I met Georgio Brianti again, he was my new Group Leader, he was welcoming to me. There were still many old friends around, but a slightly different atmosphere from the one that existed in the early days. The technique seemed to be to surround oneself with a protective ring of loyal advisers and hold the ring! Gearge's first task was to eliminate someone who did not fit in, not a good beginning but quite on a par with all the scheming that was going on to preserve the status quo
and the safety of the jobs of people in positions of authority.
to be continued
Wednesday 30 December 2009
Anniversary Day!
We made it! 60 years of happily married life together. A wonderfull card from the Queen with a nice photo of her and a greetings text. We skyped to Helena and spoke to her and Christina and showed them the card over the video camera. We are quite overcome with flowers and cards and have been made aware of our friends and family's concern.
I would have enjoyed it much more if I had been fit. Kate and Chris visited us and daughter Christina came to us in the evening. As I had been up since 2.30 am I went to bed in the radio room at about 11 pm. To my great surprise I slept till 8 am. The first night's good sleep for a week.
Slowly but slowly,I am miraculously being retored to health. Someone must have been praying for me!
I spoke to David Long for a while and had his congratulations.
On the 31st.with Christina here we tried the cake that Helena had baked for us. It tasted as good as it looked, here is a photo.
Monday 28 December 2009
Chrstmas with Richard and Jackie!
We drove to Norwich on Wednesday 23rd December and after leaving hone at about 10.30 am arrived before 4 p.m.
They have a lovely new house, only some few years old with large rooms and a big garden. We were impressed with their choice.
They made us very welcome in spite of Frank's graveyard cough and his addiction to his eeepc900. There were daily apero sessions, lovely meals in the evening and a glorious Christmas Day lunch.
Ursula went out for a walk with them on Boxing Day but I lay low with my coughing.
We came home horrendously on Sunday, leaving at 11.30 and getting home at 4.30. Alas too many cars, people,lorries..but safely despite not obeying my navigator's instructions.
A lovely break with much TLC from our hosts. Thank you Richard and Jackie.
They have a lovely new house, only some few years old with large rooms and a big garden. We were impressed with their choice.
They made us very welcome in spite of Frank's graveyard cough and his addiction to his eeepc900. There were daily apero sessions, lovely meals in the evening and a glorious Christmas Day lunch.
Ursula went out for a walk with them on Boxing Day but I lay low with my coughing.
We came home horrendously on Sunday, leaving at 11.30 and getting home at 4.30. Alas too many cars, people,lorries..but safely despite not obeying my navigator's instructions.
A lovely break with much TLC from our hosts. Thank you Richard and Jackie.
Saturday 28 November 2009
Manchester 1960
By some skullduggery I was appointed to a post at the Rutherford Lab and posted to Manchester in order to help with Sam Devons's Heavy Ion Linac. My brother was married that year in Bridlington and Ursula came with me to Manchester and met Sam and the site of the linac. It had been a garage and was next to the Maths Tower and opposite to the Main University building including the library.
The pay from Rutherford was better than could have been expected from the University. We had a friend in Manchester, Charles Hawke, who had been a member of the Met Vic Erection team in Geneva. He met Ursula at the airport after her hair raising flight from Heathrow. Her plane had to go back after it almost reached Manchester because the undercart wouldn't come down. The stewardess abandoned Ursula to a kind gentleman who helped with the children.
She was installed in a hotel in Altringham while I drove the car back from Geneva and then joined her. Our house was rented from The University, and was cold, not very well decorated and on a busy crossing in Fallowfield. We had hoped to be integrated with the University but alas with Jodrell Bank causing financial embarrasment to the University this linac project in an old garage didn't cut much ice with them. We were virtual outcasts!
Gradually we made friends, especially the Anglican Chaplain to the University and his family. We almost developed together! Also Jackie Pearce, a friend of Judy Chell, who became a great comfort to us. We were visited by Hugh Hereward, who I had heard was visiting, as his hotel reservation was flawed he spent the night on our sofa! Ulf Kracht same once and Charles Hawke was a frequent visitor. Ian Grant was also on the same project and became a good friend.
In due course the accelerator came together and functioned satisfactorily. It was a huge beast, one could walk inside it. It ran at a frequencyof 75 MHz. The low energy end ran at 25 MHz and had been constructed with the help of students. It was a Wideroe parallel line device. Wideroe was working for the Germans in Hamburg during the war whilst the RAF were boming the place. He was starngely enough around at Cern in its early days!
Whilst at the University, David Long came for a week or two to help with the electronics, it was good to have him with us and I think he enjoyed himself!
Devons left for a post in the States and a new Professor was appointed, some of us didn't find him very sypathetic and eventually he disappeared too. George Nassibian was in charge of the Hilac, a good friend and a very competant engineer. I managed to recruit Tony Smith to CERN later on, he and his family came to Geneva. He elped me on the PSB. Sadly Rosemary his wife died a few years later, she told me that Geneva time was a very happy one for her.
I was very happy at Manchester, and my son was born there! Eventually we bought a house in Gatley at a cost of £5,000. 4 bedrooms two reception rooms a big kitchen and half an acre of garden! There were fruit trees and a garage on the Styal Road. We had to rewire, install central heating and decorate the house. The traffic on the Styal Road was so intense that one had to back in, in order to come out frontwards in the busy rush hour every morning.
In Fallowfield we were happy to be next door to Professor Vinaver and his wife. They were very friendly to us. When Christina passed her exam to get a place in Withington, we celebrated with a bottle of champagne and Professor Vinaver opened the bottle for us! There was a time in the winter that we were looking after the Vinaver's house next door. With all the heaters going full blast the main fuse blew. It was the fuse for the two houses and it was in our basement. I shorted it out with a nail as no one was going to come and fix it and the Vinavers were due to arrive any minute. Fortunately I never heard a word about it again! In Gatley we made friends with an optician and his family who lived opposite.
Schools for the children were plentiful and good. First Christina then Helena managed to get into Withington School.
Once the Hilac was commisioned I was posted to Liverpool to work on Nina, a proposed electron synchrotron to be built at Daresbury. I went by train every day, sometimes calling in at the Hilac to see how things were going and offer help! On one occasion the train caught fire and we had to leave the train in a tunnel, I remember a lady with a white coat who come out of the tunnel a bit like a badger. Merrison at Liverpool thought my explanation for arriving late was the nost original that he had ever heard!
Francis Farley paid a visit to Manchester, he thought I had been made a professor and was put out to find I was just another hand to the pump. He became Dean at Shrivenham. He worked on Caesar in Cern but as far as I was concerned he only produced a Methuen monograph on valve circuits, something we knew all about from Malvern days.
Manchester was heavenly. lots to do and a nice crowd of people. I do have some pictures.
Nearly all our holdays were taken in the Lake Distict at Delmar Banner's cottage at High Bield.
George Nassiian was recruited to Cern, he persuaded me to think about returning to Cern to work on the PS Booster. Gradually I became interested and eventually accepted a position in his group. This gave rise to my final endeavour, a 15 year stint in Geneva in the PS Division.
The pay from Rutherford was better than could have been expected from the University. We had a friend in Manchester, Charles Hawke, who had been a member of the Met Vic Erection team in Geneva. He met Ursula at the airport after her hair raising flight from Heathrow. Her plane had to go back after it almost reached Manchester because the undercart wouldn't come down. The stewardess abandoned Ursula to a kind gentleman who helped with the children.
She was installed in a hotel in Altringham while I drove the car back from Geneva and then joined her. Our house was rented from The University, and was cold, not very well decorated and on a busy crossing in Fallowfield. We had hoped to be integrated with the University but alas with Jodrell Bank causing financial embarrasment to the University this linac project in an old garage didn't cut much ice with them. We were virtual outcasts!
Gradually we made friends, especially the Anglican Chaplain to the University and his family. We almost developed together! Also Jackie Pearce, a friend of Judy Chell, who became a great comfort to us. We were visited by Hugh Hereward, who I had heard was visiting, as his hotel reservation was flawed he spent the night on our sofa! Ulf Kracht same once and Charles Hawke was a frequent visitor. Ian Grant was also on the same project and became a good friend.
In due course the accelerator came together and functioned satisfactorily. It was a huge beast, one could walk inside it. It ran at a frequencyof 75 MHz. The low energy end ran at 25 MHz and had been constructed with the help of students. It was a Wideroe parallel line device. Wideroe was working for the Germans in Hamburg during the war whilst the RAF were boming the place. He was starngely enough around at Cern in its early days!
Whilst at the University, David Long came for a week or two to help with the electronics, it was good to have him with us and I think he enjoyed himself!
Devons left for a post in the States and a new Professor was appointed, some of us didn't find him very sypathetic and eventually he disappeared too. George Nassibian was in charge of the Hilac, a good friend and a very competant engineer. I managed to recruit Tony Smith to CERN later on, he and his family came to Geneva. He elped me on the PSB. Sadly Rosemary his wife died a few years later, she told me that Geneva time was a very happy one for her.
I was very happy at Manchester, and my son was born there! Eventually we bought a house in Gatley at a cost of £5,000. 4 bedrooms two reception rooms a big kitchen and half an acre of garden! There were fruit trees and a garage on the Styal Road. We had to rewire, install central heating and decorate the house. The traffic on the Styal Road was so intense that one had to back in, in order to come out frontwards in the busy rush hour every morning.
In Fallowfield we were happy to be next door to Professor Vinaver and his wife. They were very friendly to us. When Christina passed her exam to get a place in Withington, we celebrated with a bottle of champagne and Professor Vinaver opened the bottle for us! There was a time in the winter that we were looking after the Vinaver's house next door. With all the heaters going full blast the main fuse blew. It was the fuse for the two houses and it was in our basement. I shorted it out with a nail as no one was going to come and fix it and the Vinavers were due to arrive any minute. Fortunately I never heard a word about it again! In Gatley we made friends with an optician and his family who lived opposite.
Schools for the children were plentiful and good. First Christina then Helena managed to get into Withington School.
Once the Hilac was commisioned I was posted to Liverpool to work on Nina, a proposed electron synchrotron to be built at Daresbury. I went by train every day, sometimes calling in at the Hilac to see how things were going and offer help! On one occasion the train caught fire and we had to leave the train in a tunnel, I remember a lady with a white coat who come out of the tunnel a bit like a badger. Merrison at Liverpool thought my explanation for arriving late was the nost original that he had ever heard!
Francis Farley paid a visit to Manchester, he thought I had been made a professor and was put out to find I was just another hand to the pump. He became Dean at Shrivenham. He worked on Caesar in Cern but as far as I was concerned he only produced a Methuen monograph on valve circuits, something we knew all about from Malvern days.
Manchester was heavenly. lots to do and a nice crowd of people. I do have some pictures.
Nearly all our holdays were taken in the Lake Distict at Delmar Banner's cottage at High Bield.
George Nassiian was recruited to Cern, he persuaded me to think about returning to Cern to work on the PS Booster. Gradually I became interested and eventually accepted a position in his group. This gave rise to my final endeavour, a 15 year stint in Geneva in the PS Division.
Friday 27 November 2009
First Spell at CERN
I had been working on the same type of accelerator at Harwell that Cern were planning to build. So in some respects I had a head start. I developed a "lock in oscillator" so that I could couple easily into the field patterns of the cavity modes. This way one could measure the electric fields of almost any mode in the cavity. I had to measure the Q factor and check that there were no appreciable losses. I developed my own methods and even gave a talk at the IEE in London which was well supported by ny Harwell colleagues. Alas when Nils Bohr came to inaugerate the PS I was ill, so I missed the fun!
I was at the controls of the linac when the PS made its first acceleration. Mervyn Hine was at the helm of the PS. He was the most patient of all men, excusing us for not doing exactly what was wanted and repeatedly encouraging us. Franco Bonaudi was his runner. I hit my head in the tunnel once on a trip to the PS control room from the linac, out for a short while but recovered soon after!
Lots was going on at Cern. Caesar was being put together, people were all loking round for ways to stay on after the PS and the SC machines were built. My friend Anthony Dopping-Heptonstall was at the SC. He had come from Mullard as had Bramham and Montague. Alas he deplored the waste of money at cern and tried to correct it. As a result his contract was not renewed. So when the chance came to elect to move on, I followed his path and left to go to Manchester to work on a heavy ion linac. A friend of Hereward, George Nasibian welcomed me with open arms.
Cern was a wonderful place, alas there was much of the old boy routine and one person that I knew and was friendly with had been a machinist in Manchester but rose to be one of the top grades at Cern. His only claim to fame was his activity as a trade union man in England! There were many such examples, similar to what went on at the UN. For this I was glad to go back to England and work for my living! Some people were brilliant, but I had to wait another few years until I could find them at CERN. It was the beginning of things for high energy accelerators, the really right people were yet to appear on the scene.
We had a lovely flat in Satigny, the second floor of a house on the La Boverie estate. The owner and his wife were quite sharp. I was promised a garage and when it didn't materialise I stopped paying rent! That worked like a charm, I was given a garage immediately.I had a oartsh of grass which I had to scythe by hand, also a patch of garden to cultivate for veg. The first chap downstairs was very odd. We taught them how to play bridge. Eventually he decided that the country was not for him and went back to town. We were then lucky to have the Preiswerks as our neighbours. He was quite senior at Cern, his wife Trudi was a dear. When we left they persuaded us to stay using their furniture as ours was on its way to Manchester! Before we finally left Kate was born and we had John and Rene Adams to our Christening party. The cave at Satigny had a tolerably good vin mousseux and we used it well for the party
I was at the controls of the linac when the PS made its first acceleration. Mervyn Hine was at the helm of the PS. He was the most patient of all men, excusing us for not doing exactly what was wanted and repeatedly encouraging us. Franco Bonaudi was his runner. I hit my head in the tunnel once on a trip to the PS control room from the linac, out for a short while but recovered soon after!
Lots was going on at Cern. Caesar was being put together, people were all loking round for ways to stay on after the PS and the SC machines were built. My friend Anthony Dopping-Heptonstall was at the SC. He had come from Mullard as had Bramham and Montague. Alas he deplored the waste of money at cern and tried to correct it. As a result his contract was not renewed. So when the chance came to elect to move on, I followed his path and left to go to Manchester to work on a heavy ion linac. A friend of Hereward, George Nasibian welcomed me with open arms.
Cern was a wonderful place, alas there was much of the old boy routine and one person that I knew and was friendly with had been a machinist in Manchester but rose to be one of the top grades at Cern. His only claim to fame was his activity as a trade union man in England! There were many such examples, similar to what went on at the UN. For this I was glad to go back to England and work for my living! Some people were brilliant, but I had to wait another few years until I could find them at CERN. It was the beginning of things for high energy accelerators, the really right people were yet to appear on the scene.
We had a lovely flat in Satigny, the second floor of a house on the La Boverie estate. The owner and his wife were quite sharp. I was promised a garage and when it didn't materialise I stopped paying rent! That worked like a charm, I was given a garage immediately.I had a oartsh of grass which I had to scythe by hand, also a patch of garden to cultivate for veg. The first chap downstairs was very odd. We taught them how to play bridge. Eventually he decided that the country was not for him and went back to town. We were then lucky to have the Preiswerks as our neighbours. He was quite senior at Cern, his wife Trudi was a dear. When we left they persuaded us to stay using their furniture as ours was on its way to Manchester! Before we finally left Kate was born and we had John and Rene Adams to our Christening party. The cave at Satigny had a tolerably good vin mousseux and we used it well for the party
Friday 20 November 2009
My Third Job!
After leaving Marconi's, although they tried to persuade me to stay, I took a very temporary job with a local wireless shop. Mending receivers and getting an introduction to the cheap television now available was just fun. I also did a bit of evening class teaching at the Mid-Essex Technical College to swell the coffers, which it did. All the while I was looking for what would be my career job, I tried with the Civil Service Commissioners who offered me an AEO post. Thinking I could do better, I applied for a Cancer Research Post with the MRC. After my interview, one of the board stepped out and told me that the job was mine but he had a better one for me with AERE at Harwell if I cared to apply!
In due course I was told to attend at Harwell. So with bags packed and helped by my brother we staggered to the station in Gidea Park. The case was one that he had bought in India, it was large and very heavy!
At Harwell I was shown into the presence of my new boss, the leader of an electronics group whose name I have long forgotten. He asked me whether I should like to stay at Harwell or be posted to Malvern! I elected to go to Malvern to see what was there and then afterwards to come to a decision. So off I went to Great Malvern straight into the arms of Frank Goward who led the Synchrotron Group. After a wonderful week I had to return to Harwell to give my decision, so my fate was sealed!
Ursula and I planned our marriage and I went back to Malvern to The old ABL Lab shared by the British and the Americans during their wartime exploits of Radar Research. TRE as it was called was moved from Swanage where it was very vulnerable to the enemy to Great Malvern where it took over the Boys Public School.I lived in barracks along with most of the others and Ursula and I got ready for married life from January 1950.
I did experiments on the accelerator, on explosives, and some other projects. I met some very senior people including Sir John Cockroft, Skinner, Curran and a few others. My group leader had Claus Fuchs at Harwell as his boss and duly reported all that we did to him.....straight to the Kremlin as we now know. Pontecorvo was found out, and some the English band of traitors gradually discovered.
