TWO LEFT FEET

What does an only child do to find friends when he lives in one town in which he was not born and attends school in another town which is six miles away? 

He joins the Wolf Cubs at the age of nine in 1952 to improve his social life and gain a few playmates.

By joining I was following in my father's footsteps. There were no cubs in his day so at the age of eleven he joined a Midlands Scout Troop in 1914, becoming a Patrol Leader and an adept First Aider, Woodsman, Tracker and Cook.

4th Newton Abbot Wolf Cub Pack

I am standing in the back row on the end right.

I progressed through the Wolf Cubs completing the training and earning badges for all of the tests, the first being 'how to thread a needle and sew on a badge'.     

My memory is a little hazy but I do know that we had to learn to march and to keep in step, otherwise a loud voice would shout out "Lloyd, do you have two left feet?" 

Oh the ignominy I felt when that was said. 

Eventually it was no trouble at all to keep in step with the others.

Life progressed and eventually I passed on to become a Boy Scout (or sprout) in the 4th Newton Abbot Scout Group and in 1954 the troop attended The Devon Jamboree which was an international gathering from about ten different countries. 

There were two amusing incidents that lightened up my boring stay there. One was when The Chief Scout's jeep knocked down the entrance of a local troops gateway and the second when a Scandinavian Scout fell into the latrine and was taken to hospital.

However I was very glad that I attended the jamboree and experienced all of the dumbing down by the seniors, for that gave me the impetus to join the local the 1st Newton Abbot Sea Scouts.

In those days they met in a room above the Seven Stars Public House and on my second meeting I was initiated into the fine art of imbibing beer!

After a few weeks of learning the skills of drinking we relocated ourselves to Hackney, near Kingsteignton on the upper estuary of the River Teign and handily enough only a stones throw from The Passage House Inn.

Now this fine hostel stocked not just beer and ales but that grandest of West Country Liquor - Rough Cider/Scrumpy, as well as delicious platefuls of crab sandwiches. 

Jack Hayward was the landlord, a most amenable man, who was always ready to have a laugh and not ask any silly questions regarding age.

The 1st Newton Abbot Sea Scout Group.

This time I am in the back row and the fourth from the left, 

my sailors hat was too small and made me look as if I had a high forehead.

Myself with my back to the camera being ferryman to the photographer 

and his son sitting in the stern.

Tuesday evenings were our regular Scouts' night of tuition, learning various knots and what they were used for, first aid, tracking, identification of birds found in the estuary and at sea, their calls and coastal navigation. 

We were taught to estimate the height of a tree by its shadow and to find north using a wrist or pocket watch - point the hour hand to the sun and the numeral six on the face is north. 

The Sea Scouts were able to do all that the Land Scouts could do and lots more besides, including unarmed combat.

A four man racing gig where I am the bow oar, my position, 

regardless of the type of craft that we were rowing. 

Whether it was a naval cutter or whaler, Mel was the bow oar.

Our boat crew did well at the regattas. One year we came first in the West of England Whaler Championship at Dartmouth and we also won the Ships in Harbour race.

Dartmouth College, or to use it's full name Brittania Royal Naval College, was our second home during the summer for two weeks, where we held our Summer Camp in a variety of tents.

Lots of fun was had by all and sundry. 

I can honestly say that joining the Sea Scouts gave me great pleasure for several years of my life.

Messing about in boats, whether rowing or sailing, is a very healthy life with lots of exercise that keeps a person fit and mentally alert. 

I could write a book about all the goings on however, I'm sure your imagination and a few earlier hints can fill in the dots - if only our parents had known !

Rescue at Brownshill Dolmen

The 5,000 year old Brownshill Portal Tomb, 

Kernanstown, Co.Carlow 

Poor Granny has a 150 tonne capstone on her head!

Grandpa assists Ollie to lift what is reputed to 

be Europe's largest capstone off Granny's head.

After the lift the Druid's Apprentice checks the energy,

to make sure all is as it should be.

The next stage is to do a rhythmic step dance

to seal the energy force.

On his final inspection of the portal tomb Ollie

discovers a Wooly Caterpillar.

The rescuers and the rescued are refreshed with ice creams

at the Chocolate Garden in Rathwood, Co. Wicklow.

Ollie takes Granny on an assault course to improve

her dexterity.

BE VERY AWARE !

Fore warned is fore armed is an old proverb and so today you are warned to read the small print on food labels.

European Commission -
Daily News 22 / 07 / 2016

EU Commission authorised three genetically modified soybeans for food/feed uses.

