Good morning to you all on this marvellous Sunday morning \u2013 mild if grey and somewhat overcast. At least it\u2019s a change from the gale force winds we enjoyed earlier in the week.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve got quite a big day ahead of us so I will have to be brief, I\u2019m afraid. It\u2019s Pen\u2019s mum\u2019s birthday today and grand celebrations are scheduled to commence in a few hours\u2019 time. I have a number of responsibilities in preparation for this afternoon\u2019s festivities, the most important of which is to stay out of Penny\u2019s way.<\/p>\n
![\"Happy](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stragnell.com\/befoulednews\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/birthday_cake.jpg?resize=192%2C256\" "\\"Happy")
Of course, being a gentleman I would never reveal how many birthdays it is that Beryl celebrates today but let me just say that the cake required to accommodate all her birthday candles would need to be the size of a small aircraft carrier. Many happy returns!<\/p>\n
You will be relieved to know that I am just about keeping my head above water in the rigorous task of watching all of the college football bowl games we\u2019ve had available in the UK. I suppose it\u2019s my childhood but even though I have no particular connection with either establishment, I was sorry to see Stanford lose and pleased to see Oregon win the Rose Bowl. I won\u2019t get to watch tomorrow\u2019s game until Tuesday afternoon so don\u2019t tell me the result!<\/p>\n The big news in our neighbourhood, apart from Beryl\u2019s birthday, of course, is the announcement this week that the government is \u201cconsidering very seriously<\/a>\u201d building a new high speed railway<\/a>\u00a0link between London and Birmingham. It\u2019s of interest to us as the proposed new line would pass about four miles from here and will have a significant impact on the villages along its route. It\u2019s quite controversial in the local area as it will, if built, seriously blight great swathes of rural England including Chipping Warden just \u00a0down the road. Indeed, the railway line will dissect one of my favourite walks across the Edgecote Estate and will undoubtedly rather spoil the peace and tranquillity. This has been rumbling along for a number of years and presents a rather interesting dilemma; both sides of the argument have many compelling arguments and the \u201cconsultations\u201d necessary will inevitably take some time. Ironically, the rail line will go through parts of the country which overwhelmingly support the Conservatives, the senior partner in the current coalition. Not surprisingly, many of the local residents are \u201cup in arms\u201d and are making their views known to their local MPs who are, in turn, passing on their fears of electoral annihilation to government ministers. It\u2019s still to be finally decided but it looks as if the government is minded to decide in its favour if only to try and generate some jobs now that they have so successfully flat-lined the economy and brought unemployment to its highest level since the last time the Conservatives were in office.<\/p>\n![\"Route](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stragnell.com\/befoulednews\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/edgecote_large.jpg\" "\\"Edgecote\\"")
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