I'm from Bury

me-and-benji72.jpg
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

...sings Mark E Smith, even though he's from Prestwich, closer to Manchester. I'm from Bury, Lancs - or now Greater Manchester - in the North of England. I was born two years after World War II ended in a maternity hospital in a district called Jericho and lived for my first three years in Wyndham Street, in an area of central Bury called The Mosses. After that we went up in the world and moved nearer Whitefield (and Prestwich) to an estate of semis called Sunny Bank, when it was just three or four streets off Manchester Road, surrounded by fields. The fields were being built on - so lots of places to play, including lime pits - and today it's a huge sprawling suburb, a mainly Jewish overspill from North Manchester. Dad, being a travelling salesman for a paper-machinery company, had the only car, well, a green Commer van actually, in the street for many years. We weren't the first to get a television, however.

The Mosses was demolished and lay empty for years, the grid of streets still visible, hosting the annual fair, with its black pea stalls, nude show, steam yachts, big wheel and waltzers, which as kids were our discos, playing all the hits - Johnny and the Hurricanes, Del Shannon and Lord Rockingham's XI - at full volume, trying to mask out the noise of the huge throbbing generators ringing the fair's edges. Today it's buried under the 'world-famous' market and Angouleme Way (named after Bury's twin town in France).

School was a long walk away back in the direction of Bury: St Chad's near Gigg Lane, home of Bury FC 'The Shakers', and then after my 11+ Bury High School, which became The Derby School, and is now a sixth-form college. I failed to pass the entrance exam into Bury Grammar School so never met Victoria Wood! The other place to hear pop music was at football matches and I can remember first hearing The Shadows' Apache at Tranmere Rovers' ground, when Bury thrashed them 7-1 (on 1 October 1960).

Another place I lived for about a year 1961-62 was The Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Hospital in Oswestry, Salop, where I was 'cured' of a congenital defect - well, they tried their best. Treatment for the condition is much more successful nowadays. Soon after returning home, we moved to the other side of Bury, off Bolton Road, to a dormer bungalow. It was still a long walk to school! My sister and her children all live nearby to this day. In 1965 I travelled south, to London (along with pop star Peter Skellern), a place Down South I'd read about in Melody Maker, the NME and Sounds - where it was all happening.

The reason I'm writing this is to preface some reminiscences that I'm going to move over from my Geocities site to this blog, as Geocities will be closed down at some point.

Other reminiscences:
British Blues: part 1 Bury
British Blues: part 2 Manchester
British Blues: part 3 London
Helix
Glad Day and Guildford Arts Lab

Astoria interiors

Archived Report - The Astoria Theatre (aka Coral Bingo) - Brighton - 11-4-09 - UK Urban Exploration Forums

Plans to demolish Astoria in Brighton

Plans to demolish Astoria in Brighton (From The Argus): Oh no! what will happen to my murals?? We can't let this happen...

L'illusionniste at the Cameo

Cameo cinema
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

There's a scene in Sylvain Chomet's beathtakingly beautiful L'illusionniste (The Illusionist) in which the Jacques Tati character stumbles into the Cameo cinema, in which Mon Oncle is playing (there's also a poster for Belleville Rendez-vous outside!). We see the interior with a few rows of seats dotted here and there with people, and its classical columns and arches either side. And I'm watching the film in that very same cinema - how cool is that?

An animated cartoon film about a conjurer? That's about as daft as putting a ventriloquist on radio - but it works, the tricks are just as beguiling! It's also about the death of variety, which is pretty ironic as here we are 50 years later and all around all manner of live acts are entertaining the punters in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Some people have said the film is slow moving, but the pace is about what you'd expect in a Tati film - it's based on an unpublished script of his, written in 1956. Its glory is in the gorgeous drawing and attention to detail - from the awesome panoramas of the Western Isles (it has to be seen on the big screen) and the aerial tracking shots of 1959 Edinburgh to the chip shop menu, the cars and buses and the many steam trains (I spotted 4472 Flying Scotsman near the end and the others depicted looked spot on). The sound effects are also remarkable. Wet and hilly Edinburgh has never looked so beautiful. If you do go, take some tissues - it's ultimately a sad and moving story - and don't leave before the credits have rolled - there's a bonus bit at the end!

