Geoff Jones

Inveterate dabbler in business, travel, gadgets & life

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Anyone for tennis? Real of course…

Took myself off for my first lesson in Real Tennis today under the guidance of Kees Ludekens the senior coach at Cambridge University Real Tennis Club, yep a bit of a mouthful and rather offputting as you don’t have to belong to the university at all to join.

Really enjoyable especially under Kees eagle eye, spotting all my mistakes (Using the racquet like in badminton – just doesn’t work!). Things I have to remember is to imagine a camera in the racquets handle looking at the oncoming ball, serving slower and serving sideways on – plus all the names of the parts of the court!

I notice in the Wikipedia article that there is a court in Australia at Ballarat where my friend, from infant school, Stan Jeffery lives. Will have to convince him to take it up.

My next session is Wednesday 26th April at 12.30 if anyone fancies joining me for group instruction under Kees.

A barrage of hope.

At last the green power community have homed in on the right thing for us folks on this sceptred isle to do. One project that can provide upto 7% of the UK’s electricity for the next few hundred years with no pollution greenhouse gases, radiation or fuel costs.

The BBC report today that the Severn Barrage is under active consideration again. I remember the earlier attempts and the report in 1975 which came out against it (I’m pretty sure, rather unbelievably, no consideraion of fuel cost was allowed in power station building, so the fact the ‘fuel’ was free was ignored rather like the Scottish hydroelectric schemes which produced ‘the most expensive’ electricity in the UK and now of cause produce the cheapest.

The fact that we could have had a Severn crosssing for ‘free’ instead of the £300,000,000 that was spent on the second crossing plus all the other tourism benefits means we have already lost out considerably.

Lets hope the ducks don’t win this one and that sanity prevails.

Hear from your MP

Following on from my recent post where I was one of 162 (now 168) people who have signed up for the Hear from your MP service.

Last week David happened to turn up at the door promoting his local bod (Steven Cooper whose interests I note are ethereal – Music, Singing, Film, Holiness, Justice rather than the hardworking local campaigner as on his flyer.) in the Cambridge City council elections. I harrangued David about his failure to reply to emails (denied even getting them) and pointed out Ellee’s comments about him been an academic and hence aloof.

So imagine my delight to receive from him today a letter and also that he has posted its contents to the hearfromyourmp website.

Apparently he is on the committee that is poring over the “the Abolition of Parliament Bill” or its more arcane title “Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill“; yep the one that will allow ministers and their lackeys to produce laws that allow you to be locked up for 2 years without parlimentary scrutiny.

Unusually we had the current incumbent for our ward, Kevin Blencowe of Labour knock on the door last night. He thought maybe he knew me – I’ve only lived here for 20 years and stood as an independent canditate a few years ago!

Feeling cold in Cambridge UK


I wonder if this is why I have been feeling the cold more than usual “They also found that volunteers who restricted their caloric intake by 25% or achieved similar results by cutting calories and upping exercise had a reduced average core body temperature at the conclusion of the six month trial. Lower body temperatures are also associated with longevity” from the New Scientist

Here is my weight loss chart from the Treo650 created by the excellent Eatwatch programme. Not quite in the same league as the volunteers. About a 7% reduction in weight over a year. (The screenshot is taken using the Screenshot utility from Linkesoft).

But then again it could be that the UK has been having more easterly winds this winter (As a result a cold east to north-easterly flow dominated the weather, strong at times across southern part – UK Met office or even since “The White House”redecoration, the windows are no longer sealed shut with paint!