I've done remarkably little cinema-going in recent times. Well it might not be so remarkable when you look at it. Most of the countries I was in last year didn't offer much in the way of films that I could understand while being back in deepest Cumbria again necessitates something of a trek to either Kendal, Morecambe, Lancaster or Ambleside for the silver screen.
The last weekend however was the turn of Lancaster. We had to head through that way anyway, and of the lack-lustre selection of films on offer from all of the local cinemas Lancaster's reasonably new 'Vue' cinema (the chain that was formerly Warner Bros cinemas) offered a passable film at a reasonable time.
The film in question was Hot Fuzz; a British police caper starring the same leading duo as Shaun of the Dead plus plenty of familiar native actors for good measure. Edwoodwoodwood and Jim Broadbent being two of the most familiar. I got the feeling the film couldn't quite decide how seriously to take itself though; the humour levels varied throughout, although on the whole it exacted plenty of laughs from the moderate audience that turned out on a Sunday afternoon.
The cinema itself was a very mixed bag. £6 a head and no senior discount much to my father's disgust. The screen, number three in our case, was a very good size, and sloping unlike in Morecambe and other multi-plexes ensuring a clear view for all. The familiar theme of Pearl and Dean welcomed in the adverts which did drag rather, as did the hit and miss selection of trailers offered.
The absolute low point was a 'Sims' (as in the computer game) short movie. It was essentially scenes from the Sims to which some students most likely had put together a piss poor dialogue and plot. Why oh why do we have to be subjected to this when going to see a film? If it's a reasonably crafted piece of work, fair enough it might do, although it's not always necessarily welcome. However to waste our time and degrade our mental functioning on such dross really is unacceptable. I'm considering writing to Vue to complain.
The feature presentation was good enough. No poorly adjusted camera positioning requiring a member of the audience to scuttle off and inform staff as has been so often the case in the Morecambe Apollo. The only problem was the sound level which was generally agreed to be a few decibels too loud.
If I was marking out of 10 it would get slightly over half marks. The seats were comfortable enough and no dead bums were reported, and it offers one of the largest screens around here. However the alley to the entrance is somewhat dirty, dark and unenticing, the automatic doors are out of order and there's a few areas to work on such as those mentioned. I'd probably go again if there was something I wanted to see. At least it's showing the much lauded Pan's Labyrinth, even if it is at 10.30pm!
20070227
20070223
Train crash near Oxenholme
Sadly there's been a derailment of a Virgin Pendolino train not far north of here, between Oxenholme and Tebay, which as of now has resulted in one fatality at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
It's far too early for reports of a cause but something related to the rails or a collision with an object are possibilities.
On the plus side it appears that the coordination of the rescue has been done extremely well with all passengers reported out of the train by midnight and 5 helicopters involved in shuttles casualties to the regions hospitals.
Ironically I was walking parallel to the West Coast Main Line just today, maybe a dozen miles south of Oxenholme. As a gesture that our thoughts are with those involved in the incident, here are a couple of photos taken from the line today:
Virgin Trains Voyager train near Burton
Pendolino train speeds by - the same type as involved in the derailment
It's far too early for reports of a cause but something related to the rails or a collision with an object are possibilities.
On the plus side it appears that the coordination of the rescue has been done extremely well with all passengers reported out of the train by midnight and 5 helicopters involved in shuttles casualties to the regions hospitals.
Ironically I was walking parallel to the West Coast Main Line just today, maybe a dozen miles south of Oxenholme. As a gesture that our thoughts are with those involved in the incident, here are a couple of photos taken from the line today:
Virgin Trains Voyager train near Burton
Pendolino train speeds by - the same type as involved in the derailmentShow of Hands - Roots
I first heard this song while doing a listen again of Radio 2's recent 2007 Folk Awards. Fantastic lyrics about the loss of musical heritage in England
20070218
Internet connection highs and lows
We received an Orange Livebox this week. For a couple of quid more than our existing package we get up to 8Mb broadband speed, unlimited usage and a livebox which offers free national and international calls when you plug a phone into it. Not bad in theory, and a big step up from our current service of a paltry 1Mb with 2Gig limit. There's not much fun to be had from that arrangement, but in theory that was all about to change.
