New PC here

My new PC is here and will be set up tomorrow all being well. The essential programs are Spectran and WSPR related so I can use my favourite amateur radio mode (WSPR) again. I am waiting until tomorrow so the grandchildren are not around.

See: http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15r-5521/pd

Strimmer Wire

Our strimmer had run out of nylon cord. Visiting the local Homebase today to get new cord I was amazed that there appear to be hundreds of different varieties to choose from, depending on maker, model and age. My son and I had to ring home to check we were getting the right one.

Be warned, go armed with make and model number or you too will be confused. Thankfully I got 10%
off as it was a seniors day (Tuesday).

View of our house from the windmill next door

In my present (wobbly balance) state of health because of my stroke , I cannot climb up the inside of the fully restored windmill right next door to us.

This morning, our son managed a sneak preview and he took some photos of our bungalow  from the very top floor of the mill.

Our bungalow from the mill

You can see my V2000 vertical and 2m halo on the garage roof if you look at the blown up photo. You may JUST be able to see my HF Par end-fed wire too but you will need to look carefully at the  full sized photo.

For the second time this year, a party of school  children is visiting the museum, and windmill. The windmill has its official opening on Sunday April 13th.

See http://www.burwellmuseum.org.uk.btck.co.uk/StevensMill

The windmill,next to our bungalow, is the highest spot in the village. The church, about 400m away, is on the second highest ground.

Burwell Church from the top of the windmill

New PC due today

According to the tracking data, my new Inspiron 15R PC is due to arrive any time now. It has been dispatched from their factory so is ready. When it arrives I need to check for updates and install WSPR and Spectran software as well as CCleaner, Firefox and VLC media player. My old versions of Photoshop Elements (V2) and MS Office (2003) may not install? We'll see. With 1TB of hard drive there should be no shortage of space for apps,but it does depend on them working OK on a 64 bit machine.

I am using my wife's PC to write this and that is 64 bit Dell machine and both WSPR and Spectran installed OK with Win 7. Let's hope Win 8.1 is OK too.

Netgear WN1000RP Universal Wi-Fi Range Extender

Netgear Wifi Extender

We had intermittent internet coverage in our main bedroom so I invested in a Netgear wifi extender this week from Amazon.co.uk.  Price was just under £28. The unit simply plugs into a free 13A socket with no ugly wires.

The extender takes the off-air packets and regenerates them so the remote signal is considerably improved. I believe the speed is reduced but we have a very fast connection anyway. It does NOT use the mains wiring to send the signal over.

First impressions are good, with a strong signal now in the main bedroom. Setting up the extender was simplicity itself.  We'll see how it works over the next few weeks.

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009C9FQNQ/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 .

PCs

http://i.dell.com/das/dih.ashx/179w/das/xa_____/global-site-design%20WEB/e079f119-4427-7611-2582-9b07c3699d3e/1/OriginalPng?id=Dell/Product_Images/Dell_Client_Products/Notebooks/Inspiron_Notebooks/Inspiron_15r_5521/best_of/laptop-inspiron-15r-5521-touch-generic-bestof-500-ng.psd

As I have been having lots of issues with a very old Windows XP laptop and my little Asus netbook is currently refusing to start, today I decided to invest (we'll see) in a new Dell Inspiron i5, 15R laptop (1TB hard drive, 8MB RAM, touch screen, Win 8.1) with 3 years' hardware and software support. The machine looks like it should meet my needs well.

My XP machine was mainly used for digital modes and normally did not move. It was powered nearly always from the mains PSU. After April 8th Windows XP is no longer a supported OS by Microsoft, which is a pity as I liked XP.

Grass cutting

Well, my balance, walking and general stamina must be improving as today I cut about 40% of the rear lawn. Lis did the rest, but I was not totally exhausted, as I was last time.  I could probably have done the whole lawn with a few breaks.

Today I still feel a bit sick inside and giddy but definitely somewhat better. Also, I have taken NO pills today so far.

Anglesey Abbey

Another visit today to Anglesey Abbey near Cambridge (our 8th this year!) to enjoy the mild weather and the lovely walks. Today was quite quiet and all the lawn walks are now open. Plenty to see including lots of woolen bikes (yarn bombing) to promote the Tour de France which comes through Cambridge this summer. Snowdrops are dying fast but there are plenty of other flowers to see now and most trees are starting to bud.

