tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140862812024-03-14T03:19:14.712+00:00Cornish Pasty BlogA little bit of travel, some tech and a few pictures. Brought to you via a Lenovo laptop, Android phone and Dragon dictation software.
I am a Cornishman with restless feet.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.comBlogger539125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-70733431988865439042020-05-08T17:28:00.000+01:002020-05-08T17:28:17.985+01:00Newport OregonNewport, Oregon<br />
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I have a soft spot for the fishing town (city in American terms) of Newport, Oregon.<br />
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The first time we were taken there was by Marianne, (if you don't know who that is you can read back through posts, or just go with the flow as she will appear much in this blog.)<br />
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It's hard to not like a place when your first introduction is via a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/newportlibrary/" target="_blank">friendly library</a> and great restaurants such as <a href="https://www.localocean.net/" target="_blank">Local Ocean</a>.<br />
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Harder still when it has beaches like this as well:<br />
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If you want to see some professional standard shots of Newport these are pretty good:, courtesy of the local <a href="https://newportnewstimes.com/" target="_blank">Newport Times</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/discovernewport/videos/466204030794993/?t=1">https://www.facebook.com/discovernewport/videos/466204030794993/?t=1</a><br />
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<br />Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0Newport, OR, USA44.6367836 -124.053450544.4559536 -124.37617399999999 44.8176136 -123.730727tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-80160521637291030862020-05-04T10:50:00.000+01:002020-05-04T10:52:11.723+01:00The Wonder of the Internet - Part 2 - life before the InternetI forgot to mention in my previous post how much the connections made possible by the Internet changed things for me. I wrote for people who know me, with the mindset that only people who know me are likely to come here. I am not on a mission to promote something so I am not going to be plugging my blog all over the place.<br />
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Since I was 10 or so I have wanted to be a writer. For a while letter writing and scribbling in notebooks assuaged my desire. I grew up in a Cornish fishing village where nothing much happened from decade to decade, or so it seemed to me - if in much simpler terms. My world extended across the village but not much beyond it until I discovered the joy of letter writing. It was hard back then to find penpals, or so it seemed to me if one didn't come across an invitation in a publication or by word of mouth it was a case of making it up as you go along. Even then letters were just to people I knew, for a few years, and the odd publication or television show. Later, with the help of a large tome titled Who's Who that I poured through in respectful silence at the local library, I expanded to writing to authors whose books I enjoyed.<br />
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In my teens, I became a fan of superhero comics, not just the adventures that they contained but the fact of where they came from. My friend Robert writes much better than I about what it was like back in the 70s <br />
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Comics as a metaphor Part 1 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rob.nott.3/posts/10156350819393688">https://www.facebook.com/rob.nott.3/posts/10156350819393688</a><br />
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Comics as a metaphor Part 2 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rob.nott.3/posts/10156360006633688">https://www.facebook.com/rob.nott.3/posts/10156360006633688</a><br />
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Comics as a Metaphor Part 3 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rob.nott.3/posts/10156388733658688">https://www.facebook.com/rob.nott.3/posts/10156388733658688</a><br />
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Comics and science fiction. One November, while my Mum and I were staying with family friends in Somerset, they took us to visit the Cathedral town of Wells. We wandered about on what I remember as a dull and dreary day, dull until I found my way to a branch of WH Smiths. There were no comics but there was a science fiction section. What caught my eye was a set of three paperbacks in a cardboard presentation case, something I had never seen before. I flicked through one of the paperbacks, by an author called Isaac Asimov. The set was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Early_Asimov" target="_blank">The Early Asimov</a>, a collection of his first short stories with an introduction to each one; it spoke of his early days getting into writing science fiction, I was hooked. It cost me every penny I had with me but I didn't begrudge it as I knew this was something special.<br />
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I was a voracious reader back in the day. I can recall times when I would walk to Helston, a town 2.5 miles from my home, reading a paperback as I strode along the side of the main road. It never seemed a chore that 30 minute walk while I had a book with me. I ploughed through all of the science fiction our local library had to offer. Over time I was introduced to books of fantasy too. Strangely, I thought, I can remember coming across Tolkien but not being able to get past the first chapter until my late teens.<br />
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From comics, science fiction and fantasy my friend Robert (whom I mentioned above) introduced me to Dungeons and Dragons and for some years we played in group sessions that I remember lasting 12 hours or more in the school holidays. I didn't raise then but we were actually amongst the first groups that played this role-playing game from the USA.<br />
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It was in my mid-teens that my parents and brothers went to the USA to holiday with my Dad's sister and her husband. I didn't go with my parents, I find it hard to believe how naive, even stupid, I was back then. The trip was again in November, to celebrate my mother's 40th birthday it was a chance to spend time with Dad's sister in particular on their first holiday since their honeymoon. The trip would clash with my mock O Level exams and the school advised that if I failed my mocks I would fail my main exams the following June. I acquiesced and remained behind, though any ideas of partying it up were dealt a blow when my parents announced that I would be living with my Aunt and Uncle on their farm.<br />
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The wonders I would have seen, more importantly, the life I might have had, (in hindsight, ahh hindsight, I feel sure I would have had the motivation to spend longer over there once I had that first month).<br />
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From there I moved into postal gaming with opponents in the UK, no internet back then and the odd letter to authors who meant a lot to me.<br />
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All the above to paint the picture of a life in rural Cornwall with tentative links to what was going on in the outside world. Life moved on, I got married and some things changed but I still remained that rural kid at heart.<br />
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<br />Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-55631804530421895122020-05-02T21:02:00.001+01:002020-05-03T10:23:44.570+01:00The wonder of the internet - Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Fair warning, this is a long post that sets out how the Internet made my life so much richer than it would have been otherwise.<br />
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The photograph above is one that surfaced on my dear friend Marianne's blog recently ( <a href="http://saladogal.com/" target="_blank">Marianne's World</a> ).<br />
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It won't mean a great deal to anyone else but, for me, it is a clear reminder of the wonder of the internet that I came to know and love this woman.<br />
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What seems many years ago now, 15 maybe, I was a big fan of all things tech (still am, if a little more focussed) and involved with various websites and people online. My interaction was all online, there was no-one in my local area or even the UK, that I had much contact with apart from following Adam, Curry's Daily Source Code / No Agenda podcasts.<br />
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The internet is like Alice's rabbit hole and I had gone down it far enough to encounter a whole different world from the one I lived. In time I got acquainted with various people including the late James Kendrick and Kevin Tofel of the JKOnTheRun podcast, and Josh Bancroft, a person who worked hard to promote the benefits of IT, with his TinyScreenfuls blog; a site no longer running but here is an example page via the immensely helpful Wayback Machine: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090605210611/http://www.tinyscreenfuls.com/" target="_blank">tinyscreenful.com June 2010</a>.<br />
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One day Josh mentioned a friend of his, who also worked at Intel; a lady who blogged about her Waltons-like life on a mountain (that is how the memory of it is to me and we all know how unreliable memory can be). I had always enjoyed the Waltons, the thought of living somewhere remote enough to be away from others at the end of the day, so I took a look.<br />
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It was soon apparent that I had found somewhere I would happily return to. The writing was informal in style and consisted of observations of the smaller yet important things in life. Over time I interacted with the blog and the lady who wrote it, Marianne. Time passed and I had no thoughts of meeting Marianne, our worlds were so different and I had never even been to America.<br />
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It's funny how things turn up in one's life. I think that things turn up for everyone but it is being able to spot the opportunity while it is still grabbable, like riding a horse and brushing past some brambles and rather than avoid them, looking through the brambles and spotting treasure. I have a friend Cath, who mentioned she was hosting a course in something called <a href="https://thepassiontest.com/" target="_blank">the Passion Test</a>. I had no idea what this was but Cath said that she found it very helpful and I trusted the things she told me, so I signed up.<br />
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The course proved helpful at organising what 5 things I valued above all others and gave me a strategy to keep moving towards them. Within 3 months I found an opportunity for organising a trip to America, ostensibly to celebrate my wife Cathy's significant birthday but I looked to what else we could do while across the pond. After I had begun planning and had arranged to stay with my cousin, then in Utah, it was only weeks before my hairdresser announced that she was emigrating to the USA with her family. I mentioned that we were going on holiday in the US and was invited to visit with them in the next-door state to my cousin.<br />
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With two locations sorted out for the holiday, I decided to look around to see if there was anything else we could fit in while they're. I had a friend called Buzz that I had met on the internet through mutual friends like I had with Marianne and he always said that we should have dinner if I was ever in his area. Well, it only looked like a couple of inches on the map to travel to get to Seattle and meet up with Buzz. Using the same principle it was only a couple of inches for the down on the map to get to where Marianne lived in Oregon. I made contact with Buzz and agreed that we would meet up for dinner by flying over to him from Salt Lake City. I then contacted Marianne and invited her to come to Seattle and have dinner with us while we were there. Marianne made it very clear early on that I had no idea about the scales involved in travelling through America. a couple of inches on the map to me was a 6 or 7-hour drive for her so, Marianne being Marianne, she suggested out of the blue that we came and stayed for a week with her, which I readily agreed to.<br />
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if it was not for the internet I would never have visited Seattle for dinner and breakfast and then travel down to Oregon to stay with someone who is now, along with others of her household/extended family, a member of my chosen family.<br />
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<br />Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-58304586044651523932020-05-01T14:55:00.001+01:002020-05-01T14:55:54.894+01:00A return of sortsFor a long while now I have lacked the gumption to write blog posts. I had even forgotten, it shames me to say, that this blog existed. <div>
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One of my closest friends, Marianne, returned to blogging recently and it has proved something of an inspiration to me. From reading her posts at <a href="http://saladogal.com/" target="_blank">Marianne's World</a> I began commenting, in a fuller manner than Facebook, Instagram or Twitter has ever drawn from me. Once in a form of "flow", I penned a couple of longer than normal emails and began to realise that the pleasure in the act of writing returned to me. </div>
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It is hard to explain the pleasure I get from writing more than a paragraph. I get lost in what I say, the words tumble from my brain through fingers and thereby the page, by way of handwriting or typing. At the other end, I look back on what I have produced and a "warm, fuzzy feeling" comes over me. This is something I have crafted and the flow of words adds to my almost sense of wonder. How can a few marks on a surface carry so much information still strikes me as a wonder after 50 odd years of doing so.</div>
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A lot of what I will write about may carry little meaning for anyone but me but I will be happy if I can write the occasional post as things occur to me or catch my eye.</div>
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I am grateful to Blogger, and Google, for keeping the faith with me, having this blog still on hand and ready to accept input from me, despite it being nearly 2 years since my last entry. </div>
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Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-6112709524452446782018-07-16T12:15:00.001+01:002018-07-16T12:15:46.177+01:00Poetry in the Japanese Garden in Mawgan, Cornwall<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A5zDiE8-9N4/W0x-XL8tYYI/AAAAAAAAT24/nRdkZ-_dDKwX-80rOb6d5Xs-JYK0xacgQCHMYCw/s1600-h/IMG_20180703_114504534%255B8%255D"><img width="407" height="306" title="Cropped Stone Buddha The Japanese Garden" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; float: none; display: block; background-image: none;" alt="Stone Buddha - copyright Philip S Ferris 2018" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2JQFFtqNaJo/W0x-YflUIdI/AAAAAAAAT28/vmKc_sg14ewRoAoTmyi7MATd_1a4g_2KQCHMYCw/IMG_20180703_114504534_thumb%255B2%255D?imgmax=800" border="0"></a></p><blockquote><p>Moss covered Buddha.I think we met your cousin in Portland, Oregon;</p><p>he didn’t have much to say either.</p><p>_________________________________________________________</p></blockquote><blockquote><p>people walk on past</p><p>as if they cannot hear you</p><p>shout coin coat buddha!