Bombardier Derby featured in "The Tube" Episode 2 on BBC2, Makes you proud to be from Derby!

A new documentary series started last week following the life of the London Underground system. If you missed it don't worry as its available on the BBC iPlayer. Its a very entertaining program and well worth watching even if you have never used the Tube you will find it of interest.

In the second episode last night there was a large part of the program on about the new fleet of trains that they are slowly introducing to replace the old stock that was manufactured in the 1960s.
All of these new trains are made here at Bombardier Derby !

Bombardier Derby on Litchurch Lane as seen in this programme.

The narrator says...

"One hundred and fifty miles north of London, the replacement fleet is beginning to take shape. Staff at Bombardier Transportation in Derby are building one hundred and ninety one state of the art Tube trains".
They then go on to talk to people at the factory who explain what goes into making this new fleet. We hear from Kevin Thomas, Christopher Cope and Steve Jenkinson.

These are the first ever underground trains to have air conditioning and open ended carriages !

If you have ever visited London the you will know that the underground is a necessary evil that you have to use, using it as a tourist is not the same as if you have to use it for your daily commute to work so air conditioning is going to be so good for Londoners !

"The Tube" is a program going behind the scenes of the world's oldest, largest and busiest underground train network as it undergoes the biggest overhaul in its history.

Every day, 60,000 journeys are made and not paid for, costing London Underground £20 million a year in unpaid fares. The programme follows Diane McConnell and Denese Brunker, two of the Tube's longest-serving ticket inspectors, and other plain-clothes revenue inspectors as they pursue fare evaders across the network. Find what happens to the evaders and how the money from tickets is spent.

This particular episode was broadcast on BBC Two, 9:00PM Mon, 27 Feb 2012.

You can watch the full one hour episode for free on iPlayer here :
The Tube Episode 2. or in amazing HD if you have fast broadband : HD version.

If you just want to skip to the Bombardier bit then click HERE.

You have until 10:59PM Mon, 2 Apr 2012 to watch this so you have a bit of time still.

Some screen grabs from "The Tube" Episode 2 :

If you missed it you can watch it now using the link I have provided above.
And of course there are my Bombardier march videos from July 2011 here.

Hope you found this of interest.

Thanks
Andy

Time-lapse video of car journey from Derby to Ashbourne to see Shrovetide Football, Tues 21st Feb 2012.

Here is a time-lapse video of the car jouney I took from Derby to Ashbourne to see the Shrovetide football on Tuesday 21st February 2012.
The journey starts at 1pm on Station Road, Mickleover, Derby and ends at 1.24pm in the Town of Ashbourne.
The journey is made from 976 individual photographs taken on a hardware-modified Canon Ixus 430 camera.
These have been streamed into a video sequence so it looks like a normal video but speeded up.
Best viewed in "Full screen" mode by clicking the icon bottom/right and at 720p or 1080p if you have good hardware.

At the end of the video you can select one of the set of four videos of the actual shrovetide football to watch by clicking on them.


My time-lapse video :


Or use the link here to watch it : Time-lapse car journey from Derby to Ashbourne Feb 21st 2012.
If its too fast for you then try my other slower version of the time-lapse.

Points of interest
0:00 Station Road, Mickleover
0:18 Right onto Radbourne Lane
0:27 Left onto the A52
1:17 Ashboune Town.


The wicked music I have used in my video is :
F-777 - Flying 'n' Stuff
www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/469175
Used under creative commons license CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Hope you enjoy the ride.
Andy

Tansley Car Boot Sale restarts Today - Sunday 26th February 2012.

The largest car boot sale in Derbyshire makes a return today - Tansley Carboot has restarted !

I'm sure if you are into local car boots then you will have heard of Tansley car boot as its the largest one I know of in Derbyshire, If you would like to know more about this car boot such as an accurate map location then have a look at my complete guide:

Guide to the 2012 Tansley Car Boot Sale and Sunday Market.

Can someone please let me know if they have moved to a different field to the one in my map and I will update it.

Thanks
Andy

2012 Ashbourne Shrovetide Football Videos now online. Tuesday 21st February 2012.

Today I was at the 2012 Ashbourne Shrovetide Football game and Filmed a lot of the game.
I have edited the video footage into a set of 4 parts you can watch below.
Not sure why but for the first time ever in all the years I've been going to see the Ashboune Football they did NOT bring the ball out of the Green Man or parade it around St John Street and Dig Street. I was there for 1:30 but it never appeared. Lots of people con fussed as to what was happening. Eventually I wandered down to Shawcroft only to see they were already there !

If you want to cut straight to the ball being thrown click HERE.

Today's Match Result
Tuesdays game ended when the Up'ards scored a goal at Sturston at 9:12pm so that's end of play for today. Next game tomorrow. !

Video of 2012 Ashbourne Shrovetide Football - Part 1 of 4:
Best to click play then the Fullscreen icon in the bottom right of the player.



Video of 2012 Ashbourne Shrovetide Football - Part 2 of 4:


Video of 2012 Ashbourne Shrovetide Football - Part 3 of 4:


Video of 2012 Ashbourne Shrovetide Football - Part 4 of 4:


Or use these direct links to the videos :
2012 Ashbourne Shrovetide Football, Tuesday Game - Part 1 of 4.
2012 Ashbourne Shrovetide Football, Tuesday Game -  Part 2 of 4.
2012 Ashbourne Shrovetide Football, Tuesday Game - Part 3 of 4.
2012 Ashbourne Shrovetide Football, Tuesday Game - Part 4 of 4.

Video of a time-lapse drive from Derby to Ashbourne 2012 :



Today Dr Paul Kirtley, a GP in Ashbourne for 32 years turned up the ball at 2.00pm.

Here is my Video Channel :
www.youtube.com/user/comedyhunter

If you spot yourself in my videos leave a comment.
Feel free to link to/embed my 2012 Ashbourne Footy videos on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, forums etc etc.

Thanks
Andy
www.derbyphotos.co.uk

Today (Saturday 18th February) is the LAST day of 2012 Derby Winter Beer Festival. featuring live music from UK Foo Fighters.

Today (Saturday 18th February 2012) is day four and the final day of this years Derby Camra Winter Beer Festival. So if you have been putting off going its your last chance now until the Derby Summer beer festival which starts on Wednesday 11th July 2012.

I will be posting videos soon.

The 2012 CAMRA Derby Winter Beer Festival started on Wednesday 15th February and runs until 11pm today. The live music today will be provided by UK Foo Fighters and Green Fortune (a folk/punk band from Swadlincote), this will take place on the stage in the Carriage Room.

This takes place at the Historic Roundhouse on Pride Park, Derby.
Detailed map showing the Roundhouse/Free shuttle bus etc.

Here is a photograph I took on Thursday of the 2012 beer festival inside the Derby Roundhouse :


If you have never been to a beer festival before then you are missing an experience, there are not just beers on sale there are ciders and Perries.  You can get all sorts of hot and cold food too. T-shirts and glasses are available to buy. And great live music today will be from a tribute band UK Foo Fighters.

Its best to arrive by the free bus service from Derby Assembly rooms. See below for details.

This year there will be real ale on sale in the Carriage Room as well as the Main Hall of the Roundhouse itself.
Due to unforeseen circumstances Steak Club are unable to play tonight & Green Fortune (Wednesday night's amazing Punk/Folk Group) will support the UK Foo Fighters

Dates and opening times:
Saturday 18th February 11am to 11pm

Entrance charges:
FREE to CAMRA Members at all times. Non-members will be charged as follows :
Saturday 18.2.12 11am - 4pm - £3
Saturday 18.2.12 4pm - 11pm - £5

Travelling to the Derby Winter Beer Festival:
There is a FREE Shuttle Bus between Derby Town Centre and the beer festival provided by Harpurs Coaches. (Yes its FREE there and back honest !) and travels as below :

This free bus shuttle will run at these times :

Saturday 18th, Leaves Derby City Centre at these times :
11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 13:00, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30, 17:00, 17:30, 18:00, 18:30, 19:00, 19:30, 20:00, 20:30, 21:00

Leaves the Roundhouse at these times :
11:15, 11:45,12:15, 12:45, 13:15, 14:45, 14:15, 14:45, 15:15, 15:45, 16:15, 16:45, 17:15, 17:45, 18:15, 18:45, 19:15, 19:45, 20:15, 20:45, 21:15

Where do I catch the free Beer festival shuttle bus?
Its not very well advertised, Every day I've been on this bus and there was hardly anyone on it ! Seems a bit strange as its free and it takes you to right outside the Roundhouse.
In Derby this free shuttle bus picks up at the times stated above from next to the Assembly Rooms car park. In my photograph you can see where this is, so should help you locate it. It only takes 10 minutes to get to the Roundhouse.

