Month: August 2015

Australia Fall to Brutal Broad-side

An account of the extraordinary first day of the 4th ashes test at Trent Bridge, some links and infographics.

INTRODUCTION

The 4th Ashes test at Trent Bridge got under way today. As well as a brief account of the day I have some links and other bits to share.

AUSTRALIA FALL TO BRUTAL BROAD-SIDE

England 274-4 approaching the close of Day 1 with Root still there on 124 sounds like a solid, no frills opening day but actually England won the toss, put Australia in and this happened…

60

Stuart Broad’s (yes, Brisbane newspaper, the guy you call the tall English medium pacer) 8-15 beaten on wickets taken in an ashes innings by an English bowler only by Jim Laker’s Old Trafford double act of 1956 (9-37 1st inns, 10-53 2nd inns). In all test history only two cheaper eight wicket hauls have been taken, both in the 19th century for England against South Africa: 8-7 by George Lohmann and 8-11 by Johnny Briggs.

The irony behind this tale of woe (for them) is that Australia, acting very much in the style of 1990s England, had attempted to strengthen their batting by bringing specialist batsman Shaun Marsh in for his all-rounder brother Mitchell.

The nearest an opening day of an ashes match in my lifetime has come to being this one-sided was at Melbourne in 2010 (Aus 98 all out, Eng 157-0 in response).

Sometime between now and 6PM Monday, unless the weather puts up more of a fight than the Aussies have managed, the little urn will be returning to English possession.

For more check this word document: THE 4TH ASHES TEST MATCH

LINKS

In my last post but one I mentioned a story about an autistic child being refused access to a supervised play area in a branch of IKEA. Well I have now used change.org to create a petition around this issue. I urge you all to sign and share.

Some of my readers may also a recall a 38degrees petition regarding a museum whose creator gained planning permission by lying about his intentions. Well the story has moved a little further, with this effort to create a museum that really is dedicated to women’s history.

My penultimate general share comes courtesy of thepoorsideoflife and is a horrifying story about a full-time carer being scandalously treated.

Finally, courtesy of Patheos, comes this story of a small victory for secularism.

AUTISM

I am delighted to have several autism-related stories to share:

AAD

AFTERWORD

Two things:

  1. I hope that you have enjoyed this and that some of you will share.
  2. I would like to end by thanking Stephen Hurrell, author of the book I reviewed in my last post for acknowledging said post and following me on twitter.

“Dinosaurs and the Expanding Earth”

A brief review of Stephen Hurrell’s “Dinosaurs and the Expanding Earth” accompanied by a few pictures.

INTRODUCTION

This is a book review, of a book that I have just read which has the title I have used as the title of the post. This is a standalone post with no links or unrelated pictures.

A SMALL BOOK THAT PACKS A GIANT PUNCH

The book that gave it’s title to this post is by Stephen Hurrell and it seeks to provide an explanation for the giant size of the dinosaurs.

The Front Cover
The Front Cover

Hurrell’s theory, argued very persuasively is that the Earth was smaller and hence gravity was less in the distant past. Many different sets of data fit with his argument – including the fact that in every era since the extinction of the dinosaurs the biggest land animals have been progressively smaller. The super-giant land mammals of 35-40 million years ago for example grew much larger than their counterparts today. A graphic illustration of the size difference between the largets dinosaurs and today’s largest land animals is this…

DSCN3939

The illustration of the difference between his theory of earth formation and the standard version (constant size earth) is shown in this graphic…

DSCN3940

I found the book thoroughly fascinating and absorbing and would heartily recommend it to anyone, and conclude this very brief post by passing on another recommendation of a book that I share Mr Hurrell,s opinion of, Robert Bakker’s “The Dinosaur Heresies”…

DSCN3941

A Sunny Morning in West Norfolk

An account, complete with a fine haul of photos, of a walk around King’s Lynn. This is followed by some important links and some interesting infographics. Please share widely.

INTRODUCTION

Being up bright and early this morning and noting the sunny weather I headed off for a walk. The body of this post is devoted to sharing the best sights from that walk. After that I have some links and infographics to share. I hope you enjoy this post and will be encouraged to share it.

