Courtesy of Wordle and Tweetstats, here is a "cloud" of some of the words most commonly used since I started 'tweeting' properly back in October.

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A playlist for Advent and Christmas...

Every once in a while I complile an iTunes playlist to try and explore and listen to some of the tracks in my iTunes library that would otherwise just languish there unheard. I have been using LastFM as a service, but recently came across iLike.com that allows me to share these playlists.

Below is the November playlist, ranging from All Saints' Day through to Christ the King. Advent and Christmas will be featured in December.

I've been using the online notebook service Evernote since I came across a useful application for the iPhone in the summer that synchronises notes between desktop and phone quickly.

The latest version allows notebooks to be published, so my first attempt is the 'cookery' notebook, with clippings of a number of recipes that I stumbled upon and wished to save.

...has made "interesting" viewing recently!

...by the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppets...

From TED...

A new website and initiative introducing children to the organ.

http://www.danmagic.org

Another video from the TED goldmine- David Pogue on simplicity in software...

This was played as part of our staff training day today; it's a 'must-watch' for anyone with an interest in education.

Lots more on the TED site to explore, and more from the same speaker on the same theme here.

So both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have chosen their running mates for the forthcoming election. The prospective republican VP candidate sounds vaguely familiar... ;-)

Seen in a shop in Cornwall- says it all really!

Monday 1st September saw me bright and early at Newquay-Cornwall airport on the site of the RAF St Mawgan base to catch a flight to St Mary's, Isles of Scilly. Newquay is an expanding airport but meeting a real need providing regional aviation links from Cornwall to the rest of the UK as well as to connect with flights from Gatwick. Indeed in the departure lounge I happened to meet a former colleague from a previous school, now living near St Ives and about to catch a flight to Newcastle to visit her daughter (and possibly end up as the new NUFC manager!). Skybus fly to St Mary's from a range of airports in SW England, but the day trips from Newquay and Land's End are much more affordable. The outbound flight was onboard a de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, G-BIHO and much of the 35 minute journey was at 3000 feet in low cloud, as it was a pretty grey and overcast day, Nevertheless, a skilful and spectacular approach and landing from Captain Jack Hawkins at St Mary's and I was soon being whisked off down into Hugh Town and ready to start the day.


No sooner than the shuttle minibus had dropped me off than the heavens opened and I sought refuge in a cafe for breakfast. The downpour soon passed and a weak sun enticed me down to the harbour to book a boat trip across to Tresco. This was a fairly sporty crossing, bumpy but more of a theme park ride than anything too dramatic! Once on Tresco, the clouds and rain decided to close in again, and going round the Abbey gardens was slightly damp. A walk upto New Grimsby for lunch at the inn, but it was decidedly wet when I set off back to the quay for the boat back. The return journey was notable for drenching most of those on board, myself included, as waves broke across the boat, and I discovered my coat was not waterproof as advertised! Fortunately I had brought a change of shorts and sweatshirt, and was glad of these, until the persistent heavy rain risked making these wet as well; so I sought refuge in the Museum (exhibits of shipwrecks, oil slicks, stuffed birds and a flavour of island life in the past) and then the church (as featured in the recent BBC series); I discovered some past copies of the Friends of Cathedral music magazine and spent an hour or so drying out and reading these. Finally, I sought refuge in one of the pubs to while away the time before my pickup for the airport.
What I hadn't realised was that all flights in and out of the island had been suspended because of excessive crosswinds, and a message on my phone offering me a crossing on the Scillonian (no thanks) wouldn't reach me until 8pm thanks to poor reception. So, opting not to try and get on the Sikorsky on standby to Penzance and then a transfer to Newquay, I chose to stay overnight and was put up at Tregarthen's, a smart hotel overlooking the harbour. The hot bath and chance to dry my clothes was very welcome, and they even allowed me to enter the restaurant in a normally prohibited state of undress (no shorts allowed) whilst my wet clothes dried- though it was made clear they wouldn't normally allow this and I was put in a (nice) corner where I could hide my legs under the table-cloth! The meal (lamb patty followed by cod followed by poached pear in red wine with Cornish ice cream) was however very nice. And so to bed.



Tuesday dawned sunny and clear, so with an 8.30am pick-up I had time for an early morning (7am) walk around Hugh Town with my camera- I could at last see that on a good day, the islands are indeed beautiful. Better still was the view from above, and photos are included in the slideshow on Flickr.



There were six passengers on the return flight, and I got to enjoy the airport at St Marys- the very helpful staff remembered me from the previous evening and we had a good chat about aviation on the island. Outward the flight was on a Britten-Norman Islander G-BUBN; similar to the three engine variant Trislander I experienced on the Channel Islands a year ago. 

Clear skies, great visibility and a smooth flight with plenty of photos, and I was soon back in Newquay, and ready to head back up the A30 and M5; I made very good time, with a stop at Bristol for lunch and some shopping at Cribb's Causeway, and before long it was up the A46 (hitting a downpour between Tewkesbury and Evesham) and along the A45.

Sunday morning saw me at the Eucharist at Truro Cathedral, with a visiting choir from Bristol being somewhat outpowered by the Father Willis which sounded in splendid shape. Thereafter upto Newquay (sorry, but what an awful town centre- parody of the typical faded English seaside resort selling naff souvenirs. I stayed as short a time as possible, and in the end headed back to Padstow, with a visit round to Rock (the 'Millionaire's row' of Cornwall) and Polzeath, near where Sir John Betjamin is buried at the church of St Enodoc. I found a nice B&B near Padstow and headed back in in the evening, which had turned out to be lovely. The combination of battered John Dory from Stein's Fish n' Chips, and the Cambourne Town Brass band playing on the harbour side in the sunset was just perfect!

Despite my best intentions when enquiring at the very helpful Tourist information in Penzance, I ended up at what was almost a parody of the English seaside guest house- floral curtains, lots of trinkets on the landings, and a strict instruction that breakfast would only be served between 8.30 and 9am; and despite a full dining room at that time, hardly a word was spoken, other than by the serving landlady. Hmm, so much for requesting somewhere nice...

I wasn't far from St Michael's Mount, and, it being low tide, I walked across the bay, only to find the castle was closed, it being Saturday! I don't know of many other NT properties where the only closing day is Sat!

Following my investigation of Cables and Wireless at Portcurno yesterday, I was keen to visit Goonhilly on the Lizard Peninsula, home to a family of Satellite dishes, some of the first in the UK but now mainly decommissioned by BT who have shifted most of their satellite operations to Herefordshire. It now has the compulsory visitor centre, interactive hands-on exhibits, film show, coach tour of the site, gift shop, café etc, and it was clear it was the Saturday of the great return East for most people, as it was pleasantly quiet; I opted for a tour of Arthur, the oldest of the dishes, and turned out to be the only person on it! This has advantages, but also means I have to appear extra-interested and think of intelligent questions to ask, even if I'm not really interested in the answer. Having said that, though some of the technical details went over my head (science was never my strong point!), it was quite interesting and the young guide knowledgeable.
Goonhilly has plenty of BT marketing in the exhibits and the shop, not surprisingly, but also what they claim is the fastest cybercafe in the country with its own 1 gigabit pipe and 100mbps to each iMac- it seemed fast, but not that fast!

In the afternoon up to Truro, and a look round the wonderful John Loughborough Pearson designed Cathedral- I'd been before, but my last visit to Cornwall was about 15 years ago, so it was good to remind myself of the features and of this pleasantly compact city. Tourist Information were somewhat more helpful in my request to find somewhere nice to stay- on this occasion on a farm a couple of miles out of the city, being tastefully restored to offer B&B in a wonderfully peaceful setting at the end of a very bumpy and pothole-ridden track.

Despite my Sat-Nav leading me via the 'scenic' route, I reached a quiet Eden Project to visit the giant biomes. Though the Mediterranean biome was cooler than I expected, the tropical biome was much like the real thing, as my lens kept steaming up! Down to Penzance for a late lunch before the Porthcurno telegraph museum- the HQ and arrival point for many transatlantic and undersea communication cables. A quick visit to the tourist trap that is Land's End before a return to Marazion, ready for St Michael's Mount in the morning.

