In the light of
disgusting responses to our defeat in the Euros are some people incapable of
being trusted to do the right thing though? <o:p></o:p></p>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-64045770587381854952021-04-24T09:31:00.010-07:002023-10-22T02:02:13.935-07:00What should we do to help children recover after lockdown?<p> </p><p><span face="nta, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c; font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span face="nta, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c; font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="nta, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c; font-size: 19px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Ghqj2an3kuRPu7feyhpt0HYrJYnWyeKijc8hMY-rgSYV16BXzHNwt4xzaRRIEv0uF5lRHC_2Bylh2zCX5CZZfEJ3g2ANPOzlwIJZeszr0EG_-DFJfdZ2wl5CdkJKf3m0CFE_xOPgkbyC/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Ghqj2an3kuRPu7feyhpt0HYrJYnWyeKijc8hMY-rgSYV16BXzHNwt4xzaRRIEv0uF5lRHC_2Bylh2zCX5CZZfEJ3g2ANPOzlwIJZeszr0EG_-DFJfdZ2wl5CdkJKf3m0CFE_xOPgkbyC/w480-h640/image.png" width="480" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><span face="nta, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c; font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="nta, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c; font-size: 19px;">The Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE was appointed Secretary of State for Education on 24 July 2019.</span></p><p><span face="nta, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c; font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><span face="nta, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c; font-size: 19px;"></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">On Monday 8<sup>th</sup> March all school children in
Britain returned to school. Over the last year most had to stay at home. Only
those children who were and are deemed
vulnerable, for whatever reason, poverty, neglect, abuse, or whose parents are key
workers (nurses, teachers, doctors etc), were permitted to be in school during the period of lockdown. During my
morning run, that often takes me along Grand Drive past St John Fisher School
and, also through the Sir Joseph Hood Playing fields past Green Lane
School, I noticed children on the playgrounds or playing fields
doing sport. They numbered twenty or thirty children. That is equivalent to one whole class. I know this is not a very accurate
assessment of the numbers of children in school over the lockdown period but it
gives an impression of the numbers there were in each school during that
period.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Gavin Williamson , the education secretary, has recently
announced possible measures to help children catch up since returning to school.
He has suggested, among other things, longer schooldays, a five term year
creating shorter holiday periods, discipline hubs and strict discipline codes
to counteract the deterioration in behaviour he thinks will take place because
children have been at home during lockdown. "Children will explode into the corridors
and classrooms of Britain and wreck the place," won't they Gavin?. What makes Gavin not think that children will be so
desperate to get back to school and see their friends and do exciting things in
their lessons they will be better behaved than they were before? I
see every reason why thereturn to school for the vast majority will be a postive experince. </p><p class="MsoNormal">I have my theories about this
government during the pandemic. They seem to have brought in measures in different
areas of government which they say is because of the covid pandemic but I strongly suspect
are to do with policies which they had planned for some time but deemed
unpopular. Under lockdown they can introduce them quickly with the excuse
they are necessary. A very sneaky way to bring in Conservative right wing
policies no doubt.The head of OFSTED, Amanda Spielman, commenting on Gavin Williamson’s suggestions diplomatically said that ,"we need to go by the evidence."</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Many fortunate children have been able to access online learning
provided by their teachers at their own school through internet links. Teachers
have worked hard creating online content. The BBC has done sterling work
creating and broadcasting entertaining
and helpful screened lessons for all age groups covering all subjects.
Many children do have the technology, laptops, TVs, internet connections and smart
phones. </p><p class="MsoNormal">The online learning I have seen the BBC presenting has been of a high standard but no matter how good the online learning provided is, it can never be able to replace face to face teaching in a classroom. To learn , to be inspired, to be able to make mistakes and try again, to be wowed, to develop as a person you and I and all children need face to face interactions and children need it in a classroom with friends around them. Personal interactions, empathy, understanding and face to face teaching which can immediately take into account misunderstandings or different aspects that arise is really needed.</p><p class="MsoNormal">There were those, a significant minority, who did not have access to
this online learning. I read of teachers delivering work to children
in their homes and then returning a week later to collect the work carried out.
Many children are living in abject conditions of poverty that created
conditions whereby even this personal service was difficult or impossible for them to take advantage of properly. <o:p></o:p></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">It was interesting lately when the Chief Constable of Merseyside
retired recently he made a statement
saying that if he was given £3 billion pounds he would use 20% to
improve the police force and 80% to deal with poverty in his region. He thought
poverty was the biggest factor in crime. If people had jobs and decent living
accommodation they would not turn to
crime. This of course applies directly to education too. If you deal with
poverty then the educational outcomes for many would immediately improve.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">From the 1950s, a revolution in teaching was taking place
based on the work of child psychologists
such as Jean Piaget and his cognitive
developmental theories and in Britain, Baroness Plowden published her report on
education in 1967. Plowden had researched
the best learning practices in schools
in the years before the report was published. These two, among others, such as
Montessorri and her child centred educational techniques and Vygotskys
theories about social interactions lead to all schools taking up some form of child centred education. Progress is never an
immediate thing though and new ideas take a long time to be taken up by the mainstream.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">From a personal viewpoint when I was 11 years old, in 1963, I arrived in secondary school. I felt crushed by an inferiority complex and lack of confidence and belief that some of my junior school teachers, strict disciplinarians and advocates of rote learning had instilled in me. They had not taken on the new research and new ideas about how children and humans really learn. At secondary school I met a teacher who
came from Liverpool. He had a Liverpool accent and had a wry sense of humour. I
remember still feeling a little fearful but I was mesmerised by his cheeky
approach to us as a class. He was a breath of fresh air. He taught maths and made it fun. Ok, he still
had a teaching technique that lacked
exploration on the part of pupils. His approach was more show and copy than experiment and problem solve, but it was delivered in
an entertaining way. As I got older another teacher, our art teacher, actually
told me once I had painted a great oil painting. I think it was some trees,
bushes and a sky and I myself wasn’t at all sure it was any good but the art
teacher thought it was good. Those two teachers stand out especially for
me. Fun and praise, those two things
made me feel good.Teaching and learning should be about excitement, exploration,
a passion to learn and progress and have those two elements of fun and praise as well. Learning should make pupils ,”feel
good,” I think.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I was a teacher for about forty years. I found teaching
hard. If anybody tells you any different they are lying, but it totally
absorbed me. It challenged me every day. From creating that close relationship
with every child in my class to finding innovative and exciting ways to enable
children to learn, to make it child centred so the child actually felt the learning
was about them as an individual, giving the children the tools to solve
problems, to be imaginative, to make things, to be challenged and enjoy the
whole process. No it wasn’t easy, but doing it like that was absolutely right and necessary. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">One child I had in my class one year was struggling with most
things but one day we were all outside on the playing fields just outside our
classroom , all of us looking at the clouds and an occasional jet airliner
taking off from Heathrow Airport nearby. It was an English lesson.As a class we
were thinking of words to describe what we were looking at. This child, who was
struggling, Robbie, stood next to me and he said, <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“Mr Grant, that sky is so deep its like looking at
infinity.” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">“Wow Robbie, that’s brilliant! I love those words.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> When we got back into
the classroom Robbie wrote a poem , only four lines long about the sky including
the words he had thought of. I praised him so much. I remember feeling excited
for Robbie. For the rest of the year Robbie was so keen and looking forward to
every English lesson.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Mr Williamson wants longer school days. He wants a draconian
discipline policy. He wants five terms in the year. Mr Williamson doesn’t know
anything about the teaching and the earning process. Longer days, more terms,
stricter discipline really is not the way to go Mr Williamson. Discipline comes
from close personal relationships, a belief in yourself and a desire to learn.
It comes from feeling valued and being encouraged. “Catching up,” is not about longer days . A spark of inspiration, a sudden
triggered love of something is all that is needed. Everything else follows.If
Mr Williamson is worried about the children not covering every part of his
precious national curriculum then he shouldn’t be. The curriculum is not
education. Love, empathy, inspiration, the right sort of challenges are what is
needed. Your ideas, Mr Williamson, will tire and wear out teachers and pupils
and make all those important elements of teaching and learning much harder to achieve.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The first thing children need when they all get back into
their classes is to say hello to their friends, be able to talk about their
experiences, laugh and enjoy the moment. Leave it to the teachers to reignite
the love of learning. That is all that counts.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u><o:p> </o:p></u></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-49823464734582460102020-12-18T10:37:00.010-08:002022-02-23T08:52:20.945-08:00THE RIO TAPE SLIDE ARCHIVE<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9GutoKm739n3Wv9BHwxsws59J4cfAeTyUb4YPQsgwaJlMOmBhTe1LbGqWI7nouF2mzAk5SDeOolOq4es1nAr6ZkfLD9el8_kKWzH5GJ9Nw2DbO6lakO0ORSyfYg60xPMUYT6dvTdiJ8BJ/s2048/THE+BOOK.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1462" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9GutoKm739n3Wv9BHwxsws59J4cfAeTyUb4YPQsgwaJlMOmBhTe1LbGqWI7nouF2mzAk5SDeOolOq4es1nAr6ZkfLD9el8_kKWzH5GJ9Nw2DbO6lakO0ORSyfYg60xPMUYT6dvTdiJ8BJ/w456-h640/THE+BOOK.JPG" width="456" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Rio Tape Slide Archive in the 1980s</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 2017, Tamara Stoll and Andrew Woodyatt were introduced to
Andrew Denney who, together with publisher and designer Max Leonard digitised
all the pictures in this book and many more and some wrote essays about
aspects of the Rio Tape Slide News Group (RTSNG) and also got people to contribute their memories and thoughts. .
They met Sandra Hooper, who had been part of the RTSNG and began their exploration of and research into the archives
discovered in the basement of the Rio Cinema on the Kingsland Road in Dalston. The
RTSNG itself had originated from ideas inculcated at the CENTREPRISE BOOKSHOP
which in its turn took its lead from the Hackney Education Institute. They
interviewed people who were part of the RTSNG also actually interviewing some
of the people shown in some of these photographs from the 1980s.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is a book about local people and the power and
abilities they can utilise and wield as a local community, standing up to injustices
brought upon them by the government of the day, through police actions and
government policies. The book is about personal belief, finding talents they
would never have otherwise discovered within themselves, building confidence
and showing the world that they have a voice and can be proactive and carry out
actions which are beneficial not only to themselves as individuals but the
community as a whole. Ultimately these people and their actions portrayed in
this book show that supposedly ordinary poor people are as strong and can be as
powerful as any so called elite.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUc_fUwty4rLgFGlNLZd8B-5HzibiTUXMX4EafSH3rhzzBSVZ_VgK3z5sUttJwFMRu49JsxtCV5zeCFgNp_H_XOx0oZctcOaJLpnxNAVNlaCWYUWJacLVwVIJV0SRmRXSNCBKjJCWaP60_/s2048/RIO+5.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUc_fUwty4rLgFGlNLZd8B-5HzibiTUXMX4EafSH3rhzzBSVZ_VgK3z5sUttJwFMRu49JsxtCV5zeCFgNp_H_XOx0oZctcOaJLpnxNAVNlaCWYUWJacLVwVIJV0SRmRXSNCBKjJCWaP60_/w480-h640/RIO+5.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Three young men in hackney in the 1980s.Solidarity.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If anything this book and all the things it represents,
local community action, local issues and its links to national issues and
international issues, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>provides a
fantastic example of what a community can do together. The important aspect is,
indeed, doing things together. A community can do so much more than an
individual can. This book represents a great example of community action. We
need more of it now, in this present time of crisis more than ever. We must<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fight against all the top down rules and
restrictions that are being forced on us by government during this COVID 19
pandemic. The more and more centralised government, organised from Downing
Street, tells us what to do the more individuals are crushed and broken. It would be very interesting to find out, if ,like good child
centred<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>teaching practice , our
governance could grow from the individual first, leading to community
action based on community needs. The government would then take a lead from the local level. We might discover that we could deal with this pandemic much better at a granular level. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So after thirty years of being hidden in the depths of the
RIO cinema basement, the grey filing cabinet with the Rio Tape Slide Newsreel
Groups work was rediscovered. Within the book that Alan Denney has put together
there are a number of articles by various contributors, including Alan Denney
himself. They are printed on yellow paper so by looking along the edges of the
closed book it is easy to see where contributing articles are located. Their
yellow edges stand out from the white.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Alan Denney provides an article that sets out the influences
and theories , philosophical and political, that underlie the RTSNG’s work back
in the 1980s. His article starts with a quotation from Allan Sekula “Photography
Politics: One 1979,” which encapsulates what the RIO and the RTSNG with ideas
instigated at the Centerprise Bookshop, were doing. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m arguing for an art that documents monopoly capitalism’s
inability to deliver the conditions for a fully human life.”<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO5yvjol4cNXyWqahoxvWCAbzj0gy8nNJn49SQsuODgDOzLBNygyzEfrf-CYKlLQV9af9xWm-iBBlysCM7qW073l-j3vgRTUeedFjKWAfDxOk3HdGc7AZS9EsP-j6tEpgxIbDzfIcsjsjO/s750/Centreprise.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="750" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO5yvjol4cNXyWqahoxvWCAbzj0gy8nNJn49SQsuODgDOzLBNygyzEfrf-CYKlLQV9af9xWm-iBBlysCM7qW073l-j3vgRTUeedFjKWAfDxOk3HdGc7AZS9EsP-j6tEpgxIbDzfIcsjsjO/w640-h418/Centreprise.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Centreprise the radical local bookshop in Hackney from which so many ideas and radical actions emanated.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The RTSNG emerged from a counterculture in the 1960s. Young
people wanted to change society from below, the grass roots. They were able to organise
themselves through the RTSNG project and also education programmes set up
across the road from the RIO cinema at the Centerprise Bookshop.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Centerprise was a bookshop on Kingsland High Street that
sold books by new radical writers, pamphlets and noticeboards provided
information, there were meeting rooms, legal advice was given and classes were
held. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Changing society from below based on individual and community
needs connects with another philosophy the RTSNG and Centerprise promoted and
that was the ideas about education that Ivan Illich promoted, the idea of
,”deschooling.”<span style="background: white; color: #19191a; font-family: "Roboto",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #19191a; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ivan Illich
published his book "Deschooling Society," in which he describes an
educational model where the child chooses what to learn while the adult guides
and supports them. Illich thought that traditional education, where children
must follow a unique curriculum kills curiosity and creativity, not allowing
for the development of soft skills. He promoted what we might call child
centred education. That process in our schools today is controlled and guided
which is necessary depending on the needs of the child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some sort of guidance and skills training is
needed even with a ,”deschooling,” policy. From my own experiences, teaching
for over forty years, I know that a myriad <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of rich experiences need to be provided. Human
beings need to interact with the world and need a rich mixture of textures
experiences<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>before they can ask questions
and feel the need to explore. They need to be inspired.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXwCnuSdl3untpVVg2L53w2xc7TFHwvQxPrPB2QAFBB_dpJB5aYO959MoJKwuqaieQZYnjirtDZ6tZP1MHGvM42rYCVRliveu0hS18T6b_IX-wHsSyX00-SnCbHMX4oRbS6HbAIjptHmm/s2048/IMG_8528+%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1525" data-original-width="2048" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXwCnuSdl3untpVVg2L53w2xc7TFHwvQxPrPB2QAFBB_dpJB5aYO959MoJKwuqaieQZYnjirtDZ6tZP1MHGvM42rYCVRliveu0hS18T6b_IX-wHsSyX00-SnCbHMX4oRbS6HbAIjptHmm/w640-h476/IMG_8528+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #19191a;">People in Hackney at a bus stop.</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #19191a; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The RTSNG and Centreprise also used
the ideas about engaging with society that Paolo Freire advocated. He thought
we should look more at society around us, identify issues and link this to
positive action for change.. They also connected with Richard Hoggart and his
development of cultura studies and also with Chris Searle who was involved with
race relations and social justice. All these elements can be seen in the work
of the RIO Tape/Slide Shows work. These ideas naturally grow from the needs of
people. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #19191a; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Centerprise, under these influences
moved from a more traditional set of adult education classes <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for the unemployed to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>more radical ideas about the role of
education. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>such as teaching Black
History, Afro Brazilian music lessons, Graphics, which could be used to create
posters and signs promoting the activities that went on, working with children
and many other culturally and socially literate <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>courses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #19191a; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Hackney Adult Education Institute
was a driving force in promoting radical revolutionary education too and
instigated and supportedmany of the ideas, Centerprise and the Rio project
undertook. The whole movement in Hackney,, if that is the right term, was
underpinned by a deep theoretical and grass roots need for action.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The archives include 10,000 glass mounted slides and 2000
frames on film strips from between 1981 to 1988, covering seven years. They
were photographed using <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SLR cameras on
35mm colour slide film.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The people who took these photographs and created this
valuable archive were young unemployed locals . Older members of the community,
especially women were involved in other aspects of action in Hackney too
becoming news reporters and journalists producing their own newspaper.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SkRS1_Rmo60UKjRWiAvB1d_eXRaFL82h6lmcJv4rS9oI-jVgwcObwUcrgtiwN3UYrsdzP50I8_GCPN1Gb3JVda5O3PvLgYMkO-UnH-veDUrZSa84bMSrV9mlIVcvEU6j9khe8DOBSdto/s2048/IMG_8533.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SkRS1_Rmo60UKjRWiAvB1d_eXRaFL82h6lmcJv4rS9oI-jVgwcObwUcrgtiwN3UYrsdzP50I8_GCPN1Gb3JVda5O3PvLgYMkO-UnH-veDUrZSa84bMSrV9mlIVcvEU6j9khe8DOBSdto/w640-h480/IMG_8533.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">The older generation got active in Hackney too.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many of the radical ideas about the use of photography came
from the published works of Jo Spence and Terry Dunnet. Jo Spence used her
camera to shoot and expose cultural issues. A new name emerged which described
her work and which encapsulates the essence of this sort of photography. She
was called <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a ,” cultural sniper.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tape slide projects had emerged previously in Manchester and
in other parts of London, Blackfriars and Paddington. Instructions on how to
use this tape slide process were available from these other ventures. The Half
Moon Photography Workshops in Bethnal Green and their magazine Camerawork
developed ideas about using film and tape. They had a feature article in one of
their magazines explaining how to do it.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOiVH46BILb-akU4MA6OZr_-iSneoR1P-8m_fJpA3jnKHPCnRZ4lUYc9umuOTDm5-KbVyWELnRwIT4hOW-uVqfpRceIHSk66JjRjKIW6cz8khtc1waPReLgr5W3zgNNq98Pb4R2pSgE2k/s1200/Members+of+the+Rio+tape+slide+group.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOiVH46BILb-akU4MA6OZr_-iSneoR1P-8m_fJpA3jnKHPCnRZ4lUYc9umuOTDm5-KbVyWELnRwIT4hOW-uVqfpRceIHSk66JjRjKIW6cz8khtc1waPReLgr5W3zgNNq98Pb4R2pSgE2k/w640-h480/Members+of+the+Rio+tape+slide+group.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Members of the RIO Tape Slide group.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Michael Rosen wrote a forward to this book during the Summer
of 2020. He was recovering from a near death experience with Covid 19.Which of
course itself brings up questions about<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>an unfair and unequal society which is going to have to be addressed and
politicians are going to have to answer for<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>in the aftermath of the pandemic, but for now we are dealing with the
1980s, the effects of Thatcherism, poverty and community action then. Michael
Rosen recalls the time he lived in Hackney during the 1980s and recalls his
support for campaigns on educational issues which of course has been his life’s
work <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>through his writing especially his <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>poetry, children’s books and articles for
teachers union magazines such as EDUCATE. He also recalls the vibrant community
he was part of and its strength derived from community involvement. He has a
fondness and attachment to the people of Hackney although he doesn’t live there
anymore. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7VpytOSrFdqe2JidS-7WBSVYQfLYy5xvxxeqC-jD2V2E4no1axSdyThJIlVPlzneXB4GRXl-Y8Z2fGnRomGzAvav0Zn1vCSeKqdj0kxN9-ngzZw4zvmMen5wKUpmn21iy6pYlDcK7Awi/s2048/Dereliction.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="2048" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7VpytOSrFdqe2JidS-7WBSVYQfLYy5xvxxeqC-jD2V2E4no1axSdyThJIlVPlzneXB4GRXl-Y8Z2fGnRomGzAvav0Zn1vCSeKqdj0kxN9-ngzZw4zvmMen5wKUpmn21iy6pYlDcK7Awi/w640-h416/Dereliction.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Derelict buildings in Hackney. Squatters moved in.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Rio Tape Slide Archive book<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>starts with an introductory section,
“Beginnings,” introducing many of the people who were part of that original
project, with <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>short personal biographies.