The synchroton was a working machine, the first in the UK, but another group alongside had already developed the electron linac and were working on a brand new electron linear accelerator using dielectrics. This was designed by R.B.R.S.Harvey...alas there was a problem. A new phenonomen was just surfacing and ,it was called "multipactor". This precluded any acceleration in the new machine due to secondary electron emission. With Adlam and Mullett I worked at finding out more of the properties of the dielectrics. This brought me into X band radar components and cavity investigations and was wonderful. I met the man who eventually became professor at Sheffield, Cullen, and later he showed John Adlam and I around his lab there. Gordon Thomason an electronic wizard was another of my Malvern friends and we visited him at Abingdon later on. Harvie elected to leave accelerators when the group was moved to Harwell and went to Baldock. I met up with him later on. There were some amazing people at Malvern, some with no paper qualifications but absolutely brilliant in electronic wizardry. A character named Hubert Gent went about in a cloak. I learnt that the only circuit one needed to know was the Miller Integrator, two others developed from it, and with the cathode follower and the grounded grid amplifier one was in charge! Alas transistors spoilt it all.
In Malvern Ursula and I joined the Piers Ploughman Club and we performed in some amateur dramatics there. Noteably "Little lambs eat ivy" and "Midsummer Night's Dream". I took the part of Oberon and Ursula would have been Titania except thet Christina was on the way and Thelma Lee took over that part!
Other chacters at Malvern were Peter Dunn, John Dain, Herbert Watson, Donald lees Jeff Jones and Laurie Medcalf and lots more.
We were to be moved as a group to Harwell but being junior we had to wait for a council house at Abingdon. So for 8 months I had to spend the working week at Harwell and only come home to Nalvern for week ends.
To start with in 1949 we rented a furnished bungalow in the Link. Then we moved to the top floor of a house in Hornyold Road, where we had two rooms and I made a "landing" kitchen.Then when Christina was imminent we were allocated a Ministry flat in South Lea. To our joy Christina was born in Brunswick House on Graham Road. Years later it was up for sale and we made enquiries! We had a share in the South Lee house greenhouse and a patch of veg garden. We met tree lupins for the first time there and watched the coronation on Les Dawson's TV...a miracle in those days! We had a black cat called Wallace who seemed to wait for my return on Friday night after being away from Malvern during the week. Wallace came eventually with us to Abingdon, got lost once and then came back. We left him with the next-door-neighbours, the Bacons, when we went to Geneva.
I made a concrete garden path in 57 Sellwood Road, talked to the cow in the field at the end of the garden and planted lupin trees from seed gathered in Malvern. I went to work evry day using the Harwell transport system (bus), this ensured that I got home every night at a good time except when Thonemann who ran Zeta had a "good idea" and decided to press on regardless, driving us home himself!
Helena was born in the "Warren" at Abingdon. While waiting for her arrival I used to take Christina around on a little seat fixed to the handlebars of my bicycle, apparently it used to be quite an alarming experience for her she now tells me!. We had many friends in Sellwood road, even one of the later directors of the accelerator group who arrived from South Africa and lived there with his family! The packing case in which his furniture came became a playroom for his children. Ben Kingdom from Malvern was a neighbour too with wife and family, and he still lives there!
At Harwell we from Malvern were dazzled by the equipment that one could extract from the stores. The Malvern crowd that I knew were housed in building 152, just inside the wire from Staff Club B.
There John Adlam and I began work on measuring accelerator fields using perturbation techniques which we developed. A character called (no name) used to come in and offer useless help, apparently he was keeping an eye on us. I suggested running the accelerator using the signal from the light programme (radio) as it was extremely stable...he cogitated a bit about this, and went back to his office in Hangar7 to think it over! Alas another character called (no name) decided that he wanted to recruit John permanently as his number cruncher, John refused and we were split up. John was sent to do a job for which he had no knowledge or experience, so I threw in the sponge too and moved over to the Zeta group. This was a bit of a red herring too. After a while I applied for a post at CERN where I was welcomed almost with open arms. Goodbye to Harwell and Hallo to Geneva! Cockroft told me I was going to the "fleshpots". True the salary was double but it still wasn't sufficient. We still had ration books in England so Switzerland was a big change.
We began in a Pension "Salm" in Place Reverdin, then took a new flat in Avenue Wendt. Donald Fry came to lunch once while our piano was being rebuilt, he was head of general Physics at Harwell before becoming Director at Winfrith Heath. Years later while taking the AERE plane from Manchester to Abingdon I met him on the plane. He shifted some important person out of the seat alongside so that he could chat to me about all the goings on!
In due course I was told to attend at Harwell. So with bags packed and helped by my brother we staggered to the station in Gidea Park. The case was one that he had bought in India, it was large and very heavy!
At Harwell I was shown into the presence of my new boss, the leader of an electronics group whose name I have long forgotten. He asked me whether I should like to stay at Harwell or be posted to Malvern! I elected to go to Malvern to see what was there and then afterwards to come to a decision. So off I went to Great Malvern straight into the arms of Frank Goward who led the Synchrotron Group. After a wonderful week I had to return to Harwell to give my decision, so my fate was sealed!
Ursula and I planned our marriage and I went back to Malvern to The old ABL Lab shared by the British and the Americans during their wartime exploits of Radar Research. TRE as it was called was moved from Swanage where it was very vulnerable to the enemy to Great Malvern where it took over the Boys Public School.I lived in barracks along with most of the others and Ursula and I got ready for married life from January 1950.
I did experiments on the accelerator, on explosives, and some other projects. I met some very senior people including Sir John Cockroft, Skinner, Curran and a few others. My group leader had Claus Fuchs at Harwell as his boss and duly reported all that we did to him.....straight to the Kremlin as we now know. Pontecorvo was found out, and some the English band of traitors gradually discovered.
The synchroton was a working machine, the first in the UK, but another group alongside had already developed the electron linac and were working on a brand new electron linear accelerator using dielectrics. This was designed by R.B.R.S.Harvey...alas there was a problem. A new phenonomen was just surfacing and ,it was called "multipactor". This precluded any acceleration in the new machine due to secondary electron emission. With Adlam and Mullett I worked at finding out more of the properties of the dielectrics. This brought me into X band radar components and cavity investigations and was wonderful. I met the man who eventually became professor at Sheffield, Cullen, and later he showed John Adlam and I around his lab there. Gordon Thomason an electronic wizard was another of my Malvern friends and we visited him at Abingdon later on. Harvie elected to leave accelerators when the group was moved to Harwell and went to Baldock. I met up with him later on. There were some amazing people at Malvern, some with no paper qualifications but absolutely brilliant in electronic wizardry. A character named Hubert Gent went about in a cloak. I learnt that the only circuit one needed to know was the Miller Integrator, two others developed from it, and with the cathode follower and the grounded grid amplifier one was in charge! Alas transistors spoilt it all.
In Malvern Ursula and I joined the Piers Ploughman Club and we performed in some amateur dramatics there. Noteably "Little lambs eat ivy" and "Midsummer Night's Dream". I took the part of Oberon and Ursula would have been Titania except thet Christina was on the way and Thelma Lee took over that part!
Other chacters at Malvern were Peter Dunn, John Dain, Herbert Watson, Donald lees Jeff Jones and Laurie Medcalf and lots more.
We were to be moved as a group to Harwell but being junior we had to wait for a council house at Abingdon. So for 8 months I had to spend the working week at Harwell and only come home to Nalvern for week ends.
To start with in 1949 we rented a furnished bungalow in the Link. Then we moved to the top floor of a house in Hornyold Road, where we had two rooms and I made a "landing" kitchen.Then when Christina was imminent we were allocated a Ministry flat in South Lea. To our joy Christina was born in Brunswick House on Graham Road. Years later it was up for sale and we made enquiries! We had a share in the South Lee house greenhouse and a patch of veg garden. We met tree lupins for the first time there and watched the coronation on Les Dawson's TV...a miracle in those days! We had a black cat called Wallace who seemed to wait for my return on Friday night after being away from Malvern during the week. Wallace came eventually with us to Abingdon, got lost once and then came back. We left him with the next-door-neighbours, the Bacons, when we went to Geneva.
I made a concrete garden path in 57 Sellwood Road, talked to the cow in the field at the end of the garden and planted lupin trees from seed gathered in Malvern. I went to work evry day using the Harwell transport system (bus), this ensured that I got home every night at a good time except when Thonemann who ran Zeta had a "good idea" and decided to press on regardless, driving us home himself!
Helena was born in the "Warren" at Abingdon. While waiting for her arrival I used to take Christina around on a little seat fixed to the handlebars of my bicycle, apparently it used to be quite an alarming experience for her she now tells me!. We had many friends in Sellwood road, even one of the later directors of the accelerator group who arrived from South Africa and lived there with his family! The packing case in which his furniture came became a playroom for his children. Ben Kingdom from Malvern was a neighbour too with wife and family, and he still lives there!
At Harwell we from Malvern were dazzled by the equipment that one could extract from the stores. The Malvern crowd that I knew were housed in building 152, just inside the wire from Staff Club B.
There John Adlam and I began work on measuring accelerator fields using perturbation techniques which we developed. A character called (no name) used to come in and offer useless help, apparently he was keeping an eye on us. I suggested running the accelerator using the signal from the light programme (radio) as it was extremely stable...he cogitated a bit about this, and went back to his office in Hangar7 to think it over! Alas another character called (no name) decided that he wanted to recruit John permanently as his number cruncher, John refused and we were split up. John was sent to do a job for which he had no knowledge or experience, so I threw in the sponge too and moved over to the Zeta group. This was a bit of a red herring too. After a while I applied for a post at CERN where I was welcomed almost with open arms. Goodbye to Harwell and Hallo to Geneva! Cockroft told me I was going to the "fleshpots". True the salary was double but it still wasn't sufficient. We still had ration books in England so Switzerland was a big change.
