Teeline - update 2

 In my Teeline self study I am now using two new books(pictured below) which I bought from my UK visit this year. These two books provide more practice exercises, which helps the learning process and makes learning more interesting. I use both books in parallel and started from the beginning on both.  All exercises have answers at the back. 

The other reason I use them is that my “Teeline Shorthand made simple” is literally falling apart, so I decided to retire it.  My method is to study each book on alternate days daily, this means I am more likely to retain what I learnt. 

Forthcoming BBC radio medium wave switch off

 As I recently mentioned the BBC has already switched off its long wave transmissions for Radio 4, it will switch off medium wave transmissions for BBC Radio Five Live in 2027. This means less choice for listeners, especially those who do not have access to Digital Audio Broadcast(DAB) and the internet.  I have watched various youtube videos commenting on the long wave switch off, this one mentions a possible defence implication whereby an electrical magnetic pulse impact will disable digital communications and the national grid. I remember seeing this depicted in the 1980s BBC drama documentary “Threads” about Britain under nuclear attack.  Such an attack may not be as devastating for legacy items such as long or medium radio due to them being less complex and radio receivers being able to run on batteries. Hence long and medium wave operations may survive the aftermath of a nuclear attack and be used to inform the public. 

Therefore I have signed the petition to keep BBC medium wave, if you agree with me, please sign and share the petition. 

Mr Do on Nintendo Switch

 As you may remember, I bought a Nintendo Switch way back, and I still use it on a regular basis, I do not have that many games on it but recently I noticed that Nintendo released an “Arcade Archives” collection and an Atari classics collection.  I hope to buy the Atari classics collection in the near future.  

I have bought and downloaded “Mr Do”, I spent alot of money at the arcade on this game back then and I’m really glad to see it ported to the Switch. If you don’t know this game, check this out.  I find idea of crushing enemies under the weight of huge apples highly satisfying.  It’s simple, yet its simplicity is what makes it addictive.  This port allows three different versions and I choose the original version each time. 

Space Invaders on Sony PSP

 One of the many Sony PSP games I bought during this Summer’s UK visit was Taito Legends Power Up, this is a collection of vintage arcade games from Taito, who gave us the famous Space Invaders. The collection itself contains about a dozen games but it is the two Space Invaders games which captivated me. Space Invaders is in black and white mono, while Space Invaders II is in colour. 

Gameplay for both is the same, there is an option to play with the PSP at right angles to give a longer vertical display but this causes problems accessing the fire button.  So far I have only made it to the second level, my reflexes must be deteriorating. It is a true port of the classics and just like the olden times, it is very addictive.  Only difference is that I don’t need to worry about spending all my pocket money. 

London Orbital by Iain Sinclair

 I finally finished reading this very engrossing book, which I bought at a charity shop last year in Dymchurch, Kent.

It’s the experiences of a group of friends led by Iain Sinclair on walks around London, roughly following the M25 motorway, it is set during turn of the century in 1999, a time which I remember well as I was going through a major upheaval in my life. 

The theme of these walks was about mental health with a focus on mental institutions both current and former that they passed on the way. They passed many locations which were crime scenes and where famous people once resided. I found the stories very interesting even though some were dark. What I liked most was the accounts of every day sights like small roadside cafes, retail parks, business parks etc the things that are overlooked when we ramble.  That, plus the memories of early years the Blair government struck a chord on me.  

London Orbital is well worth reading if you are into the local history of outer London from the last days of the twentieth century.

The English:a portrait of a people by Jeremy Paxman

 There have been a few occasions in my life where I picked up a book for a quick browse of the first few pages and decided I will read it to the end regardless of whether I am in the middle of another book.  “The English: a portrait of a people” by Jeremy Paxman is one of them. 

For those that don’t know Paxman is a former news reader and presenter of BBC Newsnight, he is famous for his pitbull like interviews of those in power.  And he happened to write a few books.  Here Paxman gives his unique take on the English people, what shaped them and how they will adapt to a changing world.  Published in 1998, in the early days of the Blair government and long before Brexit and the migrant crisis, it focuses mostly on the upper classes without much on the peasants and working classes.  It looks at English attitudes to behaviour, patriotism, food, culture and even sex. However, it dwells too much on cliches such as the stiff upper lip and “playing the game”.  I do acknowledge the role of physical activity and competitive sports has had on the English psyche but to say it has a role in building the British Empire is over doing it. 

However I found this book unputdownable due to it being so readable and, to a lesser extent, entertaining.  It would have been better if it dealt with the white working class a bit more and it completely glosses over the effects of immigration on English society from the twentieth century onwards.

Severn Valley Railway

I’ve just discovered an excuse to go to Worcestershire on my next UK visit, thanks Geoff.

