Midsummer's Night 2017.

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine:
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.
(Oberon, Act 2 Scene 1)

A Midsummer's Night's Dream.

Midsummer's has always had a dreamlike quality for me and I've always celebrated it.

In 2014, Robyn and me were up on Box hill, drinking Asti and watching the night fall. Then in the far distance, over 50 miles away, we watched in miniature, Glyndourne Opera celebrating its anniversary with fireworks. A magical night indeed.

In 2015 we spent the night before Midsummer's Day at Stonehenge, waiting for dawn. What words can describe the sight of the sun rising through the stones?

2016 wasn't so great - we had a wedding to sort out in far too little time and the Solstice had to take second place.

This year we didn't have any great plans - and in the end we walked to Ankerwycke to spend a little time at the Ancient Yew Tree - where King Henry the 8th wooed Anne Boleyn and near where The Magna Carta was signed.

It's a magical and mystical place - where the local Witches Coven carry out their ceremonies (this is an area where 'The Old Religions' have survived) around a Yew tree which may well be 2000 years old.

I foolishly walked all the way (well why not?) and as we got to the fields we marvelled in the oranges and yellows of the last flare of the suns setting.

All around us rabbits were rustling and cows were wandering about to find somewhere comfortable for the night.

It was still stinging hot.

We passed the pond and in the distance, the Thames glinted. We walked through the wood to the ruins of the old abbey.

And when we got to the little glade where the Yew is, Robyn tied one of our ribbons to the tree, something which has happened for millennia - for luck.

Then we walked back - by now I was in a lot of pain and struggling, but I made it.

Quite an achievement and part of the magic of the night.

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

Solstice 2016 didn't really happen.

I was very sad on the day of the Solstice this year - it's always been something special for me and for the last two years it's been extra special.

Two years ago, Robyn and me were sitting on the top of Box Hill, having a drink, eating chocolate cake and watching the night fall. Then by accident we saw the fireworks at Glyndebourne some 50 miles away.

It was when we knew we were in love.

Last year, with a broken back, we spent all night at Stonehenge waiting for the sun to rise between the stones. It was very, very special.

We'd wanted to go back for the winter equinox last year but I was too ill.

Right now I'm struggling and we just have too much on - we couldn't go. So it was very sad.

Then again we'd already had a busy day;

These are the cobbles of Camden Lock, under water from the rain. We went there to buy a hat for me to wear at our wedding.

We also had a wander around what is still one of my favourite places and on a wet Monday morning there weren't many people about either.

Then we took a look around all the food stalls and Robyn made me try a Turkish wrap.

Now, I don't normally like wraps but I liked this one;

Then we headed up to town to buy rings - which we thought would be easy but it wasn't and we need to get back to collect them later this week. Now that's a problem because I have a hospital appointment and another dose of chemo to look forward to!

Then we got home and realised how much we still have to do - with people arriving most days.

So no night out for us on The Solstice but we did go for a walk around historic Ankerwycke to watch night fall.

The sky was amazing;

And we watched the moon rise too - it was the night of a 'strawberry moon' also known as a 'honeymoon'.

Well it was a full moon and very pretty;

And we took a look at The Ankerwycke Yew which is between 1000 and 2000 years old;

So what did we do the next morning?

We found that the wedding music we'd carefully burnt onto both a DVD and a CD wouldn't play on a CD player so we went into Egham and did all the charity shops - we found nearly all the music that Robyn had chosen on old fashioned CD's for just under £3!

We got back home and Robyn got a reply from The Registry Office, who confirmed that the 70 days notice period expired yesterday and The Home Office hasn't done anything to stop us getting married. We are legit!

We went over to the reception venue for our appointment to go through everything with them.

Then my printer cartridge ran out - no more copies.

I should explain that when I started this Blog, I tried to get a new cable for my obsolete old laser printer but I was told it would cost almost as much as a new printer - so I bought a new printer and blogged about it.

But I kept the old cartridge - somehow it seemed wrong to throw it out.

So now I opened up the old cartridge and then using a soldering iron, burnt a hole in the empty one. Then I refilled it from the old one before I sealed it up again with duct tape.

Amazingly, when I put it back in the printer it worked. I fear it won't last for long because these days cartridges come with a chip that kills the thing when you've used up the number of copies it thinks you should be allowed to have.

