Hethersett's Come and Try Evening and a Tax on Getting Hot

Last night we had an excellent come and try sports evening on Hethersett Memorial Playing Field.

Well over 100 people - mainly youngsters - took part in a variety of free activities from archery and athletics to rounders, football, cricket, petanque and bowls. The event is something of a warm up for Sport in the Park on June 23rd which will feature well over 20 themed sports throughout the day.

I had the pleasure of working with Active Norfolk in arranging the Come and Try Event. Last year's inaugural event was a wash out with heavy winds, lashing rain and cold ruining the evening. Last night it was warm and that made all the difference. So thanks to everyone who supported the event and all the clubs that organised activities.

Today it's off to Norwich Theatre Royal to see the modern ballet "I've Got Rhythm." To let you into a secret - I really don't like ballet but I do like the music of George Gershwin.

Then tonight it's back to running club hoping that my calf and ankle will hold up as we are now getting towards the 20 minute running mark that will be needed for the two mile run the square event which is also part of the village open weekend.

Huge amount of TV coverage over the past two or three days about the Government's U turn over what has become known as the pasty tax. The 20% VAT put on hot foods has now been withdrawn but it's not quite as it seems. Chancellor George Osborne, recently accused by one fellow MP as being an arrogant little rich boy, has decided in his infinite wisdom to climb down on what has been called the pasty tax.

But the drop in VAT only relates to pasties straight from the oven or which cool naturally. So basically if your pasty was originally hot and is still hot (by some lucky co-incidence) you won't have to pay VAT. If your pasty was originally hot but is now cool or cold you won't have to pay VAT. If, however, the pasty is kept warm all day under lights or on hot plates VAT will be added and if you have the cheek to ask staff to reheat it in a microwave then VAT will be added. That for most people is probably as clear as mud. Certainly it will lead to absolute confusion amongst shop staff. It does illustrate, however, the ridiculous rules and regulations our country is bound up in. As one cow said to another cow "it all sounds like a heap of tripe to me."

What an exceptional place Liverpool is.

After four days there I have confirmed my view that nowhere in the United Kingdom is there a city so aware of its past, so aware of its history and so aware of its heritage than Liverpool and the city centre has been brilliantly regenerated into something very special. The city has a feelgood factor to it that it is difficult to explain.

It is also brilliantly geared up to tourism with free museums and attractions and good restaurants. I would urge anybody interested in history of culture to pay a visit to what has become a thriving city.

Ferry Across the Mersey

Our train didn't leave Liverpool Lime Street until just before 2 p.m which gave us the chance to have breakfast in Albert Dock again and get the passenger ferry across the Mersey. And yes they do play that song by Gerry and the Pacemakers which I'm sure the locals who use the ferry everyday to get to and from the Wirrel get heartily fed up with hearing.

It's just a 10 minute ride to Seacombe where there isn't a great deal to see but it's the crossing that's the important part of this very short journey. To be fair you can get off at Birkenhead but we just didn't have the time to look round there.

All too quickly we ran out of time. There is so much to do in Liverpool and we are already planning our next visit which will include a visit to Birkenhead, a journey down the canal to Manchester and a tour of Anfield.

Got talking in passing to a couple of middle aged Scousers getting on the ferry. They asked where we came from:

"We come from Norwich where they have a proper football team," we said.

"I'd dig up every bloody football, rugby and cricket pitch and plant potatoes," one of them replied in the manner of Jim Royle from the Royle Family.

I thought it best not to pursue this line of discussion!!!!!

We were back home by 7.30 p.m to face the usual volume of junk mail and forms that need to be filled in!!

Magical Tours of Beatles' Homes

The Beatles are very much alive as part of Liverpool's heritage. It is impossible to  move round the city without seeing reminders of the greatness of these four Liverpool lads.

They seem to be everywhere in posters, artwork, paintings, sculptures. You would have to be blind not to see the influence that they had on this great city. Virtually every museum has a section dedicated to them in one way or another.

On our present visit I have taken the Magical Mystery Tour for the second time in three years but also have gone inside the houses of John Lennon and Paul McCartney - two very contrasting people. McCartney - the jewel of Liverpool who still has a house in the area and makes regular returns and annually presents the prizes at the LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) graduation ceremony and Lennon - the troubled soul cut off in his prime but whose legend has grown since his murder in 1980.

So two very different feelings in the houses. We went on the National Trust tour which is the only way to get inside them. Started at Mendips which was the boyhood home of Lennon where he lived with his Aunt Mary (whom he always called Mimi) and Uncle George. This is a place that I have read about so many times and which was featured extensively in the excellent film Nowhere Boy. It was a strange experience to stand in the man's bedroom and try to recall the ghosts of those far off days that are getting ever further back into rock music history.

To walk in the footsteps of Lennon, McCartney, Starr et al was a sobering moment. To look at the garden where Mimi, John's mother Julia and her student lodgers would have sat in deckchairs enjoying afternoon tea was an amazing experience that somehow overshadowed the McCartney home. Ironically Lennon lived a middle class existence whereas the other three Beatles had firmly entrenched working class roots. Yet it was always Lennon who portrayed the ideals of the "Working Class Hero." McCartney's home has been restored to what it was as he grew up, although the furniture is of the time and not of the house - in other words replacements for the originals which I believe were thrown out when his father Jim moved out of the property. Slightly disappointing that the piano was one like Paul used to play and not the one he actually played.

If you visit Liverpool you just have to immerse yourself in Merseybeat and the sounds of the past despite the fact that we are now half a century further on.

John, John, eeeehhhhhhe (The Sound of Sickness)

A bit of a broken night's sleep thanks to some idiot outside our apartment (thankfully we are three storeys up) screaming the name John over and over again and then being violently sick in the courtyard - another Scouse night out.

Another very warm and sunny day where the temperatures soared. Our climate is amazing. We can go from heavy rain and virtually Arctic temperatures to heat and sun within almost a matter of what seems minutes but what is usually overnight.

Anyway will cover our visit to Liverpool in more depth in subsequent blogs. Suffice it to say that today included a visit to the new Museum of Liverpool which was highly enjoyable.

The Hump Comes First From Last - Normal Service Resumed

Off to Liverpool for a few days.It's a five and a half hour train journey direct from Norwich. Many years ago five and a half hours in any mode of transport would have been daunting, but when compared to well over 20 hours on planes to New Zealand and Australia or 18 hours on coaches to Germany or Northern Ireland, it's just a short jaunt.

