EXCLUSIVEVERE 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 areseaworthy. So greatly respected are these that the DLS contingent was given pride of place on theThames Jubilee pageant in June, immediately following the Royal Barge. But Vere was not with them.

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

A history ofSt. Peter’s

ChapelSee

centrepages

2 BRADWELL BUGLE Summer 2012

She is presently undergoing a completerestoration in Cowes, after twice narrowly escapingthe breakers yard in 2005 and 2006. Whencompleted, the intention is that, by 2015, the 75thAnniversary of Dunkirk, she will be established as amobile educational memorial to Dunkirk, touring theSouth coast ports and the Rivers Thames andMedway to tell primary aged school children theamazing story of the miracle of Dunkirk in 1940.

In planning the Dunkirk rescue, the authoritieshoped to rescue about 45,000 of the strandedtroops, but the final total was in the region of338,000. Shipping from Destroyers to Little Ships,some even smaller than Vere which is 40ft long,worked together to bring the Allied forces home tothe South coast, the smaller boats ferrying troops tothe deep sea ships which could not approach theshore. Vere is credited with the rescue of 348troops.

So what is Vere’s link toBradwell-on-Sea?

During her restoration, researches into herhistory have revealed a fascinating story. She wasbuilt for the Admiralty in 1905 as an admiral’s barge,we think on the Dreadnought. In 1923/4 she wassold out of service and converted into a handsome“Gentleman’s Yacht”. Eventually in 1936, she cameinto the hands of William Charles Gatward Metcalfewho berthed her at Bradwell-on-Sea.

Early in WW2, in August 1939, Vere wasrequisitioned by the Admiralty for “ARP” (Air RaidProtection?) duties. We think, partly because of herlocation, that she may have been part of the smallMine Hunting Flotilla searching for the minesdropped in the Thames Estuary which haddevastated shipping heading for the Port of London.

By the autumn of 1939, the Estuary was virtuallyclosed to shipping and the nation was threatenedwith starvation within weeks. The authorities weredesperate to retrieve one of these mines to discoverwhat activated them and were seeking them by airand sea forces. One was found in November 1939,dropped by German aircraft into the mud nearShoeburyness and, once it was established that theactivation was magnetic, steps were taken to combatthis very real threat. That is a story in itself and nodoubt well known in the area.

Wounded

Vere was decommissioned in March 1940 butsomehow found herself involved in the Dunkirkrescue later that year between 27 May and 5 June.Little is known in detail but we are sure that WilliamMetcalfe himself took her to Dunkirk and she has thebullets in her to prove it! Most of the little shipswere captained by Navy personnel, but WilliamMetcalfe, an ex Royal Marine, with, if our conclusionsare correct, recent mine-hunting experience, wasone of the few owners allowed to go with theirboats on this perilous mission.

Members of the Metcalfe family have been tracedand are keen to help with the search for moreinformation. It is believed that there are family linkswith Clacton but we are also looking for more aboutVere at Bradwell-on-Sea, and what the harbour arealooked like in 1940.

So if any readers can help us with information orphotographs of the area in 1940, the Mine HuntingFlotilla or the Metcalfe family please contact us on40vere@gmail.com or through this Newspaper.

FROM PAGE 1

LETTER FROMTHE EDITOR

Your local newspaper forBradwell-On-Sea and thesurrounding area of Essex.

During World War Two the buglecall of Bradwell came from thelocal RAF fighter pilots when thecry "Squadron scramble!" wouldrouse Spitfires into battle againstinvading Nazis.

Today the spirit of our finest houris valiantly carried forward via thefreedom of the press in Bradwell'svery own local newspaper titleThe Bradwell Bugle, which nowincorporates full colour copies of'Your Town Your Choice'Magazine.

With regular news, updates andclassified sales, these publicationsloyally serve the Essex communityin print and now also online.

"All of our newspaper andmagazine titles remain committed

to bringing positive news topositive people..."

