Where I lived as a child

As I child, I was brought up in Salcombe, Devon. To this day it remains a very beautiful place. This video by Birds Eye View Productions shows Salcombe from the air with videos created by drones.

Longer days

Already the evenings are about 30 minutes lighter than they were and the rate of increase speeds up as we get further through the month. I noticed that quite a lot of daffodils are in bloom in Cambridge. Well before the end of January is very early indeed.

By mid February, when we do our walk at nearby Landwade, we expect to see all manner of winter flowers in bloom.

See http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/uk/cambridge .

Ascent of Man U3AC course

Mid afternoon, I start my second U3AC course (University of the Third Age in Cambridge) in Cambridge this academic year. It is called "Ascent of Man" following the work of Jacob Bronowski  who did a TV series some years ago. I recently got a second hand copy of the hardback book which accompanied the series. It was much cheaper than a new paperback copy.

The University of the Third Age has a huge range of courses in Cambridge. We are very lucky.

UPDATE 1745z:  The course was very disappointing. Also we almost immediately divided into 4 groups of 3 to discuss questions and formulate answers.  This is a format I just detest and with my poor voice I find discussing topics very hard. The lecturer was not very good as well.  I may change courses. Already I have contacted the U3AC office to check availability on another course.

Rising shares?

Sepura (SEPU) shares ended up at, what I believe is, their highest ever level today at 154.5p. Also after a dodgy morning the FTSE 100 share index ended up with gains on the day.

Relaunching the Sinclair ZX Spectrum Computer

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-30810148 .

A Nottinghamshire company is to relaunch the world famous ZX Spectrum computer with an SD slot and preloaded with thousands of games. The project has the blessings of Sir Clive Sinclair.

Very many years ago I was approached by Sir Clive to advise on antennas for his tiny TV. This was back in the 1970s. It was nice to be asked for help! He was interested in a joint venture on ICs at the time with Pye Telecom.

FTSE 100 - heavy falls today

The FTSE 100 share index fell 2.54% today - a very bad day indeed. Let us hope the index stages a recovery. Forecasts of the index being over 7000 by the year end look very hopeful at the moment.

North Norfolk

Before I had my brain bleed, my wife and I made a point of going out "somewhere different" mid-week, usually on a Wednesday. Today we restarted doing this again and we went to lovely North Norfolk. There was actually a thin covering of snow up there although we have had no snow here so far. It was a lovely bright, but very cold, day.

We stopped at Castle Acre on the way but our usual coffee stops were closed so we went on Kelling where the old school is a tea room and bookshop. We have been there many times, but not since before my illness. I managed a tomato soup, 2 egg sandwiches  and an unthickened coffee and we bought a book and some chutney.

It was so good to be back doing our "old" things again.