tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65805079959108536922024-03-05T06:43:05.108+00:00WB PippinJohn Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.comBlogger448125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-80798387007872398722020-06-19T21:47:00.001+01:002020-06-19T22:20:21.826+01:00And the Clan piper plays his pibrochMy uncle David Coles died this morning.<br />
<br />
He was in his late eighties.<br />
<br />
He had been terribly ill for a long time: An aortic aneurism was threatening to pop, he had Parkinson's disease.............. He was, all in all, clinically speaking, a bit of a mess.....<br />
<br />
Dear old David.<br />
<br />
As daffy as they come...........<br />
<br />
If you want to know what he was like, go and have a look at the film 'No Highway in the Sky' from the original book 'No Highway' by the author Neville Shute.<br />
<br />
Or better still, read it.......<br />
<br />
The 'hero' of Shute's book, Theodore Honey, is a, on the face of it, a totally ineffectual, deeply eccentric, (and rather wet) aircraft engineer/scientist.<br />
<br />
He<i> is</i> our Uncle David, bless him!<br />
<br />
(And James Stewart played him in the movie, you know!....... :-)<br />
<br />
The book was written six years before the De Havilland Comet airliner was dropping out of the skies in unexplained circumstances in the 1950's.<br />
<br />
Shute's book is about the fictitious 'Reindeer' aircraft, which has the same problem.<br />
<br />
Uncle David, an apprentice at R.A.E. Farnborough at the time, was convinced that the author Neville Shute (who was, in real life, the aircraft designer Neville Norway..... who had worked with Barnes-Wallace on the R100 airship......), had evolved a theory as to why aircraft like the 'Comet' could crash. And that theory was so 'off piste' that he could only publish it as fiction...........<br />
<br />
If you look at what was eventually determined to be the structural problem with the real 'Comet' and that of the fictitious 'Reindeer' you will see some very interesting similarities..........<br />
<br />
It would seem both Neville Shute and Uncle David were on to something......!<br />
<br />
My favourite bit in the whole book/film is when the 'hero', Theodore Honey, puts a 'Reindeer' aircraft down on it's tummy at Gander airport in Newfoundland by deliberately collapsing the undercarriage. He is convinced it is about to suffer catastrophic structural failure. (And he's right....!)<br />
<br />
That was Uncle David all over.<br />
<br />
He was brought up an Anglican, got 'converted' during a Billy Graham Crusade, married a Baptist, adopted two children, got divorced, married again, embraced Methodism. then as a widower, was received into the Catholic Church.....<br />
<br />
A lot of us thought dear old David was as mad as a sack of badgers.<br />
<br />
But he was as true and as honest and as decent a man as you could possibly hope to meet.<br />
<br />
He, like Theodore, would have definitely put himself, his job, and his professional reputation on the line to help, save, and protect others.<br />
<br />
On graduating from R.A.E. Farnborough in the 1950's, David was offered a very lucrative post in the aerospace industry, where his stellar intelligence and ability to think outside the box would have been real advantages.<br />
<br />
The job was on Britain's nascent rocket programme, working to bring nuclear weapons down upon the Queen's enemies.<br />
<br />
David would have none of it.<br />
<br />
I am very proud of him.<br />
<br />
God speed, my dear.<br />
<br />
And Happy Landings.<br />
<br />
X<br />
<br />
<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-72453911672982435622020-04-30T21:57:00.001+01:002020-04-30T21:57:14.531+01:00Wacky Races Pt 2.Here's a shot of the Treble Zero returning from The Cambridge Blood Donor Centre a couple of weeks ago, me at the wheel.....<br />
<br />
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<br />
The Alvis is looking much better for a new hood and refurbished interior, courtesy of Dudley Fitch at Bailey Trim in Southery, Norfolk.<br />
<br />
I have since washed the mud from the tyres (accrued during the Wacky Races Pt. 1 incident) and polished the chrome.<br />
<br />
The Alvis has been getting lots of smiles and waves from folk I've seen out exercising on th way to and from work. It has done a lot to raise morale, (mainly mine.....).<br />
<br />
Today it rained, so the Volvo Modern Thing took me to work: efficient, Swedish, and though it <i>does</i> have a working heater and a jolly good wireless........ it was simply no fun at all.<br />
<br />
:-)<br />
<br />
<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-64667305498978220572020-04-01T19:40:00.001+01:002020-04-01T19:40:44.028+01:00Way down in the (engine) holeWell, what better way to spend a day off from the Hole Making Shop than low down and dirty in the engine room of WB Pippin.....<br />
<br />
It meant I avoided other people like the, er,....., plague........<br />
<br />
It was a bit wet, though not worryingly so......<br />
<br />
What <i>was</i> worrying was the oil feed pipe hanging off the bottom of the engine floating in half an inch of oily scunge in the bilge.......<br />
<br />
It turned out all right though, with very little in the way of profanity, too.<br />
<br />
It was the feed to the manual pump that extracts oil from the sump when the engine is serviced.<br />
<br />
At first, I thought it must have vibrated off over the years......<br />
<br />
Then I remembered the boorish, loud-mouthed twat, (who was sent to us by a firm of national renown........), that last serviced the engine .........<br />
<br />
Could he have neglected to re-fasten this properly? (It would have needed loosening to get at the 'on/off' tap which is hard up against the gearbox....).<br />
<br />
Well, we'll never know..........<br />
<br />
Anyway, having baled, sponged, and towelled the engine room to a suitable state of cleanth and dryness, I re-attached said pipe. It didn't take long to figure out how, (though it wasn't immediately obvious)... I then checked the engine oil level, which was a bit down, but far from catastrophically so. I topped it up, checked the anti-freeze/water level in the skin tank (absolutely fine having not wept a drop...), then fired up the engine which burst into glorious Beta 50 style song at once.<br />
<br />
I then used a Tesco turkey baster to pipette the oily scunge out from under the engine itself (nothing else will fit between the engine and the bearers). It took a while, but was oddly satisfying. I then finished up with a large piece of cotton waste to dry it out as well as I could.<br />
<br />
So job done.<br />
<br />
But I think we will be servicing the engine ourselves from here-on in..........<br />
<br />
And here's the soundtrack:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3rZgs3dudI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3rZgs3dudI</a><br />
<br />
More soon.John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-21653646344047875512020-03-25T21:36:00.001+00:002020-03-25T21:36:17.776+00:00Trains, no planes, and automobiles...... Wacky Races Pt.1Well, that all went very well, I thought.......<br />
<br />
I got up with the alarm at 05:30 this fine a.m.<br />
<br />
The sun was just about peaking over the horizon. A mist hung over the mirror-like waters of the River Cam.<br />
<br />
Sylvan.<br />
<br />
Peaceful.<br />
<br />
Beautiful.<br />
<br />
