John1954Moi

New Blog!

2008-08-25T11:44:00.001+01:00

Please note I'm no longer updating this blog, you can find my new blog at johnager.org and website at johnager.co.uk - why not give them a look!
JVA

British F1 Grand Prix Race 2008

2008-07-06T23:59:00.002+01:00

Lewis Hamilton made a great start in a wet British Grand Prix to move up from P4 to P2 and challenge his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen for P1, and he managed get past a few laps later. In the wet conditions many of the drivers experienced difficulties (especially because the cars don't have traction control this year) but Hamilton demonstrated his superb talent, and his McLaren team made excellent strategic decisions. After two races without scoring any points, Hamilton is back at the top of the championship with three drivers on 48 points.
JVA

British F1 Grand Prix Qualifying 2008

2008-07-05T15:43:00.008+01:00

Unfortunately I missed the qualifying session as I was at a fund raising event at the Salvation Army, although I managed to keep one eye on the live timing screen on the computer! Sadly, Lewis Hamilton could only manage P4 at his home circuit, but it was good to see Heikki Kovalainen secure the first P1 of his F1 career.

Interestingly, Felipe Massa could only manage P9. There was a funny story told about him on the radio yesterday - apparently Massa was one of the drivers former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve would try to avoid during qualifying, he wouldn't go out if he was on the circuit because he considered him such a liability! And this is someone who could win the championship this season! Clearly he has improved!

I just heard the newsreader on BBC Radio 2 call Kimi Raikkonen
Mika Haikkonen!!!!! Unbelieveable, what's the world coming to!
JVA

Photography at Lincoln Castle

2008-07-04T23:39:00.009+01:00

I was pleased that someone marked this picture a favourite on Flickr today. Darren Daz Cox (an internet contact of mine) commented - I love the synergy of nature and man here! I've always been interested in photography, and my interest has been renewed since getting a digital camera. The question was posed on Twitter today: If you had to give your best photography tip in 140 characters - what would it be? My reply was: Understand the basic rules of composition, get a feel for them, apply them regularly - and break them occasionally! The first photo obeys the rules of composition, this second one is composed (although I took it without much thought) but breaks at least basic two rules of photography!

Click here for the full set! Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear your comments! Check out my Photostream at Flickr!
JVA

Euro 2008 Final

2008-06-30T00:03:00.006+01:00

Marta, Sarah and myself decided to go to Gainsborough Golf Club to watch the final of Euro 2008 between Germany and Spain. I've got it made - wife and daughter both like football! Sarah is particularly knowledgeable and often answers my questions - she certainly understand the offside rule! Anyway, we were all shouting for Spain and the right team won!

Yo gozan el fútbol y se complace España ganó!
Lo siento si mi español es malo, estoy aprendiendo.

JVA

Sweeney Todd

2008-06-29T13:05:00.005+01:00

Marta, Sarah and I watched Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street yesterday on DVD, Sarah having previously seen it at the cinema. Please note - slight spoiler below! This is a another deliciously dark film from Tim Burton, with the wonderful music of Stephen Sondheim. It's a very gruesome film, but it has the style one comes to expect from Tim Burton. The greatness of the film comes from the fact that you identify with the characters of Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) and Mrs Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), and have to remind yourself that they are killing people in cold blood and making them into pies! Not for the faint-hearted!
JVA

French F1 Qualifying and Race 2008

2008-06-26T23:45:00.004+01:00

Ferrari were dominant in the French Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa secured a 1-2 on the grid and a 2-1 in the race - if you see what I mean! Kimi Raikkonen was on for a win, but had to settle for second place behind Felipe Massa after a problem with a broken exhaust! Lewis Hamilton qualified in third place, but was demoted ten places for shunting Raikkonen in the pit lane in Canada - he was then penalised by the stewards for cutting the Nurburgring chicane in the process of passing Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel as he sought to make up places on the opening lap. That led to a drive-through penalty, the most lenient punishment available to the stewards for the offence, which cost him any realistic chance of scoring points. Felipe Massa now leads the driver's championship, with Lewis Hamilton in 4th place.
JVA

Canadian F1 Qualifying and Race 2008

2008-06-09T19:35:00.004+01:00

It was a great race for Robert Kubica who secured his maiden F1 win, a 1-2 for BMW-Sauber and their maiden F1 victory (although Nick Heidfeld was not a happy bunny having been outclassed by his team-mate yet again this season!). Previously Lewis Hamilton had stormed to pole position on the Saturday, and made a good start in the race - until he ran into the back of a stationary Kimi Raikkonnen in the pit lane following a safety car period. So no points for Lewis or Kimi - and Robert is now leading the championship! Quite a different race for Kubica than the one he had in Canada last year - click here!
JVA

Formula 1 Websites on Geek-Speak

2008-06-02T13:15:00.006+01:00

Check out my post about Formula 1 websites on Geek-Speak here!
JVA

Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet on DVD

2008-06-01T20:34:00.009+01:00

Marta and I have just finished watching this amazing film version of Shakespeare's Hamlet, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. It's unique in containing the whole text of the play, and the running time is four hours! I had the VHS version of the movie when it came out, but it became rather worn after I studied it for a course with the Open University. The DVD came out recently, but it's hard to get - mine was bought on eBay from a seller in Germany and the cover is in German, happily the soundtrack is in English!

It's probably the best filmed version of Hamlet you'll ever see, one review on IMDb UK says, "Not many directors could pull this off without boring their audience but Branagh's skillful use of bravora film style and stunt casting allows people to see the importance of the scenes that are usually cut out. Branagh is the only film maker that understood the importance of every scene in this film and knew how to convey that importance to the general audience."

Do yourself a real favour and check out this movie, you won't be disappointed! 101+ Reasons to see Branagh's Hamlet
JVA

Monaco F1 Grand Prix 2008

2008-05-31T14:31:00.003+01:00

Unfortunately I wasn't able to watch the Monaco Grand Prix, although I have since seen the highlights. It was a great day for Lewis Hamilton! He won the race despite hitting a barrier on lap six, puncturing a tyre and having to make an early pit-stop! He is now leading the championship. I listened to the race on the radio while travelling to York - click here to see my reaction when Hamilton won!
JVA

Monaco F1 Qualifying 2008

2008-05-25T00:36:00.004+01:00

Unfortunately I missed the qualifying today and it's now rather late, so click on the picture for the BBC Motorsport report.
JVA

Turkish F1 Grand Prix 2008

2008-05-11T22:47:00.003+01:00

Felipe Massa celebrated a third win in a row in Turkey with Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen taking third place. Lewis Hamilton came second and narrowed the gap in the championship, although Felipe Massa is now a serious title contender after his poor start to the season.
JVA

Turkish F1 Qualifying 2008

2008-05-10T23:41:00.005+01:00

Ferrari's Felipe Massa secured pole position at the Turkish GP for the third year running with a stunning lap at the very end of qualifying. Lewis Hamilton will have to work hard to ensure a win here, but if he can keep ahead of Kimi Raikkonen he can close the gap in the championship.
JVA

Lemon, Orange or Raspberry?

2008-05-02T23:50:00.000+01:00

If it's a choice between Lemon Puff Biscuits or Orange Puff Biscuits - Lemon wins! If it's a choice between Orange Jaffa Cakes or Raspberry Jaffa Cakes - Orange wins! If it's a choice between Raspberry Pavlova or Toffee Pavlova - Raspberry wins! It's just how things are!
JVA

Creative Commons

2008-04-28T01:17:00.001+01:00

Check out my post on Geek-Speak about Creative Commons - here!
JVA

Spanish F1 Grand Prix 2008

2008-04-27T23:52:00.005+01:00

It was red all the way in Spain! Kimi Raikkonen now leads Lewis Hamilton by 9 points in the championship. The next couple of races are crucial for Lewis - see here!
JVA

