Bedford and Wells and Young's July 17th 2007

I can't recall now why (a few years back now) I didn't finish this and post it.

Yesterday was not a work or walk day, but was out at Bedford hearing Wells and Young's Brewing setting out the business plans for developing the products (Charles Wells beers, Young's, and now Courage also they own and have been brewing since last month). The development and marketing strategy, and then where the investment has been going, was quite an insight e.g. £1M alone into the brewing of the different yeast cultures, and adapting the Young's recipes to be made using different brewing techniques and equipment.

Courage beer volunes (Directors and Best) (largely cask conditioned) are miniscule compared to the 1M barrels a year 30+ years ago. The last significant marketing / advertising was apparently in the '80s, with the ubiquitous (?) rockney stars Chas and Dave. Such classics as Gertcha, Margate and Rabbit could be up or down for a comeback, maybe.

I've noticed over the years pubs with Courage signage still quite prominent, though the beers have not been seen for 10-15 years, as Scottish and Newcastle Breweries have favored John Smiths Tadcaster Ales.

Directors and Best still though have a strong presence in certain areas, and keeps and sells well.

I had a couple of hours before the meeting exploring Bedford - not terribly inspirational and medium to heavy showers started soon after getting there. The Cecil Higgins Art Gallery is worth visiting but closed for major refurbishment. The Museum is small, with a new exhibition in preparation, opening next Saturday.

Rather too much of the town centre has disappeared (post-war reconstruction, and 70s/80s clearances) for comfort, and there's still quite a feel close by of rundown and poverty. Some of the photos in the Museum show a lot of what was not an unattractive town centre.

The central shopping area is a bit brutal .... but the sultry weather and angry cloud-scape was ever present, with occasional sunshine, and late afternoon distant thunder. None of the pubs I saw looked particularly appealing, and apparently the CAMRA listed ones are outside of the town centre.

I risked a 45 minute walk out and around by the river Great Ouse, that reminded me of the Milton Keynes to Bedford waterway plan see http://www.b-mkwaterway.co.uk/bedford.htm Presumably before the railway anything would have been moved down river from Bedford into the fens ... 

PFA Walk by Moonlight

Last Saturday's Hallowe'en PFA walk by moonlight was just right.

6 of us set off in the slightly damp late afternoon air, with some warmth from the setting sun that was all to soon dropping towards the horizon and the far hills and low cloud. At times it was a harsh glare as we walked to the north, and the moon was soon up.

With dusk arriving, Bjorn (who strode ahead as he said he was faint from lack of food) and I were at the Red Lion in Chalton just before 5.00, with the near full moon already high and enough of a chill for my glasses to steam up going in to the pub.

The others - Andrew, Eva, Roger, and Paul (a friend of Roger's), followed in about 10-15 minutes, and it was fully dark. The Red Lion was a good choice - warm, friendly, good beers and food. It was after 7.00 when we left, and with high wispy cloud the moon had a hazy corona - and was it a hunters or a poachers moon, or a harvest one, and did the change in calender have any effect? - with more than enough light save through the woodland to see where we were going. Arriving back at Rowlands Castle about 8.15 gave time for refreshment in the Castle - also Fullers beers - before the 8.46 train back to London.

Early May BH Weekend Walking

My car was being (successfully) serviced and tested on Friday May 4th, and whilst that was being
done, I went on a c. 9 mile circular walk in NE Oxfordshire / NW Northamptonshire - from the village
of Souldern (near to where I used to live) - Aynho - Kings Sutton - Twyford Mill and Wharf, and back
via the Oxford Canal tow path (and helping a narrow boat lock through against a crosswind).

These sites give a feel/sense of the countryside (and pubs)
http://owls.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wps/wcm/connect/OWLS/Home/
http://www.whitehorsekingssutton.co.uk/contact.htm
http://www.aynho.net/
http://www.waterscape.com/oxford_canal

It was clammy and chilly to start, but the sun broke through after lunch. The White Horse at Kings
Sutton (see the photo of the church above) had a reasonable pint of Brakspeares Best, but the
food was so-so.

Stopping for tea on the way back south to London, east of Oxford, I saw friends at Stanton St John,
whose farm includes a big Pick Your Own operation. I saw the asparagus beds, and the newly
planted ones and new irrigation and then stopped for tea, with a generous helping of fresh
asparagus.http://www.local-food.net/directory/display.asp?id=192
and http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/ccm/ecodev/VillageDetails.jsp?Name=Stanton%20St%20John


The car service was fine, but the clutch needs replacing - but should be ok 'til that gets done next
week. It'll be expensive, I'm sure, but I suppose after 133K miles, and 12 years, not so bad going.

Saturday was an early start to drive down to Sussex, but my left heel was very painful after Friday.
I've been hobbling a bit until muscles have warmed up after some walking. In fact this persisted all
weekend, although is now reasonably OK.

There was no apparent physical reason - maybe it's down to a trapped nereve, it was that sort of
pain, rather than anything else (or being out of condition, overweight, etc).

I joined my stepfather in Robertsbridge, where they live,
http://www.villagenet.co.uk/esussex-iron/villages/robertsbridge.php
http://www.urban75.org/london/robertsbridge.html
http://www.salehurst-pc.org.uk/home.asp
to go to Winchelsea (no longer that near to the sea, the English Channel (or French Manche), for
what was more of a stroll from the town down onto Brede Level and across and up to Cock Marling
- led and with frequent stops and information by a member of the Romney Marsh Trust
http://www.rmrt.org.uk/, the Winchelsea Archaeology Society
http://www.winchelsea.net/community/arch_society.htm - some real fascinating elements to think
about, from Roman (or perhaps pre-Roman) to present day.
Well worth going back for a longer walk, but there's no longer a tea room now, but still a shop for
icecream.

The third walk, on Sunday, was rather disappointing - overcast, hazy, even misty, so no views, and
we didn't really get up onto the South Downs. This was a 10 mile circular from Berwick Station
(on the Marshlink rail line from Hastings to Rye and Ashford
http://www.southernrailway.com/main.php?page_id=101).

I'll be putting a few snaps up on the web.

Evening Walking 2006 (1)

Having talked recently of organising evening walks, last week was a first exploration, from Regent's Canal Dock (now known as Limehouse Basin or Marina - and for some history see http://www.cruising.org.uk/cahouse/limehse.htm ) alongRegent's Canal to Wharf Road, just off the City Roadbetween Old Street and Angel Underground see http://www.waterscape.com/Regent's_Canal/walking/Walking_through_London for a very useful map.

Leaving from Limehouse DLR/c2c a little after 6.00, it was a pleasant 1 hour 50 minute walk.

The evening was warm, with some times blinding sun, and a large and varied number of passersby - cyclists, peoplewalking, strolling, jogging, several narrow boats, and a couple of kayakers.

The industrial landscape haschanged immensely since I was last along the Regent'sCanal 20 or so years ago, and what's immediately most striking is the parkland - Victoria Park of course,but also Mile End Park http://www.mileendpark.co.uk/parkmap/parkmapA_flash.htm - with the Palm Tree pub handy (not surveyed this trip) and the Ragged School Museum (there was no timeto stop but not open evenings).http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/23/2307/Narrow_Boat/Islington just after the Shepherdess Walk footbridge, is a bit gastro-ish, but fairly friendly and an excellent (possibly well-deserved) pint of Adnams.

The Wenlock Arms http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/13/1316/Wenlock_Arms/Wenlock was doing good trade as I went past, but regretably the Prince Albert Elia Street, which featured philosophy, good beer, and food, is closed and now the Charles Lamb, with an undrinkable pint ofFullers Chiswick Bitter http://wwww.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/27/27839/Charles_Lamb/Angel_Islington

The next section to be walked will likely be in a week or two, from Wharf Road, Islington, to Regent'sPark/St John's Wood.

If you're in the area September2nd & 3rd, there's a lot going on including around theAngel on Saturday - Imagine Islington - the greenfestival -http://www.islington.gov.uk/Environment/whatsnew.asp and the Angel Canal Festival at City Road Lock http://canalmuseum.org.uk/angel/ on the Sunday.

IDEOLOGIES OF WAR AND TERROR

This may be of interest:

IDEOLOGIES OF WAR AND TERROR:

Join the Listserv Send an e-mail to: oanderson@ideologiesofwar.com

Acts of war and terror-forms of behavior-are generated by beliefs andideologies. What logic contained within an ideology can dictate a willingness to die and kill? How do ideologies function to allow desires and fantasies of group members to become articulated as dimensions of society?What are the psychological sources of our attraction to ideologies and how may we account for the passion with which they are embraced? Individual acts of violence are considered "criminal." Acts of violence committed by societal groups-nations and civilizations-on the other hand,often are glorified and imbued with a sense of goodness. What transformative power of ideologies converts murderous acts into forms of virtue? This listserv invites scholars and thinkers to explore these issues in aspirit of serious, dispassionate inquiry.

Stort Navigation August 21st 2005

You may detect a familiar face in this one.

Green Chain Walk August 20th 2005

This was a leisurely, half day walk, and as you can see, at least one of use came prepared for occasional rests.

Dominic

The Human Rights Act is a welcome constraint on government. But can it threaten our ability to fight terrorism?

This debate from Prospect September, between David GoodhartDavid Goodhart is the editor of Prospect. Roger Smith is the director of Justice, a human rights NGO, is worth a read

http://prospectmagazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=7026

Dominic

Welcome!

The Wednesday Club web site is http://www.wednesday-club.org.uk