Author: siskinbob

Formerly employed by MOD and IBM, now retired

Planning Lunacy


Apparently JD Wetherspoons have gained planning permission to open a pub in Waterlooville !!!

While I am not against the idea of another pub it beggars belief that one can be built next door to an existing business, The Heroes. Officials at JD Wetherspoon have confirmed the Mr Cheap site in London Road has now been signed over to the company.

Waterlooville is crying out for new businesses to rejuvenate the shopping centre, to encourage people to come and spend money. A new Wetherspoons pub will certainly draw people in. However, most of that business will be during the evenings when the rest of the shopping centre is closed. To me this makes no sense and is in fact asking for trouble.

Two pubs side by side spilling alcohol fueled revellers out into Waterlooville at closing time, I’m sure that the local police are viewing this new development with some disquiet.

I am sure that the local cafes are also viewing the prospects of a Wetherspoons on their doorsteps with some concern. Competition is fine but they can’t sell alcohol whereas Wetherspoons will. Some might say that the playing field is somewhat uneven.

Morons set fire to bridge in latest attack on Waterlooville woodland


The original headline mentioned vandals. I think they are morons. To call them vandals is to give the 5th century tribesmen a bad name.

For many years now I have struggled to understand what sort of mentality you have to have to continually damage property, to prevent other people enjoying something such as the bridge in the Queens Inclosure that was recently burnt. The damage this time means that the bridge will have to be replaced.

I think moron is the correct term to use. The idiots that have carried out this damage obviously don’t have two brain cells to rub together.

Vandals set fire to bridge in latest attack on Waterlooville woodland – East Hampshire – The News.

Good Neighbours ?


The QA Hospital, Portsmouth, has a helipad that is used when someone is in need of emergency medical treatment. One might think this a good thing. Not so, say some fo the folks that live on the hill adjacent to the hospital.

The vocal minorities are complaining that the QA is planning to make the helipad available 24hrs a day. The poor disturbed souls say that the low flying helicopters scare their children and block out the sound of their televisions.

Presumably they can also hear the ambulance sirens as they arrive to deliver patients to the A & E department. Would they like the ambulances to stay away at night-time ?

Come on folks let’s get a sense of perspective. The helicopters probably only turn up once or twice a day at most and the noise they create as they pass overhead must last for no more that a couple of minutes each time.

And lets ask the obvious question. What would you prefer if you or a relative required emergency treatment following a car accident ? Let the helicopters land at QA or delay them access to that treatment by making them travel by road or perhaps flying them to some other hospital further away ?

Good Riddance To Bad Rubbish


So the EDL (English Defence League) decided to visit Portsmouth this weekend. Let us all hope that their wanderlust has been satisfied and they don’t bother to come back. We don’t need their sort and their beliefs being forced upon us. Where ever they go there is always hatred and violence at a cost to the peaceful law-abiding public. This time there were seven arrests so maybe Portsmouth got off lightly. Even so there were many police drafted in from other forces to bolster the local boys.Someone has to pay for that and it surely won’t be the EDL.

They call themselves the English Defence League. Who are they protecting ? It certainly isn’t me. When I see the news reports of their marches the only protection I feel I need is from them and their supporters.

So now that they have left Portsmouth I say Good Riddance To Bad Rubbish.

London 2012 – GB athletes banned from 2012 opening ceremony


UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee has insisted no British track and field athletes will be part of the opening ceremony at next year’s London 2012 Olympic Games

Where is this mans head ? Obviously a very dark place.

For some olympic hopefuls the 2012 event may be their only chance to participate. So why are they being denied their rightful place at the opening ceremony ?

It might be different if they were going to be out partying and imbibing vast quantities of alcohol. But they are not, they are going to be representing their country.

So they should be able to participate in this one off event.

London 2012 – GB athletes banned from 2012 opening ceremony – Yahoo! Eurosport.

Did The Earth Move For You Baby ?


Personally I didn’t feel a thing.

Just goes to show we get everything the rest of the world gets. Just smaller, slower and less spectacular.

Earthquake strikes English Channel south of Portsmouth – East Hampshire – The News.

Team Orders – Wrong ???


Christian Horner can argue that F1 is a team sport but that is not true.

For a F1 driver winning is all.  To tell a driver not to race, not to overtake, to hold position goes against the grain. It is wrong.

I understand that he, Horner, wants to consolidate the constructors position that Red Bull hold. That is understandable. But his weasley words, about not wanting to lose points by allowing Webber to overtake Vettel, just don’t make sense. Sure, the last think you want as team principal is your drivers taking each other out. But it really doesn’t matter, at the team level, who came in second and third.

