Filling empty lorries & Wood to burn...

I've just been listening to a programme on Radio 4 on 'You and Yours' (www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours) which had two interesting items:
(You can listen again to these by going to
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/listenagain/wednesday.shtml)

The first was a neat website aimed at filling lorries with loads on return journeys. People can negotiate/bid for space for otherwise empty space. What a great idea. I wonder if they transport boats and boat bits.....

The second was an article on Firewood to use in wood-burning stoves. This poem was read out:

LOGS TO BURN

Logs to burn, logs to burn,
Logs to save the coal a turn
Here's a word to make you wise,
When you hear the woodman's cries.
Never heed his usual tale,
That he has good logs for sale,
But read these lines and really learn,
the proper kind of logs to burn.

OAK logs will warm you well,
If they're old and dry.
LARCH logs of pine wood smell,
But the sparks will fly.
BEECH logs for Christmas time,
YEW logs heat well.
SCOTCH logs it is a crime,
For anyone to sell.

BIRCH logs will burn too fast,
CHESTNUT scarce at all
HAWTHORN logs are good to last,
If you cut them in the fall
HOLLY logs will burn like wax
You should burn them green
ELM logs like smouldering flax
No flame to be seen

PEAR logs and APPLE logs,
they will scent your room.
CHERRY logs across the dogs,
Smell like flowers in bloom
But ASH logs, all smooth and grey,
burn them green or old;
Buy up all that come your way,
They're worth their weight in gold.

(I can't find an Author to attribute this to - sorry. It can be found in E. M. Hull’s Poem Book of the Gael:)


Note that all woods burn better when seasoned and some burn better when split rather than as whole logs. In general the better woods for burning that you are most likely to come by (including non-native species) are:

Apple and pear – burning slowly and steadily with little flame but good heat. The scent is also pleasing.

Ash – the best burning wood providing plenty of heat (will also burn green but you should not need to do this!)

Beech and hornbeam – good when well seasoned

Birch – good heat and a bright flame – burns quickly.

Blackthorn and hawthorn – very good – burn slowly but with good heat

Cherry – also burns slowly with good heat and a pleasant scent.

Cypress – burns well but fast when seasoned, and may spit

Hazel – good, but hazel has so many other uses hopefully you won’t have to burn it!

Holly – good when well seasoned

Horse Chestnut – good flame and heating power but spits a lot.

Larch – fairly good for heat but crackles and spits

Maple – good.

Oak – very old dry seasoned oak is excellent, burning slowly with a good heat

Pine – burns well with a bright flame but crackles and spits

Poplar – avoid all poplar wood – it burns very slowly with little heat – which is why poplar is used to make matchsticks.

Willow – very good – in fact there is growing interest in biomass production of coppiced willow as a fuel.

Another poem:

Logs to burn
Oaken logs if dry and old
Keep away the winter cold;
Poplar gives a bitter smoke
Fills your eyes and makes you choke;
Elm wood burns like graveyard mould,
Even the very flames are cold;
Apple wood will scent the room
Pear wood smells as flowers in bloom;
But Ash wood wet and Ash wood dry
A King to warm his slippers by.

Beech wood fires burn bright and clear
If the logs are kept for a year;
Chestnut's only good, they say,
If for years, 'tis stored away.
Birch and firwoods burn too fast
Blaze too bright, and do not last;
But Ash wood green and Ash wood brown
Are fit for a Queen with a golden crown.

Printed in the Emmerdale Farm book of Country Lore (Hamlyn, out of print)


Season's Greetings to all!

Bits and pieces

Its been a busy time.

I have just retired from doing committee work. My choice - its simply the right time for me to move on. Leaving the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) had some poignant moments - I've been a committee member for 22 years. No doubt next November will feel very strange when I would normally be getting revved up for my meetings. My fellow committee members were lovely to me, so I leave with a full and warm heart.

One of my life-coaching clients, who came to me suffering from a fear of flying phobia, has just successfully completed her first return flight for many years, so that's great cause for celebration!

I've been working on a new website, so that has taken up many of my spare computer moments. This blog will be transferred to that, so be prepared to change your bookmarks soon.

