Tim Walker's Blog, page 4

Happy New Year

With a sigh of regret and glance of fear,

I drag my trembling body into a new year.

My limbs are numb my mind seared,

My heart aches for those I hold dear.

The lunatics control this house of madness, 

Our freedoms twisted into a garland of sadness.

Too much of a good thing will eventually go bad,

It’s the best time we’ve never had.

How did it come to this sorry state?

Our futures robbed by the cold hand of fate.

The maniac clowns that kids love to hate,

Are now our leaders, but is it too late?

Our democracy has failed us when the choices on offer

Are between two bad eggs, why should we bother?

A chink of pale light shines through a door left ajar,

And through it slips a conman from his fancy car, 

He has come to confuse you with promises he won’t keep,

To raise your hopes then make you weep.

It’s your vote he wants to make a new land,

But really he wants you in the palm of his hand.

Democracy and justice he despises,

Your freedoms curtailed as he steadily rises.

His greedy eyes fixed on a one party state.

With him as dictator to seal your fate.

So beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing,

Before you hate them, its yourself you’ll be loathing.

Boris’s Christmas Message 2020

Listen up chaps and totty, Boris here.
I just want to wish you all the miserable Christmas you deserve for turning your backs on common sense and human decency by electing a Conservative government. I’m raising a toast to the two thirds of you, the electorate, whose votes we don’t need to stay in power, thanks to Thatcher’s re-drawing of constituency boundaries in our favour. And to those ‘get Brexit done’ dumbos who voted for us – your miserable Christmas and impending impoverishment serves you jolly well right. There’s no place for you at the high table of greed and entitlement. We just needed your votes.

Now, let’s get one thing straight. The Tories didn’t conspire with our oriental allies, the Chinese Government, to manufacture the corona virus, oh no. But the irony of having a government in power whose main purpose is to create an enabling environment for global capitalism to flourish at the time of a humanitarian crisis is not lost on me. The appalling death rate, largely preventable if swift, decisive action had been taken, is acceptable collateral damage in my book. And it’s only just beginning.
Now that covid has mutated into some unspeakable scourge, like something slimy from an episode of Dr Who, I’ve removed myself, Carrie and the kid to a Caribbean Island for our safety. If my hero, Winston Churchill, were with us now, he might sum up our bleak position thus:
Never in the history of human suffering has so much money been wasted per head of population to such devastating effect.

Of course, I am not Churchill, far from it. More like a flawed, craven, amoral weasel. But some of you still voted for me, so more fool you. I’m also an admirer of Churchill’s dastardly adversary, Herr Hitler. Whilst I was pretending to have covid to win public sympathy, I listened to the Mein Kampf audiobook and was impressed at Hitler’s single-minded determination to get into power through democratic means and then stay there by employing tactics of lies, deceit, bullying, blaming and victimising fringe groups, threatening the judiciary and undermining democratic process. Sound familiar? He even marginalised and removed an aged and much-loved Head of State before seizing power, burning down parliament and blaming it on the lefties. OK, the last bit is yet to happen here, but you must admit, there is an uncanny similarity to my political career. It remains a work in progress. Who says democracy doesn’t work?

These rum cocktails are strong… I’d better ease off. Are you still recording, Doreen?
Speaking of democracy, once we’ve repealed the Fixed-Term Parliament Act, I’ll be able to call a snap election at any opportune moment (after I’ve called Dom to come up with a snazzy slogan that will appeal to low-class needy, greedy aspirants) and sweep to another election victory. I won’t make the same mistakes my good pal Donald made, oh no – I’m here to stay!

As I’ve already said, I’m writing this from a warm, sunny Caribbean Island where I’ve got my trotters up (to borrow from East End oik, Danny Dyer) counting my ill-gotten off-shore gains from our successful campaign to undermine good governance, sweep aside regulations and pave the way for our supporters to rip off public funds earmarked for fighting the ‘invisible mugger’, Covid-19. It’s since occurred to me that I might be remembered as the ‘invisible mugger’ – I could well have coined my own political epitaph… honk honk! Waiter – more drinks!

