Walking in the Lakes (Part 2)

For the Weekend, Anthony, Eddie, Justin and I returned to the Langdale Valley to have another go at getting to the top of Harrison Stickle.

Eddie drove in his (surprisingly excellent) bus, and we stayed in an identical caravan as last time.


Us.


Weather conditions were pretty much perfect for walking up.


The Tarn, about half way up was calm and beautiful.


Justin.


Eddie, Ant.


And Me. Good god, do I really look like that?


View from the top with Lake Windermere in the distance.


Bacon Sandwiches at the top!


Fabulous views on the way down.


And we finished where we always finish... Kingfield v Westfield.

Is it safe to walk in London again yet...

Of course it is.

For anyone going about their business in London everything is normal. I'm sure there are places in Tottenham and Croydon and elsewhere where damage is evident - and I really feel for those people who have lost homes and personal items, for those who have lived in fear for the last few nights and businesses that have lost profits.

But London is not a war zone.

For the vast majority of people who live and/or work here, everything is normal. Except the undercurrent of fear and anger at the rioters. Everyone has an opinion - call in the Army, call in the water cannons, shoot them with rubber bullets, or even real ones. Some are quick to blame one race or another, either for the rioting or for causing the conditions that led to it.

I’ve followed the rioting at a safe distance through Twitter and TV reports, watching as the brave reported on what was actually happening in the streets, and as the misguided spread fear about non-existent problems in their community. The worst things I've read were filled with hatred and bile; I’ve also seen it said that for those involved the rioting has a carnival atmosphere - "a party with fires and free gifts". You can't shame these people by telling them that those affected have been left with nothing - most of them had nothing to start with.

So yes - we need to get control of the streets; repair the damage, we need to find those that broke the law and punish them appropriately.

But then what? Surely a part of the answer is education, both for the disaffected kids and parents that so obviously don’t have control. And finding some way to help those suffering the worst poverty. Not that real poverty was the cause of this any more than the police shooting an armed suspect. The looters were not taking things they need - food and basic clothing - but things they want - mobile phones, booze, trainers, designer labels.

But if you're reading this for the answer then I'm sorry to disappoint; I don't have it. What I've seen over the last few days has saddened and angered me - but not actually affected me. If the riots had been in my community I think I'd be there in the clean-up crew, but I doubt I've really got much to add beyond that. I've read articles that talk of volunteering to help the illiterate read, or of taking the role of appropriate adult. These are the type of things that really have the power to change things for the better - but like the majority of people, I don't have the time or the inclination to get involved myself.

Croatia

Long story short: This year the Gunnee/Page/Geaves clan took a holiday in Croatia.

Arrival.
We flew into Dubrovnic, and collected our hire car. This took about an hour due to the car place having internet and power problems - but we did get a free upgrade to a SEAT Altea, so that was much more comfortable than I was expecting.

Driving in Croatia was fine - there was much less traffic than at home, locals tended to drive either at 50 or 150.

Viganj

The venue was Footprints holiday villa, in Viganj which is on the Peljesac Penninsula, in Dalmatia. This proved to be a fantastic place - recently refurbished and very tastefully decorated, almost exclusively from John Lewis and Marks and Spenser.
Viganj itself is smart and clean, but is nothing more than a village - with a couple of Resturants, bars and a single shop. It's worth noting that 1st June is really considered the start of the season and some things are closed before.

Pool at the villa.


Split old town.























This is Croatian Coffee, which is excellent.












































John and Maureen - 50 years married.

Speed Awareness Course

When I passed my driving test, back in the late 1980’s, I was a truly terrible driver - writing off one car, and seriously damaging another. I'm now not so bad. I concentrate on driving when I'm behind the wheel, I'm quite considerate, I use the lanes on motorways properly, I don't tailgate... But I will admit that I'm not a good driver. Because I drive too fast.

On a number of occasions over the past 24 years I probably should have been stopped for my driving - and probably would have lost my license if I had been, but I never have actually been stopped - you know - by a traffic officer, for doing anything wrong. Three times I've had the dreaded letter through the door - the 'Notice of Intended Prosecution'. The first was about 8 years ago, in the days when camera sites were still a bit sneaky - I accelerated through a level crossing just after the lights started flashing, and got another sort of flash from the camera on the back of the crossing. Three points.

