Other Stuff

The Battle of Nantwich 2012

2012-01-21T17:07:00.002Z

Every year, for the past 40 years, there's a re-enactment of the Battle of Nantwich.

The Sealed Knot Society reproduce events as faithfully as they can.

Cannon fire can be heard through the town

and on Mill Island

there's pikemen in battle:

as well as camp followers:

and other people in traditional clothing.

This year there was a real casualty!

Considering the scale of the event, I'm surprised I don't see a fleet of ambulances every year!

It's a great day out, and helps bring history to life.

It's called Holly Holy Day as when the Battle of Nantwich ended 25 January 1644 the people in the town wore holly in their hats to celebrate.

Web: www.hollyholyday.org.uk

Manchester Town Hall Clock Tower

2011-12-21T22:41:00.003Z

I thought I'd visit the Christmas Market in Manchester today, and whilst I was there go up Manchester Town Hall's clock tower.

Our guide took us in the lift to the 6th floor, and then up about 180 steps:

to the top.

On route we saw the bell chamber:

and the clock mechanism:

at the top we could see the 8.25 tonne Great Abel bell:

named after Abel Heywood a famous Manchester chartist who was mayor at the time the Town Hall was opened. The bell is 6 feet tall and 7.5 feet wide at the base.

We could also see the inside face of the clock:

and fine views of the Christmas Market in Albert Square:

and other sites, like the big wheel:

on the way down our guide kindly let us get a glimpse of other parts of the Town Hall, like this tiled floor - which has a rather fine bee motif:

You may also have seen the Manchester Bee on a can of Boddington's.

Apparently the bee denotes the hard work and graft of Mancunians', did I ever mention that I am from Manchester J?

The Clock Tower Tour was a new venture, run by Tour Manchester for |Manchester City Council. The tours have now finished, but hopefully there will be more soon.

Web: http://www.tourmanchester.co.uk

Prees Heath Common mushrooms

2011-10-23T20:03:00.001+01:00

We went to Prees Heath Common today:

a place I've driven past many times. We'd spotted an advert in the Shropshire Star for a Fungi Foray, and knowing very little about fungi (apart from that some taste very nice and that others are poisonous) we decided to go and find out more.

Our guide was local expert John Hughes, who was very knowledgeable. He started by telling us the different ways experts identify mushrooms.

The top apparently can vary in colour depending on rain and other factors, and so the same variety can appear in different colours. Turning it upside down helps to identify a mushroom. Some have gills:

others have a more spongy sort of growth:

You can also help identify a mushroom by how it feels, like these wax caps:

and the scent, this one smelt of aniseed:

whereas others could even smell fishy!

Location apparently is also important, some fungi are associated with trees:

like these birch mushrooms:

and some fungus live on fungi, like this one:

Some mushrooms exude a milky substance (but it's been rather dry at Prees so we didn't really see this), some, like these puff balls:

released clouds of spores. You could also identify mushrooms by how the stem breaks, some snap cleanly like chalk, whereas others are very bendy.

We learnt how fungi spread:

and reproduced

We were told about how mushrooms could be halucinogenic.

and toxic and it certainly wasn't always obvious to me which ones are edible or not.

I was amazed at the diversity of fungi we were shown:

apparently there would have been many more if it hadn't been so unusually dry.

My thanks go to John Hughes and Stephen Lewis (the countryside ranger who looks after this reserve) for a fascinating afternoon.

As I left I read about the Silver-studded Blue Butterfly, which you can also see here:

I'll be back next summer to have a look!

Web: www.butterfly-conservation.org and www.woodlanereserve.co.uk/fungiforay

Stoke Minster

2011-10-22T20:48:00.001+01:00

I went on an interesting tour around Stoke Minster today. It's near to the King's Hall:

in Stoke, and is packed full of items of interest for anyone who wants to research the history of the Potteries.

In the churchyard is a Saxon Cross:

which is thought to date from c750-780, probably replacing an earlier wooden cross. Stoke apparently means a place (especially holy place), and there was a Saxon church built here, of which the altar still remains:

Building started of the church you see today (the New St Peter ad Vincula of Stoke) in 1826 and it was consecrated in 1830.

The font:

and altar stone date from before the Norman Conquest.

The Altar has some fine carved panelling:

and tiled floor:

On the left hand side are memorials to members of the Wedgwood family:

including this one for Josiah Wedgwood:

and on the right hand side are memorials to members of the Spode family:

On the walls of the church are these Minton tiles:

which you could buy to commemorate a loved one.

This crucifix:

came from Czechoslovakia, and belonged to Lady Mila, the second wife of Sir Stanley Matthews.

In the graveyard are various graves, including this ornate one for Herbert Stansfield:

a stone mason from Middlewich, who died in 1799.