THE WALK

My first ports of call were…

THE TUESDAY MARKET PLACE AND ST NICHOLAS CHAPEL

These places looked very fine in the sun. The extensive restoration work on the chapel is now nearly complete.

DSCN9986 DSCN9987 DSCN9988 DSCN9989

From there I headed to…

BAWSEY DRAIN

This is a far more significant waterway than that name may suggest, and was rewarded with a clutch of fine pictures in that section of the walk…

DSCN3893 DSCN3895 DSCN3896 DSCN3897 DSCN3898 DSCN3899 DSCN9990 DSCN9991 DSCN9992 DSCN9993

Watching and waiting in the undergrowth...
Watching and waiting in the undergrowth…

I left Bawsey drain part way along it’s length to head towards the Great Ouse by means of a nice route that I know, but I am briefly going to diverge from strict geographical recounting for a subsection on…

BUTTERFLIES

The butterflies were out in force, but it is always difficult to photograph them due to their speed. Nevertheless, I did get some good pics to share…

DSCN3891

This was the last butterfly I got, while walking through Hardings Pits
This was the last butterfly I got, while walking through Hardings Pits
This was the first butterfly pic I got today.
This was the first butterfly pic I got today.
The only non-animal flyer I got today - a helicopter (Helico- = spiral, pteron = wing)
The only non-animal flyer I got today – a helicopter (Helico- = spiral, pteron = wing)
This one had its wings folded.
This one had its wings folded.

ARRIVING AT THE GREAT OUSE

Just a few pics here, but it was a delight to see the river at very high tide…

DSCN3908 DSCN3909 DSCN3910

My next set of pictures are themed around a small but (to me) very significant little landmark which I have dubbed…

CORMORANT PLATFORM

The very high tide meant that most of the structure was submerged, and the presence of boats and the river and West Lynn Church on the far bank also contributed to a great set of pictures…

A brilliant piece of photobombing by the flying gull!
A brilliant piece of photobombing by the flying gull!
Multiple species of bird coexisting peacefully.
Multiple species of bird coexisting peacefully.
The platform and a boat.
The platform and a boat.

DSCN3914

The church contributing to the scene.
The church contributing to the scene.

DSCN3916 DSCN3917

Two cormorants took wing in my direction.
Two cormorants took wing in my direction.

DSCN3919 DSCN3920 DSCN3921 DSCN3922 DSCN3923

Not all of the boats i saw on the river were there for leisure purposes – there was also a…

RESEARCH VESSEL

Four pics showing the boat and website details…

DSCN3925 DSCN3926 DSCN3927 DSCN3928

From here all that was left was…

THE HOME STRETCH

The pictures I took in these final few minutes are very varied…

One last boat pic.
One last boat pic.
The Custom House.
The Custom House.
Looking north from the Lower Purfleet.
Looking north from the Lower Purfleet.
An adult moorhen in the Upper Purfleet
An adult moorhen in the Upper Purfleet
The smallest baby moorhen I have ever seen.
The smallest baby moorhen I have ever seen.

We have reached the end of my walk, but I do hope some of you stay for the…

LINKS

I have a shed load of important links to share, starting with some on…

CONSERVATION

My first link comes courtesy of Huffington Post and features Richard Dawkins giving Idaho huntress Sabrina Corgatelli the full treatment.

My next three links are part of a developing story involving airlines stopping the idiots from getting their “trophies” home…

  1. First to step up to the plate by refusing to carry such items were Delta.
  2. Who have already been joined by American Airlines and United.
  3. On change.org a petition is taking off to get South African Airways to impose a like ban.

Although it was a universally revered lion whose demise sparked this activity they are not the only species targeted by noxious individuals, and my next link is to a take part petition on behalf of the elephant.

Finally in this subsection, from Mark Avery comes a story about hen harriers which was written in response to a piece in the Telegraph that was shockingly inaccurate even by the “standards” of that detestable rag.

SCIENCE

Just a few links in this subsection. First up, a brilliant scheme from Norway to combat climate change (unlike the “I’m all right Jack” types who currently form the British government these people can see beyond their own immediate concerns). I am also classing as science these two connected links regarding London postcodes:

1)From londonist an interesting post about why London which has compass point themed postcodes beginning with E, SE,SW,W,NW and N has no S or NE postcodes.

