Aberdeen Flights Cancelled

Thursday

Travel in UK seems to be in a state of terminal decline.

Mrs B's flight from Birmingham to Aberdeen this afternoon was cancelled by British Airways. Flights out of Birmingham were cancelled on Thursday and today but you won't find anything about it in the news. I've tried.

Instead of flying her to Aberdeen, BA flew her to Edinburgh and then put her in a minibus for the 120 mile drive up to Aberdeen.

She was late arriving in Aberdeen and the journey took twice as long as advertised. Oh yes British Airways gave her a sandwich on the flight.

They really know how to look after passengers! BA will be hearing from us in due course.

Graham Elderson, who is in London, is supposed to be meeting up with her in Aberdeen tomorrow, Saturday.

On 4 March, Mrs B booked a First ScotRail overnight sleeper for him. They took the money but failed to deliver the tickets to him.

She was assured by First ScotRail that all was in order and that all he had to do was turn up at Euston and pick up the tickets there.

He arrived at Euston, they had no knowledge of the booking.

Staff at Euston had no more success contacting First ScotRail than Mrs B when she tried to make the original booking. Eventually they managed to fax First ScotRail who confirmed that the booking existed. He was then able to get on the train.

What a shambles! British Airways and First Scotrail both mess up on the same day. Do they really expect customers to come back for more?

Friday

I can report that Mrs B and Graham Elderson have met up in the frozen North despite the failings of the British transport system.

Sony NWE405

Wednesday

I just got in from a night in the local bar so I'm sorry if this is more garbled than usual.

Sony delivered an NWE 405 this morning. I would have ordered the one gig 407 but I was put off by the built in radio and if half a gig of MP3s isn't enough there has got to be something wrong somewhere. I suppose that if I was en route to the Moon or Mars even one gig wouldn't be enough.

I bet those guys get their downloads free.

It's small but not as small as Merl's Shuffle. Mind you it claims to have a battery life of 40 hours and it's got a display. My problem is keeping the phones in my ears. The damn things are uncomfortable and just keep falling out - that's the phones not my ears.

If my battery gets flat can I take it into a Sony shop and get recharged if there isn't a USB port where I'm staying?

One Week Later

The NWE 405 has a phenomenal battery life and the recharge time is also extraordinarily fast. The SonicStage software that comes with it is less than impressive.

I filled the memory with individual MP3s and then decided that I wanted to start all over again. Eventually I decided that the best way to do it was to create a new folder and put the tracks I wanted to use in that folder, then transfer all the files in one go to SonicStage and then into the NW 405. That worked much better than loading individual files from a SonicStage folder created by SonicStage itself. I think I could have batch converted the files to ATRAC that the Sony would accept if I dragged and dropped them from Windows Explorer but I'm not sure about that.

The first time I loaded it I got 99 tracks and the second time I got 102 tracks.

It works well but SonicStage is a pain in the ass.

Milt's Rant

Have you noticed how buses are always late when it's raining? It's been raining in Bogsville since noon yesterday. There are big puddles everywhere. Everywhere that is specially marked out for the blind, that is. On the way back from the bar I noticed that the drains are remarkably dry. They have been put in the high spots so that the water doesn't drain away. The specially constructed blind crossings, the ones with the raised bumps in the paving stones, all lead to the middle of a lake.

To avoid them you have to walk into a main road and risk getting knocked down. Nice work chaps!

Shotguns The Perfect Weapon

Tuesday

I spotted a piece on the TwinCities.com Pioneer Press site.

Mark Yost, writing about Red Lake High School asks, "What can we do to keep this from happening next time? How about arming security guards, as well as a handful of administrators and teachers who volunteer to be properly trained?"

He goes on to say, "Shotguns would be the perfect weapon. Unlike handguns, they require little or no skill. Just point and shoot."

Sorry Mark but I'm reading an adult's ideas here not a 16 year old Jeff Weise's and personally I don't find it too hard to decide whose ideas are the more disturbing.

