Archaeologist at Large: Life in Britain

Lack of Posts

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:46:16 GMT

Sorry, Sorry

All I can say in my defence is that I have been focusing on developing my business Past Preservers

Please check out our updated website @ www.pastpreservers.com

and my company blog @ http://pastpreservers.blogspot.com/

More updates soon

I promise

Nigel

Leave Duchy Originals Alone

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 07:53:54 GMT

My favouite line of food

Laura Barton

From the Guardian website @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/When the organic pasty squared up against the Big Mac, it was never going to be pretty. In the wake of Prince Charles's recent tirade against the Big Mac, defenders of McDonald's have levelled that the burger in question contains less salt and fat and fewer calories than some of the products in the Prince's Duchy Originals range. One analysis of the brand's Organic Ginger Biscuits gasped that each biscuit is higher in calories than a two-finger KitKat.

Well, I give a two-fingered KitKat salute to them all. I like Duchy Originals. I like their oaten biscuits and their lemon curd, their vegetable crisps and mixed seed bread, and I like their beetroot and dill soup. I like especially the fact that Duchy embraces interesting flavours and textures, and more than anything that it attempts to make us connect food with where it came from.

What is disgusting about the Big Mac? Somewhere in the beef patty, Big Mac bun, pasteurised process American cheese, Big Mac sauce, lettuce, pickle slices and onions, sits an attitude to food that is worrying. Really, is it fair to compare the pasty with the Big Mac when the Big Mac is rarely eaten alone, it is super-sized, served with fries and cola? Recently, and in no way willingly, I found myself in a McDonald's in America, where it cost less to buy two apple pies than to buy one. This, I thought to myself, is insane.

Improving people's diets is not simply a matter of acquainting them with the "traffic light" code of nutritional ratings - with Ronald McDonald, Colonel Sanders and their clan, the last thing we need is another simplistic, cartoon-coloured system to help us choose our meals. The issue here is not purely about the content of the food, it is also about food production and origin, the environmental impact of industrialised farming, and our attitude to what eating really is. And anyway, a Duchy Original pasty is hand crimped - hand crimped! - at a bakery in Launceston, Cornwall. Beat that Ronald, you clown-headed fool.

Disappearing products

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:58:36 GMT

Mall or nothing

For years the corner shop has been under threat. Retail parks could soon be going the same way

Mark Lawson
Friday January 5, 2007
The Guardian

In the corner of BBC offices and studios, there is a small electronic box which is listed on the inventory as "heritage technology". This means that the device plays video and audio cassettes, "platforms" now almost as redundant as the ones at rural branch lines declared useless by the Beeching Report on railways in 1963.

But the CD and DVD, the slick thin silver victors over the plastic rectangles, will soon be heritage technology themselves. The high street home entertainment chain Music Box called in administrators this week, largely because of the shift in sales from disc to online.

Although it's a painful reminder of ageing to see products only recently considered cutting-edge being pushed over the edge, the expectation that ways of listening might change has been built into the music industry since the wind-up gramophone and the LP. Far more surprising to most shoppers will be this week's other high street crisis: the emergency protection from creditors of the Greeting Card Group, which sells sincere or facetious greetings at 470 UK stores.

More @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1983330,00.html

All in a flap

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 19:12:48 GMT

A loophole in planning law is allowing developers to buy homes with gardens and replace them with flats, pushing out existing residents and destroying important sanctuaries for urban wildlife. Jack Watkins reports
They are the urban lungs that few notice, apart from their owners. They are the unsuspected havens for wildlife that otherwise struggle to find respite amid the noise and congestion of our urban areas. Yet for planning purposes, domestic gardens are just brownfield land, as ripe for development as a dilapidated warehouse or a derelict railway yard.

They have been classified that way since the 1980s, when their inclusion was simply a convenient way of rounding up housing statistics. Nobody paid much attention, until the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (now the Department for Communities and Local Government) in 2000 set a target of 60% of new housing to be built on brownfield land. It didn't take long for developers to uncover the loophole, or realise the profits to be had by buying up family homes and gardens, and replacing them with flats.

More @ http://society.guardian.co.uk/communities/story/0,,1964567,00.html

Return of the free marketeers

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 19:10:21 GMT

The final Barker report on planning may lead to a relaxation of the laws that ended the type of out-of-town shopping cities seen in the US, undoing a decade of work to rebuild our town centres. By Peter Hetherington

Ten years ago, planning policy was turned on its head when a Conservative environment secretary effectively outlawed a retail free-for-all that had seen huge, US-style shopping complexes sprouting on the edge of English cities and in the countryside. But the government is now calling for a rethink.