Duncan WilliamsPublisher

Tel: 0871 234 1991 FAX: 0871 234 1992

NEWS ADVERTISER NEWSPAPERS, STUDIO C, 41 EDITH GROVE,

CHELSEA, LONDON SW10 0LB

EDITOR - Duncan Williams (Mobile 07960 829 615)duncan@bradwellbugle.co.uk

SALES - Nacer Dib, Jason Courage, Louise Hill, AndrewPescud, Bev Smart

DESIGN - Stef Hayes (stef@localpublishing.co.uk)

Published by Independent News Ltd (c) copyright 2012. Company reg. 06735182

bradwellbugle.co.ukfacebook.com/buglenewstwitter.com/bradwellbugle

bradwellbugle.co.uk

By DIANA PENTONHon archivist to the Vere project

VERE - ONE OF THEFEW REMAINING

DUNKIRK LITTLE SHIPSSUPPORT BRITAIN’SREGIONAL

NEWSPAPERS!

In 2010, I reported that Steven Spielberg was tofilm ‘War Horse’, an adaptation of the book byMichael Morpurgo. Two years later and the filmwon plaudits galore, notably an academy awardnomination for Spielberg as best director.

If you have not seen the film, I urge you to doso as soon as possible. It is a moving work of art,featuring all of Spielberg’s trademarks (visceralaction sequences, colourful landscapes, movingscore from John Williams, historical detail andpalpable soul).

The film is also notable for its script, co-adaptedby Richard Curtis (‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’,‘Notting Hill’). Spielberg and Curtis invest the filmwith their customary heart, soul and wit, whilstavoiding the kind of mawkish sentimentality thatcould so easily have pervaded the project andthereby compromised its credibility.

But then, the film-makers built on strongfoundations, namely the ‘War Horse’ play at theNational Theatre. Did you see the recent Jubileecelebrations in London to celebrate QueenElizabeth II’s sixty years on the English throne? Ifyou did watch those events, then you will haveseen the spectacular display from the ‘War Horse’team.

Joey the eponymous war horse was brought tovivid life by a dedicated team of puppeteers and itwas a joy to behold, the spirit of the productionwithstanding the winds and rain to delight both theroyal party and any onlooker. But that is just amicrocosmic snapshot of the show’s appeal.

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

planned.Of course, without Morpurgo’s book (published

in the early 1980s), there would be no play and nofilm adaptations. Its appeal lay primarily in theclarity and consistency of Morpurgo’s aim andmethod in writing the piece. ‘ I wanted to look atthe universal suffering of war, using the path of thehorse and his story to give a vision of a shatteredworld’. So this would not be a German or Britishstory, but a human one, about the progress of Joeythe horse and the devotional love that Joeyinspires in his owner (a boy called Albert).

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

Adaptation

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

Nicholas Hytner that gave the project the go-ahead. Both he and Morpurgo agreed that whilstthe story should remain focused on the horse, ourequine hero should not speak at any point of theplay.

And so, Nick Stafford crafted a script thatinvited interaction between puppets and actors,thereby creating the horse’s character throughmovement and the emotional reactions portrayed

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

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

A Physiotherapist was consulted on the mostprobable injuries that could occur and how thatrisk should be minimised. It is representative of theplay’s pastoral ethos that the welfare of itsmembers was considered so carefully.

This is a travelling company in the truest sense,a family of performers and craftspeople, ratherthan some conveyer belt franchise. Each newstaging of the show is prepared with the same loveand attention to detail with which the projectbegan in 2007.

Every ingredient of its magic formula is worthrepeat viewings and examinations and is a gift toany teacher seeking to educate students onstagecraft and /or the history of war.

From Toby Sedgwick’s choreography of thehorse’s movements, to Christopher Shutt’sinspired sound signatures and Adrian Sutton’sscore, with Rae Smith’s detailed design, this is ashow with something for everyone.

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

But if you cannot quite manage a trip to thetheatre, or require further persuasion of itsmerits, then please do visithttp://warhorseonstage.com/videos and prepare tobe spellbound! CHARGE!...

