Duck House Duck HouseTaken June 9, 2010 at 4:17 pm Canal Boat Isabella Kennet & Avon Canal Canal Boat Isabella Kennet & Avon CanalTaken June 10, 2010 at 2:24 pm Pumping Station Pumping StationTaken June 11, 2010 at 12:56 pm Hungerford Fete Hungerford FeteTaken June 12, 2010 at 1:00 pm Small Pond Lilly Small Pond LillyTaken June 18, 2010 at 3:53 pm via posterousThanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogtime capsule June 8th to June 22nd, 2010Related posts:Photo time capsule from May 8th to May 22nd 2010time capsule from May 25th to June 8th, 2010Canal Boat Holidays
-
I posted to distributedresearch.net
time capsule June 8th to June 22nd, 2010
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/06/15/time-capsule-june-8th-to-june-22nd-2010
- Tags:
- wildlife
- UK
- boat
- duck
- holiday
- photo
- flickr
- canal
- avon
- kennet
- canal boat
- holidays
- lilly
- Environment
- small pond
- fete
- hungerford
- time capsule
June 15 2011, 5:01am | Comments »
-
I posted to distributedresearch.net
Wildfires blaze across parts of Britain after hottest April on record
Wild Fires hit Northern Ireland, north-west England, and several areas of Scotland including the Balmoral estate, as well as Swinley Forest in Berkshire
This article titled “Wildfires blaze across parts of Britain after hottest April on record” was written by Helen Carter, for The Guardian on Wednesday 4th May 2011 12.53 UTC Heathland fires have been burning across parts of the UK for days amid unprecedented dry weather, with no respite on the horizon until the weekend. The hottest April on record, which registered only 21% of expected rainfall in England and Wales, has hampered the efforts of firefighters and caused vast areas of parched land to go up in flames. Blazes fanned by high winds have been seen in areas of Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, with hundreds of firefighters called in and helicopters used to drop water in the worst-affected regions. The weather forecast shows little chance of any substantial rain falling before Thursday, with central and eastern England having to wait until the weekend. Roads have been closed and 170 firefighters have been called to the Swinley Forest area of Berkshire, where a number of fires broke out. In the north-west of England in Lancashire, fires began on moorland in Belmont, near Bolton, as well as in Ormskirk and Bacup. Police in Northern Ireland are investigating reports of a man seen with a petrol can close to one of the worst gorse fires for years in the Mourne mountains. There were reports of two youths lighting fires in south Armagh. Hundreds of acres of land are being destroyed and homes and livestock threatened by fires which burned for much of the bank holiday weekend in counties Down, Armagh and Tyrone. Scotland, where the royal estate of Balmoral is affected among several other areas, and Northern Ireland had just two-thirds of the rain normally expected in April. The average temperature in England was the hottest since records began 353 years ago. Despite the dry weather, the Environment Agency is not planning a hosepipe ban. A spokesman said: “We feel confident there is enough water to see out spring and summer without restrictions on the public supply.”
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogWildfires blaze across parts of Britain after hottest April on record
Related posts:Smallest cities in the United Kingdom Isles of Scilly turn heat on Jersey over ‘warmest place in Britain’ claim Ireland, Portugal … Britain? George Osborne only has Plan A
- Tags:
- wildlife
- UK
- holiday
- Easter
- spring
- scotland
- Wild
- weather
- England
- Water
- Bank Holiday
- forest
- Wales
- The Guardian
- UK news
- Environment
- News
- Article
- Main section
- police
- helicopter
- Britain
- rage
- Helen Carter
- summer
- threat
- Lancashire
- Armagh
- average temperature
- Balmoral
- balmoral estate
- bank holiday weekend
- Berkshire
- Blazes
- gorse fires
- high winds
- lighting fires
- moorland
- mountain
- Mourne
- north west england
- Northern Ireland
- weather forecast
- wild fires
- Wildfires
May 4 2011, 10:56am | Comments »
-
I posted to distributedresearch.net
Will the 2012 Olympics be a sell out?