</p><p>or winter will have arrived</p><p>before your new jacket</p></blockquote><p><a href="http://www.japanesegarden.co.uk/?page_id=19">The Japanese Garden, Mawgan, Cornwall, UK</a></p><div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:77ECF5F8-D252-44F5-B4EB-D463C5396A79:0b96c124-2ecb-40a4-96aa-a5188c05af6a" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; float: none; display: inline;">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Japanese+Garden" rel="tag">Japanese Garden</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/statue" rel="tag">statue</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Buddha" rel="tag">Buddha</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/poem" rel="tag">poem</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/2018" rel="tag">2018</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/tanka" rel="tag">tanka</a></div>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-62006917376331045532018-06-10T09:14:00.001+01:002018-06-10T19:56:56.894+01:00Morning Pages - stream of consciousnessWell here I am again, sitting at my laptop again, trying to think of something to say. All of the advice that I have read says just write something and keep writing other things, until inspiration strikes. (Not all but I put it that way for dramatic effect.) I admit I hadn't thought about Morning Pages in relation to dictation software yet it makes perfect sense. I should be able to get up in the morning and the first thing that I do - dictate to the computer in a flow of consciousness. I think I need to reread the morning pages book by Julia , her surname escapes me. [Cameron].<br />
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I also need to look up to other things to help me with my workflow. I need to check on how to easily move files from my phone to my laptop, that is Android to Windows 10, to enable the transcription process. Damn, the other what the other thing is has slipped out of my head but I'm sure there were two things I wanted to check on, I think it has something to do with software operation but I will have to check.<br />
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I'm writing this in the draft mode of my Blogger application, Open Life Writer, and it wouldn't normally be something I would post on a blog but writing is writing and if I post things I do like this it helps to keep me honest. My blog isn't a specialist blog, my posts jump about and the only common linking factor is me, so I will post this as a way of tracking development. If I progress this will be just a step in that process and I feel more likely to progress if the things that I dictate/write actually go somewhere. I need to get used to writing for an audience, so the actual act of posting what I write may well help me to tighten up my language.<br />
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It is hard thinking about posting this when there are so many heartfelt blogs out there, actually posting it is as easy as two clicks, I think I'll need to post this pronto and add to it or write another post if I want to continue with more to say. This text already forms part of my Morning Pages for today and I'm pleased about that. While I can type at dictation speed I have produced this piece of text in much less time than I would have done if I thought about it and typed it and it somehow feels more authentically me (as opposed to typing which is also me but half edited by my internal critic as it happens.) [I have had to edit it to make a little more sense, it seems dictation is no cure for editing.]Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-18967741056951325782018-06-09T10:00:00.001+01:002018-06-10T19:49:51.118+01:00Royal Cornwall Show 2018This week we went to the Royal Cornwall Show held at Wadebridge. The Show is an agricultural show that has been running for over 225 years. At one stage the show moved around the county, pitching up each year at a different location, it even came to Antron near Helston once.<br />
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Once the show settled down at a custom built showground, (by that I mean a group of fields along which they laid concrete tracks and built some permanent sheds), the show has remained pretty much the same. Centred around displays of agricultural equipment and animals, the show also attracts retailers such as garages, clothes and food retailers. Dotted in amongst all of the regular firms that attend are tents full of crafts, by banding together the craftsman can afford the cost of renting space at the show, and some individuals with a particular product to sell. I have to say I did feel a little sadness when I came across a stall being manned by the actor John Challis, where he was selling his autobiography but whenever I passedI didn't see any customers (that's not to say he didn't have loads). I'm not convinced that an agricultural show is the sort of place to attract a lot of readers particularly, a bookshop being a more focused selling opportunity, yet it does afford a very large footfall within a very limited period of time. It may be unfair of me to think of it is sad, I think I am seeing him as an actor selling a book when he is an author promoting his wares.<br />
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At the show there are displays of crafts and country skills, such as fly-fishing, sheep shearing, gundog displays, and even horse riding competitions.The show hasn't changed much in that a lot of the displays remain in the same spots, every time we go the Flower Tent, the Churches tent, the vintage vehicle section, the Dog Show to name a few, they are in the same locations.<br />
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Here are a couple of photographs from this year's show:<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wz4hfqKs1ok/WxuXGm-1leI/AAAAAAAATUA/DjfJealjLw8jlsep_2GbOWjbBBMbXtB2QCHMYCw/s1600-h/IMG_20180607_1027458074"><img alt="IMG_20180607_102745807" border="0" height="141" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Zw9c32thNgs/WxuXHplj6NI/AAAAAAAATUE/woOJ7N5XXmAvpWVho4pNmALUcMOtMhXaACHMYCw/IMG_20180607_102745807_thumb1?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="IMG_20180607_102745807" width="187" /></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nvSEdwXUjSM/WxuXIrIrZVI/AAAAAAAATUI/SjtcgdrC-SsfzFZZpyfrrKGBTwWqpIyMwCHMYCw/s1600-h/IMG_20180607_1029445674"><img alt="IMG_20180607_102944567" border="0" height="140" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rOOsVIwBg1Y/WxuXJ8VUWxI/AAAAAAAATUM/eLVjM8Q3iO8BhRgHYl0jykeTEfhchDxhgCHMYCw/IMG_20180607_102944567_thumb1?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="IMG_20180607_102944567" width="185" /></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4X9dO-I8VfY/WxuXK6MSZxI/AAAAAAAATUQ/KFNqJabmoMc-BdpNMTuSBIv5NaGp0Q1hQCHMYCw/s1600-h/IMG_20180607_111647278"><img alt="IMG_20180607_111647278" border="0" height="291" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IjQCZxbBUKg/WxuXLkTKC1I/AAAAAAAATUU/mkVNg3GXrUk95alZcJpnKthyqxUL9QQPACHMYCw/IMG_20180607_111647278_thumb1?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="IMG_20180607_111647278" width="387" /></a><br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N6-vCk9z-iQ/WxuXMn_yENI/AAAAAAAATUY/LJAVdiMe3MYDuuMuWHQnSsDqP_5q_1_3QCHMYCw/s1600-h/IMG_20180607_115939747_BURST000_COVE"><img alt="IMG_20180607_115939747_BURST000_COVER_TOP" border="0" height="244" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5dbcefIYCpM/WxuXNheK4-I/AAAAAAAATUc/qaOz6b47LhQjGjSgvUCnkCAPrFu_5XN4ACHMYCw/IMG_20180607_115939747_BURST000_COVE%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="IMG_20180607_115939747_BURST000_COVER_TOP" width="184" /></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kCkPY6hfWGg/WxuXOtsinnI/AAAAAAAATUg/M9IDzpRUv302yaMw5yJ5gtzzgYoUNfYHgCHMYCw/s1600-h/IMG_20180607_114536720"><img alt="IMG_20180607_114536720" border="0" height="243" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bZr6e1JOiJ4/WxuXPnM0FmI/AAAAAAAATUk/p5hwtMT3BzEIPz0UuKYFCRx2Aq_OQ8DSgCHMYCw/IMG_20180607_114536720_thumb?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="IMG_20180607_114536720" width="183" /></a><br />
