The Bradwell Bugle

A history of St. Peter’s Chapel SUMMER 2012 - ISSUE NO: 10024

25p

See centre pages

Your local newspaper for Bradwell-On-Sea and the surrounding area of Essex

DUNKIRK LITTLE SHIP

VERE’S COMPLETE RESTORATION

EXCLUSIVE

VERE is one of the few remaining Dunkirk Little Ships. Of the 8-900 who went to Dunkirk to rescue British and allied troops in 1940. Only about 120 survive, and of those approximately 80 are seaworthy. So greatly respected are these that the DLS contingent was given pride of place on the Thames Jubilee pageant in June, immediately following the Royal Barge. But Vere was not with them.

FULL STORY PAGE 2

2

BRADWELL BUGLE

Summer 2012

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

SUPPORT BRITAIN’S REGIONAL NEWSPAPERS! Your local newspaper Bradwell-On-Sea and surrounding area of Essex.

VERE - ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING DUNKIRK LITTLE SHIPS

for the

During World War Two the bugle call of Bradwell came from the local RAF fighter pilots when the cry "Squadron scramble!" would rouse Spitfires into battle against invading Nazis.

Today the spirit of our finest hour is valiantly carried forward via the freedom of the press in Bradwell's very own local newspaper title The Bradwell Bugle, which now incorporates full colour copies of 'Your Town Your Choice' Magazine.

to bringing positive news to positive people..."

With regular news, updates and classified sales, these publications loyally serve the Essex community in print and now also online.

Duncan Williams Publisher

"All of our newspaper and magazine titles remain committed

NEWS ADVERTISER NEWSPAPERS, STUDIO C, 41 EDITH GROVE, CHELSEA, LONDON SW10 0LB Tel:

0871 234 1991

FAX:

0871 234 1992

EDITOR - Duncan Williams (Mobile 07960 829 615) duncan@bradwellbugle.co.uk bradwellbugle.co.uk facebook.com/buglenews twitter.com/bradwellbugle SALES - Nacer Dib, Jason Courage, Louise Hill, Andrew Pescud, Bev Smart DESIGN - Stef Hayes (stef@localpublishing.co.uk) Published by Independent News Ltd

(c) copyright 2012. Company reg. 06735182

FROM PAGE 1

She is presently undergoing a complete restoration in Cowes, after twice narrowly escaping the breakers yard in 2005 and 2006. When completed, the intention is that, by 2015, the 75th Anniversary of Dunkirk, she will be established as a mobile educational memorial to Dunkirk, touring the South coast ports and the Rivers Thames and Medway to tell primary aged school children the amazing story of the miracle of Dunkirk in 1940.

In planning the Dunkirk rescue, the authorities hoped to rescue about 45,000 of the stranded troops, but the final total was in the region of 338,000. Shipping from Destroyers to Little Ships, some even smaller than Vere which is 40ft long, worked together to bring the Allied forces home to the South coast, the smaller boats ferrying troops to the deep sea ships which could not approach the shore. Vere is credited with the rescue of 348 troops.

So what is Vere’s link to Bradwell-on-Sea?

During her restoration, researches into her history have revealed a fascinating story. She was built for the Admiralty in 1905 as an admiral’s barge, we think on the Dreadnought. In 1923/4 she was sold out of service and converted into a handsome “Gentleman’s Yacht”. Eventually in 1936, she came into the hands of William Charles Gatward Metcalfe who berthed her at Bradwell-on-Sea. Early in WW2, in August 1939, Vere was requisitioned by the Admiralty for “ARP” (Air Raid Protection?) duties. We think, partly because of her location, that she may have been part of the small Mine Hunting Flotilla searching for the mines dropped in the Thames Estuary which had devastated shipping heading for the Port of London.

bradwellbugle.co.uk

By DIANA PENTON

Hon archivist to the Vere project By the autumn of 1939, the Estuary was virtually closed to shipping and the nation was threatened with starvation within weeks. The authorities were desperate to retrieve one of these mines to discover what activated them and were seeking them by air and sea forces. One was found in November 1939, dropped by German aircraft into the mud near Shoeburyness and, once it was established that the activation was magnetic, steps were taken to combat this very real threat. That is a story in itself and no doubt well known in the area.

