A personal post from Graham Ellis
Lisa and Graham live in Melksham, Wiltshire, England

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For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))
Riots in Melksham

Melksham has a place in history - with riots in 1738, 1747 and 1750. From Wiltshire Community Hostory ... "In Melksham, unlike Trowbridge, the [clothier] industry suffered further decline in the 18th century and it was also plagued with disputes and disturbances. In 1738 a leading clothier, Henry Coulthurst, had his house and mills wrecked by weavers during a dispute over wages and eventually troops were sent in, some of the rioters were tried and three were executed. There were further riots in 1747 and 1750 and dragoons were sent to the town to help keep order. Some clothiers went bankrupt in the mid 18th century and the industry continued to decline. This does not seem to have had too much effect on building in the town for, although there are no clothiers  [82][ac] Ä  mansions here, many of the buildings on the main streets date from this century. By this time the major route through the town, King Street, High Street and Bank Street, was built up.". And a further descriptions [here]. The police weren't taking any chances today - here are some scenes outside Well House Manor.



Things started to get a little warm when two young ladies put up barriers blocking traffic at 4:30 - a full hour before the parade started from the other end of town - outside the Texaco garage. Irate people, trying to drive home before the carnival, found themselves blocked and with no positive alternative suggested to them, and no sensible reason given. "We have been told to stop all traffic".

The garage operator was seriously concerned, with people turning in temper on her forecourt - an accident waiting to happen, and a tanker load of petrol due any minute. I was less than happy, as I had advised our customers to approach from Bowerhill knowing there would be a road closure while the parade passed and on the town side of us. I approached the young ladies and asked why the block was on so early, why it was a much longer section blocked than in previous years, whether they could let people visiting our business through, as it was well before the parade route. "We're just volunteers and we've been told to do this". Hmmm - "is that a copy of the street closure order you're holding? What does it say?". "Oh no - we don't have any paperwork - we've been told to stop all traffic here and we can't let anything through". "OK - we're a 24 hour business, we're expecting visitors and we were not told. What should we do?" "Nothing can go through. But we will call the police." And call the police they did... ("We're getting nothing but abuse" I heard them say - funny that, as what they were getting was a stream of good questions, from a lot of people, which they couldn't answer. I heard no abuse, though there may have been some from others).

And, now here's a surprise, the police told them to move the barrier to the usual place. Much safer for the garage. Our guests could get in - and several of our neighbours came over, said "hi" and "thank you" and "I was going to join in too if you needed more guns". And we got ourselves some more police.


 


For saying that we got more police, they were much more professional (well, they would be) than the illtrained jobsworth volunteers who, I noticed, say "nothing can pass" then let the police through. The police cleared the traffic, let those who could reasonably and sensibly get home before the parade do so, and we let people who had been caught out park at Well House Manor. The police even got a chance to watch.



And indeed I took some pictures of the parade too - I'll have a look at what I got, and post them tomorrow - but here's my starter.



See also [here] for more overzealous police activity and how their superior then had to cover their tracks as they had rather overstepped their remit. Old habits die hard with those who take it upon themselves to try and order us about!
(written 2013-07-13, updated 2013-07-15)

