Category: Local (To Me !!!)

View From The Conservatory


Today I ventured out into the garden. Thought it was probably safe since the rain and the winds had subsided. The sky is still very grey but all the plants are looking very lush. So here is a sampling from the Wrantz Estate.

The first offering is one of the thousands of Aquilegia that grow in our garden. As soon as they go to seed I shake the pods all around so they pop up in the most surprising places.

The next is just a little humour. This game of chequers has been on the go for several years or perhaps they are just trying to out stare each other.

The Long Game
The Long Game

Gardens are for fun. I’m certain these two are enjoying themselves.

Let's Play Leap Frog

And last of all, for the moment, is this plant which grows in my neighbour’s garden but shares the colours, shapes and style with us by hanging over the fence. Delightful. Just one problem, I don’t know what it is. It does look a bit like Holly though.

Anyone out there know what it is ?

What Is This ?
What Is This ?

You can just see the leaf shape which is very much like a Holly Leaf. Answers on a post card……

Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun


My apologies to Pink Floyd but this is good news for employees of local business Astrium

Jobs have been secured in Portsmouth after space firm Astrium signed a contract to send a satellite close to the sun.

The deal is worth £245m for Astrium UK, which has bases in the city at Broad Oak, and in Stevenage.

Astrium sign deal to build Solar Orbiter satellite – Local Business – Portsmouth News.

The Thing


In case any of you are wondering how come I’m posting at 06:00 I’ll tell.

This damn cold, man flu or whatever “The Thing” is, it’s pushing me to the extreme.

I can’t lay down and sleep because when I do I cough. And when I cough I can’t sleep. So you see, it’s easier to get up and read or, as at the moment, blog.

“The Thing”, whatever I have, its been going on for three weeks now. Started with a few days of a mildly sore throat which eventually seem to turn into a cold but without the sneezing. Just when that started to fade away “The Thing” came back with a vengeance. Fresh sore throat, different from the first phase, and everything moved down onto my chest. Since then I have felt like shit.

Headaches, presumably caused by obstructed sinuses, temperature going up and down, eyes watering, nose constantly switching between bunged up to dripping like a leaky tap. Now I have the, previously absent, sneezing. Oh, and did I mention the coughing. The irritating dry cough that no medicine or liquid seems to touch. I have been coughing so long now that upper body from waist to chest feels like I’ve been used as a punch bag.

My wife is exasperated and who can blame her. The explosive coughing must be really irritating to listen to. So far she seems to have avoided “The Thing” although she has been coughing too ….. ?
Fingers crossed that is all she gets.

And today we should have been going to my great-granddaughters first birthday but of course we will stay away. Can’t have either her or mum going down with “The Thing”.

Portsmouth Bid To Be At Centre Of National Celebration For 2014


PORTSMOUTH has launched a bid to be at the centre of a huge national celebration to honour our armed forces.

Council leaders want the city to become the stage for a week of displays on land, sea and air by thousands of army, navy and air force personnel.

We should support Pompey in this bid.

This country tends to be rather London centric when it comes to national celebrations. London likes to think that they are the centre of the British universe and unfairly, in my opinion, the government tends to support this notion.

London is not geographically central to the UK and the prestige national events should be shared around the country.
Portsmouth, amongst many other cities, has as much right to host these events.

Now councillors and business leaders have urged everyone to get behind a push to bring the Armed Forces Week celebrations to Portsmouth in 2014.

The year will also mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day, 100 years since the start of the First World War and 350 years since the founding of the Royal Marines.

Conservative culture, leisure and sport spokesman, Cllr Jim Fleming, said he was fully in favour of the bid.

He said: ‘This would be a terrific boost for the city’s economy and will be an opportunity to show the city in the best light possible.’

It is the economic benefits from this type of event which keeps London grabbing the best events. Pompey council have to show that they are just as ruthless and show that their city has the where with all to pull it off.

We have a great naval heritage… I can’t think of a better place for it – Defence – Portsmouth News.

Vandals made to clear up graffiti after they went on 10-day spree – Too Right


You reap what you sow as the saying goes and it was certainly true for these five miscreants.

VANDALS who went on a 10-day graffiti spree were made to clear up their scrawlings after being caught in the act by police.

The five youngsters aged 11 to 13 defaced buildings across Havant, Hayling Island, Leigh Park and Bedhampton, with their signature graffiti signs, known as tagging.

It caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage to 17 homes, underpasses, shops and car parks.

We definitely need more of this sort of punishment doled out to the perpetrators. It shows society that there are consequences for negative actions.

PC Wimshurst added: ‘These lads are first-time offenders and the best solution seemed to be putting right what they had done.

‘It offers the best compensation for those who suffered and it also helps to make the offenders realise the amount of damage they have caused.

‘I think that this will teach them more than being put in a cell and told off. It was a chance to put common sense policing to work.’

These kids will have found that they had to work harder to clean up the results of their actions. It will have given them first hand experience of what their victims would have had to endure.

They spent four days scrubbing walls, litter picking and tidying up areas across the Havant borough.

Seeing them cleaning up is also a visible indicator to society that this type of action will not be tolerated. The handing out of cautions, ASBOs etc. are all to often seen as the soft approach.

Vandals made to clear up graffiti after they went on 10-day spree – Local – Portsmouth News.

83 Additional Homes Proposed For Waterlooville


Is this the straw that broke the camels back ?

CONCERNS about traffic congestion and overdevelopment were raised as plans to redevelop a convent and its grounds went on show.

But Ian Roberts, highways consultant, said the road network could cope, with 34 vehicle movements estimated from London Road at peak times and eight movements from the Hulbert Road side.

Does that figure take into account the extra burden that is being placed on London Road by the Berewood development or the potential additional burden being placed on Hulbert Road by the proposed development at Dunsbury Hill Farm ?

Where on earth does the “34 vehicle movements” figure come from anyway ? Surely there must be an assumption of one vehicle for every home at the very minimum. I appreciate that not every vehicle will be on the move at peak times. The highways consultants must be assuming that many of the new residents will be either walking into Waterlooville town centre or hopping onto a bus to take up the employment opportunities mentioned by John O’Donovan.

John O’Donovan, the developer’s planning consultant, said: ‘I would suggest it is an ideal site for housing.

‘It’s very close to Waterlooville town centre, to employment opportunities and to the bus corridor.’

So what are these employment opportunities ?

These would be the same opportunities that the folks in Leigh Park, the new residents of Berewood and the current residents of Waterlooville and the surrounding areas have their hopes pinned on.

More than 50 residents packed into Havant’s council chamber as developers laid out initial proposals to build 83 homes on the site of the former St Michael’s Convent….

I’m glad to see that so many folks are taking an interest in their local area. We, the Waterlooville residents, have been too quiet. As a consequence the planners and the developers have had free rein and we are paying for it.

It comes as Peter Holloway, a spokesman for residents in Hermitage Gardens, said he would never have bought his house last year if he knew so many houses were in the pipeline.

He said: ‘We knew something might be built there but when we contacted Havant Borough Council we were told they would not be allowed to build any more than 57 houses and the part of the land nearest our garden would not be developed because there is an old apple orchard there, a sewage pipe running through it and it is so steep.

‘Now we’ve found out they want to build right at the bottom of our land, 26 more houses than we were told.

Sounds like the council were acting like the old-fashioned brush or encyclopaedia salesmen. Get a foot in the door with the low numbers, then jack them up once the flow of opinion is headed in the right direction.

Council officers said the land was earmarked for 57 homes in the latest local plans – but this figure was ‘indicative’.

Presumably “indicative” is the councils “get out of jail” card.

Fears raised as Waterlooville homes plan goes on show – Politics – Portsmouth News.

Two cars in Waterlooville crushed after tree topples in strong winds – No Injuries


A lucky escape for the vehicle owners but two cars were severely damaged after tree topples in strong winds.

Apparently the tree had received a lightning strike a short while ago which may have weakened it.

Two cars in Waterlooville crushed after tree topples in strong winds – Local – Portsmouth News.

Casbah provided architect with inspiration for centre – Remember The Tricorn


The Tricorn, in my opinion it was the ugliest building on the planet, although it was only rated third ugliest building in Britain.

From Wikipedia

The Casbah (Arabic: قصبة‎, qaṣba, meaning citadel (fortress)) is specifically the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. More generally, a kasbah is the walled citadel of many North African cities and towns.

The architect, Owen Luder,  may have had a casbah in mind when he designed the Tricorn but my memories of the reality are very mixed.

I visited the Tricorn Club on numerous occasions, even the Radio 1 club when it was held there. Most Saturdays my wife and I would visit the market. We visited the The Bell, the pub that was hidden deep in the bowels of the warren beneath the car parks. I also remember visiting the Indian restaurant.

But I have to say that the overpowering memory was of a very cold and windy structure and the stench of stale urine. A long way from a casbah.

It didn’t take very long for the structure to degrade and it looked awful especially once the water staining of the side panels took hold. I have heard it called “concrete cancer”.

All in all the Tricorn was a total disaster

Portsmouth does not have a very good record for presenting itself to visitors. There is the Centaur Street “Prison Wall” on the left as you come down the M275 then you are led round to where the Tricorn used to stand. A dismal building replaced by a bland car park. And lets not forget about Portsdown Park, the disastrous housing development that cost Portsmouth a fortune to build, maintain and then demolish.

There seems to be a bit of a theme running here.
Casbah provided architect with inspiration for centre – Remember When – Portsmouth News.

Scaffolding collapses on to six vehicles in Southsea – Local – Portsmouth News


Given the winds that are battering Hampshire at the moment it’s hardly surprising that some folks are experiencing some damage to property. Having jst heard about this I am pleased that nobody was hurt.

RESIDENTS have told of their shock after scaffolding attached to a hotel collapsed and crushed six cars.

High winds tore the structure from the side of the Best Western Royal Beach Hotel, in St Helen’s Parade, Southsea, causing the scaffolding to crash on to vehicles in Alhambra Road.

Part of the hotel’s balcony also came down with the scaffolding.

Luckily no one was hurt in the incident, which happened at about 8am today. The four storey, 120 bed roomed hotel, is fully booked.

Apparently help was on hand.

A group of firefighters from across the country who were staying at the hotel for a training course were immediately on scene to see if they could be of any assistance.

Scaffolding collapses on to six vehicles in Southsea – Local – Portsmouth News.