Life in Derby, United Kingdom

The oldest newspaper in Derby

2009-11-14T01:09:00.000-08:00

Derby Mercury is the oldest newspaper in Derby. Publication commenced on 30 March 1732. For issue number three onwards, a woodcut masthead was printed, showing a view of the City of Derby, with an explanation of the principal buildings shown.

The cover price for this weekly newspaper was six pence in 1800, each issue being four pages of five columns, as was common with newspapers of this time, as was also typical for many newspapers of its time, it circulated widely outside Derby. It: 'Advocates the interests of agriculture, commerce, manufactures, literature and the Church of England'.

By 1800, the departments of the newspaper included: Friday's mail, advertisements, finance, Saturday & Sunday's mails, Tuesday's mail from the London Gazette, poetry, births, marriages, and deaths, Wednesday's mail, and, beginning in 1800, shipping news.

By 1899, the departments were: public notices, local news, district news, correspondence, serial fiction, literature, police news, gardening notes, London and other notes, and the morning's gossip.

In 1864 Mitchell's Directory was able to write: 'Great attention is paid to all local proceedings, of which some space is weekly devoted to the reviews of new books and music. It is the oldest established paper in the county, and is principally supported by the nobility, clergy, gentry, agriculturists, and tradesmen in the neighbourhood'.

The current description in the open public access catalog is more generic, summarizing the way in which a city newspaper aspired to widen its horizons in the search for readership:

Includes local, British, Parliamentary, European and American news, birth, death and marriage notices, stock prices, bankrupts, lottery news, trial news, patent medicines, employment notices, extracts from private letters (some in translation), original poetry, advertisements (some booksellers'), and reprinted material from other newspapers, including The Whitehall Evening Post, The St. James's Evening Post, The London Gazette, The General Evening Post, and Lloyd's British Chronicle.

Publication History: Variant Titles

Drewry's Derby Mercury (23 March 1732-4/11 October 1787)

The Derby Mercury (25 December 1788-1938?)

Derbyshire Advertiser and Derby Mercury (21 October 1949-12 March 1964)

Derby Lions Club Christmas Appeal 2009

2009-11-10T02:18:00.000-08:00

A Christmas appeal letter from Derby Lions Club, which invites schoolchildren from across the county to donate food and drink to the needy. The campaign, which is being supported by the Derby Telegraph, and was officially launched at a ceremony at the Derby Telegraph's offices in Meadow Road, Derby Mayor Sean Marshall attended the ceremony.

Derby Lions has been running Christmas collections for more than 20 years and, 10 years ago, the group first decided to invite schools to join the appeal.

Dear Parent,

Your Child's school has given us permission to ask you to support our Annual Christmas Appeal for the Needy and Lonely.

May we kindly ask you to send a Tin of Food or a Packet of Non-perishable Food or Drink that will be included in our Parcels which will be distributed week commencing 30th November.

Your Children's School will be mentioned in the Derby Telegraph and we extend our thanks for your anticipated support.

Barbara Edmuns

Derby Lions Club President

Caterpillar becomes Butterfly

2009-11-08T05:11:00.000-08:00

Brenda's masterpiece, Caterpillar becomes a beautiful butterfly.

Lib Dem's Derby North Constituency News

2009-11-04T02:42:00.000-08:00

General Election is lust a few months away. Gordon Brown MUST call a General Election by next June. Most political pundits now think it will be May 2010.

Derby North has been dramatically changed in the boundary changes. Lib Dem strongholds of Littleover and Mickleover move into the new Derby North constituency whereas Conservative areas like Allestree and Spondon have moved out.

Political experts say that Boundary changes help Lib Dems, which would have been in a clear second place on the new boundaries in 2005. And local election results also point to the Lib Dems doing well. At the last three local elections in the Derby North constituency, in 2006, 2007 and 2008 Labour's vote plummeted. At the last Election, Labour 40%, Lib Dem 31%, Conservatives 26%. Labour also lost five councillors across the area, with the Lib Dems being the biggest winners. The Lib Dems have 12 councillors in the constituency, Labour seven and the Conservatives just two.

Labour's current MP has announced he is standing down. His replacement faces a challenge defending Labour's record. So, the next General Election in Derby North will be a competition between local Lib Dem Lucy Care with a new Labour candidate. The Conservatives' candidate from Northampton, who was called an 'outsider' by Lib Dem, despite his claims to live in Derby, official Council records in Northampton show that he lives in Northampton South constituency.

Liberal Democrat challenger Lucy Care

"I love living in this area - and always have done," said Lucy. Lucy and her husband Ian, have raised their three children: Jennifer, Alec and Henry here.

"My older two are both now at University," she added.

Lucy's family live in Littleover, the area which Lucy has represented on both Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council since 1993.

