#EUreferendum Spectator debate

So far the public have generally been shockingly badly served by our politicians and media in this crucial debate. (particularly by the Cameron/Osborne/Obama/IMF "project fear". At last here is a grown up debate if you want to be better informed. It will take a bit of time but I commend it to you.

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/04/watch-the-spectators-brexit-debate/

#Greatmomentsinsport Crisp and Red Rum

Some people take no interest in sport. There are many others whose lives are almost defined by an interest in sport. I have built a wide ranging bank of sporting memories over a life time. We soak it all up. We relate to it. It is so often the default conversation when blokes get together. We have opinions. We have passion. It matters.

There have been many books written and programmes made whose title have been along the lines of "Sports Greatest Moments". I could come up with my list of course - it is objective - or is it subjective - ha! For me it is only about the moment being able to stir emotion, need to applaud, get out of your seat - know the commitment - the fantastic effort - feel total respect - it forces a tear.

Here is my nominated greatest moment in sport and it is not of human endeavour but of equine endeavour - two great racehorses who could give no more.

Like every great moment they are nothing special without background knowledge - the journey of the participants - the back story - or in this case to some extent what was subsequently to come.

Let me set the scene. The greatest jumping horse race in the world - the Grand National.

The following extract is taken from Wikipedia :

The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over 4 miles 514 yards (6.907 km) with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps. It is the most valuable jump race in Europe, with a prize fund of £1 million in 2016.

The course over which the race is run features much larger fences than those found on conventional National Hunt tracks. Many of these, particularly Becher's Brook, The Chair and the Canal Turn, have become famous in their own right and, combined with the distance of the event, create what has been called "the ultimate test of horse and rider".

The annual Grand National is the oldest jump race, the longest distance jump race, the jump race with the biggest fences, the most horses running (40) - the hardest race to win. The most valuable to win. Up until the 1973 Grand National only one horse had one it twice - Reynoldstown in the 1930's.

Every April for the last umpteen years we have had a bet on the Grand National - the whole nation does. The winner becomes a household name. It is a great event - a great British tradition.

My nominated Greatest Moment in Sport is the finish of the 1973 Grand National.

Before I justify my nomination I need to explain about the handicap system. The Grand National is a handicap. This means the horse with the best previous form has to carry the heaviest weight. The horse with the weakest or unproven ability carries the least weight. The objective is to give all horses an equal chance - in theory they should all finish in a dead heat if the allotted handicaps are right.

It is very hard to carry big extra weight in the Grand National - because the course is so long - the fences so big and because the ground is often rain softened in April and this takes its cumulative toll.

The 1973 race.

The favourite to win despite his top weight is a huge bay (almost black) Australian bred horse called Crisp. Crisp was a champion - first in Australia and then because he was exceptional brought to the UK to be tested against the best - and he was a champion here too. For the National Crisp was allotted the heaviest weight in the field. He had to carry around the 4 mile plus course a massive 12 stone.

Another fancied runner was Red Rum because he was a young horse that had shown some promise but was only allotted to carry 10 stone 5 lbs - a huge 23 lbs less than Crisp.

What happened in the race is best watched rather than described.

Before doing so Crisp's fantastic and monumental and courageous effort has to be put in context. The Grand National course record was beaten by both the first and second horse home. And Red Rum. Red Rum subsequently went on to be the greatest Grand National horse ever. A household name. Rummy (with his big white fluffy nose band) a horse everyone loved. In total he won an unprecedented 3 Grand Nationals and finished second twice. And like Crisp he was to carry 12 stone around this huge course.

Here is the link to the 1973 race. What an unbelievable effort from Crisp - no one knew at this time how good Red Rum really was!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiGaX0d_Pjk

What a race - what a commentary - what heroes. For me it never fails. Tears well up. Could you respect two wonderful athletes more. That brutally long Aintree run in after the final fence. Crisp so tired he was moving sideways  at the Elbow - treading water in the end - and poignantly Dick Pitman his old school jockey - despite the magnificent prize almost within grasp - only hand and heeled Crisp in the end - no need for the stick - he knew Crisp had given his all and showed wonderful respect for this great horse. He had given everything. Red Rum dogged - determined and foot perfect - to become a giant - a freak of nature. Their efforts supreme. My Greatest Moment in Sport without doubt.

As a postscript both horses went on to live long and happy lives. Red Rum died at 30 and was buried as a tribute on the finishing line at Aintree.

