Cup Final

Friend of a friend got me a ticket for the Cup Final. I had always wanted to go, but thought it was very unlikely to ever happen. So I was delighted.
Dave, Josh and I were driven down by Dan to Watford, took the train to Wembley, met up with Dave and Luke, then watched Arsenal blitz Villa 4-0. Great goals from Theo and Sanchez. The only downside was that we were with the Villa fans, so the rampant optimism dissipated to going-home-early disappointment for many all around us. We were right at the top of the stand and I loved the view of the pitch - brilliant.
So a great day out, and an experience I feel privileged to have had.

The view from the Villa end.

True Detective

One of the good things about being on holiday together was that each evening we were both there. So we took advantage and watched True Detective [HBO series], it was brilliant: right up there with the Wire.

The photo is from our chalet in Dorset. We were on the top of a chalk ridge, so all the weather came our way with plenty of warning. I can't remember ever having seen a double rainbow before.

Cartwrights RIP

I went to Leeds to pick up the new car, a hybrid. I walked past Cartwrights architectural ironmongers where, forty years ago, I worked as a pricing clerk. I was always amazed that it kept going through such times but alas the zeitgeist has caught up with it and it appears to have gone bust.

The fact that the photo of the office and warehouse refuses to be rotated seems fitting.

Holloway

The path we took south from the Dorsetshire Gap was in this magnificent holloway, a real delight where it took only a little imagination to conjure up travellers from long ago.

The Dorsetshire Gap

Back in the 70s when I was investigating the old ridgeway there was a spot in Dorset that always intrigued me. The Dorsetshire Gap is a pass on the downs, miles from any road, where four bridle paths cross. It looked an ancient secluded place that ever since I have wanted to visit.
40 years on and I got to tread the ground; Danielle and I had the place all to ourselves last week. It did not disappoint, there was an air of mystery about it, nothing dramatic but definitely special.

Two More Reasons To Be Cheerful

Preston North End won the play-off final at Wembley on Sunday and are promoted back to the Championship. They have failed in 9 previous play-off attempts so this is a great achievement; they played brilliantly as well.

Then the Irish vote on gay marriage was a real boost to a positive view of humanity.

The photo is of a typical Dorset path.

Wildlife Update

Gwen came round to eat with us last night, and we were treated to a great display by our resident bats as they circled the garden at dusk. Meantime the newts in the front pond are proliferating with abandon. The cattle are back on the Moor, 80 head this year of mainly young calves getting ready to fatten up on the lush meadow grass. In the garden a Blackcap has been around a lot and I hope that a pair might have nested, but no confirmation as of yet.

The photo is of the coast path in Dorset.

On Golden Cap 2

And here I am on Golden Cap with the sea behind me and faithful [waiting for a treat] hound.

Bike Ride

Thursday I went a great cycle ride through West Dorset. On a Sustrans route into Poundbury where I got a pump from the bike shop. 

Me "Do you live here then?"

Man in shop "I wouldn't want to live here..."

Then via the Hardy monument [admiral not author] to Bridport and on to Pilsden Pen hill fort on the ridgeway continuing on the ridge all the way back to where we were staying up on high. Another great day.

The photo is of a lovely chalk stream running down one of the valleys.

On Golden Cap

We walked up to Golden Cap, the highest point on the south coast, and then around the woods on Langdon Hill. It really is beautiful and a great place to walk, the number of bridleways and footpaths is extraordinary; you could spend a lifetime exploring them.

The Giant of Cerne Abbas

I have always wanted to see the Giant of Cerne Abbas, and this week I got my wish. Very impressive and suitably weird, there is something marvellous about that most genteel of organisations, the National Trust, erecting a special viewing platform for us all to inspect the attributes of the Giant.
We walked a great loop on ridgeways and valley paths that took us right past the Giant.

Dorset 3

The chalk woodlands are something to behold; bluebells and wild garlic mean that the senses are taken care of.

Iron Age Hill Forts

My interest in Iron Age Hill Forts has been rekindled. After Eggardon, next to receive the Royal Visit was Maiden Castle near Dorchester. This is the largest such fort in Europe and I had never seen it before. Its scale is truly awesome; I was struck by the similarity between the man-made chalk landscape of the castle [the photo is of one of the earth banks built around the castle] and the natural chalk landscapes of the Wolds in Yorkshire and the Dorsetshire downs.