So, showered, shaved, breakfasted and dressed in Full Dress NHSBT uniform, I made my way over to the garage to wake the Alvis up.<br />
<br />
Ignition on. Full choke. Wait for it.... ('It' being the fuel pump: when it stops rattling you know fuel is at the carb and it's time.....) ....Hit the Gun Button (the starter button next to the ignition switch).....<br />
<br />
Chara-chara-chara-cough-cough Brrrrmm<i>mmm.</i>.........! :-)<br />
<br />
Houston, we have main engine start.<br />
<br />
Cue big grin.......<br />
<br />
Which lasted until I got to the railway and the level crossing on the fen road to The Parish.......<br />
<br />
The gates were down, and there was a suspiciously long tailback (Okay, five cars, but at 06:30 on a cold and frosty self-isolating morning? They'd clearly been there a while......)<br />
<br />
Then I saw a London-bound train approaching.<br />
<br />
Well, it was stopped, actually.......<br />
<br />
Either that or it was moving with the speed of vegetable growth.<br />
<br />
'Drat, double drat, and triple drat!' I thought.......'The old "Treble Zero" will never get me to work at this rate: looks like the crossing is playing up, and the trains are running at 'Extreme Caution 'as a result.'<br />
<br />
What to do?<br />
<br />
Well, of course , I did the Dick Dastardly thing of seeking a short cut.<br />
<br />
Reverse back down the Fen Road for 30 yards, then hang a left down the old, unmade, poorly maintained, tractor rutted and deeply unsuitable for elderly classics track for 3/4's of a mile to the next road which leads to a manually operated rail crossing nearer the village.<br />
<br />
The "Treble Zero" did all that was asked of it, slithering and wobbling on it's tired springs and superannuated shock absorbers, all the way to the lowered gates of the manually operated crossing.<br />
<br />
Only to see <i>another</i> sodding train, heading from Kings Cross, parked firmly in the way and blocking the crossing completely.<br />
<br />
Nothing for it, then, but to turn around and slither, wobble, bump and grind one's way back to the other crossing where it all started.<br />
<br />
We got there............. (And with a full complement of hubcaps too!)<br />
<br />
Just as I got off the phone to my manager to explain why I was going to be late that morning, I saw salvation, in the form of a Network Rail Rapid Response Vehicle, approaching the crossing.<br />
<br />
As the train from London slowly, so slowly, cleared the crossing, the occupant of the aforesaid (who <i>did</i> bear an <i>uncanny</i> resemblance to Muttley), leapt out, did a thing, and the gates opened.<br />
<br />
Hallelujah!<br />
<br />
I arrived at work in fine Alvis style: engine rhythmic, and what I believe is currently known as the ICE (or In Car Entertainment) belting out Elgar's 'Pomp and Circumstance No.1'<br />
<br />
ICE, in TA14 terms, means a wind-up gramaphone, fitted with an extra-hard needle for maximum volume.........<br />
<br />
And the bastard didn't half skip when going down that ploughed field of a track, too......but at that time I was playing this:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmy0LMPZ3F0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmy0LMPZ3F0</a><br />
<br />
Have a listen!<br />
<br />
More soon.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-53406810210221904352020-03-24T21:12:00.001+00:002020-03-24T21:12:56.481+00:00Alvis, work, and Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance No.1I am driving to work tomorrow.<br />
<br />
I have to.<br />
<br />
I'm what is engagingly called a 'key worker'.<br />
<br />
This doesn't mean I work for that very nice chap Mr Timpson, and neither am I a safe-cracker......<br />
<br />
I work for the National Blood Service.<br />
<br />
I look after blood and platelet donors at The Cambridge Blood Donor Centre.<br />
<br />
I have been coy about this in the past, as going on-line and talking about it was reckoned to possibly bring The Firm into disrepute. (Well, if you'd actually had a <i>really</i> shitty day, you can see how that could prove unwise - and as Twitface is so indelible, how it could hurt both a great organisation, and also the person posting..... (who may have, momentarily, reached the end of their tether......)<br />
<br />
But I take blood for a living.<br />
<br />
Okay, spare me the Vampire jokes.<br />
<br />
It's really boring.....<br />
<br />
(And I'm actually a werewolf, anyway, so go figure that one.....).<br />
<br />
But the time has come to be plain.<br />
<br />
Here's the thing: we must ensure that the supply of blood to hospitals throughout the UK does not fail.<br />
<br />
Covid-19 notwithstanding, if we fail, people are going to die.<br />
<br />
So I am now back up to full time working. (I have been part-time for years, but that doesn't sit well with me right now...).<br />
<br />
And while the weather is fine, I'm going to drive to work in the Alvis.<br />
<br />
It gives me joy, and joy is in short supply.<br />
<br />
Also, we won't get any PPE. We are dealing with the well people: if they aren't well, we'll send them home.<br />
<br />
So no PPE for us.<br />
<br />
There simply isn't enough to go round.<br />
<br />
It has to go to the heroes and heroines at the sharp end of this, actually treating the poor sods who've contracted this bastard virus.<br />
<br />
I suppose I could go on about why these shortages have occurred, and the way they have occurred on the watch of the party of our current Poundland Churchill of a PM, but you'll need a much more political blog than this one for that.<br />
<br />
I'm going into work anyway.<br />
<br />
In an Alvis.<br />
<br />
Play the music.<br />
<br />
It belongs to us just as much as it belongs to the people who are sending us in without so much as a mask.<br />
<br />
More soon.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-30816412420877202982020-03-23T18:45:00.000+00:002020-03-23T18:45:43.477+00:00Let us return........ In view of the current goings on, I thought I ought to return to the barn where I parked the WB Pippin blog back in August 2018 to see if I could get the old thing going again.<br />
<br />
It hasn't been easy........<br />
<br />
The tyres were flat, as was the battery, and I had to drain the joke tank of about seven and a half gallons (Imperial mind you!) of very stale humour....... (which will be very much <i>not</i> a surprise to any of you who've read this nonsense before.)<br />
<br />
But with a few day's worth of fettling, it has stuttered back to life.<br />
<br />
Anyway, what's been occurring down in Groovetown since last I blogged?<br />
<br />
Quite a lot actually, yet much remains reassuringly the same: Jackie and I are still aboard the eponymous widebeam, still moored at The Parish, near Cambridge, and we're still doing the same jobs.<br />
<br />
The Alvis is 'nearly finished', but as I've been saying that since 2013, it doesn't mean much...... Though in all honesty, it's a lot more finished than it was.<br />
<br />
It's got a hood now, and a new/restored interior.<br />
<br />
(There may even be pictures....... once I've worked out how to post them again.)<br />
<br />
This may take some time.......<br />
<br />
In the meantime, if you are looking to me to get any news or views re: the current unpleasantness, then I'm going to be a sad disappointment to you. Go and have a look at TwitFace, or whatever they call it, if you want any of that......<br />
<br />
