London
One of the
delightful aspects of London is how you can come upon little precincts without
actually planning to do so. While walking near Kings Cross I noticed a sign
indicting the London Barge Museum. I found it unsurprisingly at the end of the
Regents Canal. In the 1700’s three long canals were dug to connect major rivers
in the southern part of England. This initiative – which also involved
construction of locks to keep the water flows under control – was an incredible
boon to trade and at its peak there were 40,000 barges plying these canals and
associated rivers. Usually they were crewed by a ‘bargee’ who also housed his
family in cramped quarters at one end of the barge.
London Barge Museum –
Regents Canal
The famous
Wedgwood Pottery business would probably not have been possible without the
canals as transporting delicate pottery over poor roads in horse drawn vehicles
was problematic for such delicate products. The canals overcame this problem.
In the
1800’s natural ice was imported from Norway! Large regular sized blocks were ‘harvested’
from pure lakes and transported to ships which delivered them to London and the
barges did the rest. They lost about 20% of the ice by volume en-route but then
stored it in insulated underground vats and well to do Victorian households
could access the ice for refrigeration purposes on a reliable basis. This
business continued until the 20th century.
The
industrialist who pioneered this venture was an Italian immigrant, Carlo Gatti,
who is also credited with inventing ice cream for sale in cones. I saw one of
his carts at the museum. Some barges are used today for housing and they can
often be seen moored in usually great locations around London.
Motorised Barge Pusher
Boats became a better option than horse drawn methods
Barges
slowly went out of fashion in the 1950’s and 1960’s as road transport became
more efficient. They are now primarily recreational.
Another
precinct I came across near Tower Bridge was St Gabriel’s wharf which is a
lively market area with lots of bars and restaurants an easy walk from Waterloo
Station. I met some former Goodman colleagues for dinner there. London is
readying for Christmas with colourful decorations and lighting adorning all
public spaces and thoroughfares.
Cornwall
The UK is
divided into counties and the two counties out to the South West of England are
Dorset and Cornwall. Cornish people have a distinctive accent and my earliest
awareness of Cornwall was in Enid Blyton books that I read as a youngster.
There were references to smugglers and their caves and Cornish names such as
Penruthlan and the like.
Cornish Coast at Lizard
I rented a
small annex to a farmhouse near Falmouth and used that as a base for travelling
around this very picturesque part of England. It is
generally good farming country and was a tin and copper mining centre two
centuries ago. To service the mining and fishing industries, ports were
established in very difficult settings. Usually they were very exposed to the
sea and sea walls were built to provide some protection to shipping. Among
these were Port Isaac – which is where the fictitious Port Weynn in the Doc
Martin TV series is filmed.
Port Isaac (aka Port
Weynn)
On the
Sunday I visited Lizard which is on the south coast and it was where Marconi
first tested his wireless. The old radio station is still preserved and, as
with most places on the coast, there are beautiful coastal walking trails which
generally are connected.
Doc Martin’s House
On the
following day I ventured to Lands’ End and then up along the north coast as far
as St Ives, Padstow and Portmeath which are all small shipping ports.
Andover
Not
surprisingly many WWII airfields are based in this region. It is close to
Europe, the land is generally flat and there is reasonable access to London.
Near Andover I came across a museum dedicated to the Fleet Air Arm – which is
the air force of the navy. It has quite particular functions that have evolved
over time and it is now focused upon search and rescue and rapid deployment of
personnel/forces from aircraft carriers.
Lands’ End
Along with
live examples of these machines there were examples from former eras back as
far as the earliest flights. I was able to climb aboard the Concorde which ceased
service in 2002. It was operated by Air France and British Airways and could
fly from London to New York in less than 3 hours whereas conventional flights
take 6+ hours. It had a fatal accident on take-off in France in 2000 when some
debris on the tarmac flew up into its fuel storage and all passengers were lost
in the ensuing explosion. It ceased flying for a year while the investigation
occurred and the problem was fixed by using composite materials including
Kevlar but the affluent customers upon whom Concorde relied never really regained
confidence and the plane was mothballed in 2003.
