BALD EAGLE

Worked out well!

2009-04-06T14:30:00.002Z

The decision to enter two Club teams in the Dorset Short Mat League Div 5 could have had disastrous consequences but as it turned out it proved successful.
Last Sunday (April 5) saw the final matches of Verwood's 2008/09 campaign resulting in the two teams gaining 1st & 2nd place.
The Forresters won the Division and automatically gained promotion. For some reason the organiser of the League will not decide until the start of next season whether the Potters, runners up, earn promotion as well.
What ever the decision the Club has had its most successful year to date.
Apart from a few County competitions I am entered in, this is the end of my indoor season for another year and the attention now moves to outdoor bowls starting April 15th.

Happy Birthday!

2009-03-18T19:06:00.009Z

To celebrate Yvonne's birthday I arranged a Spa Break at The Hilton Hotel , Bath. Although we have visited Bath on many occasion's this time the visit seemed more relaxing than previous visits.

Normally we are rushing around shopping and trying to cram in as much as we could for the time allowed. This time, apart from a session at the new Spa Baths, we had no agenda.

We arrived on Sunday morning after an eventful drive down. We (I) chose a different route and I have to confess we got lost. When we arrived in Bath we found that the annual Bath Marathon was taking place and a lot of the roads were closed and we could not get to the hotel. Having found a parking place we took a 20 minute walk to our hotel and met up with Lynn & Mick who had travelled down for the "Birthday Girl".

The Break included a bottle of champagne in the room and two 2 hour sessions in the new Spa Baths but when I made the booking I mentioned that the visit was to celebrate a special occasion.

When checked in, the Hotel had given us a free room upgrade, fresh fruit and a bottle of wine in the room and a birthday card for Yvonne.

We had lunch with Lynn & Mick and then I had to make the 20 minute journey back to the car, by which time I could get into the Hotel car park.

In the evening, after Lynn & Mick left for their journey home, we dined in the Hotel.

The sunny weather continued into the Monday and after a leisurely breakfast we strolled around the city and in the afternoon spent our 2 hours in the relaxing Spa Baths.

On Tuesday, our final day, we awoke to another fine day and having checked out of the Hotel we took a boat ride down the river Avon to the village of Bathampton and back.

Medhupparu 2009

2009-03-10T18:37:00.000Z

Medhupparu has not lost any of its charm in the last 12 months.

Since we visited last year improvements have been made to the facilities but little else has changed. The staff are still friendly and many that we have got to know over the four years we have been visiting the island, still remain. The tranquility has not changed and the snorkeling still provides surprises.

However, the credit crunch has left it's mark. The staff numbers have had to be reduced and when we were there the remaining staff were told that further cuts would have to be made.

The island is fully booked up until the end of May but from then on, so far, the bookings are down. Due to this there is talk of closing some of the accommodation and part of the bar and dining room.

Let's hope that we are in a position to return in 2010 and if we do it looks as though our party numbers will be increased.

Travel woes as snow falls across UK

2009-02-02T08:23:00.006Z

Heavy snow has caused travel chaos as bus services were suspended, trains were cancelled and delayed, and some airport runways temporarily closed.
An army of snow ploughs and gritters were working to clear roads as much of the UK was blanketed in snow.
London Transport suspended its bus services because of dangerous conditions on the roads.
A number of train services linking London and the south coast were also delayed or cancelled as snow drifted onto the tracks.

Gatwick Airport and London City Airport were both temporarily shut as their runways were de-iced.

Southeastern Trains said it had cancelled all rail services into London after heavy snow fell overnight Kent and Sussex.

VERWOOD 7:30AM FEBRUARY 2, 2009

Marching onwards and upwards!

2009-01-27T09:01:00.002Z

I hope I am not tempting fate but Verwood Short Mat Bowling Club are on a high this season. Let's hope it continues!
The Potters have played 8 matches so far and are top of the table with 34 points. The Foresters, who are considered to be the "first team", have played 7 matches and are lying in second place with 29 points.
We are halfway through the season and the two teams have a return crunch match against each other on February 6th.

Films to watch out for in 2009

2009-01-26T17:32:00.001Z

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

So here we have an X-Men prequel (set 17 years before the last film) where we find out how Wolverine became practically indestructible and grew those fancy claws.

Angels & Demons

Whatever you may have thought about The Da Vinci Code, it still went on to be one of the biggest films of all time. So here we have another Dan Brown tale which finds Tom Hanks chasing around Vatican City looking for something or other.

Goodbye 2008 and hello 2009!

2009-01-04T17:13:00.005Z

For some 2008 was not the best of years and they are probably glad to see the back of it. So for those people, look forward to a happier 2009.

From a personal point of view there were many happy memories during 2008 and we are looking to an eventful 2009.
We have two major holidays booked, a return to the Maldives in February and Egypt in September.
Squeezed between the two is a short break in Bath for Yvonne's **'th birthday. Visitors from across the Pond in May. My **'th birthday in August and my retirement. Another trip is in the planning stage for December.

To everybody that gets to read this HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Out on the town!

2008-12-21T12:10:00.003Z

Last night we took ourselves off to the Lighthouse, Poole's centre for the Arts for "The Last Night of the Christmas Proms" by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
It made a nice change to "dress up" and on arrival we started off the evening with drinks in the bar before taking our seats in the Concert Hall.
The seats were excellent, four rows from the front. The Hall had been decked out with festive decorations and a light show on the sides and rear of the stage.
We have been to a BSO concert before and they have a very good reputation. The first half of the concert consisted of a mixture of Prom favourites and Christmas music. We had pre-ordered drinks for the interval, very civilised and then returned for the second half of audience participation joining in the singing and waving our light sticks.
All in all an excellent night out.

Winning streak falters!

2008-12-21T11:58:00.003Z

The Verwood Potters triples team winning streak faltered last Friday when they lost to the Verwood Foresters team at Verwood. The Potters suffered from no luck and could not up their game when it was needed against their rivals from the home Club. The Potters "Fours" managed to salvage some of the match points with a win over the opposite team and earned 2 points.
This leaves the Potters still in second place in the League with the Foresters moving up to third.

Triples impress - for how long ?

2008-12-07T10:13:00.008Z

Last Sunday saw the Verwood Potters gain an away draw against Flight Falcons who are one of the top clubs in the League. This puts them into second place in the Division.
Once again the triples team captained by myself, led the way and have not lost any of their matches so far.

Today, Sunday, the winning streak continued with a win on both mat's away against Poole Park, earning us the full 6 points.
On Friday we play the other Verwood team. This team is considered the "best". It' all on the night!

Here we go again!

2008-11-23T16:31:00.005Z

The Short Mat Bowls season commenced at the beginning of November and for the 2008/2009 season Verwood SMBC have entered two teams in the Dorset League Division 5 with the teams being named the Foresters and the Potters.

To remind you each match consists of a team of triples and fours. You receive 2 points for a mat win, 1 for a draw plus 2 bonus points for a match win or 1 point for a match drawn.

The Foresters have played 2 matches and one both of them giving 12 points and the Potters have played three games won two and drawn one giving them 15 points.

For a detailed analysis of the games follow the link.

National Day plans scrapped

2008-10-27T09:12:00.002Z

Plans for a "national day" first put forward by Gordon Brown as part of his bid to encourage the celebration of Britishness have been dropped by the Government, it has emerged.
The idea of a patriotic celebration similar to America's July 4 or Bastille Day in France was first promoted by Mr Brown as Chancellor in 2006, months after the 7/7 bombings.
And it was one of the key recommendations of a citizenship review he commissioned from former attorney general Lord Goldsmith when he became Prime Minister last year.
But Constitution Minister Michael Wills told MPs it was not now on the cards.
Shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert said "First a national motto, then an oath of allegiance, now a patriotic day - one token initiative after another in Gordon Brown's Britishness agenda has sunk without trace.
"Labour still hasn't worked out that British identity is bound up in our institutions, culture and history. It can't be re-manufactured by their spin doctors."

Bournemouth Air Festival 2008

2008-09-01T14:47:00.015Z

On Sunday August 31st, the worst day of the festival in terms of weather forecast, five adults and five children undertook the short journey to watch the last day of this the first four day Bournemouth Air Festival sponsored by More Buses, in association with Excelsior Coaches. It was publicised as the town’s biggest free four-day event celebrating all things aviation.

We parked the cars on Southbourne clifftop and walked down the zigzag path to the beach promenade below and then took the 30 minute walk to the far side of Boscombe pier to obtain the best view of the flying display.

AND WHAT A DISPLAY IT WAS!

Despite the overcast sky and the low cloud base it failed to put a damper on the final day of the festival. The programme schedule was altered but the only items that had to be cancelled were the Team Guinot Wing Walkers and the RAF Falcons parachute display. Both cancelled because of deteriorating weather conditions.

Amongst the highlights were the Blue Eagle helicopter display with fantastic maneuverability and upside down stunts.

The de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen a 1950s/60s British two-seat jet fighter of the Fleet Air Arm (the air component of the Royal Navy) designed by de Havilland.

The Blades, a four man team made up of ex Red Arrow pilots gave some of the most impressive stunts and precise formation acrobatic moves.

At the slower end of the scale was a Catalina, a US flying bomber boat from the 1930s/40s, used in WWII as an anti-submarine aircraft, and search and rescue aircraft, the impressive Lancaster bomber, one of only two in the world, a DC-6 and a towed glider performing eight-barrel rolls.

The event the crowd were waiting for however were the fantastic Red Arrows. They did not disappoint as usual performing several new stunts.

