1883 EastEnders and the Beales and Fowlers, part 1

It has been cold and quiet over the weekend when sport took a back seat to EastEnders and good progress in getting my personal records and the work in project work activity. The Hurt Locker won the best film at the BAFTA’s, I film I have not seen and a political choice. Jonathan Ross introduced the event and was awful telling poor jokes which amused no one, making off the cuff remarks which either offended, embarrassed or were silly. The person who signed him up should be have several sleepless nights and never be given such power again.

In the twenty five years since 1985 there have been nearly 4000 episodes of EastEnders there have been 206 cliff hangers shared by 1100 actors of which 1000 have departed. I have two major criticisms of the show. Its failure to represent multiracial and multi language London.

It did briefly reflect a working class street market and local public house community of residents around an East London Square of the 1970’s, admitted to be around Bow Station which extends from the Whitechapel Road on the way to Stratford and West Ham, having travelled and visited the area in the latter 1990’s and early millennium. I also have knowledge of the late 1950’s areas extending from the city of London from Bishopsgate and Aldgate encompassing the Petticoat and Brick Lane markets which was my patch and where my office was located as an Olivetti salesman for a few months in 1959 and was also the area of a walk before Christmas.

However the area has become predominantly non white and new European with English the second language. There are white families with generations of cultural tradition stepped in the area, although in fairness EastEnders never attempted to portray the authentic language which had to be sanitised for the suburban respectable working and middle class middle class readers of the Mirror, Mail and Express who watched the programme alongside Coronation Street which also perpetuates similar myths of contemporary working class Manchester.

The truth is that in Britain the traditional London working class of EastEnders and Coronation Street has largely disappeared, replaced by immigrants from the middle and eastern Europe and the growth of Indian and Pakistan communities, and those from the West Indies and Africa, and inter-racial couplings. On one hand we have seen the end of working class occupational dependence on ship building, coal mining and steel making, and the exporting of manufacturing to the Far East especially China and back to India. Commercial agriculture and construction has been increasingly dependent on foreign labour as has the caring services together with the staff of hotels, restaurants and places of entertainment. We are only beginning to feel and understand the impact on all our cities because of the dramatic increase in young people migrating for higher education from other parts of the world, notably China, as well as from other parts of the UK, especially the impact of their interaction. There has developed a peculiarly British form of underclass comprising people who have been to prison, or who would of become institutionalised because of various forms of mental disabilities together with a large proportion of young people dependents on social welfare benefits who also participate in the alternative economy provided by drugs, the sex industry, gambling, counterfeit goods and knock offs. They swear a lot, drink and smoke themselves into early graves, and breed too young, thus creating or perpetuating a cycle of behaviour which democratic governments can only contain.

EastEnders has unsuccessfully struggled to give the impression of retaining its traditional and no longer existent culture by bringing in and then rapidly taking out, a succession of families and individuals because of the problem that in general those with foreign sounding names tend to work hard and maintain respectable family lives, in fact, whereas the whites who inhabit the Square remain unscrupulous, amoral if not immoral, liars and cheats with no political awareness or interest, no religion or spiritual beingness, and remain uneducated and cultural morons. The also go in for extraordinarily expensive flamboyant weddings and funerals.

I backed this up by examining the lists of characters for foreign sounding names accepting that those of West Indian background usually have British, and predominantly English surnames. At present there are three Masoods, two Abbassi’s (occasional) and one Ahmed. One Shah is to be replaced over the year by one Masood and the three Inzamam who were added to show off an Asian wedding.

In the past there was Adonis Papadopolous 2009 (1). In 2008 an Iqbal and a Choria (2); In 2007 two Convalenco’s, a Patel, a Bianco and Chong (5) In 2006 the five Pappas and one Chaudury (6) 2005 the four Ferreia’s and a Larousi (5); 2004 an Abrahim (1). 2003 one Ferreria and Malik (2) 2002 the two Di Marco brothers(2) 2001 one Di Marco (1) 2000 4 Di Marco’s a Francesca, and a Badawi(6); 1991 one Di Marco, Di Clemente, Lopez and Massi (4); 1998 five Kapoors, two Di Marco’s and a Chan(8); 1998 a Kalwaski, a Collantoni and a Zappieri (3);1996 a Sharma(1); 1995 (0) 1994 two Tavernier, (2); 1993 three Taviernier, a Kominski, and a Chung(5); 1992 one Tavernier and one Kominski(2) 1991(0) 1990 the four Karim’s and the 5 Ahmed’s (9) 1989 the five Osman’s (5); 1988 three Osmans and a Czajkowski and a Gabir(5); 1987 a Singh, Farrukh and Naima Jeffrey (3); 1986 Dario Chimisso (1); 1985 two Osman and Saeed Jeffery(2) I making some 80 non British sounding names, land less than 10 percent.

The number should be at least 50% with matching storylines and central and ongoing performance in the story lines.

Unsurprisingly the has always been a strong involvement of the police with DI Bob Ashley and WPC Lyn Baxter; and then with WPC Alison Howard, PC Keith Manly, Supt Alan Milward, Chief Supt Dave Penton, Sergeant Jimmy Buckwell, WPC Julie Morgan, PC Judith Simkin, DC Ross Fox, DS Steve Peters, Sgt Bob Green, DS Maggie Wilson, DS Paul Kemmit, DC Wayne Atkins PC Dennis Cogan, PC Jim Sellars, Dc Mitch Cowen, DC Jamine Field, DC Wayne Hughes and a recurring character DCI Jill Marsden who departs this season.

The changing medical profession has also been reflected with the move for the local one man practice of Dr Harold Legg who reappeared in cameo appearances after his retirement in 1999. Since then there has been Doctors Cousins, McCulloch, Trueman Harisons(2) Khans, and Drs Monks, Rodford, Fonesca, Samuels and Singh. The medical profession has been conspicuously absent over the past few years.

My second major criticism is that show became too preoccupied with ratings and finding shocking tales to satisfied the readers of the Sun, the People and News of the World rather than remaining a Masterclass in social problems of the day. When Wendy Richards was recruited to the programme after a successful career as a dolly bird in Carry On films and Are You Being Served, she was advised that the intention was cover such issues as teenage pregnancy, drugs, racial conflict, prostitution, rape, mental illness, homosexuality, alcoholism, and muggings. Obviously as a soap opera, or continuous drama, as the BCC prefer to designate the programme, it had to attract and then retain an audience and having covered these issues together with physical, mental and emotional disabilities, and one presumes that audience research provided the evidence for creating the likes of a murder, major crisis or attempting killing ruining every Christmas dinner for decades, for farcical feuding, and flamboyant and grotesque expensive weddings and funerals designed to attract the interest of Hullo magazine and WAGS tales.

EastEnders is was also primarily been about extended families living in close proximity, but with the device of relatives appearing in seasons and then disappearing as quickly and I in the first retrospective I want to look at the original principal family of the Beale’s, Lou and her children, Pauline, who married Arthur Fowler, and their children Michele, Mark and late baby Martin, and her brother Pete and his wife Kath and their son Ian, someone who will have a whole writing to himself, having performed in over 3000 episodes and it the only actor to have appeared in the first show and continuously since.

The programme has also been notable for resurrecting popular characters with varying success, particularly for Leslie Grantham who played Dennis Watts back from the dead after his gangland shooting into a river, He was then murdered by a bevy of women in a who really did it series not dissimilar to the that in relation to Archie Mitchell this Christmas. Other notable returnees have been the daughter of Dennis and Ange- Sharon, Janine Butcher, Bianca and Ricky Butcher, Carol Bianca’s mother also returning recently, Peggy Mitchell (who going for good this season), Nick Cotton, Robbie Jackson, Mark Fowler, Frank Butcher, and returning sometime soon the popular Shane Ritchie and Jessica Wallace as Alfie and Kat Moon, presumably as licensee’s of the Old Vic.

There has also been the growing up of children with Ian Beale the outstanding example and his children coming to the fore at present to represent contemporary youth culture. Dirty Den’s daughters Sharon and Vicki have been other notables along with Mark and Martin Fowler, and the children of Carole Jackson.

Some characters were created to fit established actors coming into the series with Wendy Richards and the Barbara Windsor, Mike Reid, Shane Ritchie. Larry Lamb whose father was a RV presenter and his son is also A TV personality. Two established actors from the school series Grange Hill were brought in, first Tully as Michelle Fowler and then Todd Carty who had an even bigger following as Mark Fowler, after the actor had walked off and then committed suicide. Ian Lavender and Ray Brooks were brought in as potential husbands for Pauline Fowler after the death of Arthur, Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet and Jill Halfpenny from Byker Grove had major roles, and a host of others appeared in smaller roles including Cherie Lunghi, Rula Lenska, John Junkin, Michael Elphick, Michael Jayston, Susan George, Diana Coupland, Nadia Sawahla, Anthony Newley, Paul Nicholls and Amanda Holden

Another aspect to be covered been the departure of major characters who set off voluntarily and sometimes involuntarily to establish themselves alternative careers in television with perhaps the most successful for continuing involvement, Ross Kemp who played Grant Mitchell and is rarely off one channel or another. Nick Berry who played David Wickes went on to star in Heartbeat and Harbour Lights, Martine McClutcheon reached the pop charts and Daniella Westbrooke with four periods as Sam Mitchell, is a front runner in the current Ice Dancing competition as well as popular TV presenter. Tamzine Outhwaite has had her own series and Michelle Collins was a star Two Thousand Acres of Sky

Wendy Richards was born in Middlesbrough and her parents came to London to run a pub close to Shepherd’s market one of the pubs most fashionable Square and now a London’s finest restaurants and boutiques, as far away from Albert Square as it is possible to conceive. However the Shepherd Tavern today has a reputation for poor food and indifferent staff with no atmosphere according the published reviews, and therefore sounds more like the Queen Vic.

