Slipping Back in Time

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The new track from Captain Ska hits the spot!

I was 19 when Thatcher came to power in 1979. A young man/boy/punk, I was actively involved in the anti-racist movement headed by Rock Against Racism and The Anti-Nazi League.  We were already fighting the extreme right wing when this insidious, uncaring, government came into power. The National Front were easy to eradicate compared to the silver tongued politicians who would have us believe that profit was the only important thing in life.  Over the next 18 years they dismantled the Welfare State, disempowered  the unions, destroyed industries and demoralised local communities.  They irrevocably altered our countries social values paving the way for the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable.  I’m not saying New Labour were perfect by any means but don’t be fooled into thinking that Cameron‘s way is our only option. Don’t slip back in time!

Captain SKA’s 3rd release is a lament to the current government’s return to the Thatcherite policies that so devastated this country in the 1980′s, and a call to take urgent action to stop the damage and violence to the UK’s public services.

Slipping Back In Time is released on all digital outlets on 11th July.

http://www.facebook.com/CaptainSkaUK
https://twitter.com/#!/CaptainSKA
http://www.youtube.com/TheCaptainSKA

Crystal

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A most remarkable feline August 1998 – February 2011

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When my daughter, Hope, was seven we decided to get her a cat for her birthday and she was called Crystal. She came from a young couple in Cardiff, where we lived at the time, who couldn’t keep her. She was infested with fleas and probably wouldn’t have survived for much longer.  She was a tiny thing. The night before Hopes birthday we brought her home in my coat pocket and my wife Anna spent the rest of the evening with a nit comb cleaning and grooming her. She didn’t complain.

Crystal spent her first three years with us in Roath and soon gained the respect of our two (now three) dogs. She was a feisty little thing taking full advantage of having the dogs for back up should she run into some mangy tom.

When we moved to Herefordshire she quickly settled into country life but maintained her tough ‘city bitch’ attitude. Even my sons young Jack Russell was fast to realise that she was not to be tangled with. Having said that she was very affectionate with her family.  Coming in from the garden she would often give the dogs a quick lick before padding up to my daughters bedroom or jumping up on an available lap.

Sadly she became suddenly ill this week and died. My wife wrote a poem on the evening of her death which I think perfectly captures her essence.

As inevitable as the Shipping News, the Pips or God Save the Queen
That slight creak of the door, the inch of light and the jingle of bells
Then, that silent leap onto the bed
Soft padding footsteps through the downy duvet
With the smallest of meows you lean your body into mine
Then continue your journey to find a patch of skin
Bizarrely licking an elbow, shoulder, cheek or an eye
Until finally reaching your destination – The pillow
Where you pad and paw, extending and withdrawing those sharp claws,
Purring all night long.
Until morning, when with a stretch and a meow you follow me to the bathroom
Gentle soft footsteps downstairs to the kitchen
Where you encircle my legs as I fill the kettle
Letting you out of the kitchen door I watch you trot up the garden;
Always using the path
To annoy the neighbour’s cat or to bask in that patch of golden sunlight.

and my daughter wrote this some years ago, which does just as much.

My City Cat is spoilt.
She’s a pretty City Cat.
She’s an elegant
Yet arrogant
One minded spoilt Cat.

Goodbye Crystal, we miss you terribly (and I think the dogs do too) x.

Kunst und Mode

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The collection of prints by Ludwig Kainer published by Axel Junker

A while ago I posted a selection of these prints here with as much information on the artist and prints as I could find. I have noticed a number of searches and hits against it so I thought I would now post the entire collection for your delight. Enjoy :)

Please click on the thumbnails to view the slide show.

Toshiba 22BV500B Review

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A 22 inch LCD wide screen TV with freeview and HD ready

I am writing about this TV for two reasons. First, we have just bought one and second, it is on offer at Argos and I thought a number of people may be considering buying it, especially with Christmas approaching, and may find an unbiased review useful.

Toshiba 22BV500B


We bought this television for our kitchen to replace an old CRT TV which sat on top of the fridge.  For this reason we decided to wall mount it as the fridge door is occasionally wrenched open by the kids and we were worried about it falling off. The first thing to mention here is that the size of bracket specified on the Argos site is incorrect it is not 200 x 100 but 100 x 100 (VESA compliant).  We bought the bracket on the same day and ended up buying a more expensive one because of this (one with 200 & 100 holes).  Having said that fixing it to the wall was a very good idea as the base is only slim and in fact the Toshiba manual suggests using a fixing strap. Not that I have ever seen that done with any telly. You should be OK if you have it on a solid, steady surface but if you are thinking about having it on a cabinet in a kids bedroom you may want to consider the strap or wall mount options.

The 22BV500B comes with basic standard conectivity:

  • 1 HDMI socket.
  • 1 SCART socket.
  • PC input socket.
  • Component video socket.
  • Composite.
  • Headphone socket.
  • AV socket (side and rear).
  • 1 USB port.

The on screen menus, functions, picture options are what you would expect from most modern freeview televisions, albeit basic.  Swapping between channels isn’t immediate and when first switched on it takes a good few seconds (sorry I haven’t timed it) for the picture and sound to come on.  The first time I switched it on I switched it off again thinking that I hadn’t switched it on properly. The sound is OK but not brilliant and when listening to radio stations comes across a little tiny reminding me of an old transistor radio and it’s a shame that there is no way of switching of the screen, thus saving a little energy.

Finally, the picture quality, probably the most important consideration. The picture is clear and bright with a reasonable viewing angle.  However there is a slight bleed from the back lighting around the edges which is noticeable when the edge of the picture is dark.  This would irritate me if this was our main TV but doesn’t really bother me in the kitchen.

So to conclude, a good kitchen telly or possibly for the bedroom and adequate for a games station.  You get what you pay for and I haven’t been able to find anything better for the price.  If you do have an extra £40 though you may want to consider one of the higher quality manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony or Panasonic.

I hope you have found this useful, you can download the full manual here.  If you have any questions leave a comment and I will endeavour to answer them.


Hergest Ridge

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A favourite place

As I am a self proclaimed dog walker and haven’t mentioned dogs or walking yet I thought I better had.  I have been walking over what I affectionately call ‘the hill’ since we moved back to Herefordshire , from Cardiff, some ten years ago.  Always with a minimum of one dog and sometimes with family and friends, I have covered most of the open land, bisected by the Offa’s Dyke Path and still never tire of the beautiful diverse scenery to be found here, on the English/Welsh border.

Please browse my photo album below which will take you on a little virtual tour of this wonderful place and which I will continue to add to.  So come back and visit again.

Walks to try

Here are a sample of some of the walks I have taken, click on the red marker for details or use the ‘view larger map link’. All the walks start from Ridgebourne Road, the Kington side of Hergest and were recorded using My Tracks on my Android phone.

Listen!

Walk to the top and back

This is probably the most popular walk which is up over the top of the hill and then back around one half of the Victorian country race track, I walked a little further here so that the dogs could have a drink at the hill top pool.


View larger map

Off the beaten track #1

This walk takes in the southern half of the race track, the ridge and then follows the lower ground past Hergest Farm.


View larger map

Off the beaten track #2

A variation of the above walk taking the northern branch of the race track. Also shows (blue marker) where the monkey puzzle trees are situated.


View larger map

Walk to Gladestry

This walk takes you right down the ridge and to The Royal Oak in Gladestry.  Good beer but I would suggest taking your own sandwiches rather than sampling their menu, although that was a while ago now and things may have improved.


View larger map

There are other equally beautiful walks to the north through wooded hills and lower lands but I have not, yet, recorded them.