We’re following the science, of course – we just haven’t made it explicit which science. The criminal science of Moriarty, I think. Hurrah for naked capitalist exploitation! The rape and pillage of dear old Britain will continue unabated through privatisation until we’ve privatised the heath service and there is nothing left of value.

I’m here plotting with my hedge fund mates, decked out in appalling Bermuda shorts, how we’re going to make a packet from trading down the jolly old Pound in January until it’s worth the sixpence in your pudding. We’re also building a luxury villa complex where we’ll all hide out once my oven-ready Brexit balls-up sinks the British economy. Why did I dither on agreeing a deal? It’s obvious really – we operate best under a smokescreen of confusion, lies and disinformation and we always planned to put the blame on the Europeans. Brexit is necessary so we can implement our plans to turn Britain into a tax-free haven for every money-laundering murderous crook with ready cash (aka Conservative Party supporters). My deepest thanks go to austerity warrior, George Osborne, for getting the ball rolling by cutting Corporation Tax to a pittance.
The rich shall keep their lolly, the peasants will shoulder the Covid debt, and the Devil take the hindmost, I say… Hurrah!

Of course, for our brand of crooked accumulation of personal wealth to succeed, it helps to have high levels of fear and uncertainty stalking the land because of the dreaded Covid-19 and good old Brexit. Distraction followed by deception works every time – like an aging, drunk magician at a children’s party. Talking of old piss-stained pervs, I’ve decided to make my old man, Stan, a Duke in the New Year’s Honour’s list – a hereditary peerage might come in handy; and I’ll bump up Madam Covid-19 to Dame for Services to the Promotion of Corrupt Practice …and thinning the herd.

Ah, the waiter’s just come with a fresh tray of Jamaican Rum Punch, so I’ll sign off by encouraging you to sing your little breaking hearts out, as you sit alone amidst the ruin of your Christmas plans, to my favourite Christmas carols…
Ding dong merrily don’t die
Hark the covid angel grins
God resuscitate ye merry gentlemen
Silent Night (in the mortuary)
Away in a Tier Four Manger
…and that all-time plebian classic…
So here it is merry Covidmas

C

Cheers! (…no, don’t give the bill to me – give it to that fellow in the garish shorts… you can stop recording now, Doreen. Perhaps we’ll review this when I’m sober, I’ve been far too candid. What? It’s gone out live on the internet??? …I’m ruined. Well, we can always debunk to the land of my birth, the good old US of A).

A Conversation with Author Tim Walker

Sharing my guest post on author Pam Lecky’s book blog…

Pam Lecky

Today in the Library we have ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Tim Walker, who has dropped in to say hello and to share some insights into his life as an author.

You are very welcome, Tim, please tell us about yourself.

Thank you for inviting me, Pam. I’m an independent author living near Windsor in the UK. I grew up in Liverpool where I began my working life as a trainee reporter on a local newspaper. After attaining a degree in Communication Studies, I moved to London where I worked in the newspaper publishing industry for ten years before relocating to Zambia where, following a period of voluntary work with VSO in educational book publishing development, I set up my own marketing and publishing business, launching, managing and editing a construction industry magazine and a business newspaper.

My creative writing journey began in earnest in 2013, as a therapeutic activity whilst undergoing and…

View original post 1,333 more words

Hadrian’s Wall – Vindolanda and Chesters Forts

Vindolanda (Chesterholm)

From Corbridge I headed west on the A69 for 11 miles, following the Tyne valley, to Vindolanda Fort and Museum. ‘Vindolanda’ is though to mean ‘white or shining lawn’ or ‘enclosure’ in the local tribal language. The site, managed by the Vindolanda Trust, is nestled in rolling hills, about a mile south of the Wall. The site offers a comprehensive view of a Roman fort and its civilian settlement, including a part-excavated bath house located outside the walls of the fort. There are two reconstructions for visitors to climb on – a stone tower and parapet, and a wooden gatehouse. On the path to the museum there is a reconstructed Roman kiln, and a temple.

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A wooden fort was built around 85 and later became a stone walled fort (re-built as many as nine times) in continuous occupation throughout the Roman period. At the centre of the fort is the Headquarters building, partly excavated, as is the Commanding Officer’s house next to it. At its height, Vindolanda fort and surrounding settlement would have supported a population of up to 5,000, of which 1,500 would have been soldiers.