Pauline Fowler grew up dominated by her mother Lou Beale with the script creators writing about her as"A lively 70 year old. Archetypal East-end mother-earth figure. Fat, funny, sometimes loud, often openly sentimental. An obsessive view of family...she can be a stubborn cruel "old bag" when she wants to be, sometimes keeping "atmospheres" going for months. It was always Lou's house that was used for the big family celebrations. Especially Christmas. Twenty or more people crammed into a tiny house. Five sisters wedged into a minuscule kitchen; drinking gin and orange; wearing funny hats; all wearing aprons; laughing raucously and trying to cook a huge dinner at the same time. Lou's house was also the meeting place for the family Sunday teas. Ham, or tinned salmon salad. Bread and butter. Jelly and tinned cream. And, tea...the changing face of the area (especially the immigrants) is a constant source of fear to her, but then she doesn't go out much. She prefers to be at home, or on a trip down memory lane: day trips to Southend - the Kursal, Rossi's ice-cream and a plate of cockles; one wonderful week's holiday in a caravan in Clacton; fruit picking in Essex; Christmas; weddings; street parties.” This strikes some chords with my own childhood especially the sisters cooking meals on one stove in one kitchen (six sisters, one severely disabled, one husband, seven children, four already adults one a new baby.

Lou was played by Anna Wing who was 71 at the time and remains alive at the age of 96, She decided to leave the show after its first three years because of doubts about its moral integrity. She remains a Member of the Society of Friends and supporter of CND. The character had a splendid death and burial and in 2006 she attended the funeral of Went Richards, who died from cancer. She also presented the lifetime achievement award to her to June Brown who continues to play Dot Cotton, and in some respects took over the role planned of Anna by the producers who had said she had the role for life literally.

Dominating her daughter Pauline and indulging her son Pete, led the character Pauline becoming disillusioned with life and turning into a dour character soured by what happened to her husband, their marriage and her three children, although she centred as the middle aged woman having a late baby, knocked down at Christmas by a car driven by Ricky Butcher, developing fibroids and a consequential hysterectomy and trying homeopathy. For most of the time she has deal with the problems created by other family members but the after the death of Arthur she begins a series of relationships with five minor ones and two major. The first was Ian Lavender who was well known through his role in Dad’s Army as Private Pike. However marriage was out of the question when it transpired that the character had become gay with estranged children, The second choice was Ray Brooks who ahd a long and well known TV and film career from Coronation Street, to Dr Who and Two thousand Acres of Sky. Pauline did not find the on screen relationship a happy one and is said to be the reason why she asked to leave, rather than because of her growing personal health problems.

A key factor in understanding the character is the relationship with she ahd with her first husband, the longest lasting marriages on EastEnders to date. She loved Arthur despite his limitations and deterioration after losing his factory job after 15 years he had been on the dole for a year when the programme commenced. He went to prison twice, the first occasion given a 28 day sentence for stealing Christmas Club money, after which he had an emotional breakdown which brought national attention in the problem as well and created substantial sympathy. When Arthur again found himself in prison, this time framed and wrongly sent to prison there was a national outcry off and well as on screen. Arthur asked to leave the show having become depressed by his role, but admitted to being shocked when he was killed and buried on screen and which meant he could not return. Public sympathy for the character had been sustained during the time when relationship between him and Pauline had become boring and eh commenced an affair with a woman who was more attractive , socially superior and fun.

What I find interesting is that I met more men like Arthur in prison that I did the Mitchells or the younger version of Nick Cotton, although they were also there in numbers. Arthur was played by Bill Teacher who had a modest career before and since his on screen death.

The Fowlers had three children. Mark was intended to leave school and become an out of work racist which the actor had difficulties accepting this, so was written out which created major alterations to some 50 scripts already completed. The original actor then committed suicide so when the character returned to the Square having disappeared he became the major series personality originally intended clad in leathers and riding a motorcycle.

The most famous aspect of his role was to become HIV positive which his previous TV Grange Hill fan club enable him to bring and keep audience sympathy although the show also highlighted people’s natural prejudice, fear and hate.

Sympathy with Mark became even stronger when his first wife, Jill, who was also HIV separately, developed AIDS and died the day after their wedding. he remained a much loved figure with the public. This became more so when he married his first wife who had developed AIDS and died the day after their wedding. Sympathy for Mark meant that his early life as juvenile delinquent was forgotten, sent to borstal for drug offences, burglary and assaulting a policeman. The daughter of friends of Fowlers, the Carpenters was caught smoking Cannabis she had she had stolen from Mark and his Welsh friend after he had returned home form working in Southend and living with an older Swedish woman and her children, and then doing farmwork in Wales and Gloucestershire and having a spell in Newcastle. He was one for the ladies from the start. He ahd a relationship with Diane Butcher and Rachel Kominski before Jill, his Newcastle girlfriend, came to live in Walford with him.

Marks second marriage was to Ruth who he met while visiting a friend at a hospice where she was also visiting someone. Their relationship seemed ideal but broke up after the child they fostered was returned to its parents, and Ruth then had an extra marital relationship and left the series with her child and its father.

The penultimate but one major story centred on Mark concerned Nick Cotton who had got Mark into drugs in his youth. Mark found that Nick had sold dodgy ecstasy to his baby brother Martin and their feud led to Nick having a fall and becoming wheelchair disabled. Nick enlisted the help of his son to gain revenge who then stole Mark’s motorbike to run him over only to be killed because his father had drained its brake fluid

The penultimate story was Mark’s third relationship with Liza who was on the rebound from a relationship with Phil Mitchell. Phil seduced Liza back when he found out her daughter, Liza was his He survived being shot by Liza and she escaped to Portugal with her daughter where he subsequently attempted to regain the care of his child.

After 13 years of showing that it was possible to live with HIV infection mark developed AIDS and died off screen having said his goodbyes. Todd Carty then became a notorious Policeman in the Bill!

The Fowler’s daughter Michelle was bright, a teenage feminist in the making who was vulnerable and susceptible to dodgy men. She was played by Susan Tully who like Carty had established herself in Grange Hill. Because the first Mark left the series her character was then developed. She became a pregnant teenager with four possible candidate including the already infamous landlord of the Queen Vic, Dennis Watts both on and of screen when it was disclosed that Leslie Grantham had been sentenced to life imprisonment for unintentionally murdering a taxi driver while serving in the British army in Germany, and three other characters, one of the Carpenters, one of the Osmans and Andy O’Brien. This was first whodunit where bookmakers quoted odd. It was Den of course who thereafter became known as Dirty Den.

The next development was her relationship with the nice Lofty and the speculation developed would she leave him at the altar. Which she did but then had a change of heart and they married, but they broke up after she had aborted his child, unbeknown to him. He left to become a handyman in a children’s home. Their relationship always appeared doomed. Lofty was played by Tom Watts who although continued to appear in TV and film Dramas, developed a second career with his first love football becomes a well known TV and Radio presenter, and sports writer. He also achieved national publicity through his relationships with Anita Dobson who played the wife of Dirty Den.

It was likely that the relationship between Dennis and Michele would have developed as his marriage to Angie turned from love to hate, except for the arrival of the Firm and gang land EastEnders into the soap. Denis was shot and fell in the canal, although his body was never found and disappeared for 13 years, returning long after Michele had left the series.

Dennis and Angie, who was unable to have children adopted a daughter Sharon played by Letitia Dean who was Michelle’s best friend and of the same age. It was only years later after Sharon returned to the Square as landlady of the Queen Vic that she was able to talk to Sharon about the affair with her father. Michelle then became involved with the Mitchell brothers after Sharon married Grant. Michelle turned to Phil for help when she became pursued by a fellow student with whom she had a one night stand, having enrolled at the local university. The young man disappeared. Previously Michelle had got a job selling time shares and moved in with a college lecturer Rachel Kominsky, with whom Mark had a brief relationship,, who had persuaded Michelle to study for a degree at the college where she worked. Rachel Mark, lost her job and ran a market stall during which time she ahd a one night stand with the Market supervisor, Mark had taken over the fruit and veg stall which had been run by his mother’s twin brother Pete Beale The market was a as important if not more important feature of life in Square until its continuation became a problem given that in reality the East end markets had become dominated by new immigrant groups. Michelle left living with Rachel after rumours circulated the square about the nature of their relationship.

At one point her daughter, Vicki was kidnapped and she was also involved in a shooting incident. She also had a brief affair with Sharon’s husband Grant Mitchell, Phil’s brother. She left the series after ten years, gave up acting and went into theatrical management directing several episodes of the soap subsequently. Her character continues to be referred to her off screen life in north America with excuses given as to why she did not appear at the funerals of her brother, father and mother.

Martin Fowler was played by Jon Peyton Price as a baby through to his 11th year, and coinciding with the death of his father he was replaced by James Alexandrou who then grew up as secondary school child passing his twenty first birthday party before deciding to leave in order to attend drama school to refresh his acting ability and appears in stage productions including with the British Shakespeare Company. He hopes to return one day to EastEnders. In his EastEnders life to date Martin managed to combine aspects of the lives his older and brother. Reacting to his father’s death and previous life, he becomes involved with a gang of older criminals and engages in thefts, burglaries and vandalism. He attempts to pressure the daughter of the Di Marco’s into sex and when she rejects him, he loses his virginity with the old Sonia Jackson who become pregnant. The child is placed for adoption when Martin admits is does not want to be father. Martin then comes under the influence of Nick Cotton who has return to the Square and this results in Mark’s feuding with the criminal thug, that Nick, and not his younger brother who he does his best to try and encourage him away from the life he appears set on.

