Uncategorized – learnsomethingnew303

End of the Road

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The end of the road? Surely with the planning application for the prison’s redevelopment being refused by the Mendip Planning Board on Wednesday evening this should actually be the start of a new chapter? Not so – for me at least.

My ‘journey’ with Shepton Mallet Prison started a year ago when this picture was taken at the first consultation event I attended. I have learnt so much about the prison (and myself) since then.

What did I learn following the Planning Board meeting on Wednesday (which incidentally I did not attend)? I learnt that many of those who spoke against the housing development and resulted in its refusal don’t actually object to the development at all. The Listed Building application after all was approved. Apparently, the main problem is parking and safety on the local road network.

I don’t actually disagree with the latter. The parking is likely to prove to be inadequate and the narrow local roads have limited pavements. It does indeed feel unsafe to walk along them with a young child.

I don’t, however, think the problems with the development will be solved by finding some extra parking and maybe introducing traffic calming.

This is a truly personal opinion and I totally respect the fact that it is not one others will share – I do actually object to the development.

The concerns about parking and highways are valid because (in my opinion) the site is overdeveloped and the plans do not sufficiently take into account the context in which they are brought forward.

Shepton Mallet is an historic market town with no mainline train station and limited public transport. Many people have to commute many miles to their places of employment. Many people have no choice but to use a car. Some people are lucky enough to be able to walk to work (or can afford not to work). If all of those people are lucky enough to afford a new flat in the prison then I wish them, and the redevelopment, well. If not, then there will be a problem that will persist long in to the future. Unfortunately I do not see the public transport situation improving any time soon.

The development proposals require the demolition of bat roosts, with little thought given to how to accommodate them in the future site proposals. It requires the site to be lit internally and externally – again with little thought to the bat population or surrounding neighbours. Perhaps it will be a good thing if the area feels too dark and unsafe at present – or perhaps people will miss the fact that the area is currently not lit around the clock. I don’t know as I don’t actually live in this part of town. That’s for the prison’s neighbours to decide.

The flats need to be built to cover the costs of the redevelopment. There is no room for ‘affordable housing’. Perhaps the development is so costly because there are so many costly interventions built in to the plans? It cannot be cheap to relocate the bodies of executed prisoners, demolish so many buildings and internal features and build so many new elements. Perhaps housing is not the right answer then? Or perhaps it is and these interventions, the level of redevelopment and the final cost of housing is the price to pay?

The developers make a living from redeveloping historic buildings. Many people will, however, attest to the fact that historic buildings and profit don’t often fit together. It often takes the intervention of trusts, charities and grants to plug the shortfall in cash. Decisions are taken to do this for ‘the greater good’ – there is a reason for doing so beyond profit.

I personally feel that Shepton Mallet Prison has something greater to offer. I believe it opens up a world of opportunities to learn about how we have progressed as a society over 400 years. To learn about crime, punishment and rehabilitation.

400 years ago I would probably have been imprisoned (or worse) for being a woman with strong opinions. I would certainly have been imprisoned for not attending church on a Sunday. Sometimes you need to have reminders of where we have come from – particularly if it means we don’t go back there.

Shepton Mallet Prison has a very grim past. Many people believe this is best forgotten – or left written in a book. The developers have certainly done much in their proposals to help cover things up – open up a new entrance in the walls, build mews in front of them, remove the bodies, demolish the execution chamber, introduce lighting and new landscape planting, have an interpretation area that’s open by appointment only. I totally understand that. Who would want to live in the prison as it is? It’s former inhabitants had no choice. Future paying customers certainly do.

I never expected the site to be completely redeveloped as a heritage site. I do after all live in the real world. I just always hoped that a better balance would be struck. That people would value the heritage of the site rather than simply look to preserve elements of bricks and mortar.

So to conclude, this is the end of the road for me as it appears that it has been decided that housing is an acceptable use as long as the parking is sorted. The interpretation proposals are fine as long as there is a legal agreement to secure them and additional information is provided about what is proposed. The interventions to the Listed Building are already approved.

What more is there for me to say?

A Matter of Time…

Last week one of my son’s classmates was crowned ‘Time Lord’ (or more correctly ‘Time Lady’). The newly created award was in recognition of her mastering the art of telling the time.

Being able to tell the time is something I have taken for granted for as long as I can remember. I have no recollection of how I was taught this skill. It did’t even occur to me just how much there is to telling the time until trying to explain the whole concept.

This isn’t an actual conversation, but you get the gist!

Okay, the numbers on a clock go from 1 to 12 (assuming your clock has numbers – my watch doesn’t!). These are the hours. The little hand has to go around the clock twice each day. There is a 7 o’clock in the morning and a 7 o’clock in the evening, for example.

So, when the little hand points to the 1 it is 1 o’clock. When it points to the 2 it is 2 o’clock. If it is somewhere between the 1 and 2 then it is somewhere between 1 and 2 o’clock. To work out how far between the two, you need to look at the big hand …

Okay, so you know I said the 12 numbers were the hours? Well, what I should have said is that this is when the little hand is pointing to them. When the big hand points to the numbers they don’t represent hours any more, they are minutes…but the 1 actually means 5 and the 2 means 10. Let me explain…

The big hand goes around the clock face once every hour. Each of the numbers on the clock represents 5 minutes. So, the 1 now equals 5 minutes past; the 2 equals 10 past, and so on. Now unless your clock helpfully shows the minutes, then you either have to remember this or learn your 5 times table to work it out!

So the 3 is 15 past? Err, well yes – but no! We actually say ‘quarter past’. Oh, and the 6 isn’t 30 past we say ‘half past’.

So the number 7 is ’40’? Again, it is and it isn’t! On a digital clock it would show ’40’ but on a clock with hands, once we get beyond 6 we don’t talk about ‘minutes past’ any more. We talk about ‘minutes to’ the next hour. Now you need to count anticlockwise. Anticlockwise…? Yes – the opposite way to the way the clock ticks! So, 11 equals ‘5 to’, 10 equals ’10 to’ and 9 equals – yes, you guessed it ‘quarter to’!

Great isn’t it!

So there really is more to telling the time than meets the eye! It just goes to show how important it is to break things down into manageable chunks. Learn one element at a time and then move on to the next.

I may not have a ‘Time Lord’ yet…but it will only be a matter of time.

It’s a Boy!

“It’s a boy!”

This is the fantastic news I received from a friend this week. It took me back to over 7 years ago when the midwife handled me my own beautiful bundle. I couldn’t have been happier.

When such news usually fills people with joy, how is it that for so many people the words “he’s a boy” can make them feel so angry and frustrated once their child starts school? It seems expected that boys will not develop as quickly as girls and will fall behind with reading and writing.

It is true that some girls will sit quietly reading and writing pages of beautiful text and some boys will not sit still long enough to put pencil to paper but such sweeping generalisations really do not help anyone. Do a search on “boys and reading” and a whole host of articles will pop up about how to encourage boys to read.