Spanish F1 Qualifying 2008

2008-04-26T21:24:00.005+01:00

Kimi Raikkonen stormed into pole position for the Spanish F1 Grand Prix ahead of Fernando Alonso (hoping to do well in his home GP - but expect an early strategic pit stop for fuel) and team-mate Felipe Massa. Robert Kubica for BMW-Sauber is likely to do well from P4, but Lewis Hamilton will have to dig deep to achieve a win from P5 on the performance of his McLaren this weekend.
JVA

Death of Humphrey Lyttelton

2008-04-26T09:09:00.005+01:00

This post now appears here:
http://johnager.co.uk/2008/10/12/humphrey-lyttelton
JVA

Babel (2006)

2008-04-24T18:50:00.012+01:00

The other evening Marta and I watched the film Babel, and found it powerful and compulsive viewing. Babel is an edgy and emotionally gripping film which deals with the barriers that separate humankind, it relates (not in chronological order - see Hyperlink cinema) four seemingly unrelated stories and shows how they are linked over vast distances and cultural differences. It's probably like no other film you've seen and, as a word of warning, certainly deserves it's 15 classification. It also has strobe lighting effects in one scene. Read about Babel at: IMDb UK and Rotten Tomatoes. See also Shibboleth.
JVA

Home from Divisional Leaders Retreat

2008-04-23T22:14:00.008+01:00

We had a great time away at Divisional Leaders Retreat, find more information here - and see photos here!
JVA

Creative Possibilities with a Mobile Phone

2008-04-19T12:57:00.007+01:00

I've posted this to illustrate the creative possibilities of a 2.0 mega pixel camera with no flash. I'm really rather proud of this photo, as you've probably guessed! The ambient light was quite low, although there was an overhead light. I simply made the image black & white, lightened it and added soft focus with the centre of definition on Sarah's left eye - et Voila!

For comparison purposes, this is the original.
JVA

Nine Hours of Live Shakespeare

2008-04-18T22:02:00.009+01:00

Marta, Sarah and I had a fantastic day on Wednesday! We spent two nights in London so we could see three consecutive Shakespeare history plays in one day. These were performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Roundhouse, as part of the complete cycle. We saw Henry IV Part II, Henry IV Part II and Henry V performed by the same company of actors, this was very helpful for the continuity - for example, the same actor was the prince in the first two plays, and then the king in the third.

In May we will be going to see Richard II, again with the same company, unfortunately out of chronological order!
JVA

Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2008

2008-04-06T13:37:00.009+01:00

Felipe Massa overtakes Robert Kubica to the lead at the start of the Bahrain F1 GP, with Kimi Raikkonen slotting into third place. Lewis Hamilton dropped to 10th at the start, and then right back after he shunted Fernando Alonso and had to pit for a new nose cone. Well done Massa (I had expected him to drop his car off the track again!) and all credit to Robert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld and their BMW-Sauber team.
JVA

Bahrain F1 Qualifying 2008

2008-04-05T14:59:00.005+01:00

It's always a great day when a driver achieves something for the first time in F1. Today it was the turn of the first Pole in F1 to achieve his first pole position (pun intended). Robert Kubica also gained the first pole position for the BMW-Sauber team. Felipe Massa is second on the grid (although on current form he will probably drop his car off the circuit tomorrow) with Lewis Hamilton third - despite his spectacular crash yesterday.
JVA

The Ager Family in Philip's Flat

2008-03-29T23:52:00.005Z

We had a great time with Philip and his girlfriend Rebecca today. Philip is a Junior Doctor in Stevenage. This picture was taken in Philip's flat.
JVA

John and Marta in Clumber Park

2008-03-27T18:20:00.003Z

Just arrived home after a great walk in Clumber Park, although we didn't go all round the lake this time!
JVA

Last Copy?

2008-03-25T16:26:00.005Z

You know me! Always on the look out for a funny picture! Think about it!
JVA

Father and Daughter in the Snow

2008-03-24T19:23:00.002Z

We were queuing for ice cream at Blyton near Gainsborough!!!

