Friday 11 March 2016

Breaking news - carrots are bad for rabbits

It seems to be the first day of Spring here now, warmish (by comparison to yesterday) weather, and the sort of deep sunshine which holds the promise of more to come, not just a flash between fast-moving clouds.

I went all the way to Oxfordshire yesterday, found a load of Polish builders who spoke no English at all in my way, and that I had come unprepared for the work needed. So I got back into the car and drove home again, avoiding the M4 by going cross-country via Tetbury, and all those antique shops.

I couldn't just sail past Highgrove without popping in to say hello to my old mate, Charles, so I rapped on the iron gate and was told to fuck off by a policeman. Just wait until Chazzer hears about this.

Just looked out of the window to see a group of French girls walk past the FRANCE in lipstick on the gallery wall, and one pointed to it. The others took no notice.

The last (and first) time I spoke to Chazzer, it was in my old workshop in the centre-ish of Bath, and I see that they are just about to demolish it.

This airy room was the stable for the builder's horse, being away from direct sunlight and an almost constant temperature year-round. The previous occupant had left a little patch of wall free from fresh whitewash, and written in pencil on this spot was the date that Dobbin was last shoed. I think it was about 1920 something. It is very sad that this place is about to be knocked down for the sake of the next generation, but I suppose it comes to us all.

It is - I imagine - difficult to have a meaningful relationship with the huge, Japanese, 4x4 pick-up trucks which builders favour for tax purposes these days, but you can - or could - read between the pencil lines of the blacksmith's records to see just how much love and care was freely lavished that old work-horse by the person who looked after it, but I supposed he worked for it.

A young friend of mine's father has just walked past outside, carrying a large placard advertising the Guildhall Market. He will stand outside all day for money as a human bill-board. My young friend and her brothers are a little embarrassed about his job, especially as he is a qualified accountant, but he seems quite happy, so what the heck?

The new street-business Tzar for Bath recently said she has her eye on those placard-holders, and she implied that they bring the tone down in this genteel town of Jane Austen fame.

We are not going to be allowed to clutter the place any more as did the Victorians. If it were not for the expense, they would remove all the junkie beggars too. They tried it once, then realised that they did not have the resources to help them in the new 'care in the community' social environment.

All change... 

22 comments:

  1. If Bath cares so much keeping it nice for the tourists, they should do something about the traffic patterns. It's almost impossible to cross the street on foot, especially at the corner of Gay and George Streets.

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    1. Yes, it still is. That crossing is now the main chicken run between The Circus and the Jane Austen Museum.

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    2. Yes, but don't get your hopes up. I think it was built by a Mr Gay. Every now and then, camp men take selfies standing next to the street sign with silly smiles on their faces.

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    3. John, just to let you know, I have huffed it up Gay Street. It is steep and not for the unfit (not that you or I would ever fall into that category).

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    4. No, Iris - you are thinking of 'Gays Hill' - now that is steep. Gay Street is a gentle incline - or decline depending your proclivities.

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    5. I had to mapgoogle this real quick. To my complete and utter shame I have to admit that Gay Street, the one leading up to the round green with the big trees, is the one that I meant. And it did seem very steep to me. I am officially in the category of the unfit. Oh dang.

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    6. I came to Bath - young and fit - from two very flat places (Cambridge and Canterbury) and realised that I had not climbed any hills for quite a while. I was out of breath for about a month.

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  2. They could start by ridding themselves of 'chuggers'. In Brighton they were a pain in the arse; I imagine it's much the same in Bath.

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  3. And when all the local colour and uniqueness which draws people to Bath is gone the politician's will be the first to complain... about the loss of revenue.

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    1. By which time it will be too late, and the Bath council will be funding themselves anyway.

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  4. Do you suppose the new generation of tourists appreciate the lack of history? I am appalled at my granddaughters' ignorance of history and avoidance of much more than science fiction reading!

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    1. People only come to Bath for the history, unless they are silly University students. Preaching to the converted makes no sense if every Japanese tourist knows every word of Jane Austen off by heart.

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  5. It always makes me smile that people resist change (that doesn't apply to that old blacksmith's shop, which seems sad to me)- always happens. I think folk are scared of anything new.

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    1. I know I am. I really don't mind change for the good, it's the other sort which frightens me.

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  6. Chazzer is currently selling chocolate eggs wrapped in gold foil. Very regal looking. 'Only' 19.95 each.

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    1. That's very inexpensive, considering he makes them with his own hands - like all the oaten biscuits, etc. I believe he milks his own cows too...

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  7. Maybe the other girls you saw from your window had their gaze fixated on their smartphone, so they couldn't notice the lipstick graffiti. Nor the carrot :-)

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  8. Many a time I staggered down Milsom Street back to the office for a sleep after wine filled lunch.... no beggars then.

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