Category: Local (To Me !!!)

Landlady given boost in battle with SKY TV over broadcasting live football – TV: A look back – The News


Good news and another step to breaking the virtual monopoly that Sky has over the satellite marketplace. As a result  of the control that they have they are able to keep their prices ridiculously high.

We were sold  EU membership on the basis that we would have equal rights with regard to the work place, travel and choice of goods and services.  Well we have seen anything but.

Great Britain is seen by all the major marketeers as “Treasure Island”  and Sky has been and continues to be one of the biggest pirates raiding the treasure chest that is the captive market place. Trapped as we are by the ludicrous and artificial borders which define who can transmit and who can receive.

If this helps to break their stranglehold then so much the better.

Landlady given boost in battle with SKY TV over broadcasting live football – TV: A look back – The News.

Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging


So I’m sitting here in West Quay, Southampton. Scummer Land my granddaughter, a Pompey fan, would say.
Why am I here ?
Well I’m waiting for my wife who has a post-laser treatment appointment. Rather than sit on the less than comfortable seats in the shop I am sat outside, people watching. Hence the title.
Who are all these folks ?
Where are they going ?
Very few seem to be happy. Faces rigid, neutral, expressionless. Some look left or right into the shop windows but most stare, zombie like, straight ahead.
Perhaps I should try looking at my own reflection in one of those same shop windows.
Oh and my apologies, of course, to Genesis.

Daughter tells of shock at father’s death on flight – East Hampshire – The News


Daughter tells of shock at father’s death on flight – East Hampshire – The News.

I am posting this as I knew Phil Austin.

He was manager of the department I joined when I started at IBM Hursley back in 1977. He was somewhat larger than life and at the same time he was very down to earth. Very much the type to roll up his sleeves to get down and help with the job.

Condolences to his family.

Councillor leaves meeting to avoid Islamic prayer – Politics – The News


Councillor leaves meeting to avoid Islamic prayer – Politics – The News.

My view, for what its worth, is that the councillor should show due respect and he should have stayed for the prayers.

Walking out is tantamount to sticking ones finger up.

Why is it that Councillor Hey, if he is such a devout christian, doesn’t actually demonstrate much in the way of christian spirit.

Unfortunately this is the kind of thing that I have come to expect from supposedly christian folk. They don’t actually follow the teachings of the bible. Rather they follow a path dictated by their own biased interpretation.

One Of Lifes Mysteries


Tried to start my car today.

No joy. Grrrr.

It transpires that the battery is flat. Now that’s a stupid phrase because the solid black lump that is at least 15″ x 12″ x 9″ (in real money) is anything but flat. To mention that your battery is flat is to invite some wag to ask “What shape should it be then ?”.

actually the more important question is “Where did my electricity go ?”

I recently filled up my battery, charged it for several hours. I haven’t driven my car for maybe 2 weeks and yet somehow all my electricity, so carefully stored, has gone. My car was locked and the alarm set so I know no one could get in. So how has this theft come about ?

In the meantime I am having to refill that black lump with more of my expensive electricity. I have checked to see if there are any holes letting my electricity seep out but there  are none that I can see.

This is a total mystery to me.

The Langstone Ark – Get Snapping


Brainchild of Louise MacCallum, environment officer for Langstone Harbour the Langstone Ark will be an online pictorial catalogue of every species seen in Langstone Harbour, from Eastney, to Farlington Marshes to Hayling Island.

All users of the harbour area are being encouraged to join in, get snapping and become part of what will become an amazing record of our local area.

Those wanting to participate can find out how HERE

Lets get started.

View From The Conservatory


Yet another drismal day here in southern Hampshire but at least someone is having fun.

Leap Frog
Leap Frog

Do ya know …..  I swear I saw them move !!! The frogs that is.  Then I realised it was the reflection of my sports socks under the table.

There are hedgehogs playing chequers down by the fence. They play 24/7 and never seem to move. Those spines must be a bugger to sit on.

I really must keep taking the tablets. Not that they do any good, they’re for my blood pressure. They don’t stop the hallucinations. Then again, maybe they do. A reflection isn’t a hallucination …. is it ?

Argggh…I’m going stir crazy. Time to get out and about.

Surgery Closure Petition


If you live in Locks Heath hopefully you will know about this.

The Locks Heath doctors surgery in Locks Road, which has been in operation for around 100 years, is set to close. Current Locks Road patients will be transferred to the newer joint practice surgery in Whitely,  a seven mile round trip.

Hundreds of people have signed a petition opposing the planned closure of the Locks Road Surgery and a worried resident has placed forms protesting about the closure in local shops. So far just under a thousand people have signed on behalf of themselves and their family.

Anyone who knows the area will know that the distance is not the only issue with the surgery move. To get from Locks Heath to Whitely one has to negotiate one of the busiest roundabout/junction complexes in the region. This route is the main interchange between the M27, A27, local business parks and residential areas.  It is a complete log-jam at peak times and very busy the rest of the time.

Anyone who is sick and having to visit the Whitely surgery will find this quite stressful. It is also not a route to walk, for those who do not have a car.

There has been some suggestion that a shuttle bus could be run to get folks to the new Whitely surgery. Of course that makes perfect sense….NOT.

Will the shuttle be available all day or at least for all of the normal surgery hours ?

And how much will that cost ?

Couldn’t such money be made available to upgrade the current surgery to make it “fit for purpose” ?

When does a surgery that has been in operation for nearly a century suddenly become unfit for purpose ?

Just another example of  what is good for the bean counters taking precedence over what is good for the community.

If you are a user of the Locks Road surgery I suggest you look out the petition and get your name on it.

View From The Conservatory


Not a view so much as the sounds. On such a drismal day the birds are singing their hearts out. It’s such a gorgeous sound and it makes one think that spring has arrived.

Of course opening the eyes dispels that thought in an instant. But hey, that’s what the imagination is for.

The birdsong provides a natural counterpoint to Kecharitomene by Loreena McKennitt which is wafting through the airwaves. I am as usual, working from home with Radio Paradise as my soundtrack. And now the grand masters of  RP, Bill & Rebecca , have followed McKennitt with Led Zeppelins Kashmir.

Sublime !!!

%d bloggers like this: