I don't believe it (idbi)

#wheresderek November 2011

2011-11-16T20:57:00.001Z

I have learned why Twitter is so successful, clarity and speed. I will improve the competition next time making it easier and snappier.

Thanks to those who did enter, the prize is to be shared between, Matt & Jon.

Here are the answers
Place 1 Liberty in Regent Street
Place 2 Wolverhampton
Place 3 Manchester (their tram system is called Metrolink)
Place 4 Banbury (this is the Banbury Cross sorry could find the white horse)
Place 5 Middleton Cheney
Place 6 Anagram of "popcorn night in" is Chipping Norton
Place 7 Birmingham (the sign points to the The Mailbox (the premier Shopping centre.)
Place 8 Folkestone (people Googled images of seaside lifts)
Place 9 Hythe the terminal for the famous Romney Hythe & Dymchurch 15 inch railway http://www.rhdr.org.uk/

Place 1 the photo of Christmas lights and Tudor building

Place 2, A few years ago I witnessed my soccer team win here 6 - 0

Place 3 a day spent near here the picture of the transport lift

Place 4 in the #wheresderek week on the road, the top of this monument is a big clue.

Place 5 of #wheresderek is a village to the east of place 4 & two of its pubs include The Dolphin Inn & The New Inn

Place 6 of this little competition is a great place to have a, Popcorn Night In (Anagram)
Place 7 more Christmas lights but the sign will give it away the blue lights and the direction signs.

Place 8 I was just going to photograph the sea, but felt you needed a lift. Picture of sea

Place 9 A little town to terminate the #wheresderek competition, the picture taken through the fence.

Please send me a Twitter DM @saintyman, e-mail or Facebook msg.

Please send your entry by Sunday 20th to be in with a chance to win the prize.
Please have a go even if you don't have all the answers

Good luck

Legalised Stealing

2011-11-02T21:30:00.001Z

So it is okay for bankers in some banks to lose the company mega £'s plunge the world into crisis yet no one has gone to jail.
Daily businesses go bankrupt and steal from people they owe money to and set up a new company straight away.
Worse are businesses like Portsmouth football club who owed so much they have said we will pay you 20p in every £1 owed. Effectively stealing 80% of their debt. No penalty for company bosses, share holders etc. and they are just able to carry on trading!

When is a government going to stop these acts of theft.

Free Electricity

2011-09-17T19:47:00.000+01:00

We are having solar panels, (PV) fitted at no cost, this system will generate free electricity up to 3kWp, even without direct sun light. Under the arrangement we can use as much of this electricity as we like, the installer puts any unused electricity back into the grid. This FREE Solar Panel system is possible as we are allowing the installing company to have a 25 year lease on our roof. This is how we are changing our household use of power with the help of timers:-Switch off the gas water heating boiler & use the electric immersion.Use the washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher staggered during the day.Charge phones, laptops etc during the day.Converted the showers from just cold water to a mixed feed utilising the heated waterWe could go further & cook lunch in oven during day to heat up in microwave later.Boil kettles of water put them in thermos for tea coffee in the evening.Buy some batteries charge them up during the day use their power for lights in the evening.We look forward to hear your other ideas.Please comment, Tweet us or post on Facebook wall, if you have any questions or would like further details.If you have a south facing roof and live south of Hull (not my discrimination) and would like an introduction to our installers, please send me your email address and details, we will share the introductory cash back 50/50 with you.

The zoo keepers first day woking on his own.

2011-03-28T00:22:00.006+01:00

A young lad had served his apprenticeship in the zoo & was now on his first day on his own. He is given just three tasks, first is to clear the exotic fish pool of weeds.

As he does this a huge fish jumps out and bites him shocking him so much that he is unable to get the fish back into the water it sadly dies.

Realising his employer won't be best pleased he disposes of the fish by feeding it to the lions, as learned lions will eat anything.

He moves on to his second job, while he is clearing out the monkey house, he is attacked by the cheeky chimps who pelt him with coconuts.

He lashes out and is a bit heavy handed with the brush handle killing two of the chimps. As there are so many he thinks that if he feeds these to the lions the boss won't notice. He puts them in his wheelbarrow and hurls the corpses into the lion enclosure.

His last job of the morning was to collect the honey from the South American Bees. As soon as he starts he is attacked by the bees. To save being stung to death, he thrashes around with the collecting pots he was using, mashing many of them and again not wishing the head keeper to find out how he had killed a large number of this rare colony, he scoops them into the pots. Yes you've guessed it he was passing the lions as he headed back to base so tipped them out as a delicacy for lions.

Later that day a new lion arrives at the zoo, he wanders up to the lions and says "What's the food like here?" The lions reply "Absolutely brilliant...............................today we had

Fish and Chimps with Mushy Bees."

FairFX pre-paid Mastercard (my version of details)

2011-02-19T21:21:00.003Z

When I am in Spain I use a prepaid € MasterCard from FairFX. If you would like one please sign up through this link

You normally have to pay £9.95 for the card but through this link it is free and I will donate £2.50 to Breakthrough Breast Cancer, If your first purcahase of currency (load) is for £250, I will double the donation & you wiil also be given £2.50.

You can add money to the card at anytime, for no fee/charge, your GBP will be converted at the rate shown to €'s or $'s and saved on the card ready to spend on holiday.

If you use the € card in Spain (or any € country) for a purchase there is NO charge. A withdrawal from an ATM is only €1.50, the €'s are bought commission free & no loading fee plus there are no other charges. This is the same for US $ card and the £ anywhere card.

If you buy a £ card its great for Ryanair (no excess charge) all you pay is, like with any purchases or ATM withdrawal with this card, a fee of 1.5%. With this pre paid mastercard you keep control, unlike a credit card, you can't go overdrawn and get those interest charges and fees when using it abroad

It's a great way to save for a holiday abroad as you just load the currency onto the card whenever you have a few £'s spare and it's ready to spend for free. The card is run by Newcastle Building Society this info is my summary of the card from my use and it is up to you to check the details on the FairFX site.

Quiz

2011-01-27T21:20:00.005Z

Below are four ( 4 ) questions and a
bonus question. Tweet/email me your answers. No cheating this is for you to test your intellegence. Please read the question once and answer
them instantly, you can't take your
time, answer all of them immediately
OK?

Ready? GO!!!

First Question:
You are participating in a race.
You overtake the second person.
What position are you in?

Now answer the second question,
but don't take as much time as you took
for the first one, OK ?

Second Question:
If you overtake the last person,
then you are...?

Third Question:
V ery tricky arithmetic! Note: This must
be done in your head only.
Do NOT use paper and pencil or a
calculator. Try it.

Take 1000 and add 40 to it.. Now add
another 1000 . Now add 30 .
Add another 1000 . Now add 20 .
Now add another 1000
Now add 10 . What is the total?

Fourth Question:

Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono. What is the ! name of the fifth daughter?
Okay,

now the bonus round:

A mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing his teeth he successfully communicates himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done.

Next, a blind man comes into the shop
who wants to buy a pair of
sunglasses; how does HE indicate
what he wants?

Dads always win

2011-01-26T20:30:00.003Z

A teenage boy had just passed his driving test and inquired of his father as to
when they could discuss his use of the car.

His father said he'd make a deal with his son: 'You bring your grades up from
a C to a B average, study your Bible a little, and get your hair cut.
Then we'll talk about the car.'

The boy thought about that for a moment, decided he'd settle for the offer,
and they agreed on it.

After about six weeks his father said, 'Son, you've brought your grades up
and I've observed that you have been studying your Bible, but I'm disappointed
you haven't had your hair cut.

The boy said, 'You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I've noticed in my
studies of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair,
Moses had long hair....and there's even strong evidence that Jesus had long hair.'

To this his father replied, 'Did you also notice they walked everywhere they went?'

2010-12-30T06:08:00.010Z

Husband of the Year awards

ITS ALL IN THE TRAINING!!!
The honorable mention goes to:

The United Kingdom

Followed closely by...

The United States of America

and then...

Poland

but 3rd Place must go to...
Greece

It was very very close but the Runner Up Prize
was awarded to....
Serbia

Finally, the winner of thehusband/partner of the year is!
Ireland.

You've got to love the Irish.
The Irish are true romantics..look, he's even
holding her hand...

Woman has Man in it;
Mrs. has Mr. in it;
Female has Male in it;
She has He in it;
Madam has Adam in it;
Okay, Okay, it all makes sense now...
I never looked at it this way before:
Ever notice how all of women's problems start with

MEN?
MENtal illness
MENstrual cramps
MENtal breakdown
MENopause
GUYnecologist
AND …..
When women have REAL trouble, it's a... HISterectomy.

Debt Solver (Rec'd by email and shared on here, thanks to the anon author)

2010-12-12T05:45:00.006Z

BAILING OUT THE IRISH - SIMPLE

It is a slow day in a damp little Irish town. The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich German tourist is driving through the town, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night. The owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher. The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel. The guy at the Farmers' Co-op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the pub. The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him "services" on credit. The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note. The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money and leaves town. No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the bailout package works.

long time no post

2010-01-08T20:19:00.002Z

So I thought I would post a little story

ABOUT A CALL THE POLICE.

George Phillips , an elderly man, was going up
to bed, when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the garden
shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back
door to go turn off the light, but saw that there were people in the shed
stealing things.

He phoned the police, who asked "Is someone in your house?"
He said "No," but some people are breaking into my garden shed and
stealing from me.

Then the police dispatcher said "All patrols are busy. You should lock
your doors and an officer will be along when one is available...."

George said, "Okay."
He hung up the phone and counted to 30. Then he phoned the police again.

"Hello,I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people
stealing things from my shed... Well, you don't have to worry about them
now because I just shot and killed them both, the dogs are eating them
right now." and he hung up.

Within five minutes, six Police Cars, a Helicopter, two Fire
Engines, a Paramedic, and an Ambulance showed up at the Phillips'
residence, and caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the Policemen said to George , "I thought you said that you'd shot
them!"
George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available!"

Celebrities tour Barcelona

2009-02-15T07:49:00.003Z

Life has to be fun and a bit scary at times this was one of those.

I think they make you wear these hats, just to have a laugh and make people stare, snigger and take photo's.

3 wheels, no gears, no foot controls as I had not ever driven a bike this was going to be an experience. This wa madness putting me in charge of this bug, in the busy city of Barcelona !! Well, we survived, saw the sights and found our way around, more by Linda's map reading than the sat nav.

Unfortunately the sat nav voice was more interested in telling us about the sights, than which lane we should be in and of little help when we went wrong or were prevented from going down a road such as the Las Ramblas. A further update later

Go Cars

2009-02-13T17:22:00.003Z

Here we go in a little 3 wheeler letting us loose on the roads of Barcelona. It will be great seeing parts of the city we have not visited so far. It will be really fun having our own personally guided tour.

Racist Luggage Rules

2009-02-12T08:19:00.004Z

The 3 of us were on the same booking on Easy Jet and only took 1 hold luggage case between us . We didn't realise that we could not only aggregate the weight limit but that one case can weigh up to 32 kilo's thats 12 kilo's more than the 1 person maxium weight of 20k before paying excess at no extra charge.

Then for the first time, my hand luggage was measured just before I boarded, the case just fitted in on height width and length. But I was was allowed to take on the carrier bag I had in my other hand with no questions asked, so much for the 1 piece of hand luggage rule.

Perhaps it was because the case was black!

Cosmo

2009-01-04T07:56:00.005Z

A meal, or should it be a feast or last supper, at Cosmo was a great preparation for the trip down South for the cup clash with the mighty reds.

It was a great family night out to celebrate the coming New Year.

It's the thought that counts

2009-01-01T18:20:00.003Z

This Christmas one of our family asked someone else to buy a present for another member. Christmas came and went the present was wrapped given over, gratefully received.

However the twist is the that the person who wanted the present brought forgot to pay for the present.

So who was the real giver of the present?

idbi, the person who thought of the idea then claimed that they had given the present but they never paid for it.

The moral of this story is the that it is "the thought that counts"

Mad dogs & Englishmen

2008-12-15T08:03:00.002Z

If you've learned to speak fluent English, you must be a genius!