Here are some comments made by a few of the group.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Felicity Harvest was
the Rio Coordinator. Ramsey Cameron was the film programmer. John Paish the
projectionist. Some of those people <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>whose lives were changed and given a purpose
in life include, Sandra Hooper an RTSNG leader. They all provide comments on
what they were doing at the time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sandra Hooper states,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“ Annette Giles was the instigator- she was the person from
Hackney Education Institue (HAEI) … who approached me at Centreprise with a
view to creating this new project at the RIO. It came out of the Young
Photographers Group and Hackney Unemployed Media Scheme(HUMS) and the RIO was very
much a community cinema. At Centreprise. Community involvement was the whole
essence of Centreprise”<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjotuj9AwQb1hwy51zwcU01xNDzDpTvDzp7MZIGLSFpqspu0Id1ATAE0sjC2XDAzPSWZzjxHq3lK2VVWbLIrySDQt-Kj79k9NTGw7VCAiexXtciJxCDo3V5Q1oMY9QJsr5BiqaMYnF3Y5Cl/s2048/The+RIO+cinema.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjotuj9AwQb1hwy51zwcU01xNDzDpTvDzp7MZIGLSFpqspu0Id1ATAE0sjC2XDAzPSWZzjxHq3lK2VVWbLIrySDQt-Kj79k9NTGw7VCAiexXtciJxCDo3V5Q1oMY9QJsr5BiqaMYnF3Y5Cl/w480-h640/The+RIO+cinema.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">The RIO, on The Kingsland Road.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Barbara Schulz was an original RTSNG member.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“ I started the Young Photographers and then I became part
of HUMS…., making a magazine. Many of us from the group joined Sandra at the
RIO and became part of the newsreel group, doing news, taking photos, deciding
on what stories we wanted.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">BB was interviewed about her role. (She doesn’t want her
name revealed.)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“ At the time I never really wanted to be a photographer.
That wasn’t my ambition. I always wanted to be a journalist, even when I was
young. But I went to a really duff school……….For me the journalism was why I joined
the group. I felt it was about learning a little bit of how to tell other
peoples stories…….You felt it had real purpose.”<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3I0glq7mu_xpL9fiObFhw6ySIVyZkzkOMNE4qePqDM9Zu0UgAJVy0T3Tuh1sS98N0kmuMQv_dc4uRxCkc4wMjvZvCuaNLR4lNnBadd2eJpeU2bCKisvdEJakUG9YfS8MqN_bGm9q88_9O/s1345/Dalston+in+the+1980s.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="1345" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3I0glq7mu_xpL9fiObFhw6ySIVyZkzkOMNE4qePqDM9Zu0UgAJVy0T3Tuh1sS98N0kmuMQv_dc4uRxCkc4wMjvZvCuaNLR4lNnBadd2eJpeU2bCKisvdEJakUG9YfS8MqN_bGm9q88_9O/w640-h420/Dalston+in+the+1980s.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Dalston in the 1980s.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What comes across in these interviews is the agency these
people feel and the opportunities to have a voice and through the RTSNG the group
develop a force for change in their community. By recording and writing about
what is going on in their community they themselves and others, reading and seeing
their work can think about the good and bad things taking place and this gives them the energy to act and do something about it. It makes
me feel that all communities, wherever you are, should be creating this grass roots up wards approach
to local needs. Is this a political act? Probably, but it is the sort of
politics that should be happening everywhere.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The other thing that becomes clear is that these people from
poor backgrounds, some thought that they hadn't had the educational advantages of others, which indeed was true, could act and carry out actions that society as a whole often feel is the work of
the privileged who go to public schools and the top universities. The people of
Hackney are just as capable of observing and commenting on their own community
and are far more engaged in the needs of local people than anybody from a
wealthy background and posh education reporting for the TIMES or the TELEGRAPH
could possibly be. I think that ordinary working class people could run this
country much better than the so called, “POSH elite.” We would all be better
off.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK57ushrJLTaEoWs1MwbQu3_pMQfNVNFSPj-7lbS5USj8yWoZ_BWKdOxH6nkpxIkpmZWx7rKDGryzwUu2M71djWQioP16GTLD4mW3Wpg3z6KyMI9xTSJxFlkTAkiYUdY4ManBVZepcGDtU/s2048/IMG_8525.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK57ushrJLTaEoWs1MwbQu3_pMQfNVNFSPj-7lbS5USj8yWoZ_BWKdOxH6nkpxIkpmZWx7rKDGryzwUu2M71djWQioP16GTLD4mW3Wpg3z6KyMI9xTSJxFlkTAkiYUdY4ManBVZepcGDtU/w640-h480/IMG_8525.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">A march to stop an extension of the M11 coming through Hackney.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That opening part of
the book also gives an overview of Hackney in the 1980s. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“When the RTSNG first met,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Margeret Thatcher was surfing the wave of success in the polls after the
Falklands War……<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but the combination of
decades of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>neglect and Conservative
policies were hitting Hackney hard.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here are some more important<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>interviews with people connected to the RTSNG and their memories of life
in the 1980s in Hackney.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evaline Marius (poet, youth and mental health worker RTSNG
collaborator)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“It was a very discontented era, with people disillusioned,
frustrated, angry.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Keith Brade.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“I grew up in the 1960’s and there were big changes in terms
of immigration into the borough by the 1980s but the fundamentals didn’t really
change. It was always a place of, sounds corny, but a place of struggle and
violence.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Guy Farrar photographer and Centreprise worker.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“It was fantastically vibrant, active, a lot of social
movements lots of people campaigning for change.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><b style="font-style: italic; text-decoration-line: none;"> </b></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2-5W9man14xvQR_qz6P-fMfhDr-H3UofGn5OoPQR6xwomKGQ7EW-58LS18TwmriXop0CUWwsznJi8RNhxKPHdlry-AjVUhjicSJkS_D3CKBqF90RCtCRIYAo2VwczF0B4qr0qZSxZdg_/s750/Members-of-the-Rio-Tape-Slide-Newsreel-group-outside-the-Rio-Cinema.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="750" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2-5W9man14xvQR_qz6P-fMfhDr-H3UofGn5OoPQR6xwomKGQ7EW-58LS18TwmriXop0CUWwsznJi8RNhxKPHdlry-AjVUhjicSJkS_D3CKBqF90RCtCRIYAo2VwczF0B4qr0qZSxZdg_/w640-h360/Members-of-the-Rio-Tape-Slide-Newsreel-group-outside-the-Rio-Cinema.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Some of the RTSNG standing outside of the RIO cinema in Kingsland Road.</div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A photograph of the RIO<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>in the early 1980s depicts<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>red
and white stripes down the front of the building and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to one side, red and white colour features
with giant black lettering picking out the name RIO. The building certainly
stood out from its Victorian, grey London Brick built terraces either side. Enter
the RIO and you came across avante garde films, a powerhouse of ideas for the
community to get socially engaged, a hub for the local people to express their
viewpoints about where they lived and to plan action to bring about change. A
place where people could learn how to make their voice heard and where they
learned that strength came from group solidarity.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A photograph of five young members of the tape slide group
shows them leaning against what looks like a FORD Capri with a white <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>paint job and a red underside and red wheel hubs.The
colours of the RIO. Two of them look at the camera determined and sure of
themselves. Another two laugh and chat unconcerned about the photograph being
taken. Unemployed youths, given the power to act, given a voice. They are
together. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many of the photographs throughout this book show groups of people.
A picture on the front cover, for instance, shows three young men standing
outside Dalston Kingsland Station, confident , cheeky looks on their faces. A
certain bravura about them, facing the world together. A strong group pf young
men in attitude and ambition. Another picture on the front shows a group of
happy, vibrant women standing up for the NHS, together, smiles, laughter,
determination, placards and strength. There is a certain joy in their
collaboration. They are in it together. These three photographs depict
powerfully what the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>work at the RIO and
at Centreprise was doing. It was empowering people.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqLW54EvavNSKb3FXlDuaoc-BSkqNDFkHP3JY00XKo3vYDP30t2Oq8BWe5iv4IUUf7SB-3pzH3VNdcsw5CORKZPbiijl8MaBGr6Mmz-9niEkr_Gbst1v4fYuZaJhED5lgnbCu4oJwrlm2h/s2048/RIO+6.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqLW54EvavNSKb3FXlDuaoc-BSkqNDFkHP3JY00XKo3vYDP30t2Oq8BWe5iv4IUUf7SB-3pzH3VNdcsw5CORKZPbiijl8MaBGr6Mmz-9niEkr_Gbst1v4fYuZaJhED5lgnbCu4oJwrlm2h/w640-h480/RIO+6.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">The government wanted to close some of Hackneys hospitals.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Each section that follows is a,”News Round Up,” for a given
year.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>“1983 NEWS ROUND
UP.”<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The tape slide show review group covered such issues as ,”The
Death of Colin Roach,” a young black man killed with a shot gun in the foyer of
Stoke Newington Police Station. They wanted to know, what happened. They wanted
answers which were not forthcoming from the police.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Government policies were threatening the life of many in
Hackney at the time. “The Save Hackney,” campaign was begun. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Four hospitals closed in Hackney during the 1980s. The Rio
project covered this Hackney emergency.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There was a protest against the M11 motorway link road that
was destined to go through Hackney and destroy its heart.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The GLC funded a lot of cultural organisations which
developed in Hackney but spending cuts eventually destroyed these important
organisations.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">RTSNG was directly funded by Hackney Adult Education
Institute and they financed other projects working with older people and
minority groups. These all suffered under Tory cuts. One particularly amazing
project was the,” Hackney Pensioners Press.” <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Julia Bard in The Morning Star wrote about the Hackney
Pensioners Press.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“ What they brought
was knowledge of how to get things done, courage derived from a lifetime of
political struggle, an understanding of how to work collectively, and a burning
anger at injustice.”<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisYUpldiFk-zgs262DlL3WKHO2OMG2vZVddUUkhWNvECl703zshz4CX-bDgU9-WGfvWXR2yaD3lZ1IytMoSNe-UPZ8ZpE2hT9CewTwK6yuIXTwz8ZnlthL5tBMHN7teGrES-uhHKz6MR3x/s2048/IMG_8535.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisYUpldiFk-zgs262DlL3WKHO2OMG2vZVddUUkhWNvECl703zshz4CX-bDgU9-WGfvWXR2yaD3lZ1IytMoSNe-UPZ8ZpE2hT9CewTwK6yuIXTwz8ZnlthL5tBMHN7teGrES-uhHKz6MR3x/w640-h480/IMG_8535.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Heavy handed police action.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 1983 the Sandringham Road Police incident was covered by
the newsreel group.The police had developed a new tactic using dogs along with
the unfair stop and search tactics they were using at the time, which were
biased against balck youths and black people generally. The photos taken by the
group were used by the local MP in Parliament to highlight the issue. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Stop the City protest was a demonstration that was
targeted at was perceived as the greed of the city and the unfairness and
divisions in society.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“One Day In Hackney,” was a newsreel project about showing
Hackney to Hackney, shops, parks, streets, housing, working environments and as
always groups of people together. Felicity Harvest, who worked at the RIO
thought up the idea, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“One Day Off in Hackney, involved forty or fifty people. We
gave a film to everybody involved and they went out…”<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQQjvby4Mk1-5FvCDG3KX2XumA9Yk_qrMY462Q7Sx6D38fNwWKe_7BCKPgvfdEozyiwmgAhL6g_kR2-cDYUlY3RaYEn8iTR1g-kFZMun68FNta9Q3RIMaZmhn9JjbW6sTL82tKdAV3fgJ/s2048/IMG_8541.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQQjvby4Mk1-5FvCDG3KX2XumA9Yk_qrMY462Q7Sx6D38fNwWKe_7BCKPgvfdEozyiwmgAhL6g_kR2-cDYUlY3RaYEn8iTR1g-kFZMun68FNta9Q3RIMaZmhn9JjbW6sTL82tKdAV3fgJ/w640-h480/IMG_8541.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Youngsters in Hackney.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>1984 News Round
Up.<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During 1984, the first anniversary of Colin Roaches death is
membered and the campaign to find out what really happened continued.There was
a capign against The Police Bill. There were anti apartheid protest. The
Hasbudak family was deprted back to Turkey by the Home Office. The poel of
Hackney and the headmistress of the school the Hasbudak children attended got
involved. There was The Hackney Women's Peace Camp<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>campaigning against Greenham Common and the
presence of the American nuclear deterrent on British soil went on.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_gdJcFVfuEXlXfO0n4MhBdM-cDuSv3R7uIkIiag9NAaO6iPMAC5KbMr7rqPiGQTe28zmnbShBtRpVF0LWCQ83JKgDjCHv-ccpqkVFcc3wTZTkCeJ6GMhGJMtJv7Tlzuu1cPqIpayEpDDR/s2048/IMG_8536.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_gdJcFVfuEXlXfO0n4MhBdM-cDuSv3R7uIkIiag9NAaO6iPMAC5KbMr7rqPiGQTe28zmnbShBtRpVF0LWCQ83JKgDjCHv-ccpqkVFcc3wTZTkCeJ6GMhGJMtJv7Tlzuu1cPqIpayEpDDR/w640-h480/IMG_8536.JPG" width="640" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> Greenham Common.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The people
campaigning in Hackney for the rights of Hackney people realise that wider
issues such as deportations and Greenham Common were all part of the same social and economic struggle<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and so they got involved
attacking injustices as a whole.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkQYEoWu94VZpCuDuydbXFqm1TXrZDJ4m7YbcWHhhk2HMcS6ftCIWE2gCjeXwTsj0FscAXcdHj-ry8fZdyvodVWs8AGtm2BrRCFY_MnqpokDeMmPm9cMC_HqOi23emFPPljjcOwVrLFzI/s2048/IMG_8524.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkQYEoWu94VZpCuDuydbXFqm1TXrZDJ4m7YbcWHhhk2HMcS6ftCIWE2gCjeXwTsj0FscAXcdHj-ry8fZdyvodVWs8AGtm2BrRCFY_MnqpokDeMmPm9cMC_HqOi23emFPPljjcOwVrLFzI/w640-h480/IMG_8524.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Saving Hackney, saving the world.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Centreprise as a community hub for action and
education reopened in 1984. One Dya Off in hackney was recorded. St leonards
Hospital was closed The vibrant life and people of Kingsland Market was
featured. The people of Hackney supported the miners strike.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>1985 News Round
Up.<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The work of the group began the year with the second
anniversary of Colin Roaches death.. Hackney Book Bus was featured, Music and
Dance in hackney was featured. There was a lot of cultural cross overs, South
African, Jamaican, sound systems, parties and clubs such as the Four Aces,
dance groups and drama groups. Hackney was a vibrant grass roots creative
community.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNUjqH1XhrnAjCfRWA3DgusoieZA1grbeLE_A8F1XKP9M0PQCainN-_tKPFo-3IPVHaDw48ZeAJrdEoD0RnWo8uAI8tregLDZVzTx978nSHbEfzqYl-WenF9ZA0KdDJwLRuTwwcoYEhtc/s2048/IMG_8530.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNUjqH1XhrnAjCfRWA3DgusoieZA1grbeLE_A8F1XKP9M0PQCainN-_tKPFo-3IPVHaDw48ZeAJrdEoD0RnWo8uAI8tregLDZVzTx978nSHbEfzqYl-WenF9ZA0KdDJwLRuTwwcoYEhtc/w480-h640/IMG_8530.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Remembering Colin Roach.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ridley Market was featured which might have been a source
for EastEnders. The AIDS pandemic was researched. Rate Capping became a big
issue. The government wanted to restrict the taxes local authorities could
charge because they thought they were overspending. This resulted in less
services in Hackney and an attack on community action groups such as the RIO
and Centreprise. The RIO project looked at Hackney shops and community sports.
