Saffron Walden

The latest Lonely Planet guide to Great Britain has nice things to say about Essex.  After mentioning all the stereotypes of chavs and rundown seaside resorts, it then describes  “a rural idyll of medieval villages and rolling countryside”.   This is exactly what we encountered a few days ago when we visited Saffron Walden.  As the name suggests, its wealth came from the Crocus Sativus, cultivated locally for about 400 years until the end of the 18th century.  Saffron Walden has the biggest parish church in Essex which reminded me of some of the “wool” churches in Suffolk when I saw it from a distance.  It has a peal of twelve bells,  one of the largest rings in Essex. ( Of course, all this “biggest/largest” does sound a bit stereotypical Essex.)  Bellringers of the past have quite a few records to their credit, which reminded me of the Dorothy L. Sayers’ book “The Nine Tailors”.

There are quite a lot of very old buildings,  Grade 1 and Grade 2 listed, kept in good repair.  It is a pleasure to follow the Town Trail round the narrow streets.  The castle is now in ruins – I suspect it’s been decaying since Henry II rendered it indefensible in 1158.

The Lonely Planet Guide also states that Britain is now very expensive.  I’m sure that depends on the locality.  We had two excellent Ploughman’s Lunches and drinks for £15.  I’m never quite sure just how up-to-date the Lonely Planet’s research is. I’ve found before that what they print is no longer the case.   I think that the credit crunch has made cafés and restaurants more aware of the need to offer real value for money. But Saffron Walden itself is worth a visit;  a pleasant little town rich in history.  Yet I’m sure many tourists do not know of its existence and just head for Cambridge.

http://www.picturesofengland.com/England/Essex/Saffron_Walden

Inside and outside

Geoffrey Hill, Professor of Poetry gives a public lecture three times a year and yesterday was the last of this academic year.  So, after work yesterday I drove into Oxford and parked the car in St Giles, then walked across town to  the Examination Schools. Timing was tight: the lecture started at 5:30pm. Continue reading “Inside and outside”

Bahrain: The great news blackout

I had another chat with my local friendly pom who works in Bahrain for a large multi-national corporation the other day.

I asked what the latest situation was as we seemed to have very little information here in the UK.

“That’ll be the news blackout that the US and UK security services have negotiated then” he replied confidently with the air of someone who knows what he’s talking about. Continue reading “Bahrain: The great news blackout”

House hunting

Some two or three months ago, Bearsy and I decided to move – again. We’ve moved a lot of times since we’ve been here in Australia: Darwin, Canberra, Sydney, Adelaide and two and a half years ago, to Brisbane.

Buying and selling a house here is somewhat different from the UK we left – although it may have changed there. Here estate agents charge three arms, three legs and all one’s future savings for selling a house and they charge the vendor for all advertising. In Canberra, Sydney and Adelaide houses are open for inspection for an hour on Saturdays, Sundays and occasionally on weekday evenings. Prospective purchasers (and those who are bored with walking around shopping malls, those who want to see how the other half live or those who simply want to get ideas about what to do in their own homes) get in their cars at about 8.30 am and start driving. It’s not a bad system since as a vendor one only has to have the house spruced up for an ‘open house’ one hour a week, a purchaser can get some idea of what is being asked for what and for the estate agent – well since he’s charging three of everything he’s entitled to work all day Saturday and Sunday. Continue reading “House hunting”

Here’s some cheerful news.

From New Zealand.

Greenpeace loses charity status case

Greenpeace New Zealand’s political activities mean it cannot register as a charity, the High Court has decided.

Greenpeace appealed against a 2010 ruling by the Charities Commission which found its promotion of “disarmament and peace” was political rather than educational and while it did not directly advocate illegal acts, Greenpeace members had acted illegally.

Now, I wonder if our own courts will man-up and agree that vandalism and criminal damage are not charitable activities?

Not holding my breath…