Karma

I was away from my office today and tried to phone in but couldn't get through. Later on I tried to access my email and the website but all were down. This evening the website came back on with a message about a power failure.

After my gentle warning from high about the blog yesterday I call it Karma!

Lewes bonfires

I am now happily sitting in the warm, at my computer, after a trip to the Lewes bonfire night celebrations. It is traditionally held on Guy Fawkes night to mark the discovery of the Gunpowder plot, but actually encompasses much more including the commemoration of the memory of the Protestant martyrs, the history of the town, remembrance day and a whole host of other more pagan traditions! I went with a work colleague who had not been before. Despite the efforts of the local councils to deter visitors the trains arriving into Lewes were packed and the streets busy , mostly with young people. We followed the one-way walking system and made our way to the bottom end of town where the Cliffe bonfire society has its torchlit procession (one of 6 going on in the town).

The Cliffe procession is generally thought to be the most traditional and also the most radical. As we approached the crowded streets were lit with the glow from burning crosses, 17 in all representing the Protestant Martyrs. The members of the Cliffe society dress in traditional costumes depicting Tudor times, pirates, soldiers, zulu warriors; all representative of the rich history of the town and parade up and down the main street, each time more exiting than the last. There are explosions from cannons, fireworks, flaming torches and bangers thrown into the marchers. The atmosphere is light hearted but deadly serious and there is an undercurrent of tension throughout. Add this to the crush of people all trying to get across the narrow bridge with the police desperately trying to keep control, and you begin to get the picture. The marchers themselves are from all ages and all walks of life, some in pushchairs and some in wheelchairs and some too old to march so they stand and watch! Every year they burn effigies of Guy Fawkes and Pope Paul V and also effigies of someone or something more topical (This year there was WALL E, the robot from the Disney film) .

Attempts to control or restrict the parades are generally ignored ! We stayed and watched 2 or 3 processions and then had really had enough of things exploding near us and crowds of people so, not wishing to have to queue to get the train home, we left early! It is an weird event and one that everyone should see once if they can!

London to Mongolia car rally

The London to Mongolia car rally does not seem quite such a breeze after all! I watched a TV programme tonight where they reported that Mongolia had only 80km of tarmac! The roads looked worse than the things I mountain bike on!

London to Mongolia car rally

Driving over to my brother's last Saturday we passed a convoy of strange looking cars heading down the Old Kent Road. On the side they had a banner saying London-Mongolia rally. The cars were a real mixture of vehicles, but most looked pretty old; there was a fair number of clapped out looking Ford Fiestas, Citroen 2CVs and even an old Austin All-aggro (I didn't think any of them had survived as they were amongst the most cr*p cars I have known!). I must admit at first I wasn't too interested in the whole thing but as the cars got more and more weird I took more note. (My favourite car had what looked like an old phone box strapped to the roof!). I read up on it when I got back and actually thought it looked like fun. Competitors can go from Hyde park to the capital of Mongolia any route they like. This may take them through Iran, Turkey, China, Uzbekistan, Russia and/or part of China!The cars must be no bigger than 1 litre and all teams must raise at least £1000 in sponsorship for the chosen charities, which help to support deprived children in Mongolia. On second thoughts it actually looks quite fun. You can read more about it here.