tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58831023634712432902024-02-21T10:15:24.331+00:00Barton newsJon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-9789787720357008482021-01-01T10:52:00.001+00:002021-01-01T10:52:38.171+00:00Covid-19 increase post-Christmas?<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">It is possible that the data reported by government (https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/) is not quite correct, with the Christmas and New Year holiday, but both North Somerset and Bristol's numbers of confirmed Covid-19 cases have started to climb in the days after Christmas (see plot). In both areas, numbers had dropped to a lower level over December (100 cases per day in Bristol and less than 50 cases per day in North Somerset), after really high rates in October and November, but now appear to be picking up again. After the last blog, suggesting that the 5-day Christmas break was not a great idea, we had the holiday curtailed to one day - and it was hugely disappointing not to be able to travel to Scotland to be with family. However, if we see these accelerating numbers of cases into January, we will have to accept that we needed a lockdown earlier.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJArsB5ZL9NTXq_n_PdQKjZcDbWqT9ihsK0d_cLzEdwhtqygjiz3ksjHI2hQoUl3t2YgugHM_P3qn78YH2pUkAUT_q7aVKllTlbwhWOcIGH1eRjeX8aDYcA5rm0DNpQ-ArMM53n59Xdc/s1206/Bristolcases9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="1206" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJArsB5ZL9NTXq_n_PdQKjZcDbWqT9ihsK0d_cLzEdwhtqygjiz3ksjHI2hQoUl3t2YgugHM_P3qn78YH2pUkAUT_q7aVKllTlbwhWOcIGH1eRjeX8aDYcA5rm0DNpQ-ArMM53n59Xdc/w593-h326/Bristolcases9.jpg" width="593" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-291031260855172772020-11-21T11:14:00.000+00:002020-11-21T11:14:50.476+00:00Covid-19 in North Somerset - Part 8: Cancel Christmas?<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">What a difference a month makes! Since my last post, the rate of government reported Covid-19 cases has rocketed in both North Somerset and Bristol - see the figures below. In Bristol, the infection rate is a staggering 330 new cases per day and has been at that rate since the 22 October. Apparently, the infection rate is high in particular areas, notably Bishopsworth (see: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/nov/19/the-mystery-of-bristols-soaring-covid-19-infection-rate), but the reasons are obscure. For those using the Zoe-Covid app (https://covid.joinzoe.com/), the map available to those logging shows a marked concentration of cases in the university/college towns and cities of the south-west - Bristol, Bath, Exeter, Plymouth. Of course, these are the centres of population, but there is a suspicion that students returning to college have brought more than their books!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In North Somerset, we have been averaging more than 70 new cases every day, since the 22 October. Looking back to my early blogs, I was concerned that in April and May we were averaging 7 new cases a day, significantly more than Bristol. We are now in a completely different scenario, where case numbers are ten times larger. Nevertheless, the NHS seems to be coping, though treatment for many other ailments are on hold. I have been waiting for an appointment to see a surgeon for a knee condition since August and still no news. My radiotherapy for prostate cancer fortunately finished in March, just ahead of our first lockdown. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">With case numbers now falling in Scotland, Wales and northern England, numbers are still increasing in the south and the Midlands. There seems to be an slightly unseemly rush at the political level to prepare the country for a Christmas break with no lockdown, so families can gather. Why is this, when a number of scientists are warning that the result will be more fatalities in the spring? Don't get me wrong, I love the Christmas holiday and getting together with family and the associated traditions that have developed over time and the new ones that will start. Others have exactly the same sorts of traditions, at different times of year. In the first lockdown, many had to give up their celebrations for Eid. So, if we are asked to make a similar sacrifice for Christmas, why would that be any different? Let's be honest, in a largely secular society, the religious element is mostly absent and the period is just a midwinter holiday with lots of commercial exploitation - and has been for a long time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Bristol:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEf0GQKTeUsZPZ67rth2XMSTeed5iBAf2voZ6XV097KbTsoS04R48K2YP3LhJEnGH5pVd7nNQzHjbJdZrFY2kd4on7eXf_JlP-rpqlK9PqYwAJx5qbvKct5uzgqDrYbP1tsmS8QkuztEg/s772/Bristolcases8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="772" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEf0GQKTeUsZPZ67rth2XMSTeed5iBAf2voZ6XV097KbTsoS04R48K2YP3LhJEnGH5pVd7nNQzHjbJdZrFY2kd4on7eXf_JlP-rpqlK9PqYwAJx5qbvKct5uzgqDrYbP1tsmS8QkuztEg/w543-h397/Bristolcases8.jpg" width="543" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">North Somerset:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiP5gUaJo9se32FwZTX-KwUFZ97dGFJ_oXsGldBVZmh8EHuH0kvmuIztOKL-YVnf4T_pD3s5NazOb6eU5ybmXSWZlOvsa9F76Zfi8781RAONjgLvpfQOiBeyzlilh1pAnSCs4nzGtbVk/s771/NScases10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="771" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiP5gUaJo9se32FwZTX-KwUFZ97dGFJ_oXsGldBVZmh8EHuH0kvmuIztOKL-YVnf4T_pD3s5NazOb6eU5ybmXSWZlOvsa9F76Zfi8781RAONjgLvpfQOiBeyzlilh1pAnSCs4nzGtbVk/w544-h398/NScases10.jpg" width="544" /></a></div><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-21740324757996664132020-10-10T09:06:00.001+01:002020-10-10T09:06:54.596+01:00Covid-19 in North Somerset: Part 7 - exponential increase?<p><span style="font-family: arial;">A month ago, I was suggesting the rates of Covid-19 in North Somerset and Bristol were accelerating. Data from the government (see: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/) on numbers of cases in the last week has shown a jump in cases again, to well over the rates we saw back in April. In Bristol, we have seen a doubling of the rate each month since July. At the moment, the rate is a huge 60 new cases per day, indicating that there may be an exponential increase in cases. In North Somerset we are seeing 16 new cases per day, more than double our previous highest rate. The Covid app (https://covid.joinzoe.com/) is perhaps indicating that case numbers are stabilising, but clearly the message for all of us around Bristol is to maintain social distancing, wearing masks and hygiene. The rates currently look linear, rather than exponential, but the jump in case numbers is worrying.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Bristol:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBTT1sbffNPi9tSPmpdjrb8praPvwkLxUp-VhWI72e6ZKSW6XCoxAUG2mp3W0gywea_JEGhMDQ1o8MC0xGoE2Zzi7nQlRqodBH-V22C8zSkMv0FD1FPKXKAh3cRAl8ABn0rPJ2AlQei_g/s771/Bristolcases6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="771" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBTT1sbffNPi9tSPmpdjrb8praPvwkLxUp-VhWI72e6ZKSW6XCoxAUG2mp3W0gywea_JEGhMDQ1o8MC0xGoE2Zzi7nQlRqodBH-V22C8zSkMv0FD1FPKXKAh3cRAl8ABn0rPJ2AlQei_g/w521-h381/Bristolcases6.jpg" width="521" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">North Somerset:</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6yv-aZNJDN7-uAHf2wXpvi2q5IKbe0OPPudg9b_2EXqDOM96Ur69_750xfc-BwYMBlT_Z6eCsr5FmY9e1GuR_W5KXA2qL5c7UDtwFqNVc9-rUJ_0NqKfaLTaGXqBPyZ3TuoPKRUhX_8/s771/NScases8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="771" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6yv-aZNJDN7-uAHf2wXpvi2q5IKbe0OPPudg9b_2EXqDOM96Ur69_750xfc-BwYMBlT_Z6eCsr5FmY9e1GuR_W5KXA2qL5c7UDtwFqNVc9-rUJ_0NqKfaLTaGXqBPyZ3TuoPKRUhX_8/w561-h388/NScases8.jpg" width="561" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-11565676010111579072020-09-12T12:02:00.001+01:002020-09-12T12:02:41.552+01:00What is happening with Covid-19 in North Somerset? Part 6 - accelerating infections<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Oh dear! Two weeks ago, I was suggesting that the numbers of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Bristol recorded o</span><span style="font-family: arial;">n the government website </span><span style="font-family: arial;">were climbing at a faster rate than previously. Now, the numbers not only show this is the case in Bristol, but also in North Somerset. In Bristol, the number of new cases per day is just under 12. In North Somerset, numbers of cases were below one per day for June, July and August. Alas, the rate has accelerated over the last two weeks and the rate is now back to more than 7 cases per day, similar to the rate we had in April and May.