Lis next to the bike wheels

Masses of daffodils

Penny Farthing

Small violet-like flowers - not bluebells I think

Missing airliner MH370

http://regmedia.co.uk/2014/03/18/boeing_777_9m-mro_mh370.jpg

Yet more mystery surrounds this flight's disappearance. It seems incredible a large passenger carrying plane can just "disappear" without trace.

Although I am in no position to judge, there is something odd about the Malaysian Airline's briefings: something does not ring true in their accounts. May be it is just scant data, or are they hiding something?

Gay Marriages

From tonight, same sex couples can be married in England for the first time. I think the laws in other parts of the UK may be different. 50-60 years ago, this would be unheard of and my parents will be turning in their graves.

In many Africa nations, attitudes are not unlike those here back in the 1950s and 1960s. 

Personally I think gay people have every right to marry if they so choose. Many will disagree and think this makes a nonesense of hetrosexual marriage.

See:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26773016

Last year my (female) wife and I were invited to a civil partnership ceremony but we were unable to attend.

Walking and balance

Today I managed to walk (with Lis) to the Cambridge Building Society, the Bank, Budgen's store, the Post Office and a friend's house - Jenny Mansell's - which for me, in my current state, is a long way.  For me, it is not the walking as such that tires me, rather it is because I get giddy (poor balance following my stroke) and THIS tires me. Quite often I feel like I've drunk 8 pints of beer, when I haven't had ANY alcohol now for over 6 months. I am told that the brain finds new pathways and ways of managing, but it will take time.

I have the feeling that after the weekly physio sessions in Ely yesterday the giddiness was slightly better, so the more exercise I do the better? Today I have reduced my liquid (peg) feed down from 900ml a day to 800ml which will reduce the time on the pump to under 7 hours.

Grandchildren

Tim with Amandine and Lucien playing " Hide and Seek"

Today, one of our sons, his lovely French wife and their 2 delightful young children came up from London for the afternoon as Lucien's school was on strike. The grandchildren are 6.5yrs (Lucien) and nearly 3yrs (Amandine)  and they cheer me up no end. These days they play well together, spending about 30 minutes playing hide and seek. Lovely to see little Amandine counting to 20 in both English and French.  On Sunday our other grandchildren are coming up and they will be here for a few days.

Swifts, swallows and martins

Swallow (sometimes called Barn Swallow)

For me, spring never properly arrives until these have arrived on UK shores. Sand martins are already being seen in  Devon (first arrivals in March) but swallows are rarely here much before early April,  usually about April 10th in East Anglia. Usually I get to Devon at this time of the year just as the swallows arrive from S.Africa. This year, because of my poor health,  I shall have to give this a miss.

Swifts are rarely here before the end of the month of April. Once here, swifts seem to be everywhere! I love to hear their screams on the wing. To me, the swift is a real summer bird and a sign that "all is well with the world" when they arrive.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_Swallow

Numbers of house martins have been down in recent years.

Ickworth House and Grounds - National Trust

See: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ickworth/ .

Lambs outside the little church at Ickworth

Part of the extensive grounds

Ickworth House and its extensive grounds are located not far from Bury-St-Edmunds in Suffolk. The grounds make a fine place for walks that vary in length from less than a mile to over 7 miles in length. At this time of year there should be plenty of daffodils and young lambs. My wife and I hope to go there this afternoon and walk to the newly restored little church on the estate about 500m from the main house. Although wobbly, I should be able to manage this. The image (LHS) is located at http://www.britainexpress.com/counties/suffolk/Ickworth_House.htm .

Very young Ickworth lamb enjoying the sunshine

Part of the main building is nowadays a 4 star hotel called The Ickworth Hotel.

UPDATE 1645z:  Plenty of lambs at Ickworth but the daffodils are 1-2 weeks behind those at nearby Anglesey Abbey 25 miles west.

Visit to Kings College Chapel

Kings College Chapel

Living not far from Cambridge it is all too easy to take for granted the wonderful places on our doorstep that people travel around the world to see. Being "locals" were can get into Kings with a photo-card that costs just £7 for 3 years. Being OAPs (old age pensioners) we can do a free " park and ride" into the city saving diesel and parking dues. Getting from the park and ride stop to Kings is about 0.5 miles walk each way, which even with my wobbliness I could manage.