We were rather intrigued to see the graves of Sibil Clarke, who died in 1684 and Henry Clarke :

both apparently aged 112!

The Spode family are here:

and also Josiah Wedgwood, who was a nonconformist, and was therefore buried in what was the porch of the old parish church:

I have to say that the stone was a little disappointing for am an responsible for so many great works of (ceramic) art!

Next to the Wedgwood grave, are the twin arches, built from stones from the Saxon church:

which architect Charles Lynam used in 1881 in a reconstruction, having recovered them from a watercourse serving Boothen Mill.

My final picture is of the Millenium Seat, which was designed by local school children:

Web: www.stokeminster.com

Sugnall Hall Walled Kitchen Garden

2011-09-14T21:33:00.002+01:00

I've fallen in love with the Walled Kitchen Garden at Sugnall Hall, just North of Eccleshall in Staffordshire!

It's a fascinating old garden, which is being restored by owners Karen and David Jacques and a great team of helpers. When it was built, in 1737, brickmakers made over a quarter of a million bricks in a nearby field for the walls that you still see today:

The garden, which is on a south facing slope, is divided up into four quarters, with a pond in the middle:

Along the paths they've planted 200 apple and pear trees (in pairs) and ordered by date of ripening. The varieties are carefully selected and a sign gives information about each variety:

I'd not heard of a pear having a double crop before!

This ancient variety, Bardsey cooker:

was recently rediscovered on Bardsey Island. it has a lemon scent and cooks well without sugar

These Jumbo apples lived up to their name:

Fruit trees were trained on the walls; cherries on the North facing wall and plums on this West facing wall:

At the top of the garden there are asparagus beds:

and herbs:

and they'd still got some strawberries, considering it's September:

The vegetables looked good:

They grow a wide range of crops, including this chard:

In the background of this picture you can see the Head Gardener's Bothy:

In another area of the garden they'd given plots for schools to use:

In the glasshouses:

I could see melons:

and chillies growing:

By the main gate, there's a small shop:

and next door a vinery:

Today there's a tea room here, but there's exciting plans for it to become a restaurant, serving food from the gardens.

There's a cucumber house:

with straight cucumbers hanging down, inside:

This Foster and Pearson glasshouse was built in 1908, and has lovely original metalwork:

This is the boiler house:

At the bottom of the garden there's some "Gorgeous" crab apples:

and you can buy crab apple jelly at Sugnall, made from the fruit:

I'm not sure if these are cardoons or articokes:

I think our guide told us they'd sown both.

It was a fascinating tour, which I thoroughly recommend (there's tours on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays). There's a fuller history here on their web site.

It's nice to at different times of the year, to see how this newly replanted garden is coming on. In the spring there's also a bluebell walk:

If you go on the second Sunday in the month, there's now also a Farmers' Market (which I've covered in my Good Food Shops Blog). Here you can enjoy scones and Sugnall strawberry jam:

Sugnall Walled Garden

Sugnall

Stafford

ST21 6NF

Tel: 01785 850820

Web: www.sugnall.co.uk

Another side to Crewe

2011-09-11T20:28:00.004+01:00

I had a great day today with Tim Prevett:

doing 2 guided walks which were part of the Heritage Open Days initiative. Tim (pictured above) was proudly wearing a rosette, that he'd gained the previous day for being best dressed Victorian at the Queen's Park reopening (see previous post).

The first tour was called the Heritage Lost and History Discovered Tour and started off outside the Municipal Buildings:

where we learnt about the details on the stone work:

We then went to where Prince Albert Street and Hill Street meet Earle Street to hear about Crewe's 4 'alls, which you could see from this corner. There's the Market Hall:

The Town Hall and the Cheese Hall:

and lastly bugger all:

We then went through the town, seeing various sites, many of which we've been past on many occasions without really noticing:

There's some fantastic railway houses in Crewe:

This one has still got it's original outside loo:

We found out what happened to the "night soil" and what Big Bill:

was.....

The visit included Christ Church:

which I always thought had been bombed, but learnt why it was partially demolished in the 70's. I never realised that the cross in this church:

was made out of railway sleepers!

I enjoyed the tour so much I decided to go on the second one, this time it was a Murders, Mishaps and Morals Tour! We learnt about what went on at Boot's corner (and Red Bull Alley)....

We ended up in Crewe Heritage Centre:

with fine views of Crewe Station:

We learnt about so many different things on both tours, for instance Crewe was a centre of excellence on prothesis (after all the accidents in the works) and that became useful after the Great war.