They really did<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>try to cover every
aspect of Hackney Life.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYMSup-HtpwUeiVbk35zmAdIKoyX__gCY0QfUVyZV_1nzmo8_cw4s_MvydFArLM4Qx8qHMzI8LufREJ2VyZwFnpsm9-3qDx4qi997b3W2fFNQ6r7pr8ZbdbsWBI-HC5VPkq-e_Y1DaFe4/s640/Ridley+Road+Market.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYMSup-HtpwUeiVbk35zmAdIKoyX__gCY0QfUVyZV_1nzmo8_cw4s_MvydFArLM4Qx8qHMzI8LufREJ2VyZwFnpsm9-3qDx4qi997b3W2fFNQ6r7pr8ZbdbsWBI-HC5VPkq-e_Y1DaFe4/w640-h360/Ridley+Road+Market.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ridley Road Market. Some say it was the inspiration for ,"Eastenders."</div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>1986-88 News Round
Up.<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the final years of The Rio Tape Slide Newsreel Group the
participants didn’t hold back in their campaigning and observational efforts.
They covered the Albert Town Butteriled area being demolished and rebuilt for
gentrification. Hackney CND group was featured. Hoxton Street Market was
covered and life in the area, pubs, the Traveller Community The Hackney Empire
and the advertisements put up with the slide shows, for local businesses and
trades which many people actually complained about. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJoC2du1k-u-ZNe5Q3zopUWUcMCYSEZLrudzwlGBbNH-Rb7W6zK0__0gFMAeIuHY7kxKEnskyGT-CnGkDPiQpJlffFU5lkzY7OEardAqkdHxKsDNUIOjb2O7j8s-DJ8M_5VbRrQAFblK5X/s2048/R1+%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1504" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJoC2du1k-u-ZNe5Q3zopUWUcMCYSEZLrudzwlGBbNH-Rb7W6zK0__0gFMAeIuHY7kxKEnskyGT-CnGkDPiQpJlffFU5lkzY7OEardAqkdHxKsDNUIOjb2O7j8s-DJ8M_5VbRrQAFblK5X/w470-h640/R1+%25282%2529.JPG" width="470" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Hackney housing.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Squatting was was an issue and
all the housing issues related to squatting, the attitude and actions of the
council the views of the squatters and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>the underlying need for good housing for local people. The Save Hackney
Campaign was bolstered by the release of a hip hop number ,”Fighting for
Survival.” The Broadwater Farm protest was covered . Cynthia Jarret died of a
heart attack during a police search of her home on the estate. During the
ensuing riot PC Keith Blakelock was murdered. Life in Hackney Housing estates
was covered. Regeneration of the area, the Dalston Cycle Path Campaign, Green
Hackney and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Great Storm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in October 1987.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8iSj2qXNQpXUpY0JpDnwvaIVp6Iv1wrnM5CJBPaaj1VaHoqyYFJrq_wmpi7RzNHTFyPqoeO4Ws4URtsA1JwmFBWNfx2r5yFfOhvryR4i8TVv5kR55cNBt9FXhvSomdCeXRt5YJBqGIVe/s1200/Travellers+in+hackney.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="1200" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8iSj2qXNQpXUpY0JpDnwvaIVp6Iv1wrnM5CJBPaaj1VaHoqyYFJrq_wmpi7RzNHTFyPqoeO4Ws4URtsA1JwmFBWNfx2r5yFfOhvryR4i8TVv5kR55cNBt9FXhvSomdCeXRt5YJBqGIVe/w640-h420/Travellers+in+hackney.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Travellers in Hackney.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Tape Slide Newsreel Group eventually disbanded in 1988.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ramsey Cameron, who helped with programming the issues the group
covered said,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“ As Thatcherism permeated<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>local government and society the levels of subsidy started to decline…….
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There was a decline in community organisation and perhaps a
general sense of declining community identity as the gentrification of Hackney
started to take hold.”<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJS7B0DncbCBQNEmdTphIDRFtNAN5Gm2ye74q7LDZzEu8rJOUXrBPKP1B8VyK0X6ZO64qR5_iLeGiY7Im3KpiFQwhA2fwJWGPhkfAPDKCBSMoJRo9mueOI5pbE9zO1-pmAMRLB4hJ1sbz/s730/The+market.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="730" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJS7B0DncbCBQNEmdTphIDRFtNAN5Gm2ye74q7LDZzEu8rJOUXrBPKP1B8VyK0X6ZO64qR5_iLeGiY7Im3KpiFQwhA2fwJWGPhkfAPDKCBSMoJRo9mueOI5pbE9zO1-pmAMRLB4hJ1sbz/w640-h418/The+market.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Flower stall in Hackney Market.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There definitely seems to be a resurgence at the moment in
an interest in <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hackney and Dalston.
Maybe it is considered a litmus test not only for Black Lives Matter but also
what is happening to the poorer sections of our society and also the pressures
on immigrants and immigration more broadly? The Rio Tape/Slide book, recalling
radical community photography in Hackney in the 1980s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and powerful campaigning groups set up in
those years, was published earlier this year. Recently I read a couple of
articles in The Guardian about community initiatives in Hackney taking place
right now in 2020. The Guardian’s Camera Club Monthly Assignment covered street
markets and the Guardians Jill Mead went out and photographed Ridley Road
Market for the paper. In The Guardian on Sunday 13<sup>th</sup> December
Lorenzo Vitturi also did a study of Ridley Road. He took pictures but also interviewed
people and recorded their viewpoints.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“ I wanted to capture Ridley Road market, its edgy dynamic.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He set out to record what he called it’s ,”crazy aesthetic.”
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The result is a collection of pictures he calls, “ Dalston
Anatomy.” Asurreal expression of what he encountered.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“ In Vitturi’s images, surreal organic shapes hang suspended
against eye dazzlingly bright backgrounds, human Faces are obliterated by small
explosions of chalk and pigment, yams and sugar cane are arranged in creative
like organic sculptures.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another article is written<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>by Patrick Bulter this time. They seem to be coming thick and fast about
Hackney. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“I was amazed to meet the London teens recording the vivid
lives of their streets.” Just like the RIO Tape/Slide Group in fact. This time
these youths have been given the impetus by a lady called Donna Travis who has
founded, “Future Hackney’s Youth Project.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The photgraphs and interviews are published on social media.
Technology has moved on since the 1980’s and ashould imagine all you need to
produce photographs and text is your mobile phone.An outdoor exhibiton of this
groups photgraphs ahs benn set up. People walking past in the street can engage
with it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tapiwa Cronin, 15 yaers of age who is a member of Furute
Hackney staes, “ The Ridley Road community is so much part of my daily life,
but through learning about its’ history, this workshop truly showed me the
enduring importance of the road.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Donna Travis who set up Future Hackney three years ago,
states,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“If you take young people out and get them physically engaged
with their community for positive reasons they learn to create pathways for
themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It gives confidence, the
ability to create their own identity. It widens their horizons, gives them the
bigger picture.”<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_0byl7JouD-SiqJogtTu6jV_LbsEekL6KuFZ0rJRFpgRPahPZBZSLMjgwvD21Y3BxE75ZL1ISmyom1f_aNYRh6-Sf7AcpYzpcM22wzoB5cdVqcAzKeDgWrSQyX_xV5xmyuFiy_LXCnQC6/s2048/R6.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_0byl7JouD-SiqJogtTu6jV_LbsEekL6KuFZ0rJRFpgRPahPZBZSLMjgwvD21Y3BxE75ZL1ISmyom1f_aNYRh6-Sf7AcpYzpcM22wzoB5cdVqcAzKeDgWrSQyX_xV5xmyuFiy_LXCnQC6/w640-h480/R6.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Looking for jobs.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Recapping on what the original RIO project achieved and did
for the people of Hackney in the 1980s I would say she is absolutely right
about now and also then. The whole thing about The RIO Tape Slide Archives,
reveals how people can think about and observe their own circumstances, where
they live and what happens to them and then make decisions about what needs to
be done. Reading through this book and looking at the photographs a raw energy
to fight for your needs and rights leaps off the pages. Hackney has become,
once again, a source of political action, its people are
getting involved in their surroundings. Anybody who takes a photograph and gets involved in group action can bring change.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">This book is an amazing historical document that should and can inspire.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">References:</p><p class="MsoNormal">The RIO Tape/Slide Archive ( Radical Community Photography in Hackney in the 1980s) Isola Press London published October 2020. ISBN 978-0-9954886-6-3</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jul/13/lorenzo-vitturi-ridley-road-markets-edgy-dynamic-east-london-photographer">Lorenzo Vitturi: 'I wanted to capture Ridley Road market's edgy dynamic' | Photography | The Guardian</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2020/nov/05/do-go-back-to-dalston-ridley-road-markets-black-heritage-in-pictures">Do go back to Dalston: Ridley Road market's black heritage – in pictures | Art and design | The Guardian</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/may/21/mind-the-gap-two-metres-apart-masked-ridley-road-hackney-a-photo-essay">Mind the gap: 2 metres apart and masked in Hackney – a photo essay | Art and design | The Guardian</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/dec/13/ridley-road-stories-project-future-hackney-guardian-observer-christmas-appeal-2020">'I was amazed': meet the London teens recording the vivid lives of their streets | Society | The Guardian</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-471820497578171572020-09-29T07:35:00.021-07:002020-10-12T06:50:11.519-07:00DATCHET TO MAIDENHEAD: a continuing walk along The Thames Path. (Friday 25th September 2020)<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-5d4GVmtdpY3-VdgsVjZtuCYo3NwaX5CWj9X5CHrqvQ8FZUQszlpzs4D14zUnuOsN02hSwnxpGR-0Dk2lUPMIVF5vzzD4ZCVzHA1iRnXoh-5N07GzjoBj-eUcdXxuHGskzsGHGYbqwEZe/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="624" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-5d4GVmtdpY3-VdgsVjZtuCYo3NwaX5CWj9X5CHrqvQ8FZUQszlpzs4D14zUnuOsN02hSwnxpGR-0Dk2lUPMIVF5vzzD4ZCVzHA1iRnXoh-5N07GzjoBj-eUcdXxuHGskzsGHGYbqwEZe/w640-h360/image.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Datchet is located in the south east of the screen shot map. Maidenhead
is in the north west part of the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>map. We
walked on the north bank of The Thames, which is the lower loop of the river
shown <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>where the Thames Path wends its
way.<o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tony Brown and I continued our Thames Path walk on Friday 25<sup>th</sup>
September. On recent sections of our walk along the Thames we have been getting
further away from London into Berkshire. The sections of the Thames we have
walked recently, have taken us<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from
Hampton , near Tony’s home, to Lower Halliford and then on to Chertsey, Egham
and Staines. It feels a long time ago we first started walking the Thames Path,
beginning at Woolwich Ferry east of London with John Lodge , who has joined us
on many of the sections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tony and I last
walked from Staines to Datchet so Datchet became our starting point for this
recent walk. The Thames has many tributaries, islands, loops, locks and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>reservoirs and we have enjoyed so many of
them, as well as each other’s company.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The Thames Path is a National Trail following the Thames. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996. The Thames Path's entire length, 184 miles, can be walked and some of it cycled.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9xC9_92LJSzb9HWVXcbQeYWm50Z93VrJxWFsJYrmaBOwX6fiAg7u1AH8h41HofAzLmwJM2RMKPCTLUUdvxwMT7TCXne61xrcsWXSA315V5bbMa1nXjqkHMFTG_M7iKqnw9uBkTawqpUJ/s2048/Tony+beside+The+Thames.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9xC9_92LJSzb9HWVXcbQeYWm50Z93VrJxWFsJYrmaBOwX6fiAg7u1AH8h41HofAzLmwJM2RMKPCTLUUdvxwMT7TCXne61xrcsWXSA315V5bbMa1nXjqkHMFTG_M7iKqnw9uBkTawqpUJ/w640-h426/Tony+beside+The+Thames.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; background: white; margin: 6pt 0cm; text-align: center;"><b>Tony Brown beside the Thames at Datchet.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>As each stage of our walk moves further away from
London going west into Berkshire, we have to plan carefully
how we get to the start of the next part of our walk along the river. This Friday I got the train from Raynes Park
to Hampton. London Freedom Passes ( over 60s and only eligible for those living
in a London Borough) are not valid on trains past Hampton. We can use our
Freedom Passes on buses all over the country however. Tony met me at the station. We drove to
Datchet and discovered a layby with free parking, beside
the river. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The aim of Fridays walk
was <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to reach Maidenhead. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past we have planned short routes of no
more than five or six miles along the river and then returned, walking back
along our route to the car at the start. This Friday we decided to walk from Datchet
to Maidenhead, a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>longer walk. To return
we thought that we would get the bus back to
Datchet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Datchet is a lovely place. Until recently I had never been
there. Often, driving along the M4 to Wales <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have seen signs branching off the motorway
to Datchet but had no idea what was there and what it was like. The centre has <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a village green with Georgian and Victorian
houses and shops set around it. It feels peaceful and appears to be a very nice
place to live with expensive houses set in park like grounds bordering the
village and along the banks of the Thames. When you look at the map, you see
Datchet beside The Thames but you also notice that the M4 motorway is<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>north of the village close by and that
Heathrow Airport is just a few miles towards the east. Aircraft taking off from
Heathrow have risen to a few thousand feet by the time they fly over Datchet
but they are still climbing and the sound of their engines wining away is
evident.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_06vAhzcQySUWY_-ComBW3gwvashH3vkRJmvfn0M6lStKZeYpIL542KYRRgN1y5LUBGLrBd88a0nn-jkmMGPbeujt1Kyu5rCgIEXlXlAVqkVEK9_gZoEASEHTWRHL5YHeOyMj4ybTe4zm/s2048/IMG_8162.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_06vAhzcQySUWY_-ComBW3gwvashH3vkRJmvfn0M6lStKZeYpIL542KYRRgN1y5LUBGLrBd88a0nn-jkmMGPbeujt1Kyu5rCgIEXlXlAVqkVEK9_gZoEASEHTWRHL5YHeOyMj4ybTe4zm/w640-h480/IMG_8162.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>The centre of Datchet.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the features of The Thames along this stretch are the
water meadows with reed beds and wooded paths and also extensive fields
surrounded by tall hedgerows. It is rural and much farming goes on in the area.
