Retro: Land's End, England

Just reminiscing...  something I do when I have nothing better to do... Also wishfully thinking about travel to England. But when? Sigh...

Note: Pardon the quality of the pictures which have been rephoto-ed from prints developed from slides more than 30 years old!      (In progress)

The Matchstick People of L S Lowry

L S Lowry's self portrait, 1925 Oil on board

When I was living in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester in the early 80s, I came across the artist L S Lowry. No, not the man himself, but his works at the Salford Art Gallery. I fell in love with what some would term 'naive art'. I liked his rendition of landscapes of the industrial north of England, and I particularly admired his iconic 'matchstick' figures of people going about their daily life. There is a certain charm to his figures, reminding me of a childhood period of schooling in Alor Star, when my friends and I drew people like this.

Mill Scene, 1965. Oil on canvas

Laurence Stephen Lowry was born in 1887 in Stretford and died at the age of 89. As a man and an artist, he "has been variously described as being lonely, solitary, enigmatic and eccentric without any definition of these terms in relation to the man. In some degree these attributes could be applied to certain aspects of his long life and some refer more strongly to certain periods. The action of most people, if viewed through a magnifying lens, could be classified in the same way".

Market Scene, Northern Town, 1939. Oil on canvas

A Fight, 1935. Oil on canvas

His artistic journey began when he was 15 and loved to sketch. He attended art classes in Manchester and Salford, and later exhibited at various art galleries both in the UK and overseas. He received honorary degrees from the Universities of Manchester, Salford and Liverpool. In fact, he has been described as "one of the most original English painters of this century" and he is "perhaps Lancashire's greatest artist and certainly one of the most loved of British painters".

Houses in Broughton, 1937. Pencil

It is interesting to note that this picture of his painting below, was entitled 'The Bedroom' until the artist's death, in respect of his wishes that it should not be generally known that it did, in fact, depict his own bedroom in Station Road, Pendlebury, Swinton, where he lived from 1909 to 1948.

The Artist's Bedroom, Pendlebury, 1940. Oil on canvas

Level crossing, 1946. Oil on canvas

The above picture is said to be 'an illustration of the artist's ability to caricature objects as well as people'. I had bought some prints of his paintings at the Gallery in Salford then and had them framed later. They became the mainstay of our Taman Pekaka (Pulau Pinang) sitting room walls till we moved to Shah Alam.

Note: Lowry trivia - he loved the operas of Bellini, Norma being his favourite!
Ref: L. S. Lowry; the Salford Collection. City of Salford Cultural Services Department, 1977. Ex Libris CNB 960

Happy, Happy Holidays

Everyone seems to be in a holiday mood in December, what with the schools being closed till the new year. Most families go 'cuti-cuti Malaysia' or even overseas. Selamat bercuti or Selamat makan angin!!  But we must not forget our friends especially in the east coast states of Kelantan, Trengganu and Pahang where the monsoon now brings floods. Let's pray the situation improves and those in the flood relief centres/shelters can go home.

Since being a pensioner, life seems to be a holiday all the time - mostly at home, of course. So I try to surround myself with things I like; a library of books to read and reread, and a little garden to tend. Didn't Cicero say that "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything"?

Still, I do enjoy travelling and would have loved to go on holidays overseas recently with the family, if I could. But as disclosed earlier, I am medically grounded for now. Hopefully the situation will get better and I can plan to go somewhere in Spring or Summer next year. Wish me luck! Anyway I vicariously enjoyed their holidays through their photos, some of which I have posted here.

This is my last blog post for the year. I will be back in 2013. Joyous holidays and a happy new year!

B & A at the gates of the Buckingham Palace (Dec 2012)

A at the Christmas market in Notting Hill (BB 2012)

B at Shakespeare's birthplace, Stratford on Avon (AB 2012)

Eer... to which Scottish clans do A & B belong to? (Dec 2012) 

B on Princes Street, Edinburgh (AB 2012)

B and friend Su 'on' the London Eye (Dec 2012) 

A Card from Stella

Every year in December, I look forward to receiving a 'Seasons Greeting' card from Stella, my ex-boss at the Salford College of Technology Library (England), where I used to work in the late 1970's.

'Have a merry Christmas to N & family with love from Stella'

The card above came last week, although this time there is no long letter to accompany it. Stella used to hand write about her year long activities, photocopy the letter (sometimes up to four pages long), and send it to her close friends and family during the festive season, along with her handmade greeting cards.

