Curly's Capers

Yesterday , I ventured forth on a short leg on my journey along  The Cotswold Way  , which remember runs from Chipping Campden to Bath , a distance of over 100 miles. My route , took me from North Nibley to Wotton under Edge  (only two miles - but it was a hot day) The view , you can see is taken near Tyndale's Monument at the escarpment above North Nibley , looking down the valley towards Wotton. The monument stands 33 metres in height. It was built in 1866  to commemorate the first translation of the Bible into English , by William Tyndale ( born N. Nibley 1484) His story did not end happily as he was later accused of heresy and burned at the stake in France 1536 , ( Mel Gibson take note - there could be an 'earner' here ) It was a very pleasant stroll in the sun and included a shady section through woodland. Only another seventy plus miles to complete. Ciao4now Ck.  Np " Woods " Bon Iver - must check for footage from Glastonbur...

Thought I'd better do a couple of catch-up blogs , now that I've made it back to my desktop.  I've recently spent a few days in Cornwall , and during that time I visited this bird sanctuary in Marazion , prompted by the excellent book "  While Flocks Last "  by Charlie Elder , which I recently read .  In this book Charlie visits all the red-listed (that is birds whose numbers are diminishing  or indeed nearing possible extinction ) birds in the British Isles. He writes with a dry humour and easily engages the reader.  Here is an example :  "  Life stirred in our planet's primeval soup three and a half  billion years ago and from the slime multi- cellular  organisms evolved , grew scales and crawled onto land whereupon many took up work as estate agents ...... " In a deeper meaning , he reminds us that all species have a right to life , however nondescript they may look or act .  "Everything has a purpose under heaven " as the good song tell...

I ventured to the city of Bath last Monday- no I didn't walk , I used the 'old rattler' and very pleasant it was with only one short stop in Bristol .  I wanted to find the End Point of the Cotswold Way , which according to my official trail route terminated outside Bath Abbey. Imagine , my great concern then , when reaching the Abbey, (which is in the centre of the city , close to the Roman Baths), there was not a marker to be seen; not even a tiny acorn. I entered the  Abbey Shop and enquired whereabouts the sign was. They did not know the answer and in a gentle fob pointed me to the nearby tourist centre. The information people were more disposed to my question ; but denied knowledge of any proof  of the walk's end. With a sinking heart I made my way to investigate again the outside surfaces of the Abbey. and then in a stroke  of fortune noticed an affable' man of the cloth' leaning against a wall with a coffee in one hand. There was no time to be lost...

I have now completed the first section of the Cotswold Way from Chipping Campden To Cleeve Hill. The second picture shows  the path through a field walking towards Broadway  Tower, which can be seen in picture one. More on Moondog. In my last entry I mentioned Moondog ; The Late  blind , composer , poet , instrument maker  and self-styled 'Viking'. One of his instruments is the trimba ; which is a wooden and metal percussive instrument , which Moondog kept with him when he stood in Times Square , New York. Amazingly there , he would compose in all weathers , using a braille machine to notate his thoughts. He was then , the real essence of the street musician. This is celebrated in  the CD " Sidewalk Dances " -the Music of Moondog ; conducted and arranged by the excellent classical pianist Joannah MacGregor. Moondog's music is a joyous expression of rhythm and melody and covers many forms from orchestral to canons for the organ. Moondog wrote many different types o...

I finally found the start of the Cotswold Way. It was  not so easy , as its location was on a post near the ground on the street-side of the Market Hall in Chipping Campden. The road/track/path/way stretches onward for 102 miles until it reaches the city of Bath.  You could of course equally , start in Bath ; but tradition favours the walk from village to city and moving within 2 miles to the Cotswold escarpment at Dovers Hill. Also the prevailing winds are generally from the west to the south west , so following the route from Campden to Bath , you are likely to have the wind at your back. At this point , I feel a tip of the hat is in order to the Rambler's Association and more particularly to the Cotswold Wardens , who do such a great job in keeping the paths clear from the encroachment of nature and maintaining the way-marking for the entire route. It is wonderful that , in this day and age , a minority section of society can be cared for in this manner. Thank you all. In Januar...

Today ( 25/5)  I visited the annual cheese roll at Coopers Hill in Gloucestershire .  This ancient event  , comprises five races in which people propel themselves  down the near vertical slope chasing after a rolling cheese. The first person to cross the line at the bottom , in each race is deemed to be the winner and for everyone else it's a case of hard cheese !  With  the help from family and friend , I managed to make a circumnavigation of the course perimeter . This included a lung-busting ( well I am old !) climb up the hill (  one in three, in places) and  a virtual slide clinging to beech trees  and  hanging on  with gratitude to any passing sapling  I happened to meet on my way down . It was very enjoyable and it is rare indeed , that as a mere spectator , I also felt that I had been at the races.  I am  off , just now to make myself a cheese toastie after all that exercise. Ciao4now Ck.

Yesterday  (24/5) I went to see the West Indies play England in a one day international at Bristol. It was a  cloudless , windless , perfect day for cricket. Unfortunately the ' windies'  seemed not to be in the mood for this occasion ; they were as lack-lustre as the Mexican wave , which hardly caused a ripple around the ground , however much individual members of the audience , tried to whip up the crowd. The windies also seemed becalmed and yielded their wickets , without much trouble to some accurate English  bowling ; so much so that England won with twenty five overs to spare. Health and Safety does not permit any musical instruments to be brought into the ground , so the only live music came from a " credit crunch " steel band who  had to  provide the carnival atmosphere. Other excitements including the removing of an offensive instrument ; namely a plastic palm tree and the sight of a West Indian Batsman walking back to the pavilion , having just tamely lost h...