Stevejays weekend world

Winter Draws on 4-5 February 2012

2012-02-05T17:29:00.002Z

Welcome to month two of 2012. We haven't much planned for this weekend, certainly not on Saturday night. We were in town quite early this morning. There was no reason why we just got up half hour earlier. So after visits to Argos, WH Smith, Card Factory and a couple of Pound Emporiums we treated ourselves to hot drinks at Cafe Express, and I must admit I also had a caramel slice, well I need to keep my strength up! My free gift from Hornby was waiting at the sorting office so after joining the queue, which stretched outside and along the path I received my new oo gauge locomotive. We stopped at Farm Foods on the way home to stock the freezer up, and as we arrived saw one of my astro society friends leaving. We exchanged pleasantries and went on our merry way.

Then it was home for a quick lunch. I decided to remove the track mat from my railway layout. So the afternoon was spent re-positioning the track and tacking it down again. I had a quick drive out to the Model Shop to get some goods wagons for the new loco to pull. Then we picked up Sarah's Sister so she could visit Arnie, who is now at home but confined to his crate for 10 - 12 weeks while his leg heals.

Dinner tonight was Farm Foods Chinese again. The crispy duck was amazing, even better and a lot cheaper than the local takeaway. The lemon chicken wasn't too shabby either. Then we watched a film on BBC3 that I wanted to catch up with, Tropic Thunder, which I enjoyed. Tom Cruise's character was very funny, although the Robert Downey Jnr character wore a bit thin after a while.

Sunday

Oh look it has snowed overnight. Well it was forecast so nobody can complain. We decided to venture down to Asda. The roads were just passable with care. The snow shovels, sledges and bags of rock salt were selling fast, so we picked up a bag of salt. Not wanting to get caught out I bought a snow shovel last year. After clearing the path I phoned John to see what the roads were like in Deal. He said don't bother coming down, the snow was bad as he has had to dig out the studio and he has lost the dog in the garden. We had been invited to some sledging in the park but driving there is not really an option, and I don't think there are any slopes in the park!

After a lunch of some really good scrambled eggs I spent an hour or so finishing building my Country Station model, then we decided to go for a walk around Singleton Lake. It was also a great opportunity to get the DSLR out and take a few photos, some of which I have sent to the Kentish Express.

Lets hope that's it for the snow this year. I don't fancy the journey to work in bad weather. in 2010 I spent over seven hours in the car and only got from Penge to Barnehurst (about 18 miles). Never again!

Until next week then...

Not Stargazing Again and the Six Million Dollar Cat. 28-29 January.

2012-01-29T13:23:00.002Z

It has been one of those weeks. On Monday we were told that Arnie had been found semi conscious in our neighbour's garden. After he was rushed to the vet, then to our own vet he was diagnosed with a broken front right leg and ruptured diaphragm. He has now had two operations to repair the damage and he is fighting on bless him. As you can see from the photo he looks a bit bald at the moment, he may even lose his leg if there is nerve damage, but cats can adapt. Trust us to adopt a Cat who likes playing chicken with cars.

We had another Stargazing Live event to attend. This one was arranged by Natural England and taking place at Wye Downs. I was asked to give my talk on Radio Astronomy, so I really didn't need the cold I currently have. After a good lunch at the Blue & White Cafe we went to see Arnie. The poor fella seems to be off his food so Sarah cooked him some fish, which he sniffed at and refused as well.

Soon after we got home Andy turned up so we loaded the car with the PA system and telescope and set off for Wye. Yet again the weather was against us with clouds and rain. So we were confined to the Restaurant which, with nearly 100 people in there was a tad cosy! The evening was a success though with Ashley from SEKAS starting the evening with a great slide show and talk. Then it was my turn, and that went OK. I then seconded Jason to do a quick planetarium talk which covered for the lack of stargazing. We finished about 8pm and after packing up and saying our goodbyes set off for some food courtesy of McDs. Then it happened.......The clouds cleared. It always occurs when we have a pre-planned event. However Natural England want to hold another Astro event soon, and this time we will make it absolutely clear that people have to book it in advance. As some of our followers (members and non-members) were disappointed at not getting a ticket, thinking they could just turn up on the night. At least they didn't miss any observing!

Sunday

I wake up early with a sore throat and snotty nose. The cold is into day four. We did the usual early shop, then it was home to clean the aquarium. A job that I don't relish but has to be done. I had planned to go to a model railway show in Thamesmead today, but the cold has put paid to that. I just want to veg out in front of the TV and maybe later start building my railway station. I had managed to pre-record a show for DWR today. So there won't be a live show until next Sunday.

Until next weekend then....

Stargazing Live and A New Laptop 21-22 January 2012

2012-01-22T20:16:00.000Z

Saturday

It was one of those days where you have plenty of time for stuff during the day, then it all goes into panic stations later on. We went out about 10 AM to buy some provisions for stargazing live. On the way home I was drawn to the model shop where I spent a bit on stuff for the railway layout. My Flying Scotsman turned up this week so I now need to turn my attention to the scenery. We decided to dine out for lunch so we went to the Harvester which actually wasn't too bad. The last time we went about 3 years ago I vowed never to set foot in the place after a really bad experience there. I think they are OK when the place isn't too busy .

Then it was home for an afternoon on the train set before Andy arrived to help us get the stuff together for SGL. That's when panic set in. I couldn't find my notes for the talk, so I printed some more only for the black ink cartridge to run out on the printer.

We arrived at the venue to find all the volunteers in full flow. There were chairs and banners being set up everywhere. I set up the PA and sorted the merchandise whilst Sarah, Tina and Anita sorted the refreshments all in readiness for the expected crowds.The evening went really well. I reckon we had about 160 turn up. It could have been more if the weather was better but as usual the clouds had other ideas. After a great presentation from Drew we had a quick cuppa, then a rather pricey burger (good but way too expensive). It was a shame that it was still cloudy, but we had a contingency plan, in the shape of Dave, who gave his great talk on the Fermi Paradox. I had set up my talk as well, but we decided to have a 'Grill an Astronomer' Session, which meant there was not enough time. That may be a regular feature at our meetings in the future such was the success of it, even though one of our experts said a rather rude word! What a great evening though. That is the forth event we have put on and yet again it was a resounding success.

Sunday.

I slept well last night, SGL must have worn me out. We went to ASDA about 9:45. I have decided to get a new laptop. My old one has been giving me evils all week, starting with overheating when I least expected it, then it kept throwing me off the wi fi which really boiled my piss! So enough is enough, and I ventured to PC world. I know a lot of people groan at PC world but they do have the best selection and occasionally some special offers. So I picked up an HP Pavillion in red with 4GB of RAM and 500GB hard drive for £349. I had mulled over processors but I won't be gaming or doing anything heavy so an AMD dual core was sufficient. I also added Office and Norton. I also blagged a free laptop bag as well. If you don't ask etc...

I was going down to the studio today, but I really had too much to sort out at home and when John said he wasn't going on because he had flu I decided not to go. So While PC world were setting up my laptop I set about fiddling with the railway layout again. I had to re-jig the power supply sections so it meant taking up half the track to do it. Just as I finished my mobile rang, my laptop was ready for collection. Some people may wonder why I opted for them to do it. The last time I bought a laptop (PC World again) the bloody thing had problems straight out of the box. They did fix it but it never was the same and was unreliable from the outset. Now I've just got iTunes on there and set up all my bits and bobs. Actually I'm writing this blog on the new one!

Until next weekend then.....

Chilled weekend 14-15 January 2012

2012-01-15T19:58:00.002Z

Saturday.

Its good to have a weekend with nothing really planned. This morning we went into town to get a few odds and sods, as well as collect a signed for parcel. I don't know why someone would do a recorded delivery for a fivers worth of stuff, I suppose its better to be safe etc.. We went to Dobbies for our monthly free coffee, along with a couple of toasties. I treated myself to a caramel latte as I always find the cappuccino to be lukewarm and nearly all froth.

Then it was home where I did a quick inventory check of the Astro Society clothing. Then I decided to lay out the track on the railway. I was itching to do a test run of the Javelin. Everything works OK which was a relief. I now need to add a bit more track and a few bits of scenery.

We went down to Farm Foods to get a load of food for our new freezer. We came away with a load of meat and meals for about £44. I then checked eBay as I was watching a Stanton Turntable which was still at £16 with no bidders. Anyway I placed a bid after seeing another bidder come in and I ended up getting it for £20 as the other bidder either couldn't be bothered to re-bid or just forgot. I was after a Technics SL1210 but they go for silly money, normally between £100-300 in all sorts of conditions, from pristine to completely 'Donald Ducked.' The Stanton does everything the SL1210 does for a fraction of the price, with the trade-off of less motor torque than the 1210. Which apparently is important if you do scratching, which I don't.

This evening was spent eating Farm Foods own Chinese grub (nice) whilst watching Inbetweeners - The Movie. Although there were very funny moments, it wasn't quite as good as I thought it would be. I enjoyed the TV series but I thought the joke wore a little thin by the end of the film.

Sunday

I was awakened this morning from a 'ping' from the iPad, which was on my bedside table and I had forgot to turn it off yesterday. It was my Aussie cousin saying that she was on Skype. So I got up, showered, dressed and after a spot of brekkie we had a chat. Then it was our weekly trip to the supermarket. After lunch I decided to get on the blog. The laptop however had other plans and overheated, causing it to shut down. OK I was synchronising my iPhone and looking at a video at the same time, but it is still annoying. Obviously my de-fluffing the other week wasn't really good enough. So I popped down to Staples (thanks for the tip Dave!) and purchased a can of blower spray. I've given the fan a good blow out now so hopefully that has sorted it. Whilst we were there we had a walk over the new footbridge that crosses the M20. Well our taxes paid for it so we thought we might as well use it!

Back home it was time to get my stuff together for an afternoon at Dance Web Radio. There is not really much traffic about so the journey was quite chilled, as was the journey home and the show in between.

Now at home where we had a really nice dinner courtesy of M&S dine in for a tenner. I'm looking forward to Sherlock on the TV. I hope it is as good as last week's episode which was excellent.

Until next week then...

Sawing, Banging and Screwing....7-8 January 2012

2012-01-07T17:14:00.002Z

Saturday

I had today planned out. First stop of the day was to Ashford Model Centre via Tesco to collect the railway layout boards, then B&Q for the materials to build a frame. The weather was good so I set up the workmate in the garden ready to build. My carpentry skills are severely lacking, I don't really do wood. But hey ho I had a crack at building a frame for the Sundeala boards and you know what, it actually came out ok. I'm pleased with the results, and I enjoyed building it. Now all I have to do is lay out the Track mat, and the track. I'm just waiting for some more track to arrive via ebay.

So after dinner I decided to fit the track mat. Easier said than done though after sticking it down I realised A) it was wonky and B) there were creases on it. So tomorrow I'm removing it and starting again. I just hope the double sided tape lifts ok. When its finished I'm hoping it looks a bit like the image above.

Blimey I watched 'Casualty' for the first time in years. Who would want to live in Holby!. Within the space of a couple of hours there was a multiple car crash, a big gas explosion and a nasty chemical cloud all caused by the same bloke. Phew! We decided to stay up and watch Die Hard: with a Vengeance. I like the Die Hard series, lots of explosions, mindless violence and unbelievable storylines......In other words good fun!

Sunday.

It must have been the late night because we didn't wake until about 8:30. We were still in Asda by 10am though Then we had to go over to Kingsnorth to drop off a pet cage we borrowed from one of Sarah's colleagues. I finally put away the Christmas lights in the loft, even though we took them down on friday they were sitting in the lounge waiting for me to put them away. After a nice lunch we sat down to watch 'Something for the weekend'. I have liked this show since it started. Being live there is always that element of danger, and I like the laid back mix of cooking, witty banter and good guests. Now I hear the BBC are ending it in March. Why do they always chop the popular shows and carry on with shows that should have been put down years ago (see Saturday above).

Then it was off to DWR for the first show of 2012. I actually had some feedback today via a listener, all good as well. It makes me happy that people appreciate the music we play. It means I must be doing something right.

Now after a really nice dinner we are settling down to watch a bit of Dancing on Ice and later, Sherlock. Probably one of the best TV shows on the box at the moment.

Until next weekend....

Out With The Old.....

2012-01-01T22:28:00.002Z

It has been a good week off. Boxing day we went to see the latest Mission:Impossible film (excellent). We met up with some old colleagues, had a shopping trip to Maidstone, where I upgraded my phone for a nice, shiny new one. Friday we held a film night in collaboration with the Astro Society and Woodchurch Film society, where we showed 'Apollo 13'. It was a great night and their AV system was the best I've heard and seen in ages.

New years eve (Saturday)

After slamming the roast pork in the oven and Pat & David prepared the veggies we had a drive down to Tenterden. Sarah came away with some more bling and socks. I bought a sieve, a pickle fork and a book. The last of the big spenders, that's me.

After a really good dinner I sat and watched one of the Blu Ray films I got for Christmas. 'Senna' is a brilliant film and I don't think you need to be an F1 fan to appreciate what a legend that guy was. The evening was spent with Andy, Julie and the rest of Sarah's family at ours where we ate, drank, played cards and let off fireworks at midnight. We also had another Chinese lantern malfunction, this one ending up in the tree out front. The wind was whipping up so we abandoned any further launches. After a tidy round we finally got to bed about 1:30.