That seems to be an anomaly with the closeness of major roads and low flying
aircraft and the centre of London not that far away. It appears that the world
has passed it by and taken detours around it. Surrounded by this idyllic setting we
anticipated a pleasant walk amongst trees and fields beside a sparkling full
flowing Thames. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are many houses beside the Thames<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with lawns reaching down to the waters edge.
The Thames path encroaches on peoples land in some places. Many of these houses
are set in beautifully manicured gardens with shady trees and shrubbery’s
bordering smooth green lawns. The houses are often extensive in size and I <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>imagine in price too. Some are modern and are
built on stilts. Some have hydraulic pillars positioned under their
foundations. The older houses appear to be built on raised ground with high
stone walls fronting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>them. Of course all
these architectural<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>features are there
to deal with<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>flooding when the river
rises above its banks.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRUNkuaZzv0UUnoBwjXm9ciW73c5_duQ4crY_Ngtl9fnc5Rv_fZBKmc_lb4yDD8ovDfu7gqtUXIucLLsUraFntTGF20id_02o9HjKGBcdeNRhy_yTPV-x6E2nvmyDOf9_Y473eyNY8CJ2/s2048/IMG_8164.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRUNkuaZzv0UUnoBwjXm9ciW73c5_duQ4crY_Ngtl9fnc5Rv_fZBKmc_lb4yDD8ovDfu7gqtUXIucLLsUraFntTGF20id_02o9HjKGBcdeNRhy_yTPV-x6E2nvmyDOf9_Y473eyNY8CJ2/w640-h480/IMG_8164.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Houses beside the Thames.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many of the larger islands, called aits, have housing on
them too set in idyllic settings. Some of these properties have their own piers
at the side of the Thames with luxurious launches and motor yachts moored at
them. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Each time we walk the Thames Tony and I see canal boats and sometimes large motorised barges that
have been converted into luxurious water born <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>homes. Many of them have stainless steel
chimneys for log burning stoves, small wind turbines and expanses of solar
panels. Some have satellite dishes.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfCcoqf6pH7mX6uuOz6m4Yl6Lb0ulmmhyphenhyphen7XmQnC0CeHVlWTqZflUelpYJsgZCEr85sYfgSQlGx6_TsJTW_1A40OeKC7LRH49w7qLc-CEAktac1xYt5UtuqH9q58oEyCUuYtlJBu9ncidoK/s2048/Journey+on+the+Thames.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfCcoqf6pH7mX6uuOz6m4Yl6Lb0ulmmhyphenhyphen7XmQnC0CeHVlWTqZflUelpYJsgZCEr85sYfgSQlGx6_TsJTW_1A40OeKC7LRH49w7qLc-CEAktac1xYt5UtuqH9q58oEyCUuYtlJBu9ncidoK/w640-h426/Journey+on+the+Thames.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>A barge home on the Thames.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A little way along the river from Datchet we approached
Windsor and crossed over a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>stone bridge with
iron ornate shields attached to the stone parapets informing us that the Queens
commissioners had built the bridge in 1851. The Queen being Queen Victoria. The
middle span of the bridge was replaced during the 1960s with a concrete
arch, topped with rails on each side, making the bridge look like a poor ill
designed hybrid. The two stone ends recall an attractive sturdy bridge of the
past. We can only guess its former elegance. Windsor Castle rose above the roof
tops of Windsor town to our left.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_C_ycCSQB-G1WGLNbxOx4795xJHyRygvSpo9UofbdT9dJSH0eUsJ96O6C1Z-OBvesTA6ljKhYNCMI3bLmJ0oCY99-RJUHxoDQRDYAH2K4S6pdMR7pZNPMCTr0TsNFjM58WJOK-9b-XJU/s2048/DSCF0599.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_C_ycCSQB-G1WGLNbxOx4795xJHyRygvSpo9UofbdT9dJSH0eUsJ96O6C1Z-OBvesTA6ljKhYNCMI3bLmJ0oCY99-RJUHxoDQRDYAH2K4S6pdMR7pZNPMCTr0TsNFjM58WJOK-9b-XJU/w640-h426/DSCF0599.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>This was the original part of the bridge before the modern central arch. </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was interesting to see on the opposite bank of the river
the expanse of Windsor Race Course. Neither Tony or I had known such a
racecourse existed. The grandstand in the distance looked old in style, perhaps
Victorian. We wended our way across meadows and fields called ,”The public
fields of Eton College.” It occurred that Eton College must own a lot of the
land in the vicinity.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Every so often we came across locks with their gate systems
allowing boats to pass from one level of the river to the next. We stopped at
Boveney Lock , <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to eat our packed lunches.
The weather was mild although the day had begun with some rain . The
temperature was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a little lower than of
recent, about 17 degrees but the wind was strong. Tony found a spot that was
sheltered from the wind at the bottom of the levee bordering the river here,
near the lock gates. We drank tea from our flasks and ate our sandwiches and fruit.
Locks have been built along the Thames since the 17<sup>th</sup> century.
Boveney Lock was built in the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>19<sup>th</sup>
century to help control flooding and to ensure the Thames remained navigable at
this point. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-3a0ULST34FMboD05Zk2p0DiehZzDKSOIbPNHCqcUNopiiRZShezjQ3Ut7FSyAADOkZLYnmlRv-GkoFlK2LUVoDChU50ICY8lu9kGVpX-CXghVA_dX7yrmcFi6k94CRyeNWedbwOoiFN/s2048/Lock+Gates.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje-3a0ULST34FMboD05Zk2p0DiehZzDKSOIbPNHCqcUNopiiRZShezjQ3Ut7FSyAADOkZLYnmlRv-GkoFlK2LUVoDChU50ICY8lu9kGVpX-CXghVA_dX7yrmcFi6k94CRyeNWedbwOoiFN/w640-h426/Lock+Gates.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Boveney Lock.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We walked on past Dorney Lake that is an Olympic rowing lake
used in the London 2012 Olympics. It belongs to Eton College.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the opposite side of the river, set within rolling lawns
and tall trees was a castellated stone built manor house called, Oakley Court.
We could see extensive patio areas with large sun shades. Marquees were set up
within the grounds. This is an exclusive hotel and spa complex. I Googled
Oakley Court later when I got home. A room for the night costs between £400 and
£1000 with views over the Thames and the lush meadows and fields surrounding
it. The bar is open to casual callers but the restaurant must be booked ahead, especially
in these times of Covid 19.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGTn-s6koTvr02vvrjJv0_1tVwzRkE34eE8ezgAUo5z8LbgXSkLrTM8EVYzRWMUSNt6QpzcP6eD5J0XglIgdTckW-LEDz0mkfj6t7MPUjGarKznp2xWn16LPRAHYFK4McKoYqbarojfje/s2048/Oakley+Court.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1654" data-original-width="2048" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGTn-s6koTvr02vvrjJv0_1tVwzRkE34eE8ezgAUo5z8LbgXSkLrTM8EVYzRWMUSNt6QpzcP6eD5J0XglIgdTckW-LEDz0mkfj6t7MPUjGarKznp2xWn16LPRAHYFK4McKoYqbarojfje/w640-h516/Oakley+Court.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>Oakley Court.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We walked on past the fields surrounding Dorney Reach. We
could hear the sounds of the M4 motorway in the distance. We approached the
massive hulk of the bridge taking the M4 over the Thames. Widening of the
motorway is happening at this point so the usual pathway is blocked. Pontoons
with non slip surfaced walkways have been constructed, floating on the river
under the bridge . We walked under the motorway and saw <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the impressive long steal arches that support
the bridge and motorway above. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifD1OxLJYNofA6SBMG2O-7BAuMAT6wNGfOZUPJfmFXhx9cyYqijjo14Yn_OScyVGOCHHbaOwWaPAGkbIYE3L2Pf69IWM898EnHjHFE1I3QJh1ly49S6seYSOkyZwh_zxwo3EUCNy1FgHbA/s2048/DSCF0732.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifD1OxLJYNofA6SBMG2O-7BAuMAT6wNGfOZUPJfmFXhx9cyYqijjo14Yn_OScyVGOCHHbaOwWaPAGkbIYE3L2Pf69IWM898EnHjHFE1I3QJh1ly49S6seYSOkyZwh_zxwo3EUCNy1FgHbA/w640-h426/DSCF0732.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>A pontoon passing under the M4 motorway.</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Often along the Thames we have come across boatyards. All the various luxurious motor launches and the canal boats and barges need to be taken care of. Their bottoms need to be scraped and renovated. Many of the boatyards appear to be family businesses and by the look of these boatyards and the buildings comprising them they look as though they have been there a long time. I remember , as a child seeing workshops, garages and boatyards in Southampton made from corrugated iron and painted a dirty matt green. Many of the boatyards along the Thames , with their mess of ropes, chains, cranes and rusting buoys have this same timeless feel.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf04rSyXWj4iQF8hVt24cP6OpxIoXNrUJzqluxYcBcxjf0R8GQP5_TL5GPd0wBY7-MpPR2Bl79vso9yiUVwURa0F1qOU-axy5YPTLx2faw_BpAofR84YkYiKHuPjB8BEG95eu-F2XNXcjK/s2048/W+Boatyard.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf04rSyXWj4iQF8hVt24cP6OpxIoXNrUJzqluxYcBcxjf0R8GQP5_TL5GPd0wBY7-MpPR2Bl79vso9yiUVwURa0F1qOU-axy5YPTLx2faw_BpAofR84YkYiKHuPjB8BEG95eu-F2XNXcjK/w640-h426/W+Boatyard.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b>A boatyard on the Thames.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We soon reached the next lock at Bray. The village of Bray
on the other side of the river was out of view at this point because a series
of aits stretch the length of the river here. One of the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>aits is called Monkey Island Estate. The grand
white stuccoed mansion on the island is another exclusive hotel. Two famous
restaurants are at Bray, The Fat Duck run by Heston Blumenthal and the Roux Brothers’
Waterside Inn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bray is famous from the
culinary point of view nowadays but much earlier than that , <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In good King Charles’s golden days,</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background: white;">When Loyalty no harm meant;</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background: white;">A Furious High-Church man I was,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background: white;">And so I gain’d Preferment.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background: white;">Unto my Flock I daily Preach’d,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background: white;">Kings are by God appointed,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background: white;">And Damn’d are those who dare resist,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background: white;">Or touch the Lord’s Anointed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And so the Vicar of Bray is remembered. He changed religious
allegiance to whoever was on the throne so he could keep his job. The poem
actually refers to a number of vicars of Bray from Tudor times when religious
allegiances could cost you your head up to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>vicars in the 17<sup>th</sup> century <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who were also keen to keep their incumbency. </span>We
walked past Bray Lock on the north side of the river.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFYB680UfgI1_VSBEf42nTy2CJKNE5AP_DUB1kgkhkkmgZZvPk1WO58uFEKE6wYOO3w2eQSUSK5nmIru1TEwBGwVH16f1vczi4R5Vd1Adhm-jQwjZq6dM9UlM9joS-QhMsLYoUo4YsooX/s2048/DSCF0743.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFYB680UfgI1_VSBEf42nTy2CJKNE5AP_DUB1kgkhkkmgZZvPk1WO58uFEKE6wYOO3w2eQSUSK5nmIru1TEwBGwVH16f1vczi4R5Vd1Adhm-jQwjZq6dM9UlM9joS-QhMsLYoUo4YsooX/w640-h426/DSCF0743.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Bray Lock</b></div></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">From Bray, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we were getting
tired by now our legs feeling the effort, we walked on to Maidenhead passing
under the elegant Victorian railway viaduct, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and featured in J W Turner’s painting Rain, Steam and Speed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOkvKUJH-vMGsqdDta8FhLafHi8wet5PFlQVnBqo2P03UHNG-Igv5pLIUBtQ1bF2LRvgFZUmqCQLWpDPq_nYBkfc-IpxSH6KoX0jIXLlOvtFPM63fPhh0yRFq96RkQzrIVYAcr180_XoX/s2048/Maidenhead+viaduct+painted+by+JW+Turner.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqOkvKUJH-vMGsqdDta8FhLafHi8wet5PFlQVnBqo2P03UHNG-Igv5pLIUBtQ1bF2LRvgFZUmqCQLWpDPq_nYBkfc-IpxSH6KoX0jIXLlOvtFPM63fPhh0yRFq96RkQzrIVYAcr180_XoX/w640-h426/Maidenhead+viaduct+painted+by+JW+Turner.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><b style="text-align: center;"><div><b style="text-align: center;"><br /></b></div>Maidenhead Railway viaduct, painted by </b><b style="text-align: center;"> J W Turner. His painting is called ,"</b><b style="text-align: center;">Rain, Steam and Speed."(1844)</b><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">On reaching the road bridge, we walked into the centre of the town. We asked people as we walked along where
we could catch a bus back to Windsor. Eventually Tony and I found a bus stop, walking through the market and out the other side of the High Street. We took
the number 15 to Windsor. The bus took a rather circuitous route looping past
the local hospital, through <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a housing estate,
all the time travelling, in apparently, the wrong direction <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> but</span> eventually it drove on to the centre of
Windsor. </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjxrmREY4Qxa8bJXjvotfvwtc8iFBsDmKT9KoClcJJJedCGc1QCCqO-uRzST0nfPN6fAvc9474gC3uEEwHP7m2YBphMld5UBAlpomkKP8NbTa8vacZ8PyLfn9_38B5h7PuEsEfxuN-vjxq/s2048/Windsor+and+the+castle.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2048" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjxrmREY4Qxa8bJXjvotfvwtc8iFBsDmKT9KoClcJJJedCGc1QCCqO-uRzST0nfPN6fAvc9474gC3uEEwHP7m2YBphMld5UBAlpomkKP8NbTa8vacZ8PyLfn9_38B5h7PuEsEfxuN-vjxq/w640-h450/Windsor+and+the+castle.JPG" width="640" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Windsor town and castle.</b></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We alighted near the old town hall designed by Christopher Wren which
is also close to the public access to the castle. We waited some <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>time for a number 10 bus to take us back to
Datchet. Windsor to Datchet is not far and this part of the journey took no
time at all. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Before we departed from Datchet, an enticing pub called The Royal Stag overlooking the village green beckoned for a reviving pint of beer. Parts of the Royal Stag date back to 1400. Since the Covid crisis we have not been into many pubs. A sign instructed us to put on our masks and wait to be shown to a table. We both have the recent National Health Service Covid 19 app on our phones so we scanned the NHS QR code. This new device will turbo boost track and trace,I hope. There were not many people in the pub and it was not long before one of the bar staff came and showed us to a table. Sitting at the table we were permitted to remove our masks. There was a good social distance from other people at other tables. A menu enabled us to order beers. I chose a local brew called Grenadier and a packet of salt a vinegar crisps. We could go to the gents as long as we put our masks back on. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62Mgv680wKng6yQAPBaTLHEdViXPuf4XOyhFZ6XuMHcylJwl0wTmr1RlbYsHlEoKqfJ4q-Ocfm47Eutr8Ez7XhhAPrnJgzFHWFqHta_T7_784-4xQR32z8Cw7t8wLzwtdqGN2ZHgbCytL/s2048/IMG_8159.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62Mgv680wKng6yQAPBaTLHEdViXPuf4XOyhFZ6XuMHcylJwl0wTmr1RlbYsHlEoKqfJ4q-Ocfm47Eutr8Ez7XhhAPrnJgzFHWFqHta_T7_784-4xQR32z8Cw7t8wLzwtdqGN2ZHgbCytL/w640-h480/IMG_8159.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Part of Datchet village green.</b></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Tony drove me to the station at Hampton. On the train I sat back, with my
face mask on of course, and phoned Marilyn. "Can you pick me up
at Raynes Park?". I felt knackered.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So the next part of our Thames Path Odyssey<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>will take us from Maidenhead and on past Cliveden and Cookham, then Marlow and on towards Henley, both very beautiful historic towns on the Thames. I often
get the sense that we are walking through Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in The Willows
countryside and Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men In A Boat comes to mind also.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">ADDENDUM:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cs5JkogU7bxN9fIMXOtmT5jD8knBTd3Cq4uOTUBKu4_kF8iArxUW_zMWqvqD_NcKzZXYNnbtHGfwRPuvIN29pVvvzgb6OSFBLzSWdKeFW-4wDu4_jcGrrkygSblZX0C3lV6DCQXy4M7G/s1186/Rain+Steam+Speed+by++J+W+Turner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1186" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cs5JkogU7bxN9fIMXOtmT5jD8knBTd3Cq4uOTUBKu4_kF8iArxUW_zMWqvqD_NcKzZXYNnbtHGfwRPuvIN29pVvvzgb6OSFBLzSWdKeFW-4wDu4_jcGrrkygSblZX0C3lV6DCQXy4M7G/w640-h486/Rain+Steam+Speed+by++J+W+Turner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><o:p style="text-align: left;"> <b>Rain, Steam Speed by J W Turner (</b></o:p><span face="Roboto, Arial, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"" style="background-color: white; color: #4a4a4a; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><b>The Great Western Railway', painted in 1844.)</b></span></div><p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-15626163715838284702020-05-13T08:24:00.001-07:002021-02-26T00:17:14.797-08:00EDUCATING THE EAST END a Channel 4 series<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Mr Bispham in the first episode of EDUCATING THE EAST END at," Frederick Bremer School," in Walthamstow.<br />
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Among the myriad of ,”real life,” documentary drama series
such as ,”Made In Chelsea,” “Made in Essex,” “Footballers Wives,” and other
semi glamorous life portrayals, are a set of documentary dramas that are a sub-genre
within this set of ,”real lives.” It concerns schools. “Educating The East
End,” an eight part series of programmes follows <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a head teacher, the teachers, the pupils, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>lessons and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>staff meetings that take place at the, Frederick
Bremer School in Walthamstow. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The focus of the first episode, are the trials and
tribulations of Mr Bispham, a trainee teacher learning his craft on the ,Schools
Direct programme. Schools Direct is one approach to becoming a qualified
teacher. The school <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>pays you a salary on
an unqualified teacher rate while you are supported in learning classroom
skills. You previously have had to work for at least two years in another
career and also have a good degree. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Schools Direct has some advantages over the
usual one year PGCE route. More time is spent in the classroom and you are
attached to just one school. There is some time allocated to University lectures
where the theories of child psychology, child development and the philosophy of
education are taught. At the time this programme was made Mr Bispham is the
youngest member of staff in the school. He has been put in, at the proverbial,”
deep end,” teaching English to a boisterous year 9 class.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We see Mr Bispham first of all waiting in a classroom as a
rowdy group of 14 year old, year 9 pupils enter.He thinks of the girls in this
class as ,”a force of nature.” He calls each pupil by their name and talks to
each one asking them something about themselves. Later he tells the interviewer,
out of the hearing of the children, that teaching is 50% ,”stand up,”and 50%
motivational speaking. With a lot of ,”banter,”it takes a few minutes for him
to get all of the class attending to him and one girl, Tawney, will not stop talking. Tawny, with a pierced tongue<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and a big attitude, <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">wants to be an actress and has applied to. “The Brit School.” She is certainly good at,” playing up,” in lessons. </span>Mr Bispham is straining every fibre, alert to every incident and comment and
interaction going on in the class. He contends with little arguments amongst
some, cheeky comments about his name and his ethnicity, all challenges to his authority.
