Two weeks ago my world changed
for the better as immediately after the first of two procedures on my eyes I
was able not just to see without the use
of glasses for distance, including for driving, but to see in a way which I can
best describe as high definition in vivid colours and helped by the light of a
Mediterranean sun, not experienced since visits to Greece, Italy, Spain and
Southern France. The treated eye quickly overcame the other which meant I could
immediate drive although as, yet I do not trust the car to travel distance
since its costly breakdown which took it off the road for two weeks. The positive aspect is that I used public
transport and to walk distance from necessity.
It remains a struggle learning to adjust to physical old age, but I
remain inspired by the effort of the young people witnessed during the 2012
Paralympic games. Bouts of self discipline are not good enough and sustained
effort remains a challenge.
I am also revising what I have
written over what has become a week, instead of a day, to consider another
orchestrated assault on the Corbyn leadership of the Labour Party, although
this is not to minimise the issue of racism in relation to Jewish people
which is sometime conflated with the
political actions of the state of Israel. I will speak further on this and on
the procedure to remove the debilitating cataracts.
I have need again to record my
day. Cryptic references in a pocket diary do not provide triggers for good remembering
later and I no longer keep up the online
daily events on Microsoft since the format was changed. I am doing this in
three forms although for how long I can maintain the discipline required
remains a good question. This also
applies to my daily diet and to move my weight down from below 17 stone to at
least below 16 and half by the autumn annual diabetes check so that the blood
sugar will also be down and not require medication.
The first form of record
keeping is by hand as I attempt to write in such a way that I can read back, and hopefully others may if anyone
comes to do so if the material is not destroyed on my end of self-aware
physical consciousness. Secondly, there will be the stream typed, printed and
retained within the artwork volumes including that to be regarded as
confidential with the parameters of the lifetimes of anyone mentioned, and
thirdly an edition part of the Google blogs, and in this instance part of a
blog about my most recent two visits to London and the rediscovery of the
remarkable coast line here in South Shields and Whitburn and on to Seaburn and Roker in Sunderland.
I begin the look back with the
day visit to London on May 22nd. I
was confronted with the deterioration in my left eye when I attempted to read
bus numbers on arrival outside of Kings Cross station on my way to the National
Theatre for a revival of a musical play about the life in a Soho club during
World War II, or “The War”, as it will remain known to me from my direct
experience of the bombings, the over 140
V1 and V2 rockets which exploded in the Croydon and its airport area where we lived close by in Wallington.
Time has become intermingled
with distant and recent past and the present, as I
concentrate on my personal and public records of the months between going to
Birmingham to successfully participate in a Home Office arranged child care course leading to the
Central Training Council in Child Care recognition as a trained office, and
ending on my first day as child care and court officer for Oxfordshire
Children’s Department over a full year from the autumn of 1963 to the autumn of
1964. The book is about my origins and
how I became an extremist activist according to the principles of Satyagraha
and then in 1987 was invited to become an ad hoc Inspector of Social services
by the Department of Health signing the Official Secrets Acts as the means of
helping to establish the new Drug Advisory Service. The focus is on the difference between
coincidences and connections.
For this work and which
must be document and record based
given the shortcomings of memories from over fifty years ago, I am going
through all the paper records I have kept in a miscellany of boxes or processed as part of the
Artmanjosephgrech 101 project. This task in relation to those on the second floor of my present home will
completed later to day
This writing commenced at ten
past ten on Monday July 30, 2018 and it
is now 11.20 on August 5th. On that first day I had already
completed the defrosting of freezer and returned the remaining frozen items
from the two most recently purchased cool bags. After a light lunch at midday the
intention was to go to the nearby Morrisons for a refill . I was up early at 7
completing just over 7 hours on the sleep apnoea breathing machine. This has
become my daily target after five years of use although on a day to day basis
the range is between five and nine hours with going up to bed more often around
1am. In preparation for the eye procedure I decided to change the face mask as the straps of the full face
mask crossed just below the eyes. Fortunately, there is new half face mask which avoid fitting
directly into the nose which used to become regularly
blocked. This is more comfortable and seems more effective in directing air into my lungs. Staff at the Newcastle
could not have been more helpful. Understanding the new car parking
arrangements at the Freeman’s was a problem and I begin to understand the three
levels of traffic flow being planned at
Silverlink from the Tyne Tunnel and
which seems to be taking years.
Fortunately, the road works at Heworth have been completed and after a recent visit to the Tyneside Film
theatre I did a brief tour to see the new developments at Hebburn with housing being on the former Reyrolles site
and a major development underway at the Mountbatten centre.
I watched episode three of the
Unforgotten the latest police drama serial on ITV a week ago in which the
conspiracy between four men pretend they
were not involved in the murder of a teenager whose body was discovered when
motorway road was being worked on in London where the four men had lived within
half a mile in the Holland Park area of West London. I arranged to see the film
Hotel Artemis at the Bolden Cineworld at 20.50 the only showing of the day
something which before rthe cataract
removal I would not have been able to do because the bright lights of oncoming
traffic affected me greatly. The film was a disappointment. I found it
boring although it was good to see Jodi Foster in the leading role.
My day visit to London had
been on Thursday 22 May 2018 travelling standard class in the quiet coach B of the 8.25 from
Newcastle arriving 11.39 at cost of £36 65 with an elders Travel Card, the
price of first class ticket which would have included an English breakfast and
drinks had I consider making the trip
some six months before. I left the car in the Metro station car park at South
Shields paying the fee of £3 for the day, only to find when I eventually
arrived back that because of the wind the ticket had reversed, and penalty
ticked had been issued. This was later
cancelled on submission of the purchased ticket which had blown over as I
closed the door. I had to pay the single fare of £3.40 to Newcastle because my
Metro pass become valid from 9.30.