New years day (Sunday)

We set off for Mum and Dads about 10:00 am. We were planning to go to the Harvester in Crayford. It used to be something of a regular new years day event but since I've been in Ashford it hasn't really happened. So we were the first to arrive at the pub, and whilst we had a drink (J20) we perused the menus. We were told by the staff that there wasn't a lot of food left, so if we wanted a Sirloin, Sea bass, Lamb or more than 3 fillet steaks we were out of luck. As it happened we all wanted chicken so it wasn't a problem. The food was great and we had a good time. Then it was back to theirs for a cuppa and a chat before heading back to Ashford. The weather was awful on the way home, I hate heavy rain on the motorway.

We got home in time to meet Pat & David's friends who had come over from Sussex for the day. It was good to see them after over four years. Then it was an evening in front of the TV (Sherlock Holmes (good) and a very depressing Eastenders).

So may I wish all my readers and fellow bloggers a happy new year. I'm looking forward to some of the things coming up in 2012, including Stargazing Live, Avenue Q and of course catching up with all my friends throughout the year!

Until next week....

Mistletoe and Wine 24-25 December 2011

2011-12-25T11:09:00.002Z

SaturdayWe were up reasonably early today as we have to take the cats down to Snave before our trip to Birmingham. as per usual it was a bit of a military exercise herding them into their carriers. We tend to go for the element of surprise ie sneak up while they are eating and bundle them in. All went well except for Frankie who seemed to know what we were up to even though we hid the carriers from view. We hit the road about 10:30 am and made good progress. We stopped at Beaconsfield services on the M40 for a spot of lunch and was surprised to meet my mate John from the old Radio Joyce Green days. He was on his way north as well. After a big mac and a chat it was my turn to drive and again we had a great journey and arrived at Sarah's parents about 2pm. We had a surprise visit from Andy who had gone to Manchester to buy a car and came back with a bargain BMW. He stayed for dinner then we went to Sarah's brother whilst Andy drove back to Kent. Christmas DayUp at 8:30 then no time for brekkie as we were raring to open the presents. I then Skyped my Oz cousins for a chat. The was a thunderstorm in Melbourne so no BBQ on the beach for them! it was great to see them though. it is great how technology can bring us closer together. After a smashing dinner, where I won £2 on a scratchcard we all set about doing different things. Sarah played her new game on her 3DS, Kamran's Dad visited and I had a go on Kam's Train set! I was showing them the photobooth app on the ipad and we took a few silly pictures. We then rounded off the evening with a spot of tea, a quick look at Dr Who, games of Logo, UNO and Newmarket. there were a few fireworks to be set off as well. A great day was had by all! Until next weekend .....

A bit of a do....17-18 December 2011

2011-12-18T13:47:00.000Z

Saturday.

We were out and about reasonably early for a Saturday, buying food and drink for tonight. we decided to be a little adventurous and bake a cake. I haven't made a cake for over 20 years so I found a recipe for lemon drizzle cake on the internet and gave it a go. We had to sample the goods to ensure quality and I wasn't disappointed.It was lovely. We spent the afternoon tidying round and preparing food for friends who were coming round for a pre-Christmas get together. I even had time to sit and watch a couple of old Dr Who episodes. The evening was great, the food was all consumed so it must have gone down well. Then we decided to play a new board game we purchased a few weeks ago called 'The Logo Board Game'. I think everyone enjoyed it even though Lukey got a set of questions about a TV game show he and Kat had never heard of, and that really lost them the game...

Anyway a great time was had by all. I'm fortunate to have good friends down here in sunny Ashford!

Sunday

We had a bit of a lie-in today, but one member of our clan is definitely feeling under the weather today. Arnie has not moved from the bed yet. We will just let him sleep it off and hopefully he will be ok by tonight. If not its down to the Vets tomorrow night. After catching up with the Strictly final and a spot of lunch it is time to get the music together for today's show on Dance Web Radio, the last one of the year.
On the way to DWR my phone rang. I was told that a server somewhere had crashed but, as I was two thirds of the way there I carried on if only to have a cuppa and a chat with John. As it happened all was OKby the time I arrived and there was only a short outage, so I carried on regardless. I had a troublesome turntable this afternoon, the only problem in what was a great show, the last one of 2011. Until next weekend, which is possibly a busy one!

Lighting Up Time...10 December 2011

2011-12-10T16:02:00.001Z

Its been an expensive few days. On Thursday night I picked up a screw in my rear tyre on the way to my parents place. Trouble was I drove a few miles with it flat before realising and knackered the tyre walls. So Friday I had a new rear one fitted. Then I went to the Designer Outlet on the way home from work and bought a pressie for Sarah.

We spent the morning driving out to the local farm shop for a few bits, then to Dobbies for a coffee and some more lights. Whilst there I got the car cleaned as well. The car wash people there did a bloomin' good job as well.

So after a spot of lunch it was into the loft and out with the house bling and Christmas decorations. I like LED technology, at least the lights work first time. For the first time I've also installed some in the back garden as well. Check out the photo by the way. I dread to think what their electricity bill is like!

We are staying in tonight for an evening of 'Strictly come dine with x factor on ice', washed down with a takeaway curry, and very nice it was as well. Mind you I'm not too sure about the contents of the 'Runa Mix Special' !

Sunday.

With the outside lights now up, it was time to get the tree up. We bought a fibre optic one about 6 years ago, now its looking a bit tired. It sort of lists to one side so we have to position it so it leans against the wall. I think we'll treat ourselves to a new one next year. After our weekly shop and a spot of lunch, I sorted out some tunes for the show on DWR today. It was another good one, My furthest listener this week was from Durban, South Africa. I'm international baby!

So it was home for a great dinner and now catching up with the results shows. Next week is a short one with Wednesday off and a Tuesday night out with the VPR guys and gals.

Until next week..

Not in the Christmas mood....yet.

2011-12-03T16:28:00.001Z

Saturday

Normally, the first Saturday in December is spent getting the House Bling set up. However no-one in our Close has, and I really can't be bothered today, so that's a task for next weekend. The morning was spent in town, paying a few bills and buying a few odds and sods. Then it was off to Halfords to change our sick Sat Nav. I have been frantically searching for the receipt but it has disappeared, but I have found my credit card statement. That was good enough for them. After a quick call to Tomtom the manager agreed to give me a new one, which was a pleasant surprise bearing in mind what they told me before. Last weekend the sales assistant in Birmingham told me they only send them back for repair. Then I was told that you only got a replacement if the unit was less than 28 days old. So its obvious Halfords need to train their staff to 'sing from the same hymn sheet'!

We visited Sarah's Nephew and girlfriend who have just taken possession of a new flat. I helped shift a sofa inside which involved taking the front door off, not exactly an easy task. Anyway it went in OK. Then we popped into our friends Dave and Tina to pay for some theatre tickets she had got for us. After a coffee and a nice chat it was then off to Asda to get some dinner. We have an extra mouth to feed tonight as Sarah's dad is down.

I know I'm a 40-something but I've just bought a train set! It was so cheap on Amazon that I couldn't resist it. It was over £100 at the National Railway Museum, and with a discount voucher from Topcashback it came to £35...I now need to sort the loft out. What a kid I am! Nothing doing tonight, so its another Saturday night in watching 'Strictly Come Dine With X-Factor Get Me Out Of Here On Ice'

Sunday

I didn't sleep too well last night. Apparently I had restless legs which also kept waking Sarah!

Anyway we didn't sleep in too late so we were at Asda by 9:45. After the shop we went round to our friends Jason & Tina, to drop a card in and to meet their new addition to the family. Nathaniel, bless him showed his appreciation by sleeping all the time we were there, including whilst Sarah held him, but he had just been fed. Apparently he is a night shift baby, hence the parents looking a tad tired this morning....

Being Sunday meant I had a trip to Dance Web Radio for my show. The drive down was interesting, I nearly got taken out by a car who panicked when a lorry came up behind her in the speed restriction and nearly crashed into me. Then on the way back in the same place a car who obviously doesn't know what 30 MPH means overtook me and will be getting a nice Christmas card from the Kent Police after getting flashed. Anyway the show went well, and I enjoyed slamming on the vinyl as well!

Until next weekend then.........

When I grow up I want a Harley!

2011-11-26T17:29:00.001Z

Greetings from Birmingham! Well Sutton Coldfield actually but its near enough and it is the posh bit. The reason we are here this weekend is two fold. First to visit Sarah's parents and secondly to go to Motorcycle Live at the NEC.

Guess what, I use my Tomtom sat nav for only the third time and it packs up....A trip to Halfords is in order. I am most dis-chuffed as I may have needed it for the journey.

Friday night we took a trip to the Balti Triangle, and area of Birmingham famous for it's curry houses. The traffic around Alum Rock was a nightmare, we only arrived by the skin of our teeth. Anyway the meal was superb, my chicken Balti was good, as was the family naan which three of us shared. Maybe it was too much because I was absolutely stuffed, but Andy polished off his meal including a veg dish, Julie's salad and ate a fair proportion of the naan as well. The guy has hollow legs!

Saturday morning Andy, David and myself drove down to the NEC whilst our respective 'other halfs' went off to Birmingham city centre for some retail therapy.We arrived and parked in Birmingham international station (only £5) and took a short walk to the NEC where we parted company with David who took the train into the city. As we walked into the Entrance we were greeted by the ladies on the Carole Nash insurance stand....That put a smile on our faces. The thing I liked about the different manufacturer's stands is that you can sit on all the bikes to try them for size. I particularly liked Harley Davidson (see pic), they seemed to fit me like a glove. I can see why many men in their mid life crisis opt for a Harley. A quick pit stop for chips and yet more freebies then we managed to catch up with Andy and Dave from Dexterity in Ashford, who were there helping on the 'Get On' stand which introduce people to motorcycling. The guys said they had never been so busy, with plenty of people having a go on bikes that have never ridden before.By about 3pm I think we had seen nearly all of it and collected a few freebies on the way.I took this photo but the trouble was there was a lady sitting on the bike.....oh well!

Back to Sarah's parents for a lovely dinner, then we spent the rest of the evening playing Uno and Cards.

Sunday.

It was travel home day today so we didn't really do much, It was a lazy Sunday morning when I just watched some iPlayer stuff on the iPad and read a magazine. After yet another lovely dinner (I need to walk this weekend off!) we packed the car and set off back to Kent. The journey took about 3.5 hours and apart from a white van moron pulling out on me on the M20 it was a fairly uneventful trip. Until next weekend then.......

Nothing Planned.....19th/20th November

2011-11-19T17:57:00.001Z

This weekend is the first one in weeks where we have nowt planned. This morning the cats made sure we didn't sleep in too long, and after Sarah got up and fed them they went out to do their business. We decided to have a trip to Canterbury. I suppose it makes a change from Ashford. On the way I noticed the police had cordoned off a footpath near to us. I hope its nothing too serious. We bought a few items, no Christmassy stuff yet though but there was plenty on offer. We also noticed a lot of people dressed as Imperial Stormtroopers walking about. Apparently they were Greenpeace campaigners. And I thought Stormtroopers were the bad guys! After a spot of lunch there went back to Ashford to look at yet more freezers. Now do we want frost free or not? Would you believe the difference is about £100.

I checked out the CD players I bought from the Hospital Radio Station for use as standbys on Dance Web Radio. They work fine. I even cleaned the grubby finger marks from the 'play' buttons. I'm playing vinyl tomorrow for the first time in years so I'll be trawling through my record collection later. Plus I've been buying 12" singles on ebay lately to fill in a few gaps in my collection. Tonight is officially 'Night in Night' with a takeaway, bottle of wine and the usual Saturday night TV fare.

Sunday.

Great, I get up this morning to feed the cats and get myself a coffee, and one of them has left a 'package' on the dining room carpet (from the cat's front end, I hasten to add!) I normally leave things like that to Sarah, but in a fit of bravery I cleaned it up myself.

I received an email the other day from Apple. Apparently the first generation iPod nano, which I purchased in 2006, has the potential to overheat due to a faulty battery. I gave it to my dad a couple of years ago after I bought an iPod touch, so I phoned him and told him to un-dock it from his speaker ASAP! I retrieved it from him and just entered the serial number on the apple website. Lo and behold mine is a problem one so they are sending me a box to send back the Nano, and I get a refurbished one in return.

Then it was off to DWR . I was looking forward to the show because turntables (remember them??) had been installed in the studio. So it gave me a chance to dust down a few 12" singles and LPs and give them a spin. Using decks is a dying art, finding the right track, being able to cue the start of the song (about 1/4 turn back on a SL1210), setting the correct speed, and remembering to fade down after the track so the next one doesn't play! I was in my element!

Then it was home for a nice dinner and sunday night TV. Not a bad weekend after all!

Rye Bonfire and Radio meetings

2011-11-12T13:37:00.001Z

I slightly overslept this morning. I didn't get home until late last night after a great evening at the annual Radio Joyce Green Curry Night. It was good to see my old mate Graham who had travelled down from lowestoft for the event. What really bugs me is he hasn't changed at all, still got all his hair and so sign of grey! I reckon he uses 'product'.....

