Tim Atkinson's Blog, page 101

Sunday supplement

Did you know that if you read for pleasure you're likely to be richer? It's true! According to research done by Mark Taylor, a sociologist at Oxford University, those who read fiction at the age of 16 are more likely to have a higher status (and thus, higher earning) job at the age of 30. Amazing! It doesn't seem to matter about the type of literature, either - chick-lit, romance, horror, all seem to have the same effect. And if you're in the market for some books to read for pleasure, you're in the right place. My old English teacher called this 'one of the most original books I've ever read' last Friday, and not just because I'd just bought him a pint! (I know that because he'd written it down on a piece of paper beforehand.) And on Twitter last night somebody called it 'An amazing book which at times felt like you were reading my mind. Simply awesome.'



Now it goes completely against all my natural instincts to blow my own trumpet, but... if I don't do it, no-one else will. So if you're a Kindle owner (or in possession of iPad, iPhone, iPod - you can even get Kindle software for your PC) and you'd like something 'original' to read this weekend, might I humbly suggest this?





At just £2.29 on Amazon it's a bargain, surely? But if the physical experience of holding an actual book is what you're after, it's also available in paperback (again, either on Amazon or direct from Dotterel Press). See the sidebar for details -------------->>>>>>>>







Next, someone else's trumpet. Want to win tickets to the Baby Show at Birmingham's NEC? Well I've got five pairs to give away - and all you have to do is leave a 'pick me' comment. (Well, you can be more creative if you like, but the winners will be drawn at random after the competition closes at midnight on Friday 15th April.



You won't need me to tell you that the Baby Show is the only place where in just one day visitors can shop for everything they need from the widest range of products including all the baby brands mums (and dads) love. You can enjoy huge savings on 1000s of baby and maternity products with plenty of exclusive deals and unbeatable prices.



Leading experts will also be on head to offer complementary sessions and offer professional advice and tips.

The Baby Show takes place on 20-22 May, NEC, Birmingham. Tickets are on sale now for The Baby Show and are available from the box office on 0871 231 0844 or online at thebabyshow.co.uk. Head to www.thebabyshow.co.uk for full details. Or leave a comment below and keep your fingers crossed.



And on the subject of  lady luck, I happen to know (from my visit to the site yesterday) that you might be in with a very good chance of winning £250 worth of Boden vouchers if you head over to the competition on the Party Times website. For a start, there are two vouchers on offer. Second, there don't appear to be many takers at the moment. The odds certainly look a lot healthier than the horse I had in the National yesterday.



Finally (and appropriately) Finish. The end. The conclusion of the Finish trial, the jury's verdict and the launch of the website. I've given you my opinion on the re-launched QuantuMatic here, as well as here and even here rather a long time ago. But why take my word for it. (Why take it for anything?) Have a read of what my fellow jury members had to say by taking a look at the dedicated Finish QuantuMatic Trial website. Opinions come from a range of households, with very different cleaning demands so there should be something to match your lifestyle. Coffee morning mum? See what it did to A Thrifty Mrs's china. Kids always in the kitchen with you, baking? See what LunchBoxWorld and her family made of it. And if you want to try it for yourself you can download a voucher for £5 off the starter kit, as well as enter a draw to win a Spa break.



As for me, it's the old Sunday roast test again today... the beef is on the oven as I write. And we're having Yorkshire puddings. And not worrying - not a bit - about the washing up.

Runners and riders

A psychologist called Mark Griffiths of Nottingham Trent University recently did a study of gamblers and gambling. He found that hardened gamblers (quite apart from losing money) really did think differently to non-gamblers. Their 'illusion of control' (as Griffiths put it) included the idea that the fruit machines they played were either lucky or unlucky, or that the object 'liked' them in some way. For all I know punters at horse racing events might feel the same about the animals they back. Whatever approach you take, it's that time again tomorrow, the time when the entire nation (with a few notable exceptions) - gamblers and non-gamblers like me - will have a flutter.



