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Tuesday 31 January 2017

Burwell Cottage

Although our village (Burwell, Cambs, UK) has grown a lot in recent years, it still has some lovely cottages like this one.  Some parts of our church are around 1000 years old and the oldest house dates from around 1200AD. I suspect this cottage dates from the 1700s, so is quite new!

Sunday 29 January 2017

Village Walk

This morning, we did a walk around the village. We saw a little egret (the first I've seen in the village) and a buzzard. Until the 1980s little egrets were rare in the UK. The churchyard trees looked very bare and wintery.

The 2 horse chestnut trees were planted to commemorate the 1815 Battle of Waterloo. I have no idea when they were planted, but they are very old. Both our children and grandchildren have enjoyed collecting conkers from these. No doubt village children have been doing this for generations. There is something humbling about this. Dust to dust....

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

In all, 10 unique bird species seen, but some very commonly seen birds were not seen in the hour from 3pm to 4pm. I twice tried to submit my results to the RSPB, but on both occasions it told me there was an error.  On another page it said I had submitted the results! CRAP.

Aconites

This winter seems much colder than last. We have yet to see a daffodil out and the snowdrops are later. Yesterday I saw the first aconites out, in a garden not far from us (see picture).

We are seeing more birds from Scandinavia like fieldfares, redwings, starlings and waxwings. The latter I have still not seen.

Each winter we see some of these birds, but usually they come as it is very cold in Scandinavia. Seeing lots here often suggests a cold winter here.

As yet, no snow here.


Saturday 28 January 2017

Growing amaryllis house plant

Our amaryllis, grown from a bulb, is really growing. It might be in flower next week?

Our lounge (where it is) is pretty warm - usually 22-26 deg C most evenings.

The longest stem is 44cms, so it has grown 5cm since yesterday! You can almost watch it growing!

Friday 27 January 2017

Famous Five (for adults)

In several places recently I have come across "Famous Five" books designed for adults. Depending where you buy these, the prices are from about £2.99 to £8.99. They are cheapest on Amazon. As a child, I enjoyed the Enid Blyton "Famous Five" books. The adult books have really made me laugh. I might buy some.

So called "facts"

Recently I have seen adverts on Facebook about famous people who are reported to have died. All these turn out to be untrue. Apparently it is called "clickbait" designed to make you click the link, no doubt to then try to download something nasty to your computer. I have "shared" news items in all good faith only to find out later that they are not factually correct. In this age of "post-truth" news, one has to be very careful. Do not take things at face value!

See http://www.snopes.com/category/facts/

Thursday 26 January 2017

Growing fast

Our amaryllis plant is growing at a rate of about 1cm a day.

Although not in flower yet, it soon will be. We planted this a few weeks ago.

Wednesday 25 January 2017

Winter Sun

This is a photo of "our" windmill yesterday in the cold, frosty winter sun. Today by contrast is dull and cold.

Football

Although not a great football fan, it is good to see Plymouth Argyle (my old local team) second and Cambridge United and Exeter close to the playoff positions in League Division 2. This could be a good end of season.

Monday 23 January 2017

Trident


Sorry, but irrespective of whether or not this missile went off course and PM Mrs May not answering Andrew Marr's questions, I think renewing Trident is a HUGE waste of money. At the time of the Commons debate this was put at £40 billion. Yes, forty billion pounds!

Years ago, for work, I visited Faslane - a very creepy place.


Wicken Fen in January

As I said yesterday, we went for a walk at Wicken Fen in beautiful January weather. It is dull and cloudy here today! The photo shows the windmill used to pump water and the frozen lode. Yes, it was cold.

Sunday 22 January 2017

Have a laugh

This Twitter post made me laugh. I gather the BBC soon changed the caption.

Fen Skies

This morning we went for a walk at Wicken Fen (National Trust). It was cold and very frosty with a bright blue sky. In fact it was a perfect January morning. The picture shows the excellent skies we get in East Anglia.

Wicken Fen is famous for the bittern and its dragonflies. Some years ago I saw a bittern coming in to roost. It is a kind of heron.

The boardwalk was quite icy, so we avoided this where possible

Saturday 21 January 2017

Right shift

In recent times, there seems to have been a swing to the right in the UK and the rest of the world and a sense that our politicians are "out of touch".  The victory of Mr Trump and his "make America great again" speeches are indicative of this. There is a danger that several European nations could move to the right this year.

Here in the UK, we have no effective opposition. The Labour Party opposition is in disarray and faces two difficult by-elections.

This swing to the right may be temporary, but all parties in all nations need to wake up and be aware.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38704082 .

Weather forecasts - hopeless!

At 0830z the Met Office weather forecast for our village said full sun all morning from 0900z. Very very briefly we saw the sun at 1140z. Really, the weather forecasts are useless.

Amaryllis

Every winter we grow an amaryllis in the lounge. It has really shot up in the last week, with what looks like 2 flowers coming from side shoots, barring any disasters.

Last year we supported it with a cane and elastic band.

At the moment, it is 19cm tall.

Friday 20 January 2017

Thursday 19 January 2017

PC and Camera Memory

It is fascinating to see the price of PC and camera memory getting lower and lower and the capacity increasing. Only a few years ago we thought a 1GB SD card was amazing. Now you can get 128GB (at least) on a mini SD card at quite respectable prices.