Before I went out this morning I tried to book and order some tyres with the company that rhymes with 'flick-twit' as they were cheaper on-line. I got as far as entering my card details and booking a day & time, then I realised I couldn't remember my password for the card verification. So I created another one, which involved entering my card details again with some personal information. It didn't work. So I reloaded the web page and was told that my reservation had 'timed out' and I had to enter all the details again. So I booked another time (1 hour later than my original) and entered my card details yet again for the THIRD TIME.....Then the website crashed and I had a few choice words to say that rhymed with 'clucking bell' . In a way I'm glad it didn't work because I called into Watling Tyres on the way home from town who quoted me £20 less per tyre, saving me £40 in total. They are fitting them on Tuesday.

Then it was off to our friends to meet up for a trip down to Rye for the bonfire parade. I've never been before but I had heard so much from my mate that when we were invited to join them I jumped at the chance. I wasn't disappointed. We arrived quite early and settled in the lounge of the Mermaid Inn for a drink or two. Then we strolled around town a bit before liaising with the others at the chip shop queue. A battered sausage and some very hot, but very tasty chips, plus some hot winter Pimms and mulled wine courtesy of Batty went down well. Then we waited in the high street for the parade to pass, then walked down to the park for the bonfire & fireworks. All in all it was a brilliant evening and definitely a date for next year.

Sunday.

I got up around 8:45 knowing that my friend was popping in around 9:30 to collect something. So it was a bit of a surprise when the doorbell rang 5 minutes later and I was in the downstairs 'reading room' and Sarah was in the shower.

After our weekly shop it was off to Darent Valley for the Radio AGM via Bluewater and my Brother's place.

We bought a new shower mat (glamorous eh?), dinner and had a look at freezers and laptops. The sales guy in one store was trying to sell me a Samsung and some anti-virus software. When I told him what I use he grimaced and tried to give me a horror story about how bad it was. I never had a problem with mine so I reckon he must look at some dodgy websites!

The sales guy in another store really had no idea when I asked him how one type of microprocessor compared to another, and I left feeling even more confused than when I entered.

After a coffee at my bruv's place it was off to the meeting. I can't really say what went on there but in 17 years of being in Hospital Radio it was one of the most memorable! Tomorrow night I should be at another meeting where I suspect there may be more fireworks....Watch this space!

Fireworks.....

2011-11-06T20:49:00.001Z

Saturday

I came downstairs this morning to find Arnie asleep on Sarah's cushion on the sofa. So went to pick him up to chuck him out and he let out a big meeeeow. He is obviously not too well so we left him alone to sleep it off. He was a little better later, he went outside, did his business, ate a little cat food then settled down again. Following on from the success of last years firework party, we decided to hold another. So most of saturday was spent (apart from a quick trip to the Blue & White Cafe for brekkie) preparing the house, cooking food and herding the cats in preparation for the evenings entertainment.
The evening went off fine. We had 25 guests in all and I was pleased that people enjoyed themselves as they were leaving nice comments on facebook. Highlights included:-

A chinese lantern getting stuck in the tree (see photo), I was trying to put it out with a hose and someone (I know who!) kept turning the tap down so I got wet!

Manky turned up with a ruddy great rocket, which we kept for the finale. We weren't disappointed.....

My friend losing his car keys...I scoured the garden with my head torch on at about midnight. They were under the sofa...

I still have loads of chilli, hot dogs, rolls and soup left...Guess what's for sunday lunch.

Sunday

I awoke with a stonking headache, which was surprising as I only had 2 beers last night. A couple of tablets taken and I was OK. Then it was off to Asda for the weekly shop. Luckily we tidied a lot up last night so there was only a bit of washing up and garden tidying to do. 4 bags of rubbish later and I think we are sorted.

I arrived at Dance Web Radio this afternoon just in time for John's interview with Kenny Thomas. Mind you I nearly didn't make it through the door after falling arse over on the wet decking! Nothing broken though. Fascinating fact: Did you know Kenny is fully qualified in accupuncture.

The show went well I had at least one new listener on the chat box so that is always a bonus. Now back home, fed and watching a load of talentless tw*ts on 'that' show....It seems odd that the show is losing viewers hand over fist so they resort to spats between the judges to gain publicity. Its like a badly made pantomime. Don't vote it only encourages them!
I must sort through a mountain of AAS branded clothing that is sitting on my landing. Maybe thats a job for tomorrow night..........

Taking it Easy...

2011-10-29T21:33:00.002+01:00

Saturday

Typical! I wake up yesterday with a sore throat, the first sign that I've caught Sarah's cold. I got up this morning feeling rubbish, so I decided to take it easy today as I'm going to need all my energy for the 'Samphire Hoe or Bust!' walk tomorrow. All I really did today was go down to Homeplus to get the fireworks for next week. Whilst there we saw some rather good dining room chairs. I broke one of ours last week. As I got up to answer my mobile my leg got caught around the leg of the chair, sending me and chair flying, and cracking the frame. So I may have to raid the piggy bank and buy some new ones.

I was saddened to hear about the death of Sir Jimmy Saville at 84. He was always on the TV during my childhood/early teens, both on Jim'll fix it and of course Top Of the Pops. I think the word 'Legend' is used too loosely these days but Jimmy was definitely one. He invented' the mobile DJ in northern clubs and of course perfected his craft on stations like Radio Luxembourg and BBC Radio 1. His charity work was well known to the public, but I get the feeling he liked his own company. Tony Blackburn said today he didn't have many close friends, and Louis Theroux's documentary a few years ago gave us the chance to see that he was very much an eccentric loner. I do have a bit of Jimmy memorabilia though, a BBC World Service Tee Shirt signed by the man himself. Of course I have a dilemma now, do I sell it to a collector or keep it. I think I may leave it a while. People went a bit mad when Michael Jackson died and were selling rare records and stuff for silly money, just to make a fast buck. I don't want to be seen to be like that! It's testament to his popularity that people still impersonate him, my favourite being Hugh Dennis "Show-Waddy-Waddy" R.I.P Sir Jimmy....

We have had Arnie for a year today, and I was trying to think who he resembled. Then it came to me....

Ron Mael from Sparks!

Cleaning Cars and Conjuring Curries

2011-10-23T22:01:00.001+01:00

Saturday

I had to pay a visit to the car wash today. My parking space at work is by the building, and this week the pigeons decided to play 'Lets have a collective poop on Steve's car'. the tailgate was covered in crap. Some people may ask "Why don't you wash it yourself?' Basically....A) I can't be arsed and... B) the local hand car wash do a much better job than I ever could. In fact they spent ages washing it down and getting the crap off, then gave it a good chamois down. All for £6 and I don't even have to get out of the car.

Then it was off to Canterbury for some retail therapy. I bought a couple of shirts, belts and some socks n undies in the sales while Sarah bought a couple of pairs of shoes. Then we had lunch in Zizi, an Italian restaurant chain. I had a rather nice Pizza/Calzone hybrid and Sarah went for the Risotto . We also treated ourselves to a couple of puds. Then it was back up the high street for a bit more shopping. Canterbury was busy, but its good to see people, including loads of tourists, spending cash in our shops.

This evening we had some friends round for drinks and nibbles, and we spent the whole evening chatting. We carried on until about midnight not realising what the time was. A great evening was had by all.

Sunday.

We had a bit of a lie in today. The cats decided that we were not going to sleep last night, so they kept on jumping on Sarah! In the end they were kicked out of the bedroom and the door shut behind them. Peace at last!

We went shopping as per usual, then popped down to Bybrook Barn to have a look at some tropical fish. I lost the last of my Platys the other day. Out of all the fish I have owned , Platys are supposed to be the easiest to keep but the buggers keep dying on me. We came away with five Penguin Tetras and five X-ray Tetras. I was very impressed with Bybrook's Christmas display this year, they always make an effort.

The Dance Web Radio show went well today, I really mixed it up and played different genres of dance and soul music. John particularly liked the Brass Construction track I played. A first for DWR...

We went down to Cinnamon Spice tonight for 'Magical night' Basically a fixed price menu with a table magician doing the rounds. Our food was really good and the magician did some clever close up card tricks. Some had us guessing, Some we sussed out but they were very well done.

Lets Get Quizzical.....

2011-10-17T19:25:00.001+01:00

Saturday

A few months ago, we enquired about having free solar panels installed on our roof, with the premise that the company get the FIT payments, and we get free electricity. It was all going smoothly (if slowly), then the company changed the goalposts. Apparently we no longer qualified because they couldn't fit enough panels to generate 4kW of power. The original was 2.5kW. I get a feeling they were pulling a fast one and trying to get us to buy them, but we were seriously pee'd off that they left it four months before turning us down.

Anyway we have another company doing it now, and their surveyor turned up today on time, and told us there would be no problem getting 12 panels installed. he was surprised when I told him about the last lot, he wondered why they wanted to turn our house into a power station!.

We found a replacement bedside lamp for Sarah today. Unfortunately one of the cats ( Frankie) knocked the other one over and it smashed. Luckily the new one just about matches the other, the only difference being it doesn't dim.

Tonight is the annual Valley Park Radio Quiz Night. Previous years has seen our team coming 2nd and 3rd, not a bad effort. This year I want to win, and we have a broad age range on the team tonight.

Oh dear 2nd again! Mind you it was a close run thing and I smashed the TV theme tune round. including getting the theme to 'Time Tunnel' , an Irwin Allen production (responsible for Lost in Space) from my childhood. It was a late one tonight we didn't get home until 1am although I did have a quick nap in the car 'Wake me when we get to Ashford' I told Sarah!.

Sunday

Went shopping first thing. What a great day, cold but so sunny. I'm hoping the sky stays that way tonight I'm hoping to do some astro imaging. I bought a snow shovel in Dobbies. After last year I found it heavy going clearing the drive with just a garden spade. We have had heavy snowfalls 3 winters in a row so I don't want to be caught out.

Then it was off to Dance Web Radio. I was looking forward to todays show, I had Roxy Prince from Roxy5000 on the phone and I have to say it was a brilliant interview. The guy is so talented, singer, musician, producer, songwriter he does it all. What surprises me is that he hasn't got a record deal, he does it all though social networking, and the whole project is a massive success. His music gets played all over the world (currently over 35 countries) and he has been featured heavily on Jazz FM as record of the week. Please check him out by clicking on the link and download the new single, 'Love Like a Lady' from iTunes.

All in all it was a great afternoon on DWR, with John chatting to music legend Paul Hardcastle beforehand.

Got home about 7pm and I'm knackered.com. Tonight I watched the Korean GP that I recorded this afternoon. Well that's two hours of my life I'll never get back..... Bor-ring!

Waxing Gibbons

2011-10-08T23:03:00.000+01:00

There was a story in the news a few weeks ago about a bloke who abandoned his 4x4 half way up Snowdonia after attempting to drive up it. Apparently it was on his 'bucket' list of things to do before he died.

I have no such list, but I have a list of things that I don't want to do before I pop my clogs. Here's a few with the reasons why they are on the list.

1- Skiing. When I was in my teens, we used to go dry slope skiing at Woolwich Barracks. In fact my friend Keith and I got quite good at it. The last time we went the squaddie who run the facility said he would let us join the club. At this point we both thought he meant 'Join the Army' as was our naivety, so we never went back. Since then I have never wanted to go snow skiing. Strapping two planks to my feet and hurtling down a snow covered mountain has never appealed.

2 - Parachuting. The person who said 'Why jump out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft' had a point. The nearest I got was paragliding on holiday. That was only because my friend's daughter wouldn't go on her own, so we had a tandem paraglide. Then as we were about to land her legs buckled underneath her and I was dragged on my knees across the beach. Never again.....

3 - Scuba diving. We were never meant to breathe underwater. I get panicky if I go underwater in a swimming pool, let alone the sea. I'll leave that to the Jacques Cousteaus of this world thanks.

4 - Glastonbury. I like my live music in a indoor concert venue, with access to clean toilets and a comfy bed after. I went to a gig in Findsbury park a few years ago. There was plenty of mud, violence, drugs, rain and bottles of dubious liquids being thrown about. That's the nearest I got and although the gig was good (it was Oasis) I wouldn't want to do it all weekend!

Saturday we went into town and found they had a food and drink festival in the shopping centre. Apart from the usual array of cakes, cheeses, olives, liquorice, fudge, real cider and exotic sausages there were a few weird things. Toffee Vodka, the last thing you would drink at a party when all the beer was consumed. Way too sweet! Russian cakes, including a strange 'Starter' cake which was like a puff pastry pizza with way too many toppings. Gnocchi was a bit strange, can't say I liked it too much. We did buy some cheeses though and cheese straws from the bakery. The humungous doughnuts were tempting but I must cut down on the cake! In the bank the lady who served me turned out to be a previous owner of our house. She had it from new and lived there for years. I recognised her surname as we still get the odd junk mail addressed to her. She said she had photos of the house being built so I may contact her for copies.

We had a late lunch (or early dinner) at the local Beefeater as we were going over to Woodchurch tonight for 'International Observe the Moon Night' . OK we didn't actually see the moon, which according to sources was 'waxing gibbous' as the clouds that came in today and stubbornly stayed put all evening. Anyhow we had a good time, a few talks and a cuppa. I always like to get together with my friends from the astro society, and we met a few prospective new members as well.

