Three Months Go West

Other than a post for the sake of a post towards the end of June it occurs to me that I've not updated this blog now for over three months.

One or two of those few who noticed have asked me why this is. The simple answer is that I have just been too busy - busy trying to earn a living, busy with the kids, busy being busy.

During this short period I have been away once again to my beloved Isle of Wight, staying at the Park Resorts site Thorness Bay with the family. It was the first time in a couple of years that we'd been based at Thorness Bay despite having visited the site once or twice since. More recent trips to the Island have involved stays at Landguard, Rookley Country Park and Gurnard Pines. Whilst I like all of these sites there was a certain "coming home" feeling about spending four nights at Thorness after such a long absence.

I have also undertaken to do a 95-mile sponsored walk between Isleworth and Abingdon along the Thames Path early next month to raise some funds for the sports department at Joe's school, St. James School for Senior Boys in Ashford. St. James has been really kind to Joe, and to us his parents, and I wanted to do something to repay that kindness. For more details of the proposed walk please see my new sponsor site at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PhilipAndrews.

If you would like to sponsor me by making a donation, no matter how small, so much the better and many thanks. Please just follow the instructions on the site.

Oh, and on Friday the doctor confirmed to me that I have Type 2 Diabetes. Whether it was knocking 80% of the alcohol on the head, losing nearly two and a half stone, improving my exercise routine or adopting a low-fat vegetarian diet that brought it on I guess I will never know.

On the community front things are relatively quiet. The ICG has circulated a newsletter throughout Syon and Isleworth wards to leave our calling card but the libraries are still open and residents continue to organise over issues of concern such as a proposal to open a Sainsbury's store in South Street, which would be devastating for many local businesses.

More on this, and other things, anon.

Getting away from it all

When your twelve-year-old daughter would rather stay at home and nip across the road to a fete at her old primary school that go away on a family holiday, you realise that you are either a terrifically boring father organising terrifically boring outings or that the kids are just fast growing up.

But Rosie is Rosie, and as a consequence of her decision we concluded that I should go away with Joe for my quarterly £9.50 pilgrimage to the Isle of Wight while the girls would remain back home in Isleworth. For about the third time in a row, we stayed at the excellent Rookley Country Park, although we did also pay a visit to our other stamping grounds at Fairway, Lower Hyde, Whitecliff Bay, Thorness Bay and Landguard.

And didn't he just love the attention? A whole weekend of flitting from toy shop to burger joint to amusement arcade. The computer may say no but unfortunately Daddy always says yes, and without the tempering influence of his more sensible mother I was always going to be a lamb to the slaughter.

But much though I love my home town it is always good to get across the sea (inasmuch as the Solent is a sea) and recharge the batteries, whatever the collateral damage.

Now I'm back, albeit exhausted and impoverished, and raring to go once again.

Keeping in the picture

I've been enjoying a short holiday at Rookley on the Isle of Wight with my family this half-term week, but with mobile technology and the internet there is no reason any more not to be always in the picture with what is happening back home.

I was saddened to hear this morning of two fires, one of which has caused considerable damage to the ROSE Community Centre on the Syon estate and another, even more tragically, in Mogden Lane which sadly resulted in a fatality.

Then there was what under the circumstances was a slightly awkward, but in my view still necessary conversation to be had with a local newspaper which, possibly inadvertently, ignored the Syon ward councillors when looking for a comment on the ROSE fire and went instead to those in neighbouring Brentford. This happens quite a lot to us in Syon, there is some degree of resignation to our presence in Isleworth but many are still in denial about our more recent success in Syon.

The island, predictably, is cold and - well - wintery. Nonetheless it is nice to get away and recharge the batteries for next week's onslaught of meetings, beginning with a day-long interviewing panel on Monday.

The casework, in the meantime, doesn't stop for a holiday. Modern technology has seen to that.

Double-Life Syndrome - am I a little bit odd?

I don't think I would ever leave Isleworth to live anywhere else. With all my roots, my childhood and my memories being there, it would seem almost like a betrayal, even though the majority of the people I grew up with have long moved on to pastures new.

When I am at home though, there is nothing I look forward to more than my next holiday. It doesn't much matter whether it's a week in the Algarve or a £9.50 Sun weekend on the Isle of Wight, I love to be across the water and away from it all.

And then, as soon as I arrive at my apartment, caravan, bungalow or whatever, almost the first thing I do is log onto my laptop and attend to my casework or liaise with my Community Group colleagues back home.

Somebody once described it as "Double-Life Syndrome", the desire always to be part in one place and part in another.

As I write I approach with a little sadness the last night of a week-long stay on the Island. Having spent the first three nights in a modest chalet at Whitecliff Bay, we then moved across to Rookley Country Park for another four in one of Island View Holidays' impressively spacious new bungalows.

As each member of my family has distinctly different interests, life is always a compromise. At Whitecliff Bay much time was spent amusing the children, including endless games of pool with Joe. On one occasion though we managed a very pleasant walk along the beach during which he was able to put his geological expertise to good use by describing to us all the many rock formations along the multi-hued cliffs (see above).

Rookley provided me with an opportunity for a spot of fishing, while Caroline took the little ones to the cinema. Then today it was the turn of Caroline and I to venture out on a five-mile cliff-top walk, much to the chagrin of the couch-potato tendency.

Whilst I'm no stranger to walking, the cliff-top hike (below right) was a completely new experience. The official guides assume that the walker is an anorak, familiar with the requisite lingo. Thus it was that I found myself hundreds of feet up in the air, one eye straining down at the sea below whilst keeping the other out for a "triangulation point" without having the foggiest what one actually looked like.

Somehow we got down, and back, and now it's off to the club to watch a cabaret for the last time before making our way back to TW7 in time for my Ivybridge surgery. And looking forward, no doubt, to next year's holiday.

It's a funny old world - Part two

I have probably never done as much work in a week as I have this week. I was at my PC from early Tuesday morning until 4.30 on Wednesday morning attending to some personal business, and today I've been similarly occupied ploughing through e-mails and outstanding casework at a rate of knots.

The odd thing about it is I'm not at home, or at my office, or at the Civic Centre, but in Rookley Country Park on the Isle of Wight on a Sun holiday!

Each year The Sun newspaper sells thousands of holidays at various UK and European resorts for just £9.50 per head. For the holiday sites, it's a good way of filling up unutilised space outside peak season. The down side is that one doesn't always get the date one wants, and on this occasion when we were told we had been given July 14th it was a no-no as the kids are still at school and don't break up until next week.

So rather than waste the booking I figured here was a very good opportunity to get some work done, away from the distractions of home and life in Isleworth in general. And here I am!

Tuesday in particular tested the willpower somewhat, with glorious sunshine all around as I sat in my caravan glued to my laptop and living on a diet of white bread and tomato soup. But I've no regrets, the work had to be done.

It really is a funny old world when you go on holiday to get the work done which you're too busy to do whilst you're at work. But as Del Boy used to say on the telly, you know it makes sense.