Things didn't get off to a rosy start, however. The software that came with the livebox was terminally hopeless, and used a Flash based interface with some remarkably unresponsive navigation buttons. It only accepted double-clicks, and then only sometimes, plus it had the maddening tendency to miss out entire pages of the step-by-step installation guide. As it happened the CD's software wasn't necessary at all as it was the usual procedure of accessing the router's config page, entering the login and off we go. Getting the wireless working was easy enough too. The Livebox uses to an interesting 'pairing' mode; after pressing a button on the unit the router would allow new connections for 10 mins but thereafter disallow any further access. It's a simple yet ingenious way of keeping unwanted users off your internet connection. Of course those in the know can easily enough set up access restrictions by MAC address with their own router, but judging by the number of unwittingly open hotspots around this sort of basic feature will go down well in many households.
So far so easy. It wasn't long before my internet connection starting going funny though and as the livebox was the newest piece of kit it took the immediate blame. Despite a smooth start my internet connectivity began to drop suddenly from the ethernet connection. Wireless I can understand but ethernet is normally a basic connection with little room for cock-up. Having also been playing with setting up a fixed IP address (something I later realised is set by default by the livebox) I had another possible route of enquiry that might have thrown a user created spanner of errors in to the works. This morning the situation worsened and I found myself with no internet connectivity at all through the ethernet cable, but it was working, just about, through the wi-fi.
Well I looked into every possibility. I ploughed through forums in search of advice and even went so far as to run a program that replaces a possibly corrupt TCP/IP, but to no avail. Most of the advice was made in reference to wireless connections which are understandably a far more untamed breed of beasts. It took more digging before I finally located the nugget I was looking for: the suggestion to alter a setting in my network card for connection at 10Mb rather than the auto connection setting it was ok. Astonishingly it did the trick. As with so many things in the life of a PC there's no good reason why the setting should be either off or the source of the problem in the first place, but magically changing it makes all the different. Perfectly logically in an entirely unpredictable way.
My nice stable Ethernet connection is back and I'm a happy boy. All I need now is for the internet connection to be cranked up from the current 1Mb level and I'll really be away...
Things didn't get off to a rosy start, however. The software that came with the livebox was terminally hopeless, and used a Flash based interface with some remarkably unresponsive navigation buttons. It only accepted double-clicks, and then only sometimes, plus it had the maddening tendency to miss out entire pages of the step-by-step installation guide. As it happened the CD's software wasn't necessary at all as it was the usual procedure of accessing the router's config page, entering the login and off we go. Getting the wireless working was easy enough too. The Livebox uses to an interesting 'pairing' mode; after pressing a button on the unit the router would allow new connections for 10 mins but thereafter disallow any further access. It's a simple yet ingenious way of keeping unwanted users off your internet connection. Of course those in the know can easily enough set up access restrictions by MAC address with their own router, but judging by the number of unwittingly open hotspots around this sort of basic feature will go down well in many households.
So far so easy. It wasn't long before my internet connection starting going funny though and as the livebox was the newest piece of kit it took the immediate blame. Despite a smooth start my internet connectivity began to drop suddenly from the ethernet connection. Wireless I can understand but ethernet is normally a basic connection with little room for cock-up. Having also been playing with setting up a fixed IP address (something I later realised is set by default by the livebox) I had another possible route of enquiry that might have thrown a user created spanner of errors in to the works. This morning the situation worsened and I found myself with no internet connectivity at all through the ethernet cable, but it was working, just about, through the wi-fi.
Well I looked into every possibility. I ploughed through forums in search of advice and even went so far as to run a program that replaces a possibly corrupt TCP/IP, but to no avail. Most of the advice was made in reference to wireless connections which are understandably a far more untamed breed of beasts. It took more digging before I finally located the nugget I was looking for: the suggestion to alter a setting in my network card for connection at 10Mb rather than the auto connection setting it was ok. Astonishingly it did the trick. As with so many things in the life of a PC there's no good reason why the setting should be either off or the source of the problem in the first place, but magically changing it makes all the different. Perfectly logically in an entirely unpredictable way.
