Friday, July 6, 2012

THE GRAPES OF ENGLAND


The English are generally considered to be a nation of beer drinkers, but they consume a lot of wine. And this may come as a shock to some of our readers, but they also produce wine. Wine was introduced to the British Isles by the Romans, but wine production sadly went into decline when Henry VIII closed down the monasteries. Since the end of the Second World War, however, English wine has started to make a comeback, particularly in the field of sparkling wines.

Julia Trustram Eve is marketing director of the English Wine Producers association. As she explained Its was been absolutely phenomenal. In the last eight years English sparkling wines have won no less than five trophies for world sparkling wines. That’s not been beaten by any other country, so that really is quite extraordinary, and this has been in competitions, some of the major ones that are UK based, but also in France and in Italy as well. So it really has put us on a global footing and that, of course, has encouraged a massive amount of very positive media interest too, which is recognized globally and they won the trophy for the best international sparkling wine. It’s the first a vineyard outside of Champagne has won that trophy. That was quite remarkable.
Julia Trustram Eve we can certainly claim that it was the English that invented the Champagne process. We have documented evidence that in 1662 an Englishman recorded the process that we now know as ‘the traditional method’, which is the addition of sugar into a wine to enhance effervescence. And this was going on in London and the resulting sparkling wines were enjoyed by Londoners more than 30 years before a certain Dom Perpignan went to Champagne and created this process in France, and nearly 70 years before the first Champagne house was founded.

Climate Change- In spite of its recent successes, the English wine industry is still very small. Total production is 3 million bottles a year, while the figure for France is around 7 billion bottles. Yet English wine production is set to increase in the future. Climate change could well play a part.
Julia Trustram Eve Global warming will benefit our wine industry. We’ve seen it already.
Those vineyards that were planted, particularly in the South of England in the 1970s, say are finding that their harvest dates are getting earlier and earlier. If you look to the Champagne region, it’s going to affect them pretty dramatically because you need this slightly cooler climate and this long growing season, to ensure the acidity in the grapes, prior to the traditional method process. And the warmer the climate, the richer and the rounder the grapes are going to get.

So champagne, if global warming does do what it does, is going to possibly become a very different drink. So you move two degrees further north and where’s that? The South East of England! So, yes, you can argue it’s going to be entirely beneficial.


Another point, potentially, is that maybe vines could be a future crop for England, as some of our more traditional arable crops are going to find it less easy to grow in a warmer climate. I think we’re predicting that by 2080 our temperature is going to go up by five degrees – is it something like that? - Pretty significant, in which case it will be too hot to grow grapes in the South of England. We’ll be growing them up in Manchester and on the shores of Loch Ness. Who knows? Manchester Merlot!



Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Carrying the little coast


Namibia's Skeleton Coast has long been a graveyard for shipwrecked sailors. Decaying sea vessels line this battered shore, from where stranded mariners perished on treacherous journeys into the unknown and unpredictable Namib Desert. So it's no surprise that few people chose to follow in the footsteps of these unfortunates.

While daytime temperatures in the Namib can reach 50 degrees Celsius, at night fogs often cloud the stars, preventing navigation. On top of this, dunes rise to 675 metres and compasses may be sent off-course by the sand's high iron-oxide and magnetide content.

Londoner Sam McConnell knew all this when he elected to scale this tempestuous landscape alone. He also knew he risked scorpion stings, snake bites and torn ligaments, of which each could be lethal.

Bound for the foreboding destination of Dead Vlei - a saltpan preserving deceased camel-thorn trees - the journey of 53km as the crow flies would, inevitably, be about 20km longer.

Sam, who had not tramped such a distance previously, longed to discover what lay beyond the desert's most accessible dunes at Sossusvlei, close to Dead Vlei. Here dunes appear in ochre, amber and apricot, with sculpted slip-faces and curved crests, perfectly formed as if by geometry, rather than nature.

But it was not until the 36-year-old flew over the desert and was dropped off by helicopter on the Skeleton Coast that the task's enormity hit home. Carrying little more than 15 litres of water and five dehydrated meals, the khaki-clad adventurer shook.

"It was overcast and the Atlantic was a steely grey with huge breakers over the dunes. As the chopper sped off, leaving me completely sand-blasted, I heard the pilot shout, 'you're stark-raving mad'," he said. "I wondered, 'what on earth have I done?'"

Rather than remaining there trembling, Sam grabbed his map and compass, got his bearings, and headed off. Within an hour he was soaked in sweat and fog vapour.

"The dunes there are multi-cyclic - so they're all over the place - making it impossible to walk in a straight line," he said. "My map of the dunes might as well have been a blank piece of paper. I'd try to focus on a point ahead, then find I couldn't because my position would change and so would the light.

"I would try to go over the lowest dune, but this wasn't always practical. Sometimes what you thought was the lowest dune, wasn't at all."

That first day Sam trudged just 5km. He said: "It was eerie that night with no visible stars, the constant roar from the waves and no other life-forms, not even grasses or beetle tracks."

As he tussled in and out of sleep, he was disturbed by the silence that allowed him to hear the blood pumping in his ears. His thoughts turned to the man who'd inspired him.

At 17 Sam worked as a survival instructor in Scotland for John Ridgeway. In 1966 John, and his friend Chay Blythe, had become the first men to row across the Atlantic. But John's influence did not take great effect until 1997, when Sam ditched his photographic career and took up safari guiding, after a trip to Namibia that rekindled his passion for the outdoors.

He said: "I was sick of London and when I arrived in Namibia I discovered the desert of my childhood dreams." As a teenager, Sam grew obsessed with deserts after watching The Sands of the Kalahari, a film actually shot in the Namib. Driving across the Kalahari one night, he dreamed up the idea of tackling the Namib.

But cold, desolate and wet, his fears echoed those of the movie's characters, stranded in these wilds after a plane crash. His teenage fantasy had the potential to turn into a nightmare.
Sam did, however, have an emergency get-out device - an Electronic Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon - which, when triggered, would have coastguards tracing him by satellite.

Getting dressed in sodden clothes and fearing the on-set of hypothermia on day two, Sam was relieved at his last minute decision to bring a tent. Although not thirsty, because it was so chilly, he forced himself to drink some of the water weighing down his 23kg backpack.

Sam's foot had just recovered from a torn ligament, induced during a practice walk on tarmac. Concerned the injury may recur, he knew it may have been prevented had he spent longer in the gym during the 18 months he'd been planning this trip of a lifetime.

But Sam had been sure his "positive mental attitude" would get him through. Before setting out, he said: "It's a real test of my mind. I'm not thinking it's going to be a gruelling challenge of me against the elements. It's about me adBy day three his compass was playing up, and at one point he walked 10km in distance but only 3km ahead. However, sighting ostrich and oryx tracks raised his spirits, as did the small plane overhead, carrying his wife Leone who was desperately hoping to spot her wayward husband.

Sam waved an old CD he'd brought with him, creating a reflection on the plane. The pilot tipped his wings - as signal that he'd seen Sam.

At times Sam was jubilant in the solitude he feared may defeat him, strolling across dunes laid down 16 million years ago. He wrote: "I feel quite at home here; I've been lonelier in London. It seems as if I am walking around at the dawn of time." Sam spent much of his time pondering the meaning of life, studying animal tracks and taking up to 20 compass readings each day. Permitting himself three breaks only a day, he would often find himself day-dreaming on top of a dune. When he descended he sometimes started a sand-slide, and became mesmerized by the motions beneath his toes.

Temperatures soared on his fourth day. Despite this, he gathered momentum and scaled dunes close to 700m, travelling some 20km.

His water bottles emptied rapidly and Sam struggled to keep going on his pitiful food rations. He decided to divide his meals into three daily portions to give his thinning body a more even spread of calories. On one occasion a famished Sam split his dinner, and had to wolf it down, sand and all.

By day five the vegetation began to thicken and the Witberg mountain came into view, though from a side Sam hadn't seen before. When Leone flew overhead once more, Sam wrote "DV PM" in the sand.

He went without lunch and raced about 20km over some of the desert's highest dunes to reach his destination by nightfall. "I was having to walk up the slip-faces, which are really soft. But I'd decided that by hook or by crook I was going to get there," he said.