I travelled back on the 19.30
and decided against the provided seat in the crowded quiet coach and found an
unbooked table for four in the end coach although I was only alone for a short
while when three ladies in their finery which included the latest inexpensive
fashion in head dress, one hesitates to call them hats, arrived from attending
an afternoon tea party at Buckingham Palace and one sat on the aisle seal seat
opposite with her two companions on at adjacent table until another seat became
vacant and she was able to join them.
They departed at Durham City where there were
members of St John’s Ambulance service and where in the 1990’s I had
undertaken an assessment for a grant on behalf of her National Lottery
Charities Board. By coincidence yesterday morning as I was going through boxes
to find documentation required for my book for publication of the events in
1963 and 1964 I came across one of the manuals provided by the NLCB. At 11 I shall return to going through
the boxes, reorganising the contents into new boxes according to subjects,
deciding which I will keep here at the house for subsequent processing into
the artwork project and ready to be
placed in a self-store. This reminds
that I need to prepare a brief letter to cover the contents of a posting,
so I will end the present writing.
The purpose of the day visit
to London was to see a revival of play by Rodney Ackland- Absolute Hell. Ackland had made his name with
several West end productions of his own plays and adaptations of work from Proust and, Walpole and to Somerset Maughan.
As a screen writer he had been nominated for an Oscar for the script the 49th
Parallel. His 1950’s- work The Pink Room
attempted to provide an entertaining but accurate picture of life in a Soho
club of which several had become notorious because of what went on and who went
there. My interest in Soho was initially
because I had become a regular visitor to traditional jazz clubs soon after I
left school in 1955 and then over 1960 1961 had visited and worked casually at
the Partisan Coffee House which was accommodated on the ground floor and
basement of the building which housed
the New Left Book club, and which is now only known for the building next to
Private Eye. Last year I had made a another day trip on a Saturday to see an
exhibition of photographs and posters of the Partisan, having in the morning
visited the site of the ten coffee bars, restaurants and club which by
friend Ann Haldane was said to have visited
before her continuing unsolved
murder in Dean Street Soho in October 1963 despite being directly witnessed by
some 20 people according to police testimony at the Inquest and who reported
some 70 individuals were around her as she died and they arrived. She had died
across the road from notorious night
club patronised by film stars, artists, political and social leaders while a witness provided evidence from another known for
decades because of gay debauchery, alcohol
and substance abuse.
On the evening of August 1st,
I watched Murder in Soho on the unsolved murder of the internationally famous
British Boxer Freddie Mills, a murder which occurred in 1965 less than two years after that of Ann and
therefore much of the context of the programme is the same in terms of the
description Soho as a battleground
between different crime gangs and that
many of the police who
operated were open to financial
inducements to look the other way or present events in way acceptable to others
and this included the institutions of
the state. The 90 minute programme is
excellent as it went only as far as the
available information, recognising that because of the death of almost everyone involved at that
time who could make a significant contribution it is unlikely the truth can be
now established other than that he was murdered and did not commit suicide and
that he was not involved in the murder of a number of prostitutes which appears
to have become believed because of a
book written by a former criminal. However, the senior investigating officer
stated that Mills was never a suspect nor was the vehicle he drove listed among
the thousands that were known to have been in the Hammersmith area. There is
Wikipedia article on the Hammersmith murders which lists the various suspects
and the books that have been written. The programme did not deal with the
allegations that have been made that Mills was bisexual and a sadist and this
aspect conflicts with the memory of their father by his two daughters and step
son.
It is known that Mills came
from a poor background and showed talent as a prize fighter before WW2 joining one of the touring boxing
booths where professional fighters took on members of the public and fought
other professionals. He became British Champion and continued to participate in
professional fights as a serving member of the RAF regiment, although participating in the freeing of
Europe he did not box for year before a
professional fight in 1945 for the World championship in which he was ill
equipped but captured the national imagination.
He then gained the world title against all expectation and became the
first personality with a following beyond those interested in professional
boxing. He was then able to reinvent
himself participating in television shows such as the Six Five Special with Pete
Murray who appeared in the programme looking his present age. Mills also appeared as an actor in a dozen films including two of
the Carry On series. The programme suggested that his bouts of depression could
have been caused by brain damage from the fighting and/or by having to adjust to
losing his celebrity status over time.
Mills also opened a Chinese
restaurant before Soho Chinatown, as it is known to day, developed and which he converted into a night club patronised by criminals as well as
personalities, getting into financial difficulties which has become the main
reason for his murder. The programme reviewed the possibilities of a contract
killing by the Krays, the Richardson’s, one of whom appeared in the programme,
and the USA Mafia who were attempting to
move in on London at that time, and this
was suggested by one former associate on camera and during a meeting with the
Mills son in law. Motives included the failure to pay protection and a threat
to talk to Fleet street about what was going on if the club was not provide the
finances necessary.
The programme also explained
that Mills had married the divorced wife of another boxer who had a son, and
that extraordinarily Mills, his new wife, her ex-husband and son had spent the
official honeymoon in South Africa together. It was the son in law who found
Mills in the back seat of his car at the back of the night Clun . His daughters
who remember their father with great
affection said he had kissed them good night at bed time, saying he was looking
forward to seeing them in the morning. Evidence
was produced from experts involved at the time and subsequently who
explained that Mills had been shot in the eye with it open something which
suggested murder and there was no previous example of someone taking their life
shooting themselves into an open eye.
