Witches
Chat (4th March 2004)
England’s Chief witch Cerridwen Connelly is the spokesperson
for the people who live in the villages around Romsey and want mobile
phone masts erected.
Max Jones Reports
Many people in Lockerley, East and West Dean, East and West Tytherley,
Mottisfont and Dunbridge want mobile phone masts in their villages
because mobile phones do not work there, and they feel left behind
the times in these days of constant communication. Unfortunately,
O2 and T Mobile have not shown a great deal of interest in installing
a mast, although it looks as though Orange may be a bit keener on
the idea. Perhaps they can move their incredibly unpopular mast
from Byron Avenue in Winchester and put it somewhere where people
actually want one!
In her role as England’s Chief witch Cerridwen went and blessed
the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. She has also been down to remove
the evil ‘Pompey curse’ from the Friend’s Provident
St Mary’s Stadium. Surprisingly, Cerridwen’s chief ally
in her fight for the mast is the local vicar, Reverend Ditkin.
The Reverend would like Orange to put a phone mast on top of the
church spire. This is the highest point in the area. As well as
being good for phone reception this site would bring in some much
needed revenue for the church.
“This vicar is very keen on the campaign. I think part of the
reason is that he has two teenage daughters who want to be able
to text and speak to their mates like everyone else!” said
Cerridwen.
Local MP Sandra Gidley thinks that the safety issue is an important
aspect of having mobile phone reception. “Single women who
break down in the area could be in danger if they are not able to
contact anyone,” said Sandra.
However, she tempered this by saying that the community are divided
on the question as lots of people do not want a mast. This, says
Sandra, is because they like the fact that people sometimes cannot
get in touch with them when they are at home, so they are not ‘tied
to the mobile.’
Cerridwen does not agree with this. “ I do not know a single
local person who does not want the mast,” she says.
To test this theory out, I went down to the local shop, Lockerley
Stores. Eve Wooton, from the shop, said “I would say that at
least 75-80% of people who I have spoken to want a mast put up.
The only people who do not seem to are those who would not use mobile
phones anyway.”
“I broke down once and it took the RAC man hours to find me,
and in was stuck out in the middle of nowhere. I have had friends
try to find me, and been unable to. Local businesses must lose a
fortune from people not being able to find them.” said Cerridwen.
This is one of her main points. It is not just villagers who want
to be able to use phones. It is people who need to find them who
may have to phone them. I can empathise with this. On my way over
to Lockerley I got a bit lost. Thinking I would be late, I pulled
into a safe spot, got out my phone and tried to phone Cerridwen,
but to no avail. The feeling of frustration and helplessness I had
was quite ridiculous. It just goes to show how reliant we have become
on mobiles in this day and age, and it seems terribly old fashioned
when we cannot use them. This is what the people of Lockerley are
saying. Just because their community leaders are a vicar and a witch,
it doesn’t mean they should have to live in the Dark Ages!
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Toilet Death (3rd March
2004)
A local man was found dead in some public toilets in Winchester
on Friday afternoon (27/2/04). Max Jones reports.
The corpse was found in the toilets on The Broadway, next to the
Abbey Gardens, at around 4pm. The find was reported by a member
of the public.
The man was in his late twenties, and it is thought the death was
drug related. Police are not treating the death as suspicious. The
post mortem will be done by a normal pathologist.
There was another tragic death at the weekend, in Curdridge, near
Fareham. Paramedics were called to a house at around 6am Sunday
morning, where they found a 17 year old who had stopped breathing.
The death is being treated as suspicious, although it could be attributed
to a drugs overdose. Four people have been taken into custody after
the death. Three men, one aged 20 and two 19 year olds, as well
as a 17 year old girl, all local, are being questioned by police.
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Serco Sackings (3rd March 2004)
The firm responsible for Winchester’s parks and gardens claim
that ‘contractual cutbacks’ have forced them to lay off
four workers – cuts that city bosses insist they know nothing
about.
Daniel Sanderson reports.
Serco has held the £500,000 contract for landscaping around
the city since 1995. The firm laid off workers in a letter, explaining
that £130,000 council cutbacks from April 1st meant they could
not afford to keep them on.
But when the Mid Hampshire Observer challenged Winchester City Council
to explain why, with council tax set to go up by six per cent, the
funding has been cut – they said they knew nothing about it.