Its The Time of the Season....

2011-10-02T21:48:00.002+01:00

I can't get used to this unseasonal hot weather. Your brain tells you its the height of summer, and it gets dark at 7:00pm....Spooky. One of the advantages of this weather, and the season, is I can partake in a bit of astronomy without having to put multi layers of clothing on. Also autumn/winter is a good time for astronomers, with all our favourite objects appearing in the night sky. I also managed to borrow the astro club's PST. So I've been able to monitor the sun throughout the day.

That is really what today has been about, apart from a quick trip to Tesco for some dinner, We have really done naff all. I was thinking about going fishing, but its been so damn hot I really couldn't be arsed. I actually liked the last Dr Who of the series tonight, but they still make it too cryptic and I can see why people are switching off. Anyway I'm going out into the garden tonight to do a bit of star-gazing with the main task of imaging Jupiter. You can see the results in the photo above. I thought I would have a crack at imaging the Andromeda Galaxy as well. Bearing in mind there was no correcting or stacking the image and I was trusting my telescope drive to stay on target, I'm quite pleased with the result!

I was up quite early for me on a Sunday, 7:30pm. After letting out 3 cross-legged cats I made myself a coffee then sat in bed with the iPad checking on any comments on Facebook from last nights images that I posted on there. Then I showered, dressed and got ready for a trip to Asda for the weekly shop. later today I'm off to the Danceweb Studio to broadcast my sunday show. I think today's show is titled 'make it up as he goes along' day as I really don't know what to play. I'll just take a load of good tunes with me! Driving home from the studio it's amazing how many people I see driving up motorway with no lights on in twilight. If I can't see you, how are the european truck drivers? Its been a year since I was hit on the M20 in broad daylight by a driver who didn't look. Please be careful out there!!

Weekend in York Part 2

2011-09-26T17:19:00.002+01:00

Sunday.

When we arrived at the hotel on friday, we didn't realise that half of the north of England's Rotary Club were holding their conference. It was a shame that they had taken over the bar area, we really couldn't get in there. Anyway we came down to breakfast this morning and the place was crawling with Rotarians. Luckily they were gone by the afternoon and the hotel was quiet again!

It was off to the nation railway Museum today, another short walk from the hotel.We thought it was excellent. A great FREE museum that had something for everyone. Funnily enough the first exhibit we saw was a horse drawn taxi from Tenterden Station, just down the road! We attended a great presentation about the Japanese Bullet train. Fascinating fact: Last year the average delay of a Bullet Train arrival was 24....Seconds. Beat that South eastern! Then there was a demonstration of the Turntable in the museum. The Engine being rotated was a South East & Chatham Railway one built in Ashford....Wahay! They also had a steam event this weekend so we were able to climb on board the footplate of the engine in the pic (6201, Princess Elizabeth) whilst the boiler was on and there was a fire going. It gave you an idea what it must have been like to drive a steam train. The warehouse is absolutely chock full of railway memorabilia, from station signs to models of the Hoverspeed Hovercraft and even a scale model of the Channel Tunnel Terminal at Cheriton, which is nothing like what they built there.

We decided to pop back into the city centre so we took the Museum's Road Train, only 2 quid and it was quite fun! Yesterday I had seen a watch in one of the jewellers that I took a fancy to and it was heavily discounted. I know.....I like watches!

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the hotel bar, reading the Sunday papers and surfing the net.

The evening was spent in a very nice Italian restaurant just round the corner from the hotel. very nice it was too!

Weekend in York

2011-09-24T17:36:00.000+01:00

I like York. I first came here in 1998 when I did a training course at the university. I didn't really get the chance to see much then, but we are making up for it now. Last night (friday) we went on one of the many ghost walks that are run in the city. This one took us from the Kings Arms pub, the most often flooded in the uk, to Cliffords tower and other places where the guide (an actor luvvy) regaled us with ghostly tales.Saturday - After a hearty breakfast we set off for the city centre. I wanted a new rucksack and Sarah wanted some stuff from the health store. then we went to the York Dungeons. this of course is very much like the London version and it was good to get the first show of the day. the actor luvvies seem to be more enthusiastic! a quick cuppa, then it was off for a look round the Minster. The guide was a strange fellow, he ended all his presentations with a high pitched "follow me!" then he sort of minced to the next point of interest. Fascinating fact: York Minster contains 50% of all stained glass windows in the UK. 128 in total. After another cuppa in the Teddy Bear tea rooms (Betty's Tearoom had a horrendous queue) we then went to the treasurers house. this is a site of a particularly famous haunting, where a load of Roman soldiers were seen marching through a cellar, following the old roman road. I also found out that the variable star, Algol was discovered from this house. By now the old feet were beginning to ache, so we strolled back to the hotel for a couple of hours crash before we go out tonight. We have seen a Turkish restaurant not far from the hotel so we will give it a go tonight. tomorrow it's off to the National Railway Museum. More about that in tomorrow's blog.....

Friday Nights and Fishing

2011-09-18T20:58:00.000+01:00

I bought our telescope and a T-ring in 2009, and friday night was the first time I had connected my SLR camera to it. OK it was only a few moon shots but I was impressed. We had some friends round that night for a chat and chinese food, so about 9pm myself and Andy went outside and left Sarah & Julie to chatter. After a few shots of the moon we turned our attention to Jupiter. sadly the pics weren't as good, even after stacking. The moon was a little too bright and the clouds were rolling in, so you could just make out 2 cloud bands on the Planet (see pic)

Saturday we had planned to go fishing to try out our new tackle. We met up with Dave who led us to the Coldblow pond. Luckily the weather had improved, when we left home the rain was torrential, and we had even bought a brolley along with bait from the angling shop. Apart from strong winds the weather was ok at the pond, but having not prepared a line for years it was being blown all over the place and it took me about 30 minutes to set up mine and Sarah's line. I caught 2 Perch and 1 Roach, Sarah caught 1 Roach and Dave bagged a 5lb Common Carp using float legering and German sausage. A good afternoon was had by all. After stowing away the gear and brushing down the sheep poo and munge off our clothes we settled down with a KFC and an evening of TV.

Sunday was really spent doing all the usual things, Shopping first thing, preparing beef bourgignon for the evening then off to Dobbies for our monthly free coffee and a toasted sandwich. Interesting, I bought a bottle of red wine in Asda this morning, 2010 Stellar Organics Pinotage reduced to £3.75 I saw Stellar Organics Wine in Dobbies for 9 quid a bottle, I think I may go back to Asda tomorrow & get some more! Then it was home for some show prep and then off to Dance Web Radio for my show. On the way home I thought I would be stuck on the M20 after an accident closed it. But luckily I was near the front of the queue and I was only waiting for about ten minutes. It could have easily been hours!

SEKAS and Sound Mirrors

2011-09-11T22:39:00.000+01:00

Saturday we decided to go shopping in Maidstone. So after a trawl around the shops we came away with some new trainers, just in case we decide to take up badminton again we need to be prepared! we also bought a new gadget. We had a Nando's lunch as we were going out early evening then on the way home went to pets at home for a new larger cat carrier, as the one we had is a tad too small for Frankie.

After picking up Jason, a fellow Astronomer we set off for Alkham, near Folkestone, where Dave, another fellow society member was giving a talk on Comets to SEKAS . We arrived just as the heavens opened so observing was off the menu tonight. The talk went down very well, as did his talk on the Fermi paradox, which explains a bit about why we haven't had contact with extra-terrestrials. The evening was rounded off with coffee and a raffle (we won 2 items) and then it was home. There are no pubs in Alkham.....

Sunday we had arranged to visit the Sound Mirrors at Denge. I have been waiting for this trip for months, and I wasn't disappointed. The site is only open a couple of times a year, as it is accessed by a locked swing bridge across the Lade Gravel pits. The Mirrors were constructed between 1928 and 1930 and were used as an experiment to detect enemy aircraft flying across the Channel by the sound of their engines. Unfortunately they weren't very efficient with a maximum range of about 25 miles, then radar was developed which made them obsolete overnight. Now they stand as relics of old technology, with the 200ft wall mirror being only one of two in the world, the other being in Malta. After a good walk about and plenty of photo opportunities we arrived back to the car about 4:30pm and apart from foot-ache we had a great day with good friends. Now its time for Dr Who, F1 Grand Prix and dinner. All in all a most acceptable weekend!

Fishing for Fishing Gear and Family Sunday Lunch

2011-09-04T20:10:00.004+01:00

Saturday.

We had to pop into town briefly this morning, just to get a few things and pay the odd bill. I notice that the shopping centre car park still charges £3 all day which means if you're there for less than a hour (as we were) it's a bit of a rip-off. We called into Angling Direct on the way back because we had seen a fishing kit bundle for £40 on line and it seemed like a bargain. The nice lady in there informed us that they didn't have any in stock, but the Faversham branch did. We wanted two rods and reels but it was still cheaper to buy two kits as the cheapest rod and reel came in at over 40 quid.

So after programming the sat-nav it was off to Faversham. The shop was located on a residential street (think Coronation street) and parking was a nightmare, but we found somewhere near to the shop and came away from there with two sets and a tackle box. The traffic was a bit busy getting out on to the A2. Turns out there was a Hop Festival on this weekend. As we were in the Medway towns we decided to pop over to Whelans on the Isle of Sheppey, the best Garden ornament place in Kent. En route we stopped for a bite and a drink in Sittingbourne, then on to Sheerness. We came away with yet another concrete cat.

For the first time in a few weeks its a night off tonight, so we fired up the BBQ and had some VERY Hot n spicy ribs and chicken with salad. Then settled in front of the TV for Dr Who and the X-factor.

Sunday

We were going to dinner at my parents today (It's my dads birthday tomorrow) so it was off to Asda first thing for the weekly shop. I think it was due to the fact we didn't need any cat food that the bill this week was quite reasonable. We set off for Bexley around 11am, and having seen a Facebook post that some of our friends were flying kites at Leeds Castle, I had a look as we went past on the M20, and sure enough there were kites up of all shapes and sizes.....Impressive.
My Brother and sis-in-law arrived just before lunch with a surprise for my mum. They had set up a notebook PC for her with a Facebook and Skype account so she could keep in touch with us and the Oz contingent. He had bought her a book as well called 'Computing for Seniors' and actually after the first attempt on FB, and a Skype demo with my sis-in-law on her iPad she was getting the hang of it, having never used a PC before. Then my other brother, sis-in-law and nephew turned up so it was a real family get-together. We stayed until about 4pm.

Now after a tea of Nicoise salad (look it up) , I'm now watching this new TV show 'Red or Black' . OK the premise is simple enough but they seem to have people on there who are so desperate to win due to financial hardship, treating their kids etc.. that when they don't there's tears and break downs. It doesn't make for comfortable viewing. Anyway now there's a break in proceedings so I'm going to get some sounds on the HiFi for 30 minutes!

Wedding and Fishing....27 August 2011

2011-08-29T11:59:00.006+01:00

Before you ask, no the common word is NOT tackle!

Saturday we went up to Higham as guests of our Friends from Valley Park Radio, Mike & Debbie who were tying the knot. The day before Sarah had bought me a new shirt for the occasion, but it had a double cuff, and I had no cufflinks. So it was off to the outlet first thing to buy some, which I did along with a new pair of shoes.

We arrived at the venue to meet the groom and best man, Neil. I have to say Neil looked more nervous than Mike. Anyone would think he was getting hitched! We met up with the other VPR guys who had been invited and made our way to the gardens.

The weather was very changeable. and it was pure chance that as the outside ceremony started the sun came out. Then as they were signing the register the heavens opened and we all took cover, then it stopped raining for the wedding photos. After a very nice meal, speeches, a few drinks, chat, more food and more drinks it was soon late so we left about 11:30pm.

Sunday we had been invited to 'batcamp', an annual event at a friend of a friend's farm in Smarden. We arrived about mid-morning and they obviously had a good night as they were just tidying away breakfast. We started with a beer and a nice game of poker, where Sarah took us all to the cleaners. Lucky it was only poker chips. After lunch of bread & cheese, plus some pie and sausages that I doggy-bagged from the buffet last night, we made our way to the pond for a spot of what Manky calls 'tiddler-bashing'. I haven't fished for about 15 years, so I needed help and after about 2 hours, including losing my tackle in a tree and tangling about 2 sets of hooks and floats. I finally bagged my first mirror carp (see pic) . Jason was on zero as well until Lukey helped him, then the fish started landing. We actually bagged 7 a piece. I could get into this fishing lark!

We packed up about 7:30 pm and made our way back to camp for dinner. Then the evening was rounded off with bit of Bat detecting and a sit around the camp fire making farty noises with our iPhone apps, except Manky who produced the genuine article. We were also subjected to really clear skies, the second time this weekend I've seen the Milky Way in Kent! We had a fantastic day there and can't wait for the next time!

A weeks Holiday at last!

2011-08-19T09:44:00.010+01:00

I've been planning this week for months. My Oz cousin was coming to stay with us so I had a bit of an itinerary planned for the four days she was with us.

Monday - Bodiam Castle.