This fails and Martin is sent to prison fro six following a hit and run car accident, after which he resort to robbery and blackmail and drug dealing growing Cannabis on his father allotment shed. He is protected from further imprisonment when Ian Lavender takes the blame. Martin become involved with Sonja Jackson again, the sister of Bianca and part of the Carole Jackson’s family by several fathers and they marry quietly and moved in with his mother. The combination of Pauline’s interference and hostility towards Sonja affects the couple’s relationship but their relationships survived including when an Old Vic Barmaid becomes infatuated and obsessed with Martin, pretends they have slept together and attempts to kill him when the truth is revealed. He barmaid is committed to a mental health establishment. However the relationship of the couple becomes strained and reaches breaking point when Sonja discovers that Martin and his mother have established contact with her daughter.

Sonja leaves and establishes a lesbian relationship which Martin uses when the legal guardian of their daughter dies and he gains custody. Then a situation develops which is one of several melodramas for which EastEnders has become more well known and remembered that some of the quieter episodes when the storyline and acting has been suburb, such as the Dot Cotton half hour soliloquy or Monday nights follow up to the death of Bradley. Death by falling from buildings has become a regular feature of EastEnders.

Martins relationship with Sonja and their child continued to be on and off with Sonja kidnapping her daughter at one point after the two are divorced. Martin kidnaps Ben in retaliation, Phil Mitchell’s son in order to get Phil to reveal where Sonja and his daughter are hiding. After they get together again and announce their engagement to marry, Pauline pretends to have a brain tumour and dies from a brain haemorrhage tumour at Christmas. However this is shown to have been caused by a previous blow to the head For a time the chief suspect is Sonja and she is arrested and released. It is eventually discovered that the culprit was her second husband who dies by falling from a window where he has been preventing Dot Cotton from going out and revealing the truth.

After the death of Pauline Martin discovers that his mother has willed their home to him on the understanding he does not marry Sonja. Sonja decides to go off thinking this will be better for him and their daughter Rebecca. Martin find her and the three go to live in the United States. Sonja without Martin or daughter attended the recent second wedding of sister Bianca to Ricky Butcher. She discusses the state of her marriage with her mother and decides to return to the USA. This keeps open the possibility the one or both characters or both, with their daughter will return in the future.

Vicki Fowler, Den’s daughter with Sharon remained on screen from her birth in 1986 until she accompanied her mother to the USA in 1995. She reappeared in 2003 as a rebellious teenager with an American accent. 500 applicants were auditioned, participating in 30 workshops which reduced the number to 4. It was only went told she was being offered the part, was she told it was for EastEnders, to coincide with the return of her father Den, having dragged himself out of the canal and gone to live in Spain for over a decade.

In the story Vickie has a relationship with Spencer Moon, the younger brother of shortly to return to the series Alfie. Vickie becomes pregnant by Spencer after a one night stand and Sharon, her half sister, offer Vickie £10000 if she can bring up the child as her own. Vickie accepts the offer but then has an abortion. Vickie also discovers that Den has another child Dennis Rickman who she persuades to come and live in the Square which by this time has attempted to become more up market or down market with a night club and a separate wine bar. When Sharon, adopted and Dennis Rickman commence an adult relationship, Vickie is one alongside Dirty Den who is horrified and she has a relationship with one of the Ferreira’s and she then has a relationship with a man over twice her age, a 45 year old lecturer. When she talks of moving in with him, her step mother sets out to trap him as a love rat by seduction, leaving him stripped naked in the Old Vic toilets so she can expose him to Vickie!

Arising from the sub plot relationship between Sharon and Dennis, their father persuades Zoë Slater to pretend she is pregnant by Dennis as a means of breaking up the relationship with Sharon. Sharon tries to persuade Dennis to come with her to the USA and after his death, does so alone. In yet another Christmas melodrama Vicki hears her father saying how much he cares for Sharon rather than herself and she decides to also return tot eh USA and to her mother.

Audience reaction to Vickie probably explains her short stay in the series as a young woman. Views hated the fake American accent which was dropped during the second year and some that she an abortion. The part was played by Scarlett Johnson who had appeared in a six month stage production of Under Milk Wood for the National theatre, return to the stage after EastEnders. The child of Michelle and Grant Mitchell, called Mark is yet to appear, but sure as Christmas, he will. Another likely Fowler to appear is Rebecca Miller, Martin’s child. I have not explained how it was possible for Martin to become her legal guardian after she was adopted by the Miller’s. They died in a car crash and her legal guardian then became her adopted grandmother. After she ahd a fall and died Martin was able to establish his a parenthood with the help of his mother.

There is also the possibility of other branches of the Beale’s Fowlers coming reappearing having previous briefly reappeared before.

In addition to the line created by Pauline’ and her twin brother Pete and his wife Kathy Hills and their son Ian, the subject of the Beale‘s part two, Lou and her husband had Ronnie married to Gail with no known children, Dora and Harry, not known to have married, and Maggie who married Sean Flaherty who had four children , Tommy and John, unmarried to date, Eamon who married Brenda and their children are Eamon, Collete and Kyle, and Connor who married Geraldine whose child is Mary,

Mary Flaherty first appeared in 1997 when the Fowlers went to Ireland to find her long lost sister, Mary came back to Walford to escape her alcoholic and violent grandfather and relationship with an older man. Although she got on with Mark Fowler she and Pauline found they could not live in the same house so she moved out and quickly became a problem after coming between Joe Wicks and Sarah Hills. She also had affairs with Mathew Rose and Robbie Jackson. She returned to Ireland with her father in 1999 who was then running off with Ruth, Mark’s wife who he had got pregnant. Who said life is not circular and everyone is connected to everyone by no more than six connections. It is difficult to believe that the only Beale’s in the future will be those from Pete and Kath.

1882 Amy Williams Day, Eastenders 25th and Lost

Saturday February 20th, 2010 will be remembered for the rest of their lives by the Williams family of Bath, because the daughter of the Bath University Professor became only the second British woman to win a gold Medal in the Winter Olympics. There were only 9 previous winners. The first was the Men’s Curling Team in 1924 followed 12 years later by the Men’s Hockey Team. Jeanette Altwegg became the first woman to win a gold medal as a figure skater in 1952 that is 58 years ago and Robin Dixon Lord Glentoran and Tony Nash won the two man bobsleigh event in 1964.

It was then the turn of the skaters again with John Curry in 1976, Robin Cousins in 1980 and then the most memorable of all Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean in 1984. It was another 18 years before the 9th medal when the Women’s Curling team won in 2002.

If the reactions so far this morning are an indication of the what is to happen from now on the name of Amy Williams will become the most famous of all because of 24 hour media and the British need for success in sport. In this instance there is the added dimension of the courage required to hurtle yourself approaching 90 miles an hour head first on a small flat sleigh, especially as a fellow competitor in the bob sleigh was killed going off the course while in practice. The other dimension is that she is evidently an unassuming young women who has spent the past eight years in hard work, living out of a suitcase travelling to international competitions on her own, away from family and friends.

She has a brother and a twin sister whose excitement and proudness is also evident as they were interviewed at her home of Bath where there someone somewhere had the foresight to create a 160 metre concrete track so that those interested in the sport can practice the running starts. In this respect that she was in her youth a county running champion in the 400 metres is a factor. She is also an artist who hopes one day to run her own gallery, and I imagine now she can chose how and where she wants to spend the rest of her life. It will take Andy Murray to win Wimbledon to prevent her becoming British Sports Woman of 2010 and the Queen will be expected to give her some honour in the Birthday honours if not before. It was a great start to the day.

I cannot let the event pass without commenting on the unsportsmanship of the Canadian hosts who did everything possible to ensure their competitor, the current world champion had the advantage by allowing her unlimited training using the circuit while limiting the opportunities of other competitors including Amy. They were rewarded with only fourth place after their champion messed up on her fourth run and in second place, given the two German skaters the sliver and bronze. The Canadian followed with a protest about eh helmet which Amy was using, a helmet for which she had obtained approval in advance for all her equipment and clothing from the managing body. Shame on you Canada.

Friday afternoon and evening were fully occupied except for an hour around six pm when I planned to visit the supermarket for a weekend shop and then as was my expectation found that the battery was flat and the visit had to be postponed. This was my fault twice unless of course the property has a poltergeist or someone decided to get onto the garage roof down a drain pipe and into the garage to explore what was in the car, or use it to escape from the cold. The more likely explanation is that on my last visit to the supermarket I forgot to close the rear door having removed one of the new two handled bags for life, so that the battery slowly drained as a consequence of the inside light remaining on. Having realised this had happened the following morning, I had settled for Oh no do I have a flat battery, but not in the mood to open the garage door in order to test the battery and then attach the battery charger it was not until Friday evening it was flat as the pancake I did not have on Shrove Tuesday earlier in the week.

I charged the battery for several hours before going to bed but decide against doing so over night. In the morning I double checked that I had the correct charger and the leads had been correctly connected, I know I should have done this the night before and will leave for several more hours before checking around Lunch time again in the evening and if necessary leave over night and then if the red light does not change to green I will have to consider plan B.

I drove the car along the sea front and coast to Seaburn and the roundabout which I was able to view from my home of thirty years previously and then returned via Whitburn Village and Cleadon before undertaking the shop. I was struck by the number of people out an about, enjoying the fun of the fair in Shields and walking the sands at Seaburn. There were some sitting outside over a cup of tea, later afternoon fish and chips or for a smoke. It remained bitter cold with snow on the higher ground and some roofs. Hardy folk in these parts.

