We live in a typical 1930's semi in Hanham
on the east side of Bristol. Our house has undergone some great
changes in the last 10 years the most spectacular being the build of
a conservatory at the rear of the house. If you click on the
flashing links below you can see the build from start to finish and
meet Dave and Den the builders!
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As the title of this web site suggests I am a keen runner, and member
of a local running club Bitton Road
Runners. I have taken part in many races throughout the South West
 over
the last 15years. Running to me is best summed up in this quote: "
It is indeed a form of worship, an attempt to find God, a means to the
transcendent....I have power, power that propels me across country, puts
me intimately in touch with nature, strengthens me...I own the day!"
Click on the runner above to view my running history. |
Hanham
Mount is very close to where we live and it was here just before the
middle of the 18th century that John
Wesley a methodist preacher
spoke to the poor and uneducated people of the locality. These people
were mostly miners, rough men not used to going to church and yet they
flocked to the Mount to listen to the preacher. Wesley as the founder of
Methodism was both a great English theologian and evangelist and the
history of this life makes for fascinating reading. His equally famous
brother
Charles (1707-1788) wrote hundreds of hymns and was one of the
most prolific poets in the English Language. In his hymns all but
four books of the bible are cited and they are contained in 64
collections published during his lifetime. |
Do you remember the great days of the Steam Trains when life was
lived at a much more sedate pace. Avon
Valley Railway between Wellsbridge and Bitton on the eastern
outskirts of Bristol is a fully
 working
and restored Midland Railway Station. From the 1950's onward the line
began to decline, all passenger services stopped in 1966 and the branch
line officially closed in 1976. The railway track was then
converted into a
railway
path for cyclists and pedestrians, conncecting Bath to Bristol. From
the mid 70's to the present Bitton Railway Station ( as it is known) has
grown and prospered as a tourist centre, and is well worth a visit to
see and smell the sites and sounds of a bygone era. |
About 4 year ago I like many other web
surfers and budding entrepreneurs discovered the joys of ebay. It is
not only a great market place both to sell and buy but also a
 fantastic learning resource
and place of research. As an amateur and for fun I buy at
auctions and then sell on ebay in the hope of making that elusive
fortune! The particular area that I enjoy is in ceramics and there
is a great market demand for Beswick (particularly Beatrix Potter
figures) and Royal Doulton. At present my two favourite pieces of
Doulton are "Fragance"
and "Southern Belle" both designed by Peggy Davies.
The photograph above is a Sylvac ceramic and depicts an
"Osprey with prey" It is part of my personal collection, and has
great power and presence. Its value is between£100-£150 if offered
in mint condition as this piece is. |
Situated in Hanham on the A431 between Bristol and Bath
The
Blue Bowl Public House
 has
a fantastic history from the Roman Times right up to the present. It is
thought to be one of the oldest pubs in Britain and probably began life
as a tavern for those thirsty invading Roman Soldiers!
There is no firm evidence for the age of the pub but Roman coins
have been discovered nearby. Oliver Cromewll also stayed in Hanham, at
the Blue Bowl Inn, which was used as his regional
base. The
Maypole situated on High Street Hanham was originally called The
Crown and Horseshoe. The picture below is dated 1929, hold your
mouse over and see the pub then& now.
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I enjoy immensely crime fiction and in particular the works of
Ian Rankin. He was born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960 and later
graduated from the University of Edinburgh. His first Rebus novel
Knots and Crosses was published in 1987 and the Rebus
 novels
are now translated into 22 languages and our particularly popular in
the USA. His latest superb offering is Fleshmarket close: Middle age
is catching up with Rebus and his superiors are hinting that he
should consider retirement. In the meantime he and fellow detective
Siobhan race around investigating a variety of seemingly unconnected
cases...The sister of a dead rape victim is missing, stolen medical
skeletons turn up embedded in a concrete floor, a Kurdish journalist
is brutally killed, and the son of a Glasgow gang lord has moved in
to the Edinburgh vice scene. This is an intelligent thriller and
invocative in its descriptions of a contemporary squalor that
spreads beyond the inner city...buy today and enjoy.
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Michael Connelly is America's answer to crime writing. He
decided to become a writer after discovering the books of
Raymond
Chandler while attending the University of Florida. In 1986 he
landed a job as a crime reporter for the
Los Angeles Times,
 one
of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city
of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written. After three years
on the crime beat in LA, Connelly began writing his first novel to
feature LAPD detective Hieronymus Bosch to worldwide acclaim. I
would also recommend "The Poet" written in 1996 fast and well paced.
Shocked by his brother's death, Jack McEvoy, crime reporter
investigates a surprising rise in police
 suicides.
A disturbing pattern of coincidences suggest that a cop killer is
choosing his victims with terrible care. Coast to coast Jack follows
a trail of unusual suicide notes. He may be on to the story of a
lifetime, but scarier still "the poet" knows that Jack is on his
tail......
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