Quite why the Grand National attracts so much attention is something of a mystery. Perhaps it's because - as a race - it really does give the rank outsider a realistic chance of winning. Anyway, if you buy 'The Sun' today you can (as a new customer) get a free £5 online bet. And tomorrow, in addition to the traditional 'runners and riders' pull-out, every Sun reader gets a free £1 bet at Ladbrookes! They've also been assigning selected blogs with some of the leading runners (based on the horse's name) from this year's race and entering them in a sweepstake with a jackpot prize of £250. And based on their reading of Bringing up Charlie, they've given us (and I quote) 'the feisty filly Junior – a horse which I'm sure both you and Charlie can get behind.'



Junior's current odds stand at 20-1 so it's the kind of horse I might well consider backing. Which should be in no way interpreted as a tip!



Still, we'll be rooting for Junior, that's for sure. And - no doubt - expressing a few of what Griffiths called 'irrational verbalisations' at the television as we do.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Then I'll begin...



This post is part of the Walker Picture Books Picnic, and if you enjoyed that story by Niamh Sharkey (winner of the Children's Book of the Year 2010 in the Irish Book Awards) you can be in with a chance to claim a free copy by leaving a comment below.

Innocent? Oh no!

That face says it all, really. 

And so does the letter. So when Innocent decided Charlie would be their 'O' and asked us to find an imaginative place to stick it (if you'll pardon the expression - it's a fridge magnet) there wasn't really much competition. 'Oh' is Charlie's immediate response to almost anything involving mischief, mishaps or mistakes. 'Oh' is his answer to the 'look what you've done' question. 'Oh' is what he says if he'd really like to say 'no' but wants to let you down a bit more gently.



So, ladies and gentlemen. I give you Charlie - the 'Innocent' King of O!

Members of the jury...

... have you reached a verdict on which you are all agreed?





Actually, I haven't got a clue. No. Not about my fellow QuantuMatic jurors anyway. They're all still out as far as I can tell from reading their blogs. But me? I think I've come to a conclusion.



First though, some history. Did you know that the dishwasher was invented by an American socialite called Josephine Cochrane? Neither did I. I learnt that watching 'Nina and the Neurons' the other day. I also learnt that she didn't really need a dishwasher - she had servants for that sort of thing. But they used to chip her best china. And Mrs C had lots and lots of dinner parties. Hence, the dishwasher.



We were also told how the machine works. It's the pressure of the water that makes the arms spin round, for instance, and it's water that knocks open that little door where you put your detergent (if, that is, you're not using the QuantuMatic).



As far as I can tell, Nina and her team didn't say much about detergent. Nina did say something about warm, soapy water but what I wanted to know was how - or indeed if - the soap you put inside in the form of tablets or powder gets into the water stream to clean the pots. With the QuantuMatic, at least I know that as soon as the water starts to flow, the detergent is getting to work. And get to work it does; there's no doubt it does what it says on the tin, or rather, the plastic box.



Whether the detergent is better, or it's the design of the dispenser, I'm not qualified to say. But it gets the pots clean every time. And if you want the convenience of just stacking dishes, shutting the door and turning it on (and not worrying about anything for twelve further washes) then QuantuMatic is definitely for you. But is it worth the money?



At £9.99 initially, then £7.99 for refill packs it isn't cheap; you can get a lot of budget tablets for that. But you might find yourself having to re-wash a few things afterwards, especially if - like me - you always cram as much in as you can. And I can honestly say that's something I didn't have to do during the QuantuMatic trial. So, the verdict? Well, it's a split decision: I can't fault the product, but the price takes it into another bracket and you'd have to believe it was worth it for the convenience of being able to shut the door and forget about it,. Which, actually, amounts to a pretty good reason to buy it.



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The internet: security, safety and privacy

I do worry about all this blogging, tweeting, Facebook-ing and the like. Don't you? I mean, only yesterday I was reading about someone who'd had their photo nicked on Facebook by someone who'd then used it to open a fraudulent account. I do worry about privacy, chiefly that of my family. My daughter's now old enough to use Facebook; several of her friends have been on it for years. I try to make sure she keeps one step ahead of the frequently-changing privacy settings to ensure they're always set at maximum. As for me, I have a strange love-hate relationship with the entire internet, especially social media. Obviously, I'm here; I'm blogging. That tells you something. I've been  doing it for almost three years now. But if I was to start again today, knowing what I now know, would I do it in the same way? Would I call my blog the same thing? Or would I hide behind a mask of anonymity?