I went into town very early to purchase a new lens for the camera and some PAYG sim cards. So early in fact that half the shops were still closed and I was the first customer in both Orange and Jessops. Then it was off to Tenterden. The weather was perfect, and as we walked from Bodiam station down to the castle I thought to myself 'Why would you want to go abroad when you have weather and scenery like this!' After a bit of pub lunch in the Castle inn (Burgers all round) we needed to walk off all that grub so it was up and down the spiral staircases to the ramparts (phew!) and plenty of photo opportunities. We caught the 3:25 train back to Tenterden Town then home for a bit of a rest before some chinese buffet at Yeungs.

Tuesday - Paris.

Up very early to catch the 7:25 Eurostar to Paris. The trip through the French countryside is actually quite boring. Just a load of flat farmland interspersed with loads of overhead lines and funny looking pylons. We arrived at Gard Du Nord about 10:45 (local) then we jumped on a tour bus which, after a quick change of buses took us to our first stop, The Arc de Triomph. Traffic on the roundabout is just as I imagined it - MAD! It was a case of see a gap and go for it. I saw a BMW traverse 4 lanes of traffic in one go to get down the Champs Elysees. After a quick coffee and cake (38 euros for 3 - ouch!) we jumped back in the bus and headed for the Eiffel Tower.

One of the problems in going to Paris in august is that every other bugger goes as well. There must have been about 3 hours wait for the Tower lifts . So after a hot dog & a beer we jumped on a river boat and made our way to Notre Dame. A quick walk round the Cathedral (Free, take note Canterbury!) we then jumped back on the bus and promptly went the wrong way from the Louvre. Oh well maybe next time, the Mona Lisa will still be there. After a stroll around the shops on the Champs, we got a taxi back to Gard Du Nord in time for our train back to good old Ashford. We were back in time for a drink and Nachos Grande at the Hoodeners Horse. I recommend ordering Nachos on an empty stomach, the portions are massive!

Wednesday - Port Lympne safari.

We promised Jaimee a trip round the designer outlet, so as we weren't due at Port lympne until the afternoon we went into town first then there. I bought some Levi's (they had my size in stock at last) and J bought yet another pair of skechers. We arrived at Port Lympne about 3pm and contacted our friends who had been there since the morning. We had a walk about for a while, in which time Sarah & Julie cadged a lift up the hill to base camp leaving Andy, Jaimee and myself huffing and puffing our way back up hill (well I was doing all the huffing & puffing anyway!) We met up with the rest of our party and made our way to the pick up point. As we climbed on board the heavens opened...It chucked it down. At least we saw plenty of animals. Then as we got back it stopped, typical! The food was good though and we had a very enjoyable evening.

Thursday - Canterbury & Curry

We visit Canterbury regularly, so it made a change to visit the Cathedral. But it is something we won't be doing often. As I said, Notre Dame was free, and I know that CC is a world heritage site but I think £9 is a bit steep to enter the grounds of the Cathedral. I would always be prepared to make a donation, but they can forget it after charging us at the entrance. More retail therapy ensued then it was back home. We were taking Jaimee to her next stop of the holiday, my brother Graham's place for beer & curry night at their local, The Six Bells . The food was really good and we left stuffed after Gill talked us into having pudding ( not that we needed much convincing). I thoroughly recommend the pub, check out the link (that's a pint of Doom Bar when I'm next in guys!)

We took loads of pictures, which I will get round to sharing sometime!

A 1st anniversary....

2011-08-15T08:17:00.002+01:00

I can't believe it has been one year since Dance Web radio went on air. I was there on the first weekend, and along with my fellow presenters we still have the same line-up, along with a load of new additions over the year. I think its a testament to the way the station is run that we haven't lost anyone. We popped over to Dobbies in the morning for our free coffee and also picked up a cactus. It seems to be the trend amongst us at the moment! Then it was off the DWR central for a bit of a do. I did one hour on air, had a drink and a chat then left about 5pm to get back home for a meal with Sarah. After much deliberation we decided to head to Cinnamon Spice for a nice curry .

Sunday we went over to my brother's place to collect my Oz cousin. Then it was off to the parents for sunday lunch. We let her have a little afternoon nap whilst Sarah & I went to Bluewater to buy a new lens for the camera. After waiting what seemed an age in the shop, which was hot, busy and had spot lights that just shone in your eyes like some sort of interrogation method, we were told they were out of stock but did we want the display one. Based on the amount of dust and crap on the lens I declined the offer so its off first thing tomorrow to the store in town.

We got back to Ashford and after a bit of food shopping headed off to Dungeness. Regular readers know I like this place and my Oz cousin loved it (well I hope she did!). Then it was home for cheese toasties and TV!

Fancy Meeting You Here......

2011-08-06T18:00:00.013+01:00

I can't believe I moved to Ashford five years ago. At that time I really didn't know anyone down here apart from a few of Sarah's friends. We always tend to pop into town on Saturday mornings, and invariably Sarah will always meet someone she knows, and occasionally people I know too, whether it be from work, play, school, former jobs or former neighbours. Today was no exception. We met...three Astro club members, one former colleague, one current colleague (twice) and one mutual friend, all in the space of about 20 minutes.

After a coffee in the department store Sarah saw some rather heavily discounted jewellery so she virtually cleaned out the cabinet. Actually she bought 2 necklaces and 2 pairs of ear rings, for just over twenty quid.

I was going to mow the lawns this afternoon, but by the time I managed to drag myself from the TV and old episodes of Dr Who (The Ood and Sontarans!). Just as I stepped outside it started raining. Shame. I did clean out the aquarium though. The tank has a bad case of hair algae and I'm hoping a treatment of jollop will help get rid of it.

Then it was off out. We were going to Willesborough Windmill to buy some honey from the shop. We had heard they sell good stuff there. When we arrived we noticed there was a wedding on, so the shop/cafe was hosting the reception. It felt a bit rude to crash someone's wedding so we left it and went to the local farm shop instead. They had what we wanted. On the way we stopped at the DIY store. I need some ideas for re-fitting our office room. We ended up buying some bathroom bits and a garden ornament. Oh yes and Sarah met yet another colleague in the DIY store!

Our Friends turn up about 7pm and we decided to go to Zarin in the town centre. Sarah and I had our first date in there in 2002. The food was excellent, best curry I've had in ages. Then it was home for coffee and chat. A really enjoyable evening was had by all.

We had planned to meet up with the family in Herne Bay today, but a call this morning put paid to that. First my Dad wasn't too well, then my brother text me and said that they (and my Oz cousin) got drunk the night before (I think the term my sis-in-law used was 'Wankered') and were still in bed. So after our weekly trip to Asda, we had a spot of lunch then decided to dodge the rain clouds by going to Herne Bay by ourselves.

HB was not too busy so we parked easily and spent a couple of quid in the arcades, then got bored and drove to Reculver Towers. Its one of these places you see in the distance but have never been there, and I quite liked it. OK its basically a ruin but the towers have been there since the 13th Century, and being right by the sea they were used as a beacon for ships in the estuary. They were taken over by Trinity House in the 19th century for that purpose. After an ice lolly (Feast, haven't had one for years!) and a sit down it was back home where my long grass and lawnmower awaits.

A Weekend of Celebration. 30/07/2011

2011-07-31T12:04:00.006+01:00

Phew there is a lot happening this weekend. First off my Oz Cousin arrived (I'm meeting her tomorrow) then we went to the first of the weekends shindigs. It was Tina's Birthday Garden Party. We had a great afternoon with lovely company, food and drink. We were joined by our friends and took the old A line Bus to the party. Parking around their area is a nightmare at the best of times. At the moment there are roadworks there as well so the bus is really the best option. Dave had made some home brew ales. Now some home brewed beer I've had in the past have ranged from 'bland' to 'ugh!!', but these were good! There were two varieties, one called 'Rain Stopped Play', which was nice, flavoursome and perfectly gluggable. The other, 'Wet Weekend' was lighter than the previous and again surprisingly drinkable, and not too strong either. I may have to have a crack at this homebrew, maybe get some winter ale ready for the annual Firework do in November.

We left about 6pm then realising we both couldn't drive as we'd had a few so it was a quick call to the Chinese Takeaway for some home delivered house special Chow Meins.

Didn't sleep too well last night. But early this morning I went out like a light. Got up about 8pm to let the cats out, well one went out the others just sat there staring at me. I think food was on their agenda rather than their first dump of the day!

After a spot of brekkie we had a call from our friend. She had arranged us three Eurostar tickets to Paris. I'm made up! I thought we wouldn't be able to go because the cost was prohibitive for 3 of us, and they were fully booked for the days we could go. Off to Asda for our weekly shop and I picked up a couple of shirts at £12.50 each, with tee shirts as well. It was nice to see that one went through the checkout at £6, I love a bargain!

Then it was off to Dartford for a family get-together at my Brother's place. We had four birthdays to celebrate (Mum, Sis in Law, Nephew and Sister of Sis in law). We were also meeting our Oz Cousin. I met her in 1997 and it was great to see that she was still the nicest, bubbliest person from all those years ago! Anyway she seemed to like the Pimms, having never had it before. I think a visit to Duty Free may be in order for her! The weather was lovely, its about time we had two good days in a row.

Home now to watch the GP. I have a busy week next week already 4 evenings are booked out so I have one evening to record a 2 hour show for next sunday...Phew!

The Party and a photo that haunts me 23/7/11

2011-07-23T22:46:00.008+01:00

I finally succumbed to the fish today. Let me explain, Sarah had her feet nibbled by these fish a while back and she has been talking about visiting a place in Ashford that had opened recently. So I thought 'what the hell' and handed over a tenner for 15 minutes of fish nibbling. In my opinion a not unpleasant experience but very ticklish to start off with. It got me thinking.....Those fish must think they are in a Monty Python sketch. All they see are large feet bearing down on them!

As were were at a party tonight we decided to take lunch at the Blue & white cafe, a great place on the A20 near Ashford. The Gypsy Tart was particularly good, and so large that we shared a portion between us.

We were at a Golden wedding anniversary party tonight. It was great to catch up with some old friends, some I have known from my childhood. As my mate pointed out in a photo album he had made for his (celebrating) parents... there was a picture of me, him and his sister, He was sitting on a giant toy dog, she was pushing a wheelbarrow, and I of course had to pick the pram, and he has always pointed this out whenever we meet! He is fifty next year so no doubt the album will appear again, and I will still be pushing that pram in my tartan trousers and bad knitwear. Next year I'm going to tell everyone about the 'cool' two tone shirt he bought from Mr Buyrite in 1979...One wash and the collars & cuffs fell off!

I was expecting news on the TV tonight about the killings in Norway, so I was slightly shocked to discover Amy Winehouse had been found dead. I was always saddened by her inability to shake off her demons, but I also thought that she would never release another album after 'Back to Black'. A tragic waste of a genuine talent.

Didn't sleep too well last night, I woke about 3AM and started sneezing. I hope that's not the start of a cold! The cat made sure I didn't get a lie-in so it was up just after 8am, fed the cats then some brekkie and then on the PC to finalise my playlist for today's show. We were at ASDA about 9:40 so we managed to beat the crowds. After dropping off the shopping it was a quick trip to Dobbies for our monthly free coffee and a scone. Then home for the German Grand Prix. I had to take another route to the coast today as here are hold ups on the M20. actually I quite enjoyed not have to do battle with lorries on the roundabouts of Dover! 2 hours of deejaying on Danceweb Radio then home for a chinese takeaway. There were some excellent programmes about the space shuttle on the TV tonight, so I ended the day happy!

A Few Minor Adjustments....Weekend 16/17 July

2011-07-17T14:07:00.008+01:00

I have become a lazy blogger again. Early May was the last time I posted, so I thought I would re-vamp the page and attempt to keep a weekend blog. Why not every day? well basically weekdays are too humdrum to comment on in my world so I thought the weekend would be more interesting, because that is when stuff happens.

Saturday has gone all awry! I was supposed to be at the Lions Den Music festival but other plans had been made, then they got cancelled. So we ended up shopping in Canterbury where we had to buy new bed linen and duvet for the spare room. Lunch was nice though, a steak baguette and chips in the Weavers House Restaurant, a very popular spot for Japanese tourists as well, the place was full of them. I like Canterbury, especially seeing overseas visitors spending their lovely money in our shops! Of course it pee'd down with rain, then a gust of wind destroyed my umbrella. Luckily it was only a cheap one.

We had to go to our friends in High Halden that afternoon to collect the solar telescope which he had borrowed from the astro society. The weather was awful, and on the way back I saw a car travelling in the opposite direction to us on the A28 performing a rather uncontrolled 360 and ending up on the grass verge on our side. I stopped to ask if they were OK and they said yes although they did look rather shaken. People really need to drive according to the road conditions. If I had been a few hundred yards further up the road he would have taken us out as well.

After the weekly trawl around Asda we got home, booked some cinema tickets online for Harry Potter's latest & had some rather nice tex/mex food. then settled in front of the TV.

Sunday I was up quite early (for me anyway) so after a spot of brekkie we did a bit of housework then an astro society member popped in to collect the solar telescope. Not that he's going to see much sun in this weather!

