Information wanted - Bob Newhart , Walter Raleigh and Tobacco

Walter Raleigh was widely credited with bringing tobacco to civilization, and those of us of a certain age remember Bob Newhart’s comic routine on an old vinyl recording ("Introducing Tobacco To Civilization") (1) as he speaks to Walter Raleigh over the phone about this crazy notion...!
Walter Raleigh apparently believed that smoking tobacco was good for relieving a troublesome cough!!!
(Incidentally Bob Newhart still performs - he is 81).
If only we had known then what we know now.

But this got me to thinking. Sure there are lots of inventions and discoveries we could wish never happened – weapons, bombs, tobacco, recreational drugs…

But how many things have been invented, discoveries made, in the past that were way before their time and not taken at all seriously, only to become of huge importance later?
Mobile phones perhaps?
Basic medical hygiene?

“Ignaz Semmelweis was a young Hungarian doctor who worked in the obstetrical ward of Vienna General Hospital in the late 1840s. He was dismayed at the mortality rate for the women in his ward during childbirth, compared with those in an adjoining ward looked after by midwifery students. When one of his colleagues cut himself in the autopsy room and suffered symptoms of the childbed fever similar to that seen in the ward, Semmelweis thought he knew the answer. He introduced to his staff the idea of careful hand washing between patients. To his delight the mortality rate plummeted. But his ideas were treated with hostility, even derision, by the medical profession. As a result, he suffered a mental breakdown and in 1865 he died in a mental hospital.” (2)

Then again we have the latest ideas on consciousness, the paranormal, Rupert Sheldrake’s “morphic resonance”… for examples, sometimes unacceptable to "mainstream" scientists.

“Knowledge that does not fall within already accepted parameters can often be ignored as if it does not exist in spite of scientific evidence to the contrary. ‘Scientists, including physicians, can have blind spots in their vision,’ Larry Dossey writes in his book Healing Words – the Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine. They can also have what Dossey calls ‘immense intellectual indigestion’ so that they dismiss results with disparagement.” (2)

I think that years from now we will look back on what are in some circles today thought of as wacky ideas and wonder why it took us so long to accept them and appreciate their importance. But that is for the future.

I have been challenged to bring together as many things I can think of that we take for granted today but that have a past history of incredulity, non-acceptance, dismissal, ridicule – tobacco and basic medical hygiene can start the list going. Please let me have your thoughts and stories. I’m sure there are many to tell.

(1) Now we can enjoy pretty much the same Bob Newhart sketch on you tube!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7YBaiJMnik
(2) From Healing This Wounded Earth: with Compassion, Spirit and the Power of Hope.


The photos are of tobacco growing in Poland in 2006 - whilst I was cycling from Vilnius in Lithuania to Warsaw raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Arriving in Warsaw for Marie Curie cancer care

This is me arriving in Warsaw at the end of the 500 km cycle ride from Vilnius in Lithuania in 2006 in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Actually this sling concealing a broken elbow prevented me from cycling for the last 3 out of the 5 days, but with the help of these two stalwart chaps I made it first over the finishing line!!

Warsaw is a lovely city, the old square photographed here has been lovingly and most accurately restored to its former glory following its destruction in World War II.
We spent a very happy day relaxing around this square in the various street cafes, after we had paid a visit to the small Marie Curie museum.

Cycling from Lithuania to Warsaw

I've been sorting out my computer files to free up some much needed space and I came across these photos from 2006, reminding me of the cycle ride I did from Lithuania to Warsaw alongside 100 or so other hardy souls.

It was all in aid of Marie curie Cancer Care and in total we raised well over £1Million for them on that ride.

Actually there were 500 of us in total, divided into 5 groups all converging on Warsaw together from 5 different towns around the Polish border.
And actually I didn't actually complete the course in the saddle, as a freak accident on the second day of the five day journey left me with a broken elbow - but that's another story.

 I rode in the support van for the rest of the time, and still managed to take photos along the way. As you can see we passed through some very beautiful countryside.

Noveltea - the Bristol Tea Party

Photos of the Noveltea party held by a bunch of students in Bristol last year in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. It was a great success.
Do visit the Noveltea website. It's great fun. When all is said and done, we all enjoy an afternoon tea and cake. Noveltea takes this experience to a new level.

The Year I cycled from Vilnius to Warsaw for Marie Curie (2006)

Marie Curie Blooming Great Tea Party and Noveltea

I simply cannot believe that it is a whole week since we went to join in the Blooming Great Tea Party that was being held by Amos and Lily from Noveltea in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. We were so lucky with the weather. Cool it may have been, but at least not drizzling like it is today. Lots of friends and relations came to join in, along with several families walking in the surrounding park who were curious to see what was going on and enjoyed the wonderful home made cakes. And of course a respectable sum was donated to send to Marie Curie - such a worthy charity. Regular readers will know that I have cycled for them more than once, and not without incident it has to be said!