2)The website of the author of the above piece, mapping modernity.

Finally in this section, a quirky piece about science facts, accompanied by a graphic. courtesy of viralands – there are 22 facts in total in this piece.

Scientific Facts

DISABILITY AND AUTISM

A few links in this section, which i shall present as a bulleted list:

CELEBRATE SUFFRAGETTES NOT SERIAL KILLERS

I mentioned this yesterday, and the story has moved on since then. My source today is Socialist Worker with a piece giving great detail, including the fact that the museum which got planning permission on false pretences did not open yesterday as planned – let us hope that in it’s current incarnation as a musuem dedicated to Jack the Ripper it never does open its doors. here are the two links:

  1. The Socialist Worker article.
  2. The 38degrees petition

ODDS AND ENDS

A final bulleted lists of links that did not belong anywhere above but which I wish to share:

INFOGRAPHICS

A few infographics to round things off…

Earth Age End the Great Housing Giveaway IDS

There is a link to the story behind this earlier in the blog.
There is a link to the story behind this earlier in the blog.

Social Exclusion Map Stop benefit sanctions

Sunday, Monday, Today

An account of the last few days, with some excellent pictures, some important links and a great infographic courtesy of Dr Lisa Sulsenti.

INTRODUCTION

My last blog post was about my cousin Olivia’s wedding on Saturday. This post tells of Sunday, Monday and today, with plenty of pictures. Also, I have some links and infographics to share. Talking of sharing, I hope that some of you will choose to share this post as well.

KEGWORTH HOTEL AND CONFERENCE CENTRE

While possessed of precisely zero architectural appeal, the Kegworth Hotel and Conference Centre is clean and comfortable…

DSCN9802

I have plenty of good pictures from inside the hotel…

This is a 24 hour roman numeral clock - can you spot the deliberate mistake in the numbering?
This is a 24 hour roman numeral clock – can you spot the deliberate mistake in the numbering?

DSCN9807 DSCN9808 DSCN9809 DSCN9810 DSCN9811

Detail from the ornamental glasswork at the reception desk.
Detail from the ornamental glasswork at the reception desk.

My bedroom had some pictures as well…

DSCN9941 DSCN9942

You will note a degree of duplication between the public pictures and those in the rooms!
You will note a degree of duplication between the public pictures and those in the rooms!

SUNDAY LUNCH

My cousin Richard and his fiancee Ida are off to her native Sweden soon, and he had the idea of a farewell pub lunch at the Plough in Normanton on Soar. Eventually after a few cancellations, 12 of us were there for this excellent meal, which we ate outside overlooking the river itself, much used by boats and birds…

Richard and Ida
Richard and Ida

I have lots of splendid pictures from this event, and both the food and drink were magnificent.

DSCN9945

Tables overlooking the Soar
Tables overlooking the Soar

DSCN9947

The local product - look up Leciester Rugby Club for more on the name.
The local product – look up Leciester Rugby Club for more on the name.

DSCN9949 DSCN9950 DSCN9951 DSCN9952 DSCN9953 DSCN9954

As well as boats at surface level, a plane flew high over our heads.
As well as boats at surface level, a plane flew high over our heads.

HOMEWARD BOUND

I travelled back as a passenger in my aunt’s car, since we live very close together in King’s Lynn. Taking pictures while in transit is not easy, but this one worked…

DSCN9957

After helping my aunt to unload her car I walked back to my flat by way of another river on which boat travel is not unknown, the Great Ouse…

DSCN9958

DOWN TIME

Knowing the effect that such a busy weekend would have on me I had taken the precaution of booking this week as leave to enable myself to have some quiet time. Last night was a group meeting for KLASS (more on this in a future blog post), but apart from that it has been a very quiet couple of days.

DSCN9960 DSCN9961 DSCN9962 DSCN9964 DSCN9965 DSCN9966 DSCN9968 DSCN9969 DSCN9971 DSCN9972 DSCN9973 DSCN9974 DSCN9975 DSCN9976 DSCN9977 DSCN9978 DSCN9979 DSCN9980 DSCN9981

To give you an idea of how vast an eyesore this building is, this photo was taken from a point that is a 20-minute walk from the building itself!
To give you an idea of how vast an eyesore this building is, this photo was taken from a point that is a 20-minute walk from the building itself!