Wounded

Vere was decommissioned in March 1940 but somehow found herself involved in the Dunkirk rescue later that year between 27 May and 5 June.

Little is known in detail but we are sure that William Metcalfe himself took her to Dunkirk and she has the bullets in her to prove it! Most of the little ships were captained by Navy personnel, but William Metcalfe, an ex Royal Marine, with, if our conclusions are correct, recent mine-hunting experience, was one of the few owners allowed to go with their boats on this perilous mission.

Members of the Metcalfe family have been traced and are keen to help with the search for more information. It is believed that there are family links with Clacton but we are also looking for more about Vere at Bradwell-on-Sea, and what the harbour area looked like in 1940.

So if any readers can help us with information or photographs of the area in 1940, the Mine Hunting Flotilla or the Metcalfe family please contact us on 40vere@gmail.com or through this Newspaper.

Summer 2012

3

TYPES OF FLOOD DEFENCES

The magic of The War Horse

By KEVIN WILLIAMS

SPIELBERG SUCCESS TAKES TO THE STAGE In 2010, I reported that Steven Spielberg was to film ‘War Horse’, an adaptation of the book by Michael Morpurgo. Two years later and the film won plaudits galore, notably an academy award nomination for Spielberg as best director.

If you have not seen the film, I urge you to do so as soon as possible. It is a moving work of art, featuring all of Spielberg’s trademarks (visceral action sequences, colourful landscapes, moving score from John Williams, historical detail and palpable soul).

The film is also notable for its script, co-adapted

by Richard Curtis (‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’, ‘Notting Hill’). Spielberg and Curtis invest the film with their customary heart, soul and wit, whilst avoiding the kind of mawkish sentimentality that could so easily have pervaded the project and thereby compromised its credibility.

But then, the film-makers built on strong foundations, namely the ‘War Horse’ play at the National Theatre. Did you see the recent Jubilee celebrations in London to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s sixty years on the English throne? If you did watch those events, then you will have seen the spectacular display from the ‘War Horse’ team.

Joey the eponymous war horse was brought to vivid life by a dedicated team of puppeteers and it was a joy to behold, the spirit of the production withstanding the winds and rain to delight both the royal party and any onlooker. But that is just a microcosmic snapshot of the show’s appeal.

Remember that most productions have a limited run, yet ‘War Horse’ strides from strength to strength and its scope of appearances increase with each theatrical season. Most recently, Vancouver hosted the show and more venues are

BRADWELL BUGLE

By JAMES MURPHY planned.

Of course, without Morpurgo’s book (published in the early 1980s), there would be no play and no film adaptations. Its appeal lay primarily in the clarity and consistency of Morpurgo’s aim and method in writing the piece. ‘ I wanted to look at the universal suffering of war, using the path of the horse and his story to give a vision of a shattered world’. So this would not be a German or British story, but a human one, about the progress of Joey the horse and the devotional love that Joey inspires in his owner (a boy called Albert).

In turn, we see Joey become the ‘War Horse’ of the title, enduring and surviving the first world war and thereby highlighting its tragedies, its challenges and also its moments of touching comradeship (look out for the character of Nicholls, a personification of probity).

Adaptation

It was only a matter of time until the story was adapted for other media. And before Spielberg set his sights on the cinematic version, it was the National Theatre in London that took the reigns.

Nicholas Hytner that gave the project the goahead. Both he and Morpurgo agreed that whilst the story should remain focused on the horse, our equine hero should not speak at any point of the play.

And so, Nick Stafford crafted a script that invited interaction between puppets and actors, thereby creating the horse’s character through movement and the emotional reactions portrayed

by the human cast, directed by Tom Morris (who championed the production from day one).

Basil Jones’ South African ‘Handspring’ puppets are a marvel to behold (‘these are the most beautiful puppets we have ever made!’). Joey the horse is brought to life through a sequencing of cane technology, which can ‘retain memory’, controlled through steering levers and string inside the horse.

