West Wittering Beach

A few Saturdays ago, we decided to do a day trip to the beach. What should have been only about a 90 minute drive turned into a 3 hour slog to get to West Wittering Beach. Driving anywhere in the UK during the summer can be a nightmare.

It was great once we got there and settled down. Had our picnic and sploshed about in the tidal pool. We had bought some proper beach spades this time so we set about digging as usual. The weather wasn't great and later in the afternoon we lost the sun completely and left to go find a nearby pub before heading home.

Marvellous In The Park 2006

Marvellous In The Park held at Wellington Country Park last July was as good as usual this year. Our only mistake was leaving too late and getting caught in the massive traffic queues to get in.

Nevertheless, we found a good spot not far from the stage and watched the cover bands of Santana, Fleetwood Mac and Queen. The Queen cover band was very good and had the sound and vocals just perfect.

It ended with a decent fireworks display and we hung about afterwards drinking coffee and hot chocolate waiting for the traffic to clear. Always a good day out.

Summer 2006

Sorry for the lack of posts. We've been doing stuff but I haven't got around to blogging about it. I'll have to do a big catch-up later. Right now Jenny is in Malaysia with the kids and tomorrow I'm off to sail around the Channel Islands for a week. Tell you about it when I get back.

Sailing Weekend

We went sailing last weekend with some sailing friends of ours. We stayed overnight on the yacht moored in Gosport (Portsmouth), got up early on Saturday and then sailed up to Yarmouth via Newtown on Saturday. Sunny and lots of wind. Excellent sailing! Woke in the middle of the Sunday night to what sounded like a raging storm. In the morning, I briefly considered getting Jenny to take the kids home on a bus but we dropped our mooring lines with all onboard. It sounded worse than it was. The rain cleared up by the time we stopped in Cowes for lunch. The afternoon was brilliant for a gorgeous run back across the Solent home. The picture was taken just on our way into Cowes.

The yacht was an aging Sigma 33. A bit old and tired but it handled very well. First time using a tiller for me. It some ways it's better than a wheel since you always know the rudder position.  Can't say the yacht was very comfortable to sleep on but it was ok for two nights. Cheap and cheerful.

I was happy to be out on the water again trying to remember all the stuff from last year. Jenny still isn't too convinced about sailing but is a good sport about it. Didn't get sick this time! The kids tolerate it well but it does seem a bit boring for them and they often get lulled to sleep waking up when we stop somewhere.

I've got a sailing trip planned for just myself in August to get more experience with the vague hope of doing another flotilla next year. Always looking for fellow crew members!

Hyde Park Calling: Roger Water plays Dark Side of the Moon

Last Saturday Jenny and I headed down to Hyde Park and caught the Roger Waters concert. It was just too irresistable with the promise that he was going to play the entirety of Dark Side of the Moon.

It was excellent and we managed to stand up close to the stage for a great view.

The day was stonkingly hot so we got there late missing a few bands that played in the afternoon. We did get to see Texas though. She had a difficult time because they were also showing the England vs Portugal game at the same time on a large screen nearby so half the guys in the audience weren't watching her performance and she stopped during the penalty shootout. However she was there to provide some cheer after England crashed out of the World Cup.

Roger Waters opened with "In The Flesh" - great start! - and played many Pink Floyd classics. Surprisingly, he also played Set The Controls To The Heart Of The Sun early in the first set too - you could tell most of the audience weren't fans of old Floyd. That was the only pre-Dark Side song. It was followed by the likes of Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Wish You Were Here, Have A Cigar and Sheep. Noticed many pictures of Syd Barrett. Much of the concert was a sing-a-long. Many refrains of "you can't have your pudding if you don't eat your meat" could be heard.

He also did some post-Floyd songs I didn't know. And he played a very recent single of his called Leaving Beruit accompained with comic book style illustrations with lyrics projected onto the stage screens. Very anti-war, anti-Bush & Blair. Roger wears his politics and I like that.

I didn't take my camera for fear of getting it taken away but it turned out that lots of people had cameras and video recorders going all through the concert. I wish I had some pictures for you but you can find some on the 'net.

After a short break, he began the second set introducing Nick Mason - huge cheer. And they proceeded to play all of Dark Side of the Moon. Some of it obviously came from the original recordings - with the addition of a rushing train mixed into On The Run. I didn't catch her name but they had a superb black female singer do the scat singing to The Great Gig In The Sky (originally done by Clare Torry). She was spot on. Absolutely stunning.

Dark Side of the Moon still remains one of my all time favourite albums. I can hear every note in my head so it was immensely satisfying to hear it live. I heard Roger Waters back in 1986 and I've been to a post-split Pink Floyd concert. I still hope to one day to hear a reunited Pink Floyd.

The encore started with The Happiest Days Of Our Lives / Another Brick in the Wall (part 2) followed by Vera / Bring the Boys Back Home and Comfortably Numb for an excellent concert close.

