Those crazy yanks just love halloween...
TRICK or TREAT...?
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Zut alors!
Britannia will be hanging her head in shame. Once the ruler of all seas now we have to be defended by the French! And now it seems the French can't do that either...
The flagship French aircraft carrier which is set to play a key role in defending Britain over the next decade has broken down.
French aircraft carrier set to defend Britain breaks down
The flagship French aircraft carrier which is set to play a key role in defending Britain over the next decade has broken down.
As President Nicolas Sarkozy prepares to use a historic London summit to announce the use of RAF jets off the Charles de Gaulle, his naval chiefs have told him she is no longer seaworthy.
"She's meant to be heading to Afghanistan to support the war there but is instead in home port with a faulty propulsion system," said a French Navy source.
"This is a carrier which is meant to be defending not only France but also Britain over the next decade. As far as the London summit is concerned, her breaking down could not come at a worse time."
Following Britain's strategic defence review last week, it looks certain that the UK and France will each have just one operational aircraft carrier each towards the end of the decade.
But Britain will have to rely solely on the Charles de Gaulle until at least 2020 while the Queen Elizabeth, a new carrier, is being built.
This follows the announcement of the scrapping of the carrier Ark Royal and its Harrier Jump Jets.
In the meantime, the Charles de Gaulle will be reconfigured to carry British planes, including the new Joint Strike Fighter jets.
But the French carrier's captain, Hugues du Plessis d'Argentré, confirmed that the 16-year-old vessel was not as efficient as she used to be, despite a three year refit.
He said "common sense" had forced him to temporarily abandon his latest mission to Afghanistan.
His ship's nuclear reactor would have to be given time to "cool down" before vital repairs were carried out, said Captain Du Plessis d'Argentré.
He added: "We're looking at between three, four, five weeks," suggesting that it might even be Christmas before the carrier could resume its mission.
full article here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8098896/French-aircraft-carrier-set-to-defend-Britain-breaks-down.html
Ollie, see what you can build with your lego son!
Did you also know...
Athens marathon marks anniversary of legendary run
More than 12,500 people ran the same route as Pheidippides this Sunday. It is a tough race - the first 32km of the course are mostly uphill. Legend has it that Pheidippides collapsed and died from exhaustion and dehydration after his run.
Fact of the Day
Age-otori is a Japanese word meaning 'looking less attractive after a hair-do'
"This is a carrier which is meant to be defending not only France but also Britain over the next decade. As far as the London summit is concerned, her breaking down could not come at a worse time."
Following Britain's strategic defence review last week, it looks certain that the UK and France will each have just one operational aircraft carrier each towards the end of the decade.
But Britain will have to rely solely on the Charles de Gaulle until at least 2020 while the Queen Elizabeth, a new carrier, is being built.
This follows the announcement of the scrapping of the carrier Ark Royal and its Harrier Jump Jets.
In the meantime, the Charles de Gaulle will be reconfigured to carry British planes, including the new Joint Strike Fighter jets.
But the French carrier's captain, Hugues du Plessis d'Argentré, confirmed that the 16-year-old vessel was not as efficient as she used to be, despite a three year refit.
He said "common sense" had forced him to temporarily abandon his latest mission to Afghanistan.
His ship's nuclear reactor would have to be given time to "cool down" before vital repairs were carried out, said Captain Du Plessis d'Argentré.
He added: "We're looking at between three, four, five weeks," suggesting that it might even be Christmas before the carrier could resume its mission.
full article here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8098896/French-aircraft-carrier-set-to-defend-Britain-breaks-down.html
Ollie, see what you can build with your lego son!
Did you also know...
Athens marathon marks anniversary of legendary run
A record number of people have taken part in the Athens marathon to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the run which inspired the modern event.
In 490BC, the Athenian army defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon. According to legend, a messenger called Pheidippides ran the 42km (26 miles) to Athens to announce the victory.More than 12,500 people ran the same route as Pheidippides this Sunday. It is a tough race - the first 32km of the course are mostly uphill. Legend has it that Pheidippides collapsed and died from exhaustion and dehydration after his run.
Fact of the Day
Age-otori is a Japanese word meaning 'looking less attractive after a hair-do'
Friday, 29 October 2010
For all you Mulder and Scully types...the 'Chaplin time traveller'
Has the first real evidence of time travelling been found? A video on YouTube seems to think so.
