"Britain braced for post Brexit food shortage" says front page headline of Western Daily Press. A reader responds!

The alarmist front page headline “Britain braced for post Brexit food shortage” in the Western Daily Press on July 17 was followed up on page 2 by the main article, by Adam Bennett, with an equally scaremongering title “Food chaos predicted in new report”.  Apparently “prices for imported fruit, vegetables, meat and fish will rise by up to 22 per cent.”  The authors of the report also suggest “. . . even if Britain opts for a soft Brexit food supply, agriculture and even the environment will be adversely affected”.  One of them was also quoted as saying: “There is solid evidence about vulnerabilities ranging from diet-related ill-health to ecosystems stress.”

So where did this doom-laden report come from?  It was produced by professors from the universities of Sussex, London and Cardiff - hardly establishments bursting at the seams with enthusiastic Brexiteers – and published by the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex.

As for the political climate at the University of Sussex, this article in The Telegraph is revealing: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/02/21/right-wing-student-sussex-professors-think-problem-needs-dealing/

Be that as it may, this letter appeared in the Western Daily Press on July 26.  It suggests even a post Brexit food shortage could have beneficial consequences.

Brexit could be the answer to obesity.

Earlier this year a House of Commons briefing paper stated that 27 percent of adults in England are obese and a further 36 percent are overweight.  The NHS UK website tells us that Britain is “the fat man of Europe” and “more than half the population could be obese by 2050”.  Furthermore, the Obesity Health Alliance, which represents healthcare professionals and public health specialists, stated in a recent letter to The Guardian that: “The evidence is clear that obesity racks up a staggering bill: at least £5 billion to the NHS and tens of billions to society every year.”

So when I read the alarmist front page headline “Britain braced for post Brexit food shortage” (Western Daily Press, July 17), although it initially conjured up visions of queues and ration books, I began to wonder if such a shortage might actually be beneficial.  After all, in World War Two when food was in short supply, unhealthy foods were reduced or simply not available and everyone, rich and poor alike, ate a much better balanced diet.  People lost weight and were healthier because of it.

If leaving the EU means having to tighten our belts and eat a little more frugally is that such a bad thing?  Brexit could well prove good for the nation’s health, the NHS and our finances.

S.W.

Ilminster, Somerset

The English Civil War Battle of Langport in Somerset. The decisive Parliamentarian victory in the West of England.

The 10th of July saw the anniversary of the English Civil War Battle of Langport which took place in 1645.  Although there is no monument or memorial of any sort to mark the site I decided to drive over to Langport and walk the battlefield.  The battle actually took place closer to the village of Huish Episcopi than Langport as the Royalist Army, commanded by Lord Goring, was trying to block the approach to Langport and keep open the road to Bridgwater.  The Royalists intended retreating to Bridgwater and needed time to fortify the town.

The two armies faced each other across Wagg Rhyne, which runs either side of Wagg Drove, just east of Huish Episcopi.  The rhyne runs north to south through a gently sloping valley.  Goring was aiming to prevent Lord Fairfax’s Parliamentarian Army, which was approaching from Long Sutton to the south east, from crossing Wagg Rhyne.  There are three possible sites for the crucial crossing point: where the Wagg Rhyne crosses the A372 in the south; at Wagg Bridge on the B3153 to Somerton where at the time of the battle there was a ford; or between those two sites where today the railway crosses Wagg Drove about a quarter of a mile south of Wagg Bridge.

The view east from Wagg Bridge looking toward Pitney Hill.

The battle began with an exchange of artillery fire which silenced the Royalist guns.  Cromwell, commanding the Parliamentarian cavalry, sent two divisions to force a crossing of Wagg Rhyne – a difficult task as the narrow crossing was only wide enough to allow four horses abreast.  Major Bethel successfully led his division across the rhyne although counter attacked and hard-pressed by the Royalist cavalry.  Colonel Desborough led further Parliamentarian cavalry to re-inforce Bethel and together they engaged and drove off the Royalist cavalry.  Meanwhile, infantry from the New Model Army were clearing Royalist musketeers from their defensive positions along the hedgerows bordering Wagg Rhyne.  A retreat quickly became a rout as the Royalists fell back through Langport toward Bridgwater although there were attempts at delaying actions in Aller and at Burrow Mump.

Just north of the railway bridge which crosses Wagg Rhyne, the view east toward the New Model Army's positions.

The gentle slopes of the valley west of Wagg Rhyne.  Easier going for Cromwell's cavalry?

The New Model Army laid siege to Bridgwater which surrendered on the 23rd July while the Royalist bastion of Bristol was taken by the Parliamentarians on 10th September.  Royalist resistance in the West of England was at an end.  

