A Christmas Address

Rather than write a round robin letter, like we did last year, we are taking the easy way out and directing anyone who's interested to this blog. So a very Merry Christmas to one and all and best wishes for 2009!

2008 has been, in football parlance, a year of two halves. It started in the worst way with Gran (Bessie's Granma Kay) passing away in February. Whilst she had not been in the best of health towards the end of 2007 her loss was no less sudden or saddening for that. She has been and will continue to be greatly missed by everyone that knew her. But in that strange symmetry of life, the mood of the second half of 2008 was set for us by the fact that we are expecting another addition to the family. Bessie's little brother or sister is due in the spring 2009.

And in between these two key events life has gone on. Bessie has turned from a toddler to a teenager in the space of 12 months, still keeping us in fits of laughter the vast majority of the time, but also testing our patience and nerves to the limits (and beyond). She started 'play group' in September for two days a week and becomes more independent by the day. So far she hasn't won any football trophies, gained any 'A' levels or been offered a scholarship to the School of Performing Arts and as such is a bitter disappointment to her parents. However, she was awarded a sticker for tidying up at play group (if only she would do the same at home.)

We took our first tentative steps towards self-sufficiency in response to the credit crunch and took on an allotment (with mixed success). As usual rugby gave us some highlights, but this year what highlights! Not only being at the Millennium stadium to see Wales win the Grand Slam, but also seeing Nick Koster play for the Barbarians at Wembley. We also managed to see some bands, some films, some comedians and some heroes. We made three trips to some fabulous seaside resorts (thanks Salcombe, Padstow and Kingsand) and generally had pretty good - no, excellent - weather. Ali is still pretty much a full time Mum although she does work freelance for her old employer looking after their website (as a bit of light relief!). Brian is still enjoying working as a local authority planner in Chippenham (but there are big changes ahead for local government in Wiltshire in 2009, so there is a frisson of uncertainty and apprehension in the air).

We failed to visit anywhere much further north than Birmingham this year, Brian failed to run a half marathon and Ali failed to get to see Coldplay - there's always next year.........although I suspect we may be rather busy for other reasons (not least being a rash of fortieth birthdays - including Ali's). Feel free to browse around our blog. Go on, have a look, you might find something interesting, informative or vaguely amusing.....there are some pretty pictures to look at too........oh, please yourselves!

Here's wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2009.

With Love Ali, Brian and Bessie

We're on our way to Wembley.....

Hey the Taylors get to go out again!

This time more rugby, but at Wembley Stadium. Alis's cousin Nick was (as regular readers will know) picked to play for the Barbarians against Australia. So the Cirencester Branch of the Cullip family (including Bess) set off for the smoke to meet a large contingent of the South African branch to watch.

The new Wembley is a fantastic venue, more of a hotel that just happens to have a stadium attached than a football ground. I've never seen stewards on any ground wearing suits and ties ("can I help you sir?"). Nick was starting on the bench...but what a bench with Shane Williams (officially the finest player in the world and pictured above with our Nick) and George Gregan keeping him company. The entire Barbarians team was a roll call of the best players in the world - so it was a real thrill to see Nick even warming up along the touch line.

The atmosphere was fantastic everyone who wasn't Australian (and there were a lot of them) was cheering on the Barbarians. It seemed odd to sing 'god save the queen' with only few englishmen in the team, but Bess belted it out with the rest of us. It was a really exciting game and played with a lot of passion (as a number of injured Aussies will testify). Nick played for most of the second half and played well, no doubt securing himself a place in a future Springbok team.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it and the score, although the Barbars lost, seemed immaterial. Bess enjoyed her second international rugby match, singing, cheering and even eyeballing the lads sat behind us who had knocked over a beer. And we enjoyed the occasion and meeting up with a whole bus-load of South African relatives.

Twice in a week

I don't go out for weeks, months even and then my body is sent into shock because I take it out twice in a week.

Saturday night The Feeling at The Oasis in Swindon (exotic location, but actually not a bad location and I think you'll find that the group 'Oasis' actually named themselves after The Oasis. so there). My highlight was the fantastic cover of Take on Me by Aha - please listen.

