Freeview Boxes

I am seriously unimpressed with the reliability of freeview boxes.    Freeview has been on the go for a while now, and so far we are now on our third.   Our first box, a (not cheap) Nokia died a while back, a second, a Phillips,  can still just operate when it is feeling in the mood [...]

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Shabby Edinburgh

A visit to the Capital in the rain yesterday, and it was looking pretty shabby.
Charlotte Square, which includes Bute House, home of the First Minister and possibly one of the most elegant squares in Europe has grey railings with flaking paint along its south side.      Perhaps this is all part of a refurbishment, but it looks really terrible.
Ot [...]

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Forth Bridge – No More Tolls?

It looks like the tolls we pay to cross the Forth and Tay road bridges may be scrapped.    It is in the SNP manifesto, and will probably attract enough support from other parties to get this through.    The Greens will be pretty angry though, and they are supposed to be in partnership (though short of [...]

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Late Ash Trees

It is the 20th May today, and some ash trees are still not in leaf.   I really cannot remember them being so late before.    It is very odd.

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Perth Youth Orchestra

Every Perth Festival, there is a Festival service in the lovely and very ancient St John’s Kirk.   In recent years, Perth Youth Orchestra provide the music, and today was no exception.    They were amazing as usual, and a credit to their conductor and tutors.   They are off to Poland on tour in a few weeks, [...]

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Czech Symphony Orchestra with Chloe Hanslip

A packed Perth Concert Hall for this concert.
This orchestra was interesting in terms of the numbers of string players:   there were about 25 violins, 10 violas, 7 ‘cellos and 6 double basses.     I would have expected more violins and more ‘cellos, but the balance was actually OK.    They were a well rehearsed band.   Paul Freeman [...]

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John Martyn

John Martyn performed a great set at Perth Concert Hall.   I last saw him about 30 years ago in his Big Muff solo tour at The Capitol in Aberdeen, and he has certainly been through the mill since then.   Now wheelchair bound (he had to lose a leg recently) he revisited 1973 by performing his Solid [...]

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Aalst

This is a play about the case of the Belgian couple who murdered their children in a hotel bedroom in Aalst in Belgium in 1999.  It was originally put together by Pol Heyvaert and Dimitri Verhulst from original court and other material and performed in Flemish, causing protests, even although names had been changed.   Duncan McLean [...]

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You Can’t Switch it OFF.

There is a rather worrying list of stuff that you can’t turn off, because there is no OFF switch.   
We all know about standby status on TVs, where the wee red light glows, but when you arise from your sofa you can go and turn the TV off (as you should).     Videos and DVD players have [...]

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Freeview Boxes

Good job Freeview boxes are coming down in price, because they are proving one of the least reliable pieces of kit in the home.       Did you know that when you buy a piece of TV kit, you now have to give your postcode by law.   This is then handed over to those TV licensing people [...]

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