Incredibly the rain held off for the entire display until the Eurofighter Typhoon appeared out of nowhere.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is the fastest aircraft in the world today and is the newest addition to the RAF as it marks its 90th birthday. The aircraft can travel at speeds of 1,300 mph and can fly to an altitude of 65,000ft.

If you saw the film "Top Gun", forget that, this plane is awesome. I doubt the pilot even got into top gear.

He tore across the sky in what appeared to be serene silence and moments later an ear splitting roar, that made kids cry, showed off the planes elegant display of its abilities.

The organisers estimate that over 750,000 people flocked to the resort over the four days with possibly 380,000 on the Saturday alone.

Hotels were doing a roaring trade with their rooftop dining, offering a birds eye view of the whole event. The festival was not confined to just the flying displays, the Lower Gardens had a carnival atmosphere with several events going on during the day and evening.

It has already been announced that the festival will take place in 2009 and I for one, with more time on my hands will definitely pay a return visit on more that one day.

Artificial Surf Reef

2008-09-01T14:32:00.003Z

Europe’s first artificial surf reef is currently being built in Boscombe, Bournemouth this year and is set to put Bournemouth firmly on the UK surf map.The surf reef will act as a ramp, pushing waves upwards, doubling their size and improving their quality for surfers. As a result, the number of good surfing days will be doubled. The reef will also enhance water sports on offer including kite-surfing, windsurfing, wake-boarding, kayaking, SCUBA-diving, sailing and skim-boarding. The surf reef will not generate waves, but will amplify the existing surf.
Specialist construction material for the reef, the ecologically sound geo-textile bags came from Australia, with the webbing base from New Zealand.

Boscombe is currently enjoying an £10million make-over. Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway MBE are designing luxury beach huts in the Overstrand complex, on Boscombe promenade, offering all the mod-cons expected by the 21st century surfer and holiday maker. Boscombe Victorian Chine Gardens have been transformed, Boscombe Pier end has been demolished and rebuilt and the seafront is being re-landscaped. The surf reef and super beach huts will be accompanied by a surf retail outlet, a surfing school and a glass-fronted restaurant offering fantastic panoramic views of Bournemouth and the Solent. There will also be a catering outlet selling good-quality food-to-go, an RNLI beach lifeguard station, changing rooms, toilets and warm showers, all contributing to the major transformation of Boscombe seafront.

For further details go to http://www.bournemouthsurfreef.co.uk

Preparedness for 'space aliens'

2008-05-06T07:33:00.000Z

A Denver man who wants the city to be prepared for space aliens is proposing a commission to deal with the matter.
Jeff Peckman said the 18-member commission would form a strategy "dealing with issues related to the presence of extraterrestrial beings on Earth".

Heathrow Airport 'worst in Europe'

2008-04-29T15:34:00.001Z

Heathrow Airport has been branded the "worst in Europe" by a senior executive of a US airline.
Don Langford, head of customer services Europe for American Airlines, delivered an outspoken attack on the west London airport, saying it was a "bit of a dump" that suffered from a lack of investment
The comments come as Heathrow attempts to rebuild its reputation after the opening of the £4.3 billion Terminal 5 saw tens of thousands of bags lost and dozens of flights delayed.
Mr Langford told BBC Radio 4 Heathrow was the worst of all European destinations his company flies to.
He told the broadcaster: "Heathrow is not just bursting at the seams. I think the seams have burst.
"If you look at the fabric of the building, if you look at where customers check in - missing light bulbs, duck tape on the floor.
"I would have to say that Heathrow is in many ways the worst of all the airports that my company flies to in Europe."

Ladies & Gents Presidents Day

2008-04-27T11:08:00.005Z

Verwood Bowling Club held their annual Ladies & Gents Presidents Day on Saturday. The event was opened by the Verwood Deputy Mayor and attended by a photographer from the local paper, The Bournemouth Echo.

The match was held in brilliant sunshine and over 30 Club members played over 6 rinks.

2008-04-23T16:37:00.003Z

Three grand luxury liners, Cunard's fleet of "Queens" - Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth 2 have met in their home port of Southampton for the first and final time in their history.
The QM2 and Queen Victoria then left port shortly afterwards, leaving the QE2 in dock.
The QE2 will retire in November when it will be converted into a hotel in Dubai after more than 40 years in service.
The Queen is making a farewell trip to her namesake in June before it sets sail for the United Arab Emirates.
It will be the third time the Queen has visited the QE2 since she named it at Clydebank, Scotland, in 1967.
During its 41 years at sea, the 70,000 tonne ship has travelled more than 5.6m nautical miles, carried more than 2.5m passengers and has also been used to transport troops and host royalty.
The historic meeting of the three luxury cruise liners on the south coast comes three months after the ships met for the first time in New York in January.
The earlier encounter was believed to have been a one-off in Cunard's 168-year history but a change in the QE2's schedule met they have all met again for the first time in their home port.

BA delays long-haul move to T5

2008-04-11T12:56:00.001Z

British Airways is to postpone moving most of its long-haul flights to Heathrow's T5 because of continuing problems at the £4.3 billion terminal, union sources said.
The airline was due to transfer nearly all its long-haul operation from Heathrow's Terminal 4 on April 30.
But the opening of the new terminal has been beset by delays and disruption, with flights cancelled and passengers left stranded.
Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union said: "This is a sensible move which gives time to make sure everything works smoothly."
BA chief executive Willie Walsh said: "We are making this decision in the interests of customers. Though Terminal 5 is now working well, we need to have confidence that good service can be maintained when the terminal is handling larger numbers of customers.
"It is only sensible to ensure that Terminal 5 is operating consistently at a high standard before the move begins."
BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said: "BAA regrets this postponement, and we recognise the impact it has on other airlines, but we believe it is a wise precaution to ensure that passengers can have the maximum confidence once the move does take place."
Under the original plans, almost all BA's Terminal 4 long-haul services were due to switch to T5 at the end of the month, totalling 60 departures and 60 arrivals a day.

Heathrow T5 - 4th Day

2008-03-30T09:23:00.001Z

Teething troubles at Heathrow's Terminal 5 are continuing, with 37 of Sunday's flights cancelled and 15,000 pieces of luggage waiting to be reunited with their rightful owners.
As the terminal enters its fourth day of operation, British Airways said it expects 85% of incoming and outgoing flights to go ahead, a figure that it hopes will rise to 87% on Monday.
A BA spokeswoman said it hoped things will steadily improve as the week goes on, but admitted: "This is dependent on the performance of the baggage system."
The airline admitted 15,000 bags had gone astray thanks to a glitch with its "complex and sophisticated" luggage handling system.
More News
"It is 15,000 bags we need to reunite with their owners," said a spokeswoman, adding: "To put this into context, we process 75,000 bags every day.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has written to British Airways to ensure that the airline has been complying with European legislation on passengers' rights.
"We wrote to them on Friday and will be contacting them as a matter of urgency this week to ensure they are fulfilling the requirements of the legislation, that all passengers should be treated the same," a spokesman said.
The union Unite said Heathrow workers were frustrated that their long-standing concerns about Terminal 5 (T5) had "fallen on deaf ears".
Unite National Secretary for Civil Aviation Steve Turner said workers had raised concerns about feared problems at T5 "over a long period of time".
Those included issues of access through security gates into the terminal and issues relating to the baggage handling areas.

Hathrow T5 - 2nd Day

2008-03-28T13:47:00.002Z

Chaos continued to reign at Heathrow's Terminal 5 as long queues built up and more flights were set to be cancelled after a disastrous opening day.

Baggage check-ins at the flagship £4.3billion facility were re-opened but arguments broke out between passengers who started queuing as early as 4am.
But many have already missed their flights with some blaming a lack of desks open to cope with the number of people and the wrong information given out.
British Airways said they had drafted in extra staff and had held meetings through the night to try and ease the problems that wrecked what should have been a landmark day on Thursday.

A spokesman said they hoped that 80% of flights would take off but some cancellations would be inevitable.
By midday ten flights had already been cancelled including those to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. BA were forced to scrap 34 flights on Thursday.
Many passengers were left stranded overnight with some finding hotels, but others forced to sleep on benches of the terminal floor.
Passengers hoping to fly out began arriving early but were met with frustration.

Heathrow T5 - 1st Day

2008-03-27T13:42:00.001Z

British Airways has apologised to passengers after a disastrous opening day for Heathrow's flagship Terminal 5 ended with the suspension of all baggage check-in at the new facility.

The decision meant travellers could only fly with carry-on hand luggage.

35 outgoing and 28 incoming flights have also been cancelled during a day of chaos at the terminal, dubbed the "Gateway to Britain" by Her Majesty the Queen at its recent unveiling.

British Airways Director of Operations Gareth Kirkwood apologised in a statement for the "short term difficulties" and announced that those with more luggage could seek a refund for their planned flights.
It is believed hold luggage has been allowed on some long haul flights as BA attempt to resolve the travel trouble.

So Near?

2008-03-21T13:24:00.003Z

Verwood Short Mat went into their final game last Sunday lying in second place in their league needing to win 6 points to distance them from the teams lying in 3rd & 4th who had games in hand.
Unfortunately they only earned 2 points and now stand a chance of being overtaken and losing the chance of promotion.
They have however done themselves proud and will build on their success this season which was much improved over previous seasons. It has also proven that picking the strongest team available rather than letting everybody have a game at some time is the best policy.

