Tall Tales


On Wednesday we had a glorious sunny blue sky day, which was the ideal opportunity for a quick trip down Portsmouth, so that my grandson could get some pictures of the Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays. I of course took a camera but only my little Canon A570. The view is stupendous, unfortunately from a photographic standpoint having blue tinted glass is annoying. On this day the sun was shining directly into the front of the viewing levels so the glass was also flaring.

The following are a few snaps that I took both from outside and inside the Spinnaker.


The guy is a total prat. If you saw the recent Channel 4 documentary “The Plane Crash” you will have been convinced of the need to be sat in a seat and strapped in. O’Leary is assuming that all crashes are terminal for all passengers. His pilots seem to be under orders to “land hard and make the plane stick” so that they don’t go round again and waste fuel. I have flown Ryanair several times but after experiencing several questionable landings I have vowed “never again”. Call me chicken but O’Leary is dangerous to your health.

Ken Hegan's avatarKen Hegan

By Ken Hegan for MSN Travel

You can always count on Ryanair for controversy.

Ryanair jetRyanair’s outspoken cost-cutting CEO, Michael O’Leary, once vowed that his airline would charge for toilets. Ten years ago, the airline famously refused to offer wheelchairs to disabled passengers. This year they introduced seats that don’t recline. Plus the airline now charges you a whopping 60 Euros to print a boarding pass.

But their new scheme tops them all. O’Leary wants Ryanair’s passengers to stand on their short-haul European flights. Not ‘stand up for their rights’…he really does mean ‘stand up’.

In an interview with the Telegraph newspaper, O’Leary said, “Seatbelts don’t matter…if there ever was a crash on an aircraft, God forbid, a seatbelt won’t save you.”

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Hague snubs Arctic Convoy Russian medal – Singing The Party Song


Hague says,

‘The decision not to give permission for the Ushakov medal to be accepted was made in accordance with the current British rules on the acceptance of foreign awards and only after very careful consideration of all the information provided by the Russian Embassy.
‘However, it was found that this information did not show that the intended recipients had given specific service to Russia within the last five years as required by those rules.’

He goes on to explain that the government would reconsider any cases where it could be shown that the intended recipients had given service to Russia more recently.

Why bother to speak if all you can spout is the party line. “The Rules Are The Rules”. We have heard that time and time again. What we need to hear, from you Mr. Hague, is that the government has seen sense, has relented in this stupidly rigid stance and has decided to let the survivors collect these medals.

Change the bloody rules Mr Hague.

The rules were set by faceless bureaucrats, by people who did not have to face the conditions that the medal recipients had to face. Lets apply some common sense.

Anything less is just not acceptable.

Hague snubs Arctic Convoy Russian medal – News – Portsmouth News.


Sometimes the law, and this time the instrument of the law, is an ass. They can be their own worst enemies.

mountaincoward's avatarThe Adventures of a Mountain Coward


(photo courtesy of Serialnumberregistry.ca – in case I’m accused of stealing it!)

I nearly got a new record tonight – however, not a musical record this time – apparently a criminal record! 😮 How did this happen to an honest mountain coward? Read on to find out…

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The First Major Rock Band I Ever Saw


Thanks to Dick, a guy that I was in digs with,  Zep are the first band I ever saw live. This was back in 1969. How he convinced me to go I will never know as, at that time, I had never heard of them. All I know is that it was a brilliant concert.

Later that year he also persuaded me to go and see John Mayall, another huge name in the British rock hall of fame. For me 1969 was a pivotal year as far as music is concerned. Since then I have seen many many bands.

So, where ever you are Dick (can’t remember your surname) from Chichester, thank you for awakening a love of rock music that has spanned over 40 years and is still going strong.

Led Zeppelin‘s concert film Celebration Day is released on video, November 19th. Here is their rendition of Black Dog from the 2007 O2 reunion show.

Drinking during pregnancy increases likelihood of giving birth to X Factor fan


My worst fears have been confirmed. This explains why we have X Factor inflicted on us with such regularity. I wonder how early in the pregnancy you have to be absorbing alcohol. Given that many conceptions start as a result of excess alcohol is it possible that future X Factor fans are being determined at that time.

Drinking during pregnancy increases likelihood of giving birth to X Factor fan.

Meet Pippa


We are looking after a friends pooch while she is recovering in hospital.

Meet Pippa

Her name is Pippa and she is a Shih Tzu . Pippa is on the go all the time, follows anyone who moves about the house. So far she is settling in quite well considering the many feet that have been passing in and out of our house over the last couple of days. It must seem quite daunting to her as her normal home is a lot quieter than ours.

The nice thing is that she doesn’t bark very much. The reason I mention this is that when we are visiting her normal home she barks at us continuously even after we have been there for a while. So far the only barking she has done is in reaction to people at the door or something she has heard in the back garden. Absolutely perfect.

This morning I had her sprinting round our garden. I’m guessing she doesn’t get to run free very often so I wound her up and off she went doing circuits and every time she came past me she gave a little rumbling growl as if to say “Look at me go !!”

Anyway, we have her for about a week, all things being equal, then she will be back home with her mum.

I think we might miss her when she is gone.

Cracking Up


Tuesday was not a good day for me. It may yet turn out to have been an expensive one too.

I dropped my camera !!!

It landed right on the end of the lens. Although the lens cap was on, the Skylight filter was smashed.

Ouch !!

It actually took me a while to get the lens cap off to discover the broken filter. Now I am wondering if the lens mechanism is damaged. It seems to be working but who knows how the optics are working. I have cleaned out the broken glass but have found it impossible to remove the actual filter ring.

This is bad news as it indicates that the filter thread on the lens is damaged and this will prevent the fitting of any other filters.

I will be looking into claiming on my insurance but cannot remember if we specifically mentioned camera gear.

Watch this space.