Monday 27 September 2010

End of the road

Well, it is the end of the road for this blog, this weekend I move away from Exeter for the first real time in my life (unless you count a short spell in Exmouth, which most people don't).

I love the city, and love living here but circumstances are taking me to South East England and the market town of Aylesbury. I am sure it has lots of great things about it and I love the idea of discovering a new area of the country.

But that means that, for the foreseeable future this is the last entry in this blog. Thanks for the comments and for reading!

Turf walk 014

Dont forget my podcast though, which will continue at http://wordsfailmepodcast.blogspot.com/

Friday 2 July 2010

Long Summer Walk

On Monday I decided that a lovely long walk in the sun was called for, so I walked from Starcross, all the way to home. That is almost from the coast to the city, so quite a long walk! Luckily there are several excellent pubs on the way, so that broke it up a bit. Here are a few of the pictures I took on my phone.

Photo0086
The train I had just got off in Starcross.

Photo0088
Strange markers along the path from Starcross to Exeter Quay.

Photo0091
Photo0094

Looking across the estate at Powderham, where I saw Deer, Heron and Egrets, shame my phone camera does not have a zoom!

Photo0101
The stillness of the Canal at Turf Locks.

Photo0106
Me looking crazed and windswept at Turf.

Photo0113

Photo0109
The canal path in glorious sun!

Photo0117
Not the nicest part of the walk, but the motorway bridge does at least give some shade.

Photo0127
On the Quay at Exeter over 4 hours from the start, and almost home!

Wednesday 2 June 2010

Last of the last of the summer wine.

I think this Facebook group, and the number of members sums up the demise of Last of the Summer Wine.

Last of the summer wine

Monday 26 April 2010

Wiscombe - April 2010

It was the first Wiscombe Hill Climb of the series this weekend, we worked out that I have been going for 7 years now! Looking back through the photos of previous years I worked out I have been to at least 14 individual meeting there, and I still love it!

Wiscombe April 2010 046

These days has the added bonus of watching my friend Steve whizz up the hill, I believe he came 2nd in his class, which is not a bad start to the season. Here are a few pictures of his car, slightly modified from last year, unfortunately a shower of rain put the dampers (literally) on the time of his second run up the hill.

Wiscombe April 2010 045 Wiscombe April 2010 055

Wiscombe April 2010 029

Mostly people kept it on the track this weekend, but a few people found the hairpin a little slippery in the wet!

Wiscombe April 2010 058

Thursday 22 April 2010

Tiny Oboe

David Cameron Learns to play tiny Oboe. What a talented man.

Tiny Oboe David Cameron

Saturday 27 March 2010

Words Fail Me Podcast 3 - Mar 2010

Well it has been out for a few weeks now, and we have had over 50 downloads of the episode - which is excellent! I think that the great response to this episode is to do with the excellent guest Dave managed to get for us... Sir Patrick Moore!

I genuinely had no idea who the guest was, and am very impressed.

We also discuss Dave's recent TV and Radio appearances and deny all stalking of the Sugababes.


Another topic is 3D glasses, hence the below picture...

words fail me 015

Sunday 21 March 2010

An open letter to the owners of Frock Off in Exeter

Frock Off, Exeter

Dear shop owner(s),

I have walked past your shop in South Street Exeter many times, sometimes on my way to work, sometimes walking to the nearby Wetherspoons, sometimes just having a stroll in the sun. I have to say not once has your pun of a name raised a smile, nor have I ever thought it was a good name for a clothes shop.

I don't know how much thought you gave the name, my guess is somewhere between 'one second' and 'not at all'.

On every single level the name does not work. The pun is clumsy, barely sounding like the intended word.

Why would you want the first thing people think about as they approach the shop that you already want them do go away, even before they have entered? "Frock Off, OK, I think I will!".

Also being a clothes shop wouldn't you want people to put clothes (and frocks) on? Perhaps at the end of a drunken night in the Walkabout pub the frocks will be awkwardly taken off by a man called Clive who works in the BT call centre, but otherwise a shop should be all about putting clothes ON not taking them OFF?

A better pun (that I just came up with) would have been 'Frock On', at least this rhymes with the phrase it is punning with, and describes more closely what happens in a clothes shop.

I beg that you consider changing your name. otherwise I fear you will be one of the many shops that have recently closed down in South Street and you will be promptly replaced by yet another charity shop.

Yours sincerely,

Neil Denham
exeblog

Wednesday 3 March 2010

Words Fail Me Podcast - Second Podcast

The second Words Fail Me podcast has been up for about a week now, and has a good number of downloads and great feedback!

wordsfailme-kermode

We had great fun meeting the great man Mark Kermode in Bristol, and he was a true professional, he didn't hurry us and took us seriously, which is great for a little podcast like ours! We had a great day at the Watershed in Bristol, an amazing arty cinema complex that has almost everything you could want, food, great ciders and 3 cinema screens.

I hope the finished product is even better than the first, we took your feedback into account and made it slightly shorter overall, but with more of the celebrity dictionary opener.

You can download on the Words Fail Me blog here! http://wordsfailmepodcast.blogspot.com/ any feedback is welcome!

Will be recording again tomorrow with a new dictionary opener, and next week the main podcast for March.

Thursday 4 February 2010

Wrong BBC Headline

I think the BBC are running the wrong headline to go with the chosen picture...

Leaning Tower of London

Surely the fact that the clock tower at Westminster Palace is falling down should be the major news? Big Ben is going make quite a clang if that lot falls...

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Words Fail Me Podcast... now online

It's finally here, the Words Fail Me podcast is online! Listen to Dave and I discussing everything from Squarials to Belgian towns... and also a celebrity guest!

Find out more at http://wordsfailmepodcast.blogspot.com/ and download and listen to the mp3