"I was born in Derby I moved to Warwickshire when I was six when my father got a job with
Warwick University,but I moved back to Derby after school and permanently when I finished University." she said.

"Engineering is in my blood," explained Lucy "My father is an engineer and I followed in his footsteps. I began my working career at Courtaulds in Spondon. I took a break to concentrate on my work as a local councillor but my husband still works in engineering at Rolls Royce."

Lucy is very involved in her local community and has been a local councillor for Littleover for nearly twenty years.

Her role as a councillor has helped Lucy fight for Derby - and she has won many campaigns for the area. Just recently she has been at the forefront of a campaign to get the Government to include the Midland Mainline on the high speed rail upgrade. Derby is a place Lucy is proud of - and she's always tried to play a role in the local community. Before being elected she wrote the newsletter for Derby Cycling Group and for many years served on the Littleover Live at Home Committee.

Lucy added: "I love living here and would be honoured to represent the area in Parliament. If elected, I would work tirelessly to get a better deal for our area."

The Liberal Democrat Parlimentary Campaigner Lucy Care is a keen environmentalist. "The new solar pv panels on Rivermead House are just one of a range of measures that Lib Dems have pushed for." said Lucy, "Tackling climate change remains one of my top priorities."

(Source: Lib Dem's Derby North Constituency News. This newsletter is delivered free to all homes across the Abbey, Chaddesden, Darley, Derwent, Littleover, Mackworth and Mickleover areas of Derby.)

Reception class 2009

2009-11-02T08:12:00.000-08:00

Photographers recently visited child's school and took photographs of her reception class.I scanned from the proof sample, it's black and white, printed on an A4 paper, a bit dark and blurred.

Celebrate "Rpaid Dah

2009-10-22T08:27:00.000-07:00

THE LOCAL AUTHORITY HAVE INFORMED US OF HALF-TERM ROALD DAHL ACTIVITIES AT DERBY CITY LIBRARIES.

To celebrate trie film release of Roald Dahl's 'Fantastic Mr Fox' at local cinemas from 23 October, libraries across the city will be running free, fun, Roald Dahl-themed activity sessions during the schools' half-term holiday. Activities include quizzes, crafts and Roald Dahl story extracts and 'revolting rhymes'. All sessions are suitable for children aged from six to 12 years.
Children can also enter a 'Fantastic Mr Fox' word search competition to win free tickets to see the film at the Odeon Cinema at the Meteor Centre. All correct word searches will be entered into a free prize draw and there is one prize draw at every library in Derby; each with a prize of two cinema tickets.

The competition runs from Saturday 24 October to Saturday 31 October 2009, and children can pick up an entry form at any library

Further information including session dates and times is available from local libraries or on the libraries' website at www.derbM.qov.uk/iibraries.

School Meals

2009-10-19T04:02:00.000-07:00

You can bring you sandwiches to school, or eat school dinner. You have to hand in school dinner money on Monday morning of each week. But if you don't, the dinner laddy won't let your child be hungry, they give your child lunch, but you may be in debts. It is reported in local Telegraph that one headteacher threatened to call in sheriff to recover unpaid debts for school dinner and other expenses, such as school strips.

My daughter wishes she can eat school dinner in the large dinner hall instead of in her classroom, because school dinner has ice cream, she says. Then I found out that she just doesn't like tomato or cucumber in her sandwiches. But my wife says Schoool Meals are very expensive, and how we wish we can apply free school meals, because only parents in receipt of benefits can apply for Free School Meals.

Below is a copy of the Protocol for School Meals Debts.

Protocol for School Meals Debts

1. Introduction
The Local Authority no longer Invoices parents for unpaid school dinners. From 1st September 2006, the Primary School will be responsible in full for any school meals debts incurred by parents.
The Primary School will adopt a 'zero tolerance' approach to unpaid school meals debts. Parents will be informed of this approach via the parental newsletter. The paying of school meals will form part of the Home/School Agreement between the school and parents.
All parents will be provided with a copy of the protocol at the beginning of each school year or when their child joins the school.
2. Protocol
Stage 1
All school meals must be paid for in full on Monday of each week. Payment must be made for meals in advance. If a child is absent on Monday, then the parent must pay on the first day that the child returns to school. No child should be sent to school without the money to pay for their school meal.
Parents who do not want their child to have a school meal should provide a packed lunch or arrange to take their child home for the lunch period.
Stage 2
If a child comes to school without the money to pay for their school meal, a member of the administrative team will endeavour to make telephone contact with the parent of the child concerned. The parent will be asked to bring the school meal money or sandwiches before 12.00pm. The parent may choose to take the child home for the lunch period if they are unable to pay or bring in sandwiches.
Stage 3
If the parent does not comply with the options in Stage 2, the Headteacher will send a letter (see Appendix A) explaining that their child has been given a school meal which has not been paid for. The letter will explain that the school will begin legal proceedings against the parent to recover the school meal debt.
For each subsequent unpaid school meal the dinner debt will accrue and school will continue to instigate legal proceedings to recover the school meal debt. In these cases, a letter will be sent to parents on each occasion that an unpaid school meal has been provided (see Appendix B).

