One From The Archive - What did we do before....Mobile Phones

First introduced in the mid 80s; the first UK call was made from Trafalgar Square.... it was on the Racall Vodafone network. Now just Vodafone.

We've all seen pictures of the big, bulky, phones, that weren't very portable!  How technology has moved on.

However, has the invention of the mobile phone had a positive impact on our daily lives?

From a business perspective, it means decisions can be made more quickly, resulting in quicker turnaround of ideas/products.  Undoubtably, in an emergency, a mobile phone can help to save lives.




From a personal security point of view, having a means to communicate gives us peace of mind.
The smartphones we see today, also have access to email, news feeds, countless apps; as well as being media players, with built in cameras, to capture the moment, before uploading to your favourite social network.

However; being available all the time means bosses expect you to speak to them whenever they want.  The intrusion in public places is disrupting... listening to one half of a conversation is annoying; especially when they have a loud voice.  They help to make arrangements, but in the past, wouldn't you just wait until you got home?  If you're running late; so what? Once upon a time, you'd just be late!

Much is written about the operating system, from Apples' iOS, open-source Android, the revitalised BlackBerry and Windows Phone too.  There is much to suit everyone - I'm not going to spark further debate in this post about what's best.

With the advent of social networks, such as facebook, twitter, snapchat, instagram etc, we are increasingly 'dependent' on our mobile.

Personally, I know that I depend on my phone.... I'm also accused of not putting it down!
I'm not arguing for a return to how it used to be.
Some would call it progress.

We managed before, but nowadays I don't think we'd manage too well without.

Our Green and Pleasant Land

Every day I commute to work on the train and once out of the urban sprawl that is Manchester and Stockport, we soon enter the green pastures of Cheshire.

When you actually look, we live in  beautiful place.  The land is green and lush.  The old farm buildings give lie to their age, and rickety barns remind us of our heritage as a farming society.

As the journey continues, we pass Jodrell Bank Observatory; with the huge Lovell telescope pointed skywards, listening.  You can visit the Discovery Centre, to find out about this and more.

Of course, Cheshire isn't the only green land; in fact, for dramatic scenery, combined with the peace and quite of the country, you only have to venture an hour north of Manchester, to The Lake District.



Here, you will find rolling hills, dotted with small villages.

The rugged landscape of the Lake District is in contrast to the relatively flat landscape of Cheshire

In today's day and age, we're mostly too busy to stop and look. Our daily lives flash by without any consideration for what we could be missing.

We're amazingly quick to criticise that our wi-fi speed isn't fast enough, or there's no mobile phone signal - but once in a while we should stop.

The next time you're out in the country, do just that.

Stop.

Listen to the sounds of nature, take a deep breath of fresh air and get a real sense of belonging.

AFC Bournemouth - Ready For The Big Time

Since Eddie Howe returned to take the reins, The Cherries have gone from strength to strength in their campaign to rule the Championship. And rule it they currently are; topping the league before Christmas, and continuing to pull in the positive results.

The question is... Are AFC Bournemouth ready for the Big Time?

They had a brilliant run through the League Cup, until Liverpool came to visit, and they're through to the 4th round of the FA Cup, with Aston Villa waiting for them. My 8 year old son reckons Bournemouth could spoil it for them!

Having been a follower of AFC Bournemouth since my youth, there is now the very real chance that they could soon meet the mights of Manchester (United and City), Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea etc.

But. Is this a good thing? The financial force of these teams is way beyond anything the south coast team can consider, especially in the early days.  Sure, television rights and sponsorship deals will soon boost the coffers, but is it enough.

There's also the consideration of the stadium. The Goldsands has a capacity of 12,000 supporters.  Could they host the away followers of such huge clubs?

They're talking about expansion; but will it come soon enough?

Finally, there’s the pressure of staying in the top flight.  It’s one thing getting there, it’s something else to retain the momentum and keep their place.

Don't get me wrong. It's a very exciting prospect and I'm sure that behind closed doors the clubs owner, Max Demin, and the directors will be considering all the permutations.

In the meantime, Eddie and his team must continue to work hard to protect their position, so when the time comes, they can hit the Big Time in style.

Review - Amazon Prime

This may come as a surprise (not!) that I like Amazon.




I am fully signed up to Prime, and also have their Fire TV and a Kindle.  I don't (repeat - don't) have their phone and neither do I have an Amazon tablet.

I did consider the Fire HD, but I didn't want their version of Android!

So - for the last few years, I have paid my dues, and taken advantage of the goodness that comes with an Amazon Prime subscription.