Anyway, Robyn then typed up the schedule of music, printed it off and we drove in to Windsor to drop it off with the discs to The Registry office - which happened to be at exactly the time we will get married in a weeks time. We also met one of the registrars who will do our marriage for us as she arrived for another ceremony.

We got home and after a rest I cut back the grass in the front garden.

Then, in a panic, we realised that the plans we'd made about flowers weren't going to work out - so we've come up with something different to deal with that.

Wait and see, it's exciting!

Wow I'm tired out now.

Lots still to do - no wonder people do this months in advance.

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

Fields of Gold.

These photos are from over a week ago - since then the sun stopped shining and I first had a little operation then got hit by some really bad pain which has effected my mobility quite badly. So I'm not doing any walking for a while.

This is the view over the fields of Ankerwycke;

The buttercups were particularly nice now that The National Trust has a policy of encouraging it's tenant farmers to grow natural hay pasture;

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

Ankerwycke.

Last week, Robyn made me walk down to Ankerwycke - I used to go there often but these days it hurts - a lot.

Also, I haven't been there recently because a landowner fenced off a section to just leave a very narrow path between two fences. When people could avoid the muddy bits it was fine - stuck between the fences it turned into a mud bath and I couldn't walk on it any more.

That very day, volunteers had resurfaced  the path - so I had no more excuses.

It wasn't just that, I'm not free to do the things I used to do.

Still, Robyn blew Dandelion heads and made wishes;

It's that moment when all the dandelions are going to seed and the air is full of the 'fluffy stuff', which cries out early summer.

And the fields are still full of buttercups;

We walked as dusk was falling and the heat of the day was turning to cool as the sun set.

It's a time when anyone who has ever been camping thinks of - a beer in hand watching the sun go down as the scents of the day turn into night.

Wonderful time.

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

America day part two.

So, after going to the Kennedy memorial, we walked along the historic meadows of Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was supposedly signed 800 years ago this year.

Here's Robyn in front of The American Bar Association's memorial to the Magna Carta;

I guess some wealthy American lawyers had a trip here and couldn't believe there wasn't a memorial to the signing and so they built one in 1957.

There are a couple of problems with all this.

First of all; the opposing armies may have camped at Runnymede but the signing wouldn't have taken place there.

This beautiful house is on 'Magna Carta Island' on the opposite bank at Wraysbury.

It would make some sense for the signatories to meet away from the armies on the Island. The house was built later and although a lot of people believe that's where it was signed....you can't be sure.

 

 

 

This is a different view - across the road and behind both it and The River Thames, you are in the historic estate of Ankerwycke. You can just about make out the ruins of the old priory - a religious settlement of nuns from over 1000 years ago.

 

We all think this would be the kind of neutral territory away from both armies and on consecrated ground where no one would dare to kill any one. Also, there would be people who could read and write and could be trusted by parties who may not have been able to check the documents themselves.

 

 

The biggest problem? The Magna Carta was a deal to protect the lives and property of the wealthy barons; no one else had any property and their lives weren't worth living.

 

It took many centuries of protests to win the liberties we take for granted today.

 

At the end of our walk was the entrance of The Runnymede Ecovillage, which is todays protest against poverty and homelessness. I've written about them before and we'll probably make a separate trip there when it's a bit warmer.

 

 

Then we went home and had Hot Dogs with French's Mustard to finish off America day.

 

Hmmmmmmh!

 

Neil Harris

 

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

Home:  helpmesortoutstp[eters.blogspot.com

 

Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 

 

From one subversive to another.

I couldn't resist posting this picture; on Thursday I was feeling c#$p and ended up going out for a walk when I should have been doing other things.

It was worth it when I saw this - it's sunbeams moving through the trees at Ankerwycke, picked out by woodsmoke.

 

 

It looks like everybody apart from me is getting themselves sorted out. This is a busy mole, getting his house ready for the spring.

It's ideal mole weather - not too cold, wet but not too wet.

The wet matters because if the soil is wet but not waterlogged, the worms are active near the surface.

Moles eat worms and it's easier to tunnel.

People with neat lawns hate moles - I love 'em!

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)

Home:  helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

Ice and fire.

We are expecting a really cold spell later this week but these pictures come from last Thursday when it was already quite cold enough for me.

The confused ducks are trying to learn how to cope with walking on the frozen stream; slip sliding around and falling over.

