tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-314608732024-03-05T10:12:12.175+00:0042 @ 60Someone once asked Paddy Ashdown “Why write a diary?” He replied, “So my grandchildren would know what their Grandpa did.”
My mother died from Alzheimer’s disease a couple of years ago, and by the time I finally got round to pose the questions I should have asked her years before, she was beyond replying.
For five years I thought I was writing this for myself. Now I’m not so sure ………rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.comBlogger388125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-46038752751913477392013-12-15T14:46:00.000+00:002013-12-15T14:46:03.338+00:00DRS - A Day 3 view after a couple of glasses of Sauvignon<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's Midnight just before Start of Play on Day 3, so what else other than some Ramblings on DRS on a Saturday night after a couple of glasses
of Sauvignon? Yes I know it's almost the definition of "sad", but there you are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As far as the technical
equipment is concerned, it’s much more complicated than I
originally thought. It involves consideration of a very complex technical
issue (a rough, rotating sphere spinning and moving through a varying and
viscous atmosphere) which has a requirement for a very accurate and speedy element of measurement
at the heart of it, followed by a calculated prediction based on those
measurements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It also includes an awareness (I was going to say an understanding
but I’m not sure anyone out there really “understands” it!) of how an umpire’s mind works
when that mind is out in the middle of a field for 8 hours a day, watching a
ball being bowled 540 times. Add in the stress, add in the heat, add in the umpteen
outside influences which can and must influence any human mind and you can only
be surprised at just how good they actually are. As an aside, it does make you
wonder how Jim Laker’s 19 for 90 figures would have changed if DRS had been
invented 50 years ago!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On a different tack and on a much more ethereal wavelength, it needs to recognise the
subtle and nuanced issue of “The Spirit of Cricket” - a thing which means very different things to different people. Is the umpire still to be
seen as God on the pitch or, now that the facility has become available via
technology to improve, support or question his decision making capability, should this
new capability be admitted (and to what degree?) within the Laws to override or influence his original decision? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To take the technical issue first, we have to accept that
the DRS system is inherently inaccurate. I don’t think anyone disputes that
but, that is not the point. You have to compare the accuracy of both the umpire and the box of technical tricks which now sits alongside him at the same time to make an informed judgement. The real issue for HotSpot etc. here is “Is its inherent accuracy
sufficient to offer an improved decision?” As an aside, it has always fascinated me that our
Indian friends seem to have rejected the system because it’s not completely 100% fool
proof. At the end of every Away Series they all get onto an aeroplane (the same aeroplane even!) and fly home. Now I have a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, and I know only too well that there is no such
thing as a 100% safe aircraft. The Indians seem to want to play hardball when they are just playing a game,
and offer themselves up to whichever God they follow (I was going to say "take a flyer", but that wouldn't have been very tasteful) when their lives depend on it. Weird.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My understanding is that the ICC statistics show that Elite
panel umpires get something around 92% of their decisions correct, and that
this is improved to something like 96% when DRS is involved. On the face of it,
this doesn’t seem like much of an improvement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But turn the numbers the other way round. On their own,
umpires therefore get 8% of their decisions wrong, a figure reduced to 4% if
they use DRS. That is an improvement of 50%! If you offered any engineer a
system which halved the error rate on whatever he was developing, he’d bite
your hand off. And yet here we are scratching each other’s eyes out as to
whether it improves the situation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Actually, I think the issue is greater than that. Not all
umpire decisions are the same. Some are easy and some are very marginal. The
92% figure presumably includes both sorts of decisions. For the “hitting middle
stump a foot off the ground” decision, the success rate is probably 100%, and DRS
would never be at variance with an umpire’s decision. As the ball starts to
swing, or move nearer the leg or off stump, the error rate increases. So the
probability is that for the “difficult” decisions (a hairsbreadth away from the
outside of the leg stump bail) I suspect the accuracy of most umpires’ judgment
starts to resemble tossing a coin. If this is the area which becomes contentious
where discussions about DRS are concerned, then the reality is that we’re probably
understating the improvement we get when DRS is used – and probably by quite a
lot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the points you make in your article is important.
However much it improves, it will still leave an area where errors still
persist, and the consequent question of what we should do about it. The boffins
will argue that the system will continue to improve, and it will, but always
leaving a smaller element of error. We have to decide if we live with that or
not. Perfection is not attainable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The good thing about a system like DRS is that it’s not
subject to the vagaries of an umpire’s mind. Its internal algorithms and controls
rules are the same for every ball. Unlike an umpire, who is in the final
analysis a human being, the system doesn’t look at a small diversion on the sightscreen
at the wrong time. It isn’t deflected by a hilarious timely sledge from one of the
22 wits on the field. It’s on all the time, unvaryingly, unblinkingly. And it
doesn’t have to look at the back of the bowler’s foot ½ second before he needs
to make a potentially match changing decision some 20 yards away. And it doesn’t
suffer from stress like an umpire must, particularly at pivotal moments in a
match. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am personally sold on it, as a system. Anything which
improves the quality of a decision is good in my book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No, the real issue here is different. It’s down to how we
use it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">· - <!--[endif]-->Should the players have a say, or should the
decisions be solely the responsibility of the umpire, with no claim for
redress? One referral? Two referrals? Top up after 80 overs? What logic gave
birth to that one?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">· - <!--[endif]-->Should the off-field umpire be constantly talking
to the onfield umpires to tell them what DRS is saying, so the onfield umpires
always know before they announce a marginal decision what the guys up in the
box are going to say, so reversals of the decision disappear? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">· - <!--[endif]-->Do we have the right qualities in our umpires,
or is there a different set of skills required by a Third Umpire? Many of the
Twitter blow-ups are rooted firmly in this area in my view.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">· - <!--[endif]-->How important is the “flow” and the speed of the
game? DRS is a real interrupter in the continuity of play, but then so are
drinks breaks, and players going off the field to pick up a packet of Polos. And
those are far more easily solved. Real time Snicko must surely be a significant
addition to the technical armoury here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">· - <!--[endif]-->Should the Umpire still be seen as the ultimate
decision maker? Surely, that was OK when there was nothing to help him, but
life has, whether we like it or not, changed for ever. Pandora’s box opened a few
years ago and DRS flew out. It cannot be closed, at least with DRS back inside
it. So the new systems will always be there, and the TV companies will be showing
it. I can’t believe the umpires want to have all their errors, however
unintentional they are, shown on every big screen and TV in the land, and not
have the power to correct them on the field of play. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So let’s live with it, and simply accept that there will
still be errors. To me setting a set of rules which are something like – <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">· - <!--[endif]-->No mark on HotSpot, the ball didn’t touch the
bat. Sometimes that will be wrong, but – Live with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">· - <!--[endif]-->No Snicko perturbation, the ball didn’t touch
the bat. The fact that the audio and visual signals are not quite in sync is surely
down to internal processing lags and perhaps the fact that sound travels slightly
slower than light. Sometimes that will be wrong, but – Live with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">· - <!--[endif]-->Hawkeye is a bit more difficult. Its predictive
element is, I suspect far more accurate than an umpire’s judgement, at the
margins. So personally, I’d remove the Umpire’s call caveat. If either all of
the ball or an agreed small amount of the ball is predicted to hit the wicket,
then as far as I’m concerned, I’d give it out. The fact that there’s an Umpire’s
call involved seems to be irrelevant. At the margin, I think he’s just
guessing, and the maths done by Hawkeye must be more reliable. When you’re
doing a landing at a fogbound airport, I’d much rather rely on the box of
tricks in the cockpit and on the ground, rather than on a highly stressed pilot’s
eyesight. Even though the Automatic landing system is only reliable to 1 in
10,000,000. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyway, Day 3 starts in a couple of hours, so an hour of
sleep beckons! Let’s hope the sleep deprivation will be worth it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Roger Cable<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Update at 12.00 Sunday. Well - it wasn't! Tired and seriously disappointed. What on earth has happened to our team? Win or Lose - that’s what
happens, but the way it’s all unravelled is really, really depressing. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-84733962047511695762012-12-12T22:01:00.001+00:002012-12-12T22:01:42.113+00:00Ravi Shankar in Concert<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8268301778/" title="Ravi Shankar in Concert"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8494/8268301778_5f04468df4.jpg" alt="Ravi Shankar in Concert by rogercable2011" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8268301778/">Ravi Shankar in Concert</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/">rogercable2011</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>A picture I took in Birmingham in June 2011 when the great man played at a 90th Birthday celebration concert in Symphony Hall.<br /><br />He seemed to struggle to walk onto the concert platform, but when one of his entourage placed his sitar gently in position in front of him, it was as if a bolt of electricity had been fired through him. He played for almost two hours and I was overwhelmed by his performance. You simply wouldn't believe he was in his tenth decade.<br /><br />A remarkable man.</p>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-90730835101315698412012-10-22T00:39:00.001+01:002012-10-22T00:39:50.572+01:00Suffolk 2012<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8110611984/in/set-72157631823333735/" title="Aldeburgh - Britten memorial Church window" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8046/8110611984_bc1bf4194b_s.jpg" alt="Aldeburgh - Britten memorial Church window" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8110613118/in/set-72157631823333735/" title="Aldeburgh - Benjamin Britten's Gravestone" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8475/8110613118_f93b5107d2_s.jpg" alt="Aldeburgh - Benjamin Britten's Gravestone" style="border:none; 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padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8473/8110622948_638c4db082_s.jpg" alt="Edge of Darkness" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8110616429/in/set-72157631823333735/" title="Southwold Beach" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8464/8110616429_39231900b4_s.jpg" alt="Southwold Beach" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8110617083/in/set-72157631823333735/" title="Southwold - Beach Huts" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8195/8110617083_df2d19a9af_s.jpg" alt="Southwold - Beach Huts" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8110625384/in/set-72157631823333735/" title="Southwold - Beach Huts" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8467/8110625384_fdd59761b3_s.jpg" alt="Southwold - Beach Huts" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8110625840/in/set-72157631823333735/" title="Southwold - Beach Huts" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8326/8110625840_d00354b63e_s.jpg" alt="Southwold - Beach Huts" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><div style="padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/gallery-empty-icon.gif" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"></div><div style="padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/gallery-empty-icon.gif" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"></div><div style="padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/gallery-empty-icon.gif" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"></div><div style="padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/gallery-empty-icon.gif" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"></div><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157631823333735/">Suffolk 2012</a>, a set on Flickr.</p></div><p>Pictures taken on the East Coast in Suffolk. Aldeburgh, Southwold, Thorpeness, Dunwich are all seaside haunts which have a great feel to them, with a welcome lack of brash commercialisation. </p>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-8007350697372915872012-10-19T00:03:00.001+01:002012-10-19T00:03:28.741+01:00Venice - 2012<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101198355/in/photostream/" title="Venetian Dusk" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8331/8101198355_60fccbf6c6_s.jpg" alt="Venetian Dusk" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101209694/in/photostream/" title="Gondolas at rest" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8048/8101209694_32f8279222_s.jpg" alt="Gondolas at rest" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101197525/in/photostream/" title="Grand Canal View" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8332/8101197525_c82b1e7e80_s.jpg" alt="Grand Canal View" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101208698/in/photostream/" title="Boy with Frog" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8101208698_7b414d7cc9_s.jpg" alt="Boy with Frog" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101196529/in/photostream/" title="Boy with Frog - detail" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8475/8101196529_dc229f0e16_s.jpg" alt="Boy with Frog - detail" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101196283/in/photostream/" title="Grand Canal View" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8186/8101196283_c50fe06a7c_s.jpg" alt="Grand Canal View" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101207596/in/photostream/" title="Grand Canal before Sunrise" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8331/8101207596_94422011c9_s.jpg" alt="Grand Canal before Sunrise" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101207122/in/photostream/" title="Piazza San Marco" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8054/8101207122_70522fc347_s.jpg" alt="Piazza San Marco" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101206588/in/photostream/" title="Sunlight on Venetian walls" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8195/8101206588_6836866de0_s.jpg" alt="Sunlight on Venetian walls" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101194369/in/photostream/" title="Beware of Gondolas" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8101194369_fe4ffac0fd_s.jpg" alt="Beware of Gondolas" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101193911/in/photostream/" title="What's the Italian for "Manana"?" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8464/8101193911_8fdfc89cb2_s.jpg" alt="What's the Italian for "Manana"?" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101193421/in/photostream/" title="Taxi, but not as we know it" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8323/8101193421_747f87860b_s.jpg" alt="Taxi, but not as we know it" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101204734/in/photostream/" title="The Picture Framer" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8189/8101204734_1174ba182a_s.jpg" alt="The Picture Framer" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101192483/in/photostream/" title="The Violin Player" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8324/8101192483_2aaf61a061_s.jpg" alt="The Violin Player" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101203838/in/photostream/" title="Gondola with Dog" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8463/8101203838_8df3c34863_s.jpg" alt="Gondola with Dog" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101191341/in/photostream/" title="Venetian Bride" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8469/8101191341_c23159a143_s.jpg" alt="Venetian Bride" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101202852/in/photostream/" title="Punta della Dogana" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8053/8101202852_415f8518a7_s.jpg" alt="Punta della Dogana" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101190363/in/photostream/" title="Santa Maria della Salute" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8101190363_ac11c2c2d3_s.jpg" alt="Santa Maria della Salute" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101201822/in/photostream/" title="Early Riser" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8050/8101201822_032409dd26_s.jpg" alt="Early Riser" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101201350/in/photostream/" title="Canal View" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8324/8101201350_881748d727_s.jpg" alt="Canal View" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8101188869/in/photostream/" title="Gondola Prow" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8472/8101188869_d8f452b515_s.jpg" alt="Gondola Prow" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087934024/in/photostream/" title="We apologise for the delay to this train ...." style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8055/8087934024_a47ec9f12f_s.jpg" alt="We apologise for the delay to this train ...." style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087933520/in/photostream/" title="London - South Kensington" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8087933520_ffcd397a9d_s.jpg" alt="London - South Kensington" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087932784/in/photostream/" title="London - Pavement Performer" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8185/8087932784_5c7559a5a1_s.jpg" alt="London - Pavement Performer" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/">rogercable2011's photostream</a> on Flickr.</p></div><p>Finally, I get to take some pictures in Venice. You've seen hundreds of pictures of the place, but it's still a thrill when you first set foot in the city - it's like being teleported back 700 years.<br /><br />A fantastic place.</p>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-91219584021780469172012-10-14T23:10:00.001+01:002012-10-14T23:10:05.868+01:00London - 2012<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7667487690/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="Other Colours are Available - 8" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7667487690_e0a6d011e3_s.jpg" alt="Other Colours are Available - 8" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7667488892/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="Other Colours are Available - 7" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7129/7667488892_f9d0e33ffc_s.jpg" alt="Other Colours are Available - 7" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7667489910/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="Other Colours are Available - 6" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8146/7667489910_3dc6590072_s.jpg" alt="Other Colours are Available - 6" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7667491234/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="Other Colours are Available - 5" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7667491234_fda7387bd5_s.jpg" alt="Other Colours are Available - 5" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7667492114/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="Other Colours are Available - 4" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7277/7667492114_1130f4c994_s.jpg" alt="Other Colours are Available - 4" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7667493258/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="Other Colours are Available - 3" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7255/7667493258_0d4c3a25fa_s.jpg" alt="Other Colours are Available - 3" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7667494366/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="Other Colours are Available - 2" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7667494366_0396a6b5bd_s.jpg" alt="Other Colours are Available - 2" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7667495504/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="Other Colours are Available - 1" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7667495504_d30e7ccf61_s.jpg" alt="Other Colours are Available - 1" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087925790/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="London - Terence Cuneo's mouse" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8188/8087925790_55967f2a22_s.jpg" alt="London - Terence Cuneo's mouse" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087926966/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="London - Street Art near the River" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8465/8087926966_1eaeb28403_s.jpg" alt="London - Street Art near the River" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087927946/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="London - Michelin Building tiles" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8044/8087927946_89633439af_s.jpg" alt="London - Michelin Building tiles" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087928908/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="London - Knightsbridge Shop interior" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8467/8087928908_6065a8d0d5_s.jpg" alt="London - Knightsbridge Shop interior" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087929901/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="London - Knightsbridge Shop Exhibit" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8045/8087929901_29341495ce_s.jpg" alt="London - Knightsbridge Shop Exhibit" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087930662/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="London - Science Museum" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8465/8087930662_7c2e276d24_s.jpg" alt="London - Science Museum" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087931808/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="Science Museum exhibit" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8045/8087931808_448c6d2e88_s.jpg" alt="Science Museum exhibit" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087932784/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="London - Pavement Performer" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8185/8087932784_5c7559a5a1_s.jpg" alt="London - Pavement Performer" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087933520/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="London - South Kensington" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8087933520_ffcd397a9d_s.jpg" alt="London - South Kensington" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/8087934024/in/set-72157630800745032/" title="We apologise for the delay to this train ...." style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8055/8087934024_a47ec9f12f_s.jpg" alt="We apologise for the delay to this train ...." style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157630800745032/">London - 2012</a>, a set on Flickr.</p></div><p>Some more pictures taken on a day in London this July, with the Olympics a few days away. I wandered around some of my University haunts in South Kensington, bringing back memories from 45 years ago. </p>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-42305944805955306302012-10-02T00:02:00.001+01:002012-10-02T00:05:36.311+01:00Barcelona 2012<div style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0; width: 500px;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558587744/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Barcelona Door Knocker"><img alt="Barcelona Door Knocker" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7558587744_72c506ccc6_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7617883634/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Sagrada Família - Passion Facade"><img alt="Sagrada Família - Passion Facade" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8153/7617883634_800ab26478_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7617881916/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Sagrada Família - Christ on the Passion facade"><img alt="Sagrada Família - Christ on the Passion facade" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7617881916_5022133156_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7617880236/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Sagrada Família - Passion Facade"><img alt="Sagrada Família - Passion Facade" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7260/7617880236_06eff220dd_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7617878540/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Sagrada Família - Passion Facade"><img alt="Sagrada Família - Passion Facade" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7617878540_6994c75a9e_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7617876888/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Sagrada Família - Passion Facade"><img alt="Sagrada Família - Passion Facade" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8020/7617876888_211935bb82_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7617875364/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Sagrada Família - Passion facade"><img alt="Sagrada Família - Passion facade" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7617875364_f452e71c37_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7617873362/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Sagrada Família - Passion Facade"><img alt="Sagrada Família - Passion Facade" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8159/7617873362_b38e6d37c8_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7617871820/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Sagrada Família - Passion Facade"><img alt="Sagrada Família - Passion Facade" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8154/7617871820_a1a94635e7_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7617869684/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Sagrada Família - Ornamental Decoration"><img alt="Sagrada Família - Ornamental Decoration" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8153/7617869684_390d37cc4f_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558604610/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Palau de la Música Catalana – Stained Glass Dome"><img alt="Palau de la Música Catalana – Stained Glass Dome" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8288/7558604610_c61c584057_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558602560/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Palau de la Música Catalana – General View"><img alt="Palau de la Música Catalana – General View" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7558602560_b7d472fac6_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558601014/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Palau de la Música Catalana –"><img alt="Palau de la Música Catalana –" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7558601014_208d924aca_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558599534/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Palau de la Música Catalana – Stained Glass Dome"><img alt="Palau de la Música Catalana – Stained Glass Dome" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7259/7558599534_6d179bf61d_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558597646/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Palau de la Música Catalana"><img alt="Palau de la Música Catalana" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7558597646_2b456b71dd_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558596350/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Palau de la Música Catalana – Roof detail"><img alt="Palau de la Música Catalana – Roof detail" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7558596350_9a9b8b52eb_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558595608/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Message board outside Palau de la Música Catalana"><img alt="Message board outside Palau de la Música Catalana" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7558595608_9dcb8d9459_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558594342/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Barcelona side street with Spanish Flag"><img alt="Barcelona side street with Spanish Flag" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7119/7558594342_30fa26b4d6_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558593180/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Graffiti"><img alt="Graffiti" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7278/7558593180_7f97709be1_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558591646/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Museu d'Art Contemporani - Exterior view"><img alt="Museu d'Art Contemporani - Exterior view" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7265/7558591646_fb5c6eece7_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558590750/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Graffiti Door painting - 1"><img alt="Graffiti Door painting - 1" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8425/7558590750_03397c2805_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7558589112/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Graffiti Door painting - 2"><img alt="Graffiti Door painting - 2" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7558589112_03af5d9161_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7639284596/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Balcony watcher"><img alt="Balcony watcher" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7277/7639284596_243b54e123_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7639286428/in/set-72157630549404486/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Washing Lines"><img alt="Washing Lines" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7639286428_939edfd2eb_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157630549404486/">Barcelona 2012</a>, a set on Flickr.</div>
This was the first visit in my life to Spain. <br /><br />Rather depressingly, I'd thought I'd try to give myself a bit of background history to the country by reading the story of the Spanish Civil War. 5 days of wandering around the streets of this lovely city made me realise that there's another side to it all. The place is full of colour and life, with a real buzz and excitement, the food is excellent, and some of the "Must-See" sights are really extraordinary.<br /><br />I really loved it, although you couldn't miss a feeling of rebellion and barely suppressed strife which are still there in 2012.rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-63432794503595980902012-07-06T21:05:00.001+01:002012-10-02T00:07:22.222+01:00London - 1991<div style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0; width: 500px;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7516366492/in/set-72157630453699554/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="London Bridge"><img alt="London Bridge" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7516366492_513cca1d35_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7516374242/in/set-72157630453699554/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Cannon Street Railway Bridge as the early morning fog lifts"><img alt="Cannon Street Railway Bridge as the early morning fog lifts" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7516374242_92a0066ae2_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7516374940/in/set-72157630453699554/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="London Bridge - HMS Belfast"><img alt="London Bridge - HMS Belfast" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7516374940_d92d2c19e2_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7516373546/in/set-72157630453699554/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Southwark Bridge - early morning"><img alt="Southwark Bridge - early morning" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7255/7516373546_51aabcc1e7_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7516372248/in/set-72157630453699554/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Blackfriars Bridge at sunrise"><img alt="Blackfriars Bridge at sunrise" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7516372248_ce28b3d8eb_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7516371218/in/set-72157630453699554/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Thames Barrier"><img alt="Thames Barrier" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7516371218_bb3d2a1f23_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7516370036/in/set-72157630453699554/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="London, Dover and Chatham Railway Bridge"><img alt="London, Dover and Chatham Railway Bridge" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8161/7516370036_246e2e806d_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7516368782/in/set-72157630453699554/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Blackfriars Bridge"><img alt="Blackfriars Bridge" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7516368782_da5449fa38_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7516367766/in/set-72157630453699554/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Grosvenor Railway Bridge"><img alt="Grosvenor Railway Bridge" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7516367766_9453696c64_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157630453699554/">London - 1991</a>, a set on Flickr.</div>
Photographing London is an almost impossible challenge. <br />
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It’s so big that the only chance you’ve got is to select one facet of the city and then concentrate on that. So, just before I moved away from the South East of England, I set about taking some pictures of London’s river and the bridges which spanned it. The Thames is a magnificent river, and its bridges, old and new, road and rail, are all different and worthy of a closer inspection than most people normally give them. The colours and the shapes, the different designs and the various locations are quite stunning when you look at them in some detail.<br />
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The pictures here were all taken in 1991, and they have all been scanned from original transparencies taken on Fuji Provia 100 film.rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-34229237974857713092012-06-06T00:30:00.001+01:002012-06-06T00:30:38.794+01:00Queen's Jubilee Beacon - Lyth Hill Shrewsbury<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7157616403/in/set-72157629998667327/" title="Beacon Silhouette" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/7157616403_a012cc177a_s.jpg" alt="Beacon Silhouette" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7157618383/in/set-72157629998667327/" title="Baby let me light your fire" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7211/7157618383_be8816eb67_s.jpg" alt="Baby let me light your fire" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7157617729/in/set-72157629998667327/" title="Burn Baby Burn" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8026/7157617729_de981a03bc_s.jpg" alt="Burn Baby Burn" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7157617233/in/set-72157629998667327/" title="By the light of the silvery moon" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7214/7157617233_edfffca003_s.jpg" alt="By the light of the silvery moon" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><div style="padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/gallery-empty-icon.gif" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"></div><div style="padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/gallery-empty-icon.gif" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"></div><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157629998667327/">Queen's Jubilee Beacon - Lyth Hill Shrewsbury</a>, a set on Flickr.</p></div><p>To celebrate 60 years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, this was one of over 4000 beacons lit on the night of June 4th. We could see 4 more from our vantage point looking out over Southern Shropshire.<br /><br />It all made one feel truly honoured to be British. Not a night to be a Republican!<br /><br />God Save the Queen.</p>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-59819601298206170802012-06-06T00:25:00.001+01:002012-06-06T00:25:38.493+01:00Olympic Torch heads to Much Wenlock<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7157664639/in/set-72157629998873697/" title="A "Once in a Lifetime" shot" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8023/7157664639_8cc815f744_s.jpg" alt="A "Once in a Lifetime" shot" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7157663789/in/set-72157629998873697/" title="Union Jill" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7228/7157663789_0a60b8995e_s.jpg" alt="Union Jill" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7342871656/in/set-72157629998873697/" title="No Republicans around here!" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7225/7342871656_5483af9237_s.jpg" alt="No Republicans around here!" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7157666443/in/set-72157629998873697/" title="Buildwas School wave the Flag" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8008/7157666443_430f2e8017_s.jpg" alt="Buildwas School wave the Flag" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/7342869998/in/set-72157629998873697/" title="The Torch passes through Cressage" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7224/7342869998_9982eb8493_s.jpg" alt="The Torch passes through Cressage" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><div style="padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/gallery-empty-icon.gif" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"></div><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157629998873697/">Olympic Torch heads to Much Wenlock</a>, a set on Flickr.</p></div><p>This July, the 126th Wenlock Olympian Games - in many peoples' eyes, the real version of the modern Olympics - will be held. The product of a Victorian Visionary, Dr William Penny Brookes, they started in the middle of the 19th Century in Much Wenlock. Brookes was a philanthropist whose goal was Victorian Social Reform. <br /><br />He wanted to improve the lot of the working classes by encouraging them to take part in physical recreation, and he organised an annual event in the town with a range of competitions. The event grew larger, attracting people from wider and wider regions of the country.<br />In 1890, a Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin visited Brookes to see the Games, and a few years later he set up the International Olympic Committee. <br /><br />The rest, as they say, is history. <br /><br />It is entirely fitting that the 2012 Olympic Torch doffs its flag, so to speak, to the small Shropshire Town where it all started.<br /><br />These pictures were taken in Cressage, a couple of miles north of the town.</p>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-18289825445052949402012-02-07T20:57:00.000+00:002012-02-07T20:57:39.095+00:002005 Audi TT Mk 1 Coupe for Sale<br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Men don’t cry, but there is a fair chance I’ll have a tear
in my eye when my coveted Audi TT finally goes off to its new owner. It’s one
of the very last Mark 1 TTs ever made, and in my eyes, this car is the best looking
car ever designed in the last 50 years.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiButXWVXsJUhqOmznGSP6SWSj0ns8VQO6aVMvsEIm8btrwCJs-FXFN0_XzxFyDmXSU4DnDUNpuZZ24GiHwVqpJpcbYzEzOnsiUgYUf6Si5BeQREDlE4Gdm4Zk70wAfdrbC5boV-g/s1600/_D3C8320-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiButXWVXsJUhqOmznGSP6SWSj0ns8VQO6aVMvsEIm8btrwCJs-FXFN0_XzxFyDmXSU4DnDUNpuZZ24GiHwVqpJpcbYzEzOnsiUgYUf6Si5BeQREDlE4Gdm4Zk70wAfdrbC5boV-g/s320/_D3C8320-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Audi TT for Sale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I ordered one on the First Day of the Motor Show in 1998, and,
mainly because of medical problems resulting in a Heart By-Pass, had to cancel
it just before it was delivered. By that time, I’d ordered a number plate for
it which I’ve had on a succession of cars ever since that date.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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A couple of years ago, I decided that I wanted to own one
and set about looking around for the best one I could find, something which was
a bit more difficult now that the original car has been out of production for 6
years. After many months, I found one which fitted the bill perfectly, in an
Audi Dealership in the north of England. It was almost the last one made, had a
very low mileage, was painted in the classic German Racing colours of Avus
Silver, had every extra on the Audi Option List fitted to it, had never been in
an Accident, and had been through Volkswagen’s 110 point Used Car Check List,
before being put on sale.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I rang the dealer, immediately put a deposit down on it, and
set off the next day to see it. Thank Goodness I had done that, because the
list of people who’d not been quite as quick on the draw as I had was amazing.