Britain braced for storm battering

2008-03-09T18:23:00.002Z

Sunday 18:30

The worst storm of the winter is on track to batter Britain, causing traffic chaos and coastal flooding, forecasters warned.
Winds of up to 80mph, rain and hailstones are set to hit the country when an intense low pressure system reaches its shores.
South Wales and southern England are expected to bear the brunt of the storm, but the Met Office has severe weather warnings in place for all of England, Wales, northern Ireland and southern and central England.
Power supplies and transport could be disrupted, trees uprooted and buildings damaged when the storm takes hold.
The Environment Agency, which has issued severe flood warnings across Devon and Cornwall, as well as six flood warnings and 31 flood watches, urged people to stay away from coastal areas.
Airports and ferry companies have warned of possible delays and cancellations, while motoring organisations advised drivers to avoid all but essential journeys.

The storm is now visible on satellites, coming directly towards Britain, although it looks as though it is mainly going to affect the more southern parts of England and Wales rather than Scotland. Areas where the most serious damage are the headlands of west Wales, across to the south coasts of Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.
It will move across Sussex and most of the south coast, and we expect winds could reach up to 50 or 60mph in London.
Experts predicted the storm will ease after the first wave of wind, only to gain strength later in the day.

Meedhupparu 2008

2008-03-09T13:36:00.006Z

One of the highlights of a fabulous 3 weeks in Meedhupparu was taking a one day Scuba Diving course.

The course started off in the resorts swimming pool then a short video covering the various pieces of equipment. Cliff & I and two other participants were then kitted out with wetsuits and all the equipment and taken into shallow water just off the beach to go through emergency procedures in the event that our breathing tubes were dislodged from our mouths.

The next stage was not something I had expected after such a short time. We were taken by boat to an open water dive site just off another island and dived down about 20 metres to the sea bed and then spent 40 minutes swimming amongst the coral reef.

This was an amazing experience and took you into another world. Snorkeling off the beach gives you views of loads of different reef fish but diving to this depth the variety increases considerably as well as seeing the different types of coral. The highlight of the dive for me was the sight of a turtle just swimming by us totally unfazed by us mere humans.

Marching onwards & upwards!

2008-01-27T16:54:00.000Z

Verwood had a resounding win this afternoon against Whitechurch and continue their climb up Division 5 of the Dorset Short Mat Bowls League. More importantly the wins on both mats gave them vital shot advantage over some of the other teams.
This win puts them in second place as of today with up to three games in hand against the other top three teams.

Climbing up the table!

2008-01-25T17:00:00.000Z

Despite losing away to Alderholt last Sunday and coming away with no points, Verwood Short Mat Bowls Club have moved up to 4th place in Dorset League division 5 now the results are up to date.

This Sunday they are at home to Whitechurch who at present are lying second from bottom.

A Good Start

2008-01-14T11:12:00.000Z

Verwood Short Mat Bowling Club have made a good start to the 2007/2008 League season.
They have earned 21 points out of a possible 30 points from their two away matches and three home matches, which puts them in 5th place in Division 5.
I was not able to play at all at the start of the season due to injury. Having decided that the injury was not going to effect my bowling I started practising again at the beginning of the year and managed to get picked for the League team for the last two home matches.
Our next match is away to Alderholt, who we beat at home to gain 6 points.

Films to watch out for in 2008

2007-12-18T16:40:00.000Z

Star Trek XI: The Menagerie (out 26 December)Who's in it? Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Eric Bana.
What's it about? It follows the early days of James T. Kirk and his USS Enterprise crew during their time at Starfleet Academy.
Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams is directing this one - and that guy knows how to make exciting films.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (out 27 June)Who's in it? Anna Popplewell, William Moseley, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes.
What's it about? It's time to go back in that wardrobe again. The Pevensie siblings return to Narnia where they're enlisted to once again help ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land's throne, Prince Caspian.

10,000 BC (out 14 March)Who's in it? Steven Strait, Camilla Belle.
What's it about? A prehistoric epic about a young mammoth hunter's journey through uncharted territory to secure the future of his tribe. It's made by the director of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow so expect the effects to be mind-blowing.

Christmas Decoration using Potato as a Base

2007-12-11T16:46:00.000Z

The building nicknamed "Armadillo"

2007-12-03T14:00:00.000Z

Once Labour regained control of the GLC from the Tories in May 1981 the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was determined to abolish the council.
There began a four year political battle to remove the council, run by the Labour politician Ken Livingstone, whose far-left policies earned him the title Red Ken.
An initial attempt was defeated, but a Bill published in 1984 precipitated the end of the GLC and in 1986 the Greater London Council was abolished and thousands of people took part in festivities to mark the historic final hours of 97 years of local rule in London.
A throng of 250,000 people gathered on the South Bank in London, home to the Greater London Council to witness the final hours. Festivities ended with the largest display of fireworks ever seen in the city after a week of events costing £250,000.
In May 1997 Labour was elected to power with a manifesto commitment to allow Londoners a referendum on whether they wanted a new mayor and a Greater London Authority.
They overwhelmingly voted for a council which came into existence in July 2000 with Ken Livingstone as mayor.
He won the mayoral election as an independent after Labour expelled him for not supporting the party's official candidate.
He was re-admitted into the party in January 2004 after Prime Minister Tony Blair admitted he was wrong about his prediction that Mr Livingstone would be a "disaster" for London.

In July 2002 the new Greater London Authority moved into a new building on the side of the Thames. City Hall was designed by Foster and Partners, one of Britain's leading architects, whose design brief was to create a building for the GLA that would become a new landmark for the capital. It is part of the More London development located between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, on the south bank of the Thames. The GLA is leasing City Hall for 25 years.

Now owned by a Japanese company, the old County Hall building has been transformed into a leisure complex. The main riverside building contains the offices of the British Airways London Eye Experience, London Aquarium, Dali Universe tourist attractions and Namco Station, a corporate entertainment centre, as well as Premier Inn and London Marriott hotels. Dining opportunities include Locale a pizza and pasta restaurant and McDonald's.

County Hall Lettings Company handles the residential accommodation in the complex. The Club at County Hall is an exclusive health and leisure club.

London Eye & River Cruise

2007-12-03T13:13:00.000Z

On a very wet and very windy Sunday morning we boarded the 8:10 National Express coach from Ringwood to London Victoria for our prebooked River Cruise/London Eye Experience and lunch.
We could not have picked a worse day for it but as it tuned out the weather in London did improve at the right time. We arrived at Victoria Coach Station on time and walked the short distance to Victoria Underground Station to catch the tube to Waterloo on the south bank of the Thames. When we came up onto the South Bank from the underground it was still very wet and windy and we had to take the short walk to what originally was the Greater London Council building, until the GLC was disbanded by Margaret Thatcher, that now houses the ticket office for the British Airways London Eye.
Our river trip was booked for 11:45 and by the time we boarded the boat it had finally stopped raining and the skies were starting to clear. On board we were greeted with a well needed glass of warm mulled wine. The boat trip lasted about 40 mins and took us down river as far as Docklands and back to the London Eye and the commentary for the trip was very informative.

We then grabbed a quick cup of coffee before stepping on board the London Eye. Apart from a very short shower when our Pod reached the top of the Eye our views were spectacular.

We landed at about 1:30 and took the short tube journey from Waterloo to Charing Cross and then a short walk up the Strand to Porters English Restaurant in Covent Garden. After lunch we took a stroll around Covent Garden before returning to Victoria to catch our 17:00 coach back to Ringwood.

2007 Movie Review

2007-11-10T17:00:00.000Z

We very rarely go to the cinema, in fact the last time was to see "Happy Feet" when it first came out and that was part of our wedding anniversary weekend break to Bath last year.

I have a decent home cinema system and prefer watching movies in the comfort of our own home and avoid the queues for the drinks/sweets/ice cream!
Over the last couple of years I have built up a collection of about 50 DVD's and when it comes to buying them I tend to look for the bargain buys and movies that I know I will watch more than once. The latter means I will get good value for my money. Likewise with a wish list for Christmas/Birthday, the list will only be of movies I will watch more than once.
Any movies that fall outside these criteria I will hire from the local library at a cheaper rate and for longer period ie: a week, than it would cost from a dedicated movie hire store.

If you looked at my collection you will see a wide range of genre. This years bargain buys include:

Dejavu - Denzel Washington

The Pursuit of Happyness - Will Smith

Premonition - Sandra Bullock

Blood Diamond - Leonardo DiCaprio

The Interpreter - Nicole Kidman/Sean Penn

Babel - Brad Pitt/Cate Blanchett

The Constant Gardener - Ralph Fiennes/Rachel Weisz

X-Men, The Last Stand - Hugh Jackman/Halle Berry

Fantastic4 - Ioan Gruffudd

Happy Feet

Narnia

Another burden for the UK motorist

2007-11-10T16:49:00.000Z

Average petrol prices set a new milestone as UK motorists counted the cost of crude oil's surge towards 100 US dollars a barrel.
The average price drivers are now having to pay is 100.08p a litre for unleaded petrol, the AA said.

In London, Brent crude rose to more than 94 US dollars a barrel, supported by severe weather in the North Sea, which has shut down several oil platforms.

At the start of the year petrol was 88.32p a litre on average, with diesel at 93.68p a litre. This means that UK drivers are now spending an extra £8.08 million a day on petrol compared with the beginning of 2007.
The contrast with February this year - when the lowest average petrol price of 85.99p a litre was recorded - is even greater. Also, this time last year petrol cost 86.11p a litre. This means UK drivers are now spending nearly £9.61 million extra a day compared with the same time last year.
Individually, for a motorist with a typical 50-litre fuel tank, a petrol refill is costing £6.99 more than this time last year.