And then on Wednesday night Scouting for Girls (at The Oasis the aclaimed venue in Wiltshire). They also did a superb cover of Video Killed the Radio Star by Buggles.

They were both really, really good and I'm getting quite a taste for it now.

The quiet life...

Sorry, but this blog is getting overtaken by stuff about Wales. But if your view of the bit in the middle of the principality was of peace and quiet and a slower pace of life, think again...see the speck in the middle of the above photo of Llyn Brianne...thats a man in a canoe. Check out the video click here

Welsh Gold

Well they might look like a couple of effete cyclists preparing for the next tour-de-france, but no its the new Welsh 'change' strip. Hmmm..... can't see them selling too many of those out of the Millenium Stadium shop. Certainly not on the back of a very dodgy performance last night.

But, all was not lost! I met up with brother (Ed) and nephew (Rob) and 58,997 others to see the match and have a few beers afterwards. This was a belated 50th birthday celebration for Ed. We once again marvelled at the Millenium Stadium, it is a great venue and all the better for being right in the city centre. Even the dodgy pitch is a bit better than it was originally.

After the match despite it being a Friday night we managed to find a relatively quiet and cosy pub that didn't play pumping drum and bass or have too many neon lights and sold something other than bottled beers and alchopops (i.e. it let in over 40's!). A good time was had by all.

It appears that Rob is perhaps the only person to regularly read this blog so (as they say on Radio One) a big shout out to Rob! Oh, and Rob, follow this link to read about that incident at a US baseball stadium I was telling you about. Very funny (first seen on Rich's blog at http://allhale.blogspot.com - which is always worth a read)

Problems with Wind

(Sorry this is a long diatribe, but I've included some pretty pictures for you to look at too)

Resolving the competing demands of interested parties is the bread and butter of us 'planners' (town and country planners/urban and regional planners/those numbskulls at the council whatever you like to call them). And one of the prerequisites of being a 'planner' is to be able to try to appreciate everyone's point of view and to assess how valid their concerns and expectations are. Its easy really.....

The problems associated with doing this balancing act, and making an independent and objective choice is made all the more difficult when the issues involved affect your home and family. Renewable energy. There's something we can all support. Cutting down on fossil fuels, reducing our carbon footprint, combatting global warming and ultimately helping save the planet. It's a no-brainer (unless your Sarah Palin or Jeremy Clarkson of course) - renewable energy is 'a good thing'. Wind turbines - wow those majestic, elegant and graceful towers slowly turning in t he breeze, gently and quietly going about the business of energy creation. Certainly an improvement over the concrete blocks of coal fired and nuclear power stations belching out smoke and radioactive whatnot dotted around the remote coastlines or industrial areas of the country, isn't it? The problem is that the places where you need to put turbines are in the places that get most wind and they tend to be the high and remote places (although there is a great one alongside the M4 at Reading in the middle of a business park). And the problem with that is that the high and remote places are the places that are most unspoilt and therefore most in need of protection from any sort of development.

And therein lies the problem: It's conservation versus conservation : the conservation of energy and (ultimately) the planet versus the conservation of our natural heritage, the landscape and that feeling of tranquility and remoteness (an experience that increasingly becoming more difficult to find). Change is not of course necessarily a bad thing, indeed it can be a positive and necessary. There are wonderful examples of where man-made structures or interventions are perceived to enhance the landscape - just look at the field patterns that so define our countryside or the Fens or the Elan Valley Dams or all those Capability Brown designed estates. But I'm also sure that the landscape before such interventions was equally as breathtaking ( and I guess the former residents of Elan Valley or Brown's landscapes weren't so enamoured with the changes made when they were forced off their land and out of their homes). The rate of change in our landscape today is far faster than at any time in the past. Where do we draw the line and say enough is enough? We certainly can't stop development altogether in the countryside. For one thing some development can only happen in the countryside, and for another people need to live and work there - without new houses 'local' people are forced away, local builders have no work, local schools have fewer children etc etc. But allow unfettered development and we destroy the very thing that makes the British countryside what it is.

So back to Wind Farms. There is a small one proposed on the borders of Radnorshire near where Mum and Dad live. Inevitably, it will be visible from miles around and inevitably it will change the face of the landscape. Understandably there is some local resistance to that change; but there is also support from those that believe wind farms are a necessity and that the turbines will enhance the landscape. Its a classic balancing act, weighing up the pro's and cons; the costs and the benefits - Is there a 'cost' to the landscape and character of the Radnorshire border? And if there is does that cost outweigh the benefits of renewable energy and all that brings? If half a dozen masts are acceptable, what would the effect of a dozen or two dozen or a hundred - where do you draw the line - do you want to draw a line?

I'm glad I don't have to make the decision. But taking off my balanced, impartial and fair minded 'planners' hat and putting on my emotional 'former local resident' hat I really don't think I want to see turbines scattered around the landscape of this special and largely unspoilt part of the world.

Here endeth the lesson.

Sorry for taking up so much of your time..........

Goodbye Mr A

One of Bess's favourite songs to sing along to is 'Goodbye Mr A' by the Hoosiers, although Bess thinks its called 'Goodbye Mr Ray' and is about the character in 'Finding Nemo'. Now I had never thought what it was really about, but this week I found out. And now I'll tell you...whether you are interested or not. Apparently its about an obscure comic book character (called 'Mr A') created by the legendary Steve Ditko.

Now isn't that interesting........(that's a rhetorical question....)

Thats absolutely vowel.....

Here's an interesting fact to amaze your friends with: Eunoia is the shortest word in English containing all five vowels. Apparently it means "beautiful thinking".

Now Christian Bok, a poet chap from Canada, has spent the last seven years writing a book called (predictably enough) 'Eunoia' which consists of five chapters - one for each of the vowels - and in each of these chapters he only uses words that contain one of those vowels. Now I thought that sounded a bit mad and probably would be a bit of a crap book, but this chap read an extract on the radio and it was really clever. An extract from chapter one (spot the vowel...):

"Hiking in British districts, I picnic in virgin firths, grinning in mirth with misfit whims, smiling if I find birch twigs, smirking if I find mint sprigs.

Midspring brings with it singing birds, six kinds, (finch, siskin, ibis, tit, pipit, swift), whistling shrill chirps, trilling chirr chirr in high pitch. Kingbirds flit in gliding flight, skimming limpid springs, dipping wingtips in rills which brim with living things: krill, shrimp, brill - fish with gilt fins, which swim in flitting zigs. Might Virgil find bliss implicit in this primitivism? Might I mimic him in print if I find his writings inspiring?"

Well I thought it was pretty clever..........seven years worth of clever? probably not.......

Isn't local news great....

...there is nothing more entertaining than local news stories. On the BBC Gloucestershire website the following headline caught my eye 'Unlocked police station burgled'. And yes a couple of blokes walking home from the pub (admittedly tired and emotional) decided to see if one of their mates had been arrested (as you do) found the cop shop unlocked and unmanned a decided to nick a load of stuff including some flack jackets and keys to a panda car. Apparently Gloucestershire Police are reviewing their security procedures.

Bunches

We Taylors are people of simple tastes. Bess was obviously very pleased with her first bunches and her dad is so proud.

Jam and Chupney

Some of our harvest this year was, we admit, pretty disappointing - a handful of peas, cabbages and brocolli that kept a generation of caterpillers well fed for the whole summer and some carrots that were barely visible to the naked eye - but we had a bumper year for raspberries and apples.

And so in true Tom and Barbara style we made jam and apple chutney (or chupney as Bess calls it). Despite burning the first lot of jam onto the bottom of Lal's newly purchased maslin pot (and then learning that rhubarb is really good at getting the burnt bits off) both tasted pretty good.

Watch out at a farmers market near you for Taylor brand jam and chupney.

Happy Birthday Bessie Boo!

Look who is 3
(well she has been for a couple of weeks!

I know, I know, get with it I hear you shout)

Bessie's first Day at Play School

. . . . . . well it was actually back on the 9th September!

Here is our very grown up Bessie Boo ready for her first day at Play School.

Where is the time going?

x

Underground Overground

Oh dear, oh dear, what is the world coming to? Bess and I have been watching more telly this week (she has got a horrid cold and the telly seems to help! Her and Me!) and today, she was really excited because The Wombles were on.

