Northern Lights near Reykyavik - amazing show of colour

Brilliant show of the Northern Lights near Reykjavik, Iceland, on October 30

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Royal Pavilion, Brighton, at night picture

Royal Pavilion, Brighton, at night... taken with a tiny Olympus ZX-1. Part of my picture a day project in 2013. Full size picture here

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Great Robin redbreast pose - picture

Robin: great pose for a picture of the day... UKpix.com
------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Brighton Wheel at Night picture

BRIGHTON WHEEL AT NIGHT

Part of the picture a day project 2013 at UKpix.com

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Reflections - picture of the day project

From the picture a day project 2013

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Dramatic sky over Brighton Pier - picture

Dramatic sky over Brighton Pier - picture of the day September 16
Picture a day project 2013
------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Mods and scooters - pictures of the Mod Weekender, Brighton, August Bank Holiday weekend 2013

Mod Weekender pictures, Brighton, August Bank Holiday weekend




------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Wingwalkers - daring girls on airplanes at Eastbourne air show

SEE MORE PICTURES OF EASTBOURNE AIR SHOW AT UKPIX.COM

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Fracking: Environment Agency 'altered wording' on advice about risks to drinking water in Sussex

The Government was told more than a year ago by the Environment Agency that fracking should not be allowed near aquifers - underground rocks that contain water - because the drinking supply in Sussex could be contaminated.

But the agency's head of climate change altered the wording on a public statement so it did not create "too stark a message", according to a story in the Brighton Argus.

The water near Balcombe is not suitable for drinking, but about 75 per cent of Sussex drinking water does come from underground supplies - precisely where there are huge deposits of shale gas and oil.

In a private memo to government, a senior EA official wrote that it would object to planning applications and refuse to grant an environmental permit if a company wanted to frack where aquifers are used to supply drinking water.

In one email, released after a request under the Freedom of Information Act, the official said: “Can I ask that you do not use the two sentences from … [redacted]..... while we finesse them.”

An EA spokesman told the Argus: “If the activity poses an unacceptable risk to the environment the activity will not be permitted.”

The good news, then, is that the EA would object; the bad news is that they tried to tone down the possible risks.

The toning down (or even up) of memos and reports is always fraught with danger. Weapons of Mass Destruction and Iraq springs to mind.

BRIGHTON ARGUS STORY - Secret emails reveal the risk to water in Sussex from fracking was known by officials

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Fracking debate: oil production 'unlikely' at Balcombe, says Cuadrilla

Now Cuadrilla says oil production is unlikely at Balcombe.

All that fuss and policing costs for nothing?

Transport links at other sites are more suitable, apparently.

Beneath all the hype and emotions, isn't that what the people of Balcombe had said?

It's not been ruled out totally, though.

BBC STORY


------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

It's oil, not gas, exploration at Balcombe

Everyone keeps talking about gas and Balcombe. The application to deal with NORM, which I read last night, says they are not expecting to find gas there. They are looking for oil!

Brighton Argus and PM's fracking message

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

'Radioactive substances' in Balcombe! The fracking debate as they search for oil in Sussex: is it safe?

My attention has been draw to a "permit application for a proposed radioactive substances activity" by the people exploring for oil at Balcombe, West Sussex.

What on earth is that all about? Radioactive substances? These are immediate, forgive the pun, reactions.

Cuadrilla Balcombe Limited is prospecting for oil that might be (is very likely!) trapped in the Weald Basin. This requires exploratory drilling at the site to "identify and quantify" its presence.

The company's operations do not include hydraulic fracturing - or fracking - of the rock. It is just (!) "a conventional oil well exploration activity".

Using data from a previous exploration at Balcombe (1986), Cuadrilla does not expect any gas - "although the possibility cannot be ruled out entirely" (its words).

The drilling process, like, I understand, all oil exploration or oil production, produces waste that, potentially, contains Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM).

Cuadrilla needs to deal with this radioactive material - hence the application, made a month ago, to the Environment Agency for a permit.

However, specialists in the field, say: "Given the relatively low concentrations of NORM anticipated, operations are not expected to give rise to any significant contamination issues." Note the word "significant".

Water occurs naturally in geological formations and could be released during the testing phase to become liquid waste at the surface. After hydrocarbons are separated, this waste, which might contain radioactive material, will be stored in steel containers on the site.