This little treatise on the lovely language we share is only for the

brave. Peruse at your leisure, English lovers.

Reasons why the English language is so hard to learn:

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor

pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or

French fries in

France(Surprise!) Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which

aren't

sweet, are meat.

Quicksand works slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is

neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write

but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth?

One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? Doesn't it seem crazy that

you can make amends but not one amend. If you have a bunch of odds and

ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? Is it

an odd, or an end?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats

vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? ! In what language do people

recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo

by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man

and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy

of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in

which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which, an alarm

goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the

creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.

That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the

lights are out, they are invisible.

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to

present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail

18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.

19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

P.S - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"?

There must be many more I look forward to your favourite idbi words in the comments

When is a gift card not a gift card

2008-11-29T01:14:00.003Z

Argos sent me an email inviting me to make a purchase in return for a gift CARD, the email showed a image of a blue gift card.

We spent quite a bit of time ordering some new bedroom furniture as their site, as it did not work on Safari we had to rekey all the data in again on Firefox!

Only to discover right at the end of the ordering process we were told we had a internet voucher for £10, which you can only use against another purchase for which we would then have to pay £5.95 delivery making the voucher only worth £4.95.

After Linda lost the will to live on the phone I took over and after over an hour on the phone sending them the evidence of the email Argos flatly refused to give me the £10 gift card.

On principal we cancelled the order and have reported them to the ASA.

At least I wasted far more than £10 of their time and hopefully the ASA will write to them.

Moral of experience Gift Card is now spelt V O U C H E R and worth 50% less than advertised idbi . One of the last company's I dealt with who offered poor service was MFI!

P.S. Argos invited to send the offer to a friend, so if you would like this fabulous offer or to see the email just leave a comment.

Back to their roots

2008-11-22T02:19:00.009Z

Congratulations to Jon & Zoe on moving into their new home, built on the the grounds of the old Princess Margaret Hospital, where Jon & Zoe were born and now Zoe a nurse as well!

idbi, what a nice welcome when they opened the post box there were 2, yes two, letters from the TV Licensing authority. The communications said that as they hadn't responded before 28 October, 3 weeks before they took ownership, that now their address is being passed to the Enforcement Officer.

Much more welcoming letters were from the Royal Mail and the Electoral Registration Dept.

Jon & Zoe are only following Andy & Sian whose address is related to their roots, as they live in Sants, a suburb in Barcelona, (English translation of this Catalan word is Saints, the nickname of the town of Andy's birth). Furthermore they support Espanyol the team Southampton played at the opening game at St Mary's Stadium.

The Street they live in is Premia, English translation awards or honours and they both have their degrees.

idbi

Elbow - One Day Like This

2008-11-16T17:16:00.001Z

Just sit down relax enjoy

President-Elect Barack Obama in Chicago

2008-11-08T07:43:00.001Z

Yes we (you) can

Seeing is believing idbi

2008-11-05T20:11:00.005Z

How is this possible? idbi
1)

Is This Possible??

2)

3)

Are the purple lines straight or bent?

4)

Do you see gray areas in between the squares?
Now where did they come from?

5)

You should see a man's face and also a word...
Hint: Try tilting your head to the right, the world begins with 'L'

6)

If you take a look at the following picture , let me tell you it is not animated. Your eyes are making it move. To test this, stare at one spot for a couple seconds and everything will stop moving. Or look at the black center of each circle and it will stop moving. But move your eyes to the next black center and the previous will move after you take your eyes away from it.... Weird

7)

8)

idbi Barack Obama elected as US President

2008-11-05T06:34:00.009Z

The election of Barack Hussein Obama the 44thPre sident, son of a black Kenyian father, & a white American mother could be one of the most historic days in our lives.

It is exactly 403 years since Guy Fawkes was foiled in his attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament, therefore democracy has continued and allowed us the freedom to elect great PM's like Winston Churchill,

Prime Minister 1940-1945 and again 1951 1955 & Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister 1979 1990, who also survived an bombing attempt on her government in Oct 1984

To reflect this day the idbi blog will be CHANGED to reflect the positive, humorous or negative comments contained in the post. idbi

Lets all hope that today will go down in history a great big green idbi

Now Obama has to deliver on the promises

Economy

Obama's Stance on the Economy

Barack Obama has offered a detailed plan to get America’s economy back on track, by creating new jobs and easing the burden on hardworking Americans by offering middle-class tax cuts three times the size of McCain’s.

LEARN MORE

McCain's Stance on the Economy

John McCain’s economic policy is the same as George Bush’s. It ignores middle class Americans, giving $200 billion in tax cuts to corporations, including $4 billion in tax breaks to Big Oil, while leaving over 100 million middle-class Americans with no relief. Economists say McCain’s plan will add $3.4 trillion to the national debt.

Education

Obama's Stance on Education

Barack Obama puts children first by investing in early childhood education, making sure our schools are adequately funded and led by high-quality teachers, and reforming No Child Left Behind.

LEARN MORE

McCain's Stance on Education

John McCain supported George Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans instead of much-needed funding for our students, teachers, and failing local classrooms.

Energy & Environment

Obama's Stance on Energy

Barack Obama will invest in alternative fuels and renewable energy, including a plan to increase America’s energy efficiency and create 5 million new “green” jobs.

LEARN MORE

McCain's Stance on Energy

John McCain has repeatedly opposed renewable and alternative energy proposals, has promised oil companies a new $4 billion tax break and hired a number of powerful oil lobbyists to run his campaign.

Ethics

Obama's Stance on Ethics

Barack Obama has been a leader on government transparency – refusing to take donations from lobbyists or PACs, improving disclosure and creating a database where the public can track federal contracts and earmarks.

LEARN MORE

McCain's Stance on Ethics

John McCain has no less than 177 lobbyists working on his campaign, including many of his top advisors. McCain’s own campaign manager continued to receive money from Freddie Mac until August 2008.

Foreign Policy

Obama's Stance on Foreign Policy

Barack Obama will continue the long American tradition of smart diplomacy to keep the country safe while improving America’s standing in the world.

LEARN MORE

McCain's Stance on Foreign Policy

John McCain will carry on George Bush’s policy of unilateral action that puts American troops in harm’s way without exhausting diplomatic options.

Health Care

Obama's Stance on Health Care

Barack Obama’s health care plan will provide accessible, affordable coverage for all, and it will reduce health care costs for families.

LEARN MORE

McCain's Stance on Health Care

John McCain’s health plan would tax health benefits for the first time ever — imposing a trillion tax increase on working families and leaving millions without heath care.

Homeland Security

Obama's Stance on Homeland Security

Barack Obama supports increased security measures for our airports, ports, and land borders, part of a national plan to protect American’s infrastructure and keep our communities safe.

LEARN MORE

McCain's Stance on Homeland Security

John McCain opposed increased screening of cargo entering the United States and opposed increased security for airport, port and boarder security.

Iraq

Obama's Stance on Iraq

Barack Obama will work with his military commanders to responsibly end the war in Iraq. Obama will refocus our resources on al Qaeda in Afghanistan and finish the fight with the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.

LEARN MORE

McCain's Stance on Iraq

John McCain has no plan to end the war in Iraq, and would keep spending $10 billion a month in Iraq while the Iraqi government sits on a huge surplus. McCain calls Iraq "the central front of the war on terror" even though Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked us are getting stronger in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Seniors & Social Security

Obama's Stance on Seniors & Social Security

Barack Obama is committed to ensuring Social Security is protected and viable for this generation and the next. And Obama will eliminate income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000 -- benefiting more than 7 million seniors.

LEARN MORE

McCain's Stance on Seniors & Social Security

John McCain supports President Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security and would gamble the Social Security Trust Fund in the stock market. McCain’s tax plan leaves 37 million seniors without much-needed relief.

Taxes

Obama's Stance on Taxes

Barack Obama provides a middle class tax cut for 95 percent of American workers. Middle class families will get three times the tax relief from Obama than they would from John McCain.

LEARN MORE

McCain's Stance on Taxes

John McCain’s plan leaves 101 million American households with no tax relief, while giving $200 billion to corporations, including $4 billion tax cut to oil companies.

Veterans

Obama's Stance on Veterans Affairs

Barack Obama supports our troops – both in combat and at home. He voted to provide armored vehicles and body armor for our troops fighting abroad, and will fully fund veterans’ medical care and restore competence to VA planning to ensure our veterans have the resources they need when they return home.

LEARN MORE

McCain's Stance on Veterans Affairs

John McCain has repeatedly voted against increases in veterans’ health care, against mental health and brain injury services for veterans, and will ration veterans’ health care to vets with combat injuries, reducing the resources available to our vets.

Women

Obama's Stance on Women's Issues

Barack Obama works for America’s women – supporting a woman’s right to choose, equal pay for equal work, expanding the childcare tax credit and paid sick leave for parents.

LEARN MORE

McCain's Stance on Women's Issues

John McCain wants to overturn Roe v. Wade and his party’s platform opposes all abortions — even in cases of rape and incest. McCain also opposed the Equal Pay Act, and the landmark Violence Against Women Act.

Senator Obama has been able to develop innovative approaches to challenge the status quo and get results. Americans are tired of divisive ideological politics, which is why Senator Obama has reached out to Republicans to find areas of common ground. He has tried to break partisan logjams and take on seemingly intractable problems. During his tenure in Washington and in the Illinois State Senate, Barack Obama has accumulated a record of bipartisan success.

Civil Rights

There is no more fundamental American right than the right to vote. Before the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, barriers such as literacy tests, poll taxes and property requirements disenfranchised many Americans, especially minorities. More than 40 years later, there are still numerous obstacles to ensuring that every citizen has the ability to vote.

CONTINUE READING

Defense

"Our country's greatest military asset is the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States. When we do send our men and women into harm's way, we must also clearly define the mission, prescribe concrete political and military objectives, seek out advice of our military commanders, evaluate the intelligence, plan accordingly, and ensure that our troops have the resources, support, and equipment they need to protect themselves and fulfill their mission." -Barack Obama, Chicago Foreign Affairs Council, April 23, 2007

CONTINUE READING

Disabilities

"We must build a world free of unnecessary barriers, stereotypes, and discrimination .... policies must be developed, attitudes must be shaped, and buildings and organizations must be designed to ensure that everyone has a chance to get the education they need and live independently as full citizens in their communities."

CONTINUE READING

Faith

In June of 2006, Senator Obama delivered what was called the most important speech on religion and politics in 40 years. Speaking before an evangelical audience, Senator Obama candidly discussed his own religious conversion and doubts, and the need for a deeper, more substantive discussion about the role of faith in American life.

CONTINUE READING

Family

Strong families raise successful children and keep communities together. While Senator Obama does not believe that we can simply legislate healthy families, good parenting skills or economic success, he does believe we can eliminate roadblocks that parents face and provide tools to help them succeed. A husband and father of two, Senator Obama has promoted strong families in the Senate.

CONTINUE READING

Fiscal

"The cost of our debt is one of the fastest growing expenses in the federal budget. This rising debt is a hidden domestic enemy, robbing our cities and states of critical investments in infrastructure like bridges, ports, and levees; robbing our families and our children of critical investments in education and health care reform; robbing our seniors of the retirement and health security they have counted on ... If Washington were serious about honest tax relief in this country, we'd see an effort to reduce our national debt by returning to responsible fiscal policies." - Barack Obama, Speech in the U.S. Senate, March 13, 2006

CONTINUE READING

Immigration

Barack Obama has played a leading role in crafting comprehensive immigration reform. Obama believes the immigration issue has been exploited by politicians to divide the nation rather than find real solutions. This divisiveness has allowed the illegal immigration problem to worsen, with borders that are less secure than ever and an economy that depends on millions of workers living in the shadows.

CONTINUE READING

Poverty

There are 37 million poor Americans. Most poor Americans are in the workforce, yet still cannot afford to make ends meet. And too many poor Americans are single mothers who are raising children. Barack Obama has been a lifelong advocate for the poor -- as a young college graduate, he rejected the high salaries of corporate America and moved to the South Side of Chicago to work as a community organizer. As an organizer, Obama worked with churches, Chicago residents and local government to set up job training programs for the unemployed and after school programs for kids.

