Another day in the La La Land of Brexit

Another day, another nail in the coffin of democracy in the House of Commons. What’s the point of parliamentary votes when the government, a minority government at that, feels free to ignore them? But that’s where we are now. Remember, all this mess was created by people who claimed that they wanted to restore the sovereignty of the British Parliament, yet we have a government and Prime Minister which ignore parliament and press on with what passes for their plan. That would be a plan to make us all poorer, a plan to restrict our civil rights, a plan to strip us of our European citizenship. There’s no agreement on anything in the House of Commons, except that this is absolute chaos, that what remains of the UK’s international reputation as a stable democracy has been resoundingly trashed by the UK itself. It's a complete COCK-UP.

The first amendment to be voted on yesterday instructed the government to ask for an extension to Article 50 in order for there to be another referendum on the EU. Labour decided that it was not going to support this amendment, following on from Corbyn forgetting to mention his party’s support for another referendum after the government was defeated the other day. So if you were looking to the Labour party to rescue us all from this Brexit mess, think again. All Labour is fit for is abstention. As the amendment was voted upon in the Commons, the vast majority of Labour’s MPs sat firmly on their benches – because that’s the only way that they can cover their arses.

As expected due to the failure of Labour to back it, the amendment was defeated. This doesn’t mean that there can’t be another EU referendum, but the magnitude of the defeat gives a boost to the Brexists. Jacob Rees Mogg took to social media to self-congratulate himself on the death of a second referendum, but Jacob’s gloating is premature. You’d think he would recognise when something is undead, but apparently not. The chances of another EU referendum are less than they were, but they’re not entirely gone yet.
Then the House voted on whether to take over control of business from the government. That amendment was defeated by the narrowest of margins, allowing Theresa May the slimmest of lifelines. That just left Labour’s amendment, and the government’s own amendment. Labour wanted the House to agree to ask for an extension of Article 50 beyond the 29th of March in order for Parliament to try and find something it could agree on. Labour’s amendment didn’t specify a time limit. It was defeated by 16 votes.

That only left the government’s own amendment, which sought to ask the EU for an extension of Article 50 until 30th June for the purposes of passing the necessary legislation – assuming that Theresa May’s deal has passed. This amendment passed by a large majority.

So that’s where we are now. The government has pledged to ask the EU for an extension to Article 50 even though it’s been swearing blind for the past two years that it wasn’t going to do so. It’s entirely within the gift of the EU to decide whether to grant an extension, and they may very well decide that there’s no point in extending the Article 50 process until 30th June when it’s obvious that there is more squabbling within the UK than there is at a serial adulterer’s will reading. Some figures within the EU have noted that it’s pointless to grant another extension unless there is some credible justification from the UK for what the extension can achieve. The EU doesn’t see much point in granting extra time to the UK just so that the UK can continue to disgree with itself. On the other hand there is talk in some EU circles of granting an extension, but only a much longer one. Despite the text of the government’s amendment that a longer extension would require the UK to participate in May’s EU elections, this is not necessarily the case. Thank god we’ve got a strong and stable British government eh. Just imagine the chaos and confusion if we didn’t.

We’re now just two weeks away from Brexit day, and the UK has been reduced to begging the EU for extra time so that it can try to sort itself out, but still without any clear idea of how it’s going to achieve that. All we hear is the “will of the people” from politicians who are determined to ensure that the people never get to express what their will is, because apparently the referendum of June 2016 was the final word in democratic expression which trumps everything else for all time. As I said earlier, it's a complete COCK-UP. But, not just any old COCK-UP. It's a Tory COCK-UP. Almost matched by the Labour COCK-UP in not offering a credible alternative.

A walk in foreign parts.....

Passport? Tick! Visa? Tick! Injections? Tick! Travel insurance? Tick! Pith helmet? Tick! Then it's off across the border to have a walk in Devon.

This walk started and ended at the station in Bere Ferrers, one of the two villages on the Bere Peninsular, 'twixt the Tavy and Tamar Rivers. Between 1972 and 1974, we lived in the other village, Bere Alston. The 5 mile route we followed was taken from a leaflet entitled 'Heralds of Spring - Discovering Daffodils'. This part of the world was, for many years, a centre of the daffodil growing industry. This has now declined significantly but reminders of it can be seen everywhere in the hedgerows and the margins of fields. The leaflet described the walk as 'moderate with some steep uphill sections and long climbs but well worth it'. And so it proved.

Bere Ferrers station, a stop on the Tamar Line which runs from Plymouth to Gunnislake. It's a very picturesque route and well worth taking. Two things to notice in the image. Firstly the way the track curves sharply just past the bridge. Secondly, the sign on the right hand side of the post about the New Zealanders 1917 Memorial.

The Bere Ferrers Rail Accident occurred at this station on 24th September 1917 when ten soldiers from New Zealand alighted from their troop train on the wrong side of the train, having assumed they should leave by the same side they had entered, and were struck and killed by an oncoming express.
Two troopships of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the Ulimaroa and the Norman, had just arrived at Plymouth Sound from New Zealand, and the soldiers were en route to Sling Camp on Salisbury Plain. Their train left Plymouth Friary railway station at 15:00, the soldiers had not eaten since 06:00 that morning and had been told that at the train's first stop, Exeter, two men from each carriage could collect provisions from the brake van.
In response to a signal the train made an unscheduled stop at Bere Ferrers station at 15:52. The length of the train meant that the end carriages were outside the station and those aboard assumed that this must be Exeter station. Eager to break their ten-hour fast and ignoring the 'two from each carriage' rule, many jumped down, some onto the down-line track.
The London Waterloo to Plymouth express train had left Exeter on time at 14:12 and had made its previous stop at Tavistock. As it approached Bere Ferrers the driver noticed the stationary train and gave a prolonged blast on his whistle, but there is a sharp turn on the approach to the station and the driver was unable to see the soldiers on the track ahead until it was too late.
The express was travelling at 40 mph and nine soldiers were killed instantly before the express managed to come to a halt a quarter of a mile beyond the station. A tenth died later in Tavistock Hospital. One of the survivors said "We never thought of an express travelling at 40 miles per hour. They don't travel at that rate in New Zealand. It was a wonder more of us were not killed." The inquest revealed that the men instinctively exited the train from the same side they had entered, placing them on the railway's other track.

 

On the banks of the Tavy looking down the estuary to its confluence with the Tamar. Mud, glorious mud.

The small creek at Gnatham Quay. At one time this would have been used to load produce destined for the markets in Devonport and Plymouth. Nowadays, a pleasant place to stop for a drink.

A view down the Tavy from a higher elevation than the previous one.

A little higher still and the Tamar is clearly visible coming in from the right. There are three bridges in this image.

And here they are. The railway bridge over the Tavy in the foreground and the two bridges spanning the Tamar at Saltash in the midground. The zoom lens I used compresses the perspective somewhat, making the bridges appear closer together than they actually are.

Looking back to the Tavy from near Collytown Manor through a natural arch formed by the hedgerows.

A footbridge in Holes Wood. A place to return to when the bluebells are out.

And these are trees in nearby Rapes Wood.

A gate at Colleytown Forge. The meaning behind the figures is open to interpretation. An innocent depiction of the owner's hobbies? Or, perhaps, showing some antagonism between the two sports? 

Just a few of the various types of daffodil we saw as we walked around.

A fairly typical bank of mixed types that we encountered as we walked around. This one was at Hole Farm.. Many of the displays such as these originate from daffodil farmers discarding bulbs when fields were put to other uses or, perhaps, when older varieties were replaced by newer ones. Whatever the reason, they really make for spectacular walking at this time of year.

We came across just a few clumps of the native daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus). So small and delicate compared to the much larger variants and hybrids we saw more often.

The male flowers (catkins) on hazel trees are blindingly obvious - and this year seems to be a good year for them. But where are the girls? Without female flowers there will be no nuts…. The catkins are opening out to release their pollen and the much smaller female flowers are appearing. You have to look closely to spot them as they’re just a wisp of red or cream peeking out from the tip of a bud. What you see is just a part of the flower, the styles, that will receive the pollen. The rest of the flower is inside the bud. The more female flowers there are, the more chance there is of a good crop of nuts at the end of the summer. And it looks as if that will be the case for 2019. Here's a botanical fact for you: In hazel, the male and female flowers grow on the same tree: so-called monoecious, from the Greek for one house. Guess what 'dioecious' means?

One of the earliest flowering tree is the Blackthorn (Prunus spinose), commonly known as the sloe. Blackthorn blossom comes out before its leaves and Hawthorn is the other way around, leaves appear first then the flowers. I love the way Blackthorn blossom cheers up the most dismal grey wet days of March.

Odd things by the wayside: Part XXV. I've no idea what it is.

 

Just some topical cartoons

 A few political cartoons taken from a site that compiles those that are published around the world. It's always interesting to get another perspective on current affairs.

NY Times, USA.

Po.litico

Caglecartoons, Netherlands.

De Volkskrant, Netherlands.

Politicalcartoons.com, Croatia.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, U.S.

The Augusta Chronicle, U.S.

The Columbus Dispatch, U.S.

Gonamena and Caradon Hill Walk

Isn't that the way it goes? The hottest February since records have been kept and we choose to walk on the day the weather broke. But were we daunted? Of course not. A hardy band of us donned our waterproofs and did a 5 miler on the fringe of Bodmin Moor.

The route we followed is one that we've done a few times before and enjoyed. It starts and ends in the car park of the Crow's Nest Inn in the old mining settlement of Crow's Nest on the southern fringes of Bodmin Moor. We walked up the Gonamena Valley to Minions (at around 1000 ft, the highest village in Cornwall) and then circumperambulated Caradon Hill back to our starting point. It really is a very pleasant jaunt with lots to see - if you like mining history.

