Couple of delivery lorries came past me as I walked up to get my cargo trousers. They were absolutely belting down the residential roads. Presumably the faster they do their rounds the quicker they get home, but their behaviour was not that safe. I hate speed bumps and other artificial speed reduction measures - why should I be penalised when I'm not about to speed, but what else can be done with drivers like that. It's not possible to have speed cameras down every residential road and the chances of a police car being present is very slim. I wonder if anything would be done if anyone took their number and reported it to either the delivery company and/or the police - and would your word be enough for action to be taken?
On another tack, I took my shoes off walking through the woods. Excellent experience on muddy and leafy paths, but not so good where the paths had been 'improved' with stones and gravel!
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Walk in the woods
Went up to buy some new trousers today. Nice weather so I decided to saunter through the local woods on the way to the shop. The council have been actively managing the woods, so there are newly coppiced areas and various stages of regrowth. During the week it's practically deserted as soon as you're 50 yards from the car parks. With yesterday's downpour older tracks have been wiped clean, and the soft path surface has retained fresh animal tracks admirably. Had to keep stopping and examining them. Squirrel and dog predominated, with occasional fox and badger. Some other rodents, probably rats and maybe hedgehog. I've been looking for definite sign of muntjak and roe deer which are rumoured to be in the woods. Again nothing definite, put one fairly well defined path looked to have been made by hoofs rather than paws and disappeared into a muntjak sized hole in the undergrowth.
On the way out I was going quite fast, wrapped up in myself and not really looking. On the return trip, I slowed down and became engrossed in the butterflys, the tracks and the different flora surrounding the paths. Once I'd slowed and immersed myself in my surroundings, I changed a mental gear and dropped back into becoming part of nature. The bird alarms that had accompanied me on the outward trip ceased as my physical and mental energies calmed. Quietness allowed me to identify where dog walkers were the distant alarms and circles of disturbance reached me easily. No animal movement though.
Got back from my trip refreshed and calmed. The shop I'd gone to is a small independent, and must be about the only shop left in Southend that still closes on a Wednesday afternoon! I was after cargo rather than camouflage trousers, but still couldn't find any...
On the way out I was going quite fast, wrapped up in myself and not really looking. On the return trip, I slowed down and became engrossed in the butterflys, the tracks and the different flora surrounding the paths. Once I'd slowed and immersed myself in my surroundings, I changed a mental gear and dropped back into becoming part of nature. The bird alarms that had accompanied me on the outward trip ceased as my physical and mental energies calmed. Quietness allowed me to identify where dog walkers were the distant alarms and circles of disturbance reached me easily. No animal movement though.
Got back from my trip refreshed and calmed. The shop I'd gone to is a small independent, and must be about the only shop left in Southend that still closes on a Wednesday afternoon! I was after cargo rather than camouflage trousers, but still couldn't find any...
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
End of the scorcher
Another lazy day this morning basking in glorious sun.
A couple of hours ago the birds were singing mightily in the trees at the bottom of our garden. Not the usual alarms and territorial squabbles, just a loud hubbub of quite musical singing.
Attuned more to nature after spending many weekends in the woods with a bushcraft school, I noticed the pressure was dropping - difficult to say how you recognise this, but you can feel it, it just takes familiarity to recognise what you're feeling!
Insects disappear... sitting in the garden beetles and flies and jumping things regularly irritate you, but they'd all gone. Examining a couple of ants nests they've all gone home and battened down the hatches as well.
The a sudden temperature drop, a sure sign of a cold front reaching us. Faint thunder in the distance which even now is growing louder. A few gulls and swifts can be seen, maybe looking for insects fleeing the oncoming storm, this front must be moving fast as they move on pretty rapidly.
14:20 now, no rain yet. I've brought the washing in, cleared my drying tinder into a paper carrier bag (it was drying on the patio) and brought everything in.
I'll update this entry later - it's the first time I've really looked at all the things happening in the garden as a front comes in. Thunder rumbles continuously in the distance...
14:35
Here comes the rain. Had a walk round the garden in the initial downpour - very refreshing after the hot weather. All the wildlife has taken shelter, just one barmy bushcrafter out enjoying the experience.
Boom! First close thunderclap just exploded and the rain intensifies
A couple of hours ago the birds were singing mightily in the trees at the bottom of our garden. Not the usual alarms and territorial squabbles, just a loud hubbub of quite musical singing.
Attuned more to nature after spending many weekends in the woods with a bushcraft school, I noticed the pressure was dropping - difficult to say how you recognise this, but you can feel it, it just takes familiarity to recognise what you're feeling!