It's a fair time since I last visited Cornwall and somehow what stuck in my mind were childhood memories of crawling through Okehampton. Well it now has a bypass, indeed the A30 was fast and quiet and I was soon well into the county at the end of England. First destination was Padstow, small village made well known by TV chef Rick Stein, whose presence is just about everywhere- a seafood restaurant with celebrity prices to match, a hotel and bistro, a seafood cookery school, a deli, a patisserie and a fish and chip shop. I joined the queue for cod, avoiding the more exotic fish available- though I'd like to try sometime. First a queue to pay, then a ten minute queue for the fish to fry to order. It was just a little dry for my taste.

A busy day at the wheel, though it had a slightly iffy start when I had to get some of the fluid levels checked on my car, as I was a bit suspicious of one of the gauges. All was well, and I set off towards the SouthWest with a rather wide detour via Hampton Court. It had only recently occurred to me to visit whilst planning the Tudor topic, and whilst I hadn't left myself much time, I did make the most of the chance to get some video footage of those Tudor parts of the Palace where such activities are allowed. This will be very useful for interspersing with footage of the children and providing an authentic backdrop. I then had the decision to make to stay in London and hear John Scott play Duruflé and Messiaen at Westminster Cathedral, or to head west. Heading westward won, and I made remarkably good time down the M3 and along the A303, through Hampshire, then Wiltshire, then into Somerset- still going strong, and eventually over the Devon border and Honiton- time to stop.

Today is the centenary of the birth of Sir Donald Bradman, statistically "the greatest sportsman ever" and arguably not just statistically, though I'd have to defer to the opinions of those who saw him play. The press have rightly remembered this occasion (CMJ in the Times is worth a  read, as is Gus Fraser in the Independent and the Telegraph piece here) and I just add a memorable crossword clue from an episode of Inspector Morse...!

1 down. Bradman's famous duck (6)

Though today is sure to be celebrated, there was a party held in Australia on the occasion of the 99.94th anniversary of his birth!

As the Beijing olympics ends, the baton (and hype) passes to London. Since 2000, it has been something of a tradition for me to make an Olympics collage of images, and Beijing 2008 is no different, though this time I could do it with Final Cut Express rather than Powerpoint! Same music each time, a song that has become almost an alternative Team GB anthem, so especially suitable this year with all the British medals. Apologies if I missed any!



Olympics 2008 Slide Show from rogbi200 on Vimeo.

And below, out of retirement for nostalgia's sake, is the Sydney 2000 slide show, now freed from PowerPoint!

Sydney Olympic Games Slideshow from rogbi200 on Vimeo.

Finally, the Athens 2004 slideshow...

Athens Olympics 2004 Slide Show from rogbi200 on Vimeo.

I've taken the decision to turn this into my main blogging platform, moving away from the iWeb based blog. This is because I was restricted to one machine when it came to updating it, and this was becoming rather irritating. iWeb creates a good-looking website, and doubtless the next version will improve matters, but who knows when that will appear. I've also been setting up other blogs using the blogspot engine and have found it more and more flexible, so another good reason to move.

I'm in the process of transferring all old posts but this will take some time. I've also been looking beyond the default templates, though the one I've chosen has some oddities which still need to be ironed out!

...it's bound to be rain...!

The Downing Street Official Site has been considering an online petition signed by thousands to make Jeremy Clarkson Prime Minister...

Hmm...

Which Harry Potter Character Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

Some video and photos taken during the England Lions match against South Africa at Grace Road, Leicester, on August 14th 2008. 

Match report and scorecard here.



Watch in High Definition on Vimeo. 

(also available on YouTube- make sure you click the 'high quality option')


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

A quick video entry can be seen here- a quick 60 second guide to Dunchurch. It was to test some footage from a Sony TG3e Handycam- which seems excellent and any inadequacies in the filming are completely due to the cameraman!


Dunchurch in Just a Minute in High-Definition.

A quick excursion to Belgium, as part of a school choir trip, this last week. EuroTunnel makes the journey very quick- at least it does when all is working well, which it wasn’t on the outward journey, necessitating a transfer onto the Dover-Calais ferry.

Ghent is a lovely compact city and very attractive- I have been before and it was rather gloomy weather, so that rather reflected the city- in the sunshine, it is rather nicer! Perhaps like Bruges but less touristy! We didn’t get to see much of Brussels other than an interesting Musical Instrument museum and the Cathedral, so perhaps enough sights remain to justify a long weekend on Eurostar at some point in the future.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Perhaps the blog entry yesterday didn’t do justice to the title, and I can’t go by without reflecting on the place of Istanbul at a great crossroads. Not just as the place where Europe meets Asia, but also where two tectonic plates meet- Istanbul is a disaster waiting to happen.
The Bosphorus (which incidentally means the same as Oxford) divides the two continents and together with the Golden Horn is one of the world’s great waterfronts. Two suspension bridges now link East and West, both saturated with traffic between the rapidly expanding suburbs of the city, as I discovered on my transfer back to the airport at Sabiha Gökçen at the end of the day. A cruise up the Bosphorus gives excellent views of the settlements on either side, with centuries of history, and the fine houses on the Asian side in particular.
I simply had to return to Galata Bridge for lunch, in one of the fish restaurants under the bridge- a shrimp casserole followed by grilled Sea Bream- splendid!
In the afternoon I decided to cross the Bosphorus again; after all, how many transcontinental ferries cost 50p each way?! Just across from the Golden Horn on the Asian side is Üsküdar, formerly Scutari, known as the place where Florence Nightingale became famous as the ‘Lady with the lamp’ during the Crimean War. The barracks at Selimeye do have a museum but only open at the weekend unfortunately. However good views of the city are to be had from here, especially Leander Tower.

One more Mackerel sandwich, then back to the hotel to collect my bags and set off for the airport. Heavy traffic for Friday evening, so the journey took nearly two hours! Check in was quick, though the airport bar was understaffed and couldn’t provide any food in time. I managed to secure the overwing legroom seat again, much to my satisfaction, and despite a slightly late pushback, the flight was uneventful, passing quickly with the assistance of ipod video, and we were on stand at Luton at 10.35pm. Getting through passport control (No IRIS at Luton unfortunately) and baggage and back to the car took 35 minutes (rather better than having a Terminal 5 experience, I think!) and I was back home at 10 minutes past midnight!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Slept like the proverbial log!

After a late breakfast, a return visit to explore the area across the Galatay bridge and up the Tünel funicular railway. First I called into Sirkeci railway Station, original terminus of the Orient Express. It’s still got something of the romantic age left and even has a small museum with objects of most interest to Turkish train-spotters.

I intended to find the Pera Palas Hotel, which was famously used by passengers arriving on that train- you could just imagine Hercule Poirot there. However it has been closed for restoration since 2006 and looked rather sad and dowdy, with not much sign of restoration underway, at least externally. Pera Street with its nostalgic ‘tram’ is rather like a grand European thoroughfare with big shops and imposing façades, but why did I have to decide to turn around just before the Galatasseray Fish market- I may even have been right by it but surprisingly didn’t smell it. Never mind!
Quickly back to the hotel to drop off the Turkish Delight that will be returning to the UK with me, and a bite of lunch, before pick up for the East meets West afternoon tour, which was perhaps not quite as advertised.
The Beylerbeyi Palace is closed on Thursdays so the Chora church is substituted, which as an example of Byzantine art and mosaics, was perhaps more interesting for me than 19th Century Ottoman! Plenty of mosaics in St Saviour, which were of the Orthodox tradition, and many had survived the church being converted into a Mosque.
It’s quite a drive in heavy traffic across town then across the Bosphorus Bridge to a viewpoint- which had a good view of the bridge and the modern skyscrapers of the modern business area of the city but few of the old city and the harbour area, so these views had to be whilst crossing the bridge itsself. Back into the city in typical big city traffic, snail’s pace and lots of tooting horns; I rather liked the countdown on the traffic lights which gave the number of seconds before they will change- seemed rather a good idea to me.

I asked to be dropped off at Galatay bridge rather than stay any longer on the coach back to the hotel, so that I could experience the food by the bridge, grilled fish served on the waterfront from boats moored alongside- genuine offshore traders! Apparently, though I didn’t know it at the time, this is one of the 1000 things to do before you die! The fish, sea bass I gather, but it looked more like mackerel, is served in a baguette with onion- add your own salt and lemon; I have to say it is delicious, and the smells around the fish stall just add to the experience. Balik ekmek!