The first 1/2 mile or so was pretty steep and a good cardio-vascular work out. It was along a track that miners would have used to get to their places of work. Lots of granite steps to negotiate.

These mines in the Gonamena Valley enjoyed a boom and bust existence. Lodes of copper were discovered in 1837 but by the end of the century most had ceased operations. At one time, this area was the third largest producer of copper in Cornwall. All that are left now are the abandoned mine buildings and the spoilheaps. But these are only the most visible remnants, look closely and you can make out much, much more. There are tramways, reservoirs, leats cobbled dressing floors, buddles……………..

Looking eastwards with Jope's Shaft in the foreground and the engine house of Rule's Shaft on the horizon.

Looking southwards with the sea in the distance. Sharp eyes should be able to make out Rame Head where sky and sea meet.

Granite sleepers on the Gonamena Incline, a counterweight system constructed in the 1840s.

Just passed Minions and looking towards Kit Hill. Home, sweet home. But we can never make our place out from up here.

Mining took place all around Caradon Hill and these are the crumbling remains of the engine house and stack of Wheal Jenkin in Minions.

The tail end of a rainbow. It looks as if it is ending by the farm that makes Cornish Blue Cheese - a very tasty crock of gold.

The ivy-clad engine house and chimney stack of Jope's Shaft. It was sunk in 1864 and was later equipped with a man-engine, think vertical conveyor-belt, to carry miners up and down the shaft. 

It's a good year for Hazel catkins. You can see both the male catkins and the female flowers here.

A naked tree that took my eye.

And it did rain in quite heavy, but short, bursts.

The colourful buds of a willow of some variety.

A weekend at Housel Bay: Part 2 of 2

The second walk on our weekend and this one meant that we had completed our circumnavigation of the Lizard. We started this one in the Square at St Keverne. Despite a very misty start, the weather cleared up and we had good views all the way around.

The route, at 5 miles or thereabouts, was a mixture of very pleasant footpaths, three coves that we were not familiar with and a stretch of coast. It had its moments but was not overly strenuous.

About 15 minutes into the walk and looking back to St Akeveranus, the parish church in St Keverne. Unusually for Cornwall, it has a spire on the top of its tower. The haze soon cleared.

Rather perversely, although there were lots of daffodils everywhere, these narcissi caught my eye. many of the fields we crossed were once put down to daffodils and the remnants were all around to see in the hedgerows and field edges.

I suppose it is because of the relative scarcity of wood in the west of Cornwall, and the relative abundance of granite, that Cornish stiles tend to be made of the latter. The modern cattle grid is, of course, the direct descendant of these structures. Inflated in size but deflated in romance.

And yet another one. The pit between the horizontal slabs comes in various depths and are good ankles traps to avoid.

I particularly like this view back into the tunnelled path we came from. It's like a portal into another world.

I liked this mix of Spring flowers - camellias, magnolias and white periwinkle (Vinca major Alba).

A dumper dumped. Given the terrain, it must have been quite an effort to get it to where it rested.

We came to the coast at Porthallow. Once upon this beach was sandy but, as a result of many years of quarrying nearby, the beach is now one of pebbles and grey shingle. It is, however, used for watersports and diving.

A mile or so along the coast and we came to another cove, Porthkerris. Access was restricted until fairly recently because it was used as a loading point for a nearby quarry. The now-abandoned crushing plant is that ugly building in the background. The cove itself now has the reputation of being one of the best diving spots in the UK. The Manacles and other reefs are just off-shore and they attract a lot of enthusiasts.

Talking of ugly buildings, the next cove along, Porthoustock, had this beauty. Another stone crushing plant and one that would be eminently suitable for a themed boutique hotel. The beach here was another of pebbles and shingle but is used for watersports. There is still a small fleet of fishing boats, which go out for carbs and lobsters mainly.

This row of thatched ex-quarry workers cottages was rather a surprise to come across. Not something that was expected and looking very attractive in the sun.

We finished coming back into the very large and densely packed graveyard at St Akeveranus. From a leaflet: "Sometime between 500 and 600 A.D., a man came to St. Keverne, who eventually gave his name to the place. KIERAN or KEV RAN came from Cape Clear in the district of Kerry, Ireland, and was probably the first Christian to live in this parish.On the site of our Parish Church, he built himself a hut to live in and another close by to serve as a Church, at the entrance of which he would have placed a wooden Cross. It is not known whether he died here, but if he did, he would have been buried near his two huts, later when other Christians died, they would have been buried near him. Thus the Church and Churchyard had begun in St.Keverne".

This finely carved font dates from the 15th Century.

Church interior with impressive barrel roof and large rood. The church is very large for a village church and in its present form is predominantly 15th-century, with few traces of any earlier building. The remodelling zeal of the Victorians seems to have bypassed this church.