It is just before 5 am on Sunday July 3rd 2011 and I am torn between catch up writing and a sense of urgency about progressing the artwork project and with respect to the latter, torn between commencing the Henley Management experience and inventory work. The reason for being up at this hour also merits analysis and admission. I decide on a writing up morning, at least for a while longer and then project work. It is just sun rising and looks and feels another good day so there will be cricket this afternoon commencing at two thirty so I shall aim to leave here around 1pm after luncheon.
I went to bed later that usual taking the radio with me to listen to the Haye Klitschko unification heavy weight title fight against my better judgement as I suspect the world of prize fighting continues to be dominated by criminals, fight fixing and at best dubious deals. Not that I am suggesting such applied to this particular contest but that the knowledge of the general puts me off the particular.
I therefore avoided the build up which live Sky sport’s commentators were pushing at every opportunity so that punters paid the fee to see the fight live but decided I wanted to observer via the radio what was happening and if the event would happen given the alleged concerns of the British participant that the referee was biased towards the other having performed at several of his previous title defensive fights. Both men were world champions via one and more of the four bodies alleging to represent world title boxing and this was a unification match with the officials of those bodies attending and presumably getting their cut of the takings on the night.
There were 50000 spectators in the stadium with many of the best seats open to the continuous rain and lots of prima Donna antics some of which alarmed commentators when the two fighters emerged from their dressing rooms and made their way across the covered turf to the central covered boxing ring. I heard he opening rounds then fell into a sleep stupor to wake with the contest ended switch off the radio and sleeping in fits and starts for the rest of night with disturbing dreams and two dramatic and challenging awakenings gulping for air with the taste of sick in the mouth. I have had this experience before, fortunately not often but cannot remember twice, hence the sense of urgency about everything. At least since then I have felt better and awake sufficiently to commence work after a cup of coffee.
18.00 July 2nd 2011 and I have continued to struggle to get back to my routine of writing and the artwork project. However I have commenced on reorganising the first floor work room with one side of the first wardrobe cupboard. I then took the decision that the next piece of work is to convert the record of attending the Senior Management Course at Henley into sets as well as writing up a commentary in two parts the first open and the second confidential. All the participants shared personal details as did members of the Faculty and some of the visiting speakers.
5.20 July3rd, 2011. I did not progress much last night as I needed to go through all the papers and reorganise their order which required undivided attention which I was not prepared to give at the time. I have worked out since that I need to engage in effect two commentaries, one comprehensive and closed because it makes references to those who are potentially still alive, and that which will be open and therefore censored. This will be the first time I undertake a commentary in this way having avoided undertaking any commentary in relation to other confidential activities for the most part, given the intention to seal the work indefinitely or have the records destroyed following my death if the project is not to be completed for lack of finance and interest. The other aspect is how the open work is to be classified as it is part creative part development, part events and part record. The decision is to make sets with the Development classification but keeping the completed work separately from the rest of the development set storage and with confidential so that if I do need future reference I will know the joint location.
The main reason why I did no little work yesterday evening was the decision to view a recorded film about the theft and return of the Stone of Destiny by Ian Hamilton and his friends and associates.
Given the emergence of a Scottish Nationalist majority in the devolved Parliament for the time and which was so structured as to prevent the situation arising and with the prospect of a referendum on separateness during the life of the Parliament, a film about how it all can be said to have found public voice and support is more than of passing interest. The film was rubbished in the “English” press at the time of its release a couple of years ago for essentially political reasons as it is a good broadly historically accurate account of the removal of the Stone from its location in Westminster Abbey and its subsequent return and has a great twist.
Ian Hamilton was born in Paisley in 1925 and after National service in the British army attended the University of Glasgow where he became active in the University Union and the University Scottish Nationalist Association. The film centres on the decision by Ian with others to successfully remove the stone from its location in the Abbey overnight on Christmas Day 1950.
