tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20577541169861568472024-03-14T05:41:02.021+00:00Peter Hough - "This is how it is!"Welcome to my blog. I'll be writing about the things that interest me - and interest you too. From politics to publishing, travel, walking, personal views and experiences, and strange unexplained phenomena...Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-17010279185626221142023-07-20T10:14:00.000+01:002023-07-20T10:14:43.581+01:00What to wear, what not to wear (when out walking)<span style="font-family: helvetica;">The clothes you wear for shopping or an hour’s ramble along the gravel pathways of a country park are unsuitable for, say, a seven mile hike up into </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">the fells, where you might encounter extreme weather, where your body will be working harder, producing heat and perspiration. For this kind of walking activity, you need specialist clothing and equipment to keep you dry, warm and cool.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicS9q5QSjXFBclzwTS0Ws4BqYpaw0PxQ_aOD-PQKOyHlnmxcXB4zTNEkfsrwPe3UDQCjjmlYPRoBHAgS3FCs9m5YREuqdKuTVkaqyRtX09nY5P93dd880aCuov7-mcuC5D_n9MUVk32SjNmy74GVayPIWras6NnJ5XaLAuzIAV17ep539PJPus-H_6xl-w/s4032/IMG_2383.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicS9q5QSjXFBclzwTS0Ws4BqYpaw0PxQ_aOD-PQKOyHlnmxcXB4zTNEkfsrwPe3UDQCjjmlYPRoBHAgS3FCs9m5YREuqdKuTVkaqyRtX09nY5P93dd880aCuov7-mcuC5D_n9MUVk32SjNmy74GVayPIWras6NnJ5XaLAuzIAV17ep539PJPus-H_6xl-w/s320/IMG_2383.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>It is worth investing in the right kit<br /><br /></u></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b><u>Let’s start with what not to wear</u></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>Avoid anything with cotton</i>, especially tee-shirts and jeans. A small percentage of cotton mixed with man-made fibres may be acceptable. Man-made fibres are the ideal. Cotton will not keep you warm, and if it gets wet, either through rain or sweat, it acts like a sponge and retains moisture. This will feel very uncomfortable and will spoil your walking experience. For this reason, never wear jeans, which also have the wrong cut, and are for day to day wear, not serious walking! Specialised walking trousers are made from a quick drying material to protect you in a shower. For summer I wear trousers with zip-off legs, that quickly convert to shorts and vice versa in changing temperatures.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div><i style="font-family: helvetica;">Don’t wear trainers</i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">. They’re not up to the job. There’s no ankle support, and you will feel rough stony ground through the soles. Don’t make the mistake I made on my first walk, when I wore a pair of industrial boots. They looked like leather walking boots, but had steel toe caps that dug into my toes on a steep descent.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>Don’t wear a </i></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>padded coat</i>. They are a fashion statement and might be okay for a stroll along the canal</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">, but restrict movement, and if you get hot on a fell walk, you can’t remove it because you will then be cold! They are also bulky and difficult to stow away.</span></div></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieEidj50ZKOwMIFD4pbNIk42-LIN2Nx9_IQYu4zrXdYa8OtFwBnyaT-tVrSa3xgSQL_1ucdbTnASpegOHa5ACa3MnpT4JfypW6PBTh8VzgOHnzUhuPgD8Ok62enVxRKeNq-PFngR_oInpr66iThkRfUvmcicIvFfDyS-NULHRsuSdRW5mOfGAk9JlvnLf1/s3539/Image.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3539" data-original-width="1192" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieEidj50ZKOwMIFD4pbNIk42-LIN2Nx9_IQYu4zrXdYa8OtFwBnyaT-tVrSa3xgSQL_1ucdbTnASpegOHa5ACa3MnpT4JfypW6PBTh8VzgOHnzUhuPgD8Ok62enVxRKeNq-PFngR_oInpr66iThkRfUvmcicIvFfDyS-NULHRsuSdRW5mOfGAk9JlvnLf1/s320/Image.png" width="108" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Padded coats lack versatility</u></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u><b>You need to ‘</b></u></span><u style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Layer-Up’</b></u></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The idea is to wear several thin layers of clothing (depending on the time of year) capped with a waterproof shell. As you warm up or cool down, you can remove or add a layer to keep the ideal temperature. In winter I wear a thin base layer, a shirt, fleece and cagoule. I might also don lined trousers and a waterproof fleece-lined hat. In sunny weather I wear a hat with a broad rim to protect my head, face and neck. You could be exposed to the sun for several hours.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>All the clothing you wear should be breathable</i>. Look at the label. This is so when you perspire, the moisture can make its way through the layering and out into the air ('wicking'), keeping you dry. Nothing is 100% breathable, but it will make a big difference.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u><b>These boots are made for walking</b></u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>Boots must be waterproof and breathable</i>. Inevitably you will have to wade through water on some walks. You don’t want cold wet feet either through water ingress or a build-up of sweat. You can get leather or fabric boots. I prefer leather because they are easier to clean. Don’t purchase online, you really do need to try them on! I’ve found that if they don’t feel right in the shop, don’t buy. You might be told ‘they will wear in’, or ‘the leather will soften’. Maybe, but why take the risk? I’ve never had blisters, and neither should you.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Boots are unlike any other footwear. You should wear two pairs of walking socks, a thin base layer and a thicker pair. Marino wool will keep your feet warm in winter, and cool in summer. This adds to comfort on long strenuous treks. Bring socks with you to the store. Ask the assistant to measure your feet. Most outdoor retailers offer this service. When I finally had this done, I discovered I had been wearing boots that were too small! As you walk your feet heat-up and swell.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u><b>Cagoules, Waterproof Over-Trousers, Gaiters & Fleeces</b></u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>Cagoules must be waterproof, breathable and wind proof</i>. So should over-trousers. Don’t buy cheap - they will make your legs sweat. Most have zips up the legs to make it easier to put on quickly when the heavens open.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I often wear them in cooler weather with standard walking trousers because they stop the wind and take the mud. Otherwise gaiters should be worn which </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">protects the lower part of your legs from mud splatters.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Fleeces come as </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">thin micro-fleeces, and thicker winter weight ones. They are breathable and some are water-repellent and windproof for wearing without a cagoule in mildly bad weather.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u><b>Rucksacks & Walking Poles</b></u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><u><b><br /></b></u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53j4KYlNr8eZShWyVDa9VUivxO6NxNM29zVHCefPC5wJjWfx6IC7OCFbfF_nNftj3RH47CLd8Iqtwdg_uXuyho0p5-YHfX38kQaxKE7cMi0-sAji1blIKLiYoYGZkxOG2ghJMQj5ioqaf_qd7t5FNEKv6g0qHS4Ft3_UGQ87wx7gcmQAE5PQR3Ufiwb1_/s3858/Image.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3858" data-original-width="2214" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53j4KYlNr8eZShWyVDa9VUivxO6NxNM29zVHCefPC5wJjWfx6IC7OCFbfF_nNftj3RH47CLd8Iqtwdg_uXuyho0p5-YHfX38kQaxKE7cMi0-sAji1blIKLiYoYGZkxOG2ghJMQj5ioqaf_qd7t5FNEKv6g0qHS4Ft3_UGQ87wx7gcmQAE5PQR3Ufiwb1_/s320/Image.png" width="184" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Note the netting that gives airflow</u> </td></tr></tbody></table>Your rucksack should have a waterproof cover</i>. It should also have an air gap so you don’t get a sweaty back. Size is measured in litres. For </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">day walking you need between 25 - 35 litre volume. There should also be side pockets for drinking bottles and straps to hold walking poles. If you’re drinking from a bladder, there needs to be a pocket inside to hold it in position. Your rucksack should have waist straps and chest straps to take some of the weight off your shoulders.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">You need collapsible walking poles so they can be strapped to your rucksack when not in use. Make sure they are spring loaded which cushions the effect on your wrists. You can use two or just one. I use my pole all the time. It helps your balance on uneven ground, and acts as a brake when doing a steep descent. <i>The main benefit though is that poles reduce the stress on your knee joints</i>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">You don’t have to pay the earth, although boots with vibram soles and clothing incorporating Gore-Tex, or similar waterproof membranes, are a definite advantage. There’s nothing wrong with budget brands like Peter Storm, and Mountain Warehouse - read the reviews of any item you’re interested in.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One last bit of advice - buy a foam sit mat. They cost very little, weigh nothing, and will keep your bum warm and dry on damp ground, while eating your sandwiches!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9QmmUVoW3fnQJKJ0Nffi7pam5tIdDUsQqiorHyr1H6F6ncasyXLw6aZX6EGALrdF7C3PA6qaV1UDfbYFSpHlKr475ppeM4KZDjBRDIKQVj4xdqoG4WkCPN-kGAc4aNI1naVCcALwRf_CFhgtQonPWlpmvQnqbM_MxRfsryNIJ4ft-LEs6dmeLSoz9aGmy/s3677/Image.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2746" data-original-width="3677" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9QmmUVoW3fnQJKJ0Nffi7pam5tIdDUsQqiorHyr1H6F6ncasyXLw6aZX6EGALrdF7C3PA6qaV1UDfbYFSpHlKr475ppeM4KZDjBRDIKQVj4xdqoG4WkCPN-kGAc4aNI1naVCcALwRf_CFhgtQonPWlpmvQnqbM_MxRfsryNIJ4ft-LEs6dmeLSoz9aGmy/s320/Image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Happy (and comfortable) walking…</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face=""arial black" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.33px; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face=""arial black" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.33px; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face=""arial black" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.33px; margin: 0px;">Read my 5 Star novel: </span></b></div><div><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face=""arial black" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.33px; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span face=""arial black" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.33px; margin: 0px;"><i>Stench of Evil</i> - a supernatural thriller </span></b><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.33px; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="color: blue; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://goo.gl/VQOVuS" style="color: #828282; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</a></span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: white; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""helvetica" , "sans-serif"" style="font-size: 13.33px; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;"><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial black" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.33px; margin: 0px;">The sequel: <i>The Devil in Them </i> </span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.33px; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://goo.gl/aS1cjZ" style="color: #828282; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://goo.gl/aS1cjZ</a></span></span></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-34123783700855434412021-03-01T19:11:00.033+00:002024-02-11T14:02:00.450+00:00How To Plan A Walk & Carry Out A Recce<span style="font-family: arial;">Organising a group walk takes more thought and planning than setting off by yourself with a map into the blue yonder. It doesn't matter as much if you're on your own and can't find somewhere to park, or get lost en route. You can't afford for that to happen if you're leading a group, as there's safety issues to consider, never mind the embarrassment of retracing your steps because you've gone the wrong way! You might still make mistakes, but it's less likely if you follow this advice.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><div><u style="font-family: arial;">The Fundamentals</u></div><div><u style="font-family: arial;"><br /></u></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLLDehlKoam2Q3W38LmPf_DFnCtNNq54_vFmssWeNhxmMpyJ4NgMx0LRrm9bG8tYKGE0Pv868dYf0qo7ZT15iXd7N0mR2fZfvLyDt3Wz6w0ZAWqqp3WRsRzlI4pVRJTob73hU6D36YKLalwV57LwTOzhUX9yLBeQw2AhLvj6wMoteSBjKP3P3h0GTVaeN/s4032/IMG_8728.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLLDehlKoam2Q3W38LmPf_DFnCtNNq54_vFmssWeNhxmMpyJ4NgMx0LRrm9bG8tYKGE0Pv868dYf0qo7ZT15iXd7N0mR2fZfvLyDt3Wz6w0ZAWqqp3WRsRzlI4pVRJTob73hU6D36YKLalwV57LwTOzhUX9yLBeQw2AhLvj6wMoteSBjKP3P3h0GTVaeN/w320-h240/IMG_8728.jpeg" title="Uphill climbs slows down the pace" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uphill climbs slows the pace</td></tr></tbody></table>What grade of walk are you aiming for; easy, moderate or strenuous? Each category is dependent on miles walked, time taken, and feet climbed. Time of year plays a part too, as shorter daylight hours dictates less miles, and winter time means that hill and mountain walks may be treacherous with ice or snow, and shouldn't be attempted without crampons. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">On average we walk 2.5 miles an hour, but a walk with climbing will take longer because of the slower pace. A walking club may have parameters to suit different abilities, for instance a moderate walk might be around 9 miles and 1500' of total climbing. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">So work out the parameters for your target group and you're ready to start. All that's missing is the walk!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>How To Find A Walk</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">An oven-ready walk is the easier way of doing it, especially if you're inexperienced and need to build up confidence. Someone else has done the work for you. They're providing a description, an outline map and walk instructions. What could go wrong? Well, the instructions might be unclear, or the map might contain inaccuracies, and since it was published a path might have been diverted or a landmark changed. But on the whole it is the easier option.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9p0dsabY2t5C1sEGs2XefGWallSmXo2rsmh_1ExByk2u7ImTswTXYJSKpSBliMa6r3bSPnosCp7CHPQx1rwz3jilp3_tj07QNua7Nz8nqFmiRT_dzRsHQbYCxbh56oRQYpIQwJ_8GjN2u/s2048/IMG_4181.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9p0dsabY2t5C1sEGs2XefGWallSmXo2rsmh_1ExByk2u7ImTswTXYJSKpSBliMa6r3bSPnosCp7CHPQx1rwz3jilp3_tj07QNua7Nz8nqFmiRT_dzRsHQbYCxbh56oRQYpIQwJ_8GjN2u/s320/IMG_4181.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">I've amassed hundreds of walks from magazines, books and websites. Doctors' waiting rooms are a good source and second hand book shops. Look out for <i>1001 Walks in Britain</i>, published by the AA. Another route is to pick the area where you want to walk, and Search, for instance, 'Walks in Lancashire', or more specifically, 'Walks around Clitheroe'. The result will throw up various websites, where you can download ready-made walks and print them for nothing. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Some sites though do charge a fee. I like <i>Walking Britain: </i></span><span style="font-family: arial;">https://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/ because the walks are free and uploaded by experienced walkers with full instructions and maps. There's also <i>Country Walking Magazine:</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">https://www.greatmagazines.co.uk/country-walking-magazine </span><span style="font-family: arial;">that includes 27 route cards in each issue. I've picked up old copies from second hand book shops, and no doubt someone will be selling a job lot on eBay.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>Creating Your Own Walk</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Of course you can study an ordnance survey map and create your own walk. This is more work because there’s no </span><span style="font-family: arial;">written instructions, and you don't know how practical it is until you've tried it, but more satisfying when it is a success!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I've designed dozens of walks in this way. You have to be able to read a map, for instance understand that where the contour lines are closer, the climb or descent will be steeper. The geography of your walk will be one of the factors that determines how long it will take, as will the speed of those walking with you. The bigger the group, the longer it will take to climb stiles, and your average two miles an hour will be slower, especially when you factor in climbs and stops; usually a morning and afternoon break of around ten to fifteen minutes each, and lunch of half an hour or so, dependant on the weather. All this will become clearer on your recce.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0XPRX6SYYEYyJv5plSvS3nk1KHecnSlcKNbxYREIFQtWyFJuLJeIGoM6P6NSldWPxI-zcLPC7a1WIxIjPcGXn20EnzDnZC7uJa0MAwVI0oM-dOL1hE3YXQKfndb9yemh0txNgi2qkO1KB/s2048/IMG_0251.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0XPRX6SYYEYyJv5plSvS3nk1KHecnSlcKNbxYREIFQtWyFJuLJeIGoM6P6NSldWPxI-zcLPC7a1WIxIjPcGXn20EnzDnZC7uJa0MAwVI0oM-dOL1hE3YXQKfndb9yemh0txNgi2qkO1KB/s320/IMG_0251.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Try to factor in interesting features on your route</span></td></tr></tbody></table>When planning a walk from scratch, make it interesting. There's nothing wrong in walking over open moorland for miles, or a succession of fields, but that will be more of a workout to get your 10,000 steps than a memorable ramble. Vary the route if possible; open fields, woodland, a river or canal and a good climb to get views. Try and include interesting features, such as an attractive village, views of a stately home, a water mill, battle field, monument etc. And try and get some information. It all adds to the fun and satisfaction of being out in the open air. It brings the walk <i>alive!</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEica3z3uULQJELxvQOYMnfyRGmFvpiml46qlV8XHLANU4vA28BSavnWP2RXH5MIzJkX5skZkvxw-y2Yq3xHZMAvmjosQiOlJL2Cb9og6kuHqPPMerOIOmJ29nMMN1oAhzleGtHggNRocHyMIUw2O5jL51i3J_15AaEMSLcM5DzZySidJrCK4MFU82Q4cDdt/s4032/IMG_8032.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEica3z3uULQJELxvQOYMnfyRGmFvpiml46qlV8XHLANU4vA28BSavnWP2RXH5MIzJkX5skZkvxw-y2Yq3xHZMAvmjosQiOlJL2Cb9og6kuHqPPMerOIOmJ29nMMN1oAhzleGtHggNRocHyMIUw2O5jL51i3J_15AaEMSLcM5DzZySidJrCK4MFU82Q4cDdt/s320/IMG_8032.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pub stop afterwards helps you unwind</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Two other things to consider is car parking and travelling time to the start of your walk. Availability of loos too in a perfect world! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Ask permission if you want to use a pub car park, and it will probably be on the proviso that you call in for refreshments. Please don't park in front of people's houses, or inconsiderately. How far is your group prepared to drive, and how does that impact on the time it takes to complete the walk and have a drink afterwards? Group walking is a social activity, and at the end of day a pub visit allows ramblers to relax and unwind before the drive home. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>The Tools Of The Trade</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">All you needed at one time was a map and compass, but things have changed with the availability and affordability of satellite navigation devices. We have downloaded the OS app to our phones and iPads, (https://shop.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/apps/os-maps/) </span><span style="font-family: arial;">and what a clever piece of software it is!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBL4snfjh2v-Q5cELy-CZDW3B8KcDSD3Lrj53YPSTJea6nxQfYTGOSoH4mUsDqlzTJOdR3LISvTmBEATwNvmaMhlh-m-zIkdtjwbozXE5LE5eajbH0jCAMN_1BL4yekd-1di4DWXvvJE6R_2Wjj1lssyZMUxUXapR3rzkEv2VhXqJ71a2prgwfiP692UHf/s2360/IMG_0215.