To return to more mundane matters - my slave drive has given up the ghost. Click click click it went and then the screen froze. I've ordered another one. I'm only getting it to save backup copies of photographs and anything else I think is vital. In other words there won't be much on it.

New Tsunami Fears

Monday

A huge earthquake that struck off the coast of Indonesia at 1609 GMT is sparking new Tsunami fears.

Google News

Global Earthquake Locator

What on Earth is going on at Red Lake? An arrest?

Trauma Pod To Stitch Up Pigs

Monday

$12 million. That's the amount of money that the Pentagon is giving SRI International, for a two-year contract to develop an unmanned "trauma pod" - a robot that can carry out surgery on injured front line troops while still under fire and then transport them to safety.

It would make a lot more sense to send robot troops to do the fighting in the first place.

"Researchers hope to show that a surgeon, operating the robot remotely, can stitch together two blood vessels of a pig." It's a sad state of affairs when the Pentagon is reduced to sending pigs into front line action.

Resting Up

Sunday

Today I set out to evolve my creative unity. Unfortunately the integration of my proactive body failed to synthesize or unleash any creative or dynamic wisdom whatsoever. I decided to stay in bed.

Let Me Out Of Here

Saturday

Let me out of here!

Larger picture here.

A Tight Squeeze

Friday

Dog's new box has proved very popular - but it's a bit of a tight squeeze.

I am currently being peacified at www.peace-not-war.org's jukebox. Someone New by The Kelly Gang. Well I was being peacified - the thing's just gorn orf.

Can't believe how many hits I've been getting for the Red Lake links page. Without losing sight of the horrendous nature of what happened up there, I can't help thinking that someone should have realized that Weise needed help and people to talk to who didn't just dismiss his ideas as being racist.

His web entries don't suggest to me that he was an average 16 year old and it seems to me that the longer that kids on Prozac are marooned at home, with only their computers to communicate with, the more often tragedies like Red Lake are likely to occur.

Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

Thursday Traffic

Thursday

Tuesday's Jeffrey Weise links page is generating more traffic than I am used to getting. I notice that two or three of the links are now down but I'll leave them in case they come back up again.

The Target Practice animation is the only link that I find really disturbing.

Wait 'Til The Sun Shines Nellie

Wednesday

The weather has changed again. The forecast for today was pretty good but it's raining and the sky's not too promising right now. Ruskin's "pathetic fallacy" springs to mind where nature mirrors human emotion and reflects our sorrow or joy. Well right now the weather suggests that Bogsville is entering another blue period.

The phone rang last night. Turned out to be one of the three guys I shared a flat with all those years ago when I was a student. He phoned to say that Roddy, one of the other guys in the flat, is now sitting next to a phone in Scotland waiting for a liver transplant. Too much gin and whisky have "wreaked havoc" on his innards. Livers are only transplanted when the prognosis is dire so when his pager goes off he's got an hour for a helicopter to get him to the transplant unit.

The call put paid to last night's trip to a local bar. I just didn't feel like it somehow. I've known Roddy since we were eleven years old and we kind of cut our drinking teeth together.

As I type, the sky is brightening, just hope it's a sign of better news to come.

I've just got back from another session of destructive gardening to find an in box full of mail.

In response to the cris de coeur from C.Parker-Bowles - Look lady, if you don't want to become the Queen of England, why are you shacking up with HRH? If it is just for the occasional gallop bit, I suggest you would be better orf getting a younger model. Anyway from what I hear there's currently a surfeit of old queens in the UK.

Why ask me? - I'm just a member of the Lumpenproletariat.

Red Lake High School Minnesota Shooting

Tuesday

September marks Strong Return To School

Mixed Reactions to court's decision

High School Head Recovering From Heart Attack

School Lost Aid Due to Signature The Guardian

For $100, they'll turn their mothers in. GNN.tv

Tighter Security Minnesota Public Radio

Little New Information - FBI

World, neighbors alike send support

Seems to me like there's some heavy handed investigating going on in Red Lake. Why on earth do they feel they have got to pull in all these kids?