A Physiotherapist was consulted on the most probable injuries that could occur and how that risk should be minimised. It is representative of the play’s pastoral ethos that the welfare of its members was considered so carefully.

This is a travelling company in the truest sense, a family of performers and craftspeople, rather than some conveyer belt franchise. Each new staging of the show is prepared with the same love and attention to detail with which the project began in 2007.

Every ingredient of its magic formula is worth repeat viewings and examinations and is a gift to any teacher seeking to educate students on stagecraft and /or the history of war.

From Toby Sedgwick’s choreography of the horse’s movements, to Christopher Shutt’s inspired sound signatures and Adrian Sutton’s score, with Rae Smith’s detailed design, this is a show with something for everyone.

If you do see ‘war Horse on stage, then you and your family are guaranteed an educative, entertaining, heart soaring stage spectacular.

But if you cannot quite manage a trip to the theatre, or require further persuasion of its merits, then please do visit http://warhorseonstage.com/videos and prepare to be spellbound! CHARGE!...

PROTECTING your home or business from flooding is a fairly simple concept. Any objects that adequately block encroaching waters can make good flood defences but some things are more appropriate for the purpose than others.

Because floods can occur with little or no warning, the method you use to protect your home should be quick and easy to set up. This is the reason why today's preferred modes of flood protection are so similar to those used a century ago.

The first thing that may come to mind when you think of flood protection is the humble sandbag. These simple defences are able to be stored flat and quickly filled as soon as flooding becomes an imminent threat. However, their efficiency is heavily dependent on your ability to find a large amount of sand and possessing the time and manpower needed to get them filled.

Fortunately, modern innovation has provided a quicker and easier alternative in the form of an instant sandbag. To use these flood defences, just fill them with water and within a few minutes, you will have an effective flood barrier. Best of all, they will save you precious time and effort and prevent you from having to locate and store a huge mound of sand.

Temporary

Some kinds of flood protection must be installed prior to flooding, but can easily be taken down and stored once they're no longer needed.

For example, door guards can be installed when flooding is expected and can be removed to either for storage or to allow you to pass through the doorway.

Using flood protection barriers is another popular way to safeguard your property against flooding. These barriers are usually composed of glass and aluminum and are so lightweight that only a single person is needed to install them.

Besides protecting against flood waters, they also offer considerable defence against hurricanes.

There are other methods of flood protection you can use to buy yourself some time until flooding subsides. One of these is flood seal tape, which can be used around vents, doorways, windows and other possible entry points to temporarily stop water from getting in. This can provide you enough time to protect furniture and valuables or to install other flood protection measures.

If you're in an area that is frequently threatened by flooding, you may want to consider investing in a toilet seal. Even if your property's exterior is adequately protected from floods, water can still come up through the sewer system and run out of your toilet.

Naturally, this creates both a health hazard and an unsightly mess that can ruin your home. Toilet seals prevent sewage and water from flowing up through your toilet, saving you a lot of time and money.

bradwellbugle.co.uk

4

BRADWELL BUGLE

Summer 2012

DID HE EVER REALLY DIE? SAYS

Local news for local people

By FRANK WORRALL

THURSDAY morning is the best morning of the week for me. That's the time when I pop down to the newsagent down the street and pick up the local paper. I flick through it quickly in the store, take it home and devour it at a more leisurely pace as I eat my Cornflakes.

Like the Sunday papers, the local paper has always been an important, habitual part of my adult life. It's a thrill to see your friends smiling down at you from the pages, celebrating an anniversary, maybe getting married, or having achieved something worthwhile.

It's also interesting to see what your neighbours and people you know are up to - are they planning work on their home, have they been up in court for something or are they up in arms about some proposal or the other?

Also, of course, there's the public service the local paper provides - keeping you in the frame over what the local council and businesses are planning and letting you know the latest in BMDs (births, marriages and deaths). And then there's the chance to pick up a veritable local bargain from the array of classified and display adverts.

However, now this valuable source of local news, entertainment, buys and services is under threat as never before. As The Guardian newspaper so succinctly put it recently: “For the first time since the Enlightenment, large communities face the prospect of muddling through without any verifiable source of news... their potential disappearance should be a matter of some public alarm.”