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The first couple of photos are from the Flower Tent, a combination of commercial nurseries displaying their wares and selling various items, while also competing against each other for certificates for first, second, third et cetera. (They actually refer to the certificates as medals as they do at the Chelsea Flower Show). The tent also has amateur flower arrangers ranging from flower arranging clubs to schoolchildren. There is always a large central themed display by Lifton Farm Shop. This year's theme involved scenes from Peter Rabbit, where fruit and vegetables were arranged in interesting ways.Lifton also sell baked goods as they have their own cafe so have a food focus too.<br />
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The photo top right is of a group of bonsai trees, cultivated from azaleas, all in flower at the same time- something I've not seen before.<br />
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The largest of the photos above is from a pitch just along from the Flower Tent where forestry and chainsaw art is created. To the left in the picture is a bench featuring ends with an eagle and, we think, a vulture. On the right in the picture is a hat and coat carved out of wood, varnished by the looks of the sheen, designed to look like they are hanging from a coat hook. The Eagle and bench were made using a chainsaw but I'm unsure as to how they created the hat and coat.<br />
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Bottom left in the set of photographs is one I took of Prince Charles, although I was not very close when I used my phone camera he can be seen in the middle. Prince Charles and Camilla were attending the show as Prince Charles is the patron.<br />
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The final photograph is of a handmade chicken coop to illustrate a combination of the agricultural nature and the use of crafts.<br />
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I hadn't planned to take photographs in order to blog about the show, if I blog about it again I have to remember next year to take some dedicated photos.<br />
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We caught up with some of our oldest friends, which was something we wanted to do for a long time, had some nice food, saw some interesting things and generally enjoyed the show, though there's always more to see than we manage to get to in a day.<br />
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The thing I most enjoyed from the show was a demonstration of duck herding of all things. Steve Barnes is an Australian chap who talks to the audience while either sheep shearing or running his Dog and Duck Show: <a href="http://www.dogandduckshow.co.uk/" title="http://www.dogandduckshow.co.uk/">http://www.dogandduckshow.co.uk/</a><br />
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Here is a video intro to Steve although you have to see him to really delete appreciate the humour: <a href="https://youtu.be/hwcB8ojcEuk" title="https://youtu.be/hwcB8ojcEuk">https://youtu.be/hwcB8ojcEuk</a>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-48279848487012555362018-06-04T20:41:00.001+01:002018-06-10T09:21:38.858+01:00The Cornish Cream TeaIf I was asked to name four traditional Cornish foods I would choose the Cornish Pasty, Saffron Cake, Hevva Cake and the Cornish Cream Tea. Today I want to talk about the cream tea.<br>
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nOiQOmE754M/WxWV-H_9viI/AAAAAAAATN8/jk2D0-eSRaMjeE_v-lsSBNi1yziwVBa4QCHMYCw/s1600-h/IMG_20180604_134511457%255B3%255D"><img width="244" height="124" title="IMG_20180604_134511457" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; float: none; display: block; background-image: none;" alt="IMG_20180604_134511457" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rsutn1UHUFI/WxWV_A-uHrI/AAAAAAAATOA/L894lK1ZUUoqFSKAcn8SzynLidj7hTYIgCHMYCw/IMG_20180604_134511457_thumb?imgmax=800" border="0"></a><br>
There has been debate as to where the cream tea originated, some say Devon and those who know the truth say Cornwall. <br>
(A similar debate ranges around the audience of the Cornish pasty but that's for another day. )<br>
The difference between the two is quite straightforward but first of all let me list the ingredients in a cream tea:<br>
<ul>
<li>a scone - small item of a bread-alike consistency (a sweetened version of the American "biscuit") <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4622/classic-scones-with-jam-and-clotted-cream"><span style="color: red;">See this BBC recipe</span>.</a></li>
<li>a portion of jam - often strawberry jam (American "jelly")</li>
<li>a portion of Cornish Clotted Cream. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clotted_cream"><span style="color: red;">Wikipedia’s definition</span></a>.</li>
</ul>
The type of cream is crucial. I have been to places, sad places where clotted cream is unavailable, that offer a form of whipped cream. (Pause, while I shudder in horror.)<br>
<br>
A Devon or Devonshire cream tea consists of a scone with cream placed upon it and on top of that is jam. In Cornwall we always choose to place jam upon the scone, followed by the clotted cream. In my opinion the only time you would want to put your cream on first is if you are ashamed of it!<br>
Here is a link to a long term maker of clotted cream, since 1890, with scientific research carried out to identify the best way to serve a cream tea: <a href="https://www.roddas.co.uk/cream-teas/"><span style="color: red;">Rodda</span></a>.<br>
<br>
The photo at the top of this page is somewhat fancier than a standard cream tea, in fact the picture shows a Chocolate Cream Tea (pause, while purists engage in a sharp intake of breath). The cream tea is accompanied by chocolate chip scones and a Canton tea that has chocolate undertones; the plate, in this case slate, was also decorated with a cut strawberry, raspberry, physilis and kiwifruit, along with a fruit like a large blueberry that I couldn't identify. This cream tea is served at <a href="http://thewaymarker.co.uk/"><span style="color: red;">the Waymarker</span>,</a> a Cornish food establishment situated between Falmouth, Constantine and Halvasso: set your satnav to find the postcode - TR11 5PW.<br>
<br>
I have no connection to the Waymarker. I'm just a very happy customer who has been there on quite a few occasions and always enjoyed the food and the very friendly service. I receive no benefit from mentioning the Waymarker.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-76959566295919754692018-06-02T15:26:00.001+01:002018-06-02T15:34:28.351+01:00Dragon Professional Individual 14 - what I have found so farSince installing Dragon Professional individual 14 I've noticed a few things. <br />
<ol>
<li>When I try to dictate into Chrome using the standard entry or the Dictation Box my whole laptop freezes. I don't know whether this is since the Windows 10 1803 update as my laptop had already updated before I installed Dragon Professional. This is not a documented issue at the moment, that I could see from searching on Google.</li>
<li>I also had some problems dictating into a Blogger blog page using Microsoft Edge, whereby my laptop also froze. Using the Dictation Box delete didn't solve this until I changed it via the Dictation Box settings, to emulate typing text rather than a paste option; the only problem with the Dictation Box was that it did miss the first four or five words that have been dictated into the box but didn't make it onto the page when I instructed the program to transfer the text.</li>
<li>The programme Open Live Write enables me to dictate straight into a Blogger template without the laptop freezing in Windows 10.</li>
<li>I started to use an old microphone headset from 2011, seven years ago, that worked well when I first tried it but then refused to work in any of the USB sockets on my laptop. I bought Jabra wired headset that is fairly new and I haven't had any problems since, in fact the boom microphone works a lot better than the shortened one on the old headset. I believe it is false economy to use an old headset with such a modern programme, having to correct things because of the microphone erodes the efficiency of the more modern dictation program.</li>