I've been meeting with some colleagues about forming an association of relationship counsellors - a kind of one stop shop for those whose relationships could do with a boost, or in the case of breakdown, those who need to sort out the end of the relationship (for themselves and maybe their children) and then move on. We've all found that people's needs can be so various at such a tough time. We are all professionals who, if we think we cannot meet our clients needs will refer them onto other specialists. Yet we only pass on people to those we trust. By forming a professional association and setting ourselves standards to meet, we think we can provide a broader service by learning and trusting those whose standards match our own, but in slightly different specialities - facilitation, counseling, life coaching, mediation, psychotherapy, child support, bereavement. Watch this space!

Voices and accents

It is amazing what you find on the internet.

Try this site for some fascinating minutes:
www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings

ROXY interior - Vendee Globe

I'm going to be actively supporting Sam Davis on 'Roxy' in the Vendee Globe solo round-the-world race because I used to sail with Sam. We were on the Mumm 36 team 'Bradamante' together for two years. I was tactician and Sam became the bowperson.

The Race starts next Saturday November 9th, and there is LOTS of activity going on. Go to www.vendeeglobe.org

There's also going to be virtual games running for this one, so if you fancy signing up go to www.virtualregatta.com Its a lot shorter race than the Volvo ( which will last around 8 months I think) as there won't be any stops. The Vendee Globe will be around 3 months long, but you must join within 15 days of the real race start. With the Volvo you can join anytime as the race has stop-overs - although I'm not sure yet what happens if you haven't got into port by the time the real race starts out again.

In the meantime, I just came across an amazing shot of the navigation station of 'Roxy'. Go to www.360ouest.com/panoramas and then click on page 2, and look for ID.631 ROXY. This where Sam is likely to spend nearly all her time down below, including sleeping I believe.

Volvo Ocean Race Virtual Game

I haven't had so much fun on a computer for long time!

The Volvo Ocean Race started over 2 weeks ago from southern Spain with eight boats. The Virtual Race started at the same time, and now has 43,408 boats. We're all in a battle (real and virtual) to get across the southern Atlantic. Its fascinating!

With windshifts every 12 hours in in the Virtual Race, there is a considerable amount of logging on at 11am and 11pm (UK time) to check short term tactics against long term strategy. I'm partnering my real life sailing partner, and we're finding it really helpful to improve communications between us when making decisions. This will definitely benefit our double-handed racing results offshore.

There is no doubt that, for some, this activity has taken over their lives. Go to
www.volvooceanracegame.org/news.php?id=54
to read a very amusing little story and response.

Wessex NLP Practice Group

My local NLP practice group has been re-launched as Wessex NLP. The website is at www.wessexnlp.btik.com/ Anybody who has done an NLP course with any provider is welcome. We meet in central Winchester ever 4th Wednesday most months. Its a fun group - be welcome!

Carbon Footprints

For a number of reasons - often convenience - I'm train much more nowadays.

I'm just off to Weymouth by train and am feeling very virtuous after having compared the journey by car or train on this website: www.transportdirect.info
I'm using only 9.7 kg of CO2 emissions rather than 20.5 kgs.

Have a look for yourself.

Olympics and Paralympics

What a difference a few weeks makes! By the end of the Olympics all the sailing world in GB were flying high with a record number of medals – 4 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze as well as the accolade of top nation for the third Olympics running. Delightful for me as I had coached sailors in not just the four gold medal boats but also the Spaniard Fernando Echaverri who won the Tornado Gold (as well as Sofia Bekatorou – Bronze - as already mentioned).

This last week has been the Paralympics, and as a selector of the Team I have taken a very keen interest. Unfortunately they’ve had a rough time, and have finished 5th Skud, 6th Sonar and 7th 2.4mR. My commiserations to all the sailors and coaches. We have a wrap-up meeting at the Sail for Gold regatta this week so the priority has to be learning the lessons for next time.

Sail for Gold www.skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk/ kicks off this week and no doubt will get many visitors now looking towards 2021. I think a number of our now (justly) famous medallists will be there. They’ve produced a Mac widget to get a direct link to news in Weymouth which is fun for me as a Mac user!

Super Sunday!

I’ve had a lovely day! Ben Ainslie has won Gold in the Finn Class and Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson have won Gold in the Yngling Class for Team GBR. Absolutely fantastic.

In addition, the Greek Yngling Team have won the bronze medal.

And I’ve coached them all.

My delighted congratulations to them all.

Cowes Week

I had a lots of fun sailing on 'Full Pelt' today until our mast fell down. We'd just got into the lead too. Very sad. The photo shows us being towed home.

