Sad Sight - a boat half underwater

Here are some photos I took of a boat being towed into Kingswear during the Dartmouth Regatta 2010. I don't know if it was competing, but as we all commented, it's always a sorry sight to see a broken boat being towed in.

Cornwall: A Review

Like a huge number of other folk, the Marczak family went South West for their Easter holidays and, in amoungst the vast quantities of Sauvignon and Sensations, there was the wonders of Cornwall to explore. If you have a family of younguns, you may find this review of interest.

We stayed at The Olde House, in Chapel Amble. This family-run enterprise comprises countless farmhouse cottages, a pool, snooker table, tennis courts, ball-pit "play barn" and "Pet's Corner", as well as all the sights and smells you'd expect from a working farm.

We stayed at Smeathers Farmhouse, positioned five minutes drive down a windy road - cycle at your peril - and completely cut off from the main road leading into the village of Chapel Amble. The village itself has a Post Office, an excellent pub called The Maltsters Arms, and a few houses. All in all, this was getting away from it on a grand scale.

The Farmhouse easily slept the 6 of us, with bunk beds to spare. There were plenty of bits in the kitchen, and the cream tea welcome was a lovely touch.

Being so cut off, it was easy to let the kids run riot outside, although the ceilings seemed to be paper thin, so they couldn't get away with much at bed time.

Out and about, we went to a few places.

St Kew golf club - Perfect for beginners and hackers alike, not especially challenging, but short enough to get a full round in without it upsetting the other half.

Hustyns Leisure Club and Spa - very nice, so I'm told, though not the easiest place to find without really good directions.

Lappa Valley Steam Railway - down near Newquay, this is hidden away, and is heaven for kids who like trains. Multiple mini train rides, crazy golf, boating lake, maze, playground, slide. Excellent fun for young children.

Blue Reef Aquarium - In Newquay town centre, tightly packed little aquarium with octopus feeding, a turtle, sharks, a walk through tunnel, jellyfish, starfish and, most crucially, steps for little kids to take around with them if they need help seeing over the top. Good value for money, and very helpful staff.

Dairyland - the twee name made me sh-udder a bit (sorry), but inside it is a properly old school farm play area. Petting areas, slides, tractor rides, pony rides, chickens roaming free, sand pits, climbing apparatus, this was a day trip in itself.

What surprised me was how close everything seemed to be. Having not been to Cornwall since I was tiny, I was expecting long hauls to all the attractions, but it wasn't like that at all. With some fun trips to Padstow and Polzeath thrown in for good measure, I really appreciated the variety available, particularly for infant school aged kids.

We are all set to book next year. Now where's that holiday form?

Write Letters. It's The Future.

It's fair to say that we don't write letters like we used to. I know I don't. If I cast my memory back, I wrote a lot of letters when I was courting the better half, but then that was when internet was in its infancy and not everyone had the internet at home.

Aside from thank you letters, I don't "write" letters at all. I might type one and print it out, but you won't catch me sitting with a ball point pen and a pad of paper any time soon.

So it is with great joy that I am able to regale you a story I was told by a friend of my wife, who is a head teacher somewhere in Oxford. She was describing how one of her staff had been going through a book with her class, "Kasper, Prince Of Cats", by Michael Morpurgo.

From what I've heard, the cat is a statuette, placed at a table in the Savoy Hotel to warn off bad luck. The story is about a bell-boy and his relationship with a real-life black cat at the hotel, and the adventures they undergo.

So taken by this book were the class, that they wrote to the hotel asking if they could come and see the cat that inspired the story.

The hotel then wrote back and said, sorry, that part of the hotel is currently undergoing refurbishment. But we can arrange for you to see it at our club next door.

Excellent news, the teacher thought. Then came the follow up, we have been in touch with the author, and he would be happy to talk to the class via video-conference! This is unbelievable, thought the teacher.

Shortly before the trip, the hotel rang again. Sorry, they said, Michael Morpurgo said that he won't be able to do the videoconference now, because he has decided to come in person! Cue jaws on floor.

So the day came, and the children got to meet the cat, the hotel laid on cat shaped biscuits and squash, and they sat in revered silence as Michael Morpurgo talked to them about the book they loved so much.

After their time was up (they had an appointment at St Paul's to go to), the headteacher asked the hotel organiser why they had gone to such great lengths for one morning's work.

"Because you wrote letters to us. No one writes letters any more, so it stood out."

And there you have it. They get dozens of emails asking for facilities, but no one writes any more. The kids did more than just ask for something, they showed how much they wanted it, and that's something you can't do in Times New Roman. The power of the letter should not be forgotten.

Slightly Later Than Planned #1

#1 - I don't like Mondays - Boomtown Rats

Original Release Year - 1979 (me aged 3)

Picture the scene. A child receives a brand new toy. But not just any toy. This is a record player. It's a Fisher Price record player, but it plays records nonetheless. Grown up records too.

The modern equivalent would probably be me buying my daughter an Early Learning Centre MP3 player, I'm sure there is such a thing, so my parents clearly recognised the role that music would play in my life when they bought me that record player. And judging by my favourite song of all time, they seem to have crafted it as well; I can only assume that they bought the record in the first place.