Petrol Price Hike!!

2007-11-04T14:29:00.000Z

Had to fill up with petrol this morning and was greeted with the sign at our local Shell garage - £1.09 for a litre of unleaded petrol!
I think a boycott of major suppliers is called for.

A Day out with Thomas the Tank Engine

2007-10-24T13:50:00.000Z

Towel Sculpture - by Akram

2007-10-12T14:35:00.000Z

The Lamaya Hotel - Marsa Alam

2007-10-12T13:33:00.000Z

The Lamaya Hotel, Marsa Alam, is located on Egypt's Read Sea and is perfect for beach lovers and water babies. It's away-from-it-all location and excellent facilities make it a real hit. The stylish design reflects the classical Arabian influences of the area and gives the complex a feeling of space and elegance.

The hotel is located in Coraya bay which is about 10 mins drive from the new Marsa Alam International airport. This grand title does not fit the daily low number of flights in and and out of the airport.

The horseshoe shape bay is surrounded by desert with a background of mountains in the distance.

On the lefthand leg of the bay can be found the Lamaya Resort Hotel where we stayed. At the bottom of the leg is a walkway across the water and coral, leading to two jetties, one for the dive boats and another for snorkelers. From the walkway can be seen a variety of fish swimming in the crystal clear water amongst the coral.

Snorkelers have easy access to the water from the jetty via ladders that project right into the water. Here the reef drops down about 30 feet to the sea bed. It is well worth taking the plunge into the clear water because on one side of you can be seen fish just below the surface swimming over the shallow water reef and if you look down you will see a variety of coral and more fish.

If staying at the Lamaya does has a minus point it is because you are not allowed to access the water immediately in front of the hotel because they are trying to encourage new coral growth. You have to walk up the beach to the start of the curve to gain access and once in the water you start to see fish from a very shallow depth. Every day we saw different fish, Blue-spotted Stingray, Lionfish, Parrot Fish etc.

If you walk around the bay on the paved walkway to the righthand side you come to the Coraya Beach Hotel. This is a slightly older hotel but has the advantage of direct access from the beach into the shallow water of the bay.

Up to 11 tornadoes strike Britain

2007-09-24T16:37:00.000Z

Tornadoes ripped through parts of Britain today, leaving a trail of destruction behind them.
Reports suggested that as many as 11 twisters formed separately as a cold front moved north-eastwards across England.
Local residents reported hearing "horrendous" noises as violent winds tore down trees, pulled off roofs, knocked off chimney pots and in once case overturned a caravan.
Hayley Stroud, 27, described the twister that hit Farnborough, Hampshire, at about 7.30am as "like something out of The Wizard Of Oz".
Terrence Meaden, deputy head of tornado research group Torro, said five reports were "looking certain" to be confirmed as tornadoes.
They came from Farnborough, Luton, Bedfordshire; Nuneaton, Warwickshire; Breaston, Derbyshire; and Eye, Cambridgeshire.
Dr Meaden said further research may well confirm that another six tornadoes - in Northampton; Nottingham; Scunthorpe; Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire; Long Eaton, Derbyshire; and Ollerton, Nottinghamshire.
Although there was widespread damage to properties and vehicles across England, there were no immediate reports of injuries.
The Met Office said a weather system "conducive" to tornadoes travelled across the country from west to east this morning.
A spokesman said localised winds had gusted up to gale force speeds of 40 to 45mph

Hengistbury Head to Mudeford Spit

2007-09-16T18:40:00.000Z

An ideal walk on a Sunday, or for that matter any day of the week is the 2 miles from Hengistbury Head Cafe to The Beach House cafe on Mudeford Spit. If you're less keen to walk, the 'Noddy Train' will take you from the car park to the Spit. Alternatively you can take the ferry from Mudeford quay, or other ferries from Christchurch quay. The last option is to cycle, making sure to keep to the paths, from the Head car park.

We took this walk on a sunny Sunday afternoon following the path across the top of the Head and down to the Spit, stopping there at the Beach House cafe for a drink and then back along the bottom lane, used by the Noddy Train, to the car park. A walk of about 4 miles in total.

The views from the top of the Head on this bright sunny afternoon were fantastic

The sandbank or Spit as its known is narrow stretch of sand jutting out into the small inlet at Mudeford at the entrance to Christchurch quay. On the sandbank are several beach huts, one of which sold for allegedly £60,000 recently!

National Coastwatch Institution

2007-09-04T16:58:00.000Z

The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) is a voluntary organisation set up in 1994 to restore a visual watch along UK shores after many small Coastguard stations closed due to Government cutbacks. NCI is a registered charity and controlled by a board of Trustees with a Constitution agreed by the Charities Commission.

NCI stations have been set up along the coast from Lands End in the South West to Hartlepool in the North East. Each station keeps a watch over its own particular area whether it is a popular seaside town, busy port or shipping area. Accidents will always happen at sea and along the coastline, wherever there is an NCI station a watchkeeper will be looking out for danger and ensuring your safety on the water.

Each Station is manned by a team of fully trained and dedicated volunteers who keep a daylight watch up to 365 days per year. Stations are equipped with telescopes, radar, telephone and weather instrumentation as well as up to date charts. Close contact with the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) aims to promote stations to Declared Facility Status in order to become an integral part of the National Search and Rescue Structure.
Watchkeepers come from all walks of life and offer a wide range of skills and experience. Full training ensures that all volunteers reach the high standard expected by the NCI and MCA. Regular assessments take place at all stations and retraining programmes are held to maintain standards, and to keep watchkeepers up to date with latest legislation or improved operational procedures.
Watchkeepers are the eyes and ears along the coast, keeping a visual watch, monitoring radio channels, using radar and providing a listening watch in poor visibility. Watchkeepers remain vigilant at all times. Surveillance work is mainly routine but watchkeepers are trained to act in an emergency, report to the MCA and if required co-ordinate with the search and rescue services.
A log of all water-based activities is kept during each watch, and if required weather conditions can be passed to yachtsmen and fishermen before they set to sea. Also with the new generation of web cams we can identify sea conditions for those who wish to check on the weather or sea state prior to doing any watersport activity, hopefully reducing the need for MCA response and RNLI call-outs. Also during each watch other activities such as canoeing. diving etc are closely observed, as are bathers, walkers and climbers who walk our shoreline.
When on watch watchkeepers provide a vital link with all the emergency services and can provide an emergency contact point on land for both sea and shore users.

We recently had the privilege of being invited into the station during a visit to Swanage. This station is open from 8.00 - 17.00, 364 days of the year. We were shown some of the equipment they use and the daily log book

An incredible spectacle of wonder and enchantment

2007-08-23T12:34:00.000Z

Cirque du Soleil changed the face of Cirque style productions with their artistic interpretations of the world’s greatest acrobatic skills. From their base in Canada, they soon became the world leaders in this style of presentation with many sold out shows in Las Vegas and around the world. And now, from the award winning creative team behind "Spirit of the Dance" one of the world’s most popular Dance shows, comes the next generation of Cirque style productions.

The spellbinding and magical Le Grande Cirque is one of the most exciting shows you will ever see and we joined an enthusiastic audience at the BIC last night.

It has fast become one of the hottest tickets in show business history with sold out shows and standing ovations night after night. It has played to over 10 million people around the world, smashing all box office records on the way. Featuring an international cast of 50 world champion acrobats and performers from over 15 countries, including China, Russia and Monte Carlo, this award winning spectacle takes your breath away. This thrill a minute production delivers incredible talent beyond your wildest imagination that takes you to the edge of your seats - and back again! Le Grande Cirque is perfect for all the family, with fun and happiness written all over it. The mesmerising show brings beautiful costumes, dynamic lighting, and some of the greatest international talent ever assembled on one stage. The music for the show has been selected from the world’s most popular classical composers, and masterfully arranged with up to date rhythms to reflect the international appeal of the show.

Hurricane Dean taken by crew members on the space shuttle Endeavour

2007-08-19T08:33:00.000Z

British holidaymakers travelling to the Caribbean face disruption as Hurricane Dean heads towards popular tourist spots with increasing strength.
Restrictions are now in force on inbound visitors to both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. The Met Office predicted that Dean could turn into a Category 5 storm - the highest level for a tropical cyclone - within the next three days.

The storm, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, is set to pass directly over Jamaica at about mid-morning Sunday local time, according to weather company MeteoGroup. It is currently travelling at 18mph towards the island, with wind speeds of 150mph and gusts of up to 185mph.
In the Cayman Islands, where the hurricane is expected early on Monday morning, the Government announced that only Cayman nationals and residents can enter the islands until further notice.

Down!

2007-08-14T13:15:00.000Z

After promotion last year, Verwood "A" bowls team have been relegated in both the Dorset and New Forest leagues.
With the end of the league matches, players can now relax for the rest of the season, which finishes the end of September and play out the remaining internal matches and friendlies.
The reason for the poor results this year could be attributed to several reasons. At the end of the day we did not play well enough but poor team selection and the fact that some players were moved into the first team to replace missing members did not help.
When the outdoor season finishes it is back to indoor short-mat bowls.

Stephen's Castle, Verwood

2007-08-14T12:21:00.000Z

Taking advantage of a sunny evening and clear blue sky's, on Sunday we drove into the town and took the short walk to the northern common to Stephen's Castle.

There is no castle here but has a viewpoint above a disused sand quarry.

In 1993 the common was designated a Local Nature Reserve.

Grazing cattle have recently been introduced to manage the growth of the grass and ferns.

