2011 Streak Day 304 (Thursday Nov 3rd): And then there was lunch

2011 Streak Day 304 (Thursday Nov 3^rd): Walk - 2 miles Time - 40 min, Weather - a bit wet

This was the last full day of the break. All the planned work had been done and it was a day to celebrate by having a very long lunch. After all this is France and it would be totally wrong to ignore the culture.

I can honestly say that I have never had a better value meal - ever! In fact I find it hard to believe one exists. €19 for 5 course meal, including a bottle of wine, at a good quality restaurant is quite amazing. The most amusing course was probably the cheese. The waiter wheeled in a huge trolley full of cheeses I had never seen or heard of before. I could only make a random pick and hope but it worked. I was just amused at the collision of so much choice and so little knowledge.

When we finished we walked out, looked around and thought "Well that's that then.  Tomorrow is the journey home. The interlude is over." 

We had had a civilised lunch in a restaurant in a small town. As we left there were few cars on the road and all around were views of rolling countryside. I suddenly realised why I am always slightly discombobulated when I get home - I miss the emptiness. Here there are enough people to make the place civilised but there is also space. You don't feel crowded-in. Home though is southern England, one of the most densely populated corners of Europe, where there is always the pressure of others.

Anyway the picture the picture was taken outside the house in Gourvillette. Its purpose is to show the steel grey skies and dampness. I was a good day to eat and not run.

2011 Streak Day 265 (Sunday Sept 25th): New houses

2011 Streak Day 265 (Sunday Sept 25^th): Walk 3 miles, Time 1hr, Weather lightly overcast

I have talked before about the housing development on the site of the old paper mill at Nash Mills, Just looking at the pictures I thought they looked a bit dull but it is unfair to make a judgement when it is still a building site. However some of the first phase has been completed and show homes are open so I thought it was time to have a nose around.

There are two developers Linden Homes and Crest Nicholson. Of the two Linden Homes had the right attitude: saying the houses are open, just look round. Crest Nicholson were far more arsey. The show homes could only be approached through their sales office and they would not let people look round unaccompanied; you had to have an appointment. Obviously they wanted to discourage time-wasters.

So if I was going to buy I would buy from Linden but I am not going to buy. 

The show homes looked very nice and cosy with many nice features but the rooms were small. As an empty show home it looked great but if you started to think how you would actually live and where you would put everything you realised things were not so rosy. No matter how much the developers might want to, it cannot be wished away - everybody has stuff and stuff takes up physical space. You need to be able to contain it. A small example: the master bedroom in one of the houses only had one place you could put a double bed (but not a king sized bed) but there was no room for a bedside table. Where would you put a light or your radio alarm, or glass of water? they are all common requirements.  

There is a new campaign that has been launched by RIBA called HomeWise. They have published a report 'The case for space' which argues that in our homes we need an appropriate amount of space to support our patterns of living.

There used to be a standard. The Parker Morris Committee reported in 1961 and after analysing the way people at the time lived laid down the minimum requirements for rooms. However the standard was removed in the 1980s when the government decided that market would provide what people wanted and it should not be hindered by pesky little things like space standards. The nearest thing we now have are some requirements recently introduced by the Greater London Authority.

The report contains a small survey of some new developments and found they do not meet these new space requirements. The floor area of the average new three bedroom home is only 92% of the recommended minimum size but the most common new 3 bedroom house is smaller still at 77% of the recommended size

You can read the report and find out how much our living space has shrunk and how important it is. it certainly chimes with what I thought as I came away from looking at these new houses.

They are not good "machines for living". I thought.

But I really don't know how the RIBA campaign gets traction (it has so far been only a passing news item). Currently the whole public attitude and every news item is dominated by the idea of how poor we now are. A plan to make our houses bigger is not an easy fit with the woeful mood.

Nevertheless it is important. Houses last a long time and we are storing up problems for ourselves

A Feeling of Space

A postscript to my last post about the restorative powers of landscape: you do not need imposing natural grandeur for it to be refreshing, sometimes the domesticated views of the Home Counties can work their magic just as well. The view does not even have to be of natural features, small picturesque villages can also lift the spirits.

Today I went for an meandering cycle ride, with the only plan being to loop around some nearby villages. In every case I found something pleasing, whether it was a pond, a green, a cricket pitch on the green, or just a churchyard. The heart of each village had open space, old buildings, a human scale and felt restful.

The picture comes from the churchyard in Flamstead, a village listed in the Domesday Book. All was quiet and it was hard to believe that only a short distance away was the M1, heavy with traffic. A neat contrast as one space invites you to wander and contemplate and is thus refreshing, whilst the other demands concentration and has constant pressure from people in all the other vehicles.

This started me wondering whether one of the key issues for mental recuperation , as well as the beauty of natural landscapes, is the feeling of space and not being crowded or rushed. Sometimes in urban areas one can be hemmed by all the other people, wrapped-up in their own worlds, not interacting but intruding. One can be deprived of clear sight lines and subconsciously this feels pressurised. In such circumstances it is difficult to clear the mind

Today I had no problem with crowds as it was on small lanes and it always surprises me how it takes only a short step away from the beaten track for crowds to disappear. I find this when I run. Around Ashridge the parking spaces can be full and there can be quite a few people on nearby paths, strolling, walking their dogs or just messing about but a short distance further in people melt away and you feel you have the woods to yourself. Selfishly I'm actually quite pleased that many people do not want to move far from their cars.