On the DVD extras for Charlie Chaplin's 'The Circus', a woman is spotted in the background at the movie's premiere in 1928 and appears to be talking on a mobile phone.
Stunned by what he saw, Irish filmmaker George Clarke consulted experts on his find, and has since posted it on YouTube. He claims that the video has not been tampered with in any way.
The footage does seem to show a lady nattering on a mobile phone, but if you thought your phone reception was bad at normal times, we hate to think what it would have been like in the ‘20s.
Cynics have scoffed at the footage, asking, if you were a time traveller, would you openly show off the amazing gadget? Others have asked why you would go to a Chaplin premiere if you could go back to any point in time?
Clarke replied, "Who says the person in question went back to see the Chaplin premiere? How about, the person went back to an earlier period and got stuck there or was in town doing something else and just happened to stroll on by."
Have a look and see for yourselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30UxOLCm-hk&feature=related
On the DVD extras for Charlie Chaplin's 'The Circus', a woman is spotted in the background at the movie's premiere in 1928 and appears to be talking on a mobile phone.
Stunned by what he saw, Irish filmmaker George Clarke consulted experts on his find, and has since posted it on YouTube. He claims that the video has not been tampered with in any way.
The footage does seem to show a lady nattering on a mobile phone, but if you thought your phone reception was bad at normal times, we hate to think what it would have been like in the ‘20s.
Cynics have scoffed at the footage, asking, if you were a time traveller, would you openly show off the amazing gadget? Others have asked why you would go to a Chaplin premiere if you could go back to any point in time?
Clarke replied, "Who says the person in question went back to see the Chaplin premiere? How about, the person went back to an earlier period and got stuck there or was in town doing something else and just happened to stroll on by."
Have a look and see for yourselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30UxOLCm-hk&feature=related
Some unresolved mysteries of the world ...
..you may never have heard of.
Sailing stones
The sailing stones, also known as sliding rocks, are a geological phenomenon where rocks move in long tracks along a smooth valley floor without human or animal intervention. They have been recorded and studied in a number of places around Racetrack Playa, Death Valley, where the number and length of travel grooves are notable. The force behind their movement is not understood and is the subject of research.
Sliding rock trails fluctuate in direction and length. Some rocks which start next to each other start out traveling parallel, but one may abruptly change direction to the left, right, or even back the direction it came from. Length also varies because two similarly sized and shaped rocks could travel uniformly, then one could burst ahead or stop dead in its track. Speed is also an unknown variable
Marfa Lights
The Marfa lights or the Marfa ghost lights are unexplained lights (known as “ghost lights”) usually seen near U.S. Route 67 on Mitchell Flat east of Marfa, Texas, in the United States. Sightings are reported occasionally and unpredictably, perhaps ten to twenty times a year.
The first published account of the lights was written in 1957, and this article is the sole source for anecdotal claims that the lights date back to the 1800s. Reports often describe brightly glowing basketball sized spheres floating above the ground, or sometimes high in the air. Colors are usually described as white, yellow, orange or red, but green and blue are sometimes reported. The balls are said to hover at about shoulder height, or to move laterally at low speeds, or sometimes to shoot around rapidly in any direction. They often appear in pairs or groups, according to reports, to divide into pairs or merge together, to disappear and reappear, and sometimes to move in seemingly regular patterns. Their sizes are typically said to resemble soccer balls or basketballs
The Mayan prophecies
According to an increasingly large number of people, the Mayan Prophecy states that the world as we know it will change on December 12, 2012. This is not a new phenomena; as landmark dates draw near, end of the world theories creep out of the woodwork with astonishing popularity.
