Month: June 2011

Selsey Bill


Selsey Lifeboat Station
Selsey Lifeboat Station

Spent a relaxing afternoon down at Selsey Bill yesterday. Sea was dead calm. Skies were blue and the sun was warm. It probably would have been too hot if there hadn’t been just the gentlest breeze puffing away to keep us cool. Oh that and a wonderfully chilled pint of Scrumpy Jack Cider which was downed  while we sat on the terrace outside The Lifeboat Inn. There were a about a dozen of us being entertained by a fisherman who was preparing Smoothounds. He must have had 6 or 7 boxes, each containing at least 10 “hounds”. The results of a an early morning fishing trip. He told the onlookers that he had been on the go since 05:30 that morning. While we watched he de-finned and skinned the contents of a single box before sitting down to have a pint. And that was just before 15:00. That’s a long day. This pub serves many fish dishes caught from their own licensed fishing boat. It was a shame that we arrived too late for the lunchtime menu.

Rest assured that we will return to try their menu in the future.

Jenson Button – Hero !!!


In the Canadian Grand Prix yesterday, Jenson made what has to possibly be the drive of his career.  It certainly is the drive of the season so far. The statistics of his drive make interesting reading alone. Two accidents, six pit stops and a drive through penalty. These are Jensons contribution to yesterdays race which was arguably the most exciting of the season.

The race contained everything, red flags, safety cars, superb overtaking charges, collisions and not forgetting the penalties.

While Jensons drive from the back of the pack to win the race in the final lap is the stuff of dreams we should not forget the other drivers who were also making this a race to be talked about for months, no years, to come.

While Vettel was out the front for the bulk of the race all the excitement was behind him until Button brought the race to him. The pressure was really on then and Button forced Vettel into a mistake which handed over the race lead and showed that Vettel is fallible.

But lets not forget Michael Schumacher who was also driving his socks off.  he was within sniffing distance of a Podium finish when it was snatched away from him by Mark Webber, more than once, and then Jenson as he ploughed a furrow through the pack.

The fight for that podium place was  riveting and while I was rooting for Webber I really did feel sorry for Schumacher who was making the best drive of his comeback.

And then there was Paul di Resta who was running 5th when he ran into Nick Heidfeld in his Renault. Di Resta had to return to the pits for a nose/wing change but somewhat harshly the stewards decided that he was at fault and hit him with a drive through penalty. Back out and running in 11th place with a chance of finishing in the points he came of worst while trying to pass Williams’ Rubens Barrichello. He ended up on the damp part of the track, made contact with a wall and he was retired from the race with a puncture.

F1 is going through a renaissance. It has long been criticized for being boring, a procession. This season has proven otherwise. The new tyre rules have made a huge difference that’s for sure.  Then you have to add in to the mix  the technology, in the form KERS and DRS. The KERS system is temperamental and with the DRS system only operational during specific  sectors and only if you are chasing down a competitor and only if you are within 1 second.

But you also have to look at the pedigree of the drivers. Never have so many world champions been competing together. That alone would be enough to make for sparks.

Yesterdays was the 7th race of the season. We have been treated to some fabulous racing this season and there are still 12 races to go. Just imagine the possibilities.

View From The Conservatory


Well here I am again. Actually I haven’t been away but work has kept me so busy with the run up to a new product announcement, well 2 actually, that I haven’t known if I was being bored, punched, drilled or reamed. The actual announcement is today and thankfully I managed, by the skin of my teeth, to get all my stuff done. I really am getting to old for all this excitement or is it stress. Can’t really tell these days. To cap it all I pulled an all nighter earlier in the week  to catch up on another project which has “issues”. I wasn’t even able to relax for my birthday which seems to have gone by in a blur.

Anyway, it’s all done and dusted so I can relax, I hope. And the icing on the cake is that I am on holiday for the next week…… Yay !!!

What have I got planned ? Nothing really, a trip to the Isle of Wight to see Osbourne House is the only set piece. We’ll give our English Heritage cards a bashing and hopefully I’ll be able to get in some photography too.

And as for the view from the conservatory. Well it was sunny and dry but in the last few minutes it has clouded over, the temperature has dropped, the wind has picked up and it has started to rain. Well that’s fine, get it out of your system. Need it be dry for tomorrow as we are off to Stansted House.

This weekend is their Garden Show. We try to go every year and believe it to be one of the best in the area. Will try to pick up a couple of low maintenance plants to put into pots. This is also an opportunity to browse the food tents or should I say graze as there are plenty of samples of cheeses, chutneys, ciders and quite often a nice hot pasty. For the ladeeze there is always a splash of Pimms to be found if the weather is warm.

I’ve just been watching Mrs Blackbird preparing a slug for her lunch, wiping it from side to side, rolling it over, and wiping it again and again to remove the slime before downing it in one juicy swallow…..Yuuummmy !!!

Wedgewood Rooms celebrates 20 years with national recognition – Way To Go The Wedge


As an intermmittent attendee at gigs held at The Wedge I am proud that they are getting the recognition they deserve.

Everyone should go vote for them at NME
Wedgewood Rooms celebrates 20 years with national recognition – A Weekend With – The News.

Are Great Whites Fans Of AC/DC ?