Regardless of the size of any debt accrued, no child will be prevented from having a school meal.
Parents in receipt of benefits will be encouraged to apply for Free School Meals.
Parents will be required to give one months notice in writing if they wish to change dinner arrangements. Daily changes from dinners to sandwiches and vice-versa will not be tolerated unless there are exceptional circumstances.
3. Review
This protocol will be reviewed annually.
These guidelines were written in July 2006.
Agreed:
To be reviewed:

Appendix

Date:.....................

Dear Parent of

Dinner Money Debt
A member of the schools Administrative Team telephoned you this morning about the unpaid dinner money you owe us. According to our records, this amount was not paid by 12.00pm and you now owe us £ ____ in total.
School operates a zero tolerance policy to dinner money debts. We would like to remind you that dinner money should be paid in full on Monday morning or on the first day that your child returns to school.
Please send the full amount owing with your child in the morning and we will then be able to continue to provide a school dinner. Unless we receive the above amount in full with your child tomorrow, the school will have no alternative but to instigate legal proceedings against you to recover the debt.
A copy of the schools Protocol for School Meals Debts is available on request. Thank you in anticipation of your co-operation.

Yours sincerely

Headteacher

Why does City Council keeps sending out Electoral Register form to me?

2009-10-19T02:44:00.000-07:00

Ironically, this may be a paradox for an immigrant: we left our own country, live as a foreigner. What's that for? Freedom of speech? But English is not our mother language, we only rely on the internet and international telephone call to keep in touch with our mother tongue; Democracy? But we have not right to vote; Money? Many asylum seekers pay hundreds of thousand of pound for the human trafficking. They have to work as slaves for years to pay off the debts.

I receive the Electoral Registration form every year, or may be home visiting as well, but we have no right to register. Sometimes I wonder how those pen pushers waste paper by sending out so many forms, notices, and sorts of things, do they never check that I have never 'complete[d] the Electoral Registration form'? Even though I am not eligible to register and vote? Below is the notice to thank me for what I have never done.

Dear Householder

Thank you for completing the Electoral Registration form with our Canvasser. It is important that we keep our records up to date and Central Government says we must update the Electoral Register annually.

If you are not on the Electoral Register, sometimes known as the Voters Roll, you will not be able to vote at any local or parliamentary elections.

You might also find it difficult gaining credit or a mortgage as Credit Reference Agencies check the Electoral Register to confirm your address.

As part of Derby City Council's efforts to provide a good and equal service throughout the city, a manager may call on you in the next few weeks to confirm the details you have given, as part of our quality control procedures. This is nothing to worry about and will only take a few moments,

If you have any queries regarding the form or questions about the Electoral Register please call the Electoral Services Department on:

Tel: xxx during office hours
Tel: xxx available until 8.30pm every evening

Kidde smoke alarm need to be replaced

2009-10-05T04:08:00.000-07:00

We do a lot of cooking, mostly stir-frying, the extractor fan has been broken since we moved in, so our kitchen alway very smoky, we got a new extractor fan installed recently, though. The smoke triggers the fire alarm in the hallway. I normally don't bother to hush it, open the doors and windows instead. This fire alarm might be working too hard, it started chirping early yesterday morning, I tried the Hush button, it stopped chirping. Then started again yesterday afternoon, this time, pressing Hush button has no effect. Then we left it alone and went to shopping. When we came back, the annoying chirping has stopped. But it started again last night and woke me up, so I removed it to the garden shed. According to the instruction, "an intermittent chirp (every 45 seconds) indicates the alarm has reached the end of life and must be replace." The alarm makes a lot of noise when it's dying.

I checked the back of the alarm, there are short instruction on it. it 's Kidde's sealed, battery powered smoke alarm with hush. The lifespan of Kidde Wireless products is 10 years, so it must be replaced within 10 years.

Temporal (three pulse) alarm idicates particales of combustion have been detected. Flashing of the red LED every 45 seconds indicates the alarm is operating. Rapid flashing of the LED when the test button is pushed indicates alarm memory (The alrm has sounded since it was last tested). An intermittent chirp (every 45 seconds) indicates the alarm has reached the end of life and must be replace.

The hush button will silence the alarm for 8 minutes (dense smoke will override the Hush), during this time the red LED will flash every 10 seconds. Not recommended for operation below 40oF or above 100oF or in humidity greater than 85%. Clean your alarm annually using compressed air or a vacuum cleaner hose around the perimeter of the alarm. If cleaning does not restore the alarm to normal operation, the alarm must be replace.

