A Week On The Rails

It's been a busy week so far. I was in Leicester on Tuesday, a four and a half hour rail journey from Blackpool, though enlivened for a while as Chrissie Turkington from the JISC RSC Northwest walked past me on the platform at Preston so we spent ten minutes between Preston and Wigan, where she got off to continue to St Helens, catching up and swapping news.

I had another change at Birmingham New Street with its underground platforms - not the most pleasant of city stations, I always think.

Finally to Leicester where I joined a CAMEL workshop (Collaborative Approaches to Managing e-Learning) and joined in the conversations on communication with stakeholders, even being videoed playing the part of an Australian distant learner at one point, and ran the Change simulation, EduChallenge with them during the afternoon.

Then onto London, where yesterday I met with someone at Kings College London to discuss the sort of activities that a Centre of Expertise in Project Management might get involved with and how my organisation, JISC infoNet, might help support that with our online resources and participation in events.

Today I am feeding back on a project to a group of university and college IT Managers, who are meeting to discuss Business and Community Engagement and how IT might support that type of activity.

London is having what I'd call Blackpool weather - brilliant sunshine one minute then a monsoon and then back to sunshine!

I'm travelling back home tonight and tomorrow will be a well-earned day off!

Special Edition Album

I've had this in mind for quite a while.

There were a couple of tracks on the very first album we produced that didn't sound quite right. They were recorded way back in 2002 and I hadn't then brought the keyboards into the band and so the tracks had no drums or keyboard sounds at all.

By the standards we reached even on the other tracks of that first album they were a bit raw and so David and I had a crack at re-recording them last night and will use them to produce a Special Edition of the first album Keeping On... which will be the one on offer from now onwards.

The tracks were the two Creedence Clearwater Revival tracks and you can download for a listen below.

Bad Moon Rising

Proud Mary

The Penguins are Back in Town

We had another trip to the zoo yesterday to see the new penguins that have arrived at Blackpool. The last trip to the zoo 3 weeks ago didn't include them as they were still in quarantine at the time.

Blackpool has had penguins before, but that was quite a while ago and otters now live in the habitat pool they used to have.

So Blackpool have created a new, much bigger and deeper habitat with glass windows so they can be observed under the water and it really is excellent.

In fact it was amazing how one individual in particular displayed as much curiosity about us as we did about it. It dived down to see us again and again, coming right to the glass and eyeing us over one by one!

Underwater shots another time perhaps - I had my telephoto lens on the camera and taking photos from less than 6 foot away was a no-no!

Large versions of all the photos from the day are available in a collection at my Flickr site.

Back to the Past

I've laid off the negatives for a while and have dug out some old slides to scan.

These are from 1969 and go back to the first SLR (single lens reflex) camera I ever had. I paid a princely £20 for it...and it was brand new too! It was a Zenith B camera made in Russia and I bought it from Dixons who badged it as a Prinzflex - their own brand, gluing a plastic Prinzflex badge over the front of the camera where the word Zenit (the Russians didn't use the 'h') was etched in the metal body.

This shot is of a rose stem with the sun coming from behind it. I only noticed later that the thing was covered in greenfly - that'll be my mum not spraying it then... ha ha!

The second shot is of some of the berries that grew in abundance on the trees at the back of our house. We lived in Milnrow, a village between Rochdale and Shaw in what was to become Greater Manchester, but was still part of Lancashire at the time.

Larger versions of the photos: rose stem, berries

Lunchtime in Lincoln

I've been to Lincoln today for an afternoon meeting with some people at the university and having arrived just before lunch, parked in the old part of the city and went to find something to eat there.

There were lots of school trips going on - everywhere were uniformed children with clipboards, looking for things they had on a list to find, drawing the castle or cathedral and somewhat bizarrely in a small group in an alley listening to a man dressed in a toga... Lucius Dressdus...

The castle is imposing and stands squarely facing the equally impressive gateway to the cathedral.

This is pretty much a building in its own right that has a gateway cut through it. It makes entering the Cathedral grounds something of an experience.

