Category: Local (To Me !!!)

View From The Conservatory


What a cracking day it is today.

As I type this I am grooving to B.B. Kings “The Thrill Is Gone”. The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky which is currently a watery blue.

There are Blue Tits, Great Tits, a pair of Jenny Wrens, a Robin and a pair of Blackbirds investigating the garden all being observed by a Grey Squirrel sat on a fence post.

The only minor negative is that, in my normal working position, the sun has reached a position such that it is shining directly in my face and I can’t see the monitor screen. So I have had to rearrange the furniture.

Having done that I now find that I am on a slight cant due to the fact that my conservatory has broken its back and the floor is uneven due to some movement of the clay soil base. My table is bridging either side of the break and the text that I am typing goes uphill from left to right.

But, hey, this is only a temporary situation. When the weather warms up I will move back to my usual location in the darkness which is the garage.

I might have to rethink the last. There is no view of the outside word in there.

Today Is The Day


My new car is delivered.

I must be the least enthusiastic car buyer on the planet. I ordered the car back in October of last year after an “exhaustive” search, trekking around the various dealerships.

I haven’t test driven any cars but I did sit in quite a few. After all my criteria for determining if a car is going to be suitable are very simple. Most cars offered by the major manufacturer’s seem to have similar specs. They have to meet the same international standards for safety etc. and since I was looking at a family car then the handling and so forth was going to be fairly similar across all makes. I know  there will be differences but I wasn’t looking at buying a sports car and won’t be driving any car to its extremes. Finally I was also limited by what I could afford so there was one last criteria that had to be fulfilled.

Would I fit in it ?

Being a tad on the large size, that is over six-foot tall and weighing in at around twenty stone I don’t like to feel crowded. Nor do I like to be touching the sides of the car during normal driving conditions.

In the end my choices seem to be limited to either a Skoda Octavia or the Renault Megane. The final selection was governed by the actual spec of the car and so I plumped for the Megane.

Friends and family have been asking me if I am getting excited and I have steadfastly maintained that I am not. It’s just a car. OK its a brand new car.

So I suppose, now the day is upon me I am, I admit, getting mildly curious.

 

Go Watson Go Watson Rah Rah Rah !!!


Sorry but I just had to shout for the “home” team.

The latest IBM supercomputer Watson is taking on two previous winners of the TV quiz show, Jeopardy. The show is airing over the next three nights.

This is just the latest of a series of Man V Machine challenges that IBM have launched as part of their research into artificial intelligence. Most notable of these was the Chess challenge between IBM’s “Deep Blue” and Gary Kasparov back in 1997. On that occasion Deep Blue won.

So come on Watson I’m expecting great things from you.

BBC News – IBM supercomputer challenges humans on TV quiz.

The Roebuck Restaurant


Me, my wife and two friends had a fabulous meal at The Roebuck last night. The food here is always very good and choices from last nights menu were well up tothe usual standard.

Only three of us opted to have an appetizer. My wife and one of our friends had the Avocado and Prawns while I had Homemade Country Pate with Brandy and Herbs. For the mains my wife and I both chose from the specials board and had Lamb Steak and Haunch of Venison respectively. Our friends had the Duck Breast with Mango Sauce and the Roebuck Game Pie. By the time we were ready for dessert it came down to choices for just three of us again. So it was Black Cherries with Kirsch for two and I had the Sticky Toffee Gateaux from the specials board. We were all well and truly stuffed

As usual our meal was served to the traditional backdrop of Mark Squires, our host, playing many familiar tunes on the piano. The atmosphere was very warm and cheerful.

Our meal came to £104 which included our drinks. Not the cheapest of meals but given the welcoming atmosphere and the cozy surroundings I would always recommend this establishment for a special celebration.

Keeping the Fratton faithful safe


Anyone ever wondered what goes on before or after a football match ?

Follow the link below to read about some of what happens in the hours leading up to a game.

Keeping the Fratton faithful safe – A Weekend With – The News.

Councillor is sacked for not attending meetings – Politics – The News


When Cllr Malcolm Hey walked out of a meeting to avoid having to listen to Muslim prayers there were calls for him to be sacked.

I voiced my opinion then that he should receive a bollocking for the disrespect he showed and that sacking was a typical knee-jerk reaction that seems to be popular in this country and a punishment that was disproportional to the crime.

Now it seems he has not been attending meetings but has still claimed the expenses. As a result he has been sacked.

Well it seems that he has gotten what he deserved.

Good Riddance I say.

Councillor is sacked for not attending meetings – Politics – The News.

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.