I was in a good mood by 5.30 yesterday as England had an unexpected win against the World 20 20 Champions, Pakistan at the magnificent stadium in sports city Dubai. Admittedly Pakistan were with out their best player Shahid Alfridi and who will return for the second match this afternoon and they had shaky start to their innings, but overall the win was comfortable. The English bowlers had an early success when Pakistan opened the batting taking wickets when the score was 9, 20, 26 and 39 with only the fifth wicket partnership adding more than 20 runs, 47 in total, and will Malik getting the top score of 33. Swan 2 for 18 was the best of the bowlers with Broad 2 for 23. The disaster struck as facing a low 130 runs to win total, Denly and Trott were out for 10 and Collingwood, a fast runner between wickets misjudged a return for a second run so we were 18 for 3. Pieterson, who has no been in good form, got his down and was still there on 43 with the magnificent Eoin Morgan who showed he required mixture of caution with flair strokes who was undefeated on 67, having struck 4.4,6 off the first three balls of the penultimate over to secure the win. It is becoming a great weekend of sport. By one of those coincidences of fate I had been thinking about the summer of cricket to come while reflecting on the cricket summer of 2008, transferring Myspace Blogs written in June of that year to Google.

The other major event of the weekend was the 25th anniversary live edition and finale to Who killed Archie Mitchell last Christmas. There have been 10 story lines covering possible murderers. There was one of his daughters(1) who in the live episode last night confessed that he had raped her when an adolescent. There was Peggy Mitchell(2)l his wife who he had bullied, and driven out of the Queen Vic and her son Phil (3)who had persuaded his girlfriend to give him an alibi and to get rid of a blood stained shirt. There was Archie’s most recent conquest Janine Butcher(4) and has a history a nasty, vindicate young woman, capable of murder and lying. When Archie throws her out after gaining control of the Old Vic with her help. She is one of the obvious suspects. Her boyfriend is another(5). Ian Beale(6), the longest cast member being in the first programme, and approaching 3000 performances. He slept with Janine and was blackmailed by Archie and as with Phil entered the pub on the fatal night to steal a lap top. The third person to be in the pub, who came to blows was Bradley Branning(7) the lover of bipolar Stacey Slater(8) who Archie had also raped and who she believed was the father of the baby she is carrying. The couple chose to have a quiet wedding on the same day as the wedding of Rickie Butcher and Bianca Jackson for the second time in their young lives Bradley‘s, father(9), and his uncle, a police detective(10), and Stacey herself are all other suspects.

There was a small circle of programme makers who had kept the secret for more than a year and even the cast did not know until the closing minutes of the live show, when Stacey was asked to reveal the truth in the closing moments after her husband has fallen to his death from the roof tops when chased by the police, calling out her name.

This is not the occasion to review the past 25 years of the programme and which I have watched almost continuously for years at a time, but not over recent years. The Who killed Archie series was over drawn out and over the top, although the umbrella description of soap opera is appropriate given the implausibility of most opera stories. I was pleased to learn that Alfie Moon, played by former pop star Shane Ritchie and his wife Kat played by Jessica Wallace. There was also a performance of Dennis Watts the original publican with his wife Angie.

I am expecting much from the last series of Lost based on what the programme makers have promised and what they have achieved so far. I had not anticipated the two dimensional opening of the double first programme of the new and last series which opened last week. I am impressed with how the approach was continued in the second week, third episode of the last series this week. I forgot that there is a new episode night of Friday at 9 am and had a preferred programme on Saturday night so watched on Sky Player around midnight

In the first dimension the plane does not crash and Jack’s belief that detonation of the thermo nuclear device when he and Kate, Hurley and Sayid and Sun returned to the Island with Ben and Locke in his coffin, would achieved this, is proved correct. My informed guess is that all the main characters would interact after their return to the USA, was also proved right so far. In the second episode the primary focus commenced with Kate.

Last week Kate returned on the plane with her minder, who in the original crash is killed. In the continuing plane journey without the Island Kate manages to escape while going to the toilet and with one handcuff around a wrist she manages to get out of the airport with his handgun and jumps into a taxi in which 36 week pregnant Clare is going off to see the couple who were adopting her baby and who had arranged to meet her at the airport. The cab driver bails out at the first opportunity and Kate drives on to a point where she leaves Clare at a bus stop taking her money and possessions with her. Kate uses the available cash to bribe a back street auto repair yard to free her from the tell tale handcuffs, after which then examines Clare’s possessions, realises that she is pregnant and that bag contains preparations for the birth. Guiltily she returns to where she dumped Clare and finds her still there and agrees to take her to the house of the couple adopting the baby and agrees to go with her into the house only to find that the husband has left and his wife is no longer wanting to go ahead with the deal.

Clare goes into premature labour at 36 weeks and Kate takes her to hospital where Clare decides that the doctors should attempt to slow down and stop a birth taking place although it would be possible for labour to proceed given the length of the pregnancy to date. While Kate is in an adjacent office, the police arrive to question Clare having tracked down that wanted Kate was with her, but go off accepting the story given by Clare without much ado, which was the only dubious aspect of this episode. Kate and Clare have become bonded and it is evident that the relationship is to continue.

In the alternative or parallel dimension Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, and Jin have been captured by the Temple dwellers with the dying Sayid after he has been shot. The effect of the thermo nuclear devices, has been to time shift their presence of the island to the present day. Although Judith initially survived the bomb blast she dies from the wounds received when she fell down the drilling shaft, and Sawyer’s rivalry with Jack turns to hatred. When the opportunity occurs for Sawyer to escape from the stronghold of the Temple dwellers he is soon followed by Kate and Jin. Jin goes off in search of Sun while Kate follows Sawyer to the DHARMA Initiative accommodation compound and to the bungalow where he lived with Judith. She then follows him to the landing stage where Sawyer admits he blames himself for Judith’s death because he persuaded her not to leave the Island on the submarine when she had the opportunity.

Back at the Temple the leader of the dwellers insists on seeing Sayid on his own and appears to be torturing him with electrodes and then placing a hot poker on the heals wound of the gunshot. An assistant says he has passed the test and then admits afterwards that he has not. The Temple leader then gives Jack a capsule to give to Sayid. Sayid is willing to take this if Jack asks him to and then Jack presses for information about the capsule and the leader explains that it was a poison in an attempt to cleanse Sayid because he had become infected, like Clare

Jin, who went off to find Sun and decides to return to Temple but runs into two of the guards one of whom does not believe his story and decides to kill him when he gets caught in an animal trap trying to escape a second time. However the two guards are then shot by someone unknown who transpire to be Clare.

Thus we have progress in the stories Kate and Clare but the two are not the subject of the third episode, views this Friday and where the focus is on Locke, in his three dimensions, having returned home, dead in the coffin, back on the island, and as the Smoke Monster, having shaped shifted into his body form.

Off the plane, the electrics fail on his wheel chair as he exits his specialist vehicle when he reaches home where he lives with the woman he met at the therapy sessions, and he is shortly marry and has been planning the event. Locke took official leave to attend an important business conference in Australia, but instead attempted to go on a ‘I can do it’ outback adventure which he was refused participation because of being committed to a wheel chair.

His deception is found out on returning to the office and his refusal to explain his actions leads to him being fired, added to which he cannot get onto his vehicle because someone had badly parked. This turns out to be Hugo, a confident Hugo no longer believing he is the Jinx lottery winner and who owns the company and tells him to contact someone who will get him a job within the Hurley expanding business empire. The contact appears to be a human resource agency who helps Locke to accept that he is not going to be able to return to being the site foreman on a construction site. He is then seen as an agency supply teacher at a High school, taking basketball training and a class on reproduction biology. The idea that one can switch into such a post seems ludicrous, although it might be possible in the USA. He takes the position after admitting his reception over the conference to his wife to be, and his realization of having to adjust. The supervisor at the human resources unit is none other than Rose Henderson, one of the supporting travellers on the original flight with six months to live and has gone on the holiday visit with her husband, a dentist and who were seen in passing returning home on the continuing flight.

Back on the Island the island the story continues from the point where the Smoke monster in the form of Locke had killed Jacob, and then puts Jacob’s former sidekick Richard, over his shoulder with him, leaving a bemused Ben behind. The leadership of the remaining group who crashed on the adjacent Island include Sun Kwon and the pilot who was to have originally flown the plane from Australia, is taken by Llana, someone who only appeared later in the series but where this episode is to reveal that she is to have a major role in the rest of the series.

Llana is a bounty hunter employed by the family of an employee of Charles Widmore who has been killed by Sayid. It is Llana who captures Sayid an puts him on the second flight to the Island and it is she who raises questions about Locke and now insists that they journey to the Temple, where she confidently tells Sun she will learn about Jin. They bury Locke before departing, and in the makeshift service Ben admits that he killed Locke. Was Llana who has knocked out Richard for failing to answer her questions.

As they journey across the Island, it is not clear why the Monster in the form of Locke is carrying Richard away from the encampment of the survivors of the second plane crash. When he stops and Richard recovers, Richard takes the opportunity to leave despite Locke explaining that eh is taking him to where he will be able to find out what the Island is all about, something which he admits was never discovered by Jacob. He advised, more a warning that he will soon see him again. Locke then reaches the former DHARMA accommodation compound where he persuades Sawyer to accompany him to learn the answers to his questions. He agrees, drowning his sorrows in whisky. On the way he see a young boy who warns Locke not to kill Sawyer and thus we learn that there are other powerful forces on the island. Locke is impressed that Sawyer can see the boy. They reach the top of a tall and steep Cliffside over which there is a vertical makeshift ladder in three sections down to a cave. Sawyer nearly falls as one section of the ladder collapses. In the cave the Locke monster shows sawyer the ceiling on which there are the names of passengers of the original flight and presumably others who have featured in the series. Locke, now described as the man in Black crosses out the name of Locke. Each name has been allocated a number and we are shown five names which have not been crossed out: Hugo Hurley Reyes, James Sawyer Ford, Sayid Farrah, Dr Jack Shepherd and Kworn covering Sun and Jin. It is significant that these five names together with Locke have the numbers of 4,8,15,16, 23 and 42, the same numbers of Hurley’s lottery win and the number on the entrance to first DHARMA underground centre which was discovered during the first season. Of particular note there is no reference to Kate.

