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I have a Wordpress site that can be found at jamesatkinson.org
It will be my main blog for the foreseeable future. |
 The closest I will get to a bee this year I feel It has been quite a disappointment recently. I have been eagerly waiting to start beekeeping. In doing so I have taken time to choose the right bees and to make sure my hives are preserved and painted. The bees I am waiting for are bred pure Buckfast, reared for their compliant temperament. The bees were due at the beginning of the week (16/05/2016) but unfortunately I received a messa ... Read more » |
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I waited quite a while to get it. There were some delays due to quality issues but I picked it up this morning. The Big Chief recent incarnation of the iconic Doctor Who Tardis is a true quality product. 1000 are being made and who ever orders them will be very lucky and satisfied fans.
 The model is 15kg in weight and made from polystone. It has a removable top where 3 x AA batteries are placed. 4 x led lights illumina ... Read more » |
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I must say that when I first started my Facebook account it was a new and easy ‘Friends Reunited’ You could stay in touch with those close to you and people you had not seen for a while. You could arrange to meet up or exchange pictures and links. It all seemed so effortless. This changed a few years ago. I now find it quite insidious in its monitoring and want of information. Professionally I see the results of the way it can be used to insult, intimidate and bully people of varied backgrounds. Although this is not Facebook’s fault I find the ease of accessibility and the many ways it has complicated its privacy settings very much a cause for concern.
Mark Zuckerberg is a genius of social networking. Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and the dark lord itself, Facebook, are all under his control. I have no problem with Mr Zuckerberg, it is just the large influence these services now hold ... Read more » |
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Well it is a few months before my beekeeping adventure begins and I thought it was time to buy some items. My intention was to choose the hive design and stick to that particular form. This is always recommended so all frames and products can be interchangeable. I previously ordered 2 nuclei of bees. These are Buckfast bees due to their nature. It strange really that my intention was always to get pure black bees due to the exhibition Julia and I saw at The Eden Project. This was promoting the Black Bee Project where the original pure strain was trying to be brought back. Black bees are hardy and well mannered. When I was deciding to which bees to get I read a great deal of literature. I also got advice from the tutors at RHS Harlow Carr last year when I attended the beekeeping course. I even emailed the project itself. It sounded like the pure strain is being brought back but is next to impossible to get and keep p
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At the weekend the day Julia and I had been waiting for suddenly appeared. It was bonfire day! We had quite a few bits to burn from the allotment and field. We had accumulated it over summer but in winter there has been no set of dry days. The rain has been constant so two dry days was a blessing. We chose a location away from any local houses and the air was still so it was perfect. Now setting fire to wood and dead cut offs that are not 100% dry is an art form. Thankfully we had some kindling courtesy of my father (although I did ask him afterwards!) and never looked back. Every item was burnt over five hours or more. It was good fun and constructive at the same time. I was a on a high to start with as my solar set up had worked perfectly and accumulated more than enough energy to power the shed. Julia and I had a cup of tea next to the bonfire; looking into the flames it takes the human soul back to its roots, as
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 Christmas and my Birthday both started really well by getting that visit from the This Planet Earth NSD Dalek. Since then it has become a member of the family. It’s name is rusty in respect of the Ben Wheatley directed second outing for the Peter Capaldi Doctor Who ‘Into the Dalek’ I have and will never be bored of listening to the 10 phrases while working in the room it has invaded. One of my much-loved phrases is in the video below. It comes for the special edition version of the Jon Pertwee story &l ... Read more » |
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Last month I took delivery of a full size NSD Dalek after waiting after they made it at their workshop. The director, Ian Clarke, was very helpful on the telephone and gave me the options. I stuck by my intention of getting a slightly dirtied looking bronze version with voice and lights. When the delivery day came I was extremely excited by the prospect but after going to the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff, earlier in the year and witnessed the size of the base I was slightly concerned whether it would fit through our internal doors. I asked Ian and he said someone called Toby would be delivering it and would install it. I knew who Toby was from watching the new version of ‘Day of the Daleks’. That is a Jon Pertwee story from 1972 that reintroduced the Daleks after a long time off the screen. It also was a tremendous story regarding time travelling loops also known as the bootstrap paradox recently perfectly updated with an excellent s
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Warning - spoilers
 During a recent week off Julia and I had arranged to go to the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff. I had been looking forward to it for quite a while. We set off on Tuesday 22nd September and had arranged to spend the night at a hotel around an hour away from Cardiff. This was in order to go to Puzzlewood and Clearwell Caves where parts of Doctor Who had been filmed. First of all, I will not mention the name of the hotel, ... Read more » |
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Dr Who really does land in the most interesting places! This Police box appeared for the Nidderdale Pateley Bridge 1940’s event. I only saw it a week ago and asked Julia if she could take my picture with it. It seems very well made and on the 1940’s Facebook page it states that the Police box was made by ‘David and Tim’ Unfortunately I noticed that someone has destroyed one of the windows. Its times like these that you do wish the Doctor was real so he could track the culprit down. |
