Ben Nevis Weekend 1st-4th MAR 2013

This blog will be added to over the course of the next few days.

Stopped for lunch at the gate inn at Yanwath near Penrith very nice!

01/03/13 0800 cold clear sunny day here in Glasgow we'll be picking up Ginny the second climber at around 1300 to drive the 100 miles over the mountains to Fort William.
01/03/2013 Arrived Fort William around 1630. Sunny clear weather. Hired a pair of boots that can take crampons. Met up with Adam the guide and he briefed us on the 2 days. Tomorrow we go to Glencoe to learn the basics. Sunday we are going to the top of Ben Nevis using a climbing route rather than the path route!

 Sally & Ginny take in the view at the top of the pass before Glencoe

A nice reflection pic by Sally through the car window

 

07:30 a bit of drizzle falling and some low cloud about.  It looks like it could be a wet day up at Glencoe

18:35 02/03/2013 Phew! didn't do enough training!  We spent the first hour this morning walking up an incredibly steep track into a huge re-entrant where the snow was.  I must admit to being a little disappointed by the amount of snow up there but it was just what we needed to learn "the skills" 

 

We spent an incredibly long time rolling about in the snow learning how to arrest a headlong slip on the snow without an ice axe and then with an ice axe.  After that, cold and wet we put on our crampons and learnt how to walk and climb "the ice".  This was very interesting and the skills needed were not at first apparent until Adam explained the finer points. 

We then descended back to the car and are looking forward to going up Ben Nevis in the morning

See today's pics worth a look here     sorry about this link not working correctly for a while

Adam and Ginny descend an icy stream

 

03/03/2013 07:15  The forecast from a couple of days ago predicted that Sunday would be "the better day".  Looking out the hotel window we cant see any hills!, there's a chance the fog could just be floating around at the town level though.  Fingers crossed! 

03/03/2013 15:15  Back from Ben Nevis not long ago and i have posted the pics online.  We started walking up from thr car park at 08:15 and it was quite a slog up to the CIC hut and then onto the snowline

The knobbly bit in the centre of the picis where we are headed

 

 

We finally get to the snow and put on the crampons and harnesses looking up at the huge granite buttresses above us.  We are doing a climb called the ledge

 Here Ginny is tied onto the rope to Adam i'll beat the back

Well into the climb now

 

The weather was pretty kind and gave us some spectacular views of the climb and the bottom of the valley way below us.

 

Adam tackles the technical bit and we follow. 

 

We finally make the summit just before our 4 hour mark

Plenty of snow on the way down and we make it back to the car in a shade under 6 hours.  Fantastic day All thanks to Adam from http://www.hughesmountaineering.co.uk/ 

 

I uploaded a stack more pics and they can be seen here, enjoy.    I'll put some comments on them later this evening

 

07:30 05/03/2013 A cold frosty start to our day in the lakes, I'll post a new blog with pics this evening once we get back home

 

 

 

Sleep is bad for you!, & "A judge is "not a witness of truth!"

Sleep it appears must be bad for you according to an article in the Sky News  It starts off by saying that lack of sleep impacts on Gene Activity which is linked to heart disease, obesity and mental impairment.  So if you dont sleep at all you wont have heart disease, get fat or be a loony!  dont sleep dont sleep - - - dont - - - Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

The headline news is full of the terrible balloon crash/explosion in Egypt.  What a terrifying situation to be in!  I see as well that another unfortunate has been killed falling down part of Ben Nevis.  Here's hoping everyone will be safe when we are up there this weekend. A happier climbing story though is in the one sky are running about a woman who climbed Everest twice in a week she completed the feat in May last year but its only come to light just now! 

A twist to the "King in the Car Park" story attached to Richard III who's body has lately been discovered.  It appears now that his "Descendants" who supplied DNA to prove the remains were his want him buried in York Minster rather than Leicester Cathedral which archaeological practise dictates.  It will be interesting to see if they succeed.

The Chris Huhne Vicky Price story gets on to the "stupid" bandwagon today! There's a story in the The Telegraph that Britain's most prominent black Judge, Constance Briscoe has been arrested in connection with the case.  A statement being read in court at Prices's retrial today by a police officer says they are not calling Miss Briscoe as a prosecution witness because "she cannot be relied  upon as a Witness of Truth"  What is going on!!!

A BBC  story that has me smiling is the one that starts "Australia: Where The Good Life Comes at a Price".  I'm sure we all know people who have tramped off to Oz for all the things we don't have here.  Well that's what they would have us believe.  Don't get me wrong its not a bad old patch but it does seem to be catching the same cold everyone else has been signed up to.  The article writer Madalaine Morris starts off with a real rant about the price of Limes in an Oz supermarket being equivalent to £1.50 each while being almost in site of the lime orchards!  Worth a read!

Locally - - -  Phil2 has "recovered" his speedometer and the "repair" has also fixed the fuel gauge!  I couldn't believe the fuel gauge should be showing how much fuel was in the tank when the ignition was off but it did.  Since the "repair" the speedo works when moving and the fuel gauge reads zero when the ignition is off! The "repair" consisted of a "hard re-set" that's technical bullshit for "switching off the internal computer chip and switching it back on again".  To be fair to the garage doing what they did was obviously the way to go and as the bloke said once the electronics were running everything worked again.  Fingers crossed it keeps going! 

At my 6 monthly dental check up my dentist pronounces the few teeth i have left as,  "perfect!".  That's good but I'm confused as to why I'm charged the same as a person with a mouthful of teeth!  Well i mean to say you can get your "Car" cleaned at the "hand car wash" for £5 but your 4x4 will cost you £7 so why not similar pricing for teeth.  Bet they dont get charged like that in Oz!  lol 

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Keith keeps his genitalia! & Fiennes gets bitten!

Glad to report that "Keith" the colleague mentioned in the last blog managed to take head of the note left by Glen and indeed did stack the shelf with the required "Space Invader" munchies therefore ensuring that his genitalia remains in tact! 