Then she started to type her letters using a word processor, duplicate and send them out. But since last year she has resorted to e-mail. In her keeping up with technology, we miss the handwritten letters. Even her cards are no longer self made, but at least they are from the Woodland Trust*, like the one above. Such is life ...

* 'protecting the world's forests for the future'

A Summer Road Trip (cont'd 2)

Jottings from the pages of a road trip journal ...

1977 August 22 (Mon)

At 9.15 am we got up and the proprietor came around to collect the camp fee of 80 pence. After a cold breakfast of cereal, milk plus bread and jam we packed up the tent as it looked like rain again. Not forgetting our cagoules this time, we put on our walking boots and headed for the Cheddar Gorge again. Indeed Cheddar has capitalised on the attractions of the Gorge and numerous gift shops line the road before the Gorge. It was pretty crowded and traffic was ever flowing. We too contributed our share - we bought Cheddar cheese and 'genuine' Somerset cider. The cheese was good but the cider a bit strong.

At 3 pm we left for Wells and after some driving around finally got a parking space just opposite the famed Cathedral. This beautiful Cathedral, with its beautiful carvings in the west front fast deteriorating, needs some 1.5 million pound sterling for restoration!

We left for Glastonbury after an hour, only passing it and catching a glimpse of the famed Tor. On our way to Taunton the unexpected happened - our wind screen was shattered by loose chippings on the road thrown up by a passing car. For a moment we were shocked, me imagining the worst. Then we pulled up at a petrol station nearby and they called a mobile wind screen replacement Unit for us. We had to wait two hours for it to come and another hour for the screen to be replaced. So finally at 8.30 pm and 32 pounds 40 pence poorer we left for Taunton. After passing Taunton, we parked for some dinner of Cheddar cheese and biscuits  Then we sped off for Barnstaple. The moon was bright and the sky was clear. At Barnstaple, we parked and went into our sleeping bags.

Notes: Glastonbury Tor - hill with the roofless St. Michael's Tower; Barnstaple is a river-port in North Devon

August 23 (Tue)

(CNB 1977)

At 6.30 am we left for Bideford, and by 7 the sun was bright and beautiful. We stopped by a river to have breakfast. On the way we picked up a hitchhiker till Newquay. From Newquay we went to the seaside town of St. Ives and stayed overnight at a farm camp there. We explored the town centre for two hours till 10.30 pm before calling it a day.

Notes: St. Ives is in the South-western tip of Cornwall; remember the nursery rhyme "As I was going to St. Ives"?

August 24 (Wed)

St. Ives

Around 2 am we had to abandon tent - it was raining cats and dogs! Only at 11.45 am did we head towards Penzance, a port/harbour town in Cornwall. At the Promenade we had our lunch of Cornish pasty and chips. By 3 pm there was great sunshine as we left towards Lands End, the most westerly point of England. We then went to a caravan park with a great sea view at St. Just but had to forget about spending the night there because it started raining again with the occasional strong wind. So we chose to double back to St. Ives to spend another evening in the town - playing Bingo! It was rather quite late to go back to the farm camp so we found a quiet spot to park and slept in the car.

August 25 (Thu)

In the New Forest (MB 1977)

We were up at 8 am and went on to Hayle, a small town at the mouth of the Hayle River. There we had a wash up and breakfast. Then on to Bodmin, and Exeter in Devon.  The Exeter Cathedral was impressive to say the least. We went into the shopping centre, where off the High Street, we had our lunch at the 16th century Ship Inn (said to be one of Sir Francis Drake's favourite tavern).  We then headed towards Salisbury. In the New Forest, we set up tent at Lyndhurst, a village of Hampshire.

August 26 (Fri)
At 11.30 am we set out for Bournemouth, another seaside town along the coast, with nice sandy beaches and a pier. Then we went on to Salisbury, the city famous for its cathedral. After that it was on to Amesbury before finally reaching the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain at nearly 6. After spending some time gawking at the stones, we went back to Amesbury to overnight.

August 27 (Sat)

Brighton Pier CNB)

Only in the afternoon did we leave for Winchester, Chichester, and Bognor Regis  for our final destination of the day - Brighton. This town in East Sussex is popular for its beach with day trippers from London, being less than an hour away. We walked into the town centre, going by the interesting lanes and shop fronts. The Royal Pavilion of Indo-Saracenic architecture and Oriental interior never fails to impress although this was my third visit. We walked the Brighton beach before having dinner of fish and chips near the Brighton Pier.