The location of this magnificent fort adjacent to the mundanity of the Dorchester by-pass has been further bizzared by the toy-town development of Prince Charles' Poundbury project which lurks surreally on the horizon.

Dorset

In the 70s I walked the Ridgeway path from Streetly to Avebury then carried on by way of old ridge paths across Salisbury Plain and down into Dorset, finishing at Hod Hill. It was a great route, following the ancient Ridgeway beyond its "official" ending at Avebury. Now it is all formalised as the Wessex Ridgeway and Danielle and I are staying on it near Maiden Newton in a log cabin.

Danielle was keen for us to visit an area that I did not know, and Dorset fits the bill. Apart from that walk I have barely been here. With the Julian Cope book The Modern Antiquarian as a guide we are going to explore the pretty amazing ancient chalklands.

Day one took us to Eggardon Hill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggardon_Hill which is a wild and evocative old Iron Age Hill Fort high on the chalk downs.

Although in some ways similar to the Yorkshire Wolds, the chalk, the dry valleys, the feel is very different but equally attractive. So much history, so much wonder.

Our path came through a wood that could have doubled for Winnie the Pooh's 100 acre wood any day. We found this tree to have our picnic on.

Car News

After six and a half years it was time to change the car. Always a bit of a grudge purchase; dealing with car salesman is not a favourite activity of mine. This time I sold our Skoda first then ordered the next car. This left us a gap of a few weeks so we hired a Ford. It is of its type: looks ludicrously enormous from the outside, offers surprisingly little space inside. On a long trip Milo ending up having to share the front foot-well with Danielle. She managed to get comfy, he did too but looked put-upon for most of the trip.

Today we parked the car in the car park and were ready to start a walk. We looked around for Milo, where was he? He had found a Skoda, similar to our old one, and sat next to it. It does not take too much anthropomorphism to imagine him saying "please can we have the old car back, and I can be comfy again?"

Another Show

I am exhibiting my work at this Art Fair in Chelsea, London in July. I have selected my 10 best works and will be presenting them in a new HD metal format. It would be good to see everyone there on either day. There is a private view on the Friday 24th evening, I will send out invites shortly; if you want to come contact me direct - should be good.

From 80 to 90 part 2

And here is another photo of Mother's 80th birthday trip; leaving Bicester station for the train to Marylebone. Since then Mother has got 4 new great-grandchildren and Rowan has grown a bit.

From 80 to 90

Mother was 90 this year, so I thought it would be good to show a couple of photos from her 80th Birthday when things were a lot easier for her. The whole family joined her on the London Eye in our own pod, then we went for an Italian for lunch; a lovely day.

Reason To Be Cheerful

Two new Quaker MPs. A friend's sister has become a MP following the election, and another Quaker is MP for Wood Green where we used to live. So that is good. Small crumbs ...
Rowan shared this map with me - tells a tale.

This Is The Modern World

Watching the second stage of the Giro live [what an amazing world where I can not only watch cycling live from around the world, but live, in HD: quite a contrast to the old days of ten minutes round-up a week during the Tour on World of Sport on ITV] they flashed up text about the local Ligurian speciality Farinata which is a gram flour based flatbread. Sounded nice. Googled a recipe, made it, eat it with some dal I made the day before. Listened to Bradley Wiggins on Desert Island Discs whilst I cooked it. A good thing.

Not a great photo, it tasted better than it looks here.

Stoic

A work friend Rob sent this e-mail out today; I think he is pushing stiff-upper-lipism to new levels

"Dear

Many of you will know of our increasing frustration with our current service provider and intention to refresh our website and shift to a different, and hopefully more responsive, provider.

Some of you also know that I was involved in an accident last week. I was loading shopping in to my car last week when a reversing van trapped me between the two vehicles breaking and crushing my right leg. I’m heavily splinted and fairly immobile, so now is probably as good a time as any to tackle this project. The difficulties we encountered last time fill me with trepidation….

So…..

Your help is needed.  Can you suggest any features we should include in the website, please.  Also can you point me to any websites that you particularly enthusiastic about. The web designer has requested some indication about the sort of thing we like."