A spokesman for the city council said: “Minor technical changes
have been made to the contract but we are not actually paying Serco
any less from the beginning of April.”
Bridget Leyden, 23, of Chesil St, was one of the four to lose her
job. She has warned that Winchester’s parks would suffer following
the decision. “The busiest season is from the beginning of
March; when grass cutting starts and has to be cut regularly over
the summer months,” she said.
Miss Leyden had been looking after pensioners’ gardens in the
Winchester area for two and a half months, after being taken on
in December. “The timing of this decision surprises me,”
she said, “because to get rid of staff when they will be at
their busiest doesn’t make any sense. I was under the impression
that they were taking more people on as it was getting busier.”
Miss Leyden was told she would receive two weeks severance pay in
a redundancy letter dated Monday Feb 19th. The letter read:
It is with regret I write to confirm that due to a reduction in
the contracted sum of £130,000 from April 1 2004 I must declare
your position redundant with immediate effect.
Your position was contracted on the existing and increased value
of the contracted sum from January 1st 2004 therefore the council’s
decision not to pay the revised sum has caused the department to
lose money. In the circumstances I have no alternative but to release
you.
Liam O’Connell, who heads Serco’s landscaping department,
said: “I can confirm there have been cutbacks, but that is
all I am prepared to say, you will have to take it up with the council.”
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Barton Think (3rd March
2004)
Battle has been joined at Barton Farm, just outside Winchester.
Local campaigners have been against the plans to build 2000 homes
at the site for years now.
Plans have been put in by Cala Homes to make the houses. If the
plans are accepted then that would pave the way to bulldoze 300
acres of green land. This would be called a greenfield site. The
government and local councils claim that they always try to make
large new developments on ‘brownfield sites.’ This is
land that has been previously used for industrial purposes, so it
is not as bad as ruining delightful countryside.
Plans for the site include a new primary school, a doctors surgery,
shops and a playing field. Fairly predictably, local residents are
up in arms about the plans. They are planning a huge campaign, and
want to raise a fund of £50,000 to fight the good fight. To
this end they are sending out 20,000 postcards to make people aware
of what is happening.
Of the 2000 new houses, 700 are to be earmarked as ‘affordable.’
This would meet the city councils quota for social housing in new
developments. There is the rub. Winchester is becoming increasingly
over priced for anyone who does not earn zillions of pounds working
in the city. There is also a big problem with the homeless, with
hundreds of people living in hostels. A new development would sort
them out.
Gavin Blackman, head of the Save Barton Farm Group, does not agree.
“The idea that it will meet local housing needs is nonsense.
It will meet some, but mostly it will just suck in people from London
and the suburbs looking for somewhere with good commuter access
the capital.”
At the moment Barton Farm is earmarked as a ‘reserve development
site’ only to be used should the need arise. This was identified
as such by the district council under government directives.
The city has 16 weeks to decide the outline application. After this
the chances are it will go to a public enquiry.
Local MP Mark Oaten does not approve of the plans. “ At the
last election I promised that I would oppose any development at
Barton Farm. I remain so and I will do what I can to prevent it.”
Prospective Tory MP George Hollingbury is also against the plans.
He said “Iike the vast majority of people in Winchester I oppose
these plans, which will ruin the character of this historic city
and put its infrastructure under intolerable pressure.”
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King
Arthur MP (10th March 2004)
A leading environmentalist has announced he will stand as an independent
MP for Winchester in the next general election.
Self-styled druid king, Arthur Pendragon, 49, launched his election
campaign from Trinity Hall in Upper Brook Street on Friday night.
The centre will host an open clinic for constituents to voice their
concerns once a month until the general election is announced.
Mr Pendragon said: “The idea of holding these meetings is to
find out what the people of Winchester want.”
He built up a cult following as leader of the protest against Bar
End’s controversial park and ride car park, which opened in
January.
At one stage, thirty protestors were camping on the green-field
site in a nine-month campaign against the development.
He says that Winchester needs an MP that is not restricted by a
party line: “I am not dictated to by a party. I will listen
to the concerns of the people and represent those key issues in
Parliament.
“There has always been a connection between Arthur and the
round table and I want to bring it into the twenty-first century.
He attacked the decision by tourist chiefs in December to remove
King Alfred as the city’s official logo.
“Winchester is steeped in history,” he said. “I think
it was a mistake to get rid of King Alfred and adopt the ‘Every
Inch’ logo. Now they can put up with a new king.”