Next stop was the Spice Bazaar, a hustle and bustle of a covered market selling spices, Turkish Delight, Baklava etc, and from there I walked back through the alleyway of streets to the Grand Bazaar and to my nearby hotel.

See original post...

See original post here...

Awake at 7.30, and eventually into breakfast. Good views of the Marmoris and harbour from the 6th floor breakfast room which was very busy- so busy that when I got up to get some more, when I came back, someone else had nicked my table! Tomorrow, I will take a large coat with me, rather than just a book to keep my place!
Rather cloudy and overcast, so a walk past the University and up to the Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent, described by Michael Palin in ‘Pole to Pole’ as the finest edifice in Istanbul. Unfortunately it’s undergoing restoration so much of the interior is closed and only a small side aisle is open (and the rest of the interior screened off with a rather fine temporary wall).

The tomb of Suleiman was open, amongst the graves of once important courtiers- their tombstones denote their height and rank.
Now Suleiman was Magnificent- but, as Palin points out, surely not this big!
A walk back towards the hotel took me to the Grand Bazaar, the traditional market alleyways of Istanbul with its carpet sellers, jewellery, leather goods, trinkets, Turkish Delights etc. A little confusing at first glance, but the DK guide has a good map to lead one through the different sections and avoid getting (too) lost. It was starting to rain and blow quite a strong wind when I left the Bazaar, so I headed back to the hotel to write up the adventures so far, prepare for lunch and the next stage of the day, a cruise on the Bosphorus.

Trouble was, it got rather wet over lunchtime, and by the time pickup at 1.40pm came it was very wet and very windy. The guide didn’t tell me that the trip was cancelled until the minibus had left, and having established that I couldn’t go on the replacement tour as I was down for that on Thursday, I rebooked for Friday morning when the weather forecast is rather better, and was then (eventually) returned to the hotel. Some replanning was needed whilst the weather abated, and by 4.30pm the storm clouds had passed, the sun was out, and I decided to head for the Galatay tower across the Golden Horn. This necessitated a tram journey- 2 minutes to the tram, buy a token hop on, pretend to be a sardine for a couple of stops, breath out for a few more stops, cross the Galatay bridge, disembark, find the Tünel, an underground funiculaire to a district slightly reminiscent of Montmartre, but with lots of music equipment shops- if I ever need to get a bigger mixing desk, I know where to go! A bit of wandering round, admiring the historic tram still running, asking the way and I found the Galatay tower. The only views to be had from the top were on an external viewing gallery, by now rather windy in this fickle weather, with a footway that sloped out and down, and a somewhat flimsy barrier. I didn’t manage too many photos before my middle ear told me enough is enough and I retired inside.
I walked downhill to the waterside, past lots more mixing desks, keyboards, speakers, guitar amps etc, found a chemist to buy a toothbrush (which I had forgotten to pack), and then across the Galatay bridge on foot, using the lower deck which is full of fish restaurants, and the lines of fishermen on the upper deck reeling in their catches! Dusk was in full flow by now, as was the evening rush hour, so back to the tram for another game of sardines- I’m glad I was by the correct side door to get off at my stop as I would have been totally stuck otherwise.

Photo gallery here.

See original post here...