The view from the top proves that it is still a "Fair Wood" with scarcely any roofs visible of the thousands of dwellings beneath the canopy of trees. This is a peaceful retreat from the hurly-burly of the town centre traffic and affords panoramic views, on a clear day, over to the Isle of Wight, Bournemouth and Purbeck. We took our binoculars with us and were able to pick out various landmarks on the horizon.

You can see Bournemouth International Airport in the near distance and planes parked on the tarmac. The water tower at Tower Park retail park is also visible.

In the far distance you can pick out the various high rise buildings of Bournemouth and Boscombe with the Purbeck Hills beyond that.

To your left can be seen Hengisbury Head with the Isle of Wight in the background

Spirit of Broadway

2007-08-01T12:22:00.000Z

"This glamorous, high energy Broadway extravaganza features an international cast of singers and the highest kicking chorus girls this side of New York! The huge cast bring you a red-hot performance that lights up the town with dazzling highlights from Broadway's greatest shows.
Chicago, Cabaret, Grease, 42nd Street, Les Miserables, Cats, A Chorus Line, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and lots more.
Lavish costumes, terrific lighting and an incredibly talented cast are all part of the success story of this breathtaking production"

That's the publicity put out by the Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth.
The first half we found a bit heavy with songs from shows such as Cabaret and Les Miserables not being to our liking. However, it picked up in the end with songs from Grease & Chicago.
The singers had very good voices but they tended to be drowned by the music.
The sound quality in the second half seemed to improve and it picked up tempo with songs form Mama Mia and Saturday Night Fever amongst others, with the audience clapping to the music. Found The Rocky Horror Show song was a bit strange.

Overall not a bad show, although we wished we had gone for plan A and booked to see Spirit of the Dance which we last saw in Tunbridge Wells some years ago.

Flooding 'the worst in modern history'

2007-07-24T08:05:00.000Z

The floods paralysing parts of Britain have been described as the worst to hit the country in modern history.
The unprecedented weather on Friday - the equivalent of a month's rain in an hour in some areas - left tens of thousands of homes without clean water or electricity.

http://news.aol.co.uk/extreme-weather/flooding-the-worst-in-modern-history/article/20070723100509990004

HAPPY 50TH

2007-07-20T18:32:00.000Z

The 19th of July marked Lynn's 50th birthday and we joined the celebrations at the Haven Hotel, Sandbanks for lunch.

The Haven is located literally on the waters edge, on the famous Sandbanks peninsula in Poole, with panoramic views over Poole Bay and Studland.

The weather was warm enough for us to eat outside on the waterside terrace.

The party was made up of twelve people and the menu was varied and when the food arrived at the table all three courses were well presented and served by smiling, attentive and efficient staff. The meal was finished off with coffee/tea and the head waiter brought the birthday cake, we had arranged to be made, to the table.

The day did not finish there because in the evening everybody was transported from Mick & Lynn's apartment by taxi to Dolphin Quay, Poole for the second surprise of the day for Lynn, a trip out in a Sunseeker cruiser around Poole harbour out to Old Harry Rocks

where we dropped anchor for drinks and nibbles. We returned about three hours later for the firework display off a barge moored in the harbour.

Flood chaos after torrential rain

2007-07-20T18:23:00.000Z

Torrential downpours drenched vast areas of Britain, leading to widespread flooding and travel chaos.
An eerie darkness descended during the height of the monsoon-like outburst, with some areas getting as much as four to five inches of rain in one day - twice the average for the whole of July.

Southern and south west England bore the brunt of the bad weather which swept up through France.

In Dorset, drivers were stranded and sewage spilled on to the streets after floods in Bournemouth and Poole.

In Verwood we were lucky that we only experienced light showers through the day mixed with clear sunny spells.

Why June has been so flaming wet

2007-06-26T13:09:00.000Z

The weather's onslaught on Britain this month is the result of a sluggish jet stream, a series of areas of low pressure and the time of year, according to a forecaster.
Heavy rain, flash floods and thunderstorms have caused havoc across the country, with three lives already lost due to the horrendous weather conditions.
Forecasters predict more rain is still to come later this week and into next as hopes of a scorching summer, inspired by record-breaking temperatures in April, continue to fade.

Flaming June?

2007-06-26T12:47:00.000Z

From the top left to right:

Somerset: Glastonbury revellers head home as the festival finishes at Worthy Farm

Barnsley: A car is pushed through flood waters

Hull: Motorists drive through deep water on the A63

Leeds: City centre residents try to reach their homes after the banks of the River Aire were breached

Beverley: Residents wade through waist-high water

Hillsborough: Sheffield Wednesday's football ground under four feet of water

Derbyshire: Traffic stuck between Duffiled and Milford after the river Derwent breached its banks

Fathers Day June 17th

2007-06-16T14:15:00.000Z

Father's Day is a primarily a secular holiday inaugurated in the early 20th century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and parenting by males, and to honour and commemorate fathers and forefathers. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide, and typically involves gift-giving to fathers and family-oriented activities.

Three days until they touch down on English soil!

2007-05-27T07:11:00.000Z

The sound of Wood on Jack

2007-05-22T07:37:00.000Z

The outdoor bowling season started on May 3 with Verwood Bowling Club second team (Verwood A), having earned promotion last season, playing in division 2 of the Dorset County League and division 3 of the New Forest League.
Moving up to the upper divisions in any sport is always going to be a challenge and this has been the case so far in both Leagues. Hopefully Verwood A can carry on improving in their matches and have another successful season with the aim to keep in the divisions.

If you want to monitor their progress, this can be done by logging on to the following sites.

http://www.kfnorman.f2s.com/leagues.htm

http://www.dorsetcountyba.org.uk/page53.html

A little piece of family history

2007-05-21T14:10:00.000Z

Although it's exact age has not been verified it is possible that this piece of stained glass is over 100 years old.

Sometime in 1918 relatives on Dad's side of the family, the O'Hara's, moved into 84 Burnthwaite Road, London SW6 and this glass was in the front door and it remained there until the last of them died in March 1989.

When the house was sold it was removed, with the new owners permission and taken to the Poulter family home in West Dulwich, London SE21.

Like any stained glass of this age, when it is removed from a solid frame it is more prone to damage and it is amazing that it stood up to the original removal, transported to West Dulwich, Bexhill in East Sussex and finally to Verwood in Dorset without being damaged.

It has been put back into a frame to keep it rigid and holds pride of place on a wall on the patio.

My wish is that it will eventually be passed on to another generation of the Poulter family who will take care of it for many years to come

Looking forward to a long hot summer!

2007-05-21T08:11:00.000Z

The Imperial Ice Stars are to skating what Cirque du Soleil is to circus.

2007-05-20T16:50:00.000Z

The Imperial Ice Stars returned to the UK as part of their world tour with a dazzling new production, Swan Lake on Ice.

They are widely regarded as the premier theatrical ice skating company in the world. Their last production, Sleeping Beauty on Ice, played to over 500,000 people in ten countries. Audiences and critics were united in their praise, with the show receiving nightly standing ovations.

Swan Lake on Ice is performed to Tchaikovsky's music by 25 World, European and National Championship skaters, who between them have won over 200 medals.

The world's leading ice director and choreographer, Tony Mercer, has assembled a first class creative team which includes double Olympic figure skating gold medallist, Evgeni Platov and quadruple Olympic gold medallist Alexi Nemov. Together they have created an unrivalled show incorporating all the intricate and thrilling moves seen at the Winter Olympics and feats never seen before in figure skating.

Sumptuous sets have been designed by Eamon D'Arcy, one of Australia's leading scenic designers, with stunning costumes by Albina Gabueva from Moscow's famed Stanislavsky Theatre.

What is also amazing is the performance we attended is played out in a theatre on a normal stage with an ice floor and not a full size ice rink!

For further information about the Imperial Ice Stars see follow up link.

Swan Lake - The Story

2007-05-20T08:21:00.001Z

Swan Lake is a ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky presented in either four Acts, four Scenes (primarily outside Russia and Eastern Europe) or three Acts, four Scenes (primarily in Russia and Eastern Europe), based on a libretto by Vladimir Begichev and (possibly) Vasily Geltser, fashioned from an ancient German legend, which tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse.

Swan Lake begins at a royal court. Prince Siegfried, heir to the kingdom, must declare a wife at his birthday ball. Upset that he cannot marry for love, Siegfried escapes into the forest at night. As he sees a flock of swans flying overhead, he aims his crossbow and readies himself for their landing by the lakeside. When one comes into view, however, he stops; before him is a beautiful creature dressed in white feathers, more woman than swan. Enamoured, the two dance and Siegfried learns that the swan maiden is the princess Odette. An evil sorcerer, Von Rothbart, captured her and used his magic to turn Odette into a swan by day and woman by night.