The stone is recorded to have been originally located at the Monastery of Scone in Perthshire and was used for the coronation of the Scottish Monarchs. It was captured in 1296 by the English army under Edward 1st and brought to Westminster and placed under a wooden chair used in the Coronation of subject British Monarchs. There are those who believe that the original stone never left Scotland and that it was secreted but has not been located and that handed over was a duplicate. An Attempt was made to blow up the coronation chair and stone in 1914 allegedly by the suffragettes because the explosive had been placed in a lady’s handbag but no one was charged and it could have been a stunt, official or otherwise to discredit the Suffragette movement.
The film suggests that the precipitating motive of Ian was the rejection of the Scottish Home Rule Bill as part of the general apathy about Scottishness within Scotland allegedly existing at the time. I did not find this to be so ten years later when a temporary field organiser for the Direct Action Committee against Nuclear War I spent a month in Scotland making arrangements for action opposing the location the Polaris Submarine base at Holy Loch. There was resistance to the involvement of the English in what was regarded as a Scottish matter although I met genuine warmth and help from many individuals at various levels within the community at a personal level for what I was arranging for others to do.
Mr Hamilton has written two books about his life and political interests that should provide insight into what led him to have the confidence and determination to undertake an act which was likely to so infuriate Unionists as to arrange for his long term incarceration and subsequent persecution prevention him having any public or professional role in society. Yet as in my instance he went on to have a successful career and political involvement and in fact although arrested he was not prosecuted which suggests that officialdom at the highest levels intervened in a positive way.
The film suggests that Mr Hamilton went about the task is a considered manner visiting the Abbey and working out how the removal could be undertaken and then approaching a leading Nationalist politician John MacCormick (played in the film by Robert Carlyle) for funds, humorously recounted in that Ian asked for 50 which John interpreted as £50000 and initially rejected the request because he assessed that at that price it was no more than a student stunt for a trip to London. Ian subsequently was successfully in a campaign to have MacCormick elected Rector of the University.
According to the film his best friend (played by Lord of the Rings Billy Boyd) did not participate in actual removal having become engaged/married and realised the potential implication for his future and it was MacCormick who introduced him to fellow student activist Kay Matheson who in turn recommended Gavin Vernon who drank excessively but who had a car and was strongly built, essential to undertake the removal of the stone which weighed several hundred pounds (156 kilograms). Gavin brought along another sympathetic and willing participant because he had a more reliable car
The film reveals that despite the planning Ian was caught by the night watchman on the first attempting having secreted himself in the abbey with the intention of letting his the others. Kay then became ill with a temporary fever which led them to securing her an overnight bed on Christmas Eve in lodgings where the landlady became suspicious and called the police and they were lucky that they were not searched as fortunately they had papers showing ownership of the two vehicles. There was then further police involvement when a beat constable approached one of the cars just after Ian had taken the small part of the stone that had been separated from the rest following its removal from under the coronation chair.
The news that the stone had been removed was greeted throughout Scotland with wild celebrations with those responsible immediately regard as heroes. The greater part of the stone was hidden on a travellers site in Kent but according to the film was then taken to Scotland after being made aware that there was the risk of its destruction if left out in freezing weather over the rest of the winter. The smaller piece was also brought into Scotland where with students and graduates there was an overnight party on Ikley Moor. The two pieces were then professionally repaired together by Glasgow Stonemason Robert Gray. The custodians of the repaired stone then placed the stone on the altar of Arbroath Abbey on April 11th. The British authorities were informed and London Police retrieved the stone back to the Abbey, arresting all those then known to have been involved in the theft and safekeeping.
It was only 45 years later that a more enlightened British Conservative Government agreed that the stone for everyday purposes should be returned and put on display in Scotland and was officially handed over at the border on 15th November 1996 from whence it was taken to Edinburgh castle. The agreement is that the Stone will return temporarily to London for any future coronation.
Queen Elizabeth II recently opened the Scottish Parliament during which ceremony Alex Salmond indicated it would be possible for Scotland to achieve full independence but retain her Majesty as head of State. I was recently surprised at media attacks on the Public Expenditure of Prince Charles contrasting with the praise for the role of the Duchess of Cambridge on her visit with her husband to Canada and the United States. With an element of uncertainty over the succession public interest in maintaining the Union is negligible, something which politicians should take not of.