It's worth pointing out that I don't own a Smartphone.<br />
<br />
My phone has about the same processing power as the computer on the Apollo 11 lander..... (i.e. virtually bugger-all).....and is used to make and receive mobile telephone calls and to send Short Message Service messages. ( I believe these are now known as 'Texts', if you are sufficiently 'down with the kids'....).<br />
<br />
I have no wish to avail myself of the latrine trench of public opinion that is TwitFace. The ordure therein is deeply unedifying. (Jackie has an account and I sneak peaks occasionally so's I can reinforce my feelings of innate superiority.)<br />
<br />
It never takes terribly long.<br />
<br />
So what to talk about, in this first blogpost in many a long moon?<br />
<br />
Ah, I know: the weather!<br />
<br />
(That good old British stand-by for when we're stuck for something to say to someone we may not know too well.)<br />
<br />
Hasn't it been rather lovely the past few days? Just as well really: a drop of sunshine definitely perks one up. And I think it's fair to say we are all in dire need of a jolly good perking at the 'mo....<br />
<br />
(Put <i>that</i> on Twitface and watch the trolls come running out, comments blazing.......)<br />
<br />
In fact, I got a mention on Radio Three this morning, for suggesting just such a thing...... though perhaps not in quite so many words......<br />
<br />
Every morning at 10:30, whoever is presenting 'Essential Classics' (either Ian Skelly or Suzy Klein, normally), will play a follow-on piece suggested by the listeners. It follows on from a piece they've chosen which is played at 09:30, so you've got about an hour to think of something suitable. It's great fun, and <i>John Witts from Waterbeach </i>has had a few mentions, and even had suggestions played!<br />
<br />
Today, he struck again, with Holst's "Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity," from The Planets Suite, which was played, I suppose, simply because we need all the jollity we can lay our hands on right now.......<br />
<br />
You can check it out on BBC Radio 3 'Listen Again', for Monday 23/03/20 if you doubt I speak sooth. It'll be there for a couple of weeks at least......<br />
<br />
Oh, and a couple of days ago, when I was enjoying a particularly lovely sunset over the fens from the back deck (large gin and tonic in hand, you know the deal....), I saw a contrail in the sky, heading west, straight as an arrow. It was dyed a deep peach colour against the almost saffron of the low, westering sky, just where it began to turn the purest cerulean.<br />
<br />
<i>Where the fuckin' 'ell's 'e goin'</i>? I thought.<br />
<br />
Which sadly, rather robbed the moment of any poetry.<br />
<br />
More soon.John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-28198645425663441422018-08-18T21:50:00.001+01:002018-08-18T21:56:14.312+01:00The world............................is full.<br />
<br />
The world is mostly full of forking idiots.<br />
<br />
And the world is full of idiots forking.............<br />
<br />
Tonight, Jackie challenged a man at the lock who was allowing his daughters to run across the vee-gate lock beams.....<br />
<br />
(Danger of death by drowning: HIGH............)<br />
<br />
He accused her of being 'aggressive' and 'a lefty'.<br />
<br />
Personally, I think we should have left the twat to drown his children.<br />
<br />
Then he would have had to explain it to his no doubt <b><i><u>ex</u></i></b>-wife.<br />
<br />
But Jackie intervened.<br />
<br />
Was abused.<br />
<br />
But was absolutely right.<br />
<br />
People, if you are going to let your children stand into danger, willingly, because you are a 'businessman' and 'this is the school of life', and you think my wife is somehow wrong for calling you out on your arrant foolishness and stupidity, then you are in no shape or form a fit parent.<br />
<br />
End of.<br />
<br />
Good luck with your continued attempts to drown your daughters.<br />
<br />
Is this some attempt to get back at your wife?<br />
<br />
We don't know.<br />
<br />
But accusing Jackie of being 'abusive' says a lot.<br />
<br />
You have been reported to the E.A and Cam Con.<br />
<br />
We don't know if it will do any good, but we can only hope you will not be putting your children into danger any further.John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-20536697973935863682018-07-27T20:20:00.001+01:002018-07-27T20:20:56.387+01:00Stormy weather.......The mooring was hit by a mini tornado at tea-time today.<br />
<br />
I was still at work but have surveyed the aftermath.<br />
<br />
Bottisham Lock is out of action for the weekend at least: One or more of the poplars that grow nearby have fallen across th lock pen and blocked it.<br />
<br />
From the red cross on the lock itself, it looks like a power outage would prevent it's use anyway.<br />
<br />
The big willows at either end of The Parish have suffered badly. It all looks very unstable. I hope they won't have to come down as they are venerable and picturesque.<br />
<br />
On board Pippin, everything is a bit damp : one of our side hatches blew open which led to considerable ingress of rain.<br />
<br />
All the hopper windows were open too....... water droplets formed some very pretty patterns on the recently painted ceiling.<br />
<br />
Our wooden table, the chairs, and my lovely Captains chair are heavily watermarked.<br />
<br />
But old towels have been deployed, the worst of it is mopped up, and we shall probably be reasonably dry again by Tuesday.... (The sofa, the cushions, the curtains etc are all <i>very</i> damp.)<br />
<br />
It's going to be a humid night on board, as the thunder continues to roll and the rain falls, denying me the chance to let some fresh air in......<br />
<br />
But no-one came adrift and no-one is hurt.<br />
<br />
And our newly re-conditioned Rutland 913 Wind Turbine hasn't been struck by lightning.....<br />
<br />
Yet..........<br />
<br />
Touch wood.......<br />
<br />
Or rubber.....<br />
<br />
Or anything non-conductive, really..........<br />
<br />
Hope you are all okay out there in the greater blog-o-sphere.......<br />
<br />
Keep safe, all.John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-12792846563278875792018-02-26T18:31:00.001+00:002018-02-27T08:52:09.141+00:00Emma ChambersIt is with the greatest sadness that I write this.<br />
<br />
Emma Chambers, film and television actress, has died at the age of 53.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43183354" target="_blank">www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43183354</a><br />
<br />
I was at The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art from 1983 to 1986. Emma was there at the same time, though we were in different classes.<br />
<br />
I remember her as one of the good people: kind, warm-hearted, never nasty, and so, so funny, both on and off stage.<br />
<br />
Webber was a hard, nasty, bitchy school. Such attributes were in short supply. So Emma stood out, not only because of this, but also because, even then, it was clear she was possessed of a truly stellar talent.<br />
<br />
As my own career popped and banged before fizzling out like some defective firework, it gave me true <i><b>joy</b></i> to see her doing so well, first, as Charity Pecksniff in the TV adaptation of 'Martin Chuzzlewit', then later, running rings around both Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts in 'Notting Hill'.<br />
<br />
