Category: uk

Wish you were here?

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I love a good storm. And there’s a really good storm over the British Isles at the moment.

I’ve had the Isle of Man webcams open on my second monitor, and while it’s amazing to watch the Irish Sea doing its thing as we approach high tide:

I’m missing the noise and the smell and the stinging cold of the spray on my cheeks.
It’s just not the same sitting in an office 6000 miles… away.

Some of the best visuals have been from the Scarlett Point cameras – based at the old Coastguard Station:

It doesn’t look quite as green there today, but it does look pretty amazing.

That is Scarlett Stack,  the remains of an ancient volcanic vent, which – as the tide rises – is being repeatedly and more extensively overwhelmed by the incoming waves. Quite a sight, given that it’s a good 10m in height.

Beautiful. And I know that it’s far from everyone’s favourite kind of weather, but I really wish that I was there right now. (Like, on the footpath, not on the actual rocks: I’m just daft, not completely stupid.)

Also – on one of the other cameras earlier – fair play to this guy.

No better sort of day for a run.

EDIT: Still watching (with my sideeye) – suddenly (and briefly) – gorgeous sunlight.

Boring Fund

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OK, so this one is only for UK readers, but I do like the idea, and I’m sure if something similar were set up here in SA, it would be massively oversubscribed hugely popular.

And yes, I was drawn in by the bright colours and the beagle.

It’s a sidearm of Christina Poulton’s business, and it’s there to help out organisations like charities, community groups and voluntary projects.
And Boring only because it’s not there to fund sensational stuff and cutting-edge projects.
Quite the opposite, in fact

The grant is to spend the money on something boring and behind-the-scenes, that would otherwise be more difficult to fund e.g. insurance, accountancy, admin time, web hosting, training, office costs etc. Essential but unsexy costs. The grants are not for project delivery or anything too exciting.

Those everyday expenses that can really hold back a small enterprise: essential costs, but which are never really built in to any one project or programme.

What a great idea.

If you want to apply for a Boring Fund grant of up to £200, you have until the end of the month to apply. The rules are pretty strict, but that’s simply to ensure that only worthy organisations get a chance to be funded. It makes sense.

If you are part of an eligible organisation, or you know someone who is, this might really help out.

Why not give it a try?

UPDATED! How to listen to BBC 6Music (and all the other BBC radio stations) if you are outside the UK

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I wrote a post on how to do this back in July. But things have changed.

First off: Yes, you can still listen live to 6Music with no issues and no restrictions here.
For other BBC radio stations, see here (scroll down for the list of links).

But if you want to use the BBC Sounds app, then a simple VPN connection will no longer suffice. And so here is a new post with a better method of doing things.

To rewind, listen back or use any of the other benefits that overseas users used to have, then you will have to open the BBC Sounds app, at which point you will be faced with the dreaded “The BBC Sounds app is closed for users outside the UK” screen.

Which is why you are here.

Thankfully, there’s a four stage process to get around this.

1. First, you’ll need an email address registered in the UK: one with a .co.uk suffix. If you don’t have one of those, you can get one free at mail.co.uk (you’ll need a UK cellphone number to register your account) or GMX mail (no UK cellphone number required).

2. Once you’re set up there (it’s a 5 minute process), use your new .co.uk email address to set a BBC Account registered in the UK here. You’ll need to enter a UK postcode to complete your registration. If you don’t have one of those, you could generate one here.

3. Thirdly, you will need a VPN, set to the UK. I use Nord and it works very well. If you also want to use Nord (because it works very well), please consider using my affiliate code to get a few extra months free for both of us.

4. Finally, go to the BBC Sounds app on your phone and CLEAR ALL DATA – DO NOT DELETE THE APP!

Set your VPN to the UK, open the BBC Sounds app, login with your new UK-based account and it’s like the good times never went away.

Remember to refresh your UK VPN server occasionally, and if you are using split tunnelling (if you don’t know what this is, you’re not using it) also make sure that the BBC Sounds app is not on your VPN app’s excluded list.

The fine print: I take no responsibility for anything, as ever. I’m merely documenting a process which allows me to use the BBC Sounds app. This method works for me, and I don’t feel too bad about using it as (really weirdly) my non-UK based smart speaker still allows me to do all the BBC Sounds things without any account changes, VPNs or postcodes. No. I have no idea why either.