When Dead Vlei finally loomed ahead, Sam shouted with glee, only to realise there was no reception committee. Leone had been held up, so Sam watched the sun go down with the weaver birds and barking geckos.

After another lonely night in his tent, with just 500ml of water to sustain his haggard body, he was greeted by a group of tourists at sunrise. When they heard Sam's story, each thrusted brimming water bottles at him. It was not long until Leone arrived.

Sam was in tears as he cuddled his wife, reluctant to let her go. Later he wrote on a photograph of himself and Leone, taken just before he left: "A farewell picture with Leone. It could have been our last."

Sam, who has since been plotting solo treks across four other deserts, said: "I still can't believe I did it. And, after so much planning, it was over so quickly. It feels like a dream, which is weird, given that's what it started as."

Monday, July 2, 2012

CHAMPION PIGEONS


FAST AND FAITHFULLY
If you go to Blackpool’s Winter Gardens on January 21st or 22nd, you will see hundreds of pigeons. They are very special pigeons. They are homing pigeons. And this is the Royal Piegon Racing Association’s BHW (British Homing World Magazine) Show of the Year.
The event attracts over 25,000 people. Awards are given to the best pigeons, and visitors can also discover everything about pigeon racing. They can meet pigeon fanciers, people who keep pigeons. And they can buy their own pigeons at auction. A champion racing pigeon can cost Euro 10,000! In Indian rupees (2lakhs)
HER MAJESTY
What is special about homing pigeons? They always fly home. You can transport them hundreds of miles, release them, and they will return home. People have used pigeons as messengers for centuries.
Pigeon racing is a traditional working-class sport in the north of England. It began during the 19th century. Gambling was very popular at that time. The postal service used pigeons to deliver messages. So people gambled on the pigeons. Then people began to buy and race the pigeons. It was common for miners and shopkeepers to have a pigeon loft in their gardens. Soon pigeon racing became a recognized sport, with clubs all over Britain and the world. Famous pigeon fanciers include Pablo Picasso, Walt Disney and boxer Mike Tyson. Queen Elizabeth is an enthusiastic pigeon fancier. She has a pigeon loft at Sandringham in Norfolk.
War stories
Pigeons were very important during the Second World War. The military used pigeons to send messages. Resistance fighters in Europe communicated with England by pigeon, for example. RAF planes always carried a pigeon. If the plane crashed, the pilot released the pigeon with the plane’s location.
A HERO
One pigeon, White Vision, was a national hero in 1943. He received the Dickin Medal. This is the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross. White Vision’s plane crashed in the Hebrides. The search for the plane failed because of terrible weather and fog. But White Vision flew 95 kilometers against 40 kilometer per hour winds. His message gave the location of the crash, and the crew was saved. Altogether 32 pigeons received medals for heroism.
What is a pigeon race?
The pigeons all have a special ring attached to their legs. In a race, the pigeons are released from a location about 160 to 800 kilomteres from their home. The birs then fly back to the same spot. Their time of arrival is registered with a special clock. Of course, the distance varies. So the average speed of each pigeon is calculated. The fastest pigeon wins. How do pigeons navigate? Experts think they use the Earth’s magnetic field and the sun. in fact, today’s mobile phone signals can confuse them.
A proud history
Pigeons were the first domesticated birds. Experts say the Rock Dove was domesticated 10,000 years ago. It is the ancestor of all pigeons today. People have kept pigeons for thousands of years. The Romans kept pigeons for food. In medieval time only nobles had permission to keep pigeons. They were an important source of meat during the winter. The Egyptians were probably the first to send messages by pigeon. They discovered that pigeons naturally return to their birth place. Aristotle mentions homing pigeons in his writing, so pigeon post has a long history. Pigeon racing, however, started in the 19th century in Belgium.

My First Post

Hello,

Welcome to my blog

“Social Network” is not a genre. It is a redundancy (electronics) a system design that duplicates components to provide alternatives in case one component fails). They are definition, social. All video games, walking in the park meeting different people, getting to know new people, communicating in computer (network), chatting, mails are, in some form or another, fundamentally about interaction between two people or by making chain of people.