Tim also does ghost walks of Crewe and Nantwich, for more details check his web site:

Web: http://historyandmysterytours.blogspot.com

Queens Park Crewe

2011-08-28T15:13:00.001+01:00

Queen's Park in Crewe has recently had a £6.5 million transformation to restore this loveley Victorian park. The park was laid out by railway engineer Francis Webb, Richard Moon [mayor of crewe 1888] and garden designer Edward Kemp.

If you look on the lodges, you can see it opened in 1888 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Grand Junction Railway:

From the clock and lodges:

There's a formal avenue:

lined with attractive beds

all different:

bringing brightness and colour:

The avenue takes you to the Tommy Atkins Boer War Memorial:

flanked by two lions, with a new pavilion behind.

Going down to the lake, there's some fine trees:

The lake has also had a restoration:

and new bridges

They always did have a good childrens' play area, but I think it's even better:

I was very tempted to climb this!

The Queens Park Re-Opening Event is on Saturday 10th September 2011, more pictures and history of the park here: http://crewetown.co.uk

Britain's last ducking stool

2011-08-11T14:56:00.000+01:00

Leominster is a fine old town in Herefordshire, and it's 11th century Priory Church is worth a visit.

I'm not sure why it contains an old plough and a police box (or is it a tardis?):

The church contains a ducking stool! It was used as a punishment for "common scolds" and short measure and adulteration of food.

The Leominster one has the last recorded use in England in 1809. Jenny Pipes (alias Jane Curran) was paraded through the town and then ducked in the Kenwater near the bridge for uttering foul and abusive language.

If you think we should bring back the ducking stool, I should like to point out that a sign in the church tell us that upon release, she repeated her offensive behaviour!

Flowers of Blakeway Hollow

2011-06-19T22:18:00.002+01:00

We went on a great wildflower walk today, organised by the National Trust at Much Wenlock.

We started off just at the roadside and in the car park at Wenlock Edge, and I was amazed at the diverse range when you started to look.

We also saw insects like this meadow brown butterfly:

and this caterpillar:

of the six spot burnet moth

who seemed very keen on the orchids:

We managed to see 7 different sorts of orchids.

I think this is broom rape, which is a parasitic plant:

My favourite plant was the bee orchid:

My thanks go to Nick the ranger and John for a fascinating morning.

Web: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-cardingmillvalleyandlongmynd

Edible Flowers

2011-05-18T19:38:00.001+01:00

One of the highlights (for me anyway) at this year's Reaseheath Open Day was a display about Edible Flowers. It was put together by Peter Evans, who is one of our talented horticultural students. Prior to being at Reaseheath, Peter has worked as a chef and managed to combine his horticultural knowledge with his culinary skills to create some stunning dishes.

Next time you make a sponge, why not decorate it with violas and fuchsia flowers?

The picture below shows a salad and also jellies made with edible flowers:

Click on the pictures for a better view. I hope these photos give you some inspiration.

Obviously you need to be careful that the flowers you use are edible, and avoid using flowers which have been sprayed with pesticides etc. In fact, for best results, grow your own!

Biddulph Grange Garden

2011-04-26T13:59:00.003+01:00

The gardens at Biddulph Grange keep on improving and are a photographers' paradise. You walk past well manicured lawns:

and pass through the house and down some steps:

into the the gardens.

There's a lake, complete with ducks and fish.

which you can look at the reflections of the house in

or admire the rhododendrons:

which create a spectacular wall of colour:

I always like gardens with "rooms", and as you follow the paths:

through areas like the stumpery:

you never quite know where you're going to end up.

Maybe over a bridge:

to see the Chinese temple:

and the Golden Buffalo:

or follow the path to the model Cheshire House:

built in 1865

at the back of the Cheshire House:

at another level, you're through to a delightful woodland walk:

back at the house, where Mr Bateman used to sell his coal, there's terraces

with dahlias in the summer

and tulips in the spring (for the first time this year)

and wisteria adorning the house:

Web: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-biddulphgrangegarden

Wakefield Cathedral

2011-02-26T20:26:00.001Z

I visited Wakefield today to see the Rhubarb Festival, but as an added bonus, found that you could also go up the tower of Wakefield Cathedral!

It's a lovely building:

you can do a virtual tour here, courtesy of Wakefield Photography.

The tower is the tallest church in Yorkshire. Our guide took us up 69 steps to where they ring the bells:

we then went up more steps to see the bells:

and then up more steps:

to the top of the tower.

This shot is inside the spire:

This shot is looking up the spire, from the top of the tower:

Here we had amazing views of Wakefield:

including the Ridings Shopping Centre:

When we looked over the cathedral:

I think we could see Castleford Power Station in the distance:

and looking the other way

we could see Wakefield Town Hall

Back at ground level, inside the cathedral, were 5,000 clay models:

inspired by sculptor Anthony Gormley, and made by 5,000 different people.