What do you get for your hard-earned cash?

1.  Unlimited Free next day delivery.  That was their first offering, and it still stands.  However; even this is now being amended - if you accept a 3 day delivery, they'll credit you with £1 towards music! Seems a bit strange to me.  I'll let you into a secret.  This isn't always the cheapest way to buy something.  There could be cheaper prices on Amazon.  It's always worth a look.

2.  Prime Instant Video.  An all you can watch buffet of film and television.  This was launched to counter the Netflix effect.  In fact, Amazon are catching their competitor with more up-to-date films than ever before.  Plus, they offer their Amazon Original Pilot series.  The viewers have the power, using their comments and votes, to decide if a pilot episode of an Amazon Original should be granted a full series.  Genius.  What's more; we've seen some gems, and others are to follow.  Transparent is one such show; Mozart In The Jungle another.

3.  Prime Photos.  OK.  I admit; this isn't one I use a huge amount - mainly because I use Google for photo storage.  However, I can store unlimited numbers of photos in Amazon Cloud Drive, and it won't cost me a penny more.

4.  Kindle Owners' Lending Library.  This is actually pretty good; and I've used it quite a lot.  As a Kindle user, it's great to be able to borrow a book and once read, return it and borrow another.  There is a limit of one per month; so not a free-for-all; but a worthy part of the service.

What is hard to work out is whether the £79 annual fee is value for money.

At just over £6.60 per month, I have access to loads of good films and TV shows.  Delivery of my purchases don't cost extra (a hard one to quantify, as I don't purchase something every month!)  Photo storage doesn't mean much (to me).

A search on the internet suggests that the average price of an e-book is around £3.00. Multiply that by 12 and you can see that half the subscription covers the Kindle Library.

On average, a film rental online costs £3.50.  Just one a month = £42.

Therefore, for £1 short of the annual fee, I can watch 12 films and rent 12 books.  Of course, in reality; I can watch many more films, and catch up on TV series (Ripper Street anyone?)
One a week? More?  The value of Prime increases the more I watch.

Is Amazon Prime worth the subscription?  It's not for everyone, but it works out OK for me.

The Truth About Travelling With Children

Travelling with children… the very thought strikes fear into parents around the world.  I suppose it depends on the type of travel.  Let’s face it, jumping into the car and heading off should be easy.

Flying, on the other hand, has stresses of its own, and the idea of working your way through the airport system (check-in, security, waiting in the departure lounge) is hard enough without children in tow.

This story, however, is about travelling by car.  As I've already mentioned; this should be easy. None of the children are babies (14, 13, 12, 8 and 8) and so are quite capable of “entertaining” themselves.  You’d think!

First, there’s loading the car - or in our case, a minibus.  There’s 9 of us.  Yep… 9!

We hire a large minibus for the duration, so that we have plenty of luggage space.

Who will sit next to who?  Arguments ensue…

“I don’t want to sit there”;

“I want to sit in the back”;

“Why can’t I sit next to him?”

Maybe we should draw lots, to see who sits where!

At least I know where I’m sitting - and that’s up front, with a job to do...

The vehicle loaded; more likely than not, I've put the wrong bag in the back, so need to ferret it out for use during the journey!

Finally, everyone is on board and seat belts fastened.  Doors shut; engine started.

“Mum, please can I have the iPad”,

“Where are my headphones?”... and we haven’t even left the drive.

I take a deep breath and engage first gear.

Expected journey time - 4 hours.

Time until first request for food? 30 minutes!

Then… silence.

Silence reigns for the next couple of hours, as films are consumed, games played and music listened to.  After that, the next phase of the journey - the “Are we there yet?” questions.




These begin innocently enough; just a quick calculation of how long to go; and more silence.
For about 20 minutes!

“How long to go now?”

“I told you 2 hours, just 20 minutes ago”

More silence.  Games, music, movies.  FIVE minutes later another voice pipes up
“Are we nearly there?”

Aggravation creeps into the reply

“Weren't you listening 5 minutes ago?  It’s about 90 minutes.”

The pattern continues for another 80 minutes; interspersed with more requests for snacks.
Then the magical moment, as I tell everyone that we’re almost there.

After just 2 minutes:
“I thought you said we’re nearly there!”

“I did; just 5 or so minutes.  Look out of the window and you’ll see where we are.”

Finally - we pull up outside the house and as I toot the horn to announce our arrival, the kids unbuckle their belts, slide open the door and run into the arms of their waiting grandparents.

Suddenly the stresses, aggravations and repetitions of the last few hours are swept away.

We’re here. Until the return journey....!!