General - Sight Villege Prep

I have just awoken in the Novotel on Broad Street Birmingham.  Today is the start of sight village the United Kingdom’s largest technology exhibition.  It is surely going to be busy on our stand and I am looking forward to the buzz of the hall.  We have a special Trekker user group meeting today and we’re even providing some grub so I hope we get a reasonable turnout, it will be lovely to put voices to those people who I have been in email contact with over the last year or so.  Jaid and I spent yesterday preparing for the show and travelling up to Birmingham.  I also had a nice chat with Jonathan Mosen and our friends from Humanware Canada.

Ruth and Dave through a farewell bbq for friends and helpers at the Rising Sun, I was privileged to be invited and there hospitality was touching under the circumstances.  I particularly enjoyed the lamb chops and ribs and the beer wasn’t so shabby but I left rather early.  In fact its been a rather quiet weekend overall with me just lounging around the flat on Saturday and not even going out on Friday night.  I have been trying to save a little cash though as well as getting my home sorted out for the stay of Derry and Martha.  They will be joining us at sight village on Wednesday and coming on back to mine from the show.  Clare’s also coming along so it should be interesting smuggling her in to the hotel, I’m rather looking forward to that bit actually.

I’d better go and  do the old SSS routine now.

Whisky - Glenlivet 1975 / 29 year old 54%alc

Glenlivet 1975 / 29 year old 54%alc

Once again summer finds me switching to beer rather than whisky but I fancied a dram and some pleasant music in the shape of the splendid Tori Amos.

This Glenlivet is bottled by Signatory vintage at its cask strength and from a sherry cask.

Nose:  Oak dried fruits orange an tobacco.  A splash of water opens it up but brings out the wood more.

Pallet:      mighty wood  tannins, rather astringent but sherry comes through to sweeten it up a little.  With water the bitterness gets more pronounced so I would  take this neat even at its cask strength in tiny sips.

Finnish:  rather long but wood dominates.

Comment:  the nose delivers big time butt the whisky is let down in the mouth, still a pleasure to drink something this old.

Score:  78%

Whisky - Podcasts

When writing a few months ago I threatened to provide information about whisky related podcasts.

I know of two whisky podcasts.  The first and more in-depth podcast with interviews from the industry and news is the excellent whisky cast produced in the US by Mark Gillespie.  If anyone has an interest in the subject this professionally sounding endeavour is worth checking out.

on the other hand  Radio Whisky is aimed at those of us who are just starting out.  I must admit to finding the presentation very Americanised and scripted, but they are filling a gap in people’s knowledge and giving people pleasure because of the unchallenging format.

The T and T Consultancy Ltd Blog and Podcast

for readers of my blog interested in access technology it is worth taking a trip over to this blog and podcast covering the upcoming Sight Village 2006 show in Birmingham UK. The first few podcasts have been interesting and Terry and co are doing a fine job with this.

Technology - Loadstone GPS - Satellite Navigation for blind mobile phone users

Check this out. No street data yet for the UK, but some good point of interest info. Just install on to your Symbian mobile with screen access software and take a walk.

Oh, and Monty is a nice chap too. I'd better get a pint or two for plugging on this blog that focuses mainly on Humanware GPS systems.

Blind man 'was banned from shop'

Ipswich County Court heard yesterday how retired bricklayer John Hammond was confronted
by “screaming and shouting” Leona Bracey as he tried to enter a Felixstowe antiques
shop with his dog Ingram. Mr Hammond, who was wearing a yellow sash identifying him as a guide dog user, was blocked by a furious Bracey at the Cobwebs Antique Centre last September. The 61-year-old, from March in Cambridgeshire, was in the area on a holiday when
‘the incident happened.’