The Commission authorised three GMOs for food/feed uses (soybean MON 87708 x MON 89788, soybean MON 87705 x MON 89788 and soybean FG 72), all of which have gone through a comprehensive authorisation procedure, including a favourable scientific assessment by EFSA. The authorisation decisions do not cover cultivation. The GMOs approved today had received "no opinion" votes from the Member States in both the Standing and Appeal Committees and the Commission adopted the pending decisions. The authorisations are valid for 10 years, and any products produced from these GMOs will be subject to the EU's strict labelling and traceability rules. For more information see here. (For more information: Daniel Rosario – Tel.: + 32 229 56185; Iris Petsa - Tel.: +32 229 93321)
also read these two links
https://www.rt.com/news/352942-eu-approves-monsanto-soybeans

http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/07/04/opinion/last-roundup

Prevalent Attitudes

I do not call myself a Christian, a humanist is as close as I can get. 

Recently I have found my self feeling absolutely disgusted with the very shameful attitude of the settled community of the Rockville Drive residents in Carrickmines who opposed the emergency halting site; this towards their fellow citizens namely The Travellers.  

So I was glad to read the following on the RTE web site because it needed to be voiced. 

reference : http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1021/736557-carrickmines-fire/
                  http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1015/734924-carrickmines/

"A priest has criticised many settled people for failing to empathise with what he called their Traveller brothers and sisters following a fatal fire at a halting site.

Father Dermot Lane was speaking after the remains of five of the people who lost their lives in the fire in Carrickmines were brought to the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Balally, Co Dublin this evening.

Fr Lane, who is the parish priest of Balally, not far from Carrickmines, urged everybody to become involved in a new consultation process embracing local authorities and the settled and Traveller communities.

He prayed that what he called the national tragedy which struck eleven days ago may become a turning point in the difficult tasks of healing, reconciliation and mutual trust that lie ahead.

Fr Lane greeted the Connors family and hundreds of other mourners at the church after five hearses bearing the coffins of Thomas and Sylvia Connors and their children Jim, Christy, and baby Mary arrived for their removal service.

Fr Lane said the grief of the Connors family is also the grief of Balally Parish because they were, and are, an important part of the local community.

Describing them as well-known and respected in the parish, he said they worshipped in its church where Thomas and Sylvia, conscientiously as parents, presented their five children for baptism over the past seven years. 

He recalled having the privilege of baptising Michael and Thomas Connors, the family's only survivors.

He said important lessons are to be learned from the national tragedy that claimed ten lives 11 days ago and which "has disturbed the consciences of us all".

Unaware of the resolution of the impasse over the local authority allocating the grieving families accommodation, which coincided with the church service, he urged that they be offered an appropriate place to live as soon as possible. 

He told the congregation: "We must learn, above all, to walk in the shoes of the other if we are to develop genuinely inclusive and pluralistic societies."

And he observed that many settled people had "failed to walk with empathy in the shoes of our brothers and sisters in the Traveller community".

Dismissing blame-games about the tragedy as unhelpful, Fr Lane urged everybody to move beyond mis-understanding, standard stereotypes and caricatures.

"If we are to move forward," he said, "all must be involved in a new consultation and a new conversation, and that means bringing together local authorities, local communities and the Traveller Communities."

Fr Lane prayed that the tragedy - which he repeated was national in character - may become a turning point in what he called "the difficult tasks of healing, reconciliation and mutual trust that lie ahead".

He said  the tragedy has raised serious questions about our priorities as a society, and searching questions about the responses or lack of responses by successive governments to a variety of reports going back 50 years, to the mid-1960s.

He said these questions touch on a number of very serious issues for all of us about the provision of adequate sites and housing for the Traveller community; about the persistent reality of social inequalities between the Traveller community and the settled community; and about deeply ingrained cultural prejudices.

In the meantime, he said, the Connors family must be allowed to grieve and to mourn the death of their loved ones.

The funeral Mass for the Connors will be celebrated in Balally at 11.30am tomorrow and they will be buried together on Friday in Wexford."

An article worth reading can be found here
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/apartheid-hasnt-gone-away-when-it-comes-to-travellers-34137234.html

Ollie starts Formal Education

Today marks the start of our grandsons' formal education and he will attend his father's old school in Leamington Spa. I have been learning from his mother just how very different his first year at school will be from mine; it seems as if I was educated in the dark ages for so many things have changed. Gone is corporal punishment and just as well too. The teaching is very informal, through play, although the focus is still on the three R's and I hear that there is a mud kitchen ?

It seems no time at all since he was born and I made a wintery trip across to the UK to meet Ollie and his proud parents. I thought to mark his special day of starting school I would share a pictorial history of Ollie's first few years.