He gets the class to focus on a line in Shakespeare’s, ”Much Ado About
Nothing.” On the interactive whiteboard is a speech between,<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #202020; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #202020;">Claudio
and Leonato <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“ Give not this rotten orange to your friend/ She’s not the sign and
semblance of her honour.”</i></b></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> The class</span> discusses the meaning of any
words they are unfamiliar with and then discuss attitudes to women. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those ,”strong,” girls in the class are
engaged with the topic. It means something to them. After the lesson Mr Bispham leans against the
door frame at the entrance to his classroom. He sighs and looks at the ceiling.
Everything has been drained from him. He is exhausted.<br />
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I often stood at the back of the school hall, on <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Friday afternoons, during the end of week assembly,
leaning against the wall for support, looking and feeling just like Mr Bispham.
I stood there, my face drained, the life sucked out of me. You need to be self
reflective. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> W</span>hat can I do next? How do I
get them to learn? How do I get them to progress? How can I do better? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr Bispham would agree. I remember feeling
every nerve in my body and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>like Mr Bispham
there were moments when I dug deep for strength and I too wondered if teaching was
for me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watched Mr
Bispham adapting, there, on the screen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The look of worry and concern etched on Mr Bispham’s face in
the corridor after Jenny Bishop , the head, informs him his end of year
assessment is due, was my face too sometimes. She gave him a date for the
observation. You could see he was anguishing over what she would think of him
teaching that year 9 class. She asked if it was convenient. He said ,"of course," and made some comment about the class being difficult. But the head knew that. It
was very interesting to watch Mr Bispham go from the despair he must have felt
before the lesson to elation after his observation. He was given a GOOD
assessment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jenny Bishop is evidently a
perceptive, warm, strong person, (a great description of a good head). The deputy
head praised him too and agreed with the GOOD assessment of his progress and
his developing skills. An onlooker, somebody who does not work with children,
might not have understood.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr Bispham was honest and straightforward. He
joked and the pupils in the class knew he cared about them no matter how awful they
behaved. In his observation lesson he was well prepared. He had a focus and clear
aim. He had his materials and resources ready, He had a child centred approach taking
into account the needs of various pupils. He planned his lesson to fit their intellectual
needs. He got them <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>working in twos, providing them with questions
and tasks which challenged them. They were engaged and he questioned them
bringing out their thinking processes. They were chatty and lippy and he
confronted them with any unacceptable behaviour, pointing out what they were
doing, the affect they had on others and the effect they had on himself and he demonstrated
what they should do. These are good teaching skills and behaviour management. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The interviewer asked the children about Mr Bispham. They
all said he was a great teacher. They liked him and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>they all said that they <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wanted to do their best for him in the
observation lesson and not let him down. He had their trust because he believed
in them and so they believed in him. Good teachers give their heart and soul to
the kids they teach.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He deserved his, GOOD, assessment. He earned it with more
than what can be described as hard work. We watched him lay himself on the line
for that class. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This series is something we should all watch. It can’t show
every aspect of a lesson and the teaching process, but it begins to delve
deeper than most people would normally be able to experience. This series of
programmes show us what heroes teachers are and what self-sacrifice <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and talent and hard work they <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>put in. One thought that went through my mind
was, what would a teacher from, Harrow, the great public school just 18miles
west of Walthamstow, think about Frederick Bremer School and Mr Bispham? How would
they teach year 9? Jenny Bishop, is asked at one point why she wanted to be the
head of Frederick Bremer. She smiled and said she wanted the challenge and the
opportunity to make her mark on children and a community that needed the best.
She was fully aware of the,” mountain,” she had to climb. She is a very brave,
courageous and hopeful person with a vision and she knows how she wants to
achieve it. If she keeps finding the good in Mr Bispham and praising him ,Mr
Bispham , will do very well. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Channel 4 <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.channel4.com/programmes/educating-the-east-end/on-demand/57812-001">https://www.channel4.com/programmes/educating-the-east-end/on-demand/57812-001</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-61093639608316696602020-04-22T06:29:00.001-07:002020-04-22T06:58:17.573-07:00MY LOCKDOWN DIARY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Making my next cup of coffee.</div>
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My mother is 95 years old. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mum remembers her youth and childhood more
than she does<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>yesterday or today. One
subject I <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>talk to her about <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is her teenage years, which of course she
lived through during the second world war. If the discussion turns to the recent
queues at supermarkets and the shortage of toilet paper and the empty shelves that
occurred at the onset of this pandemic my mother invariably says, “ we were
better off when we had rationing.” I invariably say, “why mum?” And then she
relates how she always had enough to eat and that her diet was varied and
balanced which kept her fit and healthy. Then I ponder the idea of, “just what
I need and no more,” and feel guilty. Of course , in “The War,” they were
repelling bombs and armies which they could actually see.They could create
defence systems which could work sometimes. </div>
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The ,Coronovirus is something we
cannot see and have no defence for. I have been Googling information about it. The virus is made up of unimaginably tiny
spherical cells that have a corona of hammer headed spikes surrounding it
which can attach them selves, like super glue, to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>cells in our lungs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This virus enters our lungs and respiratory
system through fine vapour caused by coughs and sneezes and the exhalation of
breath from <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>somebody infected. What can
we do? Wash our hands, (soap removes the waxy surface of the corona cell and
destroys it) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>stay at a distance from
people and stay home. That’s the advice. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So how are you spending your days?</div>
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This ,”staying at home,” has given me the opportunity to
indulge in reading novels even more. I read sitting under a sun shade on the
patio, lying on my bed at night, lieing prostrate on a sofa in the living room,
lieing prostrate on a sofa in our kitchen, sitting at the dining room table.
Reading takes you places. I have turned to Charles Dickens in this time of
plight. Nicholas Nickleby is a chunky novel. My Penguin version is 777 pages. I
am just over 600 pages in and slowly making my way through it. I am a slow reader.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some ways Nicholas Nickleby reminds
me of The Lord of The Rings. The powers of evil ranged against the powers of
good. A bit like the coronavirus pandemic, I suppose. Chapter 41, by the way,
is the weirdest few paragraphs I have ever read. I got to the end of that
chapter and just mumbled to myself, “that’s weird, that’s weird.” Chapter 41
haunts me. Well we need to have something to take our minds off things. Dickens
is always quirky to say the least and his powerful imagery is an antidote for
our times.</div>
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I am a running addict; always have, always will, as long as
arthritis doesn’t get to me. The weather has been brilliant. Most days have
been sunny. I start my day by taking the pills. Who is not on statins at our
age? I eat a piece of toast and thick cut marmalade. Once I have had a chance
to walk about a bit, my leg muscles loosen up and I feel up for a good jog. I walk to my
local park, The Sir Joseph Hood Playing Fields, every morning. I then proceed to
run four laps of the park. I was getting a little bored with that so I started adding
a lap of the local cemetery, which doubles up as a nature reserve, until they
padlocked the gates. Why? I enjoyed jogging past gravestones and reading people’s
names and wondering about them.So I have invented creative ways of running round the park.
I do an OXO route some days. OK that is running round the perimeter, that makes
the, O. Then I cross the park diagonally and run across the top of the park
ending this lap by then running across the
other diagonal. That makes the X. Finally, I run one more lap around the perimeter. That’s the second O. I have also mixed
it up a bit doing an XOX and an XXO. Life is interesting.</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I often see the same
people each day in the park, dad’s with sons and daughters having a kick about,
couples walking, single joggers, cyclists and those who like to meditate cross legged in
the middle of the field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One family were
walking towards me and their dog ran at me barking excitedly. Apparently the dog
was attracted to the large red tongue on my Rolling Stones tee shirt. A mother
who scoots round the park followed by her young son and daughter also on
scooters, has taken to saying ,"hello," to me. I have no idea who they
are.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My hair has almost turned entirely white. I am
thinning out on top but , on the whole, I still have a reasonable head of hair
and to say the obvious it grows. Recently I was thinking, and Marilyn, Emily
and Abigail were telling me, that my hair needed a cut. Kamis, my local
hairdressers in Motspur Park is closed. As far as I know all hairdressers are
closed. I started looking online to see if I could buy some electric hair
clippers. Emily was keen to have a go at my head.Many of the clippers Amazon sell are suddenly out of stock. My hairdressing plans were obviously not a unique idea. I eventually bought some from
Argos. I drove over to Argos in
South Wimbledon after I received an email from them telling me they were ready for
collection. The queue was long. I stood within my two meter zone of course
wearing my plastic gloves and white face mask sounding like Darth Vador every
time I breathed. It took me twenty minutes to get into the shop, located in the Sainsburys Store, one minute to
pick up the hair clippers and a further
ten minutes to queue to get out of the shop. Emily indeed, enthusiastically cut
my hair off, using a number 4 height
level. Not as drastic as it sounds. The
hair cutting made a mess all over the kitchen floor. I was convinced my hair
wasn’t evenly cut and my immediate reaction was never to meet anybody for the
next month. Oh, that was already organised of course. Since washing my hair I
have decided it looks fine. The clippers cost £30. A
haircut at Kamis costs £10. Two more cuts and I will have broken
even. With practice, Emily might get really good at it and I might never have
to go to a hairdresser again. So, I have had a,”lockdown haircut,” and I am
proud.</div>
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Until I have been kept indoors by this pandemic, I had
never heard of ,”ZOOM.” The onomatopoeic word of course but not the
conferencing site ZOOM. Up to 100 people at a time, can appear on the screen and talk to each other. It would be mayhem of course if that really happened. Some
sort of rules have to be agreed on first. I have taken part
in four ZOOM meetings so far and I must say they have been amazing. Not as good
as being with people in the flesh but almost. The first two ZOOM meetings I
attended were with people I used to go to school with, from over fifty
years ago. A reunion no less.Of course some of them are friends I see nowadays but the connecting factor between us were
those distant school years.I have had a meeting with two other fellow Janeites who live in Virginia in the US. I have also attended a ZOOM talk about Jane Austen’s life in Southampton given by Dr Carol Butler a
historian and academic. October Books, an independent bookshop in Portswood
Southampton, organised and advertised the talk.. Seventy people attended this ZOOM meeting. We had to mute our microphones and only post questions by writing them
in a text box at the bottom of the screen. It worked really well. There were
people from European countries and many from the US too. The only thing you
have to coordinate are the world time differences but everybody can easily work that
out for themselves. Just as long as the meeting is not arranged for the middle
of somebodies night.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, what other changes have been happening to me and mine? Every Thursday evening at 8pm Marilyn and I have walked out of our front door and with all our neighbours clapped and cheered for the National Health Service and all the key workers who underpin our lives and keep us going. Most importantly there is the process of buying food. Emily, one of my daughter’s
volunteers for that. She stands in a long queue outside of our local TESCO once
a week, keeping her social distancing and wearing a mask. I have begun to
notice the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sounds of birds in the morning. There are no
cars about. I have painted our garden fence, demolished an old shed, cut the
grass three times; so far, trimmed hedges and lain down on the lawn looking at
an empty blue sky. There are very few planes flying out of Heathrow now. Marilyn
and I,” WhatsApped,”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>our granddaughter,
Emma in Berlin on her first birthday and waved and chatted to her.
Marilyn and I lay awake one night listening to the most awful inhuman screaming
coming from the gardens near us at the back of our house. Emily told us, in the
morning, that it was foxes mating. Really? <o:p></o:p></div>
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And then, of course, we watch the news everyday on the
television.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So what got me writing my Lockdown Diary? I read the following article in The Guardian by Margaret Attwood and was inspired. I need something to fill my time. A bit of self reflection is good for the soul.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #6b5840; font-family: "georgia" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Margaret
Atwood’s lockdown diary: life as an eccentric self-isolationist</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/apr/18/margaret-atwoods-lockdown-diary-life-as-an-eccentric-self-isolationist">https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/apr/18/margaret-atwoods-lockdown-diary-life-as-an-eccentric-self-isolationist</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-33795381202955486692020-03-29T04:55:00.001-07:002020-04-28T07:15:08.629-07:00LEITH HILL WALK with Tony Brown and John Lodge. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The Ordnance Survey Map showing Leith Hill in Surrey.</div>
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Friday 13<sup>th</sup> March, the Coronavirus is now causing
us to “social distance.” We are still wondering what,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>”social distancing,” actually means in
practice. Toilet rolls are disappearing like,” hot cakes,” off TESCOS
supermarket shelves. Is that a good analogy? The sudden need for
toilet rolls is leaving many of us bemused. We are beginning to feel cautious
about meeting people and we have decided that going to the local pub or
restaurant is not a good idea at this time. John, Tony and myself still,
however, felt confident about driving to, Leith Hill, within our cars. Walking up steep inclines and along the muddy tracks
dissecting dense woodland, didn't bring us into contact with anybody. Boris Johnson and the
chief medical officer for England, have assured us that taking daily exercise in
ones and twos is a beneficial thing to do at this time. Very few people were
about and those we encountered could easily be kept at a distance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The way to the top of Leith Hill from Landslip Car Park.</div>
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Leith Hill is the second highest
point in the south east of England at 294 metres in height above sea level. It is an
SSI site (a site of special scientific interest). The area around the hill
supports rare moths, many examples of fungi, all three types of British
woodpecker and a large and varied invertebrate community. It is part of the
Greensand Ridge which, in turn, is part of the Artois Anticline which covers South
East England and Northern France. This geological stratum was laid down in the
Cretaceous period 145 to 66 million years ago. Greensand is a sandstone
escarpment consisting of ironstone and Bargate Stone, an extremely hard
stone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sandstone is overlain by
chalk and clay deposits. This diverse substratum attracts many species of trees
and wild flowers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Leith Hill Tower on the summit of Leith Hill.</div>
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On the summit of Leith Hill is an 18<sup>th</sup> century
tower built in the Gothic style. It was built between 1765 and 1766 by Richard
Hill who lived in nearby Leith Hill Place. It was at first called Prospect
House, but this later changed to Leith Hill Tower. It is 19.5 meters high. In
the 18<sup>th</sup> century visitors to the tower were provided with, “prospect
glasses,” similar to binoculars. Nowadays there is a telescope for visitors to
view the scenery. The south coast can be seen from the top on clear days. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Leith Hill Place, seen nearby from the tower was originally
owned by Richard Hill who had the tower built. When he died in 1772 he was buried
underneath the tower. It fell into ruin after his death. It was later reopened
in 1864 by a Mr Evelyn of Wotton House situated to the north of Leith Hill. On
the parapet of the tower there is a viewpoint indicator that commemorates
Edmund Seyfang Taylor, an early pioneer rambler. Leith Hill Place was later owned, in 1847, by Josiah Wedgewood III and Caroline, his wife. Josiah and Caroline
were the grandparents of Vaughn Williams, the composer. Vaughn Williams spent
much of his childhood years at the house and later inherited it and eventually
left it to The National Trust. There is an exhibition about his life at the house. Caroline Wedgewood was a member of the Darwin family and
Charles Darwin often visited Leith Hill Place and conducted experiments in the
grounds. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Ordnance Survey triangulation point at the top of Leith Hill.</div>
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At the top of Leith Hill next to the tower is an Ordnance
Survey triangulation pillar. It is the position where the 6 inch and 1:2500
Ordnance Survey maps for Surrey originated from.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tony and I parked in Landslip Car Park in a wooded area below the summit.
John, parked on the other side of Leith Hill. We arranged to
meet next to the tower. When Tony and I arrived at the top there
was no sign of John at first. Then we noticed a vigorously waving person calling
down to us from the top of the tower. My first thought was of the Monty Python
film, The Holy Grail when a French knight in armour shouted insults in a bad French
accent at the attacking English force. No insults, in bad French came our way. We climbed the narrow steep spiral staircase to
the top and joined John. The view was breath-taking. It was a clear
day and we
could see to the horizon. Some riders on horseback emerged
from woodland near the base of the tower as we looked down. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Horse riders at the base of the tower.</div>
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A lady serving tea in the National Trust café in the base of
the tower assured me that the area of grass just outside the tower was where
the recent Jane Austen film adaptation of the Box Hill picnic scene from the
novel EMMA was filmed. The 2020 version of Emma, directed by Autumn de Wilde
and starring Anya Taylor Joy and Johnny Flynn in the starring roles is worth
seeing. It is a version of Emma for today. Some Janeites disapprove of it. The real Box Hill is only a few miles away from Leith Hill on the other side of
Dorking. Nowadays it is a great attraction for cyclists, walkers and family
picnics, so perhaps it is too busy for filming purposes. The elevation of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leith Hill and the panoramic views form the
top are virtually identical to the height and views from Box Hill.
Nobody would know.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The site used for the picnic party on ,"Box Hill," in the latest film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel EMMA. </div>
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From here we used an Ordnance Survey Explorer map (Dorking,
Boxhill and Reigate 1:25000 scale) to work out a route, walking north west to
begin with, taking us from the summit of Leith Hill. A group of scots pines stand majestically at the top of Leith Hill and we started our walk
underneath their spreading canopies. Descending the slope of Highashes Hill, to
one side of Leith Hill. we made our way down a steep muddy slope through mixed
deciduous and coniferous woods. Silver birches, pine, larch, interspersed with
a few large oaks constituted the woods. Walking has a number of advantages. You tend go at a slower pace,
especially when the going gets difficult. You have time to look and listen and
take in the natural world around you. We approached High
Ashes Farm. The farm house, barns and sheds were grouped in an open space. <o:p></o:p></div>
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High Ashes Farm.</div>
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From High Ashes Farm we walked on into woodland again,
passing through Burnthouse Copse, Great Foxmore Wood and Rosiers Wood. As we slid and stumbled along one very muddy path we came across a car, smashed and
dented, hidden within the trees and undergrowth. It appeared somebody had
driven it there along the muddy track. It had off road tyres and the exhaust
pipe was positioned like a mast sticking up above the car bonnet. We checked
nobody was inside. It didn’t look as though it had been their long.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wrecked and abandoned car in the woods.</div>
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Further on we passed Hopedene Farm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The three of us emerged onto the Horsham Road
with a few houses hidden behind tall hedgerows and trees here and there. This
was the outskirts of Holmbury St Mary. The village is situated on the sides of
a steep ravine cut into the Greensand ridge within the Hurtwood Forest which is
reputedly the largest area of common land in Surrey. It is unusual because its
geographical location places it in two different borough councils. Most of the
village is in the borough of Guildford within the Shere civil parish. The east
side of the village street however is within the Mole Valley District within
the Abinger civil parish. People in Holmbury St Mary pay their local council
taxes to two authorities. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Holmbury St Mary, seen from the churchyard of St Marys.</div>
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As we entered the village we were passing
St Marys church and decided to look inside. We walked through the graveyard to
the church entrance. From here, because the church is situated on the hill side,
we got a clear view of the main part of the village and the hills surrounding
us. The interior of St Marys is in the gothic style, much copied by the
Victorians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stained glass windows streamed
coloured light into the interior. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A calm,
meditative place.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The interior of St Mary's Church Holmbury St Mary.</div>
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Originally the village was called Felday. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St Mary’s, was built there in 1879, paid for
by George Edmund Street who also built himself a large house in the village
called Holmdale. He had the village renamed after Holmbury Hill, which
overlooks the village and the name of the church, put together. The village has
two styles of architecture, the Woodhouse copse style, an arts and crafts style
designed by Oliver Hill in 1926 and Jolwynds, a modernist house, also designed
by Oliver Hill in 1926.<o:p></o:p></div>
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An arts and crafts style of house in Holmbury St Mary.</div>
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There is a well in the middle of the village where Tony,
John and myself took photographs of ourselves posing with the winding mechanism
under the oak supported tiled roof shading the well. After asking a passing local the way to the pub we retired to The Royal Oak where we were welcomed by
a cheery barmaid. We found a corner table near a window overlooking the front
of the pub and settled down. The pub has its own microbrewery and so we ordered
the house beer, three pints of,” Felday Special.” Always the sight of fish and
chips on the menu is an attractive prospect so we also ordered three fish and chips
too. The beer took a while to arrive because the landlord needed to put on a
new barrel. After putting the new barrel on tap he came to talk to us and we
learned that the fish we were about to eat came fresh from Cornwall every day.
He also told us about his beer brewing exploits. The fish and chips were superb.
I haven’t eaten such well-made chips in a pub for a long time. The beer went
down well too and if we were not moving on I could have stayed and drunk
another pint. What we only noticed when we got outside the pub and were walking
away was that the receipt I was given for our beer and food was rather cheap. Tony
realised, that because we had had to wait for the beer to be served, the
barmaid hadn’t charged us for the beer. I for one am going back to the Royal
Oak in Holmbury St Mary. How good is that?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Royal Oak pub.</div>
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We made our way through the village looking at some of the cottages and a small field laid out as allotments where people are growing their
own fruit and vegetables. We passed Felday Chapel on the rise of ground to our left,
as we walked on. <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It is a <span style="background: white; color: black;">19th Century
Congregational Chapel.</span></span> The Congregational Churches are
independent religious groups that hark back to the Puritan tradition. They are non
conformists . This tradition is much simpler and less elaborate than the Church
of England services held at St Marys on the other side of the village.</div>
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Felday, Congregational chapel.</div>
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The
village is reputed to be a template for the Surrey village portrayed in E. M
Forster’s ,”A Room With A View.” E. M. Forster was brought up in Abinger Hammer
nearby and knew the Surrey Hills well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A path took us off to
the right in a north easterly direction up a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>steep hill. We plodded up this high slope through
a wood of tall.slender larch trees. A young deer hurried through the trees
near us and disappeared into another part of the wood. We eventually reached
the top of the hill and came out onto a plateau with an area of felled trees
and a wide woodland path. We began to lose our position on the map but Tony
decided that with the sun in the sky on our right, our final destination, back
at Leith Hill Tower was south of us. We carried on eastwards through the
woodland covering <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the crest of the hill
and came across some converted farm buildings. They appeared to be wealthy homes
with Range Rovers and Porche sports cars parked in their drives. <o:p></o:p></div>
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John and Tony walking onward and upwards.</div>
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We walked on through ,”Pasture Wood,” and crossed Pasture Wood Road into a lane which we thought took us in the correct direction. In front of us was a magnificent arts and crafts, Mock Tudor, mansion. Manicured sports fields spread out in front of it. Some teenagers were being taught football skills by a sports teacher. We stopped for a moment to work out our route once more.I later found this school on my OS map. It is called
Hurtwood House School.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is a statement on the school website. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“ Hurtwood combines the best elements of the traditional boarding
school system with the best elements of the modern sixth form college to create
a wholly unique and individual establishment.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">While breaking new ground educationally, it has retained traditional
values and has created an inspirational but safe stepping-stone between school
and university.”<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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I read on about its educational philosophy and I must admit
I was impressed. It’s teaching methods are creative and child centred. It is a fee paying, private school.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The building, Hurtwood House School is based in, has an interesting history. It was built originally for Beatrice Webb and became the
centre,between 1947 and 1986, for the, ”Webb memorial Trust for Rethinking Poverty.“
Beatrice Webb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> helped her cousin
Charles Booth in creating his poverty map of London in the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>late 1890s and early 1900s and she contributed
new ideas to political and economic thinking. Along with her husband, Sydney
Webb and George Bernard Shaw she helped found the London School of Economics.
She supported the cooperative societies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Larch woods.</div>
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Tony, John and I walked on uphill now, keeping Leyland Farm
and Leylands Road to our left until we branched south and, as we hoped, made
our way back up to the summit of Leith Hill. We got back to Leith Hill Tower,
rested for a while looking out over the Surrey countryside and then said our
farewells. </div>
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Tony and John resting, back at the top of Leith Hill after our walk.</div>
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We have another walk planned for when this virus eventually disappears. John and I have begun a Shakespeare walk in London which we have half completed. Tony will join us for the final section, when we can continue.</div>
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<o:p> Tony Brown and myself on the top of Leith Hill Tower.</o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-20891931607007026372020-02-29T02:56:00.003-08:002020-06-15T23:51:55.994-07:00EMMA. a review: Directed by Autumn de Wilde<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikHGUvUbIbFEd3qY0BBhhnXH-6ZoZaoIf0fMI_VfRSLG6lq_d_WL7PYD_R6vKpZ4ojkBJhHFN851eyeXvw1Pce-qcbnNSypfkrgHb2WZG_RBGD6TRJKEI-EntjeMEAM5TSyaLXOpnjJoOj/s1600/IMG_6471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikHGUvUbIbFEd3qY0BBhhnXH-6ZoZaoIf0fMI_VfRSLG6lq_d_WL7PYD_R6vKpZ4ojkBJhHFN851eyeXvw1Pce-qcbnNSypfkrgHb2WZG_RBGD6TRJKEI-EntjeMEAM5TSyaLXOpnjJoOj/s640/IMG_6471.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Callum Turner (Frank Churchill) Anya Taylor Joy (Emma) Johnny Flynn (Mr Knightley)</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Cast</span>: Anya Taylor Joy as Emma, Johnny
Flynn as Mr Knightly, Mia Goth as Harriet, Callum Turner as Frank Churchill,
Amber Anderson as Jane Fairfax, Miranda Hart as Miss Bates, Bill Nighy as Mr
Woodhouse, Tanya Reynolds as Mrs Elton, Josh O’Connor as Mr Elton, Rupert
Graves as Mr Weston, Gemma Whelan as Mrs Weston nee Taylor, Connor Swindells as
Mr Martin and Chloe Pirrie as Isabella Knightly nee Woodhouse.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wimbledon Odeon, Wednesday 26<sup>th</sup> February, Marilyn and myself arrived for the 11.10
performance of the new, Emma. showing in
theatre number 6. We had seats at the back. There were two people in the
row infront of us and two more further down the theatre, closer to the screen
and that was it. Theatre number 6 has a capacity of 175, the smallest of the
screening theatres. Was this an omen? Six people sitting in a space for 175? I read Mark Kermode’s review in the Guardian.
He gave it three out of five stars. Not bad but could do better.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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My thoughts were, will Autumn de
Wilde’s Emma get Austen’s subtleties concerning the different <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>relationships right? Will the actors be any
good? All is lost if they can’t cut the mustard. What might we get out of this
Emma that speaks to us in 2020? Will the film <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tell Jane Austen’s story well?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The film begins, focusing in
from an expansive bucolic scene of green pastures and wooded areas to an iconic
18thcentury mansion, Hartfield. We hone down to a gothic styled greenhouse and
enter to a scene of peace and calm and meditative background music as Emma,
played by Anya Taylor Joy, slowly, carefully<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>moves, almost like floating in a dream, examining her blooming red roses
while servant girls hover , secateurs poised ready to snip the stem of any
flower Emma thinks fit. Anya Taylor’s eyes look and roam and pierce us to our
souls. Oh! those eyes. She pauses, she considers, she moves on and decides,
“That one.” And the flower is cut. This opening scene is very clever and says
in this silent dreamlike ballet all that Austen says in the opening
words of her novel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“ Emma Woodhouse, handsome,
clever and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite
some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty one years
in the world with very little to distress or vex her.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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The film is lit<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>brightly and the colours, not just of the
costumes, but of the scenery too has a pale pastel sheen, which can only be
achieved through the cinematography. The colours have a childish quality. It
reminded me of the sherbet flavoured,” love hearts,” we used to buy from our
local sweet shop when we were children, handing these pastel coloured sweets to
each other with such embarrassing phrases as , “All Mine,” “Love Bug,” “Find
Me,” “Only You,” and “ Kiss Me,” embossed on them. It occurred to me, that that
analogy does indeed<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>embody Emma
Woodhouse’s emotional level exactly, at the beginning of the film.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sherbet flavoured ,"Love Hearts." Childish fancies.</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anya Taylor Joy, when I saw the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>adverts for Emma emblazoned on the sides
of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>some London buses as they drove, past
didn’t fit my imagined idea of Emma. She looked too modern, too 2020 and with eyes
that you can sink into and get lost in forever. I didn’t imagine Emma as being seductive.