What are they trying to do - get a mob up to run these people out of the area? If you sling enough mud, some of it is going to stick.

Ever watched a film and then exchanged ideas with someone about how the crime could have been better planned?

Federal probe begins

Turnout Thin As Red Lake School Reopens

Minn. School ReopensThe Associated Press

NPR AudioStudents Return to Classes at Red Lake High

Red Lake Student Ordered to Appear Before Grand Jury

Teacher recalls 'madness' of the Red Lake shootings

Red Lake students return to school for first time since shootings

Jourdain talks about the challenges of leading Red Lake

What on earth?Arrest

Red Lake High School links from indianz.com.

FBI press conference.

www.reznetnews.org

www.dayport.com video

Minnesota school shooter on neo-Nazi Web sites

Nationalist Forum References

Weise's Live Journal

Weise's MSN Profile

NativeNazi Entries

Weise's "blades11" profile

Weise's writing "The Damned"

Weise's posts as Blades11 "The Dead Walk"

Statement On Jeff Weise by "Dead Walk" site administrator

Weise's "The Second Civil War"

Clown animation by Jeff Weise

Target Practice animation by Jeff Weise

Weise's posts -abovetopsecret.com

Weise posts to Paranormal Studies

Bottom of page posting by Weise

Newsgroup articles re. Weise

Who was Jeff Weise? Minnesota Public Radio

The White Owl

"Not so sure about white America, but I do now us Natives never have anything against taking arms up against the government. Remember Wounded knee?
I'm not saying I'm going to start attacking government institutions, just by making the above statement I could be arrested as a domestic terrorist. Pretty cheap if you ask me. It's just people seem too lazy these days, for a country that was built on the bodies of millions of innocents, the one's this land rightfully belonged to, no one wants to stand up for whats right?
So much blood spilt in the past and it's going to end up a dictatorship? Wheres the pride."Weise

Look For Truth by Kent Nerburn

MSN Messenger Profile

thestate.com

post-gazette

Red Lake Wakes begin

The Circle by Kent Nerburn - moving personal account of a wake at Red Lake

Family faces the unthinkable

Jeffrey Weise Obituary Notice

Kent Nerburn Radio Broadcast about Red Lake.

Aftermath of Red Lake ShootingOnPoint Radio Broadcast

Radio OnPoint Home Page

Enigmatic Internet persona.

Iron Shell: "We must examine our own lives"

BBC: Minnesota school victims buried
"I'm sure if this happened in some school in Texas and a bunch of white kids were shot, he [Bush] would have been there." Clyde Bellecourt

Washingtonpost Last report of Jeff Weise on day of shooting.

Newsgroup posting from Red Lake

Red Lake Grieving Complicated By Family Ties

Deputy put on leave

Jourdain Says He Won't Resign As Tribal Chairman

As many as 20 teens knew plot of Red Lake shooting

Red Lake teachers allowed back inside school

Only a gun could have stopped Jeff Weise

Urging more guns in schools goes far off base

Red Lake Massacre Foretold

Red Lake Pledges Tight Security for School Return

Bogsville Brute Bludgeons Sick Ivy

Monday

Another day spent communing with nature - well shredding the stuff that got cut down over the weekend.

There was a cat paddling in the pond last night - hunting the frogs and toads I guess. The pond is now temporarily fenced off but there was little activity today. So much for cats not liking water.

I plugged in my heavy duty, live metal band, ear plugs and spent six hours shredding and mincing at the end of the garden.

At some point I was aware of a loud grinding noise. I switched off the shredder. The grinding was still audible. I looked round to see what was causing it and realized that it was the vertebrae in my neck. It scared the living daylights out of me. I'm having grease nipples fitted tomorrow.

A robin turned up to keep me company.

Larger version here.

Glad to report that the ivy has started looking a bit sick.

Larger version here.

I also found a caterpillar that must have overwintered on a geranium somehow. This thing was big. Maybe it's a python or an anaconda. No they are seriously big - even I would spot the difference.

Larger version here.