Want a map? Click HERE to view a detailed map for this shuttle bus showing drop off/pick points and routes.



The shuttle bus drops you off right outside the roundhouse as you can see in my photograph here: It leaves here at the times stated above.





Live entertainment at the 2012 Derby Beer Festival :
Saturday 18th February the UK Foo Fighters headline supported by Green Fortune.

Venue
The Roundhouse
Roundhouse Road, Pride Park, Derby, DE24 8JE

Detailed Maps to help you. Click on the links below the map if you want a large version for printing out.

Derby Winter Beer Festival Maps :

View CAMRA Derby Winter Beer Festival, Beer festival shuttle bus in a larger map

The Roundhoouse :

View CAMRA Derby Winter Beer Festival, Beer festival shuttle bus in a larger map

A video showing a pan around the Roundhouse at last years winter beerfest.


For those non-drinkers giving people a lift in your car, the SATNAV postcode for Derby Roundhouse is DE24 8JE

Its also a perfect location to get to by train as Derby railway station is less that 30 seconds walk away from this venue !
See when the next train to Derby station is here - Thetrainline.com

Google Streetview of Derby Roundhouse. (note this was captured by Google before the Derby College restoration was completed!)

Smartphone mapping pin for smartphone owners:
If you are a new visitor to Derby's winter beer festival then you will find my smartphone navigation pin of use. Simply view this blog on your smartphone and follow my instruction below.

Derby Winter Beer Festival drop pin <---- Tap this link on you smartphone.

When you tap the link above, it will launch your mapping application and place a "push pin" onto the map with the exact location of Derby Roundhouse beer festival. You can then use this marker to get walking directions.

For example on an iPhone you tap the "Directions" button at the bottom and this will pre-fill in the start location with your current location and the end location with the Roundhouse.

So all you need to do is just tap the "Route" button at the bottom then tap the walking icon and it will show you walking route. If you tap the bottom left icon 3 times then this will turn on follow mode, Centre mode and direction mode. What this means is that a blue flashing dot which represents you will stay in the centre of the screen and orientated in the direction that you travel in.

If you tap the middle button at the top, this will even show you which bus number and when the next bus to the Roundhouse is from your nearest location.
My push pins are far more accurate than any other map as its not based on the postcode which most maps are. My map is based on local knowledge of the location.

Beer and Cider Lists:
The Complete Beer and Cider lists are here : (These are in .PDF format.)

The Beer List.
Cider and Perry List.
Continental Beer List.

With regards to Cider and Perry, the tub labels should tell most of what you need to know when ordering. Green labels are cider and yellow labels are perry.
Good to see they have Gwynt y Ddraig Black Dragon on as this was on in The Babington Arms and the Standing Order but sold out before I had chance to even try it !
We also have Three Cats Morley a local cider on again which was also on at the GBBF in London.
Also the classic Broadoak Perry.

Thanks
Andy Savage
www.derbyphotos.co.uk

How to change a blown H7 Headlight bulb on a VW Golf mk4, Detailed with photographs.

If my guide was of use to you then please tweet it for others so they can save time too  :

Tweet
This post is for anyone thinking of trying to change the headlight bulb on a UK Mark IV VW Golf.
Print this out so you can refer to it when working on your car or use an iPad :)

By the way if your looking for information on changing a rear bulb then I also made a video on which bulbs are which - VW Golf MkIV:How to identify which bulb is which on the rear light cluster. Brake, indicator,fog etc.