‘But District Judge Patrick Bazley White found in favour of Mr Hammond, awarding damages and costs of £1,834.
He said: “I'm quite satisfied that the claimant is entitled to damages and was hurt and distressed as a result of the defendant's conduct. The claimant lost confidence in the use of his guide dog, which is particularly important.”
After the case, Mr Hammond said: “She showed no remorse. I was very shocked when
it happened - I had never encountered anything like that before. “It sets you back a tremendous amount and I'm always on guard now, waiting for it
to happen again.”
He added: “I'm hoping disabled people who may have been treated like me will take
encouragement from this and not let people push them around. You've got to stand
up for yourself.”

Cans or Bottles?

My friend ‘Derry’ from Dublin has just started his blog and he asks the question cans or bottles? For me when beer is involved this is rather interesting. Yes I'd rather bottles, but the price can sometimes make me think twice before picking them over cans. Take Budvar for example. Only £3.80 for 4 0.5L cans, but for the same amount in bottles over £6.00. Bottles do have a flavour advantage however.

Anyway, check out his blog at www.derrylawlor.com

icSurreyOnline - Real ale champion loses fight

'THE sun is going down on a landlord who has made The Rising Sun, Epsom, a peaceful
refuge for discerning drinkers.
Dave Roberts and wife Ruth have agreed to go on August 14 after standing firm against
an order from new owners Young's Brewery that he stocks their beers and products
and no others.
Mr Roberts' deal with former owners Punch Taverns allowed him to sell not only his
own Pilgrim Ale - produced at his Pilgrim Brewery, West Street, Reigate - but also
dozens of others from small independent breweries around the UK.'

General - Pizza and Cider in the South West

A blog without updates is a dead blog so I’m told and I have neglected this one  over the last few weeks.  Time to put this unsatisfactory situation to sorts with a largish update of my life over the previous few days.
I worked in the midlands for a good amount of last week including in Birmingham where I saw some amazing greecy spoons, try Mr Egg which sells everything with egg and is open 24 hours a day.  How about the Fat Boy Chippi, a sign on the window advises us to ‘keep your heart’ healthy, and that ‘cholesterol tests are available here’.

I then doodled over to Worcester to enjoy many fine pints with the jet setting Dave Williams.  We made our pub of the evening the Dragon Inn and as usual the banter was top draw as was the beer.  We did take a break from the Dragon to have a byte to eat in the Green Man, my meat of choice being a little piece of Skippy the kangaroo encrusted with pepper corns.

I then went over to Leicester and by Thursday evening was home with Clare so a Chinese was in order.  We decided to go back to Pensford (Sorry about the link in the prev post) for the weekend with Andrew so set off late on Friday afternoon.

On arrival in Bristol we made our way to a brew pub called ZeroDegrees and I tried all the beers they made except the wheat beer.  I particularly enjoyed the pale ale and the amazing Pilsner.  Clare and I took the opportunity to devour one of the famous pizzas from the wood fired pizza oven and Mexican was our choice.  spicy mexican sausage, peppers, onions, sweet corn, jalapenos,                smoked
cheese

They have two branches of this fantastic pub.  You can observe and smell the beer been brewed in front of you as you drink and eat.  The other branch is in London’s Blackheath and is well worth a visit.

We then went to Pensford and our digs then to the Rising Sun, unfortunetly we were to late for a meal so went to the vileges other pub for a beer and one of the renound Brystol Clarks Pies.  The night was more than lively especially when we started drinking the Thatchers cider.  Its amazing the bumps you can have after a few pints of the stuff.  Clare managed to drink way too much and was a little unwell the next day, I was actually woken up to the sound of her been unwell which was an interesting way to start Satterday.

In order to clear our heads we took a walk over the fields in the cool air to Stanton Drew with a stop at a farm on the way to buy some peas to shell and munch on our journey.  I guess the walk is around two miles so it really helped me shake off the night before, but Clare was suffering even though she enjoyed the walk.  Inevitably a pub was at the end of our walk so we had dinner in the Drewids Arms and I had a nice pint of Sharp’s Doom Bar which was fantastic.  

