"Behold the only thing greater than yourself"

OK in "Roots" the baby was raised up under the African night sky and told "Behold the only thing greater than yourself" - but we were in Surrey - so it was the Devils Punchbowl...

On the way home from the hospital my parents brought me here for my first sight of the outside world - I was born 50 years ago today

The view today

Then

and now

The A3 now runs in a tunnel - here they are filling in the old cutting with spoil saved from the tunnel dig

It has only been a few months since the tunnel opened - and here is the main London-Portsmouth Road

Former A3 - Devil's Punchbowl, Hindhead

I went for a bit of a run - it was cold and windy - and the hills were steep - but there were folks to talk with and to share the story of my first visit.  In return I learned about the local history - there is a LOT - this has been a special (and dangerous) place for centuries.

Then it was off to Haslemere...

Wow - its my nursery - SatNav took me this way and I recognised it 46 years later.

Still a nursery school - bet they don't still have a wind up record player (music and movement was fun when it ran slower-and-slower), nor a very strict and severe lady in charge.

...If this is the nursery then "Glovers" must be opposite - I don't remember the shop being like this but it is here my mother used to buy dress patterns, funky pinking shears and stuff to make Seamus O'Shaun - I had this EP as well:

And here is where it all started - Haslemere Hospital.

 You can tell it is Surrey - cottage hospital, no charge for parking, lovely grounds, peaceful and quiet - the NHS as its most affluent

Proof that I was born and not constructed...

5th March 1962 - In Surrey - the shame...

yes.. before 1970 the world only existed in Black and White

Oakhanger - #1 on the Kremlin's list

My father built a house in Oakhanger - it was 1962.  I we had known that shortly after the main satellite up/down link for the MOD would be built in the village - perhaps we would have chosen somewhere else.

Entering Oakhanger - 400 year old cottages, 40 year old "golf ball"

The Red Lion - where it nearly all ended

There used to be a Cadbury Chocolate vending machine - 6d for a bar I think.  Little Granddad bought me a bar and left me in my pram while ordering a pint.  On returning discovered that I had eaten bar, silver foil and wrapper - luckily without choking.

Under Construction

1962?

2012 - the tree and garage both came down a few years back

There is my Dad's signature

The current owners were in - a little surprised - but very welcoming.  It seems that my 1962 experiences (and many photos) were repeated by their son shortly after they moved in in 1984.

Me

Him

View from the kitchen window - I remember looking out and seeing Farmer Brown's tractor ploughing.  That is Selborne Hanger on the skyline

Once on my onw two feet I used to take a trip down to Binswood Farm to visit my friends the Trorts.  Mum used to phone up "He has just left" and then Mrs T would look out for me - my first "orienteering" at two years old.

Track down to Binswood Farm

Here is the farmhouse - I remember my first introduction to vegetable marrow and the two dachshunds bringing rabbits (dead and bloody) for the family

The old barn is still there - where we used to play in the hay - and the turkey/pig shed is now a "One bedroom bungalow" on the market for...

....

Binswood at the end of the track is now a Woodland Trust property - this is where we went to collect firewood for bonfire night - so big and mysterious (when you are under 4 that is)

"Now designated a site of special scientific interest, this is one of just a few remaining lowland woodland pastures outside the New Forest still sustained by traditional grazing of commoners’ stock.
As a result it provides a glimpse of the landscape as it may well have looked in medieval times, a combination of species-rich ancient woodland, unimproved grassland, scrub and ancient oaks and beech trees."

and there is even a court case covering this special land use: 

Common Land—“Spurious” Easement—Animals

journals.cambridge.org/production/action/cjoGetFulltext?fulltextid...

by D MACINTYRE - Related articles
stint of cattle by virtue of owning and occupying Binswood Farm. In August 1971 some of their cattle strayed from the common into the garden of Sprat's cottage, ...

Big Fish...

The plan, I understand, was something other than fish but Fiona came back from a cross stitching weekend with two giant rainbow trout (go figure!) - caught Sunday afternoon, cooked and eaten Sunday evening - lovely...

16 Linchmere Road

That's our home - in 1962 and me and my mother

Same place - 50 years later

Door was answered by the son of the current owners - who were asleep - left photos and email address - no contact yet.  Lots of stories to tell - but I guess I am the only one living interested.

Return to Liphook

"Broomwick" - ca 1968 - that is 3575 PG on the drive

Note we only have B&W TV - some folks put up Colour aerials but we knew they did not have TV.  We hung on to B&W until well into the '70s - but my Dad is colour blind - so he never saw the point in upgrading.