This came to light when I was daft enough to try to negotiate a discount on it,
and the salesman simply showed me the list of e-mails from potential buyers on
his computer. One poor guy had turned up in the dealership with the asking
price in used pound notes a few minutes after I’d paid my money over, and went
berserk because the Salesman wouldn’t sell it to him. The Early Bird, and all
that …..<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfGZIMLNksXYjG1gdwiDEJvB3VVXF-GRsguw32rK-H5mbJ75ZkKyYl0zq9iYh7BqL7x7gB2i1jsHiFOGTVfEY2tXZw-5f3Jj1WFBhDw-LEUVFpqloEF4mFjzA-Kx3-96jugxjqQ/s1600/_D310976-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfGZIMLNksXYjG1gdwiDEJvB3VVXF-GRsguw32rK-H5mbJ75ZkKyYl0zq9iYh7BqL7x7gB2i1jsHiFOGTVfEY2tXZw-5f3Jj1WFBhDw-LEUVFpqloEF4mFjzA-Kx3-96jugxjqQ/s320/_D310976-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior View</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZb952ou6haEY4t6ZfV3CS98Y4oh7gIHcKmsPrSooTDKDRloHAkHlnOZeZEjpddIuiU4Ihocl8PeD1GOyPSurVC4ZDfvaVCKiQlhUx2wNCyoaEpBdpO6L5H5jKT07F5VV4NZk3wA/s1600/_D310981-Edit-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZb952ou6haEY4t6ZfV3CS98Y4oh7gIHcKmsPrSooTDKDRloHAkHlnOZeZEjpddIuiU4Ihocl8PeD1GOyPSurVC4ZDfvaVCKiQlhUx2wNCyoaEpBdpO6L5H5jKT07F5VV4NZk3wA/s320/_D310981-Edit-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All doors open</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQsW5Xrxeef2lN9cFtYJAFCO6epy3jgWVuWD1v4b9RULZDPsKlS0MKX55GL562_AFeZum-Vs3MXmlxphbQcqkKVgdbPW8LTYKoNPyjgV7N5EuUgH4f0yABJfEoQRPdPq7UPyv7w/s1600/_D310982-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQsW5Xrxeef2lN9cFtYJAFCO6epy3jgWVuWD1v4b9RULZDPsKlS0MKX55GL562_AFeZum-Vs3MXmlxphbQcqkKVgdbPW8LTYKoNPyjgV7N5EuUgH4f0yABJfEoQRPdPq7UPyv7w/s320/_D310982-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rear View - Personalised Number Plate not for sale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1BsQ4h8PGzDkPEeEQLSOYQcLA8b33U9MyUwZl0IkPipPSbJvFyPhPA8EQv0WfQvg_fnfVwrWNNjRLrDwUYTtqGcjLg52O74RwxTjafNTAejzKsaic1cOKpIzZYPGS8Elo8RU6Dw/s1600/_D310984-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1BsQ4h8PGzDkPEeEQLSOYQcLA8b33U9MyUwZl0IkPipPSbJvFyPhPA8EQv0WfQvg_fnfVwrWNNjRLrDwUYTtqGcjLg52O74RwxTjafNTAejzKsaic1cOKpIzZYPGS8Elo8RU6Dw/s320/_D310984-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front View - Personalised Number Plate Not for Sale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyQ_jXvK70ckdP_iDKaO9GAb-r9IkusOxhAltP2sS0WMX3XLYtGwwxewKmCVQY-zDsx0UmBHOSqGl27Y9ZO9vSbz1gbM-xCBS6YM910rQJt69oeGxRdLu2Zi8emAs7HCUj8WdOw/s1600/_D310986-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyQ_jXvK70ckdP_iDKaO9GAb-r9IkusOxhAltP2sS0WMX3XLYtGwwxewKmCVQY-zDsx0UmBHOSqGl27Y9ZO9vSbz1gbM-xCBS6YM910rQJt69oeGxRdLu2Zi8emAs7HCUj8WdOw/s320/_D310986-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side View</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaFKcReaxJtNGOkW96gmHC8w1SdZpbDZWqFx0PNnByGLPfjcHqQdtlv8SrVFwxwmWJshgtYtqtqCEFbE-hmSVFZbEvEBJ-P87SWT2wCkIJIhUdx-1-9_MlcukQI2wSU4IPjTLkQ/s1600/_D310974-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaFKcReaxJtNGOkW96gmHC8w1SdZpbDZWqFx0PNnByGLPfjcHqQdtlv8SrVFwxwmWJshgtYtqtqCEFbE-hmSVFZbEvEBJ-P87SWT2wCkIJIhUdx-1-9_MlcukQI2wSU4IPjTLkQ/s320/_D310974-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rear Corner View</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I drove it and bought it, it was as simple as that. I couldn’t
find a fault on it, inside or out. I’ve since driven it for about 12,000 miles
in the last 18 months, and it has been absolutely perfect. Nothing has even
looked as if it was going to go wrong. It’s really two cars in one. It drives
like a saloon car when you want to pick the grandchildren up from school, and it
changes very quickly into a very exciting car if that’s what you want. In
truth, I don’t think it’s an out and out sports car. To me it’s a perfect Grand
Tourer. Ideal for two people, and a pile of luggage. If you wanted to jump in
in and drive across the continent, you’d just get in and off you’d go. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m of an age now when I’m entitled to a Bus Pass, although,
as a point of Principle, I refuse to get one, and the running costs are less
than I’d anticipated. It does 29mpg in my hands, although my driving, which
averages 33mph may help a bit here. I insure it for just over £300 per year, and,
apart from routine servicing, and a new set of tyres a few miles ago, I’ve not
had to spend a single penny in its upkeep. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, if it’s that good, why is it for sale? <o:p></o:p></div>
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My wife cannot get comfortable driving it, as she cannot get
used to the low driving position after her VW Tiguan. And I refuse to put our
dog in the back as it would make it dirty (the car, not the dog). So, it’s all caused
a bit of marital disharmony, and, much as I love the car, I love my wife more. So,
the car has to go. It’s a close run thing. If I had a bit more room on my drive
for a third car, I’d keep it, but I haven’t, so there we go.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, I’ve already bought the next best thing – a late spec Volkswagen
Golf R32. Same power unit (it’s a truly fantastic Engine/Gearbox combination),
same high spec, but this has four seats – and space for the pooch. It’s a really
lovely car, but whilst it drives and handles just like the Audi, it’s nowhere
near as good looking. Every time I get out of the Audi, I have a smile on my
face and I still find myself looking out of the window at it, just to admire
its design. The Golf is a very, very good car, but you don’t drool over it, or
at least I don’t. Head, not Heart, if you get my drift.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I can’t say this Audi is the best one available to buy - anyone
who says that about the car they’re selling has got to be fibbing a bit. All I
can say is that, it was the best one I could find when I looked around, and I
looked at an awful lot of them. I have a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, so
I like to think I know what I’m looking for! And absolutely nothing has gone
wrong in the 18 months I’ve had it. Inside and out, it looks far newer than you’ve
any right to expect from a 2010 motor car let alone one built in 2005.
Everything works as it should. It’s got the highest spec you’ll find, and it’s
never been abused. I can’t think of a single thing which would mark it down.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The VW Used Car checking programme is as thorough as any in
the car industry, and they won’t sell a car in their Dealerships if it doesn’t
pass every one of their 110 checks. That’s why you find hardly any Mark 1 TT’s
for sale in the VW/Audi Network – and why I snapped this one up so quickly. So,
if you can find a better one, then I would suggest you grab it immediately.
Personally however, I can’t think of any way you’d improve on the one I’m
selling, but that decision is down to you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If there’s anything you want to know about the car, please
email me, or ring 07686 195222. I’ll do what I can to answer your questions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Additional features
on this car - <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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• <b>Special <i>Avus Silver</i> Metallic Paintwork</b> – a
shade darker and much more subtle than the standard Silver paint finish<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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• <b>Heated Pale Grey
Nappa Leather Seats</b> – they are very classy, in my opinion, and lighten the
interior up no end<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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• <b>Factory Fitted Audi
Satellite Navigation System<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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• <b>Cruise Control<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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• <b>Factory Fitted Cup
Holders</b> (believe it or not, these are very rare!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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• <b>Factory Fitted “Bose”
Sound Upgrade</b> for some serious sounds!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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• <b>Factory Fitted 6 CD
Autochanger <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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• <b>18 inch Seven Spoke
Alloy Wheels </b>(unkerbed)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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• <b>4 new Pirelli P Zero
Rosso tyres</b> a few hundred miles ago<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <b>Rubber Mats</b> as
well as Carpets<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <b>Main Beam Bulbs upgraded</b>
with <b>Philips X-Treme Power Bulbs</b> –
these are the best and brightest legal bulbs available in the UK. The Standard dipped
beam Xenons are very good, but the standard Main beams are not adequate in my
opinion<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <b>MOT until end June
2012<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <b>Taxed until end July
2012<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <b>Spare Tyre included</b>
– the car has no space for a spare, so I’ve kept a decent spare if you need a
replacement quickly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• <b>VW/Audi Extended Warranty</b>
available<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>In addition to the
above, the Car’s Standard Spec is very high</b> – see below<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• 2005 (55 Reg) Model Year – first registered October 2005</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Two previous owners<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• 35,500 miles<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• 3.2 litre V-6 engine<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• DSG Paddle Shift 6 Speed Automatic Gearbox<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Full Service History<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Launch Control<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Air Conditioning<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Electric Windows<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Electric Door Mirrors<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Climate Control<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Headlight Washers<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Xenon headlights<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Audi “Chorus” Radio/Cassette system<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Side Airbags<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Switchable Passenger Airbag<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Driver’s Airbag<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Traction Control/ESP<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Folding Rear Seats<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Front Fog Lights<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Remote Central Locking<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Service Indicator<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Trip Computer<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• 2 Keys<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
• Unfortunately the Personalised Number Plate is Not for Sale<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are interested in this car, preferably please visit the Autotrader Site, or email me on roger.cable@gmail.com. Alternatively ring 07786 195222.</div>
<br />rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-66281455756740948942012-02-02T16:52:00.001+00:002012-02-02T17:04:45.410+00:00Paris - 2010<div style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0; width: 500px;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804086113/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Self Portrait - with flowers"><img alt="Self Portrait - with flowers" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6804086113_248438c56b_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804187689/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="And then there were Three ...."><img alt="And then there were Three ...." src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6804187689_393c3e4e8a_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804185007/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Us and Our Shadows - with added Pigeon"><img alt="Us and Our Shadows - with added Pigeon" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6804185007_42e6b9f0c6_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804183537/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="One Step at a Time"><img alt="One Step at a Time" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6804183537_d51ca1b06b_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804182057/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Green Paris"><img alt="Green Paris" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6804182057_c7b1c98a7e_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804180671/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Give me a Cuddle"><img alt="Give me a Cuddle" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6804180671_0aa96f19f1_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804179587/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Deux Chevaux - 2 Horse Power"><img alt="Deux Chevaux - 2 Horse Power" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6804179587_4d5ba47c53_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804189613/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Form and Function"><img alt="Form and Function" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6804189613_c32f205e88_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804177471/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Me, Myself and I"><img alt="Me, Myself and I" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6804177471_d07fd5d59a_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804190555/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Paris Dawn"><img alt="Paris Dawn" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7028/6804190555_6f21a03cf0_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804176065/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="I need a croissant - Now!"><img alt="I need a croissant - Now!" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7168/6804176065_2fd22384a8_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804174615/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Tricolor - the river at night"><img alt="Tricolor - the river at night" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6804174615_5e4d1170d4_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804173383/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Pyramide du Louvre"><img alt="Pyramide du Louvre" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6804173383_cfbef6ed31_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804172093/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Ancient and Modern a la Francaise"><img alt="Ancient and Modern a la Francaise" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6804172093_4f37a99333_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804170779/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Night view of the Seine"><img alt="Night view of the Seine" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7156/6804170779_c50c94b1b2_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804169449/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Scrummy"><img alt="Scrummy" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6804169449_ebf8bcd1ef_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804168607/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Shop Window"><img alt="Shop Window" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6804168607_d16364b9f6_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804167097/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Fauchon"><img alt="Fauchon" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6804167097_87cc604fc1_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804166279/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Window display"><img alt="Window display" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6804166279_68239e0fdc_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804165107/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Monet - Orangerie"><img alt="Monet - Orangerie" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6804165107_cae31d2654_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804164599/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Monet - Close Inspection"><img alt="Monet - Close Inspection" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6804164599_4bccd1a1c4_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804163379/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Monet - Water Lily detail"><img alt="Monet - Water Lily detail" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6804163379_220696dbba_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804162125/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Musee d'Orsay - van Gogh"><img alt="Musee d'Orsay - van Gogh" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7168/6804162125_f28b3ecb87_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6804161369/in/set-72157629136014013/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Monet painting"><img alt="Monet painting" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6804161369_4459a2196d_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157629136014013/">Paris - 2010</a>, a set on Flickr.<br /><br /></div><i>"Do you want to go to the best Monet Exhibition for 40 years?"</i> said my Brother in Law, Malcolm.<br /><br /><i>"Yes"</i> I replied.<br /><br /><i>"That's great"</i> he said.<br /><br /><i>"Where is it?"</i> said I.<br /><br /><i>"Paris."</i><br /><br />Pause. He lives in North Yorkshire, and my home is in deepest Shropshire.<br /><br /> "Even better." said I.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">So started a short trip to the French Capital in November 2010 with my Brother in Law, Malcolm. We stayed in a hotel a few yards off the river next door to the Musee d'Orsay, and had 5 days wandering around this lovely city. We ended up seeing four separate exhibitions of Monet paintings, and I came home thinking I'd probably seen every single brush-stroke he'd ever painted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Because we were staying so near the river, to get around we used the <i>Batobus</i>, a river based taxi service which chugged its way up and down the Seine. As a way of getting around a big city in style, it's unbeatable.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">People sometimes moan about Paris, but I think it remains one of the most enjoyable places to spend some time. Visit the <i>"Must see</i>" sights by all means, but there's just as much pleasure wandering around the back streets.