CONTINUE READING

Rural

"We are at that critical and urgent moment. If Washington continues policies that work against America's family farmers, our rural communities will fall further behind - and so will America. But if we reject the politics that has shut ordinary folks out, we can create a new story for rural America ... The dreams of rural Americans are familiar to all Americans - to make a good living, to raise a healthy and secure family, and to leave our children a future of opportunity. It's time for real leadership for rural America to extend that American dream. That's the dream of opportunity that I've spent my life fighting for. And that's what our rural agenda will do." - Barack Obama, Speech in Fairfax, IA, October 16, 2007

CONTINUE READING

Service

"Your own story and the American story are not separate - they are shared. And they will both be enriched if we stand up together, and answer a new call to service to meet the challenges of our new century ... I won't just ask for your vote as a candidate; I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am president of the United States. This will not be a call issued in one speech or program; this will be a cause of my presidency." - Barack Obama, Speech in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, December 5, 2007

Technology

"Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age. Let's set high standards for our schools and give them the resources they need to succeed. Let's recruit a new army of teachers, and give them better pay and more support in exchange for more accountability. Let's make college more affordable, and let's invest in scientific research, and let's lay down broadband lines through the heart of inner cities and rural towns all across America."

CONTINUE READING

Urban Policy

Barack Obama has had a lifelong commitment to the people and neighborhoods of America?s cities. He understands that cities and metropolitan regions are key drivers of prosperity in the global economy and that opportunities for and contributions from all people and communities are critical to America?s long term success.

As president, Obama will implement a regional development agenda that utilizes and strengthens the considerable assets of our urban centers. These investments will bolster America's long-term competitiveness in a globalizing economy, and ensure long-term prosperity for all Americans.

Credit Crunched

2008-11-01T01:09:00.002Z

idbi we have embarrassed by our credit card provider, Citi, as we dared to spend over £500 in one transaction and being refused our card at the till in Ikea. A shop where you are likely to spend £20 on minor items or a large sum on a some large furniture items. Thank goodness we run more than one card account allowing us to pay for the purchases.

What we now know we failed to was contact the call centre first and "plead to spend on the card they had offered us with sizable credit limit." Why should we have guessed that as we were £2500 under our credit limit and have never defaulted on our monthly payments.

On our current statement there are 2 spends over £400 and 2 over £250, yet we were expecting to put a charge of over an invisible ceiling of £500 and being rejected at the till as it was an unusual transaction!!

Why didn't they just tell us in the T & Cs or display a message at the till, "please ring for authorisation" no lets embarrass our customer & crunch their credit.

Transformers & Chargers

2008-10-31T20:39:00.006Z

I cleared out my garage idbi

IDBI on buying my new printer cartridges HP they enclosed a freepost envelope to recycle the old cartridge, great stuff HP.

Clocks go back 1 hour (or is it 4 years?)

2008-10-26T06:27:00.005Z

Just think back to the season 04-05

Wigley left the SFC with 1 win after 14 games

Redknapp comes in, his second game we go to WHL and lose to Spurs 5-1 a club he now tells has always had a close association with!

Our season included the following

a win over Portsmouth in the cup 2-1

Against Portsmouth in the leaguea win 2 - 1 (H) and the nightmare 4 - 1 A

A win over Spurs at home 1-0

Then going out of the FA cup and Premiership to Manchester United at St Marys

with scores 0 - 4 then 1 - 2

Didn't Hoddle (no there's a thought) leave Spurs in a similar situation.

We now have Hull joint top of the Premiership,

Portsmouth 7th just 6 points from a relegation spot

Spurs 8 games played no win just 2 points and bottom of the league!!!!

And SFC in the bottom 3 of the Championship

IDBI

PS On Radio 5 interview HR doesn't know where Pompey are in the league and he is pleased they are still in the cup!!!

PSS Give Portsmouth the Dutchmen they are cheap then we should try something new, the fans pick the team by a text / internet vote SFC could even make money from this!!

Impressive playing managerial record from Wikipeadia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Redknapp

Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1964–1972 1972–1976 1976 1976–1979 1982	West Ham United Bournemouth Brentford Seattle Sounders Bournemouth	149 (7) 101 (5) 1 (0) 24 (0) 1 (0)
Teams managed
1983–1992 1994–2001 2002–2004 2004–2005 2005–2008 2008–	Bournemouth West Ham United Portsmouth Southampton

While talking about the clocks why do they alter twice a year the number of animals killed because of this is hugh as they don't have watches and therfore don't realise the increase in traffic has moved by an hour.

Lets think about this what is the point how many hours of daylight are there in the winter & when are accidents most likely to occur when you are awake after having had a goods nights sleep or after a tiring day at work or school and in a hurry just to get home for a meal in an increasing gloom?

For protection of children when is the most important time say 8 - 4/5 so we need to maximise the light during these hours I don't believe GMT does this.

CET (central European time 1 hour ahead of the UK)

BST is a joke why move the clocks when there is plenty of daylight what does it mnatter what the time is then

CST i.e. common sense time for everyone in the EU i.e. 1 hour ahead of GMT and no movement forwards or backwards in the summer.

If any states including Scotland don't agree then as they have their own government just opt out.

Family morals?

2008-10-17T08:50:00.008+01:00

Please read these (idbi) articles then vote

Gay sex in park okay in Lancashire

Straight couple meet at party then have sex on the beach in Dubai are to be jailed for 3 months

Family life in the UK

Think which country is the wealthiest, has the best climate, doesn't allow drinking of alcohol, has a recession, a strange benefits system, at war with two independent states, has freedom of speech, human rights act, then vote

Hot webcams

2008-10-11T07:51:00.003+01:00

This is one showing a waste of resources we need to think of something better than this.

Light

this one is trying to help save the environment in Swindon

Stonehenge dig

2008-09-22T08:53:00.002+01:00

Not reported here but I heard that archaeologists have just found a note near the stones " just popped back to the yard for some slates to do the roof, be back Thursday"

idbi

Barcelona at last!

2008-09-20T08:25:00.006+01:00

2 hours to drive drive from Swindon to Bristol airport ! We left at litle later than planned at 3.0 to travel the 50 miles to the airport for the first time we had booked a space at the silver car park.
Last check in 5.50 for flight to Barca 6.30. Normally just over the 1 hour drive to Bristol so anticipated arriving 4,30 giving well over an hour. I had not taken into account 1 to go a about 5 miles through Bristol, why not have gone the extra miles round M4/M5 well traffic report was severe delays on M5. Arrived at silver at 5.20 had phnoed in advance saying sorry we were running late "no problem just ask the coach transfer driver to wait 2 minutes while you park!

Linda jumped out while I drove around trying to find a space eventually on the overflow! then I didn't realise I had to check in the car! give over my keys tell them where I had parked the car. The was only one person on the desk and he was dealing with thosse checking out!!

Mean while the grumpy coach driver had gone really helpful.

Checked in gave over my keys, so why is there not a load of spaces right near the coach stop to save you dragging cases from miles away where you have to park. Then had someone just move the cars to close parking depending on when you are returning they could get stacks more cars in and more money and better customer service!

Linda had chatted up the next driver explaining we now only had 15 mins to check-in
He wa sgreat and dropped us off right outside the door, but then a problem not encountered before at Bristola queue for Easyjet check-in!

Linda spotted a free advisor and was straight in, ignoring the comments from the queue. Then another family turned up for the same flight.

Check-in efficient as usual, through security a body search for me then into departures gate number not up it was now 6.10. So time to get water and cough seeets my throat had really dried up on the journey thinking we were not going to make it.

While in Smiths, near gate 8 I couldn't believe it over the tannoy "Would passengers for Barcelona proceed to gate 8."

While waiting to be called for group B whated the distress of a young mum to be she didn't have the right parework to fly!

Eventuall after frantic calls to her midwife who promised to send a fax they let her on.

Then the flight for less time for Swindon to bristol we were in Barcelona!!!

Coach to terminal-passport control-collect luggage-through customs-met Andy & Shand-short wait for train,20 minutes journey-then even shorter walk than usual to their flat, as a new set of stairs between station and their road had been built.

Door to door took just 6.5 hours

idbi

The Start Of The Thames

2008-09-14T19:51:00.003+01:00

The Start Of The Thames
Originally uploaded by y2kjonrichards

This is it with a little help of Jon and his GPS, we discovered the source of the Thames. Please see Lennons blog of the afternoon of adventure.

Visiting Barcelona

2008-09-13T09:13:00.003+01:00

Did you know that Spain with 59.2 million visitors last year was the 3rd most visited holiday destination ahead of the USA well, that's what it says on this Canadian website!

Getting there may be a bit more difficult with airlines going bust,the channel tunnel on fire and the impending fog wind and ice in the English channel, I have now found a new way with the help of google.

The route takes just 8 hours (oops 8 days) yes you've guessed its walking.

Cheers

2008-09-07T12:58:00.004+01:00

Some of the family will remember when playing the game Taboo, I was asked "what is after dinner when two glasses are knocked together?" My answer was "sorry" and this was laughed at and discounted, I thing this picture proves I was right. I don't think either of these people would be be saying CHEERS!! idbi

A Classic I don't believe it

2008-08-25T08:09:00.005+01:00

PICT3701
Originally uploaded by derek r

The day started so well a walk with Lennon around our local lake, even eating a pre breakfast snack of blackberries.
Steve & I had been given tickets to Swindon Town which we were looking forward to.

I went to Tesco's to fill up with fuel as I had only 7 miles left on the clock, part way through, the sixth sense told me to look at the screen, just below the one showing the amount of fuel I was putting in (something I am not aware that I ever do normally) . It said in small print at the bottom unleaded I glanced down at the pump I was holding to my horror it was green!!.

I stopped instantly, after what must be 15 years or maybe more of owning solely diesel cars I was filling Ford Focus TDci with UNLEADED petrol.

I really can't believe that people are so stupid to do this and having seen the problem highlighted on a recent Dragon's Den where Martin the entrepreneur recently left the den with £250,000 for just 25% equity of his business, selling a device to prevent misfuelling.

I must be suffering from Senile Dementia, a recent article in the paper said it could start as early as 40. Looking at one of the many sites one the early symptoms of dementia is diminished short-term memory. Patients with severe dementia cannot perform activities of daily living oh dear!

Back to my problem a helpful assistant at Tesco's pushes me to the airline bay, at least I hadn't started the engine, a swift siphon of the fuel and refill of diesel was what I was thinking. The assistant was smiling to himself, another idiot, it seemed quite natural part of his day and was something he did as part of the service!

I contacted the Car Fleet management company, pressed 3 for RAC help? the advisor says Nationwide cancelled this membership what! I wasn't aware of this and didn't hear any other options, but kept calm, phoned the helpline again listened to all the options and just held on till I got a real person. I was told that our cars were now under the AA, l don't remember Car fleet telling us that, mind you that is not surprising with the state of my brain now. I was reassured yesterday however as my colleagues were equally unaware of the change.

I am put through to AA and told it will take up to an hour to come and help.

Well in the event they turned up very quickly, I suspect they are around the corner just waiting for these idiots.

The very helpful technician explained that it happens very often and proceded to call a garage that is open on a bank holiday weekend. These garages exist for the benefit of me and thousands of others suffering from this and other illnesses that cause us to do totally irrational things called accidents.

Linda had very kindly come over to have a laugh! and had agreed to take the car to the garage so we could go to football.

How weird, when she turns up she knows the AA man and starts chatting during the conversation it transpires he has done this very same thing himself.

Steve and I then go to footy which is the comedy show of the afternoon. For one minute I thought I was in the Arts Centre, for a stand up act by a bloke dressed in black ably supported not by one side kick but a whole team dressed in red. Perhaps I was in the big top as one of the audience, started whistling the tune the clowns come out to at the circus! This audience was in the majority, older than myself, so I expect they were suffering the same as me, they were becoming frustrated with the one liners delivered from the pitch but then with the memory loss forgetting them and expecting Swindon to score very soon. I can't believe they turn up week after week no doubt can't remember what they they put themselves through last week.

idbi Why are so many aging supporters can they switch their free bus rides to STFC tickets?