It was going really well and I was actually as excited as her - I used to love them and even had my very own Orinocco which my Auntie Christine made for me (it was much better than my brothers Tobermory). Anyway, as I said, it was all going well, that was until one of them spoke. What has happened, where is Bernard Cribbins? The theme tune was the same, a bit sneaky that, but then, good grief, there are NEW Wombles.

HELP! It feels like my security blanket has been ripped from underneath me.

Nick is in the Barbarians 22 man squad

Just wanted to shout to the world how incredibly excited and proud we are for my cousin Nick (see 23 June entry). This week he has been named in the 22 man Barbarians Rugby team to face The Wallabies (Australia) at Wembley on the 3rd December. Thats right, he has been selected into a team of only 22 men, who are picked on merit all over the entire world, no the entire universe, how flippin amazing is that.

The Team is being coached by Jake White (the Coach of the 2007 South African Rugby World Cup Champions) and included in the squad are Percy Montgomery, Joe Rokocoko, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana, Fourie du Preez, Carl Hayman, Steve Borthwick, Schalk Burger and the All Blacks captain Richie McCaw. The Barbarians website says - "The Team showcase the most exceptional players in the game and often inspire legendary sporting moments that will live in our memories forever." - Wow wee.

It is a place that is so unbelieveably well deserved (well of course I would say that) and when you look at the wonderful things that have been written about him, you can see why (Google him).

He has been mentioned on just about every rugby website there is and this is just such a phenomenal achievement and what a huge thing to happen to his rugby career and he's still only 19.

My dear Granny always believed that this day would come - and she was always right.

meeting your heroes.....

I'm still a little star struck Yesterday I met one of my heroes - artist/cartoonist Gerald Scarfe. Not socially you understand, I paid to listen to him talk at the Chelteham Literature Festival and then queued up for him to sign one of his books. (I was real cheapskate and didn't buy his new one but took along one I already had.) Meeting your heroes is a strange thing. When I did the same thing with Billy Bragg at the Cheltenham Festival a couple of years ago, despite the fact that Billy was quite happy to chat, I was completely star struck and dumb struck to the extent that Ali had a very lengthy conversation with him instead (even telling him that she had never listened to any of his music!). The same thing a couple of years ago when Ali persuaded me to queue up to get Ralph Steadman's autograph and Ali spoke to him much more than I (although I did get a wonderful drawing-cum- autograph that now hangs on the wall.)

Perhaps, because Ali wasn't in the queue with me my conversation with Mr Scarfe was rather short and not very revealing, but I got to shake the great man by the hand and thank him for giving me so much entertainment with his drawings over the years. And I can now tick another of my heroes 'to meet' list.

Next year Ali is aiming to meet John Taylor from Duran Duran.

A heartbeat away from the presidency........

I'm a bit behind in the news these days but I understand that there is a big election looming in the good old US of A. Now its hard for me to say which American should tell the rest of the Americans and the rest of the world what to do...hey, whoever does it is not going to be able to do a worse job than dear old dubya...are they? But this is a historic election - the potential for the first black president or alternatively the first woman vice president. Now Obama appears like a very likeable chap and I haven't seen anything that would lead me to believe that he wouldn't make a good President. And likewise Palin appears to be a very astute, witty, charming, knowledgeable , eloquent, entertaining, well travelled and likeable individual....oops, I'm thinking of that Michael Palin. No, of course Sarah Palin is that mad woman from Nowhere, Alaska who likes shooting Moose, naming her kids after random inanimate objects and thinks that dinosaurs were invented by Ray Harryhausen. And there is the potential that this woman will be second in line to press the nuclear button.....only in America (cliche no 435)

If you haven't seen any of the interview she did with the US news presenter Katy Couric just have a look on YouTube. I challenge you to watch the interview without squirming or putting your hands over your eyes - it is so embarrassing. If you found it hard to watch David Brent or Alan Partridge then you will be behind the sofa by the end of this.

Also she is ready made target for the satirist. On Saturday Night Live someone called Tina Fey did an very funny impression of Sarah Palin, no-one had to write funny lines they just used Sarahs own words.