Liverpool has the feel of a very compact city with everything in the centre in comfortable walking distance and everything pretty much as we remembered from two years ago - our last visit.

The weather helped today as it was warm and sunny and Albert Dock shimmered in the haze. Our apartment is abut 10 minutes' walk from Lime Street Station.

In the evening managed to watch the Eurovision Song Contest. It was as crazy and ridiculous as ever which is probably why I enjoy it so much. Of course the results are pretty irrelevant - it's all a matter of politics and this is proved year after year. The strange thing is very often the best song does rise to the top of the barrel, proving that there is some justice. Can't say I was greatly enamoured by the winning Swedish entry, however. My favourite was the song from Iceland which had a prog rock feel to it but which did pretty badly. But not as badly as our Englebert, however, which just goes to proved that putting a 76 year old in as our entry was a mistake. I always thought that would be the case but I did feel a tad sorry for the man as our entry this year wasn't a bad song and certainly deserved to come higher than 25th out of 26th.

With 42 countries voting, it looked as if the contest would go on all night. In the end it was a landslide victory for Sweden. As for the Hump. Well his performance was poor. His voice at times was off key and he just didn't make the high octane end notes. But you have to feel sorry for the guy who was well beaten by a bunch of Russian Grannies with a novelty song and, even worse, by the talentless muppets Jedward whose only claim to fame is the fact they have silly hairstyles, are identical twins and have a total inability to sing. Ireland have been taking the mickey for years by using idiots like these and also a puppet a few years ago.

Seems nowadays there are countries deliberately trying not to win on the grounds of the cost of staging the event the following year. If this is so one has to ask just why they enter in the first place. Everyone votes for their neighbours. So why don't they just do away with the songs altogether and just get countries to vote on thin air? You would pretty much get the same result and we would still come in the bottom three.

Is it simply because nobody likes us or are our songs really that bad? I think it's a bit of both. You have to say that by the law of averages we should still have scored many more points. Yes counties will give their top awards to their neighbours or allies but there was still plenty of points lower down that would have given us a better placing. What most of the juries were saying was quite simply "we don't like Englebert, we don't like the song and we aren't even going to give it a single point." At least with 42 countries voting the chances of any entry receiving the legendary nul point is now fairly remote. It would have to be a real dog of an entry to achieve that - something like this year's entry from Turkey which somehow did ridiculously well despite being a heap of tripe.

Most of the real cringing moments come with the voting, however, with presenters from all over the world smarming their way through everything whilst you just want to shout at the TV "hurry up you moron I want to go to bed." The Finnish presenter took things to a new high (or should it be low) this year by appearing dressed as a death metal troll. He looked and acted plainly ridiculous and the only person he would have entertained would have been himself. I'm not sure who thinks these ideas up but they are obviously a few Euros short of a wage packet. Still we look forward to next year when once again the nation that brought rock/pop music to the world (along with the USA of course) will again be ignored irrespective of whether our song is good, bad or indifferent. perhaps we should employ Jedward.

A History Lesson

Spent a very pleasant evening yesterday learning about the history of the Norwich Yards at a talk at Hethersett Library by Francis and Michael Holmes. The yards were living spaces off the main Norwich roads. Many were little more than slums with sewage running down the centre of the roads and buildings that were literally falling down. Many have subsequently been pulled down, others renovated into modern spaces. The interesting thing for me was learning that yard dwellers were eventually offered new housing and that's how some of the major housing estates came into being.

Talent that Crosses the Country

Another very interesting evening of folk music at Bedfords in Norwich last night. This really is the best value for music in town - £5 for three acts and the food is good as well.

Sadly there was a very disappointing turnout on a warm evening. Those who didn't go missed a treat. The evening started with Jazz Morley - a young lady with a powerful voice somewhere between Amy Winehouse and Carole King. She sang her own songs - some poignant and some slightly less serious. She finished with a song about her brother who is serving in Afghanistan. It did bear a remarkable resemblance to Jennifer Rush' Power of Love but never mind.

She was followed by a guy called Jinder who was an all round entertainer - mixing good original material with stories and jokes. At time he was very funny and he managed an excellent slowed down acoustic version of Dexy's Midnight Runners' Come on Eileen.

The evening was rounded off by John Ward and Mario Price - a very interesting duo from Lowestoft. John on guitar and that Irish drum thingee that I can never remember the name of and Mario on violin. Plenty of Irish gig type music, mixed in with some ballads and slower numbers. I was particularly impressed by the song "From Stornoway to Lowestoft" about the migration of female workers over a 100 year period from Scotland to Lowestoft for the herring industry.

John kept mentioning the X Factor and such equally tripey talent shows. He pointed out quite rightly that these quick fix, instant star shows detract from the fact that criss crossing the UK in cars and vans every day of the year are some truly talented musicians who barely scratch a living from doing what they love. I agree wholeheartedly. These are the people with true musical ability and you can see them every month at venues like Bedfords. John also made interesting comments about the rivalry between Yarmouth and Lowestoft and the fish wars of the past between the two towns - all an important part of East Anglian history. He talked about something I have been going on about for some time - the ridiculous part that territory plays in our lives amongst people who, shall we say, aren't intelligent enough to know any better.

You probably know what I'm talking about. Yarmouth hate Lowestoft and vice versa but the two towns would combine to hate another part of the British Isles. Then Britain would combine against Europe but Europe would combine against the Americans and the the World would combine against Mars and then the Universe would combine against another Universe. You know the kind of drivel I'm talking about! It's about as understandable as my last paragraph but I know what I mean.

Tonight I'm off the get some more historical culture with a talk at Hethersett Library on the history of the Norwich yards.

Yesterday I spent quite some time starting to write a piece of poetry/prose to reflect my recent visit to Northern Ireland and Belfast in particular. Usually I write quickly but this idea is taking some time to form shape and at the moment it's just a series of unrelated notes that I need to develop and put together. Originally I was going to call it Words on a Map, but its new title is History and Music (Words on a Map). When it is eventually finished I will put it on this blog and my web site.

Moog Man and Gadget Man

Anybody who reads this blog regularly (is there really anybody who does?) will know that I like to come up with some strange facts on occasions. Today felt like one of those occasions.

So, instead of commenting about the sudden change in weather and the fact that the temperatures are climbing into the eighties, I will drop two names into the discussion - Robert Moog and Eugene Polley. One of those gentlemen invented something we cannot do without, the other invented something that changed the history of music.

