Arcticterntalk.org

The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world

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A Dead Swan at Painshill Park. Why do Cygnets die?


chris1957's avatarArcticterntalk.org

Painshill Park is an amazing park in Surrey near Cobham just off Junction 10 of the M25 and well worth a visit. We have been regular visitors now for over 10 years but yesterday saw a sad sight of a dead swan, cygnet really. No clear reason why it had died, no injuries visible, weather no worse than normal .Just sad really. The swan was lying near the top of the main lake not far from the Ruined Abbey and plenty of other Swans and Cygnets were swimming around.

I did a little research to find out maybe what might have happened. Swans firstly tend to have few real predators except when young. New born cygnets are mainly lost to crows, herons, magpies, turtles, pike and large perch. Both cygnets and full-grown swans are also the prey of foxes and mink. Other dangers include vandalism, pollution, dogs and various poisonings. Who…

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Brentford Football Club Need Your Help. Send 1 e-mail!!


Brentford have been my football club since I was 6 years old. I have watched them since then almost every week with a belief that one day they might be a big club. Now almost 50 years on that potential is there. They need a new ground. The old one is atmospheric but small and cannot provide any additional facilities that clubs need. The new proposed ground looks superb and will seat 20,000. Hounslow Borough Council have approved the planning permission and now the government and Mayor need to approve.

Can you write a short email to the 3 folks below giving support for this? The reasons are clear! Thanks. Feel free also to share this blog with anyone who might do this. All you have to do is click the link, write the email with your reasons and give your name and address. You will make me happy!!!!

We had a fantastic result on December 5 2013 when Hounslow Council passed a resolution to grant Brentford Football Club planning permission for a new stadium, and residential development, subject to referral to the Greater London Authority (GLA), and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

But the game isn’t over yet, we still need your URGENT support to help guide us to victory.

The stadium move can only be secured with your help.

If you want the Club to remain in Brentford and believe the Club and the Community Sports Trust are invaluable assets to the community, then please contact the GLA by next week and declare your support.

The Mayor of London needs to hear your views before he reviews the matter on January 29.

edward.lister@london.gov.uk

mayor@london.gov.uk

 

david.blankson-hemans@london.gov.uk

Please email your support to the Mayor Boris Johnson, Deputy Mayor, Sir Eddie Lister and the Strategic Planner, David Blankson-Hemans.

As a reminder, you will find some examples of the benefits of the application below:

Housing: over 900 new homes for London – and, if economic conditions improve, contributions to affordable homes.

Jobs and community benefits: there will be a substantial amount of new jobs created for residents in Hounslow as well as significant community benefits including a larger, purpose built space for the Hounslow Interim Education Centre.

Heritage and views: detailed consultation with Kew Gardens and local residents over past 18 months and over 30 agreed views produced, heights reduced, and our preferred bidder for the role of development partner has provided accurate indicative views rather than a misleading one circulated by some opponents.

Transport: extensive modelling undertaken and Club will committed to working with local groups over coming months to press for further public transport improvements to contributions already being made.

Thank you for your fantastic support over the past few months.

Let’s push on now and secure our Club the home it truly deserves.

For those unable to email or who prefer to send a letter you can write individually to the Mayor Boris Johnson, Sir Edward Lister and David Blankson-Hemans (including the reference no. P/2013/1811) at the addresses below:

It is essential David Blankson-Hemans is copied into your email or sent a copy of your letters.

David Blankson-Hemans, Senior Strategic Planner, Greater London Authority, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, More London, London, SE1 2AA.

Mayor Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, Greater London Authority, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, More London, London, SE1 2AA.

Sir Eddie Lister, Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor, Policy and Planning, Greater London Authority, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, More London, London, SE1 2AA.

In all correspondence please remember to include your name and full postal address.

After the Mayor we will be calling on your support one more time and asking you to contact Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles.

 

Brentford_FC_Lionel_Road_email-1

A quick walk through the Graveyard to the Bar sir? Wales is a most curious place.


Reflections on my first 24 hours in Wales are what a curious place this is. It rains all the time, the signs on the roads seem to deflect you to the wrong place, and generally things are not quite what they seem. My hotel for example. To get to the hotel reception and bar/restaurant there is no option other than walk through a graveyard. A fully functioning graveyard. I can only think that when God designed Wales he had Alice in Wonderland as his template. Bit of an overdose of mad hatters though for sure. A small electric car was parked at The Angel Hotel in Abergavenny. Raining. Windows down. In fact are there any windows? The car was charging in fact. The hotel as well was curious in that each room I attempted to go into to find my meeting was being knocked down or redecorated. My Graveyard hotel, might as well be named, St Pierre at Chepstow, is full also of curious folks. Couple of business types talking in that business way in the corner, loudly, muttering words like  ” cash” and ” business forecasts”. In fact they are having a few pints of something nice. A daughter maybe calls one of them to be told ” I am in a meeting”, with the word ” meeting” embolden as though it were a place next to heaven.

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Paintings by Vincent Van B of Claremont Gardens Esher


Painting of Claremont Lake copyIMG_6282j copy

Lemur and Meerkat


A Lemur and a Meerkat  at Twycross zoo in the summer

 

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Stupid Photo 2014


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Graffiti Art in Peterborough


Tunnel near football ground

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Peterborough Football Ground. What away fans need to know.


All the folks I met today were friendly decent folks however that will not stop me from making a few observations

  1. Entrance price of £28 for a league 1 game is extortionate. I cannot recall a higher price for a game. Admittedly buying before the game reduced the price to the miserly sum of £25.
  2. Wooden seats in an end of old main stand giving a less than perfect view.
  3. Three sided grounds lack atmosphere. This is not the fault of the club but maybe accounts partially for their team’s miserable performance.
  4. There is a direct tunnel from the car park to the ground. An excellent state of affairs. Some interesting clothing items and graffiti were there to entertain us.
  5. Why does Bob the Builder need to wear a hard hat to collect footballs?
  6. Why do the catering staff in what can only be described as the smallest cafe/catering outlet in the football league, need to be told that the tap from which they dispense hot water does not actually dispense sauce?

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Peterborough- Is this Narnia?


I have nothing against Peterborough and indeed the people I met today at the football ground were pleasant and normal.  However it was a little like arriving in a parallel universe.  This is more easily explained using photographic evidence to support my case.

  1. In a short under the road tunnel connecting the car park to the football ground there was quite interesting graffiti but also what seemed like a perfectly good duvet, a suitcase and other bags. Almost like someone had left these items for collection. The presumption is a tramp but the quality of the items are better than some of my possessions at home
  2. The advert for Vista homes makes an interesting point but is sited very close to the underground tunnel and suggests that the tunnel is the place to live. In fact it states ” A brand new way of living that sets the benchmark for future housing”. In tunnels maybe?
  3. In the small catering outlet in the football ground two gentlemen serving food and drinks were pouring their hot water from a tap. Clearly they could be absent minded as there was a piece of paper attached stating ” Hot water not sauce”……..
  4. Wooden seats to sit on that reminded me of outside toilets at my grandparents house around 50 years ago.
  5. Bob the builder standing on the mud pile where the old terracing was sited complete with builders hat. His role to collect the stray footballs that were ventured over.

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Abolition of Paper Tax Discs in 2014


On Thursday 5 December 2013, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the government will change the law in 2014 to reduce tax administration costs and burdens associated with vehicle tax. New system will be digital record. This can be checked by mere mortals by visiting this site

http://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax

Paper tax discs will be replaced with electronic system from October 2014, with monthly direct debit option for 5%, or annually or even bi-annually. The government will do well out of this as the government estimates that it will lose around £35m due to Vehicle Excise Duty evasion in 2013/14, which equates to around 210,000 un-taxed vehicles, or 0.6% of the traffic on UK roads.

Maybe CCTV will then be able to stop motorists flouting the red route lines as shown in photograph below.

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