I have nothing against John McCain, although he appears a little old to be in the Whitehouse (but that is, I admit, a little ageist). But you have got to question someones judgement who thinks Sarah Palin is a suitable candidate for the second most powerful job in the US. He'd have been better off choosing Michael Palin....or David Brent...or Steve MaClaren.....

Never mind America at least you don't have Boris Johnson running your capital city.

Caption Competition

A toddler in a hot tub with a kettle. Send your entries to us and the funniest will win a jar of homemade apple chutney. Second prize two jars of homemade apple chutney.

Just a thought....

On Plymouth Hoe there is a memorial to those who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. I always find these memorials moving - be they the Cenotaph in London, the plaques in the railway museum in Swindon that list the dead from each of the workshops in the GWR works or the stone crosses you find in tiny villages with only one or two names on. But I must say this memorial is one of the most impressive and moving. It lists, I think, 23,000 names of all those who sailed from Plymouth and lost their lives. Everyone is listed by the name of the vessel and rank, also listed are all the types of craft and the campaigns and battles. As well as some magnificent art deco lions there are some larger than lifesize statues of various seamen. It is a magnificent and fitting tribute to all those who fought in the World Wars.

Reading some of the names is sobering and inspiring, but also a timely reminder that it wasn't just the British that sailed from the port, but Austrailians, Canadians, Indians and sailors from every far flung corner of the old empire. If you're in Plymouth go and spend a few minutes there (or go and have a look at any war memorial) and you cannot fail to be moved.

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside.....

Hello Peppa Pig fans. sorry for the long gap between blogs. Time for a bit of catch up.

At the end of September we took our late summer break, and what a week to choose no rain all week and we didn't go abroad (yes you read right NO RAIN ALL WEEK!). Good old blighty did us proud.

To the narrow and steep streets (and I mean narrow and steep as our poor car's bumper and burnt out clutch will testify) of Kingsand and Cawsand in sunny Cornwall. Not much to add other than the weather was great (did I mention that it didn't rain ONCE), the coast was fantastic and Kingsand is now up there with Salcombe, Fowey and Brighton in our favourite seaside town top ten.

The average number of feet

Brother-in-law Rich often quotes that "statistically 64% of all facts are wrong". I stumbled across a series of articles (by Michael Blastland) that may at last prove him right. Unpromisingly, Mr Blastland writes about statistics and how they can be misinterpreted (deliberately or otherwise) or misrepresented...still not too exciting. But it is really entertainly written and fascinating. Take for example the misuse of the term 'average' we all know what average is (Mr average, average earnings, average house prices etc.)...don't we....:

"Average" is commonly used to mean something like "ordinary", "typical", "normal" or "what's expected". Above is good, below is bad.
Most people remember from school that there are different kinds of average. But what mostly endures, if news coverage is anything to go by, is the notion that they all have something to do with a vague place which is, roughly, somehow, you know, in "the middle".
So it's easy to be horribly flustered by what is a simple principle - that the average is not necessarily anywhere near the middle. Sometimes, it is miles away. Sometimes it is about as atypical as you can get, and true of no one at all.
If you are still struggling, try this:
What's the average number of feet?
No, not two. The answer is slightly less. Think about it.
This is because the average can be pulled to one side by the influence of a tiny minority of people, in this case, the small number who have fewer than two feet.
Almost everyone has more than the average number of feet.

There's loads more stuff about how surveys can be misreported by the press or misused in advertising. Well worth a read. Sorry this is a very dull blog.

PS........and following on from an earlier blog post about the happy world of Powys Mike writes about how surveys are a bit crap:

A trivial example is the "grump league" that hit the news last week. Which bit of Britain is happiest? (Powys, if you must know). Which most miserable? (Edinburgh, allegedly).
Except that this was in flat contradiction of findings by pollsters in 2006 that only three places were happier than Edinburgh.
Maybe a lot has happened in two years to turn Scotland's once gleeful capital into a pit of malcontents. Or maybe not.
Even the researchers said the numbers were not statistically significant. (Translation: the differences are so small, from such miniscule samples, that we can't be sure there's any value in them whatsoever). Told this, reporters carried on regardless. 'Hey, it's a laugh,' they say. 'Who cares?'
Happy with that in Edinburgh?

