As I walked briskly in keeping with the exercise requirements of my diet regime, listening to the intoxicating and incessant drumming in Get Ready by Rare Earth, I had an epiphany: I could be dead in a few weeks because of the pandemic.
I didn’t panic, but looked up at the sky and everything appeared so very special – the stars, the golden pancake moon darting between clouds, and even the clouds themselves for their amorphous fluffiness. [Read more…] about How I Feel about the Pandemic
From tonight the M27 will be completely closed in both directions between junctions 3 (M271) and junction 4 (M3) this weekend – from late evening Friday 31 January to early morning 3 February. Read Chippy’s report: M27 Closure 31 Jan – 3 Feb.
To add to the chaos, there’ll be disruption on your train journey. Since Tuesday, a rail line has been blocked after a freight train derailed in Eastleigh. The line between Southampton Central and Basingstoke and thousands of people have been affected.
Route Director, Mark Killick, explains what happened and what they’re doing to get the railway reopened for Monday. “We apologise for the continued disruption and line closure; passengers should continue to check with @SW_Help before travelling.”
Watch the video below and see the huge task of repair:
#EASTLEIGH derailment update. Our Route Director, Mark Killick explains what happened and what we’re doing to get the railway reopened for Monday. We apologise for the continued disruption and line closure; passengers should continue to check with @SW_Help before travelling. pic.twitter.com/K15cmhhz71
— Network Rail Wessex (@NetworkRailWssx) January 31, 2020
[Read more…] about M27 Closure; Eastleigh Derailed Freight Train
The M27 will be completely closed in both directions between junctions 3 (M271) and junction 4 (M3) this weekend – from late evening Friday 31 January to early morning 3 February.
This is the third and final closure required for the replacement of the Romsey Road bridge. More details can be found on the Highways England website. [Read more…] about M27 Closure 31 Jan – 3 Feb
What’s yours? A question asked in bars around the country; whisky, gin, beer. In another context, the question is not asked, because most of us are not interested, but the answer is given at length. What’s your disease?
There is no one so proud as the, now recovered, person describing how baffling and serious their disease has been. ‘None of the doctors knew what it was; I even saw the professor and he did not know.’
I eavesdropped on one such conversation at a drinks party. The man described his symptoms well and insisted that the disease was a mystery. I interrupted and asked, did he suffer from diarrhoea and vomiting about two weeks before the illness started? How did I know? He had not realised that this was the start of the illness. [Read more…] about What’s Your Poison?
Fifteen years to the day after the terrible Tsunami swept across Sri Lanka, another powerful natural phenomenon struck awe and even fear for some of the rural people. The morning sky turned dark.
We had travelled upcountry to a place called Naula, close to the line taken by the total eclipse of the sun. Our friends packed a welder’s visor in their overnight bag. I thought David, an engineer, was planning to do some welding when we reached our destination, but it was his wife who had the foresight. She follows events in the heavens and told us of the eclipse.
When the time came there was cloud cover which was fortunate for me as I managed to take photographs of the eclipse through the clouds. In between the clouds, we observed the eclipse through the visor.
The cook and some of the staff where we stayed thought it was an intervention of the gods and wanted to go to the temple. Many people did visit temples, churches, kovils and mosques but it was the schoolteachers who could tell them what was happening. We collected the staff and let them all have a look through the visor. One of our Sri Lankan friends explained what was happening, but I am not sure we convinced them all.
In case I had forgotten, I am reminded. I am back in Delhi, the city of my childhood. “Be careful”, cautions Maya, the caretaker who I had known as a young school girl and is now a mother of three daughters in their twenties. Two of Maya’s front teeth are missing, like absent milestones of time, marking the passage of some 40 years. “Be careful of the dogs, big brother”, she warns me.
I go to the balcony and look outside. Hordes of stray mongrels roam the streets. Some have colourful winter coats on. Occasionally, they settle some canine scores with sporadic fights, but are peaceful on the whole. [Read more…] about The Black and White Dog
Editor’s note: A new Saturday Story series by Gopi Chandroth
A short version of this story recently won the first prize in a competition held by the Society for Civil and Public Service Writers (SCPSW).
The SCPSW membership is open to civil and public servants, current or retired, including local government, NHS and the police. Contact Gopinath.chandroth@gmail.com for more information. [Read more…] about Stolen Murder
Editor’s note: A new Saturday Story series by Gopi Chandroth
A short version of this story recently won the joint first prize in a competition held by the Society for Civil and Public Service Writers (SCPSW).
The SPCSW membership is open to civil and public servants, current or retired, including local government, NHS and the police. Contact Gopinath.chandroth@gmail.com for more information. [Read more…] about A Two-Way Ticket for Goats
I have visited Sri Lanka over 15 times now, living there for several months every year for the last 10 years. Early visits were during the civil war and there were inconveniences such as roadblocks, curfews and limitations on travel.