The Independent: Blair laid bare

There's an excellent article in today's Independent by Henry Porter. The intro blurb is:

In the guise of fighting terrorism and maintaining public order, Tony Blair's Government has quietly and systematically taken power from Parliament and the British people. The author charts a nine-year assault on civil liberties that reveals the danger of trading freedom for security - and must have Churchill spinning in his grave.

For example, here's an interesting extract:

"For instance, the law banning people from demonstrating within one kilometre of Parliament is contained in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act of 2005. The right to protest freely has been affected by the Terrorism Act of 2000, which allows police to stop and search people in a designated area - which can be anywhere - and by antisocial behaviour laws, which allow police to issue an order banning someone from a particular activity, waving a banner, for instance. If a person breaks that order, he or she risks a prison sentence of up to five years. Likewise, the Protection from Harassment Act of 1997 - designed to combat stalkers and campaigns of intimidation - is being used to control protest. A woman who sent two e-mails to a pharmaceutical company politely asking a member of the staff not to work with a company that did testing on animals was prosecuted for "repeated conduct" in sending an e-mail twice, which the Act defines as harassment."

And so it goes on. It gets worse. Your right to trial by jury doesn't apply in some cases. You can now be tried twice for the same offence. Hearsay is acceptable evidence for ASBO orders. Ministers now get complete control over goverment inquiries rather than Parliament.

If the Tories campaigned to address this imbalance, they might just get my vote in the next election.

Reforestation is not a Carbon Offset

Read an interesting lead article in New Internationalist (July, 2006) which highlighted some of the greenwash that's occuring when tree planting is sold as an effective carbon offset.

The problem is that burning fossil fuels permanently adds CO2 to the carbon cycle while carbon storage in trees is strictly temporary. In the long run, it doesn't help. These scheme's also tend to fund mono-culture mega-plantations and exacerbate local land disputes. Or sometimes, the planted tree's just die in poorly run scheme's. More info at SinksWatch and FERN.

So if you do buy into carbon offsets, check where your funds really are going. For example, 20% of funds given to Climate Care goes to a reforestation project in Uganda.

A Woman And Her Shed

So this has been our latest project - well, Jenny's project. I'm just the forced labour. In our never-ending search for space, she wants to clear out the garage for her stuff by putting the stuff that's there into this new shed. It's about three times the size of our old shed.

If you're interested, it's a 10'x10' "Waltons Groundsman Workshop" from Garden Buildings Direct. Quality-wise, it's so-so but it was pretty cheap. The panels are flimsy. I've warned the children not to play "Three Little Pigs" inside since they might blow it down. We need to cover the floor with plywood to make sure a heavy object doesn't fall and break it.

Jenny can now join that great British institution of "Men and Sheds":

"....a shed is to a man what a handbag is to a woman."

Hmmm. Maybe I should get my own shed? His 'n' her sheds! Out of interest, I checked the building regulations. No planning permission is needed if:

• outbuildings don't cover more than half the area of the garden
  


• it contains no sleeping accommodation
  


• the floor area does not exceed 15 square metres
  


• no point is less than one metre from a boundary
  


• it is not more than 3m high for a flat roof, or 4m with a ridged roof
  


• no part projects beyond any wall of the house that faces a road
  


• it's used only by those who occupy the house
  


• it's at least 2 metres away from the main house if built from wood

Hey! I could build a log cabin at the bottom of the garden!

Goodwood Breakfast Club

I feel guilty. I worry about climate change but I like fast CO2 spewing cars too. It gives me angst attacks.

A group of us zipped down in our sporty cars last Sunday morning to the Goodwood Motor Circuit to participate in the Goodwood Breakfast Club. The theme this month was supercars. The idea is simple. If you arrive at the circuit and your car belong to the month's theme, you park in the viewing area outside the cafe. If your car doesn't fit the theme, you park with everyone else. Our friend driving a Lotus Espirit got to park in the supercar area. The two of us driving Porsche's had to go with the rest of the punters.

The event is completely free if you don't count the £12 for a full English breakfast. There's a van selling bacon rolls too.

Lots of people show up driving plenty of exotic cars. There was every kind of Ferrari from very old right up to an Enzo. Lots of Lambo's. Even a Pantera. A few Cobra's. A Viper and a Noble. In the picture, you can see a yellow Ultima. One of a few that were there. I've been doing a little research about what it takes to build one of these beauties. There were a few Aston Martins and Porsches but they were mostly excluded. However, there were two (two!) of the latest Porsche Carrera GT's. Gorgeous. There was even the DeLorean from the film "Back To The Future".

Wandering around the regular parking lot can also be fascinating. Plenty of Caterhams, Elises and Porsches. Various kit cars and classic cars too. A Radical was there. So was an Ariel Atom (0-60 in 2.91 seconds). As we left, a thunderous Harley Davidson Motorcycle Club arrived. It's just a great day to watch people arrive and leave.