A fact I failed to mention in the last blog is that a dear colleague at the Salt Mine, "lets call her Rachael" is now back at work after a bout of Pneumonia, poor old thing not long ago had a bout of pleurisy so she's been through the mangle in the last few months.  In welcoming her back I did ask her if her life assurance is up to date!  

Another twist in the Pistorious case is the fact that his brother Carl is charged with culpable homicide of a motorcyclist in 2008.  It makes you wonder when the next skeleton might fall out of the Pistorious cupboard?!

The "Acclaimed" Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes is to pull out of his latest expedition because of having frostbite.  Apparently he had to fix a ski binding and did it with his bare hands in minus 30c.  With his experience you would have thought he would have known better.  Ok we don't know the full details of why he did it but it smacks of "familiarity breeds contempt"!

Not to be left out of the horsemeat scandal "Ikea" has jumped on the bandwagon announcing that meatballs made for it in Sweden have "traces of horsemeat". Nestle also announced it had found horse DNA in meat supplied form Spain.  Where will it all end!

I was looking at the weather, as we English do!  and noticed that the Temperature has not risen above 5c since the 19th of Feb.  Ok its not really cold but its unusual in England for it to be cold for so long.  Luckily we are forecasted for it to get up to 8c by the weekend.

Finally - Phil2 the Freelander is off to the local Land Rover garage in the morning in an attempt to repair the faulty speedo.  Its been interesting using the "Speed Box" app on the iPhone but it will be good to have the regular one working again.  I'm hoping i wont need a "bank loan" to pay for the repair.  Boris the Defender looks to be in line to be repaired quite soon now after his slight accident a couple of weeks ago according to our insurer!  We have a plan for him after that - - - more later!!!!!    


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Trouble at mill! & a SLIMZENE followup!

Lots of coverage today in the rags about the "concern & unease" surrounding claims that Lord Rennard is a groper!  The "Mail" claims that "Clegg" knew about the claims 4 years ago while the BBC article about the claims say "Clegg" "Knew nothing"  Knowing nothing seems to be a qualification afflicting most politicians!  Another "Groper" appears to be the leader of the Scottish Catholic church although the allegations claim the actions were "inappropriate acts" a much nicer phrase than "groper don't you think! 

The "Express" has a headline of "Blackout Brittain freezing weather puts millions in danger of devastating power cuts".  They seem to have ignored the weather forecast indicating daytime temps of +8 by the end of the week.  Just another vindication of the saying "why let the truth get in the way of a good story!"

I mentioned the story earlier about the lady driver Danica Patrick being in pole position for the latest Nascar race.  Today there's a story about a huge pileup during the race.  I'll refrain from asking if the lady driver was involved! 

SLIMZENE Update:  I have had a few e mails from people claiming to have been "mislead" by the Free Trial offered by the Slimzene and Neucleanse products.  The problem people seem to be having is getting in touch with the customer service people to cancel their orders.  Here then is the telephone number we used (not the one supplied with the product) to sort our problem out 0808 1680207.

Trouble at mill! 
There's a story going round that concerns a colleague, "lets call him Dave" he used to work in the bakery and was a bit of a pain in the Ass!  He then left us and went to be a pain in the Ass on the checkouts! Having a very high opinion of himself he put his name forward to be a team leader.  When he was turned down he gave his teddy a real kicking.  However he also used "inappropriate language" to a customer! and then went home and put "inappropriate material on his facebook page.  Shame i cant seem to get a link to it but, Grow up Dave, get out more and get your head out from your Ass!

I saw a publication today that's going to change the shopping experience for our customers.  The little shelf edge price indicators are going to be increased in size from 32mm to 39mm!  Wow! 

I was in a quandary this morning as i was told that today was the last day for a colleague 20% discount.  Normally we get 10 infrequently we get 15 but to get 20% demands a "bit of a shop".  The quandary of course is do I tell Sally and in effect give her a free hand! heaven forbid it could cost £100's.  Luckily i phrased the text in a way that just gave me the free hand for the "bit of a shop" and got away with just under a £100! phew!

I was perplexed by sign attached to a roller in the warehouse.  It had been added by a colleague, "lets call him Glen", an articulate person! to another colleague, "lets call him Keith".  And exhorted him to put the 2 boxes of "space invader" munchies on the shelf and it made it clear this was not the first time nor the second that Keith should have done it.  The last line was a killer which said " If you fail to do this I will sever your genitalia and feed them to a passing squirrel" 

Finally - - - we've had a few snow flurries in the last couple of days, pics below show quite a good one yesterday

Across the River view

The garden looked as if it was going to get covered but the flurry only lasted about 20 minutes

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Food price rise signals! & Some other morsels!

I only mentioned a couple of blogs ago that the "Big boy supermarkets" would use the Horsemeat saga to increase their prices and already the "signals" of such a regime are appearing.  Sky News carries a report which suggests "Consumers are being warned that food bills may rise if high demand for meat testing continues"  Should this cost of testing not be included in the penalties for the people responsible for the problem?
There an amusing twist to this kind of story though if you look at the front page of the "Star" rag.  There's a picture of HM the Queen smiling at a horse with a sound bubble from her saying "Yummy!" The byline underneath suggests that a top notch caterer may have supplied "Dodgy meat to Royal Ascot!"
Yet another Horsey story is that the Armed Forces rations have been contaminated by Horsemeat.  I think its a "given" that anyone remotely connected to and having eaten "Armed Forces Rations"  would welcome Horsemeat after eating some of the "dodgy" meals they had been presented with! 

Mr Pistorious has been granted bail after  "4 Day" hearing!  Pictures of him leaving court are plastered over most news agencies.  If it takes 4 days to grant him bail, I wonder how long the trial might last?

The Daily Express has another "reader grabbing" headline this morning, warning, we are about to suffer the, "Coldest Winter Freeze of The Year"  The follow up story though has some "Chilling" facts about deaths from the cold!