The car park next to the war memorial opposite St. Mary’s Church in Huish Episcopi was a convenient place to start my walk.  I set off east along the A372 past the Rose and Crown and on to Wagg Drove.  Turning left along the drove there was not much to see due to the tree lined rhynes, which ran either side of the narrow tarmac road, the scattering of neatly kept houses and the occasional farm.  Only when I reached the railway bridge over the road did the view of the gently sloping valley open up.  I walked on along the drove, which ran straight and level for just over 400 yards, to Wagg Bridge at the steeper end of the valley. 

The ford which was once at Wagg Bridge would, I suggest, not be the best place for Cromwell’s cavalry to have charged across.  Galloping down the steeper ground from the direction of Pitney Hill to the east and then slowing to negotiate the narrow ford would have caused a loss of momentum before having to charge up Pict’s Hill to the west and engage the Royalist cavalry – perhaps not the easiest approach for Bethel and Desborough.

There are lanes and footpaths which cross Wagg Rhyne near the railway bridge: one of them is closed at present due to an unsafe footbridge across the rhyne.  Would a cavalry charge over Wagg Rhyne near here, with gently sloping ground on either side of the valley, have offered the best chance of success?  Only a cavalryman could answer that!

I estimate I walked about 3 miles during my visit to the battlefield.  Wagg Drove has no pavement but the local drivers were very considerate and most gave me a friendly wave as they slowed while I stepped onto the verge.  At Wagg Bridge on the B3153 I did not explore further as there is no pavement or verge on this section of the Langport to Somerton road – and it is rather busy!

All in all, I enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon in the South Somerset countryside.

Labour's policy on writing off student debt. Clive Lavelle of the English Democrats gives his view.

Clive Lavelle of the English Democrats comments on the Labour Party's change of tune on university tuition fees and student debt, apparently an election promise has now become an "ambition".  The letter below was published in the Western Daily Press on July 12th.

Labour changes tune on university tuition.

I heard the Labour Party’s shadow education minister going on about her party’s “ambition” to write off student debt.  A few weeks ago, during the election campaign, this was going to happen.  Now they’ve discovered that their “ambition” will cost £100 billion and they don’t know where they can find such an eye-watering sum.

She also alluded to a student debt “crisis”, claiming that this was “unacceptable”.  How short these people’s memories (conveniently) are.

University tuition fees were foisted on to English students by Tony Blair’s Labour government.  Despite many of his own MPs voting against it, the measure was railroaded through, thanks to the votes of Scottish Labour MPs who knew that their compatriots would be accessing free university places, paid for by the English taxpayer, through the Barnett Formula.

Clive Lavelle

Weston-super-Mare English Democrats

Temple Meads to Bristol Airport rail link project "would not be straightforward".

As a former Bristolian I was interested to read the article “Airport rail link would boost West economy” (Western Daily Press, June 25).  Bristol Airport chief executive Robert Sinclair was quoted as saying: “such a project would not be straightforward”.  I think that is putting it mildly!

Building a railway from sea level at Temple Meads to Bristol Airport, which at 623ft is the second highest civil airport in the UK, would be a huge feat of engineering and enormously expensive.  Barrow Hill and Backwell Hill are formidable natural obstacles to overcome even before reaching the Lulsgate massif itself.

It is worth remembering that Brunel chose to avoid this barrier of hills when building the Bristol to Exeter railway.  If today’s railway engineers and administrators find reopening  the Portishead to Bristol railway for passenger trains a difficult and lengthy process, building a rail link up to Bristol Airport would, I suspect, be quite beyond them.

Now that the South Bristol Link Road meets the A38 it might be wise to put aside ambitious schemes for a Temple Meads/Airport rail link.  Travellers heading for the Airport are just as well served by hopping off their train and jumping on a coach.
  

This view from Winters Lane, which runs alongside the western end of Bristol Airport's runway, illustrates how high up the Airport actually is.  One can see Clevedon, the Severn Estuary and the Welsh Hills beyond.

Eddie Bone, director of the Campaign for an English Parliament, says Theresa May is not doing enough to support England.

In an interview with the Daily Express Eddie Bone, of the Campaign for an English Parliament, complains about the disproportionate funding Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland receive through the Barnett Formula, at England’s expense.  He goes on to raise the issue of the extra £1billiion Theresa May has promised for Northern Ireland in order to garner the support of the DUP for her minority government.

Here is a link to the interview with Mr Bone.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/823826/theresa-may-dup-snp-united-kingdom-eddie-bone-campaign-for-english-parliament

While I sympathize with Eddie Bone’s concern over another £1billion being sent to Northern Ireland, it seems a price worth paying if it helps smooth the way for Brexit.  The UK’s membership of the EU is a far greater threat to the existence of England than even the Anglophobic British political establishment.

The Battle of Sedgemoor near Westonzoyland in Somerset. The last battle fought on English soil.

Today is the anniversary of The Battle of Sedgemoor which took place in 1685 near Westonzoyland in Somerset, it was also the last major battle to be fought on English soil.

