Great British Secret Santa

Merry Christmas, Mr Scrooge

In the bottom left of the above collage is the RSC Christmas tree. In recent times, it has become a tradition to visit our second home in Badby in December (not to mention many other times in the year) for a “Secret Santa” weekend and include a visit to whatever the Royal Shakespeare Company are staging as their Christmas show.

Want and Ignorance

This year the RSC staged A Christmas Carol, a David Edgar adaptation of Charles Dickens’s novel. Aiden Gillet was a volatile, vulnerable Ebenezer Scrooge (played in the same production last year by the snarly and ultimately adorable Phil Davis.) Joseph Timms played an energetic, angry and moving Charles Dickens whose efforts to write a story about Want and Ignorance conflicted with his publishers’ desire to give the public a heartwarming comical tale.

Plenty and Enough

It seems perverse and hypocritical in some ways to delve into Dickens’s world of sympathy for the vulnerable and yet enjoy and celebrate my own wonderful Plenty – plenty presents, plenty treats, plenty food, plenty drink…. But that’s the Way of the World. Take action when you can; give where you feel able; have compassion always.

Blenheim Palace

The unusual thing we did this year was attend the Blenheim Palace Illuminated Lights Walk, a busy but magical experience. There were extraordinary colour-changing waterfalls of light, neon tunnels, fairy trails and aerial poppy-themed paths.

Bright Lights for Winter Nights 

Penguins, Snowmen, Bridges, Chalets, a Gingerbread House, a giant Lotus on the lake, tree trunks looking like pantomime stage sets and bulb after bulb flooding the winter night with colour sensations.

Great British Tony Christmas

This is me

What will I remember about Christmas 2018? Quite a bit of baking going on: fresh mince pies, chocolate cookies, apple crumbles to freeze. Quite a bit of quaffing of mulled wine, red wine, different gin flavours, cocktails, fizz and beer…. Table decorations to delight the eye…. groaning plates, Stilton bites, pigs in blankets, traditional films (White Christmas, some Disney, The Greatest Showman, you know the drill!)

Count your blessings (instead of sheep)

Of course it’s all about the people…. The family, the friends, the good will to most men…. Decking the halls and all that…. The pictures below include some personal memories from October that cement what the latter part of 2018 has been about in the emotional inner life of me: a Harvey Nichols’ cocktail meal-deal to cement Emily’s new abode… what changes will 2019 bring?

Glenbranter

St Ninian’s Chapel

A rugged walk along the St Ninian’s Bay coastline, across ankle-stretching shells, stones and tussocks, brought us to the ruin of St Ninian’s Chapel, open to the elements but inspiring as a location for contemplating your place in the universe. En route to get there we stumbled across (having noticed them on the map…) a mysterious group of standing stones (see top picture.)

Prehistory Beckoned

The final full day of our September 2018 holiday (yes, I know it was three months ago, so sue me….) can only be described as a journey into an antideluvian age….

Awestruck

The banter of the previous walks – memories, hopes, silly riffs, political debate, funny conversations – fell silent as we followed the Glenbranter route in the Argyll Forest Park. I don’t think we saw another human soul during our day as we strolled along, meandered up, sauntered down and twisted round undulating paths through dripping tree trunks spotting waterfalls small and large – babbling brooks, forceful spouts, giant cascades, raging torrents….

Pretending to be off the grid….

It was as if human civilisation had never existed, except it was obvious it had because the path was marked discretely and had been cleared for our boots to trudge safely. This was tourist-friendly prehistory…. But were there ancient creatures lurking in the undergrowth? Might we get lost forever? (Luckily, we had picnic supplies.)

Geography and Nature colliding

The Argyll Forest Park is at one end of the Highland Boundary Fault, the chasm you can see on maps of Scotland that demark the Lowland and Highland territories, so the jagged peaks, waterfalls, lochs, lush greenery and delicate groves have all developed to fill and compensate for that great crack in Britain’s surface crust.

Views over Loch Eck

Our high and final views over Loch Eck were memorable: overlooking the canopy of oak, birch and hazel trees and seeing Scottish wilderness at it finest.

Scottish Highlands: Religion, Power and Nature

St Conan’s Kirk

Mid-week in our exploration of the Scottish mainland near Bute we stopped at St Conan’s Kirk, a curious faux-medieval church with Gaudi-esque columns and crenelated walls. The curious church is situated overlooking Loch Awe and was only consecrated as recently as 1930, though the design was initiated by one Walter Campbell as early as 1886.

It's all in the detail….

A series of impressive stained-glass windows and interestingly carved chairs made the interior well worth the visit, as did the quaint cloister. The siting of the church itself is remarkable, seeming to cling to the steep hillside tumbling down to Loch Awe. There are gargoyles to spot, a solid oak communion table and odd-shaped windows in peculiar places.

The Hollow Mountain

Another unusual place in Argyll is like the set of a Bond movie: the “Hollow Mountain” aka the Cruachan Power Station. A terrific exhibition and a kilometre journey into the depths of the mountain revealed some tales of the epic scope and heroism (and tragedy) of the building of this impressive source of green power.

You say urinal…

After the peculiar church and the monumental hydro-electric station, it was of course time to visit the toilet (although on a different day) and these toilets, Rothesay's Victorian Toilets, being a tourist attraction, were far from ordinary. We’re talking Victorian splendour. We’re talking pissoirs to be proud of….

Ruin with a view

When Harriet and Chris were skirting the wilds at the end of the peninsula, the history geeks in the family dragged Sally to yet another castle. (You can’t have too many castle visits, I say!) Rothesay Castle is a ruin on the Isle of Bute and has a strange circular design, definitely like a toy castle and with friendly staff and informative panels. There was a castle on the site by the 14th century and it has had its fair share of drama, including a temporary occupation by Oliver Cromwell’s army during the Civil Wars.

Quid pro quo

You give me castle, I give you garden…. Probably one of my highlights on this trip was our visit to the Ascog Hall Garden and Fernery, in particular the “secret garden” aspect of the Fernery with its dilapidated walls and ongoing restorations. Some of the planting seemed prehistoric to me and every turn produced a surprise.

Gulf Stream

Ruined stables, strange grasses, rhododendrons, yuccas, greens of every shade, a wishing well…. And plants, shrubs and trees from round the world, not surprising since the planting was begun by Edward La Trobe Bateman who had designed The Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, Australia. The sheltered walls and the effect of the warm Gulf Stream has produced this wonderful oasis.

Ostel Bay and Inverary Castle

 

Ostel Bay

Jittery Scottish weather took us past lovely coastal viewpoints to Ostel Bay. Cloudy, drizzly at times…. But as the writer of many hiking books, Alfred Wainwright, said “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.”

Tighnabruaich

The journey to Ostel Bay went via Tighnabruaich, a village on the Cowal Peninsula where fewer than 700 people live. It’s not easy to imagine myself living day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year in such a remote spot. But there’s something elemental and profound about visiting parts of Britain that still contain the pre-industrial landscape of the natural world.

Ostel Bay

Far horizons

Ostel Bay itself was wild, windy and wrapped around, hidden from view, in dunes as far as the eye could see. The sea met the sky in a spot which seemed All Horizon. And of course the waves shushed in and shushed out again across the shingled sands.

Ferry to Bute (top right) and the magnificent Inverary Castle

Ferry to Bute

Across the car ferry to Bute included a memorable visit to Mount Stuart which I blogged about here. But first we visited Inverary Castle with its Disney-like exterior. The semi-gothic, semi-Palladian pile was inspired by a sketch by the ridiculously talented man who designed Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace as well as writing successful Restoration comedies: John Vanbrugh. The foundation stone was laid in 1746.

Turrets and Fires

The current building is what was raised and completed after a devastating fire in 1877 when the conical towers were added to give its current fairytale appearance.

Home of the Duke of Argyll

Parts of the interior, though awesome, are also homely and lived-in and the martial history of turbulent events in the history of Scotland are well displayed and explained by vivid guides.

Split walks

For some of the time on our holiday we divided for walks and the above and below collages are of the walk to the end of the Cowal Peninsula undertaken by Harriet and Chris.

