News and views

Zeebrugge - September 2011

2012-01-06T11:00:00.000Z

Our latest trip to Zeebrugge was on 7th September 2011, a very windy day, though thankfully it didn't rain while we were in Zeebrugge!

That was the windiest I had seen Zeebrugge, and the kites were up! I made a video but the bits with the strong zoom are very shaky, you can still see the waves crashing up, the kites and a big ship coming in to port.

It was much more sheltered near the West Hinder boat.

We had ribs and chips for dinner in our favourite Old Barrel and then a nice cold glass of Hoegaarden in our other favourite Old Steamer.

I hope to see Zeebrugge again this year, I love it there!

Roast grouse for New Year

2012-01-01T16:57:00.000Z

Our first Sunday dinner of 2012 was something I had wanted to try for years, but had never been able to get hold of - grouse.

We went to a food lovers market in Malton last November, and we were pleased to see a stall selling game, including the elusive grouse. We just had to buy some, and so we bought two.

Although some recipes suggest one grouse per person, we cut one in half, meaning that we have one left for another time. It was just the right size.

The grouse, with a few game chips and the bacon it had been topped with

We served the grouse with game chips, bread sauce and steamed cabbage, which were perfect accompaniments.

I always enjoy game, I only ever eat free range meat, and grouse is the ultimate free range bird.

Lissewege

2011-11-22T10:20:00.001Z

On our last holiday in Belgium we visited the pretty white village of Lissewege, located between Brugge and Zeebrugge. I had always liked pictures I'd seen of Lissewege and it was nice to finally go and see the village.

When we were there, a sculpture trail had been set up round the village in various locations, including outside the railway station, in the canal and behind the church.

We had a nice meal at Huyze Saeftinghe (we had spaghetti carbonara) and would certainly like to go there again.

The video of our trip to Lissewege:

Ampleforth

2011-07-14T10:58:00.000+01:00

Yesterday we had a trip to Ampleforth Abbey - catching the bus to Helmsley and then another one to Ampleforth (it would have been much handier if the Scarborough-Ampleforth bus still operated!)

The weather could have been better, as it was overcast and quite cold for July, and there was a bit of rain. Ampleforth Abbey is known for its school (Ampleforth College) and its cider, produced from the apples grown in the Abbey orchard. We had become quite keen on the cider, and so that it what inspired us to visit the Abbey - to buy some of the cider (unobtainable where we live!) and also to try the tearoom and the renowned cider apple cake!

Ampleforth Abbey

When we arrived it was shortly after 10am, and the shop did not open until 10:30. We seemed to be the only people around, and our footsteps echoed in the hallway. We went outside for a walk and a look round the grounds, which are beautiful, giving excellent views of the surrounding countryside. I would have loved to have gone to school in a place like this!

We had a nice meal in the Abbey Tearoom - Wensleydale cheese on wholemeal bread with salad and crisps, followed by Father Rainer's Apple Cake - which was superb -moist and tangy. After buying our cider we returned to Helmsley. The weather could have been better but I would love to go there again!

Uniondale Ghost

2011-06-19T16:54:00.000+01:00

When I was younger I remember seeing a TV programme about supernatural and unexplained stuff. One of the things I remember most was the story of Maria Roux from South Africa who was killed in a car crash near Uniondale as she was going to tell her family that she had just got engaged. the car was being driven by her boyfriend, who survived. But several people in the years that followed encountered Maria Roux and gave her a lift, only to find that she disappeared after a while...

Below you will see the TV footage of the story of the Uniondale Ghost.

Food ratings - they should be compulsory

2011-04-05T10:13:00.001+01:00

The Food Standards Agency has started to publish hygiene ratings for restaurants on its website. The ratings range from 0 (urgent improvement necessary) to 5 (very good). This is a step in the right direction.

However, for the scheme to be fully effective, premises should be required by law to display the ratings in their windows. It is no good making the display of ratings optional, this defeats the object. These places rely on customers to keep them in business, therefore customers have the right to know that the place they are patronising is actually fit to eat in. There is no excuse for any food establishment to score less than 5, and those who are too idle to ensure that their premises come up to scratch should be named and shamed.

The ratings website is here.

Goldfinches

2011-04-03T17:16:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago we put some bird feeders out - two containing mealworms which have been enjoyed by the local starlings (and nothing else!) and one containing niger.

For ages the niger went untouched, but in the past couple of days we have seen increasing numbers of goldfinches coming to feed. Today I had the opportunity to capture them on video and also take a couple of photos. See them below.

Ivy house

2011-03-27T17:33:00.000+01:00

This is the most extreme case of ivy growing on a house that I've seen! The odd look of the house is emphasised by the fact that the house next door looks to have neatly trimmed hedges.

Dream job...

2011-03-27T17:20:00.000+01:00

When I was at school I wanted nothing more than to be a vet, I was totally committed to the idea, spending time helping at a vets and then going and studying the correct A levels to try and get into vet school. It was hugely disappointing not to make it.

Today I read a superb article about the equine hospital at Newmarket. That is the kind of place I would have loved to work in!

Trip to York

2011-03-19T17:24:00.000Z

We had a trip to York yesterday, after cancelling an earlier trip there because of bad weather. It was a nice, sunny day, perfect for visiting Clifford's Tower and getting photos and video of the view from the top (a panoramic view of York, with nice views of the Minster). Clifford's Tower is all that remains of York Castle and is now part of English Heritage.

Clifford's Tower

York is one of my favourite cities in England, as well as being one of the most historic, with Roman (Eboracum) and Viking (Jorvik) history, there is the old area round The Shambles. There are also some excellent museums - York Castle Museum, Jorvik, National Railway Museum are some of the best known ones.

We had an excellent meal in 31 Castlegate. We both had rump steak with hand cut chips and mushrooms, the price was good, the service very efficient, pleasant and professional and the food superb. When in York give this place a try!

An old favourite

2011-03-08T17:58:00.001Z

When I was a kid I always enjoyed watching "Flambards" on TV. It was the story of orphan Christina, who is a heiress sent to live with her crippled Uncle and two cousins on a country estate in Essex (although filmed in Yorkshire). Elder cousin Mark was mad on hunting and didn't want things to move on, and younger cousin William was keen on the new flying machines (the story is set at the turn of the 20th century). Christina was destined to marry Mark so her money could be used to save and restore the crumbling Flambards house and estate. However, Christina had other ideas and runs away to London with Will, eventually marries him, is widowed a short time after and then returns to Flambards. I won't recite the whole story here, suffice to say that the series was based on the "Flambards Trilogy" by K.M. Peyton and never featured the fourth book, written sometime later, called "Flambards Divided".

As a kid mad on the story, I had all the books (I have read them lots of times over the years!) and went to the Flambards Village in Cornwall while on holiday there. The only thing I never wanted was the soundtrack album, as the only thing I disliked about the series was the awful, irritating music it featured. Mark was my favourite character, both in the books and the TV series.

After buying the complete series on VHS years ago, it was nice to get the complete series on DVD last week and it is good to wallow in nostalgia again and remember one of my favourite ever stories in its TV adaptation.

For those who want a shot of nostalgia, here is a clip from episode 2 of the TV series.

Too good to be true?

2011-03-03T17:33:00.001Z

On a recent visit to Cornwall, a tourist took a photo of the rocks on Western Beach, Newquay, and when the picture was studied closely, an "apparition" resembling the Virgin Mary could be seen. Looking at the photo, the apparition shows clearly, maybe a little too clearly?

I am someone who loves a good ghost story, and always has (every holiday when I was a kid I would get an "Armada Ghost Book" to read while I was away) I was interested to read this story, but think it just might not be what it seems!

At last - a positive story about Rottweilers

2011-03-02T17:49:00.000Z

The Rottweiler must be one of Britain's most maligned dogs. All too often we hear people calling for them to be banned on account of them being vicious, large, black and tan and other such pathetic reasons.

How nice, therefore, to read about Dave from Blackpool, whose owner runs a pet shop. Dave has "adopted" many different animals, ranging from kittens to rabbits and even birds. Dave is proof that, if treated and trained well, the Rottie can be a superb dog and a good family pet.

Any breed of dog can be dangerous in the wrong hands, and if incorrectly approached or handled (some adults should be ashamed for letting their children run up and grab strange dogs for example!)

Read Dave's story here.

Visit the Rottweiler Welfare Association here.

Finally got Linux to work properly!

2011-02-12T17:22:00.000Z

After several failed attempts to use Linux on my PC, I have finally got it working properly.

My original attempts via Virtualbox, a live disc and then WUBI installer all failed miserably (WUBI had seemed most promising but after installing without any problem it turned out my modem was not compatible with Linux (contrary to what it said on the modem box!)

After getting a new modem I tried again with WUBI and this time success - Ubuntu 10.4 (Lucid Lynx) runs on my PC without any problems at all, and I have to say I am quite a fan of the free operating system.

The best pork pies

2011-01-15T10:33:00.000Z

After reading this article about a butcher's in North Yorkshire, we decided we must go out there one day to sample some of these delicious-sounding pies. So yesterday we had a trip to Brompton specially to go to Glaves Butchers and try one of the pies for ourselves (and also to stock up on some meat and sausages).

We bought a couple of Barnsley chops (not often seen around here) and some pork and red onion marmalade sausages, but the highlight was the pork pie! We bought one pie each, initially to take home and have with mustard for tea, but, as they were still hot, we decided we would eat them outside the shop. A good decision!

This was the first time I'd eaten hot pork pie, I usually have them cold from the supermarket, with their rubbery, gristly fillings! But this was something else! Lovely, golden perfect pastry encasing delicious, hot pink chunks of pork and oozing liquid jelly. I have never tasted a pork pie as good as this!

This is one shop we will definitely visit again!

Faggots and Smash

2010-12-13T17:20:00.000Z

I decided to have some cheap and quick food for Sunday dinner this week (by "quick" I mean food that didn't involve standing over a pan for ages - something which could just go in the oven while I got on with other things).

I had thought that faggots with creamy mash and gravy sounded quite nice. I think the choice of name is quite gross, as "faggot" sounds so unappetising! I bought a pack of two "Mr Brain's" faggots which only cost £1 and chose "Smash" instant mash which was also cheap, so this was the cheapest Sunday dinner I have had in ages!

The faggots took 35 minutes at 210 Centigrade, which ruled out having any other oven-cooked food with them, so I just left them to cook - the mash was ready in seconds, better than peeling, boiling and mashing a tiny amount of potato and just as tasty once I'd got the butter in. This was the first time in years that I'd had Smash, but it was as creamy as I remember it, only now it is made from powder and not chunks.

The faggots were soft and meaty and the sauce with them made a very good gravy to go with the mash and peas. Definitely something I will have again.

The legendary "Smash" advert with the Martians can be seen below:

Appalling hotel in Oostende

2010-11-21T11:00:00.000Z

It was nice to actually have a holiday this year, and fly rather than trying to rely on the unreliable, appalling Eurostar train.