Westward Ho! to Wales

Worm's Head Ale
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

Continuing my exploration of Britain's extremities, I left Bristol on Monday 26 July and crossed the border under the tunnel into Wales. The objective was the smallest city in the world - St David's, a name that often appears on BBC weather maps. But first I had to visit that mini-extremity the Gower Peninsular, a district made famous by map-drawer Neil Gower (I wish I could find that postcard he drew!). I headed for Swansea, Freedom of South of Wales Flexi-Rover in my hand (but see my rant about it), and stopped off at Swansea Market for some laverbread and cockles to sustain me. Hmm, I love seaweed but the small 'teb' at £2 was far too much for me. The-hot-off-the-griddle Welsh cakes however were yummy. I only had time to pop my head into the famous Kardomah cafe, before catching the 118 bus to Rhossili. The bus journey wasn't as scenic as I'd hoped, with just tantalising glimpses of far-off bays through hedges, and it didn't go to Port Eynon either. When we arrived at the extremity, my heart sank, seeing a long long walk downhill ahead of me (and the corresponding long walk uphill back). However, an unprepossessing pub beckoned and with a pint of Tomos Watkin's Worm's Head Ale in my hand I went out into the beer garden at the back to be presented with the most amazing sight! Bar Helvetia (named after the 1887 wreck on the beach) of the Worm's Head Hotel must have one of the world's most outstanding views.

After an unsuccessful trip to find the Mumbles and a night at the excellent Alexander Hotel in Uplands (£35 a night), I set out west again (a train ride with wonderful views of the coastline) to the ancient city of Carmarthen, my base camp for St David's. But first, to get my steam railway fix, I made a bus detour to Bronwydd Arms - no not a pub, but the station for the Gwili Steam railway. As I puffed down the 1/4 mile hill from the bus stop, the train was just about to leave, but a chap in a hi-vis very kindly made it wait until I'd bought my ticket (£4 with senior and Rover discounts). The train was in two halves: the front were all having an optional cream tea; the rest were in the back two carriages. At the end of the line at Danycoed I discovered we were being hauled by Haulwen, a Vulcan Foundry 0-6-0ST, and there were several other industrial locos dotted about in various states of repair. After an apple slice in the cafe and a tour of the signal box, I headed back to the smart Spilman Hotel (£54 a night).

Wednesday 28 July was St David's day, so I got a train to Haverfordwest (which had another castle and looked like a nice place to visit) and the 411 bus to St David's. After a near miss head-on with a white van on the narrow roads and some spectacular views at Newgale, we arrived at the village. I was expecting a mini-cathedral like the one in Kirkwall, Orkney, but just down a lane, in a dip was the full-size deal! Plus a ruined Bishop's Palace behind. I had a very nice bowl of tomato and basil soup in the refectory and a walk round - the misericords and roof caught my eye. The real extremity on the coast looked like a long walk away, so as I had a while to wait for the bus back, had a pint in the only pub in the city, The Bishop's.

Thursday I was heading back to Swansea to stay with my friend from late-1960s Guildford, Loppy, but for a bonus trip decided to head to Tenby, a place I'd seen on the tv programme Coast, and the most popular place in the whole of Wales, judging by how ramjam packed with kids the two-carriage diesel was! At Tenby I discovered a cafe with a fabulous view, appropriately called Caffe Vista, had a quick whizz round the town and back onto the train for Swansea and a coffee with Loppy and her friend Julie in The Mumbles. And Friday it was the long journey home, changing at Cardiff and Bristol. Job done! Some great views and a steam train.

Other extremities:

John O'Groats and Orkney

Margate and Ramsgate

Dungerness

PS. Obviously, I didn't set out from Westward Ho! This Devonshire village has the only place name in the UK with an exclamation mark. Unfortunately, the Transport font, designed by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert between 1957 and 1963, used for all UK road signs, doesn't have an exclamation mark!

Bristol: Thekla and Brunel

The real Mr Brunel
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

When I was thinking of relocating from Guildford back in 1987, Bristol was on the list. It's arty, what with the Watershed and Arnolfini, near water and has that industrial chic. Brighton won out, however, but I was back in Bristol on Saturday 24 July to see a performance of Viv Stanshall's Stinkfoot at the Thekla, the ship he called 'The Old Profanity Showboat', where it was first performed in 1985. I knew nothing about Stinkfoot or what to expect, so in a moment of madness booked two nights at the YHA, based on price and its fabulous location right on the dockside. The downside was that I had to bunk up with snoring strangers and brave its ferocious showers!