You might read today about the UK losing its AAA credit rating and the "Chancellor" telling us "We are not going to run away from its problems"  Meanwhile at the World Track Cycling Championships in Minsk our cyclist appear to be "running away" with a host of medals with the girls winning the Team Pursuit not long ago and Kenny and Yates winning gold yesterday in 2 events.  Medals for Lance Armstrong however seem to be at an all time low as the US Government now join the growing queue of people suing him because when he rode for the US Postal team and won the Tour de France it was "public funding" supplying the $'s

"Nuns caught drinking illegally" is the header for the BBC  story about a pub in Ireland where they wanted to have the biggest ever crowd of people "dressed up" as nuns, really funny pic and worth read. 
Shock - horror! though as an admission from our "beloved" Ant & Dec, those "northern" cheeky chappy "performers"  where they proclaim from the front of the Daily Mirror that "We've taken drugs" but even more horrendously "Ant voted Tory"  Bad boy Ant - - Bad Boy!
I've never been one for tattoos and a few good reasons why others shouldn't either are displayed in this Telegraph story with some graphic pics of "celebs and their tattoo howlers. - - worth a look

Finally then - - I sat here earlier contemplating that tomorrow I will be back on the job at the "Salt Mine" which is the local Sainsbugs Supermarket.  I then noticed this story in the Telegraph, a staggering 1701 people apply for 8 jobs in a new Costa Coffee branch opening in Nottingham.  The story go's on to trot out statistic after statistic about the unemployed in the area, a  damning proclamation of the state the country is in if i ever saw one!
Hey ho! I shall however, armed with the knowledge gleaned from this story, have a slight (yes only slight) spring in my step as I pass through the sliding doors of the emporium tomorrow and adopt the, "company colleague" persona once again!  As an old and long in the tooth, glass is half empty,"cynic" I don't believe everything i read in the papers - - - do you?

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Did Magna Carta die in vain? & theres a flasher alert!

Brilliant story in the Telegraph today by Harry Mount about the questions asked of the judge by the jury in the Vicky Price case.  It seems to show the jury have little idea what was going on, having to ask the judge to define "reasonable doubt".  The story harks back amusingly to the one of Tony Hancocks "half hour" sketches about a a juror where he asks "Does Magna Carta mean nothing to you? Did she die in vain?  - - - worth a read

The Daily Express headline today trumpets - - one again, "Arthritis: New Breakthrough" The story claims that "Aspirin & Fish pills combined can beat chronic illness"  A more interesting and touching tale is one of a keeper at Oregon Zoo  who has come up with a novel way to get a sea otter to exercise its Arthritic Joints.  Basketball!  cute video as well.  Note: Otters eat fish don't they? maybe they should get it to try the Aspirin suggested by the express! 

The cold weather is high on the agenda in the news.  In the US they are once again being battered by a severe snowstorm which is due to "peter out Saturday as it reaches the great lakes" unfortunately to be followed immediately by another!  We seem to be escaping the snow at the moment, but don't "hold your breath" 
An interesting article with pics is told by the BBC  about how the nordic countries put out their babies in the cold to nap.  Theres a pic of one pram outside a coffee shop with a device attached to it that displays, to the mum inside the current temperature, which is showing minus 10c.  We seem to shun this practise in UK but I remember it was also a practise widely used when i was a kid. 

Locally:  Phil2 had a trip to the local Landrover Franchise, a busy place called DLS a few miles away in Wirksworth.  Within 5 minutes of arriving they had him hooked up to "the machine" to diagnose the problem.  The remedy though was not readily apparent which was a similar diagnoses to the Darley Dale Garage over the road.  So Phil2 is booked in for the day at DLS and hopefully the problem can be found and fixed.  

A story in the Matlock Mercury  one of our "many" local papers has a bit of a twist to it.  A van driver (male) on route from Chesterfield to Matlock pulls off the road at a makeshift lay by in an area known locally as "the tops".  Its the route over the hills before you drop down into the Derwent Valley.   Enjoying the view he notices a BMW car pass him "a number of times" before stopping.  The driver gets out and "flashes" at the van driver.  The name of the lane on which both vehicles were at the time - - - "Flash Lane" Mmmmmmmmmm!

We decided yesterday to burn off all the cuttings etc that we dump on the land just above the boundary of our garden as the pile was about 6 feet high and growing.  Having reduced it somewhat in the conflagration we were joined by John our neighbour who added a few more bits to the fire.  His 2 children joined us and as we left were seen adding dead wood to the fire.  Later we spotted John carrying food up there so it looks as if they were eating al-fresco in the gathering gloom.  I must check this morning to make sure he didn't make them "camp by the fire all night"  he was "in the military you know!"

Only 2 days before I re-engage with a shift at "the Salt Mine"  I'm rather glad it will be on a Sunday as it should allow me to "ease" back into the routine.  I must remember to interrogate colleagues for blog material!! 

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Just a bit of this and that

The news agencies are devoting a lot of time to the Pistorius case going on in South Africa although they don't seem to be reporting the same case!, depending on which one you read.  The chief detective in the case "Hilton Botha" is taking a hammering though for being what appears to be a complete incompetent.  A huge factor against "Hilton Botha" is the fact that an investigation has been re-opened into a story where he faces 7 attempted murder charges! 
The "attempted murder" charges happened in 2009 - - - he was arrested in 2011 - - - - and then the charges were dropped  - - - but are now being re-instated in 2013.  I smell a rat or maybe its a little infestation!" 

The horsemeat roundabout trundles on with reports of investigations now going on in Italy and Spain.  Locally its reported that "real butchers" (didnt know we still had any) are seeing an upsurge in sales with "jolly" little signs appearing in butchers windows trumpeting the validity of their goods on offer.  Nice to see the "little man" getting his own back! Of course it will all end in tears because the "big boys" will introduce "real meat" at silly prices to get us all back in their emporiums. 

I see Lance Armstrong the disgraced cyclist is now refusing to speak to US "Doping Officials".  - - - A tad late there Lance, a tad late! 

A local council worker has been sacked for stealing computer parts and selling them on E Bay reportedly making £10.000 in the process.  The "Likely lad" took stuff that was destined for the landfill to support "his business".  Apparently one of his managers thought the scheme "A jolly good idea", unfortunately after a whistle blowing e mail,  the court did not agree. 

Our weather has been a mixed bag of late, quite cold mornings have let me test out what "outfits" i'm going to wear in just over a weeks time climbing on Ben Nevis

Really cold and frosty down by the river

A while later the same day it was warm enough to enjoy the rays!