So off to the cinema for the 3 o'clock showing. We always like to get there early so we have the pick of the seats, unlike some. Nothing boils my piss more than people who turn up right when the film is about to start, sit at the front, don't like it there and expect you to move so they can get past to a seat in your row, as what happened today. I noticed the film projectors have now gone digital. there were no scratches or specks on the film at all, but there seemed to be a lack of resolution, almost like a noise on the film. Maybe I'm a bit picky. However the film is terrific. If you have read the books and seen all the other movies you won't be disappointed. Not too sure about the trailer for 'Cowboys vs Aliens' though...Hollywood must be running out of ideas!

we rounded off sunday with a trip to Yeungs chinese buffet and as usual I ate way too much, but I love the food in there and I think at £11.80 it is still good value for money. Home now and in time for Top Gear as well...can't be bad. We have Monday off so I don't have to worry too much about work tomorrow....nice!

Another Bank Holiday....

2011-05-02T19:47:00.007+01:00

I was going to put today's activities in the previous blog, but I've decided to give this topic a blog posting of its own because I'm gonna have a rant, I feel I need to get this off my chest, I deserve it its been a long time since I last had one!

Basically if there is one thing that really gets my goat it is.....POOR RESTAURANT SERVICE!

Today Sarah and myself went to Deal. I must say it was very blustery down there, so we didn't spend too much time walking along the seafront. As it was just on lunch time we decided to have a meal then, rather than wait until the evening. I always wanted to try the restaurant on the end of the pier (I won't name it on here but you know the one if you have been to Deal recently) . We duly walked in, I asked to look at a menu as there was nothing on display apart from the specials. Only to be told "It is waiter service, take a seat and someone will serve you"......5 to 10 minutes later, still no menu. Then a group sat down next to us and were served straight away. I ask the waitress if there was any danger of seeing a menu (my words exactly) and was told "sorry I didn't see you come in". Hold on...She was the one who told us to take a seat...anyway they were quick to take our order, fish & chips twice, one coffee, one water. The drinks arrived soon enough and my cappuccino was not too bad. 50 MINUTES LATER Our food arrived and to be honest it was good, but we had to rush it as there was not enough time on the parking ticket. Now it wasn't too busy,even though it was lunch time but how long does it take to cook this? In the past if food has been delayed normally the staff have the courtesy to tell you and even offer some more drinks on the house or knock a few quid off the bill, and I have been satisfied with this, but they were oblivious to the delay so obviously this was the norm. Frankly in this day and age this level of service is unacceptable.

I can see why restaurant chains are so popular. You know what you are going to expect from your food, and the level of service is generally good. It also explains why a number of badly run restaurants go under. I think there a a few things they could do to improve service. Either reduce the amount of things on the menu, or take on more kitchen staff. There were plenty of service staff there.

This afternoon we drove over to Lathe Barn, a few miles from Port Lympne. Whilst there we went into a small junk shop (I like looking at tatt). One thing that did catch our eyes were a collection of First Day Covers at a pound each. Sarah bought some wildlife ones and I bought 3 RAF ones. I think they will look good framed. there was a cafe there but after our experience at Deal we decided to drive the scenic route home and have a cuppa there!

A Tough Act to Follow....

2011-04-30T09:24:00.007+01:00

Friday night was the monthly meeting of the Astronomy Society. The guest speaker, Jason, gave a brilliant talk about 50 years of manned space flight. There was humour, pathos, huge amounts of detail and even props! All in all a brilliant talk. The hour and a half went really quickly and he had the audience enthralled.

Next month it's my turn. Back in 2009 I put together a weather satellite receiving station for 'Astrobash' which was the AAS contribution to the year of astronomy. I thought it would be a good idea to present a talk about the project, including it's origin and also a practical demonstration. Then our chairman publicised it as 'Space Weather' so I had to change the goal posts slightly, I am now giving a weather forecast for the planets of the solar system, plus an up to date solar weather forecast. I need to time it with a weather satellite pass as well, which I won't know until the day. All I do know it will be difficult to follow the last two presentations, which have been excellent!

I went back to Dartford Town Centre on Saturday. Now I normally go to Darent Valley Hospital once a week to do my Radio show there, but I never venture into town. Sadly, the Town is a shadow of its former self. The recession has hit hard with a lot of vacant shops. Plus I think Bluewater has really taken a lot of trade away from the town, with all the big retailers moving out. Even the 'very' camp (and funny!) waiter in the cafe has left! I met my cousin saturday night who was down from Nottingham. He had his new girlfriend with him. A really nice person. Anyway we all ate way too much chinese food and had a few drinks to wash it all down. A good evening, its not often we have a family get-together.

Sunday was normal. Get up slightly late, trip to Dobbies, lunch courtesy of McDonalds, Do bit more to the outside electrics then off to the studios of Dance Web Radio for the Soul show. We rounded of the evening with the latest Harry Potter film, Blu-Ray as well. What makes me smile is the surround sound always make the cats jump!

A Cracking Easter

2011-04-24T23:14:00.006+01:00

In previous years I've always found Easter time a bit of an anti-climax. You wait 3-4 months from christmas for another public holiday and then the weather is normally too dire to actually do anything other than trudge around the shops/garden centres/DIY superstores.

This year has been an exception. We have actually had some great weather which means Sarah and I have been out and about. Good friday was spent at the Nature reserve at Dungeness. I have said before in my blog how much I like Dungeness, but we only went to the RSPB reserve for the first time in January, and managed to spot a Bittern. Not bad for the first time twitching. Anyhow friday it was really hot down there, so we spent most of the time in the hide out of the sun. Friday night I took the Telescope up to Wye Downs but the visibility was poor due to atmospheric pollution. So we drove home and set up the 'scope in the garden. I showed Sarah's parents Saturn, M3, M13, Beehive Cluster and M35, plus we saw the ISS pass overhead. All in all a good evening.

Saturday we spent at the shops (some things never change!) but we had to get food in for the Barbeque that evening. I had a bad phone call earlier from my Mum saying that they had been in a car accident (they are OK) and won't be coming down, A shame. We have been after a water feature for some time after our old one sprung a leak. Bybrook Barn came up trumps with a half barrel and old water pump feature for 30 quid off. So we purchased it and had it delivered.Then it was barbeque time. A great evening with Sarah's family and a couple of friends.

Sunday we went to Smarden for the annual duck race. Basically you buy a plastic duck for a quid, they chuck it in the river with hundreds of other ducks and the first to the Town bridge wins. we didn't but the local butcher and one of the organisers did! We walked into the town from the farm, had a couple of beers in the pubs before and after then it was back to the farm for a BBQ courtesy of friends who invited us. It was a really brilliant afternoon. We also got to see some Sheep, Lambs, Cattle (British White Breed) and Ducks close up. We absolutely loved it there and I now know why my friends love camping there!

We decided to go to Canterbury on Monday. As the Park & Ride wasn't running we got the train. The journey is very picturesque. Once you get past the sewage works and factories of Ashford the countryside is outstanding. We did the usual round of Debenhams, M&S, and Benjis sweet shop which usually sells Sarah's favourite, Scottish Tablet. Not today though, it looks like they have discontinued it. After lunch (CJs Baguettes, a sort of posh Subway) We saw a new shop called FeetBliss. Basically you can get all the dead skin and foot munge eaten off by these tropical fish. Sarah had a go and described it as 'bubbly' and 'tickles' but it does work!

Walking back towards Westgate we decided to have a boat trip on the river. A 50 minute punt cost a tenner each but it was great, very relaxing and once you get out of the city it is so peaceful. We caught the highspeed back to Ashford and stopped at Pets at Home for some goldfish for the water feature. We bought four, two each of gold and yellow Comets although we haven't named them yet. Back home and a Chinese Takeaway to round off the holidays. Its back to work for 3 days and then there's some sort of Wedding on and another bank holiday. Fingers crossed the weather holds.......TTFN!

Sunday Soul Session and Top of the Pops remembered

2011-04-11T19:12:00.006+01:00

Hi all

Back in the 1970s, when I were a lad, Thursday nights at 7:30 was Top of the Pops night. Without fail I would be there in front of the TV with my cassette player and mic recording the bands of the day from the TV speaker. I'm sure we all shed a tear when TOTP was cancelled by the BBC.

It was with much anticipation that I discovered BBC4 are repeating TOTP from 1976 onwards, every week on thursday at 7:30pm. V+ series link has been set!

However........The memory is much better than the reality. So far we are into the second episode and I now know that 1976 was a REALLY BAD year for music, as it was reflected in what was shown on TOTP. Brotherhood of man at No.1, old recordings of Abba, two unknown bearded blokes who's name escapes me, The Four Seasons without Frankie Valli and the Bay City Rollers pratting about on swings to one of their lesser known songs. Then there were the Presenters...Tony Blackburn, a hero of mine, did a good job on the first week, kept the chat to a minimum and seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the music. Noel Edmonds, oh dear, kept dropping into this stupid fake posh accent. It may have been funny in 1976 but it really does not stand the test of time! Pans People, the resident dancers performed some brilliant literal renditions of the songs, including a corny dance whilst holding books in both hands to the Beatle's Paperback Writer. I can see now why Punk gave the music industry of the time a kick up the pants....They needed it! I am looking forward to the late 70's though, there were some great tunes about back then. So for the time being I'm going to stick with it...

Back to the present day. The soul session has been going now since last August, I have listeners from all over the globe, Hi USA and Ciao Italia! To all my listeners I really hope you enjoy what we do. The station is going from strength to strength, mainly down to the people who run it, the presenters and you, the listeners. Dance Web Radio is the best!

Anyway heres the playlist for Sunday 10th April.

JACKIE MOORE : THIS TIME BABY

PATRICE RUSHEN : LOOK UP

GERALDINE HUNT : CAN'T FAKE THE FEELING

TS MONK : CANDIDATE FOR LOVE

SHALAMAR : TAKE THAT TO THE BANK

SHAKATAK : EASIER SAID THAN DONE

RICHARD EARNSHAW : WAITING

GQ : MAKE MY DREAMS A REALITY

RAW SILK : DO IT TO THE MUSIC

A TASTE OF HONEY : RESCUE ME

CAMERON : LETS GET IT OFF

NEW YORK SKYY : HERE'S TO YOU

ROXY5000 FEAT. TERRI WALKER : NEVER GOING BACK

HEATWAVE : GANGSTERS OF THE GROOVE

LINX : YOURE LYING

DONALD BYRD : LOVE HAS COME AROUND

TEDDY PENDERGRASS : YOU CAN'T HIDE (DIMITRI REMIX)

FIRST CHOICE : ARMED & EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

MAYSA : THE BOTTLE

ROY AYERS : DON'T STOP THE FEELING

JAZZTRONIX : REAL CLOTHES

AZYMUTH : DEAR LIMERTZ

HARVEY MASON : TIL YOU TAKE MY LOVE

INAYA DAY : NASTY GIRL

Its pronounced U-ran-us!

2011-03-20T20:53:00.004Z

Hi this is the first blog of 2011. It must have been the rotten weather so far this year that has made me lethargic.

Anyway this weekend we were helping the Beaver Cub groups of Ashford (and surrounding areas) run a 'Star Party' This involved demonstrating The size of the solar system in the grounds next to the venue. You give each child a planet and send them off down the field to a distance relative to that planets distance from the Sun. Its all good fun! I gave this one Beaver the planet Uranus, and he shouted out 'Ooh I know a good joke about that!" After a good giggle his leader recommended he save it for later! Another one apparently farted in the astro-dome, so his leader said I should give him a gas giant! he was given Neptune.

We had the Solar telescope set up (note You must NEVER View the sun through any other telescope or binoculars - You WILL go blind) and I managed to photograph a huge solar flare (see pic) That was my highlight of the day. We also set our normal telescopes up on distant chimney pots. I always find the young'uns ask the best questions, including 'If there a black holes, are there white holes as well?' Maybe in a parallel universe!

All respect to the beaver group leaders, what I found was that if you took your eye off them, they would soon wander off. It was really like plate spinning!

Since being involved with the society, I have found that kids are fascinated in space and astronomy, something that I'm sure wears off as they discover things like gaming/music/fashion/members of the opposite sex. But if we manage to keep just a few interested then our hobby will keep going and we are building foundations for the scientists of the future. Mind you I think Prof. Brian Cox may also have something to do with it!

Until next time!

2010 - That Was The Year That Was.....

2010-12-31T11:02:00.003Z

Well thats all for 2010, and of course it is customary for bloggers to write a retrospective about the year that was, so not wanting to miss jumping on the bandwagon (ok only the one metaphor I promise) I'll try to summarise what 2010 was like for me.

I met some great new friends through Dance Web Radio, and made contact with old friends I haven't seen in over 20 years via facebook.
Some of my personal firsts this year. I made my first ever visit to the City of Bath, Dined out in style on board a steam train, Saw the sun in all its glory through a Solar Telescope, spent 7 hours in my car in the snow trying to get home. I also DJed at a nightclub for the first time.

Plans for next year? Well I'm hoping to meet up with old friends. The Ashford Astronomical Society will be busy in the first week of 2011 as we participate in BBC Stargazing Live events. Dance Web Radio is progressing nicely and I'm looking forward to summer because we are hoping to put on some live events then. There may even be a possible career change....watch this space!