Originally co-written with his wife Pamela Ki Longfellow and based on a children's book she'd written, this production was more of a promenade showcase, with songs belted out by many of the original performers (including Nikki 'B' Lamborn, Jon Beedell, and Pete Coggins), narrated splendidly by a stubbly Tony Slatterly, with Pete Moss conducting an amazing band squashed into the right hand of the stage and auditorium, and Viv and Ki's daughter Silky Longfellow-Stanshall taking centre stage as Elma the Electrifying Elver. Cats it wasn't, but I must confess that in the first half it was sounding like Meatloaf meets Tina Turner (or Janis Joplin?), what with all the big voices, but it got better in the second half, the highlight of which was the appearance of Viv's ukulele! To my shame, the only songs I recognised were the lament 'I'd rather cut my hands' and the show-stopper 'No time like the future' but we joined in where we could - others had a Brechtian/ Tiger Lillies / Nigel Burch / Foster & Gilvan feel to them - must investigate them further (listening to 'Dog Howl in Tune' now). See some of Mark Garland's photos of the show here.

So, Stinkfoot over and a sleepless night in a top bunk, it was Sunday 25 July and time to explore Brunel's Bristol. After a pleasant walk by the 'floating harbour' (shame the steam harbour railway wasn't operating), I was first visitor into SS Great Britain. This attraction must get a prize for best ticket (and for the £9.50 you can revisit for a year) and the ship itself is fabulous! First you get to go 'underwater' to visit the hot dry dock in which it was built, with a close up view of the revolutionary propeller and balanced rudder - and all the holes in the iron hull!) then through an exhibition (where you get the opportunity to stamp your ticket!) and finally onto the weather deck (curiously low and flat, compared with modern day cruise liners!) - and then below! There's a lot to see, from the cramped berths, even in 1st Class, to the steam engine, only ever meant to spring into action when the wind dropped, the promenade deck full of light and where they stabled the horses in the bow. As I was leaving, I chanced upon Mr Brunel himself strolling about and took a photo. As I left, a huge queue was getting longer, so get there early!

I took the 60p ferry across the water and met my IllustratorsUK friend June Goulding, for a soup in the Museum and Art Gallery and a bus trip to Clifton to see Brunel's Suspension Bridge. Now, I have a bit of a phobia about bridges, and this is a bit of a tall one! We joined the 3pm tour, but soon got bored and decided to go it alone. Phew! Don't look down! Well, I made it across, and after a visit to the shop, we came back along the opposite side, with a view of the Giant's cave where Brunel's original scheme would have terminated and the sight of a couple of brave chaps clambering up the cliffs on ropes. Then it was back to the YHA to grab a better bed, a pint at the Llandoger Trow (I preferred the Bath Ale at the YHA to be honest), and - tired and aching - to bed before heading off to South Wales the following morning.

PS. At breakfast at the YHA, I made a piece of toast and presented it on a plate to the counter assistant, asking for baked beans and scrambled egg to be placed on top. She arranged the cooked food neatly around the toast! This revelation started quite an interesting thread on Facebook, some people asserting that beans would make the toast soggy. I say that's the whole point! The clue is in the name: beans on toast.

PPS. Another treat was to see 71000 Duke of Gloucester in the sidings just outside Bristol, ready to haul the Torbay Express.

A rant about Rail Rovers

A Rail Rover is a great idea - in theory - you get 4 out of 8 days unlimited travel by train and some of them even include ferries and buses, especially important in Scotland and Wales where English bus passes are not recognised. So, for my latest trip around South Wales I wanted to buy a Freedom of South Wales Flexi Rover. That's £54 (or £35 with senior railcard) for four days train and eight days bus travel. So far, so good. However I then discovered that you can't buy one online, the man at the end of the Arriva phone line had never heard of them ('Did I want a season ticket?', he asked) and Brighton ticket office said I could only buy one 3 days in advance. So on my day of travel, I popped into the Travel Centre at Brighton station and bought one (I'd already bought my tickets to Bristol and back from the Great Western website). Trouble was, when I first tried to use it, I was informed by the guard that I'd been given in fact a 3 in 7 Rover! Not good at all... I'd neglected to print off the list of buses I could use and a map of the rail lines covered, so at Swansea I popped into their Travel Centre and got my 'pack', with map, vouchers and the all-important list of bus companies participating. This was to become very useful. The assistant was bemused by the 3 in 7 bit, as these don't really exist, but couldn't exchange my ticket for a proper one - I would have had to buy another Rover and try to get my money back at Brighton. But as I'd already used a day's worth (the guard had kindly filled in the first box - of four! - for me!) I decided to risk it and maybe forget to cross off one or two of the days. My first encounter with a bus was my trip to the Gower. The driver scratched his chin insisted they didn't take them and I had to stump up £4 for a Gower Explorer day ticket! That bus company was on the list, and after that experience I underlined the bus companies I was attempting to get journeys out of in the pack brochure and stuck it under their noses! Granted, it got easier the further west I travelled, but it was embarrassing to be viewed with suspicion every time I wanted to make a bus journey. I put it down to the design of the pass. First, it's flimsy for something that will be in constant use for 8 days, plus it says Rail Rover in big letters at the top - nothing about buses! On my travels I spotted loads of posters on stations for the 'Freedom' pass, but nobody had informed the bus drivers about it! Why not a more substantial pas, with Rail and Bus Rover in big letters and a list of the bus companies covered on the back. But maybe that's what they should look like and Brighton sold me a dud! Next time, I'll wait to buy my Rover in the area I'll be needing it in - or online if they'll let me - like last year's Scottish Rover. PS. And why can't they print the Rovers on card that you can actually write on without it smudging?

Top 5 Isle of Wight attractions

Shanklin cliff lift
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

The Isle of Wight is a bus pass paradise. Almost all the bus routes radiate out from Newport, in the middle of the island, and all buses go to the seaside. Get yourself a Southern Vectis timetable and the isle is your oyster! It also includes useful town centre maps. There are one or two complications however: some routes, such as the 7 to Alum Bay, go three different ways (why not call them 7a, 7b and 7c I wonder?) so check the small print. Another swizz is that some destinations, such as the Needles Batteries and Shanklin Esplanade, are only accessible by Breezer buses, and they cost a tenner for a day ticket (but you do get an open-top ride and an informative running commentary). We were staying in a lovely thatched cottage in Carisbrooke (on all the 7 route variants), close to Newport, so were ideally placed to explore the island. Here are my top five attractions.

1 Isle of Wight steam railway
The steam railway is a fragment of what was once an extensive rail network, now mostly cycle paths. It goes from nowhere (Smallbrook Junction, where it meets the Island Line, the official railway from Ryde Pier to Shanklin which uses old London tube trains, but no other way off the platform) to the middle of nowhere (near Wootton, but thankfully near a 9 bus stop). The main station, Havenstreet, is where the shop, shed, cafe and museum is. The locos are mainly industrial Hunslet saddle tanks, thought they have a couple of Terriers and there's a strange 'O2' Class 0-4-4T No W24 Calbourne being restored and almost ready for action. There's also a workshop where some amazing carpentry is going on.

2 Needles Old Battery
Every visitor to the Isle wants to see the Needles, and the best place is from the Old Battery, right at the western tip of the island. The bus only goes to Alum Bay, so it's either a long walk along the cliff top or a hair-raising ride on the Breezer. Cars can only go as far as the £4 Alum Bay car park. It costs to go in, but the view from the searchlight tunnel is well worth it. And there are explanatory cartoons everywhere by Eagle and Lion artist Geoff Campion. The New Battery (closed on Mondays) is further up the hill and is where secret rocket tests were held.

3 Cowes chain ferry
I love ferries, and this one is similar to the chain one at Poole Harbour. It also reminded me of the ferry between North Shields and South Shields. I went from East Cowes to Cowes (there is no West Cowes!) and it's free for pedestrians and cyclists. Unfortunately, unlike Poole, you can't get the bus over it! There is nothing to see at East Cowes (except Osborne House) and Cowes reminded me a bit of Falmouth or Hastings old town, with its pedestrianised high street, running parallel to the sea. Couldn't find a pub with a sea view!

4 Carisbrooke Castle
This is one big castle, bang in the middle of the island. Our cottage was at the bottom of the hill, by a ford, and used to be a tea rooms catering to the tourists who arrived by train. There is no station now, so most people arrive by coach (no bus goes up the hill!). It houses a museum, with cases on local legends Robert Hooke (born in Freshwater), Tennyson and the pioneer seismologist John Milne. The biggest claim to fame is that it was prison to Charles I and his two youngest kids. It also has a donkey-powered treadmill well.

5 Shanklin cliff lift
This took some finding. When I first went to Shanklin I had no idea where to find the sea! So I headed for tourist information and got some directions to the Lift. It's not signposted or easy to find, though it's visible from Sandown! The Victorian lift, build 1891, must have been a great thrill to travel in, with its windows and huge drop, but the 1960s version is just a concrete tower with a bog-standard office block lift built in. The original cost 1d down; 2d up - the modern one was a pound return. The esplanade down below - and pubs such as the Steamer inn - isn't accessible by regular bus, but a Breezer does go there. Another way down is via Shanklin Chine, lit up at night.