My replacement Freelander, Phil2 visited the local garage yesterday in an attempt to repair/replace what appears to be a faulty speedo.  Alas the lectroninc equipment used couldn't detect a fault so today its a trip a few miles away to the local Land Rover franchise to be put on their "special equipment".  A bit like a visit to Harley Street i fear it might prove to be a costly exercise! 

I had better dig out my sainsbugs "uniform" today as my 2 weeks sojourn is comes to an end Sunday - - - - back to the Salt Mine  - -hey ho!  

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Send Hilary Mantel to "The Tower" & The nanny state - again!

Flicking through the front pages i notice the Daily Mirror trumpets a quote by  Hilary Mantel that"well known" literary figure and in this case "critic".  She reckons the Princess of Cambridge is "A plastic princess designed to breed"  Hilary, born in Derbyshire has written a number of books one of which i have read, "Bring Up the Bodies"  Lots of reference to Henry the VIII and the Tower of London.  Stick to the "Writing" Hilary or you might end up there yourself!

Doctors (of the nanny state) want a 20% "Fat Tax" on "Sugary drinks" apparently the "Academy of Medical Royal Colleges says the move will help to reduce obesity related illness and deaths" Tagged on the end of that sentence however are the words "according to reports".  Reports are a bit like "surveys" the purveyors of which can make the conclusion say whatever it likes! 

There's a great story at the BBC news site about the incredible size to which "container ships" are being built with a staggering pic of one.  The report is peppered with facts about what it can hold to give the reader some idea of its size e.g. it can carry 36000 cars in 18,000 cars!   mind boggling. 

I see old Richard Briars has shuffled off, we watch a lot of "old style" programmes and hes in a couple.  Emphysema connected to his smoking finished him off even though he gave up 5 years ago! 

Marriage is not dead! well not if you read the story about a "Brides for hire Service" run by a "law firm partner" in the Telegraph  This scam involved a conveyor belt system where illegal immigrants would be married to girls flown in from abroad and then flown out again the same day.  Very sophisticated its been going on for years and it is described as a £20 million scam! 

Another "Nanny State" story which has me scratching my head is splashed all over the front of the Daily Express today.  "Mum of 11 to be given 6 bed house and you will pay £400,000 bill"  I was whisking through the front pages so didn't follow it up but the head scratching point are.  11years old - - does she have 6 kids already? and arn't you not supposed to leave children under 12 in a house alone? by the way this house is being built for her!!!!!!   

Locally - - We all managed some time "in the sun" yesterday here's Tom using next doors kids "cycle jumping ramp!"  as a sun bed ( i wish the kid would!) 

The pic should be titled"Don't you just love that spring sunshine!"

The early spring weeding of the garden was initiated by Sally.  We used to want a maintenance free garden but soon learned, "theres no such thing"

Here she is attacking one of our many pots. she always reckons to stand back admiring the effort only to spot a weed that's been missed.  "life can be so cruel! "

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Horsemeat scandal - all our fault! and it looks like its time to "Garden"

"Iceland" store boss Malcolm Walker reckons, amongst other things, that the horsemeat scandal is just a "storm in a teacup".  He also puts the blame for the scandal fairly, according to him, at the feet of schools hospitals and prisons for driving down the cost of food supplied to them.  So in effect its "all our fault!"  He also go's on to say he wouldn't eat "value" food because it will have very little meat in it, as well as claiming that "Iceland did sell cheap food"  Mmmmm i wonder if hes a relative of the Ratners! 
The big supermarket bosses meanwhile are meeting Owen Paterson (The Environment Secretary) at "Westminster" to discus how they can re-gain the shoppers trust.  Have we ever trusted them I ask? I fear the result will be just an excuse for another price hike to ensure products have what they say on the pack nestling expensively inside it. 

The bloke who invented the wind up radio in the early nineties Trevor Bayliss, is broke according to a story in the Telegraph .  Worth a read if only to realise he lives on the romantically named Eel pie island in the Thames.  One bit caught my eye though the story writer Richard Grey reports Baliss's workshop to be "chaotic" maybe this lends some credence to the "Life Coach" story I looked at 2 days ago!   

This Blade Runner Oscar Pistorious murder story is getting a little ridiculous if you read the story in todays Telegraph.  A bloodied cricket bat is now coming into the story!  the girls was apparently shot "through the bathroom door" a number of times.  "His" family support him in this saying he did it thinking she was an intruder(!)  - - - Girlfriend missing from your bed - - - someone using the bathroom --- grab the machine gun and shoot the intruder in there - - - through the door!

I see that in the states Danica Patrick becomes the first woman to win pole position in a Nascar cup race , averaging 196mph in a qualifying session.  She should come to Matlock the girls round here do that kind of speed around the car park! 

There was enough sunshine around to sit out in the garden again yesterday and I sat watching the fish lazily cruising around.  Last week one of them caused a little concern by being upside down on the bottom.  It swam off as I attempted to net it and has looked ok since.  I noticed as well that its about time to start pulling out the weeds that have popped up over the winter or they will run riot pretty soon. So once again it "time to garden"   

Sally had a present the other morning left on her bed.  Sainsbury had been out on one of his hunting forays and decided that Sally should be presented with his trophy.  She was not too impressed to find a dead mouse on top of the bed when she woke. - - - at least it was a dead one!

I have been applying myself lately to the task of "the book", an account of my nearly 30 years in the Army.  I am currently at the point where I was 19 years old having completed a 3 month tour in Aden which at the time, "We" were having a minor war with.  This tour was during a year long posting to Bahrain in the Persian Gulf.  Having completed the 3 month tour i was offered 2 weeks at White Sands Leave centre (Malindi) just North of Mombasa in Kenya, fantastic

I'm on the left, mate Angus Goudie on the right

 

Angus & A N Other showing off the White Sand

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Mr Woodhead lost in the outback! & we see some sun!

