ICE - In Case of Emergency

In view of the recent events in London, NHS East Anglian Ambulance Service have launched a national "In Case of Emergency (ICE)" campaign in association with Vodafone's annual life savers award.

The simple idea is that you store the word "ICE" in your mobile phone address book, and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted "In Case of Emergency".

In an emergency situation, relevant personnel will be able to quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them. It's as simple as that, and for more than one contact name you can use ICE1, ICE2, ICE3 etc. There's more info on the ICE website.

Harry Potter

It was interesting walking into our local Tescos on Friday evening, to see an empty display rack for this book, due out on Saturday.

And then to walk in again on Saturday evening to see the same empty display rack. In the gap between, the books had arrived and then departed. Almost a Harry Potter storyline.

Outdoor Studio

Spent part of today hacking through eight hours of video created by John and Melanie, on a Powerbook connected to a LaCie drive, in the garden. Try doing that with Windows!

Trinity Test

July 16th was the date of the Trinity test. First Nuclear Bomb. Nothing was ever the same.

Moment of Silence

Londoners and tourists visiting the British capital have made a point of going about their business and leisure as normal - or as near normal as possible, following last Thursday's devastating terrorist attacks, which killed at least 53 people and injured around 700.

Today, a week after the attacks, there was a two minute silence throughout London and the rest of the UK and many parts of Europe. With many others, we went outside to take the two minutes of silence on the hot London streets at midday.

Electronic Freedom

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has been around in the internet for many years and argues - amongst many things- on behalf of bloggers, publishing useful advice about rights, privileges, and protections.

Bloggers are entitled to free speech - The EFF works to shield from frivolous or abusive threats and lawsuits. Internet bullies shouldn't use copyright, libel, or other claims to chill legitimate speech.

Bloggers have the right to political speech - The EFF works with public interest organizations to ensure that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) doesn't gag bloggers' election related speech. Bloggers also have the right to stay anonymous - including providing a guide to help with strategies for keeping identity private.

William appears

Julie had managed to get seats in row 3, which was around two metres from the stage. In addition to a strong set from mainly the second album and the recent arena tout, Will Young sang three new songs, which will no doubt already be available as mp3 captures from the many cellular phones in the concert.

Mara Carlyle

Enjoyable, talented and slightly quirky singer. First album called 'The Lovely'. Mara disarmingly handles sensuous glissandos and leaps into a heartstopping upper register with deliciously buttery phrasing. She makes it all seem casual. Her folk singer style covers many genres augmented with ukelele and saw(!) amongst the instruments.

Lazin' on a Sunday afternoon

In the summertime when the weather is high
You can stretch right up and touch the sky
When the weather is fine
We go fishing or go swimming in the sea
We're always happy
Life's for living, yeah, that's our philosophy

Leeds castle. Hazy evening.

Kentish Idyll

Twisting country lanes, mainly single track, to a relaxed house in the country.

Terror in London

Living as a Londoner, most of my life has included the awareness of our capital city as a target for terrorist attacks. The most sustained period was when the IRA sent bombs to major areas of our city as their violent protest about Northern Ireland.


The current attacks unleashed in Central London, using a bus and tube trains are from another source. Although arguably claimed by al-Qaeda, these attacks don't give warning and don't give an explanation.

So using the most commonplace symbols of London life - the red bus and tube, we now have an unknown killer in our streets.

Union Jack

The Union Jack is reflected in raindrops on a car window from the electronic message sign at the NASDAQ Market Site in New York's Times Square July 8, 2005, which has been displaying the flag as part of a tribute to victims of Thursday's bombings in London.

Many Blogs throughout the world are displaying a Union Jack today as a sign of global support for the United Kingdom in these troubled times.

Explosions in London's commuter systems early yesterday killed at least 50 people and injured more than 700 during the morning rush.