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..