1880 Inglorious Basterds, British Islands and a mislaid phone

What a day Wednesday 17th February 2010 has been so far. I stayed up last night watching on Sky Box Office having invested the princely sum of £3.99 for the privilege, Inglorious Basterds, the latest Quentin Tarantino film, and had intended to write about the experience, completed the notes on Martin Clunes visit to a handful of the 1000 islands which surrounds the British main island, and completed the boxing and display shelving reorganisation of completed sets, together with identifying the 50 to 75 incomplete volumes of work in hand into some order for action.

Having switched on the computer and checked my mail in box the screen stuck momentarily then went to Luxor Majong which was not my intention, but where I had reached the last stages of the game for the fifth time in succession, and although having lost a couple of lives, I did not anticipate overtaking the highest score to-date, I hoped to get close to indicate the improvement in visual acuity and prolonged attention which I have sharpened as a consequence of the game and my work activities in general.

It will be evident that the intelligent and worthwhile thing to have done is to have closed the game and continue with planned activity, however the interaction with my existing operative system and programmes is that it continues to run in the background but without my usual ability to reopen until I restart the computer which takes time. Before playing the game therefore I decided to make my I am alive daily text but could not find the phone. Given that I had made the call yesterday morning and had not been out of the house it should have been a simple task to locate the phone which is usually on the desk, which admittedly had become cluttered, being charged behind me on top of some lever arch files with sets in the making, and sometimes falls between, or at the back of them, or is one of my outside coat pockets.

It was not at these places, and I would have sworn an oath before a magistrate or judge to this effect. I then made a quick search of everywhere I had been in the house the previous day. I then made a quick search of everywhere I had been the house the previous day, which included two rooms on the second floor, three rooms of the first, the bathroom off the landing as well as the areas of landings themselves, together with all four rooms on the ground floor as well as the hallway. No it could not be found, so much for improved visual acuity but a lot of dust and need to tidy was evident.

I spent a good hour on this task, used the land line to make the call and completed the Luxor Majong, reaching 16 million points for the second time only, made a chicken salad lunch which I did not enjoy, while watching the tale end of bargain hunt and then found the phone on the cleared desk under my nose. I did not consider the stupidity a complete waste, but they did changed from that planned. Freedom is the ability to change plans at a moment’s notice.

I made a note to buy a second inexpensive phone to cover for this periodic event and completed the boxing and sorting on the second floor for the day, having almost completed this phase of the task overall before moving onto completing the fifty to seventy or so albums and files of work in hand. A cup of coffee and a few liquorice twists and I was set to begin writing or was I?

It is now 2.20pm and I feel tired but will press on if I can. I remind myself that I can change my mind and decide to finish the sorting in hand papers in this room, and check the TV watching over for the rest of the day after perhaps forty winks on the settee. Quentin Tarantino and Martin Clunes can wait.

It is six pm afternoon after a relaxed afternoon with some working followed by a High Tea of chicken drumsticks, a diet coke and a mix of green and red grapes. I did not enjoy the meal as much as I have in the past.

I am still not sure what to make of Inglorious Basterds a violent fiction film about the second World War. I begin with the story.

SS Colonel Hans Lander, brilliantly portrayed by Christoph Waltz, has been assigned to located known missing Jews and calls upon a farmer and his three teenage daughters previously investigated by the local forces because of rumour he was hiding one of the four known Jewish families in the areas. The man exudes charm and Bonhomie and also shows his a clever and cunning persistence. He slowly forces the farmer to identify where the family is hiding below the wooden floors of the house in exchange for the lives of his daughters. One of the daughters of the Jewish family escapes and although she is seen fleeing across the field Landa allows her to escape.

Somewhere else a group of ruthless Americans, headed by Brad Pitt, have assembled to kill Nazi’s behind German lines after the allied invasion is met with resistance. Pitt wants each member of the group to acquire 100 scalps, literally, He also marks all the victims with a Swastika on cut out in the forehead.

In Paris, three years after the murdering of her family, the daughter who escaped, Shosanna, is the owner of small cinema in Paris which she runs with her partner who is a negro. She is pursued by a young German private who is holidaying in Paris after becoming a hero of the Third Reich, a sharp shooter who manages to kill some 300 American soldiers before they give up and bypass the town he is defending.
Dr Goebbels, Minister of propaganda, has made a film of the event with the private playing himself the her. The film was to have had a premier in the main cinema in Paris attended by the Nazi Top brass but at the suggestion of the private, Goebbels is persuaded for the event to take place at the cinema run by the disguised Jewess.

One of several farcical aspects of the film is that there are two plots to destroy the Nazis attending. The first is by the Jewess owner whose partner is to lock the auditorium when the visitors are inside and also ignite all the available highly inflammable nitrate piled high film behind the screen at the point when an addition to the film is interposed in which the Jewess proclaims who she is and what is to happen.

Back in London Churchill agrees to a plan for a German speaking Englishman to attend the premier with assistants to blow up the cinema with dynamite. The assistants will include Brad Pitt and some of his group and they will gain entry via one of Germany’s leading film actresses who is working for the Allies.

For one of the many improbable moments in the film they meet in cellar bar where there is much drinking of snaps by a group of soldiers and their friends who are celebrating the birth of the child of one of their number. The internationally known actress has joined them and is playing a parlour game. She leaves them to join the English agent and two of Pitt’s German speaking assistants who are to enter the cinema with her. She is asked by the celebrating soldier for an autograph which she gives but the young man is drunk and keeps pressing his attention so that the English agent demands that he leaves in an accent which arouses suspicion of the soldier and a member of the SS also in the bar. His explanation of living on a mountain village with a unique accent and being the escort of the actress is accepted until he signals for three more drinks raising his fingers the English rather than the German way. There is a standoff as the two men and others brandish weapons followed by a fire fight in which everyone in the bar is killed with the exception of the actress who is wounded in the leg. She is rescued by Brad Pitt who at first is suspicious that she has survived but convinced he arranges for the coup to continue, especially after the news that Hitler has also decided to attend.

Unfortunately they do not take account of Landa who is given the job of providing security for the event and his investigation of the scene in the bar yields not only one shoe of the actress but also the autograph. However his approach is to allow the action to continue although it is evident that he knows what is going on when speaking in fluent Italian to Pitt whose knows a few words in an atrocious accent. He demands to see the actress privately, and strangles her after revealing why he knows she is an agent. He arrests Pitt and they leave the theatre with his two assistants still in place with high explosives strapped to their bodies,

He explains to Pitt that he knows the war is lost and will agree to the bomb plot continuing if he can secure American Citizenship, wealth and position in the United States. This is negotiated via a radio with London. Meanwhile the boyfriend of the cinema owner has secured the entrances to the auditorium and is about to set fire to the film behind the screen waiting for the moment when the owner tells the audience on screen they are to die. Unfortunately she cannot make her escape after switching the reels because the film star enters and demands her favours because of the honour he has done her by arranging the Premier at her theatre. In an exchange of gun fire, both die. Meanwhile in the Theatre, Hitler, Goebbels and Goring are enjoying the spectacle of the private systematically killing the American soldiers accompanied by a cheering audience. By brilliant timing the remaining two bomb plotters have left the main auditorium, disarmed the two guards outside Hitler’s Box just as the screen ignites into flames. After killing Hitler’s and his companions the open fire on the retreating no where audience and then the cinema explodes. Landa then drives Pitt to the advancing allied lives and surrenders to him. Pitt who is committed to the deal, nevertheless carves a Swastika into the forehead of Landa.

The film has been ten years in the making with a number of different scripts starting out on a Good, the Bad and the Ugly film noir take on the ending of World War II and hen developed into the Dirty Dozen type of thing. He had completed writing without settling on an ending by 2002 when he learnt that a number of other WW2 were in the making, The film has many guest appearances including Mike Myers of Shrek and Austin Powers fame, and some sixty on line critics heap praise on Tarantino, so again I ask the question what is really all about/ Making money folks, nothing less, nothing more. The young kids who play computer war games will love it. What German cinema audience have, is another question.

Martin Clunes is a likeable middle aged comedy actor who retains boyishness. He came to attention as one of a duo of pathetic characters in Men Behaving Badly, and then in 2004 with Doc Martin as a county Doctor based on fishing village in Cornwall also a programme which never appealed to me. I was interested to see what he did with the opportunity to visit a selection of the reputed1000 islands mostly uninhabited, around the UK. While there continues to be aspects of his personality which I continue to react negatively, the three hour long programmes are interesting and do provide an answer to the question is life on a small island different to that on the main island of England, Scotland and Wales, three countries with their cultural and historical differences as well as the significant variations within each nation, so that the cities, especially London have become unrecognisable and cultural distinct from those of my childhood and youth.

Bruce Springsteen Live In New York : My Love will not let you down; Prove it all night. Two Hearts; Atlantic City; Mansion on the Hill; and The River.

What emerged from the three programmes is that continuous living does require individuals who are hardy, self reliant and can live without the requirement most of us depend on, easy transport, access to a supermarket and entertainment activities from cinema and theatre, to international and fast food restaurants and spectator sports, as well as Television, the Internet and electricity and running water.

