Clevedon Pier on the Somerset coast, one of England's finest Victorian piers.

Clevedon's Victorian pier, described by Sir John Betjeman as "the most beautiful pier in England", is perfect for a peaceful stroll. Completed in 1869 it was an additional attraction for the growing Victorian seaside resort.  The pier was also meant to be a ferry port for rail passengers to South Wales.  Appropriately the legs of the pier are constructed from Barlow rail previously used on Brunel's South Wales Railway.

The pier has a landing stage for steamers, past and present, operating excursions.  I have enjoyed, aboard the vintage MV Balmoral, a couple of trips from Bristol's floating harbour through the Avon Gorge down to Avonmouth, the Severn Estuary and on to Clevedon. 


Clevedon Pier late summer 2012.

Car parking can be difficult near the pier but there are pay-and-display car parks on Elton Road and adjacent to Salthouse Park.

If you want more than a stroll on the pier, head south west along the sea front and follow Poets Walk up the hill towards St. Andrew's Church.  From there take in the views of the Bristol Channel, Severn Estuary and the Welsh coast.

There are several establishments along The Beach where you can have tea and cakes or an ice-cream while still enjoying a view of the pier.

Discrimination against the English Student.

A letter in the Western Daily Press on April 8th this year, before the General Election.

We must not accept this discrimination

I am sure we all agree that discrimination is unacceptable in modern society. So if, for example, the message were: “As a white student, you can go to university for free, but as a black student, he must pay £27,000,” there would, quite rightly, be uproar.

Or how about, “You are Christian, so you don’t have to pay, but he is Jewish, so he must pay £27,000.” Quite properly, same result.

So why is it that when the Scottish Government says, “You are Scottish, so you can study for nothing, but he is English, so he must pay £27,000,” no one bats an eyelid?

Discrimination is discrimination and equally despicable. Why is it acceptable against English people?

Clive Lavelle

Prospective parliamentary candidate for Weston-super-Mare, English Democrats

Dillington House near Ilminster in South Somerset. The country home of the Prime Minister who lost the American colonies.

Dillington House near Ilminster in South Somerset was the country home of Lord North who was Prime Minister from 1770 to 1782.  His half-hearted supervision of the war effort during the American War of Independence led to him being blamed for the loss of the American colonies.



Dillington House in South Somerset

Dillington is now a centre for adult education, conferences, business meetings and weddings. I was fortunate enough to have a seat there at a very well attended lecture by General Sir Michael Rose KCB, CBE, DSO, QGM entitled "Recent Lessons of History". His talk reflected on how, in his opinion, some recent decisions on military interventions were ill-conceived from the very beginning.

I have also read Sir Michael's book Washington's War: From Independence to Iraq published by Phoenix, which is all the more interesting for having heard his lecture. He draws parallels between the mistakes made during the Invasion of Iraq to those of the British in the American War of Independence.  Both wars give examples of too little too late.

Immigrants, cultural context and the Law

A British judge has said that immigrants who beat their children should get special treatment according to this story in The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/11663029/Immigrants-who-beat-their-children-should-get-special-treatment-says-judge.html

In her ruling the judge said: "Proper allowance must be made for what is, almost certainly, a different cultural context."

Allison Pearson's article, also in The Telegraph recalls the tragic case of Victoria Climbie. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/11665301/Allison-Pearson-Did-Victoria-Climbies-death-teach-us-nothing-about-multiculturalism.html

I entirely agree with Clive Lavelle's letter in the Western Daily Press on December 1st 2014 which although referring to a different case is just as pertinent.  


Behaviour is not part of our culture

Back in February 2011, you published a letter from me in which I said that I am all in favour of a multi-racial England, but that immigrants should adapt to English customs and culture, and not expect the locals to adapt to theirs.

On Points West, the other night, I learned about the conviction of three Somali men who abused and raped girls as young as 13. They claimed that this behaviour was part of their culture.

Well, it is not part of ours.

Clive Lavelle

Weston-Super-Mare English Democrats


This is England, our laws must be applied equally to all regardless of anyone's ethnic or cultural origins.

Burrington Combe and Burrington Ham on the Mendip Hills in Somerset.

Burrington Combe on the Mendip Hills in Somerset where, according to legend, Augustus Montague Toplady (1740-1778) the curate of nearby Blagdon was inspired to write the hymn Rock of Ages while sheltering in a cleft in the rock face during a storm. A plaque opposite the car park at the bottom of the Combe marks the very rock. 


Feral Goats on patrol in Burrington Combe.

Feral goats were introduced to the Combe some years ago to keep the scrub under control in order to promote the growth of wild flowers and plants.  They are doing a similar job in Cheddar Gorge and on Brean Down.

At the top of the Combe there is another car park from which you can walk up a track to Burrington Ham. Follow the path to the west and enjoy the views north east towards the Chew Valley and north west across Wrington Vale to Clevedon, the Severn Estuary and South Wales. To the south you look up towards Blackdown and Beacon Batch, the highest point on the Mendips.

View from Burrington Ham across Wrington Vale to the Severn Estuary and South Wales. 



Wrington Vale and fields of oilseed rape, a crop barely known in England until the 1970s. It seems a bit un-English to me but the crop's yellow flowers certainly brightened up this scene on what was a dull April day.

Will Scots follow Irish Model?

I wonder if the SNP, with 56 MPs out of the 59 elected from Scotland, might at some stage be tempted to declare a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
This letter published, before the General Election, in the Western Daily Press on the 18th March seems even more relevant now.


Will Scots follow the Irish model?

In the general election of 1918 Sinn Fein won 70 per cent of the Westminster parliamentary seats in the Island of Ireland; four years later the Irish Free State came into being. Nearly one hundred years on, approaching May’s general election, opinion polls suggest that the SNP may win 90 per cent of the Westminster parliamentary seats in Scotland.

If the polls are proved correct will there still be a Union between England and Scotland in four years’ time? As history may well repeat itself, with Scotland following Ireland out of the Union, I would certainly not bet against Scotland being an independent nation by 2020.

S.W.

English Democrats, Somerset
     

Deer Leap on the Mendip Hills in Somerset.

Deer Leap is on the Mendip Hills near Priddy. The panoramic view encompasses Glastonbury Tor to the south east, Hinkley Point on the south side of Bridgwater Bay and the Quantock Hills beyond, Brent Knoll and Brean Down to the west. Leave the National Trust car park and walk across the fields to the west and you will enjoy the peace and tranquillity as well as the scenery. There is no constant hum from traffic on the M5 such as you will experience on nearby Crook Peak and Wavering Down.

The view from Deer Leap towards Bridgwater Bay and the Quantock Hills.

Anti-English discrimination. A letter in the Western Daily Press May 30th 2015.

Now we lose out on bus passes as well.

Dear Sir,

I turned 60, last summer, so a few days ago, I decided it was high time I applied for my bus-pass.

The Scots get theirs at 60; the Welsh get theirs at 60; the Northern Irish get theirs at 60.

I was told I have to wait until I’m 66. You see, I’m English. The British Westminster elite have decided to link eligibility for a bus-pass – for the English, but only for the English – to the escalating pensionable age.

So, to having to pay for prescriptions, having to pay £27,000 to go to university, having to pay to park your car at a hospital, we can add, having to wait an extra six years for your bus-pass, to the list of ant-English discrimination perpetrated by the British government.

Clive Lavelle

Weston-super-Mare English Democrats