Hypocritically (in view of what I'm about to say) I probably would. I've even seriously considered starting again, as-it-were, with a blog called 'Bringing up Bob' or something. There are some nasty people out there, and I don't like the thought of what they might be doing with my data. But. And it's a big but. What I don't like even more than what a few unscrupulous surfers might be doing, is the thought that I should have to do things differently because of them. Why should decent, honest, law-abiding (ahem, generally-speaking) interwebby users and bloggers, social media monkeys and twitter titterers have to hide away because of what a few twisted perverts might want to do or see? I still worry, and I always will. But part of me also thinks, 'why should we change what we do because of them?' It's a bit like the move to reclaim the streets. Why should decent people stay indoors because those that loiter in the darkness might not be too friendly? We need to get out there, folks, and get out there in numbers. Show them who's in charge. Because we are. There are more of us than them. Far more. But then, that doesn't help when you're afraid. And it certainly doesn't mean you shouldn't still take care.



And talking of taking care, here's some great advice from ParentChannel TV. All sensible stuff, and I'll be taking note myself. Taking note. But not giving in.

Spring song

Don't you just love this time of year? The clocks have gone forward, the evenings are getting lighter, the days are already warmer; the grass is growing; leaves are unfolding out of tiny buds and the birds have started singing.



The latter is one of the most heart-warming signs of spring as far as I'm concerned. I love to hear the dawn chorus; I like the repetitive pattern of the thrush's song and the fluty alto of the blackbird. Let's just hope no-one ever invents a 'Doolittle' machine to provide a simultaneous translation. Because those mellifluous notes aren't as nice as they sound. If you speak blackbird, you're probably hearing something rather threatening, spiced with a liberal amount of the avian equivalent of Anglo-Saxon. Because as far as anyone can tell, bird-song is a cross between an angry 'gerrof my land' farmer and 'you lookin' at my bird?' threatening behaviour. In fact, if they could they'd probably be erecting barbed-wire fences round their territory and putting up stern 'Keep Out' signs.



But they can't. What they can do is sing. Which is a pretty wonderful thing, as well as being my favourite sign of spring.

Sunday roast...

There's nothing quite like it, is there? Chicken, pork (with crispy crackling, of course), a lovely leg of lamb or a joint of beef slightly underdone. Ok, it's a lot of work but it's what Sunday's are for surely? At least as far as the leisurely preparation and the equally leisurely consumption are concerned. It's the washing up afterwards that spoils the job, but thanks to being invited to join the QuantuMatic jury recently, we're doing our best to turn this...





into this...

Of course, the story starts like this...

And pretty soon develops into this...

Which then soon becomes this...

And which you want to transform as quickly as possible to this...



Well, as you can see, our dishwasher was stacked about as full as it could be. (Overloaded, as the dishwasher manufacturers might say!) Oh and in case you're wondering if we put our clocks about three hours forward last night instead of one, I took these photos last Sunday. But? Well, the jury's still out (so-to-speak). The QuantuMatic certainly cuts through the roast debris; everything came out sparkling clean. Whether it consistently cleans better than tablets is subject to ongoing investigation. In the meantime, though, I've set the little gadget another - informal - trial. As you can see, our philosophy of dishwasher is - everything goes in. Seriously, if it's not dishwasher safe it doesn't get used. And that includes glasses. I know you shouldn't. But I do. And, yes, they end up like this:

But someone told me that the QuantuMatic - after several washes - starts mysteriously to restore them to their original crystal clarity. Well, we'll see. As you can see, this is how they started. I'll post another pic in a few washes time and see if it's made any difference. 

Until then, enjoy your roast. If you're having one. 

Cry God for Harry, England and...