She will be best remembered for her superb comedy timing and wonderful characterisation in the role of Alice Tinker in 'The Vicar of Dibley'. I remember watching the episode of Alice's wedding. My mum had tears of laughter rolling down her cheeks as Alice made her way down the aisle accompanied by Telly-tubby 'bridesmaids'.<br />
<br />
Although I knew her, I can make no claim to having been a friend of Emma's, either at college, or afterwards.<br />
<br />
But I feel truly <i>stricken</i> that she has died so young, and at the height of her powers.<br />
<br />
She was one of the best of us, and definitely one of the nicest.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EViB5epHMn8" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EViB5epHMn8</a><br />
<br />
God bless you, sweet one, and may you rest in peace.<br />
<br />
X<br />
<br />
<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-14415742006992417842017-12-14T19:57:00.000+00:002017-12-14T19:57:49.181+00:00In which Victor and I give up entirely and go to the pub.............This morning, I received an unsolicited text message from EE inviting me to 'Gift Like a Boss' this Christmas.<br />
<br />
Does <b><u><i>anybody</i></u></b> out there have any idea what this means?<br />
<br />
There was a day when I could 'Punch like a South Bound Freight Train'.....<br />
<br />
It's been a long while, but this makes me feel like getting back into training......<br />
<br />
'Gift Like a Boss' indeed..........<br />
<br />
<i><b>Good Grief, children! </b></i><br />
<br />
This is the language of Shakespeare, Milton, Donne, Coleridge, Maugham, Eliot, Dickens, Fforde, <i>insert the name of your favourite author and wordsmith here </i>that you are traducing with your spine-wrenchingly awful misconstructions.<br />
<br />
So what to say to the bunch of hopelessly misguided suits who came up with this?<br />
<br />
I am starting an on-line campaign:<br />
<br />
It's called "No. Stop it. Stop it Now. No, Really, Before I Lose My Temper ......."<br />
<br />
We then add what we wish to say to the authors of this abomination, and sign.<br />
<br />
I will open the batting thus:<br />
<br />
.... "you lame brained excuses for a bunch of numpty cretins." John Witts.<br />
<br />
(Come on, I'm just warming up. I'm sure you can do <i>much</i> better.........)<br />
<br />
Please send your submissions to this blog on the usual electronic postcard.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Victor and I will be muttering into our Milk Stout in the Saloon Bar........<br />
<br />
Merry Christmas everyone........<br />
<br />
<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-713836790622385662017-11-30T22:36:00.000+00:002017-11-30T22:36:26.289+00:00In which I have a Victor Meldrew moment......<i>"I don't believe it.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Unbelievable....."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Yes, dear old Victor's catchphrase could not be more apt than it is today.<br />
<br />
It actually <i>wearies</i> me to hear the news that the current incumbent of The White House has re-tweeted vile racist nonsense from a bunch of pathetic non-entities based in the United Kingdom.<br />
<br />
Also, that Garrison Keillor, American radio broadcaster and author of 'Lake Woebegone Days' has just been fired from his job as a result of an accusation of improper behaviour.<br />
<br />
Good Grief.<br />
<br />
I love his work: if you haven't read his book, then get a copy quick before they are all burned.<br />
<br />
I don't know.<br />
<br />
Look, if he did something or said something or suggested something that would not have made his mother proud at some point in his seventy five years, then he should say sorry and make amends.<br />
<br />
But don't let the accusation (at time of writing not substantiated) prevent you from reading his work.<br />
<br />
It's a great primer for the sublime prose of Kent Haruf, an author who is a fairly recent addition to Pippin's library.<br />
<br />
Start with 'Plainsong'.<br />
<br />
For many years, academia has been in search of The Great American Novel.<br />
<br />
For my money, this is it.<br />
<br />
'Benediction' is also brilliant.<br />
<br />
I haven't read 'Our Souls at Night' yet, though.<br />
<br />
I am given to understand it is <u>not</u> about the late shift at the local hospital's colonoscopy clinic, no matter what the British English pronunciation of the title may lead you to believe.......<br />
<br />
It is a shame Mr Haruf is no longer with us.<br />
<br />
He could have continued his superb ouvre with a book entitled "Our Souls at The White House"........<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-51832359803751013682017-11-28T21:50:00.000+00:002017-11-28T21:50:38.080+00:00"I was glad...........when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord this day"<br />
<br />
That's the introit commonly used in the Anglican mass and also a traditional anthem at the Coronation of a new King or Queen.<br />
<br />
The most famous setting is by Sir Hubert Parry for King Edward VII's Coronation in 1902.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8GJ2CWjQSc" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8GJ2CWjQSc</a><br />
<br />
I think it's rather lovely........<br />
<br />
And today, I <i>am</i> glad.<br />
<br />
Yes, the North Koreans have just launched another ballistic missile....<br />
<br />
Yes, Messrs Barnier and Juncker are currently working out how to most royally stuff the U.K. as it slides, rudderless, toward a Brexit negotiated by poltroons on behalf of non-entities.<br />
<br />
Yes the White House is, well, ...............fill it in for yourself.......<br />
<br />
And yet "<i>I am Glad</i>".<br />
<br />
Not, of course, because of any of <b><i>that</i></b> bollocks................<br />
<br />
Goes without saying, really.<br />
<br />
No.<br />
<br />
"I Am Glad" because a little boy I met once in 1991 (when he came round the Museum of the Moving Image with his older brother, and I had, as one of the actor guides, in Odeon Commissionaire character, to show them out of the 'quick' exit door from The Odeon exhibit to the shop because they were late for tea with their Mum), has just got engaged.<br />
<br />
I am very glad about this.<br />
<br />
I am also very glad his fiancee is an American.<br />
<br />
(I fell in love with one myself back in the early eighties.... it was not to be...)<br />
<br />
I am also very glad she is of mixed race.<br />
<br />
And I am very glad and that she has been married once before, and that she and he will be allowed to marry in church.<br />
<br />
His family has been, in the past, rather hide-bound by tradition, you see......<br />
<br />
His Great great Uncle was prohibited by the family from marrying an American divorcee.<br />
<br />
His Great Aunt was not allowed to marry a divorcee, even though he was a decorated war hero, and was very close to his Great Aunt's father.......<br />
<br />
And they weren't terribly nice to his Mum when she and his Dad got divorced.<br />
<br />
And he was devastated when she got killed in a car crash..........<br />
<br />
What with that and military service in Afghanistan, the lad has been through the wringer.<br />
<br />
But his girl seems very nice indeed, and I wish them both good luck, long life and much happiness.<br />
<br />
Their good news has made me glad.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-30622572745952102362017-10-17T20:07:00.000+01:002017-10-17T20:07:21.498+01:00Ten Years on................<br />