         Just look at those cakes!

And I just love those wellies!!

To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labor," wrote the Scottish novelist and poet Robert Louis Stevenson in 1881. Everything that means most to us is to be found in that journey, rather than in the achievements, or the destination. Mind you, he would never have experienced the frustrations of the average plane journey these days, especially when it leaves you stranded in a foreign clime for days on end.
I wrote of aeroplanes and volcanoes and hurricanes the other day and wondered whether good may yet come out of the recent fiasco in European air travel following the Iceland volcanic ash plumes that blew across our normally crowded flight paths.

Apparently the answer is yes! Aside from the devastating and very real experiences of wedding plans ruined, business deals disrupted (does that matter so much?), vital life saving medical supplies delayed, travel insurance shocks, etc., many people have actually been able to relax into the situation or have shown huge resourcefulness in getting home. What is more, many have then said how they have appreciated the journeys by train and boat rather than above the clouds. The latter may, just may, be usually quicker, but you see so much more from the train or car (not so green!) window - or indeed from a bike!
Several years ago I cycled from Vilnius in Lithuania to Warsaw for Marie Curie Cancer Care: well not strictly true - I broke my elbow at the end of day 2 and was carried on the support bus from then on, along with a very damaged bike! As we travelled along the route we had plenty of time to see the countryside, the fields and woodlands and small hamlets;  even experienced some over generous hospitality from locals drinking at a roadside bar at one refreshment stop. Our leader was unhappy about the bottles of strong local beer that were being pressed into our hands by those more than slightly inebriated men - and this was only 11am! Myself, I was most interested in the gradual change from small family subsistence farming, from manual and horse driven implements and tethered cows, to larger fenced fields, small herds of cattle, and old tractors putting in an appearance as we came nearer to Warsaw.

We then caught a train from Warsaw to Krakow, from whence we flew home. That train journey was so interesting - as we rolled along through more beautiful scenery, seeing glimpses of rural life, snapshots of gardens and smallholdings, horse and cart carrying produce presumably to a local market. I didn't want to miss a single detail, wanted to watch out of the window throughout the journey, but people wanted to talk, to miss all this experience of a different culture in all its fascination as it flashed by. 
I love the journey. In a car I love to be able to take my time, to stop in villages, to visit churches along the way, to have a closer look at quirky things! On my bike I can see into gardens that we miss on a car journey, can see rabbits and birds at close quarters as there is no noise to frighten them away
I foresee a future where many more holidays will use overland and over-sea travel to a destination. Even have no destination - just a circular route taking in all the sights and sounds and history of a place. Perhaps we shall be forced to do more of this kind of holiday anyway - air travel is often very very far from being a green choice, and how many more runways must we build before the planners see the long term folly of further growth in air traffic?

The National Garden Scheme

I went to a beautiful garden last weekend. Seeing all the bright spring bulbs in flower I thought to myself, is it perhaps just possible, maybe, please God, that winter really is now over?

I think we are all tired of this winter. It seems to have been endlessly cold, wet, gloomy, with more snow than we have seen in years. I am sure that I am not alone with these thoughts. It has been really bad news for the seriously depressed, and those with SAD, (seasonal affective disorder).

Everyone has been looking for the first opportunity to get out and about at the weekend and this garden was packed with visitors enjoying the colourful displays, the mild weather and the tea and cakes with a view.

What brought everyone out to enjoy this garden? We have a scheme in the UK called the National Garden Scheme. Every year people open their private gardens up and down the country for the public to come and view, to raise funds for charities. In the last 10 years the scheme has donated more than £23million to different national and local charities, including for example Marie Curie Cancer Care, Macmillan Cancer Support, Help the Hospices, and other major charities, and more than 1000 local charities nominated by garden owners.  Add to an interesting garden the teas and home made cakes which are almost invariably available, and a pleasant afternoon is guaranteed. The gardens vary from the tiniest town plots to the largest estates. They are all different, all show off different features, and very often the owner is on hand to answer questions. If you are not already a supporter, I can strongly recommend that this year you obtain the little yellow directory for your area (often available in garden centres or nurseries - otherwise obtainable by post- see the website) and try a few for yourself. 

Do other countries have similar schemes? Do let me know.

I leave the last word on spring to William Shakespeare, from Love’s Labours Lost 

When daisies pied, and violets blue,
And lady-smocks all silver-white,
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men, for thus sings he:
“Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!” O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.


When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
And merry larks are ploughmen’s clocks,
When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws,
And maidens bleach their summer smocks,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men, for thus sings he:
“Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!” O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.