Perhaps Mr Moog is more obvious. Today would have been his 78th birthday excpet for one fact - he died in 2005. Mr Moog created the Moog Synthesiser - a rather unfathomable keyboard instrument based I believe on tape looping and apparently very difficult to play. He created the Moog for musical experimentalists but it soon became a staple of the progressive (prog) rock scene.

It produced that swelling, swirling, wonderful wall of sound soon adopted by some of (in my humble opinion) the greatest rock bands and individuals of all time - the likes of Brian Eno, David Bowie, Ultravox, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, King Crimson, Barclay James Harvest, Kraftwerk, Yes and Genesis to name just a few. So I doff my hat (or I would if I had one) to Mr Moog and the delights he has brought me over the years.

Eugene Polley, on the other hand, wanted to create something to make us lazy. So he invented the remote control, which he called the Flash-Matic. The first of these devices was used on televisions and looked more like a hairdryer than what we have been accustomed to. It shot out a beam of light capable of changing a channel or changing the volume. In those days there would probably have been only a couple of channels anyway but who cares. In addition other beams of light could affect the channel as well. So imagine hubby coming home at the end of a hard day at the office, switching on the room light and the TV changes from Mr Ed to Quatermass just like that. Eugene was obviously a visionary who could see the possibility of hundreds of channels and the need to cut back young people's concentartion spans to a minimal level (i.e a few seconds). He probably saw computer games consoles, stereo systems and many digital applications. I'm sure he also realised that there needed to be evolution that allowed the hairdryer to become a minute hand held gizmo and for the name to change from Flash-Matic to remote control. Early American adverts for the Flash-Matic heralded its ability to cut the volume of loud annoying adverts whilst keeping the picture. Can't quite see why you would want to watch a commercial without sound though but we must remember that these were very different days when relatively mundane things gave pleasure and I'm sure the inventor didn't want to suggest missing out the adverts altogether - that would have been a step too far. I wonder what he made of the present day when you can pause live TV and quite easily skip the adverts.

I did think at one point of writing a biography of the man and calling it The History of Mr Polley only to find HG Wells had beaten me to it! Anyway Eugene died today, but his invention will live on for decades.

Tried to get some of the new Olympic tickets that went on sale today. Failed miserably and wasted quite some time. So far we must have applied for up to 20 sets of tickets and have received absolutely zero.

Can't finish today without mentioning the One Show yet again. Good old Matt Baker. Last night they had our very own Englebert Humperdinck (who incidentally was born plain old Arnold Dorsey in Madras, India, which probably makes him a shoe in for our national cricket team which is full of people born in South Africa) live from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, which you will remember from prvious blogs has the world's second tallest flagpole. Old Englebert (and I use the word as a reflection of his age and not as a term of endearment) clutched a microphone and uttered a few words of wisdom which had Matt B salavating: "This is remarkable. Englebert is even reporting for us now" he enthused. Awesome Matt just awesome.

Did They Mean to Say That?

I do hope Alex Jones knew what she was saying on last night's One Show. I sometimes despair at the amateur nature of the presenting on what is an enjoyable show but where sometimes you get the idea that the presenters aren't really listening to what the guests are saying to them.

Last night Alex and Matt Baker were talking to diver Tom Daley and Matt had been asking him about how tough it was to get over losing his father who died last year. Tom explained how he had been helped by focusing on the positive things and the fun times he had with his dad to which Alex chipped in with:

"Well he's certainly going to be proud of you this summer." I do hope that was a comment as in "he will be looking down at what you are doing and will be with you in spirit" rather than the obvious faux pas.

Talent and Come and Try Evening

Well what about Chelsea winning the Champions League? It was just plain ridiculous how they somehow beat Barcelona and then Bayern Munich when they had no right to win either matches. So respect to their ability to dig in. They have won the Champions League but I don't think you could ever claim that they are the best team in Europe.

Yesterday went along to the auditions for this year's Hethersett's Got Talent show on June 22nd as part of the Open Weekend. This is just one of a vast number of major events in our wonderful village this year. The village hall will be packed for the talent show and it will be another super evening.

A plug here for our Come and Try evening on the Memorial Playing Field on May 30th. It's for all ages and it will be great to see as many people there as possible. The thing we really need, however, is good weather. Last year's event was ruined by cold winds and rain. So fingers crossed this time.

World Champion in Waiting

Song lyric of the day

Who cares where national borders lie?
Who cares whose laws you're governed by?
Who cares what name you call a town?
Who'll care when you're six feet beneath the ground?

- From Sunrise by The Divine Comedy

My song lyric of the day comes from a Neil Hannon song which is about his growing up in Northern Ireland during the troubles. Hannon was born in Londonderry (Derry) and raised in Enniskillen. The song is one of hope and immediately after the verses above he concludes with a massive message of hope:

From the corner of my eye
A hint of blue in the black sky
A ray of hope, a beam of light
An end to thirty years of night
The church-bells ring, the children sing
What is this strange and beautiful thing
It’s the sunrise
Can you see the sunrise?
I can see the sunrise

This is quite a prophetic song in the light of what happened subsequently.

Random thought of the day - why when a footballer narrowly misses or makes a bad  miss does his manager/coach turn away from the field of play and clutch his head. Just watch the next time there is a bad miss and you will see this happen.

Today I'm off to take photographs at the  auditions for this year's Hethersett's Got Talent competition. I will let you know how I get on tomorrow.

Final thought on the sporting theme. This morning I watched Norwich boxer Sam Sexton get well and truly pummelled by Liverpool's David Price. Price looks like a heavyweight champion in waiting to me. He is 6ft 8in tall and lean and hits like a sledgehammer and seems to have all the punches from the jab through to the uppercut. I am off to Liverpool at the end of the week for a few days. It will be interesting to see what the local people think of his chances of eventually winning a world title. I would put them at very very good.

Sport, Sport all the way

song lyric of the day:

Said the apple to the orange:
"Oh I wanted you to come
Close to me and kiss me to the core
Then you might know me like no other orange
Has ever done before" - Al Stewart

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I often wonder how different my life would be if I didn't like sport. For a start I would have no involvement in the village Olympic Committee or the football club or the cricket club or the local sports association.

What I would have had today was more time on my hands because it was a non stop sport-fest all the way. So after digging a garden during the morning I felt like some rest and relaxation and so watched in order -

England move into a winning position against West Indies in the first test - cricket
Frankel win his tenth consecutive race at Newbury and become one of the greatest of all time - horse racing
West Ham beat Blackpool 2-1 to return to the Premier League - football
Hearts beat Hibs 5-1 in the Scottish Cup Final - football
Leinster beat Ulster in the Heineken Cup Final - rugby union

and all that was before in the evening I wrote this blog ahead of the Chelsea v Bayern Munich Champions League Final and the British Heavyweight Boxing Title fight between David Price and Norwich's Sam Sexton. Oh my head hurts must be time for more red wine and a coffee.

