Had to be the Eric Bogle song for today’s title. Have just left the Gallipoli Peninsula to end a moving day. Having seen the terrain what a bloody stupid idea Churchill had to attack the Dardenelles. Stood at a few cemeteries today and you realise what a waste of lives the whole campaign a 100 years ago was. Blair and now possibly Cameron fail to learn the lessons of history. You do appreciate the bravery of the men on both sides of this campaign. I think one of our worst defeats in modern times that is if anyone ever wins.

One cemetery was particularly beautiful right by the Beach. From there you looked out to sea with the daunting cliffs behind. If you don’t know the song try and find it on the net it is a moving song.

Troy tomorrow so reading some of the Illiad tonight to get the atmosphere!

History oozing everywhere here. East meets West etc. Really enjoyed the Suleiman Mosque this morning and the view over the Golden Horn. Afternoon boat trip on the Bosphorous which was great; enjoyed looking at two continents from the boat. Views were good especially comparing the developments over time. The narrow alleyways full of interesting stalls was fun. Got back to discover the Hatters won to complete a good day!

A short blog from Istanbul! Just arrived had a lovely meal and now collapsing exhausted! Will do an update when I can. Anyone trying to make a booking over the next few days please be patient because I will be in and out of email contact.

Elections here tomorrow so it should be interesting! More tomorrow night!

Today’s title needs no introduction but playing some vinyl this week so pulled out some  old Led Zep!

Been enjoying the fantastic Autumn colours with some wonderful walks and rides. Today being a significant day for me saw us walking over Cleeve Common looking for Ring Ouzels didn’t see any but a great walk!  We enjoyed looking after Scruffy (Edwina’s dog) for 24 hours, good to look after a dog but you do realise what a commitment they are.

Did some tidying up of my Pirate Pete story this week.

Those three words often used and heard on a wide range of occasions!  Of course it became well-known from Huxley’s novel but was used by Shakespeare in the Tempest. The reason why I’m waffling on is we saw a production of Brave New World on Thursday. I did feel underwhelmed by the production wasn’t sure if it was the script or the book itself is now dated. I think I need to read it again-I read it in my teens!

Had a couple of decent rides late in the week with some good climbs.

Hoping to get some good writing sessions in this week. I need to tidy up a couple of stories and sketch out a couple of new ones.

Perhaps should have saved this title for Sunday which will be the 600th anniversary of Agincourt but went to watch the live broadcast from Stratford last night of Henry V. We have now seen the Henry trilogy over the last year and Alex Hassell has played the growing Hal till he eventually becomes the king in all three plays. As the king he portrayed him as a man full of doubt  and was vulnerable taking his men to war very different from the famous Olivier film or even Branagh’s anti-war film. Really enjoyed it and I saw the play in a new light and it is a play I know well. We are off to the Everyman today to see Brave New World.

I went on an enjoyable afternoon walk with Charles Dickens School at Wick Court yesterday. There were very chatty on a whole range of subjects!

I watched the not so mighty Hatters splutter to a home draw on Tuesday night. I hope we find some fluency quickly!

Short blog today! Yesterday we held our “Octoberfest” at Wick Court to launch Brian’s Poetry Book. Our Mike came over to perform alongside Brian and I. We had the Charles Dickens School from Southwark as well  who joined in with distinction with our many other visitors. It was a delightful afternoon and Mike and Brian were superb. The weather also behaved and we were able to be outside.

Sunday finished a busy three days that included seeing old friends. Looking forward to the rest of the week we are going to the theatre as well as watching a live performance at the cinema from Stratford.

A nature blog today! Had a lovely morning doing the monthly bird survey out by the river. Several highlights but I was fortunate to be close to the River as the Bore came up. I heard it roaring first of all and then watched it. I had never seen it from that area before (almost in line with Splatt Bridge) and I had forgotten how magical the Bore is. Saw a good number of birds including my first Stonechats for a while and the Snipe were back in the reed bed.

I did my usual voluntary Bird watching at Wick Court on Tuesday with some delightful children who bubbled with enthusiasm. They were rewarded by good views of the Little Owl, Long Tailed Tits and a Nuthatch. The school saw 26 species altogether.

Finally we had a wonderful Book Club meal last night. The book we are discussing next month is A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush. This gave us plenty of scope for our culinary skills. I think we excelled ourselves last night!

I ended up enjoying my visits to the Cheltenham Literature Festival. I seemed to have picked historical themes and didn’t really see anyone talking about a novel they had written apart from Rachel Billington on a panel talking about Gallipoli. She was alongside two historians and her input was based on her own family experience her grandfather was killed in August 1915, that in turn has been the basis of her novel on the landings. Churchill was not a popular figure for her family! It is a pity that the festival hasn’t had a Story Telling slot for last two years.

I am currently looking at putting together some Christmas Stories for the seasonal period. I am going to do offer both a K.S. 1 and K.S. 2 story for schools. Also doing an adult performance in December.

A busy few days since I last did a blog!

I had a Trustees meeting on Monday where I got myself in a muddle by directing our guest speaker to the wrong venue! I put it down to age! I also got a real soaking on the bike.

A lovely Bird Watch with the children at Wick Court we spotted 25 species altogether plus a couple of surprises a Greenfinch and a Raven. Children asked some great questions and another soaking on the bike!

An enjoyable Story Telling on Thursday doing my story that I am going to self publish for the Farms for City Children Charity. Had a couple of unexpected people in my audience Tessa the Chief Executive of the charity and Tim Brighouse who is one of the educationists I have most admired.

Another update on Sunday!