Today marks ten years since the day that Jackie and I closed the deal on Pippin and became boaters.<br />
<br />
Ten years.......<br />
<br />
Blimey.<br />
<br />
Well, we're okay.....<br />
<br />
The eponymous widebeam has been blacked three times, had a new gearbox, ten engine services, and been treated to more solar panels, a wind turbine and lately, a new energy efficient washing machine that means we can do a load of laundry entirely off the solar bank without using the mahoosive generator in the bows (silent since March..... I wonder if it still works....)<br />
<br />
We've made some wonderful friends and had some great times.<br />
<br />
We've seen people come and go on the river, and waved farewell with sadness to most and given the extended middle digit to only one or two.<br />
<br />
In short, it has been a blast.<br />
<br />
And it's far from over yet!<br />
<br />
If you've stayed with this nonsense throughout, especially the long silences which meant only that I was rather busy or just didn't feel I had much of interest to say, then thank you.<br />
<br />
Here's to the next ten years!<br />
<br />
X<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-23229702096622744662017-03-01T21:14:00.000+00:002017-03-01T21:19:24.077+00:00Ash WednesdayI went into Soho today to attend the Ash Wednesday service at St Anne's church.<br />
<br />
As I get older, I feel more inclined to mark Lent and try to keep it.<br />
<br />
Jackie and I did Dry January successfully (okay, one minor slip on the 27th when drink <i>may</i> have been taken after we did Under Milk Wood...), so I'm packing in the booze again for Lent.<br />
<br />
I think, though, it is equally important to take something on for Lent, too.<br />
<br />
I am going to try to have at least one Quiet Day a week.<br />
<br />
By this, I mean a whole day without talking.<br />
<br />
Even to myself.<br />
<br />
"Yeah, right", I hear you say.....<br />
<br />
Well it's got to be worth a try..........<br />
<br />
Also, after the service one of my friends there told me I had been name-checked on Radio Four by no less a personage than Rev. Clare Herbert, who was at one time Rector of St Anne's. If you want to have a listen, click the link to Radio 4's website.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/programmes/schedules/fm/today" target="_blank">www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/programmes/schedules/fm/today</a><br />
<br />
Click on Tuesday 28th February then scroll down to 09:30 "One to One" 'Lucy Mangan on Responsibility'.<br />
<br />
Clare comes across really well. Not a surprise: she's a great person.<br />
<br />
After the service, I popped over to The French House to meet my chum Martin Cort for a catch-up. Dottie Phillips was also in attendance, so we chatted around a few ideas for what The French House Players might do next while enjoying a spot of lunch.<br />
<br />
It was lovely to see old friends and colleagues from my days of working in the pub too: Annabel, Lesley and Annie were all in evidence, as was May, who I never worked with but remember keeping an eye on one lunchtime when her actor Dad came into town for a casting and needed a 'sitter' (She was probably about eight at the time...... now in her twenties......... :-)<br />
<br />
Annabel too has decided to give up the drink for Lent. Though she hadn't realised Lent lasted until <b><i>mid-April</i></b> when she said she'd do it, she's gamely going to carry on!<br />
<br />
The journey home was tricky: all trains were stopping at Cambridge and going no further. Thankfully, our neighbour Rhoda very kindly came out through some very heavy traffic to pick me up and bring me home.<br />
<br />
Apparently, a poor benighted soul had ended their life in front of a train at Waterbeach station earlier in the day.<br />
<br />
At time of writing no further details are available.<br />
<br />
My heart goes out to the person, to their family, and to all the poor people who witnessed it.<br />
<br />
Such a sadness.<br />
<br />
And such a waste.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-37361072838707865012017-01-24T21:31:00.000+00:002017-01-24T21:31:07.877+00:00Trump and trumpery: the antidote.........I have been watching aghast as events have unfolded over the last week: the inauguration, that speech, the reaction to it, the massive protest marches in the U.S.A, and the reaction to that: the internet trolling , the ignorance, the vacuity, the vituperation and the spite........<br />
<br />
It has left me feeling profoundly depressed.<br />
<br />
If, like me, you are sickened to your heart with the whole shambolic circus, and the sheer viciousness displayed by all sides in it, then please click on the link below.<br />
<br />
It may not be <i><b>quite</b></i> the antidote you had in mind, but roll with it........<br />
<br />
It works for me..........<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4KnlQwzl3Y" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4KnlQwzl3Y</a><br />
<br />
Those Quakers are <i>definitely</i> on to something..........<br />
<br />
<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-43342635372422833402017-01-22T11:27:00.001+00:002017-01-22T11:31:56.418+00:00Under Milk Wood As promised, here is the cast list. To get there: nearest tubes are Piccadilly, Leicester Square or Tottenham Court Road. By bus, the 38 and the 19 both stop at Chinatown, directly opposite the bottom of Dean Street. St Anne's Church is at the Shaftesbury Avenue end of Dean Street.<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 28.0pt; line-height: 107%;">ST
ANNE’S, SOHO<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif";">PRESENTS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif";">The French House Players with a
rehearsed reading of a compilation from<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "broadway"; font-size: 28.0pt; line-height: 107%;">UNDER MILK WOOD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "broadway"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">by Dylan Thomas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">STRUAN
ROGER as the Narrator<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">DOROTHEA
PHILLIPS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">MANSEL
DAVID<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">PAUL
RYAN<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">JOHN
WITTS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">TIM
WOODWARD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">LESLEY
LEWIS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">LIZ
FELTON<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">MARTIN
CORT<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">CAMILLA
MATHIAS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Sound
by TERENCE PERKINS </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Directed
by MARTIN CORT</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">7.30pm Friday 27<sup>th</sup> January
2017</span></b><br />
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John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-58694480989502433322017-01-12T18:10:00.001+00:002017-01-12T18:10:44.242+00:00The French House and other storiesMy favourite pub featured in the BBC News website magazine pages recently.<br />
<br />