We stayed in Oostende, in a different hotel to our usual one, our favourite was booked on the dates we wanted and so we opted for a "four star" hotel, believing that it would be a good alternative.

We couldn't have been more wrong. Here is the review I posted about the dump on Trip Advisor (with no apologies to Hotel Europe in Oostende!)

Four star hotel? No star hotel more like!

When we selected this hotel, we believed that, as it was advertised as being 4 star, it would be a very good choice. How wrong we were.

We were in a "standard" room, which should still be a very good, above-average standard in a four star hotel. What we actually got was a room smelling of stale cigarette smoke, with cracked plaster around the door, dingy decor (including chairs with stains on and holes from cigarette burns), a shower fixed to the wall approximately two feet above the very narrow bath, so taking a shower was impossible, a bath which took around an hour to empty owing to the fact that the plug hole was clogged up with hairs (how often is this actually checked and cleaned?)

On the bathroom wall was a notice about re-using the towels to save energy, all very well except there was no heating and so once a towel had been used it was very wet and had to be replaced with a clean one every day - not very environment friendly but essential in a hotel with no heating on!

The bar was the most poorly stocked of any hotel I have been to in Belgium (I have been to Belgium many times) and the furniture is a real danger - the floor in the bar is polished wood, which causes the chairs to slide alarmingly and in some instances almost crash into other guests as soon as you sat down.

There was no evening meal available unless you were part of a pre-booked group, this is contrary to the Channel 1 on the hotel's T Vs which states that the restaurant had a choice of four menus including one vegetarian!!

The hotel lobby has two lifts - one going to the badly-kept section we were unlucky enough to be staying in, and another to the section which is obviously much better cared for. If this was a genuine four star hotel ALL the rooms and corridors would be in good order and quite plush.

If you are considering a holiday in Oostende, don't make the same mistake as we did and think that, by booking into this "four star" hotel you will be getting something special - you might get something special, but it will be especially awful!

We won't be going back there again.

Update

2010-10-30T17:34:00.003+01:00

Apologies for the lack of posts. This is for several reasons - problems with my internet connection (now resolved), getting a full time job (which will end soon) and being away on holiday.

It was good to get a holiday this year after losing our Christmas holiday last year, and this time there were no unreliable French trains to spoil things. This year we flew from Leeds Bradford to Brussels on BMI.

It was nice to see Oostende again, but the hotel was not as good as our usual one (which was fully booked) but we hope to get the usual one next year. We had a trip to Aachen (on the bus from Eupen) and also climbed the 210 steps up Zeebrugge water tower on Open Monuments Day.

Durham

2010-03-25T11:14:00.000Z

A few weeks ago it was time to renew my passport, and, after being given the option of Liverpool or Durham, I chose Durham. I had heard it was worth a visit, and I just hoped that, by then, we would finally have seen the last of the bloody snow.

We had a cold, sunny day, and spent it (between going to the passport office) looking round the excellent market, the shops and walking along the riverside.

A view of Durham Cathedral and the River Wear.

Durham has one of the UK's most picturesque cathedrals, and next time we plan to see more of the Cathedral and Castle area, and also to visit in the summer when the days are longer.

Illiteracy is alive and well in Scarborough

2010-03-09T09:11:00.001Z

This is not the first time I’ve written about the appalling literacy standards among the employed (as opposed to the unemployed, who are often automatically regarded as illiterate) and it’s not the first time I’ve had a laugh at the apparent thickness of a particular travel agency’s staff.

Last week I just happened to be looking in the window of a high street travel agent in Scarborough (there isn’t any other kind in this useless dump) and could not believe just how thick their staff must be. The place was closed over dinner, with an apology for the “iconvenience caused”. In the window there was an advert for “painballing” alongside adverts for holidays with “dayitme” flights and some advising that people had to make their own “tarvel” arrangements.

The sad thing is that all we ever hear is that school leavers are getting so much more brainy with all the A* GCSEs they are suddenly achieving (if these “intelligent” individuals had to sit the old O level exam that would show them just how bright – or not – they really are!)

I can just imagine that those responsible for such open displays of illiteracy are those who are shown on TV each year jumping up and down and shrieking about how intelligent they are because they’ve passed a few exams which my cat would probably find easy.

RIP Casper the Bus Cat

2010-01-26T11:17:00.005Z

I know this post is a bit late, I have had loads of problems with my
internet connection, but I felt I had to mention this sad story.

A while ago, I wrote a piece about Casper the Bus Cat, who used to
travel regularly on the number 3 bus in Plymouth. Casper caught the
imagination of people across the world who were charmed by his antics.

Sadly, this amazing cat died recently after being hit by a car. He
obviously gave alot of pleasure to other passengers as he waited in the
bus queue and then boarded the bus and chose his seat.

Farewell and RIP Casper.

Story here

When on Scarborough sea front, heed the warnings!

2010-01-04T18:13:00.001Z

The weather has been quite poor in Scarborough over the past few days, with snow and ice making it quite unpleasant to walk about.

So imagine my surprise at seeing this article about some stupid holidaymakers who took their child (in a pushchair) for a walk along the sea front in the bad weather.

There are signs along the front warning about the danger from heavy seas, so it takes a particularly stupid, dense kind of person to take a walk along here when the weather is bad.

Take a look at the first photo in the newspaper report. The caption "calm before the storm" is not really appropriate, as that is anything but a calm sea! If the sea looks like that, then it is idiotic to walk right next to the sea wall!

The family should be ashamed for putting their young child in such danger. Those warning signs are there for a reason, and to ignore them is stupid. What is also maddening is that then people have to risk their safety to rescue these imbeciles.

When in Scarborough, heed the warnings, and if you don't have the brains to do that then stay away.

Scarborough at Christmas

2009-12-26T10:04:00.000Z

I'd forgotten what Christmas in Scarborough was like, having spent each Christmas from 2006-2008 in Brugge. Unfortunately, the incompetence of the French brought it home to me this year, having to spend Christmas in Scarborough because a bloody useless French-designed train breaks down in snow.

In Brugge I had become used to Christmas markets, with stalls selling hot food and drinks in decorated market squares, ice skating and music and a party atmosphere, with pubs serving the best beers in the world when it was time to get inside out of the cold.

So imagine how drab Christmas in Scarborough is. No markets, no ice skating, pubs which sell beer more akin to water, no shops lit up. Indeed, the shops in this town made little or no effort for Christmas, unlike at Halloween, when all seemed to be in on the act and vying for the darkest displays. All we seemed to get, as a nod to Christmas, was a ghastly display in Boyes which consisted of toadstools, model elves and a grating, horrible racket of a song "we are Santa's elves" repeated over and over again ad nauseum.

If this is the best this boring town can do for Christmas it is time it called it a day.

Eurostar

2009-12-21T18:15:00.001Z

Last week, the much-hyped Eurostar train ran into problems when several trains broke down in the Channel Tunnel. The trains had broken down because they had left the cold air of northern France and entered the warmer tunnel, causing condensation which played havoc with the onboard systems. They are now blaming the "wrong sort of snow".

The trains have not run for three days, and massive backlogs have built up with passengers stranded and not knowing when, or if, they would travel. I am one of the passengers who does not know what the situation will be regarding travel - I was due to go by Eurostar on Wednesday to Brussels.

This is the first (and certainly the last) Eurostar booking I made. Normally I have flown, and will do so in the future.

Why is it that the French, who are so above themselves and have such a superiority complex, are so bloody incompetent? The Eurostar is a French design, if it has problems in bad weather it is obviously a crap design.

Next time I am due to travel abroad, I shall avoid using any company that the French are involved with because I have no faith in anything French, especially technical stuff. All they are any good for is making bread and cheese, they should leave techie stuff to the countries that know what they are doing.

More hell for those who live near pubs

2009-12-16T17:49:00.000Z

A new government idea is expected to make the lives of people who live near pubs hell. The government plans to allow pubs to put on live acts for audiences of less than 100 without having a licence.

Anyone who lives near a pub which features live acts will know how bad they are. Places in residential areas should not be allowed to have live bands playing after 11:30, it is not unknown for pubs to have loud music playing into the early hours, thanks to the appalling law which allowed them to be able to open any time they liked, and for anyone living near who maybe has to be up early for work they can be absolute hell.

Although I don't like to see pubs closing, those which have such antisocial attitudes should be consigned to the scrapheap.

More here.

Fining cyclists - what a good idea!

2009-12-11T10:59:00.000Z

Westminster Council have announced that they are going to crack down on cyclists who flout the Highway Code (which, if Scarborough is anything to go on, must be the vast majority!) by riding on pavements, through red lights and the wrong way along one way streets.

Those who ride bikes are generally possessed by a holier-than-thou attitude which makes them believe that, because they are using a "green" form of transport, they are above the law and everyone else must bow down to them. How many do we see happily riding along the pavement with a superior, smug smirk on their face? How many of them are obviously colour blind in that they seem to have problems telling the difference between a red and a green traffic light?

I have no problems with the tiny minority of cyclists who do ride on the road and observe traffic signals, but the vast majority of those who speed along the pavements, hurling abuse at anyone who doesn't get out of their way, and those who hurl abuse at pedestrians who happen to be crossing the road at the green man signal (thereby preventing the idiot on two wheels from jumping the red light) make me sick.

Anyone who buys a bike should have to take a test, pay annual insurance, have identification on their bike and also be heavily taxed.

Wallowing in nostalgia

2009-12-01T17:32:00.000Z

Today I bought a set of three DVDs featuring childrens' programmes from the 1960s and 1970s. These are the programmes I grew up watching, and it was good to see them again after so long.

One DVD contains the complete series of Trumpton. Trumpton was part of a series of programmes featuring characters from three villages in "Trumptonshire". The first series was Camberwick Green which featured a character emerging from a music box at the beginning, Trumpton was the second series and featured the clock and the fire brigade (who always seem a bit thick!) and the third and final series was Chigley which featured a steam train, a biscuit factory, the six o'clock whistle and the end dance.

Another DVD contains a series of The Clangers. These are knitted pink creatures which live on a distant planet with friends such as the Soup Dragon, the Iron Chicken, the Music Tree and Hoots.

Last, but most certainly not least, there is the king of them all - Bagpuss. This was my favourite of them all, and each episode featured a "thing" which was brought back to a shop by a girl called Emily. Bagpuss and his friends - Gabriel the Toad, Madeleine the Rag Doll, Professor Yaffle the woodpecker bookend and the mice from the mouse organ - would find out what the "thing" was and then repair it and put it into the shop window in case the owner should be walking past and come in to collect it. Bagpuss was voted the most popular childrens' programme ever a few years ago.

Sorry for the lack of a Clangers video, I am still trying to find the opening titles!

Update on the sheep

2009-12-01T17:16:00.000Z

The local paper finally included a report on the sheep accident today. It says that "at least 25" sheep were killed and it is believed they run onto the line after becoming scared by a low flying aircraft.