I went for a walk across the fields and took a look at the Bullrushes, still looking fine, with only a few turning into cotton wool with the seeds flying off ready for spring.

Over at Ankerwycke farm, the farmer was clearing some waste ground with a chainsaw and a couple of fires.

 

 

It was a very fine morning, with wisps of wood smoke highlighting the beams of sunlight as they drifted through the trees.

 

Neil Harris

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

 

Contact me:  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 

  

A winter walk.

This morning I took advantage of a sunny morning (it was freezing) to take a walk around ancient Ankerwycke and remembered why the Pagans worshiped evergreen plants like Holly, Ivy, Yew and Mistletoe.

When you live in a forest where all the leaves come down in autumn - when winter comes the flash of green seems like a miracle.

 

This poor old tree is just covered with Mistletoe - it's a parasite. Scientists will tell you that the Mistletoe doesn't kill the tree - it does. This one is on the way out.

 

I haven't been here since the autumn and I found lots of traces of young lads earning some beer money before Christmas; pulling down Mistletoe to sell; 

  

 





This is one of a number of branches they didn't bother to take or couldn't carry. It's hard work and you really need a head for heights - the best stuff is high up. But as each sprig retails for £2-50, the wholesale price of this big branch would buy a lot of lager.

The white berries are very sticky and hungry birds can get to regret eating the berry when they can't get rid of the seed. So, they fly up to a bend in a branch on the tree and smear the seed off their beak so that it sticks onto the branch. then the seed sprouts and grows into the tree to drink it's sap.

They do look nice on a winter's morning, though;

 

 

 

Neil Harris

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

 

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

 

Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 



Hedges, again.

 

 I've had a really rough couple of months and it has hardly started yet - there are the really tough times to come.

 

Anyway, after  dropping my sister off at Gatwick airport in the dark, we got home to a spectacular January dawn spread out across the sky. I couldn't settle and went for a walk down to Ankerwyke; an ancient estate now owned for the nation by the National Trust. This time last year it was all flooded in the first of the two great floods.

 

This time I just had things to think about.

 

They are starting to lay hedges again;

  

 



It's quite late in the year but not too late. It happens every few years; you cut the hedge at the base but not all the way through and you bend down the branch to interlock with it's neighbour and tie everything to a framework made out of the trimmings.

The little miracle is that the branches sprout again in the spring and the hedge grows up into a tight fence which keeps animals in without hurting them.

It's not a skill which you ever saw in this area; our hedges were very rough and ready and they were dominated by gnarled old pollarded willows.

They make an unforgettable sight, especially when you see the twisted branches through a misty dawn. Unfortunately they have all but disappeared now and so too the people who used to keep them cut back - another lost skill.

The willows also used to drain the floodplain in the summer. Instead, the Trust have imported skills from other regions.

Here you can see the detailed work they do and also some very early catkins - flower buds that give a hope of spring.

Neil Harris

(a don't stop till you drop production)

Home:   helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me:   neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

Thanks, Swift-Tuttle.

So today, Tuesday, I went back to Oncology.

I'm out of Data (no broadband) and I'm out of order by about three days on the Blog but hey! Who cares?

It was OK.

Forget median survival rates (my cancer always shrugged them off).

I'm nearly at the max on this drug, so expensive I
only get it thanks to the Cancer Drug fund.

I have another month, well 28 days to be precise.

What do you do when you got another 28 days?

Me and Robyn, kitted up (folding chairs, a blanket, lager, a cigar, a clockwork torch and a smart phone) headed out to watch The Perseids, the dust left behind when comet Swift-Tuttle passed this way some time in the ice-cold past of the galaxy.

No big deal? No way, it means that at this time of year every August we get a fireworks display of shooting stars if we are lucky.

This was never going to be a lucky year - there's a big fat harvest moon - not only a full moon but a 'supermoon' when the moon is at it's closest to Earth.

At 8 pm we were sat in McDonalds eating an icecream and watching it rain.

Then we drove around looking for a spot - if it had been a good year I'd have driven to the South Downs for my last display but it was cloudy.

In the end we parked up at historic Ankerwycke where The Magna Carta was signed.

When it got 'dark' (it didn't thanks to the moon) we sat out in the cold and waited. Actually, as I got out of the car I caught site of a really low, fizzing grazer.

We missed all the little ones, couldn't see them but we saw a handful of the biggest so there were a few Oohs and Aahs.