I'm guessing most three year olds have a favourite song that is played ad infinitum in the car or at home. High School Musical probably. It was only when I was about 15 that I discovered that my favourite song was all about a high school shooting spree in January 1979. Brenda Ann Spencer just took potshots out of her bedroom window at the school opposite because she didn't like Mondays. Naturally I don't recall any of this, but the internet is a wonderful thing, and you can read about the inspiration to the song here.

All I remember is having this record on continually at bedtime. Maybe it's the lack of percussion that makes this track stand out from most, after all this was an era of punk fighting with disco, where drums made all the difference. And here was a number one single that had none.

It's been slightly peculiar nosing through all these old favourites of mine. What surprised me a little was that only one track is from the last decade. Does this mean I have grown weary of music, or that music has just grown weary?

Dancing To The Decadence Dance - #2

#2 – More Than Words – Extreme

Original Release Year – 1990 (me aged 14)

Where to begin with this one? This is one of those songs I wish I’d written. I remember hearing this for the first time and finding it a bit cheesy, but then I heard it again. And again. I’m guessing there was a lot of hormonal changes going on at the time, but the acoustic guitar and the cracking harmonies just hit the sweet spot for me. I do recall it was one of the first cassette singles I ever bought, with a B side called “Nice Place To Visit” which was very rocky, not what I expected at all.

With no internet or satellite to guide as to what this band were like other than this song, I had to go by instinct and buy the album: “Pornograffiti”. I suppose the title should have given me a clue as to what the rest of the album would be like, but I was surprised to find funk, acoustic, jazz and metal all on the same album. But for me this is still the stand out track, it’s a karaoke favourite, I’ve sung it countless times and made friends cry (I think because they liked it), and it brings out the soppy romantic in me.

My Blood Runs Cold, My Memory Has Just Been Sold. #3

#3 – Centrefold – J Geils Band

Original Release Year – 1983 (me aged 7)

Very bizarre that a song about a college girl turned soft porn star should grab my attention at the age of 7, but then there’s no accounting for taste at that age. I didn’t possess the record itself, so the only place I could have seen it was on Top Of The Pops. In fact pretty much all my early musical upbringing came through that one show. What sticks in my mind is Peter Wolf climbing all over classroom chairs, something that must have seemed very appealing at that age. Having just watched the video again, I have no recollection at all of the women in lingerie.

I’m not sure why this was a particular purple patch for my musical education, but I have a fond memory for contemporary tracks like “Abracadabra” by the Steve Miller Band and “I Love Rock N Roll” by Joan Jett. But “Centrefold” is all the more strange as the J Geils Band pretty much vanished without trace in the UK. Maybe it's because all songs with whistling in are cool. It was all the more surprising to come across it on a CD entitled “Let’s Rock! With Smashey and Nicey” in an Asda in Scotland (opening line “Pop-a-doodle-doo gherkins, Mad Mike Smash here”. I don’t remember being so chuffed to find a song on a CD in my life.

The video is great but embedding is forbidden, so come find it here

Sweet Music To My Ears - #5 and #4

#5 Under The Moon Of Love – Showaddywaddy

Original Release Year – 1976 (me not quite 1)

How the hell a band like Showaddywaddy ended up on my radar, lord only knows. Needless to say I don’t remember the original release, but I can tell you is that it was the first gig I ever saw: Showaddywaddy at the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton. I’ll hazard a guess that I was about 5 or 6 at the time and all I can remember is having my hands over my ears a lot, and not liking the stroboscope one bit. Aside from the multi-coloured suits and the big shades, I was drawn to the fact that there were two drummers, one of whom is called Romeo (father of an Olympic high jumper by the way)

But this wasn’t a fad, I still have a greatest hits CD in my collection, and I still enjoy the occasional boogie along. God it’s sad, but it’s such a good tune, it’d be a shame to allow it to disappear. It’s OK to like a song with a saxophone solo – isn’t it?

#4 – Radiation Vibe – Fountains Of Wayne

Original Release Year – 1996 (me aged 20)

Now if you're still with me, despite the hip-hop, the prog rock and, ahem, the teddy boys, we begin to hit the dizzy heights.

Depending on the kind of music you like, Fountains Of Wayne are either in the epicentre, or off the radar. They epitomise the way that great American writers take Great British influences, and they are probably best known for the single “Stacy’s Mom”. But my association with them goes back to the beginning. I was at university when I first heard “Radiation Vibe”. I’m pretty sure it would have been courtesy of Steve Lamacq or whoever was running the Evening Session in those days, and I was just hooked on the perfection of the song, the great lyrics, “I went to Pittsburgh, and joined a pro team, talk about a bad dream, I broke a knee”.

By good fortune, they were playing The Varsity in Wolverhampton (capacity 200), and I’ve never been to a more up close and personal gig in my life. I left there that night, completely hooked, and went to my local independent music store the next day to seek out the eponymous album. By more good fortune, they had just one copy, and the lady was most distressed that she would have to hand it over to a member of the public. It’s been a favourite ever since.