I have been reading the reports about the English guy, a Mr Woodhead, who had been working in Australia at a Cattle Station and had gone out for a jog and got lost.  Luckily for him he had with him a small rucksack in which was some contact lens fluid which helped him survive when he became lost for 3 days!  He was found only 3 miles from the Cattle Station. 

Ok bit of a rant here!  Why take a rucksack and not any water?  Why oh why being an "experienced backpacker" did he not have a map & or at least a compass with him!  end of rant!  He apparently wants to join the Armed Forces  - - - I suggest to Mr Woodhead he takes up Orienteering quickly, to improve his navigation skills and hope survival and navigation is high on the curriculum when he joins up! 

Another snippet for the horse meat saga comes from a bloke called John Young, a former manager at the "Meat Hygiene Service" .  He helped draft a letter to DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) in 2011 alerting them to the fact there was a drug residue getting into the human food chain.  This was linked to a horsemeat export company and was roundly ignored!   We have a friend who used to farm locally and the mention of DEFRA is like lighting the blue touch paper on a very large firework!  He always says DEFRA stands for Destroy Every Farm and Rural Area!

Its a foggy old frosty morn here as can be seen form my time lapse recorded pic of today

While yesterday we had enough sun to dust off the cushions for the swinging seat in the garden and have a wine or two.  Wrapped up well of course!

 Sally and Tom enjoy the sunshine!

While even the garden looks like its enjoying the sun

Too cold outside this morning as Sainsbury keeps watch for "the interloper" and Tom gets his head down.  One of our "still" webcams can be seen top right, this one looks over the cars up into the garden

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2012 DA24 skimspast but the Russians take a hit in the Urals!

I had a quick look last night at the meteor 2012 DA24 as shown by the NASA link i put up in yesterdays blog.  Interesting as it was it really was only a pinprick of light passing across the screen whichever way you looked at it. 

In contrast earlier yesterday a Meteor struck the earth in the Russian Ural mountains causing all kinds of damage.  There's a good report on "Sky news" and some great video shots and pics at Urals hit

The Daily Express continues its ridiculous headlines today with "New jab to fight misery of arthritis"  if you were a "keen" follower of the Express arthritis has been cured at least 4 times in the past few months! 

I wandered over the road yesterday to take one of the pics that's going to make up another of my time lapse efforts and saw the steam enthusiasts of Peak Rail loading up an old steam loco onto  low loader.  It must be off to a new home somewhere.  Its quite a delicate operation as can be seen form the pic below.

The Peak Rail line ends at left of shot and they lay an extra bit of line up onto the low loader which has line laid on its cargo bed. 

I read with interest an article on "Sky News" about a  Vatican Exorcist .  Not being of that"persuasion" i noted that one of the more interesting comments by the said "exorcist" was that, "He has previously claimed that watching Harry Potter films leads to evil".  Mmmmmmm  Better keep an eye on Sally there, she's not only seen all the films she's read the books as well! 

Another story that i cant keep a wry smile from crossing my face with is one in today's "Telegraph".  Its titled "De-clutter your desk if you want a successful career Its all about  "Life coach"  Jayne Morris who is "the resident life coach for the NHS"  What!!!!!!.  Why the NHS should require a life coach is a little sad when you read about the disgusting state our NHS is in.  More nurses and less managers might be a good place to start. 

However i digress - - - - .  "Jayne says" the article go's on to say that, "In order to clear the mind, unwanted articles must be thrown away to free your internal world".  One after the other standard, stock and tedious sayings follow this one that are all meant to make you more successful!

 If you google life coach there's an almost never ending list of people who will train you to be a "Life Coach" so that you can "go and help others achieve their potential".  The one factor that jumps out at you is most of the "list" insist that you need "absolutely no qualifications" to be a "Life Coach".  Power to your elbow "Jayne" - - - power to your elbow. 

On that note i will away get stuck into my book, once i "Clear my Clutter away"  I managed a good couple of hours yesterday and must keep up the momentum. 

Finally though - - nearly forgot,  "the interloper" cat (huge black long haired thing) has blotted its copybook again!  I spotted it up in the garden and chased it off yesterday to see it scurry underneath next door's decking.  This morning Sainsbury (the tabby) exploded through the cat flap at 0630 (hes not a fighter like Tom) pursued by "the interloper" who stopped short of entering - just.  I spotted it go under the cars and chased it off again.  Eventually it will  get the message!

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Cats - Horsemeat & an Asteroid

Sally and I visited a Cattery which we had researched on the net as a contender for our 2 to stay at during our next trip away.  It's called Kool For Cats and is set in the tiny village of Wardlow not far from Bakewell.  You know what its like you have used say 2 or 3 other catteries and expect them to all to be "similar". 

Happy to report though that Kool For Cats looks as if its the "Raffles" of Catteries.  Top notch accommodation purpose built with warm luxurious surroundings.  The "menu" boasts anything your cat wants and if they dont have what yours eat they will get it.  Piped music at certain times as well as interaction with the staff/owners on a 1 to 1 basis every day.  We booked our 2 in without hesitation and hope they "behave!"  heres a link to thier site kool4cats   Worth a look if you have cats!  

"The interloper", the very large hairy black cat, as reported in previous blogs,  has gone a little too far in his attempts to gain access to the cottage.  Tom our old cat has a habit of sitting on the back bedroom windowsill (accessed via the kitchen roof) early in the morning.  He does this to get a good view of "his territory" and also to be able to jump in through the window once I open it.

Around 0500 I heard the familiar wailing which is usually associated with preparation for a fight between cats. Without switching on the light I opened the curtains and sure enough Tom was facing up to "the interloper" who was advancing up the roof towards him. As soon as it spied me it shot back down the roof and disappeared under a car at which time I spotted another much smaller cat, obviously "backup"

So after initially thinking that "the interloper" was being accepted its time to recognise that "there could be trouble ahead" and actively "discourage" the visits by drawing up some kind of plan! 

In the news the horsemeat saga drags on with yesterday information indicating "that ministers" knew of the "problem a year ago" and did nothing about it.  While today the "Prime Minister" indeed is blaming the retailers for doing nothing!  Rather worryingly though is the "Daily Mail" report that traces of a banned drug had been found in one horsemeat sample! 