A retinue of other captured swan-maidens attend Odette in the environs of Swan Lake, which was formed by the tears of her parents when she was kidnapped by Von Rothbart. Once Siegfried knows her story, he takes great pity on her and falls in love. As he begins to swear his love to her - an act that will render the sorcerer's spell powerless - Von Rothbart appears. Siegfried threatens to kill him but Odette intercedes; if Von Rothbart dies before the spell is broken, it can never be undone.
The Prince returns to the castle to attend the ball. Von Rothbart arrives in disguise with his own daughter Odile, making her seem identical to Odette in all respects except that she wears black while Odette wears white. The prince mistakes her for Odette, dances with her, and proclaims to the court that he intends to make her his wife. Only a moment too late, Siegfried sees the real Odette and realizes his mistake. The method in which Odette appears varies: in some versions she arrives at the castle, while in other versions Von Rothbart shows Siegfried a magical vision of her.
At this point versions of the ballet diverge. In the original version, Odette and Siegfred, realizing that the spell can never be broken, drown themselves by leaping into the lake. This causes Von Rothbart to lose his power over them, and he dies as a result. But many different endings exist, ranging from romantic to tragic.
In a version danced by the Mariinsky Ballet in 2006, the true love between Siegfried and Odette defeats Von Rothbart, who dies after the prince breaks one of his wings. Odette is restored to human form to unite happily with the prince. This version has often been used by Russian and Chinese ballet companies. In a version which has an ending very close to the original danced by American Ballet Theatre in 2005, Siegfried's mistaken pledge of fidelity to Odile consigns Odette to eternal swanhood. Realizing that her last moment of humanity is at hand, Odette commits suicide by throwing herself into the lake. The Prince does so as well. This act of sacrifice and love breaks Von Rothbart's power, and he is destroyed. In the final tableau, the lovers are seen rising together to heaven in apotheosis. In a version danced by New York City Ballet in 2006 (with choreography by Peter Martins after Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa, and George Balanchine), the Prince's declaration that he wishes to marry Odile constitutes a betrayal that condemns Odette to remain a swan forever. Odette is called away into swan form, and Siegfried is left alone in grief as the curtain falls.

Look at these seven photographs with remarkable sayings.

2007-05-08T09:03:00.000Z

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take- but by the moments that take our breath away.

2007-05-08T08:49:00.000Z

MAY DAY

2007-05-01T07:27:00.000Z

The first day of the month of May is known as May Day. It is the time of year when warmer weather begins and flowers and trees start to blossom. It is said to be a time of love and romance. It is when people celebrate the coming of summer with lots of different customs that are expressions of joy and hope after a long winter.
Although summer does not officially begin until June, May Day really marks its beginning. May Day celebrations have their origins in the Roman festival of Flora, goddess of fruit and flowers, which marked the beginning of summer. It was held annually from April 28th to May 3rd.

Interesting Fact: Although May Day is now the first day of the month of May, before 1752, when the calendar was changed, it was 11 days earlier.

May Day Bank Holiday
The month of May has many traditions and celebrations. For the convenience of the general public many May Day activities have now been moved to the new May Day holiday on the first Monday of the month. This Monday is a bank holiday, a day off school and work.
Many of the May Day celebrations take place at the weekend as well as on the 'May Day' Monday. The weekend is know as bank holiday weekend because it comes with the extra day holiday on the Monday.

How was May Day Celebrated?
It was custom for every one to go a-Maying early on May Day.

Herrick, a 17th century English poet wrote:
"There's not a budding boy, or girl, this day,But is got up, and gone to bring in May."

Decorating Houses
May Day began early in the morning. People would go out before sunrise in order to gather flowers and greenery to decorate their houses and villages with in the belief that the vegetation spirits would bring good fortune.

Washing in the early morning dew
Girls would make a special point of washing their faces in the dew of the early morning. They believed this made them very beautiful for the following year.

May Day Garlands
Young girls would make May Garlands. They covered two hoops, one at right angles inside the other, with leaves and flowers, and sometimes they put a doll inside to represent the goddess of Spring.
In some parts of Britain, May 1st is called Garland Day.

"The first of May is Garland Day so please remember the garland.We don't come here but once a year, so please remember the garland."

May Day Lifting
There was once a tradition in England of 'lifting' where a gang of young men would lift a pretty girl in a flower bedecked chair on May day. Then the girl would choose a boy on May 2nd.

May Queen and other Festivities
The rest of the day was given over to various festivities. There was dancing on the village green, archery contest and exhibitions of strength. The highlight of the day was the crowning of the May Queen, the human replica of Flora. By tradition she took no part in the games or dancing, but sat like a queen in a flower-decked chair to watch her 'subjects'.

Maypole Dancing
A traditional May day dance is known as Maypole Dancing. On May day, people used to cut down young trees and stick them in the ground in the village to mark the arrival of summer. People danced around them in celebration of the end of winter and the start of the fine weather that would allow planting to begin.
Maypoles were once common all over England and were kept from one year to the next. Schools would practice skipping round the pole for weeks before the final show on the village greens. The end results would be either a beautiful plaited pattern of ribbons round the pole or a tangled cat's cradle, depending on how much rehearsing had been done.
Many English villages still have a maypole, and on May 1st, the villagers dance around it.

Interesting Fact: The tallest maypole is said to have been erected in London on the Strand in 1661, it stood over 143 feet high. It was felled in 1717, when it was used by Isaac Newton to support Huygen's new reflecting telescope.

Another traditional dance you will often see from May is Morris Dancing

May Day Tricks
In the North of England, the first of May was a kind of late 'April Fooling' when all sorts of pranks would take place and 'May Gosling' was the shout if you managed to trick someone. The response would be:
'May Goslings past and gone. You're the fool for making me one!'

May Day Celebrations today
In some places, May Day celebrations begin at sunset on 30 April. They include lots of floral decorations and processions through towns and villages.
Charlton-on-Otmoor, a village near OxfordA May-Day festival is held involving all the children from the Primary School. It starts with a special May-day song followed by a procession to the church. Everyone wears white and carries garlands of flowers. The girls wear straw bands and posies and ribbons in their hair.In the church, the posies are laid in a great spread below the Rood Screen, which is specially decorated with a Rood-Cross completely wrapped in Yew leaves and branches. After a very full special service, all the children process back to their school with all their families and friends. They dance a number of May-day dances and Maypole ones too before tucking into a great MAY Day feast.

Rochester Sweeps Festival
Rochester's annual Sweep Festival celebrates the traditional holiday that chimney sweeps used to enjoy on 1 May. It was the one time of the year when the sweeps could put away their tools and have some fun.
The Sweeps Festival is a colourful mix of music, dancing and entertainment. An opportunity to see some of the traditional dances and hear the songs which have been past down from generation to generation.

Earthquake shakes parts of Kent April 28 2007

2007-04-28T18:01:00.000Z

An earthquake has shaken parts of Kent, damaging buildings and disrupting electricity supplies.
Homes in five streets in Folkestone had to be evacuated because of structural damage including cracked walls and fallen chimneys.
The tremor measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale struck at 0819 BST and experts said its epicentre was a few miles off the coast in the English Channel.
One woman was taken to hospital with a neck injury.
Chief Superintendent Ally Hope said: "Given the time this happened and the number of people that were about we should be genuinely thankful that so few people were hurt."
"All our street shook...the seagulls went crazy" said resident Karol Steele
Kent Fire and Rescue Service took more than 200 emergency calls, from people concerned about a variety of issues ranging from structural damage to gas smells.
EDF Energy said it had managed to restore electricity to most of the several thousand homes left without power in the Folkestone and Dover area.
Ch Supt Hope said that the major transport infrastructure in the area also appeared to have escaped damage.
"The information I have is that the ferry ports are running normally, and that the Channel Tunnel is running normally," he said.
He said he was aware in some cases there are secondary tremors and called for people in the area to be alert, but not alarmed.
The earthquake damaged several homes in Folkestone
The Kent incident is the largest recorded in Britain since an earthquake in Dudley in 2002.
British Geological Survey (BGS) seismologist Roger Musson said the tremor was around 4.3 on the Richter scale, with an epicentre 7.5 miles off the Dover coast.
"This is by no means a complete surprise," he said. "There have been earthquakes in this location before.
"Two of them have been some of the biggest earthquakes ever to affect Britain.
"The first was in 1382 and in 1580 a quake with a magnitude of about six killed two people in London.
"There were also smaller tremors in 1776 and 1950 in the area, which were in the "low fours" and on a similar scale to the one today.
"It was a matter of time before we had another earthquake here," he said.
Residents in Folkestone gathered outside their homes to survey the damage.
The Salvation Army also comforted those affected by the tremor with shelter and refreshments. Up to 100 people, including families and the elderly, arrived at a church in Canterbury Road, Folkestone.

QUAKES IN THE UK
December 2006 - Dumfries and Galloway (magnitude 3.5)
September 2002 - Dudley, West Midlands (5.0)
October 2001 - Melton Mowbray (4.1)
September 2000 - Warwick (4.2)
April 1990 - Bishop's Castle, Shropshire (5.1)
July 1984 - Nefyn, north Wales (5.4)
June 1931 - in North Sea near Great Yarmouth (6.1)

Paul Hatton, 38, of Folkestone, said he and his brother Neil initially thought the tremor was caused by an explosion.
He said: "I was upstairs and my brother was downstairs and I heard a bang and thought that a lorry had crashed into something or that there had been a gas explosion.
"I went outside and could smell a bit of gas and there were lots of people outside."
Sam Millen, of Folkestone, was also at home when the earthquake struck.
She said: "The whole place was shaking just after 8am, the TV was rocking backwards and forwards, alarms going off, lamps smashed onto the floor, and now the small cracks in the house have got a lot bigger."
Paul Smye-Rumsby, who lives in Dover, said: "It was about 08.15 when suddenly the bed shook violently.
"I thought my wife had got cramp or something but then I saw the curtains were moving and the whole house was shaking."

They get younger and younger and the crime cannot get any worse than this!