Handing Over Footage - The Debate

Oh I am just a student, sir, and only want to learn
But it's hard to read through the risin' smoke of the books that you like to burn
So I'd like to make a promise and I'd like to make a vow
That when I've got something to say, sir, I'm gonna say it now - Phil Ochs

One of those days when a song lyric came into my head and I couldn't lodge it. So there it is above and it seemed somehow appropriate for what I am going to talk about today - the decision yesterday not to order Media groups to release footage from the Dale Farm travellers' site eviction to the police. This is a complex and important judgement as far as freedom of the press goes. I have been on both sides of this situation - having worked both as a journalist and for the police over the past 30 years. In fact my 40 year working life has been split almost equally between journalism and public relations.

Obviously the Police must have access at times to footage if it helps them detect crimes or protect the public. But this cannot be a catch-all situation where the Police can apply willy nilly for any footage they fancy seeing.

Journalism at times can be a tough profession. A small minority of journos get the profession a bad name, one only has to think of the current controversy over phone hacking to understand that journalism can be tainted. The majority of journalists, however, are professional in what they do. As one reporter pointed out it takes a considerable effort at times to build up trust with a particular group of people. People such as the travellers at Dale Farm. A good journalist is not there to take sides but to put all sides of an argument or situation which allows the public to make up their own mind. This doesn't mean being in the pockets of any particular group but producing copy or broadcasts that are fair and balanced. I always saw my job (and still do) to be a chronicler of events.

Being fair and balanced would become impossible if those being interviewed thought the footage could later be handed over to the police on a whim. In the Dale Farm case it appears the police asked for over 100 hours of unshown footage on a whim, presumably because they thought it might be an interesting thing to have.

This is in no way justification for asking for cart blanch when it comes to film or tape footage. As the ruling stated there has to be a specific reason for the press being ordered to release footage and that is one of the major points here. Direction to hand over footage would have set a dangerous precedent that could lead to a loss of any trust built up by journalists in both this and future situations. This was not about the rights or wrongs of what happened at Dale Farm but about control and fairness. In my opinion it was the correct ruling and, of course, does not prevent future applications by the police on specific events when footage could help to solve crimes.

In my years working in a police press office, the relationship between the Police and the Media was pretty decent and was very much a two way street of co-operation and respect. I'm sure in general terms this ruling won't do anything to seriously harm this.

                               *                                  *                                 *

So David Platt goes up to the bar in Coronation Street and orders "two beers."  He gets two bottles without the barman asking the obvious questions - "do you want bitter or lager, bottled or tapped, half pint or pint etc etc.

                                 

Euro 2012 - Squad is Too Safe

So Roy Hodgson has picked his squad for the European Championships. Hodgson always comes over as rather a dour man (I'm sure he isn't) and his squad reflects this.

It is difficult to see just where this team is going with a mixture of semi over the hill players and others who have scarcely set the world alight. My main worry is up front. Take out Wayne Rooney, as we have to do for the first couple of matches due to suspension, and the strikers we are left with are Jermain Defoe, Andy Carroll and Danny Welbeck. I can't see many opposing defenders having sleepless nights about facing any of them.

Defoe has been a bit part player in the England set-up for many years, Carroll has scarcely produced the goods since moving to Liverpool and the more I see of Welbeck the more I think he is a very ordinary player.

The whole squad seems to lack originality and there are few surprises. personally I would have included Peter Crouch and Grant Holt instead of Carroll and Welbeck. Crouch has never let England down and scored some fine goals and Holt deserves to be there on his contributions for Norwich this season. He would have been a surprise package and an unknown quantity. As Norwich fans have said repeatedly this season - who would you rather have playing for you Carroll or Holt and I think the answer is decidedly the latter.

Good to see Norwich's John Ruddy in the squad. He may be third choice goalkeeper but it's just reward for a fine season for the Canaries. I wasn't a Ruddy fan when he first came to the club. I thought his positional skill was poor but this season he has put in some fine performances. Good to see Robert Green back in contention as well. These two are from a long line of superb Norwich goalkeepers. Of course neither Green or Ruddy are likely to play in the Euros apart from injury or suspension to Joe Hart. Hart is head and shoulders above any other English goalkeeper at this time. Not only is he the best 'keeper by a country mile, he also has an infectious personality which is just what you want from the last line of defence.

Back at the grass roots level of football - we had another long but very productive Hethersett Athletic meeting last night. Tonight it's back to the village running club. I feel a little stiffness coming on for tomorrow.

Help Needed and Punting

Read in the local newspaper yesterday that they are thinking of introducing punting on the River Wensum in Norwich. What an excellent idea - although I'm not convinced it will be a viable business proposition. Norwich is a wonderfully historic city, full of interest and as picturesque as any in the country, but we are very much on the road to nowhere.

I don't mean that in a derogatory way as we are in many ways an undiscovered gem. The problem is Norwich is not on any through route (apart from the North Norfolk coast) so visitors have to make an effort to come here and don't just stop off as they pass through.

Punting in Cambridge is firmly established but is all linked up with Cambridge University, the colleges and the history of the town. In Norwich it will be quite different. However I can think of nothing nicer than an historical tour of the city via the river which winds its way round. I hope the venture is a success as it's a wonderful way of seeing the city. I guess only time will tell.

Spent more time this morning getting the Hethersett web site at www.hethersett.org.uk up to date. It really is becoming a full time occupation with so much going on in the village over the next five months. It is likely to be the busiest summer ever with Olympic flame visits, open weekends, jubilee fairs, numerous sporting and cultural events. It is a very good time to live in Hethersett.

I try to record and attend as many events as possible but will have to miss a number over the next couple of weeks. So it would be nice to find somebody interested in covering events to help keep the web site up to date. I see the website as a source of news about the village and also as an historical record for the future. In this Olympic and Diamond Jubilee year it is imperative that we maintain as good a record as possible to hand down to future generations.

So if anybody knows anybody who would like to help enhance and improve the web site further please let me know via e-mail at petersteward@lineone.net. Unfortunately the pay is lousy (actually there isn't any) but the satisfaction of having a good product is immense.

