Tuesday February 28, 2006

My first posting

On this weblog. I hope to do other items including the subjects I mentioned in my this first article. If you have others add them as a comment to this weblog.

Henning Mankell but no Wallander...

I have just read a new Henning Mankell book but this one does not have the usual Wallander detective in it. It features a policeman Lindman who is on extended sick leave. He ends up being involved in the investigation of a former collegue who has retired. The murder is a savage affair with the victim beeing whipped to death and then dragged around his house by the murderer in a tango dance fashion. Molin is the name of the victim and he was hiding in a remote part of Sweden. Lindman goes to take a look more out of curiosity than anything else and there is of course an initial resentment by the local police force. But his discovery of key items they missed means he is accepted eventually. The local policeman who he works with is called Larsson and they soon work as an effective detective team together. Molin's secrets are soon discovered and much to Lindman's dismay his father had the same persuasions. A second murder is commited and at this stage Henning Mankell is also describing the murderers actions and he gets drawn into staying in the area because he wants to know who killed the second man knowing full well it was not him. For me this is the best Henning Mankell book I have ever read and anyone looking for a new detective series to read should find this book worth reading. I hope that Henning Mankell continues to write with new leading charectars like Lindman as Wallender has now been pensioned off.

Monday February 27, 2006

A short weekend in Sheffield

We have just got back from a short overnight stay with friends in Sheffield city of hills and rivers and once a place where all your silverware on your table was made. During an uneventful journey up there from our house in Berkshire before we get to the city we pass Chesterfield with its very crooked spire which defies common sense and appears to be quite happy in its odd state. After lunch we went for a walk despite the showery weather into nearby Derbyshire and stopped a nice distance away from Chatsworth. We started our walk to the house by this pretty river and ruin of a house.

We soon got to the house but all its coffee shops were closed so we had to walk back and go to a local garden centre for refreshement.

The following day we drove out to Hodsock Priory Gardens where they open the gardens to allow vistors to see their snowdrops. You wander around the woods and then the formal gardens. Below is a picture of the keep and some of the snowdrops. Hellebores were also in the garden already flowering.

In the garden were some Victorian beehives which were all being used. However because of the cold weather there was no bee activity visible. Seeing them reminded me of my own attempt to keep bees.

Friday February 24, 2006

A few days in Madrid

I was lucky to spend a few days in Madrid the capital of Spain this week. It was a visit to our lab there in one of the Sun buildings. It was a respectable short hop from London to Madrid - two hours flight. I stayed in a hotel near the campus a short walk up the hill from it. To get into the campus buildings before you even use your Sun security pass you need a campus pass. I just about managed to get one of these without resorting to my terrible Spanish . I soon discovered this was a temporary pass and to make matters worse it only allowed one entry and exit to one building. So as I was working between buildings I had to keep popping to the kiosk by the main gate to get a pass. Eventually this took a turn for the worst and the pass would not me exit the building. I jumped the gate and headed out of the campus. My criminal efforts had clearly been caught on film and a security guard swaggered towards me in a very annoyed mood. We managed with the aid of one one the female kiosk attendants to calm him down and eventually secured me a improved pass - with unlimited uses on the promise I return it. Their hot drinks are very sweet. Even with the sugar level turned to minimum the sweetness factor was too much too bear. Eventually I managed to persuade the nearest Starbucks to sell me tea with cold milk not warm and frothed up. As usual my roaming session on our Sunray server worked a treat. My only problem was the keyboard. On the continent the / ? @ and other metacharacters are in very odd places...

Although I have been to Spain as a tourist it is a different proposition on your own. You do not have someone to keep an eye on you and evenings can be a bit tedious especially after you have completed the only book you bought with you. The work I went there for was to meet the users of the lab and encourage them to use our global resources to meet their needs. Change Management can be a challenge but I think the meetings with both users of the lab and their managers went well. My final night I decided at my own expense to take a trip downtown. I got a map from the hotel and took a cab into the centre. I was dropped off by Plaza Mayor where there is a big square around which are a series of buildings encircling the it. All sorts of cafe's were in these buildings on the inside facing the square. I then had a good old wander round the area and did my best to navigate to the Almudena Cethderal. It is a lovely long building with a park which closed as it was dark now. I was kicking myself for not having bought my IXUS digital camera. I then walked a bit more and as it was raining slightly took a cab back to the hotel passing impressive sights such as Palacio De Comunicaciones Puerta De Alcala and much more that I could not identify at the time. The last day when I woke snow was falling onto the city. I worked a half day before heading back to the airport using the new terminal building that has just opened. A very nice city, very friendly citizens worth a visit back as a tourist I think. I was amazed how cold it was; it was about the same temperature as London, five degrees Centigrade. It is at least forty in the summer.

Steamer product of the week

I think there is the chance the steam cooker is going to be like a lot of alternative cooking devices - used for a few niche uses but never going mainstream. The Chinese have been using steamers for at least 5,000 years so nothing new there. We use ours for cooking vegetables which leaves them nice and crisp. The 'stacked' food bays mean you can put different vegetables in each bay and add each onto the steamer to get the cooking time just perfect. We also use it for cooking chicken and fish before adding to salads, sauces etc. It also collects water used in the cooking process which is infused with the juices from what was cooking so you can use it for stocks etc later on.

Thursday February 23, 2006

The first Wallander book

The first in the series of Wallander books is called Faceless Killers. We are introduced to Wallander who has just split up from his wife and his daughter is on a rebellion phase He is investigating a nasty farmhouse double murder then a reprisal killing occurs once it is known that the perpetrators of the first were were foreign. He also has to deal with his father going off the rails, plus a forgettable pass on a female district attorney and then only escaping punishement for a drink driving by friendly policemen.. We also meet his mentor Rydberg who dies at the end of the story. Near the end there is a Dan Brown style crazy chase with Wallander chasing a baddie in a horse van with horses in it. A long investigation goes on for months and it is only after a bank teller spots the criminals again that Wallander gets his much needed break. It is not the best- they have certainly improved as more have been written.

Wednesday February 22, 2006

Who would you vote for ?s

Great idea this . You get to vote for the classic British invention. They have already removed some that did not make it into the last ten. I must admit I am finding it hard to choose. The Underground map, Road catseyes, Routemaster bus, Concorde, Spitfire and Mini are all firm favourites of mine. It will be interesting to see which one wins

The Apprentice

The second series of the The Apprentice is on TV tonight. I know its reality TV but it is quite interesting. Last years winner Tim Campbell was featured in a program last Sunday charting his first year working for Alan Sugar. He previously worked on London Underground.

Tip of the week a simple remedy to spilt red wine

Is to sprinkle the affected area with salt. Give it a good coating and leave it overnight. In the morning shake the salt off and the red wine stain should have gone away. Works on clothes, carpets etc.

Tuesday February 21, 2006

Silly signs

I think sometimes you see some very silly and pointless signs on the roads. Here are some I have seen:

Under new management sign - for petrol filling stations. Does this mean the petrol is now better ? Does it have a higher octane rating now? Will you now get a smile when you pay for the fuel? A tradesman's van had "Traditional Decorator" on the side of it. So what is a "Traditional Decorator" ? Does he still use brushes etc and the modern ones use something else ? Very odd.

Warning signs for frogs on roads. I do not know what purpose they can hold, I doubt any driver could spot a frog from their car. Also they are so unpredictable you might think you have avoided them , then they jump into the path of your wheel..

Pubs that have signs saying "good food excellent ales !" I would not be persuaded to visit such places just on the basis of such a sign...

When the M40 motorway was fully open it had no services, but one sign proclaimed:

"Tiredness kills - take a break" followed within yards of another saying "No services on motorway"

"Welcome to XYZ, a litter free parish". I am sure this village wanted to make it free of litter but I fear a sign might only suggest to certain people it would be fun to drop litter.

Monday February 20, 2006

Three pub walk; Hambleden, Henley and Aston

On Saturday we did a walk we have undertaken at least ten times since living in this area. This version had us start at the pretty village of Hambleden a few miles away from Henley. It has a pretty church St Mary's built in Saxon times but the font is the only bit left from those times. What we see is almost all Norman although the tower collapsed in 1703 being rebuilt eighteen years later. Eagle eyed readers will spot the clock shows mid afternoon when we started the walk in the morning. I took the picture after returning to the village as the early morning fog had cleared. The village has three famous sons, Thomas de Cantilupe once the chancellor of England and Bishop of Hereford. He was born in 1218. Adrian Scrope was one of those who signed the death warrant on Charles 1st. Finally Lord Cardigan who led the Light Brigade into the valley of Death. It also has an adopted son W H Smith the stationer. He is buried in the churchyard with Major George Howson who started the wearing of poppies on Armistice day. Back to the walk after a quick coffee at the local pub we left the village and headed up a hill into Ridge wood and then down towards a pretty field and then onto the busy A4155 road. A short time along this and we entered a small field and soon reached the River Thames. We followed the banks of the river all the way into Henley passing Temple Island then Fawley Court.

