FTSE 100 well up

At the moment the UK FTSE 100 share index is up well today. Currently it is 1.64% up on yesterday. A lot can happen still. The rally could just disappear or it could end even higher.

UPDATE 1408z:  It is currently up 1.88%.

UPDATE 1750z:  The FTSE 100 ended the day up by 1.99%.

Terrorism

One of the answers to the recent spate of terrorism is to work on the false certainty of those willing to die as "martyrs".  In any religion, anyone who sets out to kill innocents would not be a martyr at all.

No, they face hell or nothingness and their actions are reduced to pure criminality. We need to understand what really motivates these individuals. They have a grievance that must run very deep.

Yes we need fair societies in all countries but violence is not the answer.

Death

This remains a total mystery. Many religions talk about "life after death" and who knows? With talk of multiverses who knows, maybe the universe is unique to us only and everyone else experiences something different. Maybe what we experience when we die is a total absence of life, much like we before we were born. The only thing we can say with any certainty is no-one really knows.

Grandchildren

Just before cutting the cake

We have been to London today for our grandson's 8th birthday party, with his cousins. The day went well. We drove there and back and managed to get back just before dark.

Leaves

At this time of the year here in the UK, sweeping up fallen leaves from the lawns is an almost endless task! We have quite gusty winds (although nothing like those in Scotland), so I expect the remaining leaves to fall soon. I spent some time this morning raking up leaves, but the rear lawn will be covered again by tomorrow.

We have an ornamental cherry that lost its leaves a few weeks ago. The silver birch was next and a copper maple on our boundary is losing leaves now. The lilac next door is dropping leaves as well. Oh the joy of seasons.

It won't be too long before the nights start to get shorter again and a new cycle of life is evident. It is good to think that the fallen leaves help to produce the strength in the new season.

I like our seasons. In each there is something good. We have had rich colours this autumn and there is something lovely about a crisp winter day with a low sun and no leaves on the trees. There is also something good about drawing the curtains early and just watching the telly. Then, before you know it, it is spring again, with breakfast sun and lighter evenings and mowing those lawns! England - still lovely.

Churches blog updated

Today we visited Moulton Church not too far from Newmarket. The East Anglian Churches blog has been updated to include this.

See  http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

War propaganda

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34781225

War - you don't know who to believe.

One thing you can be sure of is that all sides will tell lies in the name of propaganda. In the end wars fought with military might rarely really solve a conflict. In the end the only answer is to truly understand what is behind all the anger and negotiate a just peace for all.

To this day, I do not understand Israel's appalling treatment of the Palestinian people. All sides need to recognise the rights of the other side. As for Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, clearly little good is being done by wars.

I feel ashamed of the UK and USA who seem very biased in favour of Israel. We have to treat all sides equally. They are all humans like you and me.

Grandson's birthday

Our older grandson is 8 years old today. It is hard to know where the years have gone. It seems only yesterday he was born. All our grandchildren are special and each one is an individual. The youngest is 3.

UK weather forecasts

OK, this is yet another moan about UK weather forecasts.

I checked the BBC and the local Burwell weather just 1 hour ago. Both said dry until tonight so I planned a last cut of the grass. Stepped outside to, yes you guessed, rain.

Yes I know that the UK weather is complex, but surely they can get it right just 1 hour ahead? Apparently not.

Back pain

Well, I have enough to contend with as a result of the after-effects of my stroke, but now I have a re-occurrence of lower back pain. Usually this goes within a few weeks. I am taking pain killers and I am OK if I am flat on my back. Walking is painful. My wife has given me a hot-water bottle for my back.

Grandchildren gone now

On bikes near "our" windmill

Our "London" grandchildren went home this afternoon. As with all our grandchildren, we love having them. Sadly, my stroke of 2 years ago means I can do less with them than I would have done in the past. Nonetheless, they had a great time. They enjoyed Halloween and played silly, simple games. In the picture they are enjoying bikes in our quiet close.

Moved

A few days ago I mentioned that I was now posting non amateur radio posts on my amateur radio blog which attracts far more visits than this blog.  So, don't expect this blog to be updated too regularly in future.

See http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.co.uk/ .

Blog - please change your URL

After much thought, I have decided that one of my other blogs gets far more traffic, so future posts will go there instead of here. This other blog is mainly about amateur radio but posts of general interest will have, "NOT amateur radio" in the title, so general posts are clear. Of course, you are very welcome to look at other posts there too!

So, in future please look at http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.co.uk/  .