Sailing stones
Sliding rock trails fluctuate in direction and length. Some rocks which start next to each other start out traveling parallel, but one may abruptly change direction to the left, right, or even back the direction it came from. Length also varies because two similarly sized and shaped rocks could travel uniformly, then one could burst ahead or stop dead in its track. Speed is also an unknown variable
Marfa Lights
The first published account of the lights was written in 1957, and this article is the sole source for anecdotal claims that the lights date back to the 1800s. Reports often describe brightly glowing basketball sized spheres floating above the ground, or sometimes high in the air. Colors are usually described as white, yellow, orange or red, but green and blue are sometimes reported. The balls are said to hover at about shoulder height, or to move laterally at low speeds, or sometimes to shoot around rapidly in any direction. They often appear in pairs or groups, according to reports, to divide into pairs or merge together, to disappear and reappear, and sometimes to move in seemingly regular patterns. Their sizes are typically said to resemble soccer balls or basketballs
The Mayan prophecies
According to an increasingly large number of people, the Mayan Prophecy states that the world as we know it will change on December 12, 2012. This is not a new phenomena; as landmark dates draw near, end of the world theories creep out of the woodwork with astonishing popularity. However, this particular theory has been around for more than 5000 years. It began when the ancient Mayans plotted our position in the Milky Way and launched the Mayan calendar.
The Mayans believed that in the year AD 1999, mankind would have 13 years to recognize our own patterns of self destruction. Then, starting December 12, 2012, our entire lives would be tested and only those most in touch with their spiritual sides would survive (as some interpretations have it). Many people take this as a sign that a natural or manmade disaster will occur, tearing apart the civilized world and taking us back to hunter-gatherer days.
There are other interpretations too: from sun storms to the eruption of a super volcano; from a magnetic field reversal to a meteor impact. Some people even point to the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland as the bringer of doom.
While the world may come to an abrupt end any time, any day, without warning - one thing is for sure: our modern society, like all civilizations before us, is geared to postulate over end-of-the-world mysteries with gusto.
Don't forget...
..... don't forget to get your poppy and support this year's poppy appeal...
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
Places I'd rather be..
A new series! Random holiday pics reminding me of places I'd rather be..
....In France, visiting my parents with my brothers and their families and splashing in a heated pool with my son.
Short film number 6
Goodbye to the normals
Young Magnus has decided to leave home. He is all packed, he has planned his trip to America, and it's now time to say farewell to Mum and Dad. Amused by these juvenile escape plans his parents wave him off down the street, knowing he will soon come running back...won't he?
Young Magnus has decided to leave home. He is all packed, he has planned his trip to America, and it's now time to say farewell to Mum and Dad. Amused by these juvenile escape plans his parents wave him off down the street, knowing he will soon come running back...won't he?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p004tdm8
Shame...
....on those who feel the need to shoot magnificent stags like the this one, the 'Emporer of Exmoor' for sport.
The creature's reign as Britain's biggest beast ended with a gunshot just over a fortnight ago. The Emporer was 'bagged' by a rich sportsman, apparantly legally, for an approximate fee of £10,000 as part of legalised culling.
Sunday, 24 October 2010
I'm back!
Phew! What a hectic last three weeks. A week in France, a week in Bournemouth and finally a week in Swansea. Been home a total of three days in three and half weeks.
France
Went to help tidy up the garden of my parents house and get it set for the winter months..luckily the weather was good and was in the 80's for three of the days..
France
Went to help tidy up the garden of my parents house and get it set for the winter months..luckily the weather was good and was in the 80's for three of the days..
 |
| This is me getting to grips with chainsaw and hedge! |
Meanwhile, down the other side of the garden...
 |
| My brother Ed and my Dad deciding where to 'butcher' next |
It wasn't all work though.....
 |
| Enjoying a beer in Loudon |
Bournemouth
Always enjoy the trips to Bournemouth. Work was a success and the evenings lent themselves to a nice stroll down the beach area and sampling the delights of Bournemouths bars and restaurants..a big shout to my Bournemouth colleagues who sorted us out a great Chinese banquet night out.
 |
| Sunset on Bournemouth beach... |
Swansea
A full week in Wales visiting Swansea and Carmarthen. Another successful week on the work front. This was the view from the office window where our meetings were held every day..
 |
| View from the office towards Swansea bay, the docks and marina area |
The accomodation wasn't bad...a change from hotel living. We decided to hire a house and save money, actually saving half the cost of the hotel bill.
 |
| The Capability House...you will be evicted... If you've ever seen the Dr Who episode 'Weeping Angels' you will understand why some of the 'Housemates' were slightly perturbed! Even after a day at the office, work wasn't over....homework at the house!  |
Saturday, 2 October 2010
All hail Tommy Cooper...
We were coming in to land, and it affects your ears, doesn't it?
The Stewardess gave me chewing gum.