Here are a couple of Wiki links if you want to read more about the horses. Red Rum's subsequent nationals are also on You Tube

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisp_(horse)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rum

 

#EUreferendum we are being badly served by our politicians and the BBC

We are currently staying in a farm cottage on a working farm in North Devon.

Early this morning we went out to watch the new calves and had an opportunity to chat with the farmer.

I asked him how he was going to vote in the referendum.

He said "to be honest I don't know what to believe and therefore I am probably not going to vote".

We developed the conversation a bit more. He feels the public are being treated badly by politicians and the media. He talked about vested interests. He said "I am sick of project fear being run by Cameron".

This seems to be an increasing view. Disillusion. People are fed up with spin' exaggeration and misrepresentation.

(My view is the BBC should be doing much better than taking the middle line if it is clear project fear is speculating and exaggerating. Using forecasts 30 years hence for instance as if they are fact.)

In this I have hope. Maybe the out vote will benefit from a backlash against the establishment and their project fear (treating the electorate with contempt and as fools - the EU mentality.)

One line they keep repeating - inward migration "benefits" the country. What they are not including in this calculation is the cost to the country of the services migrants use - NHS, schools, social services - leave alone the effect on housing and transport. What they are talking about is ONLY - tax deducted from the wages of migrants relative to benefits they are able to draw like working family tax credits, child benefit and housing benefit.

Stats released today show net migration is running year after year at over 300000. There is no end to it. No control. When will the remain campaign face up to and confront this crucial issue in a fair and honest way instead of denying/lying about and misrepresenting its impact. Our country is already very densely populated and our way of life is under threat and many people are very concerned about it. The Conservatives were elected on a manifesto commitment to reduce inward migration to tens of thousand after all. Why won't they admit clearly that this cannot be achieved if we are members of the EU.   

#EUreferendum it is about more than GDP surely?

So much of the debate so far has been disputing the effect of staying or going on our economy. Personally I am prepared to except that leaving the EU will have some adverse effect on the performance of the UK economy in the short term. Those that level at the leave campaign that they cannot forecast exactly what will happen are right - it is impossible to know. At the same time as a staunch leave voter I would argue it is impossible to be sure how things are going to work out in the EU if we stay. Clearly the Euro is still in trouble and the problems with indebtedness in the southern EU countries has only been kicked into the long grass for a while. The debt problem has not been resolved by any means and still hangs like a massive black cloud over EU future prosperity.

I could also argue that a freed up UK economy will be energised and revitalised without the dead weight of EU restriction and as an entrepreneurial nation we can go out an create a good living for ourselves as a nation with confidence. In the medium and long term I have no concerns and believe we will be better off. However enough about economic matters and GDP.

My point in this blog is we should be thinking about much bigger and more significant issues when deciding to vote than the short term level of GDP. It is not all about economic performance.

I believe the big question is what sort of society do we want to live in.

It is clear to me our country is overcrowded. It is very clear the principle of free movement of people and the inward migration of people to the UK as a result, is massively and madly out of control and there is no end to it. It is clear we do not have the land, the houses, the infrastructure, the health system, the schools system or the social services system to cope. The answer is build build build - more roads, more motorways, more airports, more rail lines, more housing estates, more schools, more hospitals, more power stations, more intense farming. They will all need more people - so no problem with even more migration. At current rates of net migration the UK - particularly southern England is going to be one vast urban sprawl and the UK the most densely populated country in Europe (despite its size). This is no way to live. It is a horrible prospect for the future. Migration might be marginally making us wealthier (although there is plenty of evidence it is not - see house prices) but even if it is - it is not worth it. Inward migration is destroying our country rapidly - and there is no end to it. Weight of numbers are changing our way of life - undermining it.

We are also bound by EU laws - EU regulation. We have given up our precious and hard fought for democracy to the undemocratic EU. It is scandalous and unprincipled. The move towards a more federal Europe will definitely gain even more momentum from a UK vote to stay.

So if you want to increasingly live in an overcrowded urban jungle, where your lifestyle and traditions are swamped by migrants whose only loyalty to the UK is their economic progress and to a society who has given up its democratic principles to the EU - then vote stay.

#WalktheWight 26 miles (42k) Bembridge to The Needles - across the Isle Of Wight

First thing to say - if you enjoy walking, are reasonably fit and determined, enjoy the natural landscape and have never done the Walk the Wight - then it would be a great thing for you to do. It is both a real challenge and a fantastic, wonderful walk. Please do it - a 100% recommendation. What makes it even more special the Walk the Wight event is organised on behalf of the Earl Mountbatten Hospice. It is a fundraising event - but all that is required is a donation - (sponsorship is not a condition of entry).