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1640" data-original-width="2360" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBL4snfjh2v-Q5cELy-CZDW3B8KcDSD3Lrj53YPSTJea6nxQfYTGOSoH4mUsDqlzTJOdR3LISvTmBEATwNvmaMhlh-m-zIkdtjwbozXE5LE5eajbH0jCAMN_1BL4yekd-1di4DWXvvJE6R_2Wjj1lssyZMUxUXapR3rzkEv2VhXqJ71a2prgwfiP692UHf/s320/IMG_0215.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can track your walk live or plot in advance</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">For around £30 a year you have access to all OS maps. You can use it to follow a route, track your walk so you've a record, or plot it and follow it on the day. The map can be expanded for extra clarity. It shows you where you are on the map. You can keep your routes private, or public. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">By clicking on 'Find Routes', other people's walks will appear in your chosen area. Always choose 'Recommended Routes'. Download the walk, so even if you've no phone signal, you will view it with GPS. If you want a hard copy, screen shot it on your tablet and print. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">It conveniently fits on a sheet of A4. You can expand it first to fit the screen.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Drawbacks? You're limited to battery capacity, unless you carry a spare power pack. We haven't found this a problem, because we tend to use it as back-up, or confirmation on a long walk. That's why we print or use paper maps, and consult the app if we're not sure. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Recently we were out for five hours, tracking our route, and using the phone to record instructions, plus photographs, on one battery charge. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">You can follow the red arrow on the green dashes across a field. In fact it's the app which has confirmed what we've long suspected, that the physical path isn't always where the map says it is!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A good piece of equipment if you've not gone down the app route is a pair of binoculars. These are handy for finding that stile hiding in the hedge across the large field. That, along with a compass should keep you on the right path. It's also worth carrying a pair of wire cutters to remove barbed wire strung across a public right of way, or rescue sheep tangled up, as I have done on more than one occasion!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>The Recce</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWPzfAvkZvsMJOmB1fYUJ-AP7L8rY7gFCH4h9phrn6_GAYJlCj6OnoIHSd2yuBHZa4Ck96LHwXIzXlnBLpf6KFles2htzIerf_7CAXSp0x1RAL6TYK9UegKCoFMiM3t5qDMq7mB2eoa7F/s2048/009.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWPzfAvkZvsMJOmB1fYUJ-AP7L8rY7gFCH4h9phrn6_GAYJlCj6OnoIHSd2yuBHZa4Ck96LHwXIzXlnBLpf6KFles2htzIerf_7CAXSp0x1RAL6TYK9UegKCoFMiM3t5qDMq7mB2eoa7F/s320/009.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Consulting the map on your recce slows you down</span></td></tr></tbody></table>You've got your route and parking worked out, so it's time for the recce. I would never lead a walk without having done one. If it's a new walk which I have created, I often use the voice recorder on my phone to record instructions, which I will later write up.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So off you go. This should be done with at least two people, as two heads are better than one, and for safety. Remember that you could have a large group behind you on the day. So look out for hazards that might have to be avoided. If a path is obstructed, you are allowed to trespass in order to get around it. Keep a watch on the time, and keep a lookout for a suitable place to stop for lunch, preferably not with sheep or cattle, and ideally somewhere by a feature like a river or with a view.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp35WOt6IMl7da2BhH6Br92Zebd9irq8WR9z8eQzEqhSdV63QJhL_8rXU2Zh1hZDfX3wY2NCqjdnTQwbdka1n0LrvEqrJOHfC_5zU3LuJ6FcvBvSCuEsaCg_6-9lRIo6t9y4H40XaDQhmh/s2048/007.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp35WOt6IMl7da2BhH6Br92Zebd9irq8WR9z8eQzEqhSdV63QJhL_8rXU2Zh1hZDfX3wY2NCqjdnTQwbdka1n0LrvEqrJOHfC_5zU3LuJ6FcvBvSCuEsaCg_6-9lRIo6t9y4H40XaDQhmh/s320/007.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Look out for hazards!</span></td></tr></tbody></table>The recce may take longer that the walk on the day, as you will be stopping to consult a map, taking the wrong path on occasions, all of which adds up. Your general pace might be slower too. On a full day's walking it could make the difference of an hour.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>Before The Walk</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Details of your walk are already in the programme; departure time, date, location, your name and mobile phone number, Moderate, Easy, Strenuous. At the top should be the title, the date, and the time you will start, how many miles and total feet of climbing - easy with the OS app which gives you this information. Next a brief description - no more than a paragraph - of the walk highlights and general geography. Do not include a blow by blow account!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Next some travelling instructions to drive to the start, including post code and What3words. It might also be worth putting in OS map coordinates as some people still don't have satnavs or smart phones.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Tell people they must contact you if going straight there, and say you look forward to meeting them, and joining them afterwards for a drink in the 'Red Lion'.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Remind them that if the weather is bad on the lead-up to the walk, the onus is on them to check if it is still going ahead.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><u style="font-family: arial;">Your Job As Leader</u></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxoCXhAUqLEJEEc8ZAhIuVqybW2482AbRBPx-RvOt0AWPkd5L8EGjoRvhC8vtZtCRve5jVgxJuS5xtheENdwUd2Ccug1wl-MeVVZTYo8eqx_DkofNe0oXTtVF3KujAlTUd5nFts7tOp9m/s2048/P1110467.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1397" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxoCXhAUqLEJEEc8ZAhIuVqybW2482AbRBPx-RvOt0AWPkd5L8EGjoRvhC8vtZtCRve5jVgxJuS5xtheENdwUd2Ccug1wl-MeVVZTYo8eqx_DkofNe0oXTtVF3KujAlTUd5nFts7tOp9m/s320/P1110467.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Always have a back-marker so no one gets lost</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">The clue's in the title. You are in charge. You are also responsible for the well-being of the group. You should lead from the front, not halfway back, and it isn't your job to open a gate, then stand there smiling at people as they file past. And you should have a back marker, someone who is prepared to be at the rear to make sure no one gets lost, and to let you know if there is a problem. Preferably someone who did the recce with you, if not, you should supply them with a map of the route. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Always be mindful of the people behind, so you don't get too strung out. It's a good idea to stop occasionally to allow everyone to catch up.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A word about striders. These are people who want to stride off ahead either because they are impatient or want to show off their super fitness. Make it clear you will not let this happen. This is a group activity, and you are the leader, you know the route, and you set the pace to suit the group. Striders become the de facto leaders, and unconsciously, the group will try to speed up to try and close the gap.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>On The Day</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Some of the group may leave from a central point and car share, others will travel straight from home to the start. Those doing the latter will have contacted you, so you will know if everyone has arrived. If someone is unavoidably delayed, or aren't coming, they should text or phone you. If there's no phone signal, you should wait a few minutes, but no more.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSL1lD3A3oUM5ISv7WNKOK02ynYYpPobwRZYYxgyvdedLnQtlHMdtrYJ8G_MbzYFI69bAUmAduz86D_ZmWULo89rAzYgOS678oZNxfdD3FZD8Ptnk2Yq76hT7tOYfDU4cjD0cke0diP8ZFGiUJPyoDSF9_K1Oiigf1qmKmgQafuEq8uzed1IkZoSrn_f3/s1600/b097ca14-347d-4fe3-bb7f-588e9b145452.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSL1lD3A3oUM5ISv7WNKOK02ynYYpPobwRZYYxgyvdedLnQtlHMdtrYJ8G_MbzYFI69bAUmAduz86D_ZmWULo89rAzYgOS678oZNxfdD3FZD8Ptnk2Yq76hT7tOYfDU4cjD0cke0diP8ZFGiUJPyoDSF9_K1Oiigf1qmKmgQafuEq8uzed1IkZoSrn_f3/s320/b097ca14-347d-4fe3-bb7f-588e9b145452.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Briefly address the party before you go</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">Booted up and ready, now briefly address the group. Introduce any first time walkers, repeat a few details about the walk, then go. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">If you have to cross roads or walk down one, wait until everyone is there, then explain what is happening, reminding them to walk single file on the right, unless there's a righthand bend. They should follow your lead.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">You decide when it's time for a stop, and how long it will be. Give a two minute warning before leaving at the end of short stops, and five minutes for lunch. Don't just pick up your backpack and go!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>If You Have To Cancel</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgjgybfsTsPiinRR6VHvAC7Iw7HoI2MPPS3hjVhXv3f1uQBTdEP_ic4D2mJtLDkBnhl1Xm5ziJ2ZsZs83WQ0BU84PtwCqGj9rVXvozmIDUOWAnnsKFbJxVoZZtUEHqF4LIcLffwSbeg0D/s2048/P1080770.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgjgybfsTsPiinRR6VHvAC7Iw7HoI2MPPS3hjVhXv3f1uQBTdEP_ic4D2mJtLDkBnhl1Xm5ziJ2ZsZs83WQ0BU84PtwCqGj9rVXvozmIDUOWAnnsKFbJxVoZZtUEHqF4LIcLffwSbeg0D/w320-h268/P1080770.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">It's been planned, you've recced it, enjoy it!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;">It happens. On one occasion, even though the weather had been wet for a few days, it forecast a dry night prior to that day's walk. Unexpectedly a storm dumped a huge amount of rain overnight, and some of the route was under water. The BBC were warning people not to travel. Make sure your method of contact is immediately updated.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Having given you the benefit of my experience, it's now down to you. Best of luck with your group walk!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: white; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial black" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;">Read my 5 Star novel: <i>Stench of Evil</i> - a supernatural thriller </span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://goo.gl/VQOVuS" target="_blank">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</a></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""helvetica" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #444444; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial black" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;">The sequel: <i>The Devil in Them </i> </span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://goo.gl/aS1cjZ" target="_blank">https://goo.gl/aS1cjZ</a></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-27345790484399516722021-01-27T13:31:00.000+00:002021-01-27T13:31:56.369+00:00Taking the Bull by the Horns<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">A few months ago, I was faced with entering a field where there was a snorting, bellowing bull, just yards away. What to do, take a chance, or turn back? I hate turning back on a walk.</span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYH7vYIF86pLIZaLpFJFGdg6OZO6f3GkT10eIDg6zcHOP1hjhMG-CJsWnt8bKtragoU8MLRj0ScE41jE6HZaunGockdDLqxEHCC_rRHHeBtbIZBD1YcSrgmkxce-x3fIIM70neCJV354x/s2048/BULL+1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYH7vYIF86pLIZaLpFJFGdg6OZO6f3GkT10eIDg6zcHOP1hjhMG-CJsWnt8bKtragoU8MLRj0ScE41jE6HZaunGockdDLqxEHCC_rRHHeBtbIZBD1YcSrgmkxce-x3fIIM70neCJV354x/s320/BULL+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">The start of my walk that day...</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I've been walking for over twenty years in the British countryside and abroad, so I'm used to passing through fields of cows and bulls, most of the time with no problems. Usually they ignore you, or they begrudgingly move out of the way. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The advice is, don't get between a cow and her calve, or a bull and his harem. If you feel threatened, don't run, as it will make matters worse. Face the beasts and wave your arms around until they back off! If you have a dog, keep it on a lead, or if cattle go for it, let it off the lead so it can escape. Personally, I would never enter a field of cattle with a dog.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In the last couple of years I've noticed that cattle have been taking more of an interest in us. They sometimes come over and crowd around, and follow us to the stile. This can be intimidating because they are big heavy animals, and you can't know what's going on in their heads. Likely it's often curiosity, or they think you've come to feed them or take them for milking. Bullocks nearly always display this behavior, but I'm sure they are just curious little boys. Farmers have taken more to corralling cattle into small areas using temporary single wire fences, letting them chew the grass, before moving them to the next patch. So they probably think we've come to move the fence to greener pastures, hence the unwanted attention. I've found that where they have a full field to spread out, they're not interested in us.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBe2CI9b98tDVfd4PNiyCXTyU5LLcAAd8O3LDJHGsKg2Bcd_uwgfmbTVv5VhVO_ISbbbsRwaQdiZqFmfcareFwmb9CW13dzpDpedOO2umiqnHXsJJOEdLvF6N3H0lq5djEE-aazwJhTyVZ/s640/Dog-and-Cow.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBe2CI9b98tDVfd4PNiyCXTyU5LLcAAd8O3LDJHGsKg2Bcd_uwgfmbTVv5VhVO_ISbbbsRwaQdiZqFmfcareFwmb9CW13dzpDpedOO2umiqnHXsJJOEdLvF6N3H0lq5djEE-aazwJhTyVZ/s320/Dog-and-Cow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Sadly, in recent years, there have been several deaths of dog walkers, trampled when they've tried to 'protect' their pets. To a cow with a calve, a dog is a wolf and a threat to her young. It seems that even if the dog has escaped, the owner may still get attacked, possibly because they are the one who has introduced the wolf into the herd's territory, and are therefore also seen as a threat.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">That was all at the back of my mind, that day, when I set off on a short walk from my home. All went well until I came to a stile with a sign on it, warning of a bull in the field. I heard it before I saw it; a big black beast just yards away, against a dividing hedge, snorting and bellowing.</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/AVvXsEjey6zckeoQM2_2kVOxR2o1VuPrj3-P1qzcuaJMZORyWihkjfbAUMm0tUzmox-k-LA5k5KdqNSawqirSybxVt0pA2sAUduwECve-kjeEsZScnHCPz5Dd4ZC-LYX6Z9UMbwo0q3ZmjaImz9h/s2048/BULL+2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjey6zckeoQM2_2kVOxR2o1VuPrj3-P1qzcuaJMZORyWihkjfbAUMm0tUzmox-k-LA5k5KdqNSawqirSybxVt0pA2sAUduwECve-kjeEsZScnHCPz5Dd4ZC-LYX6Z9UMbwo0q3ZmjaImz9h/s320/BULL+2.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">There were cows further up the field. But the bull wanted to get into the next field to be with the cows there, hence all the noise. To cross the field, I would have to walk between the bull and the cows. I was also on my own, so who would call the air ambulance if it all went wrong? Likely the bull would ignore me, as its attention was clearly elsewhere, but was it worth the risk? I decided it wasn't, and reluctantly turned back.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But it didn't end there. Couldn't end there. I had to report it for investigation. My understanding was that a bull older than ten months shouldn't be in a field where there was a public right of way. This animal looked much older.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I went on the Cheshire East Council website, and filed a report. This was Friday afternoon, and I was very impressed when I got an email response Monday morning. The Public Rights of Way Manager asked for photographs, a grid reference, and a footpath number and Route Code which I found on their Interactive Map. I also included a screen-shot of the OS map, where I had highlighted the field. I was then informed that a member of their team would go and investigate.</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/AVvXsEiZ0-l8rfKmME5iV-3Wt4DHvn5z0c2Xak_x2elZRoUgi9_mXXsUMgTkPZG2O8AYEgveTSHExKVFifnku_Wf-0qEqni1N_eExIWe9BdWr1U3LxVBFFAiEcO9FsEnXmmpa2fX-gDohJXqyf9a/s2048/BULL+4.PNG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0-l8rfKmME5iV-3Wt4DHvn5z0c2Xak_x2elZRoUgi9_mXXsUMgTkPZG2O8AYEgveTSHExKVFifnku_Wf-0qEqni1N_eExIWe9BdWr1U3LxVBFFAiEcO9FsEnXmmpa2fX-gDohJXqyf9a/s320/BULL+4.PNG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">The officer subsequently informed me that he went into the field where the bull was with a herd of cows and calves. He said 'the bull did not show any interest in me, and was very docile'. I replied I didn't doubt it, but on the day it was very agitated, as it was obviously on heat! I then asked him if it should be there, as it looked older than ten months. He replied that as the bull was 'a recognized beef breed', Aberdeen Angus in this case, it was permitted to be in a field with public access, along </span><span style="font-family: arial;">with dairy cows.</span><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Did I over-react? I'll never know. But at least I did the right thing, and got it investigated. If someone had been attacked, and I hadn't taken action, I couldn't have forgiven myself...</span></p><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: white; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; font-family: &quot; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial black" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;">Read my 5 Star novel: <i>Stench of Evil</i> - a supernatural thriller </span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: blue; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://goo.gl/VQOVuS" target="_blank">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</a></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""helvetica" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #444444; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: &quot; font-size: 16px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial black" , "sans-serif"" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;">The sequel: <i>The Devil in Them </i> </span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://goo.gl/aS1cjZ" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px;">https://goo.gl/aS1cjZ</span></a></span></div></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b style="font-size: 16px;"></b><i style="font-size: 16px;"></i><u style="font-size: 16px;"></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike style="font-size: 16px;"></strike><br style="font-size: 16px;" /></span><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-88619857314445540982020-05-01T10:34:00.000+01:002020-05-01T10:43:14.855+01:00Peter's Perfect Piccies...<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>Some
tips for recording your country walks on camera...</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><i></i><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<h3>
Why Are You Uploading Your Photos To Facebook?</h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIi8-o7flH5q6q3VWvoG1z0SMfgBfci3sEmrrqlaqK2mySgGb_Eff3h2d7p1Iid4LvkYggTTEjTAo83qBO9fiXc4ueLJZHF3bM1drVO_NcsTYQ8pH3Vfcq6xqwHOUIZl34DOEauq38PJLv/s1600/IMG_20200219_131939002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1302" data-original-width="1301" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIi8-o7flH5q6q3VWvoG1z0SMfgBfci3sEmrrqlaqK2mySgGb_Eff3h2d7p1Iid4LvkYggTTEjTAo83qBO9fiXc4ueLJZHF3bM1drVO_NcsTYQ8pH3Vfcq6xqwHOUIZl34DOEauq38PJLv/s200/IMG_20200219_131939002.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juxtaposition makes it more interesting </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
answer to this question sounds obvious, and it is, and that answer should have
a bearing on what you do with your photos <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">before</i>
uploading – but often it doesn’t!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
answer is because you want your friends to get a flavour of your
walking experience, to find enjoyment in them, entertainment and information.