The cathedral houses one of the original copies of King John's Magna Carta document and a nearby pub is called the Magna Carta to commemorate the fact. Not that Clive and myself knew or thought to ask why it was called that when we called for a pint a few years ago whilst in the city to deliver a workshop...

There's an incredibly steep and long shopping street that leads from the castle and cathedral's hilltop to the modern city below.

They call it The Health Walk these days, but then every night you can take one of several ghost tours which probably list off all the people down the ages who have had heart attacks and died whilst walking back up...

Nearby is this very ancient Roman archway over the road - one of the original gates into the Roman city. It had a close call with a rather too large lorry in 1964, the damage costing over 1500 pounds to repair. And before anyone thinks that's not a lot, you could buy around 80 Mars Bars for a pound in 1964. A useful measure of worth, the Mars Bar, I always think!

The Man Who Haunted Himself

I know... I just shouldn't open my gob!

After saying yesterday I'd given over buying DVDs, I had bought this one, The Man Who Haunted Himself after being reminded of it, reading Roger Moore's autobiography, My Word is My Bond.

That's an excellent read and I remembered going to see this film at the cinema at least twice - Alex, Jackie; any recollections?

It's about a businessman (Moore) whose friends start accusing him of having been places he knows he has not been and then he meets a glamourous photographer who says he has been having an affair with her. Affronted at having been accused without having had the pleasure, he has to start to solve the mystery.

Supported by Hildegard Neil and the brilliant Thorley Walters, who appeared in so many Hammer Horror films the film is well worth watching. I thought I could remember a scene at Trafalgar Square, but it wasn't in this version. I could be thinking of another film though.

Farewell to Sorrento

24 August 2005. Our last night in Sorrento.

Night time in the market streets of Sorrento. Whilst colourful by day, at night they have a special atmosphere! It's a place to see and be seen. Whilst most holiday makers are dressed casually, occasionally a couple, a group of girls or an Italian housewife will stroll by, dressed to impress.

There were a large number of folk with rather familiar accents too - snapping up tiny bottles of Limoncella lemon liqueur, saying "Eeh, George, let's take some o' this back for our Florrie!" In fact we've still got a couple of said small bottles gathering dust on the shelf, contents separating and looking not quite as appealing as it did when we bought it that night...

We made our way eventually back to the hotel. The hotel next door had a DJ playing loud music until the early hours. The DJ was indistinguishable from an English DJ actually.

"Verberve buh vebberrev, ha ha ha! Beverber ha ha! beebussy cooooobah! Hey ho! Ha ha ha!" Yep... just like any DJ in England at weddings, in pubs, clubs, etc...

The next day we have a few hours before the coach picks us up to take us to the airport. The ladies make back straight for the market streets, so I have a wander inland and find I'm walking over a bridge across an immensely steep and deep chasm.

At the bottom are the ruins of a large factory and to take the photo I'm shooting almost vertically down from the roadway bridge. A quite awesome viewpoint.

Further inland I find some of the old city walls and then as the heat grows I head back towards the market and harbour and find somewhere cool to wait for Fran and Mum.

Ahhh.... yes, that'll do! And that's about it. Now we are whisked off to Naples airport where my battered hat gets stuck in the X-ray conveyor to be eventually thrown out to a bemused person who couldn't remember putting it in... I forgot all about it until I was on the plane when I suddenly said "Where's my hat?" but it was far too late! And probably far too battered to make me care all that much!

And by way of coincidence, as I finish writing about our Sorrrento holiday, my mate Clive is about to set off on his Sorrento holiday, so have a good one, bud!

Nim's Island

Since we got the Sky Movies package I've just about given over buying DVDs.

Last night we watched Nim's Island which required no particular exertion to watch. Jodie Foster was good, the young Abigail Breslin making you feel as though an 11 year old could have a "5 inch gash with pus seeping out" in her leg but totally ignore it and as long as you can believe that a pelican would know of its own accord to pick up a toolbag and fly with it across an ocean to drop it onto a stranded boat then you can be happy with the story too!

Strange... I know it was Gerard Butler playing the father/imaginary adventurer, but all I could see was Brendan Fraser...!