Indeed it should - we need a thriving local Press, it is as much a part of the local community as the local police bobby or the library or town hall. In the 1960s our local railways suffered a similar nightmare of decimation - with local branch lines and service lost for good after the report of axeman in chief, Dr Richard Beeching.

Beeching recommended the cuts to 'streamline' local services but the inevitable result was that there were no services left to streamline after his savagery was implemented.

Ring a bell? It should do - similar cuts are now being suggested, and implemented, at local level in the world of newspapers. This is something we should fight against.

Why is it happening?

Essentially, because classified advertising is migrating to the internet - but also because local councils are sticking the boot in by suddenly producing their own freesheets on 'cost efficiency' grounds. How are they 'cost efficient'? Well, simple really - their existence means there is no need to spend money supporting local papers, because the jobs and council ads now appear exclusively in their own freesheets.

The council freesheets are invariably dull, poorly produced and full of puffs about how good a job the local council is doing. They are in no way viable substitutes for the local papers they are replacing and helping sentence to a slow, painful death.

So what can we do about it...how can we help our valuable local papers survive? We can keep buying them, of course - but that in itself may not be enough. As far as I can see, we can also explore two other avenues...

We can demand of our local councils that they divert their adverts out of their freesheet and back into the local papers.

And we can demand of the Government that they divert some of the astonishing sums of money we plough into the BBC towards helping the survival of local papers.

They do, after all, provide a more important service to the normal man and woman in the street than say some avant-garde, little-listened radio station or some so-called worthy cause string of programmes on BBC4.

We need to lobby our local MPs and councils - and ask them for their help.

Subsidies and advertising returned to its rightful place may be the key to survival.

Otherwise, Thursday mornings will one day hold a less special affection in my heart. And probably yours too... bradwellbugle.co.uk

SHERLOCK HOLMES IS ALIVE

By CHRIS HAYCOCK

FOR many a literary fan it is fun and exciting to dress up and play the part of one’s favourite character but it seems that no other character is quite as popular as that of a one Sherlock Holmes. His quirky yet intelligent actions in the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle make him among the top literary characters that are researched and requested today.

Even in death, he was a popular character, and the public begged for his resurrection. Doyle finally did give him back to the world and the fans, which would be seen wearing black armbands around their arms in public to mourn for the loss of the popular character.

The fans of Sherlock Holmes still play the part, dressing up as various characters in the stories on regular occasions to act out a tale once a week or once a month in a meeting of the fans. Such interest in him is still so common that the museum in his name still sees thousands of visitors each and every year. It is hard to believe that this character has survived for greater than one hundred years due to his fans.

He is the immortal detective. He is one that was resurrected from the dead to once again grace the pages of Doyle’s novels and make his fans even more adoring.

A society has even been started in his name. Members of this society regularly give updates and offer small tidbits of news for the viewing of the public. People interested in the

great and glorious character can easily search the internet to find several topics related to the character or even fan groups and the all mighty Society of Sherlock Holmes. How many other literary characters have been so privileged as to have their fans create their very own society? This writer cannot think of any other than Sherlock Holmes.

Adored

The fans adore him, the readers are amazed by him, and people still attempt to portray him. Sherlock Holmes is like the Elvis of Europe. He is reputed to still be alive even if only in the minds of those fans who so greatly adore him. He is still commonly portrayed in full dress and fans still try to become him if even for only a few hours. His popularity has never faltered due to this fan base. So, as a reader and a writer, I compare him to “The King” with his crazed but loyal fans and interesting impersonators and Europe or London to the Las Vegas strip where the action is played out day after day after day.

His adoring fan base has probably increased the awareness of his existence much more easily than his creator did in the past and they are also responsible for the great art of enactment of him. It takes a genius to portray the life of a genius. Sherlock Holmes is therefore still alive, even if it is only in memory. He really never died if the decision was up to the fans.

Summer 2012

BRADWELL BUGLE

5

Please support our campaign to stop the proposed windfarm for Bradwell and Tillingham

bradwellbugle.co.uk

6

BRADWELL BUGLE

SUMMER 2012

The legend continues...