The company's management plan then allows for the waste to accumulate in the tanks before being transported by road tanker to treatment plants in "an [sic] manner of preventing, and where that is not possible minimising, effects on people and the environment". Words that are more disturbing than comforting.

Based on the previous Balcombe drill-site data, it has been "estimated" that approximately 82 cubic metres of waste water will arrive at the surface. If they are wrong, a total storage of three times that amount has been allowed for.

If I understand the information correctly, this waste water, when eventually carried on the roads, is "out-of-scope of the Carriage of Dangerous Goods regulations" - meaning it is "considered a low risk of harm in transit".

It's a complicated subject to grasp immediately and we have to rely on experts. So, if the Environment Agency allows the application, I can only assume that Cuadrilla has presented a good case for its Best Available Technique (BAT) Statement - safety, monitoring, storage, transport, security, etc, are all there and, hopefully, meet the requirements. The closing date for comments on the application is tomorrow (August 13).

However, remember that this is just the EXPLORATION phase.

Before going any further, someone needs to explain, in simple terms, how much Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material might be unleashed on Balcombe during any fracking operations - SHOULD THESE BE ALLOWED.

In other words, convince me it is safe - before you try to convince me that we need industrial processes in the heart of the countryside.

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Frack Free Fernhurst - worth a read

Some of this is OTT, but worth a read

http://www.frackfreefernhurst.com/

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

What if they are wrong about fracking and it does cause damage?

I'm not exactly a Green activist!

But, crossing the Ashdown Forest recently, I thought: What if they are wrong and fracking does damage the environment? I would hate to see all that fantastic countryside lost for ever.

Having read some geology reports (I do actually have a BSc in Geography and did geology and botany on the course), I understand that earthquakes are unlikely. The process expels no more energy than someone jumping from a ladder. Filling the landscape with reservoirs is more dangerous because of the weight of the water. Having said that, it's not wise to do such things in a fault zone!

However, geologists are concerned with the concrete fillings of the wells, which can crack under pressure, possibly causing contamination. Chemicals are used in the fracking process.

Another concern is that it is an industrial process in the heart of the countryside, bringing lorries, muck, noise etc etc.

My jury is out...

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Amazing Roman mosaics at Bignor Villa, Sussex, England

See some of the mosaics of Bignor Roman Villa in a gallery of pictures at UKpix.com

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Panorama of Brighton seafront, UK

http://ukpix.com/latest-pictures/brighton-seafront-panorama/

FROM THE PICTURE A DAY PROJECT 2013


------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Pictures of steam trains - the Bluebell Railway, Sussex, England

Go to the full gallery at UKpix.com

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Elvis is outside - plate that's most likely worth much more than the car - ELV15

This number plate - ELV 15 - is almost certainly worth very much more than the car - a Pontiac Firebird Tras-Am Ram Air

From the picture a day project 2013

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

London to Brighton Mini Run pictures 2013

Pictures of the London to Brighton Mini Run 2013 and print ordering now available on UKpix.com

CLICK HERE

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Picture of the day: May 31 - Nice cream van

Picture of the day, May 31:

Nice cream van!

Picture a day project 2013

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Picture of the day, May 25

Picture of the day, May 25: Ready for the onslaught...

It's bank holiday weekend in Brighton, the sun's out and the deckchairs ready by the pier... 
all the traders need now is a few bums on seats.

Picture a day project 2013

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Picture of the day, May 24 - Pure Blues

Picture of the day: May 24 - Pure Blues

Resonator guitar

Picture a day 2013 project

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Picture of the day, May 23 - After a shower

After a shower: picture of the day, May 23

Picture a day project 2013

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

The Painter: picture of the day, May 21

Picture a day project 2013
------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

South African Daisy - picture of the day, May 20

Picture a day project 2013: South African Daisy

Picture a day – 2013 

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Royal Pavilion, Brighton, panorama

Panorama of Brighton's Royal Pavilion made up of five upright images.

I had to tweak the perspective in Photoshop to make it straight because they are all taken from the same spot.

Snapped at about 8.15am when the light was splendid on the face of the building. 

I had to wait until a gardener had picked up a load of rubbish left by revellers from the night before!

It's a massive picture and Facebook probably doesn't do it justice

Peter Greenhalgh © UKpix.com

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

MG Regency Car Run pictures featured on Telegraph website

Gallery of pictures from UKpix.com of the MG Regency Car Run is featured on the Telegraph website. GO HERE

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

London to Brighton MG Regency Car Run pictures 2013 gallery and print ordering now ready

MG Car Run 2013 gallery and print ordering

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

London to Brighton MG Regency Car Run pictures 2013

London to Brighton MG Regency Car Run pictures 2013 at UKpix.com 

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Picture of the day, May 11

PICTURE A DAY 2013 PROJECT
------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

MG Regency Car Run 2013 pictures – London to Brighton

The MG Regency Car Run 2013 takes place on Sunday, May 12, 2013, when hundreds of MG cars follow a route from South London to Madeira Drive in Brighton.

Start time: 11:00
; End time: 17:00

Pictures should be available soon on UKpix.com

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

London to Brighton Historic Commercial Vehicles Run pictures 2013

London to Brighton Historic Commercial Vehicles Run gallery 2013 

Historic vehicles in Madeira Drive, Brighton

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Gary Moore: born April 4, 1952 - picture of guitarist's grave in Rottingdean

Guitarist Gary Moore was born Robert William Gary Moore in Belfast on April 4, 1952.

He died on February 6, 2011, of a heart attack while on holiday in Spain, and is buried in St Margaret's Churchyard, Rottingdean, East Sussex, UK.


------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Rooftopping: a photo from the tallest manmade structure in the world

It makes me feel sick just looking at this photo taken from the top of the world's tallest manmade structure, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai

PETAPIXEL LINK

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Pickles: the dog who saved the 1966 World Cup for England

The most famous picture in English footballing history could never have been taken without the help of a mongrel dog called Pickles.

The Jules Rimet World Cup held aloft by captain Bobby Moore had been stolen on March 20, 1966, a few weeks before England won the tournament for the first and only time.

Seven days after the cup had disappeared from an exhibition at Central Hall, Westminster, Pickles found it wrapped in newspaper under a garden hedge while out walking with his owner, David Corbett, in Upper Norwood, south London.

No doubt the collie mix was a bit disappointed that the Jules Rimet was made of solid gold worth £30,000 rather than a nice, juicy bone. But his owner would have disagreed – he received a £6,000 reward (roughly equivalent to £170,000 in today's money).

The thief was never found.

Brazil, which held the Jules Rimet trophy at the time and went on to keep it after winning the competition for the third time in 1970, was reported to have been outraged by the theft. Brazilian thieves, they said, loved football so much it would have been a sacrilege to steal the World Cup.

The Jules Rimet trophy was stolen again in 1983 – from a cabinet in Rio de Janeiro – and never recovered.

Pickles the dog died in 1967, choking to death on his lead while chasing a cat. He was buried in David Corbett's garden.


------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Bob Dylan: the first album

Bob Dylan's first album, called simply Bob Dylan, was released on March 19, 1962
------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

What do the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Ursula Andress have in common?

What do the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Ursula Andress have in common - and it's not an arch span of 503 metres?

Sydney Harbour Bridge, the one with the big arch, about 6,000,000 rivets and 52,800 tons of steel, was opened on this day (March 19) in 1932, having taken eight years to construct.

Ursula Andress, who caused the first generation of James Bond wannabes to be riveted to their seats, was born on this day in 1936.

The Swiss actress won a Golden Globe for that first Bond-girl role, emerging from the Caribbean in a white bikini and belt as Honey Ryder in Dr No (1962), and set the standard by which all Bond girls - and even Bonds themselves - are now judged.

In 1995, she was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in film history".

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Bessie: the 'Loch Ness' monster of Brighton?

Frank Searle picture claiming to be Nessie

Photographer Frank Searle, born March 18, 1921, lived in a tent beside Loch Ness, hoping to find definite proof that the monster existed.

Unfortunately, his pictures of Nessie started to improve, with increasing detail and close-ups, and a lot of people suspected they were fakes.

The Scottish Sunday Mail eventually exposed Frank in 1976, proving that one photo at least was taken from a postcard of a dinosaur.

Today, Frank's photographs would be a piece of cake…

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Amex birthday... thanks to Wells and Fargo

On March 18, 1850, Henry Wells and William Fargo founded an express mail business in Buffalo, New York – they called it American Express.