The evidence has all the hallmarks of either exceptional police incompetence
aided by a coroner, or deliberate cover up. At least the children were brought
some consolation by the belated
induction of their father into the British Boxing Hall of Fame although there
is no physical Hall in the UK as with the
crime infested rest of Boxing there are competing world Hall of Fame as there are World Titles. There are
several parallels between the unsolved murder
of Mills and that of my former friend.
The original 1050’s play, the Pink Room had some twenty characters in
the style of a Chekhov drawing room, conversing about religion, politics and
life, their hopes, ambitions and relationships. Unsurprisingly its realistic
but bleak outlook was at odds with the post war optimism generated by the
Labour Government despite the years of continuing austerity which included
rationing and the ongoing black market
together with the London based Festival of Britian which had seen the
South Bank of the Thames development commence.
The critics and the national media were not impressed by the
preoccupations of individualists with
the time and money to pursue hedonistic self-interest and the work failed.
Terence Rattigan lost £3500, worth over 100K today and is said never to have
spoken to the author again
I am not surprised the
work failed at a time before the so called kitchen sink drama became
fashionable in some London theatres such as the Royal Court with the plays of
Arnold Wesker. The Readers for the Royal Court
thought the play I had submitted of interest and asked to see what else
I had created which at the time I had not. Arnold Wesker also became a Member
of Russell’s Committee 100 and contributed to the group of ex-prisoners group I chaired for the Prison Reform Society
and which published inside Story 100
ideas for Prison Reform which achieved some positives outcomes and a meeting
with then Prison’s Minister the Home Office and a debate in the House of Lords
which I attended on the floor of the House with Jane Buxton (Lady) and Margaret
Turner who wrote Gate Fever which has had something of a revival in terms of
books about prison conditions for women in Britain.
The National Theatre
production was of its usual high standard and reflected the manners and morals
of those who frequented Soho’s private clubs in the war time era. But, and it
is a big But, this is not a great work and I had hoped for a higher level of
social discourse. In this respect I must compare the writing that of
the Happy Prince , the recent film with
limited screening written, directed and starring Rupert Everet in the role of Oscar Wilde from his release from
prison to his death in Paris. Which I experienced on my weekend visit to London at rthe end of
June. I cannot wait to buy the DVD and the film script if that becomes
available. I thought the writing was better than any of Wilde’s individual
plays and very funny. I saw the film
with a small mixed band of others
at a Sunday lunch time showing at the Cineworld West India Docks.
I arrived early having set off
on what I had hoped would prove a
less Mediterranean hot day experienced
at Lords on the Saturday and with the intention of visiting the Summer
Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts.
It had also been my intention on arrival at East Croydon Station to
take the first train to Victoria and then the Victoria Line to Green Park, but
it was crushed standing only so instead I boarded the non-stop train to London
Bridge and the Jubilee line back to Green Park. This provided the opportunity
to look all-round the almost completed new London Bridge station which is now
on three levels. The Platforms are
all first floor level like most
platforms at St Pancras although there
at three different station areas and access points at that station. At London
Bridge there is a vast platform area with access down to the lowest level from
the individual platforms or from the end of the platforms to the main concourse
with retail outlets and an exit on the
west side by the Shard. At the lower
level is a long arcade of retail and food outlets still in development before
reaching the Underground station. At St Pancras there are two entrances within the
concourse to Underground because of the number of lines and a separate stairway escalator lift
entrance to the Crossrail Thames Link trains.
Despite the splendid Hotel façade to St Pancras, the euro tunnel
and domestic high speed trains in
addition to the Midlands Nottingham
standard trains. London Bridge now has the feel of one of the great modern stations of the world although my knowledge is only
from the television.
On arrival at Green Park
station I joined the main volume of people who headed directly into Green park
and alongside the park to Buckingham
Palace for the Changing of the Guard
provided by the RAF regimental band whose 100 years was to be celebrated
the following weekend. I then managed to find a shaded seat in St James Park to
eat a late breakfast sandwich and fruit thus abandoning the idea of going to
the Summer Exhibition. I have known Green Park since 1959 where I spent a month
attending a four week sales training course in Berkeley Square and which I
headed on the list of successful participates. In rthe summer of 1964 when
walking from the Norwich bus station to Norfolk County hall where I was on a
three month work placement experience with the Children’s Department, I met the
person who had finished second when he stepped into the street before me from a
restaurant where he had lunched with a local agent having become the Training
manager for the company covering Southern
Britain.
At Canary Wharf on Sunday July
20th I entered the shopping centre by the Waitrose supermarket where I bought a
bottle of Pepsi Max and then found a seat in the concourse
to drink and gather my bearings before making my way to the Cineworld
and relaxing in a comfortable chair on
the ground floor on my own and reading the Ghosts of Spain Giles Tremlett’s
important book on why the majority of the population have drawn
a line between themselves and the reality of the horrors of Franco’s Fascist
tyranny. This contrasts with the openness of the German people about their
past.
At the end of the film I found
the quietest room in the Ledger Building Wetherspoons which was full in its main area for the televised
world cup game. I had a triple Chicken feast and Carlsberg for £12.50. I then
intended to make my way back through the shopping centre and Jubilee line to London bridge and East
Croydon but on reaching Canada Place
found that the Innings of England’s
Women Team against India in the 20 20 the way competition with New Zealand was
being shown on a large screed the other
side of the fountains. Without the
sound and unable to read the score I had to rely on others watching to
establish the position and then spent a very enjoyable hour while children
played in the fountains with parental approval and supervision until a security
guard decided to put their enjoyment to an
end.