I'd like to thank the people who guided us for a fantastic tour, I would thoroughly recommend it.

Web: www.wakefieldcathedral.org.uk

The Wedgwood Institute

2011-01-03T18:55:00.001Z

I suspect not everyone who lives in the area is aware of this amazing building on Queen Street in Burslem?

It's the Wedgwood Institute, named after Josiah Wedgwood and stands on the site of the Brick House pottery works which he rented from 1762 to 1770.

There's a statue of Josiah above the door:

and twelve terracotta panels, illustrating each month of the year. The elaborate decorations were designed by Robert Edgar and John Lockwood Kipling - the father of Rudyard Kipling.

The Victorian Society has listed The Wedgwood Institute in Burslem as one of the 10 most endangered buildings in England and Wales.

I recommend you click here to see a better picture of the amazing detail.

Cheshire Santa Dash

2010-12-19T15:38:00.000Z

There seemed to be an awful lot of Father Christmases in Nantwich today! That's because it was the second Cheshire Santa Dash.....

It started in the square:

Instead of having a hare they seemed to have a man on a bike:

and they shot past me:

past St Mary's:

and around the market before going along Beam Street and doing a U turn in Pepper Street:

The route then went through Swine Market, into High Street along Waterlode and up Mill Street, finishing after two or four laps in the square.

Last year's Santa Dash had over 350 Santa’s, I didn't manage to count them this year, but it certainly looked more. Everyone seemed to have a great time, although I'm not sure what this dog made of it.

The event was in aid of the Railway Children, a charity which abandoned children around the world. You can make a donation by clicking here.

Web: http:www.cheshiresantadash.co.uk

Animal management in the snow

2010-11-30T19:25:00.001Z

I went for a quick look around Reaseheath's new zoo this morning, to see how the animals were enjoying the snow. Most animals were keeping warm inside....

These Patagonian Mara normally run/bounce across the South American Pampas, but seemed to enjoy the snow this morning:

I'm not sure what this Bengal eagle owl made of the snow:

or the rhea:

but the otters seemed very happy:

I learnt that these Angora goats produce mohair:

(and not wool which is produced by the Angora rabbit).

Outside the Animal Management centre, the ducks were staging a walk out, off the lake!

The fall and rise of Reaseheath Food

2010-11-29T19:04:00.001Z

The food building at Reaseheath College, which Princess Margaret opened in 1982, was demolished this September.

It's amazing how fast the new building is going up:

I expect it will look different again in another three months.

Derby Cathedral Tower

2010-08-06T23:00:00.002+01:00

Last week I went to Derby, to go up the cathedral tower. It's an interesting building,

I'd hoped to see their Peregrine falcons but the only bird I saw was this eagle:

I was pleased to go on the first tour of the day (10:45am), but subsequently wished I'd waited an hour, as I would have been able to see the Carillon working:

Mavis, our excellent guide, told us that the cathedral bells are the oldest ring of 10 bells in the world.

There are 82 steps to the ringing chamber and 189 steps to the top. As we climbed the steps our guide pointed out graffiti from 1716 and even earlier!

The views from the top were fantastic, and well worth the climb.

We could see the towards the markets:

and a different view of the Silk Mill:

and how the old town is nicer than the newer bits!

Dates of further tours this year are here: www.derbycathedral.org/news.asp?ID=45

Nob End orchids

2010-07-04T17:45:00.003+01:00

Yesterday we went on a a walk around Moses Gate Country Park (near Bolton) looking at different wild flowers. Moses is a corruption of the word mosses meaning peaty or marshy lands and therefore suggests acidic land.

Nob End is a parcel of land surrounded by the river Croal and Irwell:

and the Manchester, Bolton and Bury canal:

Nob End was a 10 metre high tip for soda ash in the middle of the nineteenth century and therefore alkaline in contrast to the surrounding acidic soils.

There's over 170 species of flowering plants here.

I first thought there were a lot of dandelions, but our guide told us it was Hawkbit:

We learnt that Ladies Bedstraw:

got its name from its past use as a mattress stuffing (apparently it was also used as a rennet in cheese making).

There was a lot of tufted vetch:

and geraniums:

and a lot of plants used for food like coltsfoot (as in rock):

and mallow (as in marshmallow):

Apparently the roots of silverweed used to be eaten:

and were tough enough to be used as rope!

I never realised how hard it is to photo wild flowers (it was a breezy day so they wouldn't keep still)! Jack Go To Bed at Noon gets its name because that's what it does:

It opens in the morning and closes midday.

Nob End is known for its orchids,

Apparently they were discovered when school children had picked some for a floral arrangement in a flower competition!

We learnt how to tell the difference between the common and the marsh orchid:

and many other species, including the fragrant orchid and cochineal orchid.