The battery-powered alarms can be installed in any room in a matter of minutes – no wiring required. You simply screw the mounting bracket into the ceiling just as you would a traditional smoke alarm.

I wonder where can buy it, Homebase?

The Beany Ideas with Butter Beans

2009-09-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

Butter Bean Pate

This butter bean pate with bread recipe is from BBC Food and Recipe.

Ingredients:

Can of butter beans, drained
Lemon, grated rind and juice
Garlic, crushed
Fresh mint finely chopped
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Sprigs of mint, to garnish
Bread of your choice

Method:

1. Place the butter beans and lemon juice in a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, adjusting the amount of water to give a smooth pate.
3. Season and spread onto your chosen bread. Add the mint to garnish. Also delicious with salad.

Tuna & Bean Bagel

This beany, fishy, cheesy fresh idea is from Sainsbury's supermarket, Sainsbury's always have some easy-to-learn recipes.

Ingredients:

Tuna in spring water
Butter beans in water
Fresh parsley
Basic natural yogurt
Bagel
British mature Cheddar

Method:

1. Mix 1 tin of tuna in spring water, drained, with 1 tin of butter beans, drained, and chopped fresh parsley.
2. Mash together then stir in some basics natural yogurt.
3. Slice a plain bagel in half lengthways and spread the tuna mixture over each half.
4. Place on a baking tray, sprinkle with grated Cheddar and grill until the cheese is melting and golden.
5. Season with freshly ground black pepper and serve garnished with parsley sprigs for a quich and filling lunchtime bite.

Tips: If you have any leftover bagels, slice them in half, wrap in clingfilm and place in the freezer - they'll be handy to toast for quick snacks and breakfasts.

Derby Live presents the Christmas Quangle Wangle

2009-09-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

'... a marry, mad-cap Christmas presentation for younger children.' (Herald)

Stella and Stan are waiting for Christinas. They find a mysterious parcel, which leads them to discover the Quangle Wangle who lives alone on his Crumpetty Tree.

On the top of the Crumpetty Tree

The Quangle Wangle sat,

But his face you could not see.

On account of his Beaver Hat.

For his Hat was a hundred and two feet wide.

With ribbons and ribbons on every side!

A mass of strange visitors arrive and change the Quarg Wangle's life forever....the toe-less Pobble, the Orient Calf, Mr & Mrs Canary and the Golden Grouse. Sail with them as they journey to the land where the Jumblies live, to dance by the light of the Mulberry Moon!

The Christmas Quangle Wangle was written & Directed by Virginia Radcliffe, and will be presented by Derby Live in Guildhall Theatre, Derby. This is an off-the-wall, hilarious celebration and musical voyage into the wild and wonderful world of Edward Lear's nonsense poetry, which promises to be an exciting and festive theatrical treat for the whole family.

The Christmas Quangle Wangle is a merry, mad cap show that will have you dancing in your seats - a must this festive season for anyone from the age of 3 to 93.

With a ruining time of approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes, without an interval this show is perfect for Nursery children.

Derby Cathedral Clocks

2009-09-02T06:01:00.001-07:00

Derby Cathedral tower has been a feature of the Derby skyline since the reign of Henry VIII and was last refurbished in 1964.

The clocks has been given a facelift recently, more than £2,500 was raised to buy new minute dots, Roman numerals, Arabic numbers and clock hands.

Each clock face has now been hand-painted blue, with the numbers and dots made out of 24 carat gold!

Who says that churches are struggling under the economic downturn and the declining in attendance?

Casual Games Going Social

2009-09-02T04:07:00.000-07:00

PopCap’s Zuma
Happy Farm which is very popular recently in China.

Opium

2009-08-31T04:35:00.000-07:00

Amid the extensive concerns of the British East-india Company, it is well known that growth and manufacture of Opium has for many years been considered as a great source of public revenue and of private wealth; whole districts have for these purposes been devoted to the culture of the poppy; the superintendence and collection of the taxes have been the employments of officers or high rank in the company's service; and the privilege of the commodity for a season, one of the most lucrative gifts which the Governors of the East could bestow on their nearest connections.

China was the grand mart for this article, and so strong was the attachment of the Chinese to its use, that any quantity sent to Canton was sure to be purchased at a high price. It appears, however, that this valuable traffic will now be lost to the Company, the Chinese Government having discovered that great evils result from the abuse of Opium, the particulars of which have been detailed in instructions from the Fooyuen to the Hoppo at Canton, who has in consequence issued the following Edict, which, after recapitulating the Fooyuen's instructions wholly prohibits the importation of Opium into the Chinese dominions.

'Whereas I have received advices from his Excellency the Fooyuen, setting forth that the ship of foreign nations have long since been permitted to enter at Whampoo, and Macao, in the province of Quantong, for the purpose of carrying on a trade by the free interchange of those commodities which were in demand on the one hand, and superfluous on the other.