The UK and China

The wooing of China bothers me. This last week we have bent over backwards to "love" China. I guess this is a move to get inward investment, exports and help with our nuclear power plants. At the same time China is carrying out a sabotage job on UK manufacturing (partly of our own making) and soon we will have no industry left at all, with all our manufacturing in China or its neighbours.

No, I have the feeling this is not in our best interests at all.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34626936 .

Clocks - all change

Last night, the UK clocks went back an hour to GMT, so mornings are a little lighter for a few weeks but nights get darker sooner. It is not until the end of January that lengthening days are really noticeable, although days lengthen again around Christmas. I guess we just adapt to a more "indoor" lifestyle for the rest of autumn and winter. This autumn, the tree leaf colours are particularly good with the reds more intense than I recall. There is something good about every season in the UK. The dark nights are nice as are the very light summer evenings.

Grandson gone home

Our younger grandson has gone back to his home near Canterbury.  Dad collected him this afternoon. It was lovely to have him and we think he had a nice time with us. He is a very good little artist and interested in so much - just great.

Strictly Come Dancing

This is the only "reality" show on TV I watch. "Strictly" makes good entertainment on a cold autumn evening, with tea on a tray and a small glass of wine in front of the fire. My wife enjoys it more but I do enjoy it too. In my teenage years I enjoyed ballroom dancing, although that was a long time ago!

Park and Ride

Our young grandson and my wife at the Newmarket Road "Park and Ride"

Today we went into Cambridge to visit the Dinosaur Museum (Sedgewick Site) and John Lewis for a snack with our younger grandson. We used the "Park and Ride" bus for the last part of the journey as we can use our bus passes and it saves worrying about the city traffic and parking. In John Lewis we treated our grandson to some Lego too. At the moment I have a blue disabled badge and am able to park in the disabled spots.

Grandson here for a few days

We are lucky enough to have our younger grandson, aged 6,  staying with us. For some reason I was very tired today, but hope to be OK tomorrow. He is a very talented little boy who loves drawing. His parents pick him up on Saturday.

Today, he did some baking. Tomorrow we hope to see some dinosaur bones!

Solar Panels?

The subsidy given by the UK government drops dramatically at the end of the year. With new panels getting smaller all the time and more efficient I have decided not to bother for now. Existing panels are large and have a finite life.

I have decided to wait, especially as our electricity bill is already very low because we use LED and economy lights widely. I think the government should be doing far more to encourage the take-up of energy saving measures. This is surely a "win-win" approach?

Tony Benn

Currently, I am reading the diaries of Tony Benn, lent to me by a friend. Tony Benn was very much on the left politically. He was well respected as an honest man even by those who were on the opposite side of the political divide. The more I read, the more I like him and his views. In the UK we have a very right wing media (papers etc.) and Tony Benn was often the person they liked to ridicule and misquote. He always "stuck to his guns" and talked much good sense. He died aged 88 of a stroke in 2014 after a long political career.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Benn .

Stroke after-effects

About 2 weeks ago I had a tummy bug. In the past, this would have hit me for a few days, but this time I feel it really "knocked me for six". I blame this on my stroke and my age. 2 weeks later I still feel unwell and tire easily. Gradually, I am improving - my appetite is back to normal, but I do hope I feel far less exhausted very soon.

This afternoon I plan to cut the front lawn, but no doubt this will tire me after about 20 minutes.

UPDATE 1307z:  Today the sun is shining, so I'd better get out in the garden soon! Tomorrow rain is forecast.

UPDATE 1451z: I managed to cut both front and back lawns, but now I am totally shattered!

UK weather

The UK weather forecasts are useless!! Today, even at lunchtime they were forecasting thick clouds this afternoon. What did we get? Blue skies and very thin clouds some of the time.

They say the UK weather is complicated, but the Met Office has spent millions on super-computers. I remain very unimpressed. It sometimes seems best to think the exact opposite to what the forecasts predict.

The USA and guns

I read today that the USA have banned Kinder Eggs to protect children. At the same time they permit automatic weapons. Such hypocrisy! All the Americans I have known have been kind, caring and generous-  lovely people.   I find this at odds with USA gun laws. The USA is a violent country but the widespread ownership of guns surely makes people less safe than those places where guns are rare.

Anglesey Abbey

Anglesey Abbey today

This afternoon we went to Anglesey Abbey, a National Trust place about 4 miles from home. There were plenty of signs of autumn, with many of the trees in spectacular colours. This autumn the colours have been particulary good. I am not sure why this is.

Some trees are still green, but many are changing. A few good gales and the trees will soon be bare for winter.