We began in a Pension "Salm" in Place Reverdin, then took a new flat in Avenue Wendt. Donald Fry came to lunch once while our piano was being rebuilt, he was head of general Physics at Harwell before becoming Director at Winfrith Heath. Years later while taking the AERE plane from Manchester to Abingdon I met him on the plane. He shifted some important person out of the seat alongside so that he could chat to me about all the goings on!
Monday 16 November 2009
Bridgend Days
Uncle Bill was an Inspector of Police at Bridgend. He moved there from Penarth. Instead of a Police Station with law court, house and vast garden, tended by those in jail, he had a small house on Merthyr Mawr Road. He had a chauffeur, first Merrick ex guardsman then Jones. We often went on picnics to the sea side at Scare Bay. I have a picture of Merrick with busby and one of he and me in swimming togs on the beach at Porthcawl.
Our milkman was a real character, sometimes he would take my brother and I to Marcross in his delivery van, where he had a pub, the Horseshoes Inn. The van stank of spilt milk, rather a similar smell to vomit! They would feed us well and sometimes we were slightly ill afterwards, too much lemonade or ginger beer. He loved us to put the gloves on and fight each other, rather unfair as David was 2 years my elder! The adjacent farm was Tynacyia, run by Dai Evans. We often went for the day with all the family. May and Ann and a son David were there too. My brother kept up with them almost until he died. I once went for a week haymaking, it was a very hard slog. On Sundays the pubs were all shut. However the drill was to knock at the back door, and when allowed in you ordered your drink in the parlour and even the local bobby was there!
There was an amusing story told me by Ann. They all went to church on Sundays.On one memorable occasion someone broke wind rather loudly, they were all quite embarrassed and someone started laughing, they were unable to control themselves and all fell about laughing and walked out! I am not sure whether they went back next Sunday or not!
There was a derelect steam roller in one of the barns, It gave us boys great pleasure in climbing all over it! The farm was fun.
They used to feed us magnificently, lunch and then tea, goog homemade fare, jam and cream too!
Dai was in trouble with the law at one time, He caught a mushoom stealer, the victim offered him his dog in recompense but as he walked away he whistled to the dog to come back to him. Dai was annoyed greatly and drawing his knife cut it's throat!
This is probably where the poem came from.. Someone telling a tale:-
Dai Jones bought a boat..
reply... sold his coat?..
no no ...bought a boat..
reply...cut his throat?
ay ay...cut it from ear to ear..
reply...shaving I spose?
Years later, Ursula and I went to Marcross for a holiday, staying in the simple b and b near the beach and having Uncle Charlie come over for lunch. We saw Ann and May again and even went to the big Manor House where Dai and his wife had moved to,at a place called Llanmihaqngel. Royalty were supposed to have slept there in bygone days! A wonderful old mansion. It is still there and it is a b&b now!
Dai advised Ursula always to sit in the front seat of a bus to avoid being upset by the motion! Then to move wiith the bus as it went round corners. Sadly Dai fell off a haystack one day, came into the house and died!
Here is a picture of the family from those times.
Saturday 14 November 2009
The holiday in Scotland in 1947 or 1948
I lived with my Uncle and Aunt a bit in Ponypridd, because my mother was working, my sister at College in London and my brother working in Barkley's bank in Usk. My grandma on my mother's side had died and I just had an Uncle and Aunt .in Barry and another Uncle and Aunt in Penarth with their two children and Ethel
Uncle Bill was almost a 2nd father to me after my father died in 1928. He had the rank of Inspector in Penarth and Bridgend and then Superintendant in Pontypridd. He had a nice house and in 1939 I occupied the top attic with all my gear,like radio etc!
When the war broke out he was just 60 and was retired. This was not his choice, he had upset someone higher up the chain of command and although he had hoped for being appointed Deputy Chief Constable he was almost forced out at the normal retirement age. He took a rather menial job of security officer at a local Trading Estate and had to give up the luxury of a Police house. Eventually after my mother removed to Gidea Park (to keep me in order!) He and my Aunt moved in with us bringing their furniture.
They wanted to visit Scotland and offered me a holiday with them. We went to Inverness to the Craigmone private hotel for a week or fortnight I can't now remember which. I met a relative of theirs and borrowed the hotel bicycle to visit Culloden Moor and generally roam around it.It was interesting and I met an English Archaeologist who was investigating stone circles. On the way back I popped in at a pub to quench my thirst and was amazed to find the whole place packed out and could hardly get to the bar to buy a drink!
I noticed one thing in Inverness one evening, at about 4 pm there was a great commotion outside a pub, it was actually people trying to fight their way in after closing time! They were certainly fond of their drinking in Inverness!
I went to Loch Ness one day looking for the monster. I had tea at a house, boiled egg and etc for two and sixpence. Apparently it is the custom for visitors just to knock on the door and ask for a meal I had a lift back on a very noisy truck.
We visted Loch Alvie where Uncle Bills family are buried and the hotel opposite the railway station which was built by one of his Uncles. Many years later on a return trip from Doonray I spent the afternoon while waiting for the night train back to London. The bar was shut but I was told I could still order drinks from the hotel sitting room! The night train proved a disaster, The handle of the loo fell off outside, after what seemed an age someone came to my aid and let me out!
It was a memorable holiday and I have put pictures on my blog.
My second job!
Thanks to one of Uncle Bill's pals, an influential man who was Secretary to a company on the Treforest Trading Estate, I obtained an Apprentice Post at Marconi's in Chelmsford. The day that I arrived I went to the swimming baths in Chelmsford and watched as streams of German bombers went overhead on their way to London. A wonderful welcome for me!
I went into digs there, joining 3 other people, on an elderly man, the two others were both employed at Marconi's. One an AID inspector, the other a boffin. My accomodation had to be subsidised from Home as my wages were twelve and sixpence per week! Jimmy Twatt was the boffin, he worked at Marcon's and was also a wireless spy to detect people communicating with the enemy. We listened to the VHF radio and the dogfight conversations from the airmen. I met up with Jimmie years later , he had married and changed his name to Watt. He came from the Orkneys.
I was looked after by the son of another of Bill's friends, I forget his name, he was the MOH for Chelmsford, another Welshman. He was very kind and even let me use a room in his house for my meddling with hobbies. He had to attend at the scene of air crashes and deal with the results. Regrettably I lost touch with him after a while. He did report my known misdemeaners which did not enamour me to him at all! He lived in a bungalow and smoked a pipe which he filled wih Balkan Sobranie and Laticia tobacco. I usually spent time at the weekend listening to the wireless with him. He once drove me all the way back to Wales in his car!
First I worked in the machine shop at Marconi's until it was bombed, drama in the paint shop where looking for bodies we found a UXB and had to get out! Then a spell in the mounting shop. puting together and wiring transmitters. After that Mr Twigg and the instrumnents, meters etc. Then echometers or depth sounders and after that radar receivers, jammers and so on. One of our pleasant jobs was to train WRENs in some aspects of radar. I once took a WREN on the crossbar of my bike! I was trusted to test transmitters at Baddow using the Church Tower echo as a measure of the perfomance. Here I met up with the Navy weather forecasters, WRENs and WRENs! Finally I joined the television transmitter group with Ned Green. Later in life I realised how clever he was using hybrids to back up transmitters! Meanwhile I continued my studies by matriculating and doing Intermediate B.Sc. before attending at Birkbeck College in evenings and Saturdays to get my B,Sc. Special Physics. I passed my Maths as subsiduary but was not clever enough to be awarded a good degree.
I was encouraged to change digs and moved to the Browns in Broomfield Road. I had a particular friend Peter Love who also worked at Marconi's and eventually joined the RAF. His father was another spy detector and had a nice communication receiver. Mr Brown was a cabinet maker one son was at home the other a comando. Mrs Brown was a large lady who loved to make sherry trifle, I hate it! We used to play cards in the evening with a Mr Harries, a city gent, a very charming person. I once visited him in the city at his office where sometimes he firewatched.
I was bombed out once in Broomfield Road, a landmine exploded 100 feet away and blew the roof of my digs away. I cut my feet a bit but watched the Bofors shells being fired probably in vain at the sky! Mrs Brown nicked the apple trees from the bombed out garden but had to put them back when it was found out!
I escaped from the Browns, where actually Jimmie Watt was our neighbour with wife and family. I went to the Hubbards in Shenfield. Sometimes getting a lift in a car to work but more often going by train. Very strangeley I met up with the boy who used to take me in his car when Ursula and I went to a dance at the Royal Liberty School. His wife was a Mary, whose parents ran a pub in avillage near Chelmsford. The Americans from Wilingale used to come to the pub and let me use their 45's to shoot rabbits! They flew Marauders, one wanted to mary Mary's sister...don't know what happened.
I went for a medical for call up and was first offered a navy posting, I asked whether I could complete my studies and was promptly passed over to the RAF. I went to Cardington and was passed as PNB material even though I had a problem getting the mercury up the tube, the examiner said "too many woodbines, never mind that", given the rank of AC2 and a number and sent home to wait for call up. As I thought I would be called up any day I abandonded my Home Guard duties as 2nd Lieut of the 101st Battalion which manned a 64 twin rocket battery, but whewn the call up didn't come had to go back. I came off night duty one Sunday morning to see the gliders on their way to Arnhem. Strangely enough I might have been one of them as at Scarborough I has been accepted as a volunteer for the Parachute Regiment as an alternative to having another RAF medical for aircrew.
I never heard from the Army but was discharged from the RAF as "surplus to requirements"
My friend "Scottie " managed to get into the Fleet Air Arm, and my friend Michael Burden was a 2nd Lieut in the Ox and Bucks and was due to go to Pegasus Bridge! I have never had any news about either. Michael worked at the hospital and when all the cyanide disappeared from the chemi lab that we used for the "brown ring test" in anaylsis for our chemistry course, he was able to go to the mortuary and see the bodies of our late chemistry teacher, wife and two children! Apparently he owed money and couldn't face the music, very very sad.
If there are any pictures of the Victory Parade in Chelmsford I will be seen, leading some of the Home Guard!
I did some scanning of photos from the Jungfrau for Prof George,(£50). had little help from Bernal, much fun with Sidday and so on. I protested about Blacket's communistic ideas when there was a student meeting on that subject! This probably didn't do me any good!
I applied for a job with the Civil Service Commissioners, was offered one but didn't take it up. It seemed difficult for the board to understand my description of the Redifusion Job and they "drew a cloud" over my explanation. I applied to the MRC for a job on cancer research but was talked out of by a member of that board who saw me after the interview and offered me one with AERE.
So I gave up on Marconi's which had already become part of English Electric, did a bit of evening class teaching at the Mid Essex Technical College which was highly remunerative and then concentrated on marriage and a move to Harwell or Malvern. I was lucky to be given the option, but was so pleased to be welcomed by Frank Goward who immediately renamed as "Jimmie", a name which has stuck a bit!
Later when up for promotion the very same Chairman who had offered me a job turned me down on the grounds that I had not accepted his previous offer of a job. So a few months later another board with a more humane chairman gave me my Established Post.
I have almost begun my 3rd job story but will leave a bit for later!
I went into digs there, joining 3 other people, on an elderly man, the two others were both employed at Marconi's. One an AID inspector, the other a boffin. My accomodation had to be subsidised from Home as my wages were twelve and sixpence per week! Jimmy Twatt was the boffin, he worked at Marcon's and was also a wireless spy to detect people communicating with the enemy. We listened to the VHF radio and the dogfight conversations from the airmen. I met up with Jimmie years later , he had married and changed his name to Watt. He came from the Orkneys.
I was looked after by the son of another of Bill's friends, I forget his name, he was the MOH for Chelmsford, another Welshman. He was very kind and even let me use a room in his house for my meddling with hobbies. He had to attend at the scene of air crashes and deal with the results. Regrettably I lost touch with him after a while. He did report my known misdemeaners which did not enamour me to him at all! He lived in a bungalow and smoked a pipe which he filled wih Balkan Sobranie and Laticia tobacco. I usually spent time at the weekend listening to the wireless with him. He once drove me all the way back to Wales in his car!
First I worked in the machine shop at Marconi's until it was bombed, drama in the paint shop where looking for bodies we found a UXB and had to get out! Then a spell in the mounting shop. puting together and wiring transmitters. After that Mr Twigg and the instrumnents, meters etc. Then echometers or depth sounders and after that radar receivers, jammers and so on. One of our pleasant jobs was to train WRENs in some aspects of radar. I once took a WREN on the crossbar of my bike! I was trusted to test transmitters at Baddow using the Church Tower echo as a measure of the perfomance. Here I met up with the Navy weather forecasters, WRENs and WRENs! Finally I joined the television transmitter group with Ned Green. Later in life I realised how clever he was using hybrids to back up transmitters! Meanwhile I continued my studies by matriculating and doing Intermediate B.Sc. before attending at Birkbeck College in evenings and Saturdays to get my B,Sc. Special Physics. I passed my Maths as subsiduary but was not clever enough to be awarded a good degree.
I was encouraged to change digs and moved to the Browns in Broomfield Road. I had a particular friend Peter Love who also worked at Marconi's and eventually joined the RAF. His father was another spy detector and had a nice communication receiver. Mr Brown was a cabinet maker one son was at home the other a comando. Mrs Brown was a large lady who loved to make sherry trifle, I hate it! We used to play cards in the evening with a Mr Harries, a city gent, a very charming person. I once visited him in the city at his office where sometimes he firewatched.
I was bombed out once in Broomfield Road, a landmine exploded 100 feet away and blew the roof of my digs away. I cut my feet a bit but watched the Bofors shells being fired probably in vain at the sky! Mrs Brown nicked the apple trees from the bombed out garden but had to put them back when it was found out!
I escaped from the Browns, where actually Jimmie Watt was our neighbour with wife and family. I went to the Hubbards in Shenfield. Sometimes getting a lift in a car to work but more often going by train. Very strangeley I met up with the boy who used to take me in his car when Ursula and I went to a dance at the Royal Liberty School. His wife was a Mary, whose parents ran a pub in avillage near Chelmsford. The Americans from Wilingale used to come to the pub and let me use their 45's to shoot rabbits! They flew Marauders, one wanted to mary Mary's sister...don't know what happened.
I went for a medical for call up and was first offered a navy posting, I asked whether I could complete my studies and was promptly passed over to the RAF. I went to Cardington and was passed as PNB material even though I had a problem getting the mercury up the tube, the examiner said "too many woodbines, never mind that", given the rank of AC2 and a number and sent home to wait for call up. As I thought I would be called up any day I abandonded my Home Guard duties as 2nd Lieut of the 101st Battalion which manned a 64 twin rocket battery, but whewn the call up didn't come had to go back. I came off night duty one Sunday morning to see the gliders on their way to Arnhem. Strangely enough I might have been one of them as at Scarborough I has been accepted as a volunteer for the Parachute Regiment as an alternative to having another RAF medical for aircrew.
I never heard from the Army but was discharged from the RAF as "surplus to requirements"
My friend "Scottie " managed to get into the Fleet Air Arm, and my friend Michael Burden was a 2nd Lieut in the Ox and Bucks and was due to go to Pegasus Bridge! I have never had any news about either. Michael worked at the hospital and when all the cyanide disappeared from the chemi lab that we used for the "brown ring test" in anaylsis for our chemistry course, he was able to go to the mortuary and see the bodies of our late chemistry teacher, wife and two children! Apparently he owed money and couldn't face the music, very very sad.
If there are any pictures of the Victory Parade in Chelmsford I will be seen, leading some of the Home Guard!
I did some scanning of photos from the Jungfrau for Prof George,(£50). had little help from Bernal, much fun with Sidday and so on. I protested about Blacket's communistic ideas when there was a student meeting on that subject! This probably didn't do me any good!
I applied for a job with the Civil Service Commissioners, was offered one but didn't take it up. It seemed difficult for the board to understand my description of the Redifusion Job and they "drew a cloud" over my explanation. I applied to the MRC for a job on cancer research but was talked out of by a member of that board who saw me after the interview and offered me one with AERE.
So I gave up on Marconi's which had already become part of English Electric, did a bit of evening class teaching at the Mid Essex Technical College which was highly remunerative and then concentrated on marriage and a move to Harwell or Malvern. I was lucky to be given the option, but was so pleased to be welcomed by Frank Goward who immediately renamed as "Jimmie", a name which has stuck a bit!
Later when up for promotion the very same Chairman who had offered me a job turned me down on the grounds that I had not accepted his previous offer of a job. So a few months later another board with a more humane chairman gave me my Established Post.
I have almost begun my 3rd job story but will leave a bit for later!
My First Job!
I did not go back to school at Bushey after the Summer term, I did not expect to be retained after the Winter term so I elected to leave. They sent me my first prize as a leaving present. It was a book about radio! I had operated a crystal set most of the time without permission, (it had been refused by the Headmaster named Croft), he left in 1937 and a New Zealander took over, Norman Sinclair was his name. He was a human being, his wife gave us Cello Concerts on the stage of the Big School with the instrument clamped between her legs!, he had a family, and he told us about sex. He was a bit late with his talk, somehow the subject had already been brought to light by some small boy! However he did reassure us and strongly advised us to avoid "solitary vice"!
I was in Pontypridd with my Uncle Bill and Aunt Edie when war was declared. I heard the news on a TRF radio given me by my Uncle George, who lived in Pill Street, Penarth with Dollie his wife, Ethel, Mary and John.