I see the "Crippled Cruise Liner Carnival" has at last docked and is disembarking passengers after being adrift for 5 days in the Gulf of Mexico.  Stories of toilets overflowing and no hot food make me think some of the passengers are going to be raising a stink!  - - sorry. lol 

Nasa reports that an Asteroid the size of an "Olympic Swimming Pool" will do a "Fly by" of the earth this evening - - - I do hope they have their calculations correct!  "Fortunately" we are on the wrong side of the earth to see it but they (NASA) are streaming the event live from 1900 GMT with the asteroid closest at 1925 GMT.  Here's the link  Flyby

Locally, the ample fall of snow on Wednesday has all gone after, as predicted it was followed by rain.  I went out walking when the "storm" was at its worst/best and took a couple of pics.

Normally a good view of Bakewell way off up the valley but not today as the snow blows in.

The sheep look to have the expression of "who ordered the snow!"

Meanwhile back home, Tom is "not amused" being covered in snow whilst "guarding the portal"

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Sally nearly pays dearly, A slug with a disposable penis, and the pope resigns

Sally read with interest a Channel 4 news item on the properties of a slimming food supplement called Slimzene and another product called Neuclense .  A number of other agencies were included as having also printed articles about it.  A number of "reviews by people that had tried it were included in the item". The C4 item though mentioned "A Free Trial".  The fact is/was though that it isn't free. 

You sign up on line and pay only the "shipping" (yes its a US product distributed from the UK) charge of a couple of £'s.  When it arrived it turns out its that after 14 days they will bill you nearly £70 for each product you got (for free) and nearly £70 every thirty days thereafter for supplies of each product.

Quickly realising its "not what it seems" we phone the contact number noticing that the items come from a PO Box Number.  Alarm bells ring loudly as the first product number is dead.  The second puts you in a non existent queue. 

We do some searches on the net and find another number for "customer services" this finally yields an Indian call centre where we are promised an e mail with a returns number.  On the point of phoning the credit card to stop any debits the e mail comes through and we post the products back from whence they came.  TELEPHONE NUMBER. 0808 1680207

The Channel 4 article still online though NOW does not contain any reference to the 2 articles but now trumpets the properties of "another" which link takes you to very similar site?!  The only plus point i can point to is the fact that the site never says "Free Trial" but "Risk - Free Trial" 

After a disappointing encounter with our usual cattery on our last trip away we are off today to look at one called "Kool for Cats", as we will need to put our 2 in there when we pop up to Fort William in a couple of weeks.  Lets hope its as good as the write up.

The BBC had a couple of articles that "caught my eye" today apparently there's a sea slug that has the ability to shed its penis and then regrow another fully functioning model.  Now that would be novel for humans wouldn't it!  Even better is the story that the "Bush Crickets" testicles make up 14% of its body weight.  So if that was true in humans mine would weigh 26lbs!  - - - - Stop it! 

I see the Pope's resignation has or is reported to be causing concern in the corridors of the Catholic Church.  I wonder what kind of pension and golden handshake he'll get!  Theres also a story that the replacement might be a 3rd world cleric! could be an interesting story to follow. 

The "horsemeat scandal" shows no sign of "galloping off into the sunset" (sorry), with further reports of "waitrose" now having contaminated products but falling short of horsemeat i believe its pork in a meat product.  (Personally) I see a "review" on the horizon which will cost millions of £s provide jobs for "the boys" and get us absolutely nowhere.  hey ho that's life! 

Slight hiccough with Phil2 as his speedo seems to have stopped working.  In the good old days it would be a quick trip to the parts department buy a new cable and spend a few minutes fitting it hey presto job done.  As all Freelanders are a miracle of modern technology the speedo takes pulses from the ABS system and changes them into an miles per hour reading!  So hes booked into the garage for next Wednesday, just hope i dont need a bank loan to pay for the repair.  I'm looking at an app that uses GPS to translate the movement into MPH in the mean time!

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Young people being groomed for failure & the snows back

I read with dismay an article by a Tom de Castella on the BBC news website link to article trumpeting "Have young people never had it so bad!"  this is a play on those immortal and rather stupid words of Harold Macmillan back in 1957 "Most of our people have never had it so good" 

The article however seems to then spend a lot of time telling the readers that the "oldies" really did have it easy and everything was there on a plate to be picked up.  "Houses were cheap jobs were plentiful".  "Tom" also seems to agree with David Willets book "The Pinch" where the subtitle is "How the baby boomers took their children's future - and why should they give it back. 

Come on "Tom", "life's a bitch and then you die"  ok the house prices are a tad ridiculous for youngsters so what is wrong with renting? the Germans have been doing it for years rather than buying.  "Tom" waxes lyrical about youngsters with "degrees" being out of work.  Young people now have a better "opportunity" to get a degree and lots do so it rather follows that a lot of them will be out of work.

Out here in the sticks "Tom" I know plenty of kids who work at what might be called "dead end jobs" to make their way and get on with life.  Please stop grooming the "disadvantaged" for failure get your head out from up your arse and look around at the bigger picture. 

One of the "bigger picture" youngsters I read about lately is a guy called Jason Lewis who had a "dead end job" but decided to go around the world under his own power, no sails motors etc.  It took him 13 years, just a bit of commitment there!  link

Locally the snow gave us a pounding yesterday but was largely very wet so only the ground above 1000 ft around here saw accumulations of the slushy stuff.  This morning though with the lowering overnight temps we do have some snow lying around.

Heres a pic from Phil2 going over to Chesterfield yesterday morning. 

Our "interloper" cat must have been with us earlier because when i came downstairs our 2 were around my feet and i heard the catflap "clunk" shut when i switched on the light.  Maybe we should think up a name for "it" any suggestions?

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A downed Chinook, Chinese new year and, we have an inteloper!

We often see the huge C130 military transport planes cruising down the valley and I always think back to the many times I parachuted out of them in "the old days!"  I even got a pic of 3 in formation once.  Another regular site are the twin rotored Chinook Helicopters and you can often see the tailgate down with people sitting on it enjoying the view. 