Above two collages are photos taken by Harriet and Chris

There but not there

There but not there in the Marble Chapel at Mount Stuart House

Commemorate, Educate, Heal –

centenary of WWI Armistice

In previous Novembers I have used poetry to reflect on Armistice Day, the day 100 years ago, when on the eleventh hour of the the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the guns and weapons fell (mostly) silent. If only over 10,000 men had not been wounded or killed on the very day in 1918….If only politicians and powerful forces that mobilise wars were more skilful at negotiating to avoid armed conflict…. If only WWI had been the war to end all wars….The 2014 Tower of London ceramic poppies were a startling and powerful artistic symbol of the scale of the loss of life in World War One and this year the silhouette of a Tommy has been used widely to represent the memories of the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in fields of war across the world throughout history. We should remember them. (Commemorative poem at the end of this posting.)

Benmore Botanic Gardens on the Cowan peninsula

Benmore Botanic Gardens
Paintings, photographs and moving images showing the devastation in the fields, villages, towns and cities of Europe are strong reminders of the folly of waging war – the destruction of the natural and the man-made world in addition to the loss of life – is a picture of hell. So it is all the more wonderful to keep reminding yourself of the glory of nature. On our recent holiday in Scotland – two astounding beauty spots are remembered in this posting. Benmore Botanic Gardens is set into a mountainside on the Cowan peninsula.

Nature's beauty at Benmore Botanic Gardens - worth protecting

Giant redwoods and golden gates
Miles of trails lead through avenues of gigantic Californian redwood trees to viewpoints across ponds and from elevated benches and sites like an astonishing Victorian fernery or the restored gleaming golden gates.

Mount Stuart
The “there but not there” Tommie featured in the collage at the top of this post is sited in the marble chapel of Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute. A short ferry ride from Colintraive brought us to this massive estate with its coastal walk (where we picnicked.) It must be one of the most magnificent houses I’ve ever visited – an eccentric gothic surprise of a place with hundreds of highlights.

Wee gardens, lush fernery
The grounds include a maze-like garden leading to fern trails, kitchen gardens, rockeries, ponds, pine trees, a sheltered “wee garden” and the Upper and Lower Policies (“pleasure grounds around a mansion”.)

Intricate details and lavish flourishes
The house is full of gothic touches: from the astrological ceiling in “the horoscope room” to the “Red, Blue and Purple” Libraries and the awe-inspiring Russian icon, The Marriage at Cana.

They shall grow not old
Wow factor moments include walking into the 80 foot high Marble Hall, walking up the Marble Staircase and entering the Marble Chapel (first picture in this posting). H W Lonsdale’s richly coloured stained glass windows represent the signs of the zodiac and the vaulted ceiling shows “the stars in their courses.” During the First World War the 4th Marquess and Marchioness of Bute turned the house into a hospital, Lady Bute ran the hospital and supervised the logistics of treatments and altogether over 2,100 patients were treated, breaking records for similar makeshift hospitals in stately homes.

For the Fallen
by Lawrence Binyon

• first published 21st September 1914 in The Times 
• composed on cliffs in north Cornwall, in tribute to the earliest casualties in the first months of the First World War (Battles of Mons and The Marne)

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, 
England mourns for her dead across the sea. 
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, 
Fallen in the cause of the free.


Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal 
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres, 
There is music in the midst of desolation 
And a glory that shines upon our tears.


They went with songs to the battle, they were young, 
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. 
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted; 
They fell with their faces to the foe.


They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. 
At the going down of the sun and in the morning 
We will remember them.


They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; 
They sit no more at familiar tables of home; 
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; 
They sleep beyond England's foam.


But where our desires are and our hopes profound, 
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight, 
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known 
As the stars are known to the Night;


As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, 
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain; 
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, 
To the end, to the end, they remain.

The zodiac windows at Mount Stuart House

Puck's Glen

Somewhere over the rainbow
Our first day in our holiday house in Inveruel began with a rainbow over the loch (second photo in previous post) before setting off with backpacks containing a fine picnic into the wilds of western Scotland. Five go on an adventure….