Happy listening, Music Lover.

A FURTHER UPDATE!

If you find yourself suddenly staring at the dreaded “The BBC Sounds app is closed for users outside the UK” screen out of the blue, then close the app, clear all data, log back in with your .co.uk email address (while using a UK-based VPN location), and all will be right once again.

Not moving to Gloucestershire

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I have no real desire to move full-stop, but certainly not to Gloucestershire.

Although, this place seems pretty affordable.

A 1 bedroom place in the countryside – it definitely needs some TLC – but at “just” £135,000, it seems nice enough: and it’s full of potential.

DSB Estate Agents are pleased to bring to the market this one bedroom detached cottage nestled away in the Cotswolds.
To the ground floor this property comprises of an entrance porch, an open-plan lounge diner, a fitted kitchen, a utility room and a bathroom along with a conservatory overlooking the garden, a cloakroom and a coal shed.
On the first floor you will find the master bedroom which boasts an en-suite. The second floor offers fantastic views from the loft.
As we head outside, prepare to be blown away by the beautiful (and rather sizeable!) garden which mainly lies to the side of the property. There is also a double garage.

Sounds good.

I particularly like the floating blue pot in the back garden. Trippy.

I guess that the only downside here is the size of the place. One bedroom doesn’t really offer a lot of flexibilty, but look at the amount of space you have around you to extend your living… I’m sorry… what small print?

Those somewhat unremarkable two lines in the middle there?

You mean this rather disappointing one?

Please note: The property is subject to a restrictive covenant which prevents any extensions being added to the dwelling. 

And this frankly alarming one?

In addition, there are known sink holes present within the grounds.

Yeah, whatever you do as the estate agent, don’t make that sort of important information easy to find, will you? That might put off some buyers. You know: the ones who want a little more living space or those who just want to stay alive and not plunge to their death while mowing the lawn.

No. Not moving to Gloucestershire, and especially not moving to this place.

The return of Mock The Week? But…

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Well, yes. But actually, maybe. Or not?

Metro reported thus:

The scariest thing about this was that it was apparently four years ago. I thought that it was 2023 or something. And with a whole Google search, it turns out that neither of us were right.
The last episode was on the 4th November 2022.

That’s not even three years ago yet, let alone four.

But surely the rest of their reporting will be accurate and truthful, right?

And look, if it is correct, then this is clearly great news, but the issues here are twofold. Firstly, that so much of the original MTW was good because of the regulars and especially Hugh Dennis and Dara O’Briain. Without them, you might as well just make a different show. And although no cast announcements have been made yet, it’s not sounding good:

A statement from Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that the show’s return, produced by Angst Productions, would give the ‘much-loved’ series a ‘new look’.

As we’ve said so many time regarding music on this blog, sometimes change isn’t good. Especially when it was the familiarity that drew you in in the first place.

And there’s more iffiness because it’s apparently allegedly making a comeback on TLC:

As soon as I heard the news that Mock the Week was returning, I felt a tingle of nostalgic excitement.
Then I continued reading an article about it and saw something that immediately made me think the reboot is doomed to fail – it’s being aired on a relaunched version of TLC, which is a digital and Freeview channel known for reality TV screaming matches with shows like 90 Day Fiancé and 1000-lb Sisters.

These shows are hardly top-tier political satire like Mock the Week is, so it feels completely out of place.

There’s no doubt that the show calmed down a lot in its later years. There were definitely improvements in panel diversity, which was great to see, but at the same time, a lot of the edginess dropped off. And actually, we really need that edginess now. We need to be able to look at clowning politicians and take them down with satire and humour. See Colin Jost and Michael Che on SNL – no holds barred.
Honestly though, I think that there will be a further dumbing down of the hard-hitting content that MTW became known for in its early years (Frankie Boyle was a huge proponent of this).

The viewing figures dropped away as well with that lack of edginess, and it did feel like the show was held together by the regulars and the long-time fans [waves], rather than people looking to laugh at something a bit dangerous or risky – because that wasn’t going to happen.

Of course – of course – I will give this a go when it comes back out. But sadly, I’m ready to be disappointed.