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/03/24/will-the-2012-olympics-be-a-sell-out
Now the London 2012 Olympic Games tickets have been on sale for a week, the success of the event in London will be determined by the sports fans.
This article titled “Will the 2012 Olympics be a sell out?” was written by Owen Gibson, for guardian.co.uk on Thursday 24th March 2011 11.21 UTC It is an extraordinary ticketing process in more ways than one. Ten days into the application process for 6.6m of the 8.8m tickets to the biggest sporting event ever to hit these shores and it remains hard to precisely calibrate the level of enthusiasm for being there. The keenest have constructed elaborate spreadsheets and affixed colour coded Post-it notes to their already dog eared Guardian guides as they try and spread their bets between events they are desperate to see and their chances of getting the hottest tickets (opening and closing ceremonies, velodrome, evening athletics sessions among them). For others, next August still feels like a long way away – particularly if there are more pressing financial concerns. My barber reckons he’ll leave it until closer to the time and see what’s left, our childminder has become so used to picking up tickets at the last minute from eBay or Viagogo that she too can’t see the point in shelling out more than a year before the Games. For some football fans, there’s the annual debate about whether to renew their season ticket to be had first, for others a discussion about whether to forego the family holiday in favour of the Games. The fact that Locog has promised a ticket resale system has perhaps encouraged those inclined to wait it out. Locog has successfully communicated the “marathon not a sprint” message to avoid a rush on the first day that applications opened – but could be a victim of its own success if people translate that as a signal not to hurry at all. Expect the reminders about this being the best chance to secure tickets for the events you really want to see to increase in frequency as the closing date on April 26 approaches. For the media too, there seems to be uncertainty about how to judge success. The usual media narrative around the sale of tickets for big events (Glastonbury, Take That, Champions League final) runs like this: huge hype around the onsale date, followed by a mad rush, creaking technology and a spate of stories about tickets being sold for exhorbitant sums and online scams. Because this process is so different, we have instead already seen the first stories hinting that sales have been “steady” rather than spectacular. In truth, it is hard to criticise Locog for doing exactly what they said they would do – give people time to find their way through a complex process. During this period of stasis, Locog – which can monitor what registered users are doing – believes many people are still calculating their options and trying different combinations of tickets in their online shopping baskets before hitting the buy button. Such is the scale of the task – 645 sessions across 26 sports at five main price points – that it was never going to be simple. Locog deserves huge credit for thinking long and hard about how to balance the need to raise the £2bn required to stage the Games with its promise to make it as accessible as possible. The eye watering prices for the most expensive (including that £2012 opening ceremony ticket) were justified on the basis that it was better for that money to flow to Locog, where it could subsidise cheaper price points, than touts who would mark them up anyway. But even given the number of £20 tickets (2.5m), the pay your age scheme, the concessions for over 60s and the free tickets for some school kids there is no getting away from the fact that the sums involved soon add up – particularly if you are buying for a whole family, and particularly if you are coming from outside London. There are already some grumbles about the high prices of the packages being sold through Thomas Cook and for all the entreaties from Locog and the Mayor to the hotel industry, staying in London during the Games was never going to be cheap. Which? has also raised concerns about the fact that money could come out of ticket buyers accounts on May 10 but it could be as late as June 24 before they are told which tickets they have. For most, it is likely to be a big outlay in one go. And while some have alighted upon the solution of applying for a Visa card with an interest free period to spread the cost, it is something of a surprise that Locog have not put in a place a more formal scheme to pay in installments. While reluctant to go into detail about levels of demand for individual sports and sessions, organisers say they are pleased with the level of steady engagement and that the spikes of demand are largely where you would expect them to be. Sports that are less familiar, but on the Olympic Park, are unlikely to prove too difficult to shift as people look for a relatively cost effective way of grabbing a slice of the atmosphere. More problematic could be the events at the cavernous Excel. And there must be a nagging fear that the there is a band of mid range tickets – those around £300 that are not the prized blue riband ones that people will want at all costs, nor the relatively cheap ones that will give you a slice of the experience – that will prove most difficult to shift. Somewhat ironically, given the extent to which it dominates media coverage and conversation in this country, football is likely to give organisers the biggest headache. With more than a million tickets to sell to a population who perhaps see the Olympics as an antidote to football’s dominance for the rest of the sporting calendar, just a few weeks after Euro 2012, it is a big ask. Bear in mind too that the Olympics (under 23 with a handful of over age players) is not the pinnacle of achievement as it is for most other sports, while the political issues surrounding the British team appear endlessly intractable. And while 2012 represents a huge opportunity for women’s football in this country if organisers can fill the Ricoh Stadium in Coventry or St James’ Park to see, say the Japanese women’s team take on the Swedes on a night when Team GB is going for gold elsewhere the Locog marketing and ticketing gurus will deserve every one of the plaudits that will flow their way. Locog chief executive Paul Deighton has set a high bar by promising to marry an electric atmosphere with full stands in all venues, while selling out all tickets. It is something that has never been achieved in recent Games. He has the British love of sport and major events of any kind on his side. But our natural cynicism and tendency to wait until the last minute might yet leave him with some nervous moments.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogWill the 2012 Olympics be a sell out?