August 28 (Sun)
We had an early morning breakfast at the seafront before leaving Brighton for Margate (in Kent), which we reached at noon. This seaside town, another traditional holiday destination for Londoners, was infamous in the 60s for gang violence (between mods and rockers). We set up tent in a nearby camping ground, before walking the town and beach till late evening.

August 29 (Mon)
From Margate we headed for the neighbouring seaside town of Ramsgate at mid-morning. We spent many hours at the seafront, especially at the Ramsgate Pleasure Park.

August 30 (Tue)
12 - Tunnel?  3.30 - B? (Journal entries incomprehensible/missing from here on; but we got back home to Chorlton-cum-Hardy alright!)

A Summer Road Trip (cont'd)

Jottings from the pages of a road trip journal ...

1977 August 20 (Sat)
After a good night's sleep in the hotel, we left at 9.30 am for a day look at Cardiff, capital of Wales.The shopping centre was busy and looked not unlike any other in other cities of England i.e with department stores like Littlewoods, M & S, etc. We also walked by the City Hall which looked quite different now in daylight - less beautiful. We went to see a part of the docks and clearly this part of the city is not very new - in fact it looked deserted!

Tintern Abbey (CNB 1977)

Then we left at 11.30 and headed for Newport, another port after Monmouth, for the Wye Valley. For the length traversed between Monmouth and Chepstow, we followed the Wye River and the views were magnificent. At times the trees made a natural tunnel of green! We turned back from Chepstow and stopped at Tintern to look at the famous Abbey ruins. Then retracing the road we made camp at a farm - there were no facilities except a cold water tap and ... a ground toilet!

After a meal of tinned soup and salad (very crispy and nice) we went for a walk along the Wye River bank but for a short distance only because of 'Keep out' signs which M thought was very disgusting. Then we walked up to Cleddon Shoots and Waterfall but as it rained lately so the path was slippery. But we made it up another way. As it was getting dark (nearly 8 pm), we made our way down again. I must say I felt quite afraid as nobody else was around and the sky was really getting dark. We got back to camp and made kuku (Persian omelette) - must say its a bit tedious but it was interesting to cook and eat in the open by candlelight. Then M read a book while I cleaned up and we went into our bags.

August 21 (Sun)
It rained a little in the night but in the morning it was fine as we headed for Chepstow to cross the Severn Bridge at 11. In Bristol we walked an hour in the city centre, quite near the docks. We saw the civic centre with the two golden deer on its rooftop and the cathedral nearby.

Clifton Bridge(CNB 1977)

Then we went to Clifton to see Brunel's famous suspension bridge over the Avon Gorge. It was a piece of engineering genius started in 1836 but only completed in 1864, after Brunel's death. After this we headed for Bath, the lovely Georgian city with its famous Roman Baths. It was indeed more beautiful than last I saw it in in 1975. There were flower baskets everywhere and indeed impressed M to say that its the loveliest city he'd seen in England. Likewise for me too.

We passed the shops on Pulteney Bridge and entered the Parade Gardens. Then we walked the little streets between the rows of shops. Later M went to see the Roman Baths while I waited outside the Cathedral (I had seen the Baths before). Then we saw the famous examples of Georgian town planning - the Circus and the Royal Crescent.

We left at 4.30 pm for Cheddar to pass along the Cheddar Gorge. Indeed it was an impressive sight of steep rugged rocks with some green ivy and foliage growing. We set up camp at Church Farm camping ground, on the eastern end of Cheddar, a little town famous for the cheddar cheese. There were many other campers and 'caravaners' there. After a dinner of packet rice, eggs and salad, we played some badminton. After the game we walked in the town and had drinks at a pub. But at 9.30 pm it rained and we had to run back all the way to the camp. As we didn't have our cagoules or the umbrella, we had a thorough drenching because the rain was quite heavy and there was also thunder and lightning occasionally. After changing in the car we got back into the tent and went to sleep.

To be continued ...

A Summer Road Trip

Jottings from the pages of a road trip journal ...