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXdlwuQthT-mZDYjtI5vqDQlpM_72kbQvxmqiUejYHkIzAI-ddjdfKwKBHhR1hHtbrzoOXYdiJg98dnSqbIpj1PM-dtF8hSxq5wvS4F3gp_oT5vAtfEpA7LZHS_LYwXeCVJmc5VoydO4/s767/NScases7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="767" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTXdlwuQthT-mZDYjtI5vqDQlpM_72kbQvxmqiUejYHkIzAI-ddjdfKwKBHhR1hHtbrzoOXYdiJg98dnSqbIpj1PM-dtF8hSxq5wvS4F3gp_oT5vAtfEpA7LZHS_LYwXeCVJmc5VoydO4/w625-h420/NScases7.jpg" width="625" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">OK, we need to try to get back to some normality for the sake of the economy, education, jobs and income, not forgetting our mental health. Nevertheless, these data show that we really <u>must</u> keep up Covid-19 precautions and social distancing, as we open up society. We do not want a second wave, but is this the first signs?</span><p></p>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-47615513675204827732020-08-27T10:18:00.004+01:002020-08-27T10:28:36.178+01:00What is happening with Covid-19 in North Somerset? Part 5 – don’t go to Bristol?<p><span style="font-family: arial;">So, what’s been happening to the number of Covid-19 cases in North Somerset and Bristol according to government figures over the last month? Well, in North Somerset it has been steady as you go, with new cases confirmed at a rate of less than one a day (0.8 per day). After the horror rate of nearly seven new cases a day through April and May, this is very good news, even if we have ended up with a total recorded rate of 434 cases per 100000 people. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx7b8iH7wVKyTWPuvdn4hvK9ncYHBLjv-waKtY7RgoGj-b93VXVxcYN2qyr1RzxBAeWupSv71cuE7gZf6pjxfpwCoRZorNdnvHpHMhGyXLkyPR9sFD4kAfx-wtoHdf2fCEDgRFjosvM5s/s1204/NScases5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="1204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx7b8iH7wVKyTWPuvdn4hvK9ncYHBLjv-waKtY7RgoGj-b93VXVxcYN2qyr1RzxBAeWupSv71cuE7gZf6pjxfpwCoRZorNdnvHpHMhGyXLkyPR9sFD4kAfx-wtoHdf2fCEDgRFjosvM5s/s640/NScases5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The picture for Bristol is rather more concerning at present – see the graph. Over July, when the figures included both NHS and private test results, new cases were recorded at a rate of three every two days. This doubled to three a day for the second half of July and since the beginning of August has doubled again to nearly seven new cases a day. OK, the total rate of infection is still less than North Somerset, at 317 cases per 100000 people, but Bristol is catching up fast. This is evidence of an acceleration in infection and one must question if it is worth going to Bristol on a casual basis. If you work in Bristol, I would be social distancing, wearing a mask when out and about and washing hands regularly.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Oh, and by the way, the case rate in Bristol now is the same as in North Somerset in May. The lines don’t seem the same, but that is just the different scales in the two graphs.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqkRtCc-9FRqeI5Oiz94s4Ng6WF2Gogh-OwUtORjvuTiWI6g6VecR1tyfE44G3EgCB4ZQRUugblv8txB4FOffEfXJwUNUmNRSOVlhs0oDQCfuxZfaa4G69PNQjJVGzpdrlGaPfA55JaE/s771/Bristolcases5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="771" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqkRtCc-9FRqeI5Oiz94s4Ng6WF2Gogh-OwUtORjvuTiWI6g6VecR1tyfE44G3EgCB4ZQRUugblv8txB4FOffEfXJwUNUmNRSOVlhs0oDQCfuxZfaa4G69PNQjJVGzpdrlGaPfA55JaE/s640/Bristolcases5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Remember the Covid-19 app (see: https://covid.joinzoe.com/). PLEASE SIGN UP AND RECORD EVERY DAY, AT ROUGHLY THE SAME TIME. The data collected from over 4 million citizens can now be used to predict developing hotspots, hopefully not Bristol. </span></div><div><br /></div>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-46983715378669781922020-07-29T21:01:00.002+01:002020-07-29T21:03:52.188+01:00Agricultural machinery is now too big for rural roads<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">We have a problem that is specific to life
in the countryside – ever larger tractors and associated machinery on country
lanes. </font></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12qaR-m9UDmayUjkMH94SRuHUj2W-exMbPWu81RfFx2vueX1zL9XA7-fh9SCbijd3wpZSEAknVyDrTbPryyTIpLiyqtWf60VH9y6UVUrGyBWmAKiHsjpAfLgwhuTkRK61C4gOmB8PQMk/s2048/IMG_5690.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh12qaR-m9UDmayUjkMH94SRuHUj2W-exMbPWu81RfFx2vueX1zL9XA7-fh9SCbijd3wpZSEAknVyDrTbPryyTIpLiyqtWf60VH9y6UVUrGyBWmAKiHsjpAfLgwhuTkRK61C4gOmB8PQMk/s320/IMG_5690.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0YyFA3fJMxK68OvtKIAkHrkMHS1tWS6uCXVmd0_wN-pBohxtl6na1-oeFE4eEz-9_wCwsmphIxWXL2DuECD4SmIZu3JpFHpKMiFoUVT7tHMxTvO5opvxNfPvcgFDCGLUuwWdaDwGQjs/s2048/IMG_5755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0YyFA3fJMxK68OvtKIAkHrkMHS1tWS6uCXVmd0_wN-pBohxtl6na1-oeFE4eEz-9_wCwsmphIxWXL2DuECD4SmIZu3JpFHpKMiFoUVT7tHMxTvO5opvxNfPvcgFDCGLUuwWdaDwGQjs/s320/IMG_5755.jpg" /></a></div><font face="arial"><br /></font><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">I appreciate that living in the country brings privileges, especially
under Covid-19 lockdown, when we have been able to walk out of our garden and
not meet many, if any, people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However,
when we, our dogs, the verges and roadside walls are threatened by high speed
tractors and trailers weighing tons, there is a time to speak out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our lane was built for traffic that consisted
of a horse and cart and many rural roads across the UK are just the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mechanisation revolution in agriculture
that started around the Second World War still continues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With ever fewer people working on farms, the
technological answer has been to develop larger and larger and ever more
powerful machinery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The larger the
tractor, the less time it takes to work a field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This brings time efficiency, but at what
cost?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More and more stock farmers around
us use contractors for silaging and muck spreading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I dare say many arable farmers elsewhere use
contractors for tillage, sowing and harvesting. Contractors work as fast as
they can, to be as cost effective as they can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You will never see a contractor in a small tractor – only the biggest,
fastest and most powerful will do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, what is the problem?</span><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">Apart from threatening the lives of walkers, riders and other road users
with the speed of travel, such large machinery damages the road verges and
undermines roadside walls.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Tractors and
trailers are so long now that they no longer can easily turn at junctions, and
into tracks and gateways.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The roadside
walls in our hamlet are always being rebuilt because machinery has knocked the
walls down.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">During wet weather and
notably in the winter, the verges are wet and the tractors progressively erode
them, bringing mud into the road.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">This
is a problem for other road users and walkers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">The speed tractors travel on the lanes is also a huge concern.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">A car can only pass these tractors at points
such as gateways.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The amount of black
tyre skid marks along our lane is incredible.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial"></font></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="arial"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDmxJGdFY16ddID9J9yxWTrTLiVR2D5bHrsWBajCfp112XxXFxcE6i4ZKap_AYZKDza44Q1sjeeFZ4Uq8nyCAqr7toJ_cZTqekzJdlCY6G6a73SQAVVgQCebINGOrWwD0WY7u6ap14qmU/s2048/IMG_5855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDmxJGdFY16ddID9J9yxWTrTLiVR2D5bHrsWBajCfp112XxXFxcE6i4ZKap_AYZKDza44Q1sjeeFZ4Uq8nyCAqr7toJ_cZTqekzJdlCY6G6a73SQAVVgQCebINGOrWwD0WY7u6ap14qmU/s320/IMG_5855.jpg" /></a></font></div><font face="arial"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></font><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">Some double lines nearly 10 m long! Amazing that we have had so few accidents,
especially as the tractor drivers inevitably are on their mobile phones while
they drive at these speeds (we hardly ever see any police here). Seeing one of these tractors resting on the
top of a car, with one set of wheels up the hedge, was quite something a few
years ago! Fortunately, no injuries. </font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial"><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Is this a case of farming saying to the rest of us, we do
what we like, because we can?</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Is this
just a lack of responsibility and cowboy behaviour from agribusiness?</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Either way, there is a problem here that has
yet to be properly addressed.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Rural
infrastructure is being damaged and lives are being threatened on public roads
that are not designed for these vehicles.</span><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">Farming and farm contractors need to get their act together.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Consider also that farm tractors pay NO road
tax, if the maximum distance travelled on the road is less than a mile and
between fields on the same farm.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Farm
contractors should tax their tractors, but do they really?</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">If not, then such vehicles are not even
contributing to the damage they cause to the Queen’s highway!!! </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">One cannot help but feel that some people are
putting two fingers up to rural residents.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br />Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-49568622588878833412020-07-26T09:21:00.000+01:002020-07-26T09:21:33.288+01:00What is happening with Covid-19 in North Somerset? Part 4 – numbers climbing again?<div><font face="arial">Is Covid-19 in North Somerset climbing again?</font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">The way the number of daily cases reported on https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/ for England was changed on the 2 July to include all the corona virus testing from independent and other testing (so-called Pillar 1 and 2). The adjustment in the total number of cases indicated initially that the number of new cases continued in North Somerset at roughly one new case every other day for the month from mid-June (data points in yellow and blue). There was an adjustment to the data on 19 July because of double counting. Since then the data shown in green has a worrying increase in case numbers, up to 1.2 new cases per day in North Somerset. There is only a week’s worth of data, so may be the rate will drop back, but as lockdown is now easing, we need to be careful. Covid-19 has not gone away and could be increasing.</font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial"> </font><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEm3qNMEh3ts2RROBN2lpImHaVXof3pXZyKCV7ZJGIQ5RZUm6K8BF6ATaQA4Oap6CW2XRlhfcp_I8E6dQFrl7FkjOWp7AzgZwkGL3hGhY_GCReN9wLC18LaswRfsmGw-ZuJ85mlvTX6I/s771/NScases4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="771" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEm3qNMEh3ts2RROBN2lpImHaVXof3pXZyKCV7ZJGIQ5RZUm6K8BF6ATaQA4Oap6CW2XRlhfcp_I8E6dQFrl7FkjOWp7AzgZwkGL3hGhY_GCReN9wLC18LaswRfsmGw-ZuJ85mlvTX6I/w500-h366/NScases4.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">For the record, the data from Bristol indicates a steady increase in case numbers, averaging 1.5 cases a day, a little higher than North Somerset.</font></div><div><font face="arial"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0UP85pabQ5H_CtV_8pFkhav84yRcO_wAWQxNv_3UUefQMT_eJT9U1BC2XLAc8d_xVpJ1qPC2TxFg6URk_wp39pO1l3WSJNjBdvq742bxV2yDAoPw8sE9vPly-Dc1yjlcth_7vKYUQ0A/s1205/Bristolcases4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="1205" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0UP85pabQ5H_CtV_8pFkhav84yRcO_wAWQxNv_3UUefQMT_eJT9U1BC2XLAc8d_xVpJ1qPC2TxFg6URk_wp39pO1l3WSJNjBdvq742bxV2yDAoPw8sE9vPly-Dc1yjlcth_7vKYUQ0A/w500-h275/Bristolcases4.jpg" width="500" /></a></div></font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">Remember the Covid-19 app (see: https://covid.joinzoe.com/). PLEASE SIGN UP AND RECORD EVERY DAY, AT ROUGHLY THE SAME TIME. The data collected from over 4 million citizens can now be used to predict developing hotspots, e.g. Leicester. </font></div><div><br /></div>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-44430060170507339512020-07-06T13:24:00.000+01:002020-07-06T13:24:04.513+01:00What is happening with Covid-19 in North Somerset? Part 3<span style="line-height: 107%;"><font face="arial">The
really good news is that the number of daily cases reported on <a href="https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/">https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/</a>
for North Somerset has reduced markedly – see below. A little over a week into June and the
numbers of cases reported from NHS testing (so-called Pillar 1 data) reduced
from nearly 7 new cases a day, to one new case every two days. From the 2 July, the data reported by
government was changed to include all the corona virus testing from independent
and other testing (so-called Pillar 1 and 2).
The result was to boost the total of cases from 492 to 905, or from 230
cases per 100000 to 423 cases per 100000.</font></span><div><span style="line-height: 107%;"><font face="arial"> </font></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 107%;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmrrSFRxew6Cp-auPw_ouRf-C7gy_j4El15oo6z906WLkEeeYmBJDx54X3KKlJAx-xYBZqPtNgKTN2i64P0gX7zidwGZfZkbZNbQP9n_J3iCgEUivT2p40A3yCHiKtA4_gY4DSgB8WJU/s696/NScases3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="696" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmrrSFRxew6Cp-auPw_ouRf-C7gy_j4El15oo6z906WLkEeeYmBJDx54X3KKlJAx-xYBZqPtNgKTN2i64P0gX7zidwGZfZkbZNbQP9n_J3iCgEUivT2p40A3yCHiKtA4_gY4DSgB8WJU/s320/NScases3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><font face="arial"><br /></font></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 107%;"><p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">I have been noting the number of cases in Bristol only since
23 May – see the plot below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These data
indicate rather little change in numbers of new cases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The change to Pillar1 & 2 numbers moved
the numbers from 729 to 1276, or from 157 cases per 100000 to 275 per 100000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The picture in Bristol is that the absolute
number of cases is higher than North Somerset, but the number per 100000 people
is well below that of North Somerset.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The only warning note to sound is that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>while the number of cases per day in Bristol was less than one (0.9),
since the data has included Pillar 2 testing, the rate is now averaging 1.3
cases per day, higher than before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">That raises the profile of the Covid-19 app (see: <a href="https://covid.joinzoe.com/">https://covid.joinzoe.com/</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>PLEASE SIGN UP AND RECORD EVERY DAY, AT ROUGHLY
THE SAME TIME.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The data collected from
over 3 million citizens can now be used to predict developing hotspots, e.g.
Leicester.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fingers crossed that Bristol
is not hotting up!</font><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEw_TeV86uCjI7WUYbH-06I7dI_4Vum-RMlNQ5xA2uZRhB4Sn9TnkXAgwpQbq29D7EUUy4aPndbCXvM9JEghm9QYxqUe4OOm5l-N_QeWfrz4Q9fhyphenhyphen34M3XVUCjb3OPbOIqgnZeoRQBpG8/s755/Bristolcases3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="755" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEw_TeV86uCjI7WUYbH-06I7dI_4Vum-RMlNQ5xA2uZRhB4Sn9TnkXAgwpQbq29D7EUUy4aPndbCXvM9JEghm9QYxqUe4OOm5l-N_QeWfrz4Q9fhyphenhyphen34M3XVUCjb3OPbOIqgnZeoRQBpG8/s320/Bristolcases3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><font face="arial"><br /></font><p></p><font face="arial"></font></span></div>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-32572179251186776132020-06-24T20:26:00.000+01:002020-06-24T20:45:02.791+01:00Superfast fibre broadband<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><font face="arial">There have been teams digging up the lane in Barton for
superfast broadband over the past two to three years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have waited for connection over a similar
timescale. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Earlier in the year, we
actually had our connection pot installed on the road verge, after we had been
missed out. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In May, we had progress when
the Gigaclear fibre line was connected to the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On 26 May, the line was run from our
connection pot on the lane, through the wall by the road, along a shallow
trench in the lawn, through the house wall to a box on the sitting room wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, however, there was a blockage
found 50 m down the road, so we were unable to find out how superfast our
broadband might be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Up to now, we have
survived on BT’s maximum of 8 Mbs, with buffering a regular feature.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A team came on 10 June to sort the block and splice the
fibre.</span><span style="font-family: arial; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The story was that the block
required the road being closed and dug up, as not only was the block at 50 m,
there were more blocks closer to the cabinet down the road.</span><span style="font-family: arial; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Many phone calls and emails later, apparently
the block had been sorted, but despite assurances that splicing would be done
when the block was sorted – no joy.</span><span style="font-family: arial; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Further
emails to senior staff elicited splicing last Saturday and with a bit of tech
savvy, we were able to get connected, not by the approved route, but it all
works now!</span><span style="font-family: arial; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, what does the iPhone speed test give us now? –</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">Ping = 8 milliseconds; Upload speed = 315 Mbs; download
speed = 317 Mbs.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">Not too shabby!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">Will keep you posted on how it goes.</font><o:p></o:p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yd6wA-tKNlb7hvspQqhPk9y4dZmhU7bvDV7LzLZqtqVhdykI6h0gBxVDFeNpnceMOIlN4N-7C1tHafJhLUzNzfs5Ybxhfd5vlMHciJcYZCWAZ6npcZg9-GZ2Pt1Rx6ugTqtIqpaQHag/s1035/Gigaclear.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="1035" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yd6wA-tKNlb7hvspQqhPk9y4dZmhU7bvDV7LzLZqtqVhdykI6h0gBxVDFeNpnceMOIlN4N-7C1tHafJhLUzNzfs5Ybxhfd5vlMHciJcYZCWAZ6npcZg9-GZ2Pt1Rx6ugTqtIqpaQHag/s320/Gigaclear.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-2208878022465303582020-06-13T08:37:00.000+01:002020-06-13T08:37:45.104+01:00What is happening with Covid-19 in North Somerset? Part 2 - or no spike and no lockdown<div><font face="arial">So, what has been happening with the number of reported Covid-19 cases in North Somerset since the last blog on this subject? In local and national press, the news has been the closure of Weston General Hospital to new patients and the A&E department on 25 May, supposedly associated with a spike in numbers of cases of Covid-19 (See - https://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/council-to-delay-reopening-services-after-south-west-r-rate-reaches-uk-high-1-6683792). Matt Hancock also commented on the spike and the lockdown in Weston-super-Mare. </font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">Continuing to use the number of daily cases reported on https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/ for North Somerset, there is an interesting pattern emerging. From the 16 April 2020 when I started noting the numbers up to 24 May, there has been a continuous increase in the number of cases averaging just under seven cases a day (6.8). It is a remarkably straight line, possibly indicating that whatever actions were being taken were having either a constant impact or no impact. From 25 May onwards, there is evidence of a reducing rate of new cases. </font></div><div><font face="arial"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mhq9ZIVIsWgw1pM7xqZ0-z74tSEic0Bf5dJfOaUo6qJyEJ6VYlwMwJAa-QY1yJ4vNUVohg0AP1ypXoM0wLMz4vVgFJu5GH3fB5PJgXUUAzSbFKakHep6g0VzsYdzceSko3AD5xie4j4/s873/NSCovid2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="873" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mhq9ZIVIsWgw1pM7xqZ0-z74tSEic0Bf5dJfOaUo6qJyEJ6VYlwMwJAa-QY1yJ4vNUVohg0AP1ypXoM0wLMz4vVgFJu5GH3fB5PJgXUUAzSbFKakHep6g0VzsYdzceSko3AD5xie4j4/s320/NSCovid2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">Looking in detail from 20 May onwards, if one were to assume a linear increase in cases, the rate has dropped to just under 5 cases a day (4.9). Over the last few days, there is a significant drop from the rate of 7 cases every day, which is a welcome sign. Watch this space for further trends.</font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">A key point to make is that there is NO EVIDENCE OF A SPIKE IN CASES, either before or after Weston General was closed to new patients on 25 May (https://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/outbreak-of-coronavirus-at-weston-general-hospital-1-6669079). I wonder what exactly was meant by those reported in the press. Interestingly, Mike Bell of North Somerset Council also had to correct Hancock by pointing out that there had been no further lockdown in Weston, as there were no such powers. The questions remain. Why has there been a linear increase in Covid-19 cases in North Somerset for a month and a half, including holidays when there were large numbers of visitors from elsewhere? Why are there still more cases in North Somerset per day compared with Bristol (averaging only 1.2 new cases per day)? Why are there more cases per 100000 population in North Somerset compared with Bristol (225 v. 154 in Bristol)?</font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">I have been noting the number of cases in Bristol only since 23 May – see the plot below. This also seems to have a linear increase in numbers of cases, but at a rate much lower than in North Somerset. The absolute number of cases is higher in Bristol, but the number per 100000 is much lower (154), i.e. the absolute rate of infection is lower in Bristol. Is this just a reflection of the population demographics? Are there fewer children and more older people in North Somerset, i.e. are there more susceptible people? Is it that fewer people wear masks in North Somerset than elsewhere?</font></div><div><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><div><font face="arial">I hope those responsible have the answers. Do please comment.</font></div><div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4C0wDi5eUKbSYmhyphenhyphenOSw2SlcqeCPTCMWYyDyYOkQ2Kpwx414wjEsGxI_JArbK6B79yxGQEGMRDf1h4VAOI1v_C6VQnYvvCnv7jj9umWRzZHh54gwZ-KCcLXlMBbfjRX8J775AZ0dw93w/s902/BRSCovid2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="902" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4C0wDi5eUKbSYmhyphenhyphenOSw2SlcqeCPTCMWYyDyYOkQ2Kpwx414wjEsGxI_JArbK6B79yxGQEGMRDf1h4VAOI1v_C6VQnYvvCnv7jj9umWRzZHh54gwZ-KCcLXlMBbfjRX8J775AZ0dw93w/s320/BRSCovid2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-84693148434270742642020-06-09T10:44:00.002+01:002020-06-09T14:59:11.272+01:00Don’t be a colonial tourist, or why we should review our travel expectations<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Have you noticed the heavy advertising for travel and
tourism?</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">It seems to be in every medium.
