The John Bunyan Trail (12) Cranfield

Against our better judgement we have ventured out on a particularly grim day. A steady drizzle greets us as we set off towards the village of Cranfield in Bedfordshire. On arrival the rain has worsened and is now blustery. Undeterred we set off in an anti-clockwise direction from close to the church of St Peter and St Paul. The area is best know for being the home of Cranfield University and Cranfield Airport (Airfield). The airport has a long history of aviation. The airport was formerly opened on 1st June 1937. It was initially the base for 62 Squadron RAF and 82 Squadron RAF NO. 1 (Bomber) Group. It was used after the war by the College of Aeronautics, which has now become Cranfield University. Moving on we pass a couple of houses already decked out for Christmas.A bit early if you were to ask me!

Early Christmas decs

We move out into open country on the Bunyan Trail, getting a soaking into the bargain. In the distance through  the mist is the Brogborough Landfill site. It has all been filled in now and covered over with grass. There will be more of that later as we get closer. For now it is a matter of trying to keep the driving rain off and keeping going. It isn't easy as we are very exposed and there is little cover. We pass Holcot Woods and Reynolds Wood. We keep going until we reach a busy stretch of road which we have to cross. Once over the other side we join up with the Clay Way. an 11.5 mile linear walk which stretches the length of the Forest of Marston Vale taking in spectacular views of the Vale, Greensand Ridge and other parts of Bedfordshire.  The route mainly follows public bridleways and passes through the villages of Bromharn and Cranfield. 

 

 

 

 

The weather shows no sign of improving, we are pretty much saturated. Leaving the safety of the path we have to negotiate a stretch alongside the main road. This would have to be the low point of the walk so far. Over to our right is a disused gravel pit that is now full of water and a home for nature. I saw a very nice Whinchat perched on a fence top. Over to our left we are looking for a footpath that will take us back to the other side of the road. Unfortunately the footpath seems to have been blocked off and is slightly overgrown. Not to worry though there is another path a bit further ahead. However that is completely covered in brambles and impassable.  We back track and tackle the first.option. Picking up a few scratches and splinters into the bargain. Get through we did though, thankfully getting out the other end was slightly easier. 

Gravel Pit

We emerge close to the site of the Brogborough Power Station. Brogborough is a 30MW station fed by waste gas from a landfill site. From a distance you could be forgiven for thinking you were looking at a Golf Course with sprawling fairways. If you look more closely there are numerous outlet points and pipes. The station is managed for electricity production from the waste gases passing along these pipes. The site was previously used for landfill, mainly from London I believe. At the height of dumping there would be 40 trucks a day coming up from the capital to deposit their waste. It is a complicated process to cover the waste matter into re-usable power. I won't try and explain any further. At least the area is nice and green! We climb to a very wooded area called 'Marston Thrift'. A 92 acre biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. The site is ash and maple woodland on heavy clay, a habitat which has become scarce in lowland England. It also has areas of damp grassland, and a grassland valley. It is an important site for butterflies, including the rare 'Black Hairstreak'.  

Despite the weather there are some nice views from our elevated position. We carry on past 'Rectory Woods'. back in the direction of Cranfield. We emerge close to the Church of St Peter & St Paul Cranfield. 

In the graveyard is the grave of Captain William.Soldier, Civil Servant, Farmer and Politician who rose to the rank of Captain in the Royal Horse Artillery. He went on to fight in the Battle of Copenhagen in the Iberian Peninsula, and at Waterloo. In 1840 after retirement he and his family immigrated to Prince Edward Island Canada. There is also the grave of George Washington’s (the first president of the USA) niece and a number of war graves form both World Wars.  

War Graves

Fawlty Towers - Royal & Derngate Northampton

Back at the Derngate again, and now for something completely different as John Cleese once said. Arguably the greatest ever British sitcom to ever grace our screens is taking to the stage. Some 50 years later John Cleese has adapted three episodes of the classic comedy into a stage show. After a hugely successful sold out run in the West End the production is now touring the country.