'From this general rule, the article of Opium was excepted; a substance of whose composition we are unacquainted, but which is of a violent and powerful nature, and possesses a fetid and odious flavour; being, however, remarkable at the same time for a quality of exciting and raising spirits, it has been sought after, and purchased by persons without fixed homes, of professions, who, having prepared an extract from it, opened shops for this branch of trade.

The use of Opium originally prevailed only among vagrants, and disreputable persons, who associated together for the purpose of partaking of this substance; but it has since extended itself among the members and descendants of reputable families, students, as well as officers of government, who, infatuated in their attachment of this drug, make an habitual use of it.

'Their inducement of this occasion appears to be, the power which this substance communicates by those who partake of it, of not closing their eyes for entire nights, and spending them in gratification of impure and sensual desires, whereby their respective duties and occupations are neglected; when this habit becomes established by frequent repetition, it gains an entire ascendant, and the consumer of Opium is not only unable to forbear the daily use of it; but on passing the accustomed hour, he is immediately seized with pains in the head, and feverish heat; and cannot refrain from tears, or command himself in any degree. For relief, therefore, from these painful symptoms, and to regain his wonted health, he has necessarily recourse to the same pernicious substance.

'When, at length, the gradual and progressive effects of this poison have pervaded the lungs, and the whole bodily frame, the sufferers, with the pale and sickly hue of doves, or small fluttering birds, are no longer within the reach of medical assistance; desirous, though in vain, of quitting so dreadful a practice, they would willingly end it with their lives, by tearing out their entrails in despair.

'The extraordinary expense of this article is further to be noticed, each mace weight of which, in the extract, is exchanged for eight or nine maces in money, and the constant use of it raises at the same time an extraordinary appetite for other kinds of food, which the fortunes of the bulk of the community are unable to satisfy, and are therefore in the course of a few years wholly dilapidated, and wasted away, of these the infirm and weak perish gradually from want and hunger, while the Strong and vigorous become thieves and robbers; the ruin of either being equally certain and inevitable.

'Others again, among the deluded and misjudging people, from trifling causes, or absurd conceits, take the premature resolution of swallowing a decoction of Opium in wine; thus ending their existence by means of readier access, than are the generality of vegetable substances esteemed poisonous and destructive to humane frame.

'The pernicious effects arising from the use of this substance, were formerly confined to Fokien, and Quantong; but have spread, in the course of time, through the other provinces of the Empire, where the eagerness after the traffic and consumption of this article, have even exceeded that of the first introducers.

'This it is, that foreigners, by the means of a vile excrementitious substance, derive from this Empire the most solid profits and advantages; but that our countrymen should blindly pursue this destructive and ensuring vice, even till death is the consequence, without being undeceived, is indeed a fast, odious and deplorable in the highest degree.'

(The Derby Mercury (Derby, England), Thursday, January 7, 1802; Issue 3642. Category: Arts & Entertainment)

My jouney of bypassing the Great firewall of China

2009-08-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

Because of the strict censorship China imposes on the Internet, many domain names are censored in china and people in China cannot view these websites. I didn't realise the restrictions until I had a 3-week trip to China.

I heard the term 'Bypassing the Wall' from my father, an old man in his 70s who is very interested in all sorts of news, esp. censored news, though he doesn't know how to surf the Internet. 'The Wall' obviously means the Great firewall of China. 'Bypassing the Wall' is using proxy servers outside the firewall to browse blocked sites. It is not difficult to bypass the Wall for those determined to do so.

The websites that I use frequently in UK such as blogspot and youtube are blocked. I was very annoyed when I tried to show my baby's album on google picasa to my friend I found that it was blocked too. My friend ran a program called 'Freegate' to bypass the Wall and finally saw the album. He told me that Freegate was somehow related to FaLunGong and it was very difficult to find downloads.

This was true. When I went to my sister's house and wanted to show her my children's photos, I googled 'Freegate'. Every link to a download is blocked! I then searched 'bypassing the Wall' and found a tool called 'Puff'. It worked well just like Freegate.

Interestingly, most ordinary Chinese people, just like my sister and brother-in-law, don't feel the restrictions as much as I did during the trip. Probably because when you were born in a jail and live all your life in it, you don't even realise that you were in a jail if it's big enough.

However, there are still many people in China who are determined to see the world outside and have full access to knowledge and information they wish.

PP: I posted this article in Chinese language on a forum in China, it was deleted within a couple of minutes before anybody sees it. I regret that I haven't kept a copy on my local machine. I decide to write it again in English and publish on Blogspot which is safe from Chinese government's censorship. The downside is that not many Chinese people will see this and be able to read it.

The Baker's Cat

2009-08-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

Once there was an old lady, Mrs Jones, who lived with her cat, Mog. Mrs Jones kept a baker's shop.

Every morning, Mrs Jones got up early, and made dough, out of flour and water and sugar and yeast. Then she put the dough into pans and set it in front of the fire to rise.

Mog got up early, too, to catch mice. When he had chased all the mice out of the bakery, he wanted to sit in front of the warm fire. But Mrs Jones wouldn't let him, because of the loaves and buns there rising in their pans.

Then Mog went to play in the sink. He liked to sit by the tap, hitting the drops with his paw as they fell, and getting water all over his whisker!

Mrs. Jones said, 'You are shaking water all over my pans of buns, just when they are getting nice and big. Run along and play outside.'

Mog was affronted, he put his ears and tail down (When cats are pleased they put their ears and tails up) and went out. It was raining hard. Mog sat in the water by the rushing rocky river and looked for fish. But there were no fish in the river, and he got wetter and wetter. At last, Mrs. Jones put the buns in the oven, opened her door and let Mog come inside. As Mog sat down by the fire he sneezed nine times. He caught a cold.

Mrs. Joes dried him with a towel and gave him some warm milk with yeast in it. Yeast is good for people when they are poorly. Then Mrs. Jones went out shopping.

As Mog sat dozing in front of the lovely warm fire he was growing bigger and bigger, because the yeast was making him rise.

First he grew as big as a sheep, then a donkey, a cart-horse,and a hippopotamus!

By now he was too big for Mrs. Jones's little kitchen, or to get through the door neither. He just burst the walls. When Mrs. Jones came home with her shopping-bag, her whole house was bulging, swaying. Huge whiskers were poking out of the kitchen window, and a paw came out of one bedroom window, an ear out of the other. Then the whole house fell down.

The people in the town were very astonished. The Mayor gave Mrs. Jones the Town Hall to live in, but he thought Mog was too big, and might not be safe. He let Mog live outside the town, up on the mountain.

Mrs. Jones was very sad. She began making a new lot of loaves and buns in the Town Hall, crying into them so much that the dough was too wet, and very salty.

Mog walked up the valley between the two mountains. By now he was bigger than an elephant - almost as big as a whale!

It had been raining for so long that the river was beginning to flood. Mog thought, "If I don't stop that water, all these fine fish will be washed away." So he sat down, plump in the middle of the valley, and he spread himself out like a big, fat cottage loaf.

The people in the town had heard the roar of the flood-water, they were very frightened. They all rushed up the mountain, saw Mog sitting in the middle of the valley. Beyond him was a great lake.

The Mayor let the best builders make a great dam across the valley, while other people took turns tickling Mog under his chin with hay-rakes and brought Mog all sorts of nice thing to eat, so they can Mog stay there till they built a dam across the valley.

Mog saved the town, and won a badge which was on a silver chain to go round his neck.

So Mrs. Jones and Mog lived happily ever after in the Town Hall.

(by Joan Aiken)

Community allotment

2009-08-20T09:52:00.001-07:00

The Mackworth Community allotment Association, with the support of Derby Homes, have successfully gone through the first stage on an application to Community Spaces BIG Lottery funding to return the land off Greenwich Drive South to an allotment. Derby Homes will match fund the lottery grant.

An information day will be held on Saturday 5 September 2009, 10am - 2pm at Prince Charles Avenue shopping precinct, in Macworth.

If you have any chance to get an allotment, what will you use it for?

Gardening
Low cost fresh food
Getting/keeping fit
Community spirit
Promoting healthy, affordable diets
An opportunity to maintain and develop your skills?

Ponies

2009-08-19T03:03:00.000-07:00

A foal can stand up on his long wobbly legs only a few hours since he was born. In a day or two, he may feel brave enough to meet the rest of the foals and join in the game they are playing, but he when he is about four years old, he can be trained to take a rider on his back.

Ponies come in all kinds of colours, each with its own name:

Bay - Brown coat with a black mane and tail

Black - Black coat and a black mane and tail

Chestnut - Red-brown colour all over

Polomino - Golden coat with a pale mane tail

Dun - Pale brown coat with a black mane tail

Piebald - Large patches of black and white

Grey - White or grey coat. A dark grey coat with light grey rings is called dapple grey

Skewbald - Large patches of brown and white

All horeses are measured in 'hands', which are units of 4 inches (10 centimeres). Ponies measure 14 hands and 2 inches or less.