This is what a H7 Headlight Bulb looks like:

H7 Bulb

The passenger side (near side) headlight bulb had gone and reading online this one seems to give people all sorts of problems. Having looked at lots of mk4 forums before doing this there seemed to be lots of people having great difficulty and even having to resort to taking the bumper off the car! Some people taking several hours of time to change a bulb. Not being put off by this I decided to have a go and document just how easy and quick I found it. Once I had changed the drivers side and knew how it all came apart I found it really quick and easy to change the passenger side. I would say it took me less that one minute to change the passenger headlight bulb !
Looking at it I can see why someone have problems and its mainly to do with not understanding how to remove the bulb retaining clip because you can't actually see it unless you put a camera in the small gap.
In my photographs you will see I have a good shot of the bulb retaining clip and you can see how it operates so it does not matter that you can't see it!

What I have done here is documented in great detail with photographs so you should have no problems what so ever in doing it yourself. All you need is good lighting, patience (as always when working on your car), a pair of new H7 headlight bulbs, A large screwdriver.

There is no need to remove the bumper,the battery or anything else for that matter.
You don't even need any tools but I suggest you use a screwdriver only to remove the risk of loosing skin when working in the tight space.

By the way when I say Headlight I am referring to the bright lights that come on when you set the rotary headlight switch to its last position (1=off,2=sidelights,3=headlights). Where as the "full beam headlight" is operated by pushing forward the indicator stick and this is a different bulb (H1 448) But you can follow my guide for replacing that one too as that's also accessible when you change this bulb.

You are always best to change bulbs in pairs rather than just the one that has gone.
So you may ask "why do i have to change h7 bulbs in pairs", well you don't have to but if you only change one then the colour of the light will be different between the new and the old. If your lazy and just want a quick fix then just change one.


I highly recommend that you change the drivers side one first so that you can get a real good idea of how to do it and this will then make it a lot simpler for the passenger side as there is no a lot of space behind that one because of the battery.

All of my photographs refer to the Drivers side (off side) on a UK Golf mk4 model (2000 year). The passenger side is an exact mirror of the guide.

The replacement bulbs I got were from Derby Autocentre on Elton Road in Derby.
There were only £4 each and are Narva H7 477 bulbs made by Philips. You can of course spend lots of money on bright headlight bulbs if you wish.
You can even get bulbs that are 90% brighter than the standard ones, these are called Night Breaker Headlight Bulbs and can be bought from Amazon or your local car parts retailer.



My step by step instructions with photographs.
Click any photograph to view a larger version if you want more details.

1) A Close up view of the H7 Headlight bulb (drivers side). This is the bulb we are going to change.
That metal cap thing is part of the lens cluster and not attached to the bulb.


Lift the bonnet and you should see on the drivers side something like this in front of the screen washer bottle :
2) Here is a view from above the drivers side headlight and back cover retaining clip.

Using a large flatblade screwdriver ease this retaining clip out of its notches and push it over to the right.


3) Here you can see I have unclipped the retaining clip out of the way.

Now the retaining clip is moved out of the way you can remove the back cover.


4) Here I have started to open up the cover to reveal the bulb connections.

This back cover has a rubber seal so you may have to use a bit of force if its dirty. It hinges on the left side


5) This is what the back cover looks like when removed.

The bit sticking out on the left is the hinge part.


6) side view of the power plug on the back of the H7 headlight bulb.

Here you can see the power plug on the back of the headlight bulb.This is easy to remove, just wiggle it while pulling it off away from the bulb (towards the screen washer bottle). Once disconnected move the plug loom out of the way so you can remove the bulb.


7) Here is a view of the bulb connections and the bulb retaining clip.

The H7 bulb is latched in place by that spring clip. Its hinged at the bottom.
See the next photo down so you fully understand how it operates.


8) Close up view of the bulb retaining clip mechanism.

As you can see in order to remove the bulb you need to press your finger against that top bar so it moves it out of the way into the recess first, then push it to the right (towards the front offside wheel)

Important : Now you have unclipped the latch, keep your finger on the back of the bulb and drop the clip down (don't worry it wont fall to the ground as its attached). Once the clip is out of the way slowly pull the bulb out of the light cluster towards the screen washer bottle. Make a note of the keyway on this bulb as you MUST replace the bulb in the same way!. If you get it wrong then they won't point correctly.
I think the keyway was at the top on my bulb.