Kings is a truly inspiring building on the edge of the River Cam finished in the reign of Henry VIII. There is a great sense of peace inside. The fan vaulted ceilings have to be seen to be believed. It is of course from here that the world famous "Nine Lessons and Carols" are broadcast each Christmastide. People queue for seats at this in the rain, and sometimes snow, for up to 30 hours! I have attended sung Evensong there in the past without queuing.

My wife wandered down to the river to get a few more photos whilst I stayed in Kings. At this time of the year there are fewer visitors than in high summer. Cambridge also attracts English language students especially in summer.

Punts near Kings

If you have never visited Cambridge you are in for a pleasant  surprise when you do. Be sure to walk around the Backs (area adjoining River Cam around the colleges , visit Trinity College, Kings College and St John's College. A walk along Trinity Street is also worth doing.

Cambridge feels more rural than Oxford in my opinion. The town still feels "old fashioned" academic even though many of the new high-tech companies are on the edge of the newer city. Many of these spun off from university research. Heffers (Trinity St) has a wide selection of academic books down in its large basement sections.

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Normality

Brahms' German Requiem  - CCS - March 22nd 2014, 
West Rd Concert Hall, Cambridge

When unwell, you almost forget what "being normal" is.  Last night I was given a lift to my wife's Brahms concert and most people were totally unaware of my current disabilities.  I am gradually on the mend,  but my biggest issue is wobbliness on walking or doing any activity.  Many (most)  people are totally unaware of this. I hope my brain rewires so this goes with time.

Our good old friends Peter and Chris Branson, came to stay over the weekend and it was them who gave me the lift to the concert. Peter kindly cut our hedges and front lawn and did a pile of weeding (without being asked) - such GOOD kind and generous friends.

See  https://sites.google.com/site/cambschoral/  for details of the Cambridgeshire Choral Society (CCS) including how to join and details of other concerts you might enjoy.

BTW, my wife is the 7th in on the LHS. She is the short lady with short greyish hair (now I am in trouble!) in the 2nd row back.

Brahms - German Requiem

See - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_German_Requiem_%28Brahms%29

This evening at 7.30pm, my wife sings in the Brahms German Requiem at the West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge. She sings with the Cambridgeshire Choral Society.  This is a splendid work and well worth hearing. Tickets are available on the door.

Se also https://sites.google.com/site/cambschoral/

Most of the Requiem was written around 1868.  It is so sad that some 50 years later Germany, the UK and many other countries were busy killing each other in millions in WW1. I am still convinced we all drifted into WW1 not realising what it was going to be like. 

This Brahms choral work towers above the madness of WW1,  50 years away still when written. To this day I think of Germany as a cultured and great nation. WW1 and WW2 were aberrations that sadly can affect any nation depending on who is in power.  That is the tragedy of all wars.

The music of Brahms, Wagner and many others reminds us that music has the power to transcend human frailty and tower over us putting wars into true perspective: after the fighting should come true peace and reconciliation.

Gardening at new house

Lucien clearing autumn leaves

We moved into a bungalow (about same space inside as the old house) just 4 weeks before I had my stroke and was then in hospital for months. Luckily we had the bungalow extensively renovated and it was decorated before we moved in. The garden is easier to maintain than at the old house, but nonetheless we have 2 biggish lawns and a long hedge to cut. Thankfully my sons have helped and my wife is getting used to the lawn-mower! I hope to tackle some of the hedge next week weather and health permitting.

The long bed in the back garden

Feeling better

My stroke recovery continues. After an "up and down" week things are looking up: food is going down fine as are drinks and people tell me my voice is sounding stronger. All positive signs.

I still feel very wobbly when walking or exercising and this currently is my biggest issue. People tell me my recovery could take a long while yet  so I have to remain very patient. Also, people say I must expect bad days as well as good. Fatigue after doing almost anything is an issue.

After a poor start this week, when I felt I was slipping backwards, I feel full recovery should be possible given time.

See http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stroke/Pages/treatment.aspx  .

Burwell Windmill

The official opening of the restored windmill (right next door to our home) is April 13th 2014. The windmill now has 4 sails again and it has been fully restored both inside and out . It is a credit to all those who worked on it.

See http://www.burwellmuseum.org.uk.btck.co.uk/StevensMill for more details of the mill and museum which has some amazing exhibits.