General Election

1964 was the first election I remember. I was 6, the whole family drove to a school and we waited in the car whilst they voted Tory against the demonised Harold Wilson.

1979 was the first time I got to vote. In Liverpool. I remember listening to John Peel on Radio 1 and his sign-off at the end of the programme "You know, I really think that Labour will do it. Hopefully"
That gave me hope - then the landslide news came in about Thatcher's victory. It was so bad I managed to write a song about it, but that was the only good thing back then.

1992 was the most disappointing, it had seemed so likely that Kinnock would win, to deal with the Major triumph was hard. Flying out on holiday the day after everything felt deflated.

1997 was [just forget the hindsight for a moment] a brilliant, marvellous wondrous time. I remember the joy in the office at the Labour council that I worked for - we could not believe it, after all those years of Thatcher ...

Since then I have carried on voting Labour except for the election after the Iraq War - how could I vote for such pointless war-mongering. This year it dawned on me that I was a floating voter, Labour are so uninspiring and so Tory-lite that I really should vote Green but Labour are a more realistic option. I decided to vote Green [despite the lack-lustre leader] with the local candidate being a Quaker and a friend, but I will still hope for a Labour win across the country. Well we know what happened next.

I do try and find the good side of things, and at least the BNP seem to have been blown away by [umlikely saviours] UKIP. In York our new Labour MP got an increased majority, and Labour is the largest party on the new Council with four Green members; crumbs of comfort have to be found.

This is another of my works on someone's wall, following purchase at Open Studios

Palmour

Of the 240 Palmours in the world, 2 are in Canada, about 12 in the UK, and the remaining 226 in the US. Georgia is the state with the most Palmours in it, there is a Palmour Street in Atlanta, so a visit will have to happen some day.

When I sell a photo I often ask the client to send me a photo of my photo in situ; it is good to see where they are going to live.

This client bought a large canvas version of Lochan which fits on the chimney breast of their Victorian house.

Activity by Others

Friend Dave set off on his Lands End to John O'Groats x2 ride [I know]. I piloted him on the first stage to Doncaster on the Sustrans route. A very windy ride but it is one of the best rides I know anywhere - fascinating, quiet and unexpected.

Meantime here is a photo of Danielle powering to the finish in the Sheffield Half Marathon.

University Court

Friday night we were at the University Court meal. It was Greg Dyke's last meeting as Chancellor. He is always good value and it was a good occasion; as usual we met plenty of interesting people. I sat next to a couple whose son wants to be a pro-cyclist - watch out for Freddy Jagger!

Photo is of me with neighbour Ken - the man who is inspiring me to ride for Prostate Cancer UK in the London 100 mile ride in August.

Tour de Yorkshire Stage 2

Siobhan and Peter invited us round to their house for lunch on Saturday; their house being right on the route of Stage 2 of the Tour de Yorkshire through York. So we could watch the race on the TV, then as they got near the house [they passed three times] we could nip out and watch them live. It was a great experience again, just like when the Tour de France came to town last year.

The break steam up Bishopthorpe Road

Tour de Yorkshire Stage 1

I have always dreamed of a cycle race in Britain where normal folk came out to watch it go by [like in France]. I never thought it would happen, and it has. The Tour de Yorkshire [or Tour du Yorkshire as it is know in France] is on for three days.

Day One I cycled out with friends Robert and Dave to see it go by at Wrelton, a tiny village on the edge of the North York Moors. The whole village was out in force to watch the race [Bradley Wiggins et al] go by; kids yelling, parents drinking wine, marvellous.
Here is our selfie

Heritage Ride 2.2

30 odd years ago I cycled from London to Ro & Pete's in Suffolk. Danielle and I did the route too, over a couple of days staying at Lavenham a couple of times. So as part of my Heritage Ride I had to include it. A good ride, traffic not too bad, nice tailwind some of the time, and sunny too. As I rode along I did think "I am sure I was quicker before" but I was in my 20s then ...

The Heritage Ride Continues

Two years ago I rode from Liverpool to Preston to Ulverston across to Ilkley and home. The idea was to cycle through places that had played a part in my life. This year part 2 commences.
I took the train to London and rode out to Epping Forest which was an area I loved when I lived in the capital; it really is beautiful and magical despite being a stone's throw from the city. I then wended through to Wantstead and stayed with Victor, T and Isabella which was good.