Month: November 2020

Walking and Talking Book Review

The Page Turners ‘Novel’ Approach to Book Reviewing

Due to the current Welsh government lockdown restrictions on people meeting inside, the Page Turners have had to think of novel (great pun, Babs) ways of keeping in touch. As inclement weather ruled out meeting in a garden, as on two previous occasions,” Walking Books” was proposed.

Page Turners pulled on their walking boots and arranged to meet at the playing fields, to walk and talk about the latest book. Luckily the sun shone and the group walked, in pairs, maintaining the recommended 2 metres social distance, around the perimeter of the field. The book under discussion was the first in a series of books about adopted sisters,

“The Seven Sisters” by Lucinda Riley.

Lucinda claims she wrote the books to celebrate the achievements of women, especially in the past, where often their achievements are overshadowed by those of men. In the book we read, the main character, Maia D’Apilese travels across the world from Switzerland to Rio Dr Janeiro to search for her heritage…and finds love..and family. Reviewers of the book describe the novel in glowing terms, “delicious”, “compelling” , “spellbinding”. The Page Turners were divided in their opinions. Babs and Jenny enjoyed the first book and have already embarked on the book about the next sister. May thought it was a good easy read to escape into during these covid times. Helen could not think of one good word to describe the book, and would definitely not be finishing the series! A mark of 7 was given to what all agreed was an easy read. The highlight of the meeting was when Jenny produced truly delicious homemade cake and tea in a flask from her rucksack, which she had carried around the field throughout the discussions! Very resourceful from Jenny and very well appreciated by all.

Our next Walking Books venue is the Knap….a healthy body maintains a healthy mind..

 

 

Must Do List for November

Betty James “must do” list for November

  1. Wash flower pots before storing them.
  2. Put fleece on everything that needs covering.
  3. Raise all containers and pots to avoid water logging.
  4. Dry begonia corms thoroughly before storing.
  5. Any weeding done now will cut down on established weeds in Spring.

Wenvoe over 90s ramblers club tips

  1. Put plants nearer the house so you can actually see them.
  2. Your relatives only take you out to garden centres, so learn to enjoy gardening.
  3. No water features as we only end up in them.
  4. Keep everything as flat as possible in the garden, we can’t afford a fall.
  5. Tell people what you want for Christmas, otherwise it’s socks and tea towels.

Leaf mould is one of gardening’s great composts, it’s so easy to make and improves soil structure. You can also use it for bringing on seedlings. The best use as far as I know is for growing bulbs. It doesn’t necessarily need a compost bin, just fill bin bags with leaves then damp down. put a few holes in the bags and place out of the way. A good way of looking after bare patches in the borders or allotments is to plant what’s known as green manure. This not only protects soil from erosion, it inhibits weed growth and can then be dug in come spring to add nutrients to the soil.

Even with shorter days and inclement weather there are still plenty of jobs to be done. On the rare dry days a bit of weeding is always needed. Bare root shrubs and trees are available to order. They are cheaper bought this way and have a very high success rate. Planted now, they will establish a good root system over the winter. Keep raking up the leaves, especially those on grass, otherwise the grass will take ages to recover. There is still time to plant some garlic cloves; they need a cold spell to form clusters.

Ash dieback is taking hold in the village with a number of trees already taken out. If any of your trees have lost their leaves prematurely then get them checked out. At present there is no way back for infected trees with this disease. The latest survey suggests that only 5% of ash trees have a resistance.

New rules on leaving the EU mean that imported plants from Europe will have stringent tests to deal with pests and disease. I would have thought that should have been in place already. The upshot of this is that garden centres say it will mean an increase at the checkout on already highly priced plants. As a country we have allowed some diseases to take a stronghold around the south of the country. It beggars belief that we cannot grow enough plants in this country. Surely, for the prices garden centres charge, we ought to be able to compete and most of all be safer from pest and disease. While we were in lockdown during the early spring, people found old packets of seed and, looking around our area, gardens flourished. Irene and Dave in Vennwood really showed what you can do with a packet of seeds.

Take care and happy gardening

 

 

On Chapel Sands by Laura Cumming

OFF THE SHELF

This month’s book was On Chapel Sands by Laura Cumming.

In 1929, Betty, the author’s mother then aged three, was kidnapped from a beach in Chapel St Leonard. Within a week or so Betty reappeared unharmed and throughout her childhood the secret surrounding her birth and subsequent adoption was kept by the village.