Related posts:London 2012 Olympics countdown clock stops Iran claims London 2012 Olympics logo spells ‘Zion’ Olympic Games 2012 medal haul will beat Beijing, promises UK Sport
- Tags:
- London
- holiday
- things to do in london
- price
- holidays
- Venues
- 2012 Olympics
- The Guardian
- Olympic Stadium
- Sport
- Article
- Owen Gibson
- Beijing
- Blogposts
- Olympic Games 2012
- Olympic Park
- subsidise
- atmosphere
- london 2012 olympic games
- london 2012 olympics
- London 2012 Olympics blog
- West Ham
- london 2012
- 2012 olympic
- Sportblog
- Champions
- financial concerns
- football fans
- League
- opening
- resale
- system
- Thomas Cook
- ticket
- velodrome
March 24 2011, 1:28pm | Comments »
-
I posted to distributedresearch.net
May Day matters both for solidarity and our souls
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2011/03/05/may-day-matters-both-for-solidarity-and-our-souls
By all means celebrate St George’s Day as well but keep May Day as a bank holiday
Bluebells on May Day
This article titled “May Day matters both for solidarity and our souls” was written by Cole Moreton, for The Guardian on Saturday 5th March 2011 06.00 UTC Workers of Britain, unite! Rise and dance at dawn, or charm a worm out of the ground – or do anything, really, as long as it’s daft. May Day madness is under threat, and it is our patriotic duty to save it. The government wants to move the holiday, to celebrate St George in April or the battle of Trafalgar in October. Business leaders want to extend the tourist season, which is fair enough – but some also say that it would be more patriotic. That’s nonsense. English people don’t feel much affinity for their patron saint, who’s from Palestine anyway. And even the finest tourist officer would struggle to sell Parisians on the idea of coming over in the gloom of autumn for a day that marks the crushing of the French. In contrast, there is no day in the calendar more wonderfully British than May Day. This is the moment when May madness hits and our unique passion for doing eccentric things is seen once more in all its glory. Worms will be charmed, maypoles plaited and the sinister Obby Oss will stalk Padstow. Men and women will dance at daybreak in Dorset, re-enacting imagined fertility rites in or near the dominant part – so to speak – of the hugely well-endowed chalk figure at Cerne Abbas. The May Ball revellers of Oxford will risk their privileged necks jumping from the Magdalen Bridge in evening dress, even as a choir sings. And those are just the headline-making events. Right across the country, May Day is when the British people exercise their right to get outside and do something really silly. “We are eccentric,” I was told by Lesley Prince, a social psychologist and lifelong participant in civil war re-enactments. “It is part of the British national identity.” Of course, most of these “traditional” events are not nearly as long-standing as people claim. The crab apple fair at Egremont in Cumbria goes back to 1267, but the world gurning championships held there – apparently inspired by the sourness of the fruit – is a relatively modern invention. Worm charming in Blackawton, south Devon, appears beguilingly ancient and rustic but actually only started in 1984, when a bored local at the Normandy Arms wondered what happened to grass when you peed on it. He rose from his pint to find out, saw the ground come alive with worms, and a tradition was born. But whether these events are old or new, people love them. The numbers of participants and spectators have soared over the last decade or so. They generate income – people have got to eat hog roast and drink real ale while they do this stuff, obviously – but that’s not really what it’s all about. The point is to celebrate just being alive. Just being us. People on the left tend to be as embarrassed by morris dancing and maypoles as they are by the flag of St George. They would prefer to keep May Day for the workers, and for international solidarity. Which is fair enough, we need as much of that as we can get. But such squeamishness misses the similarity between the two strands of May Day. Both share the same spirit – a desire to resist being ordered about and told what to do. The British people can be a rowdy, bawdy, rebellious, fun-loving, mischief-making lot – when we’re at our best. That spirit has got stronger again in recent years, so that even our old Etonian prime minister must appear to be a man of the people. But moving the May Day bank