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Vindolanda has produced the most important find of the last fifty years – the writing tablets. These documents, some on display in the museum, not only provide valuable information about the details of life on the frontier of empire, but are also very similar in content to documents found on the eastern edge of empire, showing a similarity of experience. There may have been gaps between cohorts of a legion being billeted at Vindolanda, including a long gap from c. 280 to 305 when the site was derelict and needed re-building. All this building activity over the years has completely hidden the ‘white lawn’ and its landscape witnessed by the first Romans to come to Vindolanda. Archaeologists believe the site continued to be occupied after the Romans departed until the ninth century.

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The Romans deliberately placed their temples and bath house close to the water supply (streams and wells) so that their gods could watch over this precious asset. From the wells and water tanks a series of aqueducts fed the bath houses, and went down village streets and into the fort. Stone and timber were used for carrying and holding water, but not lead, as used in other Roman sites.

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The museum is one of the best Roman museums I have been in – no wonder it has award-winning status. The short films are well-made and add a layer of understanding to life in this most remote of Roman settlements. The writing tablets have their own room and the translations make fascinating reading. A tavern was excavated in the town, thought to be part timber with stone foundations and most likely two storeys, perhaps operating as a brothel as well as a beer-drinking meeting place. The owners buried 270 coins in a pouch under the kitchen floor, no doubt hoping to return one day to claim their savings. They did not return, and excavators uncovered the hoard in 1977 – some of the coins are on display, as is a part of a glass goblet painted with fighting gladiators (see picture).

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The Vindolanda writing tablets contain a rich array of personal accounts from Romans based there, most from the early years of occupation up to the 120s. Letters were written by soldiers of all ranks and community members of both genders, giving a glimpse into their daily lives, interests and concerns. One such letter is a birthday party invitation from Claudia Severa to the Commander’s wife, Sulpicia Lepidina in the year 100. There are also letters between slaves, children’s writing lessons, doodles and demands for beer.

[image error]Emperor Hadrian display at Wallsend Museum

Chesters Roman Fort

From Vindolanda, I headed east on a B-road that followed the contours of rolling hills dotted with grazing sheep for 15 miles to Chesters Roman Fort. This incredibly beautiful site that slopes down to the rippling North Tyne River is managed by English Heritage. It sits on the estate of the Clayton family, who did much from the nineteenth century onwards to excavate and preserve Roman findings. Here can be viewed the remains of a fort laid out at foundations level, a bath house situated beside the river, and the 130-year-old museum built by the Clayton family to display many stone carved tablets and headstones.

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Chesters was first occupied by a cavalry unit called ‘Augusta for valour’ according to an inscription, but throughout most of its life was the base of the Second Cavalry Regiment of Asturians (from Northern Spain). The fort was placed astride the Wall, with three of its four gates opening north of the Wall. A replica of the Chesters Bath House can be seen at Wallsend Roman fort and museum.

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Hadrian’s Wall – Rome’s Most Northerly Outpost

In September 2020 I finally made the trip I had been dreaming of for many years – the museums and excavated sites along Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. I started at the most easterly end in South Shields, where the Roman fort of Arbeia once guarded the mouth of the River Tyne.

[image error]Replica West Gate of Arbeia Roman fort

The archaeological ruins were first uncovered and laid out in 1875. In more recent times, the local council have adopted the site that occupies an entire block in a residential area. Features include the restored and re-constructed Commanding Officer’s House, with courtyard and shaded portico, and the impressive replica gatehouse (pictured above). It is thought that the visible stone fort was built in the time of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180), replacing an earlier wooden fort that dated from the time of Hadrian (117-138) when major construction of the wall commenced at Wallsend on the north Tyne. Arbeia’s function was expanded to include extensive granaries, and it became the main supply fort for Emperor Septimus Severus’s (193-211) campaign against the Caledonian (Scottish) tribes. The restored Commanding Officer’s house (pictures below) gives an insight into how the commander and his family lived and worked, and the many luxuries they had, including underfloor heating, in the second and third centuries.