England after their usual slow
start in the competition won the final game comfortably, unlike the final of 50
over an innings one day World Cup final
which I had experience at Lords last year which proved one the great exciting
finals ever seen at the Home of Cricket.
Because of deteriorating eye sight, I have not been to
see much cricket this season, but this changed with the acquisition of a pair
of powerful but heavy binoculars and,
although later than usual, I had
managed purchase seats in the
Mound Stand under cover and on an aisle for the Lords one day final this year
between Hampshire and Kent, two southern
teams after Nottingham, Surrey and Yorkshire had all missed out. I decided in
advance to support the Kent Spitfires, having enjoyed visits to watch Durham at
Canterbury and Maidstone, just as well as I was surrounded by Kent supporters in substantial numbers. It was
the first visit to Lords of the man and his male companion the next seats.
They had also travelled by bus from
Victoria Station but were unaware of the Wetherspoons Willow Walk on the other
side of the road from the bus stop. Last year it boasted as being one of a handful of pubs that had exchanged the unlimited filter black coffee machine to one with options of
white, flat white, black decaffeinated and Latte (I think). The
breakfast coffee deal here is £2 more than that at the Wouldhave by Morrison’s
in South Shields where they also now have one the new coffee machines.
Kent were considered the
underdogs and early on it became evident why as the bowling attack was unable to take a wicket
until 136, the second at 193 and the third at 270 and three of the opening four
batsmen scoring over 70 with Rossouw 125 and Northeast not out 75, steering
the closing overs to a total of 330 for
7. Kent were never in it after that and all out for 269 at the start of the 47th
over. Although I was sitting in the shade, it was hot and a feature of Lords
this year is the provision water taps built into the side of two stands in each
side of the ground. I had to find a coffee cup having not brought a plastic
bottle or drinking cup with me.
Sadly, this will be my only
Visit to Lords this year because although Middlesex and Durham are in the
second division together, they are only playing one game at the Riverside
Chester le Street. I timed my departure
brilliantly at the 45th over arriving at the bus stop coinciding with a bus to
Victoria station and then finding a
train to Brighton waiting with a
seat available before its departure
minutes available.
I have previously written of
my journey to London on the Friday and back home on the Monday. On the Friday
evening my usual haunt for meal, The Wetherspoon’s, George was full to bursting
so I made my way to other Wetherspoon located in what used to be the Grants
department store where there was only a limited menu available (The Milan bar) and enjoyed
burger, chips and a non-alcoholic drink.
My car was out of action for
two weeks with a failure of the electrical control unit which occurred as I
arrived England’s I day game against Australia at the Riverside and where this
year members were not only banished to
the indoor cricket centre where free
instant coffee or tea was provided but
we could not purchase seats in the members balcony. I was joined at one of
table by two lecturers at Durham University one of whom had cataracts removed
replaced by reading lens fitted which meant he continued need glasses for
distance including driving. Fearing the worst when I had tried to move the car
around to face the right way for a quick departure, I watched the first 50
years, and then returned to the vehicle and contacted my emergency breakdown
service and was then quickly contacted by a local service who arrived within 20 minutes and hoped to
get the vehicle started. Appreciating the problem was a more serious one I was
taken with the vehicle to outside the
garage which had only recently serviced the vehicle a month before.
On Monday July 30th
I continued with the sorting of papers, documents and records on the second
floor work with a score of boxes some of which will be amalgamated if
additional contents to make an individual box is not established. I have been
through each box individually and then processed initially some new material
which included a number of conferences
papers and reports which I will go through at some soon. I prepared a salad for lunch, then wash and shave etc before going out for
the freezer restock. The post included a £7 voucher if £50 at was spent at Tesco which was useful as a credit card statement
from Sainsbury Bank also arrived which included the £720 for the new central
electronic unit which kept my car off the road for 2 weeks.
It was 5pm after a quick cup
tea and a chocolate dessert treat from
the monster shop expedition which
also enabled a journey along the coast road from South Shields to Seaburn where
there is a Morrisons petrol garage where I fill to just below £30 to enable a card swipe before
going the large Tesco where rhe sub total was £75, but I paid only £57/50
because of the £7 discount vouchers and other offers with in effect a free bottle wine and side dish
for two is free as part of the “10 fine dine deal. I have already enjoyed 2 Indian curries with
rice , onion bhaji and naan for £4. On return and after the dessert I enjoyed
the prepared prawn salad sitting out at
the back before posting a letter and going to the local morrisons for a water
melon, cherries, roast potatoes, potato wedges and a pack of frozen chicken
breast (for £5.50) much better value and more convenient that the cook in
a bag chicken I had set to purchase for
Sunday which I have as a roast and then
break up and create curries, pasta and stir fry’s. Total expenditure was just over £100 for the
day and set up with main meals for a month! I am enjoying the first of the
chicken breast pieces later this evening with roast potatoes and mini corn on the
cob. On my visit to the Freeman’s before
the cataract procedure I had visited the on the way Sainsbury for petrol and to
return their recently delivered frozen vegetable packs which were being
recalled by all the supermarkets because of a dangerous potential contamination.