You want them to be interested enough to look at them all, and not stop after
the first two or three. You want your friends to 'Like' your images, and comment favourably.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So, how is it then, that these objectives can be thwarted, even before your images appear on Facebook?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Worst Thing You Can Do</h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
worst thing you can do is upload all the raw images from your camera without
any thought. I can guarantee even your most loyal followers will be bored after
a cursory look, and will give up after the first few. Not that they would ever
tell you!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Many of
your photos will likely be repetitive, poorly composed, badly lit and lacking
in information.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
has little to do with whether you are a good photographer or not, because these faults can usually be corrected or improved after you’ve clicked the
shutter.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If A Job's Worth Doing...</h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXTl6O-Br5OL92RvjJ_aHVBfvQJTeV0tyF5Ma1i11q53mE8bXjfKgsqoIahZZZcDw-gwiTSl-Tb-7gZf0NQeEAhUAaJLpoI6Mini0xWT-ieXcZrjc7TztGvnr3xW5KxEq3X_yLzgqOb4o/s1600/IMG_0193.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXTl6O-Br5OL92RvjJ_aHVBfvQJTeV0tyF5Ma1i11q53mE8bXjfKgsqoIahZZZcDw-gwiTSl-Tb-7gZf0NQeEAhUAaJLpoI6Mini0xWT-ieXcZrjc7TztGvnr3xW5KxEq3X_yLzgqOb4o/s320/IMG_0193.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An uncropped picture - all that tarmac adds nothing!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Don’t
be repetitive. Don’t be repetitive. Don’t upload three or four images that
basically are
of the same scene. One will do! </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Be
frugal with the number of images you upload. Less is more...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Be
brutal! If your pictures look boring to you – they’ll look boring to everyone
else.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
first thing I do after a walk is sit down with a drink and run through all the
images. I then delete a third to a half of them. Then I go into Edit on my
phone, and in a few seconds enhance the lighting and colour. Often this is not
required if it’s been a bright sunny day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
tool I use the most is cropping. You can transform a picture using this. By
bringing the edges of your picture in, you can improve the composition, and
draw the eye towards the focus. If you have to over-crop, the image might
pixelate when it’s enlarged. The same can happen if you zoom in too much, if
it’s a digital zoom.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQFvzZhGP0V6KWAxlMSWaijBRsVbjNdO3gwhRBpQ7DWuXLh6xRFiFQfPxXAYPEKnEtOfTe8GlidCahM-i6dGPiDeka1Ihp_0Rg0SfBweCZhu4BlEIgiR86ydxX95baMe7KDcfYTi1DYvz/s1600/003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="1600" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQFvzZhGP0V6KWAxlMSWaijBRsVbjNdO3gwhRBpQ7DWuXLh6xRFiFQfPxXAYPEKnEtOfTe8GlidCahM-i6dGPiDeka1Ihp_0Rg0SfBweCZhu4BlEIgiR86ydxX95baMe7KDcfYTi1DYvz/s320/003.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cropped version</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After
I’ve done that, more deletions might follow, and then from the remainder, I
select those I want to upload onto Facebook. It is at this stage, before I 'Post', that I add captions.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It is
frustrating when viewing interesting pictures, and wondering; ‘Where exactly is
this? Who are they? What is this? What are they doing? What’s happening here?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I don’t
put captions on every image. Often a descriptive caption isn’t required.
Instead, sometimes I remember something amusing connected with the scene, or a
titbit of additional information. I’m a story teller, so I organise my pictures
to tell a story – the story of my walk.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<h3 style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A Few Tips For Taking Snaps</h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
are few things more difficult than taking photographs with a group on the move!
The times I’ve stopped to take a few snaps of a landscape, only to turn around
and see the group half a mile ahead, disappearing over the horizon! So you have
to be quick.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSDD1jOD18yPNyt5DI2kt1CgAS4AWRMOTiQfTNR-9URLlcBY9XarxvWGaSUOsZSHdujPF1IT5qYg-rZACUkzaIKK5IpklN1IB-XOWJOl4xUqGXY71VBvAllvDyHApTimXDakCr6Pjnme0M/s1600/010.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSDD1jOD18yPNyt5DI2kt1CgAS4AWRMOTiQfTNR-9URLlcBY9XarxvWGaSUOsZSHdujPF1IT5qYg-rZACUkzaIKK5IpklN1IB-XOWJOl4xUqGXY71VBvAllvDyHApTimXDakCr6Pjnme0M/s320/010.JPEG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imagine how it would look framed, for composition</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
okay to take a shot of the rear of a line of walkers, but
also try to take one from the front so their faces are visible.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Basic,
but don’t point into the sun.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When
taking a scenic shot, imagine you are framing it to hang on your wall.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Including
people in your shot gives it context and scale.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Don’t
upload an image that’s unflattering to someone, because you’ve caught them in
that fraction of a second. I’ve taken a few like that, and if I'd published them, I would have lost a few friends!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Look
for unusual things to photograph, and sometimes use different angles, to avoid
being ‘samey’. Again, you have to think on the hoof, as you don’t have the luxury
of spending too much time thinking about it.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Take a
lot of photos – and delete a lot...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So,
take aim, have fun, and Keep on Walking...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: white; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: black; font-family: &quot; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Read my 5 Star novel: <i>Stench of
Evil</i> - a paranormal thriller </span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://goo.gl/VQOVuS" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: white; background-image: none; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: black; font-family: &quot; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">and the sequel: <i>The Devil in
Them </i> </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://goo.gl/aS1cjZ" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">https://goo.gl/aS1cjZ</span></a></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-60544687865219078602019-09-19T15:27:00.000+01:002019-09-19T15:27:13.853+01:00I was robbed! Victim of a bizarre scam...We were spending a few days in Granada after a week walking in the Alpujarras. One of the highlights of visiting the city is the Alhambra, a thirteenth century fortress built by the Moors. We purchased tickets online and set off on foot from the hotel.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfr_BdHT-pFaWfK4Xer8oNKsYy0d2rDcHdJFCsD7_IxpF_0qIXbw2zapEVdzHN-an8rd241ttvR3oBbVkqXTKJgUiJhQWyeVyai-lPMlDtcyiRUrCaeF3Tz0xA9owYp2rPz5oCRI6Ut6Y/s1600/022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfr_BdHT-pFaWfK4Xer8oNKsYy0d2rDcHdJFCsD7_IxpF_0qIXbw2zapEVdzHN-an8rd241ttvR3oBbVkqXTKJgUiJhQWyeVyai-lPMlDtcyiRUrCaeF3Tz0xA9owYp2rPz5oCRI6Ut6Y/s320/022.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lovely city of Granada</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Part of the route took us up a very steep flight of steps on the Cuesta Del Realejo. My wife and friends were ahead, as I had stopped to take photographs. Suddenly I felt something strike my hat and trickle down my back. I looked around and there was a Spanish looking man and woman nearby. The man pointed up at t<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfr_BdHT-pFaWfK4Xer8oNKsYy0d2rDcHdJFCsD7_IxpF_0qIXbw2zapEVdzHN-an8rd241ttvR3oBbVkqXTKJgUiJhQWyeVyai-lPMlDtcyiRUrCaeF3Tz0xA9owYp2rPz5oCRI6Ut6Y/s1600/022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfr_BdHT-pFaWfK4Xer8oNKsYy0d2rDcHdJFCsD7_IxpF_0qIXbw2zapEVdzHN-an8rd241ttvR3oBbVkqXTKJgUiJhQWyeVyai-lPMlDtcyiRUrCaeF3Tz0xA9owYp2rPz5oCRI6Ut6Y/s1600/022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>he sky and said; "Bird!" He looked me over and tut tutted, then added. "Come with me - I will get you cleaned up!"<br />
<br />
I followed him into a nearby bar. There was only one thing on my mind - I was covered in bird crap and I had to get rid of it! The bar was fairly busy, and he led me to the back where there was a toilet cubicle and wash basin. He produced a pack of tissues and told me to remove the small backpack I was carrying. It was splattered with a thick darkish liquid, as was my hat and shorts. As I washed the hat in the sink, he wiped off the worst of it from my shorts. I was very grateful to him, and muttered "Mucho gracias," as he left me to finish.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT9C0356PzKLmVxZuRdBaYkerNOosLJ0FF-_MVFZvLw5XdZ1c0Oz-QipcHYGt3acS_ItAKq2I0DDgjanJwdp8Cx2hkBbAV3ll-TSmz-J_Vy5DInpnuu8x-r1VfqGfdXc1JbPuy0jRCDrA3/s1600/013+Alhambra+from+Mirador+de+San+Nicolas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: right; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1600" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT9C0356PzKLmVxZuRdBaYkerNOosLJ0FF-_MVFZvLw5XdZ1c0Oz-QipcHYGt3acS_ItAKq2I0DDgjanJwdp8Cx2hkBbAV3ll-TSmz-J_Vy5DInpnuu8x-r1VfqGfdXc1JbPuy0jRCDrA3/s320/013+Alhambra+from+Mirador+de+San+Nicolas.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We decided to visit the Alhambra...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT9C0356PzKLmVxZuRdBaYkerNOosLJ0FF-_MVFZvLw5XdZ1c0Oz-QipcHYGt3acS_ItAKq2I0DDgjanJwdp8Cx2hkBbAV3ll-TSmz-J_Vy5DInpnuu8x-r1VfqGfdXc1JbPuy0jRCDrA3/s1600/013+Alhambra+from+Mirador+de+San+Nicolas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
Outside there was no sign of the helpful Spaniard nor the woman. My wife and friends were at the top of the steps waiting. They were aware something had gone on, but weren't sure where I was. I explained what had happened and we continued to the Alhambra.<br />
<br />
We looked around the gardens, then decided to eat lunch before tackling <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVgHxj26R1f9Dxw_NzR2yGsq95iYYLGqq2Tom61gjGwGMVrbqwbOL1_Gmm_AIqpx0hGBZt7ligkSHecDFT_mXG2JYqkY-xg1VDn_h8v35j2RIwY7aJm3HUG2sYbEWDtyWTgJkp2Nz7-q-/s1600/IMG_4640.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVgHxj26R1f9Dxw_NzR2yGsq95iYYLGqq2Tom61gjGwGMVrbqwbOL1_Gmm_AIqpx0hGBZt7ligkSHecDFT_mXG2JYqkY-xg1VDn_h8v35j2RIwY7aJm3HUG2sYbEWDtyWTgJkp2Nz7-q-/s1600/IMG_4640.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>the palace buildings. The tapas was excellent, and when we received the bill, I took out my wallet to pay. I opened it and it was empty. I stared in disbelief. My credit cards and driving licence was there, but almost four hundred euros in notes were missing! The penny dropped. I hadn't been hit with bird muck, but some concoction that had been thrown over me, the Spaniard wasn't a Good Samaritan, but a thief, and I had fallen victim to a bizarre scam! I'd said earlier that there was so much crap on me that the bird must have had diarrhea! The wallet had been in my shorts...<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEbc5J-mmuff-MukqhXSEJI36cvyWx6Q6Q6sjd5T6RY9q2PCOn4a7Uzuw8GU5pMxCNDXKSfg56Tv7ogom2wKv9oxvzYcgHQy5xUHlkE6RCznFboi2aZCYExBBbnzXWxZDXadJTdcz3n4g/s1600/039+Cuesta+del+Reale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: left; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEbc5J-mmuff-MukqhXSEJI36cvyWx6Q6Q6sjd5T6RY9q2PCOn4a7Uzuw8GU5pMxCNDXKSfg56Tv7ogom2wKv9oxvzYcgHQy5xUHlkE6RCznFboi2aZCYExBBbnzXWxZDXadJTdcz3n4g/s320/039+Cuesta+del+Reale.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cuesta Del Realejo - where the scam took place...</td></tr>
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On the way back we called in at the bar and spoke to the owners. By their reaction I'm sure they were not involved in the crime - but it was worth warning them in case the thief tried using their premises again.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEbc5J-mmuff-MukqhXSEJI36cvyWx6Q6Q6sjd5T6RY9q2PCOn4a7Uzuw8GU5pMxCNDXKSfg56Tv7ogom2wKv9oxvzYcgHQy5xUHlkE6RCznFboi2aZCYExBBbnzXWxZDXadJTdcz3n4g/s1600/039+Cuesta+del+Reale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>I called in the police station near our hotel, and was told to visit an office in the Tourist Information building the following morning to report the crime. We didn't hold out much hope. I imagined we'd see a civilian, and it would be a tick-box exercise, and we'd leave with a crime number to give our insurance company. It was nothing like that.<br />
<br />
We were greeted by a very polite police officer who took details, then asked for a statement. This was all recorded on his computer. He apologised several times for the experience I had gone through, and told me my story was not unique, although it was two months since they had received a similar report. Finally, he enquired if I would return to the police station and look at some mug shots. I agreed and he made a phone call to set up the interview.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqxyJT27Ija3WOo_llqQBC440FvP5sPUf7Te4XltlWbr4Vi8uaL7SHjREKRVTDtSq4udaf8dOICWovJ9-JXwNWDQcyKR80IceM7zNzAza99vqaHgml5eKDRFfSZ3iRI_jFKeEd3jJ_kS4/s1600/IMG_4640.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqxyJT27Ija3WOo_llqQBC440FvP5sPUf7Te4XltlWbr4Vi8uaL7SHjREKRVTDtSq4udaf8dOICWovJ9-JXwNWDQcyKR80IceM7zNzAza99vqaHgml5eKDRFfSZ3iRI_jFKeEd3jJ_kS4/s320/IMG_4640.PNG" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The scene of the crime...</td></tr>
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At the police station we were sent upstairs to an office where I was greeted by two detectives; a <br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
male and female. I was shown images of convicted criminals and none matched the description. And then there he was, staring from the screen, black hair and beard, small mouth and shifty eyes. Now I had a name for him: 'Bartoli'.<br />
<br />
They had CCTV footage of him. He was wearing a hat to hide his face, but it was his build, his height, his gait - just as I had described him. I was only a year out in his age too! They printed out Bartoli's mug shots and asked me to sign my name across them.<br />
<br />
The detectives thanked me and said they would try and trace the scammer and make an arrest. The Spanish Embassy would make contact if they needed anything else.<br />
<br />
So, how did I feel? Foolish, certainly, but I have to admit a small part of me was intrigued by the weirdness of it. To think up such a scam! "I have a great idea," you can imagine Bartoli telling a criminal associate, " I'm going to create some fake bird shit, throw it over a tourist, offer to clean them up, and in the process steal their money..." And the psychology involved. The revulsion of being covered in bird crap overrode all sense of caution and suspicion. I <i>had</i> to get cleaned, and this kind passerby was going to assist me...<br />
<br />
The fact he appeared to be with a woman added to my acquiescence. If he'd been alone or with another man I may have thought twice. Ironically, I'm not sure now that he<i> was</i> with a woman. Certainly there was a woman near him, but she could have been someone just walking up the Cuesta Del Realejo, and I falsely connected the two. According to the police officer, Bartoli worked alone...<br />
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They say that getting covered with bird poo is lucky. Unfortunately it wasn't the real stuff!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Read my 5 Star novel: <i>Stench of
Evil</i> - a paranormal thriller </span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://goo.gl/VQOVuS" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial black" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">and the sequel: <i>The Devil in
Them </i> </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://goo.gl/aS1cjZ" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">https://goo.gl/aS1cjZ</span></a></span></div>
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<br />Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-31879168898691215802013-11-12T16:16:00.000+00:002016-12-15T18:27:38.806+00:00Shangaied in China - did Judith Chalmers and I witness the end of Communism?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrvQn_AjeRO2opAFygpy41tz0I3XPAWzpMERFrsS8Lafvb97sq6L6Q8iyufGB5Qhw3efB5Sd67LvYV0ffuZIG0Y9-eEc3a2n4jJUFYS9tI83PrC_Lt39ShGV3OymRqfWLr7-P7G9fZ5b2/s1600/judith+chalmers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrvQn_AjeRO2opAFygpy41tz0I3XPAWzpMERFrsS8Lafvb97sq6L6Q8iyufGB5Qhw3efB5Sd67LvYV0ffuZIG0Y9-eEc3a2n4jJUFYS9tI83PrC_Lt39ShGV3OymRqfWLr7-P7G9fZ5b2/s1600/judith+chalmers.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We met Judith Chalmers at dinner</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Four internal flights, one over-night train journey, a four day cruise on the Yangtze River and hundreds of miles by coach saw us travelling across a good chunk of China in a month long tour. We travelled from Beijing in the north, to Dali near the Tibetan border in the
south west, and Shanghai in the east. We experienced the sights, smells and sounds, and met and talked to a number of Chinese along the way - oh, and then there was UK travel icon, Judith Chalmers...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It was only a few years ago that Katie Melua sang 'there are nine million bicycles in Beijing', but most of them are gone now, replaced by motorcycles and ten million cars, contributing to the debilitating veil of pollution that hangs over the city. The thing that impressed me the most wasn't The Great Wall, or the Terracotta Warriors (impressive though they are) but the economical, social and political speed of change that threatens to render any comments and observations as out-of-date as soon as they are recorded.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0xCX3ujy_EYi7Sq5tTurSFvzHzj5FpyqkvBTXxWc-Lpkrw36i7b1lAr3yujXEawMO23IgUd9cU8NLxG8-gwz5OhwiZ2-hXimau5EnkGJIv56YsRqHZ6yad0FA1zfcwSQObgyCvUWP7VJz/s1600/CHINA+2013+1+208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0xCX3ujy_EYi7Sq5tTurSFvzHzj5FpyqkvBTXxWc-Lpkrw36i7b1lAr3yujXEawMO23IgUd9cU8NLxG8-gwz5OhwiZ2-hXimau5EnkGJIv56YsRqHZ6yad0FA1zfcwSQObgyCvUWP7VJz/s320/CHINA+2013+1+208.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street outside our hotel in Beijing</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We arrived in Beijing and were taken on a sight-seeing tour of Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. This was the only time I felt we were deliberately fed Government propaganda. Our local guide sought to white-wash the Tienanmen Square Massacre where hundreds if not thousands of protesting students were killed by the army in 1989. He suggested the number of deaths was much smaller, and that no one actually saw who carried out the attacks. Was it white-wash or in denial through national shame? Another guide told us that since the massacre, the police and the army are no longer armed on the streets of Beijing, to help prevent a similar atrocity, suggesting that the eight different factions that make up the Communist Party aren't always in tune.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our Beijing guide was also supportive of the unelected regime that rules China. He likened it to a board of directors running a powerful company. "Directors aren't elected," he told me smugly, "they are appointed." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"Yes," I countered, "and the share-holders here can't call for the directors to stand down when they've made a mistake!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Other Chinese people we spoke to made it very clear: <em>China is no longer a communist country, it's a capitalist dictatorship</em>.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were photographed here days before the bomb went off</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A photograph was taken of our group across from the entrance to the Forbidden City in front of Chairman Mao's portrait. Days later at this same spot, a Muslim family of suicide bombers from the western region of Xinjiang detonated a bomb in their car, killing two tourists and injuring around forty more. More bombs followed in other parts of China. Apparently the Muslims are complaining of suppression - as are the Tibetans. The view from the West is that the main Chinese Han population don't like their ethnic minorities. But our local guide in the ancient town of Dali told us how they and other minorities were not limited by the single child policy, and that girls could marry at thirteen, and boys at fifteen - an ancient tradition, although it would be a criminal offence in the West! She felt they were being treated fairly by the majority Han. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">FREEDOM OF SPEECH - WELL, SORT OF</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNR_kRVLQHYGcvsHDMA4tnH1BawHfrUrpcK8zDX9BXvvxMudYW_mroNbVqxXGs9fHX1KmYweLT-G1culQjYMU5oVoGw7aR8BzQYDvQ6Ra0qF_l_QwCsRialrGHBxsWo-Lprn9w8Wd4hyphenhyphenE5/s1600/CHINA+2013+5+258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNR_kRVLQHYGcvsHDMA4tnH1BawHfrUrpcK8zDX9BXvvxMudYW_mroNbVqxXGs9fHX1KmYweLT-G1culQjYMU5oVoGw7aR8BzQYDvQ6Ra0qF_l_QwCsRialrGHBxsWo-Lprn9w8Wd4hyphenhyphenE5/s320/CHINA+2013+5+258.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new China - a demonstration takes place as we passed</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Despite the control freakery of the Chinese dictatorship, things have loosened up quite a bit over the last few years. Another of our guides described how, just six years ago, a Communist Party official would sit at the back of the coach, making notes of what he told tourists. "Even three years ago," he explained, If some of the things I've said today had been reported to the authorities, I would have been replaced with a new guide. Now, no one cares. You can say what you like, criticise the government, officials, even the President, Xi Jinping - as long as you don't start a revolution!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Face Book is blocked in China, as are other parts of the world wide web - including this blog site! This doesn't stop many citizens from finding a way around it. Everyone we met revered the BBC. The authorities have created their own social networking site, and as one guide gleefully told us, it has been used to great effect to nail corrupt officials and get them behind bars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Young people are keen to emulate the West - not always following the best traditions. Reading some preparatory literature before we left for China, we were told that shorts must be below the knee, and dresses down to the ankles. Imagine our surprise then on going out into the streets of Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and other major cities, to see young women wearing very short skirts and tall stiletto heels. It was almost like Liverpool on a Saturday night! That's how quickly social change is happening in China.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Despite a degree of freedom of speech on the streets and online - the media is still in the grip of the State. Chinese Communist Television (CCTV) seemed obsessed with two topics. One was endless war dramas that seemed to depict fighting between the Chinese and the Japanese (still enemy number one) - these inevitably involved someone strapped to a table being tortured - and the other were cloned versions of <em>The X Factor</em>, <em>The Voice</em> and <em>China's Got Talent</em>! No one on these shows - including the judges, was over thirty. Carl Marx said that religion was the opiate of the people, but I think the Chinese authorities have hit on a new opiate - <em>The X Factor</em>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">THE YOUNG ONES</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I've never seen so many iPads on the street! There is a huge cultural gap between the under thirty-fives and their parents. The younger generation, many of whom are university educated - almost despise their uneducated parents. They have little in common with them. East has met West, and the youngsters like it, but their parents don't understand it. Generally, the younger generation are polite, while the older ones spit on the streets and push past to get ahead in the queue. There is no word in Mandarin for 'please'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Our national guide apologised for the behaviour of the older Chinese. "It's not in our culture to consider other people, to give way to others like you do from the West. We are different because we've had lessons in manners, and how to behave towards others."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The young Chinese were on the whole courteous, allowing us out of lifts first, stepping aside etc. However, on a bus I did see one elderly Chinese gentleman offer to give up his seat to an English woman who was standing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Education doesn't come cheap even in China - students have to pay tuition fees. They can't go on to university either unless they've attained a high grade in English. The young Chinese have also adopted a Western name along with their own. I thought this was for the tourists, but our guide said it was necessary as part of the Chinese people's integration with the West! He told me with pride that his daughter had just chosen her Western name at nursery school. Studying the history of the British democratic system and that of the USA is mandatory too - what are the Chinese authorities up to?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION THAT HAS BLIGHTED CHINA</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Terracotta Warriors could have been destroyed by the Red Army</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">There's no argument in China about the so-called 'Cultural Revolution' - everyone is in agreement that it was one of the worst things inflicted on the country. Schools were closed, opponents murdered and much of the country's cultural heritage was vandalised and destroyed by the Red Army. Yet they don't blame the architect of the communist state, Mao Tse Tung. Mao was led astray, they told us, he was ill advised and suffering from Parkinson's disease.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Apart from the human cost, the terrible legacy is that most of the Buddhist temples and pagodas that we were taken to view have been restored, or rebuilt after Mao's death in 1975. When we visited the Terracotta Warriors our guide told us they were discovered in 1974 towards the end of the Cultural Revolution. A professor who examined the initial find contacted the President directly, telling him that it was highly significant. He sent the regular army to guard the site, knowing that the Red Army would destroy it if it was left unprotected.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">THE WORST THINGS AND THE BEST THINGS ABOUT CHINA</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda and I walked a section of The Great Wall</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The worst thing is the pollution. The authorities do recognise the problem, and say they are starting to tackle it. We were besieged in some provinces by it, and were never sure whether it was just autumn mist or the pollution from coal fired power stations. Also the march of urbanisation with the unbridled rise of skyscrapers, rising up overnight like fields of mushrooms. Every where we went huge cranes clad the skyline. On the five hour drive from Shanghai to Suzhou we saw no countryside, just urban sprawl linking the two places. Another thing we didn't like was the huge crowds of people everywhere. With Beijing having the same population as Australia - you can see why there is a problem.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">One of the best things is that we hardly saw or heard any dogs, because they virtually don't exist in China. One reason is because they end up on the dinner table, and the other is that before you own a dog you have to apply for a licence - which costs around £30 a year, on wages much lower than in the UK.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">We really did enjoy the cruise on the Yangtze River, passing through the picturesque Three Gorges, and the Terracotta Warriors were fascinating. We even managed a three kilometre walk up and down a part of the Great Wall. We loved the old part of Dali (no high rise buildings), with its wonderful streets filled with restaurants and traders. Then there was Suzhou - known as the 'Venice of the East'. We had a lovely evening wandering along the old waterfront and sitting outside a bar with a couple of pals from our group.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shanghai shines while other cities suffer power cuts</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Shanghai was all posing with its very impressive light displays (costing a £100,000 in electricity every night - in a country that routinely suffers power cuts), the old architecture of the Bund (modelled from the buildings on Liverpool's water front), and the maglev train that moves on a cushion of electromagnetism (a British invention that our Government was not interested in developing!). We reached a speed of 431 kilometres an hour, and hardly felt a thing! Similarly we went up in the world's fastest lift - 83 storeys in 12 seconds - and didn't even feel it braking...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">DINNER WITH JUDITH CHALMERS</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The largest LCD screen in the world (probably)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">It was when we were in the city of Xian, having dinner, that we noticed Judith Chalmers on the next table. She was with a group from the same tour company, and afterwards we all went to view the fabulous lights, statues and water features in the city, along with the largest aerial LCD screen in the world, making night turn to day, with visions of birds and aeroplanes 'flying' overhead! Judith, apparently was here to write some travel features.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">We went with Wendy Wu, and the tour ran like clockwork, all the guides were extremely knowledgeable, and the staff in the hotels were very professional. Not always in the breakfast room however, which seemed to have clapped-out toasters and a line of command which was hard to follow if you wanted more bread or orange juice. We weren't always enamoured with the banquets when eating out either - although we had some very good meals too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">All in all we had a fascinating time, but when you're sometimes getting up at six in the morning to catch a flight - it was more an experience than a holiday!</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><u><b>Read my paranormal thriller; <i>Stench of Evil</i> only from Amazon:</b></u></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">UK paperback & e<span style="font-size: x-small;">B</span>ook</span>: </span></span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">US paperback & eBook</span>: <a href="http://goo.gl/7JYgG" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;">http://goo.gl/7JYgG</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Can be downloaded to Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android devices, PC, and Mac</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-49907023585691165182013-04-02T16:45:00.001+01:002016-12-15T18:28:17.162+00:00John Taylor - Guilty of murder...<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After a month long trial, undertaker John Taylor, has been found </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-21941711"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">guilty</span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> of the murder of his missing wife, Alethea.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8rN0XFOv35wexjfUUF22g4SEBPav5D-G8_7fShxliijXGn8NaN2nBkrRqfqx2VmwkNeFKr42wIAuRlFx9amqOPJJTZd9PUy1qBMMFnCaAWfSwqWQUuM3SKmZaOsfGtctEcVd5IHYggAQ/s1600/TAYLOR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8rN0XFOv35wexjfUUF22g4SEBPav5D-G8_7fShxliijXGn8NaN2nBkrRqfqx2VmwkNeFKr42wIAuRlFx9amqOPJJTZd9PUy1qBMMFnCaAWfSwqWQUuM3SKmZaOsfGtctEcVd5IHYggAQ/s1600/TAYLOR.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Readers may remember my previous blog on the matter; <em><a href="http://peterhoughblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012_01_01_archive.html">The Search for Alethea Taylor</a></em>, where I recounted how my wife and I helped look for the missing woman while we were taking a caravanning break in the north Herefordshire village of Orleton, where the couple lived.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In that original blog, of over a year ago, I was careful of what I wrote, knowing that there was the likelihood of a trial. Now that Taylor is starting a seventeen year prison sentence, I am able to add some comments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Orleton is a small community, and most of those living there knew the couple personally. While we were out that winter's day with the villagers, combing the fields and woods for signs of Mrs Taylor, various comments were made and theories expressed as to what had happened to her. But each of these theories had their contradictions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It was suggested the pair had rowed, and she had left him and gone to stay with a friend or distant relative. Yet her car was still on the drive, and the CCTV on the local bus didn't record her getting onboard. The favourite theory was that she had wandered off into the surrounding countryside, become disorientated and had either got lost, or had an accident.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This theory came about because according to the locals, Alethea had recently been suffering from episodes of amnesia. She would leave the house, then not recognise her surroundings, and been unable to find her way home. Apparently, on about three occasions, she had been returned to her husband after wandering off. Yet no one knew where these stories had originated, and conversely, we were told that she was an active member of the village amateur dramatic society, and was a prompter for their current play - just prior to her disappearance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We thought at the time, if someone was planning a murder, how helpful it would be to deflect attention if it was put about that the intended victim was suffering early-onset dementia. By the time the story had travelled around the community, the originator would be forgotten.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Taylor's response to his wife's disappearance was odd too. Someone asked: 'How's John bearing up?' The reply was that he was busy with two funerals, and wasn't joining in the search because he didn't want to let the families down. Bearing in mind that on the face of it, Alethea could have fallen into a ditch and broken her leg, this was strange behaviour indeed!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9OTNG33LFeLFrbAiaJK40fQiJkb65RonbOVIEC8FnjFk9RkW4A41FJnmzT8YuG6r5q68-p-WKSiwe4_cmtXz4J2YbJ_Mbw9RtXVJPYPPfkd4log5eXCAdTw0gJhu-sjPXPACA-NftkSH/s1600/ALETHEA+TAYLOR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9OTNG33LFeLFrbAiaJK40fQiJkb65RonbOVIEC8FnjFk9RkW4A41FJnmzT8YuG6r5q68-p-WKSiwe4_cmtXz4J2YbJ_Mbw9RtXVJPYPPfkd4log5eXCAdTw0gJhu-sjPXPACA-NftkSH/s1600/ALETHEA+TAYLOR.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Yet - the possibility that Taylor had murdered her was the elephant in the room. No one suggested it - at least to us - either during the search or in the village hall where we had refreshments - but it was high up on our list. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The contradictions and Taylor's behaviour all pointed in that direction. It's hard to think the worst of people whom you know, and courteous perhaps not to voice your suspicions in public. Yet I believe many of the villagers were genuinely shocked when police arrested Taylor and charged him with murder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">To date, Mrs Taylor's remains have not been discovered - and Taylor isn't saying how he disposed of them. I hope they are found, so the relatives and friends of Alethea can find some degree of closure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><u><b>Read my paranormal thriller; <i>Stench of Evil</i> only from Amazon:</b></u></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">UK paperback & e<span style="font-size: x-small;">B</span>ook</span>: </span></span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">US paperback & eBook</span>: <a href="http://goo.gl/7JYgG" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;">http://goo.gl/7JYgG</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Can be downloaded to Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android devices, PC, and Mac</span></span></span></div>
Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-45282831582473174162013-03-20T12:45:00.000+00:002016-12-15T18:28:35.233+00:00Bill Roache: Instant karma's gonna get you!<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Coronation Street</em> veteran Bill Roache who plays Ken Barlow has attracted criticism for voicing his beliefs that the bad things that happen to us in this life, are punishment for how we behaved in previous lives.</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNEdJjuQOCQedbx1UvXueOWoDxatu6yMIESydsneHKB4vLB1CGvnE9lj_6Gv_kccVYLD0i5eQyJt9nse0_aW8JtZgXdTHFhyBaoKTMOVps1qiDRwvRja4zzksUn8Z1hG6eMpTUpB-EzLD/s1600/images+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNEdJjuQOCQedbx1UvXueOWoDxatu6yMIESydsneHKB4vLB1CGvnE9lj_6Gv_kccVYLD0i5eQyJt9nse0_aW8JtZgXdTHFhyBaoKTMOVps1qiDRwvRja4zzksUn8Z1hG6eMpTUpB-EzLD/s1600/images+%25281%2529.jpg" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The media have tied these comments specifically to victims of child abuse, saying in effect, that Roache believes that this is their punishment for past misdemeanours. Football manager, Glen Hoddle, made similar comments in 1999 which were tied to disabled people. Like Hoddle, Bill Roache has since apologised, and back peddled on his original comments.</span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But in a free and democratic society, should either have to apologise for expressing their spiritual beliefs?</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hinduism has a belief in rebirth, and the law of 'karma' - that the soul must keep returning to mortal existence, until it has learned all the lessons of life on the earthly plane. When a person becomes truly spiritual - the state of 'Nirvana', that individual will then progress and dwell in paradise. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Veda says that karma is not punishment or retribution, but a consequence of ones actions - cause and effect in other words, action and reaction on the spiritual level. This 'consequence' can be mitigated by good deeds and acts. The Bible also says: 'As you sow, so you shall reap'. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQktbeRm51inErzSpEw-fO4CftCIlB9nKOwOti7vR8H_oZiJxptrHKcFkOIQSWY6CEFeN_vbN7Oto6IH5-w1FXb2hs9Sqdq06xbLoOKN8QjyHTfZM8P_SqJhwzi1JVzsRCy8hFXpulEPk/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQktbeRm51inErzSpEw-fO4CftCIlB9nKOwOti7vR8H_oZiJxptrHKcFkOIQSWY6CEFeN_vbN7Oto6IH5-w1FXb2hs9Sqdq06xbLoOKN8QjyHTfZM8P_SqJhwzi1JVzsRCy8hFXpulEPk/s1600/download.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By extension, the belief in karma, can be applied to any horror or bad luck visited on people. This is where Bill Roache and the likes of Glen Hoddle become unstuck. We naturally feel empathy for individuals who have difficulties physically, or who are victims of the evil acts of others. So to imply, through a spiritual belief, that they brought it on themselves through their own actions in a previous life can seem outrageous - and unfair.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But even so, should people who hold such beliefs have the full force of the media machine brought down on their heads like a retribution of biblical proportions? Why can't we just shrug our shoulders and say:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">'It's a point of view. There are other points of view'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Glen Hoddle was sacked. I hope the same doesn't happen to Bill Roache. In most cases, there is no correlation between what people believe, and how well they perform in their jobs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Free speech? It's seems it's allowed as long as it doesn't offend anyone.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><u><b>Read my paranormal thriller; <i>Stench of Evil</i> only from Amazon:</b></u></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">UK paperback & e<span style="font-size: x-small;">B</span>ook</span>: </span></span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">US paperback & eBook</span>: <a href="http://goo.gl/7JYgG" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;">http://goo.gl/7JYgG</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Can be downloaded to Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android devices, PC, and Mac</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span><br />Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-57002223107141963132013-02-06T17:13:00.002+00:002016-12-15T18:28:52.588+00:00What really happened when Sainsbury's £50m investment was thrown out by Labour and Tory councillors<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>THIS BLOG WAS ORI<span style="font-size: x-small;">GIN<span style="font-size: x-small;">ALLY PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER 2011</span></span></u> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So Sainsbury have finally confirmed that their plans for a £50m investment in Crosby Village will not be resurrected after they were rejected by Labour and Tory councillors in September 2010. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As a Victoria Ward LibDem member of the Planning Committee, and the party's Spokesperson for Regeneration, I warned at the time that there was no 'Plan B', and that if the plans were thrown out it was likely that the dilapidated shopping centre would be left to further decline. It gives me no pleasure to say to those who opposed it: 'I told you so'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">Now that I am no longer a council member, I want to set the record straight of what really happened the night that Crosby's fate was sealed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">After 18 months of public consultation, including several public meetings and two weekends where portacabins displaying the company's proposals were sighted in the shopping centre, we seemed to have a plan that was acceptable. The company had removed the filling station and replaced it with a building for public use, and agreed to fund pedestrian crossings and other infrastructure improvements. Many of the old tired looking shops would be replaced with modern units that local traders could operate from.