May you all have a healthy and successful 2011 and don't forget to listen in to www.dancewebradio.co.uk every sunday 4-6pm.

In the words of Stanley Clarke "We Supply all your Funky Needs!"

SteveJay the DeeJay!

Back in the day....

2010-11-15T20:22:00.006Z

One of the spin-offs from DJing at Dance Web Radio was the possibility of hosting 'Old School' disco nights at the local clubs. So I found out yesterday when I saw my name on the poster as a guest DJ at Bar Academy, Rivals in Deal this Christmas along with my fellow DJs.
Now Its been a while since I went clubbing, and I'm looking forward to it, but when I was a teenager we were clubbing every week.....For back then I was a Soul Boy!

Now this was a way of life, we had the best music, the best clothes and of course the best girlies. We had a right old laugh back then attending clubs over the south east including Zero 6 in Southend, Stage 3 in Leysdown, Neros in Ramsgate and of course our local Club, Flicks in Dartford. That was our weekly haunt. I heard all the latest soul/disco/jazz funk records both UK and US import, plus we had personal appearances from the likes of Teena Marie, Second Image and the world famous Gap Band, who came to see us perform the now Iconic 'Oops Upside Your Head' dance...for it was us who invented it. well we have to take the blame for something I suppose.....The DJs were just as famous as the artistes they played, including Chris Hill, The late Froggy, Jeff Young, Pete Tong and our local DJ Colin Hudd. So its taken me 30 years to become a club DJ...better late than never!

Here's the Playlist for sunday 14th November by the way. I may repeat some of this next week as we had internet streaming issues during my show which meant it was a bit intermittent!

Don't forget to join me live on the cyber-dancefloor on http://www.dancewebradio.co.uk/ Sundays 16:00 to 18:00 GMT.

CARL CARLTON : SHES A BAD MAMA JAMA
EVELYN 'CHAMPAGNE' KING : SHAME
ONE WAY/AL HUDSON : MUSIC
CARRIE LUCAS : DANCE WITH YOU
THIRLD WORD : TRY JAH LOVE
CHANGE : PARADISE
TEENA MARIE : I NEED YOUR LOVING
NEW JERSEY CONNECTION : LOVE DON'T COME EASY
TONY RALLO : HOLDING ON
GQ : BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE
BRASS CONSTRUCTION : MOVIN'
ALTON EDWARDS : I JUST WANNA
TYRONE BRUNSON : THE SMURF
THE JACKSONS : HEARTBREAK HOTEL
BOBBY THURSTON : CHECK OUT THE GROOVE
JAZZY DEE : GET ON UP
CHERYL LYNN : GOT TO BE REAL
LOWRELL : MELLOW MELLOW (RIGHT ON)
GENE CHANDLER : DOES SHE HAVE A FRIEND FOR ME
GENE DUNLAP : LOVE DANCING
HERBIE HANCOCK : I THOUGHT IT WAS YOU

Another week, Another Hi Fi

2010-09-27T20:11:00.004+01:00

So it was time to take the knackered Hi Fi back to Soundcraft on tuesday. I duly dumped the box with them & whilst there they phoned the manufacturer (Naim) who promised to send a new one by the weekend as they were currently in production!
Naim were better than their word & it turned up on thursday. which give Soundcraft time to soak test it. Anyway Friday I collected it, installed on saturday morning and now I'm able to listen to all my iTunes on my laptop via the Uniti....Its a brilliant piece of kit!

Ashford Astronomical Society on Friday was excellent with a Father & Son presentation partnership (Drew & Josh) who both gave brilliant talks. And to cap it all I won a box of chocs in the raffle....Sweet!

I had the weekend to myself as Sarah was visiting relatives. trouble was I spent so much time playing with the new toy I didn't get much done, except food shopping ( I gotta eat!)
Sunday was time for my Sunday Soul Session on Dance Web Radio. Really enjoyed the show and although I had no message facilities in the studio. Website was playing up & mobile facebook wasn't working, I'm sure the listeners liked my choice of tunes. I've added the playlist below.

playlist 26-09-2010

DENICE LASALLE : I'M SO HOT

BOBBY WOMACK : TELL ME WHY

SHALAMAR : RIGHT IN THE SOCKET

RUFUS & CHAKA KHAN : DO YOU LOVE WHAT YOU FEEL

GEORGE DUKE : I WANT YOU FOR MYSELF

DEBRA LAWS : ON MY OWN

CREME DE COCO : DOIN THE DOG

GREG HENDERSON : DREAMING

LEON HAYWOOD : DON'T PUSH IT

GLENN JONES : I AM SOMEBODY

CHANGE : YOU ARE MY MELODY

MFSB : MYSTERIES OF THE WORLD

TEDDY PENDERGRASS : THE MORE I GET (DIMITRI REMIX)

FIRST CHOICE : ARMED & EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

HAROLD MELVIN & BLUENOTES : THE LOVE I LOST (DIMITRI REMIX)

THE DELLS : ALL ABOUT THE PAPER

BOBBY THURSTON : CHECK OUT THE GROOVE

MYSTIC TOUCH : GET YOURSELF TOGETHER

LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY : LOVE SENSATION

LOWRELL : MELLOW MELLOW (RIGHT ON)

FONDA RAE : TOUCH ME (ALL NIGHT LONG)

CAPPRICCIO(JAZZY DEE REMIX) : EVERYBODY (GET UP)

Dont forget! Join me on Sunday 16:00 'til 18:00 BST on www.dancewebradio.co.uk for the best soul, funk and disco classics around!

That was a weekend that was

2010-09-20T20:16:00.006+01:00

"Stonehenge! Where the demons dwell / Where the banshees live and they do ... Stonehenge! Where a man's a man / And the children dance to the Pipes of Pan ..."

We have just come home from a weekend break to Longleat & Bath. During which we did all the usual tourist attractions and a couple off the beaten track. First stop, Stonehenge. Well worth the visit and if your are a National Trust member its free & they fast track you past the Japanese Tourists. Result!
Friday night we went for a ghost walk around Bath. The guide was a bit eccentric to say the least and at one point all 5 of us were inside a Holly bush in a park trying to touch the spirits of dead Duellers. ooh err! I really did expect a bit more history....Not Derek Acorah!

The Hotel's description of 'Double Room' was a bit optimistic. Really a single room with a double 4-poster in it. If the cats had come with us we couldn't have swung them! And heres a word of advice.....please put frosted glass in a bathroom where the toilet is next to a low window! Also 2 people = 2 chairs in the room please!

Mind you it was clean, the staff were friendly, if not too efficient and the food was OK.

Longleat was everything I expected it to be...excellent. And we met Tony Fitzjohn, the man who lives and works with Lions in Kenya. We bought his book which he signed for us & also posed for a photo. What a nice chap!

All in all a great weekend!

Today I thought I would set up the Hi-fi properly. So after Naim delivered my wifi antenna which was missing from the box and I installed it, it was all systems go..............then the uniti started cutting out. first I thought it was a dodgy CD. No its the same on radio. A quick check in the factory settings shows the internal temperature is 40C...maybe this as a problem but when you spend the best part of a months salary on a Hifi you expect it to work! A phone call is in order to the shop.

Don't forget to catch me on http://www.dancewebradio.co.uk/ next sunday 4-6pm...Its gonna be a blast from the past!

TTFN

Steve

2010-09-11T09:09:00.003+01:00

Hello everyone. Well we're half way through September and there is still loads of things happening. We're off the Longleat next weekend so no DWR next sunday.

Today I'm going into town to pay a visit to my favourite shop, Soundcraft HiFi. I've decided it's time to replace my ageing (& secondhand) amplifier & CD player. I'm looking at an all in one box that also streams from the internet. One advantage, no interconnects & only one mains plug! If you want to see what I'm lusting after check out this web page!

http://www.arcam.co.uk/products,solo,Music-Systems,soloneo.htm#

Valley Park Radio is 10 years old this month so we are having a big bash tonight (11th) in Dartford. It will be a great chance to catch up with all those ex-members.

Tomorrow is the Challock Goose fair and we will be representing the Ashford Astronomical Society there do demonstrations of our equipment and answering all Astronomy queries!

Then its off to the coast for another Soul Session on http://www.dancewebradio.co.uk/ .

All in All a busy weekend!

Heres the Soul Session playlist for last week. Have a great week folks & don't forget to tune in tomorrow!

WILLIE HUTCH : IN AND OUT
EVELYN 'CHAMPAGNE' KING : SHAME
SLICK : SPACE BASS
THE BOMBERS : GET DANCING
MYSTIC TOUCH : GET YOURSELF TOGETHER
DAYTON : THE SOUND OF MUSIC
VICKY DEE : THIS BEAT IS MINE
TRUSSEL : LOVE INJECTION
DRIZA BONE : REAL LOVE
FAT LARRYS BAND : ACT LIKE YOU KNOW
DEODATO : NIGHT CRUISER
PAULHINO DA COSTA : DEJA VU
CHANGE : PARADISE
CENTRAL LINE : WALKING INTO SUNSHINE
NEW YORK SKYY : HERE'S TO YOU
BRAND NEW HEAVIES : YOU ARE THE UNIVERSE
ALPHONSE MOUZON : BY ALL MEANS
CARRIE LUCAS : DANCE WITH YOU
BERNARD WRIGHT : JUST CHILLIN' OUT
AZYMUTH : DEAR LIMERTZ
CHERYL LYNN : GOT TO BE REAL
STANLEY CLARKE : WE SUPPLY
OLIVE : YOU'RE NOT ALONE

2010-08-31T19:13:00.004+01:00

Hi all! well its been a very busy past couple of weeks! saturday 21st we were invited to a 40th birthday party with a difference. The theme was Tudor so the birthday boy dressed as Henry VIII and we were his minions! A great evening was had by all! The next day I had to go & do the DWR show. considering the way I felt sunday morning I did surprisingly good as well!

No show over the bank holiday because of myself & Sarah host a BBQ for our families and local friends. But DWR broadcast my debut show so I had the chance to listen in.

Anyway here's the playlist from 22nd August :-

GWEN MCRAE : KEEP THE FIRE BURNING
FAT LARRYS BAND : LOOKING TONIGHT FOR LOVE
BOBBY THURSTON : CHECK OUT THE GROOVE
MICHAEL JACKSON : GET ON THE FLOOR
TEENA MARIE : BEHIND THE GROOVE
NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN : TONIGHT I'M ALRIGHT
BROTHERS JOHNSON : LIGHT UP THE NIGHT
BOBBY WOMACK : TELL ME WHY
DYNASTY : I DON'T WANNA BE A FREAK
STARGARD : WEAR IT OUT
DAZZ BAND : LET IT ALL BLOW
THE WHISPERS : THIS KIND OF LOVING
NEW JERSEY CONNECTION : LOVE DON'T COME EASY
BERNARD WRIGHT : BREAD SANDWICHES
DAYTON : THE SOUND OF MUSIC
MAZE : TWILIGHT
WILTON FELDER : INHERIT THE WIND
WILLIE BOBO : ALWAYS THERE
BOOKER NEWBURY III : LOVE TOWN
TS MONK : BOB BON VIE
GEORGE BENSON : OFF BROADWAY
GEORGE DUKE : I WANT YOU FOR MYSELF
GAP BAND : OUTSTANDING

I've just started backing up some of my 12" singles onto CD so I'll be playing a couple of rare ones on the next show....

Don't forget Sunday 4pm to 6pm is the place to be on www.dancewebradio.co.uk

Steve Jackson - Keeping the old school soul alive!

A New Project!

2010-08-17T19:48:00.009+01:00

Facebook is a great way of networking with like-minded people. I have always been into soul music, I bought my 1st 12" single in 1978 (Evelyn "Champagne" King: Shame) and my collection grew until the mid-80s when a new wife & house curbed my record buying. I didn't resume again until I started Hospital broadcasting. Anyway, I am friends with a couple of DJs from back in the day. One of them asked me if I was interested in a new internet radio station that was being launched. Now a few weeks later & I have a sunday afternoon slot on a great station. http://www.dancewebradio.co.uk/. The first show was last week, and it was brilliant (if I say so myself) at one point the owner (John, a great guy!) came running into the studio with his thumbs up "that tune is brilliant, I must dig it out!" His tea & Vimto is most welcome as well!

I think this station is going places. We have a great line-up of DJs and bags of enthusiasm. All we need now is sponsors!

The next show is sunday 22nd 4pm until 6pm and what I'll do is post the previous weeks playlist for the world to see!

PLAYLIST 15-08-2010

QUINCY JONES - RAZZAMATAZ

DAVID BENDETH - FEEL THE REAL

GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS - TASTE OF BITTER LOVE

DONALD BYRD LOVE HAS COME AROUND

LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY - LOVE SENSATION

CHANGE - YOU ARE MY MELODY

MAYSA - THE BOTTLE

CANDI STATON - WHEN YOU WAKE UP TOMORROW

NORMAN CONNORS - TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT

SHALAMAR - SECOND TIME AROUND

THE DELLS - ALL ABOUT THE PAPER

ROY AYERS - DON'T STOP THE FEELING

DENICE LASALLE - I'M SO HOT

ATLANTIC STARR - SILVER SHADOW

NED DOHENEY - TO PROVE MY LOVE

GQ - MAKE MY DREAM A REALITY

TS MONK - CANDIDATE FOR LOVE

JOHN HANDY - HARD WORK

MYSTIC MERLIN - JUST CAN'T GIVE YOU UP

ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS - DON'T LET LOVE GET YOU DOWN

SOS BAND - WEEKEND GIRL

HERBIE HANCOCK - I THOUGHT IT WAS YOU

DEBRA LAWS - ON MY OWN

LISTEN IN NEXT SUNDAY 4PM-6PM FOR MORE OF THE SAME!