Walk the Wight as an event is now in its 26th year. Several thousand people set out each year. I haven't done all of them but I wouldn't be surprised if I have done half of them with family and friends. In my recent Randonee blog I referred to the tyranny of the "May double". The Randonee (the bike ride round the Island) and 2 weekends later every year the Walk the Wight. (walk across the Island)

Here are extracts from an E mail exchange between myself and a friend a few days before this years Walk the Wight :-

ME

This is my situation with Walk the Wight. Like you I have done it many times and have always found it draining - ha! If I am free at the weekend and don't do it I feel a bit irritated with myself for some crazy reason - like I have wimped out ! 51% of me thinks I should do it. 49% is thinking don't be daft there is plenty of other things you could be doing! This year my family aren't around so unless we decide to do it I probably won't bother.

THE REPLY

I am just like you in this, I was going to do the Randonee but dillied and dallied and eventually didn't do it due to lack of preparation and then regretted it! I think that your suggestion has tipped the balance and we should go for it.  The forecast is still good although I think there may be a breeze against us along Tennyson!

So we did it. A fantastic weather day and so glad we made the effort.

One of the complications of doing the walk is getting to the start at Bembridge from 6am onwards (your choice) and getting home from Alum Bay (The Needles) 26 miles away at the other end of the Island. There are some bus shuttle services but we have found after 26 miles - really tired and often sore - the last thing you want to be doing is messing around in bus queues and climbing bus stairs. We always make alternative arrangements using cars.

In past years when I have done it we have started around 8am and struggled into Alum Bay near 6pm. This year we did start at 6am (and finished at 3.30pm). It was busy initially but not really crowded. We were soon up on Culver Down - looking down on the wide expanse Sandown Bay to the left, Solent and mainland to the right and miles of chalk down and green pleasant valleys ahead of us to be trod - ha! Having done it so many times before I know every inch of the route - an advantage and disadvantage - maybe - but the scenery always makes it worth it as does the feeling that you are doing something really challenging.

I am not going to try and describe the walk - I attach a few photos at the end - and a link to the local newspaper web site. All I will say is the first half of the walk takes you roughly to the middle of the Island - to famous Carisbrooke Castle (Newport - the Island's main town). Some people (doing half the walk) finish here - some start here. There is a lovely carnival atmosphere - music - food - excitement. It is a refuel stop - sort out your feet stop before the second half.

On the second half vistas open out even more - much is chalk down. There are some really testing hills but it is special. No traffic noise as there are no roads - unspoilt scenery and now walkers more spread out and quieter (not chatting so much) as tiredness gradually takes hold. Most of the fancy dress groups have finished half way or flagged and it is left to the dogged walkers in the main.

On of my favourite bits because it is especially beautiful is coming down off the downs adjacent to the Freshwater Golf Club Course - to your right Afton where the first Isle of Wight Festival was played - Jimmy Hendrix etc - a wonderful virgin down land slope with the Solent and bobbing boats behind and then the mainland in the distance. Ahead of Freshwater Bay is towering Tennyson Down with the famous Tennyson Monument on the top and the finish beyond. But us experienced in the route know there is still 4 miles to go from Freshwater Bay. Normally this is wonderful walking as the Island narrows to the Needles and you are high above sea and Solent - but tiredness means you are probably only really thinking about the finish. It is here that you see some people really struggling with sore feet - blisters or walking like they have just got off a horse. As we approach the Needles Battery - just a half mile to go - there are two guys playing bagpipes. It was wonderful. The bagpipes really lift you - great stuff Dr Cooney - thank you.

The windey walk takes you down to Alum Bay for the finish. Lots of clapping from the crowd and medals hung around the necks of finishers. Sad to admit it but you do feel a bit of a conqueror - ha! A lovely exhausted feeling.

The priority now is to sit down - get warm - because tiredness seems to make you feel chill - and we need sustenance of course. My car is close by - we dropped it over the night before - so wonderful to just sit in and go with no messing. We head up the Military Road - see walkers with still a long way to go (poor them) and part trace the route we have walked - amazing we have done that - it seems so far. At Chale we stop at the Wight Mouse Inn and stagger up the steps to the entrance. A beef lasagne - lots of cheese topping and chips - garlic bread and salad - and a couple of pints - recalling the walk - wonderful. A great sated feeling. It is then back to Bembridge to pick up the other car. I stop off on the way home and buy some chocolate. Fall asleep by 8pm. A great day - and we might have missed it - ha!