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">Then at the eleventh hour came someone named Jamie Scott with an online petition against the proposals. This got a lot of publicity in the local press, and the petition gained momentum apparently attracting around 7,500 signatures. Many of these were not local - one was even from New York! From this came an organisation called 'ABetterCrosby' which attracted a rag bag of people, some with genuine reservations about the plans, anti-supermarket activists and those who lived in never-never-land, viewing the past through rose tinted spectacles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">Scott was an architect who worked for a company called BDP based in Manchester. They have drawn up plans around the country for many clients, including Tesco. Ironically, their plans for a Tesco supermarket in London was rejected by the Mayor and described as 'God-awful' and 'characteristic of 1960s housing estates'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">Scott spearheaded the campaign against Sainsbury, and while Labour and Tory councillors dithered over how they were going to vote, we decided to back the plans as in our view they were a life-line for Crosby at a time of growing austerity. While most shop keepers were against the redevelopment because they feared they could not afford the increased rent for new, modern, bright trading units, there were a few like Paul Woods and Catherine Caddick who stuck their necks out. They realised that with the new shopping centre would come increased footfall, and more sales. They also realised this was the last chance saloon for the town, and without the investment the only way was down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">At the first planning committee meeting in August, the Labour/Tory alliance voted to defer a decision as they wanted more consultation! Strangely, while we and the Tories had a face-to-face meeting with Sainbury's representatives, Labour refused to see them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">The deciding meeting in September was packed with not only genuinely concerned residents, but also rent-a-mob. Labour MP Bill Esterson was also there. The atmosphere was threatening, and when a council member spoke against the proposal, they were cheered, but when I or one of my LibDem colleagues spoke in favour, we were shouted down. The result was that Labour and Tories voted together to throw out the plans, and the LibDems (except for one abstention) voted for it. We lost the vote of course, and with that show of hands, the town lost its crucial life-line.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">So why did the other two parties go against it? Was it the size of the new supermarket? Was it the aesthetics of the development? Strangely, three days before the vote, the Tory spokesperson contacted Sainsbury and told them they were going to support the plans. What happened then between Sunday and Wednesday for them to change their minds? Also, just minutes before the meeting began, the Labour spokesperson told his LibDem counterpart that they weren't sure which way to vote, and had decided to vote with whatever the Tories decided to do!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">While I and my LibDem colleagues stuck our necks out to support what was best for Crosby, Labour (and probably the Tories too) cynically placed their bets where they thought the most votes lay for the elections next May.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">After the public were cleared from the building, the planning officers, who had advised members to accept the plans, asked that we stay behind for a few minutes while the consequences of the committee's decision was discussed. Some Labour members were determined not to stay, and it was only when the chairman asked them to remain that they returned to their seats.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">In six years on the council, I have never seen officers so angry. After they had spent 18 months negotiating with Sainsbury to get the best deal for the town - it had all been flushed down the pan. They warned that there had been no sound planning reasons for refusing the application, and if the company appealed, the decision would almost certainly be overturned, potentially costing council tax payers £180,000. It was also possible that Sainsbury would just turn their back on the town, and take their investment elsewhere - which is exactly what has happened.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">I think the tone adopted by the officers shocked those who had thrown the investment out, because there wasn't a word from them, and they looked like naughty school children caught in the act by the headteacher. They also knew that every word was true.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">I find it cynical then, that after Labour MP, Bill Esterson, who along with his councillor colleagues, had stabbed Crosby in the back, he should then adopt the posture of 'people's champion', and say he was now going to get Sainsbury to submit fresh plans 'within weeks' he claimed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">Sadly, everything I said, and my former colleagues Cllr Andrew Tonkiss and Anthony Hill said, has come to pass. ABetterCrosby should have called themselves AWorseCrosby, because that is what they have created. For them now to talk about getting fresh investors involved in the town is a smokescreen. Why haven't they done so in the two years since Sainsbury were kicked out? We're in a double-dip recession - wise up - that's why it was essential for the survival of Crosby Village to embrace Sainsbury's offer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">R.I.P.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><u><b><span style="font-size: small;">R</span>ead my paranormal thriller; <i>
Stench of Evil</i> only from Amazon:</b></u></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">UK paperback & e<span style="font-size: x-small;">B</span>ook</span>: </span></span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">US paperback & eBook</span>: <a href="http://goo.gl/7JYgG" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;">http://goo.gl/7JYgG</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Can be downloaded to Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry,
Android devices, PC, and Mac</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-29772490267973037402013-02-06T17:12:00.001+00:002016-12-15T18:29:20.469+00:00Chris Huhne - Despite our expectations, are politicians human too?<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The other day a friend forwarded to me an email that was doing the rounds. It highlighted supposed statistics that listed crimes like drink-driving, shop lifting, bankruptcy and 'spouse abuse', with figures for each one. According to the anonymous compiler of the email, these corresponded to the 635 members of the House of Commons.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No doubt this email, and similar anonymous 'statistics' on FaceBook will reinforce the popular view that our politicians are all corrupt, and only in it for themselves. But we need to ask the questions: Who is the anonymous compiler? Are the figures accurate? If they are, over what period were they collected; was it over the last year, the term of this parliament, in the last ten years, or longer than that? How many of the MPs do they apply to (some may be serial offenders!).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For sake of argument, let's accept they are substantially correct, certainly there always seems to be some story or other in the media about 'crooked' MPs (and in UKIPs case - MEPs). If the figures are true, are they significant, or do they merely seem that way because any misdemeanour, series or slight, attracts the press like moths to a flame?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jL05jqZEz6QXachDQMzjMjTyfl4btnK4mkO49IfUWpz5p5TlbgCtbmYcqd42gGMiC_z__7n1HQeCqFyXYUAI2801CZpAHseilZGzYtXDxhyphenhyphenrG_nG_D_uxB-DI27P6GupohVB-gSXw9L4/s1600/HUHNE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jL05jqZEz6QXachDQMzjMjTyfl4btnK4mkO49IfUWpz5p5TlbgCtbmYcqd42gGMiC_z__7n1HQeCqFyXYUAI2801CZpAHseilZGzYtXDxhyphenhyphenrG_nG_D_uxB-DI27P6GupohVB-gSXw9L4/s200/HUHNE.jpg" width="184" /></a>If you took a random sample of adults from any profession or trade and put them under a similar spotlight, you would probably find that an equal number have also committed fraud, shop lifted, been arrested for illegal drugs - and swapped speeding points with their partners. According to the AA - Chris Huhne is one of a third of a million of motorists in the UK guilty of this crime.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Without letting them off the hook, <span style="font-size: small;">d</span></span>oes the reaction to Huhne, and other MPs who have run foul of the law, highlight the hypocrisy that the public <span style="font-size: small;">show </span>when it comes to judging elected representatives?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think it's time we admitted that politicians are human too, and humans can be morally weak and corrupt. <i>So why on earth would we expect them to be any different from the rest of us?</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Along with this hypocrisy, is another sin - tarring every politician with the same brush. To say 'they're all crooked, and only in it for what they can get out of it', isn't fair or even true. I should know, I was a politician - albeit a local councillor, but I've met a few MPs and got to know some of them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes, there are bad apples, but most work hard and make decisions they believe will improve things for their constituents and the country at large.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The difference between you and your MP is that apart from your family and friends, no one is interested in your misdemeanours. You won't get your phone hacked, the contents of your wheelie bin examined or a journalist put on your tail to probe every shady corner of your life.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><u><b>Read my paranormal thriller; <i>
Stench of Evil</i> only from Amazon:</b></u></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">UK paperback & e<span style="font-size: x-small;">B</span>ook</span>: </span></span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">US paperback & eBook</span>: <a href="http://goo.gl/7JYgG" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;">http://goo.gl/7JYgG</span></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Can be downloaded to Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry,
Android devices, PC, and Mac</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-26264770163680284522012-08-01T14:04:00.000+01:002016-12-15T18:29:37.103+00:00Government records cast fresh light on missing pilot Frederick Valentich hounded by UFO<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In 1987 Jenny Randles and I published our first book together: <em>Death By Supernatural Causes?</em> In it, we discused the case of missing airman, Frederich Valentich, who disappeared while apparently being hounded by a UFO on the 21 October 1978. </span></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSQ4p6ZDc8AouCEgoU1J4lD-0brqmNVGWpx2c2yeYr04jQCyH4FraXWWMUtvGiAxsl1TbhFOzNi9eS3sCVT0M3TyymRCtkpx2CMiYbEv1eP9kXQPx5PMc0SkWdsUTLraYHh-D5Gzy88nf/s1600/LPs+043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSQ4p6ZDc8AouCEgoU1J4lD-0brqmNVGWpx2c2yeYr04jQCyH4FraXWWMUtvGiAxsl1TbhFOzNi9eS3sCVT0M3TyymRCtkpx2CMiYbEv1eP9kXQPx5PMc0SkWdsUTLraYHh-D5Gzy88nf/s200/LPs+043.jpg" width="156" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now this case has come back to haunt us with the recent release of Government files in Australia. Information they contain casts new light on the mystery. </span>The 315 pages of documents, released under the Freedom of Information Act, contain official interviews with the father, friends and superiors of the doomed pilot, as well as a clue to what <em>didn’t</em> happen.<br /><br />Valentich was twenty when he took off in his Cessna 182L from Moorabbin Airport near Melbourne at 6.19pm on the twenty-first of October, 1978. He was flying to King Island, he said, to pick up crayfish and three passengers.<br /><br />At 7.06pm he contacted Steve Robey, air traffic controller at Melbourne, and asked him if there was any known traffic nearby, as he had sighted a large ‘aircraft’. Robey said there was nothing, and asked him to describe it. He said it had four bright lights on it, and had passed overhead. Valentich went on to describe how it played cat and mouse with him, appearing and disappearing at speeds he ‘couldn’t identify’. The pilot then said ‘it’s not an aircraft... as its flying past, it’s a long shape’. In response to Robey, the young man went on to say: ‘It seems like its stationary. What I’m doing right now is orbiting, and the thing is just orbiting on top of me. Also it’s got a green light and sort of metallic... it’s all shiny on the outside’.<br /><br />Valentich then reported that the object had vanished, but seconds later that it was approaching from the south-west. His aircraft was now playing up: ‘The engine is rough idling... and the thing is coughing.’ Robey asked him what his intentions were, and Valentich said he would continue to King Island. His final words were:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> ‘Melbourne, that strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again. It is hovering, and it’s not an aircraft...’</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimjhhcBtWIa3OHRzGku8k2sp6OFdj4RXGDsV_VCqonLFgqcZ3EHcEq_R8O_Tegw6mHffH2yStjRY8F4m8ouepz4M5ncP56yG6JLAmI2PMRFURP6Kybd_i-mCL5-IMTqGHuCrSt2mOPiUzN/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimjhhcBtWIa3OHRzGku8k2sp6OFdj4RXGDsV_VCqonLFgqcZ3EHcEq_R8O_Tegw6mHffH2yStjRY8F4m8ouepz4M5ncP56yG6JLAmI2PMRFURP6Kybd_i-mCL5-IMTqGHuCrSt2mOPiUzN/s200/images.jpg" width="158" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">What followed were twelve seconds of a metallic scraping noise and then communication was lost.<br /><br />An intense air and sea rescue ensued, but despite calm conditions, neither wreckage nor a body was found. It was suggested that the pilot had become disorientated in the dark and misidentified the lights from a lighthouse on Cape Otway, or that he had been fooled by a bright star or planet in the clear sky, although none of that matched what he had described. Frederick Valentich and his aircraft had disappeared into thin air.<br /><br />The files illustrate that all who knew the young man had good words for him. Robert Barnes, an Airforce Reservist, who tutored Valentich for some of his flying exams, said he had a responsible attitude towards flying, he was always friendly and showed respect, and rarely criticised anyone, and was a real ‘battler’ when it came to exams. </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span><br />
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His friend Gregory Reaburn said Valentich was very strict with alcohol and didn’t take drugs. In fact Reaburn suggested that Valentich would report anyone on illegal substances to the police. He said the young man was not prone to hasty decisions or panic, and while he believed in UFOs, he wasn’t fanatical about it. Valentich had never been in trouble with the police, and had no financial problems. Guido Valentich, the pilot’s father, said that his son always did his share of chores around the house.</div>
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But the files revealed that there was another side to Frederick Valentich. Despite his enthusm and hard work, academically he was a disappointment. After failing to get into the RAAF, he decided to study to gain his Commercial Pilot Licence. He passed three preliminary exams - but then failed a further eight. Yet he told his friends and tutors he had passed, although he did admit to his girl friend, Rhonda Rushton, that he had lied. Was this because he was ashamed and embarrassed, or was it a character trait that might, for instance, encourage him to make up a close encounter with a UFO?</div>
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He had also been in trouble with the authorities for straying into controlled air space, and twice deliberately flying into cloud. Prosecution was being considered for this latter misdemeanour.</div>
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There were things about the trip which didn’t add up too. He hadn’t arranged for the airfield on King Island to switch on their landing lights. Squadron Leader Grandy had asked him to bring back some crayfish – but Valentich had not ordered any. He took four lifejackets for the passengers he was supposedly picking up, but there were no passengers waiting for him on King Island. Valentich told his girlfriend he would meet her at 7.30pm, when he wouldn’t be back from the trip until much later.</div>
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Rhonda saw him on the Friday night, and said he ‘wasn’t himself’. He had also told her previously, that if a UFO landed he would go aboard – although not without her.</div>
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His interest in UFOs, coupled with all the other discrepancies led people to consider that he had either committed suicide or had chosen to disappear by landing the aircraft elsewhere. It had a full tank of fuel which would carry him as far as Tasmania. The apparent close encounter with a UFO added drama, and ensured he went out with a bang.</div>
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Rhonda had described how on one flight with her boyfriend, the control column had jammed, and he had sweated profusely as he struggled to land, the stress manifesting in his voice. This has been contrasted with the apparent calmness of Valentich while describing the UFO. Surely if it was real, he would have been showing some emotion? The audio tape has never been aired publicly, but Steve Robey, the Air Traffic Controller that night is adamant that in his view, Valentich did become agitated, and that he sounded genuine, not making something up.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcVeEI2mSWigrFs7lgJZZRuJQDFCZBYv7gkRBec6B2uTPZd-R1MmciRpwZPU-fJ1zR5_mxuKB6Hnph0zLwBS8YId8A6tWtkqFSels1CburAR90qAyNu3e3twn7KzZlmm10h2E1UAp7hbf/s1600/VALENTICH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcVeEI2mSWigrFs7lgJZZRuJQDFCZBYv7gkRBec6B2uTPZd-R1MmciRpwZPU-fJ1zR5_mxuKB6Hnph0zLwBS8YId8A6tWtkqFSels1CburAR90qAyNu3e3twn7KzZlmm10h2E1UAp7hbf/s1600/VALENTICH.jpg" /></a>If it was a tragic accident due to disorientation, or suicide, where was the wreckage that everyone expected to find floating on the calm sea? Where was the body? If he had landed the aircraft elsewhere – how had he kept it hidden? If it had crashed on land, why had anyone not found it in the intervening three decades or more? And what was Frederick Valentich’s motive? He was scared of water – surely he could have found a better way of killing himself? He had a loving family, friends, and a girlfriend he had a good relationship with. His flying career wasn’t working out – but is that a motive for suicide?</div>
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For the first time the released files provide proof that whatever did happen to Valentich, he <em>didn’t</em> abscond. Nearly five years after the disappearance, an engine cowl flap was washed up from a Cessna of the type Valentich was flying. More than this, it had a partial set of serial numbers on it that were within the range of the missing aircraft. No other similar aircraft had gone missing in the region, so it is safe to assume it is from the Cessna.</div>
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Valentich attended a lecture just before his flight, and his instructor, Bob Hope, told investigators that the young man was sober, and in a good frame of mind. The possibility is still there that he was taken by a UFO. He had said he wouldn’t go without his girlfriend – but perhaps Frederick Valentich had no choice...</div>
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<strong>PS: <em>Death By Supernatural Causes?</em> was updated and due to be released under a new publisher in 2000 - but just before it went to press, the company went under! We are hoping to put it out (updated) as an ebook sometime next year... </strong></div>
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<strong>In the meantime...</strong></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><u><strong>Read my paranormal thriller;
Stench of Evil only from Amazon:</strong></u></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #351c75;">UK paperback & Kindle ebook</span>: </span></span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #351c75;">US paperback and Kindle ebook</span>: <a href="http://goo.gl/7JYgG" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;">http://goo.gl/7JYgG</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Can be downloaded to Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry,
Android devices, PC, and Mac</span></div>