Sheep on the line

2009-11-26T13:14:00.001Z

This morning the 09:57 Scarborough to Hull train hit and killed a flock of sheep in the Cayton area.

We were on the train on the way to Filey to collect our Eurostar tickets for our forthcoming trip to Belgium.

I had seen a couple of sheep running at the side of the track, and the next thing the train started jolting and making a rumbling noise, and then we stopped. Initially we thought the train had de-railed, as we were just standing for what seemed like ages, before moving slowly off and then stopping again. A loudspeaker announcement said there had been an "incident on the line" but when we asked the guard we were told that we had hit and killed "alot of sheep".

A clean up team was to be brought in, which could have caused delays for up to four hours on the line.

First the bus cat, now the train cat!

2009-10-22T10:51:00.001+01:00

A few months ago, Casper the bus cat made the papers. Casper would regularly board a local bus in Plymouth and travel round until reaching a certain stop, where he would get off.

Now, here in Scarborough, we have Percy the Train Cat! Percy loves to ride on the North Bay Railway towards the Sea Life Centre, where he gets off and goes inside to look at the penguins, which, apparently, are his favourite exhibit there.

Read about Percy here and here.

Middlesbrough

2009-10-15T17:57:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, 14th October, we had probably our last day trip of the year (with the days shortening rapidly, it is not as much fun going off for the day). After the hassle with the missing bus on our Guisborough/Redcar/Saltburn outing, we complained to Arriva and received two vouchers for a free journey. The furthest we could travel in one bus ride from Scarborough was Middlesbrough, so this is why we chose to go.

Middlesbrough and the River Tees are the boundary of Yorkshire - any further north and you are in County Durham. It was my first proper visit to the town.

Middlesbrough's iconic Transporter Bridge

The main landmark of Middlesbrough is the Transporter Bridge. We made our way to have a look at it, but we did not see it actually in operation, which was a shame, as I could have made a video of it, but I did manage to get some photos.

We thought Middlesbrough was a good shopping place - there were some indoor shopping centres with a good range of shops, which was much better than what we are used to in Scarborough. We would definitely go again some time.

Goole

2009-10-03T10:07:00.000+01:00

Goole dockside - cranes, two water towers and no boats!

A couple of days ago (1st October) we had a trip to Goole.

We caught the train from Scarborough and changed in Hull and were in Goole two and a half hours after leaving Scarborough.

Goole is an inland port on the River Ouse in East Riding of Yorkshire. It was my first visit, and I had taken my camera along in the hope of getting some good shots of boats. However, the tide was not in my favour, and we saw no boats, but a few cranes and two water towers loomed over the docks!

The weather was good, and this helped. We had a walk along the river, saw the mudflats and a few resting herons. But no boats!

We had dinner in the cafe in the market. The market cafe served good, down to earth, honest food at good prices. I had a big cup of superb tea, and bacon, two fried eggs, and chips for my dinner. It was very good food, and not surprising that market cafes have a devoted, loyal customer base. We will eat there next time we go to Goole.

Next time we go, I hope the tide will be in our favour and that I get chance to photograph some boats!

The legendary cats of Japan

2009-09-07T11:20:00.000+01:00

Last night we watched a programme on ITV1 about cats and the human relationship with them. It was in a similar format to one about dogs which was shown last year, and was quite interesting, if a bit "sugary" and "yukky" in parts.

One interesting part of the programme featured the legendary cats of Japan - the "lucky cat" Meneki Neko and the "ghost" or "demon" cat Bake Neko.

The Maneki Neko is found in sculptures across Japan and is believed to bring good luck and good fortune, and is depicted with a raised front paw. I had seen this cat sculpture in Oriental supermarkets when I have been on holiday, and wondered what it represented. Now I know! Next time we visit an Oriental store I will be buying my own Maneki Neko, as a cat lover I find them quite cute, and it will be a good companion for my two Egyptian cat sculptures!

Whitby

2009-08-31T11:22:00.001+01:00

Last Saturday - 22nd August - we went to Whitby. Unlike many occasions when we've been to Whitby, the weather stayed fine and so I managed to get some good photos taken from the top of the cliff near the Abbey (after climbing the 199 steps to get there!) Also it was nice to look round the Abbey just after it opened at 10am. I recommend a visit to Whitby Abbey - the stonework is beautiful and intricate (great for black and white photos) and the views from up there are very good.

Whitby is popular with Goths and Dracula fans, and there are great fish and chips - we tried Quayside fish and chips to eat out, and they were very good and freshly cooked. We've also eaten at Magpie but the place is very popular so you need to queue, often right along the pavement.

I think our next trip out will be to Durham, I've never been there to look round but I hear from people who have that it's very nice.

Guisborough, Redcar and Saltburn

2009-08-14T11:21:00.000+01:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had a trip to Guisborough, Redcar and Saltburn on 12th August 2009. Thanks to buying a £6 Day Ticket to go anywhere on Arriva North East buses, this was a cheap day out from Scarborough. It was also the first time we had visited this region of north east Yorkshire (for Yorkshire it is, despite the mangling of the counties in 1974!)

Our first port of call was Guisborough, a pretty market town and home to Gisborough Priory which was founded by the family of Robert the Bruce.

The church in Guisborough. The Priory is located at the side of this church.

A view of part of Gisborough Priory.

Gisborough Priory from church yard.

We caught the bus from Guisborough to Redcar. Redcar is a coastal town, best known for its horse racing. There is also a steelworks which is under threat of closure. The beach at Redcar is long, with cliffs at the very south end and an industrial complex at the northern end. Large cargo ships pass by as they head towards the river Tees. Redcar is also home to the oldest lifeboat in the world, dating from 1800 and on display in the lifeboat museum.

A view to the north from Redcar beach.

We had some superb fish and chips in Redcar, and then had a walk along the long shopping street before catching the bus to Saltburn.

Saltburn is a green, pretty place. It is home to the oldest cliff lift in the world, which is operated by hydraulic power. There is also a pier here and a steep, winding road down to the seafront.

The bottom of Saltburn's cliff lift.

Saltburn pier.

Saltburn's cliff lift. Note the stained glass windows!

After visiting Saltburn we made our way back to Guisborough intending to catch the 17:50 bus back to Scarborough. However, the 17:50 bus did not turn up and so we ended up waiting an extra hour for the 18:50, which thankfully did show up as that was the last bus from Guisborough to Scarborough!

All in all it was an enjoyable day apart from the appalling Clock Stop Cafe mentioned in the earlier post and the missing bus!

Casper the bus cat

2009-08-02T10:42:00.000+01:00

A cat in Plymouth has been regularly catching the 10:55 number 3 bus for several years now.

Casper queues with other passengers before jumping onto the bus and curling up on a seat and having a good ride round on the circular route.

The popular passenger is set to be immortalised by having his photo put onto the side of a local bus.

That is one of the best news stories I've read for a long time. Read about Casper here and here.

Port of Zeebrugge

2009-07-08T17:57:00.000+01:00

Zeebrugge has been one of my favourite places since our first visit on a hot day in September 2006. I am just sorry that I shall not see it this summer, we have visited the port each year since our first visit on that hot day. What would I give to go there again this summer.

For all you Zeebrugge fans, enjoy this superb official video advertising the port:

Litterbugs

2009-07-05T18:21:00.001+01:00

The title "Litterbugs" is a little too friendly, however I could not think up a more suitable title and stay in the margins of acceptable language!

Yesterday afternoon we went down to the front in Scarborough to get some fish and chips for our tea. We bought fish and chips from the always-excellent Winking Willie's and ate them outside.

We were not alone in eating our fish and chips outside. Near to Winking Willie's there are some benches and a few litter bins just a few feet from the benches. However, even the close proximity of bins to benches did not prevent the over-sized swine who had chosen to sit on the benches to fill their disgusting faces from leaving behind the remains of their food and also the cartons which went with it. The filthy swine just left all their litter on the benches, they were obviously just too stupid, too idle or too mucky to bother putting it in the bins provided. I dread to think what filthy state their houses are in. They should be tracked down, brought back to their litter and forced to eat every last mouthful of what they left behind.

What must visitors to our country think when they see what filthy swine many home-grown tourists are? I make no apology for what I have said, I would not insult pigs by housing such filthy trash with them.

Scarborough welcomes clean visitors who do not live like trash, we do not welcome litterbugs who are just too idle to get off their over sized rear ends and put their rubbish where it belongs.

The Deep

2009-06-27T11:14:00.001+01:00

On Thursday we caught the train to Hull and went to The Deep. This is a marine-themed attraction with aquariums covering various marine environments - from anemones to the open ocean and jellyfish. The most impressive was the shark pool - with large sharks gliding past and my favourite exhibit - a sawfish!

One of the best features is the glass lift which travels up through the shark tank and pauses for a few seconds to allow you to see the fish better. The only downsides were poor signage (no signs to the "Monsters of the Deep" presentation) and noisy school parties.

Here are a few photos I took on our visit (click the photos to see them properly!):

Microchipping

2009-06-24T11:02:00.000+01:00

This morning we had our cat microchipped - a new vet has opened in Scarborough and we took advantage of his opening offers to have the cat microchipped (free worm treatment was thrown in too - not bad for £12!)

Surprisingly, she was well behaved and quiet, even when the thick needle went in she never made a sound (unlike some animals!) She had a bus ride there and back, and, unlike the first time she went on a bus when she was making a noise the whole way, she was silent!

The only time she made any noise was when she was put into her carrying cage - then the miaowing starts and she sticks her leg out through the front of the cage, but she settled quick and curled up.

After all that she enjoyed her dinner when she got home!

AF447

2009-06-10T18:21:00.023+01:00

This post contains links to the unfolding news story on the Air France tragedy. Only links will be posted in this topic, no photos or opinions.