For its supporters, "leisure shopping", as it became known, had filled an employment vacuum created by the collapse of manufacturing industry in the early 1980s. From Gateshead's MetroCentre to Meadowhall, near Sheffield, and Merry Hill, at Dudley in the West Midlands, the brutal complexes were portrayed as new "industries", although detractors claimed that, in reality, they destroyed as many jobs in traditional high streets as they created.

More @ http://society.guardian.co.uk/communities/story/0,,1964450,00.html

Happiness is a chat over the fence

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 19:59:14 GMT

PEOPLE who take the time to chat over the fence to their neighbours, have plenty of sex in a stable relationship and care about endangered species tend to be happier, according to a report by Tony Blair’s “department for happiness”.

Gardening, praying and going for walks are also all linked to broader smiles, says the study, written by a professor of economics at Imperial College London’s Tanaka Business School and circulated to ministers and senior civil servants.

The attempt to quantify what the report calls “SWB” — a personal “sense of wellbeing” — is part of a move by all the main political parties to go beyond purely financial measures of wellbeing in setting goals for policy.

Continues @ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2535238.html

Changing Face of Britain

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:22:48 GMT

A couple of articles from the IPPR about migration and immigration in the UK

Very Interesting

Britain at the crossroads

by Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah
International Herald Tribune (IHT) - 19 December 2006

With 1,500 newcomers arriving every day, immigration is one of the hottest issues in Britain. Yet the 1,000 emigrants who leave Britain each day go almost unnoticed. Indeed, there is a danger that the politics of immigration may drown out the far more intriguing economics of migration at work in contemporary Britain.

New research by the Institute for Public Policy Research shows that Britain is truly at the crossroads in the global movement of people. In 2005, 565,000 people arrived in Britain saying they intended to stay for at least a year. At the same time, 380,000 left for a year or longer. Of those who left, more than half were British nationals, swelling the numbers of the 5.5 million-strong British diaspora. In other words, almost one in 10 British nationals lives abroad. There are more Brits abroad than there are foreigners in Britain.

Continues @ http://www.ippr.org/articles/?id=2495

Brits seeking opportunities abroad, not abandoning ship

by Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah and Catherine Drew
BBC online - 18 December 2006

As our Brits abroad study shows, every three minutes a British national packs their bags and starts a new life abroad. Britain has more people living abroad than almost any other country and, according to our calculations, up to a million more will make the move over the next five years.

For many people in the UK, these statistics will be disconcerting. Many will see large scale emigration as a sign that the UK is ‘going to the dogs’. Some commentators will also be quick to point out that white Britons are leaving in unprecedented numbers because immigrants are arriving in unprecedented numbers.

Continues @ http://www.ippr.org/articles/?id=2489

Do they know it’s Christmas?

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 11:42:03 GMT

More on the theme of Christmas or Wintertime!

Never mind ‘Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All Men’ - Christmas has become a battleground in the confused clash of values over the status of religion in modern society. It is difficult to know who or what to believe in the perplexing debate about the War on Christmas. On one side, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, is convinced that ‘illiberal atheists and aggressive secularists’ have launched a crusade against the Christian symbols of Christmas. On the other side, a Guardian writer claims that ‘The phoney war on Christmas’ is a fantasy dreamt up by religious bigots, while the president of the National Secular Society thinks that those raising the alarm about an attack on Christmas are trying to provoke ‘resentment against a perceived enemy’.

More @ http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/2299/

Guardian Article is great on this topic, entitled "The phoney war on Christmas"

Luton council, we are told, has banned people from celebrating Christmas. Birmingham has renamed the season Winterval. A Reading man has been told to take his decorations down. There's only one problem with the 'PC campaign' against Christmas - it's pure nonsense. By Oliver Burkeman
@ http://www.guardian.co.uk/christmas2006/story/0,,1967367,00.html

Opposition to Blackpool museum rescue offer

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:22:24 GMT

Are we talking snobs here!

Blackpool’s surprise offer to rehouse the Theatre Museum is meeting with early opposition from campaigners who say the UK’s light entertainment capital must not be allowed to remove the collection from its West End base.