Thanks to Matthew, one of the rangers from Rock Hall visitor centre, for a fascinating afternoon.

One of my favourite museums...

2010-05-25T21:54:00.002+01:00

The Gladstone Pottery museum, in Stoke-on-Trent has to be one of my favourite museums.

You can watch a potter make a jug or vase on a potters wheel:

or have a go yourself!

You can learn how to make flowers:

This was my son and his girlfriend's efforts:

(and they only had a little bit of help from the demonstrator). They were almost as good as the ones on display:

You can find out what a saggar maker's bottom knocker did:

or go in a pot bank:

or see the saggars in a kiln

and admire the view (up the chimney):

You can have a look around the stores

and the office:

There's also display of ceramic tiles:

If anyone tells you it's a sh*t museum,

it does tell the history of the toilet!

Would you want to sit here (click on the picture for a better look):

You can find out whether the expression "crap" came from the inventor, Thomas Crapper:

You can view the National Collection of Toilet Tat:

and decide whether to stand, sit or squat:

You can find out what people used before toilet paper,

and learn about how pottery in the smallest room has changed from this:

to this:

(and hopefully moved on)!

You can step back into the past:

and visit an old house:

And if all the talk of toilets makes you want to see a doctor, you can go to the surgery:

and pretend your the patient (or doctor).

Staffordshire pots were packed in oat straw and shipped around the world

so whilst your in the area, why not try a Staffordshire Oatcake?

Gladstone Pottery is a superb museum, with something to interest all ages. The staff are helpful, knowledgeable and friendly, and you get plenty of chances to "have a go" if you want to.

Gladstone Pottery Museum

Uttoxeter Road

Stoke-on-Trent

Staffordshire

ST3 1PQ

Tel: 01782 237777

Web: www.stokemuseums.org.uk/gpm

Happy Anniversary!

2010-04-20T00:01:00.017+01:00

Today is our 25th wedding anniversary, so I recently took my wife out for a meal to this St Petersburg restaurant to celebrate:

The restaurant was called The Idiot:

They gave us a complimentary vodka with every alcoholic drink we ordered. I thought that was a bit daft, but I'm not sure who the idiots were, when we left ;-)?

St Petersburg

2010-04-15T23:03:00.002+01:00

I start my post on our recent holiday to St Petersburg with a picture of the Bronze Horseman. Apparently it it took 400 men nine months to move the stone on which this statue of Peter the Great is mounted!

I've wanted to go to this amazing city for some time, it's where Amsterdam meets Venice,

meets Russia....

It's an amazing mixture of fine cathedrals like the Cathedral of St Catherine:

or the Kazan Cathedral:

and the amazing Church on Spilt Blood:

The main road, Nevsky Prospekt::

is an amazing mixture of palaces, fine churches and shops.

The Hermitage contains more than three million works of art and artefacts of the world culture:

Outside the palace you can go on a horse and cart trip:

or listen to a huge brass band, or admire the top of the Triumphal Arch:

Inside the Hermitage everything that glitters probably is gold!

Having visited the Hermitage, I think we need bigger wine coolers at our house,

and possibly more pictures on the wall?

My wife thinks the ceilings at our house needs redecorating:

If you get chance, visit Peterhof:

We went early in the season, so the Grand Cascade and Samson Fountain were not working but being repaired:

Back in St Petersburg, there's Russian dolls:

and Russian brides:

around every corner....

If you're near St Isaacs:

climb the steps to the top:

The views are definitely worth the effort.

Nantwich Starlings

2010-03-06T20:03:00.005Z

It's not often you get something for free these days, but if you come to Nantwich around dusk, there's a free show (and possibly free fertiliser) laid on by the town's starlings.
I would advice wearing headgear to watch this spectacular performance, as you may also get free hair conditioner!

The birds gather together, and fly in formation:
I wondered how they all managed to fly the same way, but then I realised the council had given them directions:
If you're not sure where the main site is, follow your nose down Wellington Road.

and, like the starlings, find the trees by Afford Bond.

Royal Visit to Stoke

2010-02-19T21:12:00.008Z

I wasn't intending to stalk Prince Charles today, but found I'd got to Stoke Station just before the Royal Train.
I was going on what I thought would be a very interesting walk (details here).
My attention was caught by the size of the Royal Train and how much luggage Prince Charles needed for a day trip.
I thought I'd better take a picture of the Royal Sovereign.
So I set off on my walk, wondering why I hadn't seen Camilla, and went through Hanley Park.
It seems that Camilla had flown in by helicopter rather than use the Royal Train.
My walk took me past the Potteries Museum, where I'd been yesterday to see the Staffordshire Hoard. I didn't think it was worth the queue (we got there early and waited well over an hour). I've also seen better gold in Ratners. I wondered whether I should have warned Charles about the queues when I saw him at the station!
I was forced to go on a bit of a detour, around the back of the Bethesda Chapel.

