School Summer Holidays

OK, I'm going to put on my tin hat and put my head above the parapet - would it be so wrong to reduce the school summer holidays?

Hold your fire and hear me out - what if we had four weeks in the summer and the other three weeks were added onto the October, February and May half-terms?

Obviously this would have to be done with the agreement of the teachers and support staff, but might it be a solution to the expensive summer getaways which nobody can afford?

Wouldn't it give more opportunities for families to have affordable breaks together without taking children out in term time and facing fixed penalty notices and fines?

Plus, seven weeks is actually a long time to entertain children, and, particularly if both parents are working full time, it's also very expensive to pay for clubs and other childcare.

I know at this point you're all looking back misty-eyed to the school holidays of your youth, were you played in the fields, picked blackberries from the hedgerows, made dens and the time seemed to drift on forever like a scene from an Enid Blyton book, complete with lashings of ginger beer.

But, in the same way that dear old Enid didn't actually write about lashings of ginger beer, was any of that other stuff real either?

Don't you remember how much it rained - except in 1976 when we had the drought and the ground cracked so much you could lose your leg down the crevasses created.

We only had three channels on the TV, and much of that didn't cater for children.  I do remember 'Why Don't You...?', but that strapline finished with the words 'just switch off your television set and go out and do something less boring instead' - such helpful advice!

Perhaps we should have a national debate to see what teachers, support staff, parents and children think.  We can't just leave this to MPs to decide - remind me, how many weeks Summer Recess do they get?

Gretton Music Festival 2015

Ah, the great British weather.  August Bank Holiday Monday was a bit of a wash out, but fortunately I was able to take refuge in The Hatton Arms for the open mic event, part of the sixth annual Gretton Music Festival.

It never ceases to amaze me how many talented musicians there are around here. 

The highlight of the afternoon for me was a new outfit called The Top Banana Band - they were absolutely amazing!  Brilliant cover versions of I Feel Good, Mustang Sally, Brown Eyed Girl, Soul Man and The Blues Brothers' Shake Your Tailfeather and Everybody Needs Somebody To Love to name but a few.  They had the whole pub singing and clapping along - we would have been dancing too if there had been enough room!  Can't wait to see them again.

Earlier in the weekend we saw the young performers at Gretton Recreation Ground, and were dazzled by Charlie Botting and Cara Hamer, both classical/crossover artists who were fabulous.  I had a goosebump moment when Cara sang 'Run' by Snow Patrol - she's certainly a name to watch for the future.

On Saturday afternoon we were entertained by the lovely Al and friends, and then Mark Thompson, who sang a fantastic tribute set to Frank Sinatra in honour of 100 years since the birth of ol' blue eyes.

Sunday afternoon my friends and I headed to 'Puccini and Prosecco', hosted by impresario Martin McEvoy.  It was very informative, entertaining and enjoyable, with Martin seeking to bring opera back to the masses and demystify it.  I've attended one of Martin's opera appreciation courses, and he explains all the different types of opera and voices - highly recommended.

It might not be Glastonbury - even though we probably had enough rain to rival it on the Monday - but it's a great community event, with something for everybody, and is thoroughly enjoyed by all.  Thanks to all the performers, organisers and venues. We're looking forward to next year's event already!

Harry Potter Studios

I climbed aboard the broomstick and wrapped the black cloak tightly around me while a queue of people looked on - not a phrase I thought I would ever use, but something which happened to me the other weekend.

No, I haven't had a radical career change, or started my Hallowe'en preparations two months early, rather we visited the Harry Potter Studios in Leavesden.

My daughter is a huge fan of JK Rowling's boy wizard, has read all the books and seen all of the films.  I read the first four books, then had her so that was as far as I got as nappy changing etc took over from reading, whereas my husband has seen some of the films but not read any of the books.

But I have to say it was absolutely fantastic and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.  Admittedly, a bit of knowledge is required to appreciate the full effect, but even if you aren't the biggest Harry Potter fan it is well worth a visit.

Highlights include the Great Hall set, with tables laid ready for a feast, and Diagon Alley with its quaint shops selling all manner of items including wands and puking pastilles.

You can climb aboard the Hogwarts' Express, have a photo taken of you pushing your trolley through the wall of Kings Cross to reach platform 9 3/4, practice your wand skills, walk across the wooden bridge to Hogwarts or stand outside the Dursley's front door at No4 Privet Drive. 

The broomstick ride, courtesy of green screen technology, lets you soar high above the ramparts of Hogwarts Castle and through the streets of London.  Also on display are the models, costumes, wigs, prosthetics and props used in the films. 

And then you can drink butterbeer, if you really want to.  Best described as like a weakened version of that soft drink 'made from girders' with very sweet artificial cream on top, it's really quite disgusting!

Exit is via the giftshop, with some eye-watering prices for souvenirs (£8.95 for a chocolate frog), but overall it was excellent.

The Great British Bake Off, 2015

It's that time of year again, when friends and family know not to call me, invite me to any sort of social gathering, and try not to have a major emergency between the hours of 8pm and 9pm on a Wednesday evening.

Yes, The Great British Bake Off is back, and I'm hooked again.

Rooted to my sofa with my Labrador at my feet, I sit and ooh and aah at the various creations on screen, critiquing the baked goods like I'm some sort of expert (I'm really not), whilst still fearing for Mary Berry's teeth on the sturdier offerings produced - the biscotti were particularly nerve-wracking in this regard.

Marie went from star baker to bus fare home in the space of a week, which surprised me, but if you can't switch on the oven then chances are you're not going to win Bake Off any time soon.  (I appreciate that's ruled me out then, those fancy Neff ovens must take a bit of working out and could be my own personal technical challenge.)

