Brent Knoll in Somerset. A conspicuous landmark rising above the Levels.

Brent Knoll rises 450 feet above the Somerset Levels only 2.5 miles from the coast at Burnham-on-Sea.  An outlier of the Mendip Hills, it is a well-known landmark to the millions of travellers who use the M5, A38 and A370 as well as rail passengers on the Bristol to Taunton and Penzance line.  All those routes pass within one mile of the foot of the Knoll. 

On a recent journey up the A38 to Churchill my wife noticed the effect of heavy rainfall, deposited by storm Angus, on the fields north east of Brent Knoll.  Approaching the village of Cross she saw the waterlogged fields had taken on the appearance of a lake. 

I was reminded of a photograph I took in 2012 when a spell of heavy rain - storms weren’t given names in those days - had flooded those same fields in similar fashion.  The photo was taken from a lay-by, on the slopes of Shute Shelve Hill, on the A371 just a few hundred yards east of the junction with the A38.

Brent Knoll viewed from the slopes of Shute Shelve Hill after a spell of heavy rain in the spring of 2012.  The Quantock Hills are on the horizon.

Little wonder that the Romans knew Brent Knoll as “The Mount of Frogs”, as it stood surrounded by water and marshes before the Somerset Levels were drained, a process undertaken in earnest by the monasteries of Glastonbury, Athelney and Muchelney during the Middle Ages.

Robin Tilbrook, Chairman of the English Democrats, delivers speech on England "God's first borne of the Nation states of the Earth".

Robin Tilbrook, Chairman of the English Democrats, recently gave a non-political speech on the subject of how English history influenced the development of the politics and constitution of England. 

Below is part of the speech which illustrates the biased approach of English schools to the teaching of history in general and English history in particular. 

The thing is Ladies and Gentlemen that in English schools now, English history is barely taught and certainly not taught in a way which allows our school children to understand how our constitution developed as a result of events in our history. 

Let me tell you what I think is a symptomatic story.  My daughter is interested in history and when she was doing her GCSE’s I happened to ask what she had been studying.  She said history.  So I asked what about.  She said Hitler.  So I said oh that’s interesting so who was the greatest mass murder in human history?  She immediately said Hitler.  So I said no Mao Tso Tung – 95 million. She looked a bit crestfallen so I said so who is the second greatest mass murderer in human history?  She said Hitler again a bit hesitantly.  So I said no Joe Stalin - 55 million.  I then asked who was the third greatest mass murderer in human history?  She was very hesitant by now and asked me was it Hitler so I said yes. 

Although this story is not about English history it does show both the bias which our children are subjected which edit out historic truths that are inconvenient to the Left and also that there is no teaching of any understanding of how things fit together.

So what I propose to do is to concentrate on how English history fits together and focus on the key dates in the development of that unique entity called:- “the English Nation” and its Nation State:  “England”. 

To illustrate how unique England is I would point out that one historian called England “God’s first borne of the Nation states of the Earth”. 

For Robin Tilbrook's entire speech here is the link to his blog:
http://robintilbrook.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/england-gods-first-borne-of-nation.html

Could former Conservative chancellor George Osborne one day play the English card?

Mike Smithson speculates, on his Political Betting website, on what the future holds for former conservative chancellor George Osborne.  Apparently 15 years ago, with Blair’s Labour Party at its peak, he asked Osborne if New Labour could ever be beaten.  Osborne replied by saying: “Labour could be vulnerable if we played the English card”. 

I wonder if sometime in the future the former chancellor might find it politically advantageous to beat the drum for English nationhood and call for an English Parliament. 

If Paul Nuttall becomes leader of UKIP and continues to call for an English Parliament could the Conservatives be dragged along in UKIP’s wake just as it was by Nigel Farage’s campaign for the EU Referendum and Brexit? 

Perhaps if George Osborne’s political career is one day resurgent we may yet see him leading the calls for the English card to be played by the Conservatives – they may find themselves in a situation in which they have no alternative. 

Here is Mike Smithson’s article and a link to the original.

But don't write off George Osborne yet.

For a man who still looks quite youthful Osborne has been at the top of British politics for a long time. He was in his mid-30s when the then CON leader, Michael Howard, made him shadow chancellor. He kept hold of this brief throughout the coalition years and when the Tories won a majority in May last year.

His sacking by the incoming May leadership in July marked the end of an era. He’s now a backbencher. For unlike his close colleague, David Cameron, Osborne decided to stay around under the new leadership even though he doesn’t have an official role anymore.

But Osborne is still a player and my guess is that when the Theresa May leadership is eventually toppled George will still be there.

I’ve always had a respect for him after him meeting him for the first tine even before he was an MP a few months before the 2001 General Election. Tony Blair was totally at his peak dominating everything. He seemed to be unstoppable.

The occasion was a college dinner Oxford and I found myself sitting next to the then PPC for Tatton. How could, I quizzed the aspiring MP, Blair’s New Lab ever be beaten. He responded with a suggestion that turned out to be highly prescient – “Labour could be vulnerable if we played the English card”.

He’s always been the great political strategist. Watch this space.

http://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2016/11/23/todays-autumn-statement-is-the-first-big-treasury-event-since-ge2005-when-osborne-has-not-been-chancellor-or-shadow/

The Campaign for an English Parliament recommends John Denham's article "Gordon Brown's English problem".

The article, “Gordon Brown’s English Problem” by John Denham, former Labour Minister and now director of the Centre for English Identity and Politics at Winchester University, has been recommended on the CEP website.  I recall that Labour's Lord Prescott once said something along the lines of: “There is no such thing as the English”.  Now, according to John Denham’s article, when discussing constitutional change within the UK Gordon Brown can hardly bring himself to mention England or the English at all and seems to prefer the term “rest of the UK” instead.

I reproduce below, from the Fabian Society website, the section of the article I found the most telling.

The problem is that Gordon also seems to have decided what the outcome of the constitutional assembly should look like. And that does not include any acknowledgement of the existence of England as a nation or as a political identity. By extension, it excludes all of that large majority of English residents who describe their national identity as English, or English and British. It is odd that a man who has fought all his political life for the right of the people of Scotland to determine their own future should be so resistant to allowing the English to do the same.

In an analysis of the Scottish devolution published before the Scottish referendum, Gordon showed the same myopia. Amid numerous references to Scotland, he had 104 to a non-existent ‘rest of the UK (rUK)’ and just four to England or the English. The fact that the English were exclusively referred to either as taxpayers or as pensioners betrays a narrow view of English interest. This marginalisation of England has long been the view of celtic Labour: England should not want a political voice and, in any case, cannot be allowed to have one. This is no longer tenable.

https://thecepreview.wordpress.com/2016/11/21/gordon-browns-english-problem/

http://www.fabians.org.uk/gordon-browns-english-problem/

Norton Manor Camp at Norton Fitzwarren in Somerset to close along with 90 other Ministry of Defence sites.

Norton Manor Camp in Norton Fitzwarren on the outskirts of Taunton in Somerset, home to 40 Commando Royal Marines, is to close along with 55 other military sites across the country.  The Secretary of State for Defence, Sir Michael Fallon, announced the closures which are in addition to 35 other closures previously announced.

Chivenor airfield and barracks in North Devonshire will also close along with more sites in Devonshire, Wiltshire and Somerset.

The loss of airfields seems a particular example of government short-sightedness as their runways make them extremely versatile and are not easily replaced.  Along with Chivenor, Hullavington in Wiltshire, Dishforth in Yorkshire and both Mildenhall and Alconbury in East Anglia are to go.

I also read in the Daily Telegraph that the Royal Navy will soon be without a shipborne ant-ship missile as the Harpoon missile will not be replaced when it is retired from service in 2018.  The Royal Navy's frigates and destroyers will then be relying on the 4.5 inch gun - 1960s style. 