Concorde in Aviation
Museum Andover
Stonehenge
I had forgotten
that Stonehenge was located on the Salisbury Plain and sure enough it appeared
through the fog as I was heading out of London. I made sure I visited it on the
return journey. It was an interesting building about which much is known but
many mysteries remain. Built over a 1000 year period around 4000BC the rocks
have been drawn in some cases from over 300km away.
Early example of UK
public housing
Its symmetry
and alignment with winter solstices suggests a people with a high level of
understanding. Its purpose appears in part to be for burial rites and a magnificent
visitor centre provides fascinating information about the discovery and
curation of this iconic structure.
Security
During my
travels I noticed how the airport security inspection procedures have been
streamlined. Queues move swiftly, checking appears thorough and new technology for
scanning is always appearing. While sitting in a café at Gatwick I saw about
ten police suddenly appear with two sniffer dogs and three of the police had
automatic rifles.
They took up
stations at the entrance to the café and the dogs and their handlers made a
sweep through the café. It was over in five minutes. The waitress told me that
happens about six times a day and they usually apprehend at least one traveller
a day whom the dogs think is in possession of illicit substances.
Cornish Coast
Ireland
I always look
forward to catching up with Chris and Jo Ferris and the boys and they are very
warm hosts.
With the three Ferris
boys on their front lawn. Dublin.
I had
arrived at Dublin by train from Belfast and took a taxi to Dalkey a southern
suburb of Dublin where they live.
The taxi
driver was pleasant and engaging and was using a paper map rather than GPS.
Close to our destination he was a little uncertain on directions and decided to
ask a guy with a barrow who appeared to be local:
“Would you happen to know where I might find Coliemore Street?”
“Aye- should do-I built the front fences for five of the
houses in Coliemore over the last 20 years that I have been living in these
parts”
“So what would you suggest?”
Long pause . . . .
“I would be turning right here at the corner and head along a
bit” . . . . . a very long pause.
“Would you be turning left then?”
“Well you need to do that - but the street is closed for
works – so keep drivin,”
“Is there another chance to turn left later?”
“Yaas there would be – just over the rise . . . I am just not
sure how far . . . . . .”
“Will that street be taking me to Coliemore then?”
“Well it should, but it depends upon which end of Coliemore
you wish to enter . . .”
Long pause . . . . .
“I think I would still take the right . . . but it just
depends.”
At this
point even the taxi driver figured that he was not going to get anything more definitive
and he took his leave.
We found
Coliemore Street in two blocks!
Economy
The GFC hit
Ireland pretty badly and the country was bailed out by the EU. The banks survived
by government intervention and the pain has been shared by the community.
Public servants have had 20-25% pay cuts; property tax has been introduced on
property owners and in recent weeks it has been decided that water will be paid
for as a commodity. This last issue has caused most opposition – and the issue
is unresolved.
By any
measure these initiatives are pretty extreme and just show how serious an issue
that national debt can become. In Australia some people keep pointing out that
our national debt levels are OK because they are not like in Europe. That might
be so for now – but what the Europeans are now finding out is how much of their
GDP is soaked up in interest payments –and that is while interest rates are
historically low. While there are some positive signs and the bail-out debts
are nearly met, it will be a decade before Ireland is back into shape
financially.
Exhibitions
Chris and I
visited some exhibitions in Dublin. One focused on Yeats and the other was
Irish involvement in WWI. Ireland is getting ready to celebrate the 100 year
anniversary of the 1916 Easter uprising which led to the separation of Ireland
from the UK and independence. This occurred while Britain was mired in WWI.
The Troubles
People in
the north are first and foremost British and were settled there by the British.
They share no interest in independence and in fact staunchly opposed it.
Fortunately that political tension is no longer pursued by armed struggle and a
political settlement seems to be holding in Northern Ireland.
Rugby and the North
We were
intrigued to discover that during that period of terrorism and warfare that rugby
continued totally unaffected. Both sides accepted that rugby should not be
impacted and cross border competitions and even selection of the Irish team
includes players from Ulster.