PSP games I bought during my Summer UK visit

 Here are the PSP games I bought during my UK visit last month, you can see a pattern here. Some games are timeless and live on in the latest consoles.  A majority will appear in future blog posts.

Everton vs Manchester United

 I’ve just finished listening to the first half of Everton versus Manchester United at Good…, sorry Hill Dickinson.  An action packed first half with Bruno Fernandes coming close early on. I’m a great critic of the BBC, especially in its news output but nothing beats BBC commentary on live sport, especially in football and cricket.  Now I’m off to get a cuppa.

Unlocking Zaxxon

 During my January visit to the UK this year I bought the Sega Mega Drive Collection for the Sony PSP.  This was partly due to my love of retro gaming and the fact I never owned a Sega Mega Drive.  I later discovered that one of my favourite 1980s arcade games, Zaxxon, is part of the bundle.  Unfortunately it’s a locked game and to unlock it I need to play every game in the bundle first, including the locked bonus ones.  If you don’t know about Zaxxon, here’s a quick video.

In the last few days I have started in my quest to unlock Zaxxon.  The bonus first game I am trying to unlock is Astro Blaster, and to do this, I need to complete the first episode of Comix Zone.  A beat them up adventure game set in a future dystopian New York, full of mutants and zombies.  Its the first time I have come across Comix Zone, and I’m yet to complete the first episode, unusually for a vintage game, you don’t have your number of lives.  Instead you have a health bar, when it reaches zero it’s game over.  Therefore it adds a greater challenge so I have a bit of work to do.

In praise of …… youth hostels

 During my week long visit to Sheringham, I stayed at the local YHA youth hostel.  I have stayed in youth hostels across many countries since the 1990s, the majority of times in the UK.  I admit that I stay in them to save money when I travel alone, although I have stayed in them a few times when travelling with wife or child.  

Another attraction youth hostels have for me is that most have a laundry room, meaning I don’t need to pack so much clothes.  On top of that is the self catering kitchen where guests can cook their own meals, again saving money on eating out. I made the most of the kitchen at Sheringham youth hostel.  Yes, I had to use a shared bathroom but that wasn’t a great issue for me.  This time I reserved a single room rather than a dormitory room for extra privacy. 

I do remember the very social atmosphere in youth hostels lounges when I first used them back then, but not this time.  Maybe things have changed.

Sadly the number of YHA hostels have declined greatly since the 1990s, with more scheduled to close.  I hope I can continue staying in them during future UK visits.

Norfolk coastal path part 2

The next day, I decided to walk the Norfolk coastal path in the westerly/northerly direction.  Again the walk took me along the clifftops, with wonderful sea views, the first thing I saw was a coastguard observation station.

Next I walked past Sheringham golf course with all its fairways an orange colour thanks to the summer heat and drought, only the greens looked normal. After this, the path took me to the National Trust owned Sheringham Park, although no one was in the park at the time.  I saw the North Norfolk railway line in the distance with a train steaming along.

Then I reached the village of Weybourne whose station I was at few days earlier.  Weybourne feels more like a hamlet than a village, world war two pillboxes sit amongst the houses, staring out to sea for an enemy which never came. The main thing to note here was the windmill, Weybourne Mill.  A very impressive structure which served its use to grind grain, now standing idle.  

By then I turned and headed back on the same trail to Sheringham, a wonderful way to spend a Summer’s day in England.

start of the walk

world war two pillboxes

A very inland pillbox

Cromer

After concluding my walk on the Norfolk coastal path, I spent the rest of the day in the seaside town and former crab fishing town of Cromer.  The first thing that struck me was the wonderful beaches, followed by a the pretty town itself. I did not avail myself to the pier, but I did go into the museum.  It was £5 at the door and it dealt with prehistoric history of the area in addition to its fishing industry.  The ground floor area had display of ice age and much older fossils, the rooms upstairs focused on the Cromer’s days as fishing port and the lives of those who worked in it.

There was display of paintings in another building featuring a local artist. It was well worth the ticket price and a good way to while away the afternoon.

Before I took the bus back to Sheringham I had a good look inside the St Peter and St Paul church which dominated the town skyline.  It’s nice to be in an urban area without skyscrapers and the church tower is the tallest building.  All in all, I had a splendid day out.

Cromer Pier

My favourite beach in Cromer

Cromer museum

Cromer museum

St Peter and St Paul church

Norfolk coastal path part 1

 The day after visiting the North Norfolk Railway, I walked the Norfolk coastal path from Sheringham to Cromer.  It was short walk and I walked some of it on the beach rather than the actual path as the tide was out. 

