Just a random thought no. 19.

Well, the Diamond Jubilee celebrations are behind us. HM must have been reminded of her Coronation by the deluge that engulfed many of us, particularly on the Sunday. I'm glad we in Westbury Road did not try to organise a street party, but equally glad to have gone to the one in Wadhurst Road, where I used to live, where a good time was had in the rain! Monday saw me in London, at the Jubilee Concert and the picnic in Buckingham Palace gardens, where I was fortunate enough to see, and photograph, the Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie . The Concert was enjoyable, even if over-long and consisting too much of music not to my taste. Some of the projections onto the facade of Buckingham Palace were stunning , as also some of the lighting effects . The rest of the week saw much rain, and frustration for me as I tried with our consultant, Stephen Williams, to canvass support for the Community Consultation: llnk at . We admitted defeat on two evenings, but had a reasonable trawl on Saturday morning. It remains to be seen whether the responses and conclusions drawn therefrom bear fruit...

Just a random thought no.18

A lot has happened since "Just a random thought no.17", such as Christmas, Epiphany, Lent and Easter. I had an unfortunate rear-end accident on the last Friday (27th) in January, and as a result, have not worked since. It has to be said that I have lost the wish to drive as a consequence of the collision. I have filled my time in busying myself in the affairs of the Neighbourhood Forum, of which I am now Chairman, Deer's Leap Wood, where I have spent many hours taking photographs of the dredging of the pond, before, during and after, and I have, with the assistance of Martin Graham of uturn, initiated a Street Association for Westbury Road. I held the initial meeting in my house, attended a garden party over the road last Saturday, and a business meeting upcoming this coming Sunday, at a third address in the street. Over 10% of households have so far been represented, and I hope that from the acorn will grow a mighty oak. The spur for me was acting as verger for a funeral, and discovering that the deceased not only lived on the street, but only two doors away, and I had not knowingly clapped eyes on her, still less spoken to her, in the six years I have been here. We do so often close and lock our doors at night and turn on the telly or whatever, and retreat into our shell. Street associations aim to reverse the trend, and to offer mutual support for elderly, disabled and infirm neighbours, not to mention a baby-sitting service and the like for parents, among social and housekeeping activities. I have spent a recent afternoon learning how to set up a website, and that has resulted in my creating one for the Street Association. Whether that will lead anywhere, in the sense of making money for myself by making sites for others, remains to be seen. Oh, and by the way, I have been on Facebook for some time, as most of you will know, but I am now to be found on Twitter, (against which I held out for a long time, as I did not see the point of it), @KenBladon1957.