Walking the Jurassic Way - Harringworth- Wakerley Woods loop

After a couple of days of heavy rain the clouds had lifted and the day was dry, if a little soft underfoot.

The starting point today was the the village of Harringworth. Situated on the border with Rutland and about 5 miles north of Corby.

River Welland and Harringworth Viaduct in background

Dominating the landscape is the Harringworth Viaduct.(Also officially know as The Welland Viaduct). The viaduct is 1,275 yards (1.166 km) long and has 82 arches, each with a 40 feet (12 m) span. It is the longest masonry viaduct across a valley in the United Kingdom.

Leaving the village across fields we follow the course of the River Welland. The river is flowing gently in a north easterly direction towards Market Harborough and Stamford before reaching The Wash.

 

We cross the border into Rutland and the picturesque village of Barrowden. There is a church, a village hall, a doctor’s surgery and pharmacy, a community shop, a mobile library, a recreational field with cricket club and a pub, The Exeter Arms.

The walk continues through the nearby village of Wakerley and the woods of the same name and  part of the Rockingham Forest. The Bluebells are still showing well despite the heavy rain of late.

 

We pass Laxton Hall,a 17th Century Grade II-listed building converted into a residential care home. It is staffed by the Polish Sisters of Mary Immaculate, an order providing compassion and specialised care for Polish community groups, the vulnerable and dispossessed.
It was here that a passing Buzzard dropped its prey. Closer inspection identified a still warm dead baby rabbit. No doubt the startled bird of prey will return later for it's prize.

Red Kite Frenzy

However it was nothing compared to the sight that greeted us as we approached the tiny village of Laxton. The skies were were becoming full of Red Kites. We started off by counting twenty , soon rising to thirty , fifty plus and up to a hundred ! Of course Rockingham Forest is well known for it's Kites but I've never seen this quantity before.

As we got nearer we could see a man in the field putting out chunks of meat for the birds . They would swoop down at great speed and pick up the free food on offer, a spectacular sight. Speaking to the man, it is something that he does every day and in the winter there can be as many as three hundred birds in attendance!

It was an absolute privilege to see these majestic birds at such close quarters.


Leaving Laxton we cut through Spanhoe woods before connecting up gain with the Jurassic Way. Walking down towards the tiny hamlet of Shotley there are some great views of the Welland Viaduct in the distance. Its a lovely part of the County for sure. In total the walk was just over 10 miles.   

Welland Viaduct

Tubular Bells for Two - The Stables Wavendon

 Back at The Stables again, this time armed with a large packet of peanuts from the COOP! I draw the line at paying £4.30 for a pint of Phipps IPA. No way am I paying £1.20 for a pack of crisps as an accompaniment.
I do find the venue a bit annoying at times. I don't understand why it needs half a dozen car park attendants spaced 20 yards apart to direct you to a space?

You can go to the NEC in Birmingham with it's multitude of car parks and thousands of spaces and never see anyone in a fluorescent jacket.
In fairness though tonight is a complete sell out and I suppose they are wanting to utilise every single space available.

I do firmly believe however that there is a job creation policy at The Stables.





It was nice to arrive in daylight at least for once. The Stables was founded in 1970 by John Dankworth and Cleo Laine. There is a nice statue of 'Johnny outside the entrance , but even he is giving directions!

Inside the foyer an army of glass collectors are strategically circulating. Each one armed with one of those plastic holders that the local Milkman once favoured. It is a mistake to put ones glass down even if still half full. An over zealous glass collector it on to it straight away. 'We have to look busy and there isn't much to do really' one told me in the strictest confidence. Then the raffle ticket sellers come round... I asked three times was the prize was? Each time the reply was 'a pound each or three pounds a strip'. No the prize I kept asking to no avail. I bought one for a pound to escape and heard no more of it.

Once inside the auditorium security reaches a new level. The stewards are actually former MI5Agents cunningly disguised in burgundy waistcoats and floor length skirts. Their sole aim is to ensure that there is no photographic evidence of the evening ever taking place. I risked a premature ejection ....Yes , (please make up your own jokes) by taking a quick snap of the stage from our seat situated stage left. I dare not get the phone out again even though I was sweating on Liverpool to win at Newcastle for my acca, not to mention the snooker score at The Crucible.

I do find it a strange place but the performers seem to love it because of the intimacy and the acoustics. The place has filled up nicely apart from three seats on the front row oddly enough. Looking around I'm reasonably confident that I'm the youngest person in the house.

Now all that business is out of my system lets talk about the important stuff , the music.The support act tonight is a band called ' gypsy Fingers'. That does remind me of a packet of biscuits for some reason? They are an Alternative folk, rock & pop duo founded by Victoria Coghlan & Luke Oldfield (son of Tubular Bell's Mike Oldfield). The music seems to cross a whole range of genres from dance, to folk, rock and more. I believe it all began as Victoria's solo project back in 2010, until she met Luke the following year after which they recorded their first album as a duo.They have since added a Bass player and a drummer. 