And still it rains.Went into Norwich today and it pelted down once again. When will the sun come out again? Last night's Hethersett and the Meltons Sports Association covered a huge amount of ground. Overall a good meeting but disappointing attendance with 11 people there. This year is absolutely chocked with events but when the dust settles on the Olympics and all the other events we are going to major on two things next year - I proving fitness through encouraging people to walk and cycle rather than use their cars and improving sports facilities in the village. The latter has been a bone of contention for some time. We are now a very large village with a population somewhere around 6,000. We are the envy of Norfolk for our success in the sports field and the current Norfolk sports village of the year, but our facilities are very poor indeed. So 2013 is the year we want to change that.It's going to be difficult. This morning I went to see Nicky Wardale who runs the Ducklings Playgroup in the village. Nicky is the second person from Hethersett to carry the Olympic torch on its route through the country in July.

Truly Talented

To slightly develop yesterday's blog. How good it was to see truly talented people on Young Musician of the Year. How good it was to see a genuine competition with people with sublime abilities winning. And how particularly good it was not to have all the trashy glitz of the X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and The Voice.

There were no long dramatic pauses when the winner was announced, no camera shot of all the contestants one by one, just an announcement of the result. Okay the Walton cello concerto played by the winner wasn't to my taste but at least here were 15 year olds with genuine talent and ability and not a load of fake wannabees taking part in a trashy second rate talent show.

Music and Football

I'm writing this blog whilst listening to the Young Musician of the Year Final on the television. They have just had a young 15 year old pianist playing Greig's Piano Concerto. I think being able to play that well at that age should be illegal!

It made me think about the gig I went to last night at Norwich Arts Centre. The contrast between the pianist and the first two bands was simply phenomenal. Firstly we had The Deers. "We are the Deers," they continually told us as if it would make us enjoy the noise they were making.

Actually they started off quite well. Their first song had some decent harmonies and seemed to garner inspiration from the Dave Crosby, Stephen Stills style of rock with West Coast American influences. Sadly it was downhill from that point as the remainder of their set turned into a mush of sound. The second band were even worse. Apparently they came from Wales and it's a shame they didn't stay there. I didn't even bother to make a note of their name. Of course the Deers informed us that this ragtag of a group were actually awesome. The only bit of that they got right was that a description of their performance certainly started with the letters aw - they were truly awful.

They had a white haired female singer (and I use the word singer loosely) who seemed to think there was something to be gained from almost shrieking into the microphone while the three guitarists and drummer made this horrendous crashing noise behind her. Every song sounded the same and you couldn't detect a single lyric. The problem is this type of band seem to think there is merit in all crashing down on guitars at the same time. You just wait for this to happen. There is no subtlety and basically pretty much no nothing.

Thankfully the main band Dry The River were very decent. They lean towards folk rock and are somewhere between Mumford and Sons and American band Fleet Foxes. To me they were very much like the latter which is certainly no bad thing. They brought some light and shade to the evening and some lovely textures. There were acoustic sections but also some crash, bang and wallop, but even the crash, bang and wallop seemed to have structure and even in the harshest passages melody shone through. I really enjoyed their set and would certainly pay to see them again.

I love rock music but to me it has to have some subtlety and I guess I do lean towards prog rock, folk rock and rock with classical music overtones.

I see a full interactive index of John Peel's record collection is now online and I must have a good look at it in the not too distant future.

Yesterday paid my first visit of the season to see Hethersett play cricket. We were well beaten by Swardeston B. With eight first team players out it was always going to be a struggle but it was still disappointing to lose by seven wickets.

Today was our last visit of the season to Carrow Road unless we go to an end of season testimonial game next week. Norwich were full value for our 2-0 win over Aston Villa and at the end the players did a thoroughly deserved lap of honour. It was rather low key compared to the last two seasons when there have been end of season celebrations and open top bus tours of Norwich. Nothing like that this season despite, as our player of the season Grant Holt pointed out, by coming 12th in the Premier League we have easily eclipsed the achievements of the past two seasons!!

Unplanned Event Planned

At last a day without rain. So yesterday were able to go out in the garden and cut the lawns and do some much needed weeding. Friends popped round for a cup of tea and informed us of some problems on East Midland trains next week.

They knew we are going to Liverpool at the end of the week. Thankfully a check on the internet shows that we shouldn't be affected, but the information made me chuckle.

The heading states: The following unplanned service disruptions are currently occuring. Below that were details of indistrial action affecting services on both 15th and 17th May - in other words planned rather than unplanned service disruptions.

Ouch It Still Hurts A Bit

Ouch it hurts! Thankfully not as much as over the last few weeks though.

I am referring to session four of the new Hethersett social running club. For the fourth consecutive session well over 30 people turned up  and that is very heartening. Already people are talking about continuing to meet after the initial 10 week programme is complete.

Norfolk Olympiad Paul Evans is an excellent coach and, although sessions are getting harder, we are getting used to jogging round the field and even sprinting. My main problem with distance running has always been the breathing but this is improving as well. It's all aimed at being able to run the two mile funrun at this year's village open event.

I had just 20 minutes to get home from the session, have a shower and get changed to go to a meeting to sort out our football club's ladies section. Another good, positive meeting and we will be fielding two ladies teams next year - one in the Eastern Region League and one in the Norfolk Women's League. The meeting was to improve the flow of information between the club and players and to sort out management teams.

The ladies section is holding a major five-a-side football tournament on our Memorial Playing Field on June 24th and already we have 20 plus teams lined-up for what should be our best tournament to date. The ladies section is also visiting local schools and organising a come and try event on the playing field in June where girl footballers can come along, try their hand at the game and enjoy some fun games. Things at our football club are really moving in the right direction.

I'm also busy at the moment organising with Active Norfolk a come and try sports event on the Memorial Field on May 30th. Athletics, football and archery are already confirmed and we are hoping to add cricket, bowls and petanque. The idea of the evening is to have a limited number of sports that people of all ages and abilities can come along and try their hand at. It is like a mini version of the come and try sports event on June 23rd when over 20 Olympic themed sports will be featured.

Today it will be work on next week's Hethersett Sports Association meeting. At the moment my life seems to be sport, sport all the way - and that's certainly not a bad thing. Tomorrow I'm off to the Hethersett Old Hall School's Olympic themed fete in the morning, hoping to get some pictures of former England international Dean Ashton and his beat the goalie competition. Then in the afternoon, if the weather holds, its off to Flordon for the first time this season for Hethersett and Tas Valley Cricket and in the evening we are going to see folk/rock band Dry the River at Norwich Arts Centre. Just like to point out that the last of these events is actually music and not sport!!