<li>I'm amazed at the accuracy of this dictation program given that I only practised on two paragraphs to set up the microphone and, as long as my diction is clear, I have had virtually no need to correct anything. The majority of things I have altered have been the result of either not thinking about capitalisation before I say a word or the desire to change what I have said once the words have left my mouth.</li>
<li>I did install the Dragon extension into Chrome, version 66 point zero point 5 something, but it does not seem to be functioning as I have not been able to carry out verbal commands in Chrome, even though the extension is turned on.</li>
</ol>
Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-17024677795441868702018-06-01T21:42:00.001+01:002018-06-01T21:46:48.449+01:00Posting by voiceIt's taken a while to get to the point where I can write blog posts via the Dragon professional program. Setting up the dictation program was the easy part getting to the point where I could dictate a blog post, as I use Google Blogger, was a little more complex.<br />
<br />
Initially I thought I could dictate straight into a windowing chrome but the computer kept freezing. I don't believe it's a lack of peril on the part of my laptop as it has a sixth generation i5 processor and runs Windows 10. I did try to open the Blogger site with Microsoft Edge in case it was an issue with the chrome browser but I had the same problem with the computer locking up.<br />
<br />
I then remembered that Word has a blog template but unfortunately that no longer works with Google Blogger so I couldn't attach the blog template to my blog. It took some searching before I found a program that would work, I remembered Windows Live Writer was an option in the past but it had been discontinued in 2016; fortunately, it turned out that Microsoft made an open source version available which was called <a href="http://openlivewriter.org/" target="_blank">Open Live Writer</a>.<br />
<br />
I've installed <a href="http://openlivewriter.org/" target="_blank">Open Live Writer</a> and within a few clicks I had set it up to work with my Google Blogger account. I am dictating this blog post to celebrate the fact that I can dictate into a blog template and, if all goes well in a moment, post it to my blog.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-19204316140760751792018-05-20T10:17:00.000+01:002018-05-20T10:17:25.422+01:00Seated in the gardenEating our tea sat in the garden has always been a favourite experience, even when in ear shot of a rookery. Behind me as I type this is a majestic Monterey Pine that has stood tall far before my birth and growing up here. Also since before I was born there has been a rookery, commanding views over the village and out to sea, likely making it a very desirable location, if not for the noise. I love the sounds of nature, it is one of the abiding joys of driving a Miata, but the dubious pleasure gained from close proximity to a rook call centre is an acquired taste (there are times I question whether I have made the acquisition.).<br />
<br />
My younger brother built two bench tables some years ago but eventually, as will happen to all of us, time and rot overcame them. My skills have never veered into the path of something as useful as construction, so when it came time for a replacement Cathy and I decided on a very modest purchase.<br />
<br />
Here is a photo of the chairs and table that I am sitting at as I write this. When I started the rooks were cascading some important piece of information, going by the intensity of their calls, probably along the lines of<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Oh look who has got pretensions to be a writer! Sat there at his table all writerly like, probably got nothing to say." </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"He's been out there before you know. Fountain pen and paper last time and where did that get him."</blockquote>
I put it down to their being jealous, Mr Poe immortalised the Raven, they get a Two Ronnies sketch - <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9v73c" target="_blank">Rook Restaurant</a><br />
<br />
Anyway here is my new working location, weather permitting, as it does currently.<br />
<br />
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<br />Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-29397161637028307392018-05-18T21:30:00.000+01:002018-05-18T21:30:05.951+01:00PhonelessIn a flurry of searching for my keys before coming to work I managed to leave my phone at home. This is not something I do very often, (leave my phone at home, I often leave other things behind.)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-blRw7MHspvU/Wv3nz8G8yoI/AAAAAAAAS60/6S-JW_mw7fgYyI1N5cTymNn5P5-B9gB7wCLcBGAs/s1600/37628983100_363e126520_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="326" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-blRw7MHspvU/Wv3nz8G8yoI/AAAAAAAAS60/6S-JW_mw7fgYyI1N5cTymNn5P5-B9gB7wCLcBGAs/s200/37628983100_363e126520_z.jpg" width="101" /></a><br />
<br />
I am surprised that, despite being 50+ years from my infancy, I still have a security blanket; even if, unlike Linus', my blanket is a phone.<br />
<br />
I grew up with mobile phones being something I encountered only in science fiction. Telephone boxes flourished, mostly the red variety that sat on street corners like freshly hammered thumbs. No one would get you between places, you set off in the car or on foot in complete ignorance of the need to fetch some extra shopping or of changes to your day. It wasn't a problem back then, everybody understood. Urgency didn't attach itself to as many things as it does today. You had gone shopping and, unless by some fluke you happened to phone home or base if on business, whatever it was would be fetched on the next trip.<br />
<br />
I guess the fire and forget nature of a man shopping meant that I was a little more thorough when it came to making a list. Now if I get that niggly feeling that there were more items than I had a note of I can just pick up the phone and check-in, mid-shop often.<br />
<br />
At times I hear myself channeling my parents or grandparents when I slip into the "things were so much simpler in my day" mindset. We all do it at some point, I hesitate to say that it is a sign of old age, since I don't feel old. There I go again, channeling my grandmother then. She always said in her 70s and beyond that she still felt like a young girl and not her three score years and ten. I would look at gran and think, "but you look so old! You must feel it really". Maybe in the aches of a morning, of the things she could no longer do or did much slower but she didn't let on to a young whippersnapper like me.<br />
<br />
Back to that phone. I can try to describe the feeling that I had, which intensified the more I thought about it through the day, like looking into the abyss just before it looked back into me. If you have done this you will know what I am talking about. It was a clear indicator that I relied on my phone far more than I needed it. 90% of what I do with it is generated by me and not from calls or messages in, so I don't need it by my side.<br />
<br />
I need to take some phone breaks, leave the tech at home and try going it alone some days.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-45549410000779114722018-05-10T22:08:00.000+01:002018-05-10T22:08:47.382+01:00I should be writingI should be writing, I should also be focused. One out of two can't be that bad surely?<br />
<br />
I am sat in bed, or semi sat or semi lying in bed with this laptop on my chest. I should be catching up on the sleep my chair bound nights have deprived me of. Not deprived exactly, more the position I could get into the chair moved the prospect of sleep further away. The land of nod was just around the corner I just wasn't getting on the bus. It was bad enough dealing with the debilitating cough I had developed.<br />
<br />
Crumbs! I can write some self indulgent rubbish about myself when I am feeling poorly. As soon as I made a post of Facebook in the early ours to say that I was ill I regretted it. Within minutes I was thinking of people I had heard were very poorly with something far, far worse than a two week sore throat and hacking cough.<br />
