HOURS OF FREE ENTERTAINMENT

When you look at the price you have to pay for entertainment - sporting events, concerts, the cinema - most are expensive. Some excessively so, in my opinion. There's not a lot of free entertainment available is there? Or is there?

Yesterday afternoon I went to my local library. Its a three mile drive to the nearest village library and its opening times vary day-to-day so I need to check each time from a handout pinned to our noticeboard to ensure I'll be going when its open. Its only a small library but it has a decent selection of books - reference and novels - as well as a few newspapers and periodicals. Whilst there I always have a quick browse of the local newspapers and a couple of magazines. Recently the council announced that they would be closing this library unless it was taken over "by the community". You are perhaps now expecting me to rant and rave about council spending cuts. Not on Troy's blog. With the parlous state of our economy after thirteen years of socialist mismanagement I fully understand the need to bring public spending back under control. However I think in many instances that councils are picking soft targets to cut rather than say their layers of over-paid middle managers for diversity and equality.

Troy has another idea to save the local libraries. Yesterday I borrowed four novels. Here they are:














None of these could be described as educational. They are just entertaining fiction. In fact I'm hoping to have hours of free entertainment over the next three weeks reading these novels. "Found Wanting" by Robert Goddard is I think the 16th book of his that I'll have read so I'm confident that I'll enjoy it. Likewise the collection of short stories by John Grisham. The other two are gambles based on reading the blurb of their back covers.

So I'm getting hours of entertainment - reading is better I believe than the cinema if you've got a good imagination - and all for "free". Well I say "free" but of course I pay an excessive amount each month in council tax, but like the NHS, libraries are free at the point of use. Now my idea to save the libraries would be to charge a modest amount for each book lent - say 25p. So I'd walk in, pay £1.00 for my four books and come out with hours of very cheap entertainment. At our library we check in and check out books ourselves using the technology. It wouldn't be difficult to put a prepaid amount(say £5) onto a card and then when checking the books out the system would take the charge off the prepaid card. Children could be exempt from the charges - but then adults would use their kid's cards to take out books. My answer to that would be to just have childrens book as exempt from charge (zero rated on the computer system) so that adult books would still be charged whoever took them out.

I can't believe that a modest 25p charge would deter readers. Even "poorer people" like those ahead of me in the queue at the local newsagents buying lottery tickets and cigarettes shouldn't find 25p per book excessive for a few hours of enjoyable reading.

There is apparently an Act of Parliament from 1964 that prevents libraries from charging for books. DVDs etc. can be charged out, but not books. So it would need parliament to rescind that law. I think that should be done, enabling councils to make modest charges for book lending and thus saving our libraries.

But that's just my opinion, I'd be very interested in hearing via the comments box what my readers think?

HURRY UP! IT'S TIME FOR SCHOOL

I wonder how many households are like Troy's on a weekday morning. Putting an ear to our front door, all you would hear is increasingly loud shouting.....

"Hurry up! It's time for school"

"Are you still in the bathroom?"

"Aren't you dressed yet?"

"It's nearly twenty five to nine already!"

Mrs Troy has already long got up, made Troy Junior's packed lunch and headed off to work. She starts work at 8.30am so leaves home before eight o'clock. So that leaves me with the responsibility of getting Troy Junior to school on time. It is only an eight minute walk door-to-door to the school and children are not supposed to be left there on their own before 8.45am when the doors open and the school assumes responbility for the children. So getting there at the right time should be easy.

And in fact it is. We normally arrive at 8.45am if not a minute or two earlier. We have never ever in the last four years since moving here been late. So you are probably wondering why all the stress and shouting in our household every morning?

Frankly I don't understand it. I get up at 8.15am and am washed and dressed and ready to walk out the front door at 8.35am - prompt, every day - you could set your watch by me. So I ask you - why does Troy Junior need to shout and make such a fuss every morning!

A CHRISTMAS DIP IN THE SEA?

One thing I've always promised myself I would do one year, is to have a dip in the sea on Christmas Day. Mrs Troy's mother did it several years ago but all I did then was watch safely from the beach as upward of a hundred people stripped off their winter clothes and ran down into the waves. Here's the photo I took at Clacton-On-Sea on Christmas Day in, I think, 2005.


At least the sun was shining and the sea was calm. Afterwards I wished that I too had taken the plunge.

Now let's jump foward five years to 2010. I was determined this year that I too would plunge into the sea on Christmas Day. The event was taking place as usual at Clacton and, even more local to my home, a charitable sea swim had been organised at Felixstowe. In fact all around the British coast similar events were taking place. I decided however that I would prefer to do my Christmas Day swim more discretely in a small cove rather than on a crowded town beach. I suppose I was concerned not to make a fool of myself if I chickened out seconds after my toes first entered the water. The secluded cove I chose does not even feature by name on even detailed Ordinance Survey maps but locally it is called "Anchor Beach".

I suspect many people in Suffolk are unaware of its existance. Certainly I wasn't expecting a large throng of people dressed in their warm winter clothes on hand to witness my Christmas dip. What I hadn't bargained on was the weather! On Christmas Day morning I switched on the TV and selected the News Channel. In big bold letters across the bottom of the screen it said THE BIG FREEZE. Unprecedented low temperatures were being reported across the UK. At this point you are probably expecting me to chicken out?

Troy is not one to be deterred by TV headlines. Once I've made my mind up there is no stopping me. So I hurried down to the cove, stripped down to my swimming shorts and plunged into the sea. It was invigorating and I would recommend it to everyone. After a few minutes in the sea I also had a swim in an outdoor swimming pool. I don't have any photos to show you of my sea plunge but I do have a picture of the sea cove taken a couple of days before Christmas and also a picture of me swimming in the outdoor pool on Christmas Day.







Troy, being sensible, waited until spending Christmas in Lanzarote before having a Christmas Day dip in the sea. Surely you didn't expect ME to do it in the UK? After my dip, Father Christmas came to visit the Troy family on a camel.



I hope you all had a great Christmas and as this will be my last posting of 2010, I wish you all a happy, healthy and enjoyable 2011.

A BROAD CURRICULUM

I've seen a lot of discussion in the newspapers about the pros and cons of the SATS tests in schools. Apparently, some schools focus very much on teaching to the test rather than offering a broad curriculum to their pupils. Troy Junior, at his school, I'm pleased to say, enjoys a broad curriculum with enrichment activities and school trips.

Recently Troy Junior's Year 5 class have been learning about our solar system. A recent homework was to choose an element of the solar system (sun, planets, comets etc.) and produce a factual document, poster or presentation on it. Troy Junior chose the sun and diligently researched it.

This week he comes home from school and asks us this question - "What is the hottest part of the sun". After we didn't answer he told us "Page 3". I asked him what was hot about Page 3. He replied with a cheeky grin and a cupping action with his hands.

I don't read The Sun, preferring the sober Daily Telegraph. However I am pleased my son shares my interest in astronomy and heavenly bodies.

(If any readers from outside the UK remain confused by this post, you may enjoy this link)

LONDON & BELFAST

The half-term school holiday has come round quickly and yesterday we decided to visit London and Belfast, all in the same day, without leaving England. One of the benefits of being a Daily Telegraph subscriber is that I receive certain special offers. One was the opportunity of joint membership of the Imperial War Museum for the price of a single membership (£35). With children under sixteen entering free, this gives us the opportunity to visit the IWM museum sites in London and at Duxford (Cambridge) plus the Churchill War Rooms and HMS Belfast in London for a relatively modest outlay.

So yesterday we set off down to London on the train. The first bit of good news was, that when asking for two adults and a child off-peak tickets, the nice man at Marks Tey station said that we could have up to four adult tickets for the price of two, with Troy Junior effectively travelling free on the third adult ticket. So that was useful saving; and worth knowing for the future.

Although I used to commute into central London on a daily basis, yesterday was the first time this year that I've ventured into our metropolis. I was surprised to see three new buildings - the Heron Tower close to where I used to work on Bishopsgate, the beginnings of The Pinnacle also on Bishopsgate and The Shard being built near London Bridge. We took some photos of the work in progress. Here's the start of The Pinnacle with the completed Heron Tower in the foreground:-



And here is the The Shard in progress:-



A few people were hanging around the construction. We thought that rather than trying to see in through the glass windows, that we would wait until the building was opened - that seems safer!



But the main purpose of the day was visiting HMS Belfast at its moorings between London Bridge and Tower Bridge.



I've been before, on my own, several years ago when Troy Junior was just a toddler. There are many many sets of very steep stairs onboard so it seemed best to wait until Troy Junior was much older before taking him. At the age of nine he can also appreciate better other aspects of the museum. All in all, there are nine decks to visit on the ship, from the engine room to the bridge. Here's a view from the forward deck looking "aft"


and a photo of Troy Junior doing his best to stop the anchor blowing away.

[Sorry! Mrs Troy has insisted that I delete this photo of Troy Junior so replaced by this view from the bridge]



There are many realistic "tableaux" onboard, using dummies, for example in the ship's galley, an onboard surgery and an onboard dentist.


When Troy Junior was younger, he used to get quite spooked when museums used fully dressed dummies and wouldn't go anywhere near them. Another reason for leaving our visit to HMS Belfast until he was older.

All in all, a very enjoyable day out! This link will give you more information on HMS Belfast.

LET US PREY

The school holidays are now over and Troy Junior is back at school. This summer seems to have flown by. Well that's my excuse for not having posted anything since 31st July. I'm wondering how many of my "27 Followers" are sticking by me through this thin posting season? If you do call by, please leave a comment, even if it is just "Hello". It would be nice to know you are still there!

At the start of the school holidays (Summer, Christmas and Easter) I produce a grid on A4 paper with the days across the top and the weeks down the side. Into this grid we then fill in trips away, planned days out and other organised events to ensure Troy Junior is adequately entertained through the holiday period. So much so, that he actually then enjoys his "rest days" when we just laze around at home. At the end of this holiday I asked him if was looking forward to going back to school. He responded "Yes". When asked why he explained succinctly "I need an education". There is no arguing with that, is there?

On the last day of the holiday, Troy Junior and I visited the local Owl Sanctuary. In some ways its a bit misnamed as they have many birds of prey and red squirrels, as well as their rescued owls.I guess it has evolved from its original purpose to become more of an attraction. We had a thoroughly enjoyable time there. The highlight is the flying display.

These birds are very photogenic. Here are a few photos I took during the day.

First an owl which had been raised from a young chick at the sanctuary.



Here's an eagle. They are quite magnificent birds.



And a Red Kite in flight.



This bird actually flew straight over my head several times, missing it by what seemed like inches. However I was too busy ducking and so missed getting what could have been a brilliant photo.

It was also interesting to see the red squirrels. For those that don't know, (let's call you "foreign readers"), the small red squirrel was the native British squirrel but when the larger grey squirrel was introduced into the UK it overran the native species who now only have very few colonies left. At the sanctuary, the red squirrels were in a large caged run but fortunately the cage wire doesn't really show on the pictures I took.

Here's a red squirrel enjoying a snack.



Hopefully I'll be back again with another posting much sooner than last time. Stay tuned!

A LIBERATING EXPERIENCE

I've just realised that it is over four weeks since I last posted here so before July is out, I must do a posting to tell you about our recent trip to France. My father and I have recently had a most enjoyable few days over in Normandy. For more recent readers, I should explain that my father home cares for my elderly mother who has advanced Alzheimers. Ever three months, he has a one week respite break and my sister or I take him away for a few days. He's been to Falmouth and Florida with my sister and to Northumberland (twice) and Hong Kong with me.

