Bonnie Tyler - Lost in France 1977

I'm on the road, and hoping NOT to get lost. I'll catch-up with you later.

My local.

This is the bar at my local; The Caxton. You can just see the landlord on the left, fiddling with something.

A good local is very important in the UK. It's usually the hub of any community. Very different to a bar in France.

The posters hanging like bunting above the bar are advertising shows in the tiny downstairs events room. It probably holds a maximum of 50. The events are part of the Brighton Festival Fringe, and are mostly outrageously rude comedy shows; not really my cup of tea. 

The beer is good, the clientele interesting, it's dog friendly, and the whole ambiance very welcoming. It's a small pub, and does excellent Sunday Lunches. It's really nothing special, but we've been clients for about 40 years (on and off), so it's to be treasured.

Before going off on our travels we popped in for a couple of pints; sadly it'll be cold fizzy lager for a while, so it was good to have some real beer before being deprived.

There are so many pubs in my immediate area, but none of the others has the appeal of The Caxton. When I return to Blighty in September, the first place I visit will be here!

 

Relaxing.

 

We are really looking forward to this.

A couple of comfy chairs underneath the Quince tree, a good book and a glass of something cold, and we'll be very happy. Away from the hussle-bussle of city life for a short while.

Billy will rediscover his old haunts and friends, and we'll be working outdoors on all those essential bucolic tasks that we've missed so much over Winter. 

I shall be out in the woods looking for mushrooms, and both the mower and chainsaw will be working overtime. I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm also looking forward to visiting my favourite French supermarket again (Leclerc), and reacquainting myself with all those gourmet delights that are unavailable over here. I'm sure when family visit at some stage over Summer, we'll also visit a few favourite restaurants as well.

Hard work can be very 'relaxing', and 'relaxing' can be very hard work.

What could be more perfect?

Take a sunny spring morning in Sussex, add a lovely ancient flint-built church, sit for a while on a bench under a huge spreading Elm tree, and listen to the bell ringers as they practice their rounds.

Birds are singing, there are the remnants of spring flowers, and people are out tending to their patios and window boxes. A few acquaintances say a cheery 'good morning' as they pass by. 

The beach is just a 10 minute leisurely walk away, M & S food hall is just 5 minutes away (very important), and the peace and quiet of the fabulous South Downs is a 15 minute drive inland.

On a different subject, my car has just been to the garage for a service and MOT. I'm pleased to say that everything was perfect, other than one small bulb that needed replacing. This was the first time I'd had to go through the procedure for decades. Hooray.

We're leaving for France next week. I hope the weather's as good there as it is here.

Climate activists turn Rome's Trevi Fountain black

I am posting this simply to show that childish behaviour is not restricted to English speaking countries.

Completed around 1760, Rome's Trevi Fountain is one of the world's finest, and most visited, monuments, and has remained unsullied until this bunch of 'lovies' turned-up recently. I was very pleased to see that the Italian police did what they should, and dragged these silly children away. UK police; please note how it's done!!!

I later read that 300,000 litres of blackened water had to be drained from the fountain. I hope that makes them happy. If I had my way I would have made them all clean every inch inside the fountain, and then charged them for the water to refill it.

Haddock's of old.

 

I used to grow just about everything imaginable at Haddock's.

As well as all the usual vegetables there were vines, artichokes (both globe and Jerusalem), strawberries, figs, tayberries, blackcurrants, plums, apples, and cherries.

Then, about 5 years ago, something happened, and my crops started dying for no apparent reason. I tried treating the plants, but the problem seemed to be more deep-seated.

My next door neighbour (to the right of the photo) had invited all his builder friends to dump their waste products on his land so that he could eventually build a car parking area on more level land. I used to be horrified seeing large seeping canisters and strange packages, in amongst the hard-core, being dumped from the back of lorries. This happened on a regular basis for about two years. It wasn't long afterwards that Haddock's began having problems.

Of course I cannot be sure that this rubbish tipping had any bearing on my problems, but somehow I would be surprised if it hadn't. His land is about 4ft higher than the level of my garden, and if any poisonous products were to seep-out, there was only one way to go. One of his own Oak trees was the first to die.

So, I had to abandon Haddock's, and now just mow the long grass to keep it looking reasonable tidy. I shall attempt to grow some Courgettes and Broccoli there this Summer, but it remains to be seen what happens.

The fruit trees, that have much deeper roots, are mostly unaffected; although two have died.

Man in Spider-Man mask scales BBC HQ to attack controversial statue

The title to this piece is wrong. It's not the 'statue' that is controversial, it was the sculptor; Eric Gill.

My first sculpture tutor, Hilary Stratton, worked for Gill, but never talked about his boss's bizarre nature.

It is well known that Gill had unusual relationships with his two daughters, his sisters, and even his dog, but his work should stand apart. It does nobody any good to attack possibly his best known work at the BBC headquarters. What did the attacker hope to achieve; other than either a prison sentence or a hefty fine?

Ever since the removal of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol, certain people seem to think that all statues are 'fair game'; even if their reasoning is not altogether clear.

The Pen has always been mightier than the Sword, so maybe these folk would do better to write articles, or create documentaries, rather than taking the easy way out, and destroy monuments.

If a statue really is seriously offensive, then the local authority should have it removed to a warehouse or cellar where it would no longer be 'admired'. Otherwise just ignore it.