Here's a link:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-38384519" target="_blank">www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-38384519</a><br />
<br />
It's the seventh picture down, so scroll down for a look.<br />
<br />
I was sat on the fourth stool in from the left last Sunday lunchtime with actress Dorothea Phillips to my left, then Terry, our sound man and Martin Cort our director.<br />
<br />
We were occupying the 'Sandy Fawkes Corner' of the bar as we were having a "Production Meeting"..........<br />
<br />
Well, we had just had a look at the Community Hall of St Anne's Church Soho to sort out the practicalities of The French House Players rehearsed reading of Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood".<br />
<br />
This will take place at 7.30 p.m. on Friday 27th January, running time is about 75 minutes.<br />
<br />
Tickets will be available on the door, £10 each (£5concs), all proceeds to St Anne's Church.<br />
<br />
I'll give you a full cast list nearer the time, but expect the likes of Struan Roger, Tim Woodward, the indefatigable Dorothea Phillips (she was in one of the original productions in the '50's....), Martin Cort, Lesley Lewis, and me.....<br />
<br />
It should be fun!<br />
<br />
Come along if you can!John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-74284123900715624422017-01-09T10:20:00.000+00:002017-01-09T19:41:33.738+00:00Now here's a thing........I have been keeping an eye on the stats page of this blog.<br />
<br />
It's not vanity, just interest, as I'm sure the majority of visitors to this blog are not even remotely interested in the any of the content.<br />
<br />
They are more likely attempting to strip-mine it for data that can be used for nefarious purposes: the use of spam-bots and the attempted planting of malware or links to pornographic sites springs immediately to mind.......<br />
<br />
Perhaps this is just a feature of the modern internet and I should not concern myself too nearly with it.<br />
<br />
However, a recent surge in the number of visits from Russia, Poland and the Ukraine has got me thinking.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Why???????</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
This week, 251 visits to 'The Last Post' alone, 95 from Russia and 92 from Ukraine.<br />
<br />
In the last month, a total of 1859 visits from Russia, 319 from Poland and 139 from Ukraine.<br />
<br />
Contrast this with 259 from the United Kingdom and 167 from the United States........<br />
<br />
I certainly seem popular in the former Eastern Bloc........<br />
<br />
And this is not a new phenomenon.<br />
<br />
At the risk of sounding like I'm suffering from a good old-fashioned dose of Cold War Paranoia, I find this disturbing.<br />
<br />
Is it just me?<br />
<br />
Are there <i>really</i> that many Olegs and Olgas out there surfing the net in search of some vaguely boat-related light entertainment?<br />
<br />
Or is something more sinister afoot?<br />
<br />
Perhaps someone at GCHQ in Cheltenham could nip over to the Nissen hut that houses the Boaters' Blogs Monitoring Service this lunchtime and ask Neville to put his corned beef sandwich down, stop playing Freecell for a minute, and find out what the heck is going on?<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, here's a few search key words to tickle the interest of our friends in the East.<br />
<br />
<i>Putin.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Megalomaniac.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Kleptocratic government.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Suppression of dissent.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Autocracy.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Pussy Riot.</i><br />
<br />
And for good measure, here's some about his New Best Friend:<br />
<br />
<i>Trump.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Wazzock.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Puppet</i><i>.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Presidential Inauguration.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Nuclear missile launch codes.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Private Fraser/Dad's Army/"We're all doomed."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
That little lot should get them going.....<br />
<i><br /></i>
If this post now roars past the '500 visits' mark by Tuesday teatime, and more than 75% of those are from the former Soviet bloc, then I'll know I'm on to something.<br />
<br />
What to do about it, other than dig a hole, get in it , then pull the hole in after me, I'm not entirely sure........<br />
<br />
In the meantime, keep smiling, everyone.<br />
<br />
:-)<br />
<br />
I'm off to watch "A Beautiful Mind" again........<br />
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<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-38705515989165387402016-12-31T21:15:00.000+00:002017-11-23T21:02:02.185+00:00The Last PostWell, not the last<i> ever</i> post........<br />
<br />
Just the last post of 2016......<br />
<br />
And as this has been a year of great sadness at much passing, let the title stand!<br />
<br />
I heard The Last Post played on the bugle at St Anne's Church in Soho on Remembrance Sunday in November this year.<br />
<br />
And with the help of Father Simon, and my friends from The French House Players (a group of professional actors who drink in that very fine establishment just across Dean Street from the church and who gather to perform rehearsed readings for charitable causes....), we read the entire list of names on the Parish War Memorial out loud just before the Two Minutes Silence.<br />
<br />
This was the first time this has been done in living memory.<br />
<br />
It seemed to me very apt in the centenary year of the carnage and slaughter on the Somme that this should be so.<br />
<br />
The desperately sad, poignant and elegaic sound of the bugle has long since died away.<br />
<br />
It seems to me important that, as the embers of the old year burn down, all those we left behind us in 2016 should also be commemorated.<br />
<br />
And with their own, less martial, music...........<br />
<br />
"<i><b>Comes now the Spring thou shalt not see,</b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b>Alas!</b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b>We have sore miss of thee......."</b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38418802" target="_blank">www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38418802</a></b></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
So what to play for them?<br />
<br />
We'll start with this:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X2Nvx--k1U" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X2Nvx--k1U</a><br />
<br />
Now that, in my humble opinion , is truly beautiful.<br />
<br />
What soul would not wish to waft heavenward accompanied by such as that?<br />
<br />
Well...........<br />
<br />
I can see Lemmy Kilmister, Rick Parfitt, Glenn Frey and quite a few other rock and rollers finding it a little less than sufficient unto the day......<br />
<br />
So this is for them:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI1ZUohNYS8" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI1ZUohNYS8</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #006621; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span>
But this one is for Carrie Fisher: the saddest, for me, of all the losses we have sustained in this fell, fell year..........<br />