I was found a job with the South Wales Relays firm run by George Ball, His firm provided wired wireless for the Valleys, sometimes called Redifusion. I used to go round as a helper for a technician who "fixed" and maintained the various amplifies located in different towns. He had a bike and sidecar which was very exciting for me.
Later I had to do night shifts at the receiving station in a hut on a hill at Trebanog, See photo!
Here there were receivers connected to the network. Some times we were two sometimes alone to select the programs and be sure to switch on at 7am because it was probably the signal to wake people up! It was really quite an adventure, boys from the village popped in and chatted from time to time. One man, a stranger came along once and made an effort to interfere with me but was quickly sent on his way never to be seen again! Once I overslept and was soundly reprimanded for not waking everyone up at 7 am!
I was in the LDV and took my rifle with me, but had no ammunition, so if a German parachutist had come I could have only hit him with it! I did fire the rifle at a Police range, but I don't think I had the eye for it. The LDV ensignia was just a khaki armband with LDV on it. It was supposed to save you from summary execution as you had advertised the fact that you were a combatant! I don't think that would have helped much in Spain! Franco's men massacred many who even looked like being against them!
My job finished when I went off to Chelmsford. However I bought my very own bicycle with my wages for £5!
Friday 6 November 2009
Adieu to the East Preston Silver Surfers
TO THE EAST PRESTON SILVER SURFERS COMPUTER CLUB
I have received a wonderful letter from your secretary on your behalf, almost a testimonial which would help if I needed to apply for starting a new venture. Thank you all very much. I am flattered and hardly know what to say!
The club is in excellent condition, has a strong and capable team running it, so having done very little to help for the last year or so, I felt it time to leave room for another President, and I am sure that such a person can be found.
As you all know, my interest is in Linux and not Microsoft. It would be hard for me to help with Vista and Windows 7.
Without the early help from Paul and Brian, I could not have made much progress. They, the founder members, the Village Hall committee and Local Council support, all played a very important role. The lottery funding made the acquisition of equipment and services possible. Alma Barker, Dave Hughes, Sheila Young, were there too at the beginning. Our committee has expanded and the Trustees watch over the club finances. I in turn am proud of them all and only too glad to have been there at the moment of the club's “big bang”.
I gratefully accept the offer of becoming an Honorary Member, and promise to look in from time to time. With my grateful thanks and my best wishes to the club ..
.Your First President
I have received a wonderful letter from your secretary on your behalf, almost a testimonial which would help if I needed to apply for starting a new venture. Thank you all very much. I am flattered and hardly know what to say!
The club is in excellent condition, has a strong and capable team running it, so having done very little to help for the last year or so, I felt it time to leave room for another President, and I am sure that such a person can be found.
As you all know, my interest is in Linux and not Microsoft. It would be hard for me to help with Vista and Windows 7.
Without the early help from Paul and Brian, I could not have made much progress. They, the founder members, the Village Hall committee and Local Council support, all played a very important role. The lottery funding made the acquisition of equipment and services possible. Alma Barker, Dave Hughes, Sheila Young, were there too at the beginning. Our committee has expanded and the Trustees watch over the club finances. I in turn am proud of them all and only too glad to have been there at the moment of the club's “big bang”.
I gratefully accept the offer of becoming an Honorary Member, and promise to look in from time to time. With my grateful thanks and my best wishes to the club ..
.Your First President
Monday 2 November 2009
60th Wedding Anniversary
Because our wedding anniversary is Dec 28th and a very inconvenient date for a party we decided to hold it last week end. 39 family and friends came here and we had a little lunch together. There were our 4 children, 5 grand children. one great grand daughter (Hollie Stock). Cousins and others and two of Ursula's friends > One from the age of 2 or 3, and one from adolescence when Ursula and family were evacuated to Kings Lynn during the war.
We had a cake cutting ceremony and a group photo
Here are some photos!
Monday 7 September 2009
Computer Housekeeping
As a result of looking at a friend's computer, where he had PC Linux as the Operating system, I decided on a massive clean up on the PC s at home.
I had inherited two from Eric. I had also the disks for XP and Microsoft Office from him. I made a new installation and had great problems with first, sound: then wireless access: and then printing.
The sound I cured with an IMic sound device, it plugs into a usb port and works straight out of the box. Skype now functions well. The printer is on my network and I had a bit of a struggle!
On another I have just installed Debian as a dual boot with Mandriva Spring.
I found another PC in the garage and again Mandriva Spring was installed and is working well.
Eddie's old Tiny runs Mint, but there are problems with wireless.
The Dell laptop gave more trouble with wireless so we installed Mandriva Spring and it runs well.
Talk Talk download speeds vary from 24 KB to 500 kB dependant on the time of day.
For those interested in Linux go to http://www/linux.org/ Everything you need is there for your
enlightenment!
I had inherited two from Eric. I had also the disks for XP and Microsoft Office from him. I made a new installation and had great problems with first, sound: then wireless access: and then printing.
The sound I cured with an IMic sound device, it plugs into a usb port and works straight out of the box. Skype now functions well. The printer is on my network and I had a bit of a struggle!
On another I have just installed Debian as a dual boot with Mandriva Spring.
I found another PC in the garage and again Mandriva Spring was installed and is working well.
Eddie's old Tiny runs Mint, but there are problems with wireless.
The Dell laptop gave more trouble with wireless so we installed Mandriva Spring and it runs well.
Talk Talk download speeds vary from 24 KB to 500 kB dependant on the time of day.
For those interested in Linux go to http://www/linux.org/ Everything you need is there for your
enlightenment!
Wednesday 19 August 2009
Greengage Jam
When I was about 5 years old, my brother David went to the Royal Masonic School at Bushey. I remember being told about the school tuckshop and what could be bought there. So as he was leaving at the beginning of one of his terms I remember saying, "get me a pot of greengage jam and I will be pleased to come to school to joine you!"
I don't know how I had heard of greengage jam or how the weekly pocket money was distributed or much about the tuckshop. But children have a way of finding out about the nice things on offer!
I must have mentioned it to Christina who is with us now. She went out and bought some greengages and made jam last night. We had some for breakfast, it was delicious. Here is a picture of Christina at breakfast with the jam!
To Nymans Garden later on. Heard a talk about the house followed by a visit. The gardens were magnificent. Lunch followed by my sit down with Olwen allowing Chis and Mum to do more garden prowling.
Then to Olwen's house in Findon Valley for tea fpllwed by more tea at home. An interesting day altogether!
Tuesday 18 August 2009
Yuesday 18th August
Despite loding the Bramley apple tree last year, we still get some from the younger trees. Christina is here for a week and has been doing her share of gardening, apple pulp making and generally helping and cheering us up.
These are James Grieve apples which are eaters and cookers.
Thursday 13 August 2009
12th July 2009
We had Wilma, Gillian,(my Goddaughter), and her two young ladies to lunch today. We took them to Angmering to the Spotted Cow. After a nice lunch we returned home for coffee. We left Mum and Wilma at home and they drove me to the beach and after parking the car we sauntered on to the shingle.
It was a bit blustery and we walked a bit and as you can see I took some photos. Alas Emily's photo didn't come out so I shall ask her for one to include later.
I slipped on the pebbles and cracked my head on a bit of the breakwater timber. Gillian was simply marvellous and gave me first aid, doing all the correct things. The girls helped too and the the paramedics came soon and took me under their wing. I was taken to Worthing A&E where after a while I was fixed with glue and some tapes. On the way to the hospital there was a gridlock on the A259 because of an accident. There was a rather bumpy crossing of the central reservation as we went to the other side of the road. I had to hold on tight! Alas after I had called a taxi to take me home, my wound started to bleed again so I went in for a second attempt to glue me up. I arrived home at about 7.30 pm with a fairly sore head! Ursula was pleased to see me in one piece and gave me much fussing!
Gillian and the others went home rather late and we were relieved to get their "arrived home " from Wilma later.
Another of my 9 lives gone but so I was wonderfully aided by Gillian and her two marvellous daughters.
I write this on the 13th when I was well enough to go to the club and deliver my little talk on Linux. John Boutal helped me setting up as his mother had driven him down for that express purpose.
I was able to ring Gillian at Wilmas this morning and wish her a happy birthday, and of course thank her for being such a dear. My head does not bother me and in a few days I shall be as right as rain!
Saturday 1 August 2009
!st August 2009
The annual East Preston Flower Show took place today. The Horticultural Society organise it and this year the weather spoilt a lot of the fun.
I spent some time yesterday finding some potatoes to exhibit. Finally chose 5 big ones and took them down before 10 am to put on display. I put them on the Sunny Jim tray.
The winner had 5 beautiful white potatoes with what seemed like indelible ink markings at the end of each potato. Very striking, indeed it won exhibit of the show. I wish that I had taken a picture of them.
Sadly the judges hadn't even turned my card over for people to see. I expect I had violated a rule by using a metal tray.