The younger ones were making some very abusive heckling, to which the man in black only responded with yet more ridiculous jokes concluded by a whistle and hand waving. Every joke was well received by the Colchester supporters who laughed together with the 11 canaries on the pitch (Colchester play in a yellow strip).

The audience was very different to the one last week in the Camp Nou yes i have got that the right way round.
They were very loud, singing chanting etc and that was only a friendly. Those in the stands today were silent not encouraged by the very poor warm acts, a guy with a mike, some none motivational music a giant Robin flapping his wings and a group of young dancing girls.

Swindon only managed one goal from the penalty spot but Colchester scored 3!!

We then left to collect my car from the garage who had had a big job to do! completely draining the tank and refilling with the correct fuel, at least the horror stories of damaged engines didn't seem to have happened.

I was heartened by the mechanic who was much younger than myself said he had committed the very same act pointing to his Lexus (yes they do build diesel Lexus I have just googled it) perhaps he just says that to make us feel not so bad as he has just pocketed a hefty sum. No problem then, I have just misfuelled I hopefully haven't got full blown senile dementure

I have had a lapse of concentration, and just made a mistake like reversing into another car in a car park or clipping a wall when reversing, gifting the opposition a goal or unable to decide if the player kicked the ball or someones leg.

idbi

You wish!

2008-08-09T09:29:00.001+01:00

aug2008 005
Originally uploaded by derek r

Jordan has just parked up his car before flying off to Spain for a break . Slight delays on the flight the incoming plane was 20 minutes late maybe the reason we discovered on landing in Barcelona. The marshall couldn't park the plane so the airbridge didn't reach the door on the 737. So we had to wait for the tow truck to push us in few metre waiting on the aleady unusually hot plane. Time lost was nearly made up by some swift delivery of the luggage. Another success for easyjet Luton & Barcelona airports. I was please to see that my carbon emissions by flying were less than if I had driven per kilometre in the car is 95.7 CO2 KM on modern Easyjet planes compared to 164CO2 KM in the car

Simple trip to Gatwick, not

2008-07-04T08:36:00.003+01:00

I went to pick Paul up from Gatwick flight landing 10 minutes past midnight a simple journey 100 miles motorway all the way. Not so several restrictions by coned off lanes , men working in road I will concede there were always a flashing lorry an a few men in yellow jackets standing around behind them.

The matrix signs were blank all the way along the M4 until just after Reading when one showed Junction 3 -1 M4 shut!

Then past the Bracknell turn off a matrix showed M4 south entry slip closed! none of the next few showed anything I just thought someone had forgotten to turn it off or even the wrong message and should be the same as the others, but no nearer I got to the junction unable to think of any alternative the sign became more regular so had to be believed.

Fortunately I had taken the sat nav no services to stop at so I fumbled in the dark to press the screen but had gone passed the M25 closed turn next junction 2 miles down the road Sat Nav directed me into doing a massive U turn along with the other confused lorry drivers. back down the M4 to junction with M25 southbound closed this way as well! so went northbound hoping to do a U-turn fairly quickly the sat nav helped as it was someway up the road passed the M40. Then eventually back on the M25 passed the M4 more middle of the road works and the variable speed limit, where do they hid the cones all day the used to leave them on the side of the hard shoulder but not these days. Finally arrived at Gatwick followed pick up signs leading me into barrier multi story How much was that going to cost?

Parked up 12.30 20 minutes late Paul would be waiting, quite a walk to arrivals flight info said plane landed 12.25. Phew!!

Decide to take the cut through passed Bracknell this went well apart from fox with the rabbit he caught and then a family of foxes playing in the road. At the right time of day this is quite a saver.

arrived home just after 3am idbi

A real Eurovision Party (UK were last, idbi)

2008-05-25T08:29:00.006+01:00

Andy Sian and Paul in Barcelona watching the Spanish coverage Linda & I at home we linked up via Skype chat. We having a fun conversation when it transpired that Terry Wogan's commentary was being mirrored in Spain I thought they had progressed really well with their Spanish when they said look out for the teeth on this singer, also mentioned by Terry this end. There were listening to Ken Bruce (Radio 2) online !!!

I really think it is time to change this competition (so does Terry) as UK finishes last and Ireland doesn't even make the final.

I suggest two semi final shows 1 for each east & west Europe, with 6 from each semi going through to a final with only the finalist countries being able to vote.

Spain entry deserved to win but they got 55 points, UK 15, Russia winners 272

idbi

Road to somewhere but BUSES ONLY

2008-05-24T08:50:00.004+01:00

This is an update to my blog of 23 March "road to nowhere" I was hopeful this road, nay avenue would be opening after the massive expenditure on it over the last 10 years or so.

I was very pleased to see the concrete blocks have been moved.

BUT.

the sign says it is a Private Road for Buses ONLY does the driver have to stop move the sign and pass through and put the sign back or will they go round the island the wrong way.

this is a classic idbi

Did Thamesdown Transport pay to build this superb tree lined Avenue?

Are they going to be running so many buses that they need this wide avenue?

The number of buses on this route look to be so great that pedestrians/horseriders using the bridleway need a central safety island to cross the road!!

Please see the recent Advertiser article I certainly won't have our council slagged off about the state of our streets. This road has been kept in exemplary manner and in pristine condition unused for many years!!!

Canal

2008-04-08T23:25:00.017+01:00

The current debate in the Swindon about the canal through town, I would like to remind my readers of the last project from the Wilts & Berks canal group at Purton bridge.

They petitioned for a very expensive bridge to be incorporated into new road.

When and if the canal is ever extended through this bridge look at the incline this should be interesting, come on Wilts & Berks finish one project then start another.

on the north side do we see a what the canal in town will look like in a few months after completion.

Then just a few yards down the canal here is the state of the lock

Lennon on what is left of the lock gates

Why doesn't Swindon complete some of the projects started before embarking on a canal through the town centre there is a heritage here that could be attractive to residents and visitors.

For the above canal link it to the Thames in the north and the Canal to the south, make it a working canal rather than a ditch going nowhere.

Just look at how Swindon is really taking advantage of its heritage.

The Blunsdon railway to Moulden Hill and to the main line to the north to Cricklade progress in last 25years?.

The Mechanics Institute empty 25 years+.

The Locarno in Old town I can't recall seeing that in use

The Roman Villa what is going on where has the heritage £1m gone?

Will the old railway museum fall to the same disuse

The Okus Quarry in old town is a site of special scientific interest is it visited?

Swindon tunnels lets make them safe and open to to the public

idbi

Any more?

Visit to town

2008-04-06T06:05:00.003+01:00

Saturday we went to Swindon town centre just 4 miles away for a some shopping.

On route the council road painters were being paid overtime and have been doing this activity overnight during the last week, but for the last four weeks there has been partial closure of Cheney Manor estate, could this not have been done in the day.

What is the point of this road graffiti? as shown in the extract from the Highway Code you can enter the hatching if necessary, when is it necessary?

What will happen is drivers who have no respect for rules, will just ignore them and overtake drivers abiding to the 30mph limit, this is what causes the accidents that occur down this road. So many road users assess the conditions and drive at an appropriate speed i.e at night and other quiet times 40mph plus.

The council has painted some other diagonal stripes bordered by a solid white line (as opposed to broken line) the Highway Code says this is to protect traffic turning right, why then are they on the nearside of the road?

Areas of white diagonal stripes or chevrons painted on the road. These are to separate traffic lanes or to protect traffic turning right.

if the area is bordered by a broken white line, you should not enter the area unless it is necessary and you can see that it is safe to do so.

The queues of traffic at lunchtime to go towards town are dreadfull how on earth are they going to improve this with the massive expansion of the town centre. My money is on hike up car parking, block of every road to car share or residents only force people to walk or bus like they did in the old days!

When we got to town unfortunately the privately owned car park, near the old central post office which is now closed, having been established instead of the two we had only a few years back, to now have one in WH Smiths!,

We had to use the council multi story the first floor was surprisingly sparsely occupied but when I walked from the end we had parked to the other end where machine was located, I realised why the machine was broken I then had to find a safe pedestrian route to another floor for a ticket. How long did I need to pay? for I opted for 2 hours (it turned out that was 2 hours longer than I wanted to be there)

Why did I not use the bus? The park ride is not nearby and not designed for residents goodness knows why not when we have paid for them.

For two people to travel to town on the local bus cost as the return fare has just been abandoned, is £6 for a short trip to town!!

first stop Nationwide, we wanted to lodge a tax exempt form before the end of tax year, the main problem was the Nationwide Call centre had wrongly form sent Corporate tax exemption form! we couldn't complete the tax exemption online, If they had registered this correctly previously this visit to the office would not have been necessary.

The mosquito noise from Brunel statue was obviously not turned on as there were large number of young people just gathered around just making the area unpleasant by the smoking, litter from the fast food, sweets etc

Then a visit to a family butcher surprised to be served by an old old friend and the nearby charity shops we always find this a good way of donating to charity.

Then onto the window blind shop, 1st stopping at Britannia Building Society as I had just received their credit card and wanted to know where I could change the PIN to something memorable.

The advisor did not live up to the title, as the lady could not answer the question which machine I could use. I thought it was the Halifax but she was adamant it wasn't. So I didn't bother to trust myself and stand in the long queue for the HBOS ATM task unaccomplished. When got home checked the letter with the card it was the Halifax machine that I could use!!!

Through the smoke tunnel and general loutish behaviour outside the pubs. Local british justice complained about this in a recent case where he had the chance to do something about it but bottled it and gave a 8 month suspended sentence (what sort of message is that carry on behaving in a poor way with the pressed police force you are unlikely to be here again in the next 8 months). What was the point of the police effort in bringing this offender to court.

The window blind shop an assistant who really didn't care.

Then the horrible walk back through the centre strewn with litter, ignorant people, one even refusing to move out of the way of a blind child with a white stick.

An experience we hope we do not have to repeat soon

A road to nowhere, for how much longer?

2008-03-23T20:37:00.016Z

As far as I can recall this road was built at least 10 years ago and never used as it has been blocked of both ends despite one being on a roundaboutat other end, just a few yards away, joins to the housing estate in North Swindon and onto Thamesdown Drive.

Although I applaud the council for putting down concrete blocks to prevent unwanted travelers, it has blocked off frustrated would be users. Does this road appear as open on Sat Navs??
A pavement on the northern side only, must be the widest in town, has recently had an upgrade adding smart tarmac bases around the lampposts. When is the grand opening what is it's name?

The nearby path (which should be a bridleway by the way) at Charmind Walk has some nice smart rectangular tarmac at intervals on one side for what seats to admire the view!!?

The path is going to be well used as it ends at some scenic muddy fields.

On another matter please see the bus stop on the Street, positioned right on the bend, why not put it in the lay-by?Not so long back the bus stop after 25 years had a tarmac addition and dropped kerb this would have less costly if it was sited in the lay-by.

If anyone has any further details on these follies or others please comment.

(idbi)

What in the world!

2008-03-09T13:21:00.001Z

This link takes you to an amazing summary of the world statistics

idbi but I'm sure it is pretty close to reality.

End of the line ?

2008-02-21T23:19:00.004Z

I was out walking at Moulden Hill Lake and found some classic idbi

What is the point of this railway track?

Then I came across the mindless vandalism of the rescue bouy

Then I was intending to take the footpath across the stile and the field but as you can see there is an electric fence just the other side idbi

Swindon Canal

2008-02-04T22:48:00.001Z

The money that is available for the Swindon town centre canal, should immediately be offered to Cotswolds Canal Partnership to link the Severn with the Thames at least there is point to it. Then give any spare money to the Cricklade Railway to link Swindon with the Thames. The canal in town will become a town centre is going to be a inconvience to motorist, leading to cars not going to town, drop in car parking fees increase in council tax!! Man made water features in towns just don't work just look locally at the fountains at Asda.

9 Days a Week 26 Jan - 5 Feb 2008

2008-02-03T09:13:00.000Z

The week started witha family celebration of Jon's 21st a buffet meal at Chinese Karaoke restuarant, followed by the lads and their friends night out on the town.

From the conversations with Andy, sian & Paul there were busy times out in Barcelona preparing for arrival of Shandy.

Jon then put up his latest video to then have it featured on youtube by Saturday it had received over 100,000 views and 1,000 comments.

