CFZ Grows a Pointy Bit

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The CFZ is going in for some of that vertical growth that economists often speak about... but this is structural.

The tent-like shroud is there while I do some roof-patching, and keeps the sun off me while I'm there, and also affords protection from showers, should any come sweeping by.

At the moment, the weather looks set fair... but that's always a dangerous thing to assume, in the UK.

The Big Wildlife Garden scheme

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A scheme to encourage gardening in a wildlife-friendly manner strikes a chord with me, as the CFZ grounds already have a fair range of wild plants such as brambles and stinging nettles.

This project, organised by Natural England (the government’s conservation advisory body) seeks to increase the diversity of plants and animals in every garden.

"Be a part of England’s newest nature reserve," their website suggests. "The Big Wildlife Garden can help you turn your garden into an oasis for plants and animals."

Sounds a pretty good move.

There's more on this at the www.bwg.naturalengland.org.uk site.

Is it time to Ban the Vuvuzela?

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For many football (soccer) fans, World Cup 2010 has added a new word to their volcabulary: vuvuzela.

When literally thousands of these plastic trumpets are being blown in unison, the droning blankets all other sounds.

I've seen a few defenses of the vuvuzela, and here's a look at some of them.


It's part of the South African culture...

No, it's not. It's a fad that's been around for ten years or so. Singing and dancing is part of the RSA (Repulbic of South Africa) culture, in the same way as the Brazilians have their samba. Imitating the sound of a million angry hornets is not a widespread African tradition.

It adds richness and atmosphere...

Not at all. It makes every game sound identical, and makes every single minute the same as any other minute of the game. We end up with total uniformity of 'atmosphere' for the whole 90 minutes.

Here, we have 32 diferent nations in one tournament - and we have one single atmosphere!

It's a South African tournament, so they get to set the tone...

No; it's a world event that just happens to be staged in RSA this time around. If it were the RSA Cup Final then yes, of course they can do what they like. And, in a similar vein:

They're the hosts, so it's their decision what they do...

Etiquette demands that hosts should respect their guests and see to their needs.

Other fans have their own noisy bad habits too...

Yes, but not across all games and not in unrelenting fashion for the whole 90 minutes. Some people find England's raucous brass band annoying, but it doesn't play all the time, and it doesn't drown out everything else. Also, that band doesn't play during games where England aren't taking part!

They damage hearing and spread germs...

'Elf & Safety is a handy stick with which to beat your opponents, but I can't quite stomach a ban on these grounds!

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FIFA should never have staged the World Cup there. The ideal arrangement would be, South Africans blast away on their vuvuzelas as much as they want, and the rest of us enjoy the international festival of football in a country where diversity of celebration is tolerated and not smothered.

Lookalike Contest: Biggles as an angle-poise lamp

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Biggles is feeling a bit hindered after his operation, so I don't want to poke fun at the poor fellow.

However, I couldn't help being struck by the similarity between his anti-nibbling protection and my bedside lamp.

I first heard of these protectors when I was a child - an Enid Blyton story described how Timmy the dog needed to wear one for a while, and his owner, George, got so upset by people laughing at him that she stormed off in a huff to her island, taking Timmy with her.

Biggles is getting a bit tired of this collar, I think. He wants to count his blessings, so to speak... but can't.

Watching the Grass Grow

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Further garden improvements here... returfing.

The lawn gets pretty hammered by the Weird Weekend outdoor party, and it hadn't really recovered from the 2008 trampling when along came the 2009 one - in fairly wet weather, too.

And, yes, there's the Biggles Factor as well......


A recent donation to the CFZ coffers enabled our buying rolls of turf, and the weather's nice at present (gasp) so that's enabled the "2010 lawn enhancement project" to get underway.

Survival: no Internet for a week

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I'm going to be taking a week off from the CFZ, to attend to some family-related matters... but which does involve my being in a very isolated spot, without any Internet access.

The scenario reminds me of one of these social experiment shows on tv, where we see a group of people suddenly deprived of one or more things that they've hitherto taken for granted, and we watch to see how they cope.

I don't think my situation would make very exciting tv, though: watching a DVD, chatting to people, and, later on, reading a book. Not exactly the 'raw emotion' stuff that is the lifeblood of 'reality tv'...
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Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

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You know, I'm not so sure about the title. Jon and Corinna are away in Texas, so I suppose it's they who are roaming around ranches, not I.

Right, that's got the stereotyping out of the way, and now here's a view of what's going on at CFZ Central.


The latest recruit to the local Neighbourhood Watch anti-crime scheme... Biggles likes that chair near the front window, so's he can bark at anyone walking past!

The real nerve-centre of the CFZ?

This is the CFZ Workshop, from which little hammer-wielding pixies and elves emerge to fix things that are starting to fall apart.

The process of moving tools and DIY-type resources from the CFZ Museum into here is continuing.

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This is the plaster cast that I mentioned a week ago.

It's still not dry!

Poured as a test one week before Jon and Corinna shipped out, this particular brand of plaster has not distinguished itself as a potential expedition resource. It's been setting for over three weeks, now!

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And finally, a look at the CFZ wheelbarrow... its colour scheme echoes that of Biggles' quite nicely - but structurally, it's not in such good shape. The front stays (white vertical struts) have come adrift and it's going to have to enter the CFZ Vehicle Repair Bay before it's once again "fit for purpose" (as the UK Government would no doubt phrase it).
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