Other attractions include:
Steephill Cove, and crab sandwiches
Brading Roman Villa, with its mosaic of a chicken-headed man
Osborne House, home of Victoria and Albert
Model village at Godshill
Alum Bay chair lift
Boat trip around the Needles from Yarmouth

Other visits to the Isle of Wight:
April 2009
April 2008

Other blogs:
Roundhill Rob was another holidaymaker staying at our cottage
The Lost Promenade visited Shanklin and Sandown

More photos on Flickr.

BBC News - Art deco brightens up Brighton's Astoria cinema site

BBC News - Art deco brightens up Brighton's Astoria cinema site: my murials make the BBC website - big time at last for the dilettante artist / semi-retired illustrator!

Astoria Art

Usually all my artistic endeavours are documented on my other Art Blog, but this news is too good to contain there - so if you're passing the old Astoria cinema on the bus (or coach) and wonder who was responsible for the Art Deco artwork adorning the boarded-up facade, well, it was me! With my artistic hat on (or should that be beret?). Two of them are based on existing screenprints and the other two are purely digital, created in Freehand. The Embassy Court one was my 2nd foray into giclee printing and the Astoria one was a council commission. All are available as giclee prints. By the way, the department that commissioned me was Environmental Improvements, who also look after road sweepers and toilet attendants - nothing to do with culture at all!. Incidentally, the huge boards were printed by an old client of mine, Doubledot in Henfield - I last did an illustration job for them in 1998, when they were based in Hove!

A proper day’s Open Housing

Artists Open Houses - A proper day’s Open Housing: my latest blog for AOH.

In Bruges

Coach on the Shuttle
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

I'll bet you thought I wasn't going on another coach trip? Well, my ex-secretary Chrissie was let down by a friend and so I found myself at Preston Circus at 6.45 on a Bank Holiday Monday morning on my way Abroad - by coach! The demographic was a lot more varied than before: as well as the pensioner couples, there were lots of younger people, beer-loving single men and some whose highlight of the trip I imagined was the chance to buy vast quantities of fags and baccy on the way home.

The trip was with Heritage 'Round and About Excursions' and cost an amazingly reasonable £26. The trip to Folkestone was painless, with only a couple of pick-ups (last one at Pease Pottage, where we changed driver to Bernie) and no motorway services stops. After a paper 'mug' of tea (£1.85) we were first on Le Shuttle - my first time - no passport control, no customs! The shuttle is a very very basic metal box with no concessions to passenger comfort (unless you are a car or truck driver) - there was a huge queue for the three toilets and I stood by a very small window for the 20-minute journey through the Eurotunnel. A pull-down seat would have been nice. Of course we could have sat in the coach, but it was hot inside and rolling about with the combined suspensions of the train and bus. No sign of passport control or customs at Calais, and I didn't even notice when we later crossed the border into Belgium.

At Bruges, it was across the bridge and into the town, which was a lot bigger than I'd imagined. First task was to buy postcards, next was a Wikitravel-recommended boat trip around the canals (€6.90). It started raining - and it got worse - the captain valiantly wiped down the seats and provided umbrellas but it got colder - and windier - as we progressed. Well worth it, though. Next it was a walk round town and a search for mussels and chips. I didn't have a map and couldn't find Tourist Information so we opted for La Dentelliere - one of the Tea Rooms we'd passed on the way in - right by where the horses and carriages set off. The food (and beer) were OK but pricey, and it was nice to shelter from the rain. Back on the coach for 15.45 (English time) we waited a statutory half an hour for a missing passenger then set off for P&J's, which I thought might be a supermarket, but turned out to be a chocolate factory. The main delight, however was out the back, where the (presumably) cut-price tobacco products were selling like hot cakes - some customers lugging out several big bags of cigarettes and rolling tobacco. I bought a bag of chocolate buttons with my remaining 3 euros and we set off for Calais, having picked up the now unpopular missing woman from another coach.

At Calais, we did have to disembark to show our passports, but there were no customs checks (Bank Holiday?) and it was back on the shuttle and home by 21.30. The mind was going overtime with the possible criminal opportunities afforded by the lax security (Peter James please note!). I was told by one regular that people who want to leave the UK undetected will often choose a day trip to Belgium. A very enjoyable day out, despite the early start, and once again an opportunity to chat and interact with the temporary community that is a Coach Trip.