Exactly two years later, Henry and William expanded into California, creating a new company to provide the Wild West with express mail and banking services – this one they called Wells Fargo.


------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

VW camper: classic transport for the seaside - picture of the day March 18

Classic transport for the seaside: Brighton seafront
Picture a day project, March 18, 2013
WEBSITE

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

It's all gone quiet over there... Palace supporters at the Amex after Brighton went 3-0 into the lead

It's all gone quiet over there...

Crystal Palace supporters at the Amex Stadium, Brighton, after their team went 3-0 down.

PICaDAY2013 project

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Angry English Channel: breaking waves and seagulls – picture of the day, March 16

Wild

Sometimes an ultra-sharp, colourful picture just doesn't capture the mood... especially of an angry Channel on a very grey, wet and stormy day.

PICaDAY2013 project

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

'Et tu, Brute?' Probably not... the Ides of March and the death of Julius Caesar

To this day, flowers are still laid at the
statue of Julius Caesar in Rome

It's the Ides of March, one of the most famous days in history that, arguably, resulted in one of the most spectacular unintended consequences ever and spawned a famous Latin phrase that was probably never uttered.

Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated by eight senators, calling themselves the Liberatores (Liberators), at the Curia of Pompey in Rome on March 15, 44 BC.

Although Brutus was among the killers who stabbed Caesar several times, it is most unlikely that the dictator said "Et tu, Brute?", or for that matter anything else in Latin. Indeed, he might not have said a single word, although this is still disputed.

Roman historian Suetonius (70AD-130) reported that some people said Caesar's last words were in Greek: "Kαὶ σύ, τέκνον" - meaning "You too, child?" Yet, both he and Greek historian Plutarch (46AD-120) claim that Caesar said nothing, just pulling a toga over his head when he saw Brutus was among the group.

"Et tu, Brute?" comes from William Shakespeare's play. But it is not based on historical evidence, being just a nice phrase that was popular during the great hack's time.

And the unintended consequence?

The Liberators thought they were doing exactly that, liberating the Romans from a would-be king and tyrant. Although about 40 people joined the plot, it was not supposed to be a coup d'état. They believed the death of just one man would be symbolically effective. Is wasn't.

The assassination led to civil wars, the death of the republic and the birth of an empire under Caesar's adopted son and heir, his great-nephew Octavius – or Caesar Augustus, the first, all-powerful Roman emperor and 'living god'.




------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Stunning panorama of Brighton Pier at sunset

This panorama of Brighton Pier at sunset is made of several upright pictures

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Dickensian lanes... Brighton, Sussex

The Lanes, Brighton.

The idea was to make this image look vaguely Dickensian. Not, strictly speaking, without manipulation. That's why it isn't picture of the day.

Think it still works, though.



------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

March 14: picture of the day - location, location, location

Picture of the day, March 14: Location, location, location.

You have to admire this artist's choice as she sits on a very busy road with her back to the sea...

(Oh, and this hotel has got to be at least half a mile from the Lanes. Nice views, though - the other way!)

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Cross-disciplinary fruiting and budding...

Might I also suggest that all budding cross-disciplinary creatrices brush up on the use of the apostrophe before they use the English language to reinforce their credentials!

Brighton Library display again...

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Transition to clap-trap...

Que? (Brighton Library display)

We Brightonians have always been tolerant (!), so long as some things aren't required behaviour.

But some people think our acceptance means they can produce unadulterated clap-trap.

I'm not knocking International Women's Day. You can have a Little Green Men's Day for all I care (although it might end up as Little Green Thing-Me-Bobettes' Day).

But, please...

"'Transition' unites the artists and the development process behind the show as we move from local to international, one gender to two."

Loosely translated, I think it means: Men can also be artists. And they produce art locally and across the world. So, we have now allowed them to do it on Women's Day.

And another thing…

One of the 'artists' calls herself a "Cross-disciplinary Creatrix"

There was a time when you could get arrested for that!


------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

March 14: Pi Day

It's Pi Day on March 14

The annual celebration commemorates the mathematical constant π (pi), which, of course (!), is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter.

