Small earthquake in Kent, not many dead. April 28, 2007
Posted by Andy Roberts in : UK , add a commentDr Roger Musson, of the British Geological Society, said the earthquake was “not exceptionally large” for Britain.
“It’s the sort of thing we might have every five years or so. In a way it’s unusual that it happened in the south east of England, which is a part of Britain that’s normally not affected by earthquakes.”
BBC NEWS | England | Earthquake shakes parts of Kent
70 Years of Revisionism April 24, 2007
Posted by Andy Roberts in : politics , add a commentAs the anniversary of the bombing of Gernika approaches in 2 days time, Aleksu writes on the Eusko blog about attitudes in Spain and the struggle to establish history.
Eusko Blog : Ingeleraz: 70 Years of Revisionism
BBC NEWS ¦ Business ¦ Indian firm ‘eyeing UK graduates’ April 24, 2007
Posted by Andy Roberts in : Pajamanation , add a commentEarlier this month, BBC news reported on the UK activities of Indian software services firm Wipro
BBC NEWS | Business | Indian firm ‘eyeing UK graduates’
Wipro hires 20,000 graduates each year in India, and faces competition from foreign multinationals also flooding into Bangalore.
As the demand for IT professionals has risen in India, Wipro has been forced to raise salaries twice in 2006.
Its existing clients include Nokia ,Thames water and the insurer Aviva.
Outsourcing work to countries such as India is a sensitive topic, with its skilled workforce and cheap labour seen by some as a threat to British jobs.
Wifi hot spots advance April 23, 2007
Posted by Andy Roberts in : London, UK , add a commentSquare Mile transformed into hot spot-Business-Industry Sectors-Technology-TimesOnline
The Square Mile today became one big hot spot, as Europe’s most advanced wi-fi network was switched on across the City of London.
…
Large-scale wi-fi networks appear set to become a standard feature of big cities in the next few years. Eight in the UK, including Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow, are already working with BT’s Wireless Cities programme, under which BT will roll out paid-for wi-fi services.
The are also plans for large municipal free wi-fi projects – including one to cover all of Greater Manchester – inspired by similar programmes in San Francisco, Seattle and Amsterdam, which provide free internet access across large urban areas.
Milton Keynes, Norwich and Leicester Square in London have free wi-fi systems in place.
St George in England and Spain April 23, 2007
Posted by Andy Roberts in : UK , add a commentAfter blogging on St David’s day and St Piran’s day I thought I’d better mention that today is St George’s day. The English tend to be a bit shy about their national day, well many of them, but that’s being changed now by pub landlords looking for more reasons to sell beer. “Celebrate St George’s day here on 21st, 22nd and 23rd April” urged The Golden Fleece, who earlier initiated “Mother’s day Weekend”.
The Pride of Spitalfields was decked with red and white balloons, and playing Chas and Dave Cds, just like any other day, almost.
I should have been in Barcelona according to wickepedia:
St. George’s Day is celebrated in all the Spanish autonomous communities from the old Crown of Aragon: Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia, with different intensity. St. George is the patron saint of Aragon, where he is known as San Jorge.
In Catalonia , on “Sant Jordi’s Day”, people exchanges a rose and a book. This tradition, which combines a rose as a symbol of love and a book as a symbol of culture, has turned April 23rd into a festive celebration which fills the streets and squares with book and flower stalls. It is a day for walking around and enjoying the spectacle of streets turning into open-air book shops.
Catalonia has exported this tradition of the book and the rose to the rest of the world. In 1995, the UNESCO adopted April 23rd as World Book and Copyright Day.
Copyright day?
Every 10 minutes commute means 10% fewer social links April 23, 2007
Posted by Andy Roberts in : Pajamanation , add a comment“There’s a simple rule of thumb: Every ten minutes of commuting results in ten per cent fewer social connections. Commuting is connected to social isolation, which causes unhappiness.”
Well at least Charles Arthur is aware of the increasing push for us to work at home, which is being facilitated by enterprises such as pajamanation
The eight minute song April 23, 2007
Posted by Andy Roberts in : Music, London , 1 comment so farFour years ago I wrote some lyrics while I was in Spain and I’ve been slowly getting around to sorting out the tunes. The “Wreckers Prayer” was one of them but the big one, the one I felt needed tackling first is called “Gernika”. I don’t know if I’ll ever write anything like that again, but for various reasons it had to be done. The music came last winter holiday and occupied several days of recording and editing with help from peer reviewers and I was pleased with the result, published online in variou splaces and received some very encouraging comments about it. The thing is, the challenge of gernika, is simply that it’s eight minutes and thirty five seconds long and that exactly 5 minutes too long for the average song track, which is something that it never aspired to be, but this presents certain problems, in particular finding a spot for the live performance. My local folk club, Forest Roots have rejected the song and suggest Walthamstowe but the FAQ there says:
Walthamstow Folk - FAQ
All we ask is you keep the length of your piece to a reasonable duration - four or five minutes at the most.