Jordan in his quarter final cup match for Liden U 9's scored a goal to help them turn around a losing position to a winning one onto the semi final.

The week ended with Lennons 2nd birthday

England out of European Championships 2008

2007-11-21T21:13:00.000Z

I blame the FA for everything, the design and money spent on the stadium, where is the roof, the pitch was a disgrace, why was the NFL allowed to be played on this just before this vital game, the Austrian game was a joke & unnecessary, the rain soaked the fans who were wearing plastic bags it the soaked pitch that was unplayable for football at this level, the manager standing there with an umbrella , I didn't see him motivate the team.

The FA appointed McClaren and must take responsibility

The players must take responsibility for not being fit, or lack of commitment & overpaid.

British Justice?

2007-09-19T21:49:00.001+01:00

Portuguese police v British police
Who is effective?

British justice shown by these two cases?

Down loading child porn 10 months
Graffiti 12 & 15 months

What has changed since this case in 2003, a short prison sentence obviously is no deterrent, the government has to act?

Interesting news item immigration

All these are worth an idbi blog

Rocky Horror Show

2007-09-19T21:26:00.000+01:00

I'll let you make up your own mind on this story of the stones, 7 trucks were used transport them for the round trip of 180 miles taking over 30 years cost of at £360,000!!
For what? how good will they look in our modern town.
I wonder what else has been recently destroyed in the town centre, the old police station, the fine example of a garage on the opposite corner, an old english post office & shortly the tented market. In a few years time will surely wish to recreate them, I just hope they haven't lost the plans and the bricks.

What other treasures have we destroyed recently that should be rebuilt in years to come, I look forward to your comments.

IDBI

Coincidence II

2007-05-05T21:55:00.000+01:00

At Haydon Wick Bowls http://www.haydonwickbc.co.uk/index.shtml club we have started running a bonus ball last week and the president Bob won the 1st week. I was given my random number this week it was 23 which strangely is the same as Linda's number in her bonus ball at work.

Then on the Lotto draw guess what number was bonus ball yes it was 23!!! Both winners!!!

Nature fights back

2007-04-28T12:20:00.000+01:00

How long is is it going to take the ivy to cover up this ugly gaffiti tag in Haydon Wick, Swindon?
The police are spending a lot of time rounding up the taggers in the town but what is the points what will the courts give as a penalty? No doubt it will not repay the community for the cost of the clean up.

Especially as reported in todays Adver you can steal and crash a car from your employer and drive it without insurance just be given 6 points and 60 pound court costs.

For driving at 35mph along a 30mph you automatically get £60 fine and 3 points justice I don't think so!!

Driving without insurance is costing us all a fortune, what if his driving had damaged a person for life they would not get compensated. The message is don't pay out hundreds in insurance each year, take the chance and get 6 points on your licence!

Coincidence

2007-04-28T12:06:00.000+01:00

I have just had my new Ford Focus delivered and Zoe noticed that the registration letters are SZL
which could stand for Sian, Zoe & Laura / Linda 4 of the ladies connected with our family. (idbi) Sorry Megan!

A bee in my Bonnet

2007-04-23T20:23:00.000+01:00

My Mondeo had a repair last autumn by Spraymaster who fitted a new bumper. This was fine for a few months but recently the paint has peeled off and blistered in places so I took it back to complain and ask for it to be redone. They agreed to repair the damage but I felt reluctantly especially as I asked for a courtesy car for the 3 days it would take.

They had the last laugh as the car they lent me was a yellow mini with bees all over it. (idbi)

Motorway experiences

2007-04-02T21:07:00.000+01:00

What's with the matrix signs saying messages like junction 20, 15 minutes is this to entice you to go at break neck speed to prove the sign wrong?, they then put up a 5 mile set of cones does the original 15 minutes include going at 40 MPH for 5 miles? Do they have camera's on the next stretch of road?

Should the Matrix signs be sponsored i.e. Take a Break Tiredness kills, Kit Kat,
"Jam Ahead" buy relaxing CD's at Virgin.

As mentioned at lunch do any of us like stopping at service area' expensive food drink & petrol, then you have to overtake all the lorries you have just worked your way past for the last 20 miles.

Green motorways, should we have alongside all motorways evergreen bushes converting the CO2 into Oxygen?

What else is could change our motorways?

Shocking at Asda

2007-04-02T20:58:00.000+01:00

As part of Linda's recovery I took her shopping at Asda in one of their generators (wheelchairs) and every time I picked an item from the sheft I got a large static shock I reckon it was generated from the chair. Linda din believe me so wheeled her self around and picked an item off the shelf and yes you've guessed it she too got a shock.

After checking out we went to return the chair and retrieve Linda's stick and the security man had put the shutters down trapping the umbrella stand with Linda's stick in it between the shutter and the window. The assistant was so shocked to find that had happened and she did n't have a key to release it we had to back the next day idbi. Linda was given a voucher as an apology.

First England international at Wembley

2007-04-02T20:53:00.000+01:00

Great stadium, good game 6 goals, one in 30 seconds shame it went to Italy, and a Hattrick.

Final score 3 all, 55,000 attendance seat view large tv's all as one would expect for the worlds best.

click here to see pictures of the day

Wembley, Wembley

2007-03-14T23:10:00.000Z

I haven't posted for a while but this is an event of note. The first match at the new Wembley is England v Italy (Under 21's) Brent council are setting a 60,000 limit for testing the H & S provisions. The Fa organised (oxymoron) the ticket sales online and telephone. I thought it would be great to go and see this wonderful new stadium.
So we logged onto the site just before 3pm then a map of stadium was displayed and thebooking icon appeared then nothing server error then a message due to heavy demand the site has close try again later.

So we did around 6.00 we were in the queue on the laptop and the PC, Linda had 50 minutes to wait 7000+ in the queue I was on the PC at about 9000 over an hour wait. Do not refresh the screen so we sat there keeping an eye on things.

Then Linda finally made it less than 1 minute unbelievablly it crashed error message what a waste of time. The PC had also suffered the same fait.

We did make a few phone calls but as we were unaware of the cost gave up. I trid the PC several times and suddenly I got through 3 minutes to wait.

the booking screen came up filled in the details requested 4 (the maximum ) tickets but rejected goodness what had I done wrong I even by luck had the required fan number which the had told us was going to be necessary. I then altered my order no to 3 and hey prestoI had a reference number for 3 tickets!!

Jordan & his dad (my son will really enjoy this experience if the FA can dispatch the tickets open the gates and stage the match.

This will be a real idbi moment when we are actually there watching the game. In the worlds largest stadium with covered seats

Car boot prices!!

2007-02-04T22:37:00.000Z

On the visit to the Swindon Link boot sale today, we were shocked to see the extremes of up market goods, a power supply £180, electric guitar £150, and a laptop £300.

A the other end a you lad had spent 20p on a toy soldier returning a little later asking the stall holder if he could swap it for another model!

Look foward to hearing from you readers of other bargains!!

HSBC waterfall

2007-01-11T23:15:00.000Z

idbi the waterfall in the HSBC advert goes up !!!!

extinguish & make extinct

2006-12-16T21:00:00.000Z

The ITV show Extinct to preseve some animals, why don't we now have a show to extinguish / eliminate some species. Who would get your vote?

Rats

Pigeon

Mosquito

what other specie should be nominated

A wee wait

2006-12-10T08:46:00.000Z

Paul, Linda & Jon were all involved in waiting around Paul on his way home got to within a mile of Swindon station standing up ready to get off and the train came to a stop. The announcement was a small problem and a five minute wait to get into the station. Many minutes passed and further announcements, no free seats left, not allowed of the train to walk to the car.

Linda was waiting in the pick up spot alongside and increasing number of cars no trains were coming into the station from either direction.

An hour and a half later the points were unjammed and signals working allowing the trains to move!!

Jon's wait was voluntary 12 hours in the aisle in ASDA second in the queue for the new Wii he was 2nd out of the 20 allowed to queue as that was all the consoles they had. Click here for the full story

Southampton win again

2006-12-02T11:53:00.000Z

7th only 5 points behind the league leaders.
The saints are coming!!! click the link

Donkeys Under the Rainbow

2006-11-26T22:35:00.000Z

A fund raising day at the Island Farm Donkey Sanctuary with a range of stalls in the large barn keeping dry during the shower. We then visited the donkeys with special attention to Chocolate.

Swindon traffic flow

2006-11-19T06:25:00.000Z

What transport system do you want to see in our local towns and city's?

Please post your comments what are our priorities
speed of around town; public transport; low CO2 emission; cost; available parking for cars in town or on outskirts for Park & Ride (P&R)

In the last 20 years travelling across town to work I must have wasted hours of my life in jams both in the car or the bus.

Why do the buses not go to where you want?

Why are Swindon residents who paid for P&R schemes encouraged NOT to use them by the Council?
Why was a P&R not built at Commonhead next to the hospital?
This would have taken the traffic straight from the motorway into the P&R instead visitors an commuters drive slowly in jams to town centre expensive parking or in resident areas.
The P&R buses could meet commuter and hospital needs in one trip
It would have resolved the car parking at the hospital with maybe a better bus service going to the area reducing the number of cars traversing town
Why in 20 to my knowledge following all the many costly traffic surveys I have witnessed have no improvements been made to main pinch spots.
Why is there not continuous fast bus lanes around town
the model for the magic roundabout is very much now outdated and the video below shows what should be done at Bruce Street bridges, Gorsehill , White House bridges etc. etc.
Do away with expensive jam forming CO2 producing roundabouts and traffic lights (how often do you sit at traffic lights for no reason just because of a red light!!

Rant over, idnbi

The ANSWERS?

Have look a Saigon traffic videos

Simulacrum

2006-11-15T23:02:00.000Z

The first ipod?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulacrum

I had not noted this in my diary

2006-11-12T10:57:00.000Z

It seems Jon & i have a performance what of who knows at the Fox & Hounds soon

floating bonfire

2006-11-05T21:21:00.000Z

Very Many thanks to the Riverside, Lechlade the excellent show of fireworks and the massive floating bonfire.

Day out @ Chessington World of Adventure

2006-11-01T21:53:00.000Z

Chessington World of Adventure was the venue for our day out, cheap tickets from Last Minute saving money and quite long queues then to find out it was an extended opening times till 8.00 for halloween.

The log flume was good fun shortish queue with two drops make your mind up was it fun (Jordan) or frightening (Megan)

house or tunnel

2006-10-28T07:17:00.000+01:00

make sure you get a survey before buying a house

Barrier over the top?

2006-10-26T00:25:00.000+01:00

Is this right have they put the barrier in the right road this is surely Harbour Close

Paul Robinson for England idbi

2006-10-22T08:18:00.001+01:00

class act losing 1 - 0 no danger although this is not the English commentary just listen carefully if anyone can find me Spanish Eurosport version that was really funny and will bring back memories of the Spanish break with Andy & Sian

$139m Picasso art attack, idbi

2006-10-22T07:58:00.000+01:00

Picasso picture holed in 1, Click here to read the classic not only a "I don't believe it" but a "I don't think you wanted to do that" moment in just one stroke

Un- Farepak Hampers

2006-10-18T22:36:00.000+01:00

This is theft, the law is an ass and needs changing if those responsible cannot be held liable for the customers savings and employees wages.
Unfairpak Hampers
News reports of this fiasco
This is Money, swindon advertiser

any comments

2006-10-18T20:22:00.000+01:00

Is this a photo of a business near you?

What is the difference between a casserole, stew & soup

When cooking whisked egg & milk in a microwave is it scrambled egg or an omelet?

On my way home from work I noticed the council traffic counters at St Marys Church Rodbourne Cheney what is the point? There are many more cars traveling this route rather than Akers Way while the works are being completed outside Hreod Parkway School and the temporary traffic lights.

Come to think of it what is the point of traffic counts anyway? For the past 20 years I've seen them on many occasions on Great Western Way, what does the council do with these anorak statistics? the roads around town have not improved any over that time

Should the council try something different change Bruce Street bridges into one big roundabout, give the left hand lane from Cheney Manor Road continuous priority into the inside lane onto Great Western Way.

