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.

Tragedy in Virginia

It is impossible not to react with horror to the mass murder yesterday of 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech university in America. Now personally I hate guns and what they are capable of with a vengeance and have never had a desire to own one. However in the States people have a right to bear arms and I don't expect that right to be rescinded anytime soon. What bothers me though is the attitude that life is cheap, there is something fundamentally wrong with the way some people develop. For instance look at the recent casual killings of young people in London. Whilst not being able to understand the motivation of the killer in Virginia what increasingly bothers me is the ready access to violent images in for example films and computer games. These things may not necessarily be relevant in this tragedy but we seem to be so exposed to violent images these days - think TV reports from Iraq for instance. We seem to be now accepting extreme unprovoked violence as the norm. It shouldn't be so.

Trees come into leaf

Across the valley from my cottage is a steep hillside covered in woodland except where some rocky outcrops poke through. The overall effect is quite stunning. It is in fact a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees; most of the deciduous ones have come into leaf now. When I first moved to this part of the village in 1995 I recall having to wait till the start of May before the trees started to put on their 'summer clothes'. Unusually there has hardly been a frost so far this year.

The tulips in a friend's garden are well out now and in yesterday's Western Morning News there was a beautiful picture of the stunning tulip display in Dartmouth's Royal Avenue Gardens. Must grow some next year! Also seems to be an excellent year for primroses - I have no shortage of them. Have seen one or two blue butterflies and my neighbour had a green woodpecker visit his peanut feeder the other day. There's always something happening in nature isn't there.

First public cruise to view Napoli

Plenty of small boats have been out to see the wreck of the MSC Napoli but we have now had the first public cruise to see her at reasonably close quarters. The visitors were on the 250 seat 'The Pride of Exmouth' and of course the 500 metre exclusion zone is still in place.

I suppose it's nice to hear of a local concern getting some financial benefit from the wreck!

Jackdaws stamping on the roof

One of the routine occurrences in Spring at this little terrace of cottages is the visits by the local jackdaws. We are never short of them here and the way they swoop about chattering to each other is always a delight to behold. Now being in the Tamar Valley there is no shortage of moss on our slate roofs and evidently this is just the ticket when it comes to nesting material. Jackdaws I've noted are pretty untidy with the result that plenty of moss finishes up either in the guttering or out in the road. But what amazes me most of all is the noise they generate when they are running over the roof, it's deafening! For anyone not used to it they could be wondering just what is going on.

The way wildlife interacts with the built environment is one of the things that makes nature so fascinating.

Wasting our License Fee

I tend to watch the BBC's 6 o'clock news on a fairly regular basis. For a long time now the weekday editions have been fronted by two newscasters costing us a good deal of money. Now I'm not overly worried about that because we are in a market economy so far as TV is concerned and no doubt the Beeb would say they have to pay the going rate. But what really bugs me is the way the BBC is dispatching one or other of the two to the scene of action when a supposedly important story breaks.

The most recent one occurred last week when the repatriated sailors and marines were flown by helicopter to the Royal Marines Base at Chivenor in North Devon to meet up with their loved ones. On that particular day all we saw were the relatives embracing their homecomers, it wasn't until the following day that a news conference by some of the detainees was held. So the question is was it so vital to send national newscaster Jane Hill down from London to cover this particular story all at our expense. I think not. And bear in mind we do have regional reporters more than capable of handling such a situation. Yes the BBC which is a treasured institution in many ways really need to stop tossing our money about like there's no tomorrow.

Selling their story

Unsurprisingly the main story in the media in the past week or two has been the capture, detention and release of 15 of our service personnel by Iran. Now a massive row has erupted about those same 15 being allowed to sell their stories to the media.

Should they be permitted to make money from this incident? Emphatically not is my point of view. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the original event, whatever the extent or otherwise of the psychological pressure they were under in Iran they should not now financially profit from what happened. Yes I do understand that the incident was more political than military (it's worth remembering we are not at war with Iran) and that the aftermath is all about propaganda but when our young people join up it is all about the discipline of operating within the constraint of certain rules and Queens Regulations prohibit the selling of a story whilst in service unless there are very special circumstances.

It has been argued that permitting these personnel to tell their stories in their own words is a necessary counter to the Iranians version of events. I would say that it is very bad for the morale of other service people and what about the bereaved of those who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan? There might conceivably be a short term gain in the propaganda war, although even that is debatable, but surely this is setting an unwelcome precedent for the future.