</div>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-12035746175376335552012-01-16T00:39:00.001+00:002012-01-16T00:39:19.142+00:00France Sud - 2011<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703629493/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Provencale Roof Tiles" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6703629493_02ee3dbe02_s.jpg" alt="Provencale Roof Tiles" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703631933/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Aigues Mortes - Chair detail" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6703631933_e3d4243677_s.jpg" alt="Aigues Mortes - Chair detail" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703633717/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Aigues Mortes - Knickers" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6703633717_6074bec319_s.jpg" alt="Aigues Mortes - Knickers" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703636473/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Aigues Mortes - Mannequin with Drain Pipes" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6703636473_fa8776e4ec_s.jpg" alt="Aigues Mortes - Mannequin with Drain Pipes" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703641651/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Aigues Mortes - Windowbox" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6703641651_f60ca7c8d6_s.jpg" alt="Aigues Mortes - Windowbox" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703647219/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Aigues Mortes - For Sale" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7007/6703647219_2ebd849344_s.jpg" alt="Aigues Mortes - For Sale" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703649871/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Aigues Mortes - Constance Tower" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6703649871_a835f73ca0_s.jpg" alt="Aigues Mortes - Constance Tower" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703654903/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Camargue White Horse" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6703654903_3fcf96449e_s.jpg" alt="Camargue White Horse" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703658801/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Carcassonne Cemetary" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7157/6703658801_e55e3c13ec_s.jpg" alt="Carcassonne Cemetary" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703661267/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Vantage Point" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6703661267_7b4a58f85c_s.jpg" alt="Vantage Point" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703663975/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Chocolat" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6703663975_d89c7b29e0_s.jpg" alt="Chocolat" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703667349/in/set-72157628885497461/" title=""Absente" makes the heart grow fonder" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6703667349_e1ff31d392_s.jpg" alt=""Absente" makes the heart grow fonder" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703671069/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Sete - Restaurant detail" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6703671069_90278ec51b_s.jpg" alt="Sete - Restaurant detail" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703673961/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Le Marseillois" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7014/6703673961_c7b4543d2c_s.jpg" alt="Le Marseillois" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703677835/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Marseilles - Rubbish as an Art Form" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6703677835_6094e58757_s.jpg" alt="Marseilles - Rubbish as an Art Form" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703679909/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Marseilles - Fish Market" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6703679909_71c1044cd8_s.jpg" alt="Marseilles - Fish Market" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703683973/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Boat for Sale - Marseilles" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7032/6703683973_e13e27f4bd_s.jpg" alt="Boat for Sale - Marseilles" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703687063/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Me Neither" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6703687063_5042e047ff_s.jpg" alt="Me Neither" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703692299/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Marseilles - Church of Notre Dame de-la-Garde" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6703692299_4c4b6602f7_s.jpg" alt="Marseilles - Church of Notre Dame de-la-Garde" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703696115/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Marseilles Football - bird's eye view" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6703696115_9b237c9253_s.jpg" alt="Marseilles Football - bird's eye view" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703699045/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Maison Carree - Nimes" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7146/6703699045_4792c4c993_s.jpg" alt="Maison Carree - Nimes" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703701609/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Pont Saint-Benezet - Avignon" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6703701609_5bf6fe45a0_s.jpg" alt="Pont Saint-Benezet - Avignon" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703703507/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Actually, it's my dog that looks like me" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6703703507_2766792a19_s.jpg" alt="Actually, it's my dog that looks like me" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6703713415/in/set-72157628885497461/" title="Montpellier Fountain" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7032/6703713415_1cb55dfbc0_s.jpg" alt="Montpellier Fountain" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157628885497461/">France Sud - 2011</a>, a set on Flickr.</p></div><p>A set of images taken in 2011 in Montpellier, Marseilles, Nimes, Carcassonne, the Camargue and Aigues Mortes - all beautiful places to visit.<br /><br />I went there in Spring 2011, and based myself in Montpellier. This is the eighth biggest city in France, and probably the one with the most progressively modern approach in the country. <br /><br />It really has got everything - weather, decent food and access to the sea and some of the great sites of Roman Provence.</p>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-2078240876402043252012-01-10T19:45:00.001+00:002012-01-10T20:03:59.006+00:00A Day in Perugia<div style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0; width: 500px;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662870637/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="The obligatory Washing Line"><img alt="The obligatory Washing Line" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6662870637_c63ff390b9_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662909773/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Graffiti artist's paint cans"><img alt="Graffiti artist's paint cans" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6662909773_3a2726ef43_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662908585/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Railway Station Graffiti"><img alt="Railway Station Graffiti" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6662908585_ae397d0e3c_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662905591/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="More Graffiti"><img alt="More Graffiti" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6662905591_f730500807_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662903257/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="And more ...."><img alt="And more ...." src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6662903257_4f2c87a222_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662900155/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="And more ....."><img alt="And more ....." src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6662900155_25592cbcdf_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662896825/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="And even more ......."><img alt="And even more ......." src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6662896825_52283ba22f_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662894129/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="And yet more ......"><img alt="And yet more ......" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6662894129_366384cedd_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662891895/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="People giving it all some scale ..."><img alt="People giving it all some scale ..." src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6662891895_7486655982_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662890117/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Graffiti detail"><img alt="Graffiti detail" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7007/6662890117_5cdf51a5f1_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662887721/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="More Graffiti detail"><img alt="More Graffiti detail" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7164/6662887721_8f9046d3a6_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662879311/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Fountain in City Centre"><img alt="Fountain in City Centre" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6662879311_d2117f1e9a_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662877433/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Flaked Out"><img alt="Flaked Out" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7030/6662877433_248b728a5f_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662875553/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="International Friendship"><img alt="International Friendship" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6662875553_bed491552c_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6662873365/in/set-72157628783886071/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Perugia Walkway"><img alt="Perugia Walkway" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7032/6662873365_16289393f2_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157628783886071/">A Day in Perugia</a>, a set on Flickr.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">
Last Autumn, I took myself off to Tuscany and Umbria for a few days just wandering around and taking pictures – as well as filling up on more than a few Italian meals. A couple of days in Pisa and Lucca, followed by mooching around Siena and the beautiful hill villages of the Val d’Orcia. My last day was spent in Perugia, the capital of Umbria, right in the centre of the country. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s a city of some 350,000 people, and one which in the past has clearly been a very affluent part of the world. The buildings are ornate, large and very impressive. Like so many of the important Italian towns in this part of the world, it’s built on a hill, so getting up to it is a bit of a trek. Perugia however has spent a fair amount of money building a dinky little metro system which winds its way from places like the railway station, up through sinuous tunnels bridges right into the heart of the city. Very welcoming to me after five days of trudging up from lowly positioned car-parks up into vertiginously located villages. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">
I took a fair number of pictures of the city – it’s a real joy to wander around. Located where it is, a fair distance from any of the “major sights” in the country, it doesn’t immediately jump out at you as the “Must See” attraction which it is – hence a pleasant lack of tourists (hypocritical sod!). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These pictures however are not the classic Umbrian Tourist Board views of the place. As I set off back to my base in Siena, I chanced across a young guy spray painting a graffiti painting on a wall next to the railway station, and after convincing him I was not after fingering his collar, I spent a while talking to him. Whenever I disappear off on one of these jaunts, I always write a diary, jotting down what I saw, what I felt, what impressed me and what didn’t impress me on my travels. For the five days of this holiday, the dairy ended up just over 16,000 words. Here is the extract (of 492 words) which relates to my introduction to Perugia’s new Caravaggio. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“As I left the station, I looked along the road and saw an Underpass with a couple of interesting looking graffiti on the concrete walls leading into it. I wandered along to get a better look and take a couple of pictures, and as I neared them I could see a few more bending round the corner. I started taking a few pictures and as I got further round, Lo and Behold there was a guy painting one. He’d got his ladder and his spray cans out and was in the throes of doing the outline for a new one. It was pretty big, about 10 feet high and 40 feet wide. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The guy saw me snapping away, stopped and came over to me. He was very suspicious at first, and we had a funny old conversation with me in very stilted Italian, and him in much better English about what I was doing. He was standing there wearing a handkerchief over his face, with the dual purpose of protecting him from the paint spray, and also making him far more difficult to recognise if the fuzz came along the road. He said he had to do it all with a very weather eye out for what he saw as “snoopers”. To start with, he suspected I might be an undercover Italian Cop trying to catch him out, but it didn’t take too long to make him realise that I really was a genuine English tourist just looking for a decent picture to take. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We had a good half hour talking about the politics of graffiti, and he came across as a hugely dedicated young man, mad keen and committed to what he was doing. He explained that the “Old Guys” art was up in the town’s Art Galleries, whereas all he and his fellow accomplices were doing was the same thing, but down here in the city’s underpasses. I’d never thought about it like that and it was hard to argue with him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The city seemed to have come to a tacit arrangement with him and his fellow Banksys. The underpasses were pretty dismal, being just blank slabs of minimalist, flat concrete, and the authorities seemed to be prepared to let them carry on down here as long as they left the main part of the town alone. I must say, although I can’t quite reconcile the act of defacing someone else’s property with it all, I do find some of them very inventive, clever and often impressive. Most of them have a real zest, colour and a life to them which is hard to resist.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I agreed to take a few more pictures and to e-mail them to him when I returned to England, although I did agree not to put any of him up on the Internet, just in case the local plods were looking on the web for evidence to nab him. All in all, he was a really nice guy and it was a totally unexpected and enjoyable half hour in his company.”</div>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-70609875948119974402012-01-04T21:35:00.000+00:002012-01-04T21:57:30.611+00:00Blot on the Landscape - Theatre Severn<br />
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Look at it, I mean just look at it. This is the Theatre
Severn in Shrewsbury. It has to be one of the most unattractive modern buildings
you’ve ever seen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdTlRxyEFLx6SyLR1EAB7-36mB7-ZSamvbBrNOQ9N4NQQIDuts6MwdcdXDIHIejg90PJxM_NdOtP1WSRoxq7OsouUDknkxDLWxXIsQAk4JlZRLIrYqwY1vA78eUfkdXyuZJ-u0g/s1600/theatre+7+1+120101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdTlRxyEFLx6SyLR1EAB7-36mB7-ZSamvbBrNOQ9N4NQQIDuts6MwdcdXDIHIejg90PJxM_NdOtP1WSRoxq7OsouUDknkxDLWxXIsQAk4JlZRLIrYqwY1vA78eUfkdXyuZJ-u0g/s400/theatre+7+1+120101.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Architectural Mediocrity by the River</td></tr>
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Every time I go there (and I go there quite a bit) I drive out
of the car park mentally scribbling away at a piece for my blog, ranting about
just how boring and ugly the place is. I must have written the piece in
my head about a dozen times over the last year, but finally, I’m sitting down
to put <i>“pen to paper”,</i> so to speak.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t get me wrong, it’s just the outside that upsets me. What
goes on inside is really good. I am a great fan of live theatre. If ever the
marketeers who look at these things tried to home in on the typical potential
customer for such a venture then, Yep, I’m Yer Man. Over the couple of years
since the new theatre has been open, the shows they have put on have given me a
serious amount of pleasure. Alan Ayckbourn plays, concerts, several Ballets, a
couple of brilliant Pantomimes, singers like Elkie Brooks – even Giles
Brandreth rabbiting on for an evening – all have entertained me extremely. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But that’s on the inside. It’s when you get outside it that
your (or at least my) head drops. Who on earth designed the thing? Shrewsbury
is a really attractive town which sits on Britain’s longest river, the Severn, as
it flows around the Town Walls in a beautiful sweep. So you’ve got a Heaven-sent,
once in a lifetime site for it all, sitting alongside a lovely stretch of the
Severn that most towns would give at least their eye teeth for. As a backdrop
to the theatre, there is a lovely graceful bridge which elegantly arcs over the
river. So what then do “they” do? They erect a showpiece building, using MY
money I might point out, which looks for all the world as if their design inspiration
was a dilapidated and unloved 1960s Secondary School. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Yes, Yes I know Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder and all
that, but apart from the Architect’s mother (and, having thought about it, I
wouldn’t even put a huge bet on that actually) and possibly the wretched individual
on the Council who had responsibility for its final approval, I refuse to
believe that there is a single person in the town who can look on it with
anything other than varying degrees of loathing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Go on then, find one. And when you’ve got past the sheer
uninspired blandness, unconnectedness and nothingness of its shape, then look at the detailing
on it. It seems to have been constructed from nasty beige Breeze Blocks, old
lavatory bricks and some reclaimed bits of fencing nicked from one of the local
Council’s allotments. Even the naming on it, which should proudly proclaim such
an important undertaking seems to have been a total afterthought, designed to
be unreadable and invisible from anywhere it might be viewed. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRm9i0Lr-YMwP3wEvc72QNCXe3UTtFWE6_XuRjKWIlWajkPsuBm7PD52Z4BsPLENiNGpbiTSLqF0I2BAU6w_ouCFKt7u9MxPIc2swivUYS2dlG75_oAn6hrXd3dnAxbfL6Vj0Z9g/s1600/theatre+severn_D310847-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRm9i0Lr-YMwP3wEvc72QNCXe3UTtFWE6_XuRjKWIlWajkPsuBm7PD52Z4BsPLENiNGpbiTSLqF0I2BAU6w_ouCFKt7u9MxPIc2swivUYS2dlG75_oAn6hrXd3dnAxbfL6Vj0Z9g/s400/theatre+severn_D310847-Edit.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what it looks like after about 2 years - very, very depressing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwWnnk9hB7h9vatJzzGfP1UWMZAxi2SG0OcfBbpnA2mj4cgzHDBRhW9L2nroN9LwSdyJliRZJgpADRAKFu8xP65HDHTQ7oFw45XGG2ZuWnS3vMwU9mcIf1EaoIL_d93Yae4Rz36Q/s1600/theatre+severn_D310849-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwWnnk9hB7h9vatJzzGfP1UWMZAxi2SG0OcfBbpnA2mj4cgzHDBRhW9L2nroN9LwSdyJliRZJgpADRAKFu8xP65HDHTQ7oFw45XGG2ZuWnS3vMwU9mcIf1EaoIL_d93Yae4Rz36Q/s400/theatre+severn_D310849-Edit.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the entrance - a structure for which the word<br />
"unprepossessing" was coined </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now I am absolutely and utterly NOT a “Prince Charles” Luddite
as far as modern architecture is concerned. Some of it is fabulous, and, done
properly, can change for ever the way a town or city is perceived.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
As an example, go to Birmingham and marvel at the Selfridges
building. It’s only a department store, but what a terrific looking building.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Wander around the City of London, and you will still be astonished
at Richard Rogers’ incredible Lloyds Building, so fresh after 20 years. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Further afield, think how Geary’s fabulous Guggenheim Museum
in Bilbao has completely transformed that city into a major visitor attraction.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Look with unprejudiced eyes at London’s Millenium Dome. See
it at sunset from across the river, and it’s a remarkable sight.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Think about how a building like Utzon’s Opera House in
Sydney, once derided for looking more like a Nun’s Scrum, became an icon for
new Australia. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Be amazed at the daring of the Pyramid outside the Louvre. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The common factor in all these buildings is Bravery. Having
the vision, and the balls to do something out of the ordinary. Not taking the
safe option. Yes, occasionally it goes wrong, but so often, over the years, the
leap into the unknown turns into something great.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Yes, I know that Shrewsbury is not Paris or London or
Birmingham, and it has far less resources at its disposal than these other
large cities. But the fact is that the new Theatre Severn cost around £28
million, and, however you look at it, that’s a lot of money. Enough, you’d think,
to buy you a design you can be proud of – if that’s what you want and set out
to achieve. This building is going to be around for many decades, and there are
enough examples around where inspirational design does not cost the earth. All
you need is the person with the inspiration. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Architecture is the only art form I know where the general
public are exposed to it, whether they like it or not. If you don’t want to go
to a concert, or a play or visit a museum, then the answer’s simple – Don’t Go.