CamelotCastle.com

bradwellbugle.co.uk

A HISTORY OF

IT ALL BEGAN 1300 YEARS AGO WHEN CEDD ARRIVED IN WHAT WE NOW CALL ESSEX

ST PETER’S CHAPEL

SUMMER 2012

BRADWELL BUGLE

7

THE DISH THAT CONQUERED THE WORLD

REPORT BY ANNA MARIA VOLPI Pizza, the way we know it today, is a derivation from focaccia (from the Latin word for fire), flat bread that has been prepared since antiquity in different forms and garnished with herbs, olives, fat, raisin, honey, and nuts.

The word pizza in Italian identifies any type of flat bread or pie-fried or baked. Although you’d find many types of pitas or pizzas around the Mediterranean, it is in Naples that pizza in the form we know it today first emerged, after the tomato appeared on the table in the 1700s. Naples has many records of pizza since around the year 1000; the first mentions call these flat breads laganae, and later they are referred to as picea.

In those times, pizzas were dressed with garlic and olive oil, or cheese and anchovies, or small local fish. They were baked on the open fire and sometimes were closed in two, as a book, to form a calzone.

REPORT BY

by Revds Margaret and Laurence Whitford

1300 YEARS AGO there were people working in Ireland and Scotland to spread the Christian faith. In Ireland, Patrick had established many monasteries and from there Columba had come to Iona, a tiny island off the west coast of Scotland, to establish a monastery and many other Christian centres.

From Columba's monastery, a man called Aidan was sent from Iona at the invitation of King Oswald of Northumbria to set up a monastery at Lindisfarne on the north-east coast. It was also to be a school where Anglo-Saxon boys could be trained to become priests and missionaries. It was in this school that Cedd and his brothers Caelin, Cynebil and Chad learnt to read and write in Latin, and learnt to teach the Christian faith.

The four brothers were all ordained as priests and two of them, Cedd and Chad, later became bishops. Cedd's first mission was to go to the midlands, then called Mercia, at the request of its ruler, King Paeda, who wanted his people to become Christians. Cedd was so successful that when King Sigbert of the East Saxons (Essex) asked for a similar mission, it was Cedd who was sent.

RUINS

So in 653 Cedd sailed down the east coast of England from Lindisfarne and landed at Bradwell. Here he found the ruins of an old deserted Roman fort. He probably first built a small wooden church but as there was so much stone from the fort he soon realised that would provide a much more permanent building, so he replaced it the next year with the chapel we see today! Cedd modelled his church on the style of churches in Egypt and Syria. The Celtic Christians were greatly influenced by

SIMPLICITY

the churches in that part of the world and we know that St Antony of Egypt had built his church from the ruins of a fort on the banks of a river, just as Cedd did on the banks of the River Blackwater in Essex (then known as the River Pant).

Cedd's mission to the East Saxons was so successful that the same year he was recalled to Lindisfarne and made Bishop of the East Saxons. His simple monastery at Bradwell would, like those at Iona and Lindisfarne, have been at the same time a church, a community of both men and women, a hospital, a library, a school, an arts centre, a farm, a guest house and a mission base.

From there he established other Christian centres at Mersea, Tilbury, Prittlewell and Upminster.

Cedd often visited his northern childhood home and in 659 was introduced to King Ethelwald who asked him to establish a monastery in Northumbria. Cedd chose a site at Lastingham as it was wild and seemed fit only for wild beast, robbers and demons. Again this was exactly how St Antony of Egypt chose his sites. In 664, while at his monastery in Lastingham, Cedd caught the plague. As he lay dying 30 of his monks from Bradwell came to be with him. They too caught it and one young boy survived and returned to Bradwell.

In Naples is also where the first pizzerias opened up, with brick wood-burning oven, covered with lava stones from the Mount Vesuvius. The chefs of those times ignored pizza because was considered a poor people’s food, but the new combination with the tomato, when it entered the kitchen around the 1770s, must have raised some curiosity, even in the royal palace. Ferdinand I Bourbon, King of Naples, loved the simple food of the people and went to taste the pizzas made in the shop of Antonio Testa. He liked it so much that he wanted pizza to be included in the menu at the court. Pizza then became very popular, earning its place in Neapolitan folklore.

