'Nuff said.
Friday, 9 September 2011
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Cropredy 2011
Another Cropredy has come and gone, after all the build up and excitement it's amazing how fast it goes by.
For those who dont know, Cropredy is a folk/rock festival held in a picturesque Oxfordshire village and hosted by veteran folk rockers Fairport Convention. It now lasts for 3 days and attracts 20,000 music fans of all ages and tastes although folk is still the mainstay of the event. It claims to be Britain's friendliest festival and certainly lives up to it.
Its unusual in that there is only one stage and you can bring your own chairs, food and drink. There is a large Wadsworth run bar which is used by both audience and performers so you could find yourself drinking next to someone famous if you can stomach the £3.70 a pint! There are plenty of food stalls providing a wide variety of meals and a selection of stalls selling everything form silly festival hats to expensive instruments.
In the village the two pubs, the Brasenose and Red Lion provide a free fringe for the festival if you fancy a change and various places provide breakfasts each morning.
The event finishes after Fairports marathon 3 hour set on the Saturday night with the traditional singing of "Meet on the Ledge".
A few of my favorites from this years line up-
For those who dont know, Cropredy is a folk/rock festival held in a picturesque Oxfordshire village and hosted by veteran folk rockers Fairport Convention. It now lasts for 3 days and attracts 20,000 music fans of all ages and tastes although folk is still the mainstay of the event. It claims to be Britain's friendliest festival and certainly lives up to it.
Its unusual in that there is only one stage and you can bring your own chairs, food and drink. There is a large Wadsworth run bar which is used by both audience and performers so you could find yourself drinking next to someone famous if you can stomach the £3.70 a pint! There are plenty of food stalls providing a wide variety of meals and a selection of stalls selling everything form silly festival hats to expensive instruments.
In the village the two pubs, the Brasenose and Red Lion provide a free fringe for the festival if you fancy a change and various places provide breakfasts each morning.
The event finishes after Fairports marathon 3 hour set on the Saturday night with the traditional singing of "Meet on the Ledge".
A few of my favorites from this years line up-
Katriona Gilmore and Jamie Roberts
Blair Dunlop
Home service
Hayseed Dixie
Seasick Steve
More Photo's on my Flickr Page.
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Poncho Tarp
After last years rather wet Cropredy Festival I thought it would be a good idea to get a poncho. They are ideal for festivals, especially ones like cropredy were you can take your own chair as they can drape over the back of it to keep your seat dry.
As I had a good excuse I went for a Golite Poncho Tarp as it didn't cost much more than a normal one. I've been after one for a while as I would love to try tarp camping. This is a great compromise as it combines rain gear and shelter into something weighing about 250g! Even adding a bivvy bag in case of extreme weather it still lightens my pack weight by 1300g!
It pitches quickly as a half pyramid as in the photo above and can be pitched as an A frame or flying diamond depending on the conditions and topography. Of course you look really stylish in it as you can see from the photo below. Form an orderly queue ladies!
I'm itching to get out on Exmoor and give it a try for a night of two, but this may have to wait for a week or two as I am off to Cropredy next week.
As I had a good excuse I went for a Golite Poncho Tarp as it didn't cost much more than a normal one. I've been after one for a while as I would love to try tarp camping. This is a great compromise as it combines rain gear and shelter into something weighing about 250g! Even adding a bivvy bag in case of extreme weather it still lightens my pack weight by 1300g!
It pitches quickly as a half pyramid as in the photo above and can be pitched as an A frame or flying diamond depending on the conditions and topography. Of course you look really stylish in it as you can see from the photo below. Form an orderly queue ladies!
I'm itching to get out on Exmoor and give it a try for a night of two, but this may have to wait for a week or two as I am off to Cropredy next week.
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Breaking the Rules
It's amazing how many things we believe without checking for ourselves (No, this isn't going to be an atheist rant, although parallels could be drawn)
In cooking, for example, people are still convinced that sealing meat will keep in the juices. In fact the opposite is true. People still waste time sifting flour to 'trap air in' and still salt their aubergines, even TV cooks now say this is unnecessary.
Brewing is another area, there are all kinds of do's and dont's you hear parroted without anyone actually checking for themselves. Luckily, partly through laziness, I've always been a little sloppy in my brewing techniques and haven't yet produced a bad brew. With only one exception, when my pale malt had been hanging around too long and the resulting beer was rather soapy tasting, I have never produced a beer that wasn't as good as something I've been served in a pub and enjoyed.
My most recent 'happy accident' was when I found I had no yeast left and resorted to a sachet of Tesco bread yeast. It fermented well, as expected, and once cleared it produced a very nice beer. No 'doughy' taste that some suggest would result from it. It had quite a dry taste to it, similar to other beers I have tried. I think the amount of hops I use may have helped the flavor.
My only issues I had with it was that the yeast didn't form a very dense layer in the bottle and stirred up easily when poured, something that is true to other commercial ale yeasts, and it got rather lively in the bottle, priming was certainly unnecessary!
I liked it so much, not least the economy, that I have used some that I collected from the secondary fermenter to start my next brew. This time I will put it in a barrel for a while to clear before bottling and maybe skip the priming. This one will be going with me to Cropredy Festival next month so fingers crossed it will be a good one.
In cooking, for example, people are still convinced that sealing meat will keep in the juices. In fact the opposite is true. People still waste time sifting flour to 'trap air in' and still salt their aubergines, even TV cooks now say this is unnecessary.
Brewing is another area, there are all kinds of do's and dont's you hear parroted without anyone actually checking for themselves. Luckily, partly through laziness, I've always been a little sloppy in my brewing techniques and haven't yet produced a bad brew. With only one exception, when my pale malt had been hanging around too long and the resulting beer was rather soapy tasting, I have never produced a beer that wasn't as good as something I've been served in a pub and enjoyed.
My most recent 'happy accident' was when I found I had no yeast left and resorted to a sachet of Tesco bread yeast. It fermented well, as expected, and once cleared it produced a very nice beer. No 'doughy' taste that some suggest would result from it. It had quite a dry taste to it, similar to other beers I have tried. I think the amount of hops I use may have helped the flavor.
My only issues I had with it was that the yeast didn't form a very dense layer in the bottle and stirred up easily when poured, something that is true to other commercial ale yeasts, and it got rather lively in the bottle, priming was certainly unnecessary!
I liked it so much, not least the economy, that I have used some that I collected from the secondary fermenter to start my next brew. This time I will put it in a barrel for a while to clear before bottling and maybe skip the priming. This one will be going with me to Cropredy Festival next month so fingers crossed it will be a good one.
Sunday, 22 May 2011
A few projects.
I have been working on a couple of little projects lately.
First up, a bureau PC case. The bureau was off Ebay, £26, bargain! The PC itself is in the middle drawer. I had to cut a hole for the fan and another to feed all the leads through.
I built a small box to fit one of the pigeon holes and covered it with leather, into this I fitted the DVD drive, card reader, USB hub and 'on' button. It still needs a bit of tidying up, maybe some thin brass rod around the edge of the box to make it look a bit neater, but overall I'm pleased with the result.
Elaine had been on about a padded headboard for a while. When some CD printing kit was delivered to work the other week it was packed in some foam rubber and looked perfect for the job. I cut a piece of board to size, attached the foam rubber and stapled over a piece of cloth that Elaine chose. Not bad for under £20 and 30minutes work and best of all Elaine's happy!
Finally an idea for a cloche I saw on someones allotment . The frame is made form pressure treated wood, the top is a couple of canes, tied to the frame and the netting is draped over. Different sized canes can be attached to change the length according to what I need and it keeps the sparrows and butterflies off my crops!
First up, a bureau PC case. The bureau was off Ebay, £26, bargain! The PC itself is in the middle drawer. I had to cut a hole for the fan and another to feed all the leads through.
I built a small box to fit one of the pigeon holes and covered it with leather, into this I fitted the DVD drive, card reader, USB hub and 'on' button. It still needs a bit of tidying up, maybe some thin brass rod around the edge of the box to make it look a bit neater, but overall I'm pleased with the result.
Elaine had been on about a padded headboard for a while. When some CD printing kit was delivered to work the other week it was packed in some foam rubber and looked perfect for the job. I cut a piece of board to size, attached the foam rubber and stapled over a piece of cloth that Elaine chose. Not bad for under £20 and 30minutes work and best of all Elaine's happy!
Finally an idea for a cloche I saw on someones allotment . The frame is made form pressure treated wood, the top is a couple of canes, tied to the frame and the netting is draped over. Different sized canes can be attached to change the length according to what I need and it keeps the sparrows and butterflies off my crops!
Saturday, 12 March 2011
Eleanor Rigby ukulele
A simple instrumental version of Eleanor Rigby. Unfortunately my webcams microphone sucks!
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Thoughts about a gay daughter.
My daughter read this blog the other day (I'm glad someone did!) and was disappointed she wasnt mentioned. I promised i would rectify the situation and suggested I should share my thoughts on her coming out; so here goes.
I guess the only sign I might have picked up on was that she never had a boyfriend, plenty of boys who were friends, but never anyone special. I know all dads think their daughters are beautiful, but even allowing for that I didnt see why she hadnt found anyone. I didnt know whether to be worried or relieved!
At one point she was attending a local evangelical church with a friend. One afternoon we were watching 'Will and Grace' and I commented that the church she was going to probably wouldnt approve of it because of the gay characters.
"But people are born that way, how can it be wrong?" she asked
"I know its silly, but because it says it somewhere in the Bible they think its true"
A couple of weeks later civil partnerships were legalised and that Sunday she came home and said "You were right, they started going on about the 'great sin' that Elton John had committed. Its lucky they couldnt see my face!"
I think that was the last time she went to church.
It was some time later when she was at college that we found out what was going on.
I got home from a late shift one evening and She came downstairs, obviously distressed about something. Elaine and I assumed that maybe something had happened with one of her friends. Once, when one had been taken into care she was very upset and the way she was acting seemed similar.
"Why is this so hard?" she asked as we tried to get her to tell us what was on her mind.
"Maybe you could try Charades?" I suggested
"Dad, there's not an appropriate mime for it!"
She took a deep breath and said,
"I'm gay"
I, of course did what any supportive, liberal dad would do in this situation, I laughed! In my defense we had had this joke before and I assumed this was the ice breaker before she admitted she was pregnant, an addict, a creationist or tory; or whatever horror she could have been hiding.
"No dad, I'm serious, I'm gay"
I must admit, it took a couple of minutes to take it in. Life had suddenly changed for us. I'm glad to say I wasn't upset or disappointed. I loved her just as much as I ever did but, but the information still took a little processing.
The three of us sat on the settee and chatted about it.
"How long have you known?"
"The last year for definite, but I think I always knew"
"You could have told us before, you know we wouldn't have been upset"
"I know, but its difficult"
"I got this tattoo because I love you" said Elaine, indicating the flower fairy she had recently had done "and I still do"
"Yes" I said "I'll get the brillo pads and bleach!"
"Is this my fault because it was me that got you watching Xena?" I inquired.
It was a relief that we could joke about it!
The hardest part was not being able to tell anyone else, only her closest friends knew at this point and she wasnt ready for anyone else to know.
Thankfully this changed after we went away for a weekend and she had the house to herself and held a party. She finally got the courage to tell all her friends and was relieved to find none of them were worried by it. We were then able to tell her grandparents and the rest of the family. Thankfully, no one was phased by the revelation and all have been supportive.
This was a couple of years ago and now its so much a part of our lives that we rarely comment on it. She is at Uni now with her girlfriend and I think the social seen up there has helped her to come to terms with herself.
One thing that did surprise her was that one of the first theology students she met is a lesbian, I think that was a bit of an eye opener for her!
The only time I get annoyed is when I hear of people trying to use their religion to justify their prejudices and I shudder to think of what it must be like for a gay person brought up in a family that holds homophobic views.
It seems that attitudes are changing for the better in this country, I hope it continues.
I guess the only sign I might have picked up on was that she never had a boyfriend, plenty of boys who were friends, but never anyone special. I know all dads think their daughters are beautiful, but even allowing for that I didnt see why she hadnt found anyone. I didnt know whether to be worried or relieved!
At one point she was attending a local evangelical church with a friend. One afternoon we were watching 'Will and Grace' and I commented that the church she was going to probably wouldnt approve of it because of the gay characters.
"But people are born that way, how can it be wrong?" she asked
"I know its silly, but because it says it somewhere in the Bible they think its true"
A couple of weeks later civil partnerships were legalised and that Sunday she came home and said "You were right, they started going on about the 'great sin' that Elton John had committed. Its lucky they couldnt see my face!"
I think that was the last time she went to church.
It was some time later when she was at college that we found out what was going on.
I got home from a late shift one evening and She came downstairs, obviously distressed about something. Elaine and I assumed that maybe something had happened with one of her friends. Once, when one had been taken into care she was very upset and the way she was acting seemed similar.
"Why is this so hard?" she asked as we tried to get her to tell us what was on her mind.
"Maybe you could try Charades?" I suggested
"Dad, there's not an appropriate mime for it!"
She took a deep breath and said,
"I'm gay"
I, of course did what any supportive, liberal dad would do in this situation, I laughed! In my defense we had had this joke before and I assumed this was the ice breaker before she admitted she was pregnant, an addict, a creationist or tory; or whatever horror she could have been hiding.
"No dad, I'm serious, I'm gay"
I must admit, it took a couple of minutes to take it in. Life had suddenly changed for us. I'm glad to say I wasn't upset or disappointed. I loved her just as much as I ever did but, but the information still took a little processing.
The three of us sat on the settee and chatted about it.
"How long have you known?"
"The last year for definite, but I think I always knew"
"You could have told us before, you know we wouldn't have been upset"
"I know, but its difficult"
"I got this tattoo because I love you" said Elaine, indicating the flower fairy she had recently had done "and I still do"
"Yes" I said "I'll get the brillo pads and bleach!"
"Is this my fault because it was me that got you watching Xena?" I inquired.
It was a relief that we could joke about it!
The hardest part was not being able to tell anyone else, only her closest friends knew at this point and she wasnt ready for anyone else to know.
Thankfully this changed after we went away for a weekend and she had the house to herself and held a party. She finally got the courage to tell all her friends and was relieved to find none of them were worried by it. We were then able to tell her grandparents and the rest of the family. Thankfully, no one was phased by the revelation and all have been supportive.
This was a couple of years ago and now its so much a part of our lives that we rarely comment on it. She is at Uni now with her girlfriend and I think the social seen up there has helped her to come to terms with herself.
One thing that did surprise her was that one of the first theology students she met is a lesbian, I think that was a bit of an eye opener for her!
The only time I get annoyed is when I hear of people trying to use their religion to justify their prejudices and I shudder to think of what it must be like for a gay person brought up in a family that holds homophobic views.
It seems that attitudes are changing for the better in this country, I hope it continues.
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