Last Friday though a bird crashed into the windscreen of one Chinook not far from here and as a precaution it landed in a field close by the village of Rowsley just less than a mile up the valley from here.  The damaged windscreen will have been changed overnight and I remember seeing it fly off south on Saturday morning. It would have been a great photo opportunity if i had known earlier as local people were shown around and inside it during its stay. 

So then "The year of the Snake" has dawned for the Chinese all over the world i wonder what it will bring for them.  Some are apparently not too keen on "slippery syd" and have even made sure they have births or even got married before the year began!

I read with a wry smile a report that the "female hawksbill turtle can store sperm for 75 days".  That must also be a trait of humans too only they have a headache as well!  lol!   full story here turtle

The "Horsemeat" saga "trots" (sorry) on with accusations of an international conspiracy now and mentions of a cancer causing drug being in the horsemeat.  On a lighter side some wags on ebay have been making taking advantage and poking fun at the whole sorry tale.  See one of the better ones here whoa there!

A few nights ago we could here the cat flap "noise" associated with one of "ours" coming in, seeing as they were both firmly in place by the cat flap i went to investigate.  As i switched on the outside light and there staring back through the window was large long haired completely black cat.  I had noticed previously that the two bowls of dried food we leave out had almost been empty in the mornings a couple of times.  This "interloper" then must be the culprit. 

Tom our old cat was a stray who "adopted" us back in 1997 so we are not averse to taking in the odd feline. 

We remember fondly a kitten who barged his way through the cat flap years ago who we named "Edgar".  He would not stay out of the house no matter however many times we put him out of the door he just burst back in through the cat flap.  As our two at the time accepted him he became an honorary resident until he was unfortunately killed on the road which go's past the front of the houses.

Here's a pic of Edgar enjoying part of our garden in the Summer of 2008. 

 The Snow storm in America has been rather severe (see the links in yesterdays blog) and if our weather follows the normal pattern we might get the tail end of it over here in a few days.  The local forecast for today looks pretty grim with rain and snow symbols peppering the graphics of most agencies. 

 

Finally then I end today's "sermon" with the Metro's headline of a couple of days ago.  "30p on cost of a pint could cut deaths by a third"  So there you are then no matter what ails you as long as you pay 30p more for your pint there's a 66% chance that you are not going to die.  Fantastic, "I'll have the same again landlord"  

 

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Findus horse lasagne - Our Sharons a Canadian & other snippets

The horse meat scandal drags on and its looking like we have all been conned for far longer than the current wave of "headlines" will have us believe.  Findus allegedly knew about their Horse Lasagne over a week ago but did nothing about it.  Not worth even an exclamation mark now in the blog so I'll move on. Worth though this pic sent to me by a mate in Hereford showing a sign in a local butchers window. 

The mega snow storm in America/Canada is hitting the headlines as I sit this morning (Sat 9 Feb 0700) with our sleety snowy weather coming down outside.  I just popped out to check the weather and stood there in the dark listening to a couple of owls hooting at each other.  Its a lovely sound kind of eerie and reassuring at the same time that we still have a "countryside" for these wonderful creatures to live in.  Back to the snowstorm if you google webcams in America you can see whats going on and its pretty severe.  Heres a good one of Queen Street in Niagra, snow its a "live" one and you can see the snow blowing about.

Talking of Canada reminds me that we received a text from our good friend Sharon who lives in Pembroke Ontario saying that she is now "officially a Canadian!".  She went to work our there years ago and has now "served her time" to qualify for citizenship.  We must visit!  

Still on the Snow angle is a headline in the "Daily Express" today "48 hours of Snow Hell on way" .  The paper must get the prize for most exaggerated headlines, one of their favoutites seems to be endless headlines for instant cures for this and that.  If they were all true i think everyone in the UK would be living until they were 110 if we hadn't succumbed to the "freezing sub artic weather" headline of last week!

One story I gleaned from sky news is of a loony on a skateboard in Cape Town almost reaching 70mph on a main road, worth a watch at loony  complete with video from a following car!

Another sky news snippet was that Chris Huhne ( mentioned in previous blogs) had 2 mistresses on the go when he was married proving that he was doubly stupid to think he would get away with the driving points fiasco.  Mind you it  appears that being doubly stupid does actually pay as the Telegraph reports that he was receiving £17000 severance pay despite being "The first cabinet minister in history to be forced out of office due to a criminal investigation"!

On the home front - - - Boris (the defender) was inspected by the garage over the road and needs a number of new parts to be fitted to his "rear" after his accident a week ago.  Phil2 the Freelander visited the garage yesterday for an investigation into an oil leak that manifested itself on his journey home from Cleveland a couple of weeks ago.  My fears of an expensive head gasket problem were unfounded as it turned out to be only a cam shaft oil seal and was fixed quite quickly. 

Right then, time marches on and I must up and away to get "things" done.  Finally then - - - I have been sitting here some time writing the blog and our cat Tom has been helping me as can be seen in the pic below.

His head is resting on my wrist and he's actually asleep even though his head moves as I type, every now and again he will stretch that right paw up onto the keyboard and more than once has managed to pry off a key in the past! 

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Snow comes - Snow Go's & a few other bits

The small snow storms and laying snow of yesterday seem to have been washed away by the sleet and overnight rain.  So this morning dawns clear of snow but with a soggy Sainsbury the cat popping in and out of the cat flap completing his last dawn patrols in search of rodents for breakfast.  He had earlier wrapped up the "leftovers" of one of his nocturnal hunting successes in one of our runner mats for me to dispose of.  Tom meanwhile has bagged his spot for the day squarely in front of the log burner!

Another cat story is of a circus trainer being mauled by a tiger during a live show in Mexico.  He later dies and the closing line of the story is that the cat is being held in the arena cage until "authorities decide what to do".  I wont speculate what its fate will be but I think its about time we stopped parading endangered wild animals for "entertainment" like this.

On a lighter note!  - - - - I see Chris Huhne the "Disgraced Politician" has finally scored 10/10 for being dumb as well as stupid.   He was picked up for speeding in 2003 but his wife took the hit for the points on the licence!  He has denied that he was driving many times over the years and the scandle hits the headlines "finally" after he leaves his wife for a "PR Consultant called Carina Trimingham. 