This year, he didn't fancy a either long car journey or the hassle of airports so I looked in to local ferry trips from Poole, close to where he lives. We settled on the Poole to Cherbourg ferry trip which is only two and a half hours by the fast (38knots)ferry. The only downside was that it leaves at 7.15am so we were up and out of the house just after 5am! Taking the car on the ferry was simplicity itself and by 11am french time we were heading east from Cherbourg on the local coast road. We took the MGF and toured with the roof down throughout our travels.

Our first port of call was Barfleur from where William The Conquerer set sail for England in 1066. It has a delightful fishing harbour. (If you click on the photos you should get enlarged images).


We then called in at St Vaast-la-Hougue which has an enormous marina before heading down to Port-en-Bessin, central to all the D-day landing beaches, where we had booked five night's accommodation. Port-en-Bessin is a delightful village with an active fishing fleet, harbour and many seafood restaurants. In the picture below you can see the outer harbour but the port itself goes inland beyond the very far right of the photo. The hotel we stayed at is on the far right of the photo and overlooked the fishing quay where the boats unloaded their catches each day.


During our five night stay we visited most of the D-day landing beaches. The next photo shows Arromanches-les-Bains and Gold Beach where British trops landed on 6th June 1944. We (the British troops, not us) actually built an artificial harbour and its remnants can be seen in the photo.


There is a great museum in the town with an excellent guided tour. The tour guide spoke excellent english but with a very pronounced french accent. My father listened for over two minutes thinking the man was speaking french and being surprised how many words were similar in both languages. Then it dawned on him that the man was actually speaking english! "Ze sup-lies were brrrought in-too ze arbour and off-luuded". Once tuned in, he was actually a very articulate and knowledgeable guide.

A few miles inland is the town of Bayeux with its beautiful gothic cathedral and the world famous Bayeux Tapestry. To be honest, I only went to the tapestry because my father was interested, but it is truly fascinating. 70 metres (230 feet) long and full of marvellous details. In 58 scenes it tells of William's conquest of England in 1066. It is amazing to think that this fragile linen has survived over a thousand years whilst buildings have crumbled and disappeared. The centre of the town, around the cathedral is full of old buildings that survived the war. Here is the cathedral.


On the outskirts of Bayeux is the British Cemetery with over 4,800 graves of British soldiers killed in the liberation of Normandy in 1944. It is a poignant sight - row upon row of white headstones. And the ages of dead - 19, 24, 22 etc. All young men buried in a foreign field away from home. This photo shows only a small part of the cemetery.


Here's another view with my father looking at the monument.


Apparently, the film "Saving Private Ryan" gives the impression that only US troops were involved in the liberation of France. This blog isn't so crassly nationalistic. During our visit we saw Utah and Omaha beaches where US troops landed and Pointe du Hoc where US Rangers stormed 90 foot cliffs under heavy fire. And Juno beach which was taken by Canadian forces with Poles, Dutch and Czech soldiers also involved. No one individual army could have overcome the german fortifications along the "Atlantic Wall", it was truly an full Allied effort. Here is the US "Omaha" beach.


Everywhere along the coast there are Union flags, US stars and stripes and the Canadian maple leaf flying in the breeze. The locals welcome their liberators warmly.


Sitting in a restaurant on Friday evening we saw a poster advertising the UEFA Under19 football tournament in Normandy. I went online later and discovered that France were playing 'Angleterre' the next day in Saint-Lo so we even managed to take in an international football game during our brief visit!

All too soon, our five days had flown by and it time to head back to England. I can thoroughly recommend Normandy for a short vacation. Lovely scenery, gorgeous beaches, excellent museums and a special history are to be discovered only a short journey away from the UK's south coast. The roads are quiet, the parking is free everywhere (a refreshing change from the UK!) and the food excellent.