Scarborough at Christmas

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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!