That was the week that was 12-4-10-18-4-10

2010-04-14T21:50:00.007+01:00

Monday and its a visit from our sales guy today. We don't see him very often but he's here to demonstrate to us a piece of test gear he has on loan and I must admit we are very impressed. So much that the supervisor goes cap in hand to the boss to ask him to purchase one and he says.........YES. I like new toys, especially ones that make my job easier.

Thursday night at VPR cake of the week was Mr Kipling Manor House....not the best! Its my turn next week. Thought I'd take a pic of the sunset from the studio as it was particularly red from the Iceland volcano (above)

Friday I wake up with the sniffles.....Oh bloddy hell feels like a cold coming on. We have arranged to go out saturday night with my brothers and friends from Valley Park Radio. They are coming down to Ashford for once and we are booked into Yeungs Chinese Buffet. A great place to go if you like chinese food as much as I do! Anyway Saturday night & a great time was had by all.

Drove down to Cranbrook on sunday to find the school. We are going there on the 30th as part of a visit by the AAS (Ashford Astronomical Society). On the way back we stop at a chicken farm and buy some fresh eggs, feathers, bird poop and all!

Got back and did a bit of gardening before having a sit-down in the garden with a cuppa!

That was the week 5-4-10 to 11-4-10

2010-04-07T22:10:00.007+01:00

Its Bank Holiday monday. We have already done the rounds of DIY/gardening centres so none of that today. Instead we head off to one of my favourite locations in Kent, Dungeness. There's something about the place I love. It seems almost detached from real civilisation and its collection of Smokeries, fishing huts and homes made from converted railway carriages are quirky against a shingle landscape, with a backdrop of a nuclear power station. I have a chat with a fellow motorcyclist about his Honda 125 Varadero, a big bike for learners which happens to be 10 times the value of mine! We than take a trip on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch railway as far as New Romney. It also gives me a chance to road test the new camcorder, A cup of tea then back again. I manage to spot the 'Listening Ears' near Romney Sands. These are concrete installations that were used to test the possibility of detecting enemy aircraft by sound. They were never used because Radar had been developed as the war had started. I later find out they do guided tours of the 'ears' so thats one for the diary.

Tuesday, the roads are quiet and it only takes me an hour to get to work. With two of my colleagues out its quiet in the lab as well! Wednesday was about the same old same old...

Of course VPR tonight and Mark supplied the COW. Bless him he bought it last minute from the hospice shop and 4 slices @ 99p a slice it must be the most expensive one this year. Spent the night at parents place.

Friday, hooray the fence panels arrive! Sarah's dad does a sterling job removing the old ones and preparing for the new ones. I have to get our neighbour to clear some brickwork to allow the new ones to fit ok.

Saturday & the weather is great. we nip into town & have a flutter on the Grand National. Arbor supreme, may as well have been chicken supreme, what a donkey. The panels go in with a bit of adjustment, job completed by 1 pm....excellent.

Sunday morning and I can't put it off anymore, I must go out on the motorbike. So I decide to have a little ride round the block and grab the newspapers along the way. I really must get out on it more! The roads are pretty quiet so it may be a regular thing. Afternoon we decide to go to Whelans in Sheerness, a great garden ornament supplier. We come away with a sundial and 2 Meerkats, one for my mum. Get home in time to prep the veg and check on the chicken in the oven. Perfect! I also book the resturant for my birthday bash next saturday night. 13 of us are eating at Yeungs buffet in town. looking forward to it!

That was the week 29/3/10-4/4/10

2010-03-31T21:02:00.008+01:00

Monday and Oh I just remembered how bad it was to get up in the dark. My body clock still thinks it is 4:50AM. best laugh of the day was my colleague recounting a story of how he used a microwave egg cooker to boil an egg and how it exploded all over his kitchen when he removed it. I think the biggest laugh was it took 4 minutes in the microwave (saucepan=3 mins) and he had to get the saucepan out anyway to boil another egg! this is from a guy with loads of BSc s and BAs as well! I had to drive the longer way home tonight because of roadworks in Grove Park but I was 5 minutes earlier than normal getting to the M20...Work that one out!

Tuesday I go to Lidl on the way to collect Sarah from work. I have been checking some of their motorbike gear but whenever I go in there they never have what I want. Tonight is no exception. So I spend 87p on some frozen potato waffles instead. We both decide we can't be arsed to cook so its a chippie tea. Sarah meets one of her colleagues in the chip shop who says to us "You couldn't be arsed to cook either!"

Wednesday and I treat my colleagues to a packet of good chocolate cookies. I reckon that the fencing people must employ Easter bunnies because they can't deliver my panels until the end of next week, because of Easter. I reckon Bank holiday monday was going to be rubbish weather anyway. I buy a knitted easter chick with a creme egg in at work in aid of charity, see pic above...well I did take pity on it!

Thursday and one of the guys brings in Almond cakes from the Costcutter down the road. They are surprisingly good! Then the boss brings in Rolo cookies so that was tea break sorted! Stopped off on the way to my parents to have my ears lowered. The heavens opened big time tonight, It was like Ming the Merciless had his hand on the weather controller! By the time I got to DVH it was dry & sunny. yet more cake now as its C.O.W night ( see pic above) Neil got a Co-op special again. The drive home was very busy. Everyone is migrating to Europe for easter & I don't blame them. Forecast is not good.

Well its friday and not raining yet. Did the rounds of the Garden/DIY centres looking for garden furniture. The homemade cake in the Tenterden centre was very good! We finally bought a patio set and head for home. thats when it rained again so had a couple of bacon sarnies and sorted through a mountain of paperwork that needed sorting/shredding. Realised that the Folkestone beer festival has passed us by, oh well I'm sure Manky & co had one or two for us! Friday night is Chinese takeaway night. Chun Wah delivers the goods yet again!

Saturday and get up early for the Malaysian GP qualifying which dovetails nicely into leaving home at 10AM to go into town. Yet another visit to the DIY store to buy the composting bin we forgot to get yesterday. 20% off as well I do like a bit of discount! I decide a want an HD camcorder for my birthday and theres one in Argos that fits the bill. trouble is theres not one to be had in Ashford so its off the Folkestone. What a bloody shame, Folkestone is a shambles now. Nothing on the seafront, No amusements, market or fairground rides and they have closed the water lift as well. Even the rock shop in the old high street has gone. Anyway got a good deal on the camcorder so its off home for dinner & Dr Who!

Easter Sunday, Malaysian GP & a win for Vettel. Off to the parents for sunday lunch, which was nice and even had Christmas pudding today as well. got home about 5pm and did a bit in the garden. Set up the composting bin so that is ready for the 1st load of grass cuttings..Sarah's parents are down tonight & staying with us this week so we have a house full. At least its Bank holiday tomorrow...We may go to Dungeness!

that was the week..22nd March 2010

2010-03-27T18:20:00.007Z

Welcome to the week that was 23-28 March 2010.

Day off today, things to do people to see. The house alarm company turned up first thing on Tuesday. Basically a component had burnt out on the board inside the alarm panel possibly the charger circuit however the charger still works. So he replaced the battery and checked everything plus gave me a discount for cash as well. We even took out a maintenance contract with them and they are a local family business. I'm all for supporting local trades. didn't really get the chance to mow the lawns, That chore will have to wait until the weekend.

I was amazed at the amount of people bringing their recalled cars back to the Toyota garage when I was up there in the afternoon. The Service manager told me they have modified over 700 cars at that dealer alone. phew! Anyway the car is now fixed and my credit card took another hammering!

Thursday night is Valley Park Radio night. If you are unfortunate enough to be in Darent Valley Hospital on this day you can listen to me & my fellow presenters Mark, Neil & Mike playing great music and talking waffle in between! We have a weekly feature, Cake of The Week (COW for short) so each week I will feature the COW on here. This weeks is pictured above...

It is Neil's turn next week so no doubt we will look forward to another Co-op special! Got drenched walking from the car park to the hospital entrance, my umbrella having been destroyed a few weeks earlier at the same location.

Friday night and our monthly trip down to Woodchurch for the Ashford Astronomical Society meeting. The society has been going 3 years now and has 70 members. Quite an acheivement when you think that myself and Sarah were member numbers 20 and 21 when we joined in September 2008. It was a great evening only marred by the clouds rolling in when we went outside to do some observing! There were great presentations from Dave, who's talk on Saturn was actually quite informative. And Mark, the chairman's 9 year old son who gave an excellent description of how he photographed the moon through his Bresser Newtonian Telescope. The society prides itself in promoting astronomy not only for adults, but children as well, and our commitee spend a lot of time and effort visiting clubs and societies in and around Ashford giving great astronomy presentations.

Australian GP qualifying first thing...V+ was made for events like this. It meant I could forward through the boring chatter and get to the nitty gritty. Went into town Saturday morning on the big red taxi. Sarah was at the RSPCA cat re-homing centre in town where she helps looking after the cats. After a swift cappucino and a long queue in the bank I walked down to the RSPCA to meet up and head for home. As we turned into our road we noticed that the sheltered housing at the entrance to our close had a bring & buy sale. Always a sucker for a bargain we had a quick look round and came away with a Michael Parkinson Autobiography, a DVD of Dante's Peak and a poor imitation ladies Tag Heuer watch. (I own a couple of real Tags so I can spot a moody one a mile off). Well we only paid 20p for the watch and a couple of quid for the other things, the money being raised so they can buy furniture for their communal den. Afternoon we took advantage of an offer from Argos and bought a Netbook. We will both find it useful, Me every thursday when I go to VPR and Sarah when she goes into hospital in May, plus when we go to Birmingham to visit the family.

Sunday morning I even remembered to hit the BST button on my clock radio so got up at the right time. Watched the Australian GP (V+ is my friend). Well done Jenson Button, a much more exciting race than Bahrain. The weather can't quite make up its mind. We decide to second guess the cloudy weather and go for a walk through Kings wood, Challock. What is interesting is they have installed sculptures along the trail so suddenly you come across a gaint bronze horn (like on a wind-up gramaphone) up in the trees. 3.5 miles later and we come out of the woods down the road from the car park. Oh well took a wrong turn somewhere. Back home for a bit of gardening, fire up the lawnmower for the first time this year, started on the third pull as well. Now its dinner time...Belly pork and Cauli Cheese tonight....that walk has given me an appetite!

Long time no Blog!

2010-03-22T22:21:00.000Z

Its a bit shameful really. I haven't put anything on this blog now since june last year. Recently I've been reading a fellow Ashford Astronomy Society member (and my one & only follower) and he updates his every day. I sometimes wish I was that dedicated.
I reckon I could do a weekly blog, so as of next weekend the blog will be updated as to whats been happening in stevejays world. This week I have to look forward to...Getting the house alarm panel looked at ( its emanating a component cooking smell), getting the brakes on my car fixed tomorrow (its squealing like a stuck pig). Mowing the lawn, cleaning the aquarium water, Supplying cakes for the Valley Park Radio thursday night crew (Cake of the week) and AAS meeting on friday which I'm looking forward to Dave's talk on Saturn. As we've been watching Prof. Brian Cox programme about the solar system we are ready with tricky questions ha ha.

So a retrospective look at stevejays week will appear here on Sunday...watch this space.

Back in the saddle

2009-06-09T22:25:00.000+01:00

OK I'll admit it, I think I'm having a mid-life crisis......... I must be because I've bought a motorbike. I stopped riding in 1981 when I passed my driving test, and I thought I had seen the last of 2 wheeled transport. However last year my brother bought a bike, took his test and passed, and seeing him on his Ducati stirred something inside me.....

A few months ago I was walking through Ashford's shopping centre when I noticed that the local motorcycle training centre, Dexterity, had a display. I picked up a leaflet out of curiosity and saw that they offered 1 hour 'taster' sessions for a small sum. These enabled people to see if they still enjoyed or wanted to take up biking. So I booked one thinking it will be enough to satisfy my craving. It wasn't. I booked my CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) straight after and then went to the local bike shop and bought a helmet, jacket & gloves.

A few weeks later I was riding around a school playground with 3 others performing U turns, slaloms and right/left hand manouvres. Then it was onto the roads for a 2 hour ride. Now I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the fittest person in the world, and when I arrived home that evening I was absolutely cream crackered. My shoulders ached like hell and all I wanted to do was jump in the bath, then bed!

This didn't put me off though, and now the only problem is finding the time to go out on the bike. Once I've built up enough confidence and experience I will definitely take the test, even though it involves 3 tests - theory, off-road practical and on-road ride. Sometimes I wish I had taken it in 1981.

As for the mid life crisis, well I haven't bought a sports car ......................yet!