Simple and economical, it turned into the food for all people, even sold on the streets, as shown in many illustrations of the time.

A famous episode extended the popularity of pizza beyond the limits of the city of Naples. It was 1889, and Margherita, queen of Italy, was visiting the city. She was told about pizza and wanted to taste it. A famous cook by the name of Don Raffaele, helped by his wife Donna Rosa, was invited to cook pizza at the royal palace. They prepared three pizzas, typical of that time: one with cheese and basil; one with garlic, oil, and tomato; and one with mozzarella, basil, and tomato. The queen, impressed by the colours of the last pizza, which resembled the national flag, preferred that one. Since then this pizza is known as Pizza Margherita, and Don Raffaele is credited with its invention, even if we know that it already existed for a long time.

At the beginning of the last century, with Italian immigrants, the first pizzerias appeared also in the United States, where pizza has become a mass phenomenon. Yet, even today the best pizza is found in Naples, where it is rigorously made with buffalo mozzarella.

bradwellbugle.co.uk

8

BRADWELL BUGLE

Summer 2012

" Our teams can guarantee to boost your Newspaper or Magazine advertising sales revenues... Or we promise to buy-in your unsold advertising placements ourselves!"

Media Buying Advertising Solutions Brand Building Conferences & Events www.ozonemarketing.co.uk Studio C, 41 Edith Grove, Chelsea, London, SW10 0LB

bradwellbugle.co.uk

Tel: 0871 234 1991

Summer 2012

THE FAIRWEATHERED FRIEND

faux pas

Friends come into our lives for a reason...

A FRIEND once bestowed upon me words of wisdom I will never forget. He said: “friends come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime”, which rang especially true for me after starting fresh in two different countries over the past seven years.

After moving from Canada to Australia for nearly five years and eventually making my way to the UK, I was quickly reminded of how valuable true friendship really is. In what seems like a short period of time, my two years in London have been filled with all of the typical critical life events-- including dramatic break-ups, subsequent heartache, employment loss, and the consequential periods of insolvency that on more than one occasion inspired me bury my head under the covers until a new day started.

And whether sick with the flu, or crying over a boy who made me blue, there was only so much support I could expect with my parents and closest friends living in a different part of the world.

Circumstances like these not only made me value the wonderful role my cherished friends and family play in my life but also helped me recognise how important it is to make an effort with new friends I found along the way.

Whatever the reason, we all need at least one wholesome, high-quality friend we can rely on to be there in times of need, whatever the worst case may be.

Friendship is so vital that we even find it included in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as part of a top-three under the love/ belonging category. In acknowledging the establishment of reliable friendships as a necessary priority, examining the meaning of a ‘fair-weather friend’ is a helpful first step in finding the most suitable people to fulfil our friendship requirements. In essence, nothing teaches us more about what we need than recognising that which we don’t need.

AVOIDANCE

So what exactly is a ‘fair-weather friend’… and how best can we avoid them? Metaphorically speaking, a fair-weather friend is exactly as the term suggests: someone who is only around when ‘skies are blue and the sun is shining’.

Taken out of a figurative context, this simply means that a fair-weather friend is happy to

By MELISSA A. GIGNAC

participate in the effortless good times but when the going-gets-tough this same person becomes harder to find than Osama bin Laden.

One of my own examples of a ‘friendshit’ downpour includes a two week battle with the flu, where my ‘friend’ sent me an email claiming she was “sorry for not being there” when I was unwell, but that truth be told she “doesn’t do sick”. The question of whether this admission is entirely horrible comes down to one basic fundament: Expectation. The difficulty lies in the fact that we all have different expectations where friendship is concerned and it’s not unreasonable to anticipate the same quality of attention from our friends as we are willing to contribute to these all-important and special relationships.

Granted, if you happen to be a free-flying social butterfly and enjoy having a billion acquaintances, lots of so-so friends and a handful of true-blue buddies, then this might not be a problem for you. However, if you are more of a social energy conserver with a lifestyle that only permits you to invest a small, but concentrated amount of time on friends, then getting it right in the buddy department is that much more important.