holiday would be a big blow to that independent spirit, not least because many of the things we like to do just can’t be done in bad weather, which is more likely earlier or later in the year. Those rituals need to stay where they are, and we need to learn to love them, because there is a serious point here. Britishness is changing before our eyes, as ideas and cultures from all over the world remake us. Rather than lament the loss of our old certainties, we can – and must – choose to celebrate the possibilities of new Britishness. That means being open to the new – but it also means being proud of who we really are, which is a daft bunch of eejits. Let the tourism chiefs go charm a few worms, open their eyes and see May Day for what it is: a fabulous – and highly marketable – festival of Great British Eccentricity. We need it, for our souls. And anyway, who’d want to go cheese-rolling in the snow?
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogMay Day matters both for solidarity and our souls
Related posts:St George’s Day Weather Photography Competition
- Tags:
- labour
- politics
- calendar
- palestine
- holiday
- things to do
- things to do in london
- english
- paris
- festival
- march
- british
- Bank Holiday
- Government
- event
- Comment
- Comment & debate
- The Guardian
- UK news
- Main section
- Society
- South Devon
- Comment is free
- Britain
- British identity and society
- british people
- Cole Moreton
- Conservatives
- george s day
- May Day
- may madness
- tourist season
March 5 2011, 4:30am | Comments »
-
I posted to distributedresearch.net
Ten More Things to do in London on Bank Holidays
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2010/08/19/ten-more-things-to-do-in-london-on-bank-holidays
Things to do in London August Bank Holiday Weekend With another Bank Holiday coming up and the weather looking typical for August, I thought I’d compile another inspiring ten things to do in London. Some are obvious but worthwhile, while others are more unusual things to do in London that you might not know about and some are relatively topic so check the dates before you make detailed plans. Here’s the jump list: Ten Things to do in London
Visit the Maps Exhibition at the British Library Take the ferry from Richmond to Twickenham Visit the biggest Apple Store in the World at London Covent Garden. Eat Vietnamese food in Kingsland Road, Dalston See the ship in a bottle at Trafalgar Square See a hundred objects at the British Museum Go on a Skyscraper hunt Hire a blue bike Eat authentic Mexican food at Wacaca Travel on the new London Overground to Croydon
Visit the Maps Exhibition at the British Library There’s a free exhibition at the British Library which is next to London St Pancras Station. Called “Magnificent Maps – Power, Propaganda and Art” the exhibition features plenty of old historical maps which are fine works of art as much as political history. Magnificent Maps Of interest in particular to Londoners is a modern work called “The Island” which is a giant sketch map of London depicted as an island with all sorts of strange comments and illustrations written on top of your favourite neighbourhoods. Where I live for example is written most curiously “Wikipedia, yeah right!” I’ve no idea why. Zoom in and scroll around at the site below: http://www.bl.uk/magnificentmaps/map4.html Take the Ferry from Richmond to Twickenham One of my favourite destinations for sunny days out in London is Richmond on Thames, because the tide never goes right out thanks to a weir across the river. It’s also possible to take a pleasure boat circle trip up around teddington locks, past all the islands which is nice, but my recommendation this time is to go a bit further on foot then cross the river by passenger ferry. This is just a little boat with an outboard motor that crosses the river Thames from one bank to the other. Cost £1 single. You may have to wait around for the boatman if the crossing is not busy. The reason why I would recommend this is because it’s a lovely way to approach the old part of Twickenham, which has many delights. The walk along the river upstream from Richmond to where the little passenger ferry docks is about one mile, and once on the other side you are only a few hundred yards from the beginnings of Twickenham with York House gardens a must see. There are several nice places for lunch or refreshments too. Returning to the Richmond side, you might visit Ham House as well if you like these sort of grand places.
Visit the biggest Apple Store in the World at London Covent Garden. Opening hours Mon – Sat: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm, Noon – 6:00 pm on Sundays I might just forgive the Apple Store in London’s Regent Street for being a bit chaotic, overcrowded and understocked recently if the new Apple Store at Covent Garden is the culprit. Said to be the biggest in the world, the Covent Garden shop is Apple’s 300th retail outlet worldwide and 28th in the UK. The Apple store in Covent Garden has 300 staff, and certainly looks the business, with a glass roof, two imposing glass staircases, and huge York stone arches. And of course loads of demo Macs, iPhones, iPads and iPods to play with, along with dedicated rooms where training and workshops on Apple products take place. Eat Vietnamese food in Kingsland Road, Dalston Best place to eat Vietnamese food in London, with a choice of nearly a dozen authentic Vietnamese restaurants and cafes in close proximity, near to the Geoffrye museum and not so far from Columbia Road flower market which is open on Sundays. The food in these places is wonderfully fragrant with special herbs, fresh chilli and lime juice. Go for the green papaya salads, lotus root salad or Beef noodle soup. Yum. beef noodle soup See the ship in a bottle at Trafalgar Square Trafalgar square is worth a visit anytime, and there’s often something different taking place within the landmark. For example quire recently, the amazing walk-in life size maze of green hedges. The different events at the heart of the maze included a showcase from some of the cast of the West End show Priscilla Queen of the Desert, a giant paper dragon show from Chinatown and a Carnaby Street-inspired 60s party. While you’re at Trafalgar Square, check out the giant ship in a bottle on the fourth plinth. If there’s a rainshower, nip in to the National Gallery and have a posh afternoon tea snack in the rooftop restaurant with views across London.
See a hundred objects at the British Museum The BBC Radio 4 programme “A history of the world in 100 objects” has brought a whole new interest into any visit to the British museum, and if you’ve been listening, then you’ll want to track down some of the 100 objects on display, which are all well signposted. On the outside of the building there is the South African garden planted by Kew but on my last visit I though it was already just past its best, so once the bank holiday is over this may not be the best attraction. Go on a Skyscraper hunt There are several new skyscrapers in London in the process of being built and it may be of interest to catch the changing skyline by spotting as many as you can during one visit. Eventually the public viewing gallery in the Shard at London Bridghe will become one of the most spectacular things to do in London. Hire a blue bike The much talked about London blue bicycle hire scheme is now live in London and you will see people getting around on these contraptions and wonder what it’s like to pick up a bike in one place and then just leave it somewhere else instead of having to worry about it. Well you can’t try it out as a guest yet, unless you have to foresight to register for a card beforehand, so why not visit the TFL site and get signed up now. Eat authentic Mexican food at Wahaca Wahaca is a mexican food chain started up by the same people who originally ran Wagamama, the Californian/Japanese noodle bars that were all the rage in the 1990s. This isn’t your average tex/mex greasy fast food mince and beans though, it’s more like a genuine Mexican market cuisine with interesting flavours and contrasting textures including plenty of fresh citrus and salad. The service is also very congenial without being intrusive, which I like. Wahaca Covent Garden 66 Chandos Place Covent Garden London WC2N 4HG Travel on the new Overground to Croydon The old East London Line Tube has been revamped and extended as part of the London Overground network with a new station at Shoreditch High Street from where you can travel to either Dalston Kingsland to the North, or way across to West Croydon, south of the river. More Things to do in London on Bank Holidays The ideas listed above may not be original but they’re mine. For loads more ideas of things to do in London, you might read the blog “Tired of London, Tired of Life“
Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogTen More Things to do in London on Bank Holidays
Related posts:London Gets Uglier with Skyscrapers Unlimited London Bike Hire Bicycles Arrive New Routemaster Bus for London
- Tags:
- London
- august
- calendar
- holiday
- exhibition
- things to do
- things to do in london
- weekend
- Bank Holiday
August 19 2010, 6:36am | Comments »
-
I posted to hubpages.com
Canal Boating Holidays
http://hubpages.com/hub/CanalBoatingHolidays
I'm interested in canal boats, barges and narrowboats on the UK canals and rivers or England Wales Scotland and N. Ireland, collectively known as the UK Inland Waterways. Canal boating holidays seem to be the...