All the favourite characters are set to be there in an 18 strong cast. As a huge fan of the TV series I am very much looking forward to what lies ahead. There is also a slight sense of trepidation that it might no do justice to the wonderful 12 episodes that graced our screens for the first time back in 1975. The brainchild of John Cleese and Connie Booth. Set in a chaotic Torquay hotel 'Basil Fawlty' 'Basil' who is the main character, was always at the centre of the confusion and mayhem that ensued.His long suffering wife 'Sybil' and the Spanish Waiter 'Manuel' with his basic grasp of English. Throw in the 'Major' slightly eccentric and out of touch and  It is the array of characters that really make it something special.There is an awful lot to live up to!  

The stage is cleverly set with the exposed dining room, hallway and reception area. Above, we have one of the bedrooms and an image of the hotel in the background. Looking around the auditorium is filing up nicely and looks like it will be a full house. The strains of the original theme tune strike up and the the show is up and running.The first plot evolves around the 'Hotel Inspectors'. Basil mistaking a spoon salesman as the inspector.The situation soon escalates into high farce as you would hope. 'Danny Bayne' captures the eccentricities and mannerisms of Basil perfectly. 'Mia Austin' is the perfect foil as 'Sybil'. 

All of the actors are very impressive and true to their original characters. 'Polly' is played by the former 'Strictly Come Dancing ' performer Joanne Clifton. Probably the most well know of the cast is 'Paul Nicholas' who plays the Major. Perhaps the one member of the cast I found the least convincing. Admittedly some of his lines had been cut from when first aired. I'm not sure of the exact phrase but it is language not considered appropriate for modern times. Which I understand totally and it wouldn't be acceptable today of course. I just felt he didn't quite come over as the confused character he did on TV. Even the classic line 'Hampshire won again Fawlty' was flat. However 'Hemi Yeroham' totally nails it as the out of his depth 'Manuel'. There are some notable supporting roles too. Not least Jemma  Churchill who plays the somewhat annoying Mrs Richardson as we move into 'Communication Problems'. 

It is the final episode though 'The Germans' where everything comes to the boil. Basil has become even more manic (as if that were possible) after the Moose head falls on him. Trying desperately not to mention the war, whilst trying to organise a fire drill. Things build to a complete farce with every cast member on stage. There is also a clever reference to a Rat on the loosen, a reference to another episode. The new ending sees the Major on the loose with his Lee Enfield rifle as Sybil returns from hospital after her ingrowing toenail operation. It has been a real joy and the magic of the original Fawlty Towers has been captured. An evening that has flown by leaving lots of happy faces. 

 
 

Count Arthur Strong -The Castle Theatre Wellingborough

The Count

It's very nice to be at The Castle Theatre in Wellingborough for the first time. Quite surprising as it is only 8 miles up the road! First impressions are good. Plenty of parking, the staff are really helpful and it has a very personal feeling about it.We are here tonight for the 'Count Arthur Strong' take on the Dickens Christmas classic 'A Christmas Carol'. For those of you unfamiliar with 'The Count, he is the creation of 'Steve Delaney' back in the 1980's. The opinionated, muddled and ageing thespian is not to everyone's taste. I found his BBC series hard work compared to the superb radio shows.

The first half is The Count in the role of Charles Dickens. However it may well be Charles Dance, David Dickenson or Dickie Davies? Such is the confusion as he tries to merge Dickensian life into that of the modern day. It is very hard to keep up with where we actually are. The distracted ramblings are great fun though. Somewhere along the line we delve into a monologue about a 'Hillman Minx', amongst many others. The first half ends with a magic show, the Master of Confusion attempts to become the Master of Illusion. All with catastrophic results as you might well have expected.