No fire deaths in Cornwall last year

For the first time in its history Cornwall Fire Brigade was able to report that there were no deaths from fire in the last financial year. The chief fire officer said that he believed the brigade's community fire prevention work was a factor in achieving this zero figure. Apparently firefighters had visited 18,000 homes in Cornwall last year performing home safety checks and, where appropriate, fitting smoke alarms free of charge.

Having just written this I've been compelled to check my smoke alarm! All is well I'm glad to say. I must make a point of checking it on a weekly basis. Now here's an interesting comment I once received from someone very knowledgeable about batteries: he is only prepared to sell the Duracell type of batteries for a smoke alarm. This is because the cheaper batteries aren't really capable of continuing to emit that high pitched sound over a lengthy period. In other words for that heavy sleeper who comes home after a heavy drinking session shall we say he may not awake soon enough.

My cottage is so small that one alarm covers the whole house: it is located on the landing outside my bedroom. Putting it up was the very first thing I did when moving in - my reasoning being that the first day was just as likely to see a fire as any subsequent day. I'm pleased to say though that nothing eventful happened...

Branscombe Beach now fully open

The beaching of the MSC Napoli off the Devon coast is no longer on the radar of the national media of course. So I'm pleased to have the opportunity of posting an update which happens to be good news. This past week has seen the full reopening of the beach at Branscombe: I believe that there is still a secure compound down there but this shouldn't spoil the pleasure of those visiting. Excellent news then to follow the traumas of those dark days back in January when the original beaching took place.

Interestingly local businesses then were understandably despondent about the immediate future but I think with the fairly recent lifting of travel restrictions in the village there will now be many people visiting. Certainly the media attention on Branscombe at the height of the drama could induce folk to go there if they are in the vicinity. It would seem that after the early problems at Branscombe some really good organisation has swung into place - not that that is something the media would feed on.

I do hope that businesses in Branscombe do well on this sunny Easter weekend.

Progress in Northern Ireland

I backed Blair in my previous post and will do so again. Now I very much doubt that this will be habit forming but credit must be given where it's due. Although Mr Blair will mainly and understandably be remembered for the hell of Iraq he should also be remembered for his success in moving the peace process forward in Ulster, building on the hard work of John Major.

Seeing Sinn Fein leaders entering 10 Downing Street used to be quite gut wrenching as was the early release of criminals from both sides who had been actively involved in the killing. But it now seems that cooperation between the nationalists and loyalists could really be the end of the troubles.

There would have been a time when it was impossible to imagine Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley in the same room together. But incredibly it has now happened.

Blair right, Archbishops wrong

I have a good deal of respect for the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, normally less for Tony Blair. But when it comes to the matter of whether we should apologise for this country's part in the slave trade these two religious leaders are hopelessly wrong. I do hope that Blair sticks to his guns and not formally say "sorry". As with most countries our country has done many things in the past which now appear reprehensible and the slave trade is just one of them.

Saying 'sorry' for something that happened centuries ago is a total misuse of the word. It implies responsibility for something that has happened over which the apologiser in fact has had no control. It must be remembered that attitudes were so different back then. What about the Africans that actually did the deals with British slave traders, surely they are just as culpable. If a formal apology is made then this opens the floodgates for the never ending list of dirty deeds performed by our ancestors.

The whole thing is so crystal clear to me - I just can't understand why these intellectual church leaders are unable to see it.

That was the budget that was

Well that is I assume Gordon Brown's last budget and as usual a large part of it was spent patting himself on the back. The most talked about aspect was his cut in the basic tax rate to 20p; funnily enough he was a little less vocal about removing the basic starter rate of 10p. Strange that! Although he has tidied up the tax system to a certain extent and that I welcome in principle he has been berated in much of the media and many blogs for producing a tax con.

Of course the budget reply has to be the worst parliamentary event of the year for a Leader of the Opposition. Gordon's 'tax cut' came right at the end of his speech - an old trick to wrong foot the other parties. I think Cameron was doing quite well but then the BBC cut him off in mid flow. I'm not a supporter of any one political party but surely for a sense of balance we should have been permitted to see the FULL response of David Cameron and also that of Ming Campbell for that matter.

I noticed that BBC political editor Nick Robinson was awestruck by Brown but was really taken to task by some commenters on his blog. In fact he made a second blog entry on the budget in which he seemed to retract his position a little.

As everyone thought the worst polluting vehicles are going to be clobbered with a hike in vehicle excise duty (VED). Superficially this sounds good but as I had explained previously it isn't in so far as people who need 4 wheel drive vehicles which might be more polluting in use don't have this choice. People like Brown produce these policies without thinking them through.