just as lockdown is easing.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Have you
ever thought: Why do we expect to travel the globe and be tourists
everywhere?</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">What is this sense of entitlement?</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">What does travel do to climate, to local
communities, wildlife etc.?</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">What should
we be doing?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">Fairly recently, I heard the following: “Everybody has the
right to travel to wherever they wish”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pre-coronavirus, that was probably a very widely held opinion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, at the very simplest level, this is
patently now not the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not able
to visit my grandchildren in Scotland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
we were to follow our inclination to go where we like, when we like, in fairly
short order we would likely be subject to state intervention and sanctions –
and in my opinion, under current coronavirus conditions, rightly too, including
Mr Cummings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, how does this sit with
our apparently insatiable desire to travel all over the globe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nowadays, there are even maps of the world
you can buy, on which you can colour in or scratch off all the countries you
have visited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many people travel abroad
more than once a year, weddings are now hosted in all manner of locations, stag
and hen parties often are held overseas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What is this drive and what is it doing to the visited local communities
and the globe?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">At the heart of our craze for travel, there seems to be an
incredible sense of entitlement to go wherever you please, do whatever you
please.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some time ago, one might have believed
that this was a kick back against the landed gentry preventing people from accessing
the countryside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That just doesn’t wash
today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back in the last century,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>rather than holiday at the coast in the UK, a
flight or a coach to France, Spain or Portugal was affordable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, it has become expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With that expectation and ordinariness, the
search for the exotic has become a national pastime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve just got back from – fill in the blank
– Cancun, Peru, Antarctica, Kazakhstan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
country, experience, photograph have you just bagged?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What concerns me is that this seems to come with
a total lack of respect of the traditions, cultures and languages of the places
visited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The British are particularly
poor at languages and expect to have English spoken everywhere they go. <o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">Consider the giant cruise ships that rock up at tiny ports
round the globe, or Venice for that matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Consider the city breaks, the tours, the golf tours, the game
lodges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The punters are all tourists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They flock to the sights and spend their
money at cafes and craft shops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Staying
in hotels or lodges, who does the waiting, who does the cleaning and
cooking?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who are these people?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do they do at night?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem is that the majority are not
interested, don’t wish to know, but expect to have the best of everything
provided by gracious, willing slaves that speak impeccable English.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consider: in the future, we may be expected
to speak impeccable Chinese, just so tourists are comfortable and will spend
their money here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why is it that so many
places come to rely on tourism?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
does it do to locations, cultures, development and the environment?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">I suspect there is a rather similar progression at every
“discovered” destination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When people
start visiting, I suspect that the local community is initially flattered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The provision of what visitors like – to see,
eat, stay in and buy - then becomes a driving force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over time, such destinations become dependent
on tourists and tourism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the coronavirus
shutdown, many businesses are now under threat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tourist destinations abroad are now under threat, with no travel and
therefore no income.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pragmatically,
tourism is economically important.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">But let us take a step back in time to the discovery of
destinations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Following discovery, who
has the wherewithal to provide the hotels, cafes, restaurants and shops that
tourists require?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inevitably, it is the
few with the financial clout and ambition to exploit the opportunities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not the original community, with its
traditional culture and social structures. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, changes follow to that culture, reflecting
not the traditions, language or mores of the original, but actually the likes of
the visitors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, tourism is basically
a corrupting influence, a subtle colonial influence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">In an age of accelerating climate change, do we really consider
the impact our travel has on air quality, increasing carbon in the atmosphere,
or noise in our oceans?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The impacts of
Covid-19 on improving air quality have been wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We shouldn’t slip back to our dirty ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for impacts on wildlife, exploitation and
habitat destruction are obvious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps
we should also be questioning the basis of much of eco-tourism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much of it seems to be colonialism by another
name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Read “The Big Conservation Lie” by
John Mbaria and Mordecai Ogada (2016).<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="arial">Essentially, I am just arguing that we take more time to
consider how we behave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have that
time, so let’s use it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Question the need
to travel, question that sense of entitlement, question what are the cultural,
economic and environmental impacts of our actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arguing that we can do what we like, simply because
we can, misses so many points and surely is no longer acceptable.</font><o:p></o:p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRfVIjhyphenhyphenFnexXTUHmkxSySAOSq71BSXKmQuzirlvGaoMv5LbyeoyfVoN5HZpBp7yNafZnTpk8gadUGJGtUTubnUO_t8oG5dMntfqz14iAhdoMpKxb-pVRnpgR523tra8Cd5yJHDu56UY/s2560/2011-11-10+00.56.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRfVIjhyphenhyphenFnexXTUHmkxSySAOSq71BSXKmQuzirlvGaoMv5LbyeoyfVoN5HZpBp7yNafZnTpk8gadUGJGtUTubnUO_t8oG5dMntfqz14iAhdoMpKxb-pVRnpgR523tra8Cd5yJHDu56UY/s320/2011-11-10+00.56.19.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-81140589276453532232020-05-25T12:36:00.001+01:002020-06-09T14:57:16.336+01:00"Wilding" by Isabella Tree (2018): Please read this book<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do please read this book, if you haven't already. It is well written and easy to read and describes the development of the Knepp estate rewilding project. It also has some critically important messages that need to be spread far and wide. Some 20 years ago, I visited the controversial Oostvaardersplassen grazing project in the Netherlands and I must now get to Knepp, as soon as the Covid-19 virus allows. I've known about Knepp for some years and have been meaning to visit, but it hasn't happened yet. Having read the book, I have a much clearer idea of how it came about and the struggles to achieve what is a critical initiative amongst the UK rewilding projects. As a scientist that spent much of my career looking at farmland ecology and ways of maintaining biodiversity, particularly with field margins and hedgerows, this book challenges a host of underlying assumptions. That is the key importance of the book for me. However, the startling conservation successes within the project alone, with nightingales, turtle doves, a host of invertebrates, plants and birds and mammals and most recently the hatching of the first white storks in the UK for centuries, </span><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-52675922">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-52675922</a>, <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">are all enough to make the book worth reading. Other aspects, such as flood prevention, carbon sequestration and food quality, also feature. It is fascinating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The fact that the project came about from a commercial farm background roots the book in practicality and reality. The author makes no bones about the fact that had the estate been profitable under intensive agriculture, that is probably what would be happening now. It wasn't and having to sell all their farm kit and clear their debts (what a tumultuous day!) started a process that has resulted in huge changes. The journey described in the book is one that needs to be widely known. There are lots of lessons for all of us. While not from backgrounds of scientific expertise, Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell, have engaged a scientific approach, along with many of our eminent ecologists. The book is accurately referenced, giving one confidence in all that is described.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For me, there are two particular assumptions that were and still are widely believed to hold sway and which this book shows are wholly inaccurate. They warp so much of our current approaches to conservation in a farmed landscape. First, is the view of what is the traditional farmed landscape in the UK. What actually is the target of environmentally sound and sustainable land management? What should the landscape look like? The book teases this out to actually be a generational and movable feast. For individuals, it is what the landscape looked like when we were children; for me, that would be prior to the boom in intensive production in the 1970s, but for my children that would be how it is now (and may explain why one is in the Highlands!). So, much of conservation is aimed at what the land looked like in the 1960s. At Knepp, the landscape is nothing like any of these, because it harks back to a much earlier reality of hundreds of years ago. Thus, the shock to local people around the Knepp estate and more widely amongst visiting farmers was profound. Talk about a bad press! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The second assumption, is that the ecology of a host of species is that from research over recent time. There are several fascinating examples of the presumed habitat preferences of rare species being proved inaccurate at Knepp, presumably reflecting the impacts of habitat change pushing species into remaining sub-optimal habitat, which is then assumed to be optimal. The development of transitional habitat , essentially "untidy" scrub and patchy grazing between scrub and trees resulting from "wild" pigs, ponies, deer and cattle seems to be key to some species doing well. Of course, scrub is largely absent on modern farms and in our landscapes. So, we need to be critical of accepted wisdom and remember to question underlying assumptions in research. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think a visit to Knepp is definitely called for, perhaps a wild safari or camping! See: </span><a href="https://www.kneppsafaris.co.uk/">https://www.kneppsafaris.co.uk/</a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks to Ian and Linda for the book!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-27896013660426044132020-05-21T15:48:00.000+01:002020-06-09T14:56:56.184+01:00Botanising on the hills above Barton<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've spent the morning on this lovely sunny day up on the Mendips above Barton. I was making a botanical inventory on three of the seven plots I look after as part of the National Plant Monitoring Scheme - see: </span><a href="https://www.npms.org.uk/">https://www.npms.org.uk/</a> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This recording scheme started a few years ago and has three levels of recording - wildflowers, selected indicator species or inventory - so anyone can have a grid square and can have a go. My phone app tells me I was out for nearly 3 hours and covered 4.7 km, so that is good exercise for today. It is amazingly dry on the limestone, so some plants seem advanced, while others, notably the grasses seem delayed. It all looks very Mediterranean up there. I was lucky enough to re-find two nationally rare species in one of my plots - honewort (<i>Trinia glauca</i>) </span><a href="https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/trinia-glauca">https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/trinia-glauca</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and Somerset hair-grass (<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368;">Koeleria</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156;"> vallesiana) </span></i></span><a href="https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/koeleria-vallesiana">https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/koeleria-vallesiana</a> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They are not exactly spectacular to look at, but great to know they are still here and both are largely limited to the Mendips in the UK.</span><br />
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<br />Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-78403076722667989732020-05-19T08:24:00.003+01:002020-06-09T14:58:47.375+01:00What is happening with Covid-19 in North Somerset?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since surgery for prostate cancer in January 2019, I've been keeping a diary recording steps, alcohol intake and bodily functions. Sometime this year, I started adding data on coronavirus. The government publish data daily on numbers of cases and numbers of deaths at: </span><a href="https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/">https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/</a> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and since 16 April 2020, I have been noting the numbers of Covid-19 cases in North Somerset. This morning, just for interest, I plotted the data in Excel and added a trend line, to visualise progress with infection. The result was surprising:</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3QQ4XRhGQnAg8qTLiGT-06mTnVjntKeABuFpUKqjgO0lFBT_EqiQcY2bn3v72MMNXmJzxeRvVk90TTE-vEahmStZdeatIRodeSD5iAIQpSXdMRW_tuj6sKQzUD_YNQl9jicRp7hsDoY/s1600/NScases.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="564" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3QQ4XRhGQnAg8qTLiGT-06mTnVjntKeABuFpUKqjgO0lFBT_EqiQcY2bn3v72MMNXmJzxeRvVk90TTE-vEahmStZdeatIRodeSD5iAIQpSXdMRW_tuj6sKQzUD_YNQl9jicRp7hsDoY/s320/NScases.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instead of a reducing number of cases, the trend appears to be linear, indicating that there is a constant rate of infection. So what is going on in North Somerset? I don't have data for Bristol, where one might expect higher rates, but casual inspection indicates rather few new cases compared with North Somerset. In Bristol, the infection rate per 100000 people is 148.3. In North Somerset, we have had 164.1 cases of coronavirus per 100000 people. On the Covid-19 app collecting data for Kings College London, the current estimated percentage of people in North Somerset with symtomatic Covid-19 is 1.0%, while in Bristol it is 0.5% - see </span><a href="https://covid.joinzoe.com/">https://covid.joinzoe.com/</a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are we getting lazy in lockdown, or is there some other explanation for the trend in infections in North Somerset? </span>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-11038846934579497052020-05-17T08:43:00.000+01:002020-06-09T14:57:51.087+01:00Food imports - email to our MP<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">E-mail to the local Weston-Super-Mare MP, John Penrose, sent on 15/05/2020:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dear Mr Penrose</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I rarely contact you, but following yesterdays Commons business in relation to the production and environmental standards of food that will be imported in the future, I am impelled to register my amazement and disappointment. If the coronavirus pandemic has taught us anything, surely it must be that obesity and type 2 diabetes are avoidable problems that impact the NHS and society more generally. Logically, therefore, how can importing low standard cheap foodstuffs that often find their way into the highly processed diet of those most at risk to Covid-19 be defendable. The lack of logic here is staggering. This also seems to be a kick in the teeth for UK agriculture, who are obliged to produce food to high standards, and still compete in the world market, but now on a highly skewed playing field. I understand from the press that the PM is taking up the issues of obesity and diabetes, so again where is the logic of allowing low standard food imports? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My current lockdown reading is "Wilding" by Isabella Tree about the Knepp estate rewilding. I can recommend this highly, as it is well written with excellent scientific support, and includes a fascinating description of living with a bad press! The relevance of this is in the economics of agribusiness and its impacts on our own landscapes. For many, the coronavirus lockdown has reportedly had a large and positive impact on reducing household food wastage. In rural areas, it has also encouraged contact with local food producers. I would have hoped that the benefits of local food purchasing, reduced food miles and continuing high standard production would be things that would be encouraged post-coronavirus. However, this will be threatened by cheap food imports. I will not go into the adverse impacts of industrialised, low standard food production on ecology and sustainability, but the UK should NOT be condoning such methods by importing the fruits of such damaging practices.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yours sincerely</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jon Marshall</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-62123670591254268702020-05-17T08:13:00.000+01:002020-05-17T08:13:10.511+01:00Restarting the Barton news blog <div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's the 17th May 2020. Coroavirus is creeping up again in North Somerset and this week, I had a telecall with my oncology consultant on the state of play with my prostate cancer. Tragically, our dear friend Ruth Spalding collapsed and died a fortnight ago and her husband Mike came for a cup of tea yesterday. We have been in contact a lot, but it was good to meet, albeit observing the 2 m social distance. We sat outside, enjoying the great weather we have had since the lockdown, with louder birdsong and clean air. With so much that has happened and with time at home to consider the state of the globe, the country and our circumstances, I feel it is time to restart a blog, with occasional posts on topics that need to be considered, alongside news from sleepy Barton.</span></div>
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<i>Echium pininana</i> (3 m) and <i>Echium candicans</i> not yet flowering</div>
</span>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-65669331034540963872013-12-06T13:04:00.004+00:002013-12-06T13:06:32.617+00:00In between Mr B’s Reading Year: Broken Road: From the Iron Gates to Mount Athos by Patrick Leigh Fermor (2013)<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We managed to get our copy the evening before release at Mr
B’s own bibliotherapy session<span style="background-color: white;"> <span style="color: white;">(</span><a href="http://www.mrbsemporium.com/" style="color: #444444; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.mrbsemporium.com/</a><span style="color: white; line-height: 18px;">) </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and what a treat we have. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This posthumous publication has been eagerly
awaited, the third section of Patrick’s year-long walk from England to Istanbul
(Constantinople) made in 1935 when he was 18.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This book has been finalised by Patrick’s literary executors, Colin
Thubron and Artemis Cooper, using completed sections and notes.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They have managed a potentially very
difficult task wonderfully well, creating something that is genuine.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet again, the brilliant writing, the
descriptions of people and landscapes, shines through.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The lands and people Patrick meets are just
fascinating.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The book takes us from the
Iron Gates on the Donau through Bulgaria, back to Romania, then down the Black Sea coast to Constantinople.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Interestingly, there are only scattered notes of his stay in Istanbul –
no soaring descriptions of the architecture or the bustle of city life we
enjoyed earlier this year. This is
curious, but must be a part of the story why the book was never finalised in
Patrick’s lifetime. Perhaps the politics
of the Ottoman collapse were too raw. The
final sections describe Patrick’s first time on Mount Athos, visiting the many
different monasteries of that Greek isthmus.
Reading these pages, you can see why he was drawn back to the quiet
places, as described in his little book on monasteries <i>A Time to Keep Silence</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are some wonderful passages throughout the
book – classic Fermor – leaving images in your mind that you hanker after. A passing violent storm, with rushing
rainwater. The storks flying south -
first the vanguard, then the massed ranks at different heights and finally the
last stragglers and silence – oh what an image and how I want to see it. Does it even still occur? Then the evening with the Greek sailors and
shepherds – perhaps the start of Patrick’s love of Greece. The dancing is mesmeric and ecstatic, with
tourist taverna evenings a pale reflection of what he describes. And the people – friends he makes from all
walks of life, who bring their mixed Balkan cultural histories to cloud their
behaviour – fascinating and affecting. A