I then did not feel like
further writing so watched the local news on both ITN and BBC learning that
there was some flying in the Sunderland
air show on the Saturday before the hailstorm
and a little on the Sunday although the only indication it was going on
from the vantage of South Shields was a Sea King rescue helicopter and the sound of a jet plane. I had not left the house until
mid-afternoon and the continuous light rain end with patch of blue along the
coast. The grass looked fresh and damp but very green despite the drought, so I
kept to the paths as descending the hill through North Marne Park. I could hear
Atomic Kitten but noted the absence of the usual number of cars parked along the
length of the park. Crossing, Ocean Road which leads from the Metro and bus
stations and into South Marine Park I noted the absence of motor vehicles
usually tail to tail, and of walkers to the
sea front, and the park was almost deserted instead of the hundreds usually enjoying the small steam train which circles the
boating lake, who sit outside the café who picnicking, crown the two safe play
areas or occupy all the available
provided seating. There appeared to be
two or three couples outside the café,
but all the seat was vacant.
In Bents Park where the four
free concerts are held each July there appeared to be under 5000 people
compared the 20000 said to have crammed in the previous Sunday for the Fizz
which includes three original members of
the European Song Contest winners Buck’s Fizz
plus the addition of Bobby McVeigh who were followed by Scouting for
Girls. Moreover, I was able to find a seat by another elder who I discovered was also an outpatient at
the Sunderland Eye Infirmary. On Wednesday I discovered the tickets for a Bucks
Fix show at Newcastle City Hall in the
1980’s and must to see if a programmer
was purchased.
A slight rain occurred so I decide to make my way to the
covered Walkway by the Amphitheatre, my
original purpose, where the Bright Street Swing band were performing two sets
between 3.30 and 5.30. I saw a former colleague who had become a Councillor and
Mayor and was also a member of the same Labour Party ward, so we talked about an event at the last Council meeting
which attracted the attention of the Shield’s Gazette. I also gave a wave to
the Council Leader who appeared outside
the event control office. The numbers
were low because the event is free. People do not travel if the weather is poor
and leave if they are not entertained. For rthe past two years or so it is
possible guarantee a seat close to the
stage with the purchase of a £5 advance ticket. I would have like to have
stayed for Heather Small but had not come prepared for continuing wet. I
arrived as the Swing band ended its
first set so had a chat with a couple who were visiting from Durham City. I
stayed for whole of the second set which included favourites such as Stomping at the Savoy and
a more recent work Fat Cats, created out
of anger at the Bankers.
Before the cataract removal
and when the car was out of action I walked from the house as far as the Sand
Dancer which I once visited at least once a week in the 1990’s for an evening
meal around 5.30 and watched the cross North Sea ferry depart the mouth of the
River Tyne from the birth on the north
bank on its way to a European Capital city, presently Amsterdam on a daily
basis. The previous regular sailings to Bergen in Norway have been reduced to a
special sailing at Christmas time. The big change on rthe river time is the
establishment of births for luxury large cruise liners just across from where
Ocean Road and the High Street reach the river by passenger ferry crossing to
North Shields. People still come to view the arrival and departure of these
giant sea going townships bring visitors to Metro Gateshead and Newcastle
Shopping centres, the Newcastle nightlife and to see the remains of Hadrian’s wall.
Following the cataract
removal, I made the same journey from my
home through the parks and then the promenade walk continuing to the Water’s
Edge which became Mango’s at the Water Edge and a major development providing a
range of food, sport bar activities and a separate Fish and chip sales bar for
those visiting this end of the mile long wide and dog free sands. Alas this development is closed .
My usual walk is to commence from North Marine Park where the
open grass from the roadway where my home is located provides an uninterrupted view out across the mouth of
the River Tyne. Occasionally, I turn left and into the tree and hedge walkway
passing the safe children’s play
area going down the steep steps to Ocean
Drive where there is the Yacht Club, the
Little Haven Hotel and the “Conversation” artwork by Juan Manoz, 22 sculptures
each a quarter of a ton and then along
the sea wall promenade to the pier which is one mile in length and completed in
1895 before climbing the steps back to the grass bank or continuing to the
Ocean Road end of the Park and back.
Less often I will continue at rhe high level to the River entry control centre
and to one of two pub restaurants
remaining open and then back to where I live passing the Arbela Roman Fort which was the supply fort for Hadrian’s Wall
on the north bank and where there are free tours during the summer on
Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. On Sunday August 12th enthusiasts can participate in Gladiator
training for £39.
I have not walked the pier
this year or had a meal at one of the two Italian food restaurants since the
cost of a three course meal, soup or potato skins, pizza or pasta, ice cream or
coffee was £3.95, and it is has now risen to £5.95. Usually I turn right on the grass bank and
descend through the various walkways before crossing the road into South Marine Park or continuing down to
the sea front and the Ocean Amusement Park on the other side of the Best Western Sea
Hotel alongside the Westhovian Theatre and
the still new to me indoor leisure centre with its tradition lane pool , the separate large leisure pool and
separate training pool, fitness centre, sauna and jacuzzi. When I first arrived to work for South Tyneside in 1974 there was
a plan to build such a centre and it was
another forty years before the
plan was realised!
On recent walks I have crossed
the road early and walked into the park to where the pathway meets the small steam train circuit around the boating
lake with its small island ducks and the
diminished number of swans for nesting. Because of the good weather it is
unusual to find a vacant seat at
weekends but last Sunday I appeared to be alone apart from a few
enjoying afternoon tea in the distant café set back from the lake. The train
had not been brought out for its two circuit rides for £1.50 a participant and
no one was playing in either safe play
areas, one for the younger children and
the other for the older and adventurous. There is a similar indoor facility as
part of the Dunes Centre which is located on coast sea side of the promenade.