Good Old Microsoft (Not)

They've done it again haven't they?

My computer downloaded the new Internet Explorer last night (taking so long I had to leave it on all night) and now tabs no longer work as they should. You can open new tabs ok and you can right-click a link and open it in a new tab, but just clicking one opens it in a new window.

Head for the options page and there is no longer an option to open links in a new tab. Duh! One of the best things that came with Version 7! Do they just not test or do they just not think?

Oh - and it refuses to open this blog for some reason. I only managed to post by opening one of my other blogs and then going to Blogger's Dashboard to post from there. So hey - you will see this before I do!!! (Unless you get the same problem...)

Although I suspect the problem is with Bravenet's counter as the page opened ok but then a message came up before I had a chance to view the page.

Once you click the Ok button the page that has already opened... disappears...

The pop-up window is what I get when I click the Diagnose Connection Problems and is pretty much what I'd expect...

Come on Microsoft - try harder! I'm reminded of an earlier version of Microsoft's Word which if you typed "Microsoft boffins" suggested you should mean "Microsoft buffoons"...

UPDATE 5:00pm

Well well... I'm now getting here ok and whilst at first I got here and the counter wouldn't load but now all appears well.

Had an email from my mate Alex to say the blog hasn't opened for him in IE for a week or so. If he hadn't gone on to say he was using Firefox to open it I'd have been tempted to think that was his way of tactfully avoiding having to read it but good man him!

Oh and after the negativity in the title, let's hear it for those hard-working nice people at the mighty MS! Good Old Microsoft... (by the way... can you fix it so that links targetted to open in a blank window can be directed to a new tab again please? You know it makes sense...)

A Trip To The Vet's

I'm up in Stirling in Scotland at the moment, ready to deliver a Change Management workshop tomorrow.

It's a bit muggy but thankfully I've missed all the rain that's been sweeping the eastern side of the country. We got it last night around 3:00am when the bedroom kept lighting up and all sorts of crashes and booms were heard - yes, I'm a strange sleeper...

Actually I can't remember when we had the last decent thunderstorm. The one that sticks in my memory was when a single thunderbolt crashed through the roof of a house about a quarter mile away also in the middle of the night and just about everyone in Bispham jumped out of bed in a fright thinking Hitler was having another go...

Anyway, last night's was a doozie! Consequently I'm bushed. We got up and had to take one of our cats, Tigger to the vet - she's been a bit off for a week or so but was really off this morning. Not that she was too far out of it to resist going into the travel box and she most definitely did not appreciate where the vet put that thermometer...

But she was most thankful to be home and brightened up considerably, thus making the whole journey a bit of a mockery. She was suffering from a bit of heat exhaustion, poor thing. So am I now...

She was also a bit put out to be called obese too, but never mind Tig... runs in the family...! So I left the house with fans blasting out and am now wishing I'd brought one up here with me! Jess, our other cat kept a wary eye on proceedings once he saw the travel cage come out and when we got back with Tigger, he was sitting underneath the table on one of the dining chairs, right against the wall where he thinks we can't get at him. He says he doesn't care what his temperature is after talking to Tigger...

Ravello

24 August 2005. Back to the Sorrento holiday!

After we left Amalfi the coach took us up into the hills and we stopped for lunch (which was pasta, which I don't like - yeuch!) and then onto Ravello.

The village is gorgeous, but we have come here in particular to visit Villa Rufolo, famous for both its gardens and as a venue for open air performances from opera to Elton John.

He wasn't there at the time we visited though, so I took advantage of an empty stage to stand on it myself and give a short but extremely worthy aria... or something...

The stage actually overhangs the cliff and couldn't be in a more spectacular setting. Wagner wrote part of his Parsifal here.

Villa Rufolo originated in the 13th century as a convent.

There is still plenty of evidence of that time of quiet religious contemplation, but try as I might I could find nun of the original inhabitants...

Never the less, these quiet remains of a previous way of life gave the place an alternative character and the cool of this vaulted room was welcome after the heat and glare of the sunshine outside.