<br />
What a difference a day makes, well two. Two days and a dose of antibiotics to be precise. Further to go, yet I can breathe so much easier and only cough every couple of hours, or if I start laughing hard, (which I am blessed to say is not difficult at work).<br />
<br />
<br />Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-64336094401210605782018-05-10T21:22:00.003+01:002018-05-14T21:18:01.052+01:00I wonder how many new posts i will start before I actually publish one again?<br />
<br />
We are watching the 2017 film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5013056/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Dunkirk</span></a> as I write this. While I realise it is no substitute for the sheer terror of experiencing it, I think it is important to see and try to understand quite what went on.<br />
<br />
I find it hard to comprehend but I have a need to understand.<br />
<br />
What happened in France and Belgium was a military disaster while still a salvation of hope.<br />
<br />
I wrote this as a recognition of what happened, not to celebrate war.<br />
<br />
Oh look, I actually posted this!<br />
<br />Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-34976550997692474202018-05-07T11:08:00.001+01:002018-05-14T21:16:11.015+01:00Reverend Peytons Big Damn Band INtune<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X2IzWnADzGk" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
There is just something hypnotic about this band.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I would love to see one of their shows at some point. The one time Reverend Peyton and the band came to the UK we were in the US.<br />
<br />
Here is an example of their music:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yWCcLW08dsU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yWCcLW08dsU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
https://youtu.be/yWCcLW08dsU<br />
<br />
<br />Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-27418864287977245092018-05-05T11:09:00.000+01:002018-05-05T11:09:27.790+01:00I do seem to have a very low wait threshold. It may take me months or years to decide on something but then I can't wait any longer and "it should be here already!"<br />
<br />
Currently I have the need for a new, well replacement laptop. I discovered that being able to follow instructions on YouTube is no substitute for experience. I had an Asus T100TA tablet and attachable keyboard that I had not used for a month or two. (For some inexplicable reason I have been using my smartphone and Kindle Fire in place of the 10" screen, whether to watch video, email or surf the net). There is a tendency for the Asus to go into a near permanent state of standby if not used for a lengthy period. The battery convinces itself that it is charged or is charging but the computer will not boot.<br />
<br />
YouTube, that glorious source of knowledge seems able to furnish video on nearly anything you care to ask it. I found several videos explaining how draining the battery would enable the device to boot once more. I watched video from multiple people to make sure I learnt the steps and that they were the same. Videos watched, I went about removing the back cover, the one behind the screen. All went well, I slid a slim object between screen and cover and it began to separate.<br />
<br />
Once inside I realised what looked easy on screen was not so easy in real life. No reference was made to using a chip puller and the internal plug for the batteries looked more soldered on than plugged in. What happened next was my fault entirely. I thought I could<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>a) prise the chip up with something sufficiently thin </li>
<li>b) removing the case would likely only damage the case in a worse case scenario. </li>
</ul>
What actually happened was:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>a) the chip block that contains the bare cable split </li>
<li>b) on putting the case back while I thought about what I had done, I found that there was a big crescent crack and some smaller related ones on one side of the screen. </li>
</ul>
At some point in the past I had dropped the device and thought I had got away with just a chipped in the case. There must have been a hair line crack.<br />
<br />
I started writing this blog post one lunchtime a few days ago, since then my anticipation has taken quite a bash.<br />
<br />
I was picturing my new (to me) laptop being dropped off at a location where a UPS van simply sat awaiting my shipment, or at the very least the van would pop by at the end of the day. [ Had that happened it would have been proof that the world revolves around me, not that I need proof, it's just something I know. ] Of course this wasn't the case and my package remained at the UPS Access point for 23 hours 45 minutes until the van did come by. ( If I was going to miss the previous day's pickup it would have to be by as little as 15 minutes!) I could accept that the pickup had been missed and it would not have annoyed me half as much if it wasn't for the UPS app misleading me. For the whole of Thursday the app said that my laptop was In Transit, when it was actually sitting at the Access Point. I had contemplated hovering late at work in case the laptop arrived late at the Argos store nearest to my workplace, I thought it would be the quickest location for me to get it from. At the last minute I saw the UPS info had changed to say it had only just picked up the laptop.<br />
<br />
Well, only another day for delivery isn't too bad I thought, then I saw that UPS had updated their site. Delivery was anticipated to occur next week, not Friday but next Tuesday (Monday is a Bank Holiday not a working day in the UK). From next day delivery to six days, the laptop sitting in Bodmin according to the screen, really did tweak my patience. A weekend when I could explore things on a new computer to a workday with only the evenings. This is definitely a first world problem, but it is my problem and so is a focus for me.<br />
<br />
I settled in to seethe the rest of the day about the delays and rain curses on UPS when my phone bleeps. I had forgotten something in my rush to be annoyed, a day is a long time in politics, an hour is an aeon in the internet age. Within hours my phone bleeps, "your package is available for collection at Argos", talk about pouring cold water on my anger. I went from grump to great! in an instant. When I could take a break in work I popped across to Argos to pickup my laptop. How the universe revolves. While waiting to collect my package I spied a charity box of secondhand paperbacks, not only that but some excellent nearly new Science Fiction books. The books were all ones I haven't got by Ursula Le Guin and Philip K Dick. The bounce in my step on the way back to work might have fooled an observer into thinking that I was experiencing a gravitational anomaly.<br />
<br />
I type the rest of this post on my new (to me) laptop and it is a joy to use. Here's hoping I might be able to get more written, more often.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-13441658944167747852018-04-27T10:26:00.001+01:002018-04-28T01:27:20.782+01:00Better VisionI treated myself to something the other day that did wonders to improve my attention and, in a way, my eyesight.<br />
<br />
I had no idea when I made the, somewhat, impulse buy that it would have benefits beyond the obvious.
Not glasses, or blinkers, but a pair of gloves.<br />
<br />
Not just any gloves, these are Marks and Spencer's finest Italian leather in black, with the all important thermal lining - it's Spring here but the cold rain and wind suggests otherwise.<br />
<br />
'Hmm', I thought, 'those will make me look suave and sophisticated' (OK so my internal monologue actually said 'more suave and sophisticated' - what can I say? I am a vain creature). In reality, as was pointed out to me the first time I wore them in public, they actually make me look like I lived at the shadiest of addresses, anywhere that would harbour your run of the mill serial killer. On go the gloves, the world turns black and white and I have the leading role in a B movie and not in a good way.
Enough of the detrimental image that is conjured up by the sight of me in extra-large black leather gloves, back to the improvement in vision.<br />
<br />
When the air is chilly and I go for a walk I put on my gloves. Everything comes into clearer focus, I see more than when I have walked a particular route in the past. The reason for the change is that I cannot operate my phone with these gloves on. Stab as I might (a loaded phrase given the look I carry off when gloved up) my phone remains unresponsive. I keep my phone in my pocket and just enjoy the walk, noticing so many things that they might even make it into a tanka or haiku at some point.<br />
<br />
I have complained about not having much inspiration in the past, this should be less of an issue when I am phone free.
Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-63932334698028126522018-04-19T12:58:00.001+01:002018-04-19T12:58:28.244+01:00Goodbye DaleI had been wondering what to write in returning to my blog. I rarely, if ever, have pearls of wisdom to share.
After much contemplation I came to the realization that, given the likely size of my audience, I should write about things of interest to said audience and when I say audience I mean me.
I had never been a big fan of Dale Winton the celebrity presenter from the 1990s and Noughties. I would watch him on the National Lottery draws and when he made celebrity appearances but I never sought him out. My opinion changed after recently watching a travel show he made of a visit to Florida. The friendly approach and self deprecating humour made the show. Without being obtrusive the show was as much about Dale as it was Florida. As I read about his battle with depression I can see that this show was something of a milestone for him, marking a return to television after a 5 year hiatus due to depression.
After watching the show on the UK's Channel 5 I did a scout around to see if he had done any more but not yet. Ahh, I thought, I'll just google occasionally to see if he is making any more. The news today of his passing came as a shock. 62 years old isn't old in the general scale of things these days, especially from my position of a man in his 50s. I actually caught myself usually a phrase of my parent's generation "62, that's no age at all!"
Thank you for the entertainment Dale, you were always a professional.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-43822474">BBC Dale Winton a life in pictures</a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060410045938/http://www.daisymedia.co.uk/">Podcast interview with Dale Winton</a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Winton">Dale Winton on Wikipedia</a>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-25750257524008527752018-04-15T21:40:00.000+01:002018-04-15T21:42:34.565+01:00A return?I have been re-reading the blog of a member of, what I refer to as, my chosen family. Aside from enjoying reading the posts this side of actually visiting the places she wrote about, it has kindled a desire in me to write; not for an audience but for me. Somewhere to capture the odd thought and store it other than locked away within my journal.
I just need to organise a way to do so that I can sustain. Time to look at phone, Kindle (from where I write this), and PC options.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-53634176278495410602010-06-12T10:27:00.001+01:002010-06-12T10:27:23.455+01:00test cellspin postTest from cellspin on hd2Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-26105512497281218012010-06-06T22:45:00.001+01:002010-06-06T22:45:07.876+01:00Quick intro to my new website<p>I just wanted to let you know that I have started up a full website where i will be making blog posts to in the future – I will do my best to cross post them here too but the new site will be my first focus.</p> <p>To see how it’s going pop over to <a href="http://www.philipferris.com">www.philipferris.com</a> </p> <p>It’s early days and I have already decided to change the template look but it was my first effort.</p> <p>See you there.</p> <p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:3671fdfb-f561-41e3-8c2c-7bd2b5528044" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/New+bog" rel="tag">New bog</a></div></p> Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-72125442383183083422010-06-05T21:03:00.001+01:002010-06-05T21:03:59.632+01:00Let’s see how photos behave from Live Writer<p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_HRnGDJ1bhXg/TAqtp5NaPlI/AAAAAAAAAeM/0l-4OQ01ZGU/s1600-h/IMAG0703%5B2%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0703" border="0" alt="IMAG0703" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_HRnGDJ1bhXg/TAqtqQI6E_I/AAAAAAAAAeQ/2Fac7olly5c/IMAG0703_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a> <a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_HRnGDJ1bhXg/TAqtrN3z8aI/AAAAAAAAAeU/F7IzhIbKD60/s1600-h/IMAG0695%5B2%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMAG0695" border="0" alt="IMAG0695" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_HRnGDJ1bhXg/TAqtrnaCfaI/AAAAAAAAAeY/h8uUCicJpgM/IMAG0695_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="184" height="244" /></a></p> Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-33733717801187841342010-06-05T17:03:00.003+01:002010-06-05T17:57:08.785+01:00A mention for this blog in Cornish World magazine (and some Link Love)<p>A very flattering mention for this humble and, of late, somewhat tardy Blogger blog and the pressure is on.  The item is in the smartly turned out <a href="http://www.cornishworldmagazine.co.uk">Cornish World</a> magazine.  (For anyone not completely familiar with the online world, click on the magazine tile in the previous sentence and it will take you to the magazine’s website.)</p> <p><a href="http://www.cornishworldmagazine.co.uk"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_HRnGDJ1bhXg/TAp1SHo8aaI/AAAAAAAAAeI/ATaZBJZX8sM/image%5B9%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="260" height="202" /></a>In addition to being highly flattered at being given a mention, it was particularly pleasing to be featured in a magazine that is both in touch with Cornish culture and bang up to date with technology.  Reading the June/July edition, No. 70, I see they are clued up with a web presence both at <a href="http://www.cornishworldmagazine.co.uk">www.cornishworldmagazine.co.uk</a> and <a href="http://www.mycornwall.tv">www.mycornwall.tv</a>, a <a href="http://www.twitter.com/cornishworld">Twitter account</a> and a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/cornishworld">Facebook page</a>.</p> <p>My only regret was a dearth of decent photographs to offer following the death of my Acer netbook, (that’ll teach me to be lax about backups).  The one that was used was not the sharpest of the bunch but, then again it woud have detracted from the writing if it had been pin sharp, so I will console myself that the low resolution photo plays it’s part.</p> <p> </p> <p>If you have come to this blog from reading the article, then welcome gentle reader.  Do visit again and I will aim to live up to the warm reception Catherine gave me in her article.</p> <p>Of course, you may well be a fellow blogger who has visited in order to confirm for yourself that your efforts trump anything I may have recorded.  So be it, read, confirm any preconceptions and submit your blog for a mention in despatches by emailing <a href="mailto:catherine@cornishworldmagazine.co.uk">catherine@cornishworldmagazine.co.uk</a>.