Considering that the Navy's two new aircraft-carriers will have no operational aircraft for years one has to wonder what the present surface fleet is actually capable of if it has to undertake any war-like operations on its own.

This letter in the Western daily Press on November 17th is on a similar theme.

Mixed messages from the ministry.

The Defence Secretary has said that we are seeing a much more aggressive Russia and the real answer to Putin is that we should stay strong and be strong.

Hearing those words one might think that the Government was about to implement a policy of re-armament and expansion of the military. Not so, apparently, 56 more defence sites will be closed in addition to the 35 the Ministry of Defence announced previously.

Considering our Government’s actions rather than its words can Putin’s Russia really be a threat to this country?

Meanwhile, Britain has inaugurated a new naval base in Bahrain which, according to the Bahraini Ambassador to London, will be the busiest centre of operations for the Royal Navy after Portsmouth. This increase in port facilities to support any future military adventures in the Middle East is nothing but a vainglorious attempt to maintain the illusion that Britain still has “Great Power” status and a fleet to match.

S.W.

Ilminster, Somerset

The harbour village of Charlestown in Cornwall. An autumn holiday visit.

My wife and I recently had an autumn break in Cornwall.  We stayed at a cottage tucked away in a tranquil woodland valley between Fowey and Par and, thanks to a series of warm sunny days, were able to visit several of the coastal towns in the area.  One such visit was to the harbour village of Charlestown, a place I had never visited but was familiar to my wife who enjoyed family holidays in the area in the 1960s.

The area is well known for its china clay industry and in his The Companion Guide to Devon and Cornwall, (William Collins, 1976), Darrell Bates writes: “A large part of the industry’s products are exported by sea from Fowey, Par and the toy-like, privately owned quay at Charlestown.  The main road from here south to Mevagissey passes through London Apprentice where there used to be an inn of that name,  so called because of the number of men from London who came to these parts to work in the mines.”  

Our drive through Par and St. Austell did not take much time at all, the road obviously sees much more traffic in the spring and summer months.  Although it was a warm bright Sunday the pay and display car park, only a short stroll from the quayside, was half empty.

As it was approaching November the brig Phoenix, moored alongside Charlestown’s quay, was appropriately bedecked with poppies. She had been chosen as the venue for this year’s Cornwall launch of the British Legion Poppy Appeal.

The brig Phoenix, bedecked with poppies, alongside the quay at Charlestown in Cornwall.  

" . . . we do not use gunpowder or cannon balls!"

We enjoyed a very relaxed early afternoon walk around the harbour and down on to the beach before stopping at a small café near the harbour wall where we both had a very tasty cheese and onion pasty.  The pleasant young lady serving us said those pasties were the last available as the café was closing for the season that very afternoon!

Autumn colours at Long Ponds near Ilminster in South Somerset.

Last month, as the trees began to change colour, I went for a stroll to Long Ponds which is a small lake beside the footpath between the villages of Whitelackington and Kingstone, near Ilminster, in South Somerset.  The lake is in a valley and surrounded by woodland so it makes a very picturesque scene when the sun is at the right angle to highlight the autumnal colours of the trees.

It is best to find somewhere to park in Ilminster and walk east out of the town beside the old London Road until you find the sign saying Whitelackington.  The footpath to Kingstone is through a gate on your right. 

Just inside the gate is a World War Two pill-box which was part of Ilminster's defences.  Ilminster was an anti-tank fortress on the Taunton Stop-Line and many of the town's defences can still be seen - by those who know where to look.

Walk down the track for about a quarter of a mile and you will come to Long Ponds.  Be aware of the signs saying "Strictly Private Fishing" and keep dogs on leads as there is a lot of wildlife around!

Long Ponds between the villages of Whitelackington and Kingstone, near Ilminster, in South Somerset.