- Tags:
- boat
- holiday
- thames
- canal
- navigation
- waterways
- barge
- short break
- canal boating
- narrowboat
- broads
- canal boat holidays
July 10 2010, 5:04am | Comments »
-
I posted to distributedresearch.net
Canal Boat Holidays
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2010/06/27/canal-boat-holidays
Previous Canal Boat Holidays I’ve been going on canal boat holidays since a child, but none in the last few years and it has been long overdue to do something about that. The first trip I went on was a little Thames cruiser boat with my parents, before the locks were all manned. Then I went on a narrow boat with a youth club and years later took my own children on narrowboats and Norfolk broads cruisers. Ideally, I would like to spend spend summer months continuous cruising around the inland waterways of England and Wales. That’s part of the Location Independent Living idea but there are several steps which need to be taken first, and one of them was to take a gentle introduction to the joys of boating by way of a short canal boat holiday on the Kennet & Avon canal in rural Wiltshire, perfect for weekend breaks, on board the hotel boat Isabella Canal Boat Holiday Weekend Pictures
- Tags:
- transport
- breaks
- hotel
- UK
- boat
- holiday
- cruise
- Location Independent
- weekend breaks
- England
- canal
- avon
- kennet
- holidays
- boats
- tunnel
- weekend
June 27 2010, 2:11am | Comments »
-
I posted to youtube.com
Canal boat holidays - Kennet and Avon canal - Bruce Tunnel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUXBwjPT4gc&feature=youtube_gdata
June 15 2010, 4:26am | Comments »
-
I posted to distributedresearch.net
St George’s Day
http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2010/04/20/st-georges-day
St Georges’s Day falls on April 23rd each year and has been quietly celebrated, or perhaps largely ignored in England since the 18th century. Before that it was a major feast day and national holiday dating back to 15thC. It is however, England’s national day since St George holds the position of the patron saint of England. English people tend to have mixed feeling about St George’s day and the St George cross, which is the flag of England, due in some part to the confusion which persists over the difference between identities of England and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. A sizeable proportion of English people and probably a majority of non UK citizens consider English and British to be synonymous, which causes problems particularly for the Scots and Welsh who are most definitely not English, whichever way you look at it. The 23rd April is also William Shakespeare’s birthday and his death day. In recent years there has been a resurgence of the use of the St George cross, the English flag, for events such as International football matches with the England team, and that should be welcomed as a correction of the previous use of the Union flag when it’s not a UK-wide team. Some people feel uncomfortable at the sight of the red and white though, sensing a connection with right wing nationalist politics which has not been historically aligned particularly. St George's Cross - The English flag The most effective advocates of celebrating St George’s day are the breweries, who noticed that people drink a lot more alcohol around St Patrick’s day and would like to see the same happen on as many other occasions as possible, that they can promote. The George, Wansted
Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blogSt George’s Day
Related posts:St Andrews Day
April 20 2010, 4:24am | Comments »
-
I posted to flickr.com
Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aroberts/3414382239/
Andyrob
Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum for Hotel and Theatre Breaks
April 5 2009, 12:42pm | Comments »
1