In the first programme Martin commenced with the Northernmost part of the UK, the Outer Hebrides, and the lighthouse Rock of Muggle Flugga, no longer manned and with a heady and dangerous vertical 360 steps with unkempt and dangerous handrails. For someone who has a problem with heights, he bravely struggled to reach the top to start the programme.

He then visited the northernmost populated island of Unst which has more in common with Scandinavia than the British main island and were he met the elected Chief Viking and his family. There are the remains of thirty long ships on the island which was under Norwegian control for 600 years thereafter. I may have confused this island with another where the emphasis is on a strongly religious community which until recently had padlocked the children’s playgrounds on Sundays.

He also dropped in on the eccentric southern Englishman from Bromley who has bought a lump of rock the size of a football field and declared independence from the British and Scottish governments the grounds that there is no evidence of the UK or Scotland having been granted sovereignty. You are required to have your passport stamped before setting down on Forvik unless you purchase land or become a full citizen with the price recently educed form £200 to £20. The Island is officially known as Forewick Holm and comprises 3,5 acres or 10000 square metres and is in disputed ownership between the eccentric sailor Stuart Hill who lives in Cunningsburgh in the South of the main Shetland Island and Mark King of Papa Stour. Stuart Hill is known as the former village blacksmith in village in Suffolk for 20 years before trying to sail round the UK in a 15 foot dingy and having to be rescued with 5 separate Life Boat launches and 2 Helicopters at public expense. He has a primitive construction on the island and which in addition to citizenship he is attempting sell small plots at he sea shore entitling owners to have sea access. His main aim is to establish independence for the Shetland whose local administration is therefore kindly towards him

Bruce Springsteen Live in New York: Youngstown; Badlands; Out in the Street; Born to Run; Tenth Avenue Freeze out, Land of Hope and Dreams. Switch to Music player and Jungleland, Born in the USA, Don’t look back.

The main interest of the second programme is the Isle of Man with a population of 80000 has an independent Parliament of 24 with a full range of Ministers and judiciary and local government, its own currency and low tax economy with no inheritance tax, corporation tax, except banks at 10%, stamp duty or capital gains and income tax at 18% together with a ceiling on the maximum which any individual or capital can pay. There are not members of the EEC and have no speed limit on some roads. As with Jersey it is a place which attracts rich tax avoiders.

The other visit which appealed was to the Piel island at one end of Morecombe Bay off Barrow in Furness. It is half a mile offshore and can be reached across the sand at low tide similar to Holy Island here in the North East Coast. It only has one building a pub, restaurant, now owned by the local council and who held a competition to become the new landlord which includes the ancient right to be crowned kind and his daughters to be known as princess and have the right to self style themselves including their bank accounts. The successful couple had visited the island since childhood family outing visits. The 50 acre island is in the shadow of the eight largest inhabited Island in the UK and bird sanctuary of with a population of 13000 in its 13 square kilometres and connected to the mainland by a road bridge since 1908.

For the third programme I thought Martin was visiting the Isle of Wight but this turned out to be Guernsey of the Channel Islands which also has semi independent status followed by Sark with is feudal leadership of some 80 families and where the only motor vehicles are licensed tractors. Interest on Guernsey centred on a multi millionaire who commuters to the city by his private jet at a cost of £2000 a day.

At least Martin did to one Island I have visited, St Mary’s of the Scilly Island. I have observed another closely, St Michael’s Mount in Mounts Bay Cornwall a quarter of a mile off shore by a low tide causeway and with a castle and a small village of employees on this privately owned island in association with the National Trust. The Scilly Islands cover 5 square miles at southern tip of the British Isle with five of the 140 inhabited, mostly rock falls. The journey by ferryboat takes several hours from Penzance and the wealthier residents some 1600 on the main island use planes or helicopters. I anticipate this is the first of a further series depending on what was the original viewing figures. In addition to avoiding the Isle of Wight there was no Caldy in Wales, Skye in Scotland, Sheppey on the south east coast or Holy Island here in the North East.


From My space music player Bruce Springsteen live in New York Land of Hope and Dreams, Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, Badlands, the River, Atlantic City, Prove it all night and out on the Street, Youngstown. Mansion on the City, Atlantic City.

1879 Three fantasy adventures: Babylon 5, Thunder point and Codename Wild Geese

It is Monday 16th February and again I had an interrupted night going to bed at 12.30, sleeping for no more than an hour and waking restless, getting up, writing, playing games on the computer until 4 am before returning to bed and a good sleep until 8,30, getting up to put out the rubbish wheelie bin and the environmental box piled high with empty cans of vegetables and Pepsi cola, returning to bed for a good hour. I have had some cereal and will have a coffee soon. 11 am approaches after playing a long round of 1 million points Luxor Majong to reach 11 million points.

Writing up the first three episodes of the 4th season of Babylon 5 I realised that they make a good introduction piece as both Commander Sheridan and Security Chief Garibaldi return from the dead. I know the feelings associated with such a situation only too well

As previously written at the end of the first episode of the fourth season The Hour of the Wolf 401 we learn that Sheridan has survived somewhere deep inside the planet Z’ha’dum, used by the Shadows as their home planet and where he has lit a fire and is confronted by an old man who asks to share the fire and has a devil like appearance! Because, rather than in spite of, the retreat of the Shadow craft from around the space station, the other worlds and races start to relax and allow their warcraft to return home thus preventing Ivanova and Delenn leading an all out attack on the now vulnerable Z’ha’dum after the reported Thermo nuclear explosion.

In his message to Delenn, before departing for the planet, Sheridan explains that in his flip to the future when engaging with Babylon 4, he had been warned by Delenn not to go to Z’ha’dum, as he has also been by Ambassador Kosh, but he suspects the reason for being able to foresee the future is to have the opportunity to try and change it. While confirming his love for Delenn who had became understandably anxious about the arrival of his wife, he adds that he has a duty to try and change what happens and avoid the destruction of Centauri Prime, also witnessed during his time travelling, and of other worlds and their people if he can.

Delenn and deputy Ivanova who is now operational head of the independent space station, together with telepath Lyta who comes to see the replacement of Kosh and who is then asked to stand down, decide to go on a mission to Z’ha’dum in the White Star to find out what happened to Sheridan having received accurate information that there was a thermo nuclear explosion on the planet and that two of the bombs brought to protect the base by G’Kar are missing. Above the planet they become mesmerised by a force from below but fortunately clever Lennier has applied a fail safe device which if he fails to button press, the ship his jump gate moved away and this is what happens thus linking with Lost.

Londo Mollari has been recalled home to become an adviser to the new Emperor who he quickly finds out has become more vain and psychopathically mad than he remembers of him, believing that he is destined to become a God even if this means his planet and half the universe are killed and destroyed at the behest of the Shadows. Mollari then learns that the Emperor has agreed to a request from the Shadows to make the planet their home and they arrive in force, Mollari summons Vir to return home to help him kill the Emperor. Vir is reluctant.

During a period when the remaining members of the Babylon 5 War council are in mourning over the loss of Sheridan, Lyta visits Ivanova and Ivanova asks Have you ever heard of the Hour of the Wolf ? “My father told me about it. It’s the time between 3.00 and 4.00 in the morning. You can’t sleep, and all you can see is the troubles and problems and the way your life should have gone, but didn’t. All you can hear is the sound of your own heart. I’ve been living in the hour of the wolf for seven days, Lyta, seven days. The wolf and I are now on a first name basis. In times like this my father used to take one large glass of Vodka before bed. To keep the wolf away, he said. And then he would take three very small drinks of vodka, Just in case she had cubs while she was waiting outside. It does not work.”

For me the Hour of the Wolf in the terms stated by Ivanova remains an important aspect of my life which I welcome as it reminds of who I have been so that I can write effectively about the previous experience of my life for public and private interest. I use whisky, not to fend off the wolf but occasionally to fend off the cold, cold of the head and cold of the environment. Some years I invest in a bottle of single malt. This is for pleasure. This remind of one of the great songs of Billy Holiday, Set em up Joe, its three o’clock in the morning. For me the Hour of the Wolf can happen at any time. The night is creative time when the unconscious filters into the semi conscious of waking and where as a child I was terrified but since early adulthood I have slowly learnt to make the beast into a pet.

In the Search for Garibaldi (402) G’Kar comes across evidence of the Starfury which Garibaldi used when he joined the fighters defending the space station from the expected second Shadow attack. G’Kar investigates and is helped out in a fight by Marcus and they discuss their motives before Marcus gains more information, and G’Kar insists on investigating further alone. Marcus reluctantly agrees. Before he can leave, G’Kar is captured by those who recognise who he is and return him as a prisoner to Centauri Prime for the bounty.

Delenn has been undertaking a fast purification ceremony as part of her mourning for the loss of Sheridan, and Franklin, of all people, warns her of the course she is taking, given that she has become more human than Minbari and needs energy for the fight ahead. His words have influence.

Londo talks with the captured G’Kar and explains to him how he will die at the hands of the Emperor in a long torturing death but offers him a way out if he helps him to get rid of President. G’Kar agrees on the understanding that his people will be free from Centauri rule. London agrees to this. London appears genuinely concerned at the plight of G’Kar

Commander Sheridan has talked with his companion, Lorien, trying to work where he is, alive or dead or as the old man suggests in between. The old man then discloses that he is not just one of the Old One‘s but the original One and says that Sheridan has a piece of a Vorlon, Kosh, inside him. He explains that Vorlons can break off pieces of their consciences and put these into other organisms. He tells Sheridan that he needs to stop questioning, being afraid of death and uncertain of his role and just being and that is the way out an forward. He then emphasises that dying for something is easier that living for something and Sheridan completes the jump into the void calling our for Delenn. He is that seen at the feet of the old man, presumed dead, but is he?