Below are a few photos. This is the local newspaper link - http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/walk-the-wight-2016-pictures-tweets-video-and-more-94923.aspx?mn=1

#EUreferendum reduce inward migration or economic growth - a case for Brexit

The EU referendum debate seems interminable. It is a pity we cannot have the vote tomorrow. The principal arguments are clear :-

To stay -

Our economy will suffer if we leave, (certainly in the short term) and there is uncertainty.

We will be less safe if we leave and will lose influence in the world.

To go -

We can control our borders properly and decide ourselves how many people we want to let in from the EU.

Instead of hiding in the EU we can go out and trade with the world. It will not be easy. There will be setbacks but lots of advantages will accrue in the medium and long-term from the opening up of growing markets.

The democracy argument. We re-establish the sovereignty of our own parliament. We make our own laws.

I shall be voting to leave.

Why?

I do not believe the price we are paying to achieve economic growth within the EU is worth the downside of free movement of people and I do not want to be part of an ever more federal EU because it undermines our democracy.

On the threat to our economy I would say this - money is not everything. Quality of life is much more important. Sustainability is much more important. What the UK needs is a more realistic focus on how we spend (waste) our money and to some extent how money is distributed. I am a capitalist not a socialist but I believe the mad pursuit of economic growth is shortsighted.We need consolidation. We need to do things better. We need to be more efficient. We need to be more realistic. We need to be healthier. We need to be thinking longer-term. GDP is transitory - it should not define us.

I also think that we can trade successfully in world wide markets. It will not be straightforward but there is so much to go at and we are an entrepreneurial nation. There is little to fear from taking real charge of our own future and cutting our cloth accordingly.

I do not believe we will be less safe. Why would being able to better control who comes into our country make us less safe? We will remain in NATO too. We should stop the nonsense of the UK "must punch above its weight" and would prefer us not to be taking such a prominent and interfering role as a world nominal super power as long, as we can defend ourselves.

Why is controlling our borders and bringing an end to the free movement so important? Simply because the numbers coming in are out of control and highly damaging to our way of life and our sustainable future.

Have you ever watched the London Marathon field run by. 50000 people is an incredible number - a mass of competing humanity.According to government accepted net migration figures the net number of people coming in each year is equivalent to between 5 and 6 London marathon fields each year. This is a vast number of people - all who have to live somewhere, can use the NHS for free, will be using our transport system, can call on social services, need to be policed and as many of them are children - will be taking up school places.

But it doesn't stop there. There is a massive disparity between the figures above and National Insurance numbers issued to migrants. The NI figures indicate that up to another 250000 might be coming in each year - so add another 5 marathon fields. This is the people equivalent of establishing 2 new major cities each year - another Newcastle and another Reading - each year - and there is no end to it.

The argument goes this is "good" for the country. It makes us economically more wealthy because these people are coming here to work. It also makes us culturally richer too - all that diversity from different cultures mixing in the great melting pot that we should be proud of.

The stay lobby have no coherent answer to the question "is there any limit to the number of people that the UK can take". Free movement of people is the cornerstone of the EU free market project and it will not change if we remain in the EU. They see this as an acceptable bi product of the wider economic benefit of being in the EU. They argue too that it will find its own natural level.

The reality is we are millions of net migrants away from finding a natural level. Why. Our minimum (living wage) is at least 3 times that paid in many parts of the EU. We offer top quality health care and schools for free to any migrant and their families. There is help with housing. They are accruing pension rights by paying NI. They are able to claim child benefit - and of course we speak English here - everyone's second language. The UK is a magnate and its draw is massive and will not abate unless we do something dramatic.

The South of England is the most densely populated area in Europe. Government predictions is by 2030 we will have the largest population in Europe and our land mass is tiny compared to say Germany, France or Spain. We are overcrowded now, there isn't the room. We do not have the houses or  classrooms or hospital beds or the infrastructure to cope. There is no end to the tide. Build build build to try and keep up.

The UK becomes one gridlocked urban sprawl. What is the point of economic growth if we are living like rats. It is a grim prospect for the future. We need to get out now. We need to be able to shape our own world, look after ourselves, look after our little island - be confident in ourselves - and above all democratically make our own laws - otherwise our culture and way of life will be lost in a tide of mass competing self serving humanity. The great EU project does not make sense anymore - if it ever did. 