And again - 2012

Behind you can see a house in Hazelbank Close - boy has this gone DOWNHILL since we moved out...

This is where we used to play - but the cut-through to our house is blocked off

Here is "The Jungle"

A patch of wild land next to the main London-Portsmouth railway line: Peacock Butterflies and sloe bushes and lots of places to play and hide.  Shame they build houses and garages - I hope they find the trains very noisy and disturbing indeed.

Behind me is the house where I first saw Dr Who - we were not allowed to watch it but peering in through the living room window I glimpsed "Silurians" - which was broadcast  31 January to 14 March 1970 - which sort of makes sense - though I also remember the Troughton-Pertwee handover (3rd January) - but perhaps this is from some later documentary or something

Found my old school as well - used to be called "The Avenue"

Everything in Liphook looks so much smaller and cramped - partly it is the south-east - which is very crowded, partly the residential roads were not design for so many parked cars (typically 2 per house) and I am much bigger.

There's more thinking to road running than I imagined

I have now done 9 Parkrun-s.  My opening time (Xmas Eve) was 22:05 and today I took 19:39.  I don't think I have got any fitter - but by watching the old and grizzled "proper" runners I have learned a lot:  By running "with other people" I found my pace varied a lot - much faster at the start, very slow about 2km in and then a sprint for the last 300m.  The 'runners' seemed to stick pretty much at the same pace all the way round, no sprinting or whatever.  Now that my subconscious 'knows' I can handle the distance at about 4 minutes a km and my conscious is no longer surprised by the amount of pain it is time to "pace" myself:

Today it was raining and windy - I set myself a target of 19:55 and all I looked at on my watch was "average pace" (as there is a bit of hill at the end I ran to maintain a value of  3min 58 per km).  Result? A minute faster than last week and 25 seconds off my PB.

Because of the cloud cover/rain GPS was less accurate than normal - so the distance was recorded at 4.95km - and hence my time was 19:39.  Having beaten my "by Xmas" target 9 months early my new goal is 76% Age Grade (as I gain an extra year on Monday I could go a second slower and still make 75%) - 19:23ish

I got lucky... or was it all a plan?

Its St David's day - and it is my turn to plan the WEE - for this I get 25 league points - its all very close this year and this is the last race of the season:

Highgate Common at 17:00 - it's not going to be dark until well after 18:30 (in the end we let the first one off at 18:35 - clear night, no clouds)

John Embrey writes:

"By my reckoning, it's desperately tight - again.

David will finish on 112 points.
Chris has 88, so if he wins the last event he gets to 113, second gives him 111.
I have 90 (excluding lowest score). If I win I get to 115, second gives me 113 (and a win on age-class rule), third gives me 111.

A 3-way tie is not possible this year, but a 2-way could still happen.
I have to hope Jason, Richard, Andy H and maybe others do not come and/or Chris and they do not have good runs ....."

So the result I need is Chris McS second and John Embrey third - there is no way I can arrange for that is there?  I have planned a course of standard length so both John and Chris would expect to clear all the controls but John is going to have to commit as Chris is considerably younger and (usually) a faster runner

On the night it did not look good - Andy Hemsted had to drop out and none of our southern stars have traveled and even Chris McS arrives on time, but wait - here is Chris Embrey - winner at Shire Oak earlier in the year...

Before "The Off" - will they still be smiling in 60 minutes?

Once more Sally from The Bournville Bread Basket over achieves with the cake

A happy little Radio Orienteer

I promised Alex he could have "The Little Man" again - but as his Mummy was double booked for the evening it just might go to Catherine

While the grown ups were out on their courses Catherine (7 years old) took me round the 5 control, 1km Junior course...

Straight across country at full pelt - rabbit/ant formed tussocks described as "like a lot of pillows"

Heading for number 151 - I am struggling to keep up...








Some folks were caught out by my "sting in the tail" - the finish is NOT at the visitor centre - it is exactly where it is marked on the map...

Back just in time for fish and chips

£91 of excellent Fish, Chips, Peas (and Pie for Russ)

"Is there a prize for juniors?".... now there is

Success! First Place...

Last year John, Chris and myself all scored exactly the same points - this year

Result!

On the night Chris was second and John was third - Chris had a cough/cold and the pressure of needing to beat Chris meant that John accidentally missed out a control.   This saved less than a minute of running - meaning that John would have beaten Chris and claimed the trophy

Copyright: Uncle Robert

The course - could you clear this in under an hour - at night?

and my first 50th Birthday Card: