L is for Lacock

In the grounds of Lacock Abbey there are some restored botanic gardens. The Abbey is medieval and has been converted into a country house. It is the former home of William Henry Fox Talbot a pioneer of photography and there is an interesting museum here that is dedicated to him.

I have visited twice and both times are memorable. The first time there was a torrential downpour and thunderstorm. It gave the Abbey a spooky atmosphere especially when the lights kept flickering. The second time I managed to fall down a hole in the side of the road just outside the Abbey.

For more ABC pictures check out Mr Linky.

Trade Council Meets Local MP

Last Thursday evening David Wright MP attended the local Trades Council Meeting and responded to a number of questions and concerns posed by the members. Many topics were covered including recruitment and retention of teachers, closure and retention of staff in HMRC offices, concerns over centralisation of the local fire station’s emergency call services and the effects of inflation on low paid public sector workers. The latter led to a discussion about the minimum wage especially as the new rate came into force on the 1st October. The rate is £5.73 for people aged 22 and over which means a yearly rate of £12.562 for civil servants.

The credit crunch and possible solution was also discussed at great length as was the current cost of housing and the high price of mortgages. Many avenues and solutions were explored and new ways of getting people into the housing market were also discussed at length.

Everyone was very candid in his or her discussions and David agreed to take some points away to look at in further detail. Everyone involved thought it would be a good idea to hold these meetings on a regular basis.

Even if you are not a member of a trade council you can still contact your MP via They Work for You.

Sticky Note Experiment

I found this over at Kate's, it is rather cool as she says. And I do agree some people have way to much time on their hands! Enjoy :-)

For those of you who have been following my computer problems. The fault was narrowed down to two components, the mother board or the power supply unit. I spoke to my brother who built it for me and he told me there should be a little green light on the motherboard. If that wasn't lit there was no power getting to it so either the motherboard was faulty or the PSU was to blame. It turned out to be the PSU which was at fault so I bought a new one and a friend fitted it for me ( Thank You :-) ). Thank goodness it wasn't the motherboard, most of the bits need to come out of the case to fit a new one of those...

EepyBird's Sticky Note experiment from Eepybird on Vimeo.

The Japanese Credit Crunch

Following the demise of Northern Rock, Lehman Brothers, HBOS and the Bradford and Bingley, the banking crisis has hit Japan.

In the past three days, the Origami Bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up and the Bonsai Bank has decided to cut some of its branches.

Yesterday, it was announced that the Karaoke Bank is to be sold and is likely to go for a song while, today, Kamikaze Bank shares were suspended after they nose-dived.

Samurai Bank has announced that it will soldier on but deep cuts are expected and Ninja Bank says it has taken a big hit but remains in the black.

500 staff at the Karate Bank will get the chop and analysts report something fishy going on at Sushi Bank where investors are expecting a raw deal.

This was sent to me via email, I thought you might enjoy it too ;-)

PhotoHunt - Sad

I know the pictures don't look sad, but there was a lot of sadness and horror portrayed within the building. La Coupole is just outside Saint-Omer where I recently went on a day trip. The website has the following to say about it:

Exceptional site, our museum La Coupole is 5 km far from Saint-Omer. Gigantic underground bunker designed by the Nazis, in 1943-1944, to launch the V2 rockets, our museum is today rehabilitated to be a History and Remembrance Center.

Unique by its location and its architecture, La Coupole is gathering historical events that took place in Saint-Omer calling to mind all what happened in this “dark years”.

Hundred of audiovisual documentaries will enable you to discover major themes that belong to all European people in La coupole near Saint-Omer. Do not hesitate to come and relive through the period of 1939 to 1945:

* The Occupation of 1940-1944 in the North of France
* The total war (1939-1945): the German secret weapons
* The "Cold War" and the conquest of space.

One of the temporary exhibitions housed within in La Coupole was entitled "Deportation and genocide, a European tragedy":

1. Introduction. The concentration camp system in Germany (1933-1939). Punish, terrorize and "re-educate".
2. The war and the onset of violence (1939-1941). Punish exploit and eliminate.
3. The genocide of Jews and Gypsies. Exterminate.
4. The changes in the Nazi concentration camp system (1942-1944). Exterminate through work.
5. The collapse and discovery of the Nazi concentration camp system (January-May 1945).
6. Death Toll. Memorial to those executed in and deported from Nord-Pas-de-Calais.
   

To say the pictures were harrowing is a bit of an understatement and one of the people I visited with said they were the most horrific pictures he had seen outside the French National Army Museum.

For more PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.

Some Updates

Yesterday's meeting went very well, several topics were discussed which led to some meaningful debates. I will do a fuller post on this when I have a little more time. I am also hoping to get some photographs to go with the post, so watch this space...

The good news is that a friend is going to help check out what is wrong with my computer a bit later this evening! There are several options to try and I am really hoping one of them works.

The not so good news is that at lunch time I noticed that a tyre on my car was a little low. When I went back half an hour later to figure out what to do with it, it was almost flat! Too flat to even drive 100 yards to the tyre fitters at the bottom of the road. After a quick think I decided it was best to try and inflate the tyre rather than change the wheel, I just needed to find a foot pump. I went to tell my work colleagues what was going on and as luck would have it, one of them had an air compressor in the boot of her car.

A few minutes later, the tyre was properly inflated and at the fitters being checked over. Apparently a small nail had gone into the tyre. Luckily it was possible to repair it rather than replace it.

I am beginning to wonder if someone is following me around creating all this havoc! That is just me being paranoid, isn't it? ISN'T IT???

All in a Rush

This week seem to be a week of Trade Union meetings. I had one yesterday at lunch time, so no rest for me then. Tonight I am off to the Trades Council where we will be asking a local MP his views on various topical issues. More on that later...