Announcement of the bid by the town to rescue the troubled museum, which will lose its Covent Garden home in the New Year, was met with disbelief in some quarters.

The Guardians of The Theatre Museum, who are leading the fight to keep the museum in London, hinted that talks between the Victoria & Albert Museum and Blackpool Council would undermine their attempts to find any alternative.

A spokesperson told The Stage: “It should be noted that the effect of the V&A’s last announcement of a ‘rescue plan’ - the failed collaboration with the Royal Opera House - was to put on hold any other attempt to develop new possibilities for the growth of Russell Street, leaving very little time, after six months’ of deliberations, for constructive alternatives to be put forward.”

More @ http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/15146/opposition-to-blackpool-museum-rescue-offer

BBC's The State Within

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 22:21:03 GMT

Not sure if you are watching this show currently on BBC1 on Thursdays, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/thestatewithin/

The Blurb states "Sir Mark Brydon (Jason Isaacs) is the British Ambassador to Washington, who finds himself at the centre of a terrifying conspiracy that could bring down Western Government. As Mark the Ambassador fights to prevent a looming war, Mark the man is faced with a terrible dilemma"

However what has interested me is the portrayal of the brit on death row in the US

It is very well acted, moving and disturbing

It is something which does not take up a lot of column imches in British newspapers, however it is a major differrence between noy just Britain and the US but Europe and the US

The abolition of the death penalty was and is a fundemental linchpin of Europe's human rights agenda

Member states are probited from carrying out the death penalty

On undertaking some research into this chasm between the US and Europe I uncovered some interesting websites

This one: http://www.reprieve.org.uk/

They site states-Reprieve is a UK charity that fights for the lives of people facing the death penalty and other human rights violations.
This one- http://www.krishnamaharaj.org/default.asp

Fights on behalf of a brit on deaath row

Young Muslim men see their futures in UK, says study

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:26:50 GMT

Something to counter the anti-immigration lobby

YOUNGER Muslim men see their futures in this country, according to a study in Yorkshire.

Bradford University surveyed British-Pakistani men aged 16-38 in the city as part of an initiative to analyse their insights and experiences.
It found most of the men considered themselves British and had a positive connection and loyalty to Bradford.
Despite experiences of racism, poverty and other inequalities they had a positive outlook on living in the city.
They saw it as a city of opportunity and found that community and family links provided a "comfort zone".

Story continues @ http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=1873991

No laughter over loss of amusements

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 21:24:39 GMT

Thanks to cheap flights and a hunger for the sun, the death knell of the traditional British bucket-and-spade seaside holiday has been ringing for some time. But according to a new book, the amusement arcades that have lined resort promenades for decades may also soon be a thing of the past.

In Pennies by the Sea: The Life and Times of Joyland Amusements, Bridlington, author Nick Laister, a town planner and arcade enthusiast, documents the twists and turns in the history of seaside arcades.

The book is the outcome of a life-long interest in the subject. Inspired by childhood summers spent in the east Yorkshire town of Bridlington, Laister has been campaigning for years to save some of the country's landmark amusement arcades as they disappear in the face of changing leisure tastes.

"The heyday of the annual summer seaside holiday was in the 1950s, but it remained popular into the 1970s when arcades benefited from the introduction of video games," Laister says. "I think there is a growing realisation that a huge amount of our resorts are being lost."

Laister wrote the book because arcades had never been written about, despite being the "most amazing of worlds". They are an important part of Britain's heritage that should be treasured, he suggests.

In 2001, he applied to English Heritage to have a 1930s rollercoaster in Dreamland, Margate, protected by being listed. To his surprise, the recommendations were accepted.

His efforts are about more than nostalgia, however. He worries that if such landmarks are not protected with the same enthusiasm that the heritage industry has saved structures such as stately homes, then a "valuable part" of our social history will be lost.

While the demise of the seafront arcade is largely triggered by changing leisure preferences, Laister says this is only part of the picture. Despite an ample supply of potential investors, he points out, soaring land values in some areas are simply pricing them out of the market.

Laister intends to persevere with his attempts to save old arcades from closure even though in the long term, he says, "it is probably a losing battle".

www.joyland.co.uk

Focus: Is it time to take God out of the state?