The parts of a pony are called 'points'. They each have a different name.

forelock

Poll

crest

mane

withers

hinderquarters

dock

tail

hoof

heel

fetlock

pastern

cannon bone

hock

knee

chestnut

thigh

stifle

flank

forearm

elbow

breast

shoulder

Horses and ponies of the world:

USA:

Sable Island pony
Mustang
Morgan
Appaloosa
Quarter horse

Argentina:

Criollo
Falabella miniature horse

Europe:

Icelandic, Iceland
Connemara pony, Ireland
Shetland pony, Scotland
Welsh mountain pony, Wales
Exmoor pony, England
Shire, England
Thoroughbred, England
Camargue, France
Andalusion, Spain
Hanoverian, Germany
Haflinger pony, Austria
Lipizzaner, Austria

Asia:

Arab, Saudi Arabia
Caspian pony, Iran
Przewalski's horse, Mongolia
Chinese guoxia, China
Chinese pony, China
Shan pony, Burmese
Cheju horse, south Korea
Tibetan pony, Tibet

Australia:

Waler pony

The Tack Room

Tack is the gear a pony wears for riding, and it is kept in the tack room. Tack must be cleaned after every ride so it is kept supple and safe to use.

The briddle is a set of leather straps, and is used to control the pony when he is being ridden. Western (US) bridles have no noseband and are often beautifully decorated. Only a very light touch on the reins is needed.

Brownband (velvet browband)
Headpiece
Cheekpiece
Noseband (cavesson nose band, flash noseband)
Throatlash
Rein(rubber-covered reins, plaited reins)

The bit lies over the pony's tongue and is connected to the reins and cheekpieces.

Snaffle has a ring at each side and can be jointed or straight.

Jointed eggbutt snaffle
Straight-bar rubber snaffle

Pelham is for livelier ponies.

Jointed Pelham

Saddles

A saddle is fastened around the pony's tummy by a thick strap called the girth.

Riding clothes:

For girl: crash helmet, sweatshirt, Jodhpurs, Jodhpur boots
Fro boy: crash helmet, shirt, Jeans, leather chaps, riding boots

The Grooming kit

Hoof pick - The hooves should be picked out twice a day. Run your hand down the leg then give the fetlock a tug to lift his foot. Working from heel to toe, remove any mud or beddings.
Dandy brush - Gooming keeps the coat glossy and the ski clean. Remove any surface dirt with the dandy brush before working over the coat with the body brush.
Rubber curry comb - for very muddy or hairy ponies
Body brush - for cleaning the coat
Sponge - gives the eyes, nose and dock a refreshing wash
Sweatscraper - wipes off extra water after a bath.

A pony has four paces - walk, trot, canter and gallop.

(My Best Book of Ponies by Jacki Budd, published by Kingfisher, 1999)

New charity shop opening

2009-08-13T03:48:00.000-07:00

Mackworth Estate Community Association Limited (MECA) have with the support of the local Councillors negotiated an extremely favourable lease with the City Councils Estates Department to takeover 6 Draton Avenue (next door to the Opticians) for use as a Charity Shop. All of the profits will be put back into the Community of Mackworth Estate for such things as the sports activities and to help some of the other voluntary groups that exist on the Estate.

The shop will accept any decent items of clothing or brick-a-brac donated, but cannot accept underwear or electrical goods because of Health & Safety issues.

No bags are to be left outside of the shop due to Health and Safety issues with Derby City Council.

Mackworth Library Opening Soon

2009-08-13T03:25:00.000-07:00

The super new Big Lottery funded library in Mackworth is due to open in March next year. It's free to join, free to borrow books and magazines and it's free to use a computer. Beatthe credit crunch, join the library!

Books will always be at the heart of a library and Mackworth's fabulous new library will have around 10,000, everything from Jamie Oliver to Oliver Twist. There will be large print books and books on tape or CD, ideal for when you've got your hands full! You can avoid charges by renewing your library books by phone or online.

Modern libraries are much more than just books, Mackworth Library will have computers where you will be able to surf the net, use any of the Microsoft packages and email your friends and if you aren't confident with using computers we'll even train you.

DVDs will be available to hire for a small charge and you can keep them for three nights and not just current films but also box sets and foreign films.

You're never too young to join the library; Mackworth Library will have books that are suitable for very young children, also look out for storytimes where under fives can enjoy a story and learn to love books.

Older children will find a good selection of books especially for them. They will have their own computer to access websites for fun and that will help with homework.

Mackworth Library will have museum exhibits which will sometimes mirror local school projects, there will also be an opportunity to take part in museum handling workshops.

A panel of local people will help to set up Mackworth Library, from the selection of furniture to the recruitment of staff so it really is your local library, enjoy it!

There will be so much more at Mackworth Library, for example book clubs and the library garden.

(Mackworth estate community association limited)

NEWARK ANTIQUE FAIR

2009-08-11T02:44:00.000-07:00

New wark antique fair has in excess of 4,000 stalls at any given show, that is, over 4000 dealers in antiques and collectibles offering a huge variety of furniture, architectural pieces, porcelain, pottery, silver, jewelery, paintings, books, maps, prints, toys, and you name it.