It's March 14 (or 3/14) because 3, 1 and 4 are the three most significant digits of π in the decimal form: 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510 58209 74944 59230 78164 06286 20899 86280 34825 34211 70679 etc, etc.

So, now you know!


------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

The extraordinary war of 'Mad Jack' Churchill, the soldier armed with a longbow, arrows, broadsword and bagpipes

As the nickname suggests, British soldier "Mad Jack" Churchill was a nutcase, striding to war armed with a longbow, arrows, a broadsword and bagpipes – the Second World War that is, not Agincourt.

And, despite Commando raids in Norway and Sicily, fighting with partisans in Yugoslavia, being captured and flown to Berlin for interrogation, escaping from a concentration camp, not to mention a very close shave with the SS, this amazing eccentric survived into old age.

Lieutenant Colonel John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming "Jack" Churchill, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar said "any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly armed".

He was pretty good with a bow, too, shooting for Britain at the 1939 World Archery Championships in Oslo, Norway. Indeed, he is believed to have been the only British soldier to have felled an enemy with a longbow during World War Two – hardly surprising!

"Mad Jack" died on March 8, 1996, aged 89.

FULL STORY


------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

What happened on this day in history? read all about it...

Read what happened on this day in history at http://onthisday.ukpix.com/


------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Picture of the day: March 5, 2013 This is sooo Brighton!

From the PICaDAY2013 project by Peter Greenhalgh
Website

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

The naming of the Shrew... or the prototype that became the most famous combat aircraft in history - the Supermarine Spitfire

Prototype number K5054 took off from Eastleigh Aerodrome, Southampton, for its first flight on March 5, 1936. After just eight minutes, Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers, chief test pilot for Vickers, landed the plane and said: "Don't touch anything."

It was to become the most famous combat aircraft in history: the Supermarine Spitfire.

NAMING OF THE SHREW...

One of the names submitted by the Air Ministry for its sexy new fighter just before the Second World War was the "Shrew". Um, try again boys!

Spitfire was suggested by Sir Robert McLean, director of Vickers-Armstrongs, who called his daughter "a little spitfire" – meaning someone with a fiery personality.

The name had been used before, unofficially, by the aircraft's designer, R. J. Mitchell, on an earlier design – because, he said, it was "just the sort of bloody silly name they [the RAF] would choose".

Spitfire then, helped by the right name, shrewd PR [propaganda], the "Spitfire Fund" organised and run by Lord Beaverbrook, plus being slightly more curvy than her older sister, became the most glamorous aircraft of World War Two.

So glamorous, in fact, that British fighter pilots used to lie down the pub about what planes they flew and even captured Germans claimed to have shot her down when they hadn't.

Yet, she wasn't actually the best combat aircraft. Although slower in a straight line, the more numerous, more manoeuvrable and tougher Hawker Hurricane was flown by most of the Allied fighter aces and outscored the Spitfire in the Battle of Britain.

And what of the brilliant designer R. J. Mitchell? He didn't live long enough to see his creation soar to such lofty heights, dying of cancer on June 11, 1937.


------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Why Brighton's new 20mph speed limit is just a can of slow worms

One of these days someone will explain to me the logic behind the transport policies of Brighton council… the Green one that had to do a U-turn on massively increasing parking charges because it drove away visitors, left councillors with a £200,000 black hole in the budget (told them it would!) and angered local shops and businesses.

In the latest battle against the motorist, the council will turn much of the city into a 20mph zone next month and, to this end, has started to erect numerous signs and to paint the roads with roundels. Not, you might think, a problem. However…

Signage, as I argued with a previous council when new parking signs degraded not only the view of Royal Crescent but also the sea view from the Grade II properties, is a scourge on historic towns.

You might expect today's Green council to agree. Indeed, in January this year, the "chair" (one with two legs, I guess) of the council’s transport committee, Ian Davey, said: "We’re in favour of removing what our traffic experts regard as excess signage and road clutter".

Excellent, well done! Ah, but… with the new hopping in and out of 30mph to 20mph zones, NEW signs and road markings are popping up, especially along the seafront – one of the city's greatest assets. I suppose they are considered "necessary".

Is the new limit for safety reasons? Why then will the original 30mph remain on the road I consider to be the most dangerous near me? Perhaps it's because no one takes a blind bit of notice anyway. Is it actually enforced? (Which opens up another can of slow worms).

