Superb concert at Calstock

This half term week has seen the Calstock Festival take place and one of the items was a concert in a former chapel in the village on Sunday evening. It was based around a theme of "Underneath the Arches" as this year the village celebrates the centenary of the building of its famous railway viaduct which in fact is not many yards away from the chapel.

The start of the evening felt very gloomy, more akin to November than May, so we felt the need to be cheered up! I have written before about Calstock Rubber Band and they were joined on this occasion by the Calstock Singers. The rubber band play a lot of very lively music but four of them calling themselves "Under the Fingers" also play in a much quieter vein. They are Rosie (Recorders and vocals), Pauline (Cello and vocals), Liz (Guitar) and Jenny (Harp). In addition to the music we had some poetry readings delivered by Harry Chambers from Peterloo Poets. The old chapel it should be said is the home for 'Peterloo Poets' and has a wonderfully big clear east window that looks beyond the Tamar to the fields on the Devon bank. It was good to see numerous house martins swooping around outside this window as we waited for the event to start.

Peterloo Poets have an informative website here and by clicking on 'About Peterloo Poets' one can see a picture of the chapel from the river.

Including the interval the whole programme was nearly three hours long, terrific value for our £4 per person concessionary payment. How the participants remained so calm and relaxed throughout amazed us - it was a truly professional performance.

I must also mention Richard Hendin the Master of Ceremonies who I didn't know but who could kept proceedings moving at the right pace with plenty of easy humour. The balance between music song and words could hardly have been bettered. All in all a truly memorable evening.

Gipsy Moth IV returns to Plymouth

It is 40 years since Sir Francis Chichester sailed into Plymouth Sound in Gipsy Moth IV to a hero's welcome as he became the first person to complete a solo circumnavigation around the world. The anniversary of that momentous occasion last Monday saw her return to Plymouth after her second circumnavigation this time with a full crew aboard.

Although I haven't been really following her progress I was pleased to note that some young people had availed themselves of the opportunity to share the adventure: what an unforgettable experience that must have been!

There is a detailed website for Gipsy Moth IV here which appears to answer just about any question you could ask. I noticed that she is due in her new home at Cowes on the Isle of Wight this Sunday. The website states that she "will be a regular sight in the Solent, as she will continue to take young people on unique sailing experiences and take members of the public and corporate guests afloat." It's brilliant to know that such an historic vessel is in good hands with an assured future.

As a footnote it is worth recalling that Chichester had been a pioneering aviator and that in 1958, nine years before he completed his circumnavigation, he was diagnosed with cancer and given 6 months to live! This country is extraordinary in the way it produces these individuals with a great sense of adventure; Sir Ranulph Fiennes is another in the same mould.

Devon are county champions

I'll start off by saying that I don't play rugby, never have done so and never watch it (that's quite an admission to make living in Cornwall!). However I am always pleased to record any success by sportsmen (or women for that matter) that represent my two counties.

So it's well done to the Devon County rugger side who beat Lancashire at Twickenham on Monday for the county championship. I understand that Devon were very good value for their win.

Barnstaple downstream bridge opened

In an earlier post I had reported on the good progress made on some vital road schemes in Devon and Cornwall. Of these one has been completed and opened in the past week (Barnstaple's western bypass and downstream bridge) whilst shortly before that a substantial part of the A30 diversion in mid Cornwall around the north of Goss Moor came into operation.

The traffic jams in Barnstaple had been notorious for years: it is I suppose the major hub for roads in North Devon. Constant slow moving traffic really blights many of our old towns so I imagine the bypass is a great relief to the locals. And hopefully it might give Ilfracombe a bit of a boost by encouraging investors into that easily forgotten town now that travelling there will be less fraught. There has been a constantly updated website devoted to the construction of the bridge - good use of the internet methinks.

Regarding Goss Moor the section of new road opened avoids the low bridge carrying the Newquay branch line so no more news items of lorries getting jammed under it with all the ensuing problems. (Did HGV drivers ever get prosecuted for driving without due care and attention? They certainly should have as the low bridge is well signed). There is more work to do at the ends of this project so that it won't be fully open till later in the summer but at least the greater part of the contract is now complete.

Napoli work at Portland

'The Western Morning News' newspaper is quite good at producing what I call 'behind the scenes' reports. By that I mean accounts of things that can be related to major news stories but is perhaps not the hard news itself, something more akin to magazine journalism. A week ago they did an article on the clean-up operations on the Napoli containers taken to Portland. Anyone reading this blog can see I have been fairly immersed in the MSC Napoli story and I am interested in events happening off the main stage so to speak.