Abroad, part 2

The start of the Avenue Verte
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

At the Etap we signed in and our bikes were stowed away under the stairs. Mine was first in so that was the end of any more cycling on the first day. So after spotting a brochure, a few of us popped by the Post Office to a lovely 1928 Modernist building called Villa Perrotte to take in some Art. The art wasn't that interesting - apart from the giant insects in the garden - but it had a lovely red window. Then it was a quick whizz around the cathedral-like Eglise St Jacques and a coffee ('tres tres chaud', said Angela) at a cafe opposite. Back to the hotel to meet the others, we then trekked to the Bar O Metre at the far end of the beach to meet Peter Avis again, and off to Le New Haven, by the harbour, for supper. I had fish soup, mussels and chips, followed by a chocolate pancake, all washed down with a bottle of Pelforth Brune. It was Jenny's birthday and Tessa had organised her pudding to appear with two candles. The whole restaurant sang Happy Birthday, first in English and then in French! Then it was back to the hotel to await Nick, who'd spent the day in Brighton. Amanda went off to fetch him and after a few wrong turns he arrived about 4am.

Down for breakfast on Saturday and it was coffee and three kinds of cake. After a quick visit to the wonderful market to get provisions (I bought warm potatoes, radishes and an onion quiche) we set off for Arques-la-Bataille and the start of the Avenue Verte. [There is very little online about the Avenue Verte, what there is includes this mystifying site with a map, if you can find it! - tip: head north east until you see a red line!] This begins by going around lots of lakes with ducklings then follows an old railway line towards Paris. It is very smooth and wide and a joy to cycle on. We stopped at a Nature Eco Educational garden place (Parc Guy Weber) briefly and on through Saint-Vaast-d'Equiqueville to (I think) Maintru. We passed some French cyclists spreading a white tablecloth over a picnic table so thought that we'd stop at the next one. Mick went ahead to find one but couldn't so we sat on the grass and shared round the picnic. Afterwards we went off-piste and followed the river back over undulating roads with big yapping dogs at every house, rejoining the Avenue Verte at Dampierre-Saint-Nicolas. After a welcome can of ice-cold Perrier at the eco place it was on to the Bar de la Gare (some kind of gambling den) at Arques-la-Bataille for a beer. Then it was back to Dieppe on the main roads. I made it approx 30 miles.

Saturday night we all dined at the Sarajevo. I had red pepper fritters followed by scallops in a whisky sauce (Coquilles St Jacques) followed by creme brulee, with red wine. Amanda's mussels were even better than those at Le New Haven. I then staggered off to the hotel and bed, but Nick and some of the others went disco dancing at the Epsom bar.

Sunday morning the idea was to cycle the Littoral to Pourville, but I figured it involved hills, so wimped out. So did Angela - so after some of Joyce's exercises we waved them off and tootled down to the seafront cyclelane and the Bar O Metre for coffee. Then it was a short cycle ride along the front (we did contemplate a round of crazy golf) past the empty swimming pool and the lawns where the kite festival take place, to the jetty and along the harbour front, where the ferry used to come in to meet the trains. We explored the area near the inland station and ended up back at the quayside for a coffee at the Cactus cafe. We'd arranged to meet the others at the swanky Au Grand Duquesne near the church, to show support for their innovative vegetarian menu (on special offer), but only Joyce was there - she'd doubled back to vanguard the lunch. Joined by Peter we sat down and ordered, but soon were joined by the others fresh from their hill climb. I had goat's cheese and walnut raviole, followed by a huge portion of shredded leeks in a very creamy sauce with a tiny bit of pastry perched on top. I nearly couldn't finish it, but managed a dryish (pineapple?) tart for afters - accompanied by silver-medal winning cider. Then it was back to the hotel for our things, a brief dash to the ferry and a long wait in the sun to get on. We arrived back in Blighty about 8pm and said our goodbyes to the car drivers. We left Nick and Amanda at Lewes and Jim and I got off at London Road, leaving Joyce giving useful info to various bewildered French vistors, whose unfortunate first impression of England was the desolate port of Newhaven! Three cheers to Joyce for organising a weekend of glorious weather, fantastic cycling, fabulous food and cordial fellowship.

Abroad, part 1

On board the 'Seven Sisters'
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

This time last week I was wondering why anyone would want to go abroad, what with all this volcanic ash floating about causing havoc. After all, foreigners seem incapable of boiling water (and sourcing proper milk) to make a decent cup of tea, their bars serve just one kind of industrial lager - in halves - and there's all the stress of people speaking in a language other than English. The main reason people go abroad is to get some warmth, but I'd booked a weekend just across the channel in Dieppe with the Clarion cycling club, so I checked our hotel on TripAdvisor (not good - 11th out of 11 in Dieppe), packed some teabags, set the alarm clock (and I do so hate getting up early) and went to bed.