Volunteers and Supporters Needed

Isn't it strange how the only time most people turn out from the comfort of their homes in the evening is when there is something controversial in the village to discuss or when they want to have a whinge?

I don't mean that unkindly because it is important when there are things to sort out that people turn up to relevant meetings to voice an opinion. But it would be good to see more people supporting other meetings as well.

Last night was the annual Hethersett parish meeting which gives the opportunity for residents to raise any matters of concern. The evening features a number of reports from organisations and groups. Last night there were just under 50 people present. Take away the parish council members, other councillors and those giving reports and the number of "unattached" villagers turning up was well under 20 which must be a disappointment to all the people who put in so much effort to make our village what it is.

When it came to finding four volunteers for one particular group, nobody came forward. You couldn't blame those present because most of them are involved in numerous village groups already. As one prominent resident remarked "it's very disappointing that in a village of 6,000 people we can't get four volunteers."

Of course it doesn't mean those volunteers won't be found at a later date but it does underline my belief that residents are not as committed as they were in the past to helping the village develop. As I have already said when there is a controversial subject they turn up in their droves, but when there is work to be done to enhance and improve the village they are strangely silent and absent.

Thankfully, as I have said in previous blogs, we have an army of volunteers that keep our village going and on this front we are as good and probably better than anywhere else in the country. But it is the same people that get involved all the time. It should be nice to see some new blood.

It is difficult to say why 20 years ago there seemed to be more people volunteering. There are a number of reasons I can put forward for this including the following

• Twenty years ago the pace of life was slower
• Twenty years ago people seemed to have more time for voluntary work
• Twenty years ago the stresses and strains of working life seemed to be less
• Twenty years ago perhaps there was a real community spirit within more people than today
• Twenty years ago people were more interested in being integrated into the village than today.

I don't necessarily believe all of the above, but it does act as a point of discussion. It would have been nice to see more support last night for the parish council, the schools and all the other organisations giving reports.

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Today I'm off to undertake some training at the High School to help youngsters with learning difficulties in their coming exams. This will consist of sitting with them whilst they do the exam and either reading out the questions or writing their answers for them. I'm looking forward to helping in some small way.

Then this evening I will try to do the running club hour if my present cough will allow me and then we have a football club meeting to discuss the future of our Ladies section which we may be re-structuring. I believe we have a very bright future in ladies and girls football. Will let you know how it went tomorrow.

Searching for Melons and Cozying Up

Everything changes, nothing stays the same - sounds like a line from a song and I'm sure it is. That's my theme for today, however.

Are you one of those people that hate it when supermarkets switch things around? One day melons are midway down the first aisle and the next day they are at the back of the last aisle. So why does this happen? Well we go back to my old friend and the scourge of the 21st century - marketing.

Marketing is too often used to paper over cracks - I feel I can say this as I worked in marketing for many years and still do to a lesser extent. If things aren't going right try to gloss over the problems. Our coalition Government are trying to do this right now. Unhappy with the local election results we have prime minister David Cameron and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg cozying up to each other again and appearing in an act of togetherness that has probably been thought up and initiated by some think tank somewhere. Of course we know that Cameron and Clegg don't really like each other from the slagging off they gave each other during the election campaign. Come the next election they will be back to slagging again.

Anyway back to supermarkets, profits are dropping and changes are needed. What the management can't grasp are that profits are dropping because consumers are taking their business elsewhere and this can be down to a number of factors including the increased price of goods, disillusionment with the supermarket or improvement in the competition.

So what happens next - the store is re-designed, thoroughly peeing off people who want to get their melons from aisle one. It leads to confusion amongst customers. And why is it done? Because in their infinite wisdom the shops believe it will increase sales. They stupidly believe that Mrs Smith in looking for her melons will now have to pass the wine department and is likely to grab a dozen bottles of something exotic on her way through to the greengrocery. Actually Mrs Smith is more likely to say "I don't like this. I can't find anything so I'm going elsewhere."

You just get to know where things are and they get moved. It happens in CD/DVD shops, newspaper shops and just about anywhere else big enough to be able to switch things around.

The music download site Napster is a perfect example of this. I paid them £14.99 for what I considered an excellent service. It allowed me to listen to thousands of albums on computers and to legally download albums to listen to on my phone and mp3 player. Then it changed. Napster got taken over by American company Rhapsody. The number of albums and tracks available diminished and suddenly I couldn't find out to transfer tracks to my mp3 player. Many of the tracks I had already downloaded would no longer play.

Before I could just press a button and albums would be downloaded automatically or I could click and drag the albums onto the player. Now apparently I have to set up a playlist with the albums I want in it and sinc these. problem is if I have 30 playlists and want to add a 31st I have to sinc the whole lot every time. If I don't I lose them all. From reading reports of the Napster/Rhapsody merger I understand that the primary reason was to ward off competition from other download sites such as WE7 and Spotify. This is exactly the kind of thing that would make me switch. It's just another example of modern life showing contempt for an individual, whilst stupidly telling them that things are going to improve. And that's today's rant over with.

Hethersett - A Very Special Village

I mentioned yesterday about the strength of community in Hethersett and thought I would develop this for today's blog.

I always think of those typically teenage whinges - you know the ones "there's never anything to do in our village." Well that can never be said of Hethersett. Whatever your interests there is something for you whether it be sport, fitness, amateur drama, hobbies, organisations, groups etc etc. They are all there.

It is these that make our village so special. But above all it is the people that make it special. There is a willingness in Hethersett for people to work together for the common good. That common good includes looking after the history, the fabric and the environment and providing activities for all ages.

Hethersett could never be called the prettiest village in the country, but it is one of the most go-ahead communities you could ever imagine. Somebody has an idea and suddenly people are galvanised into action. I hope that I capture just some of this on my village web site which is designed to showcase the village, its people and what is going on. It is meant to be a record that will last into history and highlight what makes us tick in the first and second decade of the 21st century.

This community spirit has always been there but today it seems to be stronger than ever.

For those reading this blog from outside Norfolk a short description of Hethersett. We are in South Norfolk and Norfolk is one of the counties that are included in the right side bulge of England - the bit that sticks out. We are about 110 miles from London and about eight miles from Norwich. Our village is a large one with close on 6,000 people and there are plans for this to further increase.

