Willow Man near Bridgwater in Somerset - and other 'carbuncles' and 'blots' on the West of England's landscape.

I wrote a letter in response to the article 'Battle to stop 'carbuncle' at author's isle' by Tom Bevan in the Western Daily Press on June 17th.  The article begins: "Thousands of people have signed a petition to stop a 'concrete carbuncle' being built on an island made famous by writer Agatha Christie. 
The owners of the luxury hotel on Burgh Island - where rooms cost from £500 a night - want to build a pool house on a rocky outcrop.
It will be linked by a bridge spanning the water in between, known as Mermaid Pool.
The controversial design - the result of an architectural completion - was approved last month by planners on South Hams District Council in South Devon.
But the project has appalled opponents who say it will "desecrate" an area of outstanding natural beauty and a protest petition has already received 2,000 signatures." 

My letter was published on June 21st.

Many carbuncles throughout the West.

I sympathise with those campaigners who are trying to prevent a ‘carbuncle’ being built on the picturesque Burgh Island (Western Daily Press, June 17).  Unfortunately such ‘carbuncles’ have been known to pass through the planning system.

Further east along the Devonshire coast planners have allowed a new development of luxury apartments on The Esplanade in Seaton.  Its modern style appears entirely out of keeping with the rest of the sea front.

However, the proposed structure on Burgh Island is modest compared to Verity, the grotesque 66ft high, 25 tonne bronze monstrosity which dominates the charming harbour at Ilfracombe.

Somerset has its own ‘carbuncle’, or should that be ‘blot on the landscape’, in the form of Willow Man on the eastern fringe of Bridgwater.  At twilight this spectral figure appears malevolently poised as if to leap the M5 and hunt the ghosts of Monmouth’s rebel army across Sedgemoor.

I am sure there are many who see beauty and grace in these examples of modern art and architecture, but I am obviously not one of them.

Photographs to follow!

Update 3rd September 2017

Willow man looms phantom-like above the tree-line alongside the M5.

Nigel Evans, Tory MP for the Ribble Valley, sums up the Conservative's General Election catastrophe. I share his view entirely.

The writing was on the wall when the Conservative lead in the opinion polls collapsed immediately after the publication of their manifesto in which, reverting to type as the nasty Party, they advocated removing benefits from the retired – those most likely to vote.  They thought they could get away with it because of their enormous lead in the polls, but they didn’t.  The hubristic Conservatives snatched defeat from the jaws of overwhelming victory.  As a pensioner they certainly lost my vote! 

Moreover, as an English patriot I was disappointed to find almost no recognition of English nationhood in any of the main party manifestos.  I put my cross against an Independent candidate in protest – had there been none I would have spoiled my ballot paper!  

Conservative MP Nigel Evans summed up the Conservatives' catastrophic policies in these two interviews.

On Sky News he blamed “The social care policy which attacked our core supporters which were the elderly. They are the ones who tend to vote Conservative and they actually do go out and vote and so what we were telling them was that we were going to rob them of their winter weather payments.  That the asset which was in their house was not going to be left in its entirety to their children if they had care at home and indeed that the triple lock was going to go.  So the only thing that was missing from the manifesto was compulsory euthanasia for the over seventies.  I mean, it was a daft and bonkers attack.”  He said it was: “The social care policy which absolutely torpedoed our campaign” and “It certainly was the worst election manifesto I can ever remember in my parliamentary life.  It was awful.”

He continued in the same vein on BBC Radio 5Live saying: “Instead of talking about the things we thought we were going to be talking about – Brexit and the strong economy – we have ended up talking about social care, winter fuel payments, taking lunches off children and fox hunting. “It was an amazing own goal. We didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot; we shot ourselves in the head.”

However, for Brexiteers like me all is not lost.  John McDonnell has said Labour still advocates leaving the Single European Market.  Furthermore, Labour will also keep the pensions triple lock and winter fuel payments.  If Labour stick to those policies I might even be tempted to vote for them next time!

Donald Trump seen guarding a wall in Ilminster, South Somerset?

Has Donald Trump extended his "wall" to South Somerset or is it an entry in Ilminster's annual scarecrow competition?

Donald Trump guarding a wall in Ilminster, South Somerset!

HMS/FFL MIMOSA. The 75th anniversary of the sinking of the only Bristol-built warship lost during World War 2.

As a Bristolian of 60 years now living in Somerset I suggest we in the West of England should take time to remember the 69 crewmen (63 Free French and 6 British) of the only Bristol-built warship lost of the 21 which were completed in the city during World War 2.  This month sees the 75th anniversary of the loss of the Flower class corvette HMS MIMOSA.

The corvette was built by Charles Hill & Sons in their Albion dockyard and launched in January 1941, subsequently being transferred to the Free French Navy as the FFL MIMOSA.  Most of the French crew were from the French island of St. Pierre and Miquelon situated at the entrance to Fortune Bay off the coast of Newfoundland.   Their courage and determination to continue to fight after the defeat of France helped keep our vital convoy routes open.

Sadly the ship was torpedoed and sunk on the 9th of June 1942 by U124 while escorting convoy ONS-100 across the North Atlantic.  Only 4 French sailors survived.  They were rescued by the Canadian destroyer HMCS ASSINIBOINE.

We should not forget.