Perhaps this ought to be in my John1954TwoMugs blog!
JVA

Malaysian F1 Grand Prix 2008

2008-03-23T23:21:00.007Z

World champion Kimi Raikkonen crosses the line in his Ferrari to win the Malaysian GP after a race he dominated. Things are not looking so good for his team-mate Felipe Massa who dropped his car off the track for the second race in a row, this is already prompting questions about his future with the team.

Lewis Hamilton had long pitstop when his McLaren mechanics struggled to get his right-front wheel off, but he finished fifth and still ahead in the championship. So the much anticipated battle between Hamilton and Raikkonen is looking very much on the cards in 2008.
JVA

Malaysian F1 Qualifying 2008

2008-03-22T22:56:00.003Z

Ferrari were dominant in qualifying for the Malaysian GP, with Felipe Massa on pole. The two McLaren drivers qualified on the second row, but were both later penalised five places for impeding other drivers. They were conserving fuel after their fast laps, and held up Nick Heidfeld and Fernando Alonso. Nick Heidfeld felt he had lost two tenths of a second, which would have moved him up from 7th to 3rd on the grid. It's all looking good for a great race, especially if wet! McLaren issued this statement - click here!
JVA

Australian F1 Grand Prix 2008

2008-03-21T23:57:00.005Z

It's rather late to be posting about the Australian GP as the Malaysian GP is soon upon us, but it was a great victory for Lewis Hamilton, and it was an exciting race following the banning of driver aids - some of the top drivers made basic errors! Kevin Garside, in the Daily Telegraph, wrote that cars were going off seemingly at every turn, yet Hamilton drove as if taking the dog for a walk!

The picture is of Lewis Hamilton sharing his joy with Williams driver Nico Rosberg, who achieved the first podium finish of his F1 career.
JVA

Australian F1 Qualifying 2008

2008-03-15T10:59:00.007Z

BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica almost stole pole position for the Australian GP, but a slight oversteer in his last lap saw him finish second on the grid. Team-mate Nick Heidfeld qualified fifth. Click here for Robert Kubica's spectacular crash in Canada last year.
JVA

F1 Season 2008 - Red Bull

2008-03-14T19:43:00.004Z

I'm clearly not going to complete all the profiles of the teams in F1 before the first race, and so this may be the last one - who knows!

But when it comes to Red Bull I now have the advantage of the results from Friday practice! Both David Coulthard and Mark Webber did well, confirming the progress the team have claimed to have made during pre-season testing. Red Bull could be winning some of the mid-field battles - so look out BMW-Sauber and Williams!
JVA

Storms battering the UK!

2008-03-12T15:41:00.009Z

There are currently storms battering the UK and causing problems in many areas. Here is a photo of the damage in our back garden!

Having said that, we are having a big problem with the Salvation Army roof.
JVA

F1 Season 2008 - Williams

2008-03-11T23:54:00.007Z

Williams have a great history and heritage in F1, but recent years have been somewhat lean for them. They made steady progress in 2007, but race in a very competitive mid-field - so there must be no mistakes in 2008 if they are to finish top of this mid-field pack.

They have retained Nico Rosberg this year, and he is joined by Kazuki Nakajima - so they have both consistency and new blood.
JVA

Visual Oxymoron

2008-03-10T22:53:00.006Z

I enjoy oxymorons, you know the sort of thing - modern classic, government intelligence, Microsoft Works, etc, etc. So I couldn't resist snapping this photo in town today - a visual oxymoron! He's wearing camouflage trousers and a high-visibility jacket. Think about it!
Click here for a definition of an oxymoron.
JVA

F1 Season 2008 - Renault

2008-03-08T09:34:00.005Z

I used to have a lot of time for double world champion Fernando Alonso, indeed I wanted him to win last year until it became clear that Lewis Hamilton (his team-mate at McLaren) was more than a match for him! After all, no one expected Hamilton to perform as well as he did in his rookie season - it had never been done before! Alonso's subsequent behaviour left a lot to be desired in my humble opinion!