If you were asked “What sort of music do you think a Great White Shark would like ?” it is unlikely that you would suggest Mozart or Leonard Cohen. Younger folks might suggest a bit of gangsta rap. But the folks of my era might be encouraged by the fact that these awesome fish seem to have an affinity for AC/DC at least according to Matt Waller.

Waller, a tour operator in Australia, “believes sharks love AC/DC because their sensitive hearing is compatible with the band’s low frequency music and says they are particularly keen on Shook Me All Night Long”. Waller is using the music to encourage the Great Whites to get up close and personal for his cage-diving clients. Apparently the sharks like to rub against the cage to feel the vibes.

Maybe that’s a shark form of head-banging. Personally I think that’s pretty cool and I’m glad that it hasn’t been determined that Great Whites like Terry Wogan singing the Floral Dance.

Great white sharks ‘love AC/DC’ | Metro.co.uk.

The Cruelest Animal On The Planet ?


Is humanity the cruelest animal on the planet ? I think we must be. I don’t think any other animal, with perhaps the exception of the chimpanzee, takes pleasure in their peers distress.

After watching Panorama’s Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed on BBC1 last night, I was left with nothing but a feeling of total disgust. Specifically for the individuals that were caught on film abusing the patients at this establishment but also for the human race.

No other animal on earth resorts to systematic bullying and abuse in the way that mankind does. Certainly what has occurred in Winterbourne View is extreme bullying and abuse and in some instance could be construed as torture. During the program a parallel was drawn between the treatment meted out at Winterbourne View and that which was commonly practiced in asylums during the 60’s.

These patients and their families have been totally let down by the individuals responsible for patient care, let down by the management of Winterbourne View and let down by the Care Quality Commission who were contacted more than once by a former senior nurse.

Although there are four employees in custody, my view is that there are more employees that are culpable and should be punished for their inaction which pretty much construes their tacit approval of the actions of the others.

It’s at time like this that I wished our judiciary were able to use “an eye for an eye” as the basis for sentencing. Then perhaps the perpetrators could get a taste of their own medicine. The ritualistic eye poking, the face slapping, the fully clothed cold showers and being detained outside in wet clothes in temperatures slightly above freezing or being pinned to the floor under a chair while your “carer” sits on the chair with a foot on your hand.

It beggars belief.

BBC News – Four arrests after patient abuse caught on film.

Another Rat Trapped – But Is Allowed To Stay In The Nest


Lord Taylor of Warwick has lied under oath in order to cover up fraudulent claims of more than £11,000 in taxpayers money. Yet he gets to retain his position in the House of Lords even though he is just beginning a 12 month stint in jail. How does that work ?

I thought “Lords” were supposed to be honorable and clearly Taylor is not. His dishonesty should be enough to have him stripped of his peerage and therefore booted out of the House.

Taylor now joins an exclusive club for rodents, he joins a select group of MPS that have received jail sentences for fiddling tax payers money. He is member number five.

What amazes me is how so many others have escaped going to court and joining this less than illustrious group. Worse still is how few of them think that they were doing anything wrong.

Peer jailed for expenses fraud – Crime, UK – The Independent.

Crap Russel Hobbs Kettle


Think very carefully before buying your next kettle. For the last couple of years we have been using a Prestige kettle to boil our water for tea/coffee etc. Then it made with the pretty blue flashing sparks from somewhere inside, near the switch. Needless to say we had to say goodbye to our nice Prestige kettle.

As we like our tea and don’t like it made with water that has been boiled in a saucepan we dashed up to the local shops to get a new one. Did I mention that it was Sunday, so choice was somewhat restricted. Having surveyed the limited options we arrived home with a new Russel Hobbs kettle. We couldn’t find anywhere local selling the same Prestige kettle.  Mind you, we thought we were buying a class piece of kit. After all aren’t Russell Hobbs supposed tobe that bit better than most of the other brands ?

I guess I should have read the Which reviews first. Out of 195 kettles there are some Russel Hobbs models that make it into the top 47. Just not the one we bought. However, their review of our particular model did in fact highlight some of the issues that we have found.

Russel Hobbs Kettle
Russel Hobbs Kettle

This thing is everything that the Prestige wasn’t.

  1. It’s slow
    It seems to take a long time to boil where the Prestige was very fast even though the RH is more powerful.
  2. Unstable
    The RH doesn’t seem very stable on its base. When the boil really gets going the RB is a real rock and roller, wobbling about on its base. The Prestige just sat still and got on with the job.
  3. It is very easy to overfill
    The RH level markings are on the inside of the casing, on the same side as the handle. So with the lid open to enable you to put water in you have to be deformed to hold the kettle under a tap and see what level you have filled up to. With the prestige there was a level indicator clearly visible towards the centre of the opening.
  4. Noisy
    The RH should come with a health warning. The noise level of this thing is awful. The door to the kitchen has to be closed when we make our mid evening brew otherwise we can’t hear the TV. Even with the door closed you can hear it rumbling and gurgling away as it builds to a crescendo. The only time the Prestige made any real noise was when it needed descaling.
  5. It doesn’t switch off when lifted off its base
    So when you put it down again the power reconnects and carries on as if there was water inside. Presumably it would turn off when it began to overheat.

Would I recommend this kettle to anyone…….Hell No !!!