My nice stable Ethernet connection is back and I'm a happy boy. All I need now is for the internet connection to be cranked up from the current 1Mb level and I'll really be away...
20070217
British society
Over the past week I've been considering what to say about the state of British society. Is it really as bad as the UNICEF report and recent spate of gangland murders in London would have us believe?
It's fair to say that not all is right. If the Thatcher years taught us materialism, the Blair years are undoubtedly preaching from the same hymn-book. Both Premierships have followed in the footsteps of the American model of doing things which in my mind is a mistake. This leads us down the path of long hours, high stress and, material assets aside, a lower standard of living through diminished free time with family and for yourself.
During the year I lived in Germany I was based in a small town not bigger than my own, but home to a number of organisations, clubs and places for young people. In contrast my town in northern England has one youth club which just about keeps its head above water. In general the Germans seem to have a better grasp of community as all over there are clubs and societies for people to join and socialise within. On one cycle ride into the countryside I even came across a model aircraft club complete with a club house and an acre or two of land for the landing strip and parking. I get the feeling that something like that would really struggle in the UK. Even if set-up by an enthusiast with a bit of land I am sure the Health and Safety, planning and finally insurance people would all rally together to ensure that it was priced out of existence before it even got off the ground.
Although several of the youth groups in Germany were backed by church organisations, which isn't something I'm necessarily in favour of, the Blair government seems hell bent on stripping out any element of community which might still be clinging on. The free market may be good for some things, but as far as serving local communities goes there's scarcely anything worse. Massive transport companies often seem to run the minimum service they can get away with, giving regard only to their profit margins; once local radio station play the same syndicated dirge as dozens of other stations controlled by a single PC on the other side of the country; Post Office closures, well don't get me started on those.
There is also the attitude of people towards community and it's one that has been progressively deteriorating over the years until now we seem to have reached the point where apathy, suspicion and self-centredness rule the day. Many people may long for a greater feeling of society but they may not feel sufficiently integrated within it or trusting of those around them to actually do anything about it. I suspect these same feelings have filtered down to the children to produce such negative results in the UNICEF report.
The British attitude can't be ignored however. Although children in each country were asked the same question, I do wonder if subtleties of language and culture might exact different responses. In Britain we've long held a rebellious edge that's the key to our self-deprecating humour and an attitude that sees being dishevelled and anti-establishment as being cool. The Blur album 'Modern Life is Rubbish' is fine example of this. Our ideas and directions can be magnetic opposites to those of Germany where keeping on the straight and narrow is very much the in thing. I'd fully expect British kids to dis school a lot more than their German counterparts but that doesn't mean they necessarily value it less or work less hard than their continental counterparts.
Although getting shot of our government would be a good start and vote in a party that has some ideas about the values that hold communities together would be a good start, I wouldn't say that life is so bad here. It could do with a kick start and some common sense to better support and engage young people, but the things we do and the way we do things aren't at all bad. There is a risk of running out of control headlong down the American paved road of ultra-materialism and this is certainly something that needs to be avoided. Re-introduce an education of wider community would be a good start.
It's fair to say that not all is right. If the Thatcher years taught us materialism, the Blair years are undoubtedly preaching from the same hymn-book. Both Premierships have followed in the footsteps of the American model of doing things which in my mind is a mistake. This leads us down the path of long hours, high stress and, material assets aside, a lower standard of living through diminished free time with family and for yourself.
During the year I lived in Germany I was based in a small town not bigger than my own, but home to a number of organisations, clubs and places for young people. In contrast my town in northern England has one youth club which just about keeps its head above water. In general the Germans seem to have a better grasp of community as all over there are clubs and societies for people to join and socialise within. On one cycle ride into the countryside I even came across a model aircraft club complete with a club house and an acre or two of land for the landing strip and parking. I get the feeling that something like that would really struggle in the UK. Even if set-up by an enthusiast with a bit of land I am sure the Health and Safety, planning and finally insurance people would all rally together to ensure that it was priced out of existence before it even got off the ground.