2007-04-20T14:29:00.000Z

A sixth teenager is due to appear in court charged with the murder of schoolboy Paul Erhahon.
The 13-year-old youth is also accused of the attempted murder and grievous bodily harm of a 15-year-old boy.
The youth, who was arrested on Wednesday, will appear at Waltham Forest Youth Court.
Paul, 14, died from a stab wound to the heart after he was attacked in the foyer of a block of flats in Leytonstone, east London, on April 6.
Five people have already been charged with Paul's murder.
Theo Diah, 18, of Anglian Road, Leytonstone, appeared at Waltham Forest Magistrates' Court to face the charge on Thursday.
He and four other teenagers - aged 13, 14, 15 and 17 - will appear at the Old Bailey next Tuesday.
They are all also accused of the attempted murder and grievous bodily harm of a 15-year-old boy.
Detectives have also arrested a 19-year-old man and three boys, one aged 14 and two aged 15, who have been bailed until June while further inquiries are carried out.
Paul was the seventh Londoner under 16 to be murdered since the end of January. He attended Kingsford Community School in Beckton, east London - the same school as 15-year-old Adam Regis, who was stabbed to death last month.

Finish with a flurry

2007-04-17T09:44:00.000Z

Verwood finished the short mat league season with a win and 6 points at home against Poole Park Swans.
This win put them in a credible 5th place in division 5 and lays to rest the spectre of earning the wooden spoon last season.
The one thing they must overcome next season is their failure to win many points away from home.

The new outdoor season for Verwood Bowling Club starts tomorrow (18 April) with the opening of the green.
The Club teams achieved promotion in the New Forest and Dorset leagues last year so this year has exciting prospects and hopefully we can hold our own in the higher divisions.

Love or Hate?

2007-03-31T17:47:00.000Z

A few weeks ago the household greeted with great joy the announcement that Kodak had bought out a new version of their Easyshare Software and invited users to download from their website.
With baited breath the invitation was taken up. The download proceeded without a hitch and the installation onto the computed began. Everything seemed to be going well until suddenly and without warning the computer switched itself off and then on and then off and then on............!
What does one do in a situation like this? Switch off at the mains!
Are you readers gripped with tension?

A call to the friendly IT expert was made and the instructions to restart the computer in "Safe Mode and perform a restore" were carried out...... computer back to normal.

An e-mail was sent to Kodak for help and a reply several days later provided a telephone number to be rung and assistance to solve the problem would be available.
A telephone call was made only to be told that a technician would be in contact. No call received after several days and another e-mail sent with instructions to "telephone me after 4pm".
Sods law they try to contact me on the one afternoon I am out.
Another e-mail is sent and the reply received asked for information already provided in the original e-mail.
The expression "the air was blue" now enters the arena.

A call to the friendly IT expert was made and the offer of a copy of the software on disc was gratefully accepted. True to form the said disc arrived the following day and was loaded onto the computer with baited breath.
Guess what? The same thing happened as with the download from the Kodak website.
Still with me?

Let's send another e-mail to Kodak.
Attempt to sign on to AOL and the connection fails and the programme freezes. Try again and the same thing happens. Try again.............................

So what do we have now?

No Kodak Easyshare software, therefore no access to my pictures and no access to AOL.

A call to the friendly IT expert was made and a call out arranged.
Result, a few ££'s down, AOL is back up and running but still no Kodak software.
"Go for broke and try installing again", he says. "Also download from the Google website a free software called PICASA which will offer the same as Kodak apart from downloading pictures from the camera via the docking station but you overcome that problem by removing the card from the camera and plugging it into the computer".

PICASA has been downloaded, looks as good as Kodak. I still have not plucked up the courage to try and download Kodak again, perhaps I will in a period of mad bravado.

Do you love computers or hate them? Love or hate, love or hate......................................................?

The slide continues.

2007-03-16T15:03:00.000Z

After a brilliant start to the season, for the second consecutive match, Verwood failed to score any points. Their away match at West Moors proved to be a case of "Lady Luck" not providing the breaks rather than a case of playing badly. With three away matches, the next on Sunday against Alderholt and one home match at the end of the season, Verwood must start winning again to avoid the humiliation of finishing bottom of Division 5 for the second year running. They still have matches in hand over their nearest rivals but this means nothing if they cannot earn points.

The Maldives

2007-03-08T16:21:00.000Z

On Wednesday morning we arrived home from our two week holiday in the Maldives with our dear friends Jackie & Cliff.

Meedhupparu Island Resort where we stayed has not changed much since our visit this time last year. The tranquility and ambiance still remains the same. The food is still excellent and there is so much choice. The Resort staff are still as friendly.

They are carrying out work on one tip of the island to repair damage to the beach caused by errosion. They have constructed a stone wall

several metres from the edge of the damage and are in the slow process of filling in with sand behind the wall to reconstruct the beach. Experts have told them that nature during the monsoon months will do the final filling in when the tides will bring sand over the retaining wall and the beach will be reconstructed.

The coral reef surrounding the island is recovering from the storm damage in such a short space of time.

Each day after breakfast we walked to the end of one of the two jetties to watch the fish under the crystal clear water. One of the fish we were lucky to see was the giant Napoleon Wrasse.

At night this same area of water was lit up by bright lights on the jetty and two of the Island staff would come down with a big drum of fish waste to feed the abundance of fish. On several nights this attracted a school of Jack Tuna and on a couple of nights a giant Eagle Ray.

Snorkeling off the beach in fairly shallow water was one of our daily activities. The colour and the diversity of species was amazing. From "Nemo" to species of Ray. On one stretch of beach in shallow water we saw baby Reef Sharks swimming up and down. On the day before we left Cliff and I were lucky to see Dolphins leaping out of the water just on the edge of the deep part of the reef about 12 metres from the shoreline.

Because this was a repeat visit to the Resort, on both Saturday nights we were there we all got invited to a thank you cocktail party to meet the General Manager and some of his management staff.

The highlight of last week for the management was a visit from The Maldivian President who has his own waterside bungalow on the Island.

The biggest highlight of the week was Yvonne - Mum - Mermaid, swimming and snorkeling without the aid of a safety line!

Defeated but not shamed!

2007-02-05T15:30:00.000Z

For the first time this season Verwood failed to score any points in a match.
The away match at Shroton proved to be a stumbling block in Verwood's form this season with both the Triples and Fours losing by the smallest of margins in these low scoring games.
The Fours team was made up of three reserves and although they made a good start the pressure from Shroton proved to much and Verwood started to make errors and lost by 11 shots to 13.
The Triples started off badly by failing to score for the first six ends. A tactical change by Verwood of swapping myself from the number two position to Skip proved to be a turning point and on the final end Verwood need to score 5 shots to win or 4 shots to even the game.
Verwood held 3 shots with the advantage of the final bowl, which unfortunately stopped short of the Jack by a small margin and Shroton took the game by 14 shots to 13.
Subject to other results being declared this puts Shroton at the top of the League and Verwood slip down to third place, still with one match in hand over most of the other teams.
Verwood's next game is away to West Moors, who are third from bottom, on March 13th.

Blairs buy home No5

2007-02-03T17:38:00.000Z

According to today's newspapers the Blairs have bought a fifth property to add to their portfolio. This new purchase of a £800,000 mews house will mean their mortgage debt is now around £5million. This would give them total monthly mortgage payments of up to £20,000.
The intriguing question is how they have been able to borrow the equivalent of 25 times the Prime Ministers salary.
The new property stands behind their £3.65million London townhouse and it is believed the intention is to knock the properties into one.

Will it be used to house immigrants or prisoners that cannot be sent to prison because of overcrowding that exists in our prisons?

League Table

2007-01-31T14:53:00.000Z

As a result of Sundays matches, Verwood have slipped to second place with 32 points, on shot difference.
Broadstone, also with 32 points, are Division 5 leaders with Shroton, Verwoods opponents next Sunday, in third place on 31 points. Verwood have a one game advantage over Shroton but they need a win with preferably six points from the match.
Alderholt who are in fourth place with 29 points have games inhand over the top three clubs.

Slight Slip

2007-01-28T17:51:00.000Z

Verwood only managed to earn 2 points against Poole Park today.
Both the Fours and the Triples got off to a fine start but failed to keep up the pressure.
The Fours led from the start and were well ahead for most of their game but only managed to win by 14 shots to 13 and earn the 2 points for a win.
The Triples game swung from one side to the other until Poole Park took a decisive lead. The decision was then made two thirds of the way in the game to change my position from Number 2 to Skip and the game started to swing Verwoods way, but to late. Poole Park won the game by 22 shots to 17.

Next Sunday Verwood have an important match against second placed, subject to games results being declared today, Shroton. Unfortunately Verwood Fours will go into this match with a team made up of three reserve players.

On Top

2007-01-27T14:21:00.000Z

Verwood continue their aim for promotion this Sunday with an away match against Poole Park who languish at the bottom of Division 5 with 14 points from 8 matches.
Last Sundays win put Verwood at the top of the division with 30 points, 2 points ahead and one game in hand of 2nd place team Shroton, Verwood are away to Shroton on February 4th, Broadstone slipped to 3rd with 26 points.
There are three teams on 26 points with one, Alderholt having a one game advantage over Verwood and two games over Broadstone.
Once again this week, due to some first team players not being available, Verwood will be putting out reserves.
Because the top of the Division is so close, Verwood cannot afford to relax in their remaining games if they are to obtain promotion this year.

Concrete Jungle?