In addition to the play area there is the Sambucco, one of the Italian style
restaurants previously mentioned, a separate restaurant and bar which also now
serves Carvery meals on Sundays, indoor bowling, billiard table and arcade
amusements.
Five years ago, several
millions of European Euros were spent transforming South Marine park back to
its original Victorian splendour as
detailed maps had been stored
together with lists of all the plantings and their locations, designs for the
bandstand and of the walking ways. The Park rise steeply towards the town
centre and taking this route provide splendid views out to sea back across to
North Maine and Across to North Bents park which is used for major events and
where 20000 people can be accommodated. The adjacent caravanning and camping
centre have also been transformed with large and luxury fixed lodges. The vast
areas between the caravan site, Gypsies Green and the New Crown Hotel (now a
Marston’s, and I must check to see if it is the same 2 for1 menu at rhe White
post on the road from Doncaster to
Nottingham just outside Farnsfield been
divided between the football
pitches and for summer overspill Parking.
It has also been a couple of years since I walked through the Amusement Park to
the first in the beachside roadways and where immediately behind the Amusement Park
is the all year round football and net ball courts and the skate board
adventure park. The Amusement Park is now
limited to one main entrance for safety and security reasons. The to sit
in fish and chip restaurants, (the Blue Marlin is one) together with the
restaurant along and separately from the
Sea Hotel offer fish and chips at just below £7 for eat out and which appears
to have become standard although more inexpensive
that the fish and chip bars away from the
promenade area apart for Coleman’s in Ocean Road where Foreign Secretary
and one time local Member of Parliament, David Miliband entertained a Tony
Blair cabinet. This national prize winning restaurant is usually packed
despite the greater cost as is its separate
take out centre. Even, more upmarket is the sophisticated Colemans Seafood
restaurant now on the foreshore at Gypsy Green. There are very mixed views
expressed about the food and staff at the Sand Dancer these days, but it is
very popular with the younger clientele
as a place to sit outside with friends
and drink and for one of the twice a
week live music session. I have never
visited the Rattler which has a railway carriage, built on bar and function room
together with ownership of the car park, and has always been dog friendly. The
special offer and displayed menu have
disappeared but there is a notice that
the unlimited vegetables carvery has also arrived here and last Sunday there
was the sound of live music from the function
room as I passed early evening. Similarly, the special offers and
outside displayed menu has gone from the new Sundial which is now part of the Dunes undertaking. This used to be a well
patronised family special offer restaurant but also appears to be aiming more up
market and twenties something clientele. There was a good local band playing
outside for an hour on a
Sunday evening after the end of the Services support day and where this
year I missed the honour parade of bikers and scooter groups. It is important
to underline the need for the sea front businesses to make enough during the
summer weekends and school holiday to survive over the Winter.
Despite the London pressure to
destroy the local Council and its services by the Tory government, everything
has been done to attract visitors by the provision all year round facilities,
upgrading the parks but most of all by developing and maintaining the beach
since it was able to buy out the contract to remove sand which the dreadful
Progressive Council sold off during their brief years in control before I
arrived with the reorganisation of local government. Much of the funds have
come from the European Community Social Fund and another grant was obtained
recently for a makeover of North Marine
Park like that at South Marine and where
added has been some artwork of interest and value as there is now along the promenade also on the riverside
which I shall leave to another day.
It merits underling that the
beach is one of the best in the UK always with parking available across the
coast road or beach side most weekdays
The weather
has been mixed, yesterday it was
very hot but with a good breeze
at Chester le Street Riverside for the vital 2020 cricket game between Durham
and Northants who they crushed
after losing the toss and made to bat
first with a total of 170 demolishing
the visitors because of having Iran Tahir rthe short game specialist
originally from Pakistan but now for South Arica and where he finished the evening 4 wickets for 14 runs. This take
Durham to the top of rthe 20 20 Northern division with a straight winning run
of 5 games which they may not be able to keep up tonight at Worcester. Last Saturday with Ben Stokes in the team
they had an excellent win against Nottinghamshire just before a great hail
thunder and lightning storm as I drove hone missing out the final balls for the
7 wicket win. The unexpected wins were a bonus as I watched cricket for the
first without glasses in seventy years. Alas Durham lost a very close game at
Worcester less than 24 hours later, but
Ben’s four wickets helped achieve an unexpected win again India in the first
Test at Edgbaston which is close to where I spend an academic year at
Birmingham University 1963/1964. As I never
tire of reminding a met schoolboy Ben with his father when he was
brought to Durham from Cumbria where his Australian father worked as a Rugby
coach, to participate in a Durham Summer school. We had a conversation about
the sacrifices parents make to support
the ambitions and dreams of their children!
The cricket highlight of the
week was the rare 20 20 game between Surrey and Middlesex at the Oval when
there was an unbelievable display of
power batting by individuals from both
teams. The Irish batsman for Middlesex made 109 from 58 balls to set Surrey a
target of 222. The Australian Aron Finch
who opened for Middlesex hit 8 sixes and 11 fours for his 117 not out from 52
balls and was supported by Roy who scored 84 from 37 balls with 7 sixes and 7
fours. Surrey reached the required total
in 16 overs and with the loss of only 1 wicket.