 
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
Z801 - Pettifog
  [52] International awareness - (2004-09-17)
  [87] Too sittings - (2004-10-13)
  [90] Rude old people - (2004-10-16)
  [323] 1 in 48 steel - (2005-05-24)
  [439] You cant - (2005-09-08)
  [471] And it gets even better - (2005-10-21)
  [478] Watch what you wear - (2005-10-26)
  [519] New Road - (2005-12-06)
  [562] Smoke and mirrors - (2006-01-12)
  [600] It costs nothing to say THANK YOU - (2006-02-11)
  [638] A pile of sand? Where do we stand? - (2006-03-08)
  [783] Good follow up ... my thanks - (2006-06-28)
  [791] Strange housewarming - (2006-07-03)
  [815] Time trickles like water through a sieve - (2006-07-27)
  [826] Fighting illegal net use by imposing download limits - (2006-08-09)
  [1170] Smoking, or no? The law insists we spell out the obvious - (2007-05-01)
  [1337] A series of tyre damages - (2007-09-08)
  [1349] Cash is not an acceptable way of paying - (2007-09-13)
  [1741] Age Concern - (2008-08-07)
  [1783] Think before you send - (2008-09-02)
  [1839] Job application - (2008-10-13)
  [1862] Remember your units - (2008-10-31)
  [1972] Pettifog and forum boards away from public view - (2009-01-03)
  [2122] Commission Creep - (2009-04-08)
  [2193] Excellent product, excruciating customer service. 3 Mobile Broadband - (2009-05-21)
  [2625] Both feet on the same pavement - (2010-02-05)
  [2761] A small business, facing a big government questionnaire - (2010-05-12)
  [2788] Cost of Sales - (2010-06-01)
  [2937] The cat in the dustbin - (2010-08-27)
  [2944] What others cannot do in 10 months takes Virgin 10 minutes - (2010-09-03)
  [3013] Audio equipment - (2010-10-24)
  [3030] Liquorice allsorts and Dolly Mixtures - (2010-11-05)
  [3084] Can you trust the big brand names? - (2010-12-12)
  [3302] Are you a half full or half empty person? - (2011-05-25)
  [3749] Removal of water safety equipment, and how to use a lifesaver ring - (2012-06-04)
  [3835] The Information age - not yet truly with us? - (2012-08-12)
  [3900] The Xxxxx Guest House in Xxxxxxxxxxx - my stay reviewed - (2012-10-20)
  [4167] The important customers are the majority, not the celebrity - (2013-09-08)
  [4282] On tipping - and the expectation of a tip - (2014-07-10)
  [4304] Please do not ask me to be the chair! - (2014-09-25)
  [4354] Wiltshire Police - assuming someone is guilty just on the say-so of a member of the public? - (2014-12-16)
  [4630] The story behind the bus cuts, and what they could mean - (2016-01-24)
  [4651] Pressure selling in the fire safety business - (2016-02-19)
  [4720] Celebrating our diversity rather than discriminating for it - (2016-11-02)

Z212 - Public Holidays and festivals
  [30] Bank Holiday - (2004-08-27)
  [35] Autumn arrives right on time - (2004-09-01)
  [131] Thanksgiving dinner - (2004-11-26)
  [429] Charlie on Monday - (2005-08-30)
  [637] Carnival - (2006-03-07)
  [1209] Where did the Bank Holiday go? - (2007-05-29)
  [1269] Party in the Park - review - (2007-07-17)
  [1540] Chinese New Year - (2008-02-15)
  [1631] Looking back through some photos - (2008-05-04)
  [1770] 3 hours from Milton Keynes - (2008-08-24)
  [2297] Standing on the corner, Melksham Carnival - (2009-07-19)
  [2298] Melksham Carnival Parade - the people - (2009-07-19)
  [2498] Remembrance Sunday 2009, Melksham - (2009-11-08)
  [2656] Melksham Carnival - (2010-02-28)
  [2671] Melksham - Carnival, Party in the Park, and Spot the Oddity - (2010-03-11)
  [2875] A long day in Melksham ... - (2010-07-17)
  [3062] Melksham Carnival - getting ready for 2011 - (2010-11-20)
  [3191] Date of the Census (which month and day?) - (2011-03-03)
  [3207] Lambing at Lackham - (2011-03-19)
  [3360] Melksham Carnival, 2011 - pictures - (2011-07-17)
  [3513] Olympic Torch - dates and places in Wiltshire in 2012 - (2011-11-08)
  [4120] American Circus in Melksham - (2013-06-22)
  [4141] My pictures of Melksham Carnival, 13th July 2013 - (2013-07-14)
  [4287] TransWilts CRP - walking in Melksham Carnival - (2014-07-13)


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My pictures of Melksham Carnival, 13th July 2013
Some other Articles
Getting the best hotel rates - customer and hotelier viewpoints
Bus times - Melksham to Bath from 28th July 2013
Passenger survey at Chippenham - report and pictures
Riots in Melksham
Out of doors (mostly) at Well House in Melksham
Should a hotel accept guests who book for just one night?
Early morning - welcoming business and leisure guests to Melksham
How do I post automatically from a PHP script to my Twitter account?
Introducing your product to Well House Consultants - single, personally tuned email please
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This is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price.

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