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Next stop was Wallsend (Segedunum) fort and museum on the north Tyne. In the 1970s the site was recovered from housing that had been built over it, and it is now a museum managed by the council. As the name suggests, Wallsend is literally the eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall, and my picture shows the excavated outcrop of wall that ran down to the riverside, leaving the marshy estuary beyond as a natural barrier to any incursions from the north. In the corner of the site is a replica of the bath house building whose ruins can be visited at Chesters fort in the middle section of Hadrian’s Wall. I am pictured standing in front of the replica building, that was unfortunately closed at the time of my visit. In the site is a reconstructed herb garden (pictured), and inside the museum is an interesting display of the hospital block with description what injuries and ailments would have been treated by legionary surgeons and healers. There is much information on the life and trials of the soldiers – mainly cavalrymen – who were stationed here. For instance, did you know that there is no mess hall or any evidence of communal eating? This is because each soldier was given a weekly ration of food and they had to bake their own bread (in a communal oven) and cook their meals on braziers, most likely in ‘buddy’ groups with those they bunked with in the barracks. Also pictured is a bronze bust of the Emperor Hadrian on display in the museum.

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My next stop was eight miles to the west of Newcastle, at Heddon-on-the-Wall, where a lengthy outcrop of the Wall has been partially excavated. The Wall is 3m wide and there were no platforms for soldiers to stand or walk on between strategically-placed observation towers and more substantial mile towers. The forts that could garrison a cohort (480 men with stables for horses) were positioned off the east-west Stanegate road at intervals of roughly 13 miles, as this was the distance a legionary could march in a day with a full backpack weighing approximately 125 pounds or 57 kgs. The forts (often with civilian settlements adjacent) could be on the Wall (as with Chesters) or up to two miles south (as with Vindolanda). The Wall itself (when complete) ran for 73 miles across the narrowest part of the island, from Bowness-on-Solway (east of Carlisle) to Wallsend, and there were most likely seven forts in total – although not all have been excavated.

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Driving west for 10 miles along the A69 road, I arrived at the English Heritage-managed site of Corbridge Roman Town (Coria). This is an extensively excavated site of what was once a walled town and barracks that sits on a bluff above the River Tyne valley, where it once guarded a bridge no longer there. I was fortunate to be given an impromptu guided tour by a knowledgeable volunteer, who explained the layout and functions of a town where civilian tradesmen and women rubbed shoulders with a cavalry unit. It was a supply fort for legions marching north, west and east, and stands on an important crossroads where Dere Street (S-N) and Stanegate (E-W) intersect. The town was occupied throughout the Roman period from the 80s to late 390s, and beyond into the Dark Ages by Romano-British nobility. In the centre of the town lay an impressive fountain at a meeting point surrounded by temples to a wide range of gods from across the Empire, including deities from the far east, that have yielded many interesting stone carvings, some of which are on display in the adjacent museum. There is also evidence of some temples’ conversion to Christian churches from the early fourth century. The bustling town, located two miles south of the Wall, may have been home to as many as 3,000 people at the height of its occupancy. Pride of place in the museum is a sandstone carving of a lion standing over a slain goat (pictured) that is thought to have been a tombstone that was later employed as the centrepiece of a fountain.

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In my next post, I’ll be describing my visits to Vindolanda and Chesters Roman forts.

Children In Read 2020

This year I’m taking part in the Children in Read charity fundraising offshoot of Children in Need.
With over 300 authors and 500+ books to bid for, there is something for everyone – please scroll through the website lovingly put together by Paddy Heron (@ChildrenInRead) and John Jackson (@jjackson42).
Mine and Cathy’s three-book Adventures of Charly Holmes series (listed under Action and Adventure) is one lot, so bid away – the winning bidder (UK only) will receive paperback copies signed by the author and personally dedicated…

[image error]http://mybook.to/CharlyHolmesSeries

Please visit the website and scroll through the many books on offer: https://jumblebee.co.uk/childreninread2020

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BBC Children in Need







What We Do

We provide grants to projects in the UK which focus on children and young people who are disadvantaged. We are local to people in all corners of the UK and support small and large organisations which empower children and extend their life choices.