During our walk around the town we passed Kenton theatre built in 1805 by two actor managers called Penley and Jonas.It then became a chapel, a school, disused, a church hall and a scenery store. In 1935 it reopened as a theatre. We stopped at the Angel pub and I had a passable ham and mustard sandwich.

We then crossed Henley's pretty river bridge and the left the town over a large meadow and up into woods and then across large fields. The river was often in view below us. We reached the next watering hole the Flowerpot hotel at Aston which is in fact a pub. We left the pub on a track heading towards the pretty lock and weir of Hambleden. Here there is a pretty mill building now flats with a white boarded exterior.

Our final leg of the walk having past the mill had us recross the A4155 and head across a series of meadows towards the village of Hambleden. As we reached the village the extent of the dry winter could be seen. The stream by the road is normally running very well at this time of the year. There was not a drop of water in sight. A nice seven mile walk.

Friday February 17, 2006

Commuting...

I am never ceased to be amazed at how much agro people will tolerate to get to work. I drive over the M4 motorway to work and very often it will resemble a car park. I imagine the same people are in the same traffic jam every day. As I travel on I also meet heavy traffic coming towards me , often crawling along. I have always been lucky before in that I lived in a city and drove out of it to work. This is usually good as the heavy traffic was always going the other way in my experience. Even so I think I would seek alternative ways of getting in or use different routes. I often drive in at 9.30am to avoid the worst of the traffic around here. The other day just before I turned right during my commute I spotted a red "road closed" sign. Turned out later on, a main water main had burst and emergency works were being undertaken. So I quickly turned left and took a detour around the problem. Despite this clear sign many people were turning right making an impossible situation even more difficult for the police to manage. I wonder wether a congestion charge should be applied to cars based not on their milage or entry into a restricted zone but the time their car is stationary. There are some times that you cannot avoid a traffic jam but very often with a bit of careful thought you can avoid them in the first place or when meeting one turn around, go home or seek an alternative route.

Of course this week has been good as the kids are having a half term holidays and the roads have been very quiet.. Next week it will be back to normal.

Thursday February 16, 2006

One day son you will be as big as me....

So the gardening season has started. The shallots and garlic are in the ground ( the garlic went in, in November and are sprouting leaves nicely) and I have just bought the onion sets and seed potatoes. For the onions I am trying Sturon and Centurion. These will go in the ground in late March, early April depending on the weather conditions. Last years onions are doing well we have at least five strings of them left. The major problem with keeping them now is the heat than can make them sprout. I am trying to let the car cool down before putting it in the garage as the bonnet is right under the onions ! But the picture shows how much bigger the sets become in a season. The sets or no bigger than a small marble when you buy them.

Wednesday February 15, 2006

Common sense from the House of Commons...

This will save lives.

The first of the last

So this is the first story in the last Peter Robinson omnibus edition I bought recently. It is a pretty good story A Necessary End and starts with Banks babysitting an MP while a rowdy demonstration goes on outside. Later on a policeman is murdered and the investigation is started. One of Banks's nemesis from London is brought in dirty Dick Burgess who tries to pin it on one the residents of a farm Maggies Farm which is full of people who are opting out of the capitalist society. Each has a secret and one of them as it turns out has a very good reason why they killed the policeman. Burgess tries to setup one of the residents who initially seems to be a likely suspect but Banks is not so sure. Banks goes behind Burgess's back to reveal all was not what it seemed with the murdered policeman who has a rather suspect history in the force. There are plenty of twists in this story and thankfully Bank's regains the upper hand and the true identity of the killer is discovered. To add to the general storyline one of Banks close friends (from a previous case) is also involved with an undesirable which leads to tension between them both.