Summer in St Ives

Our holiday next summer has been confirmed. We have a fortnight in Seashore, our first choice. The girls are pleased. They will have two weeks on Porthmeor beach instead of being dragged round the artistic treasures of northern Italy. Alan and I will have to wait until they leave home before we're able to shoulder our rucksacks and set off for the continent again. It's a shame. The new Eurostar Terminal at St Pancras looks very inviting (and I'm not just thinking of the impressive champagne bar). Perhaps we'll manage a long weekend break in Bruges, or Strasbourg. Meanwhile we'll have to make do with cornish pasties, body boards and the south west coastal path. I'm not complaining.

Karine Polwart

I went to hear Karine Polwart at St George's last evening with Alan and Steve and Moira. It was the first time I had heard her live and it was great. She began and ended her gig with two of my favourite songs ('Daisy' and the 'Heron' song) which was very nice of her! Listening to her sing and talk reminded me of home (Scotland). I liked that.

There was a competition to suggest the cheesiest combination of fish and names of musicians/songs etc. I particularly liked 'Skate Rusby' and 'Pike and Tuna Turner'. We scribbled a few suggestions and one of mine 'Red Hot Chilli Kippers' made it to the shortlist but was outvoted by 'Sushi and the Banshees'. I was, of course, gutted!!!

London

Yesterday I took the girls into London to visit the V&A, which claims to hold the world's largest collection of art and design. It was the first visit for all of us and I was, as I often am, overawed by the sheer scale of the building and its contents. We concentrated on fashion, miniatures, a bit of sculpture and 20th century design which, in itself, took us 3 1/2 hours (including a bite to eat in the very stylish cafe).

London holds a very special place in my heart. I lived there for 7 1/2 years in the 80s and it was one of the happiest periods in my life, not without its low points, but my overwhelming memories are of friends and the time we shared together. There was a church, St Leonard's in Streatham, against which I have judged all other churches and found them wanting. And then there is the city itself, of which Boswell once wrote "when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."

A number of my old friends have now left London, or moved away from Streatham, and one died suddenly last year. The congregation at St Leonard's is filled with unfamiliar faces and Geoffrey has retired as rector. I have left my job in the City and sold our flat. I don't belong there any more, at least not physically. My visits are increasingly as a tourist or a protester. But as the coach sailed over the Hammersmith flyover yesterday morning there was still a tiny part of me that thrilled at the prospect of coming home.

CRAGs!

On Thursday evening I went to Broadmead Baptist Church to hear George Monbiot speak on Climate Change - Global Injustice. He spoke very powerfully of the need for 'us' to act 'now' and suggested three things that we might do which, if I remember them correctly, are:

1 take steps to ration our own carbon consumption

2 join with others to tackle climate change in our own community

3 take direct action

I have made a mental note of the date and venue of my local climate action group, but what captured my imagination was the first suggestion. I have, along with many others I know, been trying to cut my own carbon consumption but I have no idea of how effective, if at all, my efforts have been. George's reference to carbon rationing action groups (or CRAGs) prompted me to go looking for them on the internet where I found them at http://www.carbonrationing.org.uk/. It is a fairly complicated process but, given the urgency of the issue, worth considering and I would be very interested in discussing the possibility of forming such a group in the Bedminster/Southville area.

If anyone would like to join in the discussion (in one of our local hostelries, perhaps) please let me know.

Chooseday? Tuesday?

Last week I attended a cafe meeting to discuss an exciting new initiative called Chooseday. The idea is that on one day of the week (Tuesday?) you choose to break with routine and do something different, something that will be good for you and good for the planet. It is suggested that your first choice should be to leave your car at home and walk/cycle/take the bus to work. I think it is a great idea and one that I hope will capture the imagination of the people of Bristol when it is launched later this year. For further information and to register your support log on to http://www.chooseday.org/.

What will you choose to do on Tuesday?

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International Bloggers' Day

4 October 2007

Summer 2008

This afternoon I posted our booking form to Cornish Riviera Holidays. It's only a few weeks since we returned from this year's summer holiday and I am already looking ahead to next year's adventure. However if one wants a cottage in St Ives in the school holidays then this exactly what one has to do to guarantee a place of one's choice. Besides the thought of two weeks on Porthmeor beach (even if I have to sit in my hoodie with a cup of hot tea) will see me through the long cold winter.