Lunatic Spoil Soil (anagram O_ _ _ _ _ _ I_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _)

2006-09-27T21:42:00.000+01:00

Read out loud the text inside the triangle below.

More than likely you said, "A bird in the bush," and........
if this IS what YOU said, then you failed to see
that the word THE is repeated twice!
Sorry, look again.

Next, let's play with some words.
What do you see?

In black you can read the word GOOD, in white the word EVIL (inside each black letter is a white letter). It's all very physiological too, because it visualize the concept that good can't exist without evil (or the absence of good is evil ).

Now, what do you see?

You may not see it at first, but the white spaces read the word optical, the blue landscape reads the word illusion. Look again! Can you see why this painting is called an optical illusion?

What do you see here?

This one is quite tricky!
The word TEACH reflects as LEARN.

Last one.
What do you see?

You probably read the word ME in brown, but.......
when you look through ME
you will see
YOU!

Do you need to look again?

Test Your Brain
This is really cool. The second one is amazing so please read all the way though

ALZHEIMERS' EYE TEST

Count every " F" in the following text:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...

(SEE BELOW)

HOW MANY ?

WRONG, THERE ARE 6 -- no joke.
READ IT AGAIN !
Really, go Back and Try to find the 6 F's before you scroll down.

The reasoning behind is further down.

The brain cannot process "OF".

Incredible or what? Go back and look again!!

Anyone who counts all 6 "F's" on the first go is a genius.

Three is normal, four is quite rare.

Send this to your friends.
It will drive them crazy.!
And keep them occupied
For several minutes..!

More Brain Stuff . . . From Cambridge University.

O lny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.

cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The
phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,

it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if
you can raed tihs psas it on !!

Psas Ti ON !

he sit learn etc (This is an anagram of two words s_ _ _ _ _ T_ _ _ _ _ _)

2006-09-27T21:06:00.000+01:00

Little Zachary was doing very badly in maths.

His parents had tried everything: tutors, mentors, flash cards, special
learning centers. In short, everything they could think of to help his maths.

Finally, in a last ditch effort, they took Zachary down and enrolled him in the local Catholic school. After the first day, little Zachary came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn't even kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying.

Books and papers were spread out all over the room and little Zachary was
hard at work.

His mother was amazed She called him down to dinner. To her shock, the
minute he was done, he marched back to his room without a word, and in no time, he was back hitting the books as hard as before.

This went on for some time, day after day, while the mother tried to
understand what made all the difference. Finally, little Zachary brought
home his report card. He quietly laid it on the table, went up to his room and hit the books. With great trepidation, his Mom looked at it and to her great surprise, little Zachary got an "A" in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity. She went to his room and said, "Son, what was it? Was it the nuns?"

Little Zachary looked at her and shook his head, no.

"Well, then," she replied, "Was it the books, the discipline, the structure, the uniforms? WHAT WAS IT ALREADY?"

Little Zachary looked at her and said, "Well, on the first day of school when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they weren't fooling around."

Anagram answer Silent Teacher

evil me junk anger (anagram)

2006-09-24T08:24:00.000+01:00

Please read this and just do it, its free fun and rewarding.

The three little words are: "Hold On please..."

Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of Hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more Time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.

Then when you eventually hear the phone company's "beep-beep-beep" tone, You know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has Efficiently completed its task.

These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting.

Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other End?

This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and Records the time of day when a person answers the phone.

This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a "real" sales Person to call back and get someone at home.

What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to Immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as Quickly as possible This confuses the machine that dialed the call and it Kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have your
Name in their system any longer !!!

Junk Mail Help:
When you get "ads" enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these "ads" with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk Mail away.

When you get those "pre-approved" letters in the mail for everything from Credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the Return envelope.

Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It costs Them more than the regular 24p postage "IF" and when they receive them Back.

It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around 29p Before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that case, Why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in their Postage-paid return envelopes.

For example; send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day, Then just send them their blank application back! If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything You send them. You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to
Just to keep them guessing! It still costs them 24p.

The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their Own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to OVERWHELM them. Let's let Them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're Paying for it...Twice!

Let's help keep our postal service busy since they are saying that e-mail Is cutting into their business profits, and that's why they need to Increase postage costs again. You get the idea ?

If enough people follow these tips, it will work !

Have you worked out the anagram title?

Junk mail revenge

Typical August Bank Holiday

2006-08-28T22:08:00.000+01:00

No it wasn't typical Bank Holiday, it was mainly sunny and warm we all went to Bourton on the Water, (Q1, did the locals not no the name of the river flowing through the centre of their village/town Q2,what is the official difference beween the two. Surely if Swindon thinks it's a city then BotW must be a hamlet.Q3 when is a stream grown up enough to be called a river?)

It was their annual August Bank Holiday The Water Game (organised football in a river)

This game is played on the day of the local fete. It began with the coronation of Edward VII and is a five-a-side football match with a difference - actually played in the stream of the River Windrush!

he Cotswolds boasts few villages more quintessentially "Cotswold" than Bourton-on-the-Water. The "water" part of its name derives from the town's position astride the Windrush, a bubbling brook three metres wide, which flows down Bourton's main street. It is in this very river that the annual football game takes place, and has done for the last 70 years.

The effort of playing in water is tiring so the game is not the normal 90 minutes in length, but despite its brevity (15 minutes each way), hundreds of people come to line the banks and cheer on their respective teams. Sometimes, if the ball comes their way, onlookers get splashed, but on this normally sunny weekend, no-one really minds.

The Village Green was covered with stalls selling local food and games such as duck races and tombolas for the kids to enjoy. The atmosphere is always vibrant and there cannot be a better day to see Bourton-on-the-Water in all its glory.

Elsewhere in Britain there are wierd customs must get to photograph some of these

Looks as if I won't have to go far to find some of the most bizzare customs, thank goodness we live in Wiltshire with the Moonrakers & crop circle makers not Gloucestershire.

List of Customs

There are many local customs and traditions in Gloucestershire including the following:

Avening Feast and Queen Matilda's Pageant

September

Known locally as 'Pig-Face Day' villagers feast in the village hall after attending evensong at the Church of the Holy Cross, Avening.

The feast commemorates Queen Matilda, wife of William the Conquerer, who consecrated the church in 1080.

Birdlip, Coopers Hill - Cheese Rolling

Spring Bank Holiday Monday

Young people assemble at the top of the hill and prepare to chase the 'cheese' down the hill. The 'cheese' is rolled down and whoever reaches the bottom first claims it.

This custom originally ensured the villagers' rights to graze sheep on the hill.

The Ragged Hedge Fair

Whats all this about?

Look at the Bands lined up

Ragged Hedge Fair - Saturday 2 September until Sunday 3 September 2006
unknown stage
unknown day
Abstracts - confirmed
Billy Woodman - confirmed
Flakito - confirmed
Horsley Band - confirmed
Kangaroo Moon - confirmed
Purple Melon - confirmed
Ska Sound System - confirmed
Souljacker - confirmed
Tapan Roy - confirmed
The Blues Grinders - confirmed
The Cosmic Charlies - confirmed
The Egg - confirmed

Bisley - Well Dressing

Ascension Day

First held in 1863.Rev Thomas Keble established the tradition shortly after he had tidied up and formalized the village's main water supply in Wells Road.The act of dressing wells with flowers has pagan origins, with its roots in the worship of the life-giving force of water but it could be that Rev Keble simply wished to mark the restoration of the wells. A similar ceremony takes place in the Derbyshire Peak District.

A short Church Service is followed by a Procession to the Wells where wreaths and posies are laid. The eldest 22 children in the Bluecoat village school carry the wreaths and garlands that head the procession and form the centrepiece of the ceremony. These consist of Stars of David, the letters A.D. and the year, letters spelling out the word 'Ascension' and five hoops.

Chipping Campden Dover's Games

Friday after Spring Bank Holiday Monday

Tradition dating back to Shakespeare's times. Inaugurated by Robert Dover in 1612, the 'Cotswold Olympicks' consist of a mix of old sports. obstacle races, tugs-of-war and also features exhibitions of backsword fighting and shin-kicking. Resurrected in 1951 as part of the nationwide Festival of Britain and held annually from early 1960s, a cannon is traditionally fired to start the games. After the competitions a torchlit procession wends its way to the town square for more entertainment. The games are followed the next day by the Scuttlebrook Way.

Scuttlebrook Wake - Chipping Campden

Saturday after the Spring Bank Holiday Monday

Crowning of the May Queen, Fancy Dress Parade, Maypole dancing, Morris Dancing.

Judging at 2pm at Littleworth.

Parade from Littleworth to the Market Square for prize giving at 3pm.

Marshfield Paper Boys

Boxing Day

The town crier leads a procession of characters dressed in paper costumes through the streets of the town. Beginning at Marshfield Market Place at about eleven o'clock and working their way down to a pitch outside the Elias Crispe almshouses, the 'paper boys' perform the town's unique mumming play.

Newent Onion Fayre

Saturday, September 09, 2006

A one day street festival for all the family

Held at various venues throughout Newent, the onion fayre promises to be a good day out for all the family.

For more information ring 01594 844841

Centuries old Onion Fayre is thought to be the only British celebration of onions. Events include a raw onion eating contest, a competitive prize onion show, onion-related stalls and competitions. For more information contact Newent Tourist Information Office Tel 01531 822468.

Painswick Ancient Clypping Ceremony

Feast Sunday, on or after September 19

Held at Painswick Parish Church, this ceremony has nothing to do with the trimming of the ninety nine yew trees in the churchyard but instead 'Clypping' means embracing the church and the faith it stands for. Local people join hands round the church to form an unbroken chain and then sing the 'Clypping Hymn' as part of an open air service. This custom dates back to 1321 and formed part of the village fair celebrations. and originally formed a part of the annual village fair.

Painswick is one of the Cotswolds' most beautiful towns, situated halfway along the 100-mile walking path known as the Cotswold Way, which goes from Bath to Chipping Campden, through some of the most beautiful countryside in England. Stunning views of the Severn Valley give the town a reputation as a walkers' paradise.

If you decide to visit the town for the Clypping Ceremony, look out for the rare 17th-century spectacle stocks near the court house and 14th-century houses in Bisley Street, which feature two original Donkey doors, wide enough for panniered donkeys who carried the wool from the numerous mills along the local streams.

hen:

24 Sep 2006 (annual)

Where:

St Mary's Church

Opening Hours:

3pm

Overview

Visitor Information

Tourist Offices

Randwick - Cheese Rolling

The first Sunday in May

Randwick is only one of two villages who still enjoy the ancient custom of cheese rolling. In Randwick the cheeses - usually three double Gloucesters are rolled mystically and anticlockwise around the Church after being blessed. The Church service begins at 10.30am on the first Sunday in May. The rolling of the cheeses supposedly wards off evil spirits. After rolling, one of the cheeses is cut up and shared amongst bystanders. Eating of the cheese protects ones' fertility and ensures future generations of "Runickers" - the local name for villagers.

The other two cheeses are kept until the following Saturday when they are rolled down the steep slopes of the Well Leaze three times as part of the ancient Wap celebration. For further details see Randwick Wap or contact Stan Giles tel 01453 766782.May 2007 tbc (final Mon of every May)

We can all relate to the sensation of feasting on delicious golden strips of ripe Double Gloucester, but lunging at full pelt down a death-trap of a hill whilst endeavouring to catch a whole cartwheel of this dairy delicacy is probably less familiar. Cooper's Hill in Brockworth is the place to catch the cheese-chasing action.

The event has proved so dangerous in recent years that the police have occasionally resorted to banning it. Those there to witness this audacious act - a bunch of fully-grown men chasing a seven pound cheese down a hill - will realise that a police ban does nothing in the way of deterring them.

It is not easy to convince someone how dangerous cheese rolling can be. So here are some hardcore facts. In 1997 the Cooper's Hill event saw some 18 injuries. Even the several thousand strong crowd weren't exempt. According to a CNN report, one man who stood up whilst trying to dodge the cheese was hit on the head and tumbled some 100 feet, ending the day in hospital. Then there were those who were actually involved in the race, including the winner, postman Craig Carter. He suffered a broken arm. Despite the injury Carter seemed to be content. He had broken the other arm when he won three years before.