I first noticed a change in
vision quality on a family visit to the Midlands a year ago because of a sun
shining bright I had lowered visor and noticed this brought a clearer definition. I also seemed to be more
affected by the lights of oncoming vehicles at night. In the autumn I attended
a comprehensive Diabetes review and mentioned the change so that an addition
photo was taken of each and the formal
result passed to the GP indicated that Cataracts had developed in both eyes
which required reporting to driving licences where the key issue was the
ability to read vehicle number plates. I therefore made an appointment with an
optician and was provided with a new
pair of distance glasses. My existing reading glasses remain good although the
nature of sight meant that I could read without the need for glasses if the
page was held closely. I advised driving
licences and received written permission to continue driving. I also made an
appointment with my newly assigned general practitioner from the large practice
which has taken over the single practice of the GP to whom I was assigned when
moving to live in South Shields. Based on what I disclosed he said that further
deterioration was within a wide band of six months to six years. It was not
until March on another family visit to
the Midlands that I appreciated the extent of deterioration in my left eye.
By then I had come to
appreciate that the partners in the new practice together with the individual
GPs employed, published the areas of expertise and interest, including one
partner who combined Diabetes with Ophthalmology, so I enquired, and I was told
that I could make an appointment, and took the first date available which was
early one morning. He immediate referred me to see a consultant from the
internationally recognised Eye Hospital
at Sunderland and I was invited to a full assessment at an outpatient clinic
held in South Shields. Procedure in the
left eye was recommended and because of the resultant difference between the
two eyes, the second eye should be treated a month later. I was then advised
of the two dates in July and August.
I was repeatedly reassured
about the success and impact of the procedure, but the large print information
booklet provided listed the potential complications and their occurrence. Since
childhood I have tried to avoid hospital based treatment having persuaded by
care mother to bring home from a hospital while waiting for my adenoids and tonsils to be removed. When
many decades later my care mother was admitted to hospital and died three weeks
later in circumstances which led to three years of going through the then
separate complaints machinery, my anxiety returned although this then
contrasted to care my birth mother received during the last weeks of her long
life at 100 years. Despite the
reassurances and that the procedure would take 30 minutes at the maximum and
that the odds for complications were
comparatively small, I remained anxious until the day before when a
conversation with a woman on the check out at Morrison was most reassuring.
I also appreciated the support
given by being driven to the Infirmary arriving in good time for the schedule
2pm appointment and it was not long after that I was called and sat in a chair
which later was lowered so I could lay
flat for the procedure. My existing
glasses were measured to establish the
replacement lens required and the eyes numbed. The process clearly explained,
and I found myself surprisingly
relaxed. Afterwards my companion was
invited to join the arrangements for discharge and self-administer after care.
I have never been good at remembering
oral delivered information and stopped attending lectures at one point unless
there was opportunity to make notes at a
pace which meant I could read back what I had written After collecting the two kinds of eye drops, one for three days
and the other three times a day for a month, from thr pharmacy at hospital I
went out into bright sun light and was emotionally affected by the sharpness
of the vision and the brightness of coloured. Although the right eye has remained at level first problem
detected a year ago if I place one hand over the treated eye the colours are
significantly less bright in addition to distance vision. I did not experience after paid or headaches,
so the pain killers purchased proved
unnecessary.
Getting the drops in the eye
has been difficult because I now need
close work lens for the treated eye which obviously cannot be used
when the drops are needed. This afternoon when I went to collect the
prescription for the ongoing treatment I discovered there had been a mix up in
communication but fortunately a doctor was in attendance and the receptionist
arranged for the prescription to be authorised and communicated to the
adjacent pharmacy so I was able to
collect so that if the original supply runs out over the weekend, the
replacement is ready. I am looking forward to the second procedure
in three weeks.
I have left until the end,
progressing from important and everyday personal experience to an issue which
affects everyone in the UK, the power of the state, the establishment
institutions, our future position in the world, our political stability, economic development, and the
nature of democracy individual freedoms, particularly what can be said in a
public way including interactive discourse. When a consensus among those with
existing power is threatened, the natural tendency is to take measure to defend
and this involves more control and less freedom although in the more
sophisticated and developed states the swing can be violently to the right or
the left.
The UK is a special
instance. It is only since the General
Election of 1945 and the Atlee Labour Government, when in decade of war brought
austerity the nation was prepared collectively to accept several social
changing development in economic management, education and social welfare and
care. This was achieved without altering
the basic structure of state with its heredity
head of state who combines the role with head of the Protestant
churches with the English Archbishop of
Canterbury dominant and the Anglican
Bishop also influential beyond all other religion in the Upper House of Lords.
In post WW2 Britain several issues have threatened the foundations of the British
way of doing things. The first was the rebellion of Catholics in Northern
Ireland against the tyranny of some
Protestant Unionist who openly boasted
of using whatever government money came their way to retain power and
keep Catholics out any form of meaningful power. The combined efforts of a USA
president and a Catholic leaning Tony Blair brought about and end to the blood
shedding on the streets of the offshore
island “province” and on the mainland island, but the tribalism involved is
deep rooted with the current dominant protestant political party keeping the
minority conservative party in power.
The decision to devolve power to the National
Parliament of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales had led to significantly
different outcomes with that in Northern Ireland dependent on the two leaders
from opposite religious divides striking a working relationships which developed into friendship and mutual
respect. The ability to strike a new balance has proved impossible so far and
the prospects are not good. The Protestants fear a Jeremy Corbyn
premiership.