Which fact, on its own, is a good enough reason for those responsible to try
harder when they are building something new and important with public money. I don’t know whose fault it all is. Architect or Client? Or
conceivably <i>“person or persons unknown”</i> as the police like to call it, but I
can’t for the life of me think who they might be.<br />
<br />
So on the one hand, there’s
the Client, who I suppose is, or was the <i>Shrewsbury
and Atcham Council</i>, and on the other there’s the Architect – <i>Austin-Smith:Lord.</i> To my simple mind, if
the fault in it is the design brief from the Council, then any self-respecting
architect should be prepared to decline the work, or make such a fuss that the
client realises the error of his ways, and gets them to pull their socks up and
improve the brief. You'd like to think of them as the conscience of the observer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If it’s the Architect who isn’t coming up to scratch, then
the Council should tap them firmly on the shoulder and get them to put someone
on the job who can fulfil their (and our) expectations. No doubt, if you ever
tried to get to the bottom of it, all you’d get is a gaggle of mutually
pointing fingers. ‘Twas ever thus. My only wish is that someone had asked my
opinion before signing it off! That would have been one fence on which I would
not have sat.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
If you look around it all now, it’s all a bit sad. The
Architects <i>Austin-Smith:Lord</i> are in
the process of filing for Insolvency and the Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough
Council disappeared in 2009 as one of the consequences of this country’s
permanent process of local government rearrangements, so any thought of actually
finding anyone to shout at has probably disappeared as a result. The outside of
the building looks in desperate need of a bit of TLC, with the recycled allotment
fencing crying out for a lick of something to stop it rotting in front of us, making an unattractive building even worse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So I will continue to be disappointed and a bit depressed
whenever I look at it on my visits there. The only good thing resulting from
the current financial squeeze is that the Council don’t seem to want to spend any
money on lighting it at night, so for the most part, it’s shrouded in darkness
whenever I go. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s an Ill Wind …….<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tabs:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/shrewsbury" rel="tag">shrewsbury</a>,
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/theatre%20severn" rel="tag">theatre severn</a>,
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/austin-smith:lord" rel="tag">austin-smith:lord</a>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-46680302740892224682011-12-28T10:51:00.003+00:002012-01-04T22:03:30.347+00:00Beethoven's Choral Symphony<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Is Beethoven’s Choral Symphony the greatest piece of music
ever written? It’s there or thereabouts as far as I’m concerned, and it’s been
that way now for many decades. A towering piece of invention with an
overarching structure, a staggering opening, a beautiful slow section and a final
movement which changed music for ever. Immense power combined with great warmth
and humanity, it always leaves me speechless. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I’ve heard it a few times during my lifetime, not too often
I have to say. This is NOT background music to be played on an iPod as you jog
around the local park. It demands and deserves your full and undivided
attention. The best performance I ever heard was at the end of the Beethoven
Cycle which Simon Rattle gave as his last concerts with the City of Birmingham
Symphony Orchestra, in around 1995. It made such an impact on me, I can still
hear it today.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfimODk8W2JTg5lWxidX1JAU_lqEYDjlC49jbC0cNJluuSUogYJvJJbi6HRFKrPQZ59MtDZUvAysTvvaowdzTkZQFog85sJaBrofouRzUbmGPbYAdUGxVhWqeK3WQO_mUTxXzHzg/s1600/IMG_4686.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfimODk8W2JTg5lWxidX1JAU_lqEYDjlC49jbC0cNJluuSUogYJvJJbi6HRFKrPQZ59MtDZUvAysTvvaowdzTkZQFog85sJaBrofouRzUbmGPbYAdUGxVhWqeK3WQO_mUTxXzHzg/s320/IMG_4686.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The LSO taking the applause.</b><br />
(There's definitely something going on <br />
between the Piccolo and the Horn Player!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In my life, a fair amount of water has flowed under a
reasonable number of bridges since that performance, and tonight was the first
performance of the 9<sup>th</sup> I’ve been to since that night. A few days ago,
I trooped off to Symphony Hall to hear it performed once more, this time performed
by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Sir John is at the vanguard of the revival of early music, and
its playing on instruments of the time. His performances are often described as
<i>“blowing the cobwebs”</i> off the music, with consistently faster tempi than those
perhaps we (certainly I)have become accustomed to experience over my lifetime. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The curse of music – the record, CD or LP – comes into play
here. Ever since I became addicted to music I have bought recordings to play
when ever I wanted. The inevitable downside of this is that it is all too easy to
imprint a “standard” recording - one which becomes the definitive performance -
into one’s brain. So, when someone comes along with a different way of
performing it, you have to approach it with an open mind, something which is
often not easy since you may have heard your “standard” performance hundreds of
times. Anyway, I flung the doors of my mind open as far as possible and hinged
them back as I set off for Symphony Hall.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
There’s almost a classic programme which is played when the
Choral Symphony is performed. Beethoven’s 1<sup>st</sup> Symphony is often used
as the first part of the programme. Written about 20 years apart, the two works
document and demonstrate the vast distance Beethoven moved the whole of music over his life
time. His First Symphony is a homage to Haydn and Mozart, and his last, two
decades on, sits literally in another world. This comparison shows the power, the vision and the importance of the man, and why to me he is simply the Greatest Artist the world has ever
known. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The 1<sup>st</sup> Symphony suited Sir John’s style
perfectly. It was lively but with a great degree of power and muscle, and it
showed up the LSO’s virtuosity quite superbly. His conducting places significant
demands on the orchestral players, but they handled it with great panache. I
can’t recall hearing it played any better than this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Now the Choral Symphony is a beast of very different shape and
dimensions, literally music from another age. The LSO’s forces were not
massive, as Sir John’s approach was for precision, accuracy and fleet of
footedness rather than the huge orchestras I have been used to. He positioned
the violins all across the front of the soundstage, and sited the deeper
Strings on the left rather than the right. The Monteverdi choir numbered “only”
about 40 strong, which was about 25% of the size of the forces under Rattle’s
baton 15 years ago. For reasons I for one couldn’t understand, the four
soloists sat on chairs on the far left of the orchestra, almost as if they were
on the Naughty Step for musical misdemeanours unknown to the audience. Surely,
they were not going to perform their roles, which are central to the last
movement, from the wings? Intriguing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
There were a lot of extremely good things about the
performance, but, sadly, I was not won over. Maybe it’s my inbuilt “<i>Ludditeness</i>”,
I don’t know, but it all seemed a bit of a rush. The LSO’s playing was
terrific, giving the aura of a powerful car under the conductor’s baton, which
responded instantly to his every demand. A special mention is in order here for two
of the players. Firstly the percussionist who I thought had a fantastic touch
and a great technique. Secondly the Piccolo player, a lady who sat on the stage
unmoved for almost all of the performance like an admiring groupie for the
woodwind player next door. When her time came, she stood up and her little set
of pipes soared way above the rest of the orchestra – she played it extremely
well. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I enjoyed the precision and beauty of the playing, but to
me, this is music which needs space to breathe. The slow movement wasn’t that
slow. It is a piece of serenity to me in the midst of some of the most tempestuous
music you can find, and here it seemed to lack that air of stillness I want
from it. I’m sure Sir John, who is 3 years older than I am, would look over his
glasses, muttering something about “fuddy-duddy”, but it didn’t work for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The last movement took on the air of a man who had glanced
at his watch and had realised that if they got a bit of a Wiggle on, they could
just about make it onto the earlier train home. It rocketed off at a hell of a
rate, and when the soloists each walked onto the centre of the stage, mid
performance (very distracting I have to say), I felt they were hanging onto the
conductor by his coat-tails. They then, as their individual contribution was
over, trooped off to their seats in the wings. All too “Brian Rix” farce for
me, and quite unnecessary and theatrical. It took something away rather than
adding to the performance. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The whole performance was all very virtuosic, but in its
tumultuous surge, to me it lost the essential importance, size and impact of
the composer’s message. This is after all one of the greatest and most powerful
moments in all music, and the speed it was played, whilst giving a real sense
of forward motion, seemed to me to leave the essence of the music behind in the
rush. Perhaps it was just me, but Sad.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So there you go. The whole place rose as one to applaud the
evening, as I did. You couldn’t fault the energy, the precision or the passion
of the playing. I just wanted a bit more grandeur and space. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Tabs:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/beethoven" rel="tag">beethoven</a>,
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/choral%20symphony" rel="tag">choral symphony</a>,
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/eliot%20gardiner" rel="tag">eliot gardiner</a>,
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/symphony%20hall" rel="tag">symphony hall</a>,
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/lso" rel="tag">lso</a>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-76479398244401985632011-12-22T11:55:00.001+00:002011-12-23T01:10:00.074+00:00Santa - MPRP (Mince Pie Replacement Programme)<div><div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As part of the author's household's Continuous Improvement food diversification and development programme, a decision has been made that Santa's unremitting annual diet of Mince Pies and Sweet Sherry needs significant overhaul and modification. A full strategic review concluded that he must endure an almost unremitting boredom of around a billion separate mince pies in an evening each Christmas Eve, as well as explaining precisely why this makes him the size he is.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My daughter is the Head of Development for the new Santa "<i>Taste Sensation</i>" project and I have taken on the vital role of Chief Testing Guinea Pig as the development programme moves forward. The project has been under-way for a couple of days now, and the first batch of development prototypes have emerged from the Experimental Workshop's finishing oven. The picture below shows one of the prototypes in its current early stage of proof testing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2W7c3B7hVecbAcUTKHvzsnqV_GFMRQUi2VGjOR29wkZOPWEJsQfDNjBPU-fNZHnGGq7_l6OAlwUp0qULe9GdFH45cK6ySFuiiY7GIw6Xp5rXeuyn_rkp_I7HhIM5N2nhMKVxQGg/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2W7c3B7hVecbAcUTKHvzsnqV_GFMRQUi2VGjOR29wkZOPWEJsQfDNjBPU-fNZHnGGq7_l6OAlwUp0qULe9GdFH45cK6ySFuiiY7GIw6Xp5rXeuyn_rkp_I7HhIM5N2nhMKVxQGg/" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sneak picture of the first development Florentine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is a Nut free (we have inside knowledge that Santa is not too partial to nuts), Stem Ginger, Sour Cherry and Mixed Peel Florentine on a base of Dark Melted Chocolate. The exact number of early prototypes is classified, but rumours are circulating that a number in excess of 12 are currently in existence. These rumours are difficult to corroborate as subsequent rumours appearing no more than an hour later offer conflicting evidence that the whole batch is no longer in existence.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Details of the early tests results are, of course, highly secret, but a <b><i>Likileaks </i></b>report indicates that the taste is sensational. The bite of the sour cherries and the warm buzz of the Stem Ginger mingle together extremely well. The tiny espresso mug, again produced by my daughter, is smaller than 2" in height and gives some scale to the Florentine, as well as holding a perfect accompaniment to it. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is expected that very few design and development changes will be needed before Production Volume Approval is given, although a modified design with a larger surface area, capable of holding a significantly increased payload of glace fruit is rumoured to be under consideration. Stress and Cost calculations for this upgrade are underway with a detailed Cost/Benefit Analysis expected shortly. Decisions on the final size and resultant calorie content of the first production version will be made during today, and commitment to volume production is expected very soon, allowing quantity production to be well on stream by December 24th. Inventory channels are being filled and supply chain optimisation for Class A ingredients on a Just in Time/Lean Sourcing basis is almost complete. A local launch programme involving intense house based marketing is thought to be in final development.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Leaks obtained from Secret Plans seen by the author suggest that the first of the fully productionised Florentines will be made available on the night of Christmas Eve as Santa makes his annual visit to Shropshire. These leaks also indicate that the Sweet Sherry accompaniment of previous years will also be phased out and replaced by a small glass of locally sourced Marmalade Vodka.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is anticipated that this major food development programme will make improve Santa's HQ (Happiness Quotient) by up to 87%, and any idea of him just taking a nibble out of the pie and a sip out of the glass, as was usual in previous years, will become a thing of the past. Evidence of both licking of the plate, and fingers being wiped round the inside of the glass are fully expected as a result of this major product Upgrade. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A short Situation Report on the early Performance of the Christmas Eve launch may be available soon after Christmas, as well as any proposals for subsequent wider Market roll-out. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Please note that this information is embargoed until 23.59pm 24th December.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Tabs:</div>
</div>
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/christmas" rel="tag">christmas</a>,
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/santa" rel="tag">santa</a>,
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/mince%20pies" rel="tag">mince pies</a>,
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/florentines" rel="tag">florentines</a></div>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-25037180039887461962011-11-25T00:33:00.001+00:002011-11-25T13:41:46.972+00:00Mayday, Mayday ......<div style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0; width: 500px;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397026467/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="The rope was not being very helpful ...."><img alt="The rope was not being very helpful ...." src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6107/6397026467_8a7d913ffe_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397038333/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="A local boat comes to the rescue"><img alt="A local boat comes to the rescue" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6397038333_8f45d34884_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397037073/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Down and Down we go"><img alt="Down and Down we go" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6397037073_5cb75ffed1_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397035673/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="The Cavalry appears"><img alt="The Cavalry appears" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6397035673_30a6c224d5_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397034543/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Working out what to do"><img alt="Working out what to do" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6397034543_421755084d_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397033657/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="The Heavy Mob arrives"><img alt="The Heavy Mob arrives" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7144/6397033657_256d0fc4ba_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397032327/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="I think it's a Goner ......"><img alt="I think it's a Goner ......" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7164/6397032327_8e1d6a9424_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397030901/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="The Recovery starts"><img alt="The Recovery starts" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6110/6397030901_d15757bc2e_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397028821/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="The Rubber necks appear - including me!"><img alt="The Rubber necks appear - including me!" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6233/6397028821_fb5b373146_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397027387/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Securing the rope"><img alt="Securing the rope" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6397027387_692ed3beff_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397025293/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Here we go again ....."><img alt="Here we go again ....." src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7019/6397025293_79ce55cfb9_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397024483/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="He's still at it ....."><img alt="He's still at it ....." src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6397024483_c2d91babc1_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397023581/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Flotsam and Jetsam"><img alt="Flotsam and Jetsam" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6397023581_6a0f951537_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397022017/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="One last pull"><img alt="One last pull" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6397022017_47c974a47a_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6397020393/in/set-72157628135986065/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Final Resting Place"><img alt="Final Resting Place" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7035/6397020393_461e41a727_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157628135986065/">MayDay, MayDay ......</a>, a set on Flickr.</div>
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On holiday in Devon, near Salcombe. The house we were renting was literally 10 yards from the sea, and one Saturday afternoon, the gentle rustling of the waves was interrupted by a siren. Looking out of the window, we could see a largish boat wallowing in the sea about 5 yards form the shore.</div>
