The Grand National..

This is the greatest ‘steeplechase’ event anywhere, and animal lovers love to hate it. Notwithstanding, almost all Brits place a bet on it. We even had a sweepstake at boarding school for the 1967 race.

This is what happened..

.. and this is why the Grand is so popular. You never know what will happen next, and anybody with a bet on Foinavon, running at 67:1 on the day, did ok thanks..

In the winners enclosure, there was just the horse and rider. The owners and trainer were not present, doing something more productive elsewhere as Foinavon usually ran like he had knee surgery on all fours the day before any race. What a shame that they missed the greatest achievement of their ‘ride’. It just isn’t the same watching a re-run on the telly..

In the 1956 race, the Queen Mother had a horse in the race which was leading right up to the end.. almost.. until Devon Loch adopted a stance not dissimilar to a rocking horse..

.. and then there was the 1975 race where, guess what, Red Rum was beaten to the post by a snail. The snail’s real name was L’Escargot, and was a multiple winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup..

I am no follower of horse racing, even though I lived within five hundred yards of Warwick Races, but horses are agile animals which like to run like the wind and jump stuff. It is part of what they are, part of the ‘escape plan’ in the event of danger.

Of course it’s sad when a horse has to be put down, but trust me, if a horse doesn’t want to jump, it won’t and has no problem depositing the rider over whatever is to be jumped.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_National

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II..

Born to the Duke and Duchess of York in 1926, she acceded the throne on the death of her father in 1952.

You may not be a royalist and I am not an avid follower, but make no mistake, this grand old lady has worked and worked for this nation harder than most would have ever think, and she still does.

During World War II, she made stirring, morale boosting radio speeches, and after the war got dumped with the ultimate in responsibilities.

She has tried to uphold Royal tradition as she was taught it, but has had to adapt her own thoughts and ways to accommodate modern day life and values.

Her four children have introduced her to the harsh realities and stresses of modern life, and still she appears in public with that big smile of hers.

Among other things, she has met, sat with, had to listen to more people than any of us would have to do in a lifetime, and she knew them all by name, from whence they hailed, and why they were in her presence. I don’t suppose that too many were really interesting, but she was always attentive.

She has ‘red boxes’ delivered daily, all containing information relating to being Queen and having to know what is happening at home and abroad. There is nobody more knowledgeable than she is.

I think that she has done a fantastic job and against huge odds at times.  During the large procession of watercraft on the Thames last year, she stood in horrid weather for every single boat that rowed, paddled, or sailed or chugged by her. If that had been me, I would have sat down, and anybody who didn’t like it would have been in the Tower before 5pm.

Despite the wealth around her, she has paid a high price, as did her sister and her children. Serving the nation is no easy task, and I wish her all the best and a huge thanks for being the epitome of serenity and class.

Long live Lilibet.. hip hip, hooray..

A note for those who do not fully understand the Royals or their place in British society, please take the time to read ‘The Queen’s Role’ in this website..

http://www.royal.gov.uk/

The Best Historical drama ever made..

The year was 1995, and a TV dramatization of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice hit the small screen. I didn’t watch the first of six episodes because I truly hate historical dramas, but I happened to be visiting family who insisted that I watched the second episode. Thereafter, I made sure that I was in front of a TV for the final four episodes.

The BBC, best TV company in the world, truly excelled themselves with the best casting, scripts, sets, props, absolutely everything. See for yourself..

This is the episode that I originally shunned. They say that the series was as close to the original book as a production could be, but how was I to know, never having read any fiction, especially historical drama. What I did know is that, during the second episode, I was watching greatness.

I have five of the six episodes, each a little over 50 minutes, but I don’t have episode four. The search continues..

The JCB

The reason for Brits calling these machines ‘JCB’ is simple enough. It was a British invention, and JCB was the name on the side..

All it is is a tractor fitted with a front loader and an hydraulic backhoe, but what a difference it made. I defy anybody to find a construction site where one of these machines hasn’t got a job. These days, the concept is produced by other manufacturers, but it all started during 1953 in Britain.

The above photo shows an early model lacking four wheel drive. Most now are 4 wheel drive and the ‘mega’ models can dig a 7 metre hole in the ground pretty much anywhere. To operate the backhoe, the seat swivels 180° to face its own controls.