We are currently supporting over 3,000 local charities and projects in communities across the UK. The projects we fund help children facing a range of disadvantages for example poverty and deprivation; children who have been the victims of abuse or neglect or disabled young people.

BBC Children in Need currently awards grants at six points during the year and funds two types of grants. The Main Grants Programme is for grants over £10,000 per year to support projects for up to three years. Meanwhile, the Small Grants Programme supports projects for up to three years, and includes grants up to and including £10,000 per year.

Through the Year

The BBC Children in Need Appeal Night takes place every year in November. The Appeal show is a whole evening of entertainment on BBC One with celebrities singing, dancing, and doing all sorts of crazy things to help raise money.

There are also plenty of one-off specials of your favourite programmes, which in the past have included Doctor Who, Strictly Come Dancing, The One Show, EastEnders and much more!

Before we get to BBC Children in Need Appeal night, there is plenty going on around the UK. You can get lots of tips and ideas on how to get involved, including how to organise an activity in your local area, or there is plenty of fun stuff going on for you to take part in so there’s something for everyone.

For every pound donated to BBC Children in Need, a minimum of 95p goes directly towards changing the lives of disadvantaged children and young people across the UK. This includes the grants we make to projects working with children and young people around the UK, the costs of making sure that these grants are properly monitored and evaluated, and the costs of undertaking research and initiatives designed to ensure we have a positive impact on young lives.

Charly in Space

Great launch day review from Karen Cole on her book blog, Hair past a freckle…

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“It’s my pleasure to be sharing my review of Charly in Space today and I’d like to thank Tim Walker and his daughter, Cathy and wish them a very happy publication day.

Charly in Space is the third book to feature the irrepressible Charly but each story is a separate adventure so readers can enjoy this one without having read the first two in the series.

I could tell from the start that I was going to like Charly – she has a real sense of fun about her and I’m sure she will appeal to young readers who want believable, relatable characters in their stories. I also really loved that the adventurous main character is a girl and that she is a bit of a rule-breaker and risk-taker. The reason why she ends up on the International Space Station is entirely down to her inquisitive nature but fortunately she joins a remarkably patient and forgiving team of astronauts!

Charly in Space is only a short book but she has a few exciting experiences, including an important spacewalk and a momentous – and well-timed – canine encounter. The vivid descriptions of the European Space Agency and the International Space Station will fascinate children, and the astronauts on board the ISS are both men and women who are equally intelligent and courageous. Charly in Space would be an ideal book to encourage imaginative discussions about space in schools or at home. Even though Charly is a teenager and although described as being suitable for readers aged 9+, I feel this delightful little book would be most enjoyed by children in the 7-11 year old bracket and even younger space fans would surely enjoy having it read aloud to them.”

Grab you ebook or paperback HERE

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#BookReview Charly in Space by Tim and Cathy Walker @timwalker1666 #PublicationDay

Today is publication day for the Kindle version of Tim and Cathy Walker’s latest collaboration, Charly in Space, so I have been asked to read and review it. About the Book Schoolgirl Charly Holmes has an out-of-this-world experience! Charly in Space is an adventure story for young readers involving British schoolgirl, Charlotte Holmes (called ‘Charly’ by […]

#BookReview Charly in Space by Tim and Cathy Walker @timwalker1666 #PublicationDay

Author Interview with Tim Walker

Q1.  Tell me about yourself – biography, career, likes, dislikes, hobbies etc…anything you would like to share about yourself?  Any fun, interesting facts?  Please insert a photograph if possible. Thanks for inviting me to your blog again. I’m Tim Walker, an independent author based in Windsor, UK. My career background is in marketing, journalism and […]

Author Interview with Tim Walker

Tumbleweed Town

Is it time to admit that we’ve now been browbeat

By the crocodile smiles, the lies and conceit?

When they’ve sold the very soil from under our feet

What dire fate do you think we peasants shall meet?

Our plants wilt and the animals choke

As the fetid air slowly merges with smoke 

While we scrimp and save and do what we can

And wonder what life will be like after man.

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