</span></span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-35737594410191428122012-07-16T18:20:00.000+01:002016-12-15T18:29:50.576+00:00The day the music died... Marc Bolan unplugged!<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Talking about Paul McCarney and Spruce Springclean having the plug pulled on them in Hyde Park, reminded me of the time I went to see T.Rex at the old cinema in Wigan. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was 1971 (I was only a child), and the band were promoting <em>Electric Warrior</em> - the album that made Marc Bolan a rock god. The band were in full swing to a packed audience. Many had left their seats and were crowded together at the front 'freaking out' to the music, when suddenly all the power onstage went and the sound died. A Ted Heath look-alike wearing a suit and bow tie appeared beside Bolan, and taking the microphone from the soon to be legend, demanded that everyone returned to their seats otherwise the concert wouldn't continue!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyupEw8AmydOgaqDXEmPMU4Ku4p5L4k-ekIth63Ek3obRw3QbxeUy4RDJlo-mdeQc_2dBgZog1hFUFtxKIpVhvurB1oLN3Pjf1_J8NNYyhzj6c__vcxY8t2lxqGCaSXeTfj-f3SiRFG4M/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyupEw8AmydOgaqDXEmPMU4Ku4p5L4k-ekIth63Ek3obRw3QbxeUy4RDJlo-mdeQc_2dBgZog1hFUFtxKIpVhvurB1oLN3Pjf1_J8NNYyhzj6c__vcxY8t2lxqGCaSXeTfj-f3SiRFG4M/s1600/images.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Bolan's jaw dropped, but he kept his cool (I think he was high on something), and put his arm around the cinema manager, assuring 'Ted' that he would ask them to sit down, and that it wouldn't happen again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The power was switched back on, and the concert resumed without further problems. T.Rex had been treated like a Saturday night pub band. Who would believe it! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I often wondered if, as Bolan became a household name, whether the manager concluded in retrospect that he had over reacted, and might have treated Bolan with a bit more respect? But then again, in light of what happened to Sir Paul...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><strong>Read my paranormal thriller; <em>Stench of Evil</em> available only from Amazon:</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="color: #351c75;">UK paperback & Kindle ebook</span>: </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></div>
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</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #351c75;">US paperback and Kindle ebook</span>: <a href="http://goo.gl/7JYgG" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;">http://goo.gl/7JYgG</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Can be downloaded to Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android devices, PC, and Mac</span></div>
</span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-66227730990658905602012-05-09T10:24:00.000+01:002012-05-09T11:22:53.860+01:00When we almost got caught taking pictures in a public toilet<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We were on a camp site in Beddgelert Forest in North
Wales. On one of my trips to the toilet block, I thought how often it happens
that someone goes into the cubicle next to yours – even when the others are
empty. Then I began thinking, supposing that there was a purpose to it, and
that the person doing it was stalking you for something bad you’d done.<o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Over the next day I had almost the entire plot of a story in my
head, including the title. I began writing it in the caravan, and finished it
while we were on a cruise to the Arctic Circle a week or so later. The urge
to write it down was so strong, that it interrupted work on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Devil Inside</i>, the sequel to my
novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/peterhoughauthor/books/book-news">Stench of Evil</a></i>.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8kq4nAZowceNIv5KH7_ajB2YBtpZqiPwF7_aAqjRRVr8yNzhIpb8uGDidOVULMKuAMkH2Rc_0uNg-XecF0muecuV-SRN5G_RFFHyoWsRC6hq9wvRrzkCY_S_h2L0elUzwAFOSqCRTkUN/s1600/THE+CUBICLE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8kq4nAZowceNIv5KH7_ajB2YBtpZqiPwF7_aAqjRRVr8yNzhIpb8uGDidOVULMKuAMkH2Rc_0uNg-XecF0muecuV-SRN5G_RFFHyoWsRC6hq9wvRrzkCY_S_h2L0elUzwAFOSqCRTkUN/s320/THE+CUBICLE.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photograph almost got us arrested!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">For the eBook publication, I also had to create a
cover illustration. I knew what I wanted – a cubicle door ajar, with a hand
gripping it. While we were still in North Wales, and I was halfway through the
story, we visited a town (which shall remain nameless) and parked near to a
public toilet. It was a quiet day. We had the camera, so we could get some
photographs of me gripping a cubicle door.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">There was a possibility of us being caught of course. Imagine
someone walking in and my wife’s taking flash photographs of me! Who would
believe the explanation? If that did happen, I decided it would be a lesser
crime if Linda was caught in the men’s loos, rather than me in the lady’s.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I told her to wait outside while I went in to make
sure the coast was clear. It was, but as I came out a man brushed past me in a uniform. His
van was immediately outside and it was obvious from the writing on it that he was from the council,
and was inspecting the facilities! If he’d come just two minutes later...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We waited for him to depart, then like a military
exercise, we dove inside and quickly (very quickly) took some shots. The
results are here to see. The things we do for Art...<br />
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</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can download </span><em><span style="font-size: large;">The Cubicle:</span> </em></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">UK eBook: </span><a href="http://goo.gl/WCK1h" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">http://goo.gl/WCK1h</span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"> US eBook: </span><a href="http://goo.gl/UGdtG"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">http://goo.gl/UGdtG</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><u>Read my 5 Star novel </u><em>Stench of Evil</em> as a <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stench-of-Evil-ebook/dp/B006DY7EX8"><span style="color: #a6ad1f;">Kindle eBook</span></a> or an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stench-Evil-Peter-Hough/dp/1463681453"><span style="color: #a6ad1f;">Amazon paperback</span></a> &</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"> eBook</span> </div>
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</div>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-78062351538369263252012-04-20T12:55:00.000+01:002016-12-15T18:32:31.264+00:00The day I met a Pendle witch<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lancashire is rich in tales of magic and sorcery, but the Pendle area is notorious for the witch trials of 1612. This August is the four hundredth anniversary since ten people accused of sorcery were hung in Lancaster Castle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The drama unfolded in 1595 when an old woman called 'Chattox' and her daughter Alizon were blamed for hexing to death Christopher Nutter and his son Robert. Chattox came into conflict with another family, also known for witchcraft. 'Old Demdike' and her extended family lived in Malkin Tower. People in the villages that skirt Pendle Hill had complained about them all for years, but it was not until 1612 that the authorities stepped in.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNV6Dckn_5lDhQuGz8RkOKxGtjGl6SAmTX8ADJETDKGXF_-kxB_n66plOb0wHDH5A6EMXMhiSTa_sw5LAd5u-sAW6hjZrkGNYRsPGAj16Tr2drUFmMPFonfPXY7JrAQ_-z0UqUBpYHva__/s1600/WITCHES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNV6Dckn_5lDhQuGz8RkOKxGtjGl6SAmTX8ADJETDKGXF_-kxB_n66plOb0wHDH5A6EMXMhiSTa_sw5LAd5u-sAW6hjZrkGNYRsPGAj16Tr2drUFmMPFonfPXY7JrAQ_-z0UqUBpYHva__/s320/WITCHES.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On 18 March Alizon was near Trawden when she met a peddler called John Law. He refused to sell her some needles, so she cursed him. Law collapsed with a stroke, and when he recovered enough he accused Alizon of bewitchment. She went before Roger Nowell, a magistrate, and confessed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">She described her initiation into witchcraft by her grandmother, then implicated Chattox and Demdike. Many arrests were made, and they described how Satan had appeared to them, and that demons had helped them destroy their enemies. One victim was a child, killed using a clay image that had pins driven into it, there were other supernatural murders, livestock killings, graveyard robbings at Newchurch and milk and beer souring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The case, which was very well documented at the time, left its mark on the area. These are different times, but there are still practising witches in the villages around Pendle Hill. I should know - I interviewed one many years ago. I'd been given a commission by the Editor-in-chief of <em>She</em> magazine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"Would you like to write a piece for us, Peter," she said, "about modern witchcraft in Lancashire?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Of course I said 'yes', and her next remark was: "Well go and find some witches, and have the copy on my desk by next Friday!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I did a lot of digging around, and came up with some fascinating interviewees for my piece, including a senior Catholic priest for balance. One of my witches lived in Sabden at the time, although later she moved away. Yvonne wasn't the ugly fairy tale witch, nor old like Chattox and Demdike. She was a very attractive blond in her mid thirties.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Yvonne welcomed me into her stone cottage, and showed me her temple - a converted back room decorated with posters, photos and trinkets. There was a wooden table in the centre covered with occult symbols. On a piece of dark blue lurex sat a crystal ball and some Tarot cards. This was where she carried out her readings.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyQymVvlDPkWTcRhEaTJZNxsl1lUSU2cZ69p977M7KdA539JB8kalMDtSRZf8GewoWH4AEQ7Ci6JcbeApP4pRNpyH8kfKA__vCixl3UaK-9BvJQJ521VVbQiHi4sFHeTSyEwRWW6UsX6_/s1600/SUPERLANCS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyQymVvlDPkWTcRhEaTJZNxsl1lUSU2cZ69p977M7KdA539JB8kalMDtSRZf8GewoWH4AEQ7Ci6JcbeApP4pRNpyH8kfKA__vCixl3UaK-9BvJQJ521VVbQiHi4sFHeTSyEwRWW6UsX6_/s320/SUPERLANCS.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I later wrote about the Lancashire witches in the<br />
above book, available from my website</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"I knew from the age of five I was different from the other children," she told me. As far as religion is concerned, I was given a long leash, but my father, a retired army officer, had me educated in a convent. That didn't go down well with either the nuns or me! I worship the Irish mother goddess, Danu. The hill helps me a lot, I draw a lot of power from it."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Pendle Hill was where George Fox had a visionary experience that resulted in him founding the Quaker movement in the 1640s.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I asked her how she got on with her neighbours. She laughed, and said she was friends with most people in the village, including the local vicar. She did note though that sometimes her behaviour could be given a sinister interpretation.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"If one of my neighbours takes their dog for a walk up the hill - they're just taking their dog for a walk. If I do it there's tittle-tattle around the village that I've been up to something."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I saw Yvonne on one other occasion at her new home in Harwood. Then she moved elsewhere. Yvonne, where ever you are, I hope you're still raising tittle-tattle!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><u><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><strong>Read my paranormal thriller; <em>Stench of Evil</em> available only from Amazon:</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span></u></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><u><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="color: #351c75;">UK paperback & Kindle ebook</span>: </span></u></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><u><span style="font-family: "verdana";">
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #351c75;">US paperback and Kindle ebook</span>: <a href="http://goo.gl/7JYgG" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;">http://goo.gl/7JYgG</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Can be downloaded to Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android devices, PC, and Mac</span></div>
</span></u></span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-9189995375885606182012-02-25T12:35:00.000+00:002016-12-15T18:34:52.542+00:00The Book That I Wrote - with a little help from my ghost writers...<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Having produced 18 books on the 'unexplained', and now published my first novel: <em><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/peterhoughauthor/books/book-news">Stench of Evil</a></em>, if there is an area of human psychology that mystifies more than any other - it is how the </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">creative process works.</span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70Q7BLFGgJ1mVQli2DHu_FO0l9bc9HgknrTnrFC4maXpWtZCTf_7-7mTRfZ4bA8If9zjL76zUld5kDMkCBHZmtwVgfCjcSyDIcCqLzXGgYh1NzUCmuxE2pysAErqK7TkiHoDDtLIIFqOt/s1600/STEPHEN+KING.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70Q7BLFGgJ1mVQli2DHu_FO0l9bc9HgknrTnrFC4maXpWtZCTf_7-7mTRfZ4bA8If9zjL76zUld5kDMkCBHZmtwVgfCjcSyDIcCqLzXGgYh1NzUCmuxE2pysAErqK7TkiHoDDtLIIFqOt/s1600/STEPHEN+KING.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70Q7BLFGgJ1mVQli2DHu_FO0l9bc9HgknrTnrFC4maXpWtZCTf_7-7mTRfZ4bA8If9zjL76zUld5kDMkCBHZmtwVgfCjcSyDIcCqLzXGgYh1NzUCmuxE2pysAErqK7TkiHoDDtLIIFqOt/s1600/STEPHEN+KING.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Stephen King lets 'the back-room boys'</strong><br />
<strong> sort out his literary problems</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Many fiction writers comment they don't know where their stories come from. Science Fiction author Isaac Asimov said the stories were already written - and he just plucked them out of the air. Stephen King explains that if he has a problem he leaves it a couple of days 'for the back-room boys to sort out'.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That's not true for all writers. My friend Professor Raymond Leonard, who has written several science fiction novels, approaches his writing in a very methodical and scientific manner.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">He has the plot and all the characters in advance, and even knows exactly how many chapters there will be. Ray then writes a synopsis for each chapter, and works from that, enlarging and creating the text.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">That's not how it works for me. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">I had the seed for the plot of <em>Stench of Evil</em> (see my blog <em><a href="http://peterhoughblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/stench-of-evil-satanic-ritual-abuse.html">Stench of Evil - satanic ritual abuse</a></em> ), three main characters and that was all. The thing had an organic growth of its own, to the extent that at times I felt it had its own life, and I was just a clerk writing it all down.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">It began while we were on the island of Gozo for a couple of weeks in a friends holiday home. The August heat was almost unbearable at mid-day, but the views across the bay to Comino were spectacular, and in the villages they were preparing for their annual firework festival. A perfect environment for writing. Linda spent most of the days scuba diving with a local club, and I was working on <em>Stench of Evil</em>. She'd return late afternoon and we' d walk down to the restaurants and bars in Qala. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">I was about a third through the novel (although I didn't know that at the time) when I lost control of the story.</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKLY-V6Y5aEhqZrzk0ae1b3xUDvg8xERFY_zBBo_6dtff6G5mUHU7wsZ1HBylOmc0tC6zaPtpNUbAu_sAzrZ3JoIzI_GaTEmuhJp3VwNAlw7yD1KfT8b1qeFNqFomdKk9O5vTcxCcaSYR/s1600/BookCoverImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKLY-V6Y5aEhqZrzk0ae1b3xUDvg8xERFY_zBBo_6dtff6G5mUHU7wsZ1HBylOmc0tC6zaPtpNUbAu_sAzrZ3JoIzI_GaTEmuhJp3VwNAlw7yD1KfT8b1qeFNqFomdKk9O5vTcxCcaSYR/s320/BookCoverImage.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>I lost control </strong><strong>to</strong><strong> some </strong><strong>minor </strong><br />
<strong>characters who got above themselves</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">I would sit down at the blank screen, thinking I knew what I was going to write, but when the words dutifully fell onto the page they weren't the ones I was expecting. More than that there were several characters I had down for minor roles - who against my wishes promoted themselves into star players. It was as if they were saying: <em>If you think I'm just having a walk-on part you've got another think coming!</em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">This wasn't a one-day wonder - it carried on for the next 40,000 words or so - until once again I regained control. It was as if they were saying: <em>Okay, we've finished doing what we needed to do - you can have it back now.</em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">The fascinating thing was that every decision they made, every plot change, every paragraph that was produced was exactly right. I couldn't have done better myself!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">I'm not saying that I was producing 'automatic writing', that the story was 'channelled' through me by a spirit or demon (they might want a share of the royalties), but it was a strange experience, and if nothing else it highlights how much is going on in the unconscious mind, to the extent that it can over-ride what we consciously think.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: x-small;">I'm well into the sequel; <i><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/peterhoughauthor/books/the-devil-inside">The Devil I</a>n Them</span></i>, and so far my ghost writers haven't wrestled it from me. There's still some surprises when I write, but I don't feel the loss of control I had with <em>Stench of Evil</em>. Perhaps now they think I can be trusted to do a good job on my own - or maybe they're still there, rubbing shoulders with me, making changes here and there, hoping I'll believe it's all my own work.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><u><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><strong>Read my paranormal thriller; <em>Stench of Evil</em> available only from Amazon:</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span></u></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><u><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="color: #351c75;">UK paperback & Kindle ebook</span>: </span></u></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><u><span style="font-family: "verdana";">
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #351c75;">US paperback and Kindle ebook</span>: <a href="http://goo.gl/7JYgG" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;">http://goo.gl/7JYgG</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Can be downloaded to Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android devices, PC, and Mac</span></div>