A perfect end to a day that could have gone really badly. This time next year I won't care about this but I've watched those meteorites all my life.

Nice to say goodbye.

Now 28 days, lets give you something to remember us by.

Neil Harris
( a don't stop till you drop production)

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

The main stream is over but if you look up tonight, if it's clear, you might see some stragglers. I may chance it too.

42 paces, Midnight walk 11 February 2014

Midnight 11 February 2014

I’ve just come back from my midnight flood walk and I’m having a warming drink.

I crossed the road to take a look at the little stream – that’s well out of reach now. My personal flood mark was an old Red Bull tin I put at the edge of the water; that’s gone now, swept away.

I paced it out from the waterline to the road that protects us; it’s 42 paces now.

I walked along the Staines road. Near Magna Carta Lane water has started to build up. I can’t understand where it came from – there is no drain, no stream. It can only have bubbled up from a water main and as our toilet doesn’t like flushing any more, the flood must be pushing the water in the pipes back and up.

At ancient Ankerwycke the moon was three quarters full, bright in a cold clear night sky. Orion and Cassiopeia are still dancing their winter dance. Ankerwycke’s meadows are now all water – it is strange to walk down the lane with water on either side but any road is raised, even if it is only by a few inches and those inches matter.

Moonbeams played over the new lake. It was achingly beautiful. New giant logs bob on the water, washed up from somewhere. Our owls have left us (no food) but waterfowl – ducks and geese have moved in.

As I came back I walk along the middle of the main road, there is no traffic.

Except there are two giant four wheel drives with flashing blue lights parked in the middle of the road near the water I crossed on the way out. They don’t like it either. They do a sudden three point turn in the road with screeching tyres and then they are off – I get out of the way. That doesn’t look good.

We’ll be OK tonight; tomorrow it’s an early start for me and decisions to make.

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

Midnight Flood update 10 february 2014.

Midnight, 10 February 2014.

It’s becoming traditional – a midnight walk down Ankerwycke to check the floodwaters. The thing is I have a 94 year old to look after and I need to know we won’t be flooded overnight.

It was still, no owls calling, no foxes screeching. No cars either.

The water is only about 3 feet further up Magna Carta Lane but it’s a lot further up the buttercup meadow which is directly below Ankerwycke farm.

The five cars parked by the little bridge aren’t in any danger tonight but it might be an idea to move them up to the farm tomorrow.

Across the road from us the little stream has flooded a bit more, water is still pilling up and peoples gardens across the way from us are now starting to flood.

I have never seen the water higher in the gravel pits. The significance of this is that the water level there is the same as the ground water level under ground – it has nowhere else to go. Water coming downstream from Colnebrook is piling up too and then this evening we had an update from the Environment Agency – further flooding at Colnebrook.

Overall we are still OK tonight, lots of people aren’t.

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop  production)

Home: helpesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact: neilwithpromisestokee@gmail.com

Flood; 'Danger to Life' - thats not so good!

1400 hours.

Wraysbury Village green is flooded again, the bridge on the main road is clear;

 

The meadows by The Grange are all flooded with water from the village stream.

Houses down by the river (Ouseley Road etc) are flooded depending on their height. There is talk about the army being called in to evacuate people but that is usually just talk.

We have been phoned by Social Services flood co-ordinator who is getting plans ready to evacuate the elderly.

Datchet always has some flooding down by the river – tonight it’s forecast the town centre will flood which has never happened before in local memory.

Over the road from us, the stream I posted this morning has risen further as you can see;

 

 

There is a fairly strong movement of water which I’m not keen on.

A couple of blokes were digging a trench to clear water from their electricity junction box.

Oast House Close is rapidly filling with water although the houses aren’t yet flooded.

At 1450 hours we got the 'Severe Flood warning'
 which is as follows;
"Severe Flooding. 

Danger to life.

A Severe Flood Warning has been issued by the Environment Agency for the River Thames at Wraysbury. 

This Severe Flood Warning is for the River Thames at Wraysbury village including Welley Road, Ouseley Road, Station Road and Staines Road, as well as Magna Carta Lane.

River levels on the Thames are very high and still rising in the Wraysbury area. A Severe Flood Warning is now in force as river levels will continue to rise for at least 24 hours and are forecast to be higher than those experienced in 2003 on the Thames. Widespread property flooding is expected in the area and disruption to local infrastructure is possible. The Environment Agency and its partners will update this message as the situation changes."  