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I would say "Goodnight, Sweet Princess," but I know you hated that soubriquet.......<br />
<br />
But "May flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest" anyway.........<br />
<br />
And as you were both made crazy by a talent so bright it burned you, I'll let Miss Shepherd have the final word...... via Horowitz........ (the original Youtube clip from "The Lady in the Van" is no longer available.)<br />
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<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-8974367687776083862016-12-19T22:17:00.001+00:002016-12-19T22:20:47.356+00:00All that is Light, all that is Music, and 'All the Angels'.......C. S. Lewis once described Heaven as 'that place where there is only light, and all that is not music is silence'.....<br />
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I think it's in 'The Pilgrim's Regress', but I could be wrong........<br />
<br />
He is much out of fashion these days. Beyond the 'Narnia' books, his writing is largely ignored.<br />
<br />
I think this is a shame.<br />
<br />
Though I am far ( very, <i>very</i> <b>very </b>far indeed) from being an Evangelical....... (there, the very word made my skin creep.....) like Lewis, I am even further from Hugh Trevor-Roper:<br />
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<a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/2006/07/the-voltaire-of-st-aldates/" target="_blank">www.spectator.co.uk/2006/07/the-voltaire-of-st-aldates/</a><br />
<br />
(For the record, H T-R was a daft old ponce who allowed his ego to intervene with his critical faculties to such an extent that when he was presented with the laughable 'Hitler Diaries', a work of obvious fiction <i>so</i> transparent they make Monty Python's 'The Life of Brian' look like a long lost Book of The New Testament, he cost The Sunday Times the thick end of a quarter of a million quid......In 1985. When that was a sum of money, not the price of a studio flat in in one of London's less salubrious postcodes......)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.theguardian.xn--com%20%20world%20%20germany-1w9pla/" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com › World › Germany</a><br />
<br />
So, as the inimitable Molesworth would have it, "Yah boo sucks to Lord Dacre......."<br />
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'So, er, what was all that about?' you may well be asking.....<br />
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I suppose that it's about this: I may not agree with Lewis on everything, but we are still on the same side.<br />
<br />
And I won't have him traduced.<br />
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Or ignored.<br />
<br />
Whatever.<br />
<br />
Let us consider once more 'that place where there is only light, and all that is not music is silence'.....<br />
<br />
It can be tricky, this one.......:<br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38340648" target="_blank">www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38340648</a><br />
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Makes you think, doesn't it?<br />
<br />
Where was the light?<br />
<br />
Where was the silence?<br />
<br />
Subsumed by Hell itself, I think......<br />
<br />
And yet Zuzana Ruzickova endures.<br />
<br />
And so does the harpsichord.<br />
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And so does the music of Bach.<br />
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Perhaps "The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not"..<br />
<br />
And perhaps in that light we find Heaven itself......?<br />
<br />
Perhaps......<br />
<br />
Anyway, last night at the theatre.......<br />
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I went to see 'All the Angels" at The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in London.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.whatsonstage.com/.../reviews/all-the-angels-handel-sam-wanamaker_42452.htm..." target="_blank">www.whatsonstage.com/.../reviews/all-the-angels-handel-sam-wanamaker_42452.htm...</a><br />
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Light.<br />
<br />
Music.<br />
<br />
Silence.<br />
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Applause........<br />
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It is an utterly wonderful , life-affirming piece of theatre.<br />
<br />
Please go, if you can.<br />
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At least twice.<br />
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And take heart!!<br />
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<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-89776663352741195942016-12-01T20:26:00.000+00:002016-12-02T19:07:09.410+00:00It would seem that I am not alone..........The blog posts of this year have been uniformly negative.<br />
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I've had to deal with the loss of some of our greats in theatre, music, and entertainment.<br />
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Politically, things have just gone absolutely all to Hell.<br />
<br />
These two girls just sum it all up.<br />
<br />
You will have to cut and paste this link as I can't make it work just by clicking it.<br />
<br />
But please <b><i><u>DON'T DO THIS</u></i></b> unless you have a <i>very</i> relaxed attitude to extreme profanity.<br />
<br />
(Dad, I'd scroll back and have another look at the Kingfishers. This one isn't for you. X)<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #006621; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yv_rl3MYKA</span><br />
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<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-63662417832941026642016-11-27T21:42:00.000+00:002016-11-27T22:14:33.724+00:00Nature notes....<div style="text-align: left;">
The recent activity on this blog has been predicated largely by my growing sense of despair at the direction this country seems to be heading..... (out of Europe), and the direction The United States of America seems to be heading..... (to Hell).</div>
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A vicious, puerile, ignorant, badly educated, racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic agenda is on the rise.........</div>
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Bad Moon.........</div>
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It is perhaps a little overdue, but timely, to remind myself that while my ability to affect any of these events or alter any of their courses is negligible, some things <i>are</i> immutable.<br />
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Viz:<br />
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Photo taken yesterday morning by Jackie, through the cat-flap, while this one perched on our neighbour's cratch cover.<br />
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Jackie's photo again. This is Swan, (of our local breeding pair Flanders and Swan), on dawn patrol.<br />
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Mine this time. Max telephoto lens from the back deck towards the lock caught this fisherman unawares.<br />
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Dawn: Summer.<br />
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Dawn:late Winter early Spring...... ish......<br />