In the third episode The Summoning (403) there are partial answers to the what happened to Sheridan and to Garibaldi, as Ivanova and Delenn organise their remaining forces for an all out attack on Z’ah’dum, against the mounting concern of the other planetary systems.

G’Kar is tortured twice to the point of death because he will not scream out in pain and Londo persuades him to do so otherwise he be killed and his developing plans to use G’Kar to help kill the President will fail. Londo is whipped by an electronic whip of increasing intensity where no one survives forty lashes. Londo reaches 39 before he cries out and the President satisfied honours his agreement to give G’Kar to London for his previous good works. The reluctant Vir, pleading that their must be another way to rid the country of the President, now agrees with London that he must be assassinated.

The deputy security chief follows up news of the whereabouts of Garibaldi’s craft and he attacks the freighter on which it has been located which unexpectedly blows up after a life pod breaks free. This contains the body of Garibaldi which appears to be brought to life just when it is retrieved by the Space Station recovery team. There is the implication that something has happened to Garibaldi who back on the station is unaware that he has been missing for two weeks, that Sheridan is missing presumed dead and the alliance has broken up with the departure of the Shadows from outside the station.

Ivanova has been giving herself a good talking to and learning Minbari. Delenn and Marcus hide their amusement at her incomprehensible efforts and she agrees to Marcus accompanying her on a mission to investigate what appears to be report of one of the First Ones is on the move. During their expedition they discover a time right in which thousands of Shadow craft have assembled.

At the space station Lyta is asked by Delenn to try and find out from Kosh’s replacement what the Vorlons are up to. Lyta is reluctant because her connection with the Vorlon has become Sadomasochistic and at one point he appears to have killed her for complaining about his behaviour and attempting to read his mind. She informs Delenn that it is they have become expendable in the battle between the Vorlons and the Shadows. Ivanova returns from her expedition to find there is a secret open gathering of protect against the proposed attack on Z’ah’dum led by two Ambassadors from the non aligned worlds. Just as it looks as if they have won, Sheridan appears with Lorien from a mystery craft which has over ridden normal entry procedures and driven straight into a landing bay. Sheridan is able to change opinion proving that those who believe Z’ha’dum is invincible and a planet from which no outsider returns is wrong. He gives a stirring speech about uniting to rid the universe of the Shadows for the sake of the people and their children’s children.

It is confirmed that the Shadows have abandoned their previous commitment to protect the younger worlds from the Shadows and that as a consequence of all out war between the two ancient races a whole planet of three million beings has been disintegrated with echoes of the Hitchhikers Guide and the obliteration of earth to create a new space highway.

I watched had an odd novel and film concept in which in the final days of the Third Reich, Hitler entrusted to his aide Martin Borman with a case in which it is suggested were documents which would ensure Hitler’s plan would be continued after his death The film, Thunder Point is based on a novel in the Sean Dillon series by Jack Higgins in 1993. The novel suggests that Borman had indeed left Germany but the U Boat in which he travelled had been sunk in the West Indies. A former British intelligence officer has maintained a search for the missing documents which were said to have implicated the former King and Duke of Windsor in the plan and when the document was discovered and brought to British intelligence in the UK he is killed in a faked accident.

There have been several novels and films of this genre, treasure hunters for sunken vessels, usually in the Caribbean so the locations can be picturesque, and the women beautiful and flaunting their assets. The men appear to have considerable means, often an expensive boat, and hiring private planes to over view an area is also no problem. In this instance the man has accumulated a huge debt from his bank and is danger of losing his isolated forest and lake Canadian home because he plans to sell the case to the British government for £1 million in order to hide the fact that the former King who became the Duke of Windsor was implicated in the Nazi ideology and the great plan to conquer and then rule the world

Unfortunately the British intelligence official is in fact a secret member of a Nazi organisation. This is not so preposterous as other aspects of the film given the extent to which the Communists were able to recruit a number of British agents into being double spies over a long period. It is has always struck me that with the capitalist establishment anti communist rather than fascist, the possibility of extreme ring wing sleepers going undetected was there with support for South Africa the obvious example. In the USA there was the support for various fascist states, notably for the Afghanistan, so called freedom fighters against the Russians.

The British double agent hires, an expendable former IRA operative who he rescues from execution for his freelancing activities in the Balkans, to find the case which is now missing and where it is thought the dead man’s ward will know its whereabouts. This is one of a number of incredulity widening aspects because the hired man is then hunted by other Nazi organisation employed operatives when he attaches himself to the ward who is hostile to all aspects of the situation and the kind of life led by the former IRA man but she is drawn to him and relies on his protection when several attempts are made to force her to reveal the whereabouts of the case, something which she does not know.

here is situation upon situation of implausibility with deaths and much physical violence before the case is located and then lost to the Nazi organisation. Her adopted father has given her a letter in the event of his death and contain a clue to the whereabouts of the case. Unfortunately he has left another cryptic message in her locket which she has placed on top of the coffin at the burial. In the locket the message refers of a relative, a nun who died previously and is buried in a vault at the convent. The man had visited he convent, gained access to the convent vaults and prized open the stone which means her name and closed again without attracting the curiosity of the sisterhood and similarly the ward and her new protector are able to do this!
In the last part of the film the papers are burned after they have been faxed to the last survivor of Hitler’s contemporary aides who inhabits Washington suggesting a sequel. The ward is killed but the IRA man lives to fight other adventures.

The whereabouts of Martin Borman was known for several decades after the War and there was much speculation and alleged sighting as well as claims as when and where he had died. DNA tests involving relative does appear to have laid this mystery to rest although given the extent to which individuals are relocated for the cooperation with governments, and the extent to which others of their ilk have been able to secretly survive, nothing can be certain.

The action takes place in the West Indies, in London and in Canada where the former security man was based. The Winter Olympic Games are being held in Canada for the second occasion but I have failed to become interested so far.

An even worse film about mercenaries is Codename Wild Geese. The similarity between aspects of the two films is remarkable. The men are hired to destroy a shipment of drugs belonging to a ruthless Thailand drug General within his stronghold defended by an army described as rapists and murderers. The pit of the get away helicopter is released from prison two years early because he is the best in the business but unfortunately although the raid is moderately successful with only a few loses, one of the group is a double agent and sabotages the helicopter so they have to make their way home on foot. They come across a mission within the ruins of a church reminding of various Mexican bandit films, the Magnificent Seven rather than the Dirty Dozen in which the priest hides white girl reporter take hostage for random and a wounded and dying mercenary, while they go off to blow up train as it slows down to cross a bridge (over River Kwai style) on its way to collect another drug horde from a second storage compound. After the success but further loss of life the reduced group return to the mission to find everyone killed except the priest crucified and dying and the girl hidden away with the body of the dead comrade. This fuels their resolve to destroy the second compounds but before they can achieve this objective they discover that their link man is in fact a baddie and in the pay of the man who hired them with the full knowledge the British and USA authorities. Basically the man operated the second compound in competition and delighted at the removal of their revival they are horrified to learn the decision to proceed to their accumulated supply and set out to stop the remaining members of the group which are reduced to the leader, the girl and the pilot. They find a small helicopter which has a kind of flame throwing device which is used to destroy the compound and the remaining guards as well as the operational baddie. The hero returns to kill the man who employed him and the British and Americans official unofficial coordinators congratulate on a job which worked out far better than expected and the group leader and pilot got off to fight another box office adventure. There was one moment in the film when the project administrator at the training camp causes the wrath of some of those involved by checking on the next of kin to receive the £30000 payment in the event of their deaths. The irony is that the money had come from drug trafficking.

1393 Lots of TV after filling tax forms

08.30 Good start to the day and work on writing until 10 am and then some communications and upload and print Blog. Decide to watch Dr Who from Saturday and then attempt to complete income tax return. Weather is wet and grey. The Dr Who engaged and was not a programme suitable for children as the threat could not be seen, dissolving all human flesh in an instant. Moreover there was no resolution with the episode, one of two leaving Catherine Tate transformed by a well meaning young girl into a speaking communication's terminal with her automaton face encased. Because of the quality of the acting and production the sinister and horror aspect was more effective than many of specialist horror moves which teenagers and young people, and some not so go to see for a safe thrill at weekend.

I had a cook lunch such was the effect of the weather and where artificial light was required as the skies darkened. I spent the first part of the afternoon working out the changes to the new Local Government Pension scheme which came into effect in April of this year. The entitlement of those already in the scheme do not change in relation to service before April but after that date and for new entrants the new system applies Under the old scheme they would have got a annual pension of £20000 40/80th which would increase by a nationally agreed figure subsequently if their final salary was £40000 a year, and a once only lump sum of 3 times the initial pension ie £60000. For someone entering the scheme now and working for 40 years they would get a pension of 40/60th that is two thirds which if their final salary was £60000 a pension of £40000 instead of £30000 under the existing scheme but no lump sum. This means they would have receive the pension for over 10 years to have an improved position. The position for those in the already in the scheme means that for someone with 20 years service before April who retires on a final wage of £40000 they get a first part pension of £10000 and a lump sum of £30000 and then for the second period of 20 years of service they will get a pension of £13333 but no additional lump sum.