So for us, fingers crossed for 24 hours…..and if you have already been flooded, we are thinking of you.

 

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)
(I gave up on photos, my link was too slow)
Home:  helpmesortoutstppeters.blogspot.com
contact: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
 

0730 am 9 February 2014 Flood Warning.

Important Information.

 

A Flood Warning has been issued by the Environment Agency for the River Thames at Wraysbury.

Flooding is expected for the River Thames at Wraysbury village including Welley Road, Ouseley Road, Station Road and Staines Road, as well as Magna Carta Lane from this morning onwards.

 

Immediate action required.

 

The river and flooding forecast is as follows: River levels on the Thames at Wraysbury are very high, out of banks and rising following recent rainfall. River levels are expected to continue to rise over the next couple of days and property flooding is expected from Sunday morning onwards. The current river forecast suggests that river levels in this area could reach a higher level than those seen in January 2003. The weather prospects are: Sunday and Monday will see some showers, some of which may be heavy.

 

- Act now to protect yourself and your property.

 

- If it's safe to do so, block doors with flood boards or sandbags and cover airbricks and other ventilation holes.

 

- If you are caught in a flash flood, get to higher ground. Stay away from flood water and don't take risks.

 

- Move family, pets and valuables to a safe place.

 

- Keep a flood kit ready including a torch, batteries, fully charged mobile phone, warm clothes, water, food and any prescription medicines you may need.

 

- If it's safe, make sure your neighbours are aware of the situation and offer help to anyone who may need it.

 

- Avoid walking, cycling or driving through flood water.

 

- Turn off gas, electricity and water if your property is about to flood. Never touch an electrical switch if you are standing in water.

 

- Call Floodline on 0845 988 1188 using quickdial 173109 for up-to-date flooding information.

Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)

you can register for updates by e-mail or whatever media (I don't understand all that) and I'll keep Blogging.

Home:    helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

Contact; neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

On the run?

On the run?

This afternoon (Monday) there was a breakthrough. I went down to Ankerwycke and here is the little bridge – clear for the first time;

 

These are the logs I saw last night;

 

That’s not the only odd stuff that’s appeared washed up. I saw a 1980’s milk bottle that must have been scoured up from where it was thrown all those years ago and a flint stone, about fist sized;

There is no flint around here, it’s all clay and silt. Many miles up river is a chalk down, well on the way to Oxford, and flints are found in chalk. In the middle ages, both flint and chalk were used as building materials and this may confirm my worst fears that the few remains of the old priory may have been washed away.

This is Magna Carta Lane beyond the little bridge;

 

And this is what’s left of the flood;

 

It's still there but we could be winning.

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

contact: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 

 

Truce?

It’s a truce between me and the flood. After all the excitement of Saturday night, I went to Staines this afternoon (Sunday) where the water is as high as I’ve ever seen it. This shot is the other end of the lane that runs up the side of Lammas Park.

 

Behind the wooden structure is an arm of The Thames, a limb which runs around an island covered in houses. The main river is on the other side of the Island. The river has overflowed its banks and completely filled the lane. The barges that  tie up there for safety and a quiet life are now in the frontline.

I walked around to look at the Flood Marker on The Colne. No photo I’m afraid, my camera got too tired yesterday and the batteries gave out on me.

It read 4 foot 6 inches above normal, which is about 2 inches lower than yesterday.

Late at night, I walked down to Ankerwycke where it was the same story; for the first time the waters have fallen back. Not far on the fields but Magna Carta Lane is raised up just a little and there the water is about 70 paces further back. You can almost walk up to the bridge, halfway along, although the stream is still flowing over rather than under it.

There was a cold, lung stopping wind which had cleared away the rain that lasted all afternoon and evening – and that means it isn’t over yet. But the moon was high in the sky, hanging over the shoulders of Orion and lighting up the new lake which is where the fields once were.

Then I noticed what looked like seals or porpoises, beached on a shoreline, black shadows in the moonlight. These were logs, picked up by the flood and now left behind as the water slips back.

We are in with a chance!

And that’s just as well because I still haven’t found my wellington boots. I’m sure I had a pair but I have no idea where they are. If I take much longer about finding them, it’ll be too late.

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

contact: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com