It took me over the cliffs that overlook the the North Sea and past several caravan parks, which was handy for toilets and refreshments.  For history and world war two nerds, there is the site of the Beeston Bump, a former signal intercepter station, only the foundations remain. 

Towards Cromer I came across a statue of a woolly mammoth to denote that this area is famous for fossils of ice age fauna as the North Sea didn’t exist during the time of the mammoths.  

Beeston Bump

Beeston Bump

View from Beeston Bump

North Norfolk Heritage Railway, Sheringham

 Sheringham, on the Norfolk coast is the home to the delightful North Norfolk Heritage Railway, and I took the opportunity to ride on it during my second day in Sheringham.

It is situated next to the train station, in the centre of town. I bought a day rover ticket for £26 and I got on the first diesel train of the day to the furthest stop, Holt. The carriage was divided into the cabins with two rows of seats facing each other and it wasn’t long before we arrived at Holt. This station has several buildings and a former residence made from two former train carriages joined together. My first call was the building containing the model railway, not a model train man myself but I can appreciate the work that went into it.  There was a preserved working ticket office, a number of preserved carriages and engines, cranes and an old truck on display.  I was most interested in the former residence made from train carriages as it was a great example of re-use and recycling, the residence backed on a garden which had a wash room and an world war two Anderson shelter on display. I’ve only ever previously seen an Anderson shelter once, that was at the Imperial War Museum, London.  The residence had a lovely couple outside to explain the history of it.  After a relaxing tea at the tea shop, it was back on the same diesel train to Weybourne.

Weybourne is the first station coming out of Sheringham, There was slightly less to see here than at Holt, although I was able to peak inside the restored working signal box, attended by two volunteers. There were a number restored engines and carriages parked in the sidings but none allowed entry inside.  I later found out that Weybourne station was the location of a few television programmes including Dad’s Army, Allo Allo and Hi-Di-Hi.  This was all explained in a display at the waiting shelter.  This part of the line was double tracked so the footbridge was still intact.  Before long I took the steam train back to Sheringham.  I can’t get enough of steam.

Sheringham station had a restored ticket office, a gift shop next store and large cafe in what would have been the parcels and left luggage room.  I bought a little souvenir before heading out. This is well worth visiting if you are in the Norfolk area and I thank the volunteers involved.

Sheringham station

Model railway at Holt station

The residence

Residence washroom Anderson shelter

Signal box as Weybourne

Sheringham station tea room

Altrincham to Lymm walk

 The day after walking the Peak Forest canal, I walked the Lymm Railway trail between Altrincham and Lymm, Cheshire.  I heard about this walk through this Youtube video. This trail is part of the Trans Pennine Way.

After arriving at Altrincham by bus, I walked through the town to Dunham Massey car park to reach the start point. I haven’t been to Altrincham since the 1990s and it doesn’t seem to have changed much.  Once there, I began my six mile journey to Lymm.  It was very obvious I was walking a disused railway as it was very wide and the initial few miles was paved with tarmac.  Along the way I came across cyclists and other walkers. 

There were many other signs of the railway such as the cutting and the occasional road bridge over the trail. The trail took me through lovely Cheshire countryside and picturesque farm land.  Before long I reached the outskirts of Lymm, the Trans Pennine continues from here, but I came off the route to head into Lymm for lunch.  Despite being Manchester born and brought up, this was the first time I have been the pretty small town of Lymm.

Manchester City vs AFC Bournemouth

 New EPL season has just started, I'm listening to the above game on BBC Sounds.  I wish I'm listening to it on my second hand DAB radio, but the app will do.

Errwood Hall and Shining Tor

 In the afternoon after hiking the Peak Forest Canal to see Marple locks, we went on another hike to Shining Tor, the highest point in Cheshire.

The hike took us past the ruins of Errwood Hall, and the graves of its former owners, the Grimshaws.  Thankfully the shrine for their former Spanish teacher was still intact and it was filled with devotional items. 

Then it was off to Shining Tor, a peak that is marked by a trig point.  As expected it has stunning views of the local area, especially the Goyt valley.  It’s well worth doing this hike if you are in the area.

Errwood Hall

Shrine at Errwood Hall

Shining Tor trig point.

England vs Pakistan 1st test

 Congratulations England.  What has happened to Pakistan?

Peak forest canal, Marple locks

 In the middle week of my UK visit I was in Stockport and I walked part of the Peak forest canal in Marple with a friend.

This area is the home of Marple locks, a set of 16 numbered stepped locks ascending and descending the Peaks. With a history that goes back to 1804, it still is a piece of remarkable engineering with a short lived operational history thanks to the railways. 

On that day we passed numerous narrowboats and barges using the locks.  The walk took in breaktaking moorland countryside and deciduous forest.  The town of Marple was a delight to visit.