The second half is the one man portrayal of 'A Christmas Carol'. He is assisted by a ventriloquist dummy playing the part of 'Tiny Tim'. Further support is provided by the ghosts of Jacob Marley, and Christmas Past, Present and Future. These all appear on a large video on the back of the stage. The only two I recognised were' Julian Clary' and 'Anita Harris'. The chaos continues at pace and it is non stop hilarity. It all ends with a happy ending tough some how, which is the main thing. The show ends with a brilliant version of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'. This is interspersed with a 'Shot' for each round of the song. The results are easy to predict and it is complete and utter carnage but very funny. It was a great night and lovely to catch up with Steve afterwards. I did ask him if he was the person to see for a refund? This had been something of a standing joke throughout the show. He was as good fun fun out of character , which is always nice to witness.Catch him while you can , you won't regret it! 
 

The John Bunyan Trail (11) Kempston & Wootton

It's been a while but we are back on the 'Bunyan Trail'. A fairly short walk today that will pick up from the last Kempston walk. Our starting point is in the Ramsey Green and Gibraltar parish. About 5km South West of Bedford town centre. Rather than taking the road we cut through an area of community woodlands called 'Buttons Ramsey'. Part of the Forest of Marston Vale. A series of Gateway Woods between Kempston and Wootton.  

It's a pleasant diversion away from the road. It only spans an area of about1km and is very flat. A passing cyclist stops us and asks if we have visited nearby 'Kempston Wood'. He tells us that it holds some great walks with excellent views. Certainly one for the notepad for a visit on a future date.

 

St Mary's Church Wootton

Continuing in a clockwise direction we reach 'Church End'. The Grade II listed Church of St Mary. 

We pass through the Churchyard leaving past a row of cottages. Standing on a small green leading to the church is the war memorial.The memorial was first unveiled in 1922. It is particularly poignant as this weekend is Remembrance Sunday.    

I had to smile as we rejoin the road. An old Austin 30 or maybe 35 was perched in a small trailer. These cars were first produced in 1952 until 1956. It was launched as Austin's rival to the popular Morris Minor. At launch, the car cost £507 (equivalent to £15,793.36 in 2019) undercutting the Minor by £62.

We start to turn back on ourselves when we reach Wootton Green Farm. There are a large number of 4 wheel drive vehicles parked up. They are either hunting or shooting . Sure enough as we proceeded through the open countryside shooters were spotted in the adjacent field. A huge black cloud has descended , an ominous sign for the poor Pheasants. the 'beaters' were trying to drive the birds from the ridge towards the rifles. Thankfully I only saw one bird shot out of the skies. We then come a cross a wounded Pigeon, lots of feathers across the pathway. It might have been winged by gunfire? Or perhaps more likely a bird of prey has seized it and then been disturbed by our presence . Hard to tell really , but little we could do for the unfortunate creature.  

Autumn colour

It's a great time of year to be out walking with the fantastic Autumn colours. The leafs are falling off the trees with some momentum now. Another couple of weeks and the branches will be empty once again. As a keen Mycologist (someone who loves fungi) it is great to see a display such as the ones pictured. I believe they are of the variety 'Coprinellus' 'mica cap'. It is quite a common and grow in clusters. Bizarrely they are an edible species , and considered good for omelettes. There is no chance that I will be putting them to any sort of culinary use though!

 

Remains of 'The Chequers'

Back in Wootton we pass the charred remains of the 17th century pub 'The Chequers'. I asked a local resident what on earth has happened. She explained that in September the current Landlord had set fire to the premises and taken his own life. There is some hope that the Pub can be repaired, but the villagers feel this is probably unlikely. It is a sad end to a good walk. 

 

 

 

 

Rick Wakeman The Return of the Caped Crusader Part 2 - Royal & Derngate Northampton

The Stage is set

Always good to be on 'home turf' for a gig. Tonight I will be in the presence of a 'Prog Rock' legend 'Rick Wakeman' CBE. Probably best known for his time with  the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004. He has also had a prolific solo career as a highly acclaimed Keyboard player and Composer. Along with his band the 'English Rock Ensemble he will be performing two classic albums in full. Act 1 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973). Act 2 The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1975). 

