Robin Tilbrook, English Democrats Chairman and General Election Candidate, appears on The Sunday Politics.

Robin Tilbrook, Chairman of the English Democrats and candidate for Clacton in the General Election, was on the BBC's Sunday Politics East last weekend.  He appeared with four of the other candidates and, when he was allowed to speak, made some very good points on Brexit, immigration and the aftermath of the dreadful bombing in Manchester.

Here is a link to the programme.  The relevant piece is 39 minutes in.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08rn7kc/sunday-politics-east-28052017

I particularly liked his comment on the Prime Minister having discussions with the leaders of the devolved nations on Brexit while England, being under British direct rule, is unrepresented.

I had this letter  on the subject published last year in the Western Daily Press.

 “The Prime Minister has just hosted a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council in London.  It was the first of what will be regular talks on the Brexit process.

Representing the Scots was their First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.  Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns  together with Carwyn Jones the First Minister of the Welsh Government were there to stand up for Wales.  The Northern Irish had the luxury of both their Assembly Leader Arlene Foster and her deputy Martin McGuinness to represent them.

I wonder who spoke on behalf of the people of England”

Otterhead Lakes on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset.

The Otterhead Lakes Estate is 233 acres in extent comprising a nature reserve and mixed woodland managed by the Otterhead Estate Trust and the Forestry Commission respectively.  Nestling in a valley in the centre of the Blackdown Hills in Somerset, its lakes are fed by the River Otter.

It is exactly 3.3 miles from the junction of the B3170 and A303 to the Otterhead Lakes car park.  Take the B3170 through the beautiful Blackdown Hills and cross the Devonshire border into Somerset.  Pass Robin Hood's Butts, a series of Bronze Age Barrows, on your left and then keep a lookout, still on your left, for the signpost to Otterford Church.  Take this narrow lane which eventually swings right and you will find the car park on your left tucked away behind the trees.  If you reach St. Leonard's Church at Otterford you will have gone too far!

On my visit there were only 3 other cars parked with room for a dozen or so more, but although it was a dry day it looked a little muddy in places - care might be needed in wet weather.

I walked down the gently sloping track, through the trees, past the remains of a walled garden and crossed a footbridge leading to the western bank.  I made my way to the right up rising ground where I found an information board - I had come across several handily placed ones already - which told me that just ahead was the site of Otterhead House.  I could find no remains except a few paving stones and a short flight of steps.  The House, built on the side of the valley, must have had a wonderfully peaceful outlook over House Lake.  I enjoyed the view for a while and then retraced my steps; the footpath down to the Cascades and Royston Lake will be explored on my next visit.

A pair of Swans winging their way across House Lake at Otterhead Lakes in Somerset's Blackdown Hills.

The Estate and Otterhead House originated in 1817 under the ownership of William Oliver of Kingston St. Mary.  It was expanded by William Beadon of Taunton who married into the family.  Beadon built lakes and water gardens inspired by Hestercombe House.

The Estate was sold in 1864, after Beadon's death, to Sir John Mellor.  The Mellor family enlarged the two lakes and added another five.  They also extended the house and created a series of terraced walks.

The Lewis Lloyd family were the next owners, having been forced to move from Nantgwyllt House because of the building of the Elan Valley dams and reservoirs in mid-Wales, a project which took from 1893 to 1906.  Under their ownership the Otterhead Estate reached its greatest extent in 1894 following the purchase of two more farms.

Following the death in 1917 of Robert Evans Lewis Lloyd, the grandson of Robert Lewis Lloyd, the Estate was managed by the Public Trustee.  Eventually, 1n 1939, the Estate was purchased by Taunton Corporation as a water catchment and is now owned by Wessex Water plc.

Sadly, since it was in such an idyllic location, Otterhead House was eventually demolished in 1951-1952 and of the lakes only House Lake and Royston Lake remain.

The view across House Lake to the valley slopes where Otterhead House once stood. 

For information and photographs of Otterhead House here is a link to The Otterhead Lakes Estate website.
http://e-voice.org.uk/otterheadestate/
  

John Hanning Speke, the English soldier and explorer who discovered the source of the River Nile, at rest in a Somerset church in the village of Dowlish Wake.

John Hanning Speke was born 190 years ago this month in Bideford, Devonshire on 4th May 1827 and July sees the 155th anniversary of his discovery and mapping of the source of the Nile.

His family moved to Jordans, a country house north-west of Ilminster in Somerset.  Regrettably the house no longer exists as it became derelict and was demolished 1964.

At the age of 17 Speke joined the Indian army and fought in the First and Second Anglo-Sikh wars, he also volunteered for service in the Crimean War and served with a Turkish regiment.  During his time in the Army he formed a lifetime friendship with fellow officer James Grant, who would accompany him on many of his expeditions.

After several lengthy and hazardous expeditions exploring East Africa, in 1862 Speke identified Lake Victoria as the source of the River Nile.

He died on 15th September 1864 at Neston Park, his uncle’s estate at Corsham, Wiltshire.  Out on a shoot, Speke accidently shot himself while climbing over a wall.  Some suggested it was suicide due to a dispute with contemporary explorer Richard Burton over the accuracy of Speke’s discoveries, but the fatal wound was below the armpit which made that very unlikely.

He was laid to rest at St. Andrews Church in the village of Dowlish Wake 2 miles south east of Ilminster in South Somerset, The Manor there being the ancestral home of the Speke family from the end of the 15th century until 1920.

Dr. David Livingstone and Sir Roderick Murchison, President of the Royal Geographical Society attended his funeral, as did James Grant.

St. Andrew's Church in the village of Dowlish Wake in South Somerset.  Final resting place of John Hanning Speke, English soldier and explorer.

Of Speke and St. Andrew’s Church Edward Hutton writes in his Highways and Byways in Somerset (Macmillan & Co, 1921): “On the north wall is the monument and bust of Captain John Speke the African explorer, who discovered the sources of the Nile and died in 1864, having after all his adventures accidentally shot himself while partridge shooting.”

Paul Newman in his Somerset Villages (Robert Hale – London, 1986) describes Dowlish Wake as being: “Set astride a valley, where Wall Brook, Stretton Water and other tiny streams congregate, it is a place of shorn lawns, fords and footbridges.”

To find this picturesque village follow the signs east off the A358 between Peasmarsh and Donyatt, north of Chard.  The country lanes become narrower and the road signs hide in the hedgerows, but Dowlish Wake is well worth seeking out.

Seaton in Devonshire. A redevelopment building site on the sea front for 8 luxury apartments.

After three days of rain in South Somerset I took a spin down to Seaton for some sea air and sunshine.  Enjoying a stroll along the sea front I passed a prominent redevelopment building site which, according to the advertising signs, will be filled by 8 luxury apartments.  I trust the standard of building will be better than the standard of spelling!

The building site.

The advertisement - note the spelling!

English Democrats Party candidates in the 2017 General Election.

Five veteran members of the English Democrats, the only party putting forward a manifesto solely for England, have stepped up to the plate alongside party chairman Robin Tilbrook and his deputy Therese Hirst as candidates in the forthcoming general election.

Stephen Morris, who put up a creditable performance in the recent Greater Manchester Mayoral Election, stands in Barnsley Central alongside Kevin Riddiough in Barnsley East.  David Allen, who in recent years has represented the English Democrats in elections for Police and Crime Commissioner and the Doncaster Mayoralty, stands in Doncaster North again – having done so in 2015.

Janus Polenceus, one of only three candidates outside of Yorkshire, represents the Party in Holborn and St Pancras.  He was the Party’s candidate in Streatham in the 2010 general election.  Stephen Goldspink, a veteran of Parliamentary, Mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner Elections, stands in North East Cambridgeshire.


Robin Tilbrook, having stood in Brentwood and Ongar in the 2010 and 2015 general elections, has put himself forward in Clacton.  Therese Hirst, who was Chairman of Veritas when that party merged with the English Democrats in 2015, stands in Bradford South.  She represented the English Democrats in Bradford West in the general election of 2015 and was also the Party’s candidate in West Yorkshire for the Police and Crime Commissioner election of 2016.

Regrettably the Party has no candidates in the West of England having stood 2 in 2015 and 8 in 2010.

The English Democrats Party campaigns for an English Parliament.  It also calls for a referendum on English Independence, although I have never been entirely sure whether this means the English Democrats support an independent England or merely aim to allow the English a referendum on the issue.  I would prefer independence although, clearly, an English Parliament would have to come first.

Here is a link to the English Democrats manifesto.

http://englishdemocrats.party/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/EDP-manifesto-Dec-15.pdf

The English Democrats' Stephen Morris finishes fifth in the Greater Manchester Mayoral Election - ahead of UKIP!

Stephen Morris of the English Democrats came fifth in the Greater Manchester Mayoral Election with over eleven thousand votes.  He finished ahead of the UKIP candidate and only a couple of thousand votes behind the Greens.  This was an outstanding effort from the hardworking English Democrats North West Chairman, especially considering the Party’s limited resources.

In the Cambridge and Peterborough Mayoral Election Stephen Goldspink stepped up to the plate for the English Democrats and received over two thousand votes.

I suspect both candidates were given the minimum of publicity by the mainstream media!

Meanwhile, here in Somerset the Conservatives strengthened their hold on the County Council as the UKIP vote melted away and the Liberal Democrats’ hopes of resurgence were unfulfilled.  

A visit to Weston Bike Night's first meeting of the year.

Last Thursday was the first Weston Bike Night of the year.  Held on the Beach Lawns at Weston-super-Mare, the event raises money for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.  Although not a biker myself, a  good friend of mine has a stall there so, as it was a fine day, I thought I would have a few hours beachcombing at Berrow and Brean then go on to Weston to meet up for a chat.

Using the convenient National Trust car park at Brean, I spent a pleasant afternoon wandering the beach and dunes before taking the meandering road across the Levels to the A370, and on to Weston-super-Mare. 

The Beach Lawns at Weston-super-Mare, the first of this year's Weston Bike Nights.

Steep Holm in the Bristol Channel viewed on a fine evening from Beach Lawns, Weston-super-Mare.  The weather was kind for the first Bike Night of the year. 

A good attendance, as always, on Weston Bike Night.

Here is a link to the Weston Bike Night website:

https://www.westonbikenight.co.uk/