FRACKING, WIND TURBINES AND SOLAR PARKS

 

(SPECIFICALLY SOLAR PANELS FOR THIS BLOG)

I live in North Tawton which is earmarked for what appears to be the largest solar park development in England at 143 acres (57 hectares) if planning permission is approved once the application is submitted.   The site has been selected because in their words the Cheese Factory and Haulage Depot give the town an urban/industrial influence. 

The land predominantly productive grade 2 and grade 3 agricultural land is to be used for the installation of solar panels and an Eco park upon which a small area will be contrived to introduce  flora and fauna for the benefit of schools and tourism and to re-engage the local community with nature.  This may meet the National Curriculum but as we live in rural Devon, we have everything on our doorstep and surely part of teaching is to go out and seek species not to be processed around a small engineered area.

As tourists visit the area to walk and enjoy the unspoiled nature of the countryside, I fail to see how the scale of this development is going to induce anyone to visit other than natural curiosity and to feel relieved that they live elsewhere. 

 

The Department of Energy and Climate Change clarified the National Planning Policy Framework for me with regard to renewables and the selection of land,  I quote:

"Where significant development of agricultural land is necessary, the Framework expects areas of poorer quality land to be used in preference to that of higher quality."

 

Sustainability and Renewable energy can be incompatible partners.   With requirements placed on local authorities to provide housing and to be proactive in meeting the 15% of homegrown energy consumption targets from renewables by 2020 common sense appears to be dissolving.  To my mind, sustainability suggests the ability to produce sufficient for ones needs on an ongoing basis and to be able to maintain that or enhance production whilst not depleting resources.  As a country we are overpopulated for the land mass and the requirements for food, fuel and energy are unlikely to be met within UK provision.  To erect solar parks and housing on agricultural land and to grow crops for biomass and biofuels depletes our limited resources for food sustainability.

 

Do not forget that solar parks are not installed solely for the good of the community in which they are located.  They are erected by Companies backed by private investors with generous government subsidies.  A nod is to made to the locals by providing a small area of biodiversity and to some extent this is contriving the introduction of flora and fauna which have probably been eliminated by the use of herbicides and engineering works to install the panels.   There are brownfield sites available if we must go down the solar route even with the suggestion from Climatologists that we are in a 10 year cycle of wet summers.  Perhaps it would be prudent if our public servants stipulated that all new build houses are roofed with solar panels.   Central Govt. now sees the sense in not continuing with more land based wind turbines and surely the inefficiency of solar parks should be examined.  We may be blessed with good levels of sunshine but we also have high levels of rainfall hence the luxuriant pastures.  As a society we have expectations that are far and above what the country and the world can comfortably provide and we need to temper our demands accordingly.  I don't have answers but  perhaps consideration should be given to geothermal power and hydro power with a touch of nuclear.

Quirky Quercus

My new gate was placed in situ today by our local Blacksmith Tim. 

The gate, fashioned from cleft oak or quercus robur being the Latin name for the English Oak, was created by Dominic, former AA man and now a resident of Mid Devon.  Secured with oak pegs and sporting the old iron hinges from the original and rotten softwood gate it is a thing of beauty.

The gate leads from the lane into the front garden and will weather to a silver grey.

The weather has remained dry for a week or so and this, my first year in my new garden is being spent yanking, digging and swearing at pernicious perennial weeds.  I could do with the assistance of the 4 Horsemen to cope with bindweed, couch grass, brambles and ground elder.  One weed for each of them.  It is always said that one should study a new garden for the first year to see what comes up. I think I've already established that nothing much will be coming up having been choked to death by the aforementioned.  Exciting times, home grown seedlings snaking through the compost and plants to be bought from local markets to provide colour, scent and nectar for butterflies, insects and bees.  Lots to do, planting schemes to devise but the trees are in! apples and plum, twisted willow, spindle and 11 varied Birches and a liquidamber, oh what an unctuous honeyed name.  Do I go for a series of garden rooms, an open garden with island beds or see what evolve?.  The key I think is to achieve plenty of verticals and my personality tends to go for ordered chaos.  I spotted a lovely arched hazel pergola in the Geffrye Museum garden in Shoreditch last week and I think my next mission will be to coppice some hazel and intertwine with golden hop, roses and honeysuckle.