I heard from Prim later that it was the stewards who should have turned my card over, the judges had obviously decided that my potatoes might have been the biggest but were not good enough for any comment!
We had a cup of tea and a cake and heard the usual list if winners read out. They are certainly an energetic crowd of gardeners and all the exhibits (except for mine) were simply wonderful.
It is very unusual to have a rainy day for the show, and we were very unlucky!
I am adding to yesterday's blog because today Sunday I found a massive 5 lb courgette in the garden. I should have put it in the show, and it might have given the judges a nasty shock! Never mind...I am not able to give enough time nor attention to the serious business of competing against such a dedicated crowd of people.
I am sorry if I have given the impression of having my one entry ignored.
Thursday 30 July 2009
Wednesday 29 July 2009
Cornish "hotel"
It isn't very nice to write about the shortcomings of a "hotel" that you have just suffered, but it is a good thing to describe what you didn't like so that others may have their say.
We asked for a rwin room, we were given one with three beds, a double and a single bed. Probably we should have quieried the point.When one is a bit tired of travelling and only too pleased to have arrived somewhere one lets it go.
The miniscule bathroom had a door that squeqked, a bit of 3 in 1 would have helped. Space for putting things down were 1, the loo lid
2, a tooth brush holder for 6 toothbrushes
The first night we had a towel for the floor, this disappeared for the second night and we had to do without.
The loo was a bad flusher.
To get to the shower one had to step into the bath. There were no hand grips, so it was a serious balancing act and a dangerous one. To get out one used the door handle as a grip place. I WAS really scared at the prospect of a fall.
We had a snack whilst Herbert had his lunch on th4 first day. Baps with too much salad.
We ate there in the evening, a non descript meal with masses of chips!
That night the locals carroused until 11 pm or so all outside our window. Eventually we slept.
Breakfast was funny, fruit juice, corn flakes and poached egg. Coffee, no toast.
We took Herbert out to lunch so were spared of the Hotel menu,(unchanging). We had a snack yesterday, it was difficult to persuade them to make a sandwich, but they did at last, packing it with salad again.
The wifi worked on ubuntu 9 at first, and then refused. The Asus never worked on the wifi. By installing Mandriva from a Live disk the wifi worked on the Dell.
The hotel staff tried to help but we had trouble getting an address.
I met a NZ family, Peter Davenport and family from Upper Hutt. He had his own business there and was going home on Sunday with Singapore Airlines. His daughter stays in London (Jean).
We asked for a rwin room, we were given one with three beds, a double and a single bed. Probably we should have quieried the point.When one is a bit tired of travelling and only too pleased to have arrived somewhere one lets it go.
The miniscule bathroom had a door that squeqked, a bit of 3 in 1 would have helped. Space for putting things down were 1, the loo lid
2, a tooth brush holder for 6 toothbrushes
The first night we had a towel for the floor, this disappeared for the second night and we had to do without.
The loo was a bad flusher.
To get to the shower one had to step into the bath. There were no hand grips, so it was a serious balancing act and a dangerous one. To get out one used the door handle as a grip place. I WAS really scared at the prospect of a fall.
We had a snack whilst Herbert had his lunch on th4 first day. Baps with too much salad.
We ate there in the evening, a non descript meal with masses of chips!
That night the locals carroused until 11 pm or so all outside our window. Eventually we slept.
Breakfast was funny, fruit juice, corn flakes and poached egg. Coffee, no toast.
We took Herbert out to lunch so were spared of the Hotel menu,(unchanging). We had a snack yesterday, it was difficult to persuade them to make a sandwich, but they did at last, packing it with salad again.
The wifi worked on ubuntu 9 at first, and then refused. The Asus never worked on the wifi. By installing Mandriva from a Live disk the wifi worked on the Dell.
The hotel staff tried to help but we had trouble getting an address.
I met a NZ family, Peter Davenport and family from Upper Hutt. He had his own business there and was going home on Sunday with Singapore Airlines. His daughter stays in London (Jean).
Tuesday 28 July 2009
Tuesday July 29 2009
We took Herbert out to lunch and then went back with him for tea and more chat. He kept dropping asleep because I was talking to him about computers!
We left him at about six pm and went back to the Eliot Arms.
After a spell Ursula took me walking and then we took the car and went to see Brunel's Viaduct. We met people from Upper Hutt and this was fun.
Ny changing the system to Mandriva Spring I have made the internet wireless connection. There seems to be a problem with both computers at this "Hotel"
Good night from St Germans
We left him at about six pm and went back to the Eliot Arms.
After a spell Ursula took me walking and then we took the car and went to see Brunel's Viaduct. We met people from Upper Hutt and this was fun.
Ny changing the system to Mandriva Spring I have made the internet wireless connection. There seems to be a problem with both computers at this "Hotel"
Good night from St Germans
Monday 27 July 2009
To St. Germans to see Herbert Whitby
After 50 years we meet up with Herbert. Here he is with Ursula.We shall see him tomorrow and have more chat, a remarkable man and old colleague.
Sunday 26th July
Left home at 10 am and arrived at Rosemary's house at about 3.30 pm. A reasonable journey with an hour's stop for hot chocolate near Axminster I think. A good chat, a nice happy hour and supper and so to bed. An early morning tea from Peter who went out to play Golf. Breakfast with Rosemary and a view of her pictures of her last holiday.
Off at 10.30 am to St. Germans. Took a picture of the two of them before we left!
Monday 13 July 2009
Herbert Whitby
I knew Herbert from the Nimrod Injector days. He had developed a chain of amplifiers for driving the accelerator. He did wonderful things with them like self exciting the cavity through the amplifier chain. He was quite brilliant.
I used to come down from Manchester to see him and the others in the team. Funnily enough one of the team was later in charge of the PS group when I left Cern. Sadly he died soon after I left.
He was Roy Billinge. On the Nimrod Injector he was rather small fry.
I first knew of Herbert through his neighbour on the Abingdon estate a Gordon and Grace Thomason. We played bridge pretty frequently and once played at their house. We met in great Malvern. He told me of the Spitfire that came to earth in Herbert's garden!
My last recollection of Herbert is hearing that he had been persuaded by Peter Dunn to leave Harwell for what I thought as a stupid idea to generate electricity from a reactor by using thermoelectricity. I called it hair brained and was rather rudely told off by Nigel West.
I met up with Peter on the telephone after John Adlam's death. He "said" that he would come to the funeral but cried off at the last moment using "a funny turn" as his excuse. Peter was a prof at Reading after his Malvern and Harwell adventures. I built a modulator for him once at Malvern.
He too was a bridge player along with John Adlam and Tony Egglington who later rose to dizzy heights in the hierachy.
Such memories I shall share with Herbert when I meet up with him in Saltash before his 102nd birthday in september this year.
As Leo Hobbis says in NZ, Herbert was and is magnificent and I agree!
I used to come down from Manchester to see him and the others in the team. Funnily enough one of the team was later in charge of the PS group when I left Cern. Sadly he died soon after I left.
He was Roy Billinge. On the Nimrod Injector he was rather small fry.
I first knew of Herbert through his neighbour on the Abingdon estate a Gordon and Grace Thomason. We played bridge pretty frequently and once played at their house. We met in great Malvern. He told me of the Spitfire that came to earth in Herbert's garden!
My last recollection of Herbert is hearing that he had been persuaded by Peter Dunn to leave Harwell for what I thought as a stupid idea to generate electricity from a reactor by using thermoelectricity. I called it hair brained and was rather rudely told off by Nigel West.
I met up with Peter on the telephone after John Adlam's death. He "said" that he would come to the funeral but cried off at the last moment using "a funny turn" as his excuse. Peter was a prof at Reading after his Malvern and Harwell adventures. I built a modulator for him once at Malvern.
He too was a bridge player along with John Adlam and Tony Egglington who later rose to dizzy heights in the hierachy.
Such memories I shall share with Herbert when I meet up with him in Saltash before his 102nd birthday in september this year.
As Leo Hobbis says in NZ, Herbert was and is magnificent and I agree!
Saturday 11 July 2009
Our last full day at the hotel Interlaken
We had some more prnts done and Ursula bought another film. We also had the train photos printed to send to the Simons in Meyrin.
Although the hotel has been mostly excellent, there were a number of things that we would advise anyone staying here to watch out for!
Our room was excellent....except for the TV/Computer rejoicing in the brand name of "SmartScreens" which is pure rubbish. The annoying thing is that it functions from time to time when it decides to boot up. The hotel people did try to help. They provided me with a USB keyboard and mouse which worked fire but then replaced it with another abomination off a wireless keyoard and separate wreless mouse which worked at first and later intermittantly.
The room is at the back of the hotel, above the laundry and ktchen, it is also above the "goods in" area and the workshop area if maintenance jobs are going on So we hear the washing up chatter, the arrival of goods in the morning and the noise of maintenance men cutting wood and other things from early morning time.
The bathroom is impeccable except for the liquid soap, also the bath into which we have to stand to shower is extremely dangerous because ot ther siting of the grab rails.