Insects disappear... sitting in the garden beetles and flies and jumping things regularly irritate you, but they'd all gone. Examining a couple of ants nests they've all gone home and battened down the hatches as well.
The a sudden temperature drop, a sure sign of a cold front reaching us. Faint thunder in the distance which even now is growing louder. A few gulls and swifts can be seen, maybe looking for insects fleeing the oncoming storm, this front must be moving fast as they move on pretty rapidly.
14:20 now, no rain yet. I've brought the washing in, cleared my drying tinder into a paper carrier bag (it was drying on the patio) and brought everything in.
I'll update this entry later - it's the first time I've really looked at all the things happening in the garden as a front comes in. Thunder rumbles continuously in the distance...
14:35
Here comes the rain. Had a walk round the garden in the initial downpour - very refreshing after the hot weather. All the wildlife has taken shelter, just one barmy bushcrafter out enjoying the experience.
Boom! First close thunderclap just exploded and the rain intensifies
Monday, 27 June 2011
Phew, what a scorcher
Nice day today.
I cut half the lawn yesterday, one triangle of grass is now about 3" and the rest varies up to seed heads 3 feet long.
Spent today doing the laundry - major job as our second son has just come back from University with a mound of unwashed clothing. Then out in the garden topping up on vitamin D. Lovely to be semi retired and able to just lay in the sun idly doing the newspaper crossword. Very civilised.
Haven't got any bookings for casual work in the offing, I suppose I ought to send out a few emails out to get a few more quids worth of employment going.
Maybe I'll mow the other half of the lawn now - or maybe I'll just leave it as an eco garden.
I cut half the lawn yesterday, one triangle of grass is now about 3" and the rest varies up to seed heads 3 feet long.
Spent today doing the laundry - major job as our second son has just come back from University with a mound of unwashed clothing. Then out in the garden topping up on vitamin D. Lovely to be semi retired and able to just lay in the sun idly doing the newspaper crossword. Very civilised.
Haven't got any bookings for casual work in the offing, I suppose I ought to send out a few emails out to get a few more quids worth of employment going.
Maybe I'll mow the other half of the lawn now - or maybe I'll just leave it as an eco garden.
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Armed forces day
It's armed forces day in the UK today. The idea is to show appreciation and support for all the members of our forces, current and past. Our local event is running at Chalkwell park, so I donned cammo shirt with my veterans badge on it and ambled down to see what was happening. Event was on from 10:00 to 17:00, we arrived around 12:30.
Not an awful lot there. A Beach boys tribute band was playing, a few tents with refreshments and photo displays, and a couple of tents for help the heroes and other charities. One field gun and accompanying landie where the only military exhibits. A couple of dozen WWII veterans were standing around with berets and blazers.
Maybe we were too early and more people turned up after we'd gone, but it was very disappointing at the lack of support - and the lack of exhibits at the event. I was expecting stands for the local territorial regiments with their equipment on display and maybe regular forces recruiting stands. Thinking about it there was one small RAF recruiting stand, but nobody visible manning it.
Maybe all the regulars and TA forces are abroad in action. The lack of commitment by successive governments to keep the forces up to a reasonable size for the wars they want to fight stretches the few soldiers left too far.
There's another event down on the seafront tomorrow, hope this is better attended.
I really don't know enough to judge if we should be fighting in Afghanistan or involved in Iraq and Libya. If the politicians decide our troops need to be there, they must get the number of troops and all the gear they need to do the job. It's not easy for the civilian population to be behind the army in these actions as they're not as clear cut as defending British soil from an alien invader. Even if you're not fully behind the actions they're involved in you've got to support and admire the dedication and professionalism of the individual soldiers in their many roles.
Not an awful lot there. A Beach boys tribute band was playing, a few tents with refreshments and photo displays, and a couple of tents for help the heroes and other charities. One field gun and accompanying landie where the only military exhibits. A couple of dozen WWII veterans were standing around with berets and blazers.
Maybe we were too early and more people turned up after we'd gone, but it was very disappointing at the lack of support - and the lack of exhibits at the event. I was expecting stands for the local territorial regiments with their equipment on display and maybe regular forces recruiting stands. Thinking about it there was one small RAF recruiting stand, but nobody visible manning it.
Maybe all the regulars and TA forces are abroad in action. The lack of commitment by successive governments to keep the forces up to a reasonable size for the wars they want to fight stretches the few soldiers left too far.
There's another event down on the seafront tomorrow, hope this is better attended.
I really don't know enough to judge if we should be fighting in Afghanistan or involved in Iraq and Libya. If the politicians decide our troops need to be there, they must get the number of troops and all the gear they need to do the job. It's not easy for the civilian population to be behind the army in these actions as they're not as clear cut as defending British soil from an alien invader. Even if you're not fully behind the actions they're involved in you've got to support and admire the dedication and professionalism of the individual soldiers in their many roles.