We met some
characters pre the Test match who were former players. They told the story of a
post-match drinking session in Northern Ireland where one guy parked his car
near a roundabout about 800m from the pub. During the evening they heard helicopters
and noticed flashing lights nearby. At the end of the evening they walked back to
their car to find the area cordoned off and military personnel everywhere.
He asked at
a barricade what the fuss was-and they pointed to his car and said they believed
it was a car bomb. They went on to say they were about to blow it up safely! He
quickly pointed out that it was his car and it would not be insured for such an
outcome!
They
remained concerned that the IRA might have got to it in his absence but agreed
that if he was willing to crawl to it and carry our certain inspections they
would let him. But he was made very clear it would be his responsibility.
He did crawl
out to it followed by a very worried soldier and it all turned out OK!
Rugby Test
Pre match warm up - Lansdowne Road
Chris and Jo
managed to get some fabulous tickets for the Test between Ireland and Australia
at Landsdowne Road. It was a beautiful clear, cold evening and a wonderful
atmosphere in the surrounding streets and lots of banter. Chris wore his
Wallaby jersey – but also an Irish jersey underneath! It was hilarious to see
him lift his Wallaby shirt when being heckled and the Irish roared with
laughter at the contingency planning he had undertaken.
The game was
a tense affair and after racing to a 17-0 lead after 15 minutes the Irish were
ecstatic. But by half time it was level pegging at 20-20. In the end the Irish
won a tight encounter and it really was a classic game of rugby. It was
incredibly physical and 4 of the seven Irish backs suffered concussion - such
was the ferocity.
Chris told
me that the Irish and French have a great affinity around rugby and when the
French visit Ireland they invariably all wear berets, striped shirts and are
all carrying baguettes! The French national anthem is sung by the Irish as well
as the French in a display that would always raise the roof.
Post Match Brunch
Chris had
invitations to a brunch on Sunday following the match. We met a few of the
Irish players and they were charming but still the worst for wear after the
encounter on the previous day. The next day, I noticed a photo on Facebook of
Chris with Johnny Sexton an outstanding Irish international. The caption reads,
‘50 Rugby Tests between us”!
Chongqing
Left Dublin on
Sunday afternoon for Chonqing via Paris where I caught up again with the
Sidotis for dinner on the day before departure. I arrived in Chonqing via
Guanzhou on Tuesday noon and took the subway to my hotel. The subway is new and
I passed 24 stations on my run into town.
Chongqing City Centre
Chonqing is
a city and a mini province – it has a special status akin to Beijing, Tianjin
and Shanghai. It is in a mountainous region on the Yangtse and Jiliang Rivers
and its population is approximately 30 million. It was an important location in
WWII as the Americans made it the allied command HQ in operations against
the Japanese. The Chinese welcomed the Americans in their united defence
against the Japanese foe. However, the
Chinese were also in the middle of a very serious civil war which both parties
put on hold for the duration of WWII to ensure the defeat of Japan.
Joseph Stilwell
Chongqing
The
Americans appointed General Joseph Stillwell to lead the allies in association
with Chiang Kai-Shek. The US was fortunate to have in Stillwell, a sinophile who
had visited China on many occasions in the previous decades and who had an
excellent grasp of the language and cultures in China.
My first
excursion was to visit the Stillwell museum where he lived and directed
operations during WWII. Fascinating black and white pictures give terrific
insight into the issues at the time. The Allies would have been keen to form a
view about who would prevail in the civil war and both sides would have kept an
eye on the future – especially when they were being armed for the struggle with
Japan. Chongqing suffered very serious destruction through Japanese bombing as
it was a very strategic target for the Japanese.
Ciqku
This
traditional village has been preserved and lies on the banks of the Yangtse as
it courses through Chongqing. It specialises in local crafts and foods which
are heavily laced with chili as is customary in Sichuan provincial cooking. I
felt confident enough to sample street stall fare as it was incredibly busy and
all the cooking was occurring in full view.
Wushan
One of my
objectives in choosing Chongqing was to explore the famous three gorges on the
Yangtse River. I had not realised my destination was a six hour bus trip from
the city! But it was worth it and I arrived at Wushan about 4:00pm on the
Wednesday. It is a very remote part of the county and the township comprised
mainly people who had been forced to ‘migrate’ from their villages on the banks
of the Yangtse when the river was dammed in the late 1990’s.
For
centuries the villagers had lived with frequent devastating flooding as the
valley floor was not wide and flood waters would quickly build up in the narrow
gorges and valleys along its route. It was decided that a dam could be built to
mitigate the effects of flood and also to provide a new source of hydro power.
Yangtse River Gorges
The dam is
finished and the river level was raised 175 m. Over 1,300,000 people were
‘migrated’ to new villages and townships both locally of further into
Chongqing. At a museum in the city I saw a special display about this
extraordinary physical and societal feat. It was difficult to believe that the
smiling peasants in the photos were as thrilled about the turn of events as
portrayed.
Along with
the dam there are extraordinary ribbons of super highways and bridges supported
by 100m high pedestals soaring across the deep mountain gorges. Educational
opportunities in China are uneven and regional and this is definitely one of
the poorer areas of China.
Chinese Food
Through
circumstances of necessity the Chinese have learned to eat almost anything. At
an eatery in Wushan I had an enjoyable meal which included unrecognisable
vegetables and steaming chili broth. The host was happy for me to have a look
around the semi outdoor ‘kitchen’ and it was a healthy and probably nutritious
meal.
Three Gorges
The Yangtse
travels 190km through tight mountain gorges and I visited only a section of
this – known as the mini gorges which are nevertheless regarded as the most
picturesque of them all.
Leaves were
changing colour in the Fall and I could see monkeys in the wild clambering up
sheer walls. It was so
peaceful and majestic and in stark contrast to the frenetic sights and sounds
of the townships.
Buddhist Stone Carvings
About 50 km
west of Chongqing is the village of Dazu where Buddhist monks undertook incredible
rock carvings of Buddhist iconography. About 1100 years ago these incredibly
detailed carvings were made in the Buddhist tradition. As with what I saw in
Malta, these carvings were not stand alone statues-rather they were literally
carved out of the rock face leaving little or no margin for error. While much
of the paint and gilt has faded it is easy to see how spectacular they would
have appeared upon completion. It is also surprising and pleasing that these
works of art survived the cultural revolution during which so much of China’s
rich cultural legacy was destroyed.
Dazu Rock Carvings
China
It is
difficult to capture all the reactions that China engenders. But perhaps I can
simply summarise a little of what I saw in the city . . . . . . .
-
Motorbike
riders operating as unofficial taxis –complete with a rectangular designed
umbrellas for inclement weather;
-
Spontaneous
ballroom dancing in open spaces and squares in the evenings-usually by middle
aged people who look so elegant and are thoroughly enjoying themselves;
-
Peasants
with heavy bamboo brackets across their shoulders with bowls of merchandise
suspended at each end;
Putting you through. .
. . China’s telecom revolution on display
-
-
Street
stalls doing a busy trade at 11:00pm on the footpath outside gleaming office
skyscrapers;
-
Severe
lack of street lighting in pedestrian areas – offset by weak lighting from
street stalls;
-
Watching
BBC news late one night in my hotel only to have an item on the Hong Kong
demonstrations literally cut from broadcast by the censors. I initially thought
there had been a black out – but a quick check showed the adjacent channels
worked fine;
-
Pungent
– sometimes overwhelming smells - which I was told was to do with production of
bean curd. I have my doubts!
Although
Chongqing was the Allied HQ it is not as westernised as other Chinese cities I
have visited. This is not a bad thing – simply a difference.
I was surprised
to learn at a museum that a neolithic people known as the Ba emanated from this
area on a similar timescale to prehistoric man in Africa. This was discovered
only in the 1990’s as preparations were made for building the dam. The remains
of these people have been found in very good condition in burial sites along
the Yangtse. It is now an area of considerable archaeological interest.
Cornwall
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