The room safe refused to open after 4 days, so we were oblged to use the safe box at reception.
I explained that coudn't pay by UBS card as it is only good for 1000 Fr per day. I offered a USB
Global Form but after consultaton they said it would cost them 20 SFR so they didn't weant to do it! They offered to take me to the bank, and i accepted. So I had to draw cash and pay my bill that way.
The staff are all very kind and courtious, but the unchanging menu is now becoming rather boring. but the convenience of beng able to just slip downstairs and get supper is exceedingly helpful.
We have had a restful and interesting holiday and hope to return tomorrow to reality in East Preston.
The punch line is as follows. Ursula asked me where her purse was just as we were leaving. I had put it in the safe. I couldn't find it. She then said that she wasn't going anywhere until her purse had been found. The recepionist said "Shall I check your room safe?". Well we thought that we had transferred all to the hotel safe. To our relief and Ursula's delight the receptionist found it in the open safe box in our room, tucked away in the back! So it had been in the open safe for a week or so. Such is the honesty of the room maid and staff.
Although the hotel has been mostly excellent, there were a number of things that we would advise anyone staying here to watch out for!
Our room was excellent....except for the TV/Computer rejoicing in the brand name of "SmartScreens" which is pure rubbish. The annoying thing is that it functions from time to time when it decides to boot up. The hotel people did try to help. They provided me with a USB keyboard and mouse which worked fire but then replaced it with another abomination off a wireless keyoard and separate wreless mouse which worked at first and later intermittantly.
The room is at the back of the hotel, above the laundry and ktchen, it is also above the "goods in" area and the workshop area if maintenance jobs are going on So we hear the washing up chatter, the arrival of goods in the morning and the noise of maintenance men cutting wood and other things from early morning time.
The bathroom is impeccable except for the liquid soap, also the bath into which we have to stand to shower is extremely dangerous because ot ther siting of the grab rails.
The room safe refused to open after 4 days, so we were oblged to use the safe box at reception.
I explained that coudn't pay by UBS card as it is only good for 1000 Fr per day. I offered a USB
Global Form but after consultaton they said it would cost them 20 SFR so they didn't weant to do it! They offered to take me to the bank, and i accepted. So I had to draw cash and pay my bill that way.
The staff are all very kind and courtious, but the unchanging menu is now becoming rather boring. but the convenience of beng able to just slip downstairs and get supper is exceedingly helpful.
We have had a restful and interesting holiday and hope to return tomorrow to reality in East Preston.
The punch line is as follows. Ursula asked me where her purse was just as we were leaving. I had put it in the safe. I couldn't find it. She then said that she wasn't going anywhere until her purse had been found. The recepionist said "Shall I check your room safe?". Well we thought that we had transferred all to the hotel safe. To our relief and Ursula's delight the receptionist found it in the open safe box in our room, tucked away in the back! So it had been in the open safe for a week or so. Such is the honesty of the room maid and staff.
Alpine Garden at Interlaken
We went to the Alpine Garden on Thursday. It was at an altitude of 6,600 feet, Ursula was not well equipped for the temperature so we had to buy her a pullover. I took a pisture of her in it when we got back!
Bern Pictures
These pictures were taken when we went to Bern. The Hotel computer started to boot again!
Saturday 11th of July
We went to Bern on Wednesday and met up with Robert, Arline and Marianne. We had a tour round the Parliament building, a snack lunch in the canteen and then came back to Interlaken accompanied by Arline and Robert. They went back almost immediately to Geneva.
Today is our last full day, we shall have to pack our bags tonight.
Wednesday 8 July 2009
Wednesday 8th July
Happy Birthday Nell! She is in the Scilly Isles on holiday. We are off to Bern to meet up with Arline, Robert and Marianne. We leave the hotel quite soon to catch the train from Interlaken Ost. We may add a picture or two later.
This computer folded once already today, but has decided to boot up again, it is fickle!
This computer folded once already today, but has decided to boot up again, it is fickle!
Monday 6 July 2009
We took these pictures earlier in the week. The room computer has decided to work again, so I have been doing a few things with it. Personally I would never buy a thing called a SmartScreen computer. The wide screen distorts our pictures and makes us look like barrel men and women.
It rained hard in the night and was carrying on at breakfast. I think slowly the weather is improving and after a hot chocolate we might persuade each other to go for a walk!
Saturday 4 July 2009
Saturday 4th July
A lazy day. We were at Ballenerg yesterday and rodein a cart dragged by horses for half an hour. The Harley-Davidsons are here again, solots of noise and motos.
Today the hotelmanager did another fix on his computer. It is a Smart Screens job. We made it work by using USB keyboard and mouse, but he has brought a new wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse.
We shall go down for supper now!
Tuesday 30 June 2009
Interlaken
Came here on Sunday. It is already Tuesday, hotel ok but restaurant a bit weird. Went to Grindelwald today, went to 7000 ft. Home again (hotel) but quite exhausted.
The Church clock chimes every quarter of an hour ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT! Hope my rain will compensate.
Tuesday 23 June 2009
A visit from Helena today!
This is Mum on the beach with her rainbow hat on!
We welcomed Helena who had the day off from work and arrived here at 08.45! She spent the day with us, we visited the Heritage Centre in Rustington and.. she even went for a swim!
What a lovely surprise. She was back home at 5.45 pm.
A postcard arrived from the daughter of an old colleague, she asked me to call him on the phone. He is Herbert Whitby and we spoke for a while. He will be 103 in September. He lives in Saltdean, Cornwall. I know him from Rutherford lab where he mastered an excellent rf system for the Nimrod injector! What memories of the past come flooding back.
Saturday 20 June 2009
Gardening means going to the tip!
We tried another root of potatoes and it came out at 2 lbs.
Joan and Debbies present of a hibiscus is doing well!
I cut the hedge next to the Kings yesterday, they were away so I used my trailer as a standing point, we have a wasps nest so I had to leave a bit on our side near to it.
The trailer is ready for dumping but I had no energy today.
Sunday 14 June 2009
First Fruits!
We have been picking and eating our strawberries and raspberries and now I tried one root of potatoes. They aren't very big, but should taste OK. Christina gave me the seed potatoes earlier in the year.
Yesterday we spoke to Karen and Michael on Skype and then Helena joined us. We shall repeat next Sunday at 10 pm our time!
It is a lovely sunny and warm morning here and the East Preston Festival finishes today.
Friday 12 June 2009
tidying the garden!
We have had an onslaught on the rear bed. The irises had come out and inspired me to do a lot of clearing out and making a new bed for some plants including Ursula's new sunflowers. I had to make at least one trip to the tip to get rid of discarded plants and weeds. I have today continued on the southern rear bed and again I have a trailerload for the tip. This is from Debian 5, but on the same machine I have a sata disk with ubuntu 9 and mandriva spring. My interest just now is the video camera running on "cheese". On this machine it works on ubuntu but not yet mandriva.
We look forward to a skype chat with Karen and Michael which is scheduled for 9 pm our time!
Sunday 24 May 2009
Vistors from Houston!
We were delighted to have a visit from Richard Long, Karen, Michael Long and Susan, Karen's mum.
They arrived on Friday May 22 at 4 pm in the afternoon from Cheltenham where Richard's grandma lives. We took a walk to the beach where the tide was way out and walked on the pebbles and sand. We surprised a man who was digging for worms (as bait for his fishing habit), funnily enough he knew my name as he used to help in the local butcher's shop when David Cheal was still operating in East Preston. He showed the worms to Michael who wasn't very impressed! We walked home va the village and saw the chidren's swing park and the shops.
Ursula .cooked a nice supper and after a while we all retired to bed after a busy day. We had all sorts of plans for the next day but our guests did not want to go far, they had had quite enough of being in the car so we took the bus to Littlehampton and saw all that could be seen there.
We had fish and chips, ice cream, rode on the little train, (the three men only) and finished up at the "Look and See" museum where we could see all around us and find out about local history. We decided not to go on to Arundel so went home in a double decker bus to a nice tea and a quiet evening. And so to bed.
Sadly they left us at 11 am today Sunday for Heath Row where they will be in a hotel until their departure for the States on Tuesday. They will be "doing" London today and tomorrow, Michael is hoping for cookies with the Queen in Buckingham Palace. They will chat up the changing of the guard soldiers and also go to the tower of London to see the Beefeaters, the ravens and have a look at the Crown Jewels.
We just loved having them although we haven't the amount of space that they are used to. They were perfect guests and we loved having Susan as well. She gave us a lovely mug with Abraham Lincoln's face on it, it matched one we have which talks of "Too early for Martinis, have a cup of tea"
Bon Voyage to our visitors!
Friday 17 April 2009
25th Wedding Anniversary
Last Tuesday my nephew Paul celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary and had a family gathering. I have had some pictures from Paul's sister, Gillian. Kate, Helena, Christina, Amy and her dad, Christopher in the upper picture.
Below we have Jennifer, Louise, Emily, Charlotte and Laura!
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