There’s no sense in wasting valuable time on people who are only in it for the pluses and perks but ‘make like Houdini’ and disappear when needed most. Although we can’t always predict when a friend might disappointingly fall into the fair-weather category, by turning our minds to two basic questions we can avoid being ‘unfairly-weathered’ ourselves and hope that ‘like’ really does attract ‘like’…

EXPECTATIONS

Ask yourself: What do I expect from a friend?

What kind of friend am I? Quite simply, the two answers should practically be identical, and if not then perhaps it’s not only time to re-evaluate the friendships we are spending (or not spending) our time on but also reflect upon our treatment of those friends we depend on and turn to during tough times.

As a current example, identifying true friends seems especially important now considering the

recent credit crunch that has everyone treading on shaky ground in some form or another. With a drastically changing economic climate comes a potential increase in social storms as we begin to depend on our friends for so much more than their usual sage advice.

But looking on the bright side, this hard time provides an opportunity to not only reassess our financial investments but also encourages us to re-examine our ‘people investments’. Whether the trouble is financial – such as the loss of a job, or personal – like a painful break-up or divorce, adversity plays a key role in discovering who our friends really are and whether we might be wasting valuable time on high-risk/ low return relationships. It is equally important to choose new friends carefully and not rush into full disclosure about every detail of our lives.

People are not always as they initially seem and waking up to sunshine is no guarantee it won’t rain by early afternoon… especially in a city like London. Taking things slow with a new acquaintance is wise and should involve the same caution executed when getting to know a new love interest. In fact, we might consider taking things that much slower, as romantic relationships come and go but ideally our friends will linger for the long haul.

At the end of the day, in both good times and bad, close friends serve as one of the greatest investments we will make in our lifetime and as such they are well worth the effort. The fact that there isn’t a Hallmark day devoted strictly to the celebration of friendship the way Valentine’s Day showcases love, simply means that everyday presents an opportunity to nurture our platonic pals. It takes little more than a quick five minute phone call or even better, a good old-fashioned handwritten note or card, thanking even one friend a day for enriching our lives. Showing a bit of gratitude is a healthy way to protect our social stock and ensure that our friendship supply remains plentiful for when we need this support the most.

Life throws many curve balls and dodging these might feel like a full time chore; but bear in mind that once the dust settles we are sometimes forced to take inventory to discover which of our friends are still standing beside us… and the best ones stick around to help clean-up the fallout.

BRADWELL BUGLE

9

EDWARD BAGLEY REVIEW

Ryan’s Daughter

- David Lean’s often forgotten film masterpiece

"RYAN'S DAUGHTER" is a love story that evolves into a love triangle set in the epic splendor of an isolated village on Ireland's scenic Dingle Peninsula.

Like all love triangles, it ends in a disaster that becomes a tragedy.

Rosy Ryan (Sarah Miles) seeks to find that certain something that is missing in her life and thinks she finds it when she announces her love for her former schoolteacher, Charles Shaughnessy (Robert Mitchum), who is old enough to be her father.

Unfortunately for Rosy, her marriage brings her love but not passion. It is passion she finds when she meets and instantly falls into the arms of Major Randolph Doryan (Christopher Jones), a young British officer assigned to the village.

Cinematographer Freddie Young captures the raw beauty of Ireland with its ocean cliffs, green countryside, lazy pastures and hidden forest love nest.

Young shot the film entirely in a 65mm widescreen format and in Super Panavision. It was the last such film shot until 22 years later when Ron Howard filmed "Far and Away" in 1992.

Ryan's Daughter is a slow developing romance. The film runs for 3 hours and 16 minutes. Like almost all of Lean's films, Ryan's Daughter was hugely popular with moviegoers and movie lovers alike.

Ryan's Daughter is a story about relationships and an epic film worth watching or at the very least, seeking out at your local DVD shop.

bradwellbugle.co.uk

10

BRADWELL BUGLE

Summer 2012

We offer leaflet drops, newspaper and mail distribution services at excellent price rates in each of these key UK cities London, Portsmouth, Poole & Plymouth.