Quiet day

I am still not feeling fully back to normal following my stomach bug. I think this really did hit me. My immune system must be relatively poor. On top of the stroke after-effects I think I really suffered.

Today, my wife has her U3A course in Cambridge so I have had a fairly quiet morning so far. I shall prepare lunch later and there are a few household jobs to do, but I think one has to "listen to one's body". At the moment it is telling me to go easy and don't do too much.  I expect I shall soon be back to my new "old self".

Apathy

I get appalled by the level of apathy in some people.

As many of you know, I was brought up as a child in Salcombe, Devon. Nowadays Salcombe is the most expensive seaside place in the whole country. The majority of homes are "second homes" and empty for much of the year. Locals struggle to afford places to live.

And yet....

When planning applications come up it is very unusual for locals to object. I write to the planning people but it seems I am a lone voice. Actually I don't know why I bother. If the locals are not prepared to use their democratic voice and if they don't care why should I? It seems apathy will result in Salcombe becoming a ghost town. Soon they will wake up to no bank, no post office, a very poor bus service and all tradesmen living elsewhere. I can see the writing on the wall, but it seems the locals do not care.

Autumn in the garden

The back garden in autumn

Gradually, the gardens are taking on a more autumnal look. The sunflowers have passed, the apples are ripening next door, we have harvested our crab apples and taken in the sunshade for the winter ahead.  Every season has something good about it and this year the autumn colours are splendid.

Electric Cars

Electric cars have been on sale for years but today I saw my first electric car in use. This was a Nissan Leaf. To me the electric car is not the best solution. The range, even with new batteries, is quite low. Battery technology is still poor and huge batteries are needed to get quite modest ranges.

Although politically a "good idea", I feel we will see better solutions. Maybe this will be hydrogen fuel cells or power buried in the roads and paid for by the actual amount used? The latter would reduce the weight of batteries. Even with large subsidies, electric cars are expensive. We definitely need a clean, efficient alternative to petrol and diesel cars but I am not convinced by today's electric cars.

I watch the next few years with interest and wonder what motorists will be driving in 20-30 years' time.

Old shortwave interval signals

See http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15047843/SWintervalsigs.mp3

As a child, I enjoyed making simple shortwave receivers and listening to broadcast stations from around the world. These were the days long before the internet and emails. Hearing stations from across the planet was magical. Most broadcasters used interval signals to say who they were. These are some from that time. Nostalgia!

Hearing some of these sends a tingle down my spine.

FTSE 100 share index

The FTSE 100 share index fell earlier, but seems to be staging a recovery. It may even end the day slightly up. There is still over an hour of trading left and a few shocks could change that! At the moment (1634 BST) it is down about 0.3%.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/markets/europe/lse_ukx .

Out the other side?

Last week, I had a nasty stomach bug. On top of my stroke after-effects, this really knocked me for six. Although the stomach troubles ended last week, I am still feeling "low" (tired, emotional and generally unwell) as a result of it. At long last, I feel that it is drawing to an end and I am returning to my new "old self". In the past this might have been a 48 hour bug, but in my present state I guess it takes much longer.  I've been lucky in that this is the first time since my stroke 2 years ago that I have been "ill". In many ways, I have been lucky. I still feel giddy when walking and drinks are still not right, but (when I don't have a stomach bug) I feel less tired than I did.

I just want my usual speaking voice back please!

Grass cutting

We are now clearly in autumn and the leaves are starting to fall. Today, I cut our front lawn (rear later all being well) but the intervals between cuts is lengthening as the grass is growing less. One, maybe two, more cuts and that should be it until the spring arrives. I usually give it a small tidy-up if needed on a dry winter's day.

The first cut of spring is usually March. The grass grows very slowly in winter. Unless we get a really cold snap, I don't think the growing totally stops. By January I get frustrated as the grass starts to look untidy. It always looks better after being cut. In the meantime, nights draw in and we have the pleasures of cosy nights in. There is something good in every season.

As Melanie Reid said in The Times on Saturday (she is tetraplegic since a riding accident in April 2010) there are those that live and those that live in fear. We are not in control, despite our best efforts, so let us all try to be with those who live and embrace all life.

Lifeboat Disaster Book

100 years ago next October, there was a disaster when 13 of the crew of the Salcombe lifeboat were lost at sea. One of my aunties  (Aunty Kitty) remembered this when she was a child. The RLNI has a book out about the disaster. In those days these brave men rowed out in very rough seas

See http://rnli.org/NewsCentre/Pages/Salcombe-RNLI-Launch-1916-Lifeboat-Disaster-Book.aspx .