Air France flight missing
Crash jet autopilot 'not working'
Missing Air France jet wreckage found
No sign of 'problem' with AF jet
'No wreckage found' in plane search
Two Britons among 228 passengers on Air France plane that vanishes en route from Brazil to Paris
Missing Airbus wreckage spotted floating in ocean as French refuse to rule out terrorism
Riverdance star and 11-year-old schoolboy among British victims on missing Air France flight
Air France received South American bomb threat days before Flight 447 disappeared over Atlantic
Doomed Air France plane's computer 'failed minutes before it plummeted into Atlantic'
Debris found in hunt for Air France jet is just 'sea trash,' say red-faced investigators. Search continues
Autopilot on Air France jet 'was not working before crash'
Five bodies and an Air France ticket found floating in ocean near where Flight 447 disappeared
Searchers recover 15 more bodies from Air France flight 447 as ships navigate through 'a sea of debris'
Pictured: Tragic family whose fear of flying together led mother and daughter to board Air France jet
Pictured: Air France fuselage found near to where Flight 447 disappeared as 15 bodies are recovered from ocean
Pictured: The heartbreaking moment passengers of lost Flight 447 finally reached land as searchers pull 24 bodies from ocean
Two passengers on doomed Air France jet had names linked to Islamic terror groups
The computer crash
Two passengers on doomed Air France jet CLEARED of links to Islamic terrorism
Air France plane broke up over 'number of minutes'
Air France crash: Brazilian ship recovers three more bodies
Air France crash: 'bodies hold clues to what happened'
More Flight 447 bodies found
Crash jet ‘split in two at high altitude’
Pattern of dead bodies from doomed Air France plane suggests it split up in mid-air
SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: What REALLY made Flight 447 disintegrate in mid-air?
Air France crash investigators: relatives must be patient
400 pieces of debris recovered from jet crash
Injuries of Flight 447 victims show plane 'probably split up in the air' as Air France jet is target of sabotage
Airbus computer bug is main suspect in crash of Flight 447
Autopsies suggest Air France jet broke up in sky
Compensation for air crash families
Air France to make £15,000 no-strings-attached payment to families of every victim of doomed Flight 447
Air France set to pay out to crash victims' families
Air France crash families get first compensation as investigators continue to sift wreckage for clues
Bodies from Air France Airbus disaster identified
Brazil identifies the first 11 bodies retrieved from doomed Air France jet
Air France crash: 10 bodies identified as Brazilians
Air France crash: 'black box signals located'
Hopes of finding Air France Airbus black boxes dashed
Crash jet black box alert was false alarm
Sounds detected under Atlantic are NOT doomed Air France jet's black box
Air France crash: sounds 'are not' from black box
Bodies of pilot and flight attendant retrieved from Air France crash site
Air France says pilot's body identified after crash
Body of Air France captain Marc Dubois found as crash inquiry begins
Possible crash link to new scares
Briton identified as body recovered from doomed flight
Search ends for bodies from Air France crash
Airbus could be asked to ground all long-range airliners
Air crash cause may never be known
Air France crash may never be solved
Airbus plunged vertically into sea
Doomed Air France flight slammed into the ocean belly first at top speed, says official report
Airbus crash 'not caused by breaking up in flight'
Air France flight 447 crashed belly-first into the Atlantic, investigators say
Air France jet 'not destroyed in flight'
Air France pilots blame safety agencies for crash of Flight 447
Plane crash probe could take months

Oostende for Christmas

2009-06-10T18:02:00.000+01:00

Having spent the last two September holidays in Oostende, and the last three Christmas ones in Brugge, we are having a change for this year, and spending Christmas in Oostende. I will miss having a summer holiday in Belgium, this will be the first time I've not had a summer holiday there for years - we had our first in 2000 and have had one every year since.

Oostende is a great place to spend a summer holiday - on a summer evening it is very pleasant to walk along the sea front and the pier and watch the ferries, and the marina near the Mercator is also a nice walk.

I have very happy memories of our holidays in Belgium - the hot one we had in September 2006 when the heat hit you when you left the pub in the evening and visiting new places such as Veurne, Mons, Eupen, Lier and dearest Zeebrugge(!)

I have enjoyed each holiday I have had in Belgium - truly the most under-rated country in Europe, and certainly my favourite holiday place.

Air France accident

2009-06-03T17:48:00.001+01:00

The news this week has been dominated by the crash of an Air France Airbus A330 which was on a flight from Rio de Janiero to Paris Charles de Gaulle. This appalling tragedy occurred when the aircraft had apparently entered severe turbulence but as yet there is no known cause of the accident.

My thoughts are with those people whose loved ones were aboard the flight, and I send my sincerest condolences. Though what makes me truly angry is the disgraceful behaviour of the photographers at CDG airport, who were ramming cameras into the faces of those whose loved ones had been on the missing airliner. Why can't they leave those people alone? Would the scum taking those photos like it if someone went mad to take their picture as they heard that their loved ones were on a plane which was missing? Those photographers would get their just desserts if someone turned on them and smashed their cameras into their faces, that is no more than they would deserve.

People complain about the press harrassment of Princess Diana, but she had encouraged photographers and publicity, not so the people whose families were on that airliner, and the victims (and their families) of so many other tragedies. No one ever complains about the press overstepping the mark then.

Nice to see a matador getting what they deserve!

2009-05-29T13:59:00.000+01:00

I detest animal cruelty, and that includes blood "sport", so imagine my delight at seeing what happened to this stupid matador. As a firm believer in making the punishment fit the crime, what can be sweeter than seeing this animal abuser with holes in his body caused by the animal he has been tormenting?

You look at the photos and see the spears and sword which this reprehensible individual has stabbed the bull with, and see the blood running down the poor beast's shoulder, and you think "serves the bastard right".

Hopefully, Israel Lancho will never set foot in a bullring again.

Make the punishment fit the crime

2009-05-04T11:01:00.000+01:00

As an animal lover, who owns a cat, i was disgusted to read about this disgusting attack on two kittens by "children" in New Zealand.

The two little bastards (I make no apology for calling them bastards, indeed I think it is too good a term for them) cut off the feet of two kittens and then laughed as they left the poor creatures outside an animal shelter.

It is hoped that the bastards and their parents, if they knew what their bastards were doing, face prosecution for animal cruelty.

However, I know of a better punishment for the bastards - the words "fingers and toes", "cut off", "knife" and "scissors" come to mind. I always believe that the punishment should fit the crime, and would lose no sleep if the bastards and their parents were made to suffer in the way that those poor kittens did.

Aeroplane classroom

2009-04-29T10:40:00.000+01:00

How I envy the children at this school. When I was at school, our classrooms were the usual, boring type!

For an aviation enthusiast, going to school in a British Shorts 360 airliner must be sheer heaven!

Birthday at Byland

2009-04-18T13:06:00.001+01:00

Byland Abbey in North Yorkshire

It was my birthday on Thursday (16th April) and so we decided to have a day out somewhere. I had always liked the look of Byland Abbey and so, once we found out that we could catch a bus there, decided to have a visit.

We caught the bus to Helmsley, a wonderful market town which has better shops than Scarborough (as the North Yorkshire market towns always do!) and had dinner in a small cafe which specialised in hot chocolate (the chocolate here is very good!) but today we had smoked salmon panini, with a salad and cracked black pepper crisps accompaniment.

We then caught the bus to Byland Abbey, a 20 minute ride from Helmsley through very nice countryside and got out first sight of the Howardian Hills. It was the first time we had been that way through Ampleforth and Wass and onto Byland Abbey.

Byland Abbey is a very distinctive monument, and once had a huge rose window at the front. In my opinion it is the most beautiful monument in North Yorkshire, if not in England. It belongs to English Heritage.

It was a cold, windy day, and this did spoil the visit somewhat, but I still managed to take 56 photos at Byland! Opposite the Abbey is the Abbey Inn, which has a lovely-sounding menu but we did not eat here. I would like to head out that way again and eat at the Abbey Inn.

There's slow - and then there's Firefox

2009-04-10T10:44:00.000+01:00

I have three browsers installed on my computer - Internet Explorer, Opera and Firefox. My preferred browser is Opera, but today I decided to load up Firefox.

What a stupid idea - Firefox takes an age to start, runs slowly and pops up irritating messages about needing a "Quicktime plug in" (even following advice on this issue has not made the slightest bit of difference to this most stubborn and appallingly slow of browsers).

Firefox is always raved about but I have no idea why. I have put up with the little quirks of several of its incarnations but the latest version is the slowest program on my computer. I don't mind other Mozilla programs, such as Thunderbird e-mail, but Firefox is the biggest load of crap to ever be installed on a computer.

Pets Undercover

2009-03-17T10:10:00.001Z

The title of this post is the same as that of a very interesting programme shown on ITV 1 last night. It was part of the regular "Tonight" series of reports, and featured the rising costs of veterinary treatment and vets who charged for treatment that animals don't need, just to rake in more money. It was very interesting because we had exactly the same problem with a vet a few years ago.

Our Labrador had a fit one afternoon (I know what a fit looks like, as we had an epileptic dog in the past). We called our local vet, and someone came out to check the dog.

Our dog was then hospitalised overnight, put on a drip, had blood tests and when we collected him next day we were given heart medication and anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis, as well as the obligatory antibiotics which every pet owner now seems to be lumbered with whenever they visit their vet for anything other than the annual boosters!

We read the details of the heart medication which we had been charged for, and the list of symptoms it was supposed to treat did not apply to our dog. He did not cough, was not breathless and was generally physically fit for his age - and he did not have any arthritis.

We were not happy with the crap we had been fed by this particular vet, so we went for a second opinion, which confirmed what we knew - our dog was not arthritic and did not have any heart problem.

The dog's behaviour started to become what I can only describe as "weird" - he would stand and stare at walls and he started to "forget" his house training. We went back to the vet, who told us the dog was "going a bit gaga!"

I had looked at my copy of "Black's Veterinary Dictionary" (I had always wanted to be a vet) and our dog's symptoms pointed to a brain tumour. Still this "gaga" idea persisted, until one day in February 2006.

Our dog had two fits in quick succession, and ended up unable to move properly. We called the vet out, and thankfully this time saw a new one. She told us that the problem was most likely to be a brain tumour, and the only kind course of treatment was to put the dog to sleep there and then, which we agreed to. We have since lost all faith in the veterinary profession.

Read about the programme here.

Coma - book vs film

2009-03-07T13:12:00.000Z

At the moment I am reading Coma, a brilliant medical thriller by Robin Cook.

I've read the book a few times, and find it interesting with the right amount of mystery and suspense. Today I watched the film version of Coma, and noticed that there are differences with the book.

The main difference is that in the book, the main character, Susan Wheeler, is a medical student about to start a surgery rotation in a top Boston hospital. In the film, Susan Wheeler is an established doctor at the Boston Hospital. The book features her growing relationship with Mark Bellows, a surgery resident at the hospital who is partly responsible for her training. In the film they are already linked.

As well as changing some of the character's names (for instance, the Chief of Surgery in the book is Stark and in the film it is Harris - Harris is the Chief of Anaesthesia in the book) the initial character in the book - eventual coma victim Nancy Greenly - is first encountered by Susan Wheeler in intensive care after suffering an anaesthetic complication - in the film Greenly and Wheeler are best friends since school.

The film would have been better had it stuck more rigidly to the book - featuring the encounter in the medical school accommodation block with the hitman and the main character being a medical student instead of an established doctor - but overall it is a very watchable film.

I have read several books by Robin Cook - Brain, Contagion, Acceptable Risk, Vector and Shock.

For me, Shock was most like Coma. For Jefferson Institute read Wingate Clinic.

I aim to read more Robin Cook books in the future. The medical aspect makes them very interesting.

Goodbye to Linux

2009-02-26T17:44:00.000Z

Yesterday I uninstalled Ubuntu from my computer after being unable to access the internet with my regular modem.

I was disappointed at the outcome, as I do like Linux and it suits my style of computing - being on a tight budget means that I benefit more from the open source programs which Linux uses, but I could not afford to budget for a new modem or wireless set up just to be able to use the secondary system on my PC.

So Linux had to go to free up space :-(

Linux with WUBI

2009-02-24T10:52:00.000Z

The other day I finally found a way I could use Linux without those dreadful live discs and Virtual Box - it's called WUBI (stands for Windows Automatic Ubuntu Installer apparently).

With WUBI you install the Ubuntu into the Windows and then at start up you are given the option to boot into Windows (the default setting) or Ubuntu. It does away with the hassle of partitioning the hard disk and gives you a functional Linux system. I like the look of Ubuntu but I have to say that I prefer the comfortable old slippers feeling of using Windows XP!

The big problem I have experienced (and not yet been able to solve) with Ubuntu is the fact that I cannot browse the internet. My ADSL ethernet modem works fine in XP but in Ubuntu I get a connection and nothing else - which means that, as well as not being able to surf the internet, I am unable to download any programs or updates. I am just glad that I have XP as my default operating system and not Ubuntu as the only one. I have seen a similar issue on the Ubuntu support forum but no one has provided a solution to it.

The other big difference is in load up time. I did a little test yesterday and timed the loading of each OS from the moment I selected it. The results are surprising - Windows XP took just 1 minute 39.25 seconds from being selected to all my programs being ready for me to use but Ubuntu took a staggering 8 minutes 50.14 seconds before it was ready to use. I like Linux but I am not convinced of its superiority to Windows.

That live disc again!

2009-02-20T17:49:00.000Z

Last year readers will remember how I wrote about the nightmare of the live disc and Virtual Box (read it here).

Well, today the dreaded live disc struck again. I had left Virtual Box alone this time, that is gone forever from my computer, but I read that Linux could be run from the CD-ROM in a sort of demo mode, and when you had finished you just eject the disc, restart the computer and get your Windows back again. I put the disc into the disc tray and then restarted the computer. I have to say that the boot process was not particularly fast for the Ubuntu, if anything it was slower than my now-speedy XP system, but I am interested in seeing what Linux has to offer without having to commit to installing onto the hard drive so I decided to give the disc a go without the dreaded Virtual Box.

After a quick game of Mah Jongg, I looked round at some of the software - Open Office, media players, disc burning and my beloved GIMP were all there, and the GIMP on the disc was a more up to date version than the 2.4.2 than I run on XP. I tried to install the latest version but my computer doesn't like it and so I re-installed 2.4.2. I have to say I like the look of Linux.

The fun started, again, when I tried to eject the disc. I got a notice saying that there was "an error in ejecting the volume" each time I tried to eject the disc, and even poking the emergency eject hole did not work. I had to restart and then press the eject button on the drive and thankfully it opened and I could remove the disc.

If anyone has any suggestions on how I can try Linux without Virtual Box and without putting a damned live disc into my disc drive then please speak up!

Gas fire joins faulty appliances club!

2009-02-01T10:27:00.000Z

Hot on the heels of our bagless vacuum cleaner, computer and cooker comes the gas fire. All those domestic appliances have broken down since New Year, and now the latest member of the club is sporting a bright red "danger" label.

The fun started on Friday tea time just after the fire had been lit. It is one of those fires with a glass front and coal and flame effect, and suddenly there was a loud crack which scared the cat, and which, on inspection revealed a large crack down the front of the glass.

We arranged to have someone come out to look at it, and when they arrived yesterday said they had never seen such a problem before! He disconnected the fire from the gas supply and stuck the danger label on and told us that someone would come along on Monday (tomorrow) to replace the cracked glass.

Last night the bulb in my bedroom ceiling light gave up the ghost after a few years, and has now been replaced by a "green" tubular bulb, so my room is the first one in the flat to have 100% green lighting (apart from the bathroom but that doesn't count because there is only one light in there and I have two!)

More on our domestic appliances

2009-01-19T17:48:00.000Z

With the ongoing problems with vacuum cleaners we could well do without another of our appliances joining the unreliable club, but only a couple of weeks after the vacuum, followed by the computer, broke down, our cooker has now followed suit.

All seemed normal when the roasting tin was put into the oven for the fat to melt this morning, but when the potatoes which had been put into the fat to roast were taken out raw, and we discovered there was no heat in the oven even though it was switched on and the fan was working (it is a fan oven) it was not cooking anything.

So we are now spending tomorrow morning waiting for someone to come out and repair it.

TV's latest canine is not cute or cuddly!

2009-01-15T18:04:00.000Z

Pablo in a scene from the advert

The usual TV canine is a cute and appealing creature - think "Lassie", "Benji" or "Littlest Hobo" and you see what I mean. Now, the latest TV canine is a puppet corpse which is here to show the horrors of cocaine.

Pablo the Drug Mule Dog appeared on UK screens at the end of last year, and already has made an impact on discussion forums and on Facebook, where he has his own rapidly-growing fan base.

Pablo is not cute, nor is he cuddly, but if he manages to turn people away from the horrors of drugs then he will be worth everything!

Watch the Pablo videos below (please note these videos are not suitable for young children).

To read more about the anti drug campaign click here.

Just for a change - Belgium by ferry

2009-01-15T17:33:00.001Z

Sorry for the late arrival of this post, as my computer developed a boot problem and was away for eight days being fixed.

We went to Belgium for Christmas, as usual, but this time we were going by sea. We sailed from Hull overnight to Zeebrugge. It was good fun, but not as good as the plane!

The weather in Belgium was very cold, but we had some great food (including very nice chips and a Chinese Christmas dinner).

To see the pics from the trip click here.

I don't know when I'll see my beloved Belgium again.

More on domestic appliances, with reference to vacuum cleaners!

2009-01-02T10:14:00.000Z

A post in April told of how we never have any luck with vacuum cleaners. Now that story is about to be updated.

The vacuum cleaner referred to in that post was discarded in late June, and replaced by a Black and Decker cylinder type. This one was bagless, which was an advantage in that you never had to scour the shops looking for bags which were the right shape and size, and also it was light to pull along and it had a powerful suck.

Yesterday, 1st January 2009, this once-reliable cleaner gave up the ghost, it just stopped working when I was almost at the end of the daily vacuum in the flat.

Thinking it might have been caused by overheating due to a full dust bowl and filter, I cleaned it out. Still no luck. The I replaced the fuse in the plug and tried again. Still nothing.

So today this cleaner is going back to the shop to be replaced by another one which, hopefully, will last longer than a few months!

Seamer Road Mere to be ruined

2008-12-16T18:05:00.001Z

Those who have read my blog from the beginning may remember this post about a pleasant Sunday afternoon walk to Seamer Road Mere in Scarborough.

I have a big soft spot for the Mere, its wildlife is better than Peasholm Park, its waters are cleaner than the dank pools at Peasholm and it is not infested with feral pigeons and grey squirrels, unlike Peasholm.

Now, Scarborough Borough Council have announced plans to "regenerate" the area, so you can guarantee it will no longer be a peaceful haven for wildlife!

The plans include a surf or ski dome or a water park, a hotel, a visitor centre, "eco huts" and provision for cyclists.

Now, as everyone who is familiar with the idiots who ride cycles round Scarborough will know, they regard the pavements as their own personal racing tracks, so this arrogant, smug attitude will soon be apparent at our beloved Mere. On a brighter note, they could always position the cycle tracks across the local quick sands!

Read about this potential environmental desecration here.

Reading

2008-12-13T18:00:00.000Z

Over the past few weeks I have been reading some of the books written by Joyce Stranger, who wrote some brilliant animal stories.

The first Joyce Stranger book I read was "Kym" about a Siamese cat, and after reading that I would buy any Joyce Stranger book I saw in the shops, so I had quite a good selection. One of my favourites is "Casey" about a farm kitten which makes friends with a bull.

However, the books I have read recently have all centred around the Lakes. The first one, about a sheepdog which is born wild and then becomes tame and devoted to a small boy was called "Rex".

The last one I read was "The Running Foxes" which is set in the same Lakes village as "Rex" and features some of the same characters.

Tonight I will be starting "Lakeland Vet" which, again, is set in the Lakes village. This will be the book I take on holiday with me when we go to Belgium for Christmas.

Long tailed tits

2008-12-12T17:41:00.000Z

For the past couple of weeks, the tree outside our flat window has been a feeding ground for a flock of long tailed tits.

We have had the pleasure of seeing these acrobatic little birds flying from branch to branch in search of insects, and the fact that they keep returning means that there must be plenty of insect life in that tree!

That is one advantage of watching birds in winter - it is easier to see them when the leaves have gone from the trees. They seem to come most in the early morning and towards dusk, around 3:30 pm.

We also get other types of tit on the trees, and sometimes goldfinches. We will be putting some food out to try and ensure that none of our smaller feathered friends starve this winter.

More on the long tailed tit here.

Unemployment - they should ask those who know

2008-12-06T17:54:00.000Z

Yet another bright spark has produced a load of rubbish on how the unemployment issue should be dealt with. Yet again, it is obviously someone who has no idea about unemployment or what it actually entails. The latest gem says that the unemployed should do a 9-5 day of job searching. A previous "expert" said that people were unemployed because they lacked basic skills such as numeracy and literacy! Having seen the examples of literacy among those in work, it is not the unemployed who are illiterate!

As someone who is long term unemployed, I will offer my own slant on this.

I have been on many training schemes and very rarely have I come across people with numeracy or literacy problems. I have a science degree, does that smack of being illiterate and innumerate?

The best way to help the long term unemployed is to provide work-based placements, which allows a person to gain some valuable experience, and also an up to date work reference. Without experience and references, no employer will look at you twice, no matter how many hours you spend a day searching and applying for jobs!

Also, there should be an end to the ageist bias in training. Once you are past the age of 25, there is no proper help available, whereas the under 25s have the Modern Apprenticeship and the New Deal. Any work placements which do come up and have a good chance of leading to a job are only offered to the under 25s.

The New Deal for the over 25s is only available after you have been unemployed for 18 months (as opposed to six months for those under 25). On this scheme you will spend all day looking for jobs, without a hope in hell of getting one when you don't have the proper experience! Without getting a work placement, this scheme is next to useless, and certainly of no benefit to anyone.

The government should ask those of us who are unemployed what would help us the most rather than relying on the "expertise" of someone who has never been in that situation themselves.

Virtualbox and live disks - never again!

2008-12-06T10:38:00.000Z

Tux the Linux mascot

I have been considering trying out Linux for a while now, having read that it was a stable, secure, reliable operating system. Last week I bought a magazine devoted to starting up with Linux, which contained a "live CD" containing the Ubuntu 8.10 system.

The magazine contained instructions on using Linux but still keeping Windows XP - you could set up a dual boot system which would mean having both the Linux and Windows on the same computer and choosing which to run on boot up or you could install a virtual machine which would run the Linux as a "guest" system within the Windows "host".

I chose to use the virtual machine, and, having specifications which were OK, I installed "Virtualbox".

And then the nightmare began!