This season, Alonso has moved back to Renault, the team he won two world championships with in 2005 and 2006. Having said that, Renault is not the team it was then! Expect some podiums, and possibly a race win though - and look out for Alonso's team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr.
JVA

F1 Season 2008 - BMW-Sauber

2008-03-01T14:20:00.008Z

Next in my preview of this year's F1 season I come to BMW-Sauber. Because of McLaren's exclusion from the constructors championship last year, BMW-Sauber were elevated to second in the championship - a result which flatters their actual performance!

Their drivers are Nick Heidfeld (although there are doubts whether he has that elusive winning mentality) and Robert Kubica (left in the picture above), who had a spectacular crash in 2007. The question is, have the team and the drivers got what it takes to beat Ferrari and McLaren? Possibly not, although expect a few podium finishes.
JVA

F1 Season 2008 - McLaren

2008-02-28T19:09:00.008Z

Although McLaren have been sent to the wrong end of the pit lane because of last season's F1 spying scandal, I write about them now because they are clearly title contenders this season! McLaren are the team I want to win this year, and Lewis Hamilton (on the right in the picture below) is the driver I want to win the championship!

Lewis Hamilton very nearly won the title last year, an outstanding performance from an F1 driver in his rookie season. His problems last year with former team-mate Fernando Alonso have been well documented, this year he is partnered with rising star Heikki Kovalainen - who should be the perfect team-mate.
JVA

Terremoto! Terremoto! Terremoto!

2008-02-27T11:47:00.009Z

The earthquake that hit the UK in the early hours was the main talking point at the hairdressers this morning! It woke me up, I said "What was that?" and went back to sleep - allegedly! I don't remember it! A few years ago I experienced one in Wales: there was a terrific bang, the house shook and the washing machine and pipes made an awful noise!

Gainsborough was not far from the epicentre in Market Rasen, but it seems that the main damage was to people's chimneys.

BBC News - Earthquake felt across much of UK
JVA

F1 Season 2008 - Ferrari

2008-02-24T23:14:00.012Z

In less than three weeks time we'll know the result of the first F1 Grand Prix of the new season, so it's time to start thinking about the various teams! I've decided to start with Ferrari, not because I want them to win, but because they are probably the pre-season favourites.

Kimi Raikkonen (last year's surprise championship winner - on the right) again pairs up with Felipe Massa. The F2008 looks like a winning car, and Kimi is likely to make the most of the rule changes - particularly the banning of traction control. Much as I want Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) to win the championship, Ferrari look like the team the beat.
JVA

F1 Season 2008

2008-02-22T19:27:00.005Z

The winter F1 famine will soon be over, and not a moment too soon! It will be the season opener in Australia in just over three weeks time! Bring it on!

F1 Racing magazine is required reading in our house at the moment! It's going to be a great season I think! Don't forget to check out all the details on the Official F1 Website!
JVA

New Year Visit to National Gallery

2008-01-06T22:00:00.004Z

Marta, Sarah and myself enjoyed a visit to the National Gallery last week. It's always an enjoyable experience - like visiting old friends and making new ones! We also popped into Tate Modern to see Shibboleth - a huge crack in the floor of the Turbine Hall! Click here for another blog. This evening I have just arrived home from taking Philip to Stevenage - he starts work as a Junior Doctor tomorrow at 8 am.
JVA

10 Favourite Beatles Songs

2007-12-31T15:41:00.004Z

Sarah just asked me to list my 10 favourite Beatles songs. I came up with the following songs - listed in alphabetical order:

A Day in the Life
Come Together
Eleanor Rigby
Hey Jude
I am the Walrus
In My Life
Penny Lane
Strawberry Fields Forever
Tomorrow Never Knows
Yesterday

She then asked me my all-time favourite and I had no difficulty in choosing In My Life. Interestingly her top 10 contains 5 of my top 10 (in red) and our all-time favourite was the same. Anyone else like to have a go?
JVA