Prior to the 14 date tour Wakeman was quoted as saying 'playing both of these suites of music at the age of 76 is a remarkable milestone. He tells us he has a special affinity for '6 Wives' as he has almost had that many himself. Unlike the studio album the running order will be in continuity order of the marriages. Joining Rick in his band are Guitarist and backing singer 'David Colquhoun', 'Adam Falkner' on Drums, Bassist and Backing vocals 'Lee Pomeroy'. Also on Keyboards and backing vocals is his son 'Adam Wakeman'. There are also three ladies providing backing vocals. We are all set and the we kick off with 'Catherine of Aragon'. 

I'm in row E, 5 back from the stage to the left facing the stage. It's a pretty good view as well. Nobody seems to be taking photos, they haven't announced that you can't. I brave a couple and seem to get away with it. There will be more to come in Act 2 though. Rick did look rather resplendent in his trademark purple sparkling cape. There is a strong audience demographic of  'Over 60's', mainly white and lots of couples. I always find the audiences at the Derngate very subdued as a rule. But that's fine, we are here for the music ultimately. Highlight of Act 1 was the closing track 'Catherine Parr'. I heard a bootleg version of this years ago and it mad a big impression on me. It was another great rendition, and the band leave to a standing ovation as the interval arrives.  

'The Progettes'

After a very lengthy interval, must have been a good 30 minutes we are back! A new face is introduced, in the form of 'Jesse Smith'. It was announced at the end of September that vocalist Mollie Marriott was no longer able to join the English Rock Ensemble on  the upcoming UK . At short notice Jesse was recruited to fill the gap left. He is regarded as a stunning singer and charismatic front man, He has worked with some of the finest musical talent in his long career, so a very capable replacement indeed. As sort of promised there will be a few photographs this half. We kick off with 'Arthur' from the album 'Myths and Legends'...... Oh and Rick has changed his cape, still as glittering and sparkling as before though. An album that was allegedly written from his hospital bed whilst suffering from life's excesses,resulting in a Heart Attack. 

The band are getting into full swing now as the tempo increases. Am I the only one itching to get out of my seat and wave my arms about? It would seem so for the time being at least. There is more movement as Adam emerges with his 'Keytar'. Against the better advice of Rick, something about not being insured .....he mounts the stage amps regardless. 

The band is excellent! Dave Colquhoun on guitar and Lee Pomeroy are both veterans of the Prog , and sometimes Pop scene.Meanwhile Rick Rick just move from one side of his keyboard rig to the other creating a variety of sounds.The maestro then takes to the journey to the centre of the stage. He is ably assisted by two of the glamorous backing singers (Progettes) in lifting his organ. Please don't titter ....

More 'Keytars'

 As the strains of  'The Last Battle' die down the second Act is drawing to a close. Rick had earlier told us that the his great friend 'Ian Lavender' had provided the narration on this track. He also points out that we might have noticed there has been one glaring omission from the setlist 'Merlin the Magician'. Of course, he tells us Merlin was never actually a Magician. In truth of fact he was a 'Physician'. However selling that idea to the record company proved quite a problem. So the Magician it remained. 

It has been a fantastic two hours though. A pretty near full house has been entertained royally. Proof if ever it was needed that there is still an audience for Prog. A genre that has had it 'naysayers' over the years. Not least the Punk generation that thought they could kill it off!

     Set List 

Act 1 The Six Wives of Henry VIII

• Catherine of Aragon
• Anne Boleyn 'The Day Thou Gavest Lord Hath Ended'
• Jane Seymour
• Anne Of Cleves
• Catherine of Howard
• Catherine Parr

 Act  2 The Myths and Legend of King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table

• Arthur
• Lady of the Lake
• Guinevere
• Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight
• Sir Galahad
• The Last Battle

Encore 

Merlin the Magician