The price being paid for the changes is a sliding scale of superannuation payments and perhaps the most significant the raising of the earliest age when benefits can be taken from 50 to 55 and instead of the local authority adding years of benefit the employee gives up some benefit f they wish to retire early. Whereas the previous retirement age was 60 females and 65 men is now jointly 65 and moreover the benefits can be postponed until 75 and for each year of delay similar to the state pension the pension is increased. For the first time a same sex partner in a civil partnership can be nominated to receive benefits and their are improvements for part time workers and in death benefit for those who die in service. Believing I had grasped what they changes were all about it was time to sort out income tax for the last financial year and my coding for the present year,

I have spent two and half hours attempting to fill my income return for 2007 2008. I continued where I had previously left off with being unable to enter information about my occupational pension in one of the boxes so I telephoned the local office for assistance as advised on the online contact system and this was helpful and provided the opportunity also advised about my tax coding position where the notice for the current year included a project income about 25% more than will be the situation. I had first queried this when the notice arrived but was told to await receipt of the information about the optional pension, Whether this will affect allowances and therefore reduce the tax due I suspect not. However when I proceeded with filling in the form I reached another circular situation which told me that the only way I could an answer was use the delete button except there was no delete button. When I put in a nominal amount of £1 to make progress although I was told the form contained no errors I was then given a schedule of payment required as if I was self employed and not part of the PAYE system and where the amounts related to national insurance contributions and student fees which would be laughable were it not for the waste of time and mounting frustration. I therefore decided to put up the white flag contacted the local officer and asked for a paper return and was immediately arranged without question. I suspect I am not the first to make such a request, or the last. It continues to rain, sometimes it is a heavy which does not omen well for tomorrow's cricket. Time for some tea and perhaps a catch up of more TV with a new Inspector Lynley mystery.

Having eaten well at midday I restricted this evening to a sandwich and a banana with custard. I watched a familiar Pie in the Sky with Richard Griffiths the restaurateur and detective of a rotund frame who provides a picnic lunch for the top police brass on a country shoot of wildlife. The programme was enjoyed as was the 101st showing of the Stones in the Park the 1969 concert where for once the Police revised the crowd estimates upwards from a quarter to a half a million. Sandwiched between these programmes was an arts feature on the creature of the Muslim Art gallery at the Victoria and Albert museum. Inspector Lynley waited in the wings as the weather improved with the promise of a dry day tomorrow before more rain for the rest of the week. I needed to do some more work today if I could rouse myself.

In some respects I wish I had decided not to view the Inspector Lynley which became progressively more horrific s the 90 programme development. The basic storyline was bad enough, the adduction and rape of two teenage girls, the death of one, and the likely death of the second if she was not found, because as a diabetic she had been without her insulin injections. Over the first hour the team led by Lynley find and save the girl and persuade the wife of the killer and rapist to testify against the husband for a lenient treatment on the basis that she acted under the control and terrorism of her husband. However Lynley is not convinced and as a consequence of further investigation is able to prove that the wife was an equal partner in the abduction of the girls and had an active involvement with the murder of the first girl and in the earlier murder of a cousin, and that all three crimes had been videoed. The psychology of both killers and their family backgrounds were chillingly accurate. There are people like this couple in our society and we all are their potential victims.

Having drawn attention that former newspaper editor Piers Morgan is everywhere there on the TV yesterday, he was hosting yet another programme this evening, a short series about the development of Sandbanks where Harry Rednap is one of those who bought a property which is now worth several millions and where an apartment in the right location can be worth a million and half and of course you will need your 100000 car, or cars and the several million boat as well as the gardening and home helps and personal security.

Finally I could not resist a film with the title Casablanca Express which appeared to be worth watching with Glenn Ford, Donald Pleasance and Sean Connery's son, Jason playing a James Bond like role rescuing Churchill, taken prisoner while travelling in carriage attached to the Casablanca Express. Throughout the film I howled at the pathetic attempt to represent Churchill in situation of much shooting between combatants and the killing and injuring of many of the ordinary passengers on the train including nun, a priest, a floozy and a little girl although surprise surprise all ends well, and then there is the twist with justifies the enterprise. Churchill had made his way separately and the man on the train was his double, It is sill an awful film which was only released in theatre in Italy and France and the shown on TV and is available on DVD. It was the right kind of nonsense for bedtime

1878 Il Traviata and Larkrise on a quiet Sunday with roast chicken dinner

It is midday Sunday February 14th, Valentine’s Day and I am in the midst of three pieces of writing, cleaning the inside of the refrigerator and preparing a roast chicken dinner, recovering from the second late night into the early hours in succession followed by a reasonable amount of sleep which meant it was 11 am before I was able to get going again. I thought it was BAFTA night but this is next week and alas Invictus was not released in time to be included in the BAFTA nominations, a double disappointment having mistaken the British Film Critics Society for the Academy. This means that it will have to be an exceptional film next year to take the main awards away from the film. Instead there is my boyhood supporting Club of Crystal Palace at home to Aston Villa in the cup this evening followed by Dancing on Ice and Larkrise.

I am fulfilling the promise made to myself to commence an inventory of the work completed to date in my installation projection and this includes, completing unfinished sets and their relocation as the area of display shelving is full and therefore the balance of completed set work needed to be storage boxed. I have also taken a decision about trying to arrange fro the work to be curated after I lose self aware consciousness.

Two of the pieces of present writing are for future Blogs, Lost and Babylon 5 where a composite of episodes is planned. Yesterday I worked hard on the installation project and was rewarded by a brilliant performance of Angela Gheorghu, singing the main role in Verdi’s Opera based on the Alexander Dumas story of Camille. I now understand why she is held in such high regard as she rendered the best female performance in an opera I have experienced to-date. The role requires constant singing at the highest levels through all three Acts which she sustained in such manner that I was moved, spine tingling in admiration and wonder. It is also an opera similar to Il Travatore, in being full of memorable tunes

I have experienced five operas by Giuseppe Verdi over the past years- Aida and Nabucco Il Travatore and La Travolta, and Don Carlos.

In act one of La Traviata, Violetta Valery, a courtesan is holding a large and lavish party to celebrate her recovery from illness and she finds out that nobleman Alfredo loves her and has visited her house to enquire of welfare during the illness. When she meets Alfredo her first reactions are not positive but as he professes his interest she begins to speculate if this is the one person to whom she could give herself wholeheartedly. However her need to control her life, and for personal freedom, is such, that she hesitates. Her current protector, a baron, realises their situation is changing.

He is proved right as three months later when Act 2 opens, Violetta and Alfredo are living together outside of Paris in what is described as a peaceful country house. However in order to fund their life style Violetta has been selling everything available until Alfredo discovers the situation and goes off to see his father for money. Alfredo’s father visits Violetta to ask that she breaks off the relationship with his son because her reputation is threatening the marriage of his daughter. He becomes impressed with her and even more so when she agrees, reluctantly, to his request, and he scene ends with her in tears.

She accepts an invitation to a party in Paris and writes a note for Alfredo saying goodbye. He returns and she professes her love but still leaves to go to the party. The maid gives Alfredo the letter she has passed to her as she left the home and his father returns as he finishes reading. Father tries to console his son reminding of their family, but when Alfredo reads the party invitation he suspects that the wealthy former lover of Violetta is behind the initiative.

With echoes of Carmen the party host has arranged gypsies and bullfighters to appear and perform. Alfredo arrives at the party before Violetta and starts to gamble. His suspicions are accurate when Violetta arrives with her former protector and the two men gamble with Alfredo winning a lot of money. Fearing that the situation will lead to a duel Violetta sees Alfredo in private and begs him go away, but he challenges her to deny that the reason is because she still loves Baron and in fear of what could happen she lies and confirms his belief In rage at her response and the situation, Alfredo denounces her to the rest of the party which he assembles and they turn denounce him for his brutish and ungallant behaviour. They demand he leaves. His father who has been searching for the son arrives and learning what has happened denounces his own son, Violetta protests her love as the Act ends.

The Final act is a short one as the tuberculosis illness which had affected Violetta has returned. She receives a letter from Alfredo’s father advising that although his son did fight a duel with the Baron,, only the Baron sustained a slight injury. Moreover he has told his son why Violetta had behaved as she had and that he was sending his son to beg her forgiveness. No sooner does she receive the letter, Alfredo arrives in person and the lovers are reunited, but it is too late for a happy ending and Violetta knows that she has only has moments to live. The couple sing the famous “0 God to die so Young.” The father arrives full of remorse for his part in what has happened only to witness the death of Violetta. The curtain came down prolonged applause.

Larkrise had a timely story about a war Veteran who had lost a leg replaced by the traditional peg and who visited Candleford once a year or so, to beg for pennies and free drink and was provided food and a bed overnight by the Timmins. Daniel Parish, Laura’s Beau sets up his own paper in the town and decides to make a campaign about the way the UK treats its returning service men from active duty, and in this he is supported by Laura’s father as Daniel agrees to raises the underlying issues in an article which is sold to the Illustrated London News and attracts a post bag of support letters.

However they have second thoughts when Mrs Timmins discovers that the old soldier has a number of five pound notes with him. Confronted he explains that he had converted some of the pennies into notes over the years for when he was old or the begging failed. The story is a damning indictment of the approach taken by the public in Victorian times and in this day.

The lunch was enjoyable followed by salami rolls in the evening with banana and custard and a tea time snack of anchovies on dry crackers. Breakfast was cereal.

Lat afternoon there was an enjoyable cup between the club I supported as a boy and young man. Crystal Palace, now struggling in the championship and Aston Villa who this season are performing well close to the top four in the Premiership. Unfortunately the Villa managed to equalise twice so both clubs went into the next round draw when the winner will have an away tie at Reading or West Brom. Chelsea, the only top four club remaining have a home tie against Man City or Stoke.

I watched part of the Ice Dancing beforehand and later a film with gratuitous violence but a concept which interested and stayed to see how it will pan out. I went to bed at a reasonable hour 12.30 but then started to think on first waking after less than an hour and rose once more to check the writing before publication.