The front arm can accommodate a shovel or a pallet loader, and the rear arm can be mounted on a pivot or side-shift, and be fitted with different width buckets, hydraulic jack hammers and other stuff too.

You can see them on construction sites, road works, cemeteries, waste management depots, farms, snow clearance, all over the place, but the one place you don’t want to see them is on the road in front of you. They are slow, they pitch back and forth something wicked, and are invariably driven by operators who just like to chill.

JCBs can have fun too.. see here..

Stretching exercises JCB style..

Cutty Sark..

Built on the Clyde in 1869, Cutty Sark was one of the finest and last China Clippers ever to sail the high seas.

For a ten year period in its history, it held the speed record from Sydney Australia to Britain. It wasn’t carrying tea though. It had been demoted to the wool trade.

At the same time as Cutty Sark was built, so was the Suez Canal. A Tea Clipper could beat a steamship ‘round the Horn’, and could even beat a steamship which took the Suez shortcut, but large commercial sailing ships were useless in the Suez Canal.

Cutty Sark was at the top of a sailing ship’s game at 16 knots in a good wind, but steamships were improving and were more reliable.

The last part of her working life was served as a training ship

Since 1954, she has been a London landmark in Greenwich Dock, but on 21st May, 2007, Cutty Sark was a blazing mess. Parts had already been taken away for renovation but, on this day, it looked like there would be no home for the restored parts.

It has cost £25m and five years of painstaking work to put her right, and she still could never sail again. You can read up on why she can never sail again here..

http://web.ncf.ca/bf250/cuttysark.html

It is sad that such a great ship could be treated so badly..

London Underground

The most famous, the first and still the largest underground rail network anywhere.

A London icon and one of the best known logos in the world, it hasn’t changed much at all in over 100 years.

No trip to London England is complete with a ride on the Tube.

At first, a road would be dug up and a section of tunnel would be made by digging out and then covering back over, a very tedious process which only worked for the sub-surface parts.

Also, the first trains were pulled by steam locos. They used smokeless coal and the steam was re-circulated but traction was a problem, especially on the gradients in and out of the sub-surface and deeper lines.

So electric traction was borrowed from the USA, after which the Tube just kept growing.

Apart from moving thousands of Londoners and tourists around, it has also doubled as air raid shelters during WWII. Some stations were only ever air raid shelters, some were built in the wrong place, and others were used as underground bunkers for government.

Want to know more than you would otherwise see if you travelled the Tube?

Some more for you..

http://www.webring.org/hub?ring=londontransport;id=2;ac=D%0B%0Dq%7EzlnR%5E%5EJ%04%16%F0%FE%E0%AC%B3%8D%DF%D9%C3%94%A1%A4%AD%BC%BC%B1%8A%8F%94%85%88b%7DfzuR%09BA%5E%110+;go

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/k/kingsway/

When the trains stop running for the night, an army of workers go through the system removing litter, human hair and anything else which gets sucked into the tunnels as your train rockets out of the station and back into the burrows that make up the London Underground.

The Morris Minor..

.. aka the Jelly Mould was a small eminently British car which appeared in 1948. It had a 918 cc which allowed for over 40 mpg and a 0 to 60 time of over 50 seconds. Despite less than fiery performance, there was a lot of room inside and the car handled surprisingly well. It also had rack and pinion steering which gave it good directional control. All controls were light and easy to use, even for novice drivers.

The photo on the right shows a nice, sedate example of the marque, the only real difference being the bright paintwork, lowered suspension oversize rims and tires, and huge V-8 plus blower.

Yes, this one would definitely blow off a Zodiac or Cresta of the period at the traffic light Grand Prix’s held around the country on a daily basis.

The ladies loved these cars. They were light and airy, good all round vision, bright cheerful colours (well some of them), light controls, ideal for transporting the kids and the shopping, and  they rarely broke down.

The photo on the left shows a nice lilac Minor, a colour that would have gone down well had it not been for a surplus of camouflage paint from WWII.

The Minor was made in a variety of styles which included 2 door saloon, Tourer (convertible), Traveller (estate), panel van, and pick-up. There was also a 4 door saloon. Needless to say, no factory made cars sported the parts as seen in the above photo.

In early life, it lost its split windscreen and grille mounted headlamps, the lamps making it to better defined front wings, and in later life, it was fitted with an 1100 cc power plant.

OK, so now to a photo of a typical Morris Minor.

