Political Soundbite of the Day

We don’t do politics very often on 6000 miles…, but we are more than happy to share excellent political soundbites like this one whenever they come along:

So all the UK is isolated from is an impending disaster: the eurozone will fragment with countries leaving and debt defaults. It is like being as isolated as a man who failed to get onto the Titanic before it sailed.

That’s from Terry Smith in The Telegraph and comes via Perry de Havilland at Samizdata and is a good reminder that being the odd man out isn’t always a bad thing.

Exploding wind turbine

The recent wintery weather that has battered Scotland (see these pictures on the BBC News website) led to a wind turbine at the Ardrossan Wind Farm bursting into flames.

 

Och no! They’ve removed the image. Still, see below….

 

A small amount of detective work led me to more photos as part of this flickr set.

Oooh – I bet Paternoster simply can’t wait!

Anyone Can Play Guitar

Although of course, it’s not strictly true that anyone can play guitar well. But I was reminded of this vintage Radiohead track this week and felt the need to share:

 

This was actually my first introduction to Radiohead, on a Parlophone (careful now) cassette tape given to us freshers in our first week at Newcastle Uni. I’m going to have a dig around at home and see if I can find it – the track listing would be “interesting”. This was the standout track (and the second best on their Pablo Honey album), but there were other good tracks on there as well.
The Frames’ Masquerade was one – I’ll list the others when if I find the tape.

Club Statement

 

Gary Speed MBE
8 September 1969 – 27 November 2011

Having been away from all radio, internet and cellphone contact this weekend (try it, you might like it), I was hugely shocked and saddened (as I’m sure many others were) to hear of the apparent suicide of Gary Speed – footballer, Wales manager and – more pertinently for me – ex-Sheffield United player and boss.

Here’s the statement from the United website:

Everyone at Sheffield United Football Club is shocked to hear of the death of former player, coach and manager Gary Speed.

Gary made his debut for the Blades on New Year’s Day 2008 in a 0-0 draw against Wolves. He retired as a player in the summer of 2009 but continued his career in the game by taking up a coaching role at Sheffield United.
Three games into the 2010/11 season Gary replaced Kevin Blackwell as manager before moving to manage the Wales national team in December 2010.

Sheffield United director Scott McCabe said: “This is devastating news. All the thoughts and prayers of the board of directors and staff at the club are with Gary’s family at this very sad time.”

Former playing colleague now player coach with the Blades, Chris Morgan: “I just cannot believe that Gary has died. He was extremely popular at Bramall Lane both as a player and in a managerial capacity with all the lads. His death is a very sad loss.”

All too often when someone young (Speed was just 42 years old) and well-known passes away, the grief athletes come out in droves and lament their death as if they were a saint. I’m usually rather more emotionless and rational, but in this instance, I find myself sad at the passing of a man who appeared throughout his career to be a genuine, honest and down-to-earth guy.

RIP Gary Speed.

They’re back…

Ah – the infamous and immortal words of little Heather O’Rourke playing little Carol-Anne in Poltergeist II.

But this is far less spooky. The guys from Silent UK are back – but this time, having been caught and prosecuted in the UK, they’ve gone Stateside!

For me, the adventures in London were over, my trump card used, as were my excuses. Yet something still remained, that desire to once again risk it all for that unique experience and reward. I know now that only one thing could cleanse that from my mind, and that’s death. I needed an outlet, some way to satisfy this desire but with London’s capital now off limits i was forced to look further afield. America.

In the States my slate was clean, although the consequences would still be unforgiving should i be caught, i felt safe in the knowledge the punishment wouldn’t bare the same damage multiplier the British justice system now reserves for me.

The posts relating to Silent UK were – and still are – some of the most popular on 6000 miles… and the photography is the big draw. Thankfully, it seems that despite the trans-Atlantic crossing, the quality has not suffered. So far, we’ve had some amazing images of a couple of airfields full of abandoned planes (here & here), together with some amazing images from the Manhattan Bridge:

Perhaps understandably, there is still some edginess:

It had been almost four months since i last crept through or climbed the unknown. The fear of legal repercussion grounding me, causing my inaction, the suffering forever engraved in my mind. It was something that i could not, and still have not shaken.

But it’s great to see some new stuff on the site and I hope that we see much more in the coming months.