The Ubuntu disk started up in Virtualbox, and I thought things were going OK, until the right CTRL key stopped working, which meant that the "guest" system had "captured" my computer keyboard! Then I got a message saying that Virtualbox had encountered an error and needed to close down. Then the fun started. The DVD drive on my computer jammed with the damned live disk still inside! Pushing the emergency eject button made no difference and I could not eject the disk via the link in My Computer.

I tried System Restore, but, predictably, instead of booting into Windows when it started up, the damned Linux screen appeared! After several seconds of frantically pushing the eject button on the DVD drive, the disk tray finally opened and the disk was taken out, never to be tried out again!

I have never been so happy to see the Windows XP screen appear on boot up! Needless to say, Virtualbox has been removed from my PC and to be honest if I never see that software again it will be too soon!

As for running an OS from a disk, that is something I will never do again in a hurry!

The victims of factory farming

2008-11-15T11:22:00.001Z

Some of the videos in this post may (or should) upset you. For that I do not apologise, as it is time that people woke up to the suffering of farm animals. By "farm animals" I do not mean the cute and cuddly veal calves that everyone chelps on about, I mean the less visually appealing ones (therefore the ones that many people believe do not matter).

Foie gras is a French "delicacy" which is produced by force feeding ducks and geese until their livers swell to bursting point (and their stomachs often rupture). Stores which refuse to sell crate reared veal on the grounds that it is "cruel" will not remove foie gras from their shelves. If you replace a duck or a goose with a calf, and force feed that until its liver swells, there would be an international outcry and the practice would be banned.

Here are some videos taken undercover by Hillside Animal Sanctuary on an RSPCA "monitored" "Freedom" Foods farm. It shows the disgusting conditions poultry are kept in.

Here is an Animal Aid one:

And here is one about veal. Watch the others first and then this, and ask yourself if it's still OK to ill treat something with feathers and wrong to ill treat something with fur!

After watching that I can say that the calves are in better (and more roomy) conditions than those endured by battery hens. Yet all those who moan on about veal will happily go out and buy battery eggs and intensively reared chicken and then have the nerve to say "I like animals, I will never eat veal because it's cruel but I like eating chickens because chickens are nothing, it doesn't matter about them!"

The anti-veal, and the anti-live exports brigade and moaners, are the biggest hypocrites alive.

Gouldian Finch

2008-11-06T11:38:00.000Z

My male red headed gouldian behind the white zebra finch

Today I lost my male red headed gouldian finch. I had had him for more than four years, so I have no idea how old he was.

He had been getting weak, and very recently had been bullied, so I made the decision to take him to the vet to be put to sleep.

The vet was very good, and the procedure was over quickly. I signed a consent form and then the bird was injected (a very narrow syringe making it look like hell of alot of drug). It took a couple of minutes but he went very peacefully and relaxed.

I have not seen a bird put to sleep since helping at the vets when I was at school. It is also sixteen years to the day that my old Dalmatian was put to sleep, he died at home.

Terrorist scum to be shot

2008-10-23T10:34:00.001+01:00

The Bali terrorists, who blew up a nightclub in 2002, have lost their appeal against being shot. There were 202 innocent people killed in the attack.

The terrorists claimed that being shot would constitute torture and could cause a painful death, and instead wished to be beheaded or killed by lethal injection.

Who cares that the scum might suffer a painful death? The scum did not think about the suffering of the victims so why all the uproar about whether or not they will suffer?

My personal opinion is that they should die by the most painful and prolonged method possible, after all, mass murdering scum like them deserve nothing less.

More on the story here.

More on Pebbles

2008-10-19T17:45:00.004+01:00

The other day the local rag carried this update on Pebbles the Sainsbury's cat, who committed the heinous crime of scratching or biting a brat who could not leave her alone.

We would like to see Pebbles back too.

Young carers

2008-10-19T17:42:00.000+01:00

I know how they feel! Helping those kids who have to look after a sick or disabled relative is a very worthwhile cause.

I remember being in that situation when I was 14 and having to take time off school - it was like going to school and then coming home and going straight up to the hospital, or having to get stuff from the chemists and do the shopping and other housework.

I remember having no one I could talk to about it, losing friends because no one wanted to hang around with someone who had to stop in to look after a sick grandparent and feeling very lonely.

Alot of the kids who are carers have alot more stressful time than I had, and providing activities and holidays for them is something very worthy. Please visit this site to find out more.

Spam e-mail!

2008-10-19T11:10:00.001+01:00

Spam mail leaves people choking - Scarborough Evening News

According to the local rag - Scarborough Evening News - local businesses are "choking" under the weight of spam e-mails because they receive on average, almost 10 per day!

They should thank their lucky stars they don't have my e-mail inbox, most morning I have at least 20 junk e-mails, ansd this morning I have had 30 so far!

Those with only 10 don't know they're born!

Where is Pebbles?

2008-10-09T11:00:00.001+01:00

Pebbles is the black and white cat that, for years, has lived around the Sainsbury's store in Scarborough. Now read the report in the link below:

Family's call after 'store cat' bites boy- COMMENT ON THIS STORY - Scarborough Evening News

Pebbles seems to have vanished into oblivion now, just because parents don't bother to teach their kids to respect animals and never to approach an animal and just start mauling it! Now, when the cat acts entirely naturally, it is blamed and classed as "dangerous"!

As an animal owner, I find kids a damned menace and parents of these kids often ignorant and stupid. I once owned a Dalmatian, and thanks to that damned Disney film, walking him could be a nightmare because stupid parents would let their brats come up and grab him (they never bother to ask whether or not the dog would like to be mauled by their brats, they just stand and let it happen and then blame the owner of the dog if there's a problem). The vast majority of animal attacks on kids would not happen if parents taught their little darlings never to approach and touch a strange dog (or cat). Instead of the owners ending up in court because of stupid parents, let the parents be fined because, at the end of the day, they are responsible for the actions of their kids, or at least they should be.

How many more animals must die needlessly just because of stupid brats and their (even more stupid) parents?

Holiday flights part two - BRU-EMA

2008-10-09T10:48:00.000+01:00

Our return flight home was on 11th September. The weather had started to improve a bit just as the holiday came to an end which was annoying - we had a drenching in Zeebrugge on the previous Friday and one in Oostende as we left Delhaize on the previous Tuesday.

We caught the train from Oostende via Brussels Zuid to the airport and went to Brussels Cafe for dinner - I had the very pleasant ricotta tortellini and Hoegaarden to drink - normally the only place in Belgium where I drink Hoegaarden is "T'awd Stee-amer", my favourite Zeebrugge pub.

Our flight was BD236, scheduled departure time of 17:05. We checked in with plenty of time to spare, and were given seats 14D and 14F, at least we wouldn't be on the back row again. We bought a bottle of jenever each and then went though security (where I always end up being searched!)

Once in the departure area, it was time for some spotting. For me it was a very good haul, as I am not lucky enough to be a regular spotter, I bagged many firsts on photo and video.

A couple of general views of the line up in BRU.

A new one for me - I had not bagged this Transavia livery before.

Two different Freebirds equals two more newbies!

BMI's flight to Heathrow gets push back.

I had never seen Helvetic before but one was parked very close to where we were sitting:

Pinkie gets push back, no idea where Pinkie was going.

Two other delights, which were more distant so I could only capture with the more powerful zoom of my video, were my first-ever Vueling and the Lufthansa CRJ "Little Europe". So all in all, it was a very pleasing afternoon for me.

Our flight was to depart from gate B09, and I was quite pleased to see that I would be going in my first-ever logojet - a "Star Alliance"-painted ERJ145 G-RJXI.

G-RJXI at gate B09.

At 16:51 we were called to board.

Boarding the flight. It was a full flight, unlike the mostly-empty one of the previous week.

We were greeted by the steward Gareth and another cabin attendant called Elizabeth was also on board.

We had a wing view, and another interesting bagging:

This unusually-coloured aircraft was operating the flight to Leeds Bradford.

The Captain welcomed passengers aboard. She was called Hazel and the other pilot was called James. I thought it was great - a woman flying the plane while a man served the food and drinks! She said that we would be flying at 27,000 feet and the flight would last about fifty minutes.

We pushed back at 17:09 and taxied to runway 25R (?). We took off and 17:18, and below there is a video of the take off.

The aircraft climbed smoothly at first.

View just after take off. There was not too much cloud at this point.

As we climbed higher we hit some turbulence, and flew into clouds.

Going into the cloud.

As we flew through the cloud, we had quite a bit of turbulence. However, soon we were above the clouds.

Above the clouds.

The crew started serving the inflight snack. Normally I would avoid BMI sandwiches like the plague, but we didn't know what time we would eat again so I attempted a beef and salad sandwich.

The beef and salad sandwich.

The sandwich was soggy and doughy lumps stuck to my fingers. I ate half of it and by then I had had enough!

There was a choice of the beef, cheese (avoid at all cost on BMI), ham or egg.

Soon after the meal we started our descent into East Midlands.

Views as we came towards East Midlands.

It was quite clear on approach, and certainly calmer than the ferocious crosswinds we had last year.

Videos of the approach. Sorry that it is in four parts, I was having problems with the camera battery.

We touched down at 17:12 and taxied to the terminal, where a bus was waiting to take us to the arrivals area. We were through passport control very quick and our luggage was waiting for us when we reached the baggage reclaim area.

We caught the bus into Derby and then the train to Leeds, another horrible East Midlands Trains experience - paying for first class and enduring a carriage with messy tables, drinks in cardboard cups with wooden stirrers - an absolutely crap train company if ever there was one!

The flight was great, and so was the holiday, but in December we are sailing to Belgium and I don't know when my next flights will be.

Zeebrugge

2008-10-02T18:20:00.000+01:00

Zeebrugge is one of my favourite places in Belgium. Going there in September you feel you have the place to yourself, and in the week the beach has been quiet. A trip to Zeebrugge (especially if you go on the train) involves a bit of walking. If you go on Monday to Friday you arrive in Dorp station, and then if you want to head to the beach area you walk all along Kustlaan past cranes and with trams and big trucks passing you at regular intervals. I find it quite an amazing place.

We first went to Zeebrugge in September 2006, on a very hot afternoon. It was so nice to get into a bar - Old Steamer - and have a big glass of ice cold Hoegaarden beer. Now every time we go to Zeebrugge we have Hoegaarden in Old Steamer (Rederskaai). They used to have a fish tank in there but not any more.

For meals we discovered Old Barrel (Zeedijk). We have had mostly pork here - chops or ribs - but last time we had a beautiful steak as it poured with rain outside! The photos in the report were taken on our latest visit, which was ruined by rain.

Cat on Markt Plein. I think it's a British Shorthair.

A fishing boat returns to port.

I think the white boat is the one used for sightseeing trips on the harbour.

A cat outside Suffolk Ferry pub near Dorp station.

A containership below the cranes.

Zeebrugge marina. The low building behind the white van is our beloved Old Steamer bar.

Stalls on Markt Plein.

Markt Plein.