Puck’s Glen
Puck’s Glen felt like the route to Rivendell in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. And it had the same name as a well-known character from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. So the magical features of both those works of fantasty fiction infiltrated my mind as we crossed wooden bridges, climbed moss-covered stones, gaped at picturesque waterfalls and ascended to a high ridge overlooking a panoramic view of this section of the Argyll Forest Park. At times you had to pinch yourself that you were in Scotland and not in a tropical rain forest with the proliferation of wild (and sometimes giant) ferns and with the rivulets and cascades appearing on every bend, bouncing off ledges, tumbling round corners. Douglas firs towered above us along the way, so emerging on the high ridge at the top of this dramatic gorge, Puck’s Glen, felt like quite an achievement to start our week in Scotland.

Inveruel, Colintraive

Harriet, Chris, Emily, Sally and me in September, north of Hadrian's Wall....

Home from home
Regular readers will know there are (currently) three other spots in the UK where I feel “at home” other than Yorkshire:

• Badby/Stratford-upon-Avon/the Cotswolds
• Northumberland (especially the coast)
• and Scotland.

So, in September, it was a deep pleasure to visit another Scottish spot we’ve never been to – Colintraive, near Dunoon on the Cowal Peninsula – miles from the nearest shop and hunkered down in a house called Inveruel overlooking Loch Riddon.

Inveruel, Colintraive, lovely house with views and visiting sheep....

Test of a holiday
In our retired state (mindful of budgets) the test of any holiday is that the place we stay has to be as nice or nicer than our own home. Inveruel exceeded expectations: well-designed, with oak floors, plenty of space for spreading out to relax, read, do jigsaws, eat, drink, sleep and strip off muddy boots and coats from hearty walks.

Rooms with a View or two
It also had lovely views. And it was easy to feel Gatsby-like and imagine the lights over the loch belonged to mysterious celebrities. The nights were dark, the stars were out, the moon was bright and the next few blogs will have pictures of what we did during the week….

Plenty of atmosphere and chances to star-gaze as the sun went down....

Widescreen Birthday

Birthday boy with Nick Shelton artwork, prezzies, Spiderman cake, family dinner

Aug 2014 to Oct 2018
Happy Birthday to me on October 15th – I aim to space out my blog posts evenly but Life has a way of hijacking best intentions – but the images are enjoyable memories for me, even if they are a bit removed from the original date. Looking back to 2014 when I started this blog, my birthday post was about Shakespeare and Fargo’s Marge (“it’s a beautiful day”) Gunderson; in 2015 I presented gruesome evidence of a cyst on my back; in 2016 I had begun a routine of writing three days a week as my main retirement hobby; and in 2017 I began writing Book 2 of Rhenium Tales after finishing the first draft of Book 1. What now?

Brothers, sister, wife, daughters, friends....

2018
I’ve submitted material to some agents and started my collection of BadgesOfHonour rejection notices…. but also had some specific tips and insights to act upon. So Phase Two of My Writing Career begins…. Chris Grimley is a significant other in the family…. Empty Nest Syndrome is on the brink of happening again…. and I got my wishes for a birthday tea of salmon on lentils and treacle sponge pudding and custard…. Life! How did I get here from where I was?

First Man, Looper, The Age of Innocence, Lady and the Tramp with Theo Gluck, The Wife 

Film season
Movies have been a big part of September and October with the National Media Museum’s Widescreen Weekend in Pictureville allowing us to enjoy brilliant screenings of Scorcese’s The Age of Innocence, and Disney’s Lady and the Tramp (introduced in person by Theo Gluck, all the way from Hollywood; he’s the Head of Library and Restoration at Disney Studios.) I got rattled to bits by an IMAX First Man, admired Glenn Close in the preposterous but atmospheric The Wife, and loved Emily Blunt (Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis) in the mind-bending Looper. Lots more films to look forward to later in the year, I think.

J B Priestley statue, Barry Cryer and Sophie Fyson, Joanna Trollope, Jenni Murray

Ilkley Literature Festival
Wrapping up my October birthday memories is my record of the Ilkley Literature Festival where Lee Hanson, Chair of the Priestley Society introduced the witty Barry Cryer and the gracious Sophie Fyson who spoke about the memoir of Sophie’s mum, Rosalie Batten, recently published by Great Northern Books: Priestley at Kissing Tree House. Rosalie was the secretary of great writer, humanitarian and Yorkshireman, J B Priestley, and has written with fascinating insight and disarming candour. Joanna Trollope and Jenni Murray both also provoked plenty of food for thought about writing, successful women and feminism today.

My birthday season colours....