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Monthly Archives: September 2008

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In the town where I was born . . .

For the fainthearted . . .

Taunton station sign Taunton bridge

Taunton statues

Taunton arch

 

P9291048

Taunton Bath Place

 

Taunton Vivary

Taunton Portcullis

Taunton town centre

A family visit took me back to Somerset yesterday – I tried to see the place where I was born as if for the first time.  The Taunton station sign is remembered with a deep sense of foreboding – it meant catching the train to school for a new term.

Looking afterwards at what I had taken, I thought they probably looked nothing like the place – even the roundabout in the town centre looks like a village square – there could have been shots of dereliction and …

Facing down fears

For the fainthearted . . .

Sitting at a meeting last Monday, the group gathered were giving American Republicans a pounding, particularly Sarah Palin, the vice-presidential candidate, but the same group would have given Bush a pounding four years ago. There were many who took a similar approach in 2004. There was the disastrous effort by readers of the English liberal Guardian newspaper to get voters in a particular state to vote Democrat.

If the group had not been pounding the McCain campaign, the Taoiseach Brian Cowen would probably have been battered, and, if not him, …

Unheard voices

For the fainthearted . . .

A snotty letter arrived from the Revenue Commissioners in yesterday:

Dear Mr Poulton
I am returning your tax return for the year specified above received on 15th August 2008, as it has not been adequately completed. The items requiring attention are indicated below.

Please complete line 102 (description of Trade) on page 5 and also line 104( a) OR 104(b) also on page 5

Extracts From Accounts not completed. Please complete pages 6 and 7 where “x” is marked.
(When providing information in “Extracts From Accounts” pages you must complete

…

Railway stereotyping

For the fainthearted . . .

Checking in online for Ryanair flights to Bristol and back next Monday, it was hard to imagine the way it used to be.  Air travel was out of the question for ordinary people and train fares were a week’s wages;  to travel from Northern Ireland to Somerset in 1986 on the slow and dirty British Rail trains from Stranraer cost £58 and took all day.  The Ryanair return fare for Monday, booked at only a few days’ notice was €90.91 – about £72.  Michael O’Leary has made my life better!…

Life in solitary

For the fainthearted . . .

Herself was giving out, “He’s been there nearly a week now and he hasn’t made any friends”.

I looked up at Jupiter, faint in the misty, darkening sky.

“That’s no big deal, I didn’t make any friends during the whole time I was at university”.

“I had thought about that; but you did meet me”.

“We weren’t at the same university.  I had no friends in London; I hardly remember the names of the people in my year anymore”.

The dog tugged to the left, creating a gap in the …

Thirty years on from marching

For the fainthearted . . .

Being one of one hundred thousand on 24th September 1978 remains fresher in the memory than most moments since.

The Anti-Nazi League, which had held a huge march against the National Front the previous April had again called for support for a huge Rock Against Racism event in London.  The march was to assemble at Hyde Park and walk to Brockwell Park in Brixton.

A bus had been organized from Bridgwater in Somerset and was full.  The sun shone and there was a carnival mood.

The crowd was huge by …

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