If I ever start doing a lot of commuting again, I'm quite sure I'll have to give up the Porsche and go for a two car solution: something practical that gets many miles per gallon and something else that's strictly for weekend fun. That will help keep the angst down.

Personal Carbon Quota

So far, a personal carbon quota system is the best idea I've heard for managing carbon dioxide emissions. It's also refered to as Domestic Tradable Quotas (DTQs) or Tradeable Energy Quotas (TEQs) or Personal Carbon Allowance (PCA). Think of it as a personal pollution allowance/quota/ration.

The idea is you get a fixed number of units per year recorded on a plastic card. Units get debited when you buy goods or services. You can argue about the details but assume everything has a money price and a carbon price. The carbon units are a currency in their own right that can be bought, sold, earned and traded. Of course it won't be perfect and there will be a huge black market but it's the best mechanism I've heard of for creating a CO2 bound economy that leaves consumers with the greatest choice.

There are better descriptions of this on the net like Feasta Review, BBC News or TEQs.

I think it would be a more dynamic approach than carbon taxes which are a more blunt way of suppressing polluting activities. A personal quota provides a direct way of encouraging and rewarding green actions. You could even make money selling surplus carbon units. But it also allows you limited indulgence in polluting luxuries without raising the cost of them in "old" money.

Some will argue that such a scheme is too complex to run. Maybe. Maybe not. It depends on the details. I think it's worth pursuing further.

Climate chaos: Bush's climate of fear

Panorama is a superb British news show. The latest broadcast exposed how the Bush administration has systematically suppressed scientific evidence of climate change over the last several years. Worth watching and you can view it online now.

It's just tragic waiting for how much worse it's going to get before real action will take place.

Upcoming: Marvellous Festival 2006

Just bought tickets for the Marvellous Festival coming up on Saturday, July 22nd - featuring cover bands of Queen, Fleetwood Mac and Santana. This will be the third year we've gone. Wanna join us?

How To Corner A Porsche 911?

It's a question that's been on my mind ever since I got the 993 a few years ago.

Going straight is, of course, not complicated. The only thing I can tell you is that there's no point revving the engine and dropping the clutch. A factory standard non-turbo engine dies doing that. As for braking, it's worthwhile learning to toe-heel well and keep the car balanced as you slow down.

But the correct way to take a corner is open to more debate. The huge weight of the engine behind the car's centre of gravity makes this a critical question. While this offers tremendous traction in the rear, it leaves the front-end very light.

Beginner track drivers are warned to always brake in a straight line but Vic Elford in the "Porsche High Performance Driving Handbook" explains that you should gradually ease the brake off right up to the apex. This makes sense in order to keep the weight on the front wheels as long as possible. This is called "trail braking".

A friend and I went to the Trackdays event up at Rockingham (very quickly in his 996). It was a nice event but unfortunately it was poorly attended. At a near empty seminar, I was able to pose this question to Mike Wilds who is a very accomplished race car driver and instructor. It turns out he also owns a Porsche 911. Here are some of his comments.

1. Look up and through the corner. Don't watch your dials.


2. Toe-heel brake smoothly up to the turn-in point. Position is key.


3. Make a single turn of the steering wheel ("commitment") avoid steering adjustments


4. Never turn hand over hand. If you must, slip the wheel through one hand keeping the position of the other.


5. Don't bother driving fast until you can consistently drive the race line well hitting a perfect tangent at the apex.


6. "slow in, fast out" - enter the corner slower than you might think and gradually increase power all the way out. If the car is understeering, you're entering the corner too fast.

As for trail braking, he believed it wasn't really needed. This agrees with the "point and shoot" description I've heard for driving a 911. But he did say it was fine to trail brake but the technique was to apply the throttle at the turn-in point while still keeping the brake on up to the apex. Using both at the same time was a new idea for me.

This obviously calls for a trackday to try some of these things out.

Trebuchet at Warwick Castle

Another trip we did over the Easter weekend was to visit Warwick Castle and enjoy their medieval weekend.

They invite numerous different medieval re-enactment groups to camp on the grounds on the castle and demonstrate daily medieval life. The groups were highly authentic and it made for a splendid atmosphere. Warwick was a large gathering but the top re-enactment event of the year, I was told, is the Battle of Bosworth each August.

The two highlights of the day were an re-enactment of a battle and the firing of the trebuchet. The re-enactment was a little hokey but good fun. Particularly impressive was the large number of longbowmen firing at the soldiers. Longbowmen were the backbone of the  English armies and responsible for much of their success.

But what we really wanted to see was the firing of the 18m tall trebuchet. If you've ever played the computer game "Age Of Kings", you'll have a warm spot for trebuchets. They're the killer weapon of the period. At Warwick, we were treated to the launching of a real fireball too. It worked very well.