#IsleofWightRandonee

The first May bank holiday weekend seems to come around ever more quickly each year. We are faced with the May double again - grin or groan!? The first weekend is the Isle of Wight Randonee - a grin followed by The Walk the Wight two weekends later - becoming a bit of a groan - ha! Both - hands up - are fantastic events and as an extended family in various combinations we have been doing them for years - groaning about the tyranny of them is part of the deal.

This Sunday past was the Isle of Wight Randonee organised by The Wayfarers Cycling Club. They have been organising it brilliantly for years as a gift to cycling and to encourage people to get involved. Their organisation is quiet and low key. It is a free event. It is not a race. It is something anyone with a bike can have a go at.

There is a mini randonee but the one we always do is the main one which is 100k - 66 miles. It follows the designated round the Isle of Wight cycle route - so mainly coastal but not entirely. It involves many many hills - ha! If you are a regular cyclist with a racing bike (with lycra) it is probably a jaunt. We are not. We have bikes with fat tyres - that you cannot pick up with one finger. George went round on a mountain bike. We pride ourselves in not wearing lycra too - not entirely for vanity reasons (we do not have any lycra) but a combination of a cycling helmet, skin tight rainbow lycra and those weird cycling shoes does create a rather bizarre look - ha!

Numbers of participants have varied over the years. In the early days there was a higher percentage of occasional cyclists who like us toiled around and took hours to do it. Our kids have grown up doing it. My youngest son Rich started off doing one leg - and two the next year etc etc. Nowadays there seem fewer also rans like us - there are more pelotons - more groups from the mainland - more lycra. This year there were apparently 3500 starters - so a really strong uptake and it is good to see Wayfarers have been so well rewarded for their efforts. (Ps it rarely seems busy because cyclists are spread out around the route. Having said that there is a strong sense of being part of something bigger and there is camaraderie amongst us cyclists - ha!)

On Sunday we were gifted a perfect cycling day. Clear and sunny - not much wind except that created by our speed - but cool. One of the challenges was what to wear. Easy to be cold - easy to be too hot.

A bit more about the route for the Randonee. It is circular and you can join it (start) at any point. You of course finish where you started! You register at one of the 7 bases and then get a stamp at each base as you go around. A full card card entitles you to a certificate and a medallion - but we are past this now and head for the pub instead. The mainlanders mainly come into East Cowes or Fishbourne. The route is now always clockwise but in past years it used to alternate but for organisational reasons this had to change. Our preferred route has always been clockwise anyway. Leave Seaview at 7.45 - register at Bembridge just after 8 (nervous anticipation) - Alverstone Village Hall (excitement), Whitwell Village Hall (a needed mid morning cup of tea in proper china mugs), Yarmouth Primary School for lunch - a highlight - yummy mummies of the PTA put on a fantastic spread of soup and rolls and cakes and and healthy stuff. Over the years you learn ie not to sit too long on little chairs designed for 8 year olds - and don't eat too much - it doesn't help you over the next 30 miles if you feel sick - ha! - on to Cowes (back to civilisation) , East Cowes via the floating bridge and Wooton are the main finishing points with bikes and people strewn everywhere. To be strictly correct we should then cycle back to Bembridge but we cycle to where we started - Seaview - arrive around 3.30 to 4. So that is a long time in the saddle - as accumulated stops would be less than an hour.

The great thing about the Isle of Wight Randonee is it really is the best way to see the Island. The scenery is great and you travel at a speed that allows you to take it in. Yes the Island is hilly but it is very suitable for cycling and a full circumnavigation is a very natural and satisfying target to achieve. The other great thing is the distance. It tires you out. You know you have done a lot but it is not so far that it totally drains you and it is well within the compass of someone reasonably fit who is prepared to put a bit of effort in. I highly commend it indeed.

I took just a few photos - I would have liked more - but on the Randonee stopping and smelling the roses was done on the move so to speak - and activating a mob camera while pedalling along was found to be impossible.

Here is the link if you fancy taking up the challenge next year - no doubt we will be there (touchwood) - grin and groan - ha!

http://www.cycleisland.co.uk/index.php/randonnee-details/event-details

Team Shoulder down to just 3 starters this year. With son George and his partner Laura

Whitwell is so lovely. They serve tea in china mugs. Much appreciated at 10 in the morning

Heading to Freshwater bay at the end of the Military Road

Some big hills to go up but some great ones to go down on to. There is a great descent down to Freshwater bay and you know lunch at Yarmouth is not far away and an easy ride.