I imagined her as pompous, controlling and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>distant, a whole ,”class,” above the other
characters in the story, certainly not seductive. Anya is very good in the part
though. She has just the right amount of intelligence, naivety and controlling confidence and a powerful self-belief, at first.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As advertised by London Transport.</div>
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We tend
to expect beautiful actors and actresses , the men always being compared to
Colin Firth and I am sure there will be those who want to make such comparisons
with this film between Colin Firth and Johnny Flynn. However, the actors in this
adaptation go against the usual trend I think. Frank Churchill, played by
Callum Turner has big ears that stick out. All the better to listen with of course
and he does listen to conversations, carefully avoiding any close emotional engagement
with anybody. Thus he keeps a distance , keeping his true intentions secret. Johnny
Flynn, who plays Mr Knightley has a battered look about him, a feint white scar
on one cheek and eyes that are not quite even sized or level on his face. A
rugged handsomeness, a face of experience, let’s say, which <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>aids <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the fact that his character, Mr Knightley, is
37 or 38 years of age to ,Emma’s 21 years. The women characters tend to have no
makeup on their faces adding a plainness to their general look. Although having
said that Anya Taylor Joy does have her face made up, blush pink cheeks and red
lips, which makes her stand out. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Emma standing on Leith Hill,the hill used as Box Hill.</div>
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The scene I always look out for
in any Emma film is the Box Hill picnic. This one doesn’t disappoint. Leith
Hill is used for the film set and not the real Box Hill, but I can
forgive that.Actually both hills are part of the same range of hills, The North Downs, in Surrey. Leith Hill has less roads and buildings in the panoramic view
from the top. Leith Hill however,I always associate with the composer, Vaughn
Williams and not Jane Austen’s novel, but anyway, I am nit-picking. I hope
you can all one day visit Leith Hill as well as Box Hill. I will continue. In this
Autumn de Wilde re-imagining of this iconic scene she portrays an important
example of how this Emma is relevant to today. She doesn’t deflect from Austen’s plot and action
in anyway but emphasised are things that
address the concerns of our modern age. The superficial prattle of Frank Churchill
announcing, “I am ordered by Miss Woodhouse, who (wherever she is presides), to
say that she desires to know what you are all thinking,” of course has to be
included, but those inconsequential speeches are kept to a low key compared to
the emphasise on the insult Emma gives Miss Bates. That scene is heightened. Mr
Knightley’s reprimand of Emma and Miss Bates's obvious hurt becomes the main thing.
We live in an age of online trolling and abuse and as a society we are
struggling to know how to deal with this dangerous and damaging practice. This
Box Hill scene demonstrates the hurt we can cause other people.<br />
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This is the Burford Spur on the side of the ,"real," Box Hill, the probable site of Jane Austen's picnic party in, Emma.</div>
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With Jane Austen film adaptations, we have come to expect beautiful settings and rich architecturally magnificent houses set within Capability Brown or Humphrey Repton landscapes and this film certainly does not disappoint. The settings are magnificent. The houses used in this film are, in our real world, open to the public and probably have very nice
cafes and shops. I have visited some of the houses featured over the years.
Hartfield, the home of Emma and Mr Woodhouse is Firle Place in East Sussex. The
small town of Highbury is the picturesque village of Lower Slaughter near
Cheltenham in the Cotswolds. Donwell Abbey is Wilton House near Salisbury. Mr
Weston’s house is Chevenage House near Tetbury in Gloucetsreshire. The Goddards
school house is Kingston Bagpuize House, south west of Oxford. However, I do wonder that these magnificent examples
of the 18<sup>th</sup> century British architecture and landscaping are used by
fillm companies.They were originally owned by the super-rich, the billionaires
of the 18<sup>th</sup> century and the characters in Jane Austen’s novels would
never have lived in such great luxury and splendour. Mostly they would have
been second league landowners. What a film like this and I suppose all the
other film versions and television versions of Austen’s novels become, are <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tourist shop windows. “Come and visit me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The ball at the Crown Inn in
Highbury is more than one sort of dance. In Jane Austen’s novel much of the
action is seen through Emmas eyes. She<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>wills interactions between people and suffers because they don’t happen
the way she would like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Autum de Wilde
creates a floating world in the mind of Emma. Emma sees people as characters <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that can be moved about like sailing boats on
a pond, a puff of wind here, a puff of wind there. She would like to manoeuvre <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this person here or to that person there,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and keep everybody within her control;
Harriet to Mr Elton, possibly herself to Frank Churchill. But all goes wrong. “Breezes,”
blow in other directions. Harriet thinks, because Mr Knightley has asked her to
dance she is in love with him and he her. After the ball in a carriage with Mr
Elton he professes his love for Emma. This is not what should be. The pitfalls
of internet dating comes to mind. As for TV shows such as Blind Date and Naked
Attraction, perish the thought.<o:p></o:p></div>
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By the way,the music written by Isobel
Waller Bridge for the ball at The Crown Inn and as background music throughout
the film fits this Emma superbly. It has a country feel to it sometimes. When
required Waller Bridge has composed music that fits completely an 18<sup>th</sup>
century dance. At the same time the music feels fresh and up to date, very
enjoyable. An amazing achievement. <o:p></o:p></div>
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If Emma is about nothing else it
is about the development and growth of relationships, and is an exploration of
what love is. The tensions and problems along the way just make for good drama
and emotional engagement. Autumn de Wilde is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>making this Emma relevant to today in her
treatment of , love. <o:p></o:p></div>
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One love affair <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at the start of the story has Emma <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>heartbroken and bereft. Her surrogate mother, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>teacher and eventually soul mate, Miss Taylor
marries Mr Weston. A scene in the film shows the two of them either side of a
door (powerful symbolism) heads touching the opposite sides, centimetres apart
and speaking from their heartfelt emotions about what each means to the
other.The new Mrs Weston will only be half a mile away but a universe as far as
their changed relationship. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Emma also has a relationship with
Harriet, played by Mia Goth, who brilliantly portrays innocence, wonder and
bewilderment in equal measures, an orphan from Mrs Goddard’s School. This relationship
too grows ever more intimate. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emma tries
to control who Harriet marries against Harriet’s own feelings. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harriet’s fleeting fancies for Mr Elton and
then Mr Knightley are not where her true heart is of course. It is with Mr
Martin. Mr Martin portrayed <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>steadfastly
by Connor Swindells, shows admirable patience in love. This is another relationship
Emma has to contend with or perhaps struggle against. Harriet really loves Mr Martin and Emma finally does accept this situation once she has gone through her own Damascene revelations. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Another relationship that comes
to fruition eventually is that of Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax. Frank goes through a lot for his love for Jane Fairfax and although this is not approved off by many, that relationship
is accepted by all in the end including of course Emma. All these relationships
other people have are also steps along the way towards Emma’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>own emotional maturity. The relationships
and how they are portrayed in this film and how they develop make it a very modern story.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A further development for <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emma <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>occurs
after her atrocious <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>treatment of Miss
Bates on Box Hill. She, in atonement for her awful behaviour, visits Miss
Bates. Few words are spoken but Emma shows her sorrow and Miss Bates shows her
unwavering love of Emma. Visiting those she has slighted and showing her
awareness of what she has done are markers in the development of Emma's emotional intelligence and Autumn de Wilde continues to highlight these moments.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Miranda Hart as Miss Bates
surprised me. Miranda is an excellent comedic actress and has created her own comedy
sitcom. On TV we laugh out loud at her because she is hilarious. Her Miss Bates is a funny
character in the sense of being quirky but really she manages to portray somebody who <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>requires our sympathy. Miranda Hart who has a
genius for making us laugh played the part extremely well without resorting to
slapstick. She created a sense of the ridiculous but not in a laugh out loud
way. She achieves pathos and emotional hurt. Miranda makes us feel for her
Miss Bates. The only thing I cannot overcome is the fact, I have always thought of Miss Bates as short and squat, ( Jane Austen does not describe her as such) Miranda Hart is tall and gangly. Not
everything can be perfect. <o:p></o:p></div>
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By the end of de Wildes, Emma, Mr
Knightly and Emma develop a powerful love for each other which they both become
aware of ,suddenly, and it seems almost as a surprise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their deep connection was there all along, of
course. Both Austen and de Wilde provide the clues, from the start of the novel, in
the case of Austen and from the start of the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>film <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in
de Wildes case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Although t</span>he main crux of the film is of course
about Emma <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>passing through<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a time of self-refection and change to become
Mr Knightleys equal in love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr
Knightley does not merely hang around waiting for Emma to grow emotionally; he too has had to change. His awakened perception of Emma has
taken much understanding, patience. empathy and emotional intelligence on his part. Emotional
intelligence is what <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the film, is about
after all. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Emma is often described as a
comedy, perhaps a comedy of errors. Bill Nighy who plays Mr Woodhouse, uses his
usual repertoire of looks, pauses , tics, gasps, twitches and physical comedy
to portray a neurotic but loveable Mr Woodhouse. His overarching concern with moving
fire screens to shield the heat emanating from his blazing fire or sometimes, on the other
hand, to concentrate the fires heat to certain places in the room illustrates Mr
Woodhouses hypochondria to excellent effect. His servants are forever trying to
discover the source of a draft that only Mr Woodhouse can feel. Mr Elton’s big animated grin, which is a little disturbing, enhanced by his wearing
of high white winged collars, is quite surreal. The eventual Mrs Weston, played
by Gemma Whelan, is continually on the verge of disapproval, not quite reaching
a level of anger, and has a ludicrous essence about her. Do you laugh or frown
at somebody like that? Gemma Whelan does it very well anyway. As I suggested
earlier Miss Bates, played by the consummate comedy actress Miranda Hart is not
the clown you would suspect in this Emma. She plays the part at a much deeper
emotional, subtle level. I was very impressed with her performance. “Miranda”
of the sitcom would be so excited and ecstatic at that analysis. She would
whoop about the room, prancing like a horse. I kid you not.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This Emma is really worth seeing.
It is an Emma for our time highlighting issues about love<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that are relevant to us now. Autum de Wilde
in an interview was asked how she thought her, Emma, compared to other, Emmas.
She replied that she considered that one film was not better than another. Each
brought something different to our understanding. I think I would agree. This
Emma is very good. Emma, with a full stop? I’ll leave you to think about that
one. Nudity? Pah! Nicely rounded buttocks and elegant thighs for
mere fleeting moments. Surely nobody could possibly complain? We see more on
the beach or at an athletics event.<o:p></o:p></div>
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TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3713948124674580839.post-29303261099095395762020-01-08T23:57:00.005-08:002023-06-23T03:53:26.375-07:00THE MARTYRS WALK- Tower Hill to Tyburn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The execution site on Tower Hill.</div>
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<b>TOWER HILL SITE OF EXECUTION</b><br />
Monday 18<sup>th</sup> November, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11am, emerging from the tube station on Tower
Hill, a few hundred metres north of The Tower of London. John Lodge and I crossed the road
towards the Merchant Seamen’s War Memorial, an area of pale cream Portland
stone walls, benches and statues covered in darkened bronze plaques with thousands of names of seamen, their ships and the ports they originated from.
It is a surprising multitude of names , ships and ports across the British
Isles. The memorial completely surrounds and engulfs you as you walk through
its sombre precinct. It makes you wonder at its enormity and its meaning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Just to one side of this vast <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>edifice is a small garden with a cobbled
square surrounded by looping chains. Within this<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>area are bronze plaques with the names of
famous Lords, bishops, courtiers and ministers<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>with the dates that each individual was beheaded on this spot. Thomas
Cromwell, Thomas More, John Fisher, Thomas Wyatt, Thomas Laud and many more. This
representative list of names are just some of the 125 who met their end here.
Each one paid the price for treason. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Half starved, week and in rags the person to be executed
would be carried from the Tower to this spot. Some
would bravely give a speech, often humble and pleading their allegiance to the
monarch. Crowds of thousands would gather to see them die. 20, 000 spectators
on Tower hill has been estimated at any one time. What did the crowds of
onlookers feel and think? <o:p></o:p><br />
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<b>THE BRITISH PILGRIMAGE TRUST</b></div>
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John and I had begun, The London Martyrs Walk, the British Pilgrimage
Trust provide on their website with maps and information. A martyr is somebody
who has suffered and sometimes died for a cause they believe in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The walk includes execution sites where
criminals were executed too. You could argue that the taking of any life is a
sort of martyrdom. What is the morality of taking a person’s life for whatever
reason? <o:p></o:p><br />
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<b>SAINTS AND SINNERS</b></div>
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Some of the people executed on Tower Hill, in particular
Thomas More and John Fisher were later created saints by the Catholic Church. Is
making somebody a saint akin to advertising the church and a set of beliefs
through celebrity? They were turned into high profile people. A bit like a You Tube influencer today. Saints ,”sell,”
Catholicism.<o:p></o:p></div>
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John looking at the statue of Samuel Pepys in Seething Lane.</div>
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We walked a short distance from Tower Hill to Seething Lane.
Samuel Pepys worked at the Navy Board from 1660, located in Seething Lane, as
Clerk of the acts. He lived on the site of his office and attended church at St
Olave’s Church, across the road. He is buried in St Olave’s. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> The churchyard and entrance to St Olaves Church in Seething Lane.</o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>Samuel Pepys cannot be described as a Saint, more a likeable
rogue. He was an ordinary man, with strengths, as well as faults and failings.
He was greedy, lecherous, kind, thoughtful, critical of others, mocking,
friendly and liked his food and drink and loved a good party. He was also
secretive in his attempts to protect himself from his King discovering his
personally held views. He wrote his famous diary in a sort of shorthand so very few people could read it, and of course he didn’t want his wife
to know about some of his nefarious activities. He was apparently religious,
probably because he had to be, to avoid censure from the authorities.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just on the corner of
Seething Lane, next to Pepys Navy Office was located, in Elizabeth I’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>time the town house of one of her most loyal
and powerful courtiers, Francis Walsingham. From 1570 onwards he was the spymaster,
torturer and sent many to their deaths.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saints and sinners,
you wonder what makes them what they are? What sort of person will die for
their beliefs? What sort of person will destroy another because of their
beliefs? What sort of person remains merely ordinary?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The ,"Gift of Cane," memorial to 18th century slaves.</div>
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<br />
<b>A MEMORIAL TO SLAVES</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
In amongst shiny glass and steel office blocks we came
across a modernist set of sculptures, the memorial to slavery. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Long slender pillars represent sugar cane. The
words of a poem by Lemn Sissay, entitled, “Gift of Cain,” is<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>carved into a stone pulpit beside the slender
pillars and extend onto the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>pillars
themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The theme of the poem is the
power of money and the power of brotherhood. It also commemorates William Wilberforce,
the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>18<sup>th</sup> century emancipator.
It reminds us of how human beings can be sacrificed, for, not just beliefs but
for money and wealth. The monument was unveiled by Bishop Desmond Tutu, in 2007, in commemoration of the bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 5px; padding: 0px;">
<b>The Gilt of Cain<br />By Lemn Sissay, 2007</b></div>
<div style="color: #666666; font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 5px; padding: 0px;">
<b>Here is the ask price on the closed position,<br />history is no inherent acquisition<br />for here the Technical Correction upon the act,<br />a merger of truth and in actual fact<br />on the spot, on the money – the spread........................</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<b>SOME LONDON CHURCHES</b></div>
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Our journey, was paced out over three consecutive Mondays.
