Where I live - 'In Salford'

I've received a couple of email comments regarding the header picture I'm currently using. Yes it is actually in Salford, in fact if I cross over the main road from my home and walk down the side of the canal bridge (designated as the Monton bridge on the Bridgewater Canal) then this current header photo is the view to my left. This footpath does narrow somewhat further on, but does lead eventually in a northwesterly direction into the neighbouring village of Worsley.

Anyway, the following is the view to my right showing the Monton bridge itself, though admittedly taken from the footpath on the opposite bank where the Victorian origins of the bridge can be more clearly seen, and the Victorian post railings on the right hand side border the previously mentioned footpath down to the canal bank.

On the other (south) side of the bridge the canal opens up into a bend, and that's where you can see a modern day 'Folly' in the form of a lighthouse!

This is still only a couple of minutes walk away from where I live but in a slightly different direction, the Monton bridge over the Bridgewater Canal is still clearly seen on the left - but unfortunately the Victorian ironwork of the bridge is obscured on this side by the more modern cladding enclosing our utilities pipework. However, this photo was taken from outside one of the many very pleasant eating establishments in Monton village, Salford - The Waterside Restaurant:

Now I have to hastily add that I have no connection with this establishment whatsoever, but it is only a couple of minutes walk round the corner from me and I have very occasionally had the odd bar meal there washed down with a half o'lager! (Note that the 'Waterside' is now actually based around an expensive but full 'A La Carte' menu in the restaurant, but during the summer they do get many narrowboat hollidayers on the Canal and so normally serve meals over the bar as well).

Anyway, I must end with this next photo. The first time I walked southwards from here on the canal towpath towards Patricroft on the western side of Eccles, where there are still many reminders of our industrial past, just around a slight bend I took one of my most favourite photo's ever:

Well, what more can I say?

Amateur Radio (Part. 1)

I always find it difficult to talk about technical things without talking technical, but here goes:

You may have noticed that my blog URL includes my Amateur Radio callsign, G8FYK, so I just had to get something posted sooner rather than later on this technical hobby which I have indulged myself into on and off since I was in my mid teens.

The first thing to note is that this hobby has little, no I would say nothing whatsoever, to do with that other thing called CB Radio. First of all we cannot make up our own radio callsigns, they are allocated to us by the Radio Licensing Authority in a strict internationally recognised format. I obtained mine in 1972 after sitting a tough City and Guilds exam (now NVQ Level 2 equiv., so I understand) which included the theory of radio transmission and reception, and the transmitting licence regulations and how the owner of a transmitter would be able to demonstrate compliance. Sounds tough, but the fact is that so many people are so fascinated by this technical hobby that they find the basics get easier over the years as the thirst for technical radio knowledge increases. (See also my link to the 'Radio Society of Great Britain', affectionately known as 'The RSGB').

The hobby of Amateur Radio is now so diverse and encompasses all forms of communication via radio signals, so much so that the morse code is now considered irrelevant in this modern digital age. I myself was experimenting with the digital modes twenty years ago with AX25 'Packet Radio' (so very similar to the Internet instant messaging and bulletin boards of today), RTTY (radio teletype, the digital version of the old teleprinters), and SSTV (slow scan television, which is probably best known for obtaining weather pictures from orbiting satellites), and all this via a Sinclair Spectrum Plus Two home computer connected to dedicated Amateur Radio transmitters and receivers.

So that this post doesn't get too long I will end this (Part. 1) with a couple of photo's of my Amateur Radio setup from the early/mid 1990's.

Please feel free to comment on the the equipment in there, especially if you recognise any make / models or have any questions. The details of the antenna system will be included in a future post. Personally, I think this looks like a reasonably smart and neat setup, but look what happens when we move the camera back a bit:

Now that's a bit more like a traditional 'Radio Shack'! Even though you still can't see the workbench on the left hand side, with the maxi and mini vices, 'multiple hands', vertical drill stand, soldering 'station', abandoned Verostrip projects, total mess including buried telephone, left over bits from the disco days stored underneath, etc., all of which I must have been ashamed of to include when I took this photo!