In Scotland the Nationalists
prospered because of a conservative tribalistic power holding Labour party and
the failure of the independence referendum led to a huge power balancing in the
British house of Commons in 2015 with 60 members reduced in 2017 because
of the effective leadership from the Tories in Scotland and
the re-emergence of the Corbyn left. The next General Election should see a
reduction in Tory representation and an
increase in that of Labour. In Wales
the position remains different with a centrist
Labour leadership in control of the Welsh Assembly and strong anti-Corbyn Members
of the House of Commons with Stephen Kinnock, the son of the former Labour leader and the curious, in
the sense of odd leadership contender against Corbyn when the majority of
Labour MPs, in the House of Commons passed a vote of no confidence and forced a
leadership election.
Corbyn’s astonishing and unexpected personal performance in the
2017 General Election created a situation which the hard core of opponents
within the PLP cannot accept and are now mounting guerrilla offensive through
fear they will deselected in the event
another General Election as the power balance shifts away from the PLP
back to the Trade Unions and the constituency parties with the enlarged
membership.
Underlying all these issues
remains the power imbalance between men and women and where there has been slow
change despite a female head of state.
Mrs Thatcher was also a traditionalist and anti-feminists at core. There was
progress during the Blair years despite the main offices of state being held by
men, but because of Blair centrist management of new PLP members there was no emergence of a
socialist leaning woman Member, Mrs May
has also successfully alienated former
and current women member of her cabinet on both wings of the Brexit and
Remain wings of the party.
The emergence of Jeremey
Corbyn appears to have been a mistake
following the failure of Ed Miliband at the 2015 General election on the left
defeating his centrist brother for the Party leadership who opted to create a
new life in the USA but be suspect with
one eye on a return should the opportunity arise. David was an excellent Member of Parliament
for South Shields and when he telephoned for my support in the 2010 leadership
election I commented that it would be excellent for the town and region if he
became successful, following on for Tony Blair at Sedgefield. This was not
about policies but the politics of power and directing resources to a region
and local community which has always suffered being at one extremity of England, and which became
worse with Scottish devolution and the
need to prevent the break up of the union, the national interest and the
greater good combined. On a different basis I welcome his work to minimise the damage of Brexit and
unlike some political colleagues I do not get upset because earlier this
year he shared a platform with the
Liberal Democrats leaders Nick Clegg and Vince Cable and Tories such as
Niki Morgan and Sir John Major. On September 28 he will be in conversation with
Sir John Major at Harton Academy sponsored
by the Port of Tune Authority, I would have applied for seat if I was
not already going to the Civil Hall in Newcastle for a celebration of Our
Finest Hour.
I also understand and
share his sympathy for the position of
Israel not just because of what happened
to those of Jewish beliefs under Fascism during the last century but
because of the history of their persecution. Only recently when having my DNA
checked for confirmation of Ancestral origins
was I surprised to find a small percentage of Ashkenazi Jewishness and during the two years. But
as the statement from Jewish groups
from around world the world explains in
today’s Independent newspaper (August 5th) explains opposition
to all those who criticise Jews for
being Jews is not the same as criticising a Government of the state of Israel
for its policies and behaviour towards a state of Palestine where the majority
of present members of the Hosue of
Commons voted for the British government to recognise. The present government
of Israel knowing that Jeremy Corbyn
will recognise Palestine as an independent state appears to have mounted a
campaign to prevent this happening, even if it means interfering in the
internal political business of British
democracy, albeit by firing up those
within the Parliamentary Labour Party opposed to Mr Corbyn and his policies and
from self-interest. Because the future
of the Tory Party, the Lib Dems in England and the Scottish nationalists
together with the Protestant hard liners in Northern Ireland is also threatened by Corbyn in the next
general election, a perfect storm of
pressure is being created during the Parliamentary recess with several
objectives all of which are against the immediate and longer best interests of the majority of the British
people. Their most pressing concern is
that with the likelihood that the ballot for nine members elected by the
membership to represent them on the National Executive this will not only
reinforce Jeremy’s position as leader but will herald action to make the
Parliamentary Labour Party also reflect
the interests of the Membership as it has become.
The most significant issue
directly affecting the future welfare of everyone in the UK is to leave the
political structure of the European Economic Community about which the majority
of the eligible voting population agreed but retain membership of the Common
market and Customs union. This should
split the right wing of Tory party to join up with their obnoxious counterparts in the UK and Europe.
Jeremy and the Leadership also need to work tirelessly to prevent those on left
who put ideology before the interests of
people now from gaining dominating power within any government. The
conditions are good for a substantial shift in the power structure as it was in
1945 when against expectation Atlee and a socialist leaning government came to
power against all expectations and in economic conditions far worse than
Britains position to day. In this respect the approach of the Corbyn Shadow
government has been sound as is understandable the position of those who want
to retain the status quo and to achieve this by a second general vote if it
cannot be achieved within parliament.
The gloves have come off and
to mix metaphors, people are beginning to show their true colours, Predicting
the outcome would be foolish. I do not rule out the Prime Minister succeeding
in getting the rest of Europe to agree the substance of the Chequers plan from
fear the alternative will be worse and then find it is unacceptable for very different reasons to a majority in the
Commons and an overwhelming majority in the Hosue of Lords. What happens then
is the issue with calls for a National Government, a new centre Party, a
General election, possibly with mandatory reselection of Labour Members of
Parliament beforehand, with a significant number of present PLP members
standing as independents or in some form of loose alliance.
Now to get on with research and
record keeping but with one eye also on the European competitions being held in
Scotland and with the Athletics during the week at Berlin.
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