Ollie a few hours old.

The inquisitive imp

Enjoying the sea.

A few minutes later he was swamped by a wave

and Granny leapt to his rescue.

Father and Son

Ollie gives forth words of wisdom while Granny listens.

Toby gets in on the photo

We wonder if he is thinking about taking a trip to Ireland ?

Ollie's mum Helen

Master Oliver ready for school.

We are looking forward to hearing about his experiences and how he progresses

throughout the years.

HUNGARIANS fail to remember !

That on 4th November 1956, a large Soviet force invaded Budapest and other regions of the country. The Hungarian resistance continued until 10 November. Over 2,500 Hungarians and 700 Soviet troops were killed in the conflict, and 200,000 Hungarians fled as refugees. 

Many of the Hungarians crossed the borders with the help of smugglers, and many arrived without ID papers – but it did not tarnish their image or impede their acceptance as refugees.

The 1956 uprising and its aftermath helped shape the way humanitarian organisations – not least UNHCR – were to deal with refugee crises. The episode also left an indelible mark on international refugee law and policy.

The Hungarian Refugees settled in many countries including America, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, UK and New Zealand,

HUNGARIAN REFUGEES
1,400 Hungarians were given a welcome marked with orchestra, Danish pastry and flowers when they arrived in Denmark after the uprising against the communist regime in 1956. They were the first official refugees and perhaps the best received refugees in the history of Denmark.

HUNGARIAN REFUGEES

"Olga Murphy arrived in Ireland in 1956 as a young girl of 17, one of 350 refugees who came to Ireland fleeing the Soviet tanks after the Hungarian Revolution. Arriving in the midst of an Irish Winter the refugees were housed in Knockalisheen, a former army summer camp in Limerick. Olga was one of the few Hungarians who remained in Ireland after leaving the refugee camp and she continues to live in Limerick. The following is from the story of Dorrit O’Shaugnessy, a Hungarian friend of Olga’s, also living in Limerick, who among many experiences and achievements in her life, acted as an interpreter in the Knockalisheen camp following the arrival of the refugees."

reference 

http://www.unhcr.ie/world-refugee-day/1950s-olga-murphy-from-hungary

"1956. A date, surely, that must be indelibly etched in the consciousness of almost every Hungarian of the modern era.”

No one chooses to be a Refugee

Every minute eight people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror.

If conflict threatened your family, what would you do? Stay and risk your lives? Or try to flee, and risk kidnap, rape or torture?

For many refugees the choice is between the horrific or something worse.

While no one chooses to become a refugee, you do have a choice to help – Even in difficult economic times, it doesn’t cost a single cent to show interest in others, learn, and share your new knowledge and interest.

Is there 1 thing you could do to show your support for a refugee or asylum seeker?

Roaming Red Caps

As mentioned by Harlow in a comment on the previous blog post. Red Caps can be found in many other countries other than Ireland. They relocate along with their human companions and maintain their fine traditions by keeping the same dress code and customs.

Harald and Freda in Dorset, England.

Now, here is a good example of a Darby and Joan type who have been partners since the beginning of time. They are Harald and Freda. The latter is responsible for ensuring that her relations are all well dressed and because of this I received a message from her meant for Hazel. I will share it with you all and ask that you pass it on, just in case you meet up with him first. 

"They, Harald and Freda, really enjoyed his adventures and are glad he is getting on so well in Ireland. However Freda is a little concerned that Hazel is a bit tipsy as his hat is rather crooked in several photos. She says she will make a nice new warm felt one for the winter."

***

We move now to a Spa town set in the heartlands of the English countryside to meet Thorn who is Hazel's learned brother.

Thorn relaxing.

Thorn's speciality is keeping the young humans entertained and assisting them in their education. The knowledge that they acquire from him is very different to that of normal human education.

Thorn demonstrating the uses of the trampoline which he says can lead 

to flights of another kind and magical realms, 

depending upon intuitive capabilities of the student.

Tractor driving is not one of Thorn's ideal pursuits, 

as can be seen by the fearful look on his face, 

it is however a favourite with his pupil who has been enamoured with tractors ever

 since driving a Massey-Fergusson on his holidays in Ireland.

Here the learned Thorn excels at chalking the alphabet and numbers

in an effort to assist his pupil in the arts of literacy and numerics.

Balance in all things says Thorn!

"If only the young fellow would stay abed more

often I would get time off to go visiting

my friends who live in the local parks."

As you can see in the photos these small creatures get around so don't be surprised if you spot a small red cap bobbing through the grass near you!