It could have taken<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>less time, however<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we came across<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>galleries and museums, coffee shops and
lunchtime pubs which captured our time, and, anyway, we took it easy and
enjoyed the mere act of walking, talking and taking in the world around us.,<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amongst the places we
saw and visited were twenty-four churches and one Chinese Buddhist temple. Many
of the churches were Roman Catholic. The penal laws which had come about in
Henry VIII’s time and had brought about the execution of Thomas More and John
Fisher, John Houghton, the Abbot of Charterhouse and other priests and nuns,
were started to be repealed in 1766. The most important of the penal laws were removed
by the Catholic Relief Act of 1829. We went into churches that were able to be
built because of this act. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We came across many of London’s, Medieval,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stuart and Georgian Churches. One of the key
issues that emerged for me from visiting all these churches, were the various
shades of Christianity they represented and the freedom this country provides
people of all faiths. <o:p></o:p></div>
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St Etheldreda’s in Ely place, which is a medieval church and
had been the chapel for the Bishops of Ely from 1250, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was bought by the Rossinian order in 1874 when
the Bishop of Ely put the dilapidated church up for sale. The Rossinians were
an order of Catholic Priests from Italy who came to England after the 1829
Catholic Relief Act to rejuvenate Catholicism in Britain.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>MISCONCEPTIONS</b></div>
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We had some misconceptions as we went along. All Saints in
Margaret Street is a point in question.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>All Saints is a very elaborate Victorian Gothic style
church. As we entered, a funeral was taking place. The church was packed with a
large congregation. One of the funeral directors asked us to stand quietly to
one side. A youthful choir in red cassocks
and white surplices sang angelically. A priest dressed in a richly embroidered
black Roman chasuble swung a thurible sending clouds of incense around the
altar. The officiating priest with assistant priests was intoning the mass in
Latin. We didn’t stay long because we thought we were intruding. The requiem
mass took John and I back to our youth of Latin, High masses. We imagined
whoever the dead person was had requested this Latin Requiem mass.It was only
later that John and I discovered that this was not a Roman Catholic church at
all. It is High Anglican. Amusingly they
appeared more catholic than the Catholics. When Henry VIII
first took over the headship of the church, the changes to religious ceremonies
were hardly noticeable. Everything appeared to carry on as before as far as
everyday observance was concerned. The headship of the church in England had
fundamentally changed from the Pope to Henry but outwardly, to the ordinary
person, very little had changed. Here was evidence that a part of the Anglican
community has kept Roman Catholic traditions.<br />
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All Saints Margaret Street with the entrance to London Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple on the left.<br />
<br />
<b> A DIFFERENT TAKE ON CHRISTIAN WORSHIP</b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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All Souls in Langham Place, just north of Oxford Circus and
next door to the BBC Centre, is very different. Young enthusiastic
parishioners, on ladders and stools were decking the church with Christmas decorations.
Microphones and speakers were set up for a vibrant musical experience. This
church appeared to be an evangelical young person’s church. A church of action.
It too is Anglican. The Christmas decorations, the lack of religious icons,
paintings and decorations made it look more like a cosy community hall than a
church. I could see no crucifix or stations of the cross as displayed in All
Saints Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a different
approach to religion, a more vibrant youthful approach. Singing modern songs,
rock groups, youth activities and prayer meetings are the order of the day
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Comparing it to All Saints Church
it demonstrates the breadth of approach to Christianity there is in this day
and age.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
All Souls, Langham Place.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>ALL FAITHS</b></div>
</div>
</div>
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We also on our walk came across the Freemasons Hall in
Holborn. We went in to visit their museum displays. The Freemasons have formed
their own set of secretive rituals and keep many of their work and beliefs
secret. Only men can become freemasons. They generally hold to old testament
principles.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people at, The London Fo Guang Shan Temple
in Margaret Street near Oxford Circus welcolmed us in. It was located just
opposite All Saints Anglican church. This was not part of The Martyrs Walk
itinerary but John and I thought it would be an interesting experience if we
went inside. A Chinese lady welcomed us into the temple and told us about the Buddha
and Buddhism. It occurred to me the philosophy of the Buddha ,the complete
personal rejection of material things, greed, hate and delusion is not far
removed from <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St Francis of Assissi, who also
lived a life of frugality, leaving earthly things behind. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
St Giles in the Fields.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>ST GILES, A CHURCH WITH SOME HISTORY</b></div>
</div>
</div>
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St Giles in the Fields, is an interesting church. St Giles
Church, focusses us back to The Martyrs Trail. The church is located just north
of Oxford Street not far from Centre Point. The site was founded by Queen Mathilda
in 1101 as a leper hospital. Over the centuries its lurid history developed. On
the 20<sup>th</sup> September 1586 Anthony Babington(1561-1586) and his plotters who were
Catholics trying to overthrow Elizabeth and put Mary Queen of Scots on the
throne were executed outside the church. One of Francis Walsinghams great
successes. In 1665 The Great Plague began in the parish. Twelve Roman Catholic
martyrs including Oliver Punkett, who were betrayed by Titus Oates, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>were buried in the churchyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John Lord Belasye, a friend of Charles Ist
and later after the Restoration,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a
friend of Charles II, is buried here. A large stone plaque relates the story of
his military feats and leadership at the battles of Naseby, Edge Hill and
Newbury.<br />
<br />
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A plaque, displayed inside St Giles describes the military campaigns John Lord Belasye took part in.<br />
<br />
Later during the 1830’s Dickens published Oliver Twist. It was
this area, around St Giles,that was the location for Fagan’s pickpocketing
exploits. By the 19<sup>th</sup> century the area was a ,”rookery,” where
criminals and the destitute lived. Inside is a pulpit removed from The West
Street Chapel from which John and Charles Wesley regularly preached from.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Thomas a Becket was born near this spot next to the Guildhall.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>THE REFORMATION AND ALL THAT TROUBLE.</b></div>
</div>
</div>
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John and I passed the site where Thomas a Becket, the most
famous martyr of the Middle Ages, was born, adjacent to the Guildhall.This brings to mind the cult of pilgrimage, perhaps not a bad thing in itself depending on the motivation but also that side of catholicism, in the Middle Ages, the selling of indulgences and the virtual buying a place in heaven that brought about, in 1517, Martin Luther's ninety five theses and eventually the Reformation which of course links back to the main reasons for the martyrs this walk celebrates.<br />
<br />
<b>OTHER WAYS TO DEATH</b><br />
We entered
Guildhall art gallery and then descended to the basement<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>where the ruins of London’s, Roman
Amphitheatre built in AD 70, was located. Gladiators fought to the death on
this site in front of crowds of thirty thousand. Dying and killing as a
spectacle for the entertainment of others, has a long history and does seem
innate in the human make up. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The curved line of dark bricks marks part of the circumference of the Roman Amphitheater in the forecourt of The Guildhall.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
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On we walked to ,”Postman’s Park,” near the Barbican just
north of St Pauls Cathedral. This park commemorates people who freely and
consciously gave their lives for the lives of others. A different angle on dying.
Some of the ceramic tiles erected on a wall in the park read:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“ James Hewers, on
September 24<sup>th</sup> 1878 was killed by a train at Richmond in an
endeavour to save another man.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thomas Simpson, died of exhaustion after saving many lives
from the breaking ice at Highgate Ponds January 25<sup>th</sup> 1885.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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There are numerous plaques remembering acts of
self-sacrifice like this in Postman’s Park. It is thought provoking that there
are people who will sacrifice their own life in this way. Do we all have that
capacity? Nobody can possibly know until the moment comes. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Ceramic plaques on a wall in Postman's Park commemorating those who have given their lives for others.</div>
</div>
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<br />
<b>THE OLD BAILEY THE SITE OF NEWGATE PRISON</b></div>
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We moved on to, The Old Bailey, The Central Criminal Court
of England and Wales. It is located on the site of what was Newgate Prison. From
1783, Newgate, took over from Tyburn as the public place of execution and was notorious
for public hangings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From 1868 to
1902<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hangings<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>took place within the confines of the prison,
because of the civil disturbances that could occur during public hangings. At
St Sepulchre Church, nearby, there is displayed the bell rung outside a
condemned persons cell the night before they were to be executed. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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An entrance to The Old Bailey.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST</b></div>
</div>
</div>
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The statue of the Golden Boy of Pye Corner, just along from
the Old Bailey, is reputed to be the site where the fire of London was finally
extinguished. Nobody knows how many people died in that conflagration but
surprisingly it was possibly quite a small number. Most people evacuated London
for the fields around the city in plenty of time.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">The Golden Boy at Pye Corner.</span></div>
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The Fortune of War pub near St Bartholomew’s Hospital is
where the,” Resurrectionists,” laid out freshly exhumed bodies from local
burials so that surgeons from the hospital could examine them. The surgeons needed the
bodies for their research. “Body Snatching,” was an illegal occupation. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<b>SMITHFIELD, PLACE OF EXECUTION AND PLAGUE</b></div>
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On John and I walked towards Smithfield Square and the great
Victorian meat market and where meat has been bought and sold since Medieval times. Here we visited St Bartholomew’s the Great, Church. The
churchyard is the site of a plague pit. A statue of Henry VIII is positioned
above the entrance arch to the precinct of this church. His reformation of the
church in England and his taking on the role of the head of the church created
a challenge for many high ranking Catholics in the country and brought about
their deaths.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Within the area of</span> Smithfield is located a plaque commemorating the execution of Robert The Bruce. The area was used for burning people at the stake during Mary Tudor’s reign and during
Elizabeths reign people were hung drawn and quartered here too. <o:p></o:p><br />
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A statue in the middle of Smithfield .</div>
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These means of execution were incredibly barbaric. The
levels of suffering must have been immense. Why were these methods of execution
used? This was beyond just ending somebodies life but making every part of them
suffer indescribable pain. The people to be executed had obviously become
anathema. The Spanish Inquisition, for instance, were experts at
eradicating a person’s very existence. This is hard to believe but religions do
this. Even today ISIS execute people in the most barbaric ways. There is something
in the essence of ,"belief ,"where people think they are so right and that others
are so wrong the non believers<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>are
damned.</div>
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I wondered about the people who carried out these forms of barbaric
executions. Later the nun giving us the tour of the English martyrs relics kept
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at Tyburn Convent enlightened me. It
seems so obvious. Smithfield was a meat market. The butchery trade was carried
on <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there. A butcher is an expert at
killing animals and dissecting them. They had the tools and the skills, so it
was butchers from Smithfield who performed the process of hanging drawing and
quartering and burning at the stake. These people thought it an honour.<o:p></o:p><br />
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The entrance to The Charterhouse.<br />
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<b>CHARTERHOUSE AND THE CARTHUSIANS</b></div>
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We walked on to Charterhouse and stood at the gates where
the abbot of the Carthusians, John Houghton in 1537 had his head displayed
after being hung drawn and quartered because he would not sign Henry VIII’s Act
of Supremacy. Ten other Carthusians were imprisoned in Newgate Prison at the
time, nine of them starving to death and the last beheaded on Tower Hill. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It is here also in Charterhouse Square where a vast plague
pit was constructed in 1348 by the Carthusians and where they buried the dead of the most virulent plague that ever reached England. It has been
discovered recently with what great respect and care the dead of the plague
were treated. The construction of cross rail in the area disrupted the plague
pit and archaeologists were able to examine plague skeletons. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<b>DEATH</b></div>
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By now on our walk John and I had encountered many sites of
death and execution. How does a person face death? John Houghton, the abbot of
Charterhouse knew he was going to be brutally killed involving a lengthy
process of being hung drawn and quartered. People who caught the plague had
hours or days to live. People rotting in prison had a long time to contemplate
their fate. Some died because of disease as with the plague but many of the people
who were executed were those who kept to their beliefs against the law of the
land. Slaves, treated as commodities, not as human beings, died on the slave
ships or because of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the harsh
punishments given by masters. I wonder how they dealt with it? </div>
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A triptych of The English Martyrs in St James in Spanish Place.<br />
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<b>THE SPANISH CONNECTION</b></div>
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St James in Spanish Place, Mayfair is a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Roman Catholic Church. It is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>frequented by the Spanish ambassador and has
connections to the Spanish monarchy. The present church is opposite the site of
a smaller chapel that was used by the Spanish Embassy when it was located just
round the corner in Manchester Square.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>St James is connected to the English Martyrs who died at Tyburn. It has
a triptych of the English Martyrs and an information board naming them all in a
side chapel to the right of the high altar. The Spanish Embassy, during Elizabeth’s
reign, supported, clandestinely, Catholics in England. Relics, parts of the martyrs bodies and blood stained clothing had been collected secretly after their executions and removed to the Spanish embassy and then taken to Spain for safe keeping.<br />
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<b>JESUITS "They're behind you."</b></div>
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Nearing the end of our walk John and I visited the Jesuit Church
in Farm Street, Mayfair. Jesuit priests made up a high proportion of the
English Martyrs executed at Tyburn during the reign of Elizabeth I. They
included, Edmond Campion and Robert Southwell amongst others. The Jesuits, many
of whom were academics and theologians and philosophers were at the spearhead
of Catholic Europe’s response to the Reformation and English Jesuits were at
the forefront of trying to infiltrate and set up catholic resistance in
Protestant England.<o:p></o:p><br />
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The the chancel and altar in the Jesuits Church, Farm Street.<br />
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<b>THE FINAL PART OF OUR WALK AND A VISIT TO TYBURN CONVENT</b></div>
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From here we walked on towards Marble Arch passing the
memorial to animals who have suffered and died in military campaigns around the
world through the centuries. We walked past Marble Arch and made our way to
Tyburn Convent. The Tyburn Convent close to the site of the Tyburn Tree, the place
of execution, is run by an order of contemplative Benedictine nuns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was founded in 1901 by Mother Marie Adele Garnier
and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>follows the rule of St Benedict. The
order fled to England in 1901 because of the French laws against religious
orders. Mother Marie chose the site of Tyburn where many English martyrs had
been executed during the Elizabethan age. This monastery is now the Mother
House of her Congregation which has convents in England, Scotland, Ireland,
Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Italy and France.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John contacted the Mother Superior before we
made our final part of The Martyrs Walk to request a guided tour of the convent
and to learn more about the English martyrs. We arrived at the convent early
for our appointment and had time to visit the chapel and see the monstrance on
the altar where the perpetual adoration of Christ goes on. We rang the doorbell
to the convent and a nun appeared. We told her our request and within minutes
another nun appeared and welcomed us. She took us to the crypt of the chapel to
show us the altar with a reconstruction of Tyburn Gallows erected above it. We
saw relics of many of the martyrs, bones, pieces of skull and blood stained
fragments of clothing. These were the relics of Jesuits and Catholics executed
at Tyburn. Edmond Campion, John Houghton, Oliver Plunket and Margaret Ward and
others are commemorated here. The relics had been kept in various churches in Spain. When the King of Spain heard that the
Benedictine Nuns had set up a convent at Tyburn in 1901 he had them returned to England for the convent to keep. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Relics of the English Martyrs kept by the nuns at Tyburn Convent in their crypt.</div>
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The nun who gave the tour was very friendly, extrovert and
full of fun. I was slightly disconcerted at the joy and glee she seemed to
portray in describing the process of being hung drawn and quartered. She is a
nun who leads a contemplative life of mediation and prayer, focussed on
her, “bridegroom,” Jesus Christ. The death of the body is low on her scale of priorities.
Death to her brings her to her desired destination, heaven and union with
Christ of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose the
executions of the past, in her mind, were merely a step along the way to eternity
no matter how painful a process. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<b>TYBURN TREE where the gallows were.</b></div>
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After leaving the convent we followed the nun’s directions
and John and I found the actual site of Tyburn located on a traffic island at
the junction of Edgeware Road, Bayswater Road and Marble Arch leading to Oxford
Street. Three trees are planted in the shape of the gallows and a stone roundel
is laid in the pavement in the centre of the three trees with the words, “The
Site of Tyburn Tree,” etched into it. Traffic rushes past. People gather on the
traffic island as they cross Edgware Road and hurry on. Nobody stopped to look
at the three trees or the roundel. Nobody was aware of the significance of the
site they walked over.<o:p></o:p><br />
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A traffic island at the End of Edgware Road and Oxford Street. The three trees mark the shape of Tyburn gallows and the roundel in the pavement between the trees marks the spot.</div>
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When the highwayman Jack Shepherd was executed here in 1724
the audience reached 200,000 apparently. Huge crowds followed the condemned
person from Newgate Prison to Tyburn. Hanging days were public holidays and
crowds turned out. “Speakers Corner,” got its name because of the speeches many
condemned people made before their execution.<o:p></o:p><br />
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The walk was rich in experiences for both John and myself.
It provided us with a lot to think about;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>the inevitability of death, the process of death, the experiences of the
executioner, the law maker, the monarch who was the apex of this judicial and sovereign system
and the executed.<br />
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The site of Tyburn Tree.<br />
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The British Pilgrimages Trust: <a href="https://britishpilgrimage.org/portfolio/london-martyrs-way/">https://britishpilgrimage.org/portfolio/london-martyrs-way/</a><br />
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"The Gift of Cane," by Lemn Sissey:<br />
<a href="https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/gilt-of-cain-slave-trade">https://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/gilt-of-cain-slave-trade</a></div>
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TONYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07767998391294014275noreply@blogger.com8