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" comes into play as his now,  ex wife pledges to "nail him" and the whole saga is being played out in the courts and media.  The scary bit here is that Huhne, in one story was linked to eventually being "Deputy Prime Minister",  Really tongue in cheek here "but his credentials look admirable to me!"   His new "girlfriend" however, doesn't look "to me" mind you,  to have much of a career in PR given the path she chose with "yer man"   - - - - bad call Carina - - - bad call. 

We do seem to follow what the Americans do and I see in the news that a growing number of them have been forced to start "living in their vehicles" as they lose everything in the current economic climate. It must be tragic to see everything you have worked for going down the pan and I wonder how long it might be before we see the same here, if in fact it hasn't already arrived.

Asda, as reported on the front page of the "Daily Mirror" seem, to be following the Tesco angle on the "horse meat in the beefburger" story although theirs have 80% horse in them.  Come on you retail giants cant you see the opportunity here lets go for the "Horse Burger" I'm sure they'll "gallop" off the shelf - - - - Sorry about that. 

I mentioned Richard III as,  "the King in the car park" in yesterdays blog and declined to inject humour by suggesting that he might have got away without "paying his parking ticket".  This was suggested in a conversation with a mate during the day who sent me the pic below. It had to happen!

(yesterday) The periods between the snowfalls saw increased activity on the birdfeeder webcam and I manged to get a couple of still pics that were interesting

I have given up trying to scare this squirrel away and even repositioned the peanuts in an attempt to get a pic like this.  Luckily Sainsbury the cat was not around he loves to give chase!

During the summer this pic shows the squirrel hanging by its tail to get at the sunflower seeds!

We see these long tailed tits flocking in winter and there were quite a few around yesterday

Boris the Land Rover Defender is in the garage for his inspection of "the crash" damage today, details soon!

Finally - - credit to Sandi in Leeds who spotted I called the "Cyclamen" in one of yesterdays blog pics Wood Anenomes. Thanks Sandi. 

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Richard the III, "is the King under the car park!" & a few other things!

So its official then,  after a lot of conjecture the bones found under a car park in the city of Leicester are those of King Richard the III.  His body apparently was buried inside the church of a priory which stood on the land now occupied by the car park at the time of his death at Bosworth Battlefield in 1485. 

Sally my wife, is an ardent Yorkist even though she was born in Leicestershire.  She will hear no "lies" about Richard and the "Prince's in the tower" controversy.   The "nasty" side of Richard was also inflamed by William Shakespeare years later when he portrayed the king famously to be almost a half brother to Quasimodo in my opinion.  However my opinion counts for little, me being a, "Lancastrian"  Mmmmmmm!

I see that following Acrcheological practise, "The Kings" remains will be re-buried in the nearest consecrated ground which is Leicester Cathedral.  I fear this might cause a little "scuffle" amongst those who believe that "English Kings" should be buried at "Westminster Abbey"  Sally might be at the front of the queue!

I am happy to announce also that Sally has passed a test (she found it on the internet) which some consider all immigrants to our "Green and pleasant land!" should take.  This is to prove they at least know the country to which they are consistently flocking.  Not wanting to inflame any political debate, I think this is shutting the stable door way after it has been trampled "well underfoot!"

I see "Dyson" has come up with another "Ground breaking" invention.  A tap with a hand drier attached!  "The Telegraph" reports that "The Perils of negotiating the washroom with wet hands could soon be a thing of the past".  I would have thought the "perils of negotiating the wash room with wet hands" could be drastically reduced by positioning the towel rail next to the sink?" 

The winter has once again reminded us that its still around. yesterday we had glorious sunshine for the morning even though it was quite cold out in the North West wind.  Our weather forecasters, yesterday afternoon were predicting icy blasts of snow and as I sit here, sure enough this morning here it is

This is the pic out the back of the house a few minutes ago.  It looks far too wet, with the temperature at +1.2c to last very long though.  (kiss of death maybe!)

Finally - - I just hope the current snow doesn't ruin the display of very early "spring" flowers in the garden

I snapped these Snow Drops and Cyclamen only yesterday enjoying the sunshine

 

 

Enjoy the day

 

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Boris takes a hit!, We have a wood thief! & Phil2 performs well off road

Sally had gone off to the shop in Boris and I was cleaning the inside of Phil2 in an attempt to get rid of the doggy smell. Sometime later i was thinking Sally would be returning soon when i heard this terrific bang from the road outside the houses. I wandered down to take a look and Boris was parked at the bottom of the ramp leading up behind the terrace.

I'm taking this pic from the bottom of the ramp Sally is stood on the side of the road with the white van in the position where it was shunted into the back of Boris.  The car that did the shunting is reversing off the road into the garage car park.

The car was drivable but had damage to the front of it.  The driver claimed the sun was in his eyes.  Difficult! as the sun was behind him at the time.  He could have meant the sun was reflecting off the back of the large lorry parked off road in the top pic?

The van doesn't look too damaged in the photo but the back looked a bit of a mess.


Boris at first look didn't seem to have any damage but we need to get him looked at underneath as the van smacked the tow ball pretty hard. 

What we hadn't noticed was that the van also smacked the spare wheel which pushed it out of alignment on the carrier and also bent the door, as well as the bottom of the ladder. 

There's some conjecture as to damage to the panels either side of the door but we'll leave that to the garage inspection.  At least no-one appeared hurt. 

Having sorted all that out I went up to our wood cache only to find that someone has helped themselves to some of it!

Not only have they pinched some wood they left the cache uncovered!  the pic above is how i found this particular pile.  I did 2 trips and Phil2 performed well on the muddy track up and down the hill.  I'll be picking up a load this morning so will leave a note for the thief! cheeky B! 

So there we are not a brilliant start to the weekend and now all that fafffing around reporting the accident to the insurance company and sorting out repairs!  To end a good day we lost the internet in the evening so apologies to anyone wanting to access our site or link to the blog from our website.  It must have been our provider (Sky) as some of the telly channels were missing as well but all appears ok this morning. 

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