Over the past few years Hethersett has quite rightly won numerous awards which include the following:

• Eastern Daily Press Pride in Norfolk Community of the Year 2006
• Eastern Daily Press Pride in Norfolk Community of the Year runner-up 2008
• Olympic Inspiration Award 2010
• Eastern Daily Press Event of the Year runner-up 2010
• South Norfolk Sports Village of the Year 2011
• Norfolk Sports Village of the Year Runner-Up 2011
• Eastern Daily Press/Active Norfolk Sports Village of the Year 2011
• Eastern Daily Press/Active Norfolk Sports Champions of Champions 2011

It's an impressive list by any standards and testament to all the hard voluntary work that goes on. When Prime Minister David Cameron talks about the Big Society he should take a good look at our village which has embraced the Big Society concept years before he thought of the idea.

Thought you might like to know that it rained much of yesterday and we have got up to find it raining again today. Won't mention rain again in this blog as it's now become the norm. I will mention it as soon as we have a day without rain - it could be some time.

Football and Dancing

If there is a more community orientated village in the whole of the United Kingdom than Hethersett I would really like to know about it.

Yesterday for instance there were two events that epitomised our village. The Football Club of which I'm proud to be chairman, had a ladies team playing in the final of the Norfolk Women's League Cup and the Yvonne School of Dance presented another wonderfully colourful dance show at Norwich Theatre Royal.

So let's start with the football. It was one of the most exciting matches you will see at any level. That's not referring to the standard of football but a comment on two teams out to attack and who desperately wanted to win the cup.

Hethersett were desperately unlucky. We lost 5-4 to a goal in the last minute of extra time. Neither team deserved to lose this game which see-sawed back and forth throughout. We were 2-0 down after just 18 minutes and it looked as if a heavy defeat could be on the cards. By half-time we were level at 2-2 and then took a 3-2 lead with just six minutes to go, only for Acle to equalise two minutes later to take the game to extra time.

Again we looked to have won the game with a goal in the first period of extra time, only to be pegged back again and then lose the game to an unstoppable free-kick in the last few seconds. It was a strange day for our striker Hannah Waters who scored a hat-trick and ended on the losing side. She was also making her 100th appearance for the club and moved into second place in the all-time scorers list with 184 goals - just one goal behind the top spot.

To show the contrast of the day I had to hurry home and get changed and go to the dance show at the Theatre. The fact that a village dance school can sustain a bi-ennial show at one of the country's premier theatres is fantastic in itself, but the organisation that must have gone into this was incredible. There were 34 dance routines in all and the change from one to the next was seamless. It must have been mayhem backstage with all the costume changes but you would never know it with over 200 dancers taking part of all ages from the smallest tots to adults. It was a very special evening.

Thought for the day - Age is not an excuse for ignorance.

Returning from Holiday and a Full Day - Remembering a Norwich theatre legend

A morning spent catching up in the study. Every time you return from a holiday there is mail and e-mails to deal with, not to mention bills to pay and web sites to update... and still it's wet wet wet and gardening is out.

So now reasonably up to date on a few important matters I'm now off for an enjoyable afternoon and evening. This afternoon Hethersett Athletics Ladies Reserves team are playing Acle in the final of the Norfolk League Cup. It should be a good game as Acle won the league and we finished second but we are the only team to have beaten them this season. So the result is pretty hard to guess.

Then this evening it's off to Norwich Theatre Royal for the Yvonne Dance School bi-ennial dance show which should be colourful. I have to be careful when writing bi-ennial as most people confuse it with bi-annual. The first means every two years and the second twice a year - so quite a difference.

Every time I go to the Theatre Royal I feel the ghost of dear old Dick Condon there. Dick was general manager for many years, including the period when I was an arts correspondent for the local paper. Dick was a hard-nosed businessman but a genial Irishman at the same time who always looked after the Media and everyone who went through the doors. He was a showman in the Terry Wogan style - plenty of Blarney but a lovely lovely man who did so much to make Norwich Theatre Royal one of the top venues in the country.

There have been plenty of changes and re-building since Dick's day but the essence of the theatre stays the same and I can still picture him standing in the foyer announcing the arrival of anyone he knew. Being a shy sort I often tried to hide behind large people in an attempt to get into the building without being announced. It rarely worked. Will let you know tomorrow how my afternoon and evening went.

Change of Allegience and Time for Reflection

I decided today to support Chelsea in the Cup Final against Liverpool. Ordinarily this isn't something I would have done. I may have mentioned before my love of Liverpool as a place and the legacy it has left our country, particularly in the field of music. Anfield is still one of the football grounds that conjures up a sense of awe. You'll Never Walk Alone and all that.

But there are a couple of reasons for my change of heart (support). Firstly Roberto Di Matteo has done a remarkable job since taking over in charge. He appears to be a charming man who has changed a team of overpaid wannabees into a lean mean footie machine. On the other hand Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglesh gives more than a passing impression of a scruffbag. Whilst Di Matteo looked smart in a tailored suit, Dalglish wore a tracksuit which is being slightly disrespectful to the occasion. Okay it doesn't really make a difference but when Di Matteo is asked a question by the Media he gives a measured and intelligent answer whilst Dalglish shuffles around and mutters to the floor in a kind of "I am Scottish so I can mutter" sort of way.

Another reason for supporting Chelsea is to put owner Roman Abramovich in a quandary. There are suggestions that Abramovich had already lined up a new manager for next season and promised the job. That gives him a dilemma if Di Matteo takes home the European Champions Trophy and the FA Cup in a matter of days. And wouldn't that be funny - not giving the job to somebody who has proved to be Chelsea's hero over the past few months? Di Matteo says he is relaxed about the whole thing. Of course he is. If Chelsea don't employ him he can practically pick his team to manage. Oh and Chelsea won 2-1 in a decent final. Some of them have disappointed greatly in the past. There is now so much live football on television that in many ways the final just seems to be yet another match.

Reflecting today on the visit to Northern Ireland. So many ideas and so many images. Shortly I want to put them all into a poem/prose piece. The essence will be about the memories locked inside the older generations, the innocence of the younger generation and the fact that places we have all heard so much about are now at peace. I have a working title of Names on a Map. When it is written I will publish it on my blog.

Finally tonight I subjected myself to The Voice on TV. Another dreadful talent show featuring a massive number of no-hopers with passable voices and no futures. Good old Tom Jones just went too far by likening one of the artists to a modern day Janis Joplin - oh come on. And how much do you hate it when the presenter keeps saying "it's Jane (or whatever name the person has)" and I just keep thinking "who cares?"

The Long Road Home

So we left Northern Ireland behind. The people are warm and friendly and there is history at every turn. Some of the  accents are impenetrable but it is ourselves that really have the strange accents.