</span></u></span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-24151558339950510612012-01-31T17:30:00.000+00:002016-12-15T18:35:14.704+00:00The Search for Alethea Taylor<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFkGZZ6mwarAxMSvY-eq5sMTSbSsjMJGPdmpmlksqAOtXO4srsjyjLI2qKE8MS8-JaEIpo8xMlqPXKYfRb5qQVUOAediE2jIJ5rd4Pln7QsVOMv3utYTHnjY16UrLMVCeLqPzPqeqAYI9/s1600/ORLETON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFkGZZ6mwarAxMSvY-eq5sMTSbSsjMJGPdmpmlksqAOtXO4srsjyjLI2qKE8MS8-JaEIpo8xMlqPXKYfRb5qQVUOAediE2jIJ5rd4Pln7QsVOMv3utYTHnjY16UrLMVCeLqPzPqeqAYI9/s1600/ORLETON.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When we went down to Ludlow recently for a caravanning break, we didn’t realise we would be involved in the search for a missing woman.<br /><br /> Linda and I were staying on a farm on the edge of Orleton, a picturesque village in north Herefordshire. There are two pubs, a village hall and a shop and post office supported by the 800 or so residents. Two of those residents are Alethea and John Taylor who have a funeral services business.<br /><br /> A few days into our break we were alerted on the Thursday evening, 19 January, by the noise of a hovering helicopter. I went outside and saw a police helicopter above the houses, moving to and fro, obviously searching for someone. This went on for an hour or two. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzSEWuqOSyS7FMAZYlk-A1y_TfXxzZ3zCdiKLbMnoG2crz-9zSZ_d-cChD2wcRQ78qMUD95ATIT-zi79-IvleeNKLky2fDQlTTb2RSMmfjAQr2Fo34jlwHFwLbP48tFBq1oTZL7rhNXwwu/s1600/ALETHEA+TAYLOR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzSEWuqOSyS7FMAZYlk-A1y_TfXxzZ3zCdiKLbMnoG2crz-9zSZ_d-cChD2wcRQ78qMUD95ATIT-zi79-IvleeNKLky2fDQlTTb2RSMmfjAQr2Fo34jlwHFwLbP48tFBq1oTZL7rhNXwwu/s1600/ALETHEA+TAYLOR.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzSEWuqOSyS7FMAZYlk-A1y_TfXxzZ3zCdiKLbMnoG2crz-9zSZ_d-cChD2wcRQ78qMUD95ATIT-zi79-IvleeNKLky2fDQlTTb2RSMmfjAQr2Fo34jlwHFwLbP48tFBq1oTZL7rhNXwwu/s1600/ALETHEA+TAYLOR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the meantime we tuned into BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester and learned that a woman had disappeared from Orleton earlier in the day. According to the reports, John Taylor left for work at around 8.30am and on his return in the late afternoon his wife had gone – although her car was still at home. When he couldn’t find her whereabouts, he called the police.<br /><br /> Apparently, I learned later, Mr Taylor was concerned because his wife had recently experienced two or three episodes where she would find herself in a place she didn’t recognise, with no idea as to who she was. It would seem she had wandered from home while in this altered state of consciousness. Fortunately on these occasions she had been re-united with her husband, and the amnesia had passed.<br /><br />I spoke to villagers who described Alethea as a pleasant, jolly person, who was a prompter for the current play being put on by the local amateur dramatic society. It seems these amnesiac events were isolated incidents which didn’t affect her usual daily life.<br /><br /> The following day we went walking up on Bircher Common and the woods above the village, accompanied by the police helicopter as it widened its search. We kept a special look-out and walked as far as the hill fort above Croft Castle, but found no clues to the missing woman.<br /><br />Over the weekend police dogs were out searching for her scent and the footpaths and hedgerows were investigated. Farmers were checking their outbuildings, and villagers looked in garages and garden sheds.<br /><br /> When I went for a Sunday paper from the village shop, I talked to a few locals, and everyone was mystified. We were due to travel home on Monday, but I had been told a search was being organised that morning, so we decided to stay an extra day and help.<br /><br />We arrived at the village hall to find it a hive of activity. About 80 villagers had turned up with police and members of Severn Area Rescue Association who were using inflatable boats to search ponds and lakes in the area.<br /><br /> After we had ‘signed in’ the volunteers were divided into four groups each with its own leader. Linda and I were in Andrew Summers’ group who owns the village shop. We travelled with him in his jeep and a convoy of cars to the starting point of our search – about two miles east of Orleton near the hamlet of Morton.<br /><br />Andrew was very well organised, which he put down to his involvement in the Sea Cadets! We stretched out in a single line and slowly walked across the fields. Over the course of the day we swept a number of fields and searched pockets of woodland for Mrs Taylor, or a shoe or item of clothing which might lead to her discovery. The only thing we found was an umbrella, which wasn’t linked to her.<br /><br /> We returned to the village hall at lunch time for a cup of tea and some sandwiches. The local BBC radio and television were also there, and they interviewed us, intrigued that we were from near Southport. Then we all went back to continue the search.<br /><br />During the hours we spent with the group we got to know many of them, and they were surprised to learn that we weren’t local. They were dedicated to finding Mrs Taylor and very thorough. Some of them knew her personally.<br /><br /> I would like to say that we found the missing woman, or that she had been discovered in the eight days since we left. After we had gone the search did continue for a time, and the lake at nearby Berrington Hall was also examined. Sadly Alethea Taylor seems to have vanished. <br /><br />There were three potential sightings of her on the day she disappeared – but these were not confirmed. The Herefordshire police have now passed on her details to other forces nationwide. Of the 350,000 people who go missing every year in the UK, 2,000 remain unaccounted for. For the moment at least, Alethea is one of these.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Jfe1Nl7LwAuFhA0fyA3AjJPoPyQbobCUvdG9JyyQN0acJ0ZN0ssKNdkHCq61avi18nXmgKAyqItBtQtlLqjnX3Ge77WdubxEKQAzupE6F3PPH8ChBrh_MXEMdCDaBjDknQf57QzmFnGK/s1600/alethea+taylor+search.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Jfe1Nl7LwAuFhA0fyA3AjJPoPyQbobCUvdG9JyyQN0acJ0ZN0ssKNdkHCq61avi18nXmgKAyqItBtQtlLqjnX3Ge77WdubxEKQAzupE6F3PPH8ChBrh_MXEMdCDaBjDknQf57QzmFnGK/s1600/alethea+taylor+search.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">PS: Police issued a statement on 12/06/12 that a man in his sixties has been arrested on suspicion of murder. It was revealed the next day that it was John Taylor, Alethea's husband. He has since been accused.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><strong><u>Read my paranormal thriller; <em>Stench of Evil</em> available only from Amazon:</u></strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="color: #351c75;">UK paperback & Kindle ebook</span>: </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-family: "verdana";">
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #351c75;">US paperback and Kindle ebook</span>: <a href="http://goo.gl/7JYgG" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;">http://goo.gl/7JYgG</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Can be downloaded to Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android devices, PC, and Mac</span></div>
</span></span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-51949725175219713202012-01-01T17:26:00.000+00:002016-12-15T18:36:59.471+00:00Stench of Evil: Satanic Ritual Abuse<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Most writers are asked: 'Where do you get your ideas from?' In the case of my novel <em>Stench of Evil,</em> its genesis was the satanic ritual abuse phenomenon in the 1980s and early 1990s that swept through many countries around the world, including the UK . </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CkomXWFBYrU/TwDdvAmaBGI/AAAAAAAAAHk/odUVQBSzknY/s1600/WITCHCRAFT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CkomXWFBYrU/TwDdvAmaBGI/AAAAAAAAAHk/odUVQBSzknY/s1600/WITCHCRAFT.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I wrote a book about it at the time called <em>Witchcraft - A Strange Conflict</em> which was based in part on interviews I carried out with some of the main players. These included a Church social worker, several witches, a senior Satanist, a prominent vicar, police officers, journalists and those who were alleged victims of SRA.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">People claimed that from childhood they were kept in cages and physically and sexually abused in Satanic rituals to raise demons from the underworld. Babies from unregistered births were sacrificed to Satan and members of the cults had apparently infiltrated the highest echelons of society.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The phenomenon first emerged in the USA, and after police officers and social workers came to the UK and conducted seminars for their counterparts it spread here. Children in Nottingham, Rochdale, Manchester and the Orkneys were taken from their parents who, it was suspected, were Satanists, and put into care while police investigations were carried out. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yWGVfZsjXXY/TwDd0JFX-4I/AAAAAAAAAHs/ZCy0gegYsz8/s1600/SRA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yWGVfZsjXXY/TwDd0JFX-4I/AAAAAAAAAHs/ZCy0gegYsz8/s1600/SRA.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">In true medieval tradition, some of these children implicated other adults and the contagion spread. Not only here but in Australia, Canada, Scandinavia, New Zealand and the Netherlands. In Manchester and Rochdale parents were prevented from sending their children Christmas and birthday cards - in case they contained 'trigger' words used to remotely control them.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">When over a year later the cases finally came to court, they were thrown out from lack of evidence. Most of the children were returned to their parents - after being abused, some commentators said, by the very system that was meant to protect them.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I spoke to a senior police officer about the lack of evidence. He commented: "It's true there was no concrete evidence, but both myself and other detectives got a strong feeling all through the investigation that something indeed <em>had</em> been going on."</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a5et0NCAxVA/TwDd-BuMOII/AAAAAAAAAH0/NHKdBA8HFAI/s1600/BookCoverImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a5et0NCAxVA/TwDd-BuMOII/AAAAAAAAAH0/NHKdBA8HFAI/s320/BookCoverImage.jpg" width="207" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Years later, this was the starting point for <em>Stench of Evil</em>. What if, I postulated, that officer was right, and the allegations were true, but they had been covered up. If it was true, what were the powers that lay behind it, and what were their ultimate ambitions?</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The story is pure fiction and set in the present day, but it is based on a very real witch hunt that gripped late 20th century society.</span><br />
<br />
<div>
<strong>Read my novel: 'Stench of Evil' - a supernatural thriller</strong></div>
<div>
Kindle ebook and quality paperback: <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></div>
<div>
AMAZON quality paperback: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stench-Evil-Peter-Hough/dp/1463681453/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322593326&sr=1-1" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Stench-<wbr></wbr>Evil-Peter-Hough/dp/<wbr></wbr>1463681453/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_<wbr></wbr>main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=<wbr></wbr>1322593326&sr=1-1</a></div>
Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-91226043035583646892011-11-25T13:18:00.001+00:002016-12-15T18:37:19.853+00:00Stench of EvilI've just published my novel, <em><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/peterhoughauthor/books/book-news">Stench of Evil</a>,</em> on Amazon as a <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=stench+of+evil&x=10&y=17">Kindle download</a> and a quality <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stench-Evil-Peter-Hough/dp/1463681453/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322575776&sr=1-1">paperback</a>. You won't find it in any book shop because I decided to give up on traditional publishers after trying and failing to get any of them to even view my new book. How is it that someone who has previously published 18 books, of which many sold foreign rights, newspaper serial rights and book club rights, found themselves in this position?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6K_JKnyW6bJiv6tzgZojlFTBNijU9z5sb5c8si907Ts0nPdic6DaEQlc2ZDMWOuzWrMABTF_JVePT2OZqa9g6IZDMC8EBSbSXiH43uy_u_7KHTp4hxg3oavMWAi761gZFLjZo2AWIyzB/s1600/BookCoverImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6K_JKnyW6bJiv6tzgZojlFTBNijU9z5sb5c8si907Ts0nPdic6DaEQlc2ZDMWOuzWrMABTF_JVePT2OZqa9g6IZDMC8EBSbSXiH43uy_u_7KHTp4hxg3oavMWAi761gZFLjZo2AWIyzB/s1600/BookCoverImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6K_JKnyW6bJiv6tzgZojlFTBNijU9z5sb5c8si907Ts0nPdic6DaEQlc2ZDMWOuzWrMABTF_JVePT2OZqa9g6IZDMC8EBSbSXiH43uy_u_7KHTp4hxg3oavMWAi761gZFLjZo2AWIyzB/s200/BookCoverImage.jpg" width="129" /></a>In the last few years print publishers has made a fundamental change in how they solicit new books. Unless you're a celebrity, or are already a top-ten best selling author, they will no longer deal with you personally. They will only deal with you through an agent.<br />
<br />
I never needed an agent - even if I was approaching a publisher for the first time, after all that's someone else to dip into your advance and pocket their share. But now publishers have decided that's what you have to do - and it is all about saving money. If a publisher is relying on agents to sort the chaff from the wheat, they don't have to employ readers and support staff to handle queries from would-be authors. <br />
<br />
The problem is that there are far fewer agents than publishing companies. Most of them are one man or two man (or women) outfits, already with a full list of clients. Becoming a published author has always been an uphill struggle - but it's even harder now. A lot of very talented writers will give up after trying in vain to attract the attentions of an agent. There will be dozens of best sellers out there which will remain as a file on a PC, and will never see the light of day.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, for both published writers and newcomers, there is now another way. <br />
<br />
It costs virtually nothing to put your paperback on Amazon, and your ebook on Kindle - if you do all the technical stuff yourself. You retain the copyright, and the only niggle is that the paperback can only be purchased from Amazon.com and not Amazon UK. But you can use your credit card to pay in dollars, and it will take longer to ship, but that's all. Some authors who spent years having their work rejected are now selling very well on Amazon.<br />
<br />
I could have carried on in my attempts to find an agent, but even if I was successful, they would then have to get a publisher for my novel - and the fact of life is that from start to finish it can take months or more likely <em>years</em> before it is finally published. With Amazon it just takes days.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><u><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><strong>Read my paranormal thriller; <em>Stench of Evil</em> available only from Amazon:</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span></u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><u><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="color: #351c75;">UK paperback & Kindle ebook</span>: </span></u></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">https://goo.gl/VQOVuS</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><u><span style="font-family: "verdana";">
<div>
</div>
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</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #351c75;">US paperback and Kindle ebook</span>: <a href="http://goo.gl/7JYgG" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0066cc;">http://goo.gl/7JYgG</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75;">Can be downloaded to Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android devices, PC, and Mac</span></div>
</span></u></span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-76086764758393469872011-11-15T14:08:00.000+00:002011-11-15T14:08:40.043+00:0028 weeks later...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5HToTLODDb8nXTwKXP2h8yuc9KvVW6mt34J4-pmmrzvEDChsj6Jx84wfVqn9jraOy06YLZ0nLoKCTTjzAQ_RzeuwbcOe8avEku8cMM7c7L_jl3EFhgq9UDQW2J6JUcUTBgHT_wMr-cskl/s1600/RAGE+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5HToTLODDb8nXTwKXP2h8yuc9KvVW6mt34J4-pmmrzvEDChsj6Jx84wfVqn9jraOy06YLZ0nLoKCTTjzAQ_RzeuwbcOe8avEku8cMM7c7L_jl3EFhgq9UDQW2J6JUcUTBgHT_wMr-cskl/s1600/RAGE+2.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It's almost 28 weeks since the Rage Virus spread through a large section of the voting public - and along with other colleagues - I lost my seat on Sefton Council.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">During my five years as a councillor I've always given 100%, refusing to sit on the wall when difficult decisions had to be made, and championing residents causes when they were the victim of council bureaucracy. I even got some policy changes made which benefited local people. My achievements, and those of my former ward colleagues, are a matter of record. Many residents appreciated the hard work I put in, and contacted me to give their personal thanks.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So what happened on May 5th was that the Rage Virus turned people's heads towards central Government, and they wanted to send the Liberal Democrat coalition partners 'a message'.<em> No cuts!</em> They did that by voting for the candidates of the party that is responsible (along with the bankers) for the financial mess we're now in.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well, that makes sense then. But you can't expect logic when people are infected with the Rage Virus. Ask Danny Boyle.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We could let the economy go the way of Greece. They've already made cuts which are ten times higher than those being made by The Coalition - and are on the point of disappearing down a black hole. That's not to mention Italy and Spain.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The infected also wanted to send a message along the lines of: <em>You traitors - why have you gone into government with the anti-Christ!</em></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We could have let the Tories rule on their own. No doubt they would have won a second, autumn, election with a bigger, working majority, as the Millibands were still arguing over which of them was to be leader of the Labour Party. That would have been great. A right wing Tory government let loose on the country again - with no one to moderate them, and no implementation of Liberal Democrat policies like raising the tax threshold to £10,000 for the low paid or the extra £2.5 Billion funding for a million of the most disadvantaged pupils.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That makes sense too.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Their message also included: <em>You reneged on your promise not to raise tuition fees!</em></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That does have my sympathy. It was mismanaged - but Labour (who introduced tuition fees to begin with) have since said they would raise them too - capped at £6000 - a huge increase from their position during the election, when Ed and his buddies said they only needed to be increased by just a few hundred pounds! After studying the small print, the National Union of Students have now said that the changes made by The Coalition are 'relatively progressive'. That's thanks to Clegg and other LibDem ministers.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What was personally interesting for me, was how people reacted when I lost.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Several Labour councillors at the count shook my hand and said that it was not personal (having just shafted me!), and that I would be 'missed'. I received almost 60 emails from disappointed residents, plus letters, cards and phone calls.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">While a number of my former LibDem colleagues contacted me to offer condolences - there were several others, who I thought I had a personal resonance with, who to this day (28 weeks later) have made no contact at all. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Perhaps their reaction was a consequence of how some people have a problem in dealing with other people's grief. They don't know what to say - so it is best avoided. Or perhaps they just decided to write me off. I seem to have been deleted from some email lists.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That's politics I suppose. Life's a bitch and then you're deleted.</span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-14498889415890459432011-09-30T08:55:00.001+01:002011-10-01T11:46:00.921+01:00Spontaneous Human Combustion<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I came back from France last Friday on the day that West Galway coroner Dr Ciaran McLoughlin ruled that Michael Faherty who had burned to ash had died by 'spontaneous human combustion'. What makes this doubly remarkable is that this is the first time that a coroner has publicly cited SHC as a cause of death.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Having written a <a href="http://www.halebooks.com/display.asp?K=9780709084020&sf1=eh_cat_class&st1=N100&sf2=lcode&st2=not 67531&pge=hale&ds=Mind, Body and Spirit&m=10&dc=44">book</a> on the subject with Jenny Randles in the 1990s, reprinted as a paperback in 2007, I was contacted by the <em><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2043500/Can-people-spontaneously-combust-The-Romans-Dickens-thought-As-given-cause-death-coroner-IS-truth.html">Daily Mail</a></em> who wanted me to work with them on a feature. What followed was the inevitable phone calls, emails, discussions, drafts and re-drafts until the piece was finally published today.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Within the constraints of space I think the article is a good overview. I have no intentions of repeating it here - but there are one or two points I would like to enlarge upon.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYlVCOWjNcHPa4-QNuoq9tuz2SGvfROxoIhBhiOCHOy_FWduqhEThhseR2aNpwcoeAhsxfRXovu-ZmcySAG08jabuuBOs6_moNuyrmdxatGrGh0FAvA1oEIQ9bCsKKbbJAxay3JcqOGYu/s1600/CREMULATOR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYlVCOWjNcHPa4-QNuoq9tuz2SGvfROxoIhBhiOCHOy_FWduqhEThhseR2aNpwcoeAhsxfRXovu-ZmcySAG08jabuuBOs6_moNuyrmdxatGrGh0FAvA1oEIQ9bCsKKbbJAxay3JcqOGYu/s320/CREMULATOR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As I discovered - even during cremation, bones remained, <br />