Ten years from now I expect we will be used to 1-2TB mini SD cards and think how did we manage back in 2017? I recall the hard drive on my first PC was 0.5GB and we thought that was massive.

UPDATE 2035z: You can already buy a 512GB SD card on Amazon. I'd be nervous of an SD card that large. Mind you they probably said that about 0.5GB SD cards just a few years ago.

Tuesday 17 January 2017

Blackbirds

Every other Tuesday I have been going in to Cambridge on the service bus to my U3A course on Polar Studies at the Scott Polar Institute. As the speaker today was commanded to go to the Economic Forum in Davos, we had a different speaker at short notice: he was very good.

On the way in, I just relax and count the bird species I see. Usually it is between 8 and 12 different species, although in total I have seen many more.

What struck me today was the vast number of blackbirds. They were everywhere. I am not sure why there seem to be so many: are the marking territory or seeking mates?

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/b/blackbird/. The image on the LHS is on the RSPB site.

There are some waxwings in Cambridge. These birds come from Scandinavia and are quite rare most winters. I have yet to see one. They are often seen eating berries in supermarket car parks.

EU and the UK pound

Since the Prime Minister clarified our position on leaving the EU following the BREXIT vote, I see that the UK pound is up against every currency. I guess people had already factored in that we are leaving the EU and are happy to have some certainty now.

Although I have said this before, it would not surprise me if the Euro lost a lot of value this year. The EU is in grave danger of falling apart.

I voted to "remain" in the EU, but many nations want free trade but NOT a United States of Europe. France is France. Germany is Germany, etc..  National identity IS important.  Originally the EU was about maintaining peace in Europe, but it has grown a lot in recent years and has rather lost its way.  Basically I think the EU is "a good thing" but it must not be a "gravy train": it should serve the people of Europe.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/currency/default.stm .

Monday 16 January 2017

Aortic Aneurism

AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm) screening - this available free to all males in the UK in their 65th year or older. I did not know and was not screened until today. All clear. If you are male and in this category get checked. Ring your nearest AAA clinic (in Cambridge this is 01223 256909). If you do have an issue it CAN be fixed with a stent.

Sunday 15 January 2017

Wars


Most wars seem pointless.

In the Vietnam War (looking back) we were fed what those in power wanted us to hear. The trouble is getting factual data is often hard.

The UK, Saudis and Yemen

British bombs are falling on Yemen as 1.5 million children face starvation. This must stop. There's a line that must never be crossed - and it’s called the Arms Trade Treaty. By refusing to stop British bombs falling on Yemen, the UK government has crossed that line. Please write to your local MP: po.st/RedLineYemen and urge them to draw a #RedLineForYemen.

We happily trade with corrupt regimes like Saudi Arabia selling them arms so they can fight our wars by proxy. It seems we are just interested in their money. Does the UK government think this is right?

Thursday 12 January 2017

Snow?

Usually when the Met Office predicts snow here we get rain. We may get snow here tonight or tomorrow, but I'll believe it when I see it!

New Zealand Blog

My wife was cleaning a shelf and came across a photo album of our 2009 trip to New Zealand. It is amazing what you forget. Luckily, we did a blog and can look back and recall the visit.

If you get a chance, do go. At every turn it is beautiful and the people are warm and welcoming. It is NOT like the UK. Yes, the people speak English and lots of the birds in towns are English ones, but the wild places are not the same, with wild tree ferns and many trees quite different. 4 million people instead of more than 60 million helps!

Tuesday 10 January 2017

Spring around the corner?

At least both morning and evenings are getting lighter now. Although evenings started to get lighter from mid-December, mornings only started to get lighter this week.

Things growing are later than last season when some daffodils were out in late November. This winter it has been colder and there are only a few snowdrops out so far.

Spring is coming, but it will be some weeks yet.

Different roads

As I get older, I must think about things more. Often I wonder what life would have been like had I taken a different fork in the road: gone to a different university, done that PhD, taken a different job, not had children, married someone else, taken the job offer in California and so on. I expect everyone wonders this sort of thing. In a multiverse, maybe we do follow all possibilities but we are not aware of them. I often wonder.

See http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html .

Sunday 8 January 2017

Plymouth Argyle

Well, my old local football team Plymouth Argyle (League 2) held Liverpool to a 0:0 draw in the FA cup match today. This earns them a replay (and money) in Plymouth.

Saturday 7 January 2017

Dreary January

January is an odd month. Kids have gone back to school, the post is quiet, nights are still long and everywhere feels "dead".
By the end of the month things have already started to change with first signs of new life in the garden, days getting longer and the hope of spring not too far away. January always seems a long, dark, dreary month.

By contrast, February flies!

Tuesday 3 January 2017

Panto

It is a UK tradition to go to a pantomime with children at Christmastime. Pantos are usually daft with the lead woman played by a man, with lots of ad libs and jokes. We went to Aladdin in Ely Maltings as we did last Christmas (different panto theme). We went a few days after Christmas and everyone enjoyed it.

Had we gone in Cambridge, it would have been much more expensive. The panto runs until next week. Great family fun.

See https://thelittleboxoffice.com/kdtheatre .