A BIT MORE FROM BARCELONA

Click on the pics to enlarge them.

I LOVE BUILDINGS PREFERABLY OLD EMBELLISHED BUILDINGS BUT I'M NOT AVERSE TO GOOD MODERN ARCHITECTURE.  ON HOLIDAY I ENJOY MOOCHING, LOOKING UPWARDS AND HOPEFULLY COMING ACROSS THE QUIRKY AND IDIOSYNCRATIC.  HERE ARE SOME PICTURES FROM MY WANDERINGS. 

THE CATHEDRAL, BARCELONA

GALERIA BASILICA

NARROW STREET IN THE OLD JEWISH QUARTER

Up on the roof and other places...........

Chimneys and airvents at Palau Guell

PLEASE CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE THEM

Gaudi - Barcelona

Casa Battlo, Barcelona

Palau Guell - an earlier work and a heavier design in terms of fitments - ironmongery/wooden ceilings and columns.  A masculine house for a wealthy patron.

Undulating roof lines, conical, bulbous ceramic tiled chimneys and airvents add another living space to a Gaudi roof.  A man who mastered function, ergonomics, engineering and fine details derived from natural forms into the construction of  incredulous and effortlessly pleasing buildings.  Arts and Crafts taken one stage further.  The word organic can be overused but the use of  sinuous curves in the details of his houses ie woodwork, ironmongery and stained glass are created from a direct observation of skeletal forms, fauna and flora.  

Mushroom fireplace

Stairs to the roof

And of course: drum rollllllllllllll
Sagradia Familia  a work in progress

STREET SMART - HELPING THE HOMELESS

I spent a few days in London before Christmas with my daughter enjoying a visit to the shrine that is Liberty's and soaking up the atmosphere of Dennis Severs house in Spitalfields.  I always feel more than a twinge of discomfort seeing just how many dispossessed and disenfranchised people there are as we scurry about ogling window displays and then soak in a hot bath in an overheated hotel room at the end of the day.  We live in what is still a prosperous country with a Welfare system that sometimes favours the feckless and not those who often through a series of unfortunate events lose jobs and homes.  There but for the grace of God or good luck more than good management go I.  I recently visited the Church in Ottery St Mary in my home County of Devon. I noticed  a flier from an organisation that affirmed that no-one in Devon should be without a bed and there are facilities to procure overnight accommodation and yet rough sleeping continues.  I know that this is sometimes by choice but not always.  Whilst in London we spoiled ourselves and had several sociable meals out. I was puzzled to see £1.00 added to the bill next to a heading - Streetsmart.  At first I thought  this was a drink albeit a cheap one! I then realised that this is a wonderful initiative to generate funding to support homeless members of our Society.  The £1.00 is discretionary and is an insignificant amount on a restaurant bill.  Even better, the whole amount goes directly to the homeless as the Streetsmart organisation is sponsored by Business and Industry.  I think the good old Victorian notion of philanthropy. The scheme began in 1998 and I'm ashamed to admit that although I smugly feel I have a social conscience I had never heard of it closeted away in rural Devon.  No excuse. It only functions in a few Cities in the UK and only during the months of November and December.  Restaurants have to sign up to this initiative. 

           Why does this not run countrywide throughout the year?

 The scheme seems to be straightforward to administer for hotels and restaurants.  Possibly like me, the majority of hospitality businesses are equally  unaware of Streetsmart.  I feel like a psuedo beneficent and £1.00 does not assuage my guilt when I am tucked up in the warmth and the wind is whistling and the rain is driving down on people huddled up in doorways.  I haven't 'done my bit'.    Life isn't fair, we are not and never will be equal.  It's not in our nature.  We are brought up with the mantra that we must better ourselves.  For some of our dispossessed kith and kin, they are unable for whatever reason  to meet their own basic physiological needs  for shelter and food.   We send shelterboxes overseas in times of crisis which is right and proper but why not a similar scheme here or does this make the situation more overt and therefore uncomfortable?

