It was my first time at such an outing and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It just so happened that the Rugby gets in the way of a reunion with lots of old Army muckers. However the match was a treat as was the whole experience.

Indulging in the train from Bath already on the Cider were a troop of 15 or so monks and nurses, plus a healthy few carriages of associated supporters. For the civvy population this would normally be a daunting day out, yet aside from a few guffs, guffaws, choice swear words and loud belches, these forces favourites were in good spirits and there was no air of fisticuffs of foul play.

On arriving to Twickers there was the expected drunken carnage one would expect of the early starters and we headed straight up to the stadium. Not to get our seats you understand, oh no, we headed straight for the Corps bar, wrists bands displayed proudly. As I say this is an annual event and a great excuse for a reunion with old buddies. And reunite we did. Its a strange feeling meeting up with fellas you haven’t seen since 1991 and you just pick up where you left off! Superb.

At 3 the game kicked off and the Navy took the lead quite quickly. Many groans echoed around the pitch but their lead was short lived and the pasting soon begun. The highlights of the game weren’t particularly the Army’s play ( though that was superb ) it was being treated to no less than 5 streakers, 2 fairies and a leprechaun invading the pitch. Laugh? We most certainly did!

All the on pitch entertainment was fully supported by some pissed up idiot behind us singing very poor Army songs. You couldn’t help but love the chap and he was up there with The Army Wives Choir who had banged out some tunes beforehand. What he lacked in style and grace he made up for in determination and dribbling. Its difficult fitting military words into staple classics but our man shoe horned as many as he could to give us such delights as ‘We love you Army we do’ and a personal favourite, ‘Walking in an Army wonderland’. It shouldn’t work, some say it didn’t but he was enjoying himself and who are we to criticise.

Back to the Corps tent after we stuffed the Navy to the tune of 48 – 9 and a few more glasses were raised before exciting stage left. On the train home we were treated to a domestic featuring 4 crying ( civvy ) lesbians and regaled by a ‘Walter Mitty’ type who shared his stories of derring-do whilst he was serving. Sadly like alot of these berks, it all turned out to be rollocks and he was a wannabe giving it the large. By the time we got to Reading, our female friends had calmed down, and kissed and made up. One was bordering on a coma and our Andy McNab wannabe had fecked off with his head bowed down.

So a great day out was had by all and there were no scuffles or fights as one may expect. The military conduct themselves in a ‘self policing’ stylee and any such indiocy is normally not tolerated by ones colleagues. I personally didn’t see any trouble and it was a great atmsophere with 2,000 or so old mates. The game achieved attendance of 62,000 on the day and it was lovely to the see the military getting so much support from those that don’t actually serve. Will we go back next year? Of course we will and hopefully we’ll take more with us. If you haven’t ‘Walked in an Army Wonderland’ you don’t know what your missing.

After a full appraisal of the companies old website, after consultation with the board, a new design was planned, agreed and implemented. The navigation was re-thought and most importantly the search engine optimisation was carried out site wide. In addition to the work ‘behind the scenes’ a news section was added and the all important tie in with business social network LinkedIn.

The site is currently at Phase 1 of its 2 stage role out, in where it is its extensive  Omnitron Media Converter products on line. In addition to that ProTel have just signed a european distribution agreement with Telegrid to market and distribute WZRDnet lowpower wireless ad hoc mesh network products. This adds another arm to their ever growing portfolio.

ProTel Solutions will be demonstrating the WZRDnet for the first time in Europe at the Counter Terror Expo on April 25-26 in London, UK.

See more at www.protelsolutions.co.uk

According to the owner the competition is designed for everyone to have a bit of fun, but also to allow ‘Isle of Wight’ gamers to compete ‘Head to Head’ for an amazing cash prize!! 4 TV’s & Consoles will be arranged in a square formation, allowing 4 contestants to play against each other.

Its all to play for over the Easter Bank Holiday so visit Puckpool Tea Gardens for more information. www.puckpoolteagardens.com

Recently I blogged about the Natwest Community Force competition and gave a little view on where my vote would go. Luckily you thought the same and Keynsham’s Mencap branch came storming home with 456 votes. This was enough to put them through in 1^st place in our local area.

Lying in second and also picking up 6 gripper is the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust. They are going to be using their winnings to sort out a lovely walking path. 356 votes secured their funding so its time to get the walking boots cleaned off! Bath Swim Therapy also got a big thumbs up vote wise and landed the 3^rd spot getting a nice pot of doh-ray-me.  Speedos on standby.

