WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Bruff]

Beards and quite full beards at that, are apparently now 'in' with the young crowd and particularly when matched with the rather retro 'quiffed' and very neat haircut that fellow Mr Beckham sports very stylishly I must say. I was out in Liverpool on Friday night last in what we call a 'trendy' bar and many of the young men sported splendid beards, often with Romanov moustache. On to the 'happening' restaurant, and it was much the same. The young women in the group noted that yes, this 'look' was now 'in'.

Maybe I should give it a go as it's a long time since I had a beard. I can't do the quiff (being a proud slaphead), but I imagine I'd be capable of a fine and stylish, admittedly grey, beard.

Richard Broughton

[Stanley]

Go for it Richard!

[Tizer]

A bit of strange network activity on my PC today. See the graphic here...
http://www.oneguyfrombarlick.co.uk/view ... 721#p54721

[Tardis]

Major changes to the Blackpool-Preston-Colne line timetable are to come into force as the Pennine Cross Country route will become fully electrified and thus there are knock on connection 'wrinkles' apparently.

[PanBiker]

My 16.5 mile bike ride before tea, happy with my time, averaging 9.2mph. A few more miles practice for the coast to coast.

[Stanley]

How mild it is this morning....
The South Korean ferry and the poor parents.

[Gloria]

Not mild here Stanley, in fact when I was outside earlier it was quite nippy.

[Tardis]

It felt cool when I walked out this morning. The breeze has returned

[Thomo]

It will be bit cool for the Men working on the re-blacking of the names on our War Memorial as well, not a job for a shaky hand! Its looking well though.

[PanBiker]

Must have a look next time I'm passing Thomo.

What grabbed me today was the earth moving operations going on down Valley Road on the former allotments site. Tenants were evicted about 20 years ago from their plots and the land just cleared and fenced off doing nothing ever since. Extension car park for Silentnight or housing? Whatever they have certainly taken their time.

[Stanley]

I commiserated with them yesterday when I was out with Jack. Not the warmest job in the world! It's a big improvement.
The plethora of information about the ferry and the dearth of news about the Malaysian plane. Feast and famine!

[David Whipp]

Gritting operations yesterday evening...

The land off Valley Road got planning permission for housing a little while ago. The Silentnight car park and former allotment land was one of the few assets of the company when the company was liquidated. The company that bought Silentnight failed to buy the land and it was bought by a developer. Initially, the developer planned to build on the whole of the site, but we managed to retain the car park (which is now leased to Silentnight). The allotments at the end of Havre Park will be retained as open space; it's planned that the town council will take these over.

[Stanley]

I noted the thin scattering of grit this morning. Bit over the top I suppose but better safe than sorry.



Havre Park area in 1963. Click to enlarge.



The repainted names stand out well on the war memorial. Took this pic this morning.

On an entirely different matter. Nothing cheers you up better than unexpected gifts. The day started well when I got news by email that Martha has dispatched a book for me from America, John Clayton is saving one of the copies of his major new book for me and when I walked into the butcher's this morning Stewart presented me with a mint Moore and Wright half inch micrometer in its original case. Whoever owned it was a good man because the case is worn and shiny from many years of service but the micrometer is as good as new. So they do come in threes!



Add to that, it's a lovely day! I am a happy bunny....
On top of all that, congratulations to Wendy and all at Earby LHS for the Lottery grant they have been awarded. Well deserved....

[plaques]

I always remember a trip round Moore & Wright, Sheffield. A really old fashioned workshop but absolutely spotless. We arrived part way through a tea break, each man sat silently at his work bench. At he end of the break the foreman stood up, complete with white smock and bowler hat, drained off the last of his tea from his enamel cup, tapped it on the bench and everyone started work without a word being spoken. Old fashioned it may have been but they made some lovely stuff.

[Stanley]

"Old fashioned it may have been but they made some lovely stuff."
Same thing applied at the Budenberg Gauge Company at Sale P. Some of the machinery was pre-war but as Mr Budenberg said, it did the job better than modern equivalents and would only save pence if replaced. Their gauges were the world standard but of course eventually they were knocked out by cheaper imports. Same applied to Hopkinsons at Huddersfield. World standard for all types of boiler fittings but same story. When I was at REW I used to refurb old valves which were far better than the modern equivalent. Bottom line today in areas like this is build down to a price, not up to the best quality. By the way, I checked the micrometer against my Matrix slips yesterday and it's as perfect as you would expect.
Later.... I love to see the Town Square busy first thing in the morning as the traders set up ready for the day. Good for the town!

[PanBiker]

Should be a good day for our Jack to jump out of an aeroplane! It was his birthday yesterday and his girlfriend bought him a skydiving experience. Jumps are from a skydiving base up near near Lancaster.

[Stanley]

Rather him than me Ian! But then, I've had my fair share of white-knuckle.
The ongoing saga of the Korean ferry and the Malaysian Airlines plane.

[PanBiker]

We got a text yesterday to say that he had survived. He loved it and says he would do it agian. Here's what he posted on his facebook page shortly after the jump.

"Skydive done.. Best present ever!!"

"Hanging out the side of the plane strapped to another blokes crotch you sort of question what the hell you're doing"

[Thomo]

The angry scenes in South Korea this morning with demands for the recovery operation to be speeded up. There are already 500 divers working the wreck in relays in a dangerous and difficult situation, the ferry is in an unstable condition and if it is still upside down a diver can become disorientated quite easily, and the sea state in that area is not good.

[Tizer]

"Hanging out the side of the plane strapped to another blokes crotch you sort of question what the hell you're doing"

Probably something that was illegal in the 1950s!

[Stanley]

Bit like strapping two planks on your feet and chucking yourself off a mountain....
Mass data analysis is being applied to text and phone calls from the Korean ferry. One thing they have established already is that the first message from a passenger reporting a loud bump was sent 30 minutes before the ship reported anything was wrong to the coastguard.
Much of British online gambling went off line this weekend when a fire in a service centre on Gibraltar knocked firms like William Hill, Ladbrokes and Betfred off line. They are based there for the low tax regime....

[Gloria]

Eeyi eeyi eeyi oh, up the football league we go----Burnley are promoted yeaaaaaaa.

[Stanley]

As long as they don't do a Blackpool. Didn't they fall off the perch the year after they went up?
I heard a piece on Farming Today about a maggot farm which produces maggots which are dried and ground up for use in pig food. I once visited a maggot farm in Bradford and when we got to the top of the hill the bloke who was taking me said " Dosta smook?" I told him yes. "Leet up lad!". He was right! There used to be a maggot farm at Shineyford on the road between Bacup and Todmorden. Well away from houses and a stiff breeze!

[David Whipp]

Eight year old nephew Ollie, who lives next to us, hammered on the back door and burst in yesterday teatime proclaiming the news of Burnley's win. He was slightly disappointed he'd not been able to go on the pitch at the end of the game as he was in the upper stand.

[Tizer]

... a maggot farm which produces maggots which are dried and ground up for use in pig food.

At one of the science labs I worked at the research director had his own pet [no pun intended] project which involved growing earthworms in bulk for use as animal or fish feed. There's more on `vermiculture' here:
http://www.cropsreview.com/vermiculture.html