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It gradually sank into the water, and very soon, the local Coastguard vehicle and lifeboat appeared, as well as a sizeable posse of local people, all hell bent on sorting it out. Over the next couple of hours, as much of the boat's contents as possible were recovered, but it all got in a fair old pickle in the water. At the same time, the local youths set about getting a very thick rope around the hull to allow a JCB brought onto the beach by a local fellow to haul the sunken vessel up the steep slope onto the beach.</div>
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This took a fair length of time, because the rope did not want to stay in place, but with a good deal of determination, they finally managed it.</div>
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Meanwhile the poor souls who owned the boat were looking at all this going on with a bit of a shell shocked attitude, as what started out as a gentle potter around the South Devon Coast turned into a fair old nightmare for them.</div>
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It turned out that the boat's prop-shaft seal had gone and that had started to let considerable quantities of water into the rear of the boat. When the owner realised what had happened, he rammed the throttle wide open and tried to run it onto the beach before it sank, failing by about 5 yards.</div>
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The rest, as they say, is history.</div>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-69949416668328207672011-11-20T20:25:00.001+00:002011-11-25T00:38:25.603+00:00Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays<div style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0; width: 500px;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6369221645/in/set-72157628064555269/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Level 2"><img alt="Level 2" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6044/6369221645_d0a8663fd5_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6369222761/in/set-72157628064555269/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Going Up"><img alt="Going Up" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6232/6369222761_9365a76909_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6369226691/in/set-72157628064555269/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="Billy No-Mates"><img alt="Billy No-Mates" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6227/6369226691_8dcb01afe4_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6371457763/in/set-72157628064555269/" style="display: block; float: left; height: 75px; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px;" title="What shall we come to see next?"><img alt="What shall we come to see next?" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6224/6371457763_31e344ff26_s.jpg" style="border: none; height: 75px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157628064555269/">Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays</a>, a set on Flickr.</div>
The Lowry Theatre last night – inside and out. <br /><br />I went to Salford Quays for the first time yesterday, and was mightily impressed. It’s a really modern transformation of a big city, and it hums with life on a Saturday night. That’s another one on the list to return to with my proper camera to record my photographic impressions of it all.rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-50921986496186533312011-11-15T16:08:00.001+00:002011-11-15T16:08:56.303+00:00Man's Best Friends .....<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6346172634/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="They all love the water" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6214/6346172634_603d86138c_s.jpg" alt="They all love the water" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345450871/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Milly having a "mad" in the late evening light at Felbrigge" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6033/6345450871_ded146496a_s.jpg" alt="Milly having a "mad" in the late evening light at Felbrigge" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6346173358/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="The "Eye" has it" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6031/6346173358_38d63bb6a0_s.jpg" alt="The "Eye" has it" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345424859/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Holly running away from a wave - Westwood Ho" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6224/6345424859_6d4d4ca226_s.jpg" alt="Holly running away from a wave - Westwood Ho" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345425637/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="A very young Milly" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6096/6345425637_ce83a93883_s.jpg" alt="A very young Milly" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6346175908/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Milly discovering the lavender hedge" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6095/6346175908_8b00f50471_s.jpg" alt="Milly discovering the lavender hedge" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345427181/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Milly as a puppy with a pile of grass" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6056/6345427181_113e66f323_s.jpg" alt="Milly as a puppy with a pile of grass" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6346177194/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Undivided attention" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6211/6346177194_42897998d1_s.jpg" alt="Undivided attention" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345430417/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Two heads are better than one -" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6044/6345430417_744dcf198c_s.jpg" alt="Two heads are better than one -" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345431363/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Milly on the scent trail" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6059/6345431363_df51df231b_s.jpg" alt="Milly on the scent trail" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345431949/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Milly rushing around on Lyth Hill on a late winter evening" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6222/6345431949_8ce2b92316_s.jpg" alt="Milly rushing around on Lyth Hill on a late winter evening" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345433017/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Milly with a stick" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6120/6345433017_d162ec52f5_s.jpg" alt="Milly with a stick" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6346182608/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="It takes two - sharing a stick at Attingham" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6109/6346182608_ef6e84d10c_s.jpg" alt="It takes two - sharing a stick at Attingham" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345434803/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Milly on the scent at Attingham" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6043/6345434803_2b7d96a0db_s.jpg" alt="Milly on the scent at Attingham" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345435339/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Milly fooling around at West Runton" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6093/6345435339_e4ba3ee0cf_s.jpg" alt="Milly fooling around at West Runton" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6346185042/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Chasing a stick at Attingham" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6035/6346185042_acf853105d_s.jpg" alt="Chasing a stick at Attingham" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345437047/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Poppy playing in the sea at West Runton" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6231/6345437047_b7518e25b6_s.jpg" alt="Poppy playing in the sea at West Runton" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6346186968/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="We're not dogs - we're seals!" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6059/6346186968_722ee3510e_s.jpg" alt="We're not dogs - we're seals!" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345439011/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Milly on the top of a ridge on Wenlock Edge" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6046/6345439011_f73bb24478_s.jpg" alt="Milly on the top of a ridge on Wenlock Edge" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6346188896/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Milly tearing around on the sands at West Runton" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6051/6346188896_63bea7ccae_s.jpg" alt="Milly tearing around on the sands at West Runton" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6346189604/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Winter walk through the avenue at Felbrigge" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6051/6346189604_414cd56455_s.jpg" alt="Winter walk through the avenue at Felbrigge" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345441531/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Milly and Holly on the white rocks of West Runton beach" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6055/6345441531_343b6327f8_s.jpg" alt="Milly and Holly on the white rocks of West Runton beach" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6345442373/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Milly at West Runton beach" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6116/6345442373_fc65c8662e_s.jpg" alt="Milly at West Runton beach" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6346191964/in/set-72157628005291251/" title="Pushing our way through the crowds on Holkham Beach" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6032/6346191964_13b2a2fb1c_s.jpg" alt="Pushing our way through the crowds on Holkham Beach" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157628005291251/">Man's Best Friends .....</a>, a set on Flickr.</p></div><p>A few pictures of our dogs. These were taken in Norfolk, Shropshire and the odd one in Devon. As you can see, water seems to play rather a large part in them. The beach is their idea of paradise!<br /><br />Inspired by a friend of my wife's, whose canine pictures are really, really excellent. Thanks Jan!</p>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-85932246511750747762011-11-13T18:26:00.001+00:002011-11-13T23:28:14.286+00:00Mind You, a Lot can happen in a Week ....<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The last post on this blog talked about the extraordinary
goings-on on Day 2 of the <i>South Africa</i>
vs <i>Australia</i> Test match in <i>Capetown </i>last week. I can’t recall a day quite like it
ever in the 50 years of my cricketing memory. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>South Africa</i> went into lunch on 49 for 1, and the story goes
that their coach, <i>Gary Kirsten</i> then left the ground to visit his wife and third
child who had been born a day or so before. He returned after three or four
hours, midway through the evening session, to find his team on 72 for 1.
Wondering whether there had been rain at the ground which had restricted his
side to a paltry 23 runs since he’d been away, he found out that he’d missed 20
wickets and two complete innings. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I only hope that’s a true story!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The next day the pundits on Sky TV were <i>Rob Key</i> and <i>Dominic Cork</i>,
both very good ex-England players. Even after a night to ruminate on the
sensational day’s play neither of them could offer a real explanation of
why such a spectacular implosion had occurred, and on Day 3 the match went on with
centuries for both <i>Amla </i>and <i>Smith</i>, and in the end, <i>South Africa</i> won easily.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Later that day, I looked at my <i>Twitter</i> feed to see what the cricketing world had made of it all, and alighted
on a report from an Australian writer I followed. His few paragraphs analysed
it perfectly simply and logically. A difficult, but not impossible pitch, some classy
bowling from the South Africans and a complete abrogation of the defensive and strategic fundamentals
of playing the game from most of the Australian team, allied to an increasingly
lemming like sense of panic down their batting order. The piece was at the same time deceptively
simple, accurate, logical, incisive, perceptive, well-argued and beautifully
written. In impeccable English, it addressed, dissected and answered the questions<i> Key </i>and
<i>Cork</i> couldn’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The writer was an ex-Somerset player who captained England once.
After his career ended, he upped sticks and settled in Australia, becoming one
of the most outspoken, intelligent and thoughtful writers on the subject, a man
with a real conscience. His name was <i>Peter Roebuck</i>, and I thought he was one of
the best cricket writers on the planet. To me, his articles and books were something special.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuocJPrBavbifJcfWrAq2IWNvUCkwKq9aSWLJDRSdua0FektVL5wuMNmXCe3rITCCSk-HhYQNRes9rBCDMCPiJMwmoKbcgipBjbxhrjDJNyAR-1BQRBnGOMlWeM6fjRtq2vF0DLA/s1600/111113+peter+roebuck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuocJPrBavbifJcfWrAq2IWNvUCkwKq9aSWLJDRSdua0FektVL5wuMNmXCe3rITCCSk-HhYQNRes9rBCDMCPiJMwmoKbcgipBjbxhrjDJNyAR-1BQRBnGOMlWeM6fjRtq2vF0DLA/s320/111113+peter+roebuck.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of his books</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
A few hours after witnessing this extraordinary day and writing
this piece, he threw himself off the sixth floor of his hotel and killed
himself. No doubt the reasons will come out in time, although I can’t say I really want to know. His beautiful writing is over, and for me, that is that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
For almost 100 years, the number of people involved in the
game who have taken their own lives is horribly high. Men who have played the
game at the highest level like <i>Stoddart, Shrewsbury, Gimblett,
Robertson-Glasgow, Bairstow, Trott, Iverson, Barnes</i> all ended their own lives. And
now <i>Peter Roebuck</i> joins that ghastly list. Does the game create conditions in men’s
minds which ferment and develop a sense of despair or hopelessness resulting
in suicide? Or is it the sort of game which tends to attract the melancholic and
introspective - individuals who end it all with a gun, a noose or a box of pills?
I simply don’t know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
All I know is one minute you’re reading an article thinking “<i>Spot on Peter, Nail on the head again”</i>, and
the next thing you hear is that he’s gone. It’s all desperately sad. The closing
words in the last article he wrote on the day he died were <i>“Mind You, a lot can happen in a week.” </i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Right again, Peter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Tabs:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/peter%20roebuck" rel="tag">peter roebuck</a>,
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/cricket" rel="tag">cricket</a>,
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/suicide" rel="tag">suicide</a>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-69717602140147303702011-11-11T22:10:00.001+00:002011-11-13T18:41:28.893+00:00All the Elevens11/11/11, or as our contrary American cousins insist,
11/11/11.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I know it’s only a number, but there’s something rather disturbingly
“<i>Druidy</i>” about it. I’m a reasonably
sane individual, but it’s been on my mind for a few days now. This morning,
after a bit of test work, I ended up taking a picture of my alarm clock at the
appointed hour. I’d even taken the trouble to ensure that the section on the
clock face which showed the ambient temperature didn’t disturb the awful
symmetry, by the simple ruse of putting it in the fridge for a while. I can’t
believe I’m the only one who did that. I’m not a nerd, for Goodness sake!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIzClOkbs8b_fgaLGhG1Kb7OFB961MAEPFWv4UYea_eacMI16uYIT8gUKpaANAHQK3tJiPFa-WTy_MIETimQgsCKIPy66mRT7b6DEme9xds3DDunztiWqN0AS0klapGFmmcVJUA/s1600/IMG_4561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSIzClOkbs8b_fgaLGhG1Kb7OFB961MAEPFWv4UYea_eacMI16uYIT8gUKpaANAHQK3tJiPFa-WTy_MIETimQgsCKIPy66mRT7b6DEme9xds3DDunztiWqN0AS0klapGFmmcVJUA/s400/IMG_4561.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another 88 years before it all repeats!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Over the last couple of days, I’ve been wondering if
something cataclysmic was going to happen to the world on this “<i>Once in a Lifetime”</i> day. We’ve seen the
economic situation in Europe disappearing off, in the words of more than one
noted pundit, “<i>to Hell in a hand-cart”</i>
with Italy clutching on increasingly desperately for economic survival. Was
this the day when the whole Euro debacle would suddenly detonate?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
On a much more important level than this however, I’ve been
watching the <i>South Africa </i>vs<i> Australia</i> Test match in Capetown, and seen
the game twist and turn over 24 hours in a way that has never been seen in a Test match for
over 100 years. Yesterday, the fanatic statisticians had something approaching multiple orgasms over
the number of cricket records which were re-written during the day. I woke
up early wondering what was going to happen today on the field in South Africa.
Clearly yesterday was only a cricketing <i>“clearing
of the throat”</i> for today’s man event. The TV was on early from 8am – I wasn’t
going to miss today’s drama.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It turned out to be a bit of an anti-climax, although things
got a bit spooky as 11.00am approached. Now cricket is the game where superstitions
and fads run riot. You’d think many cricketers were on the way to the funny farm
if you knew what went on in their minds when the game is being played. X will
only if he puts his left pad on first. Y will only go out to bat if the toilet
seats in the dressing rooms are down. Z would only bat with a red handkerchief
in his pocket, while A would only venture into the middle if he had his lucky
silver clover leaf with him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Out on the field, if a player or a team is doing well, you
sit tight. I mean, you don’t move, even if the Nature is calling you
increasingly stridently. Moving or standing up, even if you are sitting way up
in Row 324 of the Grandstand, immediately transfers the vibes to the player and
destroys his concentration, and that would never do.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The weirdest ones however are the “<i>nasty</i>” numbers. In Australia, the <i>“Devil’s Number”</i> is 87. Over there, they firmly believe that this figure
is toxic, and to be avoided like the plague by any batsman. They get quite
nervous when this is their score. The odd thing is that when some guy delved
into the statistics of the 2000 Test matches that the World has played since
they started in 1877, it was actually the numbers around 87, ie 85, 86 and 89
which were far more often the scores when batsmen perished. But no. 87 it was, and
is.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In England, the mystical number is
111, hence its importance for today of all days. For reasons which no-one
really knows this number is referred to in the cricket world as “<i>Nelson</i>”. Now, as far as I know, Nelson
never played cricket, but it’s a totally ingrained cricketing superstition the
world over. There are resonances and echos in a match when a side gets to 222,
or 333, referred to as Double Nelsons and Triple Nelsons, but the full force of
the heathen pressure is felt on 111.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It gets worse – totally bizarre in truth - because the “<i>release</i>” for Nelson is to stand on one
leg while the team is on that score. I mean, seriously, you’ve got 24 grown men
(including the 2 umpires) playing a game at the top International level, and,
on 111, you can see a smattering of them standing around like a white flamingo.