In the next instalment we have a last look at Sorrento itself as the holiday comes to a close.

All the photos from this holiday are available as a set of montages at Flickr.

Happy 21st Birthday!

Today we played for a 21st Birthday Party out to the north of Preston. We've played this one a few times now - not always for a 21st of course, but we did the young lady's 18th and her brother's 21st and this year was her turn to be the magical 21.

The garden party started in fine form with brilliant sunshine as you can see.

By the time the champagne cork popped and smacked David in the face - were they trying to tell him something - anyway, two and a half hours of his singing had not done much for the weather, as can be seen here as he poses with the wayward champagne cork.

Not long after this, thunder rumbled and then the heavens opened and stayed open and we had to quickly drag everything back into the tent/gazebo. The rain wasn't going anywhere though and we had to dismantle and start to dry everything out.

At least we had managed to do a brand new version of Bridge Over Troubled Water for the party girl's gran - as promised a couple of years ago!

Blackpool Zoo

On Friday we met up with David and Jeannie and we all went to spend the day at Blackpool Zoo. It was a gorgeous day and a brilliant day out. We spent 5 hours at the zoo and had a great time. It would have cost a fortune in the days of films and developing costs!

End of words - photo flood follows. In the interests of space I've kept it strictly to one photo of each animal. You'll find the others at Flickr. There's 125 photos altogether.

Meerkat

Lioness and Cubs

Giant Tortoise

The Clicky Monster!

Giraffe

Rhea

Llama

Sea Lion with 3-Day-Old Pup

King Colobus Monkey

Black Faced Spider Monkey

Orang Utan

Red Panda

Zebra

Flamingoes

Pelicans

Goats

Ring Tailed Lemur

Lizard

Iguana

Baby Donkey

Day Trip to Wales

Apart from Wednesday and Thursday when I've been at a conference, I've been off work this week and on Tuesday we had a drive down into North Wales.

The view of Conwy Castle as you approach over the bridge that spans the River Conwy is stunning and I've never taken the trouble to walk back over to get a good shot. So I did this time!

We had lunch in a cafe housed within one of the towers on the city wall and bagged a window table overlooking the RNLI Lifeboat House and the river harbour. A stunning view.

Then a walk along the harbour wall. Britain's smallest house is said to be this tiny red painted cottage along the city wall. There was a group of schoolchildren sitting opposite it, all illustriously drawing it. That takes me back - remember going out to draw something from school, being very self-concious and hating it if anyone tried to look over your shoulder?

We exchanged a few words with the lady in Welsh National Dress (she didn't sound Welsh to be honest) and had a walk through the city wall and then up a steep hill to re-enter the town through another gate in the wall.

Fran bought a Liliput Lane model of the smallest cottage - the woman in the shop sounded more Merseyside than Welsh too...!

Then we drove towards Snowdon, Yr Wyddfa, Wales' highest mountain and Britain's highest mountain south of Scotland.

We were fancying a ride on the Llanberis Lakeside Railway, having last done this in 1992. It was an extended railway from the 1992 layout. It is one of the Great Little Trains of Wales and is a pleasant way to spend an hour and a bit!

From the railway you get good views of the Snowdonia mountains and travel alongside a couple of lakes, though many visitors, I'm sure, as I did will think of them as one.

A small steamer passed by in the opposite direction on the lake, passengers exchanging waves with those on the train whilst the two steam powered vehicles exchanged polite toots on their whistles!

We had our evening meal in a cafe in Llandudno - an absolutely huge chunk of gammon steak that even I had to admit defeat over... And I was always taught to clear my plate! (Looks at waistline and thinks "and see where that got me!!!")

Corporate Event Gig

Last night we played for the JISC Regional Support Centre (RSC) Northwest annual conference at Southport Theatre and Convention Centre after I had been involved in the event with my work hat on!

A few people were wondering what to expect and some were possibly a bit gobsmacked but lots of nice comments folks so thanks for that!

A birthday party on Sunday will make the 3rd gig in 8 days!

Large version of photos: creeping bentgrass