DSCN9985

LINKS

I have as usual plenty of links to share with you, starting with…

CONSERVATION

  1. From the Humane Society comes this on banning trophy hunting.
  2. From petitions.whitehouse.gov comes the call for the US Government to do the right thing and extradite Walter Palmer to Zimbabwe so that he can be charged for his crime.
  3. Huffington Post provide this story about a certain Sabrina Corgatelli posing alongside her kills.
  4. And this is thedodo.com’s take on the same story.
  5. From the same source as 4 comes this on Giraffes.
  6. From change.org comes this climate change petition.

OTHER LINKS

From 38Degrees by way of Green Party leader Natalie Bennett, comes a petition entitled “Celebrate suffragettes not serial killers”. I quote the opening paragraph of their explanation and urge you to sign and share:

“A new museum gained planning permission by promising ‘the only dedicated resource in the East End to women’s history’, but has now been unveiled as a venue dedicated to the violent crimes of Jack the Ripper”.

A shocking story of religious persecution from Patheos in which a seven year old was the victim, merely for telling a classmate that they did not attend church

My next story concerns a police officer who is already facing a lawsuit for handcuffing children in a very dangerous way, and should as the story makes clear be suffering more than that (defo a jail term measurable in years for this crime).

My next link is to a petition calling on Lego to produce toys that show disabled people in a positive light.

Now, a sad blast from the past. Unbelievably Kevin Healey is still suffering impersonation on twitter and still apparently receiving no protection – please either sign and share the petition if you have not already done so or keep on sharing it to apply pressure to twitter.

I found my last link by way of the aforementioned Natalie Bennett, and it is to a story in the Yorkshire Evening Post about a crackerjack plan for a disused railway viaduct in Leeds.

INFOGRAPHIC

Dr Lisa Sulsenti has produced this infographic providing guidelines on fireworks…

Fireworks

The Croft-Yates Wedding

A personal account of the wedding party for Rob and Olivia Yates, with lots of quality pics. Also, some important links at the end.

INTRODUCTION

I will start with a word of warning: this is going to be a very long post, as there is a lot to talk about and I have some fabulous pictures to share with you. Olivia Croft (now Yates) is a cousin of mine, which is why I was there.

THE PRELIMINARIES

Needing to arrive at Kegworth early enough for those who would be at the ceremony itself to travel on to Loughborough and arrive by 12 meant an early start. I was not at the ceremony and was assigned another task along with my nephew Zachary, which I have already written about in a previous post. After a schemozzle over room bookings, which worked out to my benefit since I ended up with a room to myself (they had messed up, so we got the extra room we needed at no further cost) it was time to deposit our bags in the rooms and make the short walk to the house where the party was taking place, next door to the Kegworth museum.

THE PARTY

Arriving at the venue the first arresting sight was a 1950s vintage Morris…

The Morris in all its glory
The Morris in all its glory
A very old style AA badge - this close up shot was gained much later than the shot of the car.
A very old style AA badge – this close up shot was gained much later than the shot of the car.

This is the time, before going on to the party itself to introduce my feature image, a montage of some of the many pictures I took through the day…

FB Montage

There was a Pimm’s table for those whose tastes run in that direction, although I ignored that and was then delighted to located cask beer (four kegs, each different). I went for something called Blue Monkey Infinity and it was delicious. There was a barbecue lunch which was excellent. It is now time for a brief diversion to…

THE FISH POND

The fish pond was quite simply magnificent, with a stunning variety of fish and an excellent rock garden…

DSCN9814 DSCN9815 DSCN9816 DSCN9817 DSCN9852 DSCN9853 DSCN9854 DSCN9855 DSCN9856 DSCN9857 DSCN9858 DSCN9859 DSCN9860 DSCN9861 DSCN9862 DSCN9863 DSCN9864 DSCN9865 DSCN9866 DSCN9867 DSCN9868 DSCN9869 DSCN9870 DSCN9871 DSCN9872 DSCN9873 DSCN9874 DSCN9875 DSCN9878 DSCN9879 DSCN9880 DSCN9881 DSCN9882 DSCN9883 DSCN9887 DSCN9891 DSCN9892 DSCN9921 DSCN9922 DSCN9923 DSCN9924 DSCN9925 DSCN9926

PUNCH AND JUDY

At 4PM there was a Punch and Judy puppet show. I watched it all and got some good pictures. It seemed to appeal to its target audience, the children, but I was unimpressed to say the least…

DSCN9830 DSCN9833 DSCN9834 DSCN9836 DSCN9840 DSCN9841 DSCN9843 DSCN9845 DSCN9848 DSCN9849 DSCN9850 DSCN9851

OUTDOOR MUSIC

Early on in the day there was some live music outside in the sun, and helped to be the volume not being too ridiculously amped up it was actually quite pleasant from a distance…

DSCN9818 DSCN9825

THE SPEECHES

The speeches took place in the same area as the Punch and Judy, and with the exception of the opening salvo from Andy, the bride’s stepfather, none were particularly impressive…

The groom, who was also MC for the speeches.
The groom, who was also MC for the speeches.

DSCN9897 DSCN9898

Andy, giving the first speech.
Andy, giving the first speech.

DSCN9900 DSCN9901

The bride's sister, flanked by Evie (blonde) and Libby (darker)
The bride’s sister, flanked by Evie (blonde) and Libby (darker)

DSCN9903 DSCN9905 DSCN9906 DSCN9907

The groom's father making his speech.
The groom’s father making his speech.

DSCN9910

The groom's brother at the mic.
The groom’s brother at the mic.

DSCN9912

The bride making her speech.
The bride making her speech.

DSCN9915 DSCN9916 DSCN9917 DSCN9918 DSCN9919

AN INTERLUDE – SOME GENERAL PICS

Before going on to mention the supper and my own departure from the event here are some pictures taken at various times through the day that don’t fit neatly into a particular section…

DSCN9819 DSCN9820 DSCN9821 DSCN9822

Each table in the marquee had floral displays on them, one of which featured this sunflower.
Each table in the marquee had floral displays on them, one of which featured this sunflower.

DSCN9827 DSCN9828 DSCN9829 DSCN9876 DSCN9877 DSCN9884 DSCN9885 DSCN9886 DSCN9888 DSCN9889 DSCN9890 DSCN9893 DSCN9894 DSCN9895

A full floral display.
A full floral display.
My cousin Richard and his fiancee Ida - they will soon be off to her native Sweden.
My cousin Richard and his fiancee Ida – they will soon be off to her native Sweden.

DSCN9929

Ida and Rachel, girlfriend of another of my cousins, Edward
Ida and Rachel, girlfriend of another of my cousins, Edward

DSCN9931

Me and Richard
Me and Richard

DSCN9933 DSCN9936

Serious rain in the early evening.
Serious rain in the early evening.

SUPPER AND TAKING MY LEAVE

Supper was fish (or sausage in my case) and chips, and it was delicious (give what my uncle had apparently paid for the hire of the chip van for the evening so it jolly well ought to have been). While I was eating it in the shelter of the marquee, the evening’s entertainment were warming up, and that was sufficient to persuade me that as it was no longer suitable weather for being outside it was time to return, since there was no way I could cope with that kind of music at that volume and accompanied by strobe lighting at close quarters.

The cake, which I did not get to see being cut.
The cake, which I did not get to see being cut.
These last two pics are of the evening's entertainment making their preparations.
These last two pics are of the evening’s entertainment making their preparations.

DSCN9935

I had a fabulous day, and by departing early was able to keep the good memories untarnished. This concludes the main part of this post, but I also have some…

LINKS

My first set of links concerns…

CECIL THE LION

Lots of stuff about this case…

OTHER PETITIONS

I start this section by reminding readers of the change.org petition calling for a better gender balance in Parliament. Another reminder of a petition that I have been pushing for some time, Fiona Paddon’s via change.org calling for the NHS to provide tests for group B strep to prevent needless deaths of newborns. My next two are related, a call on BA to stop selling trips to seaworld and one from uk.whales calling on ABTA to enforce its own very tight guidelines. Still on the Cetacean theme, defenders.org have this plea on behalf of the Vaquita. Next and penultimate, another reminder, this time of the Sweets Way Campaign. Finally, I end this subsection by inviting all my readers to take part in a thunderclap on behalf of the Hen Harrier.