Summer 2012 BRADWELL BUGLE 3

SPIELBERG SUCCESS TAKES TO THE STAGE

By JAMES MURPHY

PROTECTING your home or business fromflooding is a fairly simple concept. Any objectsthat adequately block encroaching waters canmake good flood defences but some things aremore appropriate for the purpose than others.

Because floods can occur with little or nowarning, the method you use to protect yourhome should be quick and easy to set up. This isthe reason why today's preferred modes of floodprotection are so similar to those used a centuryago.

The first thing that may come to mind whenyou think of flood protection is the humblesandbag. These simple defences are able to bestored flat and quickly filled as soon as floodingbecomes an imminent threat. However, theirefficiency is heavily dependent on your ability tofind a large amount of sand and possessing thetime and manpower needed to get them filled.

Fortunately, modern innovation has provideda quicker and easier alternative in the form of aninstant sandbag. To use these flood defences, justfill them with water and within a few minutes,you will have an effective flood barrier. Best ofall, they will save you precious time and effortand prevent you from having to locate and storea huge mound of sand.

Temporary

Some kinds of flood protection must beinstalled prior to flooding, but can easily be takendown and stored once they're no longer needed.For example, door guards can be installed whenflooding is expected and can be removed toeither for storage or to allow you to passthrough the doorway.

Using flood protection barriers is anotherpopular way to safeguard your property againstflooding. These barriers are usually composed ofglass and aluminum and are so lightweight thatonly a single person is needed to install them.Besides protecting against flood waters, they alsooffer considerable defence against hurricanes.

There are other methods of flood protectionyou can use to buy yourself some time untilflooding subsides. One of these is flood seal tape,which can be used around vents, doorways,windows and other possible entry points totemporarily stop water from getting in. This canprovide you enough time to protect furnitureand valuables or to install other flood protectionmeasures.

If you're in an area that is frequentlythreatened by flooding, you may want toconsider investing in a toilet seal. Even if yourproperty's exterior is adequately protected fromfloods, water can still come up through thesewer system and run out of your toilet.Naturally, this creates both a health hazard andan unsightly mess that can ruin your home. Toiletseals prevent sewage and water from flowing upthrough your toilet, saving you a lot of time andmoney.

TYPES OFFLOOD

DEFENCES

By KEVIN WILLIAMS

bradwellbugle.co.uk

Themagicof TheWar

Horse

4 BRADWELL BUGLE Summer 2012

DID HE EVER REALLY DIE?

FOR many a literary fan it is fun and exciting to dress upand play the part of one’s favourite character but it seemsthat no other character is quite as popular as that of a oneSherlock Holmes. His quirky yet intelligent actions in thestories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle make him among the topliterary characters that are researched and requested today.Even in death, he was a popular character, and the publicbegged for his resurrection. Doyle finally did give him back tothe world and the fans, which would be seen wearing blackarmbands around their arms in public to mourn for the lossof the popular character.The fans of Sherlock Holmes still play the part, dressing up

as various characters in the stories on regular occasions toact out a tale once a week or once a month in a meeting ofthe fans. Such interest in him is still so common that themuseum in his name still sees thousands of visitors each andevery year. It is hard to believe that this character hassurvived for greater than one hundred years due to his fans.He is the immortal detective. He is one that was resurrectedfrom the dead to once again grace the pages of Doyle’s novelsand 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 ofnews for the viewing of the public. People interested in the

great and glorious character can easily search the internet tofind several topics related to the character or even fan groupsand the all mighty Society of Sherlock Holmes. How manyother literary characters have been so privileged as to havetheir fans create their very own society? This writer cannotthink of any other than Sherlock Holmes.

Adored

The fans adore him, the readers are amazed by him, andpeople still attempt to portray him. Sherlock Holmes is likethe Elvis of Europe. He is reputed to still be alive even if onlyin the minds of those fans who so greatly adore him. He is stillcommonly portrayed in full dress and fans still try to becomehim if even for only a few hours. His popularity has neverfaltered due to this fan base. So, as a reader and a writer, Icompare him to “The King” with his crazed but loyal fans andinteresting impersonators and Europe or London to the LasVegas strip where the action is played out day after day afterday.His adoring fan base has probably increased the awareness

of his existence much more easily than his creator did in thepast and they are also responsible for the great art ofenactment of him. It takes a genius to portray the life of agenius. Sherlock Holmes is therefore still alive, even if it isonly in memory. He really never died if the decision was upto the fans.

