Some Thoughts and Memories

Around the turn of the 1970s I re-experienced something of my birth...or "rebirth" into this world. It took place in Spain. I was a child, and I had curled up into the foetal position on the back seat of my parents car. Whilst sleeping, I entered into a "low" "sub-normal" state of conciousness...I was aware of being unable to move. I was having trouble breathing. Infact, I felt I was "suffocating".I was trapped in a confined space (ie. the womb). I could see the exit of the birth canal. Instead of a hospital I could see the backs of my parents in the front seat of the car. I was feeling increasingly terrified because of my "immobilisation". I tried to scream out several times....but they were mental screams...and thus, my parents could not hear me... As this was happening I could hear music. It could have come from the car radio but I do not know. It was like military music of the 18th Century. My late mater was doing some research...

(Ref Wikepedia) When it comes to films I am very selective. I love quality high brow movies which have a strong sense of depth, and meaning. Most films are somehow lacking this dimension as far as I am concerned. Alot of them are shallow, and weak on character, and plot. Quite a number of them are frankly de-humanising with an obssession with senseless voyeuristic violence. This is a sad reflection of society, and our world in general. Anyway, I thought I would list my key film favourites. Propero's Books is at the top of my list, and is my all time favourite....but most people would find it dull, and heavy going.... The following is my personal listing... 1. The Draughtsman Contract (1982). A film directed by the legendary Peter Greenaway, and gorgious music by the one, and only Michael Nyman. The former also directed Prosperos Books... 2. The Piano (1993). I knew the man who actually made the Piano for the Piano film, a certain Alan Whear who lived in Winds...

Back in the early 1970s I knew the old guide at the Curfew Tower of Windsor Castle. He was called George Hudson. From around the ages of 13 - 16  I used to help him with the second floor of the Tower itself as an unofficial guide. The history of this building was surprisingly interesting, and quite often tourists would miss out on not visiting it. Among other things, it is the home of the "small" dungeons where beehive shaped stone cells can still be seen. One poor prisoner tried to make a hole in one of them but was unfortunately caught as he emerged through the guard room of the Curfew Tower. Nowadays, the dungeons are used for social occasions! What follows is a listed, and "potted" description of the Curfew Tower. Here, I am largely relying on memory. I may check for accuracy at some later date... The Guard Room/The "First Floor" (excluding the dungeons which could be seen as being the "basement"). This was also the place where the ...

          originally  from the  David Munrow Forum Image/Wikipedia          I used to know someone called Alan Whear in Windsor. He used to have an instrument workshop behind the  barracks.  People, as they passed his place of business could see him working away on either creating a new instrument, or repairing old ones. He was brilliant craftsman But it was clear to me he was not really business minded, or else he could have gone far. I remember once visiting him, and like myself had a weakness for early music. He even suggested to me that perhaps in the future I would have a consort just like David Munrow. However, my interests were more towards philosophy, metaphysics, psychical research, mysticism, et cetera....These have since absorbed me since those early days but I still love early music and it still has impact on my life. Anyway, I noticed in the loca...

Often or not  when I was in Slough High Street I would "bump" into Keith Bosley. I had known him for a long while. I used to have long talks with him on literature, and classical music at his home. He was an interesting man, and his Finnish wife Satu was a professional harpist of note (so to speak!). Keith was a notable local. One of his sons wrote a brief entry on him for Wikipedia.(See below) He also appears briefly right at the start of a documentary on the BBC World Service (1982) as he was one of their announcers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhaWXvOASRY   At one point he says "Hang on, I'll just speak to the world." A small still black and white image can be found of him with his white beard near the lower part of this blog entry.                                                      From Wikipedia, the fre...

Towards the very end of  the 1980s  I lived with my mater, and pater at a large house, called The Orchard in Stoke Poges. They were trying to sell the property.  The idea was suggested that to help facilitate selling The Orchard it could be sold to someone who could convert it into a care home. One potential buyer was a certain Gordon Rowe. He was already running a care home, and was invited to view our property. He even had dinner with us. along with his lady friend called Angela. She was much younger than him. Personally, I was not impressed with Rowe. He came across as a cold, and distant individual.....  Moreover, he later became involved in a serious scandal. What followed is revealed below....... Longcare Survivors: Biography of a Care Scandal 16 August 2011 by Debbe Caulfield/Disability In the recently published 'Longcare Survivors', his hard-hitting follow-up to 'Silent Victims' (2004), John Pring r...

In late 1992 Windsor Castle suffered a fire. I remember working in a garden in Wraysbury when I was told by the employer about it. She had heard it on the news, and a trail of smoke could just be seen afar. After I completed my chores, I went through Datchet, and "posted" myself with some tourists on Datchet Bridge where we had a good view of the Windsor Fire. It was quite impressive in the darkness, and seemed a lot worse than it really was. The reason being was that the Fire reflected itself onto the surrounding walls of the Castle, and gave a false impression of being far bigger than it really was. I gave a "potted" history of Windsor Castle to the tourists for some reason, or other. When I returned home to Slough  the Fire was the first item on the news. On the following day I  was opposite where it happened, and I went into a newsagents, and there saw the mainly aerial pics of Windsor Castle splashed across the newspapers. It was quite surreal..... . ...