SCIENCE

I have several very interesting science pieces for you:

  1. A light start courtesy of Faraday’s Candle, whose latest offering is this one.
  2. Cosmos Up have this on red arcs on one of Saturn’s moons, Tethys.
  3. From Niume comes this on “Methane the Destroyer“
  4. Finally, accompanied by some graphics to whet your appetite comes this magnificent youtube video on the evidence for evolution.
    Cetaceans skull Whales

GENERAL LINKS

The first link to appear in this section comes courtesy of a new find for me, suburbanprincessteacher who has produced this wonderful piece about school dress codes entitled “Newsflash: Girls Are Not Distractions“. Tax Research UK, often a source of good material have produced this on human rights versus trade deals. My next piece comes from unisonactive and is their take on the Trade Union Bill. My final link is to a quite wonderful response by a paramedic to news that New York fast food workers have won a minimum wage of $15 per hour.

AFTERWORD

I hope that you have all enjoyed this post and will be encouraged to share it. A final message for all who have made it to the end…

TY4

A Soupcon of Family History

An account of mission mixing photography with family history.

INTRODUCTION

This weekend just gone we were in Kegworth to attend the wedding of a cousin of ours (see future blog posts). A coincidence of the registry office not being big enough to accommodate everyone and a road in Kegworth bearing a rather curious name led to a mission to carry out some research…

THE BACK STORY

Dr Jeffares of Kegworth was sufficiently honoured in his own town that a street was named after him. Dr Jeffares’ Great Great Grandson is my nephew Zachary, present on this side of the world for once (he and his  mother live in Indonesia). Since neither Zac nor I were going to be at the ceremony itself, it seemed a good idea to get a picture of him and the street sign that bears his ancestor’s name…

LOCATING IT

Use of google maps turned up all the information necessary to find the road in question, especially as  we were booked into the Kegworth Hotel and Conference Centre, which as you will see is very close to the target…

The google street view showing me what I would be looking for.
The google street view showing me what I would be looking for.
The google map picture showing the location in detail.
The google map picture showing the location in detail.

THE PHOTOGRAPHS

Given our starting point of the Kegworth Hotel and Conference Centre, it was a very brief matter to locate the Jeffares Close sign. After discovering that I could not get a shot from the same side of the road as the sign I crossed and used the telescopic zoom lens on my Nikon Coolpix P530 to get pictures from long range…

JCZ JCZ2 JCZ3

This final pictures is customised for use as a featured image...
This final pictures is customised for use as a featured image…

Special Post: Belsize Park

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to this latest installment in my series “London Station by Station“. I do hope you will enjoy it and that some of you will be inspired to share it.

BELSIZE PARK

This station opened in 1907 as part of the original section of the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway, which was subsequently amalgamated with the City and South London Railway to form the Northern line. It is located on the Edgware branch, two stops beyond the bifurcation point of Camden Town and one stop south of Hampstead. Like its northerly neighbour it is very deep, and accessible from the street only by lift or staircase. Although it is shown on the maps as offering no interchanges, Gospel Oak on London Overground is walkable should one ever have reason to make such a change.

MURDER ON THE UNDERGROUND

This is the title of a book by 1930s crime writer Mavis Doriel Hay. The murder itself takes place on the stairs mentioned above, and all the action is set around this section of the northern line. Having just read the book I heartily recommend at and am looking forward to reading the other book of hers I have located at one of the libraries I patronise, Murder on the Cherwell, set in another place I have a more than passing acquaintance with, Oxford.

The front cover, showing a 1930s train (that shade of red was known because of its use at that time as "train red")
The front cover, showing a 1930s train (that shade of red was known because of its use at that time as “train red”)

DSCN9795

A diagram showing the layout of Belsize Park station that appears in the middle of the book.
A diagram showing the layout of Belsize Park station that appears in the middle of the book.

THE DIAGRAMMATIC HISTORY

Of course, no post in this series would be complete without an extract from London Underground: A Diagrammatic History, and here it is:

DSCN9794