Sunday 27 February 2011

And the OSCAR goes to the microphone!!!


The BBC have an archive, not just of sound recordings and television recordings over the decades but also of equipment.

Here is an article about the microphones King George VI used and yes they still do work, perfectly.

Have a listen to two presenters using it.

Saturday 26 February 2011

Going for a run

A VIEW OF TENBY HARBOUR

Marilyn, Emily, Abigail and myself have been staying in Tenby for a few days this week.

Tenby is a beautiful Georgian Town on the rugged Pembrokeshire coast in South Wales. Marilyn comes form Tenby and we were visiting her mum and dad.

The weather in Wales is mostly wet. Last week there was a lot of sea mist and fog rolling in from The Bristol Channel and The Irish Sea.

Tenby itself is set within the Pembrokeshire Coastal National Park. The park comprises 300 miles of rugged, wild and beautiful coastline. It is the haunt of many wild sea birds, dolphins, small sharks, puffins and cormorants. Like Cornwall, the Pembrokeshire coast has traditionally been an area for fishing.

During the Georgian period Tenby was regarded as an elegant place to visit and take seaside holidays. Nelson and Lady Hamilton stayed here. George Elliot lived here for a short while. Jane Austen wrote in her letters about friends staying in Tenby. It is thought the Austen family may have visted Tenby. A nephew, in his reminiscences, recalls his aunts talking about it. Well known famous artists and actors have visited. Augustus John and Gwen John, his sister, were born and brought up in Tenby. Dylan Thomas used to visit Tenby from the boathouse at Laugharne just along the coast. Reputedly he left a first darft of Under Milk Wood on the bar stool in The Coach and Horses in Upper Frog Street. Beatrice Potter stayed in Tenby as a girl.

Last Wednesday I got up early, pulled on my NIKES and started out through Tenby town to the South Beach. Tenby is surrounded by beautiful beaches backed by rugged cliffs. There is North Beach, Castle Beach, yes it has a castle and South Beach. I chose South Beach because it is a mile of curving golden sand ending in tortuous pathways leading up onto rocky rugged cliffs .

The scene from the twindswept cliff tops, on a clear day, shows a great stretch of blue sea with Caldy Island and it's whitewashed Cistercian Monastery and other smaller islands that are inhabited only by sea birds. The view is magnificent. On Wednesday though, everything was shrouded in mist. A mysterious,Gothic scene. It felt dramatic running along the beach and up on to the cliffs. The smell of the sea and the strong wind made it feel wild and close to nature. It was an exilerating experience.

Here are some pictures from my run.













Saturday 19 February 2011

Oliver Twist's WORKHOUSE

A Victorian Workhouse.
Dr Ruth Richardson discusses her findings with Dr Paul Schlicke, editor of The Dickens Companion.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9401000/9401431.stm

I couldn't access the radio interview on it's own but here is a link to the BBC website that will allow you to listen to the interview.

So, they think they have found the very workhouse Dickens used as his source for Oliver Twist.

Saturday 5 February 2011

Bath, Nicolas Cage and Johnny Depp




Would you believe it. Yesterday the Guardian had that article about Georgian pornographic poetry and now, today, the Independent has an article about Bath. But not just any old article. Did you know Nicolas Cage and Johnny Depp live in Bath? Nicolas Cage lives in The Circus no less. What is the world coming to!!! Bloody Hell!!! (Sorry about the expletive.)

Friday 4 February 2011

Saucy 18th century poetry article


This article was in today's Guardian. I thought you all might be interested.

Click on the article to get full magnification.