At long last, after a false start in February, I’ve made it to Istanbul, but not without thinking again that this trip must be doomed. This time, it was thanks to my car battery deciding to go flat on the morning of Easter Day, putting paid to various plans! Despite it being on charge for the rest of the day and overnight, it refused to play ball on Monday morning, so a call out was made- the battery started from the recovery vehicle, appeared to charge fine, so I was able to set off on time for Luton airport, as the snow fell! The journey, for which I decided to avoid the M1, was surprisingly smooth and having parked in the mid-term car park, disconnected the battery- just in case! (On my first flight from Luton, in Jan 1998 to Rome, I returned to find my car battery flat- easily fixed, but such incidents stick in the mind- I also bought a Psion 5 from Duty free on that trip- which is another story!)
Check in was smooth- I was on speedy boarding, so despite having to wait 15 mins or so for the flight to open, I had no check in queue, a smooth pass through security, and then a long wait! For the wait, I was in the Aviance executive lounge, which was a little too warm, a little too gloomy (overlooking the departure shopping concourse rather than views of the apron), but nice and quiet and reasonably comfortable seats.
The flight was ‘called’ with about 40 mins to go, and the 737-700 G-EZJF had just arrived on stand (16). No seats at the gate, but a convenient windowledge on which to sit and watch the inspection and activity around the plane, in decidedly wintry conditions which did ease before boarding started. As the fifth aboard, I managed to snaffle the overwing port seat, which is an emergency exit row and so has no seat in front- double length leg room! I decided not to use the camera today, as visibility was not great and the downside of a wing seat is that the views are obscured anyway. The flight pushed back with about a 90% load, and we were soon in the air from Rwy 26, heading out east over Southend and with good views of the Kentish Flats offshore Wind farm- I wish I’d had my camera to hand after all! In fact only a couple of other photo-opportunities were missed, both of aircraft passing close by in the opposite direction (but quite safely, well separated both vertically and horizontally) as most of Europe was under cloud. I whiled away the time with my iPod, watching both the Simpsons Movie (I’ve never been into the Simpsons really, but I can see that the humour does appeal to all ages) and a documentary on Concorde (which would have made it to New York in our 3hr 20 flight time to Turkey!).
Landing at Istanbul’s second airport, Sabia Gohken, on the Asian side, was straightforward and I experienced one of the quickest arrivals ever- short walk to the terminal- no need for bus- getting early into the Visa queue, straight through passport control, my suitcase already through, and my driver waiting with a sign with my name! (I’ve always been slightly envious of those with a pre-booked chauffeur, and because transport links were quite long and not straightforward into Istanbul, and a hotel shuttle bus only hourly, I decided to pre-book a transfer- well worth it. A good conversation with the english speaking driver about the city and which ranged also into such subjects as Top Gear and the iPhone and I was at my hotel about an hour later- which could have been 2 or 2 1/2 hours later had I relied on public transport.
A quick snack, then time for bed, listening via the hotel’s free wireless internet and my Sling box at home to TMS and the early stages of the Test Match in Napier, day 4!

As I have been getting to know my Squeezebox, I have also set up accounts on Live 365 and Last.fm. The first is an Internet Radio service, in which DJs, amateur and professional, in the USA (licence and copyright rules restrict broadcasting to here) can set up playlists for webcasting. I’ve found a number of interesting stations, including Classic Church Music, which has a good playlist for Lent and Holy Week. It set me thinking that I had a lot of music on iTunes that might be hidden away, so I set off exploring and creating my own Lenten playlist. It’s been a good exercise to remind me of many tracks that I had forgotten about; I then set the playlist to random/scramble, and can play it on the Squeezebox (often to send me to sleep!) or via computer.
This playlist can also scrobble, or submit what’s been played to Last.fm, which aims to build up my listening habits and statistics, recommend similar new music and do some basic social networking should I wish it. It will also make a record of recently played tracks- see above- so the world can see what’s in my Lenten playlist- I’ve yet to get it to scrobble my iPod, but I’m sure there is a way!

As I had to head towards Coventry to exchange a faulty hard drive at PC World and experience their famous ‘Customer Service’ (or rather lack of it!), I took the chance to visit the new IKEA store in the heart of the city, next to the SkyDome, the Swedish company’s first ever city centre store. It opened in December, but I hadn’t had the chance to visit before today, and it made a rather shorter journey than to the previously nearest store, near Nottingham.
From its own parking, large lifts take you up to the showroom level to walk the winding route through the room displays and furniture section. The floor below is the marketplace, with smaller items to pick up and buy, before a three level flat escalator- magnetic so the trollies stick to it like glue- takes you down to the furniture collection hall and payment desks, from where a lift takes you back quickly to the car park. I came away with some cutlery, a tray, and an anglepoise lamp- though their room planning software looks useful.

Charlecote Park, Warwickshire

This from iPhone. If you can read this, then it works !

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