The seriousness of this film contrasted with the nonsense of the A Team Film although I thought the film better than the original TV series.
The A team comprises an elite four person maverick unit deployed in the first gulf war and other previous special missions. I was interested in seeing the film because of the association with my Henley Senior Management experience about which I am concentrating on writing and set making this week. I floundered during the first week and over the first weekend having gone to see Wimbledon play football I stopped at a garage where on display were A Team dinky types vehicles. My syndicate team was called A, the A Team which included more than one creative/would be creative. I then circulated the purchased vehicles to members of the Team on Monday thus establishing myself as a team member and uniter which condition approach in general subsequently.
The A team has a brave man of principal leader, a wacky expert pilot like no other, a huge black muscle man with a heart of gold and a ladies creative adventurer. The film opens with the group leader, Hannibal Smith Liam Neilson held captive in Mexico who after escaping helps the adventurer Templeton Faceman to escape a horrible death after meeting up with a fellow former Ranger BA and recruiting Mad Murdock from a psychiatric hospital ward.
The main plot centres on request directly made to the team the CIA to ensure that $1 billion dollars of authentic US Treasury bills made from authentic Treasury plates are taken out of the hands of Iraqi insurgents in a secret mission which is opposed for reason never stated by the former love of Faceman not to get involves as does their commanding officer. They nevertheless appear to successfully get hold of the vehicle with the money which then blows and the plates disappearing. With their General dead and the CIA denying involvement the four men are tried and sentence to 10 years to be served in separate high security prisons.
Six months after sentencing the CIA officer visits Hannibal in prison and tells him to break out to recover the printing plates and prove their innocence. After the breakout their hijack a military plane containing a tank which is shot down by pilotless aircraft, drones, although they use one to avoid death by acting a as a parachute for the tank which they are in and which eventually lands in a lake, They find that the their general in Iraq was not killed and been behind the ploy to steal the plates. They are nearly killed and general is, when the CIA launches an air assault. The plot becomes more complex leading to a spectacular conclusion in involving and exploding and sinking container ship as it reaches harbour prior to which the plates are got back before being resold involving action sequence in and outside a skyscraper, bluffs and counter bluffs and finally the plates being returned to the USA government, the CIA villain apprehended, Faceman’s lover convinced of his original innocence and regaining her own authority and position. The Team are arrested but the woman says she will do all she can to have them freed and exonerated. We are; left with the impression that they become independent soldiers of fortune as per the TV series.
The weather remained glorious throughout yesterday as it is doing so to day. I resisted the temptation to sit in the sun with still feeling the effects of having done so on what became the final day of the cricket match between Lancashire and Durham. I therefore found myself an excellent aisle seat on the second row of the Member’s balcony, gaining a better view, in my judgement than those situated on the sponsors’ balcony and special Member’s lounge above.
Durham relied on Ian Blackwell for 77 hard hitting runs having elected to bat first after winning the toss. He was supported by Collingwood for a short time with 29 from 23 balls. At just over 8 an over the total was similar to the last win here when the opposition failed to reach the total by 3 runs. However yesterday afternoon it did not seem enough and a cold Pepsi on arrival, a cup of tea and crisps at the interval, a close read of the Sunday Sun and a stop and walk around the ground to the ice cream van for a single cone, with chats with stewards and one member did noting to appease the feeling that we were going to lose and weaken prospects of qualifying for the quarterfinals. Then Collingwood came on to bowl four middle innings overs and immediately achieved success with two wickets for four runs in his first over and 4 wickets for 19 runs from his four thus sending a loud message to selectors that they had stuffed up by dropping him as at Lords England were being humiliated again in the one day with Cook taking too long for his 100 while Broad was not the only bowler to bowl awfully. Hee Hee. Stuff the selectors I say but England’s loss is Durham’s gain, And yes the result was a convincing Durham win by 23 runs with the last Worcester man out at the commencement of the final over as I was making my wife to the car for a good journey home. Earlier I had witnessed the huge crowds visiting the resort.
I went to bed later that usual taking the radio with me to listen to the Haye Klitschko unification heavy weight title fight against my better judgement as I suspect the world of prize fighting continues to be dominated by criminals, fight fixing and at best dubious deals. Not that I am suggesting such applied to this particular contest but that the knowledge of the general puts me off the particular.
I therefore avoided the build up which live Sky sport’s commentators were pushing at every opportunity so that punters paid the fee to see the fight live but decided I wanted to observer via the radio what was happening and if the event would happen given the alleged concerns of the British participant that the referee was biased towards the other having performed at several of his previous title defensive fights. Both men were world champions via one and more of the four bodies alleging to represent world title boxing and this was a unification match with the officials of those bodies attending and presumably getting their cut of the takings on the night.
There were 50000 spectators in the stadium with many of the best seats open to the continuous rain and lots of prima Donna antics some of which alarmed commentators when the two fighters emerged from their dressing rooms and made their way across the covered turf to the central covered boxing ring. I heard he opening rounds then fell into a sleep stupor to wake with the contest ended switch off the radio and sleeping in fits and starts for the rest of night with disturbing dreams and two dramatic and challenging awakenings gulping for air with the taste of sick in the mouth. I have had this experience before, fortunately not often but cannot remember twice, hence the sense of urgency about everything. At least since then I have felt better and awake sufficiently to commence work after a cup of coffee.
18.00 July 2nd 2011 and I have continued to struggle to get back to my routine of writing and the artwork project. However I have commenced on reorganising the first floor work room with one side of the first wardrobe cupboard. I then took the decision that the next piece of work is to convert the record of attending the Senior Management Course at Henley into sets as well as writing up a commentary in two parts the first open and the second confidential. All the participants shared personal details as did members of the Faculty and some of the visiting speakers.
5.20 July3rd, 2011. I did not progress much last night as I needed to go through all the papers and reorganise their order which required undivided attention which I was not prepared to give at the time. I have worked out since that I need to engage in effect two commentaries, one comprehensive and closed because it makes references to those who are potentially still alive, and that which will be open and therefore censored. This will be the first time I undertake a commentary in this way having avoided undertaking any commentary in relation to other confidential activities for the most part, given the intention to seal the work indefinitely or have the records destroyed following my death if the project is not to be completed for lack of finance and interest. The other aspect is how the open work is to be classified as it is part creative part development, part events and part record. The decision is to make sets with the Development classification but keeping the completed work separately from the rest of the development set storage and with confidential so that if I do need future reference I will know the joint location.
The main reason why I did no little work yesterday evening was the decision to view a recorded film about the theft and return of the Stone of Destiny by Ian Hamilton and his friends and associates.
Given the emergence of a Scottish Nationalist majority in the devolved Parliament for the time and which was so structured as to prevent the situation arising and with the prospect of a referendum on separateness during the life of the Parliament, a film about how it all can be said to have found public voice and support is more than of passing interest. The film was rubbished in the “English” press at the time of its release a couple of years ago for essentially political reasons as it is a good broadly historically accurate account of the removal of the Stone from its location in Westminster Abbey and its subsequent return and has a great twist.
Ian Hamilton was born in Paisley in 1925 and after National service in the British army attended the University of Glasgow where he became active in the University Union and the University Scottish Nationalist Association. The film centres on the decision by Ian with others to successfully remove the stone from its location in the Abbey overnight on Christmas Day 1950.
The stone is recorded to have been originally located at the Monastery of Scone in Perthshire and was used for the coronation of the Scottish Monarchs. It was captured in 1296 by the English army under Edward 1st and brought to Westminster and placed under a wooden chair used in the Coronation of subject British Monarchs. There are those who believe that the original stone never left Scotland and that it was secreted but has not been located and that handed over was a duplicate. An Attempt was made to blow up the coronation chair and stone in 1914 allegedly by the suffragettes because the explosive had been placed in a lady’s handbag but no one was charged and it could have been a stunt, official or otherwise to discredit the Suffragette movement.