Then there is the shiny new 20mph sign that's about to be unveiled on a minuscule lane leading off this road. You can just about get down it, but not without mounting the pavement on to which several house front doors open. Anyone who "raced" along there at more than a few miles an hour should be prosecuted for dangerous driving. And yet they wouldn't have broken the new limit imposed by the sign.

So, is this lower limit to save fuel? I doubt it… there must be many cars such as mine that can't get out of third gear at 20mph. I'm no expert, but wouldn't that mean my using up MORE fuel?

An AA test in 2008 showed that "cutting the speed limit from 30 mph to 20 mph on the wrong roads can increase CO2 emissions by more than 10% with the result that well-intentioned safety schemes may backfire in environmental terms".

One study pours scorn on the argument that more fuel is used and thus more CO2 emitted at 20mph because, it says, journey times will not be significantly increased as delays at junctions and other places will be the same (which, incidentally, shoots down any hope that a lower limit will reduce congestion).

The council has an excuse for this lower limit, of course. "The aim of the programme," it says, "is to improve the street environment for all road users, including car drivers, by reducing the number and severity of collisions and casualties on the city’s roads, improving traffic flows and making the city a safer and better place to live in.

"We hope that making the streets safer and more pleasant to use will encourage more cycling and walking especially for local trips. This will not only bring road safety benefits, but will also help to improve overall health and wellbeing, reduce congestion and could improve air quality."

Mumbo jumbo?

1) How does new signage and using more fuel "improve the environment"?
2) How are the roads safer if the limit is not enforced?
3) More people won't cycle, or walk just because the limit has been reduced by 10mph. Being hit by a bus at 20mph will still hurt… quite a lot, I guess… even if you are minding your own business on a cycle lane or pavement.
4) How does a new limit reduce congestion? Any way, if you did reduce congestion, more cars would actually be travelling faster! Does the council think you can drive at 30mph in a traffic jam?
5) Note the "could improve air quality". Is there any evidence?

So, does all this matter if the 20mph scheme makes the streets safer?

I would argue that the money would be better spent elsewhere.

A Brighton council spokesman said only four months ago: "We are fortunate in that Brighton and Hove sees relatively low casualty numbers, compared to the size of population, both residential and visiting, and traffic on the roads."

Six people were killed on the roads of Brighton in 2011, out of a population of about 273,000 plus millions of visitors, and the number appears to be static.

Twenty times that number will die this year from drink and drugs abuse.

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Picture a day: bluesman Kent DuChaine

Bluesman Kent DuChaine in Brighton

Blues star Kent DuChaine plays his 1934 National Steel guitar called "Leadbessie" at the Ranelagh Arms in Brighton last night (March 3)

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

Picture a day 2013: March 2 - wired sunset

Wired sunset: picture a day 2013 project by Peter Greenhalgh

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

What on earth do you say when the football team you manage gets thrashed?

1) Make the heavy defeat sound like a draw …

Norwich boss Chris Hughton (beaten 4-0 by Manchester United): "We were still very much in the game." (Norwich had only one shot, but at least it was on target!)

2) Concede that the opposition were better. Well, almost... 

"You have to give Liverpool credit... but I think we were to blame for the scoreline" – Wigan's Roberto Martinez after a 4-0 defeat at home.



3) Deny it's your fault – especially if the team you picked were 5-0 adrift within just 76 minutes…



"I don't think it was down to our system or tactics" – Birmingham boss Lee Clark (lost 5-2 at Hull).



4) Divert the blame (it was so unfortunate!) …



"It wasn't a corner and then we conceded… the second goal led to a capitulation. The two goals that followed came as a result of us thinking about the misfortune we suffered" - Huddersfield boss Mark Robins after losing 4-1 to Brighton. Nothing to do with Ulloa's well-taken hat-trick, of course.

 ------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

FEBRUARY 25: picture a day project

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players –
William Shakespeare (As You Like It)

Picture a day project 2013 by Peter Greenhalgh. Dedicated website HERE
------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix

FEBRUARY 19: picture a day project 2013

Dawn over Brighton. February 19 picture of the day project 2013

See the picture of the day dedicated website section: PICaDAY2013

------------------------------
Website: http://ukpix.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/UKpix/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ukpix