At the front of the chapel there was a big crowd:

Prince Charles was very good at speaking to the crowd, but why does he always wear that coat?

Camilla recognised me (I think) and came up to shake my hand.

The royal couple then went into the Bethesda Chapel (as featured on Restoration).

I'm not sure if it was talks about mergers with the Church of England?

As I hadn't been invited to the Town Hall for lunch (and I think the royal couple should have gone for a Staffordshire Oatcake) I went to Minh's opposite.
The man next to me recommended Minh's oriental buffet restaurant, you can have as much as you can eat for £5.95!

Birkenhead Park

2010-02-14T13:38:00.002Z

They don't make park gates like this one any more, do they?

The picture above is the Grand Entrance to Birkenhead Park . The park was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton (who also designed The Crystal Palace). When the park opened, in 1847, it was the first ever public municipal park in the world.
The park influenced the design of many parks around the world including New York's Central Park. All the hills in the park are man made. The huge rocks in the rockery came from the excavation and construction of Birkenhead Docks.

There are fantastic views across the water:

There's an upper and lower lake, designed to appear like rivers.

In fact there are eight acres of water in the park.

You can walk over the water on the Swiss Bridge.

There's a spectacular Roman style Boathouse:

complete with a fascinating pebbled mosaic floor:

It's interesting to note that Paxton incorporated surrounding land into the park, which was then sold at an enhanced value for housing to help pay for the building of the park.

It's a great place which instantly makes you feel happier. I wish my generation could do more things like this....
Birkenhead Park

Park Road North

Birkenhead

CH41 4HD

Tel: 0151 652 5197 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0151 652 5197 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Web: http://www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100006/200073/670/content_0001109.html

Post Office Wizardry

2010-01-25T22:35:00.006Z

We were rather thrilled in the Pearson household to receive a letter this morning from, of all people, the Post Office. Since moving to Nantwich we've lost 4 post offices, but this leaflet appeared to indicate a new Post Office which even had my son's name on it.

Inside they reminisced about my son's last visit. They'd clearly mastered mail merge, which was even more impressive than Tom Champagne's attempts to inform us that we were through to Round Two of the Readers' Digest Prize Draw!

In fact on page two they'd even managed to produce a mat with welcome Stephen on it:

with an invitation to pop into the local branch. We wondered whether it was mere coincidence (or more mail merge wizardry) that the car number plate above the entreaties to use Post Office Car Insurance on page four contained my son's initials?
Unfortunately the spell broke on page seven - "Your page of useful numbers". Here it told us that one of our nearest branches was Millfields, 23 Meannee Drive, Nantwich, CW5 5JG:

What a pity that the Post Office closed down that branch nearly two years ago.....

Pictures on Flickr

2010-01-19T19:03:00.006Z

There's some great photos on Flickr these days.

I've put some of my photos here, but they're not quite in the same league as some below!

Some sites I like are

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40931583@N00/show

by Paul Delaney, who is the National Trust's Upland Footpath Supervisor for the North Lakes.

Julian's favourites:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/julianphotos/favorites/show

Flickr Nature Group:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/naturegroup/discuss/72157600207245788

Snowy Reaseheath

2010-01-06T20:15:00.003Z

Probably the most ornate pub in world?

2009-12-31T15:19:00.000Z

Apparently John Lennon complained that the price of fame was "not being able to go to the Phil for a drink". Fortunately I'm not famous and went here for a swift pint today. Egon Ronay gave it an award for being the most ornate pub in England and said “If a pub could be a work of art, the Philharmonic is that pub”.
There's a grand entrance to go in and it's even grander inside.

You can get Brahms:

and Liszt:

or just sit in the Grand Lounge:

It's got better stained glass then many churches:

I don't normally take a camera into the gents!

but the last time I was there a coach party of women were brought in (when I was mid flow) to admire the splendid urinals. As you can now see them on the Internet I hope they'll keep out in future!

Picture Search Engines

2009-12-23T09:54:00.003Z

Many people may be surprised I'm even covering this as you can search for images using Google. I've always found Yahoo better for images, especially now, since they also own Flickr.

There's a few search engines available now just for images. PicFindr looks useful, but I rather like Sprixi who encourage users to feedback how good the results are (and improve future searches).

You can get even more suggestions from www.makeuseof.com.

A Dull day out?

2009-12-06T07:32:00.002Z

There's plenty more like this on the Daily Telegraph's Sign Language site:

Web: www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/picturegalleries/signlanguage

Consall Hall Landscape Gardens

2009-10-28T22:41:00.006Z

Today I went to Consall Hall Landscape Gardens.