The showgrounds are located just 10 minutes from the historic market town of Newark in north central England, and 40 minutes from the city of Nottingham.

The fair is sponsored by DMG World Media, and while they also sponsor antique and collectible fairs throughout Britain and the U.S.

After a brief experiment expanding to three days of trading, the Newark Fair has reverted to a two day, trade-only format, with the fair open Thursday and Friday. Thursday is reserved for professional trade, Friday for general trade. The Newark show opens on Thursday at 9:00 AM, and the admission fee covers entry for both days. The show opens at 8 AM on Friday and admission for the second day only is discounted.

2009 Dates:

February 5th & 6th

April 2nd & 3rd

June 4th & 5th

August 6th & 7th

October 8th & 9th

December 3rd & 4th

For more information:

http://www.dmgantiquefairs.com/fairs/newark/default.asp

BNP festival takes place on 14-16 August

2009-08-11T02:18:00.000-07:00

According to the Socialist party website, the Midland TUC has called a protest on 15 August against the racist BNP's Red White and Blue 'festival' that takes place on 14-16 August near Denby Village, Derbyshire.

Police in Derbyshire have imposed restrictions on protest planned against this weekend's BNP festival.

Using the Public Order Act, police and Amber Valley Borough Council have put in place designated times and locations for Saturday's protest march.

Last year, around 500 people protested against the event and two new groups (Amber Valley Campaign Against Racism and Fascism and Derby Campaign Against Racism and Fascism) were formed with the support of the Notts Stop the BNP (NSBNP) which played a key role in organising last year.

Police arrested more than 30 protesters at the site in Denby, near Ripley, but no one was charged.

Open access journals and publication fees

2009-08-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

Traditional subscription-based journals recover the costs of peer review and editing by charging for access to their products. But Open Access (OA) journals often use an 'author pays' business model which shifts the payment burden from users to publishers, i.e. costs are recovered by charging authors, their funding bodies or employers, and papers are made available free of charge to the readers.

10-15% of the 20–25,000 peer-reviewed journals are OA journals. Some open access publishers, such as Public Library of Science (PLoS), publish only open access material; others, such as BioMed Central, publish open access journals as well as subscription-based material.

No all OA journals charge publication fees. Roughly half the OA publications have author fees to cover the cost of publishing (e.g. PLoS fees vary from $1,300 to $2,850) instead of reader subscription fees. Some of the no-fee OA journals have institutional subsidies and donations. Advertising revenue and funding from foundations are also used to provide funding.

The main reason authors make their articles openly accessible is to maximize their research impact, which is an important factor for assessing quality of research output.

The largest professional bodies for computer science

2009-08-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

IEEE is a non-profit, technical professional international association of more than 377,000 individual members in 150 countries. The full name is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., although the organization is most popularly known and referred to by the letters IEEE. Through its technical publishing, conferences and consensus-based standards activities, the IEEE produces 30 percent of the world's published literature in electrical engineering, computers and control technology, and holds annually more than 300 major conferences and has nearly 900 active standards with 700 under development Through its members, the IEEE is a leading authority in technical areas ranging from computer engineering, biomedical technology and telecommunications, to electric power, aerospace and consumer electronics, among others. IEEE Computer Society (IEEE CS), IEEE Computational Intelligence Society (relating to AI), and IEEE Systems, Man & Cybernetics Society are three societies relating to computer science. IEEE CS is the largest of the three. IEEE online library is called IEEExplore.

The British Computer Society (BCS) was established in 1957. It is the largest UK-based professional body for computing. The BCS has a worldwide membership of over 68,000 members in over 100 countries. The BCS is the only professional body in UK with the ability to grant chartered status to both its Fellows and Professional members. Known as Chartered IT Professional, they are entitled to use the suffix CITP. The BCS keeps a register of current Chartered Members and Fellows.

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is the largest USA-based professional body for computing. ACM has a worldwide membership of over 84,000 members in over 140 countries. 20% of ACM members are from academia. ACM has more than 40 publications; nearly 150 Special Interest Group conferences; a searchable Digital Library. ACM Special interest groups are similar to IEEE societies. ACM online library is called ACM Digital Library.

You can find your Wireless Network Key on Virgin Media Wireless Router

2009-07-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

We have a new netbook computer, and don't know where to find network key, which is needed to setup wireless connection.

A network key may also be called WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) key or WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) key.

A wireless network key is a security feature that prevents unauthorized users from accessing a wireless network. An unprotected network is an unlocked virtual door, anybody within range can piggyback on the network undetected.

I use Virgin media broadband with a Virgin media wireless router, this router has a WPA key taped on the router, that WPA key is an English word consisting of 10 letters.

To tape network key on the router is a good idea, because we may never lose or forget a wireless network key as long as we possess the router.