We had to avoid a buoy that was on our track - and luffing up caused us to broach. After hanging off the back like a monkey, the boat came upright again after letting go of the spinnaker halyard but then the spinnaker went in the water and the drag broke the mast.

I was particularly sad as I was was doing mainsheet today, and had worked hard up the long beats against the tide only to have it all come to nought. However it was fun sailing with the team - Duncan, Piglet, Chris, Jo and Deegs.

The foggiest so far

QingDao is certainly a foggy place at this time of year. Here is the Greek Yngling being towed just 15 metres behind the motorboat. This huge city - 8 million people and the 8th largest in China - is warm and humid right now, and we have been getting a lot of fog. We've been getting lot of weed too but the many workers from the Chinese Army and local populace have been doing a really good job to clear it. It looked for a few days as if they had nearly cleared it all away but we came across some really big patches today so it must still be growing.

Things are in the final countdown here to the Olympics. Security is getting tighter and the final tidy up is under way. Everyone is friendly and helpful.

China Olympics and beyond

With Beijing soon to start, I know all the teams are in the final stages of preparation. One of my friends from the circuit, Sofia Bekatorou - the Greek gold medallist from 2004 in the 470 Class - has asked me to give her a last minute boost to her programme. So I'm off to Qingdao soon, and will get to experience for myself the fog and the tides that everyone has been talking about.

While so much sporting interest is zeroing into this Aug/Sept, I've had occasion to help find advice for a couple of youngsters in long distance running and Triathalon - best coaching, study-sport balance etc. With 2012 coming, it is really encouraging to talk to some excellent people in UK Athletics with an approachable yet practical commonsense attitude. This is especially important as I note that parents are encouraging of their very talented youngsters to consider a sports career, whereas normally I think academia and business would take precedence. Its great to have such a good infrastructure in Sport in this country - very uplifting!

MOCRA and double-handed racing

I’ve been racing a Dragonfly a few times recently www.multihullsolutions.co.uk and have thoroughly enjoyed myself. In particular, the racing in the Royal Southampton YC www.rsyc.org.uk double-handed series.

I love the speed we travel, the tactics and strategy of sailing coastal races and the constant action of sailing short-handed. The social life is good too. A few weekends ago we went for dinner in the Weymouth curry house. Six people from three boats made a lot of experiences to talk about, with highs and lows to be shared. So very different from having one big crew around one table and in a similar state of mind from that day’s racing.

Prince2

Whey hey! Just found our that I have passed my Prince 2 Project Management exams. I’m very pleased, not least that it has been some time since I have taken exams. Good course too - it really helped to straighten out my ideas on structure and processes. Thinking back over past projects, it is now much clearer why what went right and wrong.

Now my plan of putting my two strengths of project management and coaching together as one offering is coming together.

It was interesting how resourceful my NLP training was when those old exam nerves kicked in. NLP really is good stuff!

A head for heights

I went climbing recently and was delighted to find that I have finally overcome my totally irrational fear of heights.

I am so pleased,especially since I used to take such pleasure in climbing in trees as a kid, yet that got eroded in adulthood to the stage where I came out of one experience as a gibbering wreck. I’ve been working up to this for some time using NLP techniques and high ropes courses. This time was on the cliffs at Swannage.

We were under the very expert tuition of Chris Barratt. I fully recommend him to others who want a very safe, reassuring yet fun experience. Visit his very nice website at www.chrisbarratt.co.uk

Time wasting or mind stretching?

Try this:

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/games.shtml

The Possibility Virus

I subscribe to ‘Outside the Lines’ - a newsletter by Canadian Michael Bungay Stanier. This month’s is SO wide-ranging and certainly thought provoking. He’s posted it on his ‘Possibility Virus’ website www.possibilityvirus.com/blog/2008/04/07/do-you-want-to-cheat-death/ Some of its a bit gruesome or eerie but keep going and it’ll get you thinking about change.

Creativity and Education

Go have a look at this talk by Sir Ken Robinson on TED www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66 . This very entertaining talk is about the serious subject of how we educate people out of creativity. Very much food for thought.

Ken Robinson was the Chairman, of a committee that produced a report for the british Government in 1999 called ‘All our Futures’ www.dfes.gov.uk/naccce/index1.shtml . I was given some statistics out of this report on the measure of genius level of creativity by age:
Age 3-5 98% have Genius level creativity
8-10 32%
13-15 10%
25+ 2%

How disturbing is this!