What generation gap?

Bess's Granny and Grandad came to visit today. They were only here for a couple of hours but in that time grandad managed to break and then fix a garden bench and take apart Bess's Lightning McQueen remote control car (and put it back together again). The best thing was watching bess and Grandad sat at the kitchen table, screw drivers in hand, repairing cars.

Aahhh!

What an eyeful....

Aren't hot air balloons a wonderful sight....I (that's Brian) spent ages in our garden watching this one until Ali took my binoculars away.

Guess what? Yep, more veg!

Its Friday night and all I've (thats Ali) got to do is talk about veg and watch a Gardeners World special. Blimey, I think middle age is well and truly kicking in.

But just look at our carrotts, raspberries and two, yes thats two, different types of bean!


Ok, lets put some scale on these . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Minature carrotts and monster raspberries.
I love it.

Look who we met this morning . . . . . .

. . . . . only Peppa Pig - wow, we got quite starstruck! She's our heroine, our blog would be nothing without her.

Move over Jonathon Ross....

Film Review.........

'The Dark Knight'

What a film!

.........Er.... thats it really.

..............Oh and if you go and see it don't have one of those big cups of Coke (or even a regular one)...its about two and half hours long and your bladder will not thank you. but as I said.........what a film!

Oh......and "Hellboy : The Golden Army" is fun too. A big red Demon getting drunk and singing Barry Manilow before saving mankind from avenging 80s boy band members, what could be more fun.

Reasons to be cheerful.......

Well how about that. Where in the country are people happiest? Well Powys of course! Who says? Top boffins at Sheffield University say, that's who, so it must be true. It's very nice to know that Mum, Dad and all the rest of the Taylor/Felgate family can feel justifed (and not a little smug) about living with a permanent smile on their faces. It is a wonderful part of the world, not least because its not really on the tourist map and is certainly far from the madding crowd...and long may it continue.

But, aren't there more pressing issues that our top academic minds (even those in Yorkshire) should be turning their minds too?

"Aye Oop Professor Thwaite what shall we do today? Find a cure for a disease? Prevent t' ice caps from melting,? Create an alternative fuel technology? Clone Geoff Boycott?"
" Nay, Professor Higginbotham, how about travelling round t' country to see who's happy."
"Crackin'! I'll get t'car"

Spot the difference

. . . . . . well, can you spot the difference?

Ah x

Idiots on the Air

Two pompous idiots on the radio in one day and Parliament isn't even sitting.

First, that well known 'pop star' Noel Gallagher appeared, allegedly drunk (how rock and roll), on Radio One. I find him pretty irritating at the best of times (I think he only lets Liam stay in Oasis so that he is not the most obnoxious one in the band). Whilst most of what he says is publicity seeking rot (Oh have Oasis got a new album coming out?) I thought it was a bit rich of someone who's entire career has been built on ripping off the Beatles (and not as well as the Rutles) to claim that the Kaiser Chiefs were rubbish because they sounded like the Monkees. Irritated I turned over to Five Live.

And I have to thank Mr Gallagher because I then heard the best radio moment for some time. It was that interview with Steve MacClaren . The former England manager is now managing a team in Holland and was being interviewed for Dutch television. If you haven't heard this seek it out (if this link doesn't work type Steve MacClaren accent into YouTube). Its hilarious! MacClaren does that old English trick of assuming that if you speak English with a slight foreign accent those foreigners will understand you better. What made it even funnier on Five Live was Alan Green almost wetting himself laughing.

Whilst Gallagher made me grumpy MacClaren for once cheered me up no end and made me chuckle all day!

.......and what about the vegetables?

Ah ,the fruit of good honest sweat and toil tastes so much sweeter!