By CHRIS HAYCOCK

SHERLOCKHOLMES IS ALIVE

bradwellbugle.co.uk

By FRANK WORRALL

THURSDAY morning is the best morning of the week for me. That's thetime when I pop down to the newsagent down the street and pick up the localpaper. I flick through it quickly in the store, take it home and devour it at amore 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 atyou from the pages, celebrating an anniversary, maybe getting married, orhaving 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 forsomething 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 andletting you know the latest in BMDs (births, marriages and deaths). And thenthere's the chance to pick up a veritable local bargain from the array ofclassified 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 sosuccinctly put it recently: “For the first time since the Enlightenment, largecommunities face the prospect of muddling through without any verifiablesource of news... their potential disappearance should be a matter of somepublic 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 the1960s our local railways suffered a similar nightmare of decimation - with localbranch lines and service lost for good after the report of axeman in chief, DrRichard Beeching.Beeching recommended the cuts to 'streamline' local services but the

inevitable result was that there were no services left to streamline after hissavagery 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 weshould fight against.

Why is it happening?

Essentially, because classified advertising is migrating to the internet - butalso because local councils are sticking the boot in by suddenly producingtheir own freesheets on 'cost efficiency' grounds. How are they 'costefficient'? Well, simple really - their existence means there is no need tospend money supporting local papers, because the jobs and council ads nowappear 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 viablesubstitutes for the local papers they are replacing and helping sentence to aslow, 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 beenough. 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 thesurvival 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 orsome 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 tosurvival.Otherwise, Thursday mornings will one day hold a less special affection in

my heart. And probably yours too...

SAYS

Local news forlocal people

Summer 2012 BRADWELL BUGLE 5

bradwellbugle.co.uk

Please support our campaign to stop theproposed windfarm for Bradwell and Tillingham

6 BRADWELL BUGLE SUMMER 2012

A HISTORY OFThe legendcontinues...

CamelotCastle.com

IT ALLBEGAN

1300 YEARSAGO WHEN

CEDDARRIVED INWHAT WENOW CALL

ESSEXbradwellbugle.co.uk

SUMMER 2012 BRADWELL BUGLE 7

Pizza, the way we know it today, is a derivation from focaccia(from the Latin word for fire), flat bread that has been preparedsince 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 orpizzas around the Mediterranean, it is in Naples that pizza inthe form we know it today first emerged, after the tomatoappeared on the table in the 1700s. Naples has many recordsof pizza since around the year 1000; the first mentions callthese flat breads laganae, and later they are referred to as picea.In those times, pizzas were dressed with garlic and olive oil, orcheese and anchovies, or small local fish. They were baked onthe open fire and sometimes were closed in two, as a book, toform a calzone.

SIMPLICITY

In Naples is also where the first pizzerias opened up, withbrick wood-burning oven, covered with lava stones from theMount Vesuvius. The chefs of those times ignored pizzabecause was considered a poor people’s food, but the newcombination with the tomato, when it entered the kitchenaround the 1770s, must have raised some curiosity, even in theroyal palace. Ferdinand I Bourbon, King of Naples, loved thesimple food of the people and went to taste the pizzas made inthe shop of Antonio Testa. He liked it so much that he wantedpizza to be included in the menu at the court. Pizza thenbecame 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 thetime.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 andwanted to taste it. A famous cook by the name of Don Raffaele,helped by his wife Donna Rosa, was invited to cook pizza at theroyal palace. They prepared three pizzas, typical of that time:one with cheese and basil; one with garlic, oil, and tomato; andone with mozzarella, basil, and tomato. The queen, impressedby the colours of the last pizza, which resembled the nationalflag, preferred that one. Since then this pizza is known as PizzaMargherita, 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, wherepizza has become a mass phenomenon. Yet, even today thebest pizza is found in Naples, where it is rigorously made withbuffalo mozzarella.

REPORT BY ANNA MARIA VOLPI

THE DISH THATCONQUEREDTHE WORLD

bradwellbugle.co.uk

1300 YEARS AGO there were people working in Ireland andScotland to spread the Christian faith. In Ireland, Patrick hadestablished many monasteries and from there Columba hadcome to Iona, a tiny island off the west coast of Scotland, toestablish 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 upa monastery at Lindisfarne on the north-east coast. It was alsoto be a school where Anglo-Saxon boys could be trained tobecome priests and missionaries. It was in this school that Ceddand his brothers Caelin, Cynebil and Chad learnt to read andwrite 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 missionwas to go to the midlands, then called Mercia, at the request ofits ruler, King Paeda, who wanted his people to becomeChristians. Cedd was so successful that when King Sigbert of theEast Saxons (Essex) asked for a similar mission, it was Cedd whowas sent.

RUINSSo in 653 Cedd sailed down the east coast of England from

Lindisfarne and landed at Bradwell. Here he found the ruins ofan old deserted Roman fort. He probably first built a smallwooden church but as there was so much stone from the forthe soon realised that would provide a much more permanentbuilding, so he replaced it the next year with the chapel we seetoday! Cedd modelled his church on the style of churches inEgypt and Syria. The Celtic Christians were greatly influenced by

thechurches in that part of the

world and we know that St Antony of Egypt hadbuilt 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 theEast Saxons. His simple monastery at Bradwell would, like thoseat Iona and Lindisfarne, have been at the same time a church, acommunity of both men and women, a hospital, a library, aschool, 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 amonastery in Northumbria. Cedd chose a site at Lastingham asit was wild and seemed fit only for wild beast, robbers anddemons. Again this was exactly how St Antony of Egypt chosehis sites. In 664, while at his monastery in Lastingham, Ceddcaught the plague. As he lay dying 30 of his monks from Bradwellcame to be with him. They too caught it and one young boysurvived and returned to Bradwell.

REPORT BY

by Revds Margaret andLaurence Whitford

ST PETER’S CHAPEL

8 BRADWELL BUGLE Summer 2012

Studio C, 41 Edith Grove, Chelsea, London, SW10 0LB Tel: 0871 234 1991

" 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 BuyingAdvertising Solutions

Brand BuildingConferences & Events

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bradwellbugle.co.uk

Summer 2012 BRADWELL BUGLE 9

A FRIEND once bestowed upon me words ofwisdom I will never forget. He said: “friendscome into our lives for a reason, a season, or alifetime”, which rang especially true for me afterstarting fresh in two different countries over thepast seven years.After moving from Canada to Australia for

nearly five years and eventually making my wayto the UK, I was quickly reminded of howvaluable true friendship really is. In what seemslike a short period of time, my two years inLondon have been filled with all of the typicalcritical life events-- including dramatic break-ups,subsequent heartache, employment loss, and theconsequential periods of insolvency that onmore than one occasion inspired me bury myhead under the covers until a new day started.And whether sick with the flu, or crying over aboy who made me blue, there was only so muchsupport I could expect with my parents andclosest friends living in a different part of theworld.Circumstances like these not only made me

value the wonderful role my cherished friendsand family play in my life but also helped merecognise how important it is to make an effortwith new friends I found along the way.Whatever the reason, we all need at least onewholesome, high-quality friend we can rely on tobe there in times of need, whatever the worstcase may be.Friendship is so vital that we even find it

included in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as partof a top-three under the love/ belongingcategory. In acknowledging the establishment ofreliable friendships as a necessary priority,examining the meaning of a ‘fair-weather friend’is a helpful first step in finding the most suitablepeople to fulfil our friendship requirements. Inessence, nothing teaches us more about whatwe need than recognising that which we don’tneed.

AVOIDANCESo what exactly is a ‘fair-weather friend’…

and how best can we avoid them? Metaphoricallyspeaking, a fair-weather friend is exactly as theterm suggests: someone who is only aroundwhen ‘skies are blue and the sun is shining’.Taken out of a figurative context, this simplymeans that a fair-weather friend is happy to

participate in the effortless good times but whenthe going-gets-tough this same person becomesharder to find than Osama bin Laden.One of my own examples of a ‘friendshit’

downpour includes a two week battle with theflu, where my ‘friend’ sent me an email claimingshe was “sorry for not being there” when I wasunwell, but that truth be told she “doesn’t dosick”. The question of whether this admission isentirely horrible comes down to one basicfundament: Expectation. The difficulty lies in thefact that we all have different expectationswhere friendship is concerned and it’s notunreasonable to anticipate the same quality ofattention from our friends as we are willing tocontribute to these all-important and specialrelationships.Granted, if you happen to be a free-flying

social butterfly and enjoy having a billionacquaintances, lots of so-so friends and a handfulof true-blue buddies, then this might not be aproblem for you. However, if you are more of asocial energy conserver with a lifestyle that onlypermits you to invest a small, but concentratedamount of time on friends, then getting it right inthe buddy department is that much moreimportant.There’s no sense in wasting valuable time on

people who are only in it for the pluses andperks but ‘make like Houdini’ and disappearwhen needed most. Although we can’t alwayspredict when a friend might disappointingly fallinto the fair-weather category, by turning ourminds 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 twoanswers should practically be identical, and if notthen perhaps it’s not only time to re-evaluatethe friendships we are spending (or notspending) our time on but also reflect upon ourtreatment of those friends we depend on andturn to during tough times.As a current example, identifying true friends

seems especially important now considering the

recent credit crunch that has everyone treadingon shaky ground in some form or another. Witha drastically changing economic climate comes apotential increase in social storms as we begin todepend on our friends for so much more thantheir usual sage advice.But looking on the bright side, this hard time

provides an opportunity to not only reassess ourfinancial investments but also encourages us tore-examine our ‘people investments’. Whetherthe 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 ourfriends really are and whether we might bewasting valuable time on high-risk/ low returnrelationships. It is equally important to choosenew friends carefully and not rush into fulldisclosure about every detail of our lives.People are not always as they initially seem

and waking up to sunshine is no guarantee itwon’t rain by early afternoon… especially in acity like London. Taking things slow with a newacquaintance is wise and should involve the samecaution executed when getting to know a newlove interest. In fact, we might consider takingthings that much slower, as romanticrelationships come and go but ideally our friendswill linger for the long haul.At the end of the day, in both good times and

bad, close friends serve as one of the greatestinvestments we will make in our lifetime and assuch they are well worth the effort. The fact thatthere isn’t a Hallmark day devoted strictly to thecelebration of friendship the way Valentine’s Dayshowcases love, simply means that everydaypresents an opportunity to nurture our platonicpals. It takes little more than a quick five minutephone call or even better, a good old-fashionedhandwritten note or card, thanking even onefriend a day for enriching our lives. Showing a bitof gratitude is a healthy way to protect oursocial stock and ensure that our friendshipsupply remains plentiful for when we need thissupport the most.Life throws many curve balls and dodging

these might feel like a full time chore; but bear inmind that once the dust settles we aresometimes forced to take inventory to discoverwhich of our friends are still standing besideus… and the best ones stick around to helpclean-up the fallout.

Ryan’sDaughter

By MELISSA A. GIGNAC

EDWARDBAGLEYREVIEW

- David Lean’s oftenforgotten film masterpiece

"RYAN'S DAUGHTER" is a love story that evolvesinto a love triangle set in the epic splendor of anisolated village on Ireland's scenic Dingle Peninsula.Like all love triangles, it ends in a disaster that becomesa tragedy.Rosy Ryan (Sarah Miles) seeks to find that certain

something that is missing in her life and thinks she findsit when she announces her love for her formerschoolteacher, 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 meetsand instantly falls into the arms of Major RandolphDoryan (Christopher Jones), a young British officerassigned to the village.Cinematographer Freddie Young captures the raw

beauty of Ireland with its ocean cliffs, greencountryside, lazy pastures and hidden forest love nest.Young shot the film entirely in a 65mm widescreenformat and in Super Panavision. It was the last such filmshot until 22 years later when Ron Howard filmed "Farand Away" in 1992.Ryan's Daughter is a slow developing romance. The

film runs for 3 hours and 16 minutes. Like almost all ofLean's films, Ryan's Daughter was hugely popular withmoviegoers and movie lovers alike.Ryan's Daughter is a story about relationships and an

epic film worth watching or at the very least, seekingout at your local DVD shop.

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THE FAIRWEATHERED

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lives for a reason...

10 BRADWELL BUGLE Summer 2012

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Summer 2012 BRADWELL BUGLE 11

Relax with a new bathroom style

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE TRADITIONALBy PETER BROWN

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

Many bathrooms, especially in older homes, are just a little smallerthan you would like. However, did you know that you can get wall-mounted 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 youdon't really use the conventional bathtub anymore but may need toconsider your options as some family members may be a little olderor infirm, you can get a safety shower unit complete with a seat. In thisway, safety can be paramount whilst still paying attention to effectiveuse of the space that you have.

CREATIVE

By being more creative with the room that you have you couldextend the reach of the vanity area, put additional cabinets and storageareas in. Remember that by getting everyone in the family involvedyou'll be able to see what works best for the family unit and planaccordingly.

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

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LET THE GAMES BEGIN

IF you took in the constant whinging about the Olympics,you could easily come to the conclusion that London 2012 isbad news. That the Games, which officially opened on Friday 27July, are a waste of time, a waste of money and will bring onlyproblems.The pundits have been moaning about the traffic snarl-upsthe Olympic lanes on the M4 and within London itself willbring.They have carped on about the tubes being crammed andhow it will be difficult to get to work in London.Then there has been the sniping about the balls-up by G4Swhich has led to the Army being asked to provide security.Jeez, even the rain has been used as a reason why weshouldn’t have held them in the Capital - and that is forgettingthe cost of the whole shebang!If there was a gold medal for whinging, Great Britain wouldwin it every time. We are undoubtedly the world leaders inseeing the glass half empty rather than half full. We love tomoan on about the weather, the state of the country, the stateof the economy etc.

PROUD

Rarely do we see the good in situations and give ourselves apat on the back.Well, maybe we should start reversing that pessimisticattitude, 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 theGames taking place in London over the next couple of weeks -so why not sit back and enjoy them?

Why not sit back in awe atsome of the wondrous sporting achievements that willtake place in front of your very eyes - and salute the athleteswho have dedicated themselves for a lifetime to scale suchheights?

CYNICS

Why not simply allow the scales of cynicism fall from youreyes - and lap up the action? And don’t worry if you can’t makeit to any events, or had no luck in securing tickets...the wholeshow will be broadcast on the BBC over the duration.Even the opening ceremony was a world-class example ofwhat we in Britain can achieve - and billions around the worldsaw that we, as a nation, have still got what it takes.Curated by the redoubtable Danny Boyle - the man whobrought us Slumdog Millionaire - it is sure to offer up amarvellous mix of music, theatre and entertainment.The Queen officially opened the ceremony and then Boyle'sextravaganza will swung into action with 10,000 volunteers andsome truly stunning visuals and action.Then the athletes - from more than 200 countries - paradedaround the Olympic Stadium before the flame was lit toannounce that the Games have finally begun.Here at the Weekly Sport newsdesk, we will be advising youwhat to watch and when to watch it in this column everyWednesday. We will also be speculating which events duringthe week offer the best chances of Olympic glory for GreatBritain.

EXCLUSIVESports report by FRANK WORRALL

Courtesy of Weekly Sport

12 BRADWELL BUGLE Summer 2012

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Ignore the whingers and enjoy them!