These 3 are all very deserving winners and its good to see that the money has gone to excellent causes that will truly benefit those involved. Thanks for taking time to vote as it will make a difference.

Outside of the Reds on their squadrons, these daring pilots saw operational duty flying Tornados, Harriers and the new Euro fighter. Whilst I was on active service in the Gulf War of 1991,  it was the likes of Jon and Sean that risked life and limb to help the boys on the ground, delivering essential fast air support when the chips were down. And that’s a major point we are missing. Its not just two Red Arrow jocks we’ve sadly lost, its another two men serving Queen and country.

As a kid I was always thrilled to see the Reds in action and I can honestly say that my hairs still stand on end whenever I’m lucky enough to indulge.  They are wondrous to enjoy and for me and possibly you, mean more than the Royal Family, Big Ben and London Bridge. The Reds represent everything good about Britain and if you were to ask anyone whether they’d swap 100 MPs for just one Red Arrow pilot, the jet powered ambassador of the sky would get the vote every time.

The Red Arrows carry our hopes and dreams as they sour majestically into the clouds and in a time of such desperation here in the UK; they represent and stand for all things good. They are quintessentially British and fly in a way far superior to anyone else.

Its living proof that if you knuckle down and do well, you can be rewarded by serving with the finest aerobatic display team in the World. The Red Arrows don’t just represent the Royal Air force, pilots or fast jets. They represent England and its proud aviation history. They stand for the freedom of our skies and the smile on a child’s face as their watch in awe as the synchro pair go head to head, full welly.

I’ve been extremely lucky and indeed fortunate not only to attend various airshows in a media capacity but also to have a good old chin wag with Red 10, Andy Robbins. I’ll post up the interview at some point along with some footage and let you enjoy it. For the meantime though, enjoy the photos that I’ve snapped over the years. The majority are from either the International Air Tattoo at Fairford and the Royal Navy Air Show at Yeovilton.

Finally I’ll leave you with a very famous poem first bought to my attention by Mike Collins of Apollo 11 fame and written by Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee of No 412 squadron, killed 11 December 1941. As we approach the 11th hour of the 11th day, I can’t think of a more fitting tribute to the aerial ambassadors that have been lost over the years, all in the name of  freedom.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

For all who have flown to protect us and thrill us, we salute you.

I was at a wedding reception recently and this chap was doodling in the corner and his work looked promising. I had indulged in such quill like delights on the Island of Zante once. The artist in question however was of the ‘piss’ variety and his pencil strokes were akin to joining the dots. After the pastel colouring I ended up looking like the ivory tickler, Liberace. Personally not the style I was after.

So you’ll understand my reticence when sitting before ‘Graham’. However I was not to be dis chuffed or disappointed in anyway shape or form. Oh no, Graham armed with his pencil and pens was a joy to be before. Very quick, very light hearted and a truly superb artist. His other half Wendy was very chatty and the whole experience a blast.

The piece of art in question is now framed and sits atop a shelf in my office. Suffice to say I haven’t got a pair of budgie smugglers that you see in the picture but I’m now keen to get some. If you’re looking for a Caricaturist for any occasion, have a look at their website and give them a call. www.spittinimage.co.uk

Whilst growing up on the Isle of Wight one of my best friends had a brother who benefited greatly in life by attending a place called Haylands Farm. Haylands Farm provided ( and continues to provide ) training, education and work experience for people with a learning disability. We have such a facility just outside of Bath in neighbouring Keynsham and they need our help in doing the same.

In my radio career and throughout life, supporting charity has been very important for me. Having actually worked for a major Cancer charity for a year and half, I can genuinely say I have seen the tangible benefits that a charity can do for its end users. It’s about providing a service that has measurable benefits and not just ‘money grabbing’ to fill the coffers for self serving directors. Having consulted and worked in the third sector, I am aware of such practices.

With the Army we would regularly support our branch of PHAB in nearby Devizes and help out on their fun days and residential trips. To actually witness the fun and escapism that the participants experienced is incredibly joyous and a real buzz. To do your bit and help all it takes is a bit of your online time. Not much to ask is it?

Natwest are currently running a voting project called ‘Community Force’. Essentially the 3 projects in any given area with the most votes win. This is where you can make a difference to some ones life. With schemes such as this, we have seen over the years that some projects will be far more beneficial than others and that although with good intentions, some can be a little self indulgent and some receive huge hand outs from the government and other tax paying funds anyway. Others simply don’t.

