1923

Today is Dad's birthday. (Here he is striding out with Keith and Paddy last year.)
He was born in 1923, so I decided to do a little research to find out what was happening that year.










In 1923, Adolf Hitler launched a failed coup attempt in Bavaria, known as 'the Beer Hall Putsch'.
Time Magazine was launched.
The Yankee Stadium opened for the first time.
The Hollywood Sign (you know, that big one) was erected.
Ankara replaced Constantinople as the capital of Turkey.
The Walt Disney Company was founded.
The chimes of Big Ben were first heard on BBC
The first twenty four hours of Le Mans motor race was held.
Howard Carter entered the burial chamber of Tutankhamun.
Among famous Britons born that year were Donald Sinden, Eric Sykes, Patrick Moore and Richard Attenborough. and this was also the year that John Logie Baird brought television to the world.
Ironically, in view of this year's events, 1923 was also the year that one of the biggest earthquakes, measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale occurred at Sagami Bay near Tokyo in Japan.
Oh, and on April 16th, Dad was born.
Happy birthday, Dad!

The Exodus

A very witty little video for you today from my erstwhile blogging friend, Dale.



A new take on the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Enjoy!

Staying in is the new going out

Keith's son, Giles told him recently about a problem that is common on Xboxes namely the Red Ring of Death, which is a dramatic name for something going wrong with it. Apparently, there are many Xboxes going for very little money on Ebay which have this problem. Why? Well, because it is possible to fix it.
I suppose you could buy several from Ebay, fix them and then sell them on.
That's what Keith thinks anyway.
That's why, having had a successful practice on an Xbox belonging to a friend of Giles, he has now bought seven, which will arrive in dribs and drabs over the next several days.
That's why, once again,  staying in will be the new going out for me as someone has to be here when the delivery vans come.
(Sadly, Paddy refuses to be trained to answer the door.)
However, I have stipulated that they are to be housed in the van - and I am unanimous in that!

Au bord du canal

This is what's been happening near my supervisor's place of work over the last couple of years and now, all of a sudden, one block is finished.

You can see more building work further up. Unfortunately, land is expensive and valuable in Chester and the tendency is to snap up and build on ever more.

Menawhile, the swans, having learned last year that building their nest in the nearby boatyard resulted in their babies being carried off by the local fox, have changed their location. It remains to be seen whether this is a wiser choice but they seem to be settling in quite nicely at the moment.

Cooler days

Cooler, showery days are fast approaching but Paddy and I squeezed a little sunshine out of the day and the blossom in the valley was lovely.

The ducks thought so too, I think.

You can tell that Paddy helped me take this photo.



Primroses and goats

Another glorious day here in North Wales. The pessimist in me whispers that we are sure to have to pay for this later in the year, but today, Paddy and I sallied forth for our walk and came across these, blossoming bravely in the grass.

On our way home, this character was looming in the middle of the path. I'm not sure how Paddy is with goats and being suddenly assailed  by comic strip  memories of people being propelled through the air by virtue of contact between goat's horns and the seat of their pants, I thought it might be wise for us to retrace our steps to another path which would lead us to the same destination.

Of course we should have been making the most of the day by going out somewhere further afield but Keith was more interested in this. Can you believe it?