1977 August 15 (Mon)

Chorlton (CNB 1977)

After some hectic shopping and getting the MOT for the car, we left Chorlton-cum-Hardy at 8 pm, heading for Shrewsbury. After passing Northwich and Whitchurch, at 9.50 pm we set up camp near Wem, 4 miles off the A49. Must say it was not easy putting up the tent quickly by the car headlights. After some tea we got into our (sleeping) bags.
Notes: Chorlton-cum-Hardy (a suburb of the city of Manchester) - our home from 1977-mid 1980; Wem is a small market town in Shropshire

August 16 (Tue)

(MB 1977)

It was nice and dry and we left Wem at 9 am, reaching Shrewsbury half an hour later. This city looks a bit like Chester with black and white buildings. Leaving Shrewsbury we went on to Church Stretton. Here we spent four hours walking up The Long Mynd, coming down via a stream valley, and the Old Radnor Forest. The weather all along has been nice and cool. I must confess that my new walking shoes hurt a bit although M felt 'nothing'. After passing Ludlow, Leominster (cities again reminding one of Chester), and Kington we crossed the border into Wales (at 5.30 pm), and spent the night in Walton. By this time it was raining and even by the next morning it was still doing so. 

Notes: Shrewsbury, birthplace of Charles Darwin, is a beautiful Shropshire medieval market town lying on the River Severn; Church Stretton - another historic market town in Shropshire; The Long Mynd - part of the Shropshire Hills area of great natural beauty; Old Radnor Forest - a rock dome.

August 17 (Wed)

(CNB 1977)

The rain just fell and fell and by 2 pm we got fed up of being caved in the tent and got out for Kington, about 4 miles away. Here we walked up to Hergest Ridge along the Offa's Dyke path. There was rain, wind and mist but it was a wonderful experience walking amidst the bracken and watch the mist rising up. We only met three other people on the lonely ridge. At 4.30 pm we left and after packing headed for Rhayader to spend the night near Devil's Bridge. All along, the Mid Welsh countryside were beautiful - lowlands of grazing sheep and farms and uplands of heather. The camping ground which was owned by a farm was quite full, especially of families with
caravans. The wind was particularly strong.

(MB 1977)

Notes:
Kington is a market town in Herefordshire; Hergest Ridge - a large elongated hill which traverses the border between England and Wales; Offa's Dyke is an earth bank built around 1200 years ago and runs along/near the borders of England and Wales; Devil's Bridge or Pontafyrnach in Welsh is 'the bridge over the Mynach'.



August 18 (Thu)

(CNB 1977)

After breakfast we walked to Devil's Bridge, picking raspberries along the way. At DB we visited the tourist attraction there - the waterfalls, but it was far too 'touristic' for us. At 2 pm we left for Aberystwyth some 13 miles away. Aberystwyth proved a nice little seaside town with narrow streets and a very long promenade. It was quite a busy town with no doubt tourists welling up the 12,000 population. The sun was out but still it was a bit chilly.We left Aber for Fishguard, passing Aberaeron and Cardigan. The coast road enabled us to see Cardigan Bay and the Irish Sea.

On reaching Fishguard at 6.30 pm (after some very winding narrow streets!) we stopped by the harbour and saw what I thought was a sinking ship. Then we retraced the road to set up tent at Fishguard Bay. The wind was ever so strong and was keen to blow the tent away! But luckily there was no rain ...

Notes: Cardigan Bay is a large inlet of the Irish Sea; Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire

August 19 (Fri)
I thought too soon, because just before morning there was rain which stopped only at about 9 am. Then we went on a two hour coast path walk. It was really splendid to see the little bays and steep cliffs. All the way there there were blackberries and heather galore! At one spot the yellow gorse and purple heather growing in between the rocks was a lovely sight to see. At the end of the walk we were quite near Fishguard town and from this point could see clearly what turned out to be a sunken Liberian cargo ship (I found out it was grounded in December but because of insurance problems, was still lying there to be recovered).

We left Fishguard at 2.30 pm and intending to spend the night in Brecon, we traveled through Haverfordwest, Carmathen, Llandeilo and Llandovery. But there was no camping ground in sight at Brecon (a market town) or Abergavenny or nearby Pontypool. In fact it was getting dark and the areas around were not too inviting (Brynmawr and others looked like industrial ghost towns!) so we sped for Cardiff which by night almost reminded me of Paris. We stayed at the Balkan Hotel (Bed & Breakfast), draining 8 pounds sterling from our pockets. But the shower (and breakfast the next morning) did us some good because M was very tired.

To be continued ...

A BC Seminar in Spring

Of the four seasons, Spring is the best for me - because the daffodils are in their glory. The spring equinox is also Nowruz (new day), the beginning of a new year for some calendars.

When I was offered a place at the British Council Programme 4102 in Southampton, England in the Spring of 1995, of course I accepted (sorry B & A, tak boleh ikut! Official, ma!). What was the programme all about? Entitled 'Libraries in the Development of Higher Education', it was to equip participants with the skills required to prepare library development projects which take account of the requirements of international funding agencies and of the needs of their own particular settings. Participants were mainly librarians from East Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Participants and facilitators of the BC Programme 4102

To make the most of the long trip, I made arrangements to officially visit the British Library & British Museum, and also the De Montford University in Milton Keynes. All to check out the update of their online systems. Good excuse, ha?

The Farsian children (CNB 1995)

In London I stayed with some Persian friends, the Farsians who live in Highgate. It was great because I got to celebrate Nowruz with them and their very posh (quite snooty) relatives. We also had dinner at a Turkish Restaurant where I was introduced to belly dancing on the tables. Its a wonder the tables can stand the weight of the rather heavy gyrating dancer!

The British Museum (CNB 1995)

In Southampton, we were accommodated at the rather old Polygon Hotel, which had wooden floorboards that creaked when you walked around. With some fellow participants, we did a walking tour of the city. Although it was Spring time, it was still rather chilly but there was beautiful sunshine everywhere. I could not resist buying some sunshine daffodils for my room. After all it was my birthday. (Thank you B & A for the beautiful  card and present, how thoughtful! Rindu terubat...)

On our walking tour of Southampton (1995)

The Polygon Hotel was interesting in that everything about it was very old and very English. The meeting rooms were just adequate for round table discussions and use of basic presentation tools. But the dining experience was hilarious. We had very, very old English ladies with trembling hands serving us . It was just a matter of time before one of them dropped a whole stack of plates with a huge crash! I felt for the ladies but I guess the hotel management was having problems with recruitment of staff and got their own mothers to help out. Just guessing... Anyway their dessert cart was just fabulous!

Lounging & Dining at the Polygon (1995)

We were taken to visit the Centre for International Development at Oxford University, and also given a guided walking tour of the University town. For me it was a third time in Oxford, and yet it still fascinated me with all the beautiful old buildings around.

The Centre for International Development (1995)

Our guided walking tour of Oxford (CNB 1995)

When in the counties of Wiltshire & Hampshire, of course you also get to visit that English wonder of the world - Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument on the Salisbury Plain of Wiltshire (even though it was my third time, it was still awesome to look at). Then there is Beaulieu (where the Castle and National Motor Museum are) and Bucklars Hard (a pretty 18th century village/hamlet with Georgian cottages and a shipbuilding past, on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the New Forest, Hampshire).

Aah.. the daffodils at Beaulieu (1995)

Aah... the Stones, the prehistoric Stones (1995)

Back in the meeting rooms at Southampton, we continued our presentations and discussions. The BC Seminar facilitators acknowledged Malaysia as a 'developed' country already, 25 years ahead of 2020. So we in fact should be funding and facilitating library development projects in the developing countries around us, especially in Southeast Asia. I was glad to report that we were already doing that.

In Southampton, our days were spent in the meeting rooms and also visiting the various Institutes and Libraries. In the evenings we had our welcome/farewell dinners and three nights out together; one at the Museum & Gallery, one at the Red Lion (typical old English Pub), and another at the Nuffield Theatre ("And a Nightingale Sang"). So, who said librarians do not have fun?

At the Southampton University Library 

At our closing/farewell dinner (1995)

After the BC Seminar, I went back to London to stay with the Farsians. From there I made my visit to the Library of De Montfort University at Milton Keynes. I was interested in ELINOR - their electronic information online retrieval project which would be the impetus to their fully electronic library.

No caption needed except to say that the T
had dropped off  De Montfort!

Before leaving for London, I met up with Stella Lowe (my ex-boss from Salford College of Technology). We had a great time catching up over tea (of course, when in England what else?) at a hotel coffee house nearby the Milton Keynes Railway Station. Then we said our farewells at the station and Stella went back to Salford, and I to London before flying home the very next day.

Tea with the Queen Stella (1995)

Milton Keynes Station platform
(SL 1995)

The train arrives at Victoria Station,
London (CNB 1995)

                       March-April 1995