Near Seafront Maritime Theme Park.

Seafront flags.

I have many photos of Zeebrugge, taken near the beach, near the container area, along the marina, along Kustlaan and from the boat. I have too many to post in one go here, but more will follow.

I have not finished visiting Zeebrugge yet!

The Orchestra

2008-09-29T10:32:00.000+01:00

Last night we went to see The Orchestra at Scarborough Futurist. The Orchestra is made up of members of ELO and ELO Part 2.

There was a big crowd, and we had to queue to get inside, the queue stretched quite a way along the street.

We listen to ELO CDs alot, mostly when we are relaxing with a beer on a Saturday night, and so the songs are ones I am used to listening to as I enjoy a good beer. I have also used several on my holiday videos. The first song of the night - "Twilight" - was one I used on a section featuring a boat ride in Zeebrugge and the ride back from Zeebrugge Strand station!

There was a good mix of ages there, proof that the music appeals to kids as well as those in their thirties and forties.

All my favourites were sung - "Telephone Line", "Sweet Talking Woman", "Don't Bring Me Down" etc. It was the first proper concert I'd been to, apart from going to see an ELO Tribute band at The Spa back in July.

To find out more about The Orchestra visit their website here.

To visit the site of the ELO Tribute band we went to see, click here.

Before the concert we stopped off at our favourite pub and had a De Koninck beer.

Poperinge

2008-09-28T11:28:00.000+01:00

Poperinge was an important place in WWI. From here, British troops travelled to the front lines, and it was here that they also found the opportunity to relax in the preserved Talbot House (or "Toc H").

Poperinge was also known as a place where "deserters" were executed.

We visited Poeringe on a hot, sunny day and enjoyed a very good steak at Cafe de la Paix on the Grote Markt.

The cell where "deserters" spent their last night before being shot at dawn.

Poperinge church.

Poperinge church in sepia.

Poperinge is an important hop growing area. This is the National Hop Museum.

Hops at the museum.

Views of the market square.

The shooting post.

Poperinge Stadhuis.

Talbot House "Toc H".

Poperinge is often overlooked by British visitors to Belgium in favour of Ieper, but I found Poperinge to be just as thought-provoking as its better-known neighbour.

Brussels

2008-09-24T11:02:00.000+01:00

Whilst we were on holiday we had our first look round Brussels since April 2006. The weather was dull, but at least it stayed dry, allowing me to take a few photos and a few minutes of video (the rain had seriously hampered making video and I hoped that my holiday video would consist of more than just the flight out and back!)

We caught the train from Oostende to Brussels Centraal, we had bought a Rail pass for 71 Euros, which was good value, allowing 10 single journeys in Belgium, valid for one year.

The Cathedral in Brussels.

We were in Brussels on 3rd September, and the local mascot, Manneken Pis, was dressed in a Welsh Guards uniform to honour the liberation of the city in 1944.

The Manneken Pis and the sign near the Manneken.

Fans of the 1970s BBC (and Belgian) Tv series "Secret Army" will remember how Brussels was used as a location in the series. The main focus was a restaurant called "Le Candide", which was used as the headquarters of an evasion line helping Allied airmen return to Britain. The restaurant was on the Grand Place, and is now called "Maxim's".

What every "Secret Army" fan should see - Maxim's aka "Le Candide".

Brussels also has one of the oldest shopping arcades in Europe.

Galeries Royales St Hubert - shopping arcade and "Secret Army" location.

The Union Flag flies in Brussels above a decorated ornate lamp post.

We ate in Chez Leon on Rue des Bouchers - very good pork chops with chips. Horse was also on the menu but we will try that another day.

Dunkerque

2008-09-23T11:36:00.000+01:00

We had our trip to Dunkerque, costing 7.40 Euros to catch Kusttram from Oostende to De Panne station and from there we caught the bus into France. We passed many pretty villages along the way, and the weather was generally reasonable - at least we saw no rain in France.

Dunkerque is best known for WW2, when the small boats came to collect Allied soldiers from its beach.

Here are some photos of the town:

Boat in Dunkerque.

Paddlesteamer in Dunkerque.

Lightship at the Maritime Museum in Dunkerque.

Tall ship at the Dunkerque Museum.

Tower in Dunkerque.

I think the tower in the photo was part of a castle, or a fortress, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

We liked Dunkerque, though we didn't see alot of it. Next time (for we will definitely go again) we hope the Maritime Museum will be open, and we would like to see the beach area.

Click here to visit the official site of Dunkerque, and here for the tourist site in English.

More amusing adverts!

2008-09-22T18:41:00.000+01:00

There is another Cravendale advert, this time with a skateboarding sheep. Here it is:

And more from the Crusha Kits:

The Crusha adverts never seem to be on any more, which is a shame.

And one from when I was a kid, this is the "talking" cat from Meowmix:

Holiday Flights Part One - EMA-BRU

2008-09-22T11:06:00.000+01:00

The report of the first of my holiday flights.

We left Scarborough for Derby on 31st August, and endured a dreadful company called East Midlands Trains, who were running a replacement bus service from Sheffield to Derby. There was little or no information provided about the buses, the rail company staff seemed more interested in standing talking to each other than doing something about the increasing number of queue jumpers or providing clear information about where the buses were going.

We eventually got to Derby on the bus and spent the night in a pleasant hotel close to the railway station.

On 1st September we caught the bus from Derby station to East Midlands Airport, a pleasant ride through rural areas (Castle Donington is particularly pretty) which costs £3 per adult for the single journey.

As we waited in the check in area, an annoucement came over the PA system that a Spitfire would be taking off, and so I went outside to one of the bus stops to catch the warbird on video. It was too distant to take a photo.

Our flight was BD235, flown by BMI Regional, scheduled departure time 14:20. After checking in, and being given seats 18D and 18F, we made our way into the dearture lounge and bought some sandwiches from Boots, as we had no intention of facing BMI's weird offerings!

It is easy to photograph planes at EMA, as everything is on one level.

EasyJet Airbus. I think it was going to Spain.

First Choice Airbus A320

Ryanair Boeing 737

Thomsonfly Boeing 757

Our flight was to be operated by ERJ145 G-RJXB.

G-RJXB waits at boarding gate four.

Our boarding call was made at 14:05, and the sparse collection of passengers were boarded very quickly.

The crew consisted of two stewardesses - Zoe and Marcia - and the captain was John Russell.

We were on the back row of the aircraft and we could see the engine.

The view from my seat.

Before we pushed back a newspaper was handed out. At 14:21 we were pushed back and we taxied to runway 27, whilst the safety demonstration took place.

The inflight magazine.

The pilot announced that the flight would take around one hour and that it would possibly be raining when we landed in Brussels.

We took off at 14:28 and climbed through some cloud, which was slightly turbulent.

Just after take off

The view of the engine.

A brief inflight video showing the view and the engine.

The snacks were offered, but we did not tackle a sandwich, and instead I had Worcester Sauce flavoured pretzels and orange juice to drink.

Clouds with land visible.

Another aircraft - quite a bit higher than we were!

Soon we approached the Continent and broken cloud.

But as we flew over Belgium the cloud really thickened.

We were descending fast, and soon below the cloud we caught our first glimpse of Belgium in 2008.

Thankfully it was not raining, and we touched down on 25L at 16:19 and taxied to the terminal.

Our luggage was waiting for us when we reached the arrivals area, we have always found BRU to be very efficient.

We had some nachos and Stella in Brussels Cafe and then caught the train to Oostende via Brussels Noord.

It was a good flight and it was great to be back in Belgium again.

Holiday Update

2008-09-21T11:36:00.002+01:00

We had a great holiday in Belgium, though the weather could have been better, we got serious soakings in Oostende and Zeebrugge.

We had some great food and equally great beer and I will be posting more detail soon.

BBC NEWS | England | South Yorkshire | Blast demolishes landmark towers

2008-08-24T11:34:00.001+01:00

BBC NEWS | England | South Yorkshire | Blast demolishes landmark towers

The end of the mighty Tinsley Twins. What a pity it came to this.

Farewell towers.

Interactive: Crash at Madrid's Barajas airport kills more than 100 | World news | guardian.co.uk

2008-08-22T17:59:00.000+01:00

Interactive: Crash at Madrid's Barajas airport kills more than 100 | World news | guardian.co.uk

Horrible news from Spain, my thoughts are with those who have been affected by this terrible tragedy.

A tale of four towers

2008-08-19T19:02:00.000+01:00

Draakplaats, Antwerp, Belgium

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Xz7811z7GOQ/R0liTKK4yII/AAAAAAAAFLw/H-4t8X7GuUE/IMG_0499.JPG

Draakplaats was a centre of rail and tram operations in Antwerp. The two water towers shown in the picture were used for the steam trains, but when they were no longer required, they were preserved as examples of industrial monuments.

Tinsley, Sheffield, England

The Blackburn Meadows power station originally had eight cooling towers. Six were demolished and two remained. The German-based owners of the site - e-on - announced that the towers would be demolished and replaced with a chimney. There was a popular local campaign, along with petitions, to save the Tinsley Twins as a monument to the region's industrial past. The campaign failed and the towers will be demolished in the next few days.

What a contrast - the Belgian water towers preserved as a monument to the industrial past of the region, whilst here in the UK we allow a foreign company to dictate what we can and can't have as monuments to our industrial past.

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Edinburgh, East and Fife | Military penguin becomes a 'Sir'

2008-08-17T10:34:00.000+01:00

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Edinburgh, East and Fife | Military penguin becomes a 'Sir'

I saw this story yesterday and thought it was quite funny. I love the way the penguin looks at the troops as he walks along the line!

Holidays 2008 Part Two

2008-08-08T09:35:00.001+01:00

We booked our Christmas hotel online the other day. We had to book online or else go and book in Filey or Pickering because Scarborough is the only town in the area which has no proper travel agent. By "proper" I mean an independent one and not one of those tacky high street chains who are only bothered about their commission and how many insurance packages, excursions, transfers etc they can get you to fork out for.

Last year Scarborough had a really good independent agent who we had booked with for years and never had a problem with. Then the owner retired and closed the shop so our main September holiday hotel was booked with a well-known high street chain. We had nothing but problems with this travel agent chain and at one point we contacted our tour operator about them because we weren't happy with the rubbish they were coming out with. We also complained to the manager of the travel agent who did not even have the manners to answer our concerns. Thankfully we booked our flights online with the airline so we didn't have to deal with a high street travel agent apart from booking the hotel.

Our Christmas hotel is the same one we stayed in last year, as it was very nice with a minibar (great for storing your beer in), nice rooms, a nice location and freshly-cooked eggs at breakfast (soft boiled as well - very rare in Belgium!) I always had the scrambled eggs with my buffet breakfast, they were gorgeous and tasted really buttery. The only downside to the hotel is the depressing classical music they insist on playing in the lounge and breakfast room.

hull - zeebrugge - P&O Ferries

2008-08-03T11:24:00.000+01:00

hull - zeebrugge - P&O Ferries

These are the details of the ship we'll be going on, it sounds good and completely different to what I'm used to!