Lets us at the very least encourage restauratants and hotels and the good old British staple - fish and Chip shops throughout the land to sign up to the scheme.  

http://www.streetsmart.org.uk/sleepsmart/how-it-works.php

Manners make the world go around and bring back letter writing!

Forgive me whilst I ruminate....................            

Being born in the late 1950's and having been shuttled off to a series of  Roman Catholic Convent Boarding Schools from the age of 9 years, (two of which promptly closed down as I was just managing to blend into the background) I am an inveterate letter writer.  Letters home were a ritual overseen by one of the Nuns and composed usually on a Sunday.  I can't recall contents and my mother not being one for sentimentality or as she described it "a soul trot" did not keep her children's missives.  I do remember the excitement as the post came to school.  Letters were laid out on the pews lining the corridor to the refectory and there was always an anticipatory jostling and scrabbling in the hope that there was a tangible link to home amongst the envelopes laid out in alphabetical order. When I spent some months au pairing in Athens, my late and much beloved Father wrote to me on a weekly basis.  I still treasure some of his letters and wish that I had kept more.  I've always found the receipt of a letter a joyous event. I write as I speak, eveyrthing from the minutiae of my day to family matters, home and gardening to hopes, dreams, anxieties, spiritual meanderings.  The best letters are written with spontaneity, words crossed out as thoughts alter in mid sentence, and items  jotted down as ideas crowd the brain and run faster than the pen. From a young age I wrote Thank you letters for presents received; for outings given, for holidays spent with maiden Aunts and for invitations to lunch/dinner.  It is second nature to me and now to my daughter who for many years I encouraged, cajoled and forcibly directed the writing of thank you letters. 
                             
                       
A letter differs from any other form of contact in that it can involve the ritual of selecting fine stationary and a fountain pen to using a sheet of A4 if there is nothing else to hand.  I once wrote a letter on a dried maple leaf and posted it to test the Royal Mail.  It was delivered in a cellophane wrapper to the addressee!  A Thank you letter takes time to compose, minor alterations notwithstanding and demonstrates the appreciation of a gift selected and received, a social event attended and is an important social link which warms the recipient and at the very least is good manners.  As soon as a child can write they should be responsible for writing a thank you letter with guidance and encouragement from an adult until it becomes a self directed routine.   I remember sending gifts to the children of friends and receiving thank you letters written by the mother or a telephone thank you via the mother and I ceased to provide gifts once the children became teenagers.  Call me bolshie but this should be a reciprocal event.    We need to reconnect with one another and to show tangible appreciation for one another's thoughtfulness evidenced by giving some of our time, consideration and gratitude.  Positive feedback nurtures relationships.

                                                   Make 2013 the year of the letter

BAD HAIR DAY?

ORIGINAL ARTWORK BY DOMINIC MURPHY

PORTRAIT OF MY DAUGHTER JESSIE WITH ALLUSIONS TO ALICE (LEWIS CARROLL), MYTHOLOGY AND SYMBOLS RELATED TO HER PERSONAL IDIOSYNCRASIES. 

 I wanted to share with you a single item of artwork by Dominic Murphy aka Homelyvillain.  I first fell upon Dominic's work on Ebay where he sells watercolours inspired by Alice in Wonderland and pictures of Bull Terriers I imagine inspired by his own canines.  At the time, I was searching for pictures of Hares - the Lepus europaeus variety and not the angling variety which cropped up in quantity during my search.  Call it serendipity but a wonderful watercolour of a White Hare appeared created by Dominic which I was able to procure and from then on I've succumbed to a couple of deadly sins namely avarice and visual gluttony in building up my own personal gallery of Dominic's artworks.  Here is a link to his site  www.dominicmurphyart.com/

To visit his site is to walk alongside the dark miasmic canals of baroque Venice or to melt into a dank wall to evade London footpads.  Allusions to Hieronymous Bosch, Dali, The Inquisition, high Gothic and high Church, tongue in cheek wordplay.  Allusions all!  Dominic is an artist in his own category but paints in several categories - Catholic tastes abound.  Take a walk on the dark side - your responses may veer from abhorrence, astonishment, empathy, laughter, admiration and a spot of covetousness.  What matters is that he will evoke a response.