Jo's Birthday

Here we are, outside at the Bell. We'd just been to Jamie Oliver's restaurant. (All my photos look like they're shot in soft focus???)

Security men in flap over stuck duck

Thanks to Bill for pointing out an article in the Bath Chronicle on the trapped duckling incident I tweeted about.

Dad's Birthday

At the tiller...

The first day of June...

Father mans the bridge...

Cia Cokokoco

Liz and I stumbled upon some excellent street clowns. Sisters, one Spanish and one Argentinian.

Dark Skies Over Bath

Ivy Watch

Many complain that this blog is boring. The words, 'leaden', 'turgid' and 'moribund' crop up an awful lot in criticisms. Well, I plan to confound my critics with a special series called Ivy Watch!

Yes, each week you can check on the progress of my ivy plants! Let me introduce you. This is Pamela Flitton:

And here's Lord Widmerpool:

And lastly Ted Jeavons:

Where In Bath Is This?

The first photo I took on my Android phone.

UFOs In My Garden

These alien craft have landed in my garden.

Looks like the mother ship in the corner.

Rules For Travelling By Train

I resisted making this post for some time, for it reveals the petty and authoritarian side of my nature. I travel by train a lot. Although Mussolini didn't actually make the trains run on time, these are the things he should have done:

• When waiting for a train, spread out evenly along the platform. I always see everyone trying to board the train through the same door, forming a massive queue. If all the entrances to the train were used evenly, the train could actually leave on time.
• Wait for people to get off before getting on.
• While you're waiting for people to get off, queue parallel to the train and for heaven's sake leave a generous gap to let people get off.
• When you get on the train, walk along to the middle of the carriage AND DON'T DAWDLE then find a seat. If there isn't a seat, then stand as near to the middle of the carriage as you can.
• Above all, don't loiter in the vestibule.
  

Compost Ahoy

The guy who's growing vegetables in my garden asked for a compost bin. Luckily my dad had a spare one; it looks just like the picture above. Now I can put stuff like banana skins and orange peel in the bin, and it'll get made into compost instead of using fossil fuels being transported to a landfill.

Wiltshire council will have to pay less for its waste disposal, therefore I expect a reduction in council tax forthwith.

Government: you must buy a smart meter

The government plans to compel us in the UK to buy smart meters. The arguments for it are that:

• It'll save the electricity companies money because meter readers wouldn't have to go out and read meters.
• It'll save customers money, because more accurate measurement leads to energy savings.

I object to the compulsion aspect of this policy, I think the customer should be free to choose the type of meter they have. The supplier can publish two tariffs, one for a conventional meter, and another for a smart meter, and the customer can choose which one they think will be best for them.

Keep Libel Laws Out Of Science

My friend Jonathan alerted me to the Sense About Science campaign to prevent libel law being used to stifle scientific debate. Jonathan writes:

The broadcaster and science journalist Simon Singh is being sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association as a resulting calling their remedies 'bogus'. There is a campaign to support him and you can sign a petition.

I've signed the petition because I believe freedom of speech is essential to the health of society. Some may remember an earlier post on the limits of freedom of speech where I quoted Noam Chomsky:

In brief, speech should be protected up to participation in imminent criminal action. So if you and I go into a store to rob it, and I say "shoot," that's not protected.

Also, think of the money that'll be saved in lawyers' fees if we stop these unnecessary libel trials!