On one occasion my friends arranged an escort to the airport. There were no problems with me giving lectures at the University and to audiences containing Sinhala and Tamils. [Read more…] about Sri Lankan Bombings
Sequel story to: Doctor’s father makes second epic journey in daughter’s memory after snapping wrong penguin on 8,000-mile trip (The Telegraph), and Trip of a Lifetime – My Antarctic Trip on Chandler’s Ford today.
Lisa loved to travel and her extreme joy of being abroad was expressed in several of her diaries. She wrote about the places she visited, whom she met and how she felt on the journey. People and places were often recorded in her photo album. [Read more…] about Travelling for Lisa
Several years ago I was invited to serve on a European Council relating to the welfare of performing animals. I don’t know whether it actually started or disappeared into the mists of EU bureaucracy. I have interests in teaching animals and recently took an opportunity to spend some time with a delightful camel in France. [Read more…] about Camels, Smallpox, Big Cats, Wolves and Philosophy
Phil, a friend of ours from Sheffield, England, is over here in Perth, Western Australia at the moment visiting family … on Saturday, he visited us in Glen Forrest, as he has done for the past eight years.
On this occasion, he presented me with a copy of Barbara Hillier’s book, ‘CHANDLER’S FORD, A PICTORIAL HISTORY’ (1994 edition – Front Cover shows Fortune Court and a VERY blue sky) … Phil bought it via Amazon U/K from a bookshop in Reading, Berks … [Read more…] about A VERY L–O–N–G Shot from Australia
The gilet jaunes or yellow jackets movement is a populist, grassroots political movement for economic justice that began in France in 2018. An online petition posted in May reached 300,000 signatures by mid-October and was followed by regular mass demonstrations beginning on 17 November. I spend part of my life in Normandy. The following report is based on my personal experience. [Read more…] about What is Happening in France? The Gilet Jaunes Protests.
Yesterday morning I took the 7.14 train from Chandler’s Ford to London Waterloo. The return ticket (including London Underground all zones) cost £90.
Ideally I should have taken the 6.06 train, but I wasn’t feeling safe to get to the station so early by myself. Recently I’ve heard of news about people being mugged in Eastleigh and Chandler’s Ford, so was a bit more concerned. I considered driving to the station, buying tickets from the machine near the platform, but …. what if someone jumped out from nowhere and I was on my own? I also considered driving to Southampton Airport Parkway but parking would have cost £15 per day. [Read more…] about A Grand Day Out to London from Chandler’s Ford
It is the season of parties, not to be left out, we are arranging one. Is it any different in Sri Lanka?
Sri Lankans do not seem to plan their diaries too far ahead nor do they always respond to invites but they turn up on the dot. There is no angst about who to invite and there is no angst about who should come. If you have friends staying, you take them along. [Read more…] about Party
Christmas is a busy time of year for most charities and the Jubilee Sailing trust (JST) is no exception.
Having enjoyed a lovely day at the Chandler’s Ford Joint Charities Christmas Market, we also attended the Romsey Christmas Market and most recently the Winchester Christmas Market in the stunning setting of Cathedral Close. [Read more…] about Sailing into Christmas with the Jubilee Sailing
What did Jesus look like? You know, don’t you? He has long, straight hair, a full beard, wears sandals and Arabic robes, he never smiles.
In Europe, he is depicted with fair skin and hair. What did he really look like? There are no clues from the Bible. [Read more…] about What did Jesus Look Like?
Two weeks ago, I went to the ancient cathedral city of Salisbury with my parents. Obviously this city has been at the centre of a major international incident for about a month now, but as a resident of Wiltshire’s neighbouring county who has visited Salisbury many times, I decided to visit the city to see what had happened. [Read more…] about Our Recent Trip to Salisbury (after Spy Attack)
I have lived in Chandler’s Ford for over 30 years. I am retired now and realised when I pop my clogs, all my videos and photos would probably be deleted from the drives, so decided to share many of them on YouTube.
I created my own channel Syd Hutchinson, and have had nearly 120,000 viewings in the last 3 years. I re-edited some of our holiday videos from far-flung places and added them. It’s a shame many countries we have visited were many years ago when video quality was not so good, so many places are not included. Fast approaching 100 videos now ranging from wildlife to National Trust properties. I even have a video that was used on the Travel Channel. [Read more…] about Sharing my Videos and Memories: by Syd Hutchinson from Chandler’s Ford
Last Thursday, these people from Chandler’s Ford helped push a Bluestar 1 bus stuck in the snow in Chandler’s Ford.
The bus towards Southampton was at the Central Precinct stop.
Washington Muringayi happened to see this scene and filmed it. He shared the video on Facebook, and ITV has since shared this video and it has now been viewed nearly 30,000 times. [Read more…] about Snow Brings Out the Best of People in Chandler’s Ford