Laura Cummings, who has a background in art history, discusses the work of famous painters as a means to unravel her mother’s experiences. Most of us found this acutely irritating. Betty had a fascinating story to tell and for us, being taken up endless artistic cul-de-sacs detracted from, rather than enhanced Betty’s bitter narrative. On a more positive side, Cummings gave a brilliant description of Chapel St Leonard and Lincolnshire in general which delighted those in the group who were familiar with the area. We were all pleased that we had read the book but could only award it 7/10.

 

 

 

 

A Deadly Game Of Catch

A Deadly Game Of Catch

It was about three o’clock on a chilly morning and I was sitting in some bushes at the corner of a paddy field looking across into China from the Hong Kong side. The border was defined by a tall metal fence with razor wire at the top and apart from identifying the frontier, this impressive barrier was designed to prevent people from China making their way illegally into Hong Kong.

The year was 1980 and I was there with soldiers of The Royal Regiment of Wales to stop a large number of illegal immigrants crossing into the British colony of Hong Kong which had been under British control since 1842. The Chinese who wanted to come across were all poor with no work or very low wages under the communist regime and they saw a better life in capitalist and free Hong Kong. They knew that if they reached “home base” they would be eligible for free housing, medical care, schooling and financial support until they found a job. It was very enticing and huge numbers made an attempt, and although many were caught a good number succeeded. The television channels of Hong Kong could be seen across the border in China and to a poor Chinese farmer the apparently fabulous and flashy lifestyle of the Chinese in Hong Kong who all had cars, air conditioning and freedom was all very seductive.

The border runs for twenty miles across mainly flat land which is a mixture of farms and open countryside. Originally built in 1952 to stop gun smuggling during the time of the Korean War it was reinforced by the erection of a much stronger fence or wall in 1962 as thousands of Chinese were trying to cross into Hong Kong each day. By the time we were sent there the fence was tall and effective and with a single lane tarmac road running beside it which allowed us to drive quickly along from one end of our sector to the other. While President Trump is criticised for building a fence to keep out illegal immigrants crossing from Mexico, the British had built their fence decades before to keep the Chinese out.

We were based in an old, very old, army camp near the town of Lo Wu which was a short drive from the border fence. Each evening at around dusk lorries and Land Rovers would take out soldiers wearing their camouflage clothing and with running shoes rather than heavy boots. They would be dropped off in groups of four at intervals along the fence. With a large flask of coffee, they would wait throughout the hours of darkness to catch any illegal immigrants that they found climbing over the fence. The one thing that gave us a big advantage over the illegals was that the soldiers were issued with night viewing devices, called at that time “starlight scopes”. These basically allowed us to see in the dark and so we could pick out any individuals approaching the fence before they started to climb over. This enabled us to move stealthily into a position where we could catch them once they landed on our side. If it had been a game, it would have been unfair, but this was no cat and mouse game this was deadly serious.

The illegals would usually arrive in ones and twos but sometimes a whole family group with children would arrive and attempt to climb over. They had very few possessions. Some had a magic ointment Tiger Balm, to soothe their aches and pains, others had family photographs and a number were carrying drugs such as hashish to ease their discomfort. When caught they would be handcuffed and taken by vehicle to the nearest police station and handed over to the Hong Kong police. The following day they would be put on a train and sent back to China. While we imagined that they would be interrogated and punished by the communist regime for their escape efforts this was not the case as we sometimes caught the same people coming over the fence a few days later. On an average night, we caught between five and twenty illegals in my sector alone and that was just a 4 four mile stretch of the border. The majority gave up quietly. They were mostly very tired and malnourished, but a few ran for it though we soon caught them. These were Welsh soldiers and rugby tackles were learnt in their youth.

One distressing incident, which has remained with me, was of a family of five who attempted to cross the fence. The father went first with the eldest child, a teenage daughter, while the mother waited on the Chinese side until they were safely over. But the father and daughter were quickly caught and taken away leaving the remainder of the family on the far side. We never knew what happened to them, but it was very sad to see a family split like that.

In 1997 Hong Kong was transferred to China after 156 years of British rule. The border remained a controlled area but as Hong Kong became part of China there was no longer any incentive for people to cross illegally and the border became the responsibility of the civil police.

 

 

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