Research suggests it's a tobacco/geranium budworm (Helicoverpa virescens). Oh dear - turns out my caterpillars are pesky budworms and my ladybugs are carpet beetles! Must be the global warming thing.

Don't know why but today's title contains a link to Ivy recorded by the Original Memphis Five, November 1st 1923. No I'd never heard of them either.

Love Machines At Work In Bogsville

Sunday

Yesterday the pond was full of toads with an occasional frog. Today seems like the frogs are on top.

Larger version here.

Larger version here.

Larger version here.

Larger version here.

Larger version here.

There's a Real Audio link here if you missed the one in the title.

Ivy's Ghost Appears

Thursday

Don't you just hate ivy? I've been ripping it off fences all day.

The stuff comes through from next door and tries to strangle everything in its path.

I've cut through all the stems I can find and removed all the bits I can get to and now my hands look like they've been fighting a losing battle with barbed wire.

As soon as "them next door" go out shopping I shall be spraying what's left on my side with weed killer.

Every year we have the same problem - they love it - we hate it and now it's trying to climb up the side wall of the Bogs abode.

I guess they think it looks rustic. I can't help but notice that they don't like it enough to grow it on their own walls.

At least the temperature is a Springlike 10°C today and it's dry. Sure beats Manitoba.

Yellow Paper? - I Don't Believe It

Friday

"Never believe anything printed on yellow paper." That's what my Father used to tell me.

I notice that letters from New Labour's members of parliament are printed on pale yellow paper.

You were right Pa.

Milt Wages War On Ivy

Thursday

Don't you just hate ivy? I've been ripping it off fences all day.

The stuff comes through from next door and tries to strangle everything in its path.

I've cut through all the stems I can find and removed all the bits I can get to and now my hands look like they've been fighting a losing battle with barbed wire.

As soon as "them next door" go out shopping I shall be spraying what's left on my side with weed killer.

Every year we have the same problem - they love it - we hate it and now it's trying to climb up the side wall of the Bogs abode.

I guess they think it looks rustic. I can't help but notice that they don't like it enough to grow it on their own walls.

At least the temperature is a Springlike 10°C today and it's dry. Sure beats Manitoba.

Bungling Brit Goes Bananas In Bookies Raid

Wednesday

A 24 year old crack addict is starting a seven year sentence after trying to rob a betting shop in London using a banana as a weapon.

Robert Downey threatened to shoot staff with the banana if they did not hand over the money.

The banana had been bought in a nearby fruit shop and was clearly visible to the staff as he shouted, "I want the money or I will f****** shoot you."

When staff refused to hand over any cash, Downey ran off and was arrested.

According to a report in ThisisLondon a police dog later recovered the banana.

Seven years seems kind of harsh to me when someone who drinks a litre bottle of whisky, then knocks down and kills a 12 year old schoolboy, only gets two months and a 12 month driving ban.

Betting shops are obviously more important in UK law than the life of a 12 year old child.

Motor Insurance What Motor Insurance?

Tuesday

Mrs B's motor has been with her for 17 years. It's part of the family. It now has a shunted rear end thanks to some guy who doesn't know what the brakes are for. Technically the motor is now a write off because the repair will cost more than its book value.

The assessor describes the motor as being in good condition - except for a rear panel and the rear fender that need replacing. He says the motor is "roadworthy" but Mrs B is being encouraged to scrap the car and to buy a new one.

What a good idea - car sales increase, she pays more for her insurance and she is being offered a pathetic 1/50th of the cost to help her out. All this for stopping at a red light to allow pedestrians to cross the road.

Well excuse me for not being more enthusiastic about the offer.

The guy who causes the damage gets his repair paid for - Mrs B ends up paying for her own repairs or buying a new vehicle.

Now where is the justice in that?

Thursday

Mrs B is now waiting for a cheque from the guy's insurers. The car is not being written off but she has had to settle for less than the full cost of the repair.

Basically she has been ripped off by the insurers. But then who hasn't been?

Chat Room Lover Loses Fingers and Toes

Monday

It was sunny this morning and I mistakenly thought that Spring had arrived. The weather forcasters have been promising a day of sunshine and marginally warmer temperatures. No such luck. It clouded over and I had to break the ice on the pond.

It's all relative of course. In Manitoba the current temperature is around -15.10°C and there's a massive high of -9°C promised. I'll settle for Bogsville's 4°C for the moment. It's hard to imagine what -15.10°C feels like.

Did you read about Charles Gonsoulin from L.A. who fell in love with a Quebec woman in an internet chat room for depressed people?

The 41-year-old self-employed mechanic has a conviction for robbing a Pizza Hut back in 1984 which meant he couldn't legally enter Canada. The woman couldn't afford to visit L.A. so he decided to visit her, setting off from Pembina in North Dakota to walk across the border to Winnipeg.

While he was walking temperatures in the area reached a high of - 10 C and a low of - 30°C. He got lost and was rescued by an RCMP officer on Feb. 23 after spending 100 hours in sub zero temperatures. He had only walked 7 kilometres.

He will be deported -- minus all his fingers and some of his toes. Cpl. Don McKenna of the Emerson RCMP told the Winnipeg Free Press that he knew something was wrong when he came across a pair of gloves and a couple of duffel bags as he followed Gonsoulin's tracks in the snow. He said "Gonsoulin's hands were black and frozen solid. He didn't know who he was or where he was."

It sure can be a cruel world out there and a lot of guys do some pretty stupid things when they are in love.....

Naturists Bare All In Bogsville Bars

Sunday

Seems like Bogsville bars have finally come up with an imaginative way of boosting trade on quiet nights. "We just close the curtains, put a sign on the door and let it all hang out," said Kikka Tush, the diminutive blonde licensee of the Pig & Plonker bar in Bogsville's residential South-west Quarter.

Ex Firechief Tug Onan from Boobchester County told us that he always brought a towel to sit on. "Some of those stools can be real cold in February and March but I guess that will always be a problem in bars that rely too heavily on older boilers."

The evening was the brainchild of Ava, Tug's wife who had attended similar functions in NY and was also responsible for the group's "au naturel" croquet event. By all accounts it was a swinging affair that proved very popular. Unfortunately the event attracted the unwanted attentions of a streaker.

Another Milt's Bar Closes

Friday

Just what is going on here? The hand-written note on the bar door says, "Closed until further notice". Unfortunately it's not the Hole In The Ground.

That makes two closed bar reports this week.

We walk on to the next bar and are surrounded by people with mobile phones. Messages flying here there and everywhere.

Are there really people out there who are desperate to know where you are and what lousy beer you are drinking and what mindless garbage Bill or Billie just came out with? I suppose there must be.

I stand next to a table with five people - four mobile phones sitting on the table waiting for a message - one person texting like mad. Eventually two of the guys give up waiting for a message and rediscover speech.

Thank God that dodgeball.com hasn't got to Bogsville yet.
"With dodgeball.com, you may never drink alone again."

13 Year old Boy Gets Life For Raping Teacher

Friday

According to a BBC news report - a 13 year-old boy has been ordered to be detained for life for raping his teacher during a one-to-one session at a centre for disturbed children.

The County Durham schoolboy, who was 12 when he carried out the assault in November 2004, admitted rape and theft at an earlier hearing.

Teesside Crown Court heard the attack took place after the teacher collected the boy from his home and took him to a one-to-one teaching session at an educational establishment in the county.

The boy asked the woman if they were the only people in the building and then attacked her. After the rape, he drove the woman's car away and dumped it on Tyneside.

There is a much fuller report here.

Milt's Bar Loses License

Thursday

You can Imagine my dismay when I discovered the following headline - Milt's Bar Has Had Enough.

The story continues - "Milt's was a quiet social drinker until last year, when the neighbors started calling the cops. In one year, there were more than 800 police calls to the block where Uncle Milt's squats in a brown brick shoebox, next to a Post Office parking lot."

Disaster - the bar's lost its license.. Those of you with RealPlayer can watch coverage here.