About six months after those points expired I got three more for just about the most boring reason possible. 58 in a 50, through motorway road-works on the M20. I didn't resent the points although I don't think they were deserved - but I just put up with them on the grounds that they were really for some other misdemeanour that I didn't get caught for.

That was back in 2006, the points expired in 2009 and I'd been happily driving around on a clean license for a while when... Flash...

Bugger.

This time I was driving on a road I know well that I was sure was a 40 limit, but actually turns out to be a 30. Camera said 38. But what was different this time was that I was offered a 'Speed Awareness Course' for £95 in lieu of three points and a £60 fine.

This seemed the obvious choice, so I opted for that. After I signed up for it and got the details, I saw the course was 4 hours. I fully expected a proper wrist slapping and a long lecture, but that’s not what you get at all. Somehow they manage to take a very serious subject and make it fun. There is no exam, no difficult questions – although I was surprised at how many people got simple questions wrong… But the whole experience was actually quite uplifting. I actually came away feeling lucky to have done the course – not just lucky that I didn’t get 3 points, but actually lucky to have been there. As Pip, our excellent instructor said – 85%* of people who are given points for speeding get more points later – 85%* of people who do the course don’t.

So how was my drive home? It was still fun, actually, and still fast – despite the fact that I didn’t break the speed limit, or do anything even remotely dangerous. The Scirocco even managed to return over 38 mpg.

Will this change my driving in the long run? Sadly, I doubt it – but I hope it does. And that’s a good start, don’t you think?

Oh, and one last thing – if you’ve been driving for more than a couple of years (or more than 20, like me) then the last copy of the Highway Code you read is probably now out of date. Get a new one, and actually read it – apparently there are all sorts of new laws you might be breaking without even knowing it.

*These figures may have been made up by me, but you get the idea.

British Wildlife Centre

It was our Anniversary on the 1st May - 13 years, yay us!

We decided to take a trip to the British Wildlife Centre, which is quite local for us, and with a relatively early start and it being just 15 minutes away, we were there in time for the Red Squirrel talk.



This guy seemed very tame, and happily ran around the hand rails of the Copse - a large open space that the Squirrels have free run of.

We then grabbed a bit of breakfast from the coffee shop and then had a walk around. We spent a little while in the wetland boardwalk in the hope of seeing a Water Vole, bit no luck this time - we did see the signs, flat reeds near the bank and nibbled grass.

We saw the Otters being fed - always a joy.



Then we had a special treat - one of the Wildcats has had kittens, and we happened to see her with them.



I've always been a fan of the Scottish Wildcats, but they can be quite tricky to get a good picture of.



On the way out we had another walk around the Copse, and where really lucky as a three Red Squirrel kittens came out of the nest box to play - again, tricky to get good shots through the wire of the fence, but a couple I'm pleased with.







Walking back through the Hedgerow we saw a Mole!

Long Weekend Road Trip

We decided to have a night away whilst having a tour of a bit of the country we're not that familiar with.

Early start on Friday, it was raining when we set off, and all the way around the M25, down the M4 into wales. It eased off as we passed Raglan, and by the time we reached mid Wales patches of blue had appeared.

We were aiming for Gigrin farm to see the Red Kite feeding station, and we knew that the best time to arrive was 1pm, but as we were a little early, we stopped at the (closed) visitor centre for the Elan Valley.



We made it back to Gigrin Farm in good time, and the Red Kite feeding was absolutely fabulous. We had a drive around the Elan Valley and stopped to look at some of the Dams.



Finally, we headed off to Telford to find our hotel for the night. Dinner in the bar was good.



On Saturday morning we headed to Iron Bridge, then on to Stokesay Castle. Very interesting little place and well worth a visit. We headed from there to Kenilworth, and stopped for a couple of hours at the castle.



Finally we headed home.



Oh, and did I mention that I got my new car?