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 21:16:52 GMT

Faith groups are increasingly demanding new rights or complaining of being wronged. Some say the time has come for Britain to create a clear divide between state and religion. Are they right? Bryan Appleyard investigates

Religion, long dormant as a force in British politics and society, is back. After 9/11 and 7/7, rows over niqabs, hijabs, Christian crosses, faith schools and dress codes have exposed deep rifts in our attitudes to the spiritual.

Almost daily stories of conflict and anger call into question the eccentric, muddled British way of balancing faith and the state. Last week we saw a Muslim teacher taking a Church of England school to an employment tribunal over her right to wear the veil, the education department calling on academics to spy on potential extremists among their students and faith schools lining up to resist taking in government quotas of non-believers.

Continues @ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2415625.html

Britain became island in 24 hours

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 20:56:58 GMT

A sonar probe of the bed of the English Channel has produced evidence that Britain may have become an island is less than 24 hours, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The survey, led by Imperial College London's Sanjeev Gupta, revealed the "remains of a huge valley, running south-west from the Strait of Dover" plus "deep bowls, scour marks and piles of rubble on the sea bed that may have been caused by a torrent of water".

Dr Gupta explained: "In places, this valley is more than seven miles wide and 170 ft deep, with vertical sides. Its nearest geological parallels are found not on Earth but in the monumental flood terrains of the planet Mars.

"This suggests the valley was created by a catastrophic flood following the breaching of the Dover Strait and the sudden release of water from a giant lake to the north." moe @ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/26/island_britain/

Back in Blghty (Britain)

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 18:24:03 GMT

Hi all

Just arrived back from Cairo yesterday to a wet and cold welcome, but I loved it!

Yes I missed the rain, I know sad!

Just ask me the same question in a month or two

So why am I back in London?

Well my contract ended with the TMP (http://www.thebanmappingproject.com) with the completion of the Valley of the Kings Masterplan and I am on the look out for a new project

More soon

Nigel

History and English lessons from Charles

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 14:18:50 GMT

The Prince of Wales unveiled his own teaching programme yesterday to challenge what he sees as a state education that is robbing children of their cultural heritage.

Teachers of history and English will be invited to free courses and seminars - organised by a unit at Cambridge University funded by the prince's new education charity - that will promulgate his more traditional approach to scholarship.

The initiative will give Prince Charles a permanent foothold in the world of state education from which to press for more rounded and in-depth study of the two subjects he believes are fundamental to a rounded education.

More @ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/08/ncharles08.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/06/08/ixuknews.html

Who says the class system is dead?

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 18:43:47 GMT

A project that maps surnames to parts of the UK will now rank them in terms of social status.

Forget keeping up with the Jonses, it's the Cadburys and Goldsteins that social climbers should have a keen eye on.

The social status of nearly 26,000 surnames has been researched as part of a project to better understand what our surnames say about each of us.

More @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5047982.stm

WAR MEMORIALS RECEIVE £100,0000 GRANT TO FUND CONSERVATION

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 10:52:14 GMT

Another catch up story

War Memorials across the country will benefit from nearly £100,000 in grants awarded by English Heritage, in partnership with the Wolfson Foundation.

More than 40 memorials will receive funding for projects such as stonework repair, stabilisation, cleaning and specialist metal conservation as part of a scheme run by the War Memorials Trust to restore monuments around the country.

Joy Russell, chair of the War Memorials Panel at English Heritage, said: “As each year passes it becomes ever more important to make sure that our war memorials are properly looked after. Regardless of its scale, each memorial provides a physical focus for an individual community’s acts of remembrance.”

More @ http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART34645.html

Britain on top as it is named the world's number one brand

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 10:50:12 GMT

An old story that passed me by earlier this year

But I love it!!

With a value of $3.5 trillion, Britain has been named as the world's number one national brand by a survey, beating France and the US, which scraped home in 10th place.

More @ http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/br/article/542286/britain-top-named-worlds-number-one-brand-/

Monster Rabbit Stalks U.K. Village

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 16:52:03 GMT

It's a scenario straight out of a Wallace and Gromit movie: An enormous rabbit is laying waste to vegetable plots in an English village, according to reports.

Only a Brit could say this!

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 10:25:02 GMT

Anthony Wilson, 56, is as bombastic as ever. The man behind Manchester's Hacienda nightclub and Factory Records, which produced some of the most influential bands of the past 25 years predicts that Burnley 'will be the new Seattle' and declares that East Lancashire 'is more important to human civilisation than the Valley of the Kings'.