I often muse on my schooldays and that my have something to do with the memories that I have set down for my coming autobiography. In fact I have been writing quite a bit about my school years recently.
Back in 2010, Norwich School sent out a directory of former pupils, staff etc with details of their professions, interests etc. This was as a response to a survey they did with people sending in details. I'm in there.
I recently took this book from the shelves of my study because I knew that my old English teacher Peter Clayton was still with us and wanted to see how old he was, bearing in mind the fact that I'm now 70 myself.
I found an entry for him which established that he was 94 in 2022. That means that when I was in the sixth form studying English with him he would have been in his early forties which would have been about right. You do lose sight of ages at times. My old headmaster Stuart Andrews who was another teacher that had a great influence on me is now 90.
For some reason I mused on whether I would like, at my advanced age, to have had any of my former teachers as friends and the answer as far as the Norwich School went is a definite yes with some members of staff who I wrote about in an article for the annual magazine for former pupils.
In particular I would have liked to have been friends with two of my English teachers - Peter Clayton and Peter MacIntyre.
Both were very influential in fostering my love of writing and the written word and you could say they were partly responsible for this heap of rubbish that you read every day and make so many kind comments about.
On Friday I got the sad news that Peter Clayton has died. It feels as if another part of my younger years has gone.
I immediately sent a message of condolence to the school.
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Watched the new crime drama "Beyond Paradise" on Friday evening and quite enjoyed it. But I had definite problems with the location. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but I had to ask the question why were they passing off a Cornwall seaside resort as being in Devon? It made no sense whatsoever.
I read a news piece stating that viewers seeing the lovely scenery would be rushing to try to find out where the drama is set. They didn't need to rush because a quick Google of "Where is Beyond Paradise Set" gave an immediate answer. We knew anyway as it's somewhere we went last year.
So for those who were amazed by the stunning scenery and couldn't be bothered to Google it, I can confirm that the drama is set in Looe which is most definitely in Cornwall and was about five miles from where we were staying last year. It's near Polperro which is one of the most attractive spots in Britain and which reminds me so much of the Yorkshire seaside town of Robin Hoods Bay. But I digress as I so often do.
Here's another digression. When they are filming and the cast is taking a break are they taking time off in Looe?
But we are told that the series is set in a Devon coastal town. Why didn't they set it in a Cornwall seaside town because that's where it's filmed. I can just see the tourists searching Devon for the location only to find it's across the border.
Why are places misrepresented? Years ago they made a film entitled Mike Bassett England Manager. Part of it was supposedly set in Norwich but they used St Albans to portray Norwich. Why? It always amused me in the drama Kingdom which starred Stephen Fry as a solicitor that he stepped out of his office which was in Swaffham and straight onto a quay which was actually Wells quite some way away - one an inland town, the other a seaside resort. Why mangle geography in this way?
Incidentally Kingdom contained some of the worst acting ever seen on TV. I don't refer to Stephen Fry but to Tony Slattery - a so called comedian who was awful. His Norfolk accent was diabolical. Years ago we went to the Theatre Royal in Norwich to see the annual pantomime and Mr Slattery was playing the villain. He was equally bad.
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Why is modern life so confusing? Recently I received a latter from Virgin about a very small investment I have with them. It inquired whether I wished to continue with the account. I ticked the box saying no and I would like to receive a cheque for the small amount invested. They sent back a letter stating that I couldn't actually close the account without going online. So why did they send me a form with the words "I wish to close this account and receive a cheque for the invested amount," along with a tick box?
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Earworm for yesterday - Very often The Weaver's Answer by Family goes through my head for an entire day and so it was yesterday.
And finally who remembers Bob Carolgees and Spit The Dog? I never worked out why he called his puppet spit!
And finally finally - back to Devon and Cornwall. When it comes to cream teas are you a Devonian or a Cornwallian? It all depends on whether you put the jam or the cream on first on fruit scones. Both counties claim they "do it right" but in Devon it's the cream first and then the jam and in Cornwall it's the jam first and then the cream. Personally I go the Cornwall way for no other reason than the fact that the cream spreads better when on the jam than the other way round (imho).
Of course the actors of Beyond Paradise will be totally confused on this point pretending to be in Devon when they are actually in Cornwall.
It has been said of course that Beyond Paradise will do for Devon what Doc Martin did for Cornwall. And that's even more confusing. I'll leave it there.
More prattlings tomorrow.