Holidays 2008

2008-08-03T10:54:00.000+01:00

We have just booked the first part of our annual Christmas get away to Belgium. Normally we would not consider any other transport but the plane, but this time we plumped for the ferry, and we leave Hull on 23rd December on the "Pride of Bruges". We arrive in Zeebrugge the following morning and then we get a bus into Brugge (easier than getting from the ferry terminal to Dorp station!) We leave on 28th December and arrive in Hull on 29th December. It saves the hassle of overnight hotel stops because we can get trains or a bus straight from Hull to Scarborough.

Our main holiday will be in four weeks - we go down to Derby on 31st August and then fly from East Midlands to Brussels on 1st September with bmi. I like bmi, we flew on them last year on an ERJ135 - the smallest airliner I've been on, the Fokker 50 is a wide body in comparison! This time the aircraft is to be an ERJ145, the bigger cousin of the 135. We have 10 days in Oostende, and hope to have a trip to Dunkerque in France as well, we can get a cheap day ticket from Oostende on the Kust Tram and then the bus.

I'll also get to see my beloved Zeebrugge (at sunrise and sunset in December!) a few times this year.

Unfair Dismissal

2008-08-03T10:49:00.002+01:00

Sorry for the lack of postings recently. The story below explains why it has been so quiet on here:

My latest job lasted exactly four weeks. I (along with a load of others) officially became employed by ***** ******** on 30th June. The ****** chain was to open a new place here, and we were taken on a few weeks before to enable us to be trained up in various parts of the country. I got Meadowhall for four days of the first week.

Meadowhall was fun, I worked with a great team and coming from South Yorkshire originally, it was like going home for me.

During the second week I had five days in Gateshead, which I didn't like very much. The manager of the new Scarborough ********** was, apparently, impressed with how I was doing. The third week consisted of three days in Gateshead and a stay in a Travelodge, which I hate!

The Scarborough ******** was scheduled to open on 22nd July, and teething problems followed. The pot washing machine did not work, so dishes had to be washed by hand. At one point it had to close owing to sewage problems.

On 25th July I spent 12 hours (with a half hour break) washing pots because the machine still did not work. We took it in turns because no rubber gloves were provided and prolonged exposure to the chemicals was bad for your hands. It was impossible to get some of the things clean because they were greasy and we could not wash at a hot enough temperature to shift the grease. One of the kitchen staff was complaining about the poor hygiene.

On 26th July I was ill. My Mum phoned in three hours before my shift was due to start to tell the manager.

On 27th July I phoned up to find out my shift time for the following day. The manager ummed and aahed and then said 11:30-9:00.

On 28th July I turned up in time for my shift and went to look at the weekly rota. My name was missing. The same had happened to the guy who had complained about poor hygiene - and he had been sacked.

I was called into the office and told that it was "unacceptable" to be ill and they were "letting me go". They also said that they did not need to give notice because I was only "probationary". So I had been sacked without any warning and I had done nothing wrong, we had worked damned hard for that company and now two of us had been sacked!

This is a company which employs idle Poles who do not lift a finger yet keep their jobs, whilst hard working Brits are sacked without warning.

Thornton-le-Dale

2008-06-02T18:24:00.000+01:00

Thornton-le-Dale - a pretty village nestling on the edge of the North York Moors National Park and easily accessible by bus from Pickering (the nearest town), Malton, Whitby and Scarborough (makes a change for somewhere to be easily accessible by bus from Scarborough, the buses here are crap!)

We visited this little village on Bank Holiday Monday (last week) and enjoyed warm, sunny weather (unlike the grey and murk we've had here today).

It was full of visitors, but we enjoyed a stroll round the little park lake, and I had a black cherry ice cream with a Flake in, which was the first time I've had that flavour ice cream. We will visit again when the kids are at school.

The beck which runs through the village.

The church on the hill.

The thatched cottage, the most-photographed thing in the village.

If you want to see the photos at their full size, click on each one to open it in a new window.

Seamer Road Mere, Scarborough

2008-05-26T18:11:00.000+01:00

A favourite Sunday afternoon walk! We have spent the last two Sunday afternoons at the Mere walking round and feeding the birds. It is so much nicer thanPeasholm Park, which is a stangant, commercialised, ugly blot on the landscape. It is full of feral pigeons and grey squirrels with a smaller variety of birds than at the Mere. Also the water is stagnant and black as hell.

Some photos taken yesterday at the Mere:

A resident Chinese goose

A coot with young. Coots will kill their own chicks

A family of geese

A goose with half of its top beak missing! It was able to feed OK though

Some views of the Mere

A swan on the Mere

As a kid I used to love going to the local pond or river with my fishing net and jam jar to see what I could catch - usually water snails, pond skaters, tadpoles and sticklebacks. The freshwater environment is my favourite natural environment, I would probably have been better doing freshwater biology instead of marine biology at university.

Transylvania

2008-05-18T18:31:00.000+01:00

I suppose this article I'm posting a link to has to be one of the most interesting travel articles I've read in ages.

I don't intend to go to Transylvania, but the way it is described in this article makes you think it would be worth a visit!

Read it here.

The Mighty Deltic

2008-05-10T18:42:00.000+01:00

The Mighty Deltic in Pickering

Readers may wonder why I titled this latest post "The Mighty Deltic". Well, the answer is simple.

Today we went to Pickering, and it was Diesel Gala weekend on the North York Moors Railway (visit them here) Usually the trains on here are steam hauled, with a few exceptions, but this weekend is given over to the diesels.

If I had known about the special event, I would have had my camera to post some video, but I didn't so I'll have to post some photos taken on my Mum's mobile phone instead :-)

The one engine I had chance to photograph was a huge green Deltic just before it was attached to the carriages in order to leave Pickering. Seeing these superb locos made me think of the vile, horrible, cold things we have to put with on our railways now - namely the Class 185 built in Germany by Siemens, it is a foul train, putting it mildly, but the main services from our local station are operated by these monstrosities. I wish it were the Deltics operating from here instead!

Close up of the Deltic's front

The Deltic was built for use on the East Coast Main Line - however it was replaced on this route by the Inter City 125 in the 1970s.

The Deltic leaving Pickering station

There is a Deltic Preservation Society for those who like the Mighty Deltic, they can be visited here.

British TV's best adverts

2008-04-19T02:09:00.000+01:00

Usually the adverts on British television consist of nothing but settee sales, dining room sales, kitchen sales, carpet sales, windows, double glazing, bedroom furniture sales and boring rubbish like that.

At the moment there are a couple of ads worth seeing - the Crusha Kittens and Cravendale Milk.

Here they are:

The Crusha Kittens strut their stuff in the gym.

The Cravendale Ad.

Enjoy 'em!

The madness of domestic appliances

2008-04-18T18:20:00.000+01:00

How many other people have domestic appliances as loopy as the ones we have? We have a fridge which rattles (it never did this before it was defrosted) and a hoover whose wheels drop off.

We never have any luck with hoovers - we have returned several to the shop in the past few years. The first was was going great until it started glowing. We replaced this with another, which went great until the wheel dropped off. So then we got another, a so-called upright, except that it doesn't stay upright it collapses and yes, you guessed it, the wheels drop off! Now we have to kick the wheels back into position all the time, it picks up OK but the wheels are maddening! We are on the lookout for another one but we don't know which type to get, I say I just want one which works!

And to cap it all the computer is playing up! The DVD-ROM drive and the CD-RW drive won't recognise disks, even though they open and close OK, once that disk is in they are unresponsive so it is going to be repaired next week.

Oh to have normal stuff!

Grand National, Snow etc

2008-04-08T01:22:00.000+01:00

The snow returned at the weekend. When I got up yesterday it was white over, after a white Easter, and then warmer weather last week, it was annoying to have to get dressed in winter gear again to go out. There was more snow today but thankfully it is bright with blue sky as I am writing this.

I also collected my Grand National winnings today. I had £1 each way on Comply or Die, the winner, and I got £10.75 winnings, a bit more than I expected really. I can't complain at £8.75 profit when I thought I might have got around £5!

Grand National

2008-04-06T02:21:00.000+01:00

It was the Grand National today - Britain's greatest horse race which is held annually at Aintree in Liverpool.

I have backed horses most years since the late 1980s, most of the time I've won nothing but occasionally I've had a return on a horse which was placed (four are placed in the National) when I've had an each way bet (I never place any other kind, I would never waste money on backing something to win!) and on three occasions I have backed the winner - including today. This year's winner was Comply or Die, ridden by Timmy Murphy.

In 1994 I backed Miinnehoma, ridden by Richard Dunwoody.

Miinnehoma and Richard Dunwoody win the 1994 Grand National

In 2005 I backed Hedgehunter, who was ridden by Ruby Walsh.

Hedgehunter, ridden by Ruby Walsh, winning the 2005 Grand National

Comply or Die and Timmy Murphy win the 2008 Grand National

The Grand National is the only horse race I bet on.

GIMPing

2008-03-28T01:56:00.000Z

Above you see a photo taken in York Castle Museum, before touch up with GIMP.

Above you can see the same photo after touch up with GIMP

I am quite a fan of the free software GIMP. I started touching up some photos a few weeks ago, and I was so impressed with the results that I decided to rework my entire digital photo collection.

Not being able to afford anything as expensive as Photoshop, GIMP is perfect for me, and easy to use once you get used to the layout of it. I have found it particularly good for the photos I have taken from aircraft windows and also in dimly lit museum rooms.

Travel

2008-03-27T01:31:00.000Z

Travel is one of my passions. There are so many places I would love to visit, and sometimes I will just go and get a travel brochure from the travel agents just to browse through.

I would like to see Japan and go on the Bullet Train, visit Singapore, Australia and New Zealand again, Canada, South America - the list goes on.

Pity I can't afford to actually see those places, but I like to see them on TV and read about them.

Currently my favourite holiday spot is Belgium - we have had holidays in Brussels, Brugge, Mechelen and Oostende, as well as visiting many places by train while we are there. We have spent the past two Christmases in Brugge, where there is a big ice skating rink in the market square, stalls selling snacks and very welcome hot drinks (the chips are very good too!) and a fabulous atmosphere.

We are going to Oostende again this year, and hopefully the weather will be good. When we had our holiday in Brugge in 2006 it was very hot (especially when we went to Zeebrugge) but in Oostende last year it was not as good for weather and we saw more rain.

When we go on holiday we always fly.

Welcome to my World

2008-03-26T18:10:00.000Z

A good title for the first post!

This blog is about my life and interests, so there will be a bit of everything in here. I like animals, aviation, good food, Belgian beer, travel, photography, listening to music and sometimes writing stories and poems.

I help in a museum between March and November, which is very interesting.

I have a mad cat called Brussels, who is almost four years old, and two birds - a gouldian finch and a Gloster canary.

That is all for the first post, but I will be writing more soon :-)