This is what it looks like:

The quality of this version can’t  be faulted, it provides a really nice interface and works a treat with my Numark Total Control MIDI/Mixer unit. The FX are fab and the extra one you get over the Duo version give some more flexibility. I now need to spend some more time messing with the software with the mixer and soundcard to capture some beats to see how go. One thing that also works really well is the looping facility as you can get some really neat samples.

The final hurdle I need to overcome before I can play some more is to finish re-importing my CDs, which were also lost during the disk failure and finding that extra time.

(image from Panasonic website)

Spent some time this evening checking out music on YouTube and have come to the conclusion it really is a good source for finding that tune from your past that maybe you had forgotten about or had not time to dig out of your tape, vinyl or CD library. I was surprised how easy it was to find music past and present, for example read a review of a new version of a house classic from the 80s from T Coy called Carino and there it was on YouTube to listen to it here so I dug around and found tracks from Kim Mazelle, Soul II Soul and so on..

The next set of gem of I stumbled across were a great deal of pretty decent mixes and megamixes for all sorts. May be I should dust down my one remaining Technics SL1200, the numark total control and the macbook pro to put together some mixes for YouTube. Let see if time ever permits…

Each room had its own unique design and I got the Fairy Tale designed room by Campion Bell, not exactly my taste.

But to compensate there was some sloe gin

The hotel had a spa, golf course and provided activities like snooker, archery and clay pigeon shooting for guests. We got to do some archery and clay pigeon shooting after the meeting before dinner.

The overall experience was fab and I cannot fault the service , food and experience. The hotel is not cheap, but if you want a different hotel break and have a special occasion I would go for it. Below are some more pictures I took on the trip.

This week I have had my Canon S90 compact camera for six months and every time I pick it up I am never disappointed. Unfortunately in six months I have also dropped it twice so it now has some dents and scratches.

So in six months I have taken 3692 photos and that equates to roughly 20 pictures a day which doesn’t sound a lot until you take into account my other camera that has clocked up another 4135 photos in that period so about 43 pictures a day.

The size of the camera is perfect to carry around with me on nearly every occassion and this has meant that  can keep some variety in the photos I have taken as part of my Photo2010 project www.scouller.biz

I am impressed with the quality of the pictures, they are always clear and sharp except where I get it wrong

The car was a 530d SE Saloon with the following specifications:

• Black Sapphire Metallic paint
• Black Dakota Leather interior
• Dynamic Pack
  • Sports Front Seats
  • High gloss shadowline
  • Sports Steering Wheel
  • Anthracite headlining
  • 19″ W Light Alloys style 332
• Media Pack – Professional
  • 10.2″ widescreen sat nav
  • BMW assist, portal & telematics
  • Hard drive
• Heated Front Seats
• Fine Brushed Aluminium trim
• Automatic Gearbox

The interior was very comfortable and the sports seats are better than the ones on the E60 Touring I have at the moment. I would prefer a slightly smaller and chunkier sports steering wheel, but the one fitted was comfortable and worked well with the cars new all electric steering system. The central tunnel is much higher than that of the E60 touring and therefore gives the impression of a smaller more enclosed cockpit. The rear seats had plenty of legroom, but given that most passengers in the back are likely to be no older than 3 in the short term this is not a big issue. The boot is massive, but not a big as the new E Class Merc, but plenty big enough for most trips.

Now for driving the engine is a peach, in comparison to my current 3.0 diesel this one responds immediately so no gearbox or turbo lag and is very free revving all the way to the red line. But for me the highlight of this car is the eight speed automatic gearbox, it is fantastic piece of engineering and drives beautifully. You don’t notice the changes and when you want to push on it just gets on with it without fuss or hassle. I reset the fuel consumption meter when I got the car (it was reading average of 36mpg) and managed a respectable 33mpg over a very short amount of driving mainly on twisty roads or in rush hour traffic, plus I did take advantage of the sport mode a few times. This is going to be a massive improvement over the 27.1mpg I have averaged over the last 20months with my current car.

The handling of the car was good, but was slightly upset by the 19″ wheels on run flats, I expect I would go for 18″ wheels instead as a better compromise of looks versus handling. On twisty roads it changed direction without fuss, but did get a little unsettled on those fat boys. The ride is softer than the E60, but that is also due to the E60 being an M Sport variant.

So as a car I want one, it ticks all the boxes for me. The only thing that I would change is I would be more inclined for the M Sport version that is due later in the year, but currently it is not available so would not fit with my timescales and is going to be at least a couple of grand more expensive. I got to see the new 535d M Sport Touring at the PGA on Sunday and it looks fab in carbon black, but I think the SE version looks good and BMW have done a better job of the SE look in comparison to the E60 SE saloon.

