Chandler's Ford Today

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Experiments with Spirituality

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My first son was born in Delhi in 1987. Two months after his birth, like Prince Siddhartha Gautama of Lumbini, I kissed my sleeping wife and son and travelled to Rishikesh, located in the foothills of the Himalayas. I didn’t know then that I would return there 22 years later. But that is another story, to be written when I have the mental fortitude to narrate it.

For now, let me tell you about my spiritual quest and how unlike Prince Siddhartha, I failed to become the Buddha or the enlightened. [Read more…] about Experiments with Spirituality

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Give a Girl Some Graphite

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For a pre-Christmas treat I took my wife on a special trip. She dressed beautifully in mainly white with her large sunhat and a pair of gold lame shoes. I like to give a girl a good time and I had heard of this place up in the hills near Kurunegalla in the centre of Sri Lanka. Not many girls get a chance to visit there.

We drove up a narrow lane through an attractive area of jungle to a small settlement with a couple of bungalows and installations of mining equipment. [Read more…] about Give a Girl Some Graphite

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Room 235

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What is special about this card key that occupies a prominent place in my museum of memories? The story may amuse you, but to me it is just one episode from a long list reinforcing my lifelong suspicion that I am the unsuspecting protagonist in a never-ending series of candid camera.

I was in South Tyneside College to attend a course on high voltage electric propulsion, in connection with an investigation. I had rung ahead to a nice hotel located by the sea and asked for a room with a sea view, but when I checked in, was told that all the rooms with sea views were taken. Nothing new there; I rarely got a hotel room with a view. [Read more…] about Room 235

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Trip of a Lifetime – My Antarctic Trip

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I have just returned from a trip of a lifetime – a visit to an Emperor Penguin colony on the frozen Weddell Sea within the Antarctica Continent.

Yes it was a bit of a hike to get there. It took me a couple of days to travel to the gathering point in Punta Arenas, Chile. [Read more…] about Trip of a Lifetime – My Antarctic Trip

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Roger Clark’s Quest to Antarctica to Photograph the Right Penguins

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We don’t normally see the name ‘Chandler’s Ford’ being mentioned in the national news (ok, the HSBC armed robbery on Bournemouth Road in September 2007 was an exception: “Two armed robbers were shot dead by police”).

However today, ‘Chandler’s Ford’ is mentioned all over the media, from The Times, Daily Telegraph, The Sun, Mirror…, and on the BBC radio programme. [Read more…] about Roger Clark’s Quest to Antarctica to Photograph the Right Penguins

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Book Launch News: Martin Kyrle and Michael Roberts

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As you know by now, I love train travel but I’m pleased to say I am easily outdone (in terms of distance and time taken to complete the journey) by two local authors who are bringing out a new book shortly.

The furthest I’ve been in a day from Chandler’s Ford Station is York (to date anyway!) but the new book, written by Martin Kyrle and Michael Roberts, is called Jottings from the Trans-Siberian Railway. Now there is considerable commitment to long distance train travel! [Read more…] about Book Launch News: Martin Kyrle and Michael Roberts

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Life aboard a Tall Ship: Jubilee Sailing Trust’s Ship Lord Nelson

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I was on board Lord Nelson ship at the Seed2Sailing – the launch party for this year’s Jubilee Sailing Trust Autumn Pumpkin Festival and Scarecrow Avenue, which will take place on Saturday 8th Oct 2016.

“I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;”

Sea Fever by John Masefield
[Read more…] about Life aboard a Tall Ship: Jubilee Sailing Trust’s Ship Lord Nelson

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Maiden Flight

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In the age of steam every boy wanted to be an engine driver. In my boyhood this desire became a fighter pilot and in modern times it might be an astronaut or a pop star. The nearest I got to being a fighter pilot was to sit in the cockpit of a spitfire and press the firing button. Then came the jet age and we aspired to becoming test pilots.

Then, seventy years later, I was to be a test pilot. A group of us had bought a new glider, a top of the range Duo Discus XLT with a 20 M wingspan. [Read more…] about Maiden Flight

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Dispatches from Sri Lanka – The Tunnel in Kandy

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(Editor’s note: For new readers to Chandler’s Ford Today, just to say that once in a while this site has kind of become Sri Lanka Today, while our well-loved writer from Chandler’s Ford travelled to Sri Lanka as analysing snake poisons seems to be a fun hobby when you retire.

A few more interesting stories from Sri Lanka will soon appear in the next few days. Happy reading!)