Although several of the youth groups in Germany were backed by church organisations, which isn't something I'm necessarily in favour of, the Blair government seems hell bent on stripping out any element of community which might still be clinging on. The free market may be good for some things, but as far as serving local communities goes there's scarcely anything worse. Massive transport companies often seem to run the minimum service they can get away with, giving regard only to their profit margins; once local radio station play the same syndicated dirge as dozens of other stations controlled by a single PC on the other side of the country; Post Office closures, well don't get me started on those.
There is also the attitude of people towards community and it's one that has been progressively deteriorating over the years until now we seem to have reached the point where apathy, suspicion and self-centredness rule the day. Many people may long for a greater feeling of society but they may not feel sufficiently integrated within it or trusting of those around them to actually do anything about it. I suspect these same feelings have filtered down to the children to produce such negative results in the UNICEF report.
The British attitude can't be ignored however. Although children in each country were asked the same question, I do wonder if subtleties of language and culture might exact different responses. In Britain we've long held a rebellious edge that's the key to our self-deprecating humour and an attitude that sees being dishevelled and anti-establishment as being cool. The Blur album 'Modern Life is Rubbish' is fine example of this. Our ideas and directions can be magnetic opposites to those of Germany where keeping on the straight and narrow is very much the in thing. I'd fully expect British kids to dis school a lot more than their German counterparts but that doesn't mean they necessarily value it less or work less hard than their continental counterparts.
Although getting shot of our government would be a good start and vote in a party that has some ideas about the values that hold communities together would be a good start, I wouldn't say that life is so bad here. It could do with a kick start and some common sense to better support and engage young people, but the things we do and the way we do things aren't at all bad. There is a risk of running out of control headlong down the American paved road of ultra-materialism and this is certainly something that needs to be avoided. Re-introduce an education of wider community would be a good start.
20070212
The President who cried wolf
The sabre rattling by the US administration towards Iran over their alleged support of insurgents in Iraq is reaching a new high. However have we not all become deaf to the cries of wolf by the White House. Not only is the credibility of their intelligence wafer thin and their provocations tired but it all smacks of hypocrisy of the highest order. America's history of support rebels, insurgents and coups that suit their ends is a long one. We only have to look as far as one of the current theatres of combat, Afghanistan, for a reminder of where a previous US administration pumped in money to see off the Russians. Perhaps now the Iranian administration wants to see off the Americans from this third land, and on what basis of history should they be forbayed this, considering the plentiful examples available.
The White House cannot have its cake and eat it. The policy of force as a means of diplomacy is a dangerous one and is one that now seems to be failing wherever it is employed. Furthermore the days of this administration having its own way are quickly running out. Whether at the hands of its own senate or on the world stage, it's high time this lame duck was put out of its misery to be replaced - we can but hope - with a lot more sense in the Oval Office.
The White House cannot have its cake and eat it. The policy of force as a means of diplomacy is a dangerous one and is one that now seems to be failing wherever it is employed. Furthermore the days of this administration having its own way are quickly running out. Whether at the hands of its own senate or on the world stage, it's high time this lame duck was put out of its misery to be replaced - we can but hope - with a lot more sense in the Oval Office.
20070211
Recent photos
Lune Valley
Sunset at home
Morecambe Bay
Cartmel Priory (today)
Cartmel Village Shop - Home of Sticky Toffee Pudding! (today)20070209
The week that was
Again it's been one of those weeks where I've not felt so compelled to put virtual pen to blogging paper and jot down my thoughts.
This is not to say nothing's been happening in the world. The news has been less than "bootiful" for Bernard Matthews and after today's news coverage I can only expect a near collapse in their sales as the media all but made out that the food sold could spread avian flu to poultry around the country and when there's talk of H5N1 entering the food chain that's all you need for customers to leave in their droves. I, on the other hand, had no qualms at purchasing some Bernard Matthews process hams for my sarnies. Scaremongering, plain and simple.