The return journey took 16 hours and returning to England saw a return to the wet weather. Not much to say about the journey other than it was long and the ferry was delayed  for an hour by low water levels in Hollyhead - apparently this only happens a couple of times a year. I am impressed by the short amount of time you now have to wait to get on and off the ferries. Whether we were just lucky on our two crossings I don't know.

The day seemed to go on and on and it was 1 a.m before we were back in Norwich and past 2 a.m before we got home and to bed.

Houses and Gardens

The final day of our short break in Northern Irleand (apart from a day of travelling tomorrow) saw more visits to National Trust properties. Can't complain because it is a National Trust holiday but I would have liked more history and less gradens. That's only a personal view of course.

 

Today we started with a visit to the Argory which was built in the 1820s and was the home of the MacGeough–Bondfamily. We had a knowledgeable if rather taciturn guide who pronounced McGeough as McGill rather than McGoff. Perhaps that's the Irish way. I find it quite difficult to get interested in semi historic figures I have never heard of and which don't mean a lot. Didn't have too long to explore the gardens before moving on to our final destination - Rowallane Gardens. problem here was the house was under renovation and the tea rooms were shut. So we had to make do with an ice cream! The gardens consisted of woodland and farmland. Plenty of walking but not of huge interest.

 

Returned to the hotel and added the following:

So let's wonder once again what the BBC are playing at. Sometime between returning to the hotel room and going for an evening meal I decided to flake out and watch Pointless. It's all very confusing this week. Firstly there was Episode 37 from series six which was then, for some random reason, followed by episode 47 from series four before going back to episode 38 from series six. What kind of sense does that make particularly as the format of the rounds has changed. Shows total disrespect for fans of the show and it's the kind of thing that goes on all too opfen on television - whinge over.

Have just downloaded the Harry Potter series of books from Norfolk Libraries in digital format. My idea is to read through them from book one to book seven!

A Day in Belfast

  Belfast is in many ways an astonishing place as today's visit illustrated.

 

Our coach tour started with the Northern Ireland parliament Stormont which in a strange way illustrates perfectly the way Ulster has changed. Today it is a place of relative peace. Stormont is set in its own grounds and the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The important thing is its accessibility for the public who can drive into and enjoy the grounds. No stuffy security. Apparently the whole place was opened up by MP Mo Mowlam when she was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. So we were able to wander around the parkland and woodland with time being the only constraint.

 

We then had a fascinating coach tour of Belfast, showing that divisions still do exist but more from the living museum point of view than any other. And that's what Belfast has become. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way. By having a nodding acquaintance to the past, the future seems more assured.

In East Belfast Union Jacks still fly, but in West Belfast its the Irish Tricolor you will see. The murals are all still there but they no longer seem to be threatening but just a relic of the past. The centre has been re-developed to some extent and once again visitors are encouraged to wander round sections of the City Hall. It has a coffee lounge and display about industrial Belfast (I forgive them using the word meters to represent length).

 

What comes across very strongly (possibly as a public relations ploy) is an underlining that the strength of Belfast comes in its people. The turbulent times seem to be in the past and the there is a huge drive to attract tourism to Northern Ireland as a whole.

We found another intriguing building in the public linen library where I could have spent hours looking through books, historic documents and a display of posters from the Troubles. We had a few hours to walk round the centre but the time went all too quickly. It is somewhere we would like to return to in the future. We had lunch sitting on a bench in one of the pedestrian streets close to where two elderly guys were chatting. I was intrigued to think about the stories they probably have trapped inside of them. These were people who had lived through the troubles, experienced the heartache and who probably had strong views on many issues. I will probably never know what those stories were but I can imagine.

 

The afternoon was spent at the new Titanic Museum which is likely to become one of the United Kingdom's top tourist attractions over the next five years. It's strange that the museum should boast about a disaster but as our guide pointed out there was nothing wrong with the ship when it left Belfast. It was an amazing piece of engineering for 1912 but I will let you into a little secret - it sank!

 

It's also strange that we still use the word Titanic to emphasise something spectacular as in a Titanic effort. Once again that is in recognition of the wonderful engineering rather than the fact it sank after hitting an iceberg. Mind you it almost had a collision when setting out from Belfast. Apparently its captain Edward Smith was also in charge of another vessel the Olympic which had a contra temps in New York Harbour. So as they say in certain areas he had previous.

It's an excellent inter-active museum which includes a ride which takes you into a simulation of the Harland and Wolff shipyard where you can watch the work going on. The museum visit rounded off an excellent day.

Mount Stewart and a Famous Race Horse

 Hotel Le Mons

 Today we visited Mount Stewart, an impressive house overlooking Strangford Lough. I say the house is impressive but when you go to web sites about Mount Stewart it is the gardens that seem to take the eye and they are stunning. So relaxing - not that we relaxed as we had to walk round them all. It really felt like an oasis away from the hustle and bustle of life.

 

We had a guided tour of the house from a delightful Irish man. I couldn't help thinking about the comedian Jimmy Cricket. He had the same mannerisms and accent. Come to think of it he was a bit like Roy Walker as well. He kept asking questions and our answers were met with a "that's good but it's not right or "I like that but it's not right." You have to say those phrases in a Northern Ireland accent with a smile and mischevious twinkle to get it right. Anyway George the Guide made it a very enjoyable hour in the house, continually making interesting asides. The main points about the house seem to be the fact that it was the former home of political leaders and society figures, it has embroidered chairs from the Congress of Vienna of 1815, it has views across Strangford Lough and it has a painting worth millions by George Stubbs over the main staircase.

Apparently some visitors came all the way from the USA to sit on the staircase and stare at the painting of Hambletonian. There are plenty of other clues to the fact that the house was owned by racehorse enthusiasts.

 

Above is the painting of Hambletonian by Stubbs which is literally worth millions of pounds. Below it is the paiting in situ at Mount Stewart. The horse itself was one of the top thoroughbreds of the 1790s and he was a winner of the St Leger in 1795. The painting is very large being 12 feet across and seven feet tall and the artist was well into his 70s. Apparently the power of the painting lies in the fact that the horse is stationary but has been painted to evoke power and movement. Can't see it myself but there you are. All you can say is it is worth a bob or two.

 

 

 

After leaving Mount Stewart we had a coach drive around Strangford Lough. No matter how many times we were told about its temperate climate it was difficult to see this on a cold and subsequently wet day. Ended the trip around the Ards peninsular.