How Much Is A Testicle Worth?

Wednesday

Just in case some of you are suffering from withdrawal symptoms here's a link to yet another load of old balls. This time it's from South Africa.

Elephant Threatens VW Polo

Wednesday

You are sitting in your car at a red light on a pedestrian crossing when a guy in a Peugeot, who passed his test two weeks ago, forgets what the brake pedal is for and runs into the back of you.

His insurance company, Elephant, phones and without looking at the car say they will write your motor off because it's a 1986 VW Polo and the repair will cost more than their book says the car is worth.

Excuse me but we seem to be missing the point here. We've had the car since 1986 and it's a one owner, very low mileage runabout motor and it was the guy you agreed to insure who ran into the back of it. We just expect the motor to be returned to the condition it was in before he ran into it. We would like to be able to open the tailgate - seems reasonable.

You should be glad that he didn't run into the back of the Volvo - they really know how to charge for replacement parts.

N.B. In the advert it was the Peugeot the Elephant sat on.

Update

An independent assessor came to assess Mrs B's bodywork. She now has to wait for a verdict on her rear end. I'm keeping out of the way

Trevor Phillips On Fathers, Maths And Sport

Tuesday

Trevor Phillips who chairs the UK's Commission for Racial Equality doesn't mince his words does he?

According to an article in the Guardian Newspaper Phillips says that Black boys failing to thrive in particular subjects might be taught in separate classes from their white counterparts.

He is also quoted as saying, "A tough new strategy would compel black fathers to be responsible fathers. If they can't be bothered to turn up for parents' evening, should they expect automatic access to their sons and should boys who can't make the grade in maths be allowed to make the football team?"

I'm all for fathers accepting their responsibilities but this "no maths grade no soccer team" strategy could have serious repercussions for soccer and other sports in UK.

If you removed all low academic achievers, black or white, from UK sport, most teams would struggle to field a side.

Wasn't Trevor Phillips the guy behind the Channel 4 documentary series "Second Chance" that took 14-year-old Ryan Bell from a south London housing project and paid for him to attend the exclusive Downside School in western England?

That was a great success too.

Drum Education London

Monday

I hear from Graham Elderson over there in London UK that he's taken to riding the transport rails with half a drum kit. Last week he took the drums for a day out by the sea in Brighton.

At some point he had to transfer to a bus so he took the drums upstairs where they could get a better view of the surroundings.

When they arrived in Brighton they found that the rest of the band had decided to stay at home.

The drums on the bus
Go up and down
Up and down
Up and down
The drums on the bus
Go up and down
All day long...

Then to my chagrin I discovered that the song had already been done - so for all those of you with RealPlayer - try this link from
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org.

And if you are travelling from London to Brighton and you see the Elderson kit - give him a wave for me.

If you look carefully at the picture you'll see not only a drum kit on the upper deck but also a telephone box on the lower deck of the bus. Amazing what goes on in London these days.

For those of you who feel cheated by this story get online drum tips from Clark Tracey at www.clarktracey.com/workshop.htm by left clicking here.

Chimp Party Crashers Go For Nuts

Sunday

Latest

St James Davis out of coma

Extent of chimp attack revealed

Nothing criminal about chimp attack

Two chimps were shot dead last Thursday after a party at a Californian animal sanctuary got out of control.

St James Davis, 62, was severely mauled and his wife LaDonna, 64, lost a finger when they were attacked by a pair of chimpanzees. The party was to celebrate the 39th birthday of their former pet chimp Moe at the Animal Haven Ranch near Havilah, in California.

Davis, a former Nascar driver, had his nose ripped off, and his testicles and a foot severed, after he took Moe out of its cage so it could eat a piece of birthday cake.

While they were standing outside Moe's enclosure, Buddy and Ollie, two male chimps escaped from an adjoining cage and jumped on Mr Davis. After Buddy was shot, Ollie dragged Mr Davis down the road. Doctors said most of Mr Davis's face had been chewed off.

Workers at the refuge shot and killed the two chimps and recaptured two others that had broken out of their cages.