Friday, 24 June 2011
One of those days
We'd arranged to pick up our son from Keele uni today. Not hearing from him we'd assumed he wasn't ready to be picked up - until a phone call at 9:30 this morning. Its a good 7 hours driving there and back. We thought of deferring until Monday, but with various commitments that wasn't on. So - we phone him back and his phone wasn't on, left a message that we were setting out to pick him up about 16:00 with an evening run home. Filled the car with diesel and started the run, he phoned us soon after we'd started to confirm OK.
All worked out OK, but on the M11 on the way back it was dark and raining heavily. As we passed Stanstead I was doing 70mph, traffic coming out of Stanstead surrounded us, the spray from all these vehicles in close proximity created a sheet of spray over the road surface. Road markings were invisible, even the cats eyes vanished. The closeness of the traffic precluded slowing down, so it was hang on to the wheel, rely on the leading cars staying on the road, and everyone else keeping station relative to each other. The only sure mark I had to ensure I was in the right place was the reflected tail light glow from the concrete central fence.
Madness.
Once out of that situation I slowed down and dropped into the slow lane = the white line at the left hand egde stayed visible, even under considerable spray.
Further on, there was a sports car that hadn't been so lucky - parked backwards into the central reservation with hazards on. Obviously he'd had a problem and spun off - didn't look badly damaged, but not a good place to end up in.
Just got home and this is the best idea I can think of for today's blog...
And scruff got his sandwich late.
All worked out OK, but on the M11 on the way back it was dark and raining heavily. As we passed Stanstead I was doing 70mph, traffic coming out of Stanstead surrounded us, the spray from all these vehicles in close proximity created a sheet of spray over the road surface. Road markings were invisible, even the cats eyes vanished. The closeness of the traffic precluded slowing down, so it was hang on to the wheel, rely on the leading cars staying on the road, and everyone else keeping station relative to each other. The only sure mark I had to ensure I was in the right place was the reflected tail light glow from the concrete central fence.
Madness.
Once out of that situation I slowed down and dropped into the slow lane = the white line at the left hand egde stayed visible, even under considerable spray.
Further on, there was a sports car that hadn't been so lucky - parked backwards into the central reservation with hazards on. Obviously he'd had a problem and spun off - didn't look badly damaged, but not a good place to end up in.
Just got home and this is the best idea I can think of for today's blog...
And scruff got his sandwich late.
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Armed forces day
Its armed forces day this Saturday (25th June 2011). I was in the TA for five years driving HGVs in the RCT. That's the Royal wagoners for the really aged, or the Royal Logistics Corps if you're more up to date. Royal Corps of Transport when I was in it.
I'll say to start I've never seen any combat, about the most dangerous thing I did was testing a freshly built pontoon bridge over the river Weser. The engineers had just finished it and we were the first unit of lorries to happen by - we were ordered to drive across it and back to make sure it worked. The Weser is a pretty wide and fast flowing river so if we'd gone in it wouldn't have been good. And of course it was night time, tactical so no lights - just tiny luminous dots on sticks on the edges of the bridge to guide us. The bridge wasn't much wider than our lorries either.
It was 'wear your uniform to work' day for reservists yesterday, so to join in and show support I wore my soldier '95 shirt and veterans badge when I went out in the evening. Doesn't seem anyone recognises the vets badge, but the camouflage shirt did cause comments!
Some memories -
End of a 15 day exercise, too tired to care, a group of us went into a quite posh restaurant filthy dirty, still in our combats. The staff served us without complaint, the best rump steak and chips ever!
Should have been double manned, we were being volunteered by our CO for every job going. After several days going practically non stop, an officer had to take over driving my Bedford. Apparently I stayed asleep hanging in the passenger seatbelt as we drove across a ploughed field.
Using up the last of the year's ammunition allocation, blasting away with our light machine guns.
On basic training, on a field exercise I lined up my sights and pulled the trigger on an approaching figure. The training staff had wound us up that we were about to be attacked. It was fear and the desire to stop the enemy getting any closer that motivated the action. Of course they'd arranged that this was our own patrol coming back in at an unexpected time and direction. A very good lesson why you need to follow procedures and not go gung ho firing on anything that moves. OK it was blank ammunition, but I really intended to stop the target - one of my friends.
Middle of an exercise - my lorry was out of service (OK I'd crashed it) and I'd been digging trenches. Totally knackered I was about the only guy left at our location, stopping for a meal I ended up with a huge serving of sponge and chocolate custard. With a wonderful disregard for fieldcraft I sat out in the sun and scoffed the lot. Delicious.