The film suggests that the precipitating motive of Ian was the rejection of the Scottish Home Rule Bill as part of the general apathy about Scottishness within Scotland allegedly existing at the time. I did not find this to be so ten years later when a temporary field organiser for the Direct Action Committee against Nuclear War I spent a month in Scotland making arrangements for action opposing the location the Polaris Submarine base at Holy Loch. There was resistance to the involvement of the English in what was regarded as a Scottish matter although I met genuine warmth and help from many individuals at various levels within the community at a personal level for what I was arranging for others to do.
Mr Hamilton has written two books about his life and political interests that should provide insight into what led him to have the confidence and determination to undertake an act which was likely to so infuriate Unionists as to arrange for his long term incarceration and subsequent persecution prevention him having any public or professional role in society. Yet as in my instance he went on to have a successful career and political involvement and in fact although arrested he was not prosecuted which suggests that officialdom at the highest levels intervened in a positive way.
The film suggests that Mr Hamilton went about the task is a considered manner visiting the Abbey and working out how the removal could be undertaken and then approaching a leading Nationalist politician John MacCormick (played in the film by Robert Carlyle) for funds, humorously recounted in that Ian asked for 50 which John interpreted as £50000 and initially rejected the request because he assessed that at that price it was no more than a student stunt for a trip to London. Ian subsequently was successfully in a campaign to have MacCormick elected Rector of the University.
According to the film his best friend (played by Lord of the Rings Billy Boyd) did not participate in actual removal having become engaged/married and realised the potential implication for his future and it was MacCormick who introduced him to fellow student activist Kay Matheson who in turn recommended Gavin Vernon who drank excessively but who had a car and was strongly built, essential to undertake the removal of the stone which weighed several hundred pounds (156 kilograms). Gavin brought along another sympathetic and willing participant because he had a more reliable car
The film reveals that despite the planning Ian was caught by the night watchman on the first attempting having secreted himself in the abbey with the intention of letting his the others. Kay then became ill with a temporary fever which led them to securing her an overnight bed on Christmas Eve in lodgings where the landlady became suspicious and called the police and they were lucky that they were not searched as fortunately they had papers showing ownership of the two vehicles. There was then further police involvement when a beat constable approached one of the cars just after Ian had taken the small part of the stone that had been separated from the rest following its removal from under the coronation chair.
The news that the stone had been removed was greeted throughout Scotland with wild celebrations with those responsible immediately regard as heroes. The greater part of the stone was hidden on a travellers site in Kent but according to the film was then taken to Scotland after being made aware that there was the risk of its destruction if left out in freezing weather over the rest of the winter. The smaller piece was also brought into Scotland where with students and graduates there was an overnight party on Ikley Moor. The two pieces were then professionally repaired together by Glasgow Stonemason Robert Gray. The custodians of the repaired stone then placed the stone on the altar of Arbroath Abbey on April 11th. The British authorities were informed and London Police retrieved the stone back to the Abbey, arresting all those then known to have been involved in the theft and safekeeping.
It was only 45 years later that a more enlightened British Conservative Government agreed that the stone for everyday purposes should be returned and put on display in Scotland and was officially handed over at the border on 15th November 1996 from whence it was taken to Edinburgh castle. The agreement is that the Stone will return temporarily to London for any future coronation.
Queen Elizabeth II recently opened the Scottish Parliament during which ceremony Alex Salmond indicated it would be possible for Scotland to achieve full independence but retain her Majesty as head of State. I was recently surprised at media attacks on the Public Expenditure of Prince Charles contrasting with the praise for the role of the Duchess of Cambridge on her visit with her husband to Canada and the United States. With an element of uncertainty over the succession public interest in maintaining the Union is negligible, something which politicians should take not of.