treat!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Istanbul 2013</span></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-12918418609665321952013-11-19T17:57:00.001+00:002013-11-19T17:57:47.796+00:00Books in between Mr B’s Reading Year: Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household (1939)<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I first read this book aged 11 or 12, when it left me with
an odd fascination for hollow ways and green lanes in the English landscape –
picked up by others, including Hugh Thompson <i>Green Road into the Trees</i>, but more particularly Robert Macfarlane
and his wonderful <i>The Old Ways</i>. However, my schoolboy memory was also for a
great adventure. When this special
reprinting in hardback by Mr B’s appeared (</span><a href="http://www.mrbsemporium.com/">http://www.mrbsemporium.com/</a>)<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, how could we not get it?!</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are now the proud possessors of copy
number 41 of a limited edition of 500. The Introduction is by Robert Macfarlane
himself and describes a trip with Roger Deakin (</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wildwood</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) to Dorset looking for the possible site in </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rogue Male </i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">{just found </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holloway</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (2013) describing that trip and
more is out}!</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On a second reading, Rogue Male turned out to be
a wonderful chameleon of a book. OK it
is a man’s book, but it has achieved something that is only rarely done – it is
a boy’s adventure, an adult thriller, a spy story published on the eve of the
Second World War in 1939, a nature study with insight into animal and human
behaviour - all at the same time and in a relatively short book. Cleverly, the writing uses described memory
flashback, so that as the book proceeds, we learn more and more of the
subject. Written in the first person,
the man who first lines up a foreign leader (clearly Hitler) in the crosshairs
of his telescopic sight is an enigma. We
learn of his capture, suffering, escape to England, only to find his pursuers
are close behind, notably the nasty but clever Quive-Smith. So to Dorset and
old stamping grounds for me, as we head for a hidden holloway and an excavation
to hide in, where Asmodeus the cat follows proceedings. Ultimately, there is escape after an
unwelcome end to the cat and fittingly Quive-Smith, with honour maintained <i>in extremis</i>, sadness for a lost love,
before setting off for a final task. A
rare book indeed.</span></span><br />
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Dorset (2002)</div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-17914563833076277872013-11-18T11:23:00.000+00:002013-11-18T11:23:13.730+00:00Mr. B’s Reading Year No. 8: The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson (2012)<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">This
a cracking read and a wonderfully full and complex story woven about Jun Do,
the main character, and his life in North Korea. It is a story about sacrifice, but it is a
wonderful tale. The environments and the
lives may be bleak, in this totalitarian state, but they are human and
carefully brought to life. Starting as
an orphan, he knows he is treated badly by the orphan master, but only because
he is special. He is clever, so he is trained
in the army, and goes to work in the tunnels under the DMZ into South
Korea. He becomes at home and can fight
in the dark. Described only in snippets
through the story, he undergoes pain training and learns to take terrible
punishments. He is bright and is
selected to join a team of kidnappers, pinching people from Japan and South
Korea, often for people with specific talents needed by the Pyonyang elite. He learns foreign languages, especially Japanese
and English. Thus, he is sent to sea on
a fishing trawler, where he listens to the radio traffic at night – including
two American women rowing across the Pacific – and what turns out to be the International
Space Station, where surprisingly Americans and Russians work and joke
together. How could that be possible? Shortly after a run in with the US Navy, he
fakes a terrible shark bite on his arm, to protect the trawler crew from
summary posting to mining camps. His
language skills get him on a trip to Texas, where the “Minister” is a driver, the
minder is the Minister and Jun Do as translator is mistaken by the US security
as General Ga, the highest general in North Korea. Treating his shark wounds, he is
befriended. Back home, Jun Do is sent to
a prison mining camp, where it turns out the real General Ga is in charge of
finding uranium for the state. The
characters Jun Do meets and the trying circumstances are very real. When General Ga, a sadist, comes to visit, he
sets about Jun Do underground. However,
Jun Do breaks the light, darkness is his friend and he gets rid of Ga and takes
his place. He escapes to Puyonyang and
is slowly accepted by Ga’s wife Sun Moon and their two children. Against a backdrop of bizarre brainwashing
behaviour and grand designs to impress foreigners, escape to the US, torture
and sacrifice complete this wonderful book - but for whom, you ask? You will have to read it to </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">find out.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With Do-Soon Kim on the east side of S Korea, after visiting Jeju Island (2008)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NamDaeMun Market, Seoul, S Korea (2008)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-18157301280812916492013-10-20T08:29:00.003+01:002013-10-20T08:29:59.223+01:00Mr. B’s Reading Year No. 7: The Green Road into the Trees: a walk through England by Hugh Thomson (2012)<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is an interesting, well-written book, full of people,
locations and history that give us a snapshot of southern England today. Personal coincidences abound, so Hugh was off
to a winner for me from the off. I
started reading this a week after walking with Hilary and the dogs on Chesil
beach at Abbotsbury, after Mike Rufus’ 75<sup>th</sup> birthday hog roast at
his thatched cottage Tilly Whim in the countryside outside Dorchester,
Dorset. The walk described in the book
starts at the chapel by Abbotsbury above the beach! The walk is along the ancient Icknield Way,
taking in the Ridgeway in Wiltshire, part of which I walked as a boy, through
the Chilterns, ending at Holme-next-the -Sea in Norfolk. Halfway house is
Hugh’s home near the Thames, where he learns he has to move out. Not everything has gone smoothly for Hugh’s
personal life, but I like his take on things and people. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As an ancient trackway, it is fitting that history,
archaeology and landscape are recurring themes.
There are fascinating places described, including the many hill forts,
barrows and henges along the way. The
associated history of these comes easily and the writing provides new
information and insights into our perspectives of English history. The impact of agriculture on the landscape is
a subject close to my heart and part of my professional life. Thomson has a good eye and an insightful
understanding of past influences and current pressures on farming and our
social structures. His telling of the
Bronze Age is fascinating. I’m not sure
why I thought that there was more of the Green Wood in Saxon times – probably
because of the history of hedges, via Oliver Rackham, one of a number of
Cambridge dons that feature. I’m on
familiar territory from Dorset to Cambridgeshire, but the archaeological finds
outside Peterborough including Flag Fen and the famous “Seahenge” at the end of
the journey are just so exciting that we will have to get East and explore.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is something about the coherence of making the walk
that is appealing. I guess many readers
will have crossed the route, but somehow knowing some of the places and even
some of the people in the book, adds to the read. Having worked near Oxford, I know Wittenham
Clumps and the Goring Gap. I have met
Robin Buxton many times, but cannot claim to have climbed Kilimanjaro with
him! My father did climb it, as a young
Agricultural Officer from the Uganda Protectorate. Heading East, I was pleased
to read of the Baldock Tesco’s with its amazing façade. This was an occasional stopping point for me,
stocking up for a week away at the Boxworth experimental farm outside
Cambridge.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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What hasn’t come across, is that this book is also a store
of literary interludes, with a bit of music thrown in. I loved George Orwell’s house. Thomson read English Lit at Cambridge and we
slowly learn of his life through the book, including his career of
film-making. His knowledge of travel and
ancient cultures, particularly in South America, pops up now and then, always
interesting and enthused. So there is a
lot here – enjoy.<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Chesil Beach at Abbotsbury, Dorset</div>
Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-80363313109284811012013-10-17T10:40:00.000+01:002013-10-17T10:40:09.357+01:00Mr. B’s Reading Year No. 6: Thoughtful Gardening: great plants, great gardens, great gardeners by Robin Lane Fox (2010)<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thoughtless Gardening</span></i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> would be a better title for this book! I haven’t been as stimulated by a book as
this one, for some time. However, it
isn’t for the right reasons. The Oxford
academic author and Financial Times gardening columnist has gathered his
writings into the calendar year in short column chapters. The fact that each is short is a
blessing. To give him his due, he does
have an excellent understanding of cultivars and the best chapters focus on
individual groups – asters, peonies, roses, etc., etc. - where useful
experience and information is passed on.
In a similar vein, some of the descriptions of individual gardens are
good. However, the overall tone is of
pomposity and name dropping, rather than of passing on a genuine
enthusiasm. What comes over is a rather opinionated
writer, probably reflecting a life spent in an Oxford college and London. What really grates is that here is a writer
that apparently likes gardens and gardening (one wonders if they really do in
their heart of hearts), but who has little grasp of ecology and the natural
world. “Wildlife” seems to be just the
four-footed variety and a problem to be eliminated. The value of beneficial
invertebrates and pollinators is foreign to the author. In fact, one chapter seems sufficient
evidence to bring a criminal case against him under the Wildlife Act. He describes putting out baits laced with
weed killer to kill mammals in the garden.
This is just the practice used by some unscrupulous landowners to kill
kites, eagles and harriers and now vigorously prosecuted by police and wildlife
protection organisations. It isn’t clear, but it could be that the “poison”
used was glyphosate, which of course is not toxic to mammals – again
highlighting a lack of knowledge and understanding. Surprising and irritating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">19th May 2011: Our garden, with </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">granddaughter</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> Abbie aged 6+ months.</span></span>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-48563667513747399032013-10-08T08:11:00.004+01:002013-10-08T08:16:29.943+01:00Mr. B’s Reading Year No. 5: The Howling Miller by Arto Paasilinna (1981) - translated by Will Hobson from the French of Anne Collin du Terrail (Le Meunier Hurlant)<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A slightly
odd book? Perhaps, but as one critic puts it,
“beautifully written and strangely moving”.