2007-01-24T15:47:00.000Z

Green Belt land which protects fields and open space around towns and cities should be "abolished", a think tank has urged.
The call for an end to the tough planning rules that for decades have saved the countryside around towns and cities, came from the Policy Exchange in a study on the effects of the planning system on the UK economy.
They conclude in this report, that the main objective of planning has been to limit the spatial extent of cities and that this artificial reduction of land supply has severe consequences for society, the environment and the economy.
Since Labour came to power their policy seems to have been to turn the countryside into a concrete jungle. The end of the Green Belt would mean the destruction of our countryside and an environmental disaster.

Start of a cold snap

2007-01-24T15:22:00.000Z

In the UK snow fell and started a cold snap after a spell of unseasonably mild weather this winter. In London, one or two centimetres of snow fell, settling on parked cars and some roads.
More snow is forecast but it is unlikely to settle except in the north of the country. There will be further wintry showers over, mainly, parts of eastern England but nowhere is expecting much in the way of an accumulation of snow because the air is not really quite cold enough.

Blue Monday

2007-01-22T09:16:00.000Z

It's official, Monday, 22 January is the most depressing day of the year. January has always been a pretty bleak month, but a formula from a tutor at Cardiff University shows that it gets even worse this Monday.
Bad weather, debt, fading Christmas memories, failed resolutions and a lack of motivation conspire to get us all down.
Most of us are stuck at work, too - just to make it worse.

Verwood are Triumphant!

2007-01-21T18:17:00.000Z

Verwood earned 6 points with their 49 shots to 33 win over Broadstone today. This puts them at the head of Division 5, 2 points clear of Broadstone, subject to any other results being declared.

The Fours led their match from the start coming out 22 shots to 11 winners.

In the Triples match the score swung from one team to another. Both teams had some high scoring ends but the turning point in the game came at the 14th end when Verwood scored a six shot "Hotshot". ( A Hotshot is when a team gets all their woods on the mat and the opposing team fails to get any of their woods on the mat). This is the second "Hotshot" Verwood have achieved, the first one by the Fours in the match against Whitechurch on the 17/12/2006.
At one stage Verwood were leading by 12 shots and finally won their match 27 shots to 22.

Next Sunday sees Verwood travelling to Poole Park who were, prior to today, lying second from the bottom of the division.

(To keep up to date with the League table click on the link and then division 4/5)

From this.......

2007-01-21T09:31:00.000Z

......To This

Weather forecasters have warned that winter's first big chill is set to hit Britain as temperatures plummet bringing freezing snow and ice down from the north. This will end the unseasonably mild temperatures experienced of late as the wind changes direction from the warmer south west to the north, bringing weather in off the icy North Atlantic.It is predicted that snow showers will move down the east coast at the start of next week, stretching from as far north as Aberdeen, all the way to Dover. Some snow might even fall as far inland as London. North Wales and Cornwall may also be hit.High pressure out to the west will then gradually move in on Thursday and Friday to kill off the snow showers, though it will remain cold.

Need to win!

2007-01-20T14:33:00.000Z

Tomorrow (Sunday) Verwood Short Mat Bowls CLub play Broadstone Hawks in Division 5 of the Dorset Short Mat Bowls League.
Broadstone head the division with 4 wins and 2 losses in the Fours and 5 wins and 1 loss in the Triples. Verwood are lying in third place with 4 wins and 2 losses in the Fours and 3 wins and 3 losses in the Triples.
This is Verwood's only home game until the final game of the season in April and although Verwood have two games in hand over second placed Whitechurch, who they have beaten at home and away, they need to beat Broadstone to maintain their aim for promotion.
Verwood have had to make team changes due to David Knight, who plays number 2 in the Triples, having to drop out, being replaced by myself. My position as lead in the Fours is being taken by one of the reserve players.

Thirteen killed in UK storm chaos

2007-01-19T11:47:00.000Z

At least 13 people are now known to have died in Britain's worst storms in 17 years as another death was reported.
A man was killed while refuelling his car at a petrol station in Bamber Bridge, near Preston, on Thursday when the garage canopy was blown off by high winds and fell on him.
The dead included a two-year-old boy as savage storms swept across the country.
Forecasters predicted the storms would calm down, but warned it would remain windy, with gusts of up to 40mph and colder temperatures on the way.
Morning commuters faced continuing problems on the transport network during the clear-up operation.
While the worst of the weather has passed, many train firms warned of delays as repairs were carried out following the gales.
The roads were said to be mostly clear but airports were still warning of cancellations.
A severely reduced service is operating on GNER's East Coast main line between London and Edinburgh while an emergency timetable was in operation on the Virgin Trains West Coast main line.
GNER spokesman Alan Hyde said: "We have been working hard to ensure that our trains and crews are in the right places to run as normal a service as possible.'' The Stansted Express is operating every half hour and Silverlink has cancelled all services between Watford and St Albans Abbey. Heathrow Airport said it was expecting flights to return to normal.
A spokesman for the Highways Agency said there were no major problems on the roads this morning and that everything had been cleared following yesterday's storms.
London Bridge train station was re-opened after being closed when part of the station forecourt roof collapsed.
South Eastern Trains reported a series of delays and cancellations to services between London Bridge and Kent stations.
There was widespread disruption for commuters Thursday night as thousands struggled to make their way home amid road closures and rail cancellations.
At London's Victoria station, hundreds of commuters waited on the concourse as train after train was cancelled or delayed.

Recipe of the Day

2007-01-15T19:46:00.000Z

This recipe may not be unique but from a personal point of view it is over 50 years old and I can remember as a child my Mum making them.

FLAPJACKS

6 ounces of Oats

3 ounces of Butter

4 ounces of Soft Brown Sugar

2 ounces of Golden Syrup *

Place the Oats in a large mixing bowl.

Melt the Butter, Sugar & Syrup over a low heat (do not boil).

Add the melted ingredients to the Oats and mix well.

Spoon the mixed ingredients into a shallow baking tray (Make sure the tray is well greased with Butter).

Place into a preheated oven at 360F (about 185c) for about 25 minutes.

* Particularly popular in England (where it's also known as light treacle), this liquid sweetener has the consistency of corn syrup and a clear golden color. It's made from evaporated sugar cane juice and has a rich, toasty flavor unmatched by any other sweetener. Golden syrup, the most readily available brand being Lyle's, can be found in some supermarkets and many gourmet markets. It can be used as a substitute for corn syrup in cooking and baking, and for everything from pancake syrup to ice cream topping.

Happy Feet

2007-01-15T19:34:00.000Z

Voices: Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Robin Williams, Johnny A Sanchez, Carlos Alazraqui

Set in the freezing world of the emperor penguins, Happy Feet is the story of misfit Mumble (Elijah Wood), who is the only member of his colony ever to have been born without the ability to sing. He can tap dance like crazy, but the others think he’s weird and his lack of a ‘heart song’ (the unique song every penguin uses to attract a mate) looks certain to doom him to a lonely life of misery.
Mumble finds friendship when he runs into a bunch of fun-loving adelie penguins, but ends up cast out from his own community when the elders identify his ‘un-penguin’ dancing as the cause of their food shortage.
Happy Feet ticks the boxes for cuteness, humour and drama quickly enough. The newly hatched penguins are hard to resist, especially Mumble, who has to make a concerted effort not to start dancing at any given moment; the adelie penguins (who are all Hispanic for some reason) provide a steady stream of chuckles; and Mumble’s encounters with leopard seals and killer whales throw up a couple of arresting action sequences that might have younger kids hiding behind their popcorn. Some of the musical numbers come off better than others but are mostly kept pretty brief.
After a year of mediocre, uninspired talking animal movies, it’s great to see one that is actually visually memorable. The filmmakers have obviously studied natural history series like the BBC’s Life In The Freezer to get the penguins’ world looking almost as stunning as the real thing. The snow, ice and skies look real and so do the penguins - apart from all that singing, talking and dancing, of course.
When he is cast out and goes looking for the aliens (humans) that he believes are responsible for the penguins’ plight, you really feel for Mumble, and Happy Feet has you just where it wants you.

2006 in Brief

2007-01-15T17:35:00.000Z

Last year seemed to fly by and was full of happy memories.

It started off with a holiday in The Maldives to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary which occurred in December 2005.

The summer in the UK was one of the hottest on record which meant we could spend a lot of time relaxing in the garden.

In April I had my first year playing outdoor bowls for Verwood Bowls Club second team in Division 3 of the Dorset Premier League and Division 4 of the New Forest League. We won both leagues and earned promotion for the 2007 season.
Unfortunately the same success was not achieved in Division 5 of the Dorset Short Mat League, which is played indoors. We won the WOODEN SPOON for coming bottom of the league.

In May Yvonne spent an enjoyable time with her friend Chris in Spain which kept the tan topped up.

In November, thanks to a sale by British Airways why pay the full price, we spent a very happy time visiting the folks in Colorado Springs.

In December we took a break in Bath, one of our favourite places in the UK, to celebrate our wedding anniversary and the year finished with a very happy, full of food and drink Christmas on the Isle of Wight with our very dear friends Jackie & Cliff.

2006 in pictures

2007-01-15T17:14:00.000Z

2006 in pictures

2007-01-15T16:12:00.000Z

2006 in pictures

2007-01-15T15:41:00.000Z

Into the Unknown

2007-01-15T14:53:00.000Z

Although the best way of communicating with family & friends is still through face to face meetings, technology has advanced so much allowing us to communicate in other ways as well.
Writing letters, telephone, telex and fax have been overtaken by broadband internet, e-mails, free computer to computer telephone calls, live webcam sessions and more recently blog sites.
A blog site is not something I had thought of starting until Ian persuaded me during our visit to Colorado last year.
Do I know what I’m doing? Not really, although he assures me it’s simple.