However, at the driver level it make a huge difference. The number of points affects your ranking in the championship and lets not forget that all the drivers are fighting for first place.

I am amazed at how controlled Webber is. Time and again he is given orders presenting him as the number two driver. If it’s not orders then he is given second-rate kit or worse still has kit taken away from him.

I understand that Webber has not yet signed his contract to maintain his place as driver for Red Bull into the 2012 season. I am sure he is thinking very hard about whether he wants to carry on in what appears to be the number two slot, to carry on driving without the full support of the team.

Mostly Autumn


For my birthday Gerry, my wife,  got tickets to go see Mostly Autumn at The Brook in Southampton. The show was last night and you certainly get your money’s worth.

Let me say straight away that I did enjoy the show. But, I think they are too big for The Brook. By that I mean that physically they are too big for the Brooks stage but also I think their sound needs a bigger venue to give some separation.

There are six members of the band and with all their equipment they looked cramped and with various members of the band leaving then returning to the  stage at different points during the show it was distracting as they had to squeeze through.

The description on the Brooks website has this to say about them….

“Their musical palette is diverse and while they draw on influences from the golden age of seventies’ rock, they have developed their own unique sound and style that both captures some of the essence of that heady era and yet looks forward into the future. 

 Bryan Josh is that rare beast – a hugely talented guitarist who knows how to play with feeling and for the song.  His soaring guitar, always drenched in pure emotion, at times recall the golden era of guitar heroes such as David Gilmour but never outstays its welcome, always leaving the listener wanting a little more. Lead vocalist Olivia Sparnenn is a true talent, the range and beauty of her voice is world class.  The magnificence of Iain Jennings on keyboards, complimented by a rock solid yet fluid rhythm section – Andy Smith (bass), Gavin Griffiths (drums), Liam Davison (rhythm guitar) and the delightful vocals and multi instruments of Anne-Marie Helder make Mostly Autumn a band that will enthrall you and awaken memories of what real music is really about.”

Certainly there is much about them to bring memories of the 70’s rushing back. I was reminded of early Hawkwind, Pink FLoyd and so much more if for no other reason than the soaring guitars of Bryan Josh and Liam Davison. At times their solos gave not so subtle references to Echoes and Shine On You Crazy Diamond, so much so that with your eyes closed you could be at a Floyd concert. Mix in the  ethereal flute playing of Anne-Marie Helder to give a hint of the Moody Blues and you begin to get some idea of where their music is based.

The band has a huge library of original songs  with over a dozen CDs and DVDs released. Last nights show featured a selection of songs from all of them spread over two sets each about an hour-long. The last was then followed by two, or was it three encore songs followed by the group taking their bows as Supertramp blasted out over the PA . All of their songs are original, this is no covers band.

The strongest songs of the night, for me, were “And When the War is Over…”, “Ice” and “Evergreen”. The vocals are shared between most of the band members but the lead is shared between Bryan Josh and Olivia Sparnenn.

My recommendation is, if they are performing near you, go and see them. You won’t be disappointed and they are well worth the money. In the meantime, take a look at the recordings available on YouTube

Thank you Gerry for a splendid evening. We won’t mention what you did at the petrol station.

View From The Conservatory


Well what a day it has been today. At least, from a weather perspective. We have had sunshine, rain, thunder and lightning. At one time we had a lightning strike so close that everything went red for me. I’m guessing it is like shining a powerful torch through your hand. Only in this case it was my eyeballs that were illuminated. The thunder-clap followed almost immediately. A couple of miles away they weren’t quite so lucky as a house in Havant was struck (See Here).  It was my wife’s birthday today so we have been quite busy with texts, phone calls and family visiting. So loads of cards, a couple of nice flower displays and plenty of cake. On a different subject I had another of those cold calls from abroad. I have started to take a different approach. Rather than berate them about the fact that I am registered with the TPS I now keep asking questions. Who do you work for ?, What is the name of the company that you work for ? Who pays your wages ? and so forth. I won’t answer any of their questions till they give me a company name. So far they just hang up, but not before they have squirmed like crazy. They don’t seem to want to give out which company they are actually working for. Always they imply that you requested that they call. Today I was told that I had complained that my broadband connection was running slow. The other day we were told that my wife had called during the Thursday afternoon, which was an out-and-out lie, as we were stood on the roadside talking to police officers. Somewhere along the A40 west of Oxford. And my wife had left her mobi at home and I’m pretty sure she didn’t use the landline. Don’t think the wire reaches that far. Aah wait a minute. Of course. We have digital cordless handsets. She must have used one of those. Amazing the range they have these days… over 80 miles is impressive don’t you think.