In the WMN article there is a detailed description of how, in particular, those containers that became contaminated are dealt with. These containers are apparently washed down in a contained area, the resulting mix of water and oil going into a separator. The water can then be reused but the oil is sent by tanker to Falmouth for processing, so at least we get some work for Cornwall out of it!

Waste from the containers is dispatched to six different centres across the UK, depending on exactly the material is. Undamaged containers can of course be reused but the rest are cut up for scrap.

Robin Middleton, the man from the Ministry, who has coordinated the whole salvage operation from the start, is quoted as saying of the Portland operation "This is the best and biggest example of this happening in the world. To have created the area and got it up to environmental standards on what was an overgrown football pitch is just unbelievable". In the very earliest days of the Napoli beaching and salvage story I saw Mr Middleton being interviewed on TV and was immediately impressed by his quiet but confident authority.

I was pleased to read the article as it has helped me get a more rounded picture of the Napoli saga.

Last container lifted from MSC Napoli

It was just under four months ago that the MSC Napoli was unceremoniously beached off Branscombe in East Devon. The last of the 2300 plus containers on board has now been removed from the ship, the salvage company I'm sure being well pleased with the speed of the operation overall. The weather during the operation has been for the most part fairly benign with few gales so this has obviously helped.

As I see it there are three major considerations left to be dealt with. Firstly what to do with the wreck: I'm no expert on such matters but I'm sure it's exercising a few minds! Secondly, how far does the insurance money go in paying for the huge costs involved in the incident and its aftermath? It would be nice to think that Devon council tax payers won't have to contribute but that I imagine is wishful thinking! Lastly there is the public enquiry promised by Devon County Council who are quietly going about collecting evidence for this enquiry which hopefully will start this year. What seems very, very important to me is that some really good naval surveyors give the Napoli a very thorough look over to see in particular what the previous repairs were like after she had her first altercation in Indonesia.

I'm particularly pleased that the county council are prepared to do this as central government have said they won't. Reminds me of the 2001 foot and mouth crisis in which it was again left to Devon CC to do the public enquiry bit when the government wouldn't.

Ten Tors trek abandoned

Nice and sunny now maybe but there was a lot of rain earlier and in view of the weather forecast the army decided to abandon this year's 'Ten Tors' challenge last night.

This must have been incredibly disappointing for the 2400 yougsters participating in this two day Dartmoor challenge. It seems that it was the potential problems crossing the very swollen rivers that caused the army to make their decision. This is the lottery of the British weather isn't it. We are now having a wet May after one of the driest Aprils on record.

Furore over proposed bridge at Boscastle

Following the flood in August 2004 that devastated much of Boscastle and Crackington Haven on the North Cornish coast the conclusion was reached that the little bridge in the harbour area at Boscastle would have to be replaced. This is because the existing structure is not big enough to cope with this sort of weather event, something with a larger opening is required. There were thoughts of replacing the existing bridge with a similarly styled one in stone but it was considered that the new one would be too dominant (I agree). The alternative suggested is a lighter looking steel structure which I think from the pictures I've seen would be an elegant addition.

However the majority of locals don't seem to agree with this viewpoint! I think that there are a few occasions when you can't hang on to the past by building something which pretends to come from another era. A modern bridge here would act as a reminder of the rebuilding after the flood. On this subject one only has to look at the rebuilding of the little shop with the very wavy roof line in the harbour area (a former pig house I believe!). This may be good for the tourists but is make believe really - for instance building regs mean it is noticeably higher than before; it may have used much of the old materials but it is not the same building and I believe it is wrong to pretend it is. In other words I wouldn't have rebuilt it. Harsh words I know but I believe in honesty in the built environment.

Why is Nick Robinson so politically correct?

I frequently read some of the political blogs one of which is that of Nick Robinson on the BBC's excellent news website. I say excellent primarily because of the wide ranging subject matter with easy to use links. On 10th May Nick made an entry unsurprisingly about Tony Blair's resignation speech that day. In it he said of Blair "he could have simply sent a letter to the chair of Labour's National Executive asking them to choose a new leader." Mr Robinson, what is wrong with the word 'chairman', whether a man or woman. At a meeting one would address that person as 'Mister Chairman' or 'Madam Chairman' not 'Chair'. The use of the word chair in the blog is pathetic, ridiculous and unnecessary. Must we have all this tedious political correctness? You might be satisfying a few with your choice of words but I can assure you that you have dropped in my estimation and I'm sure I'm not alone. So BBC and journalists get a life and don't be so daft.