I was also worried about the rush-hour train ban in non-folding bikes, but as my folder couldn't handle panniers I thought what the hell and set off. After picking up the cheap internet tickets I'd booked in advance, we got on the Seaford train no bother and picked up a few more of our group at Lewes. At Newhaven it wasn't at all clear what we cyclists were supposed to do, but eventually joined the cars and after showing our passports to a person in a hut, were on board the good ship Seven Sisters attaching our bikes to Deck 3 with rope. That was it - no tickets, metal detectors, frisking or confiscations - though Amanda did get a grilling for her New Zealand passport!

But where was Nick? It was 20 minutes before the departure time of 9.30 and no sign, after frantic texting it appears he missed his train and was at the terminal - and they wouldn't let him on! The next ferry was at 10.30 that night. Meanwhile the 4-hour sailing was calm and uneventful. I bought a cup of tea (ie given a teabag at the cafe till and a token for the coffee machine!) and a croissant. All the cafes had a Sussex theme - the cafe was called The Lanes; the bar was the Beachy head - but all the staff were French! At Dieppe, we stood around in a cloud of fumes as the huge lorries left the ship, then it was our turn to mount the gangplank onto French soil. After being checked out by a Douane chap with gun at the roadside (we were still inside the barbed wire enclosure), we met Peter Avis and cycled over the two bridges into town and the Etap.

To be continued...

Partnership and packaging

LARAC - Home: an illustration job I did for INCPEN on packaging for local authorities.

Mr Solo in Margate

Pierrette Socobaz & Mr Solo
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

Margate has long been on my list of British sticky-out places to visit, so when I heard that Mr Solo was playing with This Happy Band at the Dead Season Live Art festival, I was straight on the train to Victoria (I could have gone via Ashford but figured it may have taken longer). The trip down to Thanet wasn't that interesting, apart from the bit around Rochester and where the line hugs the coast near Whitstable, and I couldn't work out why it took twice as long as the journey from London to Brighton.

Exiting the rather splendid station (Edwin Maxwell Fry, 1926), first stop was Arlington Square, by Dreamland, a place so mysterious it doesn't appear on Google maps. This Happy Band were warming up, but unfortunately there was a quad bike race taking place on the sands opposite, so were drowned out! Then it was on to Marine Drive Shelter where a slightly quieter funfair was in full swing. I nipped off to bag Ramsgate, seeing I was here. I caught the 34, rather than the Loop, which took me a circuitous and not very scenic route, via a shopping village at Westwood. Arriving eventually at Ramsgate harbour (very scenic), I popped into the splendidly tiled Queen's Head for a pint of London Pride (£2) and use of their facilities, then to Peter's Fish Factory. On special offer was saithe and chips for £1.90. I must confess I'd never heard of saithe, but it was very tasty and the chips were nice and brown, unlike the white soggy ones you get in lots of chippies, and I ate them on the sands watching the sea crash into the harbour breakwater. (I found out later that saithe is another name for pollock!).

So it was back on the Loop to Margate via Broadstairs (tho we didn't see much of that because of a diversion) and thence to the Substation, behind Burtons on the High Street. I thought I'd missed it all, but just caught the end of the Mr Solo set. Then it was free curry and macaroni cheese, an exhibition of Cabinets of Curiosity, a game of catch the rubber duck, and another song by Mr Solo (video on YouTube) to preface Daniel Lehan's artistic tour of Margate entitled 'Shine The Light'. Then it was back through the cold wind to the station and the long trip back to London.

As a bonus, on the way home I spotted Britannia pacific 70013 'Oliver Cromwell' at Haywards Heath, on its way back from Bristol and Bath.

Ukes in Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Tyne ferry
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

Not a single steam train in sight on this particular trip. Even though the East Coast train passed the Nene Valley Railway at Peterborough and York Railway Museum. I was up in Newcastle for Ukelear Meltdown III and staying at a lovely B&B with en suite real ale pub, The Cumberland Arms. I'd got ridiculously cheap tickets for Saturday 27 February: £2 Brighton to London Victoria and £9.50 Kings X to Newcastle, but thought I'd miss my connection when I discovered the Victoria and Circle lines were down. Just made the train with minutes to spare, however, going west to South Ken and getting the Piccadilly.