...This rather intriguing little icon



Yes, it's St George - the so-called 'Black' George because he's riding a black horse. You can see it on display in the British Museum, free, gratis, at no charge (other than what we all pay in general taxation). I did, last week. In fact, I saw several things as I glided round in my customary 'let's see what takes my eye' way. I've found it's the only strategy when dealing with a museum or an exhibition of such gargantuan size. Either that, or just concentrate on a small area and look at everything in detail. I don't do guide books either, or those talking headsets. But then, I'm fortunate in that I know the British Museum pretty well having spent just about every Saturday there as a student teacher desperate to find some inspiration for the following week's history lessons.



Anyway, the most interesting thing about this object - other than it's obvious beauty and historical value - is the story of its discovery. You see, it was found being used as a window-shutter in a small village in northern Russia in 1959. Where it has been for the previous 500 years is unknown, but I love the idea of some historian stumbling across a valuable Byzantine icon and trying desperately to offer the owner all kinds of replacement window-shutters. 'But we don't vant uPVC... we like St George!'



In fact, I love the tales behind the acquisition of some of these objects almost as much as the objects themselves. There are some crackers - like the bishop's crozier in the broom cupboard - and I'll share a few more with you in another post. I also love the fact that the British Museum lets you photograph the objects. Or maybe even handle them, as I did this Neolithic stone axe-head, which is probably ceremonial, just so you know.









So, what's your favourite museum and museum-viewing strategy?

Budget Day

It's Budget Day today, and if the Government is scratching around this morning for any last minute ideas here are just a few of my proposals. I thought I'd better blog about them as when Radio Lincolnshire came to ask me yesterday, Charlie did most of the talking.





So, Mr Osborne, for your consideration:



1. That hike on fuel duty from next month - you know, that 'inflation plus a penny' one. Well, scrap it. Come on, George, you've just admitted to the world that you've found an unexpected £8bn stuffed behind the Treasury sofa; so give motorists a break. It now costs us over £60 a fortnight just to fill up with fuel. We live in Lincolnshire; we have to drive to get anywhere. Or go on the train... but at over £30 a week that's hardly any cheaper.



2. Paternity leave: let's share the entitlement (as you're proposing) - and the pay. Let's be all 'Norwegian' about it, shall we? Research shows how necessary 'dads' are. The United Nations published a report only last week saying something similar. Because dads, you know, do lots of stuff. We fight crime, stop drug addiction, keep kids off the street and the country safe from alien invasion. Ok, maybe not the last one. But there's overwhelming evidence that in countries where parenthood is taken seriously and government policy reflects the importance of both parents, society as a whole is richer. And that's what you're after, George, isn't it?



3. Council tax. Look, I know it's not strictly part of the Budget. And I know it's being frozen. But it's being frozen at a rate that's sky high after seven successive years of increase. And I know local authorities are being squeezed. So here's a radical suggestion: do away with them. No, not the Town Hall employees (although I'm sure a few Chief Execs would not be missed) - the politicians. Do you know what they cost in expenses? Frightening. There could be a few less bobbies on the beat, a few more keepers in the park and a few more sweepers on the streets if there were fewer councillors.



4. University fees. Look, I know someone's got to pay but paying that much is ridiculous. I'm already hearing students saying they aren't even going to consider university next year. And why should they? Yes, I know they only pay when they earn enough; that's not quite the point is it? Families who've been paying school fees for the past ten years will probably regard it as a blessing; but for the rest, it'll be a deterrent. Do the maths, George. And ask yourself whether those hardship funds that Oxbridge colleges say they're setting up will make much of a dent in the collegiate wine budget?



5. Give the Scouts a break. I know not everyone's into 'dib dib dib-ing' but those that are could do without the swinging rent rises certain local councils have been imposing, like the one Banstead District Scout Group received from Reigate and Banstead District Council (up from the current £135 per annum to £10,500). Ask yourself what these kids are going to do when the scout troop folds? And how much that might cost. I'd guess it might even be more than the 8.3% pay rise Reigate and Banstead District Council awarded its chief executive in 2009/10. Reign 'em in, George!



Oh, and while we're at it @ModernMummyUK would like some wine, @northernmum1 would like some cake with hers, @Urbanvox would like an iPad, @NurseCazPink would like a decent salary and @LauraCYMFT wants full-time pay for part-time work. And so do I.



Mr Speaker, I commend this budget to the House.[image error]