There was a magnificent display of Autumn colours.

It's the work of William Podmore OBE and has taken over 50 years to create.

There's a camera obscura to frame the view:

and a rather magnificent blue cedar:

but it would be rather hard to take a bad picture here.

I'm not sure where William got the various bits of architecture from:

but both the informal

and the formal areas are fantastic.

Sadly he's decided to close the gardens to the public, and today was the last day.

Web: www.consallgardens.co.uk

Don't judge a book by its cover?

2009-10-24T19:23:00.004+01:00

I recently was in Clapham and went past the London College of Business and Computer Studies (click on picture for better view). I wonder if their marketing courses are as good as their façade?

Horseshoe Horse

2009-08-28T15:20:00.002+01:00

How many horseshoes does a horse need?

Nothing new

2009-08-20T15:47:00.003+01:00

I was rather taken by the photos that P B Abery took in Radnorshire, which the National Library of Wales have put on their web site.

It seems that queues at rush hour are not new, but it's better to wait than to go too fast:

Put that in your pipe and smoke it....

Acting on a hunch

2009-07-29T20:50:00.002+01:00

If you're having difficulty making a decision, why not try Hunch

http://www.hunch.com?

Hunch is designed to soak up collective knowledge and then organise it in a useful way to help you make smart decisions.....

The Ashes

2009-07-08T07:11:00.000+01:00

Above is a picture of the grave of Albert Neilson Hornby. He was the the first of only two men to captain England at both rugby and cricket. He was also the England cricket captain whose side lost the Test match which gave rise to the Ashes in 1882.

His grave is in Acton, near Nantwich, Cheshire.

Joke Pictures

2009-07-06T09:09:00.003+01:00

Everyone needs a bit of fun now and then, so try uploading your picture to:
http://en.picjoke.com or www.funphotobox.com

New Invention

2009-06-28T09:01:00.001+01:00

This village is on the A488 between Clun and Knighton. According to GO2 Shropshire, it got its name when a local blacksmith who hit on the idea of fitting horseshoes backwards to confuse the enemy in times of war!

WolframAlpha

2009-05-18T22:00:00.004+01:00

Have had an interesting time looking at http://www.wolframalpha.com - a computational knowledge engine.

A search for life expectancy told me it's 84.36 years on average in Macau, but only 31.88 years in Swaziland!

It's best if you watch the overview video first to find out how it works.

Similar Images

2009-05-14T17:31:00.004+01:00

I had a go today on:

http://labs.ideeinc.com/upload

where you can upload an image of a person and compare it with other pictures.

I wasn't that impressed with the results for my own image. However when I tried one of Gordon Brown, one of the images it came up with was a pawn on a chessboard!

I hadn't realised that you can now select just faces on the results page of a Google Image Search

http://images.google.co.uk

I look forward to when Google's Similar Images:

http://similar-images.googlelabs.com

has been perfected!

An interesting video for teenagers in the UK

2009-04-16T20:44:00.001+01:00

If you are a teenager, watch this video:

Reaseheath Wedding Fayre

2009-03-30T19:29:00.005+01:00

Our Events Management Students have organised a Wedding Fayre this Saturday (4th April 2009). So if you're thinking of getting married why not come to Reaseheath? It's an attractive location (complete with wooden panelled mansion, lake and attractive grounds), where you can also host your wedding.

For more details of Wedding Fayres at Reaseheath click here.

Internet Explorer 8

2009-03-19T18:29:00.000Z

I decided to give Internet Explorer 8 a download, to see if there were any significant improvements. I found I couldn't download it using Internet Explorer 7, but ironically I could using Chrome (my preferred browser)!

I feel that Internet Explorer 8 does for browsers what Vista did for Windows (I don't like either). It may be more secure, but now I get loads of messages about add ons etc. which I didn't want. I am struggling to find any real benefits (it's slow to load), so I'll be sticking with Chrome.

Zattoo

2009-02-03T19:44:00.001Z

Have just downloaded Zattoo:

http://zattoo.com as recommended by Computer Active magazine.

It's an easy way to watch TV on your computer.

A new use for Google satellite images!

2008-12-03T19:07:00.000Z

I expect you'll find a better use for this site:

http://www.geogreeting.com/view.html?ysUrkDoUlsvvcCUtyuoC#t

Virtual Pilot

2008-11-28T19:11:00.001Z

Warning - this could be addictive:

http://www.lufthansa-usa.com/useugame2007/html/play.html

Viewzi

2008-10-08T11:05:00.002+01:00

It's still in beta, but Viewzi is a great new way of searching the web.
http://www.viewzi.com

Google Chrome

2008-09-03T07:05:00.004+01:00

Have just tried Google Chrome, the new browser from Google.