Driving west to east through West Germany. In the west signs in windows urging us impolitely to go home. The further east you got the friendlier the natives became. Right up near the east German border we were digging a trench practically in the front garden of one house. The inhabitant came out, but rather than having a go at us about our activities, he offered a drink from his bottle of whisky.
Driver training. A smart line up of all the vehicles on camp just prior to us all going out learning to drive our HGV's. Ten minutes after we had left camp, a smart line up of all the vehicles outside the local transport cafe.
Down near Aldershot our unit were marshalling an army off road driving competition. I was collecting scores riding round the course on a motorbike. One of my colleagues reckoned he could ride the bike through a two foot deep swamp that was part of the competition course. I let him try, the failure was spectacular, mud everywhere. Next time I delivered the results to the officers I got a very strange look - my uniform pristine but the bike a large mobile blob of mud.
Driver training. Not me, but one of the trainees proved the lorries could drive straight over a car, in this case a parked Porsche. The guy passed his test two days later.
Coming back from Germany, driving one of our Bedfords through customs. Nothing to declare? Only two SLRs, high powered rifles, two LMG machine guns and the beer for half the squadron. Presumably someone had done the paperwork, we were just waved through.
Good times, and just enough of an experience to appreciate what the real heroes who are in regular combat operations go through.
I'll say to start I've never seen any combat, about the most dangerous thing I did was testing a freshly built pontoon bridge over the river Weser. The engineers had just finished it and we were the first unit of lorries to happen by - we were ordered to drive across it and back to make sure it worked. The Weser is a pretty wide and fast flowing river so if we'd gone in it wouldn't have been good. And of course it was night time, tactical so no lights - just tiny luminous dots on sticks on the edges of the bridge to guide us. The bridge wasn't much wider than our lorries either.
It was 'wear your uniform to work' day for reservists yesterday, so to join in and show support I wore my soldier '95 shirt and veterans badge when I went out in the evening. Doesn't seem anyone recognises the vets badge, but the camouflage shirt did cause comments!
Some memories -
End of a 15 day exercise, too tired to care, a group of us went into a quite posh restaurant filthy dirty, still in our combats. The staff served us without complaint, the best rump steak and chips ever!
Should have been double manned, we were being volunteered by our CO for every job going. After several days going practically non stop, an officer had to take over driving my Bedford. Apparently I stayed asleep hanging in the passenger seatbelt as we drove across a ploughed field.
Using up the last of the year's ammunition allocation, blasting away with our light machine guns.
On basic training, on a field exercise I lined up my sights and pulled the trigger on an approaching figure. The training staff had wound us up that we were about to be attacked. It was fear and the desire to stop the enemy getting any closer that motivated the action. Of course they'd arranged that this was our own patrol coming back in at an unexpected time and direction. A very good lesson why you need to follow procedures and not go gung ho firing on anything that moves. OK it was blank ammunition, but I really intended to stop the target - one of my friends.
Middle of an exercise - my lorry was out of service (OK I'd crashed it) and I'd been digging trenches. Totally knackered I was about the only guy left at our location, stopping for a meal I ended up with a huge serving of sponge and chocolate custard. With a wonderful disregard for fieldcraft I sat out in the sun and scoffed the lot. Delicious.
Driving west to east through West Germany. In the west signs in windows urging us impolitely to go home. The further east you got the friendlier the natives became. Right up near the east German border we were digging a trench practically in the front garden of one house. The inhabitant came out, but rather than having a go at us about our activities, he offered a drink from his bottle of whisky.
Driver training. A smart line up of all the vehicles on camp just prior to us all going out learning to drive our HGV's. Ten minutes after we had left camp, a smart line up of all the vehicles outside the local transport cafe.
Down near Aldershot our unit were marshalling an army off road driving competition. I was collecting scores riding round the course on a motorbike. One of my colleagues reckoned he could ride the bike through a two foot deep swamp that was part of the competition course. I let him try, the failure was spectacular, mud everywhere. Next time I delivered the results to the officers I got a very strange look - my uniform pristine but the bike a large mobile blob of mud.
Driver training. Not me, but one of the trainees proved the lorries could drive straight over a car, in this case a parked Porsche. The guy passed his test two days later.
Coming back from Germany, driving one of our Bedfords through customs. Nothing to declare? Only two SLRs, high powered rifles, two LMG machine guns and the beer for half the squadron. Presumably someone had done the paperwork, we were just waved through.
Good times, and just enough of an experience to appreciate what the real heroes who are in regular combat operations go through.
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