which are then ground up in a cremulator (c. Peter Hough)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The 'wick' or 'candle effect' suggests that in a closed airtight room a body can smoulder over 16 hours or more until it is reduced to ash. This was first demonstrated in a <em>QED</em> documentary broadcast in 1989, and has since become the favourite weapon of the sceptics. A hallmark of classic SHC is that even bones are reduced to ash - something that crematoria cannot achieve. Despite claims to the contrary, bones still remained in the pig used to demonstrate the theory. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We investigated <em>QED</em> and talked to several of the participants. Even the sceptics complained that the programme had been edited to make them appear more sceptical than they really were - and that the experiment was only partially successful. We were also told that the producers 'had an agenda'. There was a follow-up programme some years later, and taken at face value, it too was persuasive. But I'm afraid <em>QED</em> had blotted it's copybook - and as we didn't investigate this one, it is hard to comment further.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'm not saying that the candle effect doesn't have its place as a partial explanation in some instances, but it is wrong to claim it is a 'catch all' for so-called SHC deaths. There are too many incidents which didn't occur in a sealed room, where the time frame was minutes rather than hours and where the victim survived to tell the tale. Then there are the cases that go beyond 'mundane' SHC and step into the realms of the paranormal - challenging even an open-minded soul like me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The cremated remains of Mr Flaherty was found near the fireplace - but it is unclear whether there was a lit fire or not. Coroner Dr McLoughlin would have thought very carefully before coming to his conclusion - indeed he carried out extensive research first. Perhaps different explanations are required for the gamut of mysterious fire deaths that we put under the umbrella of 'spontaneous human combustion'.</span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-88502287600204460902011-04-20T09:52:00.001+01:002011-04-20T09:55:35.004+01:00Confessions of a canvasser...<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We've been doing quite a lot of doorstep canvassing over the last few weeks, and on the whole we've received a very good response. There's almost 6,000 households in Victoria Ward though, so we can't get around to everyone. We have been pleasantly surprised by how many residents do actually read our <em>Focus</em> newsletter - and find it informative too. They also appreciate the hard work we've put in.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">However, one thing you learn with canvassing, is that not everyone loves you!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I knocked on one door, and introduced myself to the gentleman standing there, then held out my hand. He looked at it and curled his lip.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"I don't shake hands with politicians," he said, looking me up and down as if I was a piece of dirt.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You don't argue with someone like that, you just turn and walk away. Which is what I did. What I felt like saying was:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"It's okay, I've washed my hands, and I don't have any contagious diseases. If you want to stick labels on me I'm also a husband, father, son, professional writer, walker, cyclist and a caravanner. Perhaps you wouldn't shake hands with any of them either?"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What a nice man - I bet he goes down a hoot at dinner parties.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28lcgrigM8y_Ocxi4x1o6oWBh5ypRDGOVYTx4ERUyOyHf6PxJ4d-vFYh_9DlSs0qeI5x644qYj4C63CnNZMpRLCaNleVC1DAmGuMQ82RmsKMVv30gHbHaJDDQ4d0Q2-jtPQffcTal6j_1/s1600/VOTE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28lcgrigM8y_Ocxi4x1o6oWBh5ypRDGOVYTx4ERUyOyHf6PxJ4d-vFYh_9DlSs0qeI5x644qYj4C63CnNZMpRLCaNleVC1DAmGuMQ82RmsKMVv30gHbHaJDDQ4d0Q2-jtPQffcTal6j_1/s1600/VOTE.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One way to persuade men to vote</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> - we use <em>Focus</em></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I don't mind the people who say they're voting for another candidate, or party. What does wind me up are people who proudly boast: "I don't vote." Or, "I don't bother voting in the local elections - they're not important."</span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Imagine writing out a cheque, for say, £1,500, without exercising any say or influence on how that money will be spent? That's what the 'no voters' do every year when they pay their council tax. Weird!</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The subject of not voting came up on the doorstep with a lady who made the valid point that "women have died to give me the vote." I also reminded her of the people in Third World countries who walk for miles, and queue for days to elect their leaders. Then, I have to admit I got a bit carried away (which I sometimes do), and added:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"It would serve the 'no voters' right if a fascist government were elected, and they were the first to be put up against a wall and shot!"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A bit extreme, but you get my drift?</span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-2752542412394247172011-04-15T11:29:00.001+01:002011-04-20T10:03:49.326+01:00The day we met Norman Lamb, over a hog-roast...<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I must admit that the day we met Norman Lamb, we didn't know who he was. What a difference a few years make.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Iain Brodie Browne in his </span><a href="http://birkdalefocus.blogspot.com/2011/04/norman-lamb-big-question-not-why-he.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">blog</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> was asking why the LibDem North Norfolk MP wasn't given the Health Minister's job - after Andrew Lansley was ordered by Cameron to 'pause' the Health & Social Care Bill for two months consultation and reflection. </span></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lamb, an acknowledged expert on the NHS, has publicly opposed the handing over of the NHS budget to GPs. The wounded Tory minister now looks inept and doesn't have the backing of nurses, after their vote of 'no confidence'. That's why the web is alive with twitterings saying that Lamb would make a far better job. Ironic then, that it was Lansley who blocked Lamb from having a ministerial job in his department during the coalition negotiations.</span></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It was the summer of 2005, just a couple of months after the General Election, and we were caravanning in Norfolk. When we're away, we like to attend local community events. We'd spotted a poster outside a care home saying that they were having a fund-raising garden fete on Saturday, and that 'Norman Lamb MP' was opening it.</span></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We thought that was our kind of thing, and indeed it proved to be the case. There were stalls selling all sorts of things from local beer to paintings by Norfolk artists, knitted animals, food and cheeses. Traditional games were evident too; smack the rat, hook a duck, hoopla and there was a coconut shy.</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What was different about this traditional English garden fete, which at the same time enhanced it, was that the Asian staff were turned out in their 'Sunday best'. The women wore very colourful saris, and the men were resplendent in sarongs and kurtas. These young people were very caring towards their patients who obviously had psychological and physiological problems.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As soon as we were there, Linda spotted the home made cake stall and headed straight for it. After buying a large chocolate cake, I decided to take it to the car for safe keeping (from Linda). I arrived back just as the manager of the home was introducing Norman Lamb.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Norman was dressed smart but casual, in a jacket and open neck shirt. As he spoke in an easy and entertaining style, we speculated which party he represented. We knew it was historically a Conservative part of the country, but that we had made an impact over recent years. Certainly the MP didn't <em>look</em> like a Tory, and he didn't <em>sound</em> like one either... so if it didn't look like a duck, and didn't quack like one - then perhaps it wasn't one?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After the opening speech, I approached one of the senior staff, and asked her who he was. A smile beamed across her face, and she explained he was their Liberal Democrat MP. She said they were genuinely delighted when he accepted the invitation to open the fete, because, she explained: "This is only a modest event, and we didn't think he would be interested in coming along!"</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5E7lmIxmJQjAaovOXwO5hVgfwHkcFMOS3ANt7-wxGfUsR1WAftx0UZdvIx15y1-IVbLahQ_xGLejE-Nx7GJpSgVLAI5-5tBAr17CQQuSvbmkzpuY_mcPTUCAEkeensvG5EnWIi_1w2q8q/s1600/PIG+ROAST.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5E7lmIxmJQjAaovOXwO5hVgfwHkcFMOS3ANt7-wxGfUsR1WAftx0UZdvIx15y1-IVbLahQ_xGLejE-Nx7GJpSgVLAI5-5tBAr17CQQuSvbmkzpuY_mcPTUCAEkeensvG5EnWIi_1w2q8q/s320/PIG+ROAST.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Vegetarians turn away - Linda checking the hog-roast</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Norman spent over one and a half hours talking to people, and having a go at some of the games. We were hovering by the pig roast when he came over and ordered some pork in a bun together with the delicious stuffing and apple sauce. He turned to us, and we introduced ourselves as Liberal Democrats from Crosby near Southport. His eyes lit up.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"What are you doing here?" He asked.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"Well, I said, "we heard you were opening the fete and hopped on the train."</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It was at that point I discovered that people standing nearby had been listening in, because they all laughed. After a long chat, he said:</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"Give my regards to John Pugh, we were both elected for the first time in 2001, and have become friends."</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">He was still shaking his head in amazement, that out of all the garden fetes in all the world, we should have turned up there...</span></div>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-32314819081780991582011-04-12T10:34:00.000+01:002011-04-12T10:34:16.237+01:00There I was, just minding my own business...<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It's not every day I get a public dressing down, but at last Wednesday's planning meeting in Bootle Town Hall, that's what happened.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There was a heavy agenda, with several petitions, so the public area was packed. We were dealing with an application for War Games activities at the back of Shorrocks Hill Country Club. The lady who had presented a petition against the application was being questioned by Formby Tory councillor, Barry Griffiths. In true Barry style, his questions seemed more like prompts, designed to encourage the petitioner to make the most of her case.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMc81xwKerFdjQwuT91eTcrtVSXO29ZiJaFtUZl4sIAPBStxfaHwnkA1cXz2_-TW-8Oqnr52mDNB4v2v-urQe99uvIlt3eSBypmDk10-9FBheUmibvMF9YkFPoH6vTWf9SVutrnA2Zlor/s1600/PAUL+TWEED.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMc81xwKerFdjQwuT91eTcrtVSXO29ZiJaFtUZl4sIAPBStxfaHwnkA1cXz2_-TW-8Oqnr52mDNB4v2v-urQe99uvIlt3eSBypmDk10-9FBheUmibvMF9YkFPoH6vTWf9SVutrnA2Zlor/s1600/PAUL+TWEED.bmp" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cllr Paul Tweed gave me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">a public dressing down</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My colleague, Cllr Jim Byrne, made loud comments to this effect to Cllr John Dodd on his left. Unfortunately, I was sitting on Jim's right. My nose was in the agenda when the Labour Chair, Cllr Paul Tweed, reacted to what Jim had said:</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"You are wrong, these are questions, and we need to hear the answers. <em>And councillor Hough, don't interrupt the proceedings again - you should know better than that!</em>"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">At that point I looked up and said indignantly: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"Excuse me Cllr Tweed, I haven't said a word!"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jim put up his hand like a naughty school boy and said. "It was me!"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The officers, particularly Andy Wallis, the out-going Planning Director, were doing their best not to break out into laughter.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Paul quickly apologised and we moved on. A few minutes later Peter Cowley, Sefton's Principal Solicitor, appeared at my side with a hastily written apology from Paul. I can only assume that Peter had warned him I might sue for defamation of character if he didn't put it in writing. I looked across at Paul and smiled.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After the meeting, somewhat embarrassed, he repeated the apology. I told him not to worry, we all make mistakes, and was it okay if I printed his apology in <em>Focus</em>?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This time there was loud laughter from several officers.</span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-11217866919288621512011-04-11T15:17:00.000+01:002011-04-11T15:17:26.442+01:00Do you fancy a Scafell blond?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'</em>, wrote hotel caretaker Jack Torrance, before trying to sort out his wife and son with an axe, in Kubrick's film of the Stephen King novel; <em>The Shining</em>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Not wishing to end up like Torrance (<em>Honey, I'm home!</em>), I thought a few days break from all the electioneering would be spiritually uplifting. And so it was.</span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJjxwKvNzdwE5-h4Pay0xZvoQoqleuSjXnqX7V6VflcYldbBd6Sl-NUFupb0fA5oY0EG4ZIadTYbSDLbfxW5ocbJVUkzSso18tEUOzWhcm-1cSuosz3Dp1G2wcxcPtioAqCDBj5CAAysZk/s1600/BOWSCALE+FELL.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJjxwKvNzdwE5-h4Pay0xZvoQoqleuSjXnqX7V6VflcYldbBd6Sl-NUFupb0fA5oY0EG4ZIadTYbSDLbfxW5ocbJVUkzSso18tEUOzWhcm-1cSuosz3Dp1G2wcxcPtioAqCDBj5CAAysZk/s1600/BOWSCALE+FELL.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Us on a sunny Bowscale Fell</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Linda and I (and the cat) dragged the caravan up the M6 to a lovely little site by the River Caldew near Hesket Newmarket in the northern Lakes. There we were joined by Cllr Mike Booth, his wife Clare and their pooch.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hesket Newmarket was featured on <em>Country File</em> last year when John Craven visited The Old Crown which was Britain's first pub to become a cooperative. Prince Charles called in too a couple of years ago. To save it from closure, over a 100 locals bought shares in the pub - which has it's own micro-brewery. It produces such beers as Doris' 90th Birthday Ale and Scafell Blond. I know which one I prefer!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mountaineer Chris Bonnington also lives nearby - and we bumped into him last time we visited, up on the fells. I remember it well. We were wearing all our outdoor gear, with heavy rucksacks stuffed with waterproofs, drinks and butties - and he walked past bidding us good day, wearing just a jacket and slacks!</span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This time the weather was glorious, and we did two cracking walks. On Friday we climbed up Carrock Fell, and refreshed ourselves in the pub on the way back. That evening (knowing a good thing when we see it) we returned for a very reasonably priced meal and more of that ale. Saturday saw us climbing about 2000 feet onto Bowscale Fell. It was a hard slog, but the views were terrific! We finished the day with a barbecue and a glass or two of wine.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The simple pleasures are the best. </span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2057754116986156847.post-47738278554890894622011-03-31T12:13:00.001+01:002011-04-11T16:09:32.952+01:00Sense and incensed-ability<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There was a very interesting letter in yesterday's <em>Daily Post</em> from the Labour leader of Liverpool City Council. It is about the cuts he is having to make, and shows maturity and a sense of responsibility. I have reproduced it below, and it is worth reading in its entirety.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What a contrast then to the dangerous antics of Sefton's Labour group. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They refused to take part in setting the council's budget, which involved the painful process of reducing jobs and services to the tune of £44 million - even though they are claiming £1000s in extra allowances for being on Sefton's ruling cabinet. <em>They even voted against a 25% cut in senior and middle management. </em>This has incensed many people on the doorstep.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They have played to the gallery at every turn, made promises they cannot keep and emotionally manipulated young people and the disabled for their political goals. Labour leader Peter Dowd took great delight in publicly likening himself to Derek Hatton. </span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOsTWmsWjtnnybdONQn2iG9DsdJL7hZEbjiW2QlxipL7QW_zb4Bx0BaytgQN5JnOHqFHPLtsYL-npgim4rswEUH0XNw0PEcNXoqXm_IWWgk7Fawxez2g0ZTeKtv7I4d1dTyYZceDGOItD2/s1600/HATTON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOsTWmsWjtnnybdONQn2iG9DsdJL7hZEbjiW2QlxipL7QW_zb4Bx0BaytgQN5JnOHqFHPLtsYL-npgim4rswEUH0XNw0PEcNXoqXm_IWWgk7Fawxez2g0ZTeKtv7I4d1dTyYZceDGOItD2/s1600/HATTON.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sefton's Labour leader has compared</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> himself to Derek Hatton</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hatton was the Deputy Leader of Liverpool Council, and a member of the Militant Tendency - a Trotskyist organisation within the Labour Party. He helped set an illegal budget which committed the council to spend £30 million in excess of its Government grant. This brought Liverpool to it's knees, and Hatton and his cronies sent out redundancy notices by taxi cab to council workers.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">The only way Sefton Labour could keep to it's promise of 'no cuts' would be to raise council tax by an average of £427.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>Heaven help us then if Sefton Labour Party ever gain control of the Council.</strong></em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><u>Liverpool Council Labour Leader Joe Anderson's letter:</u></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">'PEOPLE have written letters recently asking me not to implement the<br />
Government’s cuts and calling me a Tory. Let me enlighten those that<br />
make those points and criticise.</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There is no such thing as not implementing the government cuts.<br />
Government gives the city 80% of its funding through different types of<br />
grant. They have chosen to give Liverpool a 22% or £91m reduction. They<br />
simply have not given us the money.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">If someone’s household income is reduced by 22%, then they can’t just<br />
ignore this, or they’d go bankrupt. If the city ignored its cut from<br />
the Government, then quite simply we would run out of money by November<br />
of this year, with no money to run social services or pay wages. That<br />
chaos will not happen under my leadership.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Readers will see that those who call my leadership weak have no<br />
solutions or alternatives other than demand I lead a revolution.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our city more than ever needs sound, pragmatic leadership, with the<br />
honesty to say we haven’t got all the answers but we have got the<br />
passion and vision in equal measures to lead our city through these<br />
difficult times.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our determination is to create growth through having a cruise liner<br />
turn-around facility, building a new exhibition centre at Kings Dock,<br />
developing Edge Lane retail park, pushing ahead with Liverpool Waters,<br />
getting on with the Stonebridge cross development in Croxteth and Mere<br />
Park in the city centre, developments in Speke, developing north<br />
Liverpool, growing the knowledge economy, the visitor economy and much<br />
more.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is about this city council leading and developing our city – not<br />
leaving its people without leadership at a time when it faces the worst<br />
government cuts since the war.'</span>Peter Houghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09220206139327638522noreply@blogger.com0