Mr Pendragon will have to stump up a £500 deposit to run,
which is refundable only if he secures five per cent of the vote.
He has run in the last two general elections in Aldershot, where
he was brought up, and did not finish last on either occasion.
Dan Sanderson
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Clubbed To Death (10th
March 2004)
Proposals to build a new nightclub in Winchester were overwhelmingly
thrown out by planning bosses at a council meeting last week.
They rejected plans to redevelop the old post sorting office in
Middle Brook Street and turn it into a 1,500 capacity ‘superclub’
by 13-0. Leading campaigner Dr Chong-Yee Khoo, who spoke at the
meeting on behalf of the Preserve Winchester Group said: "I
applaud the committee’s decision. Wintonians have clearly shown
their objection to this scheme and the local council have listened
to the real needs of this historic city and its people."
Protesters said that almost 1,000 residents living nearby would
be subjected to late-night noise, violence and other anti-social
behaviour. They were concerned that the club, which would include
three bars, was to be open until four am at weekends.
Businessman Harvey Simmons, 43, director of Karma ltd, is angry
at the decision and has vowed to fight on. He said: "Winchester
has lost out on the opportunity of finally putting itself on the
map. I have backers that could have brought big acts to the city.
We will definitely be appealing."
Mr Simmons said the £2m development was going to be multi
purpose venue used as an under-18s centre on Sunday evenings. He
claimed that tight security measures including an identity tagging
system would prevent anti-social behaviour.
It is the second time an application has been rejected. A report
by city officers recommended against the proposals after the first
application in June 2003.
"People see the development as an extension of the drinking-culture
that exists in Winchester, but I am providing an alternative."
Nigel Robinson, in his 30s, of Middle Brook St, said: "Mr Simmons
has not taken local residents’ concerns into account. He has
made legal threats and refuses to speak with us. We are firmly against
a super-club in the heart of our beautiful city."
Councillor Ian Tait, the only member to abstain from voting has
criticised the entire application process. He said: "I think
the council has handled it very badly. I feel uncomfortable that
we were not involved at an early enough stage. Although I am not
behind the plans it would not be fair to say that everyone was against
the nightclub."
A spokesperson for the council said that if Mr Simmon’s appeals,
it could be 2005 before the outcome of a full public enquiry is
heard.
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Kidnapped (10th March
2004)
A young man was dumped just outside Andover after a horrific attack
last Sunday night.
Max Jones Reports
The 17 year old had been drinking in the Moloko Vodka Bar in Winchester.
He had left with two females, thought to be members of the army
from the Worthy Down barracks, near the city. They dropped him off
from their taxi outside the Jolly Farmer pub, which is situated
on the Andover Road, on the outskirts of Winchester.
Following the departure of the females, he got involved in an altercation
with three men. Punches were thrown, by both sides, and the 17 year
old was knocked unconscious. When he came to, a few minutes later,
he discovered, to his horror, that he was in the boot of a car.
He started kicking and screaming, prompting the kidnappers to stop
and open the boot. They proceeded to assault him again, before leaving
him, badly beaten, by the side of the road, near the Bullington
Cross pub.
He knocked on the pub door at between 1.15 and 1.30am. The publicans
then called the police. He was described as ‘being in quite
a state’ by a member of the pub staff.
One of the attackers is described as being white, in his early twenties,
and around 6ft 2ins tall. He has short hair flipping up at the front,
a bar through his right eyebrow, two hooped earrings in his left
ear, and wearing a white hooded top and jeans. The second man is
described as white, mid twenties, 5ft 10ins, of stocky build, and
with brown spiked up hair. He had long sideburns and a black top.
There is no description of the third man. The car is thought to
be a white two-door Clio.
If there are any witnesses to the attack, or if anyone recognises
the description of the three men, they are asked to call Winchester
CID on 0845 0454545, or the anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800
555 111.
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Got a match? (17th March
2004)
Four young lads in Romsey are suffering from a rare disorder called
XLP. Without a bone marrow transplant, the disease is terminal.
Brothers Josh, (12), Nathan (10) Daniel (8), and Luke (4) are the
sons of David and Allison Hartley. The couple have recently made
public pleas for bone marrow donors to help their sons. The response
has been amazing.
The family has been working with the Anthony Nolan Trust, who are
a charity that deals with people who need bone marrow transplants.