David Shepherd, one of the great umpires of all time, who was a tad on the
large size would stand at the bowler’s end, hopping from one leg to another
while the game went on around him for as long as the score was 111. It must
have completely put the batsman off. You couldn’t make it up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Today, of course, I couldn’t fail to wonder what was going
to happen. The Italian financial crisis had abated a little so it wasn’t going
to be that. James Murdoch wasn’t on in front of the MP’s committee just yet, and
we’d already had an asteroid the size of Belgium whizzing past the Earth a few hours
before, so clearly there must be something else on the cards. The time crept up
to 11.00am, and South Africa ominously reached the score of 111 for 1. Could
they hang on for another 11 minutes without scoring a run? If that happened the
scorers would set fire to themselves and combust in a blaze of glory. However,
this “<i>David</i> <i>Eyke</i>” moment passed about 9
minutes too early, and the two South African Batsmen went on their way
scoring runs. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFiQLuYW9Hzz_RPlVpfX-T0rtcz2eS_rfkfzUE2S47wLTOw_cKYbmaSdUnZIhUdj0x_mkmJBDboiialp7oH0SkMZmmkxGxWZVn3eeLj2n25p318gsBjoPum7JmPIKcs6yTfiw9A/s1600/1024+IMG_4564.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFiQLuYW9Hzz_RPlVpfX-T0rtcz2eS_rfkfzUE2S47wLTOw_cKYbmaSdUnZIhUdj0x_mkmJBDboiialp7oH0SkMZmmkxGxWZVn3eeLj2n25p318gsBjoPum7JmPIKcs6yTfiw9A/s400/1024+IMG_4564.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The scoreboard at 11.11</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqu1bxRGQycFB0YkuafhTSYItpzvGOYxj_8uxTmqAMVp8R4N6N23WLHRQpQqYU5bArSeN8AEtYta2wfGK9d0VA_grwhCss3HmC9871f05sXaFj5BnlkfhY46Cxdfjx9n-HGg-c9A/s1600/1024+IMG_4567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqu1bxRGQycFB0YkuafhTSYItpzvGOYxj_8uxTmqAMVp8R4N6N23WLHRQpQqYU5bArSeN8AEtYta2wfGK9d0VA_grwhCss3HmC9871f05sXaFj5BnlkfhY46Cxdfjx9n-HGg-c9A/s400/1024+IMG_4567.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The South African Team Bench Flamingoes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
On the field a few minutes later, the score-boards finally flashed
up the time showing 11.11am on 11/11/11. To a huge cheer, the crowd all stood
up on and tried to balance on one leg for the whole minute, with a fair amount
of “<i>beer induced</i>” wobbling not
helping greatly, but they really tried their hearts out. It was really rather
touching, and just the thing you’d expect a cricket crowd to indulge in. Great
to watch.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And exactly how many runs do you think South Africa needed
to score to win this extraordinary match at that precise minute, when this
Stand of Flamingoes (for that is the Collective noun for a herd of these pink
things) got to their unsteady human feet?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Yep – 111.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Tabs:</div>
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/11/11/11" rel="tag">11/11/11</a>,<br />
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/cricket" rel="tag">cricket</a>,<br />
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/nelson" rel="tag">nelson</a>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-78468749769445770742011-11-07T00:24:00.001+00:002011-11-07T00:32:06.398+00:00Bletchley Park - Station X<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjemRsyvRj_jFX2tsCQ28Vi51OnaI7q0sEGymDhCVIFINOslxrpPI47pzbivXQURe51YuJ94ELxf7MLEWLT3y1ur-AoMxhiJZMZH4-HDFVDQitY4R6AQxIgNk9xGpniewrKAwlrcA/s1600/1024_D310816-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjemRsyvRj_jFX2tsCQ28Vi51OnaI7q0sEGymDhCVIFINOslxrpPI47pzbivXQURe51YuJ94ELxf7MLEWLT3y1ur-AoMxhiJZMZH4-HDFVDQitY4R6AQxIgNk9xGpniewrKAwlrcA/s320/1024_D310816-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A building with a tale to tell</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">This could well be the most important building in Britain. It’s situated in an anonymous little town in Buckinghamshire, about 100 yards from the main London to Birmingham railway line. To look at, it’s a second rate mid-Victorian Pile built in what can only be described as the <i style="text-align: justify;">“Dog’s Breakfast”</i> style of architecture. But it’s not the building that’s important here, it’s what went on in it inside.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is Bletchley Park, also known as Station X, the home of the UK’s code-breaking activity in the Second World War. If it hadn’t been for the work of the people in this building, this blog, if it existed at all, would be written in German. What was done here 70 years ago quite probably made the difference between winning and losing the war. It certainly shortened it by two years, some say four. It is a unique piece of this country’s history.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Here, people like <i>Dilly Knox, Tommy Flowers, Gordon Welchman, Max Newman, John Tiltman </i>and<i> Alan Turing</i>, together with the other 8,500 people who worked there systematically broke the German<i> Enigma codes</i>, and the even more complex <i>Tunny</i> Codes to put the British Government in a position where they often knew what the German High Command was intending to do, before that message had reached their own German generals in the field. This one achievement tilted the war dramatically in the favour of the Allies. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfiU47juE0xEw4BSL3c75jNzaw5z6p8rCTtt0uE5AXOtuEH8q-jW4ZYdvEewbR_xrecO2z2MMaReY92iHSc-9iYU_NElICA3PKd65OgTXC9TZfAdDv9NbiWOiFc6FiiA7FnlBvQ/s1600/1024_D310823-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfiU47juE0xEw4BSL3c75jNzaw5z6p8rCTtt0uE5AXOtuEH8q-jW4ZYdvEewbR_xrecO2z2MMaReY92iHSc-9iYU_NElICA3PKd65OgTXC9TZfAdDv9NbiWOiFc6FiiA7FnlBvQ/s320/1024_D310823-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A German 4 Rotor <b>Enigma </b>machine</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCm3xaXXiPTMVmhQZGilB543IRfBUmogvp5jM7zJHwFks48rxgHdR37RRJEDDsnho8OKLsSleMBkCi3omoAf3ProoUPVj_MqgxkkQ1_VKGJb3ZoewKQ5y3TaVHdYfCR5h3TMkdQ/s1600/1024_D310824-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCm3xaXXiPTMVmhQZGilB543IRfBUmogvp5jM7zJHwFks48rxgHdR37RRJEDDsnho8OKLsSleMBkCi3omoAf3ProoUPVj_MqgxkkQ1_VKGJb3ZoewKQ5y3TaVHdYfCR5h3TMkdQ/s320/1024_D310824-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Lorenz 12 rotor machine used by Hitler for his <br />
personal High Command "<b>Fish</b>" codes</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The issue which worried Churchill above all others in the War was the possibility (and for much of the time, the probability) of the country being starved into submission by lack of food, fuel and equipment coming over the oceans from other countries around the world. The astounding change in the rate of detection and subsequent destruction of the German U-Boat fleet, when <i>Enigma</i> was working, made all the difference. Who knows what the result would have been if the men and women in Bletchley had failed to break the code? Quite simply, it doesn’t bear thinking about. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you read about the way they all achieved this, and the unbelievable intellectual power and unremitting dedication that was needed to make it happen you cannot fail to be totally astounded. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are enough books and articles available on the internet where anyone can find out all the details they could wish for, but two things keep knawing away at me. Firstly, how did it all remain a secret? Over 12,000 people worked at Bletchley Park during the war, ranging from weirdo-intellectual giants whose brains were the equal of anything anywhere in the world, to local girls from just down the road, who did the filing, and served in the canteens. The secret of what went on there did not get out into the big bad world until the mid 70s, some 30 years after the end of the war. You couldn’t imagine that happening today.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Everyone involved at Bletchley Park had signed the <i>Official Secrets Act</i>, and the stories about how they all kept their mouths firmly shut is almost unbelievable in the Twittery, Facebooky world of today. There are stories of people who went to their graves with their children not knowing what they had done there. One of the elder guides there yesterday told me that they had sent out Reunion invitations not too long ago to people who had worked there. A married couple had received two letters, each addressed to one of them. Inadvertently they had opened the letter addressed to the other, and it was only then that they both became aware that their partner had been working there. Extraordinary. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfDDyGmzv_BBJF21fisqf6Ohnw9_uTSu7TpXI9YX8_YagFw9EPBbzDUFTYTfQg0FbxPYqgXIW-GQpt5v4__dyEBVOvsDenucHMl_vDx6Ss0Jw8cLZ-TjIcCEMSP1HcSPS-t9_mA/s1600/1024_D310832-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfDDyGmzv_BBJF21fisqf6Ohnw9_uTSu7TpXI9YX8_YagFw9EPBbzDUFTYTfQg0FbxPYqgXIW-GQpt5v4__dyEBVOvsDenucHMl_vDx6Ss0Jw8cLZ-TjIcCEMSP1HcSPS-t9_mA/s320/1024_D310832-Edit.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An original 1940s poster</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I suppose it was what happened in war. Your country was in the gravest danger of invasion, and you knew that, if the information you were handling became known to the enemy, the results could be utterly catastrophic to the future of England. People working there didn’t even talk to the man or woman on the other side of the Hut they worked in unless their work necessitated it.<i> “Careless Talk costs Lives”</i> wasn’t an idle slogan. After the war, they were all told to say nothing about it to anyone including loved ones and family, and this was exactly what they did – to a man.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The other thing which I still cannot come to terms with is why the Germans went all the way through the war not realising that they had been compromised. I suppose it stems from the fact that, when they developed the Enigma system, they believed it was infallible. And, if you are German, that is it. It had been designed to have in excess of 158,000,000,000,000,000,000 different combinations in the way the settings could be made, so logically, there was not enough time in any wartime scenario for any decryption to be made. So because they could not dream of solving it themselves, then the logical consequence was that nobody else could do it either. It’s an arrogance of course, and one which quite possibly lost them the war. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In truth, their own human fallibility and the genius of British intellectual brainpower undid them. Their operators, once or twice, made huge errors which allowed massive shafts of detective light to shine into the darkness of the code’s secrets. And once the light had shone once, that was all the Bletchley brains needed. They were in. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For all the Germans’ formidable skills in so many areas, their code and cypher organisation were riven with political infighting, and there were something like 17 different organisations within Germany using the system. They were not all as diligent in their operations of the system as they should have been. The Navy was by a long way the most professional, and the Army and Air Force were the most slap-dash. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On more than one occasion, Admiral Dönitz, the German Navy Chief, suspected that their codes had been compromised and cracked, but others around him convinced him that this was not correct. At one time, because of Dönitz’s feeling that the codes were vulnerable, the Navy had a further, 4<sup>th</sup> rotor installed in their Enigma machines, a development which suddenly left Bletchley Park completely blind to the German Navy codes for a period in 1943. Still the Germans didn’t twig what was happening in deepest Buckinghamshire.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The huge volume of data needing decoding made the need for more and more mechanisation an imperative to allow Bletchley Park to deliver the plain text of the German codes to the Intelligence services promptly. Information has a half-life of usefulness. Knowing that a convoy is going to be attacked a day after its ships had been sunk was not much use. So they set out to automate the process to allow massive increases in the speed of decoding, and hence the usefulness of the intelligence they discovered. Go to Bletchley, and you will see fabulous pieces of machinery they developed to do this, codenamed in the weird way this country has - <i>Bombe, Heath Robinson </i>and<i> Colussus</i>. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-CpyxA28mH5JF0rpMa8E7WO6pPU0YRPXiz0u0M15lWNtucxtoqnLk6ULY3nH2xwZa0mhXD-kqaw8qJ3-BQkGFBCRUheoep92TpLzv-oIPZl6HwCvYtBvZRvkvUAdIvc8YYoCCEA/s1600/1024+IMG_4555-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-CpyxA28mH5JF0rpMa8E7WO6pPU0YRPXiz0u0M15lWNtucxtoqnLk6ULY3nH2xwZa0mhXD-kqaw8qJ3-BQkGFBCRUheoep92TpLzv-oIPZl6HwCvYtBvZRvkvUAdIvc8YYoCCEA/s320/1024+IMG_4555-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A replica of the "<b>Bombe</b>" machine</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6IHeZjYkEk9YFD7VSaw7Oc1AC96yncMVWWV35iIr8djWHPhEYpJx7tCBNtkhi0jMfjzAVaSH2LnuCEbMqNSukjsW4vNRbaxY-n_dDGFLMi4H1IY8FWopn3h5LUUnSBwJ3NKglYw/s1600/1024_D310819-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6IHeZjYkEk9YFD7VSaw7Oc1AC96yncMVWWV35iIr8djWHPhEYpJx7tCBNtkhi0jMfjzAVaSH2LnuCEbMqNSukjsW4vNRbaxY-n_dDGFLMi4H1IY8FWopn3h5LUUnSBwJ3NKglYw/s320/1024_D310819-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rear of the <i>"</i><b>Bombe</b>" machine, showing<br />
the internal workings</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After the equipment was destroyed following orders from Churchill at the end of the war, volunteers have painstakingly rebuilt <i>Colussus</i>. Forget what our American friends will tell you, what you are seeing when you crowd into the hot electronic valve heated room in one of the rickety wooden huts there is the world’s First Electronic Programmable Computer. It looks like something out of a Dracula Science Fiction film, but, in the early 40s when it was built by <i>Tommy Flowers</i> and his men, it was a staggering achievement. So, just go to Bletchley, admire and pay homage. And also wonder why <i>Tommy Flowers’</i> name is not revered throughout this country. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJ1l1nNaXjjboKi9yckuxOV7lVvt5j0ZGqTt_wAhryEZAfJMP-mBidz9dYg9HqajDRqF9kxkEdIyyRDIcHm-FZnr4vdVawEcxAmVFhM30WYjQo-OcV6Cx32zkl2p0TPvNEQgO9w/s1600/1024_D310794-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJ1l1nNaXjjboKi9yckuxOV7lVvt5j0ZGqTt_wAhryEZAfJMP-mBidz9dYg9HqajDRqF9kxkEdIyyRDIcHm-FZnr4vdVawEcxAmVFhM30WYjQo-OcV6Cx32zkl2p0TPvNEQgO9w/s320/1024_D310794-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Colussus</b> showing the Tape reading section</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-n-oXIuC_Jh7kaMBp_GtIdtZxh_4M0QDQshVbD1Au5_ruCg_Zj-uGbwWEY8nDhZ1gPyN3KjMY9jgWZ9C-Dk3KDPNyIMfK69l_KCQfoo-Raj69lRIw60g_gZqn5t0kjuQQnNCvmQ/s1600/1024_D310793-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-n-oXIuC_Jh7kaMBp_GtIdtZxh_4M0QDQshVbD1Au5_ruCg_Zj-uGbwWEY8nDhZ1gPyN3KjMY9jgWZ9C-Dk3KDPNyIMfK69l_KCQfoo-Raj69lRIw60g_gZqn5t0kjuQQnNCvmQ/s320/1024_D310793-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Colussus </b>- World's first Electronic computer</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">You will have realised by now that I think Bletchley Park is a stunning place to visit. The atmosphere there reeks of the 1940s. The shabby huts, many of them with peeling paint and rotting windows, and the austere Wartime no-nonsense architecture of the outbuildings takes you straight back 70 years. The guides there are superb. The subject of code-breaking, at this level, is not an easy one, and they wear their knowledge lightly and can answer any question you throw at them. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBCowelApOKy8_VVS4Wrv_b6uEmEIGLf04FdXx3eTro0OH1e2dCn7A8idm_nuaLFDwJ0CxKVXzpazIJZGMoy8EoaPW-X_4wHeg7Z3kq7O769NzSdcOMNB8x4VXS4X_VXVNJjiWSg/s1600/1024_D310809-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBCowelApOKy8_VVS4Wrv_b6uEmEIGLf04FdXx3eTro0OH1e2dCn7A8idm_nuaLFDwJ0CxKVXzpazIJZGMoy8EoaPW-X_4wHeg7Z3kq7O769NzSdcOMNB8x4VXS4X_VXVNJjiWSg/s320/1024_D310809-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside Hut 6</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0S80mHCBc2T9zDEA8F2T4B1-LTY4XH1GdPD6bPQRgcgPCUrCX0MpytFvWL0NgNPya54RZkgAUTmscCD9MrmDxyobW6_9SxdsntaGhY7CTfPw6n1xUbpDiCBYaUtFdEOJcfrXefw/s1600/1024_D310813-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0S80mHCBc2T9zDEA8F2T4B1-LTY4XH1GdPD6bPQRgcgPCUrCX0MpytFvWL0NgNPya54RZkgAUTmscCD9MrmDxyobW6_9SxdsntaGhY7CTfPw6n1xUbpDiCBYaUtFdEOJcfrXefw/s320/1024_D310813-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hut 1 - Diplomatic Wireless Station</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The overwhelming feel there is of being in the midst of <b><i>real</i></b> history, where hugely important things occurred. You wander around the huts and tread the floorboards in rooms where monumental decisions and discoveries were made. The museum which venerates Alan Turing is quite moving on many levels. Here is the celebration of a man who was one of the greatest intellects of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century. A man who did more than almost anyone in this country to stave off Germany’s advance, who led the way to the development of the modern computer, and who, because of his homosexuality, was hounded and prosecuted by the authorities to the extent that he died, presumably from his own hand, with a cyanide filled apple next to his body. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWDKCIIr9g1bIyA4OS4YvGj-5vksCGlqL5kiUXIrJQKi8HrmJJ1GEaXNL7A5UIEoRTUHyeimFz6g2Fuu2l2M4ZK4nNrAZTqrSs2Z1gnmiA3le6dbOspz4tdKXIWb0BIqpy-IR-A/s1600/1024_D310828-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWDKCIIr9g1bIyA4OS4YvGj-5vksCGlqL5kiUXIrJQKi8HrmJJ1GEaXNL7A5UIEoRTUHyeimFz6g2Fuu2l2M4ZK4nNrAZTqrSs2Z1gnmiA3le6dbOspz4tdKXIWb0BIqpy-IR-A/s320/1024_D310828-Edit.jpg" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alan Turing Statue</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmE4KP4wHEnKg5tb_WsLpvpBbdh8ekdDO8_LfzzrOg5mNP8C8j1ImfzZr0J7bw9PdRpsTPDORVs4_V2KXDkJEvbw2I-qcooA3A63cjYCFtNVKK_AhhvA4BzQ8oQz-rN6QWwG_JLQ/s1600/1024_D310821-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmE4KP4wHEnKg5tb_WsLpvpBbdh8ekdDO8_LfzzrOg5mNP8C8j1ImfzZr0J7bw9PdRpsTPDORVs4_V2KXDkJEvbw2I-qcooA3A63cjYCFtNVKK_AhhvA4BzQ8oQz-rN6QWwG_JLQ/s320/1024_D310821-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"On Computable numbers</b>" - Alan Turing<br />
One of the most important Scientific Papers<br />
of the 20th Century</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the part of the museum dedicated to him is a wonderfully moving statue of him, made from Stacked Slate by Stephen Kettle. Also there is a formal letter of apology from the nation written in a slightly uncomfortable New Labour way and signed by Gordon Brown – 60 years too late. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7gFJOJ0OoxMWGDwVHl3aWbcgPWpfahGq1Ff763x0p3ko1aNv9cNE3Ty1CpNn7FQwsuF6BjuvHBJvw5vxxCy-GpB6zVYOoQSjTQh0JKcyJsr3Xz-y_YZWg1XcDrA-mHL6GuRaeog/s1600/1024+IMG_4556-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7gFJOJ0OoxMWGDwVHl3aWbcgPWpfahGq1Ff763x0p3ko1aNv9cNE3Ty1CpNn7FQwsuF6BjuvHBJvw5vxxCy-GpB6zVYOoQSjTQh0JKcyJsr3Xz-y_YZWg1XcDrA-mHL6GuRaeog/s320/1024+IMG_4556-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Government's formal apology to Alan Turing - 2009<br />
Signed by Gordon Brown</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It’s all very moving – I keep using that word – and I can’t recall a museum which has had such an effect on me as this one. It’s all held together on a bit of a volunteer based shoe-string, and you have to wonder if there is another country in the world which would not feel ashamed at not funding the upkeep of such an important place through a miniscule allocation from the public purse.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Go there while you can.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Tabs:</div><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/bletchley%20park" rel="tag">bletchley park</a>, <br />