St John Ambulance operations training manager Jim Jones said that 12 spectators and 13 competitors had been injured during the 2006 event. "It was quite a reasonable year, not too bad at all," he said. "We usually average around 30-40 people who need treatment.

So if you're at all intrigued by the idea of a celebration of cheese, a broken arm or the sight of the British behaving as peculiarly as their mad cows, you know where to go....

Randwick Wap

The Saturday following the first Sunday in May

The Randwick Wap is an ancient procession and festival that dates back to the Middle Ages. The colourful and musical procession of villagers in traditional costume wends its way from the War Memorial to the Mayor's Pool. The procession is lead by the Mop Man who swishes his wet mop to clear the crowds. During the procession, the Mayor and Queen are carried shoulder high and escorted by an entourage of flag boys, ladies in waiting, cheese bearers, Princesses, a sword bearer and a flag man. The Mayor is dunked in the Mayor's Pool before being doused with spring water. The procession continues to the Well Leaze where two double Gloucester Cheeses are rolled down the steep slope. After the procession there are bands playing all afternoon, country dancing, stalls, and entertainments, refreshments and something for everyone. Admission to the Wap is free. It starts at 12.45pm on the Saturday following the first Sunday in May. For details contact Stan Giles tel 01453 766782.

St Briavels - Bread and Cheese Dole

Whit Sunday St Briavels

At St Mary's Parish Church after the evening service crowds wait outside to receive the 'dole' Small pieces of bread and cheese are thrown into the air from large baskets and are caught by parishioners.

In past times each person who claimed the 'dole' had to pay a penny which then entitled him to cut and take wood from Hudnalls or the Free Woods.

The event is said to date from the time of Milo, Earl of Hereford, in the twelfth century but was first recorded in 1799.

Stow on the Wold Horse Fair

The nearest Thursday to May 12th and October 24th

"The gypsy horse fair attracts hundreds of sightseers to Stow twice a year. Gipsies gather from all corners of England for a meet and greet and hundreds of horses are paraded and sold, all in one day. It's quite a site! So how did it all begin and why Stow-on-the-Wold. As you might expect, when dealing with a Cotswold tradition, you have to go back a very long way." (From "The Gypsy Horse Fair at Stow-on-the-Wold" at http://www.cotswolds.info/blogs/gypsy-horse-fair.shtml#horsefair)

Tetbury - Woolsack Day

May Bank Holiday

Every year teams of four compete in pairs to relay a 60lb woolsack (35lb for ladies) up and down Gumstool Hill between The Crown and The Royal Oak pubs in the fastest time. The course is 280 yards long with a 1 in 4 gradient! There is also a competition for individuals who race uphill once. The men's record is just under three and a half minutes, while the women's and youths records are around three minutes fifty seconds and three minutes twenty seconds. The Races form the central attraction of a Charity fund-raising day out which includes an all day street market, charity auction, village fete, street entertainers, marching bands and more entertainment for everyone

The markers view openly offering to resign

2006-08-26T23:21:00.000+01:00

Hello Bob!

Oh! No!!!
So our biggest nightmare is about to unfurl!!
Will the press get wind of this?
Will the RSPCA sue for the captivity & vicious training of that sparrowhawk & worms.
Remember that one big worm, insisting we tickle its tummy or it would report us to the Worms Rule Union?
I don't think that Derek noticed me moving the jack every time he ducked his head as he prepared to bowl.
But then, I didn't think the blue lycra leotard was over the top!!!???
Oh!!!! The shame of it.
What do I do??
I know!!!
I will offer WBA to resign for $500,000.00

Regards
Tel

The case for the defence

2006-08-20T19:32:00.000+01:00

Squealer Richards has cracked it

- maybe I went too far with that sparrowhawk

- maybe that worm did turn too much

- maybe you turning up in the blue lycra leotard was a give away............

Time to come clean - the secrets out!!

- I've attached a few screen shots from you know what (Yes, that really is Tony Newley with the Push-Me-Pull-You)

I suggest you admit to the Bab's Lord connection

It's over Tel - I suggest we stick to table football in the winter games thing

Regards

Bobrex Harrison-Thorley

ps I think we got away with you pointing to the line with the 'jack positioner' - PHEW!

The bowls semi final

2006-08-19T08:47:00.000+01:00

Open letter of complaint to:-

Eileen & John Oliver, Club Competition Committee

Re: ROBERT (DOLITTLE ) THORLEY.

Following my semi-final match in the gents singles with Bob on Thursday 17^th August I request you take measures to change the club competition rules to prevent the tactics described below being used in future club competition matches.

I was playing really well taking a strong early lead, with my mentor, Bert Potter, supporting me, but once Bob encouraged him to leave for his evening meal it started to go wrong.

I thought I could cope without Bert, but just as I was delivering the vital 1st wood of the next end Thorley called in two homing pigeons to make a low flying pass across the green. -- I will be applying to the Council for a no fly zone over the green on match nights

On a subsequent end, just as my winning wood was approaching the jack he communicated with one of the strategically placed worms to pop up, causing my wood to turn at rights angles away from the jack. I now know why he pre booked that rink two days before enabling him to position the vermin. --If anyone has any hedgehogs please consider donating them to the club

Dolittle obviously has a friend behind the hedge at the end of rink 5. This mate on cue (i.e. when I was about to bowl each end) started up a very noisy chain saw.

The match had moved on to the vital middle stage and I fell for the oldest trick in the book, members please be aware, Bob delivered the jack and his shot wood close by. I didn’t realise that he had left only just enough room for my wood and a cigarette paper either side. I am sure you have guessed my end winning wood found that centre line and went straight through.—I have seen this devilish move on many occasions in the past but this time it was perfection, so I am sure he is using his knowledge of the colours of nature to create an optical illusion, using the green and its surroundings to make it appear from the other end of the rink that was impossible for the wood to go through the gap without touching anything.

I had by this time realised this was going to be difficult, the draw had been fixed so he chose the marker, normally the very trustworthy Terry (Pan’s People) Plumb, let me down who on cue with the loud music from the Haydon Centre starting jigging around at the end of the green. -- I admit it was my mistake I should have known it was Thursday I have learnt to cope with the music but this added distraction was too much!

Sensing I was making a come back Dolittle then released his trained flies from his pocket which flickered past my eyelashes.

The most impressive distraction of the match was a trained Sparrow Hawk that swooped down across the green into the hedge to capture its poor unsuspecting prey. The hunter then clutched the poor bird in its talons and still squawking very loudly continued its kill behind us in the rose bushes. – Come back fox, all is forgiven

By this time I had then become so paranoid I was concerned that every time the seagulls flew overhead I was expecting then on to drop something on me, as you can guess I lost the game.

At the bar after the match I learned that Dr Dolittle, having been so successful, is already planning new and more impressive distracting measures for next years competition. He is hoping to buy a cottage in the village with a massive garden, who knows what he will breed and train in this new environment.

I hope all members will join with me to put a stop to these tactics being employed within our club and report any suspicious actions by this member. Please report them to the committee so that suitable rule changes can be made at the AGM.

IDBI

Party On

2006-08-13T22:14:00.000+01:00

Only at Laura's own 21st Birthday Party could the bardmaid ask for ID, I would have thought the sash with her name on and birthday badge gave her age away idbi

Happy 50th Birthday Brian Roberts with his daughters Laura & Caroline celebrating their 21st birthdays

Notice the spakling diamond as Laura and Paul celebrate their engagement.

Below Paul before a few drinks

Jordan cannot believe Megan's dancing so on the right is selecting Michael Jackson or James Blunt, note the hair style

Pictures near the end of the night

Laura's happy day

2006-08-09T21:50:00.000+01:00

Many congratulations to Laura on her 21st on the Friday 4/8/06 a great day ended with Paul proposing to Laura who accepted with many tears of happiness. Laura has now found her dream ring a sparkling diamond on a Forever gold ring.

Happy Birthday Zoe

2006-07-19T23:04:00.000+01:00

To celebrate Zoe's birthday we went to London for the day which great apart from the behaviours of some of the other visitors to Madame Tussauds
1) Queue dodging by joining the fast track queue when they didn't have a valid ticket for that entrance and bullied the steward to letting them in.
2) Dodging any of the queues by claiming a disability by waving a walking stick so the "disabled" male with a bad leg/hip, plus several other members of the family joining him with the quick entrance, he then ran up the stairs quicker than I could manage, proud that he had beaten the system!
3) No respect for queues or other people in the experience wishing to take photo's including jumping front of official photographers

All these people appeared by their dress and language to come from the same area of the world.
The day included a visit to Diana's memorial fountain, the science museum, Covent Garden, Regent Street, Buckingham Palace and the Hard Rock Cafe including the vaults.

We ended the day with a meal at Hammersmith.
Highlight of the day was Zoe's chance meeting with the ex England manager

See Jon's blog for video of the day

All the fun of the fayre

2006-07-09T10:09:00.000+01:00

It's school fete time and we visited 2 in one day. Liden started at 11.00 then Abbey Meads at 2.00.
The tombola's of the day were the Girl Guides general items at Liden where we won Quality Street and Cadbury Chocolate Snaps, at Abbey Meads it was a bottle stall and we won half a dozen assorted fizzy drinks. Jordan achieved the near impossible ball in a bucket thus winning a BB gun and again at Liden the trampolines were very popular with Megan achieving knee and bum drops but Jordan couldn't read the do not signs and performed a sumersault!

Later in the day we went for a walk along the canal at Wootton Bassett swans, ducks a stray greyhound and waves from the passing train drivers. Highlight was a enforced swim for Lennon who tried a valient escape and a run for Zoe and myself. The day was concluded with a fine steak etc at the Churchill.

Givers & Takers

2006-07-08T07:33:00.000+01:00

Last weekend through swindon freecycle , one of the many groups freecycle.org banner who have been set up to avoid throwing things in the bin or landfill but to pass them onto others.
We have given away various items from the garage including beds, tiles, children's toys, car colour magic. On this occasion it was an electric guitar, amplifier, and mike stand that Jon's now has thanks to very generous donors John & Denise Giles.

How different to the experience after the England game last Saturday when Jordans new bike was stolen. He was out playing in the back ally with his friends, he put his bike down for two minutes to pop in the house while his friends stood around it, some on their bikes. Two youths swaggered along beer in one hand and took it. Steves & his mates rushed out to find the thieves and when they caught up with them a knife was pulled to warn them off!

The story had a happy ending, as after a poker evening Steve was driving home in the early hours and saw the bike against the Kebab shop window, but as there was a gang nearby he didn't recover it until the thief was on his own with the bike. He screeched to a stop out they jumped and confronted the low life who just dropped the bike and ran!!

Then again on the following Monday Jordan & Megan took their bikes to school and locked them to each other, after a visit to the dentist they went to collect them the chain had been broken and Jordans bike taken!! idbi

Perhaps I've found the reason for Jordan's bad luck, when spell checking this entry his name comes up as "joyriding"

All Together

2006-06-18T08:52:00.000+01:00

Hi, here we all are except Jordan, Megan & Lennon , I sure someone wishes to make some comments on this family gathering, I look forward to reading.

This snap is the recording of a pretty rare event. Note the "Deal or No Deal"machine on the right

Weekend at home!

2006-06-10T09:19:00.000+01:00

The last three weekends have all been away the grass is now 3 foot high & other jobs mounting up.
Last weekend was Andy & Sians engagement party
If you have any more photos, or want prints please let me know.

The Tom Tom was really helpful last weekend as Jon had linkred to the latest traffic info via his phone and advised us to leave the M6 to cut 30 min of a know traffic backlog (England/Jamaca footy fans, coned off lanes and unknow problems) about 2 minutes down the diversion the traffic must have cleared as it told us to turn around and get back on M6 can you image what controversy that caused in the hired 7 seater Jon at the back giving the directions to the front Chinese wispers comes to mind!! Well a few minutes later Tom & Tom really came through directing us of again to save an hours jam!! the poor fans trying to get ioff where we rejoined were going to miss kick off that's for sure.