I was asked the question recently - ‘how creative are you in your life?’ and I find myself making surprising discoveries of instances today, especially having released myself from the definition of creative = art. However, I have also discovered how often I constrict myself from achieving and richer life, usually by allowing time pressure to get to me. More action required!

What I do know is that I find sailing well a creative experience. I was helming a beautiful 50’ yacht ‘Atlantis’ down the channel to Dover the other day and had a lot of fun steering precisely right in the waves. I was just watching the waves with total concentration, no other thoughts or self-talk. Beautiful.

RORC Easter Regatta

I’ve just finished coaching at the RORC Red Funnel Easter Regatta in Cowes - wet and windy this year. It was such a shame two days were blown off. It was a pleasure to see the big boats in action today - fast, furious and fun!

I’ve been to a lot of prizegivings in my life but this one is one of the best. The prizes are Easter Eggs,and the way it’s conducted by Janet Grosvenor is just fun.

The coaching came from an alliance of the RORC with the RYA and is getting better year on year. It's providing real added value to the regatta. Jim Saltonstall led the way with, as usual, an exemplary demonstration of peppering education with entertainment in the Regatta Centre in the West Cowes Marina. While walking down the High Street Jim came across a passer-by with a real live ferret, and a photo was duely taken. In recognition of Jim’s relationship with all his ‘ferrets’ I hope it gets put up on the RORC website www.rorc.org when the staff transfer from the Disrespect back up to St. James.

French Lighthouses in BIG waves

Just have a look at this!

www.kimhollamby.com/blog/

TED

One of the nice things about the power of blogging is the ability to share. I take great pleasure in sharing this latest find - TED

www.ted.com

Have fun!

small actions X lots of people = big change

I was with a group of friends in Devon the other day, where I heard about a website described to me as ‘a global movement for random acts of kindness’. With a description like that I just had to go and look.

www.wearewhatwedo.org is fascinating. A lovely resource for practical ways of making a difference. Have fun!

Improvement through review

I’ve been looking at new ways of improving my diction recently in light of the work done while gaining my Masters in NLP at the end of last year. To that end I’ve just bought a nifty little voice recorder, and have been using it this last four days in my role as trainer on the RYA Keelboat Coaches Course, where we were looking at how to coach rather than what to coach.

It has proved a very good feedback tool, and has enabled me to start to making improvements to my speech, so I’m very pleased. We had the RYA’s Keelboat Manager with us observing, which proved very useful as I was able to obtain feedback from him too which opened a window into a potential improvement in session planning which will prove of great benefit in future.

The course is not run on a frequent basis, so we always request the filling out of feedback forms, and run a de-brief for ourselves to generate improvements for next year. We are reassured this time that last year’s changes have been for the better, and hope that next year’s will be even better.

I used to be afraid of feedback. Now I welcome it

Word play

Here's a nice piece of software - www.visualthesaurus.com .

I enjoy words and this has to be the ultimate word exploration tool. Lots of fun to play with, as well as fulfilling a serious function.

ooops - retract that!

From Neil Gladwell: I'm afraid that you, like many others, have picked up on the petition about UK tidal data copyright without knowing that one of the basic statements of the petition is wrong. I publish tide tables here in the UK, I have a licence from the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) to do it and as of last year that licence cost me nothing at all. Its not true when Mr Bartholomew states Currently Her Majesty's Government is requiring payment by any who wish to use and publish this data. Sure I used to have to pay but it was a tiny amount, around 1p sterling for each copy of my main publication, and that was only because I wanted to use the data for commercial ends. I hope you have the chance to mention the petition isn't correct or amend your report.

Ah well. Still - the No.10 website still makes interesting reading.

Petitions

Scuttlebutt, the sailing news via the web, www.scuttlebutt.com, publicised a request to sign a petition for allow all British tidal data to be available to users free of charge.

In signing up I found myself on the 10 Downing Street website www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page1.asp where the petitions page houses all sorts of wonders. The top (!) petition is a request to allow the Red Arrow to fly over the 2012 Olympics (244909 signatures). Another in the top 5 is ‘Make Jeremy Clarkson Prime Minister (38876 signatures).

The Tide Table petition has gone a log way to go (1481 signatures) but very little time - the deadline in 11th January, so get signing! www.petitions.pm.gov.uk/Tidetable-data