The seriousness of this film contrasted with the nonsense of the A Team Film although I thought the film better than the original TV series.
The A team comprises an elite four person maverick unit deployed in the first gulf war and other previous special missions. I was interested in seeing the film because of the association with my Henley Senior Management experience about which I am concentrating on writing and set making this week. I floundered during the first week and over the first weekend having gone to see Wimbledon play football I stopped at a garage where on display were A Team dinky types vehicles. My syndicate team was called A, the A Team which included more than one creative/would be creative. I then circulated the purchased vehicles to members of the Team on Monday thus establishing myself as a team member and uniter which condition approach in general subsequently.
The A team has a brave man of principal leader, a wacky expert pilot like no other, a huge black muscle man with a heart of gold and a ladies creative adventurer. The film opens with the group leader, Hannibal Smith Liam Neilson held captive in Mexico who after escaping helps the adventurer Templeton Faceman to escape a horrible death after meeting up with a fellow former Ranger BA and recruiting Mad Murdock from a psychiatric hospital ward.
The main plot centres on request directly made to the team the CIA to ensure that $1 billion dollars of authentic US Treasury bills made from authentic Treasury plates are taken out of the hands of Iraqi insurgents in a secret mission which is opposed for reason never stated by the former love of Faceman not to get involves as does their commanding officer. They nevertheless appear to successfully get hold of the vehicle with the money which then blows and the plates disappearing. With their General dead and the CIA denying involvement the four men are tried and sentence to 10 years to be served in separate high security prisons.
Six months after sentencing the CIA officer visits Hannibal in prison and tells him to break out to recover the printing plates and prove their innocence. After the breakout their hijack a military plane containing a tank which is shot down by pilotless aircraft, drones, although they use one to avoid death by acting a as a parachute for the tank which they are in and which eventually lands in a lake, They find that the their general in Iraq was not killed and been behind the ploy to steal the plates. They are nearly killed and general is, when the CIA launches an air assault. The plot becomes more complex leading to a spectacular conclusion in involving and exploding and sinking container ship as it reaches harbour prior to which the plates are got back before being resold involving action sequence in and outside a skyscraper, bluffs and counter bluffs and finally the plates being returned to the USA government, the CIA villain apprehended, Faceman’s lover convinced of his original innocence and regaining her own authority and position. The Team are arrested but the woman says she will do all she can to have them freed and exonerated. We are; left with the impression that they become independent soldiers of fortune as per the TV series.
The weather remained glorious throughout yesterday as it is doing so to day. I resisted the temptation to sit in the sun with still feeling the effects of having done so on what became the final day of the cricket match between Lancashire and Durham. I therefore found myself an excellent aisle seat on the second row of the Member’s balcony, gaining a better view, in my judgement than those situated on the sponsors’ balcony and special Member’s lounge above.
Durham relied on Ian Blackwell for 77 hard hitting runs having elected to bat first after winning the toss. He was supported by Collingwood for a short time with 29 from 23 balls. At just over 8 an over the total was similar to the last win here when the opposition failed to reach the total by 3 runs. However yesterday afternoon it did not seem enough and a cold Pepsi on arrival, a cup of tea and crisps at the interval, a close read of the Sunday Sun and a stop and walk around the ground to the ice cream van for a single cone, with chats with stewards and one member did noting to appease the feeling that we were going to lose and weaken prospects of qualifying for the quarterfinals. Then Collingwood came on to bowl four middle innings overs and immediately achieved success with two wickets for four runs in his first over and 4 wickets for 19 runs from his four thus sending a loud message to selectors that they had stuffed up by dropping him as at Lords England were being humiliated again in the one day with Cook taking too long for his 100 while Broad was not the only bowler to bowl awfully. Hee Hee. Stuff the selectors I say but England’s loss is Durham’s gain, And yes the result was a convincing Durham win by 23 runs with the last Worcester man out at the commencement of the final over as I was making my wife to the car for a good journey home. Earlier I had witnessed the huge crowds visiting the resort.
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