Call our regional teams today on bradwellbugle.co.uk

0871 234 1991

Summer 2012

BRADWELL BUGLE

11

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE TRADITIONAL

By PETER BROWN

Usually, a comprehensive home renovation will include the bathroom and kitchen, which are favourite areas for updates. When it comes to bathroom design a lot has changed in recent years and you'd be amazed at the selection of individual components available to you now. You don't have to be traditional anymore and it's not always necessary to lay out this room in a conventional style.

Many bathrooms, especially in older homes, are just a little smaller than you would like. However, did you know that you can get wallmounted toilets now, where the tank itself is recessed into the wall?

You'd be amazed what space this can save just by itself. Also, if you don't really use the conventional bathtub anymore but may need to consider your options as some family members may be a little older or infirm, you can get a safety shower unit complete with a seat. In this way, safety can be paramount whilst still paying attention to effective use of the space that you have.

CREATIVE

By being more creative with the room that you have you could extend the reach of the vanity area, put additional cabinets and storage areas in. Remember that by getting everyone in the family involved you'll be able to see what works best for the family unit and plan accordingly.

This is just one area that could benefit from the professional input provided by interior design experts who are readily available and willing to come to your aid. By turning to professional interior designers you can benefit from their recent experience, know-how and ability to find virtually instantaneous solutions to some of your more perplexing questions. After all, whilst there's a lot of fun for the family involved in planning, sometimes it can be a little challenging and there is nothing wrong with asking for that piece of advice, when you need it most.

Relax with a new bathroom style

bradwellbugle.co.uk

12

BRADWELL BUGLE

Summer 2012

LET THE GAMES BEGIN Ignore the whingers and enjoy them!

EXCLUSIVE

Sports report by FRANK WORRALL Courtesy of Weekly Sport IF you took in the constant whinging about the Olympics, you could easily come to the conclusion that London 2012 is bad news. That the Games, which officially opened on Friday 27 July, are a waste of time, a waste of money and will bring only problems.

The pundits have been moaning about the traffic snarl-ups the Olympic lanes on the M4 and within London itself will bring.

They have carped on about the tubes being crammed and how it will be difficult to get to work in London.

Then there has been the sniping about the balls-up by G4S which has led to the Army being asked to provide security.

Jeez, even the rain has been used as a reason why we shouldn’t have held them in the Capital - and that is forgetting the cost of the whole shebang!

If there was a gold medal for whinging, Great Britain would win it every time. We are undoubtedly the world leaders in seeing the glass half empty rather than half full. We love to moan on about the weather, the state of the country, the state of the economy etc.

PROUD

Rarely do we see the good in situations and give ourselves a pat on the back.

Well, maybe we should start reversing that pessimistic attitude, starting this week, and become a more positive, prouder nation - if only for the duration of the Olympics.

No amount of whinging or sniping is going to stop the Games taking place in London over the next couple of weeks so why not sit back and enjoy them?

bradwellbugle.co.uk

Why not sit back in awe at some of the wondrous sporting achievements that will take place in front of your very eyes - and salute the athletes who have dedicated themselves for a lifetime to scale such heights?

CYNICS

Why not simply allow the scales of cynicism fall from your eyes - and lap up the action? And don’t worry if you can’t make it to any events, or had no luck in securing tickets...the whole show will be broadcast on the BBC over the duration.

Even the opening ceremony was a world-class example of what we in Britain can achieve - and billions around the world saw that we, as a nation, have still got what it takes.

Curated by the redoubtable Danny Boyle - the man who brought us Slumdog Millionaire - it is sure to offer up a marvellous mix of music, theatre and entertainment.

The Queen officially opened the ceremony and then Boyle's extravaganza will swung into action with 10,000 volunteers and some truly stunning visuals and action.

Then the athletes - from more than 200 countries - paraded around the Olympic Stadium before the flame was lit to announce that the Games have finally begun.

Here at the Weekly Sport newsdesk, we will be advising you what to watch and when to watch it in this column every Wednesday. We will also be speculating which events during the week offer the best chances of Olympic glory for Great Britain.