So far the trust has received virtually 9000 calls offering help.
They still need more. Their bone marrow is so specific that a worldwide
search amongst nine million potential donors has proved unsuccessful
for three of the boys. Unusually, Allison has been found to be a
potential donor for Joshua. However, this is reliant upon her having
antibodies for a virus from which Josh suffers.
The brothers are currently having treatment at Southampton General
Hospital to boost their immune systems. This is so they are ready
for when the donors are found.
There are two methods of donating bone marrow. The traditional way
involves a two day stay in hospital, and the bone marrow is simply
extracted from the pelvic bones. The other method is a five day
course, and the marrow is taken from the blood cells.
Each session lasts a few hours. Anyone aged between 18 and 40, and
weighing more than eight stone can donate. However, all the charity
are asking people to do at the moment is go on their register. This
means that if someone needs a bone marrow donation they can be matched
up with someone at the Anthony Nolan Trust. To go on the register
all you have to do is give a small sample of blood.
The charity has no government funding, and each donation works out
as costing £70. So, if anyone does not fulfil the criteria
for donating, but they still want to do something to help the Hartleys,
they can phone the hotline and donate some money.
To put things in perspective, the charity needs to raise £13
million a year to continue their work. Since 1974 the trust has
enabled more than 3,700 patients to receive life saving bone marrow
transplants. This year an average of six patients a week are given
the chance of life thanks to them.
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Disney Rascal (17th March
2004)
It’s all smiles for Hannah Richbell (18) from Peter Symonds,
who has recently gained herself a work placement at Disneyland in
Paris for the summer.
Hannah, from Winchester, is currently studying French at A level
alongside English and Philosophy.
“I was the youngest person at the interview process in London,”
she says. “Most of the other applicants were at university
or had just graduated. It was quite a daunting experience but as
I want to carry on with languages at university I thought it would
be a really good way to improve my skills. I am over the moon that
I have got through the interview and I am really looking forward
to the whole experience.”
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Work changes hands (17th
March 2004)
12 years ago, Winchester artist, Trevor Percy-Lancaster lost his
life to a grizzly bear whilst holidaying in Canada. His fianceé
has recently lost her battle with his son over the ownership of
some of his works.
Daniel Sanderson reports.
Basingstoke County Court heard that Cherry Reksten, 56, had deliberately
concealed the whereabouts of 182 pictures by Mr Percy-Lancaster.
Judge Iain Hughes QC ordered Miss Reksten to hand over almost the
entire collection, estimated to be worth more than £50,000,
to the artist’s son, James Percy Lancaster. In addition, she
was told to pay £3,145 in damages and £5,000 costs.
Mr Percy-Lancaster senior, a talented artist of Milland Road, Highcliffe,
was mauled while on a trekking holiday with Miss Reksten, deep in
the woodland of Alberta, Canada. He was attacked when distracting
the 22-stone grizzly, after it pulled his fianceé down from
a tree she had climbed to escape. He died at the scene, with head
and leg injuries and severe bite marks on his body. He was only
46.
Miss Reksten, an alternative therapist and now living in Cornwall,
spent almost a month in hospital following the attack, where she
received treatment for head injuries and depression.
James Percy-Lancaster, 26, now living in Hertfordshire, brought
the action against Miss Reksten when she tried to sell some of the
paintings through Winchester-based art gallery Bell Fine Art in
December 2002.
The claimant, with his mother Marilyn and family friend, Sue Oldfield
brought out an injunction following the discovery, to prevent any
further paintings being sold.
The judge ruled that Miss Reksten was entitled to 14 of the pictures,
which accounted for birthday and Christmas presents acumulated during
her five-year relationship with Mr Percy-Lancaster.
Miss Reksten insisted that the paintings were gifts from Mr Percy-Lancaster,
intended as payment for trips to Nepal, France and Canada that she
had funded.
The judge said: “I am conscious that the terms of part of this
judgement will be painful for Miss Reksten and I regret that. Miss
Reksten is not a wicked woman.”
Miss Reksten, who was not present at the hearing, decided not to
keep any of the pictures after consulting with her counsel, Michael
Templeman, over the telephone. The value of these will be offset
against the costs that she has incurred.
A close friend of Miss Reksten said: “The judgement has not
taken into consideration the distress that she has suffered. After
everything she has been through this is the last thing she needs.”
Following the hearing, Mr Percy-Lancaster commented: “I am
pleased to have been heard finally and to get the paintings in my
possession; to take on my father’s legacy and restore his reputation
as an artist.”
He added: “I was not happy that I have waited 11 years only
for my estate to be divided up at the last hour by the judge. Miss
Reksten had absolutely no legal standing to my father’s estate.”
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Crackdown (24th March
2004)
Police in Winchester did not mind people having ‘the craic’
on St Patrick’s Night. However, anyone having any of the other
sort of crack would have been in trouble.
Eighteen officers and two specially trained dogs were out on patrol
last Wednesday evening, looking for pub-goers in possession of illegal
drugs.
The dogs indicated the presence of illegal drugs on four occasions
throughout the evening. A small quantity of herbal cannabis was
found on one man, who had his details taken but was not arrested.
The dogs used are so-called ‘passive dogs.’ This means
that they sit down next to the alleged drug carrier, rather than
yelping and going mad.
The initiative, named Operation Leveridge, was prompted by two high
profile overdoses in the city last year.
The sniffer dogs are set to be a regular feature in the city. On
Wednesday evening they were targeting two areas. One team covered
Jewry Street and the High Street, while the other looked at The
Broadway and The Square.
A police spokesperson said that any extra costs incurred by the
operation would be offset by money saved by ‘not having to
investigate a fatal overdose or a GBH caused by drugs’. My
experience of herbal cannabis users puts them very low down the
list of potential grievous bodily harmers, but we shall see!
Dogs are already employed regularly by police forces in Basingstoke,
Gosport and Portsmouth.
A spokesman said: “The use of illegal drugs is associated with
licensed premises, and both drink and drugs contribute to public
order problems in Winchester.” The city apparently has the
highest number of public order offences in the Central Hampshire
division. You have been warned!
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The damage done (24th
March 2004)
John O Sullivan is no stranger to the world of drugs. Throughout
his teens and his twenties he was addicted to heroin, the best part
of 14 years.
However John has been clean for just over a year now, and is very
happy about that fact. “ I did it the hard way,” says
John. “I literally decided one morning that enough was enough,
went through cold turkey, and here I am today. I know I’ve
beaten it now as I am starting to regret all the money I have spent
on heroin over the years. When I was on the stuff I thought people
who spent money on other things were the mad ones!”
John estimates that over the years he spent around £150,00
on his habit. “My average would be two bags of heroin a day,”
he says. The bags generally costs £15 each. A gram of heroin
is about £80 says John. “The price of heroin can fluctuate
a lot,” he said. “ I ended up hating myself because I
would be so nice to the dealers to get myself a good deal when really
I hated them and they hated me.”
Unlike many addicts, John does not blame his addiction on an unhappy
childhood or anything like that. “A lot of people I know in
the drugs scene come from broken homes and all the rest of it. I
don’t, I had a lovely childhood in Somerset and got on really
well with my parents. having said that, we did fall out a bit when
I stole their car and sold it to buy drugs!”
No, John puts the blame for his addiction on the fact that he just
loved being hammered on heroin. He says that it is the nicest, most
relaxed feeling he has ever had. “Everyone knows what heroin
does to you,” he says. “I saw Zammo in Grange Hill, Johnny
Rotten dying and all the rest of it, but I still wanted to try heroin.
Once I had I did not care that I was throwing my life away, I just
wanted to feel that way all the time.”
John managed to avoid getting the same way on crack, which he tried
a couple of times. A lot of his cronies used to take crack all day
and then heroin to ease the come down they would experience. Crack
is a more aggressive drug that heroin, and also far more expensive.
John says that a lot of the violence in the drug world is due to
crack, whereas heroin makes people more placid. “ I used to
shoplift, perhaps burgle a house, and steal cars,” said John.
“However, crack addicts are so desperate that they mug people
and beat people up. The drug also makes them stronger and more aggressive.”
I think I am with the great Dennis Leary on this one. Why do a drug
that is named after part of your own anatomy!
So, John is working now, and off the drugs. I noticed that he chain
smoked Embassy Number 1 cigarettes throughout the interview. He
says that coming off heroin was comparatively easy compared to trying
to give up cigarettes, so he has decided to allow himself that one
vice. He has given up drinking as well. He says this is because
if he got drunk then he would ‘go on a quest for oblivion’
and may well end up seeking out some drugs again.
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Moon Walk (24th March
2004)
Chris Moon a former soldier from Hampshire who lost his right arm
and leg clearing land mines for the United Nations will try to walk
the length of Britain in 25 days.
Chris (41) from Basingstoke, will walk 1,284 miles – the equivalent
of two marathons a day, from Land’s End to John O’Groats
to raise £1m for charity.
He was injured in a horrific accident clearing landmines in Mozambique
in 1995. Within 12 months of leaving hospital he ran the London
Marathon. Since the accident he has also taken part in the 250km
Great Sahara Run and has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro
“I am sure there are lots of people who think that I cannot
do this, but what is important is that I believe I can,” he
said. “It is important to challenge the concept of limitation.”
The former army captain has been planning the gruelling challenge
for five years to raise money for Leonard Cheshire, the charity
that helps disabled people achieve their goals.
He will be supported by a small team from the RAF on the route through
Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester and York, including a 300-mile
detour to go through London.
“I thought it was important to go through London,” he
said. “I want to walk through the city along the bank of the
Thames.”
Mr Moon, who was awarded an MBE in 1996 for his work clearing mines
with the HALO Trust, says every detail has been meticulously planned:
“Even if it starts to rain the artificial leg will start to
slip off so we will have to get waterproofs on very quickly.”
He added: “I am hoping to get four or five hours of sleep a
night, but if I don’t sleep, I just keep on walking.”
Mr Moon says he will not have time to stop and eat, so he has been
stockpiling calories to put on weight before the walk starts on
June 5. He appealed to well wishers to get sponsored and walk sections
of the course with him. “For me this walk is a huge challenge
but Leonard Cheshire are worth putting one foot in front of the
other for.”
To sponsor Chris Moon’s walk call 08444 41 11 11 or log on
to www.onewalk.org.uk
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Pint of Best (31st March
2004)
A Winchester landlord has scooped best newcomer at the pub industry’s
version of the Oscars in London. Dan Sanderson Reports.
Martin Meijer, 31, who runs The Forester in North Walls, won the
prize at the Publican Awards after the pub underwent a £120,000
transformation 12 months ago.
Around 2,000 people turned out for the event at the Grosvenor House
Hotel to see comedian Lenny Henry present Mr Meijer with the award.
He said it showed the judges had recognised his hard work to change
the pub’s image and atmosphere.
“I feel it is a big slap on the back from my peers in the industry,”
he said. “It is recognition of our effort and the impact that
I have made here. It is great, but it is just the start. There is
a lot more to do.”
The project represents a gamble for the former interior designer,
who has personally invested £45,000 with the rest coming from
three friends and the Green King Brewery.
Mr Meijer revealed that turnover has quadrupled since he took over
in February 2003. He hopes the award will tempt revellers away from
the traditional city centre haunts to try something different. “The
last year has been a huge challenge emotionally, financially and
professionally, but it has certainly paid off. We have created a
relaxed continental style atmosphere that appeals to a wide range
of people.”
Mr Meijer, who designed Bejing’s first Irish theme pub in 1997,
will discover in April whether magistrates have granted The Forester
a license to open later on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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Drinking Up (31st March
2004)
It looks as if the need to frantically down eight pints of Stella
and three Aftershocks at 11pm could finally be over. Hoorah! Max
Jones reports.
Instead we are to be allowed to frantically down eight pints of
Stella and three Aftershocks all night if we so desire. This is
because legislation to allow 24 hour drinking is to be introduced
in the next Queen’s speech. At last years election, ‘groovy’
Blair tried to woo young voters by sending them text messages talking
about how they would introduce 24 hour boozing. Gets my vote!
The current licensing laws were only put in place in world war one
to discourage munitions workers from making bombs after only an
hour’s sleep. Despite the best efforts of the powers that be,
there are not really enough of us working in bomb factories today
to justify this law. The idea is that if we could drink all night
then pubs would not all disgorge at the same time, leading to millions
of drunk people all converging on the same clubs, taxi ranks and
kebab shops at 11.30. One only has to walk past the Winchester Kebab
House at chucking out time to see how many punch-ups there are.
Walking up the hill to the station the other Friday night I had
a grandstand view of some poor unfortunate being pummelled into
oblivion. He looked as if he was thoroughly regretting squaring
up to the large crew-cutted fellow who was administering the beating.
The rule of thumb in Winchester seems to be that ‘squaddies’
and ‘townies’ fight one another, and are fairly evenly
matched. The only time the two seem to join forces is if there are
students on the horizon!
So, hopefully 24 hour drinking would mean that people leave the
pubs in a staggered (staggering? - ed) fashion, so do not converge
on the same places at the same time. It would also mean that we
could relax with our drinking a bit more, sit down and chat over
a few pints until the wee small hours. At the moment if you have
the gall to want to stay out after 11 or so then you generally have
to go to some noisy, over-policed hell hole, and pay through the
nose for the privilege. The Railway is the only down home, friendly
boozer in Winchester where you can get a drink after 11 these days,
and that is only open until midnight. So, if you venture into the
clubs and McPubs, your hangover the next day is exacerbated by the
fact that you have paid tens of pounds to some corporate entity,
and not even enjoyed the night.
Visitors to this country from foreign climes would also be keener
on some more relaxed licensing laws. People who come from countries
where one does not even leave the house before 4am always seem shocked
when that bell rings at 11. The other thing that seems to enrage
people not used to the social mores of our great country is when
mein host sells you some pints and perhaps a whiskey at 11, but
then is running round grabbing it off you three minutes later.
So, all in all 24 hour drinking gets the thumbs up from me! Meet
you down The Railway 4am Sunday.
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Head Turner (31st
March 2004)
Keith Davies and Karen Woods are trying to expand their falconry
centre in Landford. Max Jones Reports.
They want to make another couple of aviaries on the land they themselves
own. There is one aviary there already, and the other two will be
in the same style. The existing one would be the closest to the
road in the proposed plans. At the moment it is barely visible as
it is made of wood, and is in woods! The other two would be even
less visible. Still, over 20 people complained when the planning
applications were sent to Salisbury District Council. I met Keith,
and he said “I put my hands up to the fact that perhaps we
did not communicate enough with our neighbours when we first put
the application in. I just want somewhere to keep my birds.”
Local people seem to think that the expansion could lead to the
site being a big tourist centre. Nothing could be farther form the
truth. Keith wants to make part of the area into a sanctuary for
birds of prey. he would take in injured owls, buzzards and the rest
and care for them. By law you are not allowed to show injured birds
to the public. “We would be doing it purely for the sense of
satisfaction it would give us,” said Keith. Keith and Karen
rescued an injured Little Owl recently after it was found bruised
and battered in a farmers field. They nurtured and nursed it back
to health, but having as little contact with it as possible, so
it would not be used to humans. “We got it back to fighting
form, then the last thing it did before it flew off was bite me,”
said Keith proudly.
“I guess we can safely say the bird was still wild.”
The spot the couple have is absolutely beautiful, and they seem
determined to keep it that way. Keith takes people out to learn
the art of falconing, but insists that there are never bigger groups
than six. Most days they average around two, so the environmental
and noise impact would seem fairly negligible. Particularly when
you consider the are used to be a scrambling course for a motorbike
club! Keith has cleared the area up, and at the moment has a pile
of forty old tyres to deal with. He called in an archaeologist to
have a look at a mound he found in the middle of his woods. It turned
out it was an ancient burial mound dating back as far as 2000BC!
The motorbike club had been using it as a ramp!
I met some of the birds of prey Keith and Karen keep. My favourite
was Hatchet, a young European Eagle Owl that had been rescued from
a box! Now he is in an adequate cage and being exercised regularly.
There are also three Harris Hawks, the most intelligent bird of
prey, ‘easily as intelligent as a dog’ according to Keith,
and two American Red Buzzards. One of the reasons Keith would like
to expand is so he can start breeding birds. By the way one of these
Buzzards was trying to get at the other, permission could not be
granted too quickly.
Keith is more than amenable to answering any questions his neighbours
may have. One complaint said that his birds, when exercising, would
eat local songbirds. The only bird of prey in this country that
eats songbirds is the Sparrowhawk. Keith explained that he does
not keep Sparrowhawks, but there are two living wild on his land,
so he cannot really tell them what to do!
Anyone who would like to try a days falconing, in beautiful woods,
with a pub lunch, can get in touch with Keith and Karen on forestfalconry.com
or phone them on 01794 884710. The days cost £47 for a half
day or £90 for a day. This includes lunch.
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