To get to our house in Kandy we have to go through a tunnel. The alternative is a 3 km detour. The other day we had the Granddaddy of Tropical Storms with torrential rain from 3.00 pm until about 3.00 am. In the morning the tunnel was blocked and we had to get to work via another route. [Read more…] about Dispatches from Sri Lanka – The Tunnel in Kandy

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Dispatches from Sri Lanka: a Loverly Bunch of Coconuts

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Two or three times a year, the coconut boy comes around to harvest the coconuts. This year he was delayed as there has been so much rain it has left the palm trunks slippery.

There are six coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) in our garden here and they all have a ‘loverly bunch’ on them. Two of the trees are King Coconut, a variety of large yellow nut found in Sri Lanka. [Read more…] about Dispatches from Sri Lanka: a Loverly Bunch of Coconuts

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Hidden Hampshire: The Monarch’s Way

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Some of the fringe benefits of owning and walking a dog include getting to discover some beautiful areas of Hampshire. Some of these are on our doorstep in Chandler’s Ford.  One of those is The Monarch’s Way, which is a short drive away, and takes you into some glorious countryside.

This post shares some of my thoughts on the walking and wildlife found in and around The Monarch’s Way.  [Read more…] about Hidden Hampshire: The Monarch’s Way

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Back to Sri Lanka

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It is good to be back in Sri Lanka. We have been here enough times now to feel it is a second home. All those weird tropical things are becoming familiar. I had forgotten how noisy the night is after rain. All those frogs and things calling out for a mate. The fireflies too, silent and magical in the darkness. [Read more…] about Back to Sri Lanka

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The Waterfall

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After two days driving through France we arrived at our gîte in Provence for a holiday.

It is a delightful place in a 40 acre estate of olive trees and a lavender field. There were no guests in the other gîtes so we had the whole place, including 3 swimming pools to ourselves. One border of the estate was a river and half a mile upriver was a waterfall or cascade as the French call them. [Read more…] about The Waterfall

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Travellers Need Brains

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Are you a tourist or a traveller?

With the holiday season upon us, you have probably already decided. Travelling can be nerve-wracking. What’s the difference?

Shall we say that a traveller decides where to go and arranges it, but a tourist buys a dream sold by a travel company. [Read more…] about Travellers Need Brains

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Forced Landing

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Our gliding flights in the Pyrenees were going well. A friendly rivalry arose with the two pilots of another glider and we were determined to outdo one another.

Today was my turn as pilot in command of our 2 seater, Whisky Bravo. The tug plane took us from Santa Cilia airfield on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees towards the local hill where there was some rising air. [Read more…] about Forced Landing

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From Chandler’s Ford I Get around

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I love travelling. I love seeing what’s going on around me and comparing different places with home.

But despite living near an airport, flying is the one major form of transportation I’ve never used.

I’ve travelled in many different forms, including having a donkey ride on a beach and a pony trek (when I was a child), but have yet to be above terra firma. [Read more…] about From Chandler’s Ford I Get around

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What Does Christmas Mean For Non-Christians?

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We can all enjoy Christmas. It is not necessary to focus on baby Jesus and the traditional story of shepherds and three wise men.

Last Christmas was spent in Sri Lanka, a country with only 10% Christians but where the Buddhists (70%), Hindu and Muslim all joined in the celebrations.

We had to dress as Santa and his helper [Read more…] about What Does Christmas Mean For Non-Christians?

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Comet Rendezvous

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Today one of the boldest, most audacious and exacting feats of space engineering will be attempted. The European Space Agency (ESA) will attempt to land Philae, a lander module, from the Rosetta spacecraft onto a comet known as 67P Churyunov.

Rosetta has already made 3 orbits around the sun and is near to completing a fourth. [Read more…] about Comet Rendezvous

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Atlantic Crossing With Jubilee Sailing Trust

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First – a bit about the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST).

The charity was formed in 1978 and has two tall ships (Lord Nelson and Tenacious) that have been specially adapted so that anyone over 16 can crew.

The crew is made up equally of able-bodied and disabled people – some who have never sailed in their lives before. [Read more…] about Atlantic Crossing With Jubilee Sailing Trust

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Neighbourhood Killer And Child

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Off Vancouver Island last Monday, we saw a Killer Whale with baby. It went on to take a seal – this type of Orca is a mammal (rather than fish) eating one. Baby seals and dolphins are its main food.

Oddly enough an adult seal on seeing an Orca will take to land. Baby seals [Read more…] about Neighbourhood Killer And Child

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