So far my favourite bakers are Sandy from Yorkshire and Mat the fireman - because he's a good baker, nothing to do with a man in uniform before you ask - although I think the youngest competitor, Flora, has a good chance of winning too.

Paul, the Prison Governor, appears slightly scary and I wouldn't want to upset him over rating his sponge cakes, and although I like Nadiya, she always looks terrified when presenting her bakes on the gingham altar of judgment.

Then there was Dorret; I will confess to gasping in abject horror at her collapsing Black Forest gateau - and I for one didn't think I'd ever say that without borrowing a time machine!  At least she kept her cool and didn't fling it straight in the bin like Iain did with his not-baked Alaska last year. 

Who would have thought that a wholesome pursuit like baking could turn responsible adults into snivelling wrecks, obsessed about soggy bottoms?!

Regrets

Regrets, I've had a few - so sang Frank Sinatra in My Way, but it turns out he's not the only one if you can believe what you read in a recent survey.

It's been reported that the average Brit has three major lifetime regrets and spends more than five minutes a day reflecting on them.

This made me think a couple of things - really, they spend more than five minutes a day thinking about things they haven't done, or have done, but really wish they hadn't?  And, that's actually quite sad, in the true sense of the word.

It was a nationwide survey of 2000 people, and the top three regrets were not travelling enough, losing touch with old friends, and spending time with the wrong partner.

The cynic in me also thought this must have been commissioned by a holiday company, and true enough it was by Homestay.com (billed as 'an affordable accommodation alternative for independent travellers of all ages').

But while that explains the first regret, losing touch with friends and feeling you've wasted time in relationships aren't travel related - unless, perhaps unluckily, you lost friends whilst also travelling with the wrong partner!

With regards to losing touch with people and relationships, these are things to which we can all relate, particularly as we get older.

The advent of social media has surely helped with this though - I've reconnected with old school friends and work colleagues this way, and we now keep in touch on a far more regular basis than we otherwise would have.

But I think it is very sad to regret time spent in relationships, because, good or bad, we surely learn something from each of them, and the experiences go on to make us who we are today. 

Instead perhaps we should borrow the sentiment from Edith Piaf and let our mantra become 'Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien', because life's too short to spend time each day looking back and regretting what you've done or not done, isn't it?

Mamma Mia

Although I haven't listened to it, I'm told there's a Radio 4 show called 'I've Never Seen Star Wars', where people confess to having not seen or done something which appears commonplace to the rest of the universe.

I'm guessing that this was inspired by the lady admitting on Radio 1 many years ago that she'd never seen Star Wars, or a Bond film, and her video was a BetaMax.

So, here's my confession - until the start of August I'd never seen Mamma Mia.

I know that puts me in a minority and I'm not entirely sure how this happened.  I genuinely felt that I was destined to never watch it, having not seen it at the cinema, caught it on DVD or managed to see it when it was shown seemingly-endlessly on ITV2.

This cinematic omission started to became a source of acute embarrassment - when other people talked about it, or said they were going to see the West End show, I would have to admit that I'd never seen it, and they would look at me incredulously like I'd said that I didn't like wine or chocolate.

I feared that I would never discover who Sophie's father was - the thing is, I still don't know, I'm guessing it's Pierce Brosnan's character, but they never really made it clear did they?

I'd heard all the discussions about Pierce's terrible singing, but previously had to just nod and smile because I hadn't a clue.  But now I do!  Now I can join in such discussions and say 'it's not that bad, I've heard worse' with a slight air of authority.

I really enjoyed the film, and sang along with the songs to the obvious despair and embarrassment of husband and daughter respectively.

I'd forgotten how much I love the music of ABBA - I might even be tempted to go and see ABBAMANIA at The Corby Cube on 17th September.  Perhaps it's time to dig out the platform shoes and the blue eyeshadow - Mamma Mia, here I go again!

Burn, baby, burn - waste plant inferno

I've not talked about waste plants for a while, however I feel that the major fire at Recycleforce highlighted a number of issues on which I need to comment.

Firstly, the importance of retaining, or indeed increasing, the level of fire cover for Corby and its villages.

Secondly, with the increasing number of waste plants - recycling facilities, call them what you will - planned for Corby, this could become a regular occurrence.  There are reports on the news with frightening regularity of waste plants somewhere in the country catching fire, due to the nature of the business and the items being stored and processed.

Thirdly, and very worryingly, is do we know exactly what's being processed in these various facilities and what toxins can been released into the air if they do catch fire?

I know it's sensible to keep your doors and windows shut when such an event occurs, but unless your house is hermetically sealed, how do you ensure that these particles don't get in there?

What about the people living close to this and the other planned waste plants?  There's the Travellers' Site at Dunlop Close and the Settled Middle Age Travellers just up Gretton Brook Road, all the new housing at Priors Hall, not to mention all the houses off Rockingham Road in Corby itself and the nearby villages.

There's been a campaign about the plants planned for Corby for about three years.  We've just been informed that the approved plans for an anaerobic digester and a pyrolysis plant at Shelton Road are now being amended for another gasification plant.

What will it take for Northamptonshire County Council to start listening to the people of Corby?

We don't want these.  We don't more lorries bringing who knows what waste from the rest of the UK to be processed on our doorsteps.  We certainly don't want to live downwind of them, and we have major concerns about their safety given the number of fires.

Councillors, please ask yourselves and answer honestly, would you live next to these, or have your children go to school next to them?  I somehow doubt it...