News of muslim extremism in this country seems to be the stuff of the press and TV on all but a daily basis now with it seems all manner of individuals or organisations up to no good or teaching the word of intolerance, division and hate. The communities being targeted by police enquiries and arrests are complaining, but in the light of what's going on and what's been and likely being plotted, what else are the police expected to do but focus their efforts on the group that's without exception intertwined with these acts. If the perpetrators were from a wider demographic then no doubt the police's net would similarly be wider. The search for the letter bomber wouldn't have lead the police to the Muslims community as the source is seemingly a disgruntled driver or animal rights extremist, but when there's plots of Muslim extremism afoot the police must get to the heart of it, no question. Frederick Forsyth and Simon Hughes both made some excellent, straight-forward points on this issue on this week's Question Time programme which were both well overdue and far too seldom heard in my opinion.
After a period of what seemed like relative calm it seems as if Israel and Palestine are descending back into their own ways. The Palestinians seem to be looking for any opportunity to get worked up and throw stones at Israel who inevitably retaliate with greater force. The mentality on both sides is pretty deplorable and it's not a place that's high on my list of places to visit, violence or not. Grow up, learn some respect towards fellow man irrespective of creed or religion and then we'll see. This goes for both belligerents. There's no end of excuses and history to make the situation all the more protracted, but the road forward takes real courage, vision and the ability to look beyond their own blinkered communities and mindsets.
Snow. That proved a meteorological white-wash for around these parts as we saw absolutely none of the stuff aside from a few flakes on the day when the Midlands was getting dumped on. Dull weather, yes, but we've avoided everything grinding to a halt as it so often does during such weather. One million people took the day off work due to the snow. It's staggering, but of course due to the fact that our weather is so entirely unexciting for the vast majority of the time that no expense can be justified on the likes of fleets of snow ploughs or similar.
This is not to say nothing's been happening in the world. The news has been less than "bootiful" for Bernard Matthews and after today's news coverage I can only expect a near collapse in their sales as the media all but made out that the food sold could spread avian flu to poultry around the country and when there's talk of H5N1 entering the food chain that's all you need for customers to leave in their droves. I, on the other hand, had no qualms at purchasing some Bernard Matthews process hams for my sarnies. Scaremongering, plain and simple.
News of muslim extremism in this country seems to be the stuff of the press and TV on all but a daily basis now with it seems all manner of individuals or organisations up to no good or teaching the word of intolerance, division and hate. The communities being targeted by police enquiries and arrests are complaining, but in the light of what's going on and what's been and likely being plotted, what else are the police expected to do but focus their efforts on the group that's without exception intertwined with these acts. If the perpetrators were from a wider demographic then no doubt the police's net would similarly be wider. The search for the letter bomber wouldn't have lead the police to the Muslims community as the source is seemingly a disgruntled driver or animal rights extremist, but when there's plots of Muslim extremism afoot the police must get to the heart of it, no question. Frederick Forsyth and Simon Hughes both made some excellent, straight-forward points on this issue on this week's Question Time programme which were both well overdue and far too seldom heard in my opinion.
After a period of what seemed like relative calm it seems as if Israel and Palestine are descending back into their own ways. The Palestinians seem to be looking for any opportunity to get worked up and throw stones at Israel who inevitably retaliate with greater force. The mentality on both sides is pretty deplorable and it's not a place that's high on my list of places to visit, violence or not. Grow up, learn some respect towards fellow man irrespective of creed or religion and then we'll see. This goes for both belligerents. There's no end of excuses and history to make the situation all the more protracted, but the road forward takes real courage, vision and the ability to look beyond their own blinkered communities and mindsets.
Snow. That proved a meteorological white-wash for around these parts as we saw absolutely none of the stuff aside from a few flakes on the day when the Midlands was getting dumped on. Dull weather, yes, but we've avoided everything grinding to a halt as it so often does during such weather. One million people took the day off work due to the snow. It's staggering, but of course due to the fact that our weather is so entirely unexciting for the vast majority of the time that no expense can be justified on the likes of fleets of snow ploughs or similar.
20070205
Scorchio!
Well here's something you don't see every day; a weather map for here with wall to wall sunshine. After what was more or less daily rainfall from October into the New Year, things seem to have picked up at last. Warm it isn't, but sunny it is, and it will do very nicely, thank you. It's good to know that even this damp corner of the British Isles can hold it's own with decent weather from time to time.