The other person to give the F10 the thumbs up was LCJ as you can see below…

In case you have been under a stone for the last four days or engrossed in the UK election drama (not) there has been a slight issue with a volcano in Iceland. This has caused the off airport and airspace to be closed completely for flights.

Having headed out very early on Wednesday morning leaving home at 4.30am for Gatwick and the joys of Easyjet. All went well and we arrived completely knackered at 9.15am local time at Praha Airport.

We realised that there was an issue when I saw a reference on twitter that UK airspace had been completely closed for the first time since 9/11. Having seen the odd false alarm etc we didn’t worry about it until it became clear on Friday morning that we might not be able to get a flight home on Saturday as scheduled. The adventure began that Friday morning while out and about in Praha we were check websites contacting family and looking at options.

It became clear the only option would be to get the train north and get a lift back to the UK via Eurotunnel.

After completing our research we decided it was time to book our travel and prepare for the trip. We went back to the hotel after lunch and got hunting for those train tickets. Unfortunately we couldn’t book the train tickets online which was a shame, but had identified a sleeper service from Praha to Koln and onto Brussels. We spoke to the hotel who recommended a trip to the central station to buy our tickets. The station was packed and the ticket office was worse, so we joined a queue and waited in line. After about 5minutes we spotted a sign being moved around stating another ticket counter was opening. CJ rushed off to check and a minute later mine phone rang instructing me to get to her quick as there were only two people in front of her in the queue.

The ticket office checked around and it became clear that no services out of Praha that day were available, but she checked for Saturday and there was a Praha – Nurnberg – Frankfurt – Brussels route available. So we booked it immediately without firstly worrying about what was 8000 Czech Koruna and was leaving at 5.04am.

We arranged with CJ’s Dad to get Eurotunnel tickets on the Saturday to do a same day return that had increased from the morning price of £29 each way to over £100 each way.

Saturday
Saturday morning started early we us getting up at 4am (3am BST) to grab our taxi to the station at 4.30am. This was on time and a reasonable 250 CK (about £9) given the unearthly time. We arrived at what seemed a very empty station and went to find the departure boards so we knew which platform the train was going to depart from. Our train the R350 Karel ?apek left about 2mins late but hey ho. The train was pretty full with most seats taken in our carriage. The chatter was amazing a real international service on this little four carriage train heading to Germany and Nurmberg. We have a Belgium family, a number of Czechs, three English, some italians, an american, a chinese man just sitting around us. But not a sound of german to be heard.

Our train stopped at the following

• Praha hl.n. Metro
• Praha-Smíchov
• Beroun
• Ho?ovice
• Rokycany
• Plze? hl.n.
• Domažlice
• Furth i Wald
• Cham(Oberpf)
• Schwandorf
• Amberg
• Nürnberg Hbf

Total Distance 355km in approximately 5 hours.

The journey was smooth and the sunrise was excellent over the Czech countryside which was proceeded by a beautiful mist. Unfortunately I was very tired and the windows very dirty so didn’t get any pictures. We had some food on the train from the trolley service and I was almost covered in hot water when the urn fell off the trolley.

My phone welcomed me to Germany at 8.11am around the time we stopped at Furth i Wald. We arrived at Nurnberg at 10am and spotted a train on the opposite platform going to Frankfurt. We checked with the guard and yes it was good for Frankfurt and got us there an hour early than scheduled so reducing the risk of missing the connection. Now Deutsche Bahn know how to comfortable travel with the second class seating on an ICE travel really good. CJ had a bit of a run in with a german man who thought that his ticket gave him rights to the whole table and all the legroom under that table. Fortunately for us a nice woman offered CJ her seat and then tore a strip off the man.

We got delayed outside Aschaffenburg for 15mins. The train stopped at Würzburg Hbf, Aschaffenburg Hbf and then Frankfurt(Main)Hbf. The driver told everyone onboard that the train would terminate at Frankfurt airport instead of going onto Koln. We had covered about another 15okms. We should have known that things would change on route.

At Frankfurt we got some Euros and grabbed a traditional snack, OK we had hot dogs before heading to the platform to wait for our train to arrive.

I took the chance to take some photos as a record of the journey and I like this one as we have been traveling since 4.25am by Taxi and two trains so far 8hours into the journey.

Took this of the ICE service to Paris that was departing from the same platform as our Brussels train would be. The train we would be getting would be splitting at Koln with half going to Amsterdam and half to Brussels, so we double checked we had the right half. We managed to find unreserved seats with a table so we could make ourselves comfortable.

The train was due to leave at 13.29 but it was held for some connections to make Frankfurt thus allowing other travellers to get to Brussels. We could see streams of people get on and before long it was packed with plenty of people standing.