</p> <p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:1356f38b-4a2e-4147-a6c2-57a28ec94c94" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Cornwall" rel="tag">Cornwall</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/cornishworldmagazine" rel="tag">cornishworldmagazine</a></div></p>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-36319321353172895372010-05-29T08:40:00.001+01:002010-05-29T08:40:00.355+01:00Putting my best foot forward<div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:18c073dc-a075-4396-a11a-ee634770b93c" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Walking+Boots" rel="tag">Walking Boots</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Brasher" rel="tag">Brasher</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Lithium+GTX" rel="tag">Lithium GTX</a></div> <p>I would like to declare at the outset that this post id the result of a competition that I won recently.</p> <p>A while ago I started my search in earnest to find a really good pair of walking boots with a view to a trip to the States to celebrate a special birthday for my wife, Cathy.  One of the places I went to look was Brasher.  While on their site I saw they had a newsletter and, <a href="http://www.brasher.co.uk/subscribe">as I signed up</a>, I saw that they did a monthly drawing to win a pair of boots for new subscribers.  I signed up in the hope that I might get some sort of discount offer in a newsletter, what I got was a complete surprise.  A few weeks after signing up I found that I had been drawn to win a pair of new Brasher boots of my choice from their catalogue!</p> <p>The boots arrived today, Lithium GTX, full of Goretex goodness.  I couldn’t wait to get them out to try on.  <a href="http://www.brasher.co.uk/catalogue/products/lithium-xcr-lithiumn"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="IMAG0615" border="0" alt="IMAG0615" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_HRnGDJ1bhXg/TADEzxTDmSI/AAAAAAAAAeE/V6rh2pdwQUI/IMAG06157.jpg?imgmax=800" width="644" height="484" /></a> </p> <p>These boots mark a change for me.  I have always been a leather boot sort of chap, never gave a lot of thought to newer developments – to be fair I didn’t expect to be buying the top end type of boot and many much cheaper fabric boots seemed to be more like beefed up trainers. </p> <p>Having the freedom to choose any boot I took time to learn about the many different types and what they were best suited for.  We will be visiting a variety of terrain in the US from mountains to salt plains to westrn seaboard so I needed a boot that was versatile.  We might undertake activities such as horse riding so I needed a boot that wasn’t too bulky.  The boot would also need to comfortable in all sorts of locations as I intend wearing them in urban and country settings, in hot and cold temperatures.  </p> <p>I needed to have my feet carefully measured before committing to size, since Brasher would be sending the boots direct.  Fortunately with the help of Sarah in Brasher’s publicity department I went along to their Premier stockist nearest to West Cornwall – <a href="http://www.penroseoutdoors.co.uk/">Penrose Outdoors</a> in Truro.  Cathy and I were treated really well at the store, even though I explained I needed measuring but the boots would come to me direct from Brasher.  While Cathy would need a pair of boots for the US we had decided that the most we would do is by some socks to say thanks for measuring my feet.  (In fact, Lynette at the store was so knowledgeable and helpful we ended up getting Cathy a pair of boots from there, plus some sets of socks and boot care products).</p> <p>I can’t wait to be able to try the boots out on a walk but that’s another post, as they say.</p> Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14086281.post-52891353011892079602010-05-26T15:15:00.001+01:002010-05-26T15:15:15.102+01:00When does one stop waiting for the big idea?<p>I have started a bunch of posts over the last month, (yes, month).  Not one idea managed to grow into something resembling my idea of a post.  The month before that I struggled to hold on to the big thoughts I have when driving in this beautiful county of Cornwall; much of what I have to say when behind the wheel relates to the views, reflections and memories of growing up here. But that’s where it stops, (yes, I started a sentence with But – that isn’t necessarily a crime, no matter how uncomfortable it is making me feel.  I am trying to get to grips with whatever creature it is that gets in the way of my writing these days.  With the idea that the human mind will put all sorts of obstacles in the way to avoid change, I am embracing the awkward and uncomfortable, in the hope that I am doing good, making a difference, playing my part in the electronic world I have hung out in for all these years).</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_HRnGDJ1bhXg/S_0s6gNQyfI/AAAAAAAAAd4/tNtAy0hQ51c/s1600-h/HarbourinSunshineIMAGE_2657147273.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="Harbour in Sunshine IMAGE_265-714727" border="0" alt="Harbour in Sunshine IMAGE_265-714727" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_HRnGDJ1bhXg/S_0s7uSOCZI/AAAAAAAAAd8/cQYtEEqhE0s/HarbourinSunshineIMAGE_265714727_thu.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a> </p> <p>It’s views like this when nipping down to the shop, that pass me by nine times out of ten but that one time pulls me up short every time.  </p> <p>Thoughts that occur to me, when I visit coastal locations similar to Porthleven, I immediately think about how closed in they feel but I never think that about my own village; even though, looking out from the Harbour Head (as the grassed area at the back of the harbour is called), I struggle to see the open sea.  Where the natural geography stops the man made finishes off the enclosure but I do not normally see that.  When I say don’t see i mean that I have a scotoma, as <a href="http://www.thepacificinstitute.us/v2/index.php?name=about_founders">Lou Tice</a> would put it, I just couldn’t see it.  I can look at it but I couldn’t “see” it.  It could be because I have climbed the sides of the village and see the open sea but I don’t think so, I think that like so many people before I see the world in a drop of water, the world in the life of the village.  Porthleven, built from the fractals of the rest of the world.</p> <p>I have been thinking about houses lately, in comparison to many our little cottage is plain but I have decided that I don’t mind what the house looks like – when it comes down to it, if I live in a house it’s the outside that means more.  There are places in Cyprus which are pretty much boxes but that’s fine, they have something to look at, greenery, sea, whatever, heck in the right location most of life can run outdoors.  When things are rough weatherwise, I can be at home in a room, this netbook my window on the world.  </p> <p>A musical interlude at this point.  As I go to write more, in the background the theme music from the science fiction series Star Trek Voyager isplaying.  I love this piece of music, with it’s classical and futuristic associations.  Here is a link to a version on YouTube:   </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:ea665f69-a916-4ff8-b68a-63da20f6364a" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="475e30f7-e323-4c38-b3f3-4a319aefc268" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6IpjBCVYo8&feature=related" target="_new"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_HRnGDJ1bhXg/S_0s8ZOzx5I/AAAAAAAAAeA/wfp2Ka711OU/videob5e825c39000%5B3%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('475e30f7-e323-4c38-b3f3-4a319aefc268'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/u6IpjBCVYo8&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/u6IpjBCVYo8&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:de84aceb-f078-493d-8ee3-dfce15fff941" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Porthleven" rel="tag">Porthleven</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Star+Trek" rel="tag">Star Trek</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Music" rel="tag">Music</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Houses" rel="tag">Houses</a></div> Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275084269571688281noreply@blogger.com2