Notice also the then newly acquired second hand ICL DRS and DEC VaxMate computers on the right hand side, not clear but hopefully may be recognisable to anyone who knows them.

A few pics of Salford - some bridges.

This is the first of many short picture sets featuring 'In and around Salford'. As far as possible I will be using photo's I have taken myself, but if I do need to pinch any from the Internet I will quote their source.

For those who may not be aware Salford is an urban city wrapped around the western side of Manchester in the north west of England, and is probably best known (apart from the TV soap series 'Coronation Street') for the Old Trafford football ground which of course is the home of the Manchester United team.

These days Salford is a mixture of its old Industrial Revolution heritage and the massive redevelopment undertaken within recent years, much of which the latter lays down a new heritage for the future. To me this makes the area fascinating to live in.

Within the boundaries of Salford there are three waterways, namely the Manchester Ship Canal, the Bridgewater Canal, and the River Irwell. I won't go into details as the three can be easily 'Google'd', except to say that I live very close to the Bridgewater Canal. The following are just a few landmarks on these waterways:




The Barton Swing Road Bridge near Eccles, Salford. This carries traffic across the Manchester Ship Canal and is one of the few remaining working swing bridges today. The road section is pivoted at its middle on a turntable (which can just be seen in the middle of the water) and can be swung around on that central pivot to allow ships to pass.




Now this really Is a feat of engineering! Probably only a hundred metres away from the swing road bridge above is the Barton Aqueduct swing bridge. This, surprisingly, carries the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal. And not only that, it too can swing around on a central turntable to allow ships to pass - and remain filled with water to enable narrowboats on the Bridgewater Canal to continue their journey when the aqueduct has swung back again.




Another view of the Barton Aqueduct, as seen from a narrowboat on the Bridgewater Canal. What amazes me is how the ends of the aqueduct bridge, and their junctions with the canal, can be so effectively sealed off to allow the swinging of the bridge still full of water - and without emptying the Bridgewater into the Manchester Ship!

Another crossing over the Manchester Ship Canal, this is Centenary Bridge, which is on a more recent bypass road linking Eccles, Salford, with the Trafford Park Industrial Estate. This one doesn't swing, instead an entire section of road is haulled up into the air between four concrete tower posts. Frightening enough, but you should see the winch cables in the towers - they're only about an inch or so thick!

My first update

Well the initial setup and testing of this blog appears to have gone OK. I have made a few changes in the blogger 'Settings' options which I think improve the usability slightly. I have also noticed the differences in the display formatting depending on whether you are viewing via MS Internet Explorer 7 or Mozilla FireFox 3. This should not be happening as both these web browsers are supposed to be W3c web standards compliant. Or is it that the underlying code within Blogger.com is not W3c compliant?

In connection with my previous test posting relating to 'my dim and sordid past', I have also included a link to the website of an old friend of mine from the 1970's. John ran the Funky Parrot roadshow disco for many years around the Leics. / Warks. area, and I'm staggered to see that he's still going strong - he must be getting towards the 'big 60' by now! Check this out for 70's nostalgia:

D'y'know, I'm sure there's at least one speaker cab in there that he had off me?


Anyway, I'm now sorting out material for my future posts ( a mammoth task!). Future topics will include In and around Salford, the urban village of Monton, Amateur Radio (and my part in it!), and anything else I can think of. All interjected with comments on topical issues, like "why did you 'buy to rent' anyway when housing is the roof over someone's head which was never intended for a third party to attempt to make money out of!".

First Test

For a test, knowing I can delete it later, is a badly scanned poor quality photo of one of the mobile disco setups I had in the mid 1970's. It was taken at the Earl Shilton Albion Sports and Social Club in Leicestershire.