Gypsyfingers recorded their debut album, 'Circus Life'at Tilehouse Studios, a studio built for Luke’s father Mike Oldfield which specialises in vintage recording equipment.
Their new album 'Stranger Things' was released in October  2018.

Charlotte and Luke took to the stage wearing the Hare and the Hound headwear from the album cover. They never really explained the significance , just saying it was a long story.

I kept being reminded of the original 'Whicker Man' film with the pagans baying for the blood of the Policeman.
It was a gentle set , I believe the word is ethereal ? A couple of tracks stood out and one in particular 'Steel Bones' was particularly memorable.

I was just six years Old when Mike Oldfield released the epic opus 'Tubular Bells' in 1973. He was only nineteen and played most of the instruments himself. Apart from hitting top spots in the charts all over the world it had two other claims to fame. It was the theme music to the fantastic and ahead of it's time film 'The Exorcist'. Never mind the film the music itself was haunting enough.
Secondly it was to launch Richard Branson's career in the music industry with his Virgin Group. It is estimated to have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, including more than 2.6 million in the UK.


So, it's not going to be easy to replicate such a masterpiece , especially with just two musicians covering the twenty plus instruments. The unenviable task falls to  Australian multi-instrumentalists Daniel Holdsworth and new boy Tom Bamford.  

As the music starts you can feel a sense of apprehension as the show is so intricately choreographed. There are lots of knowing glasses and nods of the head. It feels like the two musicians are walking a tightrope. 'What could possibly go wrong' ? Holdsworth asks the audience.

The first half of the album is near perfect and a standing ovation is given. Things did go slightly pear shaped at the start of side 2  though.  A lot of the guitar is recorded on a live- looped sequence and basically it got stuck.  Once the rogue loop was identified and sorted we started again and there were no further issues. Side two is a lot more 'rockier' and Holdsworth demonstrates his prowess on the drums.
It's been a superb night, chaotically brilliant at times and I look forward to seeing 'Tubular Bells for Two' again soon.

National Space Centre - Leicester

When you think of the National Space Centre thoughts turn to Cape Canaveral , Kennedy or even Houston perhaps?
However the destination today is somewhere much closer to home! The National Space Centre is located in Leicester of all places.

Opened in 2001 The centre arose from a partnership between the University of Leicester's Space Research Centre and local government agencies. It is run as an educational charity, and offers science workshops for school children of all ages.

I have to admit to not being the biggest sci-fi or space in general fan. But given the opportunity to help facilitate on a trip from Teamwork I was only too happy to attend.

Blue Streak and PGM-17Thor rockets.

The Soyuz 7K OK(A) Spacecraft

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The centre has one of just three Soyuz spacecraft in the west. There is another in France and one in the world famous Smithsonian Institution in the US.

Spaceman

The rocket tower is very impressive at 42metres high with a semi-transparent 'pillow' design. As well as being home to two rockets there are also interactive floors on the different levels. One of the floors is decked out like it was in 1969 when the first moon landing took place on the 20th July. For two and a half hours, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin explored the lunar surface on foot while Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 orbiter around the Moon.

Typical 1969 decor

There were lots of interactive exhibits to get involved in throughout the six different galleries. They are all good fun but the highlight for me was the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium. ( The largest in the UK). Opened in 2012 by the legendary  astronomer himself  Sir Patrick Moore. It is a cracking 360 degrees cinema experience.The showing today was ‘CAPCOM GO The Apollo Story.  historical documentary that showcases the achievements of the Apollo program and what it took to put the first human on the Moon. It was spectacular indeed, and quite an experience. 

Tim Peake

 British European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Tim Peake visited the centre in 2016. Tim spent six months in space from December 2015 to June 2016 as Britain’s first ESA astronaut. As well asx carrying out a 'space walk' he also ran the London marathon from space. As you would imagine there is  quite an area dedicated to his achievements.

There are numerous spacesuits on display from across the decades of space travel. The one pictured on the left is Matt Damon's EVA Spacesuit from the Ridley Scott Film, 'The Martian'. A film I haven't seen surprisingly enough.
The costumes used in the film were designed to be accurate reflections of the sort of spacesuits that might be used in a near-future Mars mission. 

 There is also an Orlan DMA EVA Spacesuit.Orlan is one of the most successful spacesuit designs ever. First used in 1977, this Russian designed suit has continued to develop over the years.

Orlan is Russian for ‘Sea Eagle’. The first Soviet EVA spacesuit was worn by Alexei Leonov in 1965. Leonov’s Berkut spacesuit (Russian for ‘Golden Eagle’) was designed for short-term use only outside of the spacecraft. 