It's still in beta and I think it's just for Windows Vista/XP at present.

I like it, it's significantly faster than Internet Explorer or Firefox.

http://www.google.com/chrome

Better OS Maps

2008-08-17T07:49:00.002+01:00

I've been irritated for a long time by Ordnance Survey's pathetic online maps (see http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/getamap) and the high cost of digital maps. I support the Free Our Data campaign, this is work that has been done at the tax payers expense.

Anyway I was delighted when I found this site:
http://wheresthepath.googlepages.com/exploreabiggermap.htm
where you can see nice big Ordnance Survey maps and this site:
http://wheresthepath.googlepages.com/wheresthepath.htm
where you can compare OS maps with Google Satellite photos.

Maths, chemistry, songs and fridges

2008-08-15T11:19:00.003+01:00

Once a month I get an e-magazine from John Dalziel at JISC. Its aimed at FE lecturers, but has all sorts of interesting things in it.
http://www.rsc-northwest.ac.uk/acl/eMagArchive

Don't you wish you had access to this site when studying chemistry at school:
http://www.periodicvideos.com?

This site:
http://www.ecalc.com
is great for anyone who wants an online scientific calculator.

And if you want the words to that song, try:

http://lyricsfly.com

I especially liked this video about how to make a computer desk out of an old fridge:

Help wanted - Google maps

2008-08-14T11:39:00.002+01:00

I've got a map of food shops I've visited which I'm trying to refine:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=106273319835681929644.000444227fe63c2e1930f

I laughed at Channel 4 when they launched their Big British Food Map
http://www.channel4.com/food/big-food-map/explore-map/index.html
as I knew it would get unwieldy once they'd got over 200 entries, but now they've refined it and it's my map that's getting unwieldy! I now realise I need to an easy guide to clustering.....

I like Julian's maps at Eat Shrewsbury:
http://www.eatshrewsbury.co.uk/eatmap.php

I'm struggling to grasp Google Map API concepts and was hoping I could find an easy way to do it.

Whilst looking for help I stumbled across this site, which I thought was rather fine:
http://www.nearby.org.uk/google

p.s. since writing this, I've discovered:
http://gmaps-samples.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/spreadsheetsmapwizard/makecustommap.htm

&
http://mapalist.com

Both are good for beginners. Make sure you have the correct Lattitudes and Longitudes, I use:
http://www.batchgeocode.com

Editing photos on-line

2008-08-04T14:26:00.002+01:00

You would think that everyone would have photo editing software on their computers, especially as programs like Picasa are available free of charge.

However if like me you find yourself at a friends house and need to show them how to edit or resize a picture there are several good and free programs where you can do this on-line.

Phixr prefers you to log on but you can upload and edit an image for a few hours without logging on:
http://www.phixr.com

There's also Photoshop Express, a cut down version of Photoshop :
http://www.photoshop.com/express

My favourite at present is:
http://fotoflexer.com/

Useful Online Maps

2008-08-01T08:40:00.002+01:00

There are some great mapping services on the Internet. Many use Google Maps http://maps.google.co.uk, but in some areas Live Search Maps http://maps.live.com has a better resolution.

Flash Earth http://www.flashearth.com is a good way to compare different aerial views.

There's many more mapping sites here:
http://www.nantwich.plus.com/travel/#maps
which site is the best depends on what you're using it for.

I recently discovered this site: http://stable.toolserver.org/geohack/geohack.php?language=en&params=53.08364000000000_N_-2.5268900000000000_E_region:GB_scale:25000

It quickly shows lots of different maps for one site. The link above is for Reaseheath College, but you can change the grid references in the URL for another place.

Nobody will ever dare say "Get Lost" to IT lecturers with these tools!

New ways to search Flickr

2008-07-31T14:45:00.000+01:00

I keep finding new ways to search Flickr.

Tag Galaxy was one of my favourites
http://taggalaxy.de
and now I've just found TagGraph which I think I prefer
http://taggraph.com

First Post

2008-07-30T13:52:00.001+01:00

I've always been a bit suspicious of blogs, I'm reminded of the words of Benjamin Disraeli:

"For the first six months, you should listen and not become involved in debate," Disraeli advised a newly elected member of the Parliament. "But," the man replied, "my colleagues will wonder why I do not speak." "Better they should wonder why you do not speak," explained Disraeli, "than why you do."

Against my better judgement I started a blog on Good Food Shops (http://goodfoodshops.blogspot.com/) which not surprisingly is on Good Food Shops (but sometimes wants to become a travel guide).

I now keep finding things to say which are nothing to do with Good Food, so have decided to start another blog.....