R. Ernest Dupuy and Trevor N. Dupuy in The Collins Encyclopedia of Military History, (BCA,1993) write succinctly of the Battle:

"Monmouth's Rebellion.  The Duke of Monmouth, leading a Protestant revolt as pretender to the English throne, landed in Dorsetshire with 82 men.  After recruiting considerable local support, he led a desperate attack against a Royal army commanded by Louis Duras, Earl of Faversham at Sedgemoor (July 6), was repulsed and the rebellion crushed.  Monmouth was captured and beheaded."

The memorial to those who died and suffered during and after the Battle of Sedgemoor.  It stands to the north west of the village of Westonzoyland in Somerset.

The inscription on the memorial plaque reads:

TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF ALL THOSE WHO DOING THE RIGHT AS THEY GAVE IT FELL IN THE BATTLE OF SEDGEMOOR 6TH  JULY 1685 AND LIE BURIED IN THIS FIELD OR WHO FOR THEIR SHARE IN THE FIGHT SUFFERED DEATH PUNISHMENT OR TRANSPORTATION.  PRO PATRIA.

A rhine crosses the battlefield at Sedgemoor. Such obstacles thwarted Monmouth's surprise night attack on the King's forces.

My visit to the battlefield memorial took place on July 5 – a very warm day.  I left the car in the shade of the hedge opposite the village hall in Cheer Lane, just off Monmouth Road.  Returning to Monmouth Road and turning right brings you to Bussex Farm and an information board giving details of the Rebellion and Battle.  Turning west and walking between the rhines along Bussex Drove the going was firm due to the recent dry weather.  Taking the first track to the right leads to the memorial enclosure and more information boards. There you will find a convenient bench on which to rest and view the battlefield, the Quantocks to the west and the Poldens to the north.  The tower of St. Mary’s Church in Westonzoyland was visible, through the treetops, to the south east. 

The memorial is surrounded by four unusual toadstool-like stone monuments with weather-worn inscriptions commemorating battles from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as well as the First and Second World Wars. 

I enjoyed a very peaceful walk to and from the memorial and came across only three people during that time: one young woman walking her dog; a cyclist traversing a field; and a lone car driver who drove carefully along the track to the memorial, something I would not attempt if the ground was wet – for obvious reasons.

St. Mary’s Church in Westonzoyland has an excellent visitor centre with exhibits and information on the Battle of Sedgemoor and the Monmouth Rebellion.  Here is a link:

http://www.zoylandheritage.co.uk/index.htm

St Mary's Church in the village of Westonzoyland.  500 rebels were captured and held inside after the battle.

Canada Day and a visit to Wolford Chapel in Devonshire, final resting place of John Graves Simcoe the first Lieutenant Governer of Upper Canada.

Today is Canada Day and the 150th anniversary of the enactment of the British North America Act which united three colonies into a single country called Canada.  Yesterday I thought it appropriate to cross the county border into Devonshire and visit Wolford Chapel near Honiton, it being the family chapel and final resting place of John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada.   

A drive down the A30 took me to Honiton where the signs point you to Dunkeswell in the beautiful Blackdown Hills.  Wolford Chapel is only 3.7 miles from the A30, but the entrance to the narrow tree-lined track leading to the Chapel is in a wooded and shady dip in the road – it is easily missed.  You have gone too far if you reach Dunkeswell!

Wolford Chapel, near Honiton, in Devonshire.

The Chapel, being a memorial to Simcoe, was gifted to the people of the Canadian Province of Ontario by Sir Geoffrey Harmsworth in 1966, hence the Canadian flag flying in the depths of the Blackdowns. 

The plaque beside Wolford Chapel noting the gift to the people of Ontario.

A plaque inside the Chapel states: “Lieut.General John Graves Simcoe 1752-1806.  Born in Cotterstock, Northamptonshire, Simcoe entered the army in 1770, and during the American Revolution commanded the 1st American Regiment (Queens Rangers).  In 1791 he was appointed the first Lieutenant-Governor of the newly-formed Province of Upper Canada.  During his energetic administration, he improved communications, encouraged immigration and founded York (Toronto).  In 1796 he returned to Wolford, purchased in 1784, and during 1797 was Governor and Military Commander in British-occupied St. Domingo (Haiti).  He commanded the Western Military District, 1801-1806, when England was threatened with French invasion.  Appointed Commander-in-Chief of India in 1806, Simcoe died before taking up that post, and with his wife is buried in this chapel.”

Inside Wolford Chapel the Simcoe family chapel and final resting place of John Graves Simcoe.

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography describes Simcoe as: “. . . an inspiring soldier and brilliant tactician, an affable and loyal comrade, and a lifelong student of history and writer of verse, but he was too great a projector, and his ambition outran the uncertain health that plagued him from early manhood.  He was buried on the 4 November 1806 in the chapel at Wolford Lodge.”*

A Canadian view of Simcoe’s life and career can be found here:

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-graves-simcoe/

*J. A. Houlding, ‘Simcoe, John Graves (1752–1806)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/25554, accessed 30 June 2017]