Curly's Capers

Just returned from a couple of days in Lyme Regis , Dorset. The weather , for the time of year was sublime . The picture on the right demonstrates how calm the water was ; it was virtually flat and translucent. The picture , on the left is a rock sculpture completed , before my eyes by a lady. I asked and received her permission to take photos ; so here is one for all to enjoy. Ciao4now Ck. Np. " The Swimming Song " by Loudon Wainwright 111 - a good choice I think for Lyme.

'This is my first blog , so I'm working out the rules as I go along " . Thus said I on Monday September 22nd 2008 A.D. ; exactly one year ago ! Since then , including this one , I have posted 74 entries . Within these entries I have mentioned 14 books , 30 record tracks and no less than 75 photographs ( 73 of which were original and 2 which came from the Internet ) Today , one year on , I actually found out what the word Blog meant . It is a contraction of the words web and log and hence a log or diary kept in cyberspace through the medium of the Internet. Blogs are usually shown in reverse-chronological order , which of course means as with a diary the latest entry is 'on top ' as it were. This is alright , but as I've written before , it spoils from showing the organic growth of the blog , in my case the introduction of gadgets , the use of photography (still no video content I'm afraid) , the use of indexing and referencing the reader by the use of la...

Visited , the 'Queen of the Medway ' Rochester Kent today . It was a damp , but satisfying experience . Rochester has a fine selection of charity and specialist shops , which leads to interesting browsing. That , combined with narrow , rainswept streets gave a feeling of a time-slip ; in other words a seamless move to the 19 70/80s . The illusion was completed by the music which I heard in two successive shops , The Fortunes "you've got your troubles " and The Searchers "sweets for my sweet" . I then headed to the pub , which smelt as if smoking was in still in vogue , but thankfully the local beer ' Masterbrew ' from Faversham's brewer Shepherd Neame was extremely quaffable and well kept . The pictures are of the remarkable Catalpa Tree which can be seen in front of Rochester Castle. Ciao4now Ck.

I've reached the village of Edge from Painswick following the Cotswold Way. A distance , according to the trail guide , of merely one mile. Walking it of course seemed a lot further and I confess it was only the promise of a pint at the excellent Edgemoor Inn , that kept me going up the final slope ! But , in a way this "short " distance encapsulates the magic of the walk , for it has extensive view across the valley ; different surfaces ( lanes , paths , field tracks , woodland areas ) to walk along and wanders up and down meeting houses and cattle on its journey and thus keeping the interest high at all times. The waymarking was good and included the stone marker , bearing the legend ' Bath 55 miles ' ( see pic 2) with ' Chipping Campden 47 miles on the obverse '. So if I include the further on stretch from Dursley to Wotton -Under Edge , ( see Dursley goes Green on the Way 27/7) I have walked over half-way - Whoopee ! The other picture shows ...

Have now completed the Way to Painswick , nearly half way to Bath. The walk itself was another pleasant experience , comprising woodland , slopes , common land and a friendly road into Painswick. The two woods were both National Trust protected , being Buckholt and Pope's Wood ( I saw no white smoke rising through the trees ) . The common land adjoined the Painswick Golf Course and was a welcome open space. The picture on the left was taken during a shower of rain , which gave a glistening effect to the trees with the rays of the sun coming through from behind. Now for a finger wag at the good citizens of Painswick , for as the other picture shows the Cotswold Way signs are far too small . They cannot compete with those at Dursley and Wotton and demonstrate a lack of pride in this enterprise. There can be no excuse as the Way actually passes along the main street and therefore as with the two aforementioned towns are part and parcel of the walk. Walkers expect better ; and t...