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/enigma" rel="tag">enigma</a>, <br />
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/colussus" rel="tag">colussus</a>,<br />
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/alan%20turing" rel="tag">alan turing</a>, <br />
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/bombe" rel="tag">bombe</a>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-16767775179996793742011-11-02T01:16:00.001+00:002011-11-02T01:16:01.924+00:00Rain Stopped Play<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304008941/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Exciting Stuff this Test Cricket!" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6118/6304008941_4813c301fd_s.jpg" alt="Exciting Stuff this Test Cricket!" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6303994019/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="From Cover to Cover" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6119/6303994019_af672deb3d_s.jpg" alt="From Cover to Cover" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6303994789/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Duck Under Cover" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6043/6303994789_bb1dc76eb1_s.jpg" alt="Duck Under Cover" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6303995335/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Bowling the Maiden Over" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6040/6303995335_6fa59b9096_s.jpg" alt="Bowling the Maiden Over" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304521968/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Scooby-Doo" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6046/6304521968_5d07b09b46_s.jpg" alt="Scooby-Doo" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6303996431/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Religious Calling" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6057/6303996431_b93bd883e5_s.jpg" alt="Religious Calling" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304523048/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="The Friar" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6237/6304523048_22942ea432_s.jpg" alt="The Friar" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6303997667/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Back to Spain" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6119/6303997667_638ab9fc55_s.jpg" alt="Back to Spain" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304524122/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Spec-tator" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6105/6304524122_31bdb9cfb0_s.jpg" alt="Spec-tator" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6303998831/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Face in the crowd" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6118/6303998831_3371d3b852_s.jpg" alt="Face in the crowd" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6303999643/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Brollies" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6118/6303999643_8d442f51ac_s.jpg" alt="Brollies" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304001403/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Here comes Summer" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6214/6304001403_4dc7f3f5f6_s.jpg" alt="Here comes Summer" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304527952/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Amy Winehouse" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6046/6304527952_2004934ce5_s.jpg" alt="Amy Winehouse" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304003075/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="The Red Brigade" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6040/6304003075_6bcc8d1041_s.jpg" alt="The Red Brigade" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304529770/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Extra Cover" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6211/6304529770_e27eb2017d_s.jpg" alt="Extra Cover" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304530542/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Amy Winehouse and Friends" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6042/6304530542_c671e73866_s.jpg" alt="Amy Winehouse and Friends" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304531460/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Big Wet Kiss" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6104/6304531460_2d4531412e_s.jpg" alt="Big Wet Kiss" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304006285/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Drag Queen" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6225/6304006285_023b27a687_s.jpg" alt="Drag Queen" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304532976/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="I'm having Nun of this!" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6091/6304532976_af9bf4cb87_s.jpg" alt="I'm having Nun of this!" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304533490/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Nun with a Beer" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6052/6304533490_d7290cd09d_s.jpg" alt="Nun with a Beer" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304008339/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Drunk Monks" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6059/6304008339_86856bb9b9_s.jpg" alt="Drunk Monks" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6304000443/in/set-72157628032356390/" title="Rain Stopped Play" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6117/6304000443_a0f4f59db8_s.jpg" alt="Rain Stopped Play" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><div style="padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/gallery-empty-icon.gif" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"></div><div style="padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/g/images/gallery-empty-icon.gif" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"></div><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157628032356390/">Rain Stopped Play</a>, a set on Flickr.</p></div><p>Pictures of the Test Match Crowd - Birmingham - July 2010</p>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-49814111101642042292011-10-29T20:41:00.002+01:002011-11-13T18:47:05.379+00:00Hows about that, then?Jimmy Savile is dead.<br />
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I suppose if you’re less than about 30 years old, you may not even know who he was. If you are a little older, then you probably have an image of a guy with a ridiculously long cigar and brittle white hair fronting a Saturday night TV programme called <i>“Jim’ll Fix It”.</i> A weird looking bloke making peoples’ dreams come true.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If that’s what you think, you don’t know the half of it. He really lived one of the oddest lives you could imagine, and he was someone who impacted on me immensely when I was a teenager in the late 50s - the most impressionable years of my life. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBbesdTQo58WFM5Xk1z0y7JaU8LPSa-xu6ffSwbyT1LlDi3Ez8PTjNAFirytD0yjsz_bSNWJkkI8l-6UU_lpuusM8L6oWy8Cd256_KP6pX-DZn-VKFoqDLhD5Id37Sk-aA09Jdtw/s1600/jimmy+saville+111029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBbesdTQo58WFM5Xk1z0y7JaU8LPSa-xu6ffSwbyT1LlDi3Ez8PTjNAFirytD0yjsz_bSNWJkkI8l-6UU_lpuusM8L6oWy8Cd256_KP6pX-DZn-VKFoqDLhD5Id37Sk-aA09Jdtw/s1600/jimmy+saville+111029.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JIMMY SAVILE with ELVIS PRESLEY</td></tr>
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As I grew up in the late 50s, pop music simply didn’t exist. It hadn’t been invented. Commercial Radio, Radio Caroline and the like was several years away. You couldn’t even be “cool” in those days because the word had not then been invented. But those of us in the know used to listen to a strange radio station broadcasting from Luxembourg - wherever that was. Its signals arrived via the Medium Wave, 208 metres, and its reception, in Bedford where I lived, was the 50s equivalent of a lottery. The signal came and went like the tide coming in and out at the sea-side. Some evenings it was great, others you had to believe that the signal was coming from the Dark side of the Moon.</div>
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I used to be sent to bed at around 9 in the evening in those days, and one of life’s childishly clandestine pleasures was to sneak the (just invented) portable radio up to my bedroom, secrete it under my bedclothes and listen away very quietly to <i>Radio Luxembourg,</i> a bit like a wartime spy with one ear clamped to the radio and the other on the creaking stairs listening for my parents’ footsteps. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This was the way in the late 50s we all “<i>found</i>” pop music. It was the only real source of people like Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Buddy Holly and the other great singers in the vanguard of Pop. No-one else played that sort of music. The BBC was still a million miles away from that sort of thing. They had the Home Service (R4), the Light Programme (R2) and the Third Programme (R3), and that was it.<br />
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Radio Luxembourg was the first meaningful commercial radio station, a total trailblazer and was funded by adverts at a time when ITV was still a figment of someone's imagination. To this day, anyone who knows how to spell Keynsham – K-E-Y-N-S-H-A-M, and who smiles knowingly when the name Horace Batchelor is mentioned, will be over 50 and will, almost like one of Pavlov’s Dogs, be immediately transported back to the heady days of <i>Radio Luxembourg.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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The highlight of <i>Radio Luxembourg’s</i> week was a programme on Wednesday nights at 10.30pm called the <i>“Teen and Twenty Disc Club”,</i> a half hour programme introduced by a guy from Leeds named Jimmy Savile. He ran it as a club on the radio, where you could send in and join up to be a member. One of his never to be forgotten achievements was to have signed up a young American singer named Elvis Presley as a member. Presley’s membership number was 11321, a number which rather worryingly, I will remember till the day I die. That’s what happens when you’re in your early teens.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jimmy Savile was the John Peel of his day, introducing us to new bands who later became household names. But, almost solely as a result of his programme, we all knew about them before they were well known. At that age, that knowledge was seriously important. <o:p></o:p></div>
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If you care to look up his history, you will find references to the Mecca Dancehall in Leeds, and him starting the first Discotheque, to his career as a wrestler, as a prodigious marathon runner, as an amazing philanthropist and bizarrely as an unpaid Hospital Porter. He absolutely doted on his mother – The Dutchess – and drove around in the most ostentatious Rolls Royce you could imagine. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Fast Forward now about 25 years and we lived in Aylesbury, about 40 miles north of London. The local hospital was at Stoke Mandeville, and it specialised in nursing spinal injuries. The stories put around by the media were that Jimmy Savile, the famous DJ and TV presenter worked there as a porter, something which any follower of the music world would scornfully dismiss as spin and rubbish – the invention of some sensation seeking newspaper hustler. <o:p></o:p></div>
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One evening, when one of my daughters suffered an accident, we had to rush her off to Stoke Mandeville for treatment, and as we shot in to get her attended to, I glanced into the Porter’s lodge next to the door. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Guess who was there. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There was a man who had made an enormous amount of money for himself, but someone who also had raised millions of pounds for charity, someone whose face was immediately recognisable by almost everyone in the country, and there he was working away for nothing in the Porter’s Lodge at my local hospital. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>“Evening Jim.</i>” was all I could manage as we rushed off to the Casualty department.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Forget whatever rumours you may have heard about him. He was a truly fascinating man, a One-Off and someone who played a large part in the development of my love of music. <o:p></o:p></div>
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How's about that, then?</div>
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Tabs:</div>
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<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/jimmy%20saville" rel="tag">jimmy savile</a>, <br />
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/radio%20luxembourg" rel="tag">radio luxembourg</a>, <br />
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/208" rel="tag">208</a>,<br />
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/teen%20and%20twenty%20disc%20club" rel="tag">teen and twenty disc club</a>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31460873.post-13465066581175099492011-10-23T21:57:00.001+01:002011-10-23T21:57:44.069+01:00Pictures at an Exhibition - April 2008<div style="padding: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 0; width: 500px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273044841/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="MOMA - Atrium" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6036/6273044841_586e113efa_s.jpg" alt="MOMA - Atrium" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273089007/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="My Feet have a headache!" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6049/6273089007_b8273ea962_s.jpg" alt="My Feet have a headache!" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273612616/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Walk on By" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6228/6273612616_8f4a5ff2ac_s.jpg" alt="Walk on By" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273611714/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Art of Glass" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6100/6273611714_99253e19ff_s.jpg" alt="Art of Glass" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273085999/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Ladies in Red" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6231/6273085999_c60d5bf32e_s.jpg" alt="Ladies in Red" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273609904/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Two Heads are better than One" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6034/6273609904_2feb8a1a9d_s.jpg" alt="Two Heads are better than One" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273084301/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="I can see the Grain" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6231/6273084301_dc9fffe95a_s.jpg" alt="I can see the Grain" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273607782/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Does my Bum look big in this?" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6116/6273607782_3ea7dd7e27_s.jpg" alt="Does my Bum look big in this?" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273081915/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Gilbert and George" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6219/6273081915_fb2032a0b4_s.jpg" alt="Gilbert and George" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273080813/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Waiting for Inspiration" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6038/6273080813_1bbbed6aff_s.jpg" alt="Waiting for Inspiration" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273079307/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Me and Mark Rothko" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6238/6273079307_90acf22ebc_s.jpg" alt="Me and Mark Rothko" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273603058/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Bonnie Tiler" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6115/6273603058_444ff543d2_s.jpg" alt="Bonnie Tiler" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273601902/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Jackson Pollack" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6041/6273601902_8b8c155b05_s.jpg" alt="Jackson Pollack" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273600538/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="That Trusting Look ...." style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6218/6273600538_34fef47a12_s.jpg" alt="That Trusting Look ...." style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273074915/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Inspiration" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6233/6273074915_2d807a034d_s.jpg" alt="Inspiration" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273599064/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Pas de Deux" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6113/6273599064_66041b690e_s.jpg" alt="Pas de Deux" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273597994/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="The Audio Lecture as Lifeline" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6231/6273597994_3c65a04851_s.jpg" alt="The Audio Lecture as Lifeline" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273597014/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Four in a Row" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6115/6273597014_91a2a04806_s.jpg" alt="Four in a Row" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273071013/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Snapping the Snapped" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6032/6273071013_94af17369d_s.jpg" alt="Snapping the Snapped" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273595434/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Monet - Waterlilies" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6212/6273595434_01ddd4f1b9_s.jpg" alt="Monet - Waterlilies" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273594754/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Serious Study" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6226/6273594754_80bc96025e_s.jpg" alt="Serious Study" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273068721/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Gauguin and Friend" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6224/6273068721_29d6c7e009_s.jpg" alt="Gauguin and Friend" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273592730/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Mondrian and the Nasal Inspection" style="display: block; padding: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6237/6273592730_1bc2f12b98_s.jpg" alt="Mondrian and the Nasal Inspection" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/6273066871/in/set-72157627960487988/" title="Joan Miro - contemplation" style="display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6239/6273066871_637093285a_s.jpg" alt="Joan Miro - contemplation" style="border:none; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 75px; height: 75px;"/></a><br clear="all"/></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px"><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogercable/sets/72157627960487988/">Pictures at an Exhibition - April 2008</a>, a set on Flickr.</p></div><p>Some pictures taken on a very rainy day in New York's spectacular Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in Spring a couple of years ago.<br /><br />Watching the people watching the pictures, with Elliot Erwitt, the Worlds's greatest living photographer as my inspiration.</p>rogerchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04927522546203624848noreply@blogger.com0