Monthly Archives: December 2014

A pretty nice office

Posted on 29/12/2014 by campaignerkate

‘This is my office’ said the representative of Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA), the Swedish company which manufactures wood and paper products.  She was standing in a clearing in the forest near Vindeln, Sweden, and it looked a pretty nice office … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, Sweden, Woods and forests | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Found in translation

Posted on 27/12/2014 by campaignerkate

I have only just got around to translating (with computer aids) the words on a memorial stone which I photographed at Vindeln, Sweden, last September.   The translation is (roughly): ‘In memory of local volunteers who actively contributed to the government’s announcement, … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, campaigns, commons, Dartmoor, Sweden | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Four years of blogging along

Posted on 24/12/2014 by campaignerkate

WordPress has kindly reminded me that today, christmas eve, is the fourth anniversary of my blog.  I had remembered. I was inspired by the leak of the Queen’s christmas message in which she mentioned the importance of village greens.  And … Continue reading →

Posted in green spaces, National parks, town and village greens | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Henry, the plucky pony

Posted on 23/12/2014 by campaignerkate

Over the last few years I have often seen my friends Eddie and Lorna Bilous, with their small dog Bazil, driving a carriage pony around the Chiltern lanes. They live half a mile away from me in Turville.  We stop to chat (if … Continue reading →

Posted in Bucks, Chilterns, riding, Turville, Turville | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The brain of the power station

Posted on 21/12/2014 by campaignerkate

‘This is the brain of the power station’, said Örjan Karlsson, head of maintenance at Skellefteå Kraft’s Finnfors hydro-power plant in northern Sweden. He pointed to a 1990s clunky computer of the type we had all forgotten.  It seemed extraordinary that this … Continue reading →

Posted in commons, International Association for the Study of the Commons, Sweden | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

They should have read my blog!

Posted on 20/12/2014 by campaignerkate

Last month (3 November) I deplored the failure of Natural England (NE) to provide a board member to participate in the appointment of a new chief executive officer for the Peak District National Park Authority. The park authority was rightly concerned … Continue reading →

Posted in National parks, Natural England, Peak District, People | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Moor Fairy

Posted on 18/12/2014 by campaignerkate

It’s 40 years since I posted a rather special christmas present to my friend Sylvia Sayer.  In fact it was more a present for her grandchildren.  I had met her three elder grandchildren, then known as Googie, Luli and Frookie.  We had … Continue reading →

Posted in Dartmoor, Uncategorized, wild country | Tagged | 4 Comments

Thrice forgotten by the Guardian

Posted on 15/12/2014 by campaignerkate

Three times this year, the Guardian has made a common but egregious error.  Three times it has misquoted the text of Laurence Binyon’s elegy in Poems for the Fallen.  And three times Chris Hall has pointed this out. The first … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

Savouring the Luddesdown victory

Posted on 13/12/2014 by campaignerkate

It was Dartmoor which took me to North Kent for the Luddesdown public inquiry in 1984, and it was my involvement in that inquiry which took me back there last Sunday, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of our success. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, AONB, campaigns, Dartmoor, National parks, Public paths | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

National parks going strong

Posted on 11/12/2014 by campaignerkate

Next week, on 16 December, we celebrate 65 years of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.  They are certainly not ready for retirement, there are so many good things happening there.  But it is sad to … Continue reading →

Posted in campaigns, National parks | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments