"I used to take the train from school." No - that's a simplification. I walked to the station (Sydenham Hill until the age of 11, Sevenoaks until 17), took my train, then walked a mile home in Petts Wood. Every half hour, the 161A bus connected there with the train (ah those days of proper co-ordination!) but personally I walked.

These days, pupils are more likely to be driven, door to door, to school. "Safer" they say. Hmm - but far less healthy. We're becoming an obese generation ourselves, and we're bringing up a new more-obese generation too. Incredibly, I understand that the average brit now consumes 20% less calories than they did 40 years ago [year figure may be wrong], but we burn so much less as we live so much less of an active life style. Sedetory jobs, a bit of a waddle to sit in the car, and a waddle to the sofa in front of the TV.


So I'm encouraged when I see rail ridership figures rising dramatically, bus figures drifting gently up, and hear of people saying how hard it is becoming to find space in cycle racks and on trains for their cycles. And I rejoice when I see the foot flow out of somewhere like Temple Meads in the morning.

A new school opens at Melksham Oak - just up the road from us - soon. The full term there starts in September. And the road past our front gate is the only walking route from the main town to the school. It's the cycle way too. We've already got to be careful as we "nose" a car out on those mornings that we do drive somewhere, and I actually look forward to having to be even more careful - to seeing the next generation getting their 30 minutes of exercise per day and helping to prevent the next generation becoming the obese generation.

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The top picture is a public domain one ... and I haven't a clue who is pictured. The second picture is one of mine - see our copyright and shows a random selection of people unknown to me.

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Comment from Anon ...

I am not sure that our new government is that bothered about the population remaining fit and well. I noted in the Blue Pool, Melksham this morning there is a notice stating that the concession brought in by the last government in April 2009 for the under 16s and the over 60s to go swimming without charge will be withdrawn from the 31st July 2010 and from the 1st August will be required to pay.
(written 2010-07-07, updated 2010-07-16)

 Z531 - Cycling and Walking
  [1640] Walking on The Wiltshire Downs - (2008-05-12)
  [1802] Motorcycles welcome at Well House Manor - (2008-09-19)
  [2253] Walks in and around Melksham, Wiltshire - (2009-06-21)
  [2490] Friendly Hotel in Melksham, near Bath - (2009-11-02)
  [2666] Random thoughts on Melksham Town Planning and development - (2010-03-08)
  [2704] A walk within without - Melksham Without - (2010-04-02)
  [2707] A walk on the Kennet and Avon - (2010-04-04)
  [2709] Old trackways and routes near Melksham - (2010-04-05)
  [2958] What do these road markings mean? Could Confusion Kill? - (2010-09-17)
  [3023] Autumn walk from Bowerhill - (2010-10-31)
  [3216] Images of a Spring Walk - (2011-03-27)
  [3228] What can you take on a public footpath? Pram? Wheelbarrow? Dog? Shopping Trolley? Horse? Cycle? - (2011-04-03)
  [3231] Footpath, Bridleway, Byway, Road used as Public Path - (2011-04-04)
  [3376] Kennet and Avon - Walk from Bedwyn to Pewsey. TransWilts day out. - (2011-08-01)
  [3579] Transport in Cambridgeshire - seen by an outside observer. What can Wiltshire learn? - (2012-01-15)
  [3580] Melksham Area - buses, trains, cycles, and roads. Meeting, 17.1.2012 - (2012-01-15)
  [3689] Can I cycle or ride my mobility scooter on the pavement? - (2012-04-07)
  [3771] Fine evening, country walk from Melksham - pictures - (2012-06-21)
  [3904] Want to help us improve transport in Wiltshire? Here is how! - (2012-10-26)
  [3938] A long overdue meeting - a steeping stone towards coordinate transport user inputs - (2012-12-02)
  [4022] A request for all of Melksham transport groups to work integrated - (2013-03-01)

Z101 - Health
  [611] Look out for the motor cyclist - (2006-02-17)
  [1032] Chronic fatigue help - a new discussion forum - (2007-01-13)
  [1776] Does fruit and veg drag on? - (2008-08-28)
  [2587] Bowerhill as a cycling community - (2010-01-17)
  [3034] Birth Notice - Aeryn Cassandra Ellis - (2010-11-07)
  [3521] Emergency First Aid at Work (HSE) training in Melksham - places available for 19.1.2012 - (2011-11-15)
  [3525] Melksham has a heart - come and see the pictures. Sunday, 11 to 3, Assembly Hall - (2011-11-18)
  [3733] More hazards of modern life - (2012-05-15)
  [4514] An update - and my absence in recent weeks - (2015-09-23)
  [4600] A big change in August - (2015-12-25)

Back to Park and Ride at Batheaston - will it solve Wiltshires Ills?

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Forward to Using java, javac, jar, and CLASSPATH - a simple example

Fail Safe Error Handling in Java via Exceptions
MySQL and Java - connectivity past, present, and future thoughts
What methods are available on this Java object?
Using java, javac, jar, and CLASSPATH - a simple example
The healthy option - away from the private car
Park and Ride at Batheaston - will it solve Wiltshires Ills?
Two sides of the coin
Train Services - Melksham to Bath and Bristol (and airport)
Melksham Food and Drink Fair and Town Crier Competition
Transport in Wessex - today and into the future