Reaquaintance with Exmoor

Yesterday I returned home from a very pleasant few days holiday on Exmoor. The plan was to spend up to a week with my brothers and sister in law in self catering accommodation but, following one of the driest Aprils on record, the weather has decided to turn wet: it is in fact pouring down as I type this! Having said that we made good use of the first part of the week and felt that the effort had been very worthwhile.

Our accommodation was just up the road from Tarr Steps in a small complex belonging to Liscombe Farm. For the price paid the place was very acceptable, one of the bonuses being that there was a very good supply of crockery and cutlery so that we didn't have to wash up after every single meal! Normally one can go direct to Dulverton (about 5 miles I think) to get ones victuals but when we were there that route was closed for repairs so that we had to make a substantial diversion north through Winsford to get to Dulverton.

As children we had three holidays on Exmoor the locality being a firm favourite of my parents. So there was quite a bit of nostalgia. We managed to get a couple of decent length walks during the course of our curtailed stay - the first was following the Barle upstream toward Withypool then ascending eastward onto the top of Winsford Hill to return over moorland and fields. The following day was primarily car based taking in Dunster, Selworthy and Allerford with some gentle strolls at each. Having returned to base via the road just below and to the east of Dunkery Beacon the following day saw us all ascend to the top of the said hill (1705' elevation and the highest spot on the moor). Three of us made the long gradual descent to nearly sea level at Bossington with the other 2 meeting us there with the car. The final complete day closed in weather wise but in the morning we did manage to visit the nearby Wimbleball Lake, a fair sized reservoir which I believe is shared by South West Water and Wessex Water.

It was excellent to hear cuckoos calling and to see a couple of deer that were reasonably close apart from others in the distance. And a good time for bluebells of course. Some meadow saxifrage in the Barle Valley was a good find too because this is apparently rare in Somerset.

Exmoor paths have been well waymarked for many years with unobtrusive wooden finger posts and the whole area is particularly suitable for those wanting to do some good hikes but without much risk of losing their way. And as for variety of scenery this is English landscape par excellence. All in all a very happy return to this piece of countryside.

May the First - lots of important happenings

Well here we are, it's the First of May and special because it's the start of my favourite month of the year. That's not because my birthday is tomorrow (I try to forget birthdays!) but because we have lots of daylight now with the days still getting longer, the temperature is usually just about right and the countryside coming into its best and lushest. However today is significant for a number of other reasons.

First up it's Obby Oss day in Padstow. Sadly time hasn't allowed me to go there today but I have been before and the atmosphere is absolutely electric. I understand that the Countryfile team from the BBC will be there and there will be a chance to see some of the celebrations on the programme next Sunday. It's possible to get some feel of this annual event from videos on YouTube, just key in Padstow. Also on YouTube you can see and hear Steeleye Span with the lovely Maddy Prior singing Padstow's Mayday song.

Today also sees the start of an initially six month scheme in the Devon village of Modbury deep in the South Hams. This is all about living without plastic bags and was the brainchild of local resident Rebecca Hosking who witnessed horrific scenes of marine wildlife dying from plastic bag ingestion whilst filming in Hawaii for the BBC. All 43 traders in Modbury are involved in the scheme: they will provide a range of carrier bags made of biodegradable and compostable cornstarch. It will also be possible for residents to purchase bags for life in 2 different sizes, these being supplied by Cornish firm 'bags2keep'. I think Modbury has the sort of community spirit to make this work and I shall watch developments with interest.

It was 10 years ago today that Tony Blair became Prime Minister. That day I'm sure was a heady one for many and it seemed that we might be embarking on a better course but how perceptions have changed. It would be difficult to think of another British government that has been so immersed in sleaze, dishonesty and downright incompetence as the present one. Certainly Blair is past his sell by date and will not be going out in a blaze of glory.

Back to Cornwall now. At the Eden Project they are holding a business summit on Climate Change. In today's Western Morning News there is a 16 page supplement about this event. I won't comment now as I haven't yet had a chance to read it but I do feel that Devon and Cornwall could be trailblazers in dealing with climate change.