Month: July 2010

Additional 3 Years Excessive ???


Here we go again. Judges once again showing the law is an ass. Well actually not the law but the folks that administer it.

Lee Amos a Moss Side gang member, 34, was convicted, along with four other members of Moss Side’s Gooch Gang, of killing Tyrone Gilbert in July 2007. A judge at Liverpool Crown Court ruled he should serve at least 35 years for murder and attempted murder.

At the Appeal Court in London, Amos failed to get his conviction overturned but judges cut his minimum tariff from 35 years to 32. Lord Justice Pitchford, sitting with Mr Justice Owen and Judge Andrew Gilbart QC, said his tariff was “excessive”.

Who knows how much this fiasco cost the public but lopping 3 years of his sentence is obviously seen as being good value for money. How does a reduction of 3 years make his sentence any less excessive in real terms. After 30 years in jail will he notice the difference.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not suggesting that he should do less time.  Scum like Amos deserve everything they get.

Now I’M A Real Skype Fan


Just had an international teleconference all from the comfort of my own home. All courtesy of Skype which enabled me to link up with friends and family in Japan, Australia and the UK.

Sound quality was, in the main, very good. The only down side is knowing when to talk as things tend to break down when more than one person speaks.

I signed up for Skype many years ago but had let its usage lapse. However in recent times my sister Chris has become a user and had nudged me to start using especially with the video link. So having successfully experimented with Chris over the huge distance of 90 miles it seemed time to expand my horizons.

So what better time than to pass on Birthday Wishes. Yesterday was Glens birthday, a couple of clicks and we were talking UK to WA ….. pretty cool. Then Glens brother Murray joined from Japan, Glens girlfriend Angie and finally Glens dad who is currently in Coral Bay, WA.

Don’t you just love technology when it is working for you.

Pompey Fountain To Be Refurbished


I was only saying to my wife on Saturday, while on a very rare visit to Commercial road, that it would be nice to see the fountain in full flood. It seems someone was eavesdropping or at the very least a fabulous coincidence.

The city council are apparently committed to renovating the fountain which has been turned off for several years. It was always a target for the mindless minority which plague our society. The idiots always found the addition of soap suds hilarious, oblivious to the dangers of losing a toddler in the froth and the potential for drowning. The fountain was also used, again by the minority, as a convenient rubbish bin. I know the council say they closed the fountain due to technical problems, leaks, whatever. I am sure that there was also an element of frustration at the social problems.

Portsmouth is an ancient city with an illustrious history but I have always thought that the commercial heart of the city was, to say the least, a bit bland. When Commercial Road was pedestrianized the whole feel of the city centre changed, became dull. To be quite honest you could be almost anywhere.

So I welcome the city councils efforts to reinstate the fountain. I just hope that the residents and visitors alike will appreciate it and treat it with respect when it is once more back in action.

Lockerbie Bomber – Its Too Late


This story just grinds on and on. Isn’t it time to accept that it is too late to do anything about it.

The Scots should not have released Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi but they did. Now they are squirming and pointing the finger at the British government.

The British Government stood by and did nothing under Gordon Browns leadership which was typical of his style. Now they are gone so nothing we can do there. So too late again.

Now the Americans are beating up on Cameron but he was not in power so again its too late.

All anyone can do is learn from this huge mistake. I know the Americans want answers regarding the “prisoners for oil” question. But how will this witch hunt help ?

Let it lie, it is too late.

Bloodhound


Bloodhound is the name of the ubiquitous Surface to Air Missile (SAM) that entered service around the end of the 50’s and was still doing service up to the 90’s. I even had an Airfix kit when I was a lad.

However, there is now another Bloodhound to get your heart beating. This Bloodhound does bear a striking resemblance to the SAM. It is long, streamlined and beautiful. But that’s as far as the similarities go. The new Bloodhound is a car but at 42 ft long it is half as long again as the SAM and weighs in at 6 tonnes which is well over twice the weight.

The new Bloodhound is being developed to take on the world land speed record. In fact the target is to take this “car” beyond the 1000 mile per hour mark.

Apparently Bloodhound has been trying to emulate the SAM. One of the major challenges has been trying to keep the car on the ground. The aerodynamic modelling has shown dangerous amounts of lift. Having resolved these particular challenges putting manufacturing contracts in place the team are now looking forward to building Bloodhound for real. The expectation is to carry out shakedown runs at the end of 2011 or early 2012

If you want more information the Bloodhound SSC website is … HERE

He Was Not Rambo, He Is Not A Martyr, He IS A Murderer


The Raoul Moat saga continues with more idiots signing up to fresh support pages on Farcebook.

What is the matter with these people. I have voiced my thoughts in several of my previous posts and I wholeheartedly agree with Richard Evans editoriall

And He Came 4th Too


Who’s a lucky boy then ?

Francisco Carvalho that’s who. Left the track following a collision during racing at Brands Hatch this weekend. Not only did he survive, but due to the race stoppage he was classified as finishing 4th and having driven the fastest lap.

See story and video footage ….HERE

Waterlooville Relic To Be Renovated


A small glimmer of  goodness to shine out of the gloom of the enormous housing estate, being built at Waterlooville, is the 150 year old farm which is going to be renovated.

In the middle of the 2500 home Newlands Estate lies Plant Farm which includes Grade II Listed buildings. The developers are planning to turn the farm into a pub and restaurant.

It’s a shame that it has taken the building of this humongous estate to bring the farm under the spotlight but at least now the vandalism and thieving of building materials will cease.

Lets hope that the renovation will be tastefully done.

Brits Abroad


Should I be sad that the behaviour, that once stopped me from going to Spain, is still happening ?

Brits abroad have a woeful reputation for drunkenness, drugs abuse and violence whether it be while following our football teams around or when on vacation.

Once upon a time all you ever heard was about the lager louts in Torremelinos or Fuengirola. Well the net has spread much wider and now apparently also encompasses France, Cyprus, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

So in answer to my own question, Yes I am sad. On the bright side I now don’t let the behaviour of the minority stop me from enjoying myself and visiting these wonderful countries. What I do now is travel to the quieter parts or visit out of season.

A few years ago my wife and I visited Malia, Crete. The travel agent warned us that it was very noisy but should be OK as we were visiting out of season. She was right.

Although there were wall to wall bars and clubs with restaurants offering traditional English Breakfasts and Sunday Roasts we were able to eat traditional local cuisine although quite often the local dishes were at the back of the menus. Now that is sad.

Last year we visited Cyprus, renting a villa which was outside of town, Coral Bay, which to us looked like a mini Benidorm. We did not venture into Coral Bay preferring to go out into the local villages where there were fewer gaudy lights and loud music and definitely no English Pubs with Satellite TV and Karaoke.

So these wonderful countries are still out there to be visited, cherished and explored despite the best efforts of the rowdy minority to give us, the travelling Brit, a bad reputation. All it takes is a little effort to break out of the mould and away from the package holiday resorts.

And as a footnote, take a look at this article. Poor Richard Gaisford got himself a smack. Apparently from a bar owner who didn’t want the adverse publicity from preventing him from making money out of the good old English Lager Lout.

Yorkshire Ripper To Spend “Whole Life” in Gaol


At last a judge who upholds the law and reflects the views of the public.  Mr Justice Mitting has announced that Peter Sutcliffe will serve a “whole life” tariff.

This is the maximum sentence that can be handed down. I still believe this country needs the death penalty for which Sutcliffe would be a prime candidate. It is wrong that the friends and relatives of his victims know that he still lives when their love ones were taken away. It is also wrong that the nation should support him for the rest of his natural days.

Read story …. Here