Awarded funds will genuinely affect some ones life in a hugely beneficial manner and for the Mencap unit in neighbouring Keynsham who are not supported by National Mencap, this amount of funding would make a real difference. If you can take 5 minutes and go through the process at the Natwest website then you are taking a positive and rewarding step to making a difference.

http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/2381

http://www.keynshammencap.co.uk/index.htm

It’ll give you that little fuzzy feeling for the rest of the day so do the right thing and tick their box. Many thanks. If the Mencap project doesn’t really float your boat ( we are all different after all ) two other excellent options for Bath are:

The Bath Cats and Dogs Home

Bath Swim Therapy

The deadline for entries was today and in the spirit of the competition, we won’t publish it on the web until we find out if we’ve been short listed or not. If we haven’t, as soon as we hear, we’ll release the movie. As I say, its a two part affair and this is merely a taster of things to come. Depending on your tastes, you may find if very funny or indeed very sad. If not depraved…

As a parting shot to familiarise yourself with the characters in question, here is last years entry that got a mention in the Bath Chronicle and indeed got shown at the Little Theatre. Things get a tad darker from heroin in….

It is not just your settings that control what goes in your Facebook newsfeed and appears on your friends’ tickers. Anyone’s posts which have privacy set to more than “Friends” will go to all the friends of all the commenters. This is a fact you need to address now.

The news feed because of settings makes it really easy for you to cock an ear when one of your friends says something to someone you’ve never heard of! Or even the ability to see what this stranger may have written originally. This is hardly ideal and waives 2 fingers at privacy! Hover your mouse over the news ticker right now and you’ll see what I mean. You can now see replies and comments from people you don’t know. And shockingly, vice versa.

If you have previously set your privacy setting to ‘just friends’ then you should be okay but it’s worth a revisit just to make sure. The real problem lies within your friends settings though. All your Facebook buddies need to make the change to ensure privacy is adhered to.

Get all your mates to do this ASAP:

Stop using the “Friends of friends” setting and go to “friends”. This is what is broadcasting so widely and you need to change it.

If you use the “Public” setting, explain that you are doing so. Then people can decide if they want all of their friends to be informed of their comments. Clue, don’t!!!

Limit all previous posts you have made via the privacy settings . Go down to the 4th box and click on ‘Limit the Audience for Past Posts’.

Use lists to decide who you want to see things (use the privacy controls in the top right of your posts).

Encourage your friends to restrict their setting to “friends” or custom lists too. This is the important bit. Also inform strangers or the connecting friend when strangers show up in your feed. It is their settings that made them show up.

The whole issue is a bit tricky to explain, but the remedy is relatively easy. If you want to stop strangers from seeing everything you do, you and your friends need to change your privacy settings to “Friends” or custom lists. That’s it but your Facebook compadres have to do the same. If you find your friends aren’t understanding the issue, forget about explaining the details and “copy and paste” this to your status:

“If you don’t want your actions broadcast to everyone via the new Facebook ticker / news Feed please set your privacy to “Friends” and ask your friends to do the same. Pass it on.”

When you post a status update you have 3 options:

Public

The big globe icon gives it away really, post it public and its going global. This means that unless you have blocked someone specifically, everyone on Facebook can see it. That’s 800 million people being informed that you’ve just ‘followed through after a dodgy kebab’ or that ‘fluffykins’ looks cute in an old cardboard box. Worse you’ve just called your boss a ‘t*at’ or ‘is doing the walk of shame, good result’. Any such comments posted on public and they are ‘out there’.

Friends

That’s the one. This will only be shared with your official mates. There is no worry of over exposure to strangers and its green light go with friends. This is the way ahead.

Custom

Cheeky one this because it can go both ways. Custom is what you want and just keep it ‘friends’. You get a little drop down menu option here. ‘Friends of Friends’ is the killer and anything you post using that setting will be whisked off to the news ticker for all to see.

Once again Facebook have fallen foul of making this clear and you are now relying on others to plug the holes. The question is will all your ‘friends’ take heed? My advice as always is lock it down as tight as possible and don’t post anything that you wouldn’t be happy to have read out in court!

As the fight is on for social supremacy, you may want to consider Google + as a viable alternative. No cows to be thrown, no Farmville popups and no surprises with privacy changes. Happy chatting.