baldysblog.co.uk

Archive for the ‘Baldy Tales’ Category

Although I normally avoid Beta Testing of new software – a real pain unless crucial to your business, I did download and install the Beta of Windows 7 and frankly was impressed so when the RC version came along, – RC stands for “Release Candidate”, the final product apart from minor tweaks if you like, I downloaded and installed that too, excellent.

I am not an over enthusiastic “fan” of anything from large “American Corporations”, they only think “our needs” not “my needs” and the only reason Microsoft is being “nice” is because they caught such a big cold over “Vista” the “Edsel” of the software world and gave their loyal customers nothing but “Vista Blisters” but perhaps, a Window of Hope beckons.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last weekend was the Gay Pride March in London and as a result, there have been a fair number of articles in the media about ‘gay issues’, Cameron apologising about past Tory attitudes towards gay issues, silly gay Labour politicians trying to smear the Tories as anti-gay and so on. On Sunday Peter Tatchell wrote an article in the Independent challenging David Cameron if he became PM to deliver on a number of “outstanding issues”.

During the late 1980′s whilst retraining, I supported myself by working evenings as a doorman at a London Gay West End pub. Despite my being straight it was not a problem for me nor, once the customers understood the way I worked, for them either. At the time and quite unfairly I thought having some gay friends so that I was ‘aware’ of it, the age of “consent” for gay men was still 21 although the age of majority had been reduced to 18 sometime earlier.

Read the rest of this entry »

I am a great Andy Murray fan. Not because he might have a chance of winning Wimbledon this year, that frankly is not that important, at 22 years of age, another year will do. The reason that I love Andy Murray is quite simply that I don’t have to watch him, eyes half-closed from behind the sofa as I do any “England Team” in whatever sport.

Andy does not have to win Wimbledon this year or any other because I know with a ‘certainty’ that he will win a number of Grand Slams during his career and as a consequence, I can happily watch every game he plays and, accept the result. By the same token it is irrelevancy whether he is seen as Scottish or British, he is quite simply a great Tennis player and it is a pleasure to watch him. Yes he is a ‘Brit’ and you want him to win but more than that, he is a young man with talent who has taken control of his life and drives forward to where he wants to be.

All I can say is Go Andy Go and for as long as it lasts, enjoy. For what it is may be worth, my best wishes go with you…

As individuals, there are some things we never think of and yet, for others those same topics are virtually all consuming. I was reminded of this the other week reading someone writing on the web about death and saying that his Father who appeared to have died in his early 70′s telling him that he would have liked perhaps 5 more years. Why I asked silently…as I contemplated my childhood.

As a RC boy who served on the altar in the 1950s, I loved funerals with a simplicity of view that nowadays is long forgotten, an acceptance of reality and a natural leaning to what works best for you personally. As a 7 year old junior altar boy, weddings where the “MC” altar boy copped the cash from the Best Man, the “trickle down” was little short of disgusting.

Read the rest of this entry »

Whilst I will no doubt feel inclined to comment on the election of a new Speaker which will I am sure, be a total cock-up with the bookies putting Margaret Becket as the current favourite – “You Really Cannot be Serious…” on that one, as politics crawls uneasily towards the Summer Recess, there is not that much to comment upon.

I have been writing this blog since November of 2007 and have published over 300 articles. For various reasons because I am working on a new project running in a development environment, I needed to feed some data in so copied over essays from this blog to there. I was quite amused looking back over some earlier stuff just how there are really very few themes or major topics in ‘play’ in the political arena over that time.

Read the rest of this entry »

A week ago I photographed a family of Canadian Geese in one of the ponds on the flood plain of the River Brue. Goslings like ducklings are very vulnerable and it was quite noticeable just how protective the parents were. Although we have a lot of Canadian Geese around here, they nest elsewhere and normally are found on the lakes in the Apex Park which is beside the River Brue.

This morning riding home I spotted them actually on the River and the parents still had all three, just a little bit bigger and fluffier. Of course I couldn’t get too close and didn’t have a long enough lens but never the less, it was good to see them again.

Read the rest of this entry »

As politics is a bit boring currently, I thought a picture entry might be more fun and I like these images which in a couple of cases, via a bit of careful work in the “digital darkroom”, could become very special. The other day I came across my friend the Heron again, he is such a magnificent bird. I suppose if I had more time to sit and wait as the Heron does, plus had a faster and therefore ludicrously expensive telephoto lens, I might be able to do better but I like this sequence although it was a case of a “quick grab”.

Herons are “cool creatures” and don’t panic whereas the majority of the wading birds and Egrets, are highly nervous and take to the wing at the slightest disturbance.

Read the rest of this entry »

I normally use the Press and the on-line blogs to provide me with thoughts and inspirations for my own but Lordy, Lordy, right now it is an “Anger Fest” with all rationality gone out of the window so, time for more interesting things and in this case, Canadian Geese. Whereas Ducks are definitely rather “Daffy”, Geese are really cool creatures unlike say, Speaker Mick Martin.

I spotted this pair with their three goslings on one of the shallow crab ponds on the flood plain of the River Brue. I had never seen them with their young before and it was charming, they were very dutiful and protective parents.

Read the rest of this entry »

Born in London, I am by nature a “City Boy” and although I have lived in other places and other cities my love and feeling for London always plucks at my heart. For some, perhaps many people, cities can be both frightening and lonely places but I always find them motivational because when you are tired or have run out of ideas, all you do is standstill and both watch and feel the City move around you, it doesn’t take long to be back up and running again !

But for all that, in the almost 5 years I have lived by the coast, I have got used to seeing the sea everyday and would miss that if I moved away. I would also miss sights such as this, my friend the Heron who is a great character. Herons are very big birds and tend to keep away from humankind but I caught these moments a couple of days back and thought that I might share…

Read the rest of this entry »

There was much talk during the American Presidential Campaign as to how Barak Obama and his team had “harnessed the web” to help him secure his victory. He had not just used it to project his message but also as an effective means of fund raising. The question being posed in the UK was whether a British politician or Party, could do the same.

For a whole number of reasons, I was already looking into various aspects of this for my own reasons and if of interest, in the following I will share my thoughts:

Read the rest of this entry »