Most of my songs are in the 3-5 minutes range, Gernika being a little unusual but then again my favourite LP of all time is Roy Harper’s Stormcock which comprises of 2 long songs on each side of the platter.
So where might Gernika be played live on Thursaday 26th April 2007 or thereabouts?
At present the contenders are
1) In my living room.
2) Out on the streets of London, the Underground or Southbank.
Compensation is only for the rich April 22, 2007
Posted by Andy Roberts in : Bird Flu, UK , add a commentOn Thursday night the Government confirmed that Bernard Matthews will be paid almost £600,000 in compensation following the outbreak of bird flu at its Suffolk farm.
Norman Lamb, North Norfolk MP, said the real losers were the workers who were still to get their jobs back. He said: “Many people will struggle with the idea that the company gets compensation, although it is a small amount compared with the drop in sales. But for the workers, the people in the front line of this, not to get anything, is hard to justify.
Open letter to NACM April 19, 2007
Posted by Andy Roberts in : cider , add a commentAs copublished on u k c i d e r blog
to Nick Bradstock at National Association of Cider Makers on 01823 490336 or nickbrads@btinternet.com
Dear Nick,
ukcider is a community of 500+ people appreciative of craft cider and
perry. We claim amongst our midst a substantial minority of members
who are actively involved in the production of real cider and perry on
a small scale, and maintain the definitive online guide to good cider
outlets and cider making advice.
I’m writing to you today on behalf of ukcider to endorse the letter
which one of our members, Roy Bailey has recently sent in regarding
the 7,000 litre exemption as adopted below:
“We understand that the National Association of Cider Makers is in support
of the EU’s proposal to get rid of the 70 hectolitres duty exemption on
cider and perry.
We believe that this would be a grave mistake of the part of the NACM,
and would be disastrous as far as craft cider makers are concerned,
leading to many of them ceasing production.
The present exemption is a valuable concession which has enabled a large
number of small cider makers to start up in recent years, unbedevilled
with the paperwork and expense attendant on paying duty. They have been
able to produce interesting and distinctive products, making use of
fruit that might otherwise go to waste, and sell their cider and perry
at a competitive price. Like the micro-brewers, they have been
instrumental in introducing new tastes and flavours which the larger
commercial producers fight shy of.
Instead of being confined to the West Country and East Anglia, cider
making is now carried on in the majority of the counties of England and
Wales, and even in Scotland.
Furthermore, many of these craft producers have sought out and rescued
rare and threatened varieties of apples and pears, grafting them and
planting new orchards which add diversity to the countryside and to the
national stock of fruit.
The brewing industry has only recently been able to enjoy a concession
similar to cider’s duty exemption in the form of Progressive Beer Duty.
This has enabled new breweries to start up, and existing ones to either
invest in new equipment or maintain competitive prices.
Rather than abolish the 70 hl concession, it should be retained and
amended so that duty is only paid on the excess over that limit when it
occurs, rather than on the whole of the production as at present. The
current arrangement penalises those producers who wish to produce
between 70 and about 140 hl per annum.
If the NACM goes ahead with its support of this EU proposal (and once
again this is a case of the EU sticking its nose into something that is
not its business) then it will only provide more ammunition for those
who believe that the NACM exists only to further the interests of the
big commercial producers, rather than of cider makers in general.
Regards,
Andy Roberts
ukcider convenor
http://ukcider.co.uk
Acas booklet on flexible working April 19, 2007
Posted by Andy Roberts in : Microjobs, UK , add a commentAcas - Acas publishes new booklet on flexible working
Acas, Britain’s leading employment relations service, has published a new booklet - Flexible working and work-life balance - to help employers and employees understand how flexible working can benefit their workplace.
Rita Donaghy, Acas Chair said:
‘Flexible working really can add value to the workplace. Employees who work flexibly often have a greater sense of responsibility, ownership and control of their working life. It also makes good business sense. Customers often expect goods as and when they want them and flexible working can help meet these demands.’
‘Our new booklet covers a wide range of issues relating to work-life balance. Employers and employees can visit our website – www.acas.org.uk – for more information on how Acas can help.’
is an online professional who initiated DARnet 