At Newcastle I had a sandwich and coffee at the excellent Centurian Cafe on the station, before walking to the Tourist Info and using my bus pass to get the 22 to Byker. The pub was in a very strange place, overlooking the Ouseburn valley but found it in the end. Met Sam and his friends in the Cluny, down the valley and up again, and after a meal and pint, climbed the other side to the Star and Shadow. I was expecting an old cinema, maybe like the Duke of York's but this was a caverous industrial building, tonight full of uke enthusiasts. Accompanied by more cheap beer, we enjoyed the Dirty Diamonds (their Stylophone encore is on YouTube) and Ukelilli, and some other bands that only seemed to have the token uke, all compered by Eilidh Macaskill. Then it was a walk back over Byker Bridge to the digs.

Sunday, after a disappointing breakfast (cold croissant and roll), I set off for the coast, catching a 2 to Tynemouth and Whitely Bay. I should have got off at Tynemouth, but got the bus back to North Shields, where after a pee and half pint at a pub, crossed the Tyne on the ferry (I bought a day Metro ticket for £3.90, which included the ferry). Spotted HMS Ark Royal at Northumbria Quay. On the other side I went to find the prize-winning chippy, but there was a queue so headed back to the Metro and on to the Star for the afternoon uke session, just as it started to rain.

The Sunday bands in the cinema were much more pro and I enjoyed Unsung National Heroes (jazzy double bass and uke combo), Lady K and her Kooky Kitchen (three-piece doing 30s numbers to slide show) and Williwaw, who improvised to a Laurel and Hardy film (last five minutes on YouTube). I was joined by old friend Yvette for the film The Mighty Uke, a great movie, but with not much UK content - where were the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, for example? Eilidh closed the festival with a short set and it was back over the bridge to Byker for a couple more pints at the Cumby.

Sunny Monday, it was into Newcastle on the Q2, via the Quayside, to the lovely Laing art gallery for a dose of Victorian art, 60s pop photos and lunch with Yvette, then the train to London, a 73 bus to Victoria and a pint at Wetherspoons whilst waiting for my £2 train home (via Lewes).

Don't chop down Clyde's bonny boughs (From The Argus)

Don't chop down Clyde's bonny boughs (From The Argus): my letter to the Argus about saving the Clyde Road plane trees.

When Wikipedia goes wrong

I love Wikipedia. I consult it nearly every day, whether it's to find out technical info for my books or just look up the episode guides for Heroes or Come dine with me. I love how it's democratic - that anyone can write or edit an entry. But sometimes pages get deleted, and that can be infuriating. Here is a case in point. A friend sent me an auction listing for cartoon illustrator Paul Sample. He's a big hero of mine, and I own a piece of his artwork, published originally in the Sunday Times. I wrote to him via the newspaper and he sold it me for a fiver! It's a beautiful example of pen and ink artwork, in the R Crumb style. As well as his editorial work, you may well remember Sample's book covers for Tom Sharpe paperbacks and ads for the Post Office, full of detail. And of course his long-running biker strip Ogri (which does still have a Wikipedia page). Anyway, I wondered why he was selling his archive. Was he hard up? - was he even dead, heaven forbid. So I consulted Wikipedia (there is also an ice hockey player with the same name), only to find that his entry had been deleted only last year by someone called Cirt! What the... This can happen, it has happened to my friends and it nearly happened to my entry. It's not that they're running short of space, the reason is nearly always that the person is 'not notable enough'. And who makes these judgements? Mainly people over in North America who have probably never heard of said people, and will only take citations from web-based sources. In other words, you don't exist unless you've been mentioned many times on the web. If you are a rock musician, but have only been in one 'notable' band, you will be deleted and 'merged' into the band's entry! You can see the flaws in that argument. Anyway, rant over for now. I have been updating the Ogri page in the hope that Paul's page might be resurrected one day. Sample isn't dead, but semi-retired like me, and I found out from the auction house, Halls of Shrewsbury, that: 'All my work has been in folders tucked away in cupboards for years', said Mr Sample, 62, who has recently moved to Whitchurch after living in North Shropshire for 30 years. 'I don't look at the work, so I have decided to give someone else the pleasure.' There's also an article in the Daily Telegraph about it. Paul Sample deserves much more recognition, as do many other jobbing 'commercial' artists.

Merry Xmas!

In case you're wondering why I haven't been blogging lately, I must point out that I have been blogging elsewhere! My art exploits are documented on my Wordpress Art Blog, where you will also find my Xmas e-card. And I have also been blogging (and Tweeting) for AOH Artists' Open Houses.