20070203
Superbowl Sunday is almost here
Well it's the first time since Channel 4 lost NFL in '98 that we've been able to get NFL regularly at home. Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday. Given that it was the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl in '86 it seems quite fitting that they're in the end game this year.
It took me a while to track down this old Channel 4 NFL ident. I'm sure TV Ark used to have a clip of it but since their archive is being worked on it's thanks to the TV Room for this still.
It took me a while to track down this old Channel 4 NFL ident. I'm sure TV Ark used to have a clip of it but since their archive is being worked on it's thanks to the TV Room for this still.Ginger spam salad
While using my gmail e-mail account this evening I noticed for the first time a text advert at the top of the e-mail pane. It read "Ginger Spam Salad - Serves 1, refrigerate overnight". I'm rather perplexed as the site doesn't immediately look commercial or try to sell you anything. Have google tracked my online movement and thus got me down on their files as a habitual spam eater, or is this some bizarre content related link that picked up the fact I was browsing my 'spam folder'. The internet never ceases to amaze and baffle.
20070202
Coffee culture and country classes
Two days in a row now I've found myself in the trendy, well let's face it, only trendy cafe cum bar in town. It's unheard of; before I know it I'll be Lunesdale Valley barfly association. No, perhaps not, however it's remarkable that the coffee culture has pervaded even the deepest darkest recesses of Cumbria. £2 a cup for a mocha. Jolly fine stuff I'll admit, but around here that's like a King's ransom; in which case the King must be doing very nicely indeed. Not to rest on our laurels, or should that be coffee beans, the town has even gained a 'Fair Trade' status. Trendy coffee guzzling and with a 21st century sense of public conscience to boot. Remarkable.
Supping a cuppa also provides a particularly fine situation for people watching. The sceptical might falsely believe there's little of such a pastime of which to be indulged in a town of 3,500 people, but they'd be wrong. There's a full dichotomy of the rural classes on display for social commentators to analyse comprising a complex strata of aspirational and actual socio-economic placements.
My favourite specimens from the past couple of days have to be the aspiring county set. Now to explain for the more urban based readers of this blog, the county set are the often landed gentry demographic who seem to pull off living very comfortably while not appearing to actual work a great deal. Understandably this may be seen as something of an attraction for those of an appearance conscious nature and lo and behold if my cafe cum bar haunt wasn't full of a rowdy group of such county set wannabes. They dressed in a quasi-county fashion to fit the image, lacking though the two hundred quid wellies or saville row tailory that's reserved for the real deal. The conversation was exceptionally boisterous; they had a presence they wanted to be felt. What japes! As with so many things in life however there's no comparison with the real thing and their efforts felt strained rather than the effortless ya-hoos of bona fide country gents. Still, the world is full of images and if it keeps them happy then carry on, carry on. There's entertainment and show at every table!
Supping a cuppa also provides a particularly fine situation for people watching. The sceptical might falsely believe there's little of such a pastime of which to be indulged in a town of 3,500 people, but they'd be wrong. There's a full dichotomy of the rural classes on display for social commentators to analyse comprising a complex strata of aspirational and actual socio-economic placements.
My favourite specimens from the past couple of days have to be the aspiring county set. Now to explain for the more urban based readers of this blog, the county set are the often landed gentry demographic who seem to pull off living very comfortably while not appearing to actual work a great deal. Understandably this may be seen as something of an attraction for those of an appearance conscious nature and lo and behold if my cafe cum bar haunt wasn't full of a rowdy group of such county set wannabes. They dressed in a quasi-county fashion to fit the image, lacking though the two hundred quid wellies or saville row tailory that's reserved for the real deal. The conversation was exceptionally boisterous; they had a presence they wanted to be felt. What japes! As with so many things in life however there's no comparison with the real thing and their efforts felt strained rather than the effortless ya-hoos of bona fide country gents. Still, the world is full of images and if it keeps them happy then carry on, carry on. There's entertainment and show at every table!
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