LaDonna Davis reports that her husband is now in a stable condition at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

The Davises had waged an unsuccessful legal fight to bring Moe, who was not involved in the attack, back to their West Covina home and visited him regularly at the sanctuary where he had been living since October. They brought the chimp from Africa years ago after a poacher killed his mother.

Chimp-bite victim still clinging to life

Chimp Attack Survivor Struggles With Recovery.

I want to thank Dale B. Vitger for pointing me in the direction of this story. I sure enough had missed it.

Bogsville news gathering services can be a bit hit and miss at times.

Dale's mail

"I'm worried about Milt. He seems to be getting bogged down in the minutiae of his European travel planning, and not picking up on the major news items (see today's Daily Telegraph). This is most unlike him. It must be the cumulative effect of the damage to Mrs B's rear end, the carpet beetles, and the Bogsville dog's incontinence.
I would like to know why, when we chaps over here have been holding harmonious chimps tea parties for years (as featured on TV), the folks over there can't manage these events without gunfire and the loss of essential body parts.
If it's not too controversial, I think Mrs B. should consider a pick-up truck, with the optional gun rack, as a replacement vehicle.."

Just like to point out Dale that the chimp tea parties you watched on UK TV only involved very small chimps. As you must know we have a "big is best" mentality over here. Mrs B's rear end should be in hand shortly and we finally got a human voice on the UK ScotRail phoneline so the Easter tour looks like it's back on course.

We have been researching possible alternative personal vehicular transport systems for Mrs B. and bearing in mind that big is best we were impressed by this stretch Hummer. Plenty of room for a gun rack there. I wonder if they do it in pink?

ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper Service

Saturday

Last Monday, 28th Feb, at about 6.30 pm we called UK's First ScotRail's telesales to book the Caledonian Sleeper service from Euston, London to Aberdeen, Scotland. Before you ask - we couldn't use the online booking service because their computer system is being updated.

We asked for an Apex fare. The woman could not tell us if that fare was available. She would have to send a fax to find out if it was available and we would be contacted by telephone in 2 to 3 days. She made a provisional reservation for the berth.

We have heard nothing since.

Yesterday evening (Fri) we phoned First ScotRail and were told that the sleeper reservation office was now shut.

We were advised to phone at 8am this morning - which we did. We were told that the office did not open until 10am.

We phoned at 10am and stayed on hold for 1 hour and 15 minutes with no success and at our expense because their number is not a free number. Mrs B. used her mobile to phone customer services but they were closed! I suspect that she can think of better ways to spend her day off work.

So here we are nearly a week later not knowing if we can get an overnight sleeper ticket or how much it will cost. We need to know one way or the other so that we have time to book a flight if that's necessary.

It's kind of hard to believe that in 2005, sleeper tickets cannot be booked on line or that it's impossible to speak to someone who can sell you the ticket you require. Do First ScotRail want people to travel with them?

Vehicle Exhaust Emissions Shocker

Friday.

Figures published by Calor UK claim that

"...emissions from diesel and petrol vehicle engines could see pedestrians and city dwellers inhaling pollutants equivalent to up to three packs of cigarettes a day.

The research by Calor, was based on published air quality statistics for 30 UK locations and show the impact of road traffic on local air quality.

Levels of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) were compared to the amounts inhaled from a cigarette to illustrate the serious impact of such priority pollutants on public health in the region.

Surprisingly, while London locations were high on the list - Marylebone Road's average NOx levels equated to 30 cigarettes a day - the most polluted location was Oxford, with the annual average equating to 61 cigarettes a day. The peak level for Oxford equated to 185 cigarettes in a 24-hour period. Another heritage site, Bath, was second at 46 cigarettes while Glasgow gained third place at 44 cigarettes.

The Government's stated target for average NOx levels is 21 parts per billion - the equivalent of 12 cigarettes a day."

www.lpg-vehicles.co.uk/lpg_news/
oxford_tops_uk_air_pollution_list.htm
Calor UK.