The train was stopping at the following stations:

• Frankfurt(Main)Hbf
• Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbf
• Köln Hbf
• Aachen Hbf
• Liège-Guillemins
• Bruxelles-Nord
• Bruxelles-Midi

It was clear very early into the journey thanks to our fellow travellers that we were taking the scenic route to Koln along the Rhine. We had some interesting characters on the train who helped the extended journey pass by a little quicker. So instead of 65mins to get to Koln it took 120mins. The train finally arrived in Brussels at 6.20pm after 4hrs 30mins and about 300kms. We rang CJ’s Dad and he met us by Sam’s Cafe where we grab some supplies and headed out to drive to Calais to catch our EuroTunnel this time 200kms in a car.

Got the nine o’clock train and arrived in UK about 8.40pm and hit the motorway only to get stopped by the police. After a short delay we were back on the way to Gatwick to pick up the car. The airport was very quiet and strange but made getting the car and heading off to CJ’s parents. We eventually arrived there at about 10.45pm and the end of an epic journey of 19hrs 18mins, one taxi, two cars, four trains, five countries and 1054kms (655 miles)….

Future travelling tips:

1. Carry some Euros
2. Carry Driving License
3. Don’t go on short breaks
4. Be prepared

James Crozier Scouller (1938-2010)

This sounds so formal as everyone knew him as Jim or Jimmy. He was born in Aberdeen in 1938 and about 3 years later he moved to North London where he spent the rest of his life. Jim was the oldest of 5 children and his siblings are Mary (deceased), Leslie, Michael and Elizabeth.

After school Jim initially started to train as a French polisher. Due to a perforated eardrum he was unable to do National Service. He then followed in his family’s footsteps and became a fishmonger.

In the mid 50s he met Eileen Summers at Alexandra Palace, in the dark. On their first date he did not recognise her, but when he did, was quick to tell her that he had no money so could not take her anywhere. This was the story of his life. Eileen was the love of his life, as he insisted on telling everyone until the end. They went on to have 2 children – Lesley and David. And then there were 2 grandchildren – Max and Cameron. Jim loved little children.

In spite of his upbringing in England, he never forgot his roots and remained fiercely Scottish to the end, always supporting Scotland in any sporting event that took place.

Jim loved to fish. He was never happier than when he was by water, be it sea, river, or even looking into the window of a fishmonger’s shop. In his teens he regularly took his little ‘bro’ Reg fishing on the River Lea and other places.

Later in life his favourite saying was that he was ‘going to see a man about a dog’. This inevitably meant that he was going to the pub. He was great socialite and had many friends. He even used to go to the pub with his daughter and her friends.

As a fishmonger he always brought home the unexpected, much to the dismay of Eileen. Sometimes it was eels, others it was lobster – on each occasion wriggling across the kitchen worktop, still in their plastic bag. Often he would not tell Eileen which fish he had cooked until she had tasted it, for example in the 1980s he brought home shark. He loved to cook fish. Lesley remembers sitting so close to him at supper (after her bed time) so she could taste something delicious that he had cooked. Usually it was one of the most expensive fish, such as halibut. So she was told she had champagne taste but beer money – thanks to dad she still does.

During the 80s Jim worked for a Jewish fishmonger where he fitted in well. However, he would take in sandwiches made of ham or luncheon meat and eat them in secret under the stairs. He always had a naughty streak.

Jim was an Arsenal fan. David, his son, to this day is a staunch Arsenal fan. For a time Jim worked next to the Arsenal Stadium as a fishmonger and also in the Arsenal Tavern where he mingled with fans and players.

Jim was, as anyone who knew him would confirm, a law unto himself. Even his time of death has caused confusion as he died as the clocks changed to BST on 28 March 2010. That would have amused him as he had a great sense of humour.

His brother Michael says he will always remember that Jim died at the start of summertime.

Jim was a people person. He was fond of strays, be they human or animal. He was the first to bring home a lonely person or a dog. He would always take care of anyone who needed it. He helped every little old lady or man he met. He walked dogs, fed cats, fetched shopping, delivered newspapers, even when he was not in the best of health himself. That is why he knew so many people and will be greatly missed.

Jim would have hated a funeral, as he wanted to be put in a wheelie bin, but for once we got the better of him! He did not want flowers, so we got thistles, the national flower of Scotland. We think that we did him proud, and although he did not want a ceremony or any fuss, we would like to think that he would have a smile on a face if he could be here. His immediate family (wife, son and daughter) chose the music, readings and poems. This was what we hope he would have liked.

Jim/Jimmy/Jim the fish, however you knew him, will be missed by more than we realise. There are so many anecdotes about his life that there is not time to include them all. He was a fun person and great to be around.

There are a lot of people who could not make this occasion, but they have sent their wishes via his wife and children.

So Flower of Scotland, goodbye. We will not forget you. Bless you Jim.

————————–

Written By Lesley (my sister) and based on many peoples’ memories of Dad, This captures his life and his sense of humour and is not intended to offend anyone

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