These cars were tough, and not too protective in an accident. The later models had front panels made of thinner steel in a bid to take some of the shock that was previously transmitted directly to the passengers, a crumple zone of sorts.

You should be impressed by now, having seen that the Morris Minor is not just one more boring British car. There is still an ardent following and cars are restored to original condition as well as being made into hotrods and such like.

The last photo shows how it looked in standard 2 door trim, a classic design which brought cheap affordable motoring to many, including a wind in your hair convertible.

It was replaced by the criminally poor Morris Marina, already blogged by me as a British Worst. Long live the Morris Minor.

For more.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Minor

The Meriden Bonnie..

Named after the famous salt flats in the USA, not the birthplace of William The Conqueror in Normandy France, the Triumph Bonneville, a 650cc twin motorcycle, captured the hearts of many a British motorcyclist.

It wasn’t the electrics which didn’t always work when you needed them most,  or the capacity of the machine to retain oil in its vertically split crankcase, or the vibrations in the frame which made the view in the rear view mirrors somewhat blurry. 

For a stock machine, it was nicely balanced, and power delivery was even and strong. Mostly, it was fast and it looked right.

This is a stock T120, pre-unit construction. Note the separate gearbox. Improvements were made over time, the gearbox was integrated into the main engine housing,  and general frame improvements were made to make it all more rigid, and it also gained twin leading shoe front brakes, and eventually a disc brake.

As nice as the bike above is, there was a version, never made in the Meriden factory, which was a real stunner.

What you do is take the engine out of the Triumph frame, bolt it into a Norton Featherbed frame, add a nice pair of Ceriani front forks for better front wheel control, bolt on a few goodies, and you get one of these..

The tank sports the Norton name still, but this is not a Norton. It is a Triton, and an very smartly finished Triton at that. A bike like this one has seen many hours of hard work and meticulous finishing skills.

For some history on the infamous Featherbed frame, see here..

http://thevintagent.blogspot.ca/2008/12/rex-mccandless-and-featherbed-frame.html

The Bonnie went on to become a 750 in the guise of the T140, and then it all went wrong for Meriden along with the rest of the motorcycle industry. The Japanese invasion, notably the original Honda CB750 spoiled the party, introducing disc brakes, electric starters, smooth riding and vibration free mirrors, they showed the Triumphs, BSAs and Norton's for what they were.

Among others, the Bonnie was not stylish like the Italian bikes, not super smooth like the BMWs, not clumsy and ungainly like the American Harleys, not technical masterpieces like the Japanese Hondas and Suzuki's. The Bonnie was a renegade, and it delivered what it looked like it could deliver, no frills, little comfort, but as much fun as could be had on two wheels.

For more on the Triumph Bonneville, and links to al associated with this most famous of motorcycles, see here..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Bonneville_T120

Porlock – The Hill

Porlock village, population of around 1,400, is situated on the A39 between Minehead and Lynton/Lynmouth. The area is Exmoor, Lorna Doone country, wild and bleak especially in winter, and Porlock sits at the back of a cove, sheltered to some degree by a steep hill to the west It is one of the best places I have ever stayed, and I have find memories of Porlock, in particular the SparkHayes campsite which I visited many times.

Porlock is a truly great place, but the most famous feature of all is ‘The Hill’. It is the UK’s steepest ‘A’ road.

This photo shows Porlock, well, part of it, pointing in the direction of the ‘Hill’.

Driving west out of the village, you see a ‘Y’ junction and a large sign. This is your chance to ‘chicken’ out. If you go to the right, the amble is a relaxing 1 in 14 climb. Nah, go for the big one!!

As you bear left, the street narrows out, and you will get a strong whiff of burning brakes and clutches from the vehicles which have made the descent. You can still chicken out if you make a left into the area by the large house and turn around. Just beyond the house, you will already have seen a very tight and steep turn to the right. Still game for the challenge?

For many vehicles, especially the smaller ones, this is first gear stuff. The steep climb continues and there are more tight turns. After a while, it seems like the ‘hill’ is going to flatten out, and it does but ever so slightly. Porlock Hill is not just the steep beginning. There is around three miles of unrelenting climb, and as long as you can see trees and hedgerows at the side, you are not out of it.

It is only at the very top, on a clear patch of Exmoor that you can say ‘we made it’. Some might want to park up on the rough car park at the top to reflect on the journey so far, and take in the fantastic views of Exmoor coastline.

If you are intending to continue to Lynmouth and Lynton, both well worth a visit, the rollercoaster ride is only just beginning because as you know, what goes up must at some point go ‘down’

‘Down’ is Countisbury Hill, not quite as steep as Porlock Hill, but it goes on forever, and again affords fantastic views for the vehicle’s passengers. No No, you look where your are going. You can see the photos we take when we get to the bottom..

You can spend a a very pleasant day in Lynton/Lynmouth, There is a quaint harbour, a waterfall, some nice shops, and great photo opportunities. If you have a boat in tow and it is your first time here, talk to the Harbour Master about the tides. In this part of the world, when the tide goes out, it goes out out out out.

You do not want to be caught out by the tide, because when it goes out, you can see some of the large boulders that came down the gorge during the great ‘Lynmouth Floode’ in 1952. The boulders make it very difficult to get back to the completely water free harbour, and it can be a lonely wait on the water outside of the harbour as you wait for the tide to rise.

After your visit, rescue your driver from the seat where he/she has sat, white knuckled, holding on for dear life. Assure the driver that he/she has your full support for the drive back to Porlock, and that you will give notice, albeit not much maybe, before you jump from the vehicle.

And remember that life could be worse. You could be rolling out of control on Ffordd Penllech in Harlech, West Wales, or hoping to get off Hardknott Pass in Cumbria without leaving the safety of your vehicle and before winters sets in.

At this point, I would post a link to the subject. I am not going to do that. Instead, I will post a link for Exmoor. When you see how beautiful this part of the world is, you won’t worry about the hills at all..

http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/

Stonehenge

It’s a pity that the builders didn’t leave notes about how to use it, but they probably thought that it would be obvious. It would probably have read like this..

“Despite a series of lightning 24 hour stoppages by the workforce and constant rain, we have managed to erect the central supports. However, after a meeting with the local landowner and the unions, we have decided to terminate construction. Note that construction will also stop at our Avebury site.

We have been granted a large piece of desert in Egypt and have been promised a willing workforce. As a result, we will be moving out within the week.

Due to the lack of stone in the area, we do not believe that you will get the co-operation required to finish the job, and you might want to consider reworking the original plans to include installing a timber roof and sides. It would make an excellent tea room and local tourist attraction for many years to come”

The one great thing about Stonehenge is that nobody really knows, and despite finding bits and bobs around it, the true usage is eluding everybody and probably always will. Unlike the Egyptians, nobody bothered to paint anything onto it, or maybe the constant rain washed off any decoration or record of usage. We just don’t know..

The photo at the top shows how Stonehenge looks now, but bear in mind that it has seen restoration over the years and has also been fenced off to prevent further vandalism. I was lucky enough to be able to walk through the stones last time I was there. Now it is a binocular job if you want t get up close and almost personal. There is not a great deal to see in all honesty, but a visit there will leave you asking two questions.

1. What did I honestly expect to see?
2. What were the original builders thinking?

So, this is what was standing over a century ago..

Compare it with the other photo and you can see that it has now been tastefully restored to the correct period.

The really important part is the Britain has got a Stonehenge, and everybody else hasn’t. It will remain one of the great mysteries in the realm of man made miscellany.

Here is a nice aerial view of the entire site..

For more.. http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/index.php

The Last Triumph

Triumph is one of the great names in British motoring history, yet the marque failed so many times to make anything really good.

Handling was never a strong point of the TR’s,, but from the TR4, they got the IRS rear end which helped a little.  Heralds, Vitesses or Spitfires had a swinging axle rear end which when coupled with the tight steering lock made them outright dangerous in fast tight turns. The Spitfire Mk IV got a revised rear axle which improved handling greatly.

Triumph engines often let the cars down too.

1. The TR5 PI was the fastest TR in a straight line, but the PI part was unreliable and affected all Triumphs with the PI nomenclature.
2. Dolomite Sprints were fast, but had a very weak top end, leading to camshaft and valve failure
3. The ‘1500’ engine in the Spitfire could power the car to 100mph, but the three main bearing crankshaft meant that oil and filter changes were critical if you wanted to take the ‘Spit’ to 100mph often.
4. The Stag got a Triumph special V8, special in that it was two four cylinder engines, essentially welded together, possibly the worst engine ever in any Triumph. It could have had the Rover V8, but Triumph wanted to go it alone and spoiled what could have been the best Triumph ever.

And so we come to the last Triumph.

At the time, it was the most reliable mass produced car to ever roll off a British car assembly track. It started every morning which meant that for the first time, a Triumph owner did not have to live close to a Triumph dealer. In CD attire, it was very well equipped indeed. The twin carburettor 1335cc engine gave it good performance, and the handling was good too.

If the description above does not sound like a classic Triumph, it is because the car was NOT a classic Triumph. It was a rebadged Honda Ballade with just enough local content to be a ‘British’ car. The car was called the  ‘Triumph‘Acclaim’ and was the last  to ever bear the Triumph name.

The trouble is that it wasn’t a real Triumph. It didn’t look like a Triumph, and it had qualities which Triumph owners were not used to having. It was actually a good car.

This is an employee booklet for the car and makes for interesting reading..

http://www.hargreave-mawson.demon.co.uk/emphand.jpg

The Acclaim was not a sporting car in the sense that many Triumphs were, and I always got the impression that it was bought by older people. It was finally eclipsed by new Rovers, also made in collaboration with Honda, and looking a little less like Japanese cars.

I think that the last Triumph should have been a sports car, a convertible at the very least, but the Triumph Fury story says it all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Fury

If anyone is to be blamed, it has to be Triumph management. The convertible Triumphs were popular cars despite their shortcomings, but they all lacked proper development. When safety laws were introduced for convertibles, Triumph dropped them from the ranges rather than do what it would take to address the issues.

I once owned a Triumph Spitfire 1500, and apart from a 1293 Mini, it was the most fun I had ever had in an easily affordable sports car.

More on Triumphs here..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_Motor_Company

The Telephone..

Alexander Graham Bell was a Scot, and had he developed the telephone and made the first long distance call from the UK, we could have laid claim to it being a British invention. But it was not to be. The idea was in his head and didn’t come to anything until he reached Ontario Canada.

Anyway, the telephone in question is the 712/722 Trimphone. When these were announced in 1964, everybody wanted one, but unlike today’s phones, a man from the GPO had to come and install it, so the wait could be a long one. The wait was worth it because the 712 was the hippest thing on the planet.

This is the info card for the 722. Note the exciting colour range. These phones were very light and easy to carry, and they had as standard the world’s longest cable.For the first time, you could sit further away than six feet from the wall, but it’s weight worked against it too. Dialling the phone resulted in it sliding around and being small, there was not a lot to hold. It was the first phone that didn’t ring too. It warbled, but we still used the phrase ‘I’ll ring you’.

The other issue was the luminous dial. Seen originally as a good idea, when users found out that it was radioactive, albeit very mildly radioactive, that was enough for people to take a step back.

Eventually, the Trimphone turned to tone dialling and then user pluggable (8766/8786) in the late 70’s and early 80’s which overcame the radioactive element and having to wait forever to get a new style phone.

The Trimphone was a GPO telephone. Towards the end of its life, there was an influx of novelty phones, none of them authorised, and all resisted by the GPO as being incompatible with the existing lines.

British Telecom took over from the GPO, promising to make the British telephone system the best in the world, and with that promise came a whole range of BT approved novelty phones, some with advanced features for the time.

Alas, the swinging Trimphone was replaced as the standard telephone, but for a few years blazed the first designer phone trail.

If you want to see what followed it, see here..

http://www.telephonesuk.co.uk/phones_1980on.htm

Welsh slate..

So good that it has been transported across the world and has been the roofing material of preference on some Chinese pagodas.

If fixed down using wooden pegs, a Welsh slate roof can have a useful lifespan of around 400 years. Iron nails are not good as the deterioration in the nails over time also affects the slate. There is no roof more perfect in appearance than a Welsh slate roof, and if you ever go to North Wales, you will know exactly what I mean.

Not just roofing, slate floor tiles have a quality all of their own.

Slate was mainly quarried, but in the case of the slate of Blaenau Ffestiniog, it was mined.

Was it easy work? About as easy as any quarry or mine can be. Open cast on the sides of the Dinorwig escarpments in the middle of winter or any time really would have been difficult on poor quality food, and many fell to their deaths because they no longer had the strength to hold on.

In the Llechwedd deep mines, explosions as the slate was blasted always presented obvious dangers, and like coal miners, the dust was unforgiving.

Quarrymen and miners were only paid for good workable slate blocks. There was always a considerable amount of waste that came away with the blocks, and it all had to be cleared manually and for no wages.

Weather in North Wales is changeable to say the least, in no small part due to its proximity with the Irish Sea, a particularly rough part of the North Atlantic Ocean. Blaenau Ffestiniog has been recorded as having more rain then anywhere else in England and Wales, and there are days in the area when it is impossible to see where the clouds stop and the mountains of waste begin.

If ever you find yourself in this part of the world, I strongly suggest that you do the Llechwedd tour, and while in Dinorwig a visit to the Miners Hospital. The records there will give you a very clear idea of just how tough it was. In the records, you will see the word ‘Marusmus’ in many of the entries. See here for details of the condition..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marasmus

Don’t worry. It is not contagious and your visit will be a safe one. For more on Welsh slate, see here.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_industry_in_Wales

.. and what you can still buy..http://www.welshslate.com/

Other mining in Wales..

There is a coal mine in Blaenavon, South Wales which has public tours. Here too is a real eye opener into the life of a miner.. see here..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Pit

As nasty a job as mining or quarrying may seem to you, the miners and quarrymen of North and South Wales were all proud of what they did, and all will tell you that they would do it over again.

It would be good to end on a high note, but there is a scar on the face of coal mining in South Wales. The name of the village was Aberfan..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberfan_disaster

Tony Robinson

You may know him best as Blackadder’s sidekick, Baldrick.

That scene was back in 1989 and marked the end of probably the funniest sitcom ever, but Tony had a cunning plan way before.

He started acting aged 12 back in 1958, playing a role in the original West End production of Oliver. After appearing in a few West End shows, the die was cast.

Or was it?

Tony Robinson had bit parts in quite a lot of productions, both on TV and the big screen, and also did a stint on the kids show Play Away. He a very easy manner which suited the job as a television presenter well.

His real fame came with a role in Blackadder which made him a household name. Since then, he has become the face and voice of archaeology and history on TV.

Hey, there is an unofficial Tony Robinson website which is full of facts..

http://www.unofficialtonyrobinsonwebsite.co.uk/

Here in Canada, we got the Blackadder series, and we also get Tony’s history and archaeology television presentations, and I must admit to being able to listen to them all day.

Light where you need it - any angle..

Recognise this?

It is the model 75 Anglepoise table lamp, designed and developed originally by George Carwardine, a car suspension designer in the UK. These lamps are not cheap but there is no other multi-position lamp that does it as well as an original Anglepoise.

The original appeared in 1932 and could only handle a 40w light bulb. These days, they have LEDs, but apart from some styling changes, they have remained pretty much the same. You can even buy remakes of the original 1227 design. How cool is that?

Where wouldn’t you find one of these? Anywhere where there is no electricity supply. They were and are still used in homes, offices, hospitals, workshops etc.

Floor mounts, table stands, desk clamps, even a wall mount, there is always a way to make one of these lamps work for you.

Variations of this type of lamp have appeared, but none will be as versatile or long lasting as a real Anglepoise. A full range of spares is available for them too, so you will never have to commit an Anglepoise to the landfill like you do for so many of the other cheap look-a-likes.

For more, see here.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglepoise_lamp and for the current range.. http://www.anglepoise.com/

BBC and the Acorn..

Did you know that while other computer companies were struggling for traction in the early days, the BBC sponsored Acorn Computer Company was leading the world?

Did you also know that an offshoot of the original Acorn Computer Company, ARM, is into processors (CPUs) and is bigger than Intel? ARM = Acorn RiSC Machines.

People always associate computers with the USA, but the first useful computer was made and used in Britain? It was used at Bletchley Park to help break the Axis Powers codes.

The Acorn team in Cambridge UK were a bright bunch. Look what they produced over time.. http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/sec/79/Acorn-Computers/

The most famous is the BBC Micro which was the mainstay of computer learning in British schools. Click on the BBC B Micro in the link I gave you above to see the huge array of software and connectibles for the machine. There was absolutely nothing like them anywhere else.

The language was BBC BASIC, a step up from regular BASIC which embodied commands not seen in the original. It made the language very powerful indeed while still remaining simple to use. Even I managed to produce a few games and bits, even an assembly language clock which stayed on top of whatever was on-screen. Well, not quite always. The trouble is that I was no programmer and didn’t have the mindset to sit for hours bug checking, but what this period did teach me is how everything comes together.

I have more sympathy for the programmers when their stuff fails to interact with whatever else is on a computer. I know how difficult it is to test a program or utility and ever guarantee that it will not affect anything else that is running..

So what beat Acorn and why are they still not making computers? This is a company that built stuff to a high standard. There was nothing flimsy in their lineup. The 90’s saw the rise of the cheap and very often flimsy IBM clones, a market in which the Acorn way of doing things could not compete.

The Archimedes RiSC computer and the associated operating system was way ahead, closer to midrange business machines than for home or school use. Sadly, production of computers was halted.

This is not the end of the story.

The ARM processor which spawned the Archimedes range is a very powerful, very fast, and very power efficient processor, so much so that it is ideal for use in cellphones, PDA’s, tablets, essentially anything where mobility and performance are necessities. The computers may have disappeared, but the technology is alive and well, and huge business for what is left of the original Acorn company.

Also, the Domesday Project of 1986 has been saved from destruction. The laser disks upon which all of the data was stored eventually suffer what is called ‘laser rot’. Very few could ever afford the system on which the Domesday Project ran, but it is now being transferred from the laser disks and updated.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday

Fish and Chips

There are a few factors which make British Fish and Chips the envy of the world.

1. Nowhere in Britain is too far away from a sea or ocean. This is an important factor re availability of fresh fish across the nation.
2. The seas and oceans surrounding Britain have fish that is eminently suitable for deep frying, including Cod, Haddock, Plaice, Sole, Halibut.
3. Specialized fish and chip frying equipment is made in the UK for the 8500 or so outlets
4. Greek Cypriot immigrants who came to Britain years ago, all of whom seemed to have the ability to produce world class Fish and Chips. 

There is a huge difference between fresh chilled fish stored temporarily in dry ice and deep frozen fish. Anything deep frozen tends to lose its texture and taste and to transport fish across huge continents, deep frozen is the order of the day. I feel sorry for you all..

Fresh water fish is really good if sautéed but you never want to deep fry it. Salmon or Trout in breadcrumbs maybe. In Beer batter? No thanks. The white ocean fish already mentioned are the best anywhere.

The fryers seen in burger joints are ok for frozen French Fry style chips, but fish and chips need space to fry properly, just as pasta needs a large pasta pot if it is to be anything other than mediocre.

Not only are Greek Cypriot people super friendly, they are the top fish and chip producers in the world. They also introduced Kebabs and chips. While I was still resident in the UK, I knew a few good Fish and Chip shops whose kebabs were so good that I stopped eating the fish.

British Fish and Chip shops also do a range of products, including fish, fish cakes, roe, sausage, saveloy, chicken, Mars bars, scallops, pickled eggs, gravy, curry sauce, mushy peas and kebabs. There is something for everybody.

Why don’t fish and chip shops do as well in other countries?? I believe that it is because only the concept is carried across, not the full product. We call them Fish and Chip shops in Britain still, but they are more than that, way more.

A note about Harry Ramsden’s. This is what made the company famous.

.. White Cross, Guisley, West Yorkshire, a large dining room with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. I have to admit that I did not care for the fish and chips here. In the North, there was a tendency to use lard in the fryers, where in the South, oil was used. As a consequence, I found the fish batter to be too heavy, and the whole meal left an after taste which I didn’t like.

HR expanded into a chain, but Fish and Chip shops are not about chains. The best are where the skills of a master fryer are passed down through generations, not an instruction sheet taped to a wall.

There was a Fish and Chip shop opposite the church on the A61 out of Skipton in Yorkshire where the fare was so good, I had to go in and get more. North, South or the bit in the middle, there are some excellent Fish and Chips shops and long may they succeed. I could list many which I regard as worth a visit, but it has been a few years and they may not exist anymore, or have changed hands.

One thing I can tell you,, the Fish and Chip places here in Ontario Canada are ok, but not like back home. The Fish and Chip shop is one of Britain’s Best that I really do miss.

Dr Who?

November 23rd, 1963, a half hour before the BBC National News slot, we heard this. Then we were taken into a set and introduced to a straight faced and slightly intimidating old man.

We have never looked back, well maybe to check to see if the Daleks or the Cybermen are on our tails.

It is the longest running Sci-fi series ever and is popular across the globe. The sets were cheap as were the special effects, but it scared us all to death. Remember that in 1963, we still had monochrome TV sets. There were no bright colours to make it all seem more playful.

After the first showing of the Daleks, I doubt that there was a schoolboy alive who didn’t walk into school, extend his arm and exclaim “Exterminate”.

Eventually, William Hartnell morphed into Patrick Troughton, then Jon Pertwee and for me, finally Tom Baker. As each character appeared, I liked the new one better, but when Tom Baker morphed into Peter Davison, I couldn’t watch it anymore. He just didn’t come across as Dr Who to me. I tried to watch the newer ones, I really did.

I picked up watching it again maybe three years ago having seen it in the cable TV program listings here in Canada. The doctor was played by David Tennant and I have to admit to liking the character.

Why is Dr Who better than Star Wars and StarTrek.? There is no sanitization in Dr Who. Space travel is haphazard and a generally dangerous business. Dr Who doesn’t try to befriend his enemies, and they wouldn’t want to be friends anymore than we would want to be friends if some strange beings arrived tomorrow with powers so obviously well in advance of our own.

Dr Who isn’t about ‘they all lived happily ever after’. It is a continuing struggle just as life has been a continuous struggle on our planet. This is why Dr Who is still being produced and why the others have all finished their missions.

For more on the best Sci-fi series in the Universe, start here.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw

Ford’s Transit

The most popular van in Europe for many years, you name it and the Transit has been there and done it.

Apart from ‘white van’ delivery tasks, it is used by the Emergency services (all branches), and Royal Mail. There are four wheel drive conversions, camper van conversions, ice cream van conversions, whatever you want and as long as you have the cash.

You can have long wheel base or short wheel base, regular top or high top, pickup, mini-bus, twin rear wheels for greater load capacity, and all of these choices lead to many more uses than already mentioned. 

Fancy a vacation? Large or small, the Transit can handle the load. This one is high end.. You can get them as small as the Police vehicle, but if you want comfort, the one on the left is cool.

The great thing about the Transit, and what really made it popular was the huge range of factory options, the size and the fact that Transits are comfortable and drive like cars.

I remember sitting in a South Manchester cafe, the King and Castle. There was a couple there extolling the virtues of their recently converted Transit which was basically the long wheel base delivery style van but now sporting a 3 litre engine from a Ford Capri. They talked as if it was a Rolls Royce, and I had to smile. I looked for it when I exited the cafe, and sure enough, there it was. Rust and patchy paint work didn’t bother them at all. It was the performance which put it at a level above transport used by their friends.

Don’t think that all Transits are rusty and patched up. Customisers like them as well, giving them fancy paintwork, lowered suspension and of course the 3 litre conversion. There is one more conversion which deserves a mention. The stretched Transit..

No problems getting your party into this one..

For more on this remarkable vehicle.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Transit

Edible yeast extract..

Better known as Marmite, it is a fairly sharp-tasting spread. The more you apply, the sharper it gets. In raw form, its been around for centuries, but until a German guy discovered that yeast extract could be worked on and made into an edible form, Marmite was conspicuous by its absence.

So, what has Marmite done for us and the rest of the world? Well. it can be spread on bread and butter, toast and butter, added to recipes, is the spicy part of Twiglets, can be licked directly from whatever is used to apply it, has helped win two world wars and is available across the world.

Marmite lovers are instantly recognisable as being British, and most of us born after WWII will have been introduced to soft boiled eggs and Marmite soldiers. What is a Marmite soldier, I hear you ask. It is Marmite spread onto hot/cold buttered toast, and cut into strips narrow enough to be dipped into the top of the egg. The secret is not to apply it in thick layers. Even the toughest of Brits struggle if it is laid on with a trowel.

It is available from the Brit sections in Spanish grocery stores, and can be found in Canadian grocery stores too. Here in Canada, the locals see the words ‘yeast extract’ on the label and promptly put it with other baking goods like baking powder and paper cup cases. Is it any real wonder that without instruction, Canadians don’t know what to do with it? Baking? I don’t think so..

I can see that you are itching to become a member of the Marmite Fan Club and find out more about this heroically British foodstuff.. See here..

http://www.marmite.com/ 

Lots of history, why it was called Marmite and of course the fan club..