Am I getting to be a Grumpy Old Man?

Why oh why is the English language going to the dogs? People cannot tell the difference between their and there, spelling is atrocious, they do not capitalise their 'I's and cannot punctuate for toffee! I see it more and more and people seem to think it is acceptable. Most blame it on dyslexia! Complete crap, it is pure laziness! Where and were is another favourite. For Gods sake guys, get some lessons and learn the difference..... ARRRRRGGGGHHHH!

Farewell

Today is one of those sad days that seem to come around more and more as I get older. We have to go to a funeral today of the mother of one of Lindas oldest chums, Diane. Having lost my father 10 years ago, I remember the pain of losing a parent well. However, they never really leave us, they stay within your heart forever. Hopefully the occasion will not be too overwhelming for Diane.

Music

Music is one of my other great hobbies. I have a very varied and eclectic taste in music although my favourite band of all time must be Pink Floyd. I guess if I have to choose (and why should I?) I prefer Gilmour to Waters but I guess that is because I am a guitarist. My guitar is pictured here. I play through my computer via an interface by Line6 called GuitarPort. It really is a superb piece of kit and enables me to sound like anyone I choose, even if I cannot play like them :-)
I have played guitar for about 34 years but I had a long period (about 10 years) where I didn't play. I have always played acoustic folk until I got the Ibanez but I am now trying to learn to solo.

Heron

One of the joys of having a large shallow bay in Morecambe Bay is that the bird life is both profuse and varied. I managed to get a shot of this Heron this morning before the batteries ran out on the camera!

nb: note to self.... take spare batteries!

This was as close as I got to the bird before it noticed me and flew off.

More on Morecambe

We are currently having a lot of work done on the promenade here. This includes sea defences and tons of sand being dumped on the beaches. It is making a huge difference. The photo shows a tractor cleaning the sand which is really nice to see. It is terrific seeing families on the beaches again, making sand castles and walking barefoot :-)
I live not far from here and I can be on the promenade within a couple of minutes. How lucky am I?

Morecambe

Although my place of birth is Manchester, I consider Morecambe to be my home town. Now I am retired I am enjoying cycling and walking along the promenade. The views are always wonderful, no matter what the weather is doing. This photo shows a view from Morecambe across the bay looking at Grange-over-Sands. It does not look it but Grange is probably about 15 miles away in this picture! Before the invention of the train, coaches regularly traversed the sands and people still walk it today, usually for charity, in the company of the Queens Guide, Cedric Robinson.

Cats

The photo on my page shows me and Kai. Kai is our cat and he is a Burmilla. Apparently, the breed came from a chance mating between a Burmese and an Asian Chinchilla. The gene stuck and the Burmilla was born. Fortunately, they retain the best parts of both breeds. I have *never* come across a more laid back cat! He has the intelligence of the Burmese and the chilled out character of the Chinchilla. He can be extremely demanding when he wants something and will be very naughty if you ignore him! However, he demands to be picked up and cuddled in a morning and sleeps on the bed every night. Boy, can he snore! It's like his internal organs relax as well, he grunts and sighs with the best of them :-)

Amateur Radio

Amateur Radio (AKA Ham Radio) is probably my biggest hobby. In fact both my wife, Linda and I are keen radio operators. My callsign is G0VGS and Linda is G0YLM. She has her own blog here.
She is a very regular poster and also keeps a blog for Sands Contest Group, a small but beautifully formed group of like minded individuals that we belong to. We have a LOT of fun playing radio in one form or another. You can find out more by going to our website.

My main interest is building and using my own equipment. I am especially a fan of Elecraft kits. I have an Elecraft K2 (#4044 for those who like to collect serial numbers) which will output up to 100W, has DSP etc. You can see a photo of the lineup in this posting. I hope to purchase the new K3 later in the year but I will not be selling the K2, I love it :-)

It had to happen!

It was only going to be a matter of time until I started to blog. Having retired in April this year and having more time on my hands (you are joking!!) I decided it was the right time to start. Hopefully these musings will inform and amuse the reader. I hope to share photographs of my home town and hobbies and to reflect on lifes rich tapestry.