We sat outside next to some of the standing stones as we ate These aren’t the stone circles for which Stanton Drew is famous but huge stones put in place by the drewids thousands of years ago it made the whole experience rather memorable with the sun beeting down and nothing but the sounds of birds and the odd dog.

After much fuss and nashing of teath we managed to find a taxi and this took us in to the Bedminster area of Brystol and the Tobaco Factory bar.  I wanted to try some of the Brystol Beer Factorys beers and this done with mixed success we went back to Epsom

I have been working around the south this week but went to Wellingborough yesterday to discuss Maestro 2 and our plans for sight villege.  Rather than going back to Epsom after work I went out for a meal with Clare in Kingston.

New clue in Jack The Ripper case - BBC NEWS | UK | England | London |

New documents about the identity of 1880s serial killer Jack The Ripper are to be
revealed at the re-launch of Scotland Yard's Crime Museum.
The paperwork has been donated by relatives of an officer involved in the original
investigation.

General - A Summer Weekend in Pensford and Beyond

After a quick pre journey pint at reading station we boarded the high speed train to temple meads in the lovely summer sunshine

On disembarkation  at Bristol we hopped on a ferry and made the 10 minute journey in to the town centre.  This was a rather pleasant and unusual way to travel but the breeze blowing from the river served to cool us down.  It was nice to meet up with Sally again a girl with who I  been at college.  It was possible to convince her that coming over to Pensford for a few hours with Andrew and myself would be a good plan, so after a pint or two in the Whole in the Wall we took a cab and left the hustle and bustle of the city behind.

Pensford is a small village with 3 pubs, a shop/post office and a few houses.  It also boasts two churches one in ruins and some beautiful scenery.  The guest house was called the Hollies and it only cost us £15.00 each per night and this included a tasty continental breakfast.  We were advised that the food at ‘the Rising Sun pub was of a high standard so we walked over and sat out in the field like garden and indulged in some middling beers but plenty of well above average food.  I selected a home made Pork Chicken and cider gravy pie with lovely chips and peas.  The pie has to be one of the best I’ve ever tasted and so good was the experience that it was repeated the next day.

After eating plenty and well we watched the dogs play in the long grass.  Sally’s is a rather young lab called Breeze and she and Jaid were hidden from view such was the height of  this relative jungle.


The George and Dragon
Was our next stop and though it was busy I rather preferred our previous pub, the George was just too hot and I didn’t feel comfortable as the pie was laying heavy so as Sally left us we took a stroll back to the Riser.

After a quick refresher and a walk to the Hollies B and B we new that it was imperative that a quiet state should be maintained since the time was after midnight.  This all went extremely wrong though when Jaid took me to the wrong room and I disturbed the owners daughter and her boy friend!!  This was embarrassing enough but on our retreat from the room Andrew knocked over a clay plant pot with a clatter.  The owner came out and told us not to worry as she picked up the plant, but for some reason she dropped it again with an even bigger clunk.  On getting to our room we were near hysterics but in the end got some good kip in.  The place was littered with all kinds of trinkets including old tin toys and slightly disturbingly daggers and other war like objects.  We were informed the next day that our room had been her Sons.

Paying for the room was a bit of an experience, they didn’t take credit or Switch so it was suggested that we take some money out of the post office using a cash card.  This we tried but unfortunately our cards were not accepted by the PO as our banks didn’t have an arrangement with them so after explaining this to the owner we were given an envelope to post thru the door as he would be away for the rest of Saturday.  We did get some cash back from the Rising Sun and took advantage of the splendid food once again.  I also tried a pint of Thatcher’s dry Cider from the flagon and it tasted wonderful with no fizz at all and at a nee shattering 7 percent you really have to be careful with this stuff, especially at only £1.70 per cool pint.

Now, within a clowse proximity of the pub is a mil streem and an old but beautifully enjeneered viaduct.  This audio recording taken with the internal microphone of my Braillenote PK is of Andrew Jaid and myself walking around while waiting for the pub to open so we could get some cash.  A steam lorry drove past at one point and those of us outside the pub really enjoyed this.

We were unsure about what  to do in the afternoon but decided in the end to take the west coast line to Preston.  regrettably this wasn’t possible as the two cheaper accommodations I new of refused me because of the guide dog.  Disheartened by this treatment we made our way back to Wimbledon.  One of the pubs who refused apologised to me in the end, but this was on Sunday evening so a potentially good day was ruined anyway.  I am in consultation with Thwaits brewery regarding the behaviour of the other establishment.

When we were back in Wimbledon it was around 6 in the evening and all the football fans disappointed with England’s los intermingled with the posh tennis types and the station was packed.  Rather than going to Epsom we took a train to Claygate on the spur of the moment and sampled the delights of the Foley arms.

Not only are the beers kept in tiptop nick by the landlord but a good folk club uses the place as a venue each Friday.  I’ve been to the Ram Club as its known a few times and always had a good evening.  The pub also has bands outside in the summer along with BBQs add to this the fact that its possible to take out beer cheaply and this is a must visit establishment.

The rest of the weekend was spent in Epsom eating big chunks of meet cooked on the bbq both beef and pork joints.  It was just too hot for a roast but the meets marinade differently went down well with chunks of buttered bread, salad and baked potatoes.

Technology - Maestro 2.0 available soon and free!

News
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HumanWare launches Maestro 2.0,the new generation of PDA for Blind people.
Longueuil, June 30th, 2006 -- HumanWare is proud to announce the release of Maestro 2.0, an enhanced version of the mainstream PDA for the visually impaired. Maestro offers the unparalleled benefits of portability and mobility found in PDAs for sighted people. Version 2.0 has a multitude of new functions, including a Wi-Fi e-mail manager, a media player for music and audio books, and a task manager. And everything is done from the palm of your hand and is 100% accessible to visually impaired people.
Maestro consists of a standard Dell PDA with a tactile overlay allowing people to use commands and enter data intuitively by touch. The information is sent to the user in audio form using integrated voice synthesis. Maestro users can therefore organize their appointments and address books, consult and edit text documents, record voice notes, read books, organize e-mail, listen to music… all in the palm of their hand.
“With Version 2.0, Maestro is the most comprehensive and most accessible solution on the market as a standard PDA adapted for the blind.” says Lucia Gomez, Product Manager at HumanWare. “Maestro can be compared to the famous Swiss pocket knife and all their tools that fit in your pocket.”
 
Main Features of Maestro 2.0:

1. Full E-mailing Capability The user can now read, forward, reply, transfer and create e-mail messages, and attach files, using either ActiveSync or a Wi-Fi network.


2. Enhanced Media Player The Media Player can read MP3 and WMA books. It also offers the capability of reading audio files in shuffle or repeat mode, mark a place, resume, set a sleep timer and fast positioning (incremental or one minute forward and rewind). It also supports play lists.


3. Task Management It is now possible to create and manage tasks, and synchronize them with Outlook on your PC.


4. Calendar, Victor Reader, Text Notes and Many Other Enhancements Maestro 2.0 includes a Today’s page, improvements in popular applications, such as variable speed in Victor Reader, choice of views in the Calendar, better support of scanned documents in the Text Notes, formatting tool for the memory cards, support of a second language, and many others.

 
Available Options
With Maestro, the user can Braille (in computer Braille, Grade 1 or Grade 2) or text their data directly using the PDA, or use the optional ergonomic KeyMaestro Braille Bluetooth keyboard, or a QWERTY keyboard for longer documents. Maestro users can also benefit from the optional powerful Trekker talking GPS system. Maestro is available right now from all HumanWare subsidiaries and affiliated distributors. For current Maestro users, a free upgrade will be available here for download in August.