off for a few days

I am off to birmingham airport on friday morning taking carol and ben to catch a plane to amsterdam then their connection on to ecuador for their exciting adventure in to the jungle as well as the reason for the trip jimmy & gaby's wedding. sorry I can't make it to the wedding with them but hope you all have a great time over there. I will hopefully be able to add some ecuadorian stuff about it here sometime soon.

once they are safely off, its down to sussex for a couple of days seeing family before returning home to cornwall so a fair bit of driving for me in the next days. I should (all being well) be back updating sometime next week. 

busy weekend

I am still recovering from the weekend, not on a bad way it was a lovely weekend drove up to sussex for my parents golden wedding anniversary. 50 years of being married, some feat. we drove for just over 5 hours on saturday morning to get near their home around lunch time put up our accommodation (yes a family tent) at the foot of the sussex downs. then drove over to the hall and gardens where the celebrations were being held. people (family & friends) came from all over. as far away as south africa, the usa, italy and even actually next door to the hall where we had the meal. it was a fantastic day, and I felt humbled to be part of a family that for supports each other (for the most part) all the time, with only an occasional falling out! we drove back home to cornwall yesterday evening, through the sunshine and traffic of a west country summer weekend. today I have been so tired that I can hardly remember what day it is or what I have done though I have been at work all day. I will no doubt at sometime put some pictures of the event here to indulge my self even . but until then I am to get back in to things here, and hopefully get some rest.

glastonbury again

I can't believe that its glastonbury weekend again and I still have never been, one of those things I have always meant to do but never done. other festivals yes but probably the best and I have never managed to get it sorted (and its only a couple of hours up the road from me), perhaps next time if the rumours of this being that last one are wrong. I have been to the place more than a few times but at a different time of year from the festival. I have just watched editors on the bbc have to say I really enjoyed them. good coverage as well. I will wave as I drive by on my way up to sussex this weekend and hope that the weather gets better for all the festival goers. pictures courtesy of the bbc.

yorkshire surfing?? >> its easy to be west country centric

having read about as well as watched the footage of the amazing surfing over this past weekend, I managed (for a while at least) to remove the blinkers I must have as far as the UK and surfing. I am one of those people, guilty of thinking that good surf only really happens in the west country more especially in cornwall.

strange really as I spent some time in sussex chasing surf up and down the channel coast some years ago before settling down here in cornwall. in the time spent in sussex I did surf some very good days and though it was by comparison quite rare it did get big and powerful.

scarborough north yorkshire (contest pic) via secret spot surf shop

I am often also guilty of only thinking that I have to go south to france or spain to get good waves outside of cornwall but I know that glamorous as these places are it is about time that I travelled in this country.
so to this end I am planning a trip to north yorkshire in february 2008 yes it will be very cold and yes it is a long way from cornwall but I have never surfed in yorkshire and I think I should at least visit and hopefully get in the water before making any more judgements.

more links for yorkshire surfing.

surfshacks guide yorkshire
cheekeemonkey surf
coldwatersoul/yorksire

its building this time >> poundbury & more

I was having a look at new building/architecture thinking particularly about the strange concept of poundbury in dorset. I have an interest in that area as various family members both close and distant have lived, some living in and around the dorchester area for the last few hundred years, and probably even further back than that.

I often stop in poundbury when driving between my home in cornwall and my parents home in sussex. I used to like the idea of poundbury but recently it has become rather different as it grows, changing rather awkwardly in to any new town but still appears to pretend to be something much better almost like a film set, (just my opinion).
check poundbury tv.

however for some reason whilst looking at poundbury I clicked a link that took be to the blog 'housebuilders update'. a blog run by housebuilder's bible author mark brinkley, author and planning permission expert Ken Dijksman, & green building specialist Tim Pullen. housebuilder's update is a free service designed to provide information for housebuilders and self-builders.

I particularly liked their post on terminal 5 at heathrow airport, good stuff.

just in case you thought I had put the cheesy effects on the pictures. I didn't it was how there were on the poundbury web site.

angel interceptor >> tv21

I was in a moment of not really thinking, very rare for me. when for no constructive reason remembered a snippet of my childhood, in the sussex village of hassocks.
I remembered sitting in a very big blue chair (which I will write about another day) reading tv21.
I was/still am a fan of the angel interceptor in the captain scarlet comic/tv series. thoght I would share these pictures.
more links
tv21
tv21 thunderbirds

maybe >> ?

maybe it is because still in the back of my mind somewhere amongst the rubble are the years of study at art school three of which were specialising in textile and fashion (remember I left in 1982 so a lot has changed). but the sight of washing especially light colours in sunshine makes me think of openness to fresh ideas as if I was starting work on a final design, working on cartridge paper with gouache in the days before computers were in charge.

maybe it reminds me of sunny days spent in rural sussex as a child, and the influence of the people and places I grew up with, I don't know.
whatever it is just walking round the corner of where I live now and seeing this made me think, maybe?

ollie >> skating video

this is ollie smith from brighton.



I have known ollie since he was born, now he is a good friend of my sons, luca & gabriel.
a long, long time ago I used to skate the same streets both in brighton and london. I was born in brighton and lived there before eventually (via hampshire, london, even france for a bit) chose to live in cornwall. as an old has-been I still skate (rarely) but never as good as this.
when I did skate a lot (in the70's & 80's) with people like melvin (before ollie was even born!) it was on days when there was no surf and so we did nothing like this no doubt some old school skaters will disagree.

I added it simply because I think it's such a good video made by people with a passion.

sunday >> thought & consideration is not a weakness

strange really that I should feel guilty about not writing the blog I had planned for first yesterday and then today, I am afraid that one will have to wait for another time probably when have just returned from a heavy teaching day and feel fresh from presenting (good or bad).

I must just thank micky from france for the love of the sponge bob character. micky has been chasing me around the internet today, through my flickr, this blog and my surf web site never quite meeting me. but we will sort it.

any way to todays post, sunday and mothers day so a called to my mother in sussex (luckly the cornish flowers had arrived), after ben had presented his card to carol and some freshly picked flowers from the garden we (ben & me) had made a special vase from a powerade bottle!
then as usual I was off to rugby with ben he (I hope) loves it, I am still terrified that I am one of those pushy parents who because I liked something expect my children to like it as well.

I wanted to document the weather we had in pictures but to be honest I found it difficult to get it the wind was so strong as was the sun and then the hail I hid in the car when that came down.
I just really appreciated today what a fantastic place I live in when I can see all these things in one day never mind four seasons in one day it was more like a weather show with a rugby training match going on a bit of reading the sunday paper nice cd today (love the thom yorke songs) and trying to get my shoulder less painful (another story, seeing hospital consultant tomorrow). so apart from the last bit a really good start to the day.
even at the end when ben got the ball full in the face he was still happy, though a little disappointed that he wasn't going to have a back eye!



ok matey! what is this ramble all about well I was ready to be all academic and try to explain how through two days of concentrated teaching the way of education in this country should and will change. I am still firmly committed to this. but I had forgot that we have to have time to think, go outside feel the hail! the cold of a NW wind and enjoy the big sky, in order to except differing opinion and actually think.

that said it made me realise I am coming from a position of enormous privilege so before putting my thoughts to the blog I should for once make a fundamental change in me and consider much like I should do all the time with ben (not just in rugby), so that he is not in the position of having a ongoing problem with his shoulder also.