The main character, the miller, Gunnar Huuttunen, is an odd individual
for sure - he howls like a wolf now and then - but he is hard working, straight and persecuted. That persecution from his neighbours is
definitely unfair and undeserved, but circumstances unfold in this fable in an
unpredictably predictable way. How he
keeps going, being sent to an asylum, escaping and living wild, is a wonder and
you feel for him. His kind, increasingly
supportive, girlfriend, the horticulturalist Sanelma Käyrämö, sees him through
a series of mishaps and adventures. The
great and the good of the local town, particularly the chief of police and
doctor, have it in for Gunnar, for no obviously good reason. Having evaded the army, Gunnar is ultimately
tricked and captured to be sent back to the asylum. He is with his friend, the constable Portimo, on
the train, but mysteriously they never arrive at the asylum. However, equally mysteriously, a big lone
wolf appears in the neighbourhood and wreaks a little revenge on the chief and
doctor. It must by Gunnar, but who
knows? The final fable is alluring, but
the beauty of this book is with Gunnar and those closest to him. Surely a little more understanding would help
the world go round.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEium_1lPQMH8XPQ_PANs1Mbztj3pVJRsvGX8CmLmEo1nQkvxGd9wf_GUkONwyP3Bwe4lK9dC_-LLnG0RWa3xoNvvDAx2HFRZWmkPCR0AreNwT76Q2_Z2WtSi08qVwJGgcMxSTuUxJ5Sgpw/s1600/2013-04-21+19.30.09_Inverness_GB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEium_1lPQMH8XPQ_PANs1Mbztj3pVJRsvGX8CmLmEo1nQkvxGd9wf_GUkONwyP3Bwe4lK9dC_-LLnG0RWa3xoNvvDAx2HFRZWmkPCR0AreNwT76Q2_Z2WtSi08qVwJGgcMxSTuUxJ5Sgpw/s1600/2013-04-21+19.30.09_Inverness_GB.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-90625388784862513242013-09-07T14:38:00.000+01:002013-09-07T14:38:44.073+01:00Mr. B’s Reading Year No. 4: One Day I Will Write About This Place by Binyavanga Wainaina (2011)<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We
went across to Mr. B’s in Bath to listen to Alexander Fuller, brilliant author of <i>Gone to the Dogs</i> and <i>Under the Tree of Forgetfulness</i> about
family life in Zambia and Zimbabwe, both of which will make you laugh out loud
and cry. This book, </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><i>One Day I Will Write About This Place</i>,</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> was one that she
recommended as a rare example of an honest and direct one by an African about their
Africa. This is autobiographical, covering the early life of Binyavanga and is
a chaotic romp from his early life in Kenya, through troubled adolescence, to
university and even more troubled drop-out in South Africa, then back to the
arms of his family in Kenya.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">A measure
of normality and a job, but all the time, he is reading, reading, reading – so,
yes, he starts writing.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">And he writes
well.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Congolese music, sights, smells –
the first impressions and feelings powerfully laid down as childhood memory are
here.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">There are his lows of dropping out in South
Africa, where his beloved sister tries to keep him going, and having to return
home to face his parents - but family are family.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">People,
communities and tribes he meets are fascinating and all the time, the
background politics shape the city of Nairobi and the interactions between
tribes.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">He is of the “ruling” Kikuyu,
but their place in Kenyan society is equivocal.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">His mother also comes from the land of my birth, Uganda, torn apart by
Idi Amin.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">They travel there to western
Uganda to visit the family, passing through places and landscapes that stir faint memories for
me.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Read this book.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">There is charm, wit, interest and much to
learn – Binyavanga grows up, but this universal passage is an individual,
unusual and vivid one in this book.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLDYZUBLKOncbaTnsFzMXV6tT3Qkq1O16HzVK5r5_hg0MazMjLeBTnZQoSHW4LFT5EpUz_9QGT6DqkbSHslV90IgGvH4nSgN2ZNyj9vCl74Ngv9k9FJ1jss0Bd-JwR2p81Cvm-MkWZ18/s1600/DSC01329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLDYZUBLKOncbaTnsFzMXV6tT3Qkq1O16HzVK5r5_hg0MazMjLeBTnZQoSHW4LFT5EpUz_9QGT6DqkbSHslV90IgGvH4nSgN2ZNyj9vCl74Ngv9k9FJ1jss0Bd-JwR2p81Cvm-MkWZ18/s1600/DSC01329.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">My parents, my sister and I used to live in this bungalow at Arapai Farm Institute, near Soroti, Uganda.</span>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-79497079456015565582013-08-17T08:22:00.003+01:002013-08-17T08:22:43.064+01:00Mr. B’s Reading Year No. 3: The Break by Pietro Grossi (2007)<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Small
and perfectly formed” is one quote on the cover of this deceptive book and it
accurately sums up this little charmer.
Set in a small Italian town, this seems an everyday tale where nothing
much happens. Dino, the main character,
works on the town roads, with his small gang, creating and repairing perfect
stone block work. His recreation is
billiards in the local café/billiards hall, run by the legendary player
Cirillo. As a boy, Dino is set the task
by Cirillo of getting the ball to return to the exact spot – every time. He perseveres. As a man, he is quietly married to Sophia and
they live frugally with little income.
Into this routine of stonework, billiards and home, slowly change comes.
First, the arrival of tarmac and the break-up of the road gang. That does bring
change, but going to national billiards tournaments at Cirillo’s suggestion (he
will not go) is another. Dino, as a
country hick, just does his thing and wins, but it is for Sophia and the
potential of fame and fortune is not for him.
With changes to work, comes protest, corruption, a bomb, a bit of
racism, then tragedy at home, redemption and love. How did all that happen, when nothing much
was happening? It is a mystery created
by the writing. Read and weep.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtT6U7KY0L-GsaloidBPUCFfxjmRXRMZrhmidLRG8ZVK5Voczxt4Q26bnT9DuEm8CA_9dVYo1WispgnTIjd06PeLjQebNsxuPbTCWz70IczIXegfRJfmBXHkWT1B8uZ0MRWuH33HadLso/s1600/DSCF2472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtT6U7KY0L-GsaloidBPUCFfxjmRXRMZrhmidLRG8ZVK5Voczxt4Q26bnT9DuEm8CA_9dVYo1WispgnTIjd06PeLjQebNsxuPbTCWz70IczIXegfRJfmBXHkWT1B8uZ0MRWuH33HadLso/s1600/DSCF2472.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883102363471243290.post-50387535529535103512013-07-27T08:30:00.001+01:002013-07-27T10:25:45.419+01:00Mr. B’s Reading Year No. 2: The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron (1937)<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Bruce
Chatwin writes the introduction to this travel book, marking this book, written
in 1933, as perhaps the best written travel book ever and bemoaning the loss of
so many sights, smells and experiences to history. Starting in Venice, this is the description
of Byron’s journey to Oxiana, land of the River Oxus on the border between
Afghanistan and Russia, with much time in Persia, today’s Iran. He makes it on to India and ends back at home
in Savernake, near where I went to school, where he cryptically hands his notes
to his mother to see what she makes of it – yes, it was published! What a joy this book is to read. What writing!
His particular interest is in the ancient architecture of the lands he
travels through. Towers, tombs,
triumphal arches, even old cities, as well as mosques and mausoleums are
brought to life, some over 1000 years old.
Along the way, the vistas and people he meets and how they live are
wonderfully described. This must have
been a tough trip to make, from all perspectives. Many people helped him, some hindered,
including the Shah of Persia (not named, except as the nickname Marjoribanks)
and his administration. As ever, the
people continue their lives in spite of their leaders, just as I found in
Tehran in 2010, 77 years later. I too
visited Isfahan and marvelled at the beautiful and wonderfully constructed
mosque of Sheikh Lutfullah near the Blue Mosque and saw the stone polo goal
posts at each end of the parade ground in front. Alas, I suspect many of the monuments Byron
saw are no more, though the best are preserved as World Heritage sites,
including ancient ziggurats. Persia is a romantic, interesting, hard working,
well-educated country that still, after all its changes, deserves better
leadership. One hopes it will happen
soon. Visit if you can. It is worth it. Tragically, Robert Byron was torpedoed off
West Africa in 1941 aged just 36, while working as a correspondent. He published four travel books.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCzgkzKXMjXPmT8AKqN0uUO4EKzK-gyLzF70HVXfTJOsL81UpoTGRBZ2N8F8dTDp3xXylRWC36Yd0oi3fD2OAx2nX5awnICu8ecTAKmz0HSwGLsK9YRSmaW-ktOF0k9t0mMHRCYqL-wo/s1600/IMG_3029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCzgkzKXMjXPmT8AKqN0uUO4EKzK-gyLzF70HVXfTJOsL81UpoTGRBZ2N8F8dTDp3xXylRWC36Yd0oi3fD2OAx2nX5awnICu8ecTAKmz0HSwGLsK9YRSmaW-ktOF0k9t0mMHRCYqL-wo/s1600/IMG_3029.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>Jon Marshall (Doc)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16517353076343763199noreply@blogger.com0