It's interesting to compare Calor's findings with those offered here for smoking-attributable mortality in UK.

Rear Ends And Lady Bugs And Sir Bill Gates

Thursday

Some young guy ran in the back of our old VW Polo this morning. He'd passed his test last week and been given a Peugeot something or other. He had mastered the accelerator but hadn't got round to finding the brake pedal. He wants to sort it without informing his insurance company.

Mrs B. is not a happy lady. Her rear end is dented. Oh well age catches up with us all sooner or later.

I have also discovered that the dear little lady bugs we keep finding in the bedroom are not lady bugs at all.

The lady bugs - "beneficial insects which help control many pests" that I have been rescuing and putting on the houseplants to devour any overwintering aphids are in fact carpet beetles, "among the most difficult indoor pests to control because of their ability to find food in obscure places and to disperse widely throughout a building."

One of their more endearing qualities is their ability to deflesh a skeleton". "A raccoon can be cleaned to the bone within a few weeks by a small colony of beetles."

So much for me rescuing the little boggers!

Sir Bill GatesMy London UK news source just sent me this news -

"Bill Gates received an honorary knighthood yesterday. But he will remain plain Mr Gates - only British citizens are allowed to use the title 'Sir'. After the ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Sir Mr Bill Gates revealed that the Queen had admitted she never used a computer. Mr Gates said: 'It's not as natural for her as it is for young people.' He collected his honour for his business achievements and charitable work.

I guess we'll all get Royal Bluescreens from now on.

Rock Legends Not Recognised By Queen

Wednesday

Refreshing news from Buckingham Palace where the Queen hosted a musical theme day and put guests ranging from Terry Wogan to Phil Collins firmly in their place.

Gods of the pop industry were reduced to nonentity status by her Majesty's inability to recognise the likes of Brian May, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton or Jeff Beck.

"What do you do?" she asked Brian May and followed up by asking Clapton how long he had been playing the guitar.

"Next was Jeff Beck, like Clapton and Page a former Yardbird. Her Majesty was duly informed of the fact. "We're all from Surrey,"added Clapton, grasping for some point of commonality. Luckily, the Queen had heard of Surrey."
(Daily Telegraph)

I bet she recognised Terry Wogan.

Now for all you John Cage fans out there I submit the following links -

An excellent performance of 4'33" by Margaret Leng Tan performing on a toy piano.

A video clip of John Cage himself playing 4'33" on a piano in a street.

The last two links are from
http://home.flash.net/~jronsen/cagelinks.html.

Motorist Given Two Month Sentence For Killing Schoolboy

Tuesday

27 year old Aaron Chisango drinks a litre bottle of whisky, just hours before he knocks down and kills 12 year old schoolboy Jamie Mason.

He admits to a drink-driving offence, admits to driving without a licence and to driving without insurance.

The prosecution decided there was insufficient evidence to charge him with driving without due care and attention so he got a two month prison sentence and was disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Chisango, from Zambia, has so far had an application for UK citizenship turned down four times. As he has already been in custody for seven weeks, he is expected to be released in a matter of days.

What on earth is going on over there in the UK?

I jest not - check the story out for yourself in the Shropshire Star.

Tilly Merrell's Bargain £10,000 Burger

Tuesday

This Story Beggars Belief

There's nothing very special about eating a burger with cheese, bacon, egg, ham and hash browns unless you are Tilly Merrell.

Photo-BBC news

Seven year old Tilly, from Warndon in Worcestershire, UK, has only ever been fed liquids pumped through a tube connected to her stomach. UK paediatric consultants had decided she was suffering from a rare condition in children called Isolated Bulbar Palsy, which prevented her from swallowing solid food.

Tilly's parents raised £10,000 and she was flown to California for treatment.

Tests at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Stanford, California, indicated that she had swollen tonsils but was otherwise healthy. She is now eating normally without the help of the tube.

£10,000 for a trip to diagnose swollen tonsils! It was worth every penny for Tilly and her parents but someone needs to come up with a lot of answers here.

Timesonline

BBC Hereford&Worcester