Random thoughts and photos of my journey through life…
…(for now).
The first photograph shows the view from the bottom of the slope where I showed you the bluebells a few days ago. Right in the middle of the photo is the Cadbury factory, it looks rather a blot on the landscape. But I am sure the local community are happy to have it there and chocolate lovers everywhere would be sad to see it go.
The second picture is from the opposite side of the castle and a much nicer view to leave you with.
2 Comments CherryPie on May 19th 2010
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to wave my magic wand and hide some of the people in this shot. It wouldn’t have been so bad but half of them are wearing bright pink, although thinking about it I suppose they match the cherry blossom.
To the right of the picture is a building that is known as the Hawk House. The first building on this site was described as a greenhouse and erected by Joseph Turner in 1766-7. In around 1912 Lord Howard de Walden rebuilt the Conservatory to a similar plan but topped it with a thatched roof, turning it into an aviary for his hawks.
Lord Howard was a late devotee of the cult of chivalry, and on occasion his falconer Mr Bradd dressed in medieval costume. The Hawk House was seriously damaged by fire in 1977. It was re-thatched and stocked with fantail doves.
Growing on the walls are Wisteria sinensis, purple vines and Jasmine nudiflorum. The back wall provides shelter for camellias, which were given by the late Sir John Carew Pole of Antony in Cornwall. *
*From the short guide to the garden.
4 Comments CherryPie on May 18th 2010
I am getting a bit behind with my ‘100 reasons to be glad’ so I need to do a bit of catch up and a picture of bluebells is the perfect place to start. In the background you can glimpse a building which is known as the Hawk House. I shall post a bit more about that tomorrow.
4 Comments CherryPie on May 17th 2010
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap,
but by the seeds that you plant.
Robert Louis Stevenson
16 Comments CherryPie on May 16th 2010
Follow me live from Brighton, reporting on the MoD group and main PCS conference. You can also view the latest the comments on my Twitter feed more easily in in my sidebar if you scroll down a little.
We meet in Brighton just after the 6 May general election, but we know that whoever is leading the government will be targeting public services and our members’ jobs, pay and pensions.
We have already taken three days of strike action in March 2010 in defence of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme – and that dispute is not over. the strikes have been well supported and demonstrated that members are not prepared to accept their terms and conditions being torn up.
Public services are under greater threat than ever before, but they did not cause the economic crisis and the recession. We face some real battles alongside many of our sister unions, and the debates at conference will reflect these important struggles ahead.*
I have scheduled some other posts to keep you entertained whilst I am away. If I haven’t messed it up and the server holds out, they will be appearing below this post each day.
Update 22 May 2010: I am back from the conference now so I have converted the tweets into this permanent post.
*From the conference guide 2010.
4 Comments CherryPie on May 16th 2010
First thing tomorrow I am setting off for the PCS Conference, it doesn’t seem a year ago since I was at last year’s Conference. The things that have been going on in my life in the past few weeks have meant I haven’t been able to get myself organised properly this year. The paperwork and agendas have been arriving but I have only just had time to look at them.
Once again I am on the Standing Orders Committee for the group conference so I will be helping to make sure that conference runs smoothly. For the main conference, my task is to write up and report back to the branch and the wider Shropshire area on the key motions that are debated. I shall be sitting in the observers hall with my pad and pen, scribbling down note arduously.
The fringe meetings don’t look very interesting this year although other meetings are announced during the week. The two I am currently interested in attending are both at lunch time, which means I need to work out how to fit food in somewhere along the way. The conference day starts at 9 and doesn’t finish until 5.30 with an hour lunch break. The lunchtime fringe meetings take up the whole of that hour.
The meetings on my radar so far are:
On a lighter note in-between the two conferences I get an afternoon off. It is my plan to visit Brighton Pavilion, with my camera in hand of course 
2 Comments CherryPie on May 15th 2010
Wightwick Manor is the perfect choice half because of it’s half-timbered construction. This particular view shows the entrance into the house but you can see other views on my previous Blog post.
For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.
12 Comments CherryPie on May 14th 2010