What a great party and Liverpools Everyman bistro
This weekend is fooball

Celebrity weekend (draft)

2006-05-21T23:09:00.000+01:00

What a weekend we went to meet Andy & Sian a in Manchester and stayed at the Novahotel
next door was the John Gilbert
So we decided to drop in for a pre meal drink and what a surprise there was a small group enjoying an evening out including Alan Halsall who plays Tyrone Dobbs with girl friend Lucy
Jo-Hudson its a place he obviously frequents on a regular basis
it seems Kirk Sutherland
will normally be with him then along came Ashley

Were we actually in a real life Rovers Return

Sunday morning the great north run
who does laura stalk only the great Frddie Flintoff and telling him he was lush I only wish I had bbeen quick enoough to capture his expression, but not content with this encounter she had to get his autograph her persistence was rewarded.

Espanyol stay in top flight with last gasp winner

2006-05-13T23:16:00.000+01:00

Espanyol & Alaves were locked in battle for survival Alaves scored on 79 minutes giving them survival as Espanyol were drawing 0 - 0. Watching on the live scores update on the internet
was painful as it updated every minute Then a call from the ground all we could hear was goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.........................l yes on the 90 + minute the league status saver a goal from Ferran Corominas
Not only was it that idbi but the full stadium could not believe it, it took Andy & Sian 15 minutes to get into the ground normally it only takes a minute, the Catalans had turned out to help save their second team with Barcelona already having the league title won and Arsenal to face on Wednesday.

World Cup warm up at County Ground

2006-05-13T20:43:00.000+01:00

Jordan was part of the Liden t eam playing the county ground under 7's 5 a side World Cup festival. Liden were lucky to be picked represent England on the day it was all about fun but they did win their last game againstPoland. They then went up the stairs in the North Stand to collect their medals & goody bag.

Theo Walcott is going to the World Cup

2006-05-08T22:06:00.000+01:00

Very good wishes i am sure he won't let England down. Joining Crouch & Bridge in the world cup squad idbi

Bowls

2006-05-06T21:29:00.000+01:00

The season begun at West End unfortunately Haydon Wick lost. Then we played them at our own rink a few days later the only winning rink was mine.
Penhill was next again at home this time a much better result 13 -1, however my rink was the drawn game we were losing all the way through. At the last end 19-18 down I went to the mat we were a couple of shots down my first wood went wide left. Their skip made the drive more difficult for my second shot, I over corrected the drive by being verywide on the right, luckily it hit a wood in for shot. Idbi was what the skip said I think, we held on for the draw 19-19.

Lechlade

2006-04-30T08:31:00.000+01:00

A sunny Saturday (idbi, I don't believe it) we went to Lechlade on Thames but stayed mainly on the Wiltshire side, straying over the border in our boat and for the sausage & chips.
A great hour was spent going upstream in a little motorboat. This was followed by a pinic and a chance for Lennon to run around.

I don't believe it transport & us

2006-04-29T06:19:00.000+01:00

For the family trip to see the Artic Monkeys, we hired a limo, we were honored to have the West One, Hummer to take us to Newport. Great fun was had with the passing motorists on the journey, the Severn Bridge charged us the car rate £4.90!!
Having arrived and after dropping us off the driver went intoMcDonald'ss for his tea and came back to find that the drivers window elbowed in and his personal Sat Nav pinched idbi. The thief was caught but the Tom Tom had disappeared and he was left to windy, noisy & cold trip home, to face an angry boss!!

St Christopher takes the same weeks holiday as us

2006-04-17T09:56:00.000+01:00

It all starts with the pointless success of being among the 1st to check in, as we were all put on a bus and the later check-ins ended up boarding the plane first. (& why don't they insist, for speed that, the back seats are filled first?). Flight leaves for Barcelona around 7.30 having defrosted the wings, cabin was a bit cold but pilot said the heating system would be fully working soon. 40 mins into flight, had Jon's sat nav gone wrong? had the sun risen on the wrong side of the world? no we were heading back to Luton!! The pilot claimed he could see out of the windscreen. It was a bit more serious problem me thinks! as on landing in Luton all fire engines were out of their station, scary!
A new aircraft was required, as it happened it was right next to where we are parked (hum?). Luggage and us transferred seats all mixed up again. Arrive Barcelona midday (2 hours late
) Andy was waiting with taxi forRichards, what a welcome sight.

Trip to Port Aventura by train, was the cheapest and quickest option requiring an early start so to be there for opening time. The Tourist Info people suggested the 8.15 (however the timetable given with tickets suggested 8.00 or 8.30, the 8.15 was a ghost train).

Today the timetable meant nothing, a strike by some train staff , thankfully not 100% observed but options were limited, no info in English so got wrong train, returned to Sants (that's S ants) station rushed to catch the next one some hour after planned.
Great Day but tired.
Got to platform at 6.50 for return journey no train for an hour, there should have been 3!!

Surely the home flight would be okay apart from late change of gate to another 500 metres away the flight arrived at Luton early 11.40 pm. Through passport control awaiting for luggage one announcement after about 15 mins sorry for the delay. The whole flight waited & waited, then nearly an hour later it appeared where had it been? on the wrong flight?

I don't believe it, that we could be so unlucky to go on holiday the same week as St Christopher and he didn't go to Spain.

April Fool

2006-04-02T16:05:00.000+01:00

Laura was the butt of the foolery today, starting off with tied shoe laces and the toes of her shoes stuffed with tissue. Then she went out to her car, it had gone! the usual and predictable shock. Laura was recommended to look down the road behind the people carriershe found it. Her troubles were not over unfortunately her acr key is the same as Jon's and somehow on this day they had swopped key rings!!!

Linda & Jon totally wound me up as Jon had found a program the appeared to produce a window to pop up which Linda alerted to me before I'd finished reading it but read enough to believe it was a virus about to deleted programs, Linda clicked okay I saw all the programs dissappearing before my eyes thank goodness when it had finished the April fool message pooped up, it certainly had my heart going.

Saints made up for recent past performances and recorded a 3-2 win over Cardiff and lifting us 10 points from the drop zone.

Southampton FC lose again

2006-03-25T23:01:00.000Z

Sheffield United 3-0, Saints lose again so close to the relegation zone with only 7 games to go we need to win 4 to be safe, a tall order we have only won 8 in 39 played this season! Even our Andy's faith of flying over from Spain to add his voice was not enough. I suggest he writes to the players explaining the passion and expense he went to in an effort to help them succeed. I return they showed none for at least 45 minutes and that he should be recompensed for his effort as individually they will earn in a year what it could take him a lifetime

On to a six pointer with Millwall at St Mary's on the 17th April

What makes things worse is Pompey had their game against Arsenal called off due to the rain.
I bet that's rearranged when Aresenal have other things on their minds or just won't care. Portsmouth are only 4 points from getting out of the relegation zone and have Middlesborough, Wigan & Sunderland among the fixtures left.

Reading are promoted to the Premiership how embarassing is that, but good luck to them for a season.

I have faith that provided we survive this season we will bounce back it looks like it has taken Leeds more than one season.

Unnerving

2006-03-22T23:58:00.000Z

I tried hiding the complimentary Daily Mail left on the bed before Linda's operation as it contained the following articles:-

As the surgeon began to operate, I woke up again!
I gave 33 years had to fly to India to cure my back pain
A life switched off- baby dies after doctor accidentally stops heart machine as he cleans it.
Mother who died from drug allergy after missed warnings- she was given penicillin after
repeatedlywarning the medical team she was allergic to the antibiotic

However for Linda all seems to be okay, lets pray for a swift full recovery.

From Sir last weekend to Queen this

2006-03-19T07:46:00.000Z

A place I never visted before Windsor Castle we picked the right day in some respects an even date (as the guard do not do a public change on odd days)! and the the semi-state rooms (steak rooms according to Laura where royals eat their meals, nearly right for not quite the right reason)
If you want to see the inside of St George's Chapel for free just turn up for Sunday service
We arrived at 10 bought our tickets and found out it was best to have a coffee and waited outside with our many friends from across the pond and the land of the rising sun, to watch the new guard accompanied by the marching drum & pipe band to arrive to take over from the old guard. Then inside through the security checks and pick up the audio guide.

We went to see the band continue its performance while the remaing squadies swopped over. Then into the splendid Chapel steeped in history, then onto the Queens personal rooms entered via a viewing of the excellent dolls house and then the splender of the semi-state rooms much restored to their original glory following the fire in 1992 its difficult to tell original from fake. The pieces of art on all the walls is quite a royal "photo" album us mere mortals putting our collection on Flickr It was a bit cold wandering around the rest of the castle the oldest residence for continuous occupancy in the world, a bit disappointed that much of the castle is out of bounds.

Then onto McDonalds for lunch the new monolopy game has just begun, anyone got a Mayfair sticker. A quick walk through town passing Eton college the shops the station and the thames certainly worth a return visit in the warmer weather. It was then onto the Badgers Mount to meet and adopt Lennon

Road Improvements?

2006-03-17T00:49:00.000Z

With all the work going on why a mini roundabout is not being built in Cheney Manor to enable safe access to the community recycling centre (tip). Doing this will not only help the community but save the council money as the council workers will be able to get out of their depot quicker to start work earlier allowing them to complete more tasks saving me council tax.

The red areas of white diagonal stripes are not in the Highway Code the nearest I can find is this regulation I do not understand how this marking works when it is on the nearside of the road next to the curb and comments welcome. Perhaps a site should be set up for strange road signs markings. the following are quite fun rose valley news. more silly signs

109: Areas of white diagonal stripes or chevrons painted on the road. These are to separate traffic lanes or to protect traffic turning right.

If the area is bordered by a broken white line, you should not enter the area unless it is necessary and you can see that it is safe to do so.
If the area is marked with diagonal stripes and bordered by solid white lines, you should not enter it except in an emergency.
If the area is marked with chevrons and bordered by solid white lines you MUST NOT enter it except in an emergency.
Laws MT(E&W)R regs 5,9,10 & 16, MT(S)R regs 4,8,9 & 14, RTA sect 36 & TSRGD 10(1)

From the Directors Box @ Crewe Alexander

2006-03-12T07:34:00.000Z

Courtesy of Friends Provident we (Linda, Jon, Zoe and myself) were treated to a view of the Crewe v Southampton match on 11 March 2006 from the cushioned seats at Gresty Road. Dario is quoted on their web site as follows I thought if anyone was going to win it was, Dario told Crewe Alex World after the game. I think they have missed "Saints" at the end, as we were all over them from the kick off but didn't have anyone who could shoot at the target. The only consultation is although 18th in table just 12 points ahead of Crewe at the foot, on this performance they have no hope of catching us, lets just pray two other teams are equally bad.

Zoe still hasn't seen SFC win! but at least witnessed a goal, however her day was made first by being in a Directors box, then at half time meeting a very friendly Rupert Lowe who loves this type of occasion, as after signing the autograph asked "would you like a photo with me?" I must try that in future with new people I meet I'll feel so much more important! :-). Nice touch Rupert, no matter what you may think of him he has risked his own money and not inconsiderable amount of time into SFC, he has built a ground and made resources available perhaps not every senior appointment has been correct but he is not god (Le Tiss was ! )
Then at the end of the game a brief meeting and signature from Sir Clive Woodward !! (not as friendly as Rupert.)

The day was not complete for Zoe as she had never been on a bridge as a pedestrian in a service station across the motorway, this dream was fulfilled on the way home.

Some faith was restored for me in middle England on my first visit to Crewe, my first Subway a very pleasant "snack" (that's an insult a Mars bar which is a snack, a carvery is a meal, what is a very filling 6" rolled filled with chicken, beef, cheese & salad then as much free drink as you want after paying the £1?) answers in the comments please.

Friendly town of Crewe, from the pleasant lad/girl, in the car park (£3), hard to tell it was cold and he/she was wrapped up well, locals & police giving directions, our hosts in the directors lounge. The excellent half time buffet was rushed in 15 mins much deserved to be served before the game, they could have attracted more in earlier to watch the Chelsea game and sell alcohol, no idea of marketing some people! After the game a friendly policeman with his lovable dog.

Getting back on the motorway & home was quick and easy perhaps due to the support being only 6,000 in this quaint little ground with its 4 or 5 executive boxes behind the goal!

Saints another draw

I don't believe it