We are at last starting to harvest our crops in earnest now. The potatoes (despite having blight) are very tasty - we've forgotten the varieties but we have red and white ones (not red & white ones, but red ones and white ones), our peas and beans are delicious (if a little thin on the ground - we know to pack more plants in next year), we've eaten stuffed courgette (well they were the size of marrows), have about four varieties of tomatoes (which actually taste like tomatoes rather than the tasteless supermarket ones we'd got used to), raspberries are being picked on a daily basis are fat and juicy. We've learnt a lot about growing this season thanks to Lucia, Mum and Dad T, Derek, Joe Swift and everyone down at the Allotment (especially Bob on the allotment hotline). It's hardly been a bumper harvest, but it has given us encouragement to carry on next year.

She definitely looks like her Mum . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . no, I think you'll find she definately looks like her Dad!

"I Need a Holiday......"

With 'Scouting For Girls' at full volume the CD player we (BT, Lal, Jen, Rich and Bessie) set off for Cornwall and sunny Padstow. The sun shone (some of the time - enough to all get sunburnt), we paddled, built sandcastles, surfed (well we squeezed into wet suits and flotaed around on surf boards whilst the waves pounded us 'til ached), watched the boats in the harbour, ate fish and chips from the local Chippy ('Chip Ahoy'), successfully avoided anywhere with Rick Steins name on it and generally did the whole British sea-side holiday thing.

..ahhh...and now it all seems so long ago............

Tree-Mendous (part two)

'Hello Pete.'

'I've been fiddling with my sky box for the last half an hour because I couldn't get any channels....'

'Oh?'

'Then I went out side and your tree has fallen on my sky dish.'

'Oops!'

And so it was that one of the remaining parts of our hawthorn tree fell down (taking with it Pete and Lena's sky dish and our shed) and to avoid further drama we decided to take the rest of the tree down.

Tree R.I.P.

First!

First raspberries, first broad beans and first purple podded peas.

They all taste yummy.

Bland Designs?

I spend most of my working day looking at buildings - either plans, or photographs or the real thing. It can be quite dispiriting when the majority of the new buildings we deal with are bland, run-of- the-mill or down right poor. And that got me to thinking about buildings that do inspire and really make a positive contribution our towns and countryside. In terms of historic buildings I love places like Clevedon Pier (surely the finest pier in the country now that the West Pier in Brighton is no more) or the Chapel at Lancing College (above), High Cross House near Totnes (left), the whole railway village in Swindon (everything from the works buildings, offices, railway workers houses and the magnificent Mechanics Institute), or the World War I airfield at Yatesbury, Wiltshire (complete with its hangars and officers barracks and mess).

But most of my work is dealing with new buildings and there are some great things being done (even in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire). Three of my favourites are in Chippenham - the County Records Office:the office where I work and this pair of houses right in the town centre:

Despite the local press criticising it I think the new offices for 'St James Place' in Cirencester are great (certainly a whole lot better than the leisure centre it replaced or the new leisure centre that has been built alongside).

I hasten to add I had nothing at all to do with any of these buildings - I specialise in the bland and downright poor.

With so much in our environmment to be a bit glum about these days its heartening to see buildings that can still lift the spirits and inspire. Kevin McCloud eat your heart out!

Bon Voyage QE2

Mum and Dad have been going for trips on the QE2 for a long time. With great ship sailing off into the sunset (or at least Dubai) towards the end of the year this was to be their last voyage. So Ali, Bess, Grandma and I went to wave them off from the dockside. Having driven down to Southampton we were a bit disappointed to be told by a security guard that we couldn't get into the dock yard and then having made our way to the dockside the viewing gallery (that used to allow you to get right up close to the ship and be face to face with passengers on the deck) had been closed - for security reasons. So we had to stand behind a security fence peering up at the pointy end of the boat. However, nothing can really take away from what a magnificent and elegant looking boat the QE2 is.

The sun came out, Mum,Dad and their freinds, Keith and Ide, came out on deck, Bess shouted 'Hello Grandad,Hello Granny' at the top of her voice, we all waved wildly, the fog horn sounded and Bess cried.

Eventually with a lot of encouragement from an unfeasibly small-looking tug she moved away from the dock side and made her majestic way up the Solent. We watched until she was a dot on the horizon.

We'll miss you QE2 and I'm sure Mum and Dad will too (especially the midnight buffet,eh dad?).