I put it in my ear. Took two days to get it out
A man walks into a greengrocer's and says, I want five pounds of potatoes please.
And the greengrocer says, we only sell kilos.
So the man says, all right then, I'll have five pounds of kilos
I had a meal last night,
I ordered everything in French,
surprised everybody,
It was a Chinese restaurant.
My wife phoned me just before the show and said,
'I've got water in the carburetor,
I said 'Where's the car'
She said 'In the river'
"Doc, I can't stop singing the green green grass of home."
"That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome. "
"Is it common? "
"It's not unusual."
The Stewardess gave me chewing gum.
I put it in my ear. Took two days to get it out
A man walks into a greengrocer's and says, I want five pounds of potatoes please.
And the greengrocer says, we only sell kilos.
So the man says, all right then, I'll have five pounds of kilos
I had a meal last night,
I ordered everything in French,
surprised everybody,
It was a Chinese restaurant.
My wife phoned me just before the show and said,
'I've got water in the carburetor,
I said 'Where's the car'
She said 'In the river'
"Doc, I can't stop singing the green green grass of home."
"That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome. "
"Is it common? "
"It's not unusual."
Short film no5
"The Magic Mile"
This is a 6 minute short. When a deaf girl chances on an abandoned wheelchair, she discovers the incredible secret of the magic mile. Finding herself in a strange and unfamiliar world, she picks up on the trail of the wheelchair's owner who reveals that even miracles have their limits.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p004pb7m
This is a 6 minute short. When a deaf girl chances on an abandoned wheelchair, she discovers the incredible secret of the magic mile. Finding herself in a strange and unfamiliar world, she picks up on the trail of the wheelchair's owner who reveals that even miracles have their limits.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p004pb7m
Favourite pics no1
1st in a series.
This picture was taken by French photographer Jean Guichard. I first saw this on the internet 2 years ago and have kept a copy since. The full story behind the picture follows....
He is best known for his explosive 'Wave' photograph of a lighthouse, off the coast of Brittany, France, showing a keeper at the door about to be engulfed by a titanic wave. The photograph is truly one of the most recognizable lighthouse photographs in the world. When first seeing the famous photograph, most people assume that the lighthouse keeper must have been killed.
"In fact, the keepers had been living in fear of death during the 1989 storm and at one point had taken refuge in the lantern room of the tower. Waves the night before had smashed through the lower windows of the tower, causing the structure to flood, washing away everything in its path including the television, table, chairs, coffee maker and even the refrigerator. The keepers in fact were waiting to be rescued by helicopter.
"As Jean Guichard’s helicopter approached the tower he was unaware that the keepers were waiting for a rescue helicopter. Guichard was simply there to take photographs of the waves pounding the structure. The keepers heard the sound of the helicopter and naturally assumed it was the rescue helicopter. One of the keepers opened the lower door of the structure and as he looked up at the helicopter and realized that it was not the rescue chopper, he also realized that a giant wave was about to engulf the tower. He immediately turned about and pulled the door closed behind him. Had he not done so at that second, he surely would have been killed. While all this was happening, Jean Guichard was busy taking photographs as fast as he could click the camera, thus capturing on film the most dramatic action shots ever taken at a lighthouse.
This picture was taken by French photographer Jean Guichard. I first saw this on the internet 2 years ago and have kept a copy since. The full story behind the picture follows....
"In fact, the keepers had been living in fear of death during the 1989 storm and at one point had taken refuge in the lantern room of the tower. Waves the night before had smashed through the lower windows of the tower, causing the structure to flood, washing away everything in its path including the television, table, chairs, coffee maker and even the refrigerator. The keepers in fact were waiting to be rescued by helicopter.
"As Jean Guichard’s helicopter approached the tower he was unaware that the keepers were waiting for a rescue helicopter. Guichard was simply there to take photographs of the waves pounding the structure. The keepers heard the sound of the helicopter and naturally assumed it was the rescue helicopter. One of the keepers opened the lower door of the structure and as he looked up at the helicopter and realized that it was not the rescue chopper, he also realized that a giant wave was about to engulf the tower. He immediately turned about and pulled the door closed behind him. Had he not done so at that second, he surely would have been killed. While all this was happening, Jean Guichard was busy taking photographs as fast as he could click the camera, thus capturing on film the most dramatic action shots ever taken at a lighthouse.
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