 It's been an enjoyable day better than I had anticipated. Now there's a slogan for the National Space Centre Marketing people to use ! But 'I'm just about worn out with all the information on Black Holes, parallel universes and wormholes. Not to mention keeping my half a dozen group members all together in the same place at the same time ....

I would definitely recommend it as a place to visit even for those like me who have never seen an episode of Star Trek or Blakes Seven. 

Marillion Convention - De Montfort Hall Leicester

My first ever Marillion Convention! Well, at least the Saturday night part of one anyway. A friend of mine had kindly given me his wife's ticket as she decided three nights in a row might be a touch too much. I was only too happy of course to step in and take over the 'wristband'.

Even better this years venue was only just up the road at The De-Montfort Hall  in Leicester. Avenue I'm familiar with, having seen the likes of Def Leppard , Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy all perform there.

 

Each night featured a different show, with the Sunday night being 'album night'. 'Happiness is the Road' this time round.
This is actually the 7th time the Convention has been held. Two have already taken place earlier this year in The Netherlands and Poland. There are still two more to come in Canada and Poland.

We had the choice of standing or seating , allocated on a first come first served basis . We opted  for the balcony, in the  very back row.

 Before Marillion we had the support band ' Watercolours' A bit of nepetism going on here as the lead singer announced that Mark Kelly was his Uncle!

They were decent enough without being spectacular. But they did the job support acts are there for so no complaints.

 My companion 'Gordon' had been the previous night and  described the atmosphere as almost spiritual at times.

They played almost entirely tracks from the first four albums of  the 'Hogarth era'. 'Seasons End', 'Holidays in Eden', 'Brave' and ' Afraid of Sunlight'. Two my favourite songs were included, 'Splintering Heart' and the encore of ' King'.

Tonight's set started off with three tracks that I didn't know that well .Probably tracks that have rarely been done live in truth. We had 'Interior Lulu' followed by ' built-in Bastard Radar' and 'Enlightenment'. All three songs from from the 'Marillion.com' album.Not an album that I'm very familiar with in truth.

Ocean Cloud

The next song was the lovely 'One Fine Day' from the very underrated 'This Strange Engine' album from 1997. 

It was apparent that we were continuing the sequence from the night before as 'Ocean Cloud' from possibly my favourite album Marbles came next.

'H' introduced the 18 minute epic song as being dedicated to 'Don Allum' the solo Atlantic rower. The first person to row across the Atlantic in both directions single handed .'There would be 'Blue Plaques' everywhere if this man had gone to Eton' says 'H' .It's an extremely moving piece. complemented   beautifully by the light and film show that accompanied it. A fitting tribute to a great British adventurer who never got the recognition his achievements deserved.

In fact the lights and big screen show were absolutely brilliant throughout. 

Next song was again from 'Marbles' and to me is a real chill out kind of song  'Fantastic Place'. Maybe something about escapism , from one life into another even for the briefest moment. 

The next two songs 'When I meet God' and 'The Fruit of the Wild Rose' both come from the album 'Anoraknophobia'. From 2001 it is recognised as the first ever to be 'crowd funded'. The title referring to the long-running in-joke that Marillion fans are also sometimes called anoraks.........

As expected we were getting the next four albums in the release sequence.

 

 Back to 'Marbles' (or at least the double CD version) we had 'Genie' . Having only the single CD I wasn't overly familiar with this one. A song about recurring dreams,  previous lives and of course letting the Genie out of the box. 

'An Accidental Man' sees 'H'' take to the stake in a black leather jacket with 'An Accidental Man' emblazoned on the back.  He's in full strutting mode and the audience are lapping it up. 

The set concludes with 'Seperated Out' again from 'Anoraknophobia'. It's been a very different set from what I had expected. Not some of the 'big hitters ' but great to hear more obscure stuff.

Steve Rothery and 'H'

The band return for the encore,and 'H' explains that the next song was written after he met Paul Barney, who was the only British survivor of the disaster when the cruise ferry Estonia  sank in the Baltic Sea on 28 September 1994, killing 852 people. 

We have a fantastic rendition of 'Estonia'. 

The second  encore song is 'This is the 21st Century'.

'H'

I honestly thought that we be it and was waiting for the house lights to come on ! 

However we had one more treat in store a full seventeen minutes in the form of 'This Strange Engine'. A very fitting end to what has been some night .  

A night when I'm reminded what an underrated album 'This Strange Engine' really is. It has been lovely to catch up with 'Gordon' at last and a real pleasure as always to be in the company of such a brilliant band .

Me and Gordon

Steve Rothery

                                                                                      
Full Set List

From the back of the De-Montfort Hall