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Summer: local showers........<br />
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Layered sky.....<br />
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Sunset.<br />
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Supermoon<br />
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Jackie/Sunset Photobomb<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NfXQoTWt4cDf3O-evTR8R6Z6b6ERjfMrwH9PaZEGQ82ZgP3ehKl4EZ7fTRUfe0liRuu1xYHtvobkVrqVcBDTR0SDyZkL395BMfW191d9JXowfTOKT796LAoA4YfGkFC5Gh1TE5rLPdo/s1600/DSC00821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NfXQoTWt4cDf3O-evTR8R6Z6b6ERjfMrwH9PaZEGQ82ZgP3ehKl4EZ7fTRUfe0liRuu1xYHtvobkVrqVcBDTR0SDyZkL395BMfW191d9JXowfTOKT796LAoA4YfGkFC5Gh1TE5rLPdo/s320/DSC00821.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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A feather from The Dove of Peace, anointed by an Angel's tear, drifts slowly by and away...........<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzN8JTFdwxxlN_ILrha2e29nzxooo78yU6Zn80RrfAqVArlBGCzscTj5Ixpi0hEa3E7aSrW1IUJUyZwry1oC-D59cGVriRtDdWKCieThEySxHgEv8EvAhQn-l3_8O_5jLi6TdCafbUBY/s1600/DSC00843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzN8JTFdwxxlN_ILrha2e29nzxooo78yU6Zn80RrfAqVArlBGCzscTj5Ixpi0hEa3E7aSrW1IUJUyZwry1oC-D59cGVriRtDdWKCieThEySxHgEv8EvAhQn-l3_8O_5jLi6TdCafbUBY/s320/DSC00843.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Beyond the Blue Horizon (By Michael Nesmith)<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8f5a5nXnfk" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8f5a5nXnfk</a><br />
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So there you go: twelve photos. Twelve months. Shitty year..........</div>
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But all the above were taken from Pippin's deck or hatches (with the obvious exception of the last, which features the eponymous Widebeam in the background.)</div>
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Nature will instruct us.</div>
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No matter how bad we try to make it, Nature will always offer us consolation.</div>
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There is beauty yet, for all that we do that is ugliness............</div>
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Take heart!</div>
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John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-15120520639691020842016-11-24T20:25:00.001+00:002016-11-24T20:29:04.138+00:00Stop Press!!!! Nigel Farage says something true!!!!<div class="story-body" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet, Freesans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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A quote from Our Nige, soon to be Our Man in Washington, it seems,,,,,,,</div>
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<span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit;">"For those of you who aren't particularly happy with what happened in 2016, I've got some really bad news for you - it's going to get a bloody sight worse next year."</span></div>
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He said this at a reception at London's Ritz Hotel hosted by millionaire Arron Banks to celebrate Nige's contribution to the Brexit victory.</div>
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<span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit;">Apparently, people cheered........</span></div>
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Well, whatever you think of him or his politics, there is absolutely no doubt that he has got this one absolutely right.</div>
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Proof, then, if ever it is needed, that even the most callow, self-serving and mendacious must, on some occasions, speak sooth.........</div>
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God help us all............. </div>
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38089702" target="_blank">www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38089702</a></div>
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John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-90109940034088633422016-11-23T23:59:00.002+00:002016-11-23T23:59:52.996+00:00Today, I am, after a long while, once again proud of my country........This is supposed to be a boaters blog.<br />
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It hasn't had very much to do with boating for quite some time.<br />
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But then, murdered Labour MP Jo Cox lived on a boat, and I don't think that fact defined her every utterance either.<br />
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Today, Thomas Mair has been sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder.<br />
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I have just read the Judge's comments on the BBC website:<br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38076755" target="_blank"> www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38076755</a><br />
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Thank you, Mr Justice Wilkie.<br />
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The so called Alt-Right, the Neo-Nazis, those with the nerve to call themselves 'nationalists' (and thereby 'patriots') will not win in this country.<br />
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Not this day.<br />
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To be a Patriot is to love your country.<br />
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To be a Nationalist is to hate your neighbours.<br />
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And were we not taught to love our neighbours as ourselves?..................<br />
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Let us do so then, in spite of, and in every respect, to<b><i> truly</i></b> spite, all of those who<i> would</i> bring hatred to their neighbour.<br />
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<br />John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580507995910853692.post-47774576212105081792016-11-22T18:42:00.000+00:002016-11-22T18:42:03.963+00:00In which I discover I have much in common with The Big Yin and The Big Apple............First, a word from BBC news website:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #006621; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap;">www.bbc.co.uk/</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #006621; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap;">new</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #006621; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap;">s/world-us-canada-38019788</span><br />
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Now, a word from one of my favourite Scotsmen:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #006621; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRStOmd3weE</span><br />
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And I am happy to report that, as of 18:35 hrs GMT, no more of my teeth have fallen out in disgust at The Donald's impending presidency......<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #006621; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span>John Wittshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14291220958329864659noreply@blogger.com0