9) The H7 477 Headlight Bulb and replacement one ready to go in.

Get your new bulb out of its box making sure you do not touch the glass. Hold it by the pins at the back.
To fit the bulb its simply the reverse of above. So place the bulb slowly until its fully home and lift the retaining clip back up and push it forward and then to the left and release it into the latch recess.
You can now reconnect the power plug, refit the back cover and slide the cover retaining clip back over the cover. that's it done.
Passenger side :
The passenger side is exactly the same as above, the retaining clip has to be pushed towards the curbside as its a mirror of the drivers side. There is slightly less room for your hands to work in.

To test your bulbs start the car and set the rotary headlights switch to position 3, check they both light up.


Hope this helps anyone contemplating changing the bulb.
Please leave a comment if you found my guide of help and any other tips you may have for doing this job.
Tweet this article for others.

Thanks

Andy

My awesome Flapjacks, How to make some very tasty popular treats - The ultimate Flapjack recipe?

I have always liked Flapjacks and have not made any since "home economics" at school so I recently thought I would give it a go. I have done some experimenting over the last few months with different ingredients and looked at many recipes to come up with what I consider to be the "ultimate Flapjack recipe".

Here is a close up view of what we are going to make.
Chewy Oats with succulent mixed dried fruits topped off with a generous layer of Galaxy milk chocolate. Mmmmmmm tasty!




Items needed to make a tray of Flapjacks: (prices as per ASDA in January 2012)
These items will leave you spare ingredients to make further Flapjacks in the future. For instance the sugar and Syrup will do for several trays of Flapjacks!

1) Lyle's Golden Syrup 907g  £1.33
2) Mixed Fruit 500g bag (ASDA Home bakery brand) £1.54
3) 1kg Quaker Jumbo Rolled oats. box £1.99
4) Silverspoon Demerara sugar 1Kg bag £1.96
5) Galaxy Milk Chocolate 390g £2 (on offer price)
6) Lurpak “unsalted” 250g x 2 packs £1.60 per pack. Any "Unsalted butter" will do such as Tesco Value unsalted butter £1.10 a pack or Countrylife unsalted butter £1.30 a pack.

Other items needed :

• Greaseproof paper or Baking parchment.
• Large cooking pan (must be large enough to be able to easily mix all the ingredients without it going all over the place.)
  
• Non stick Baking tray approx 32cm x 24cm x 4.5cm deep
• Larger baking tray to move them into to separate them when cool.
• A bain-marie (small milk pan filled with water with small Pyrex mixing bowl sitting in it)
• Electronic kitchen weighing scales.
• Oven.
• The tablespoon from a set of measuring spoons
  

Ingredients need for 20 off pieces
300g unsalted butter
75g Demerara sugar
120g Golden syrup (6 tablespoons)
450g Jumbo rolled oats
300g Galaxy Chocolate bar for topping if required.

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/ Gas Mk 2.
Line the baking tray with baking parchment and leave it in oven to heat up.

2. Melt all the butter in a large pan with the Demerara sugar, Syrup and a pinch of salt. Stir well to combine, make sure everything has mixed together well.
The mixture will start to boil and foam at this point take off the heat and stir in all the oats until all completely covered.
Turn the mixture over and over many times to ensure everything is fully coated.
If you wish now throw in a couple of handfuls of mixed fruit and mix thoroughly again.

3. Remove the baking tray from the oven and spoon out the mixture into the tray. Press evenly into the tin using the back of a large spoon making sure its all pressed down and level.

Bake for 30 minutes on the middle shelf.
Remove the tray and using the back of a large spoon smooth over the surface to make it flat, while its cooling down a bit prepare the chocolate.

4. Melt the chocolate in a bowl floating in a saucepan of hot water (bain-marie) and then pour and spread over the flapjacks using the back of a spoon. Leave to cool for 20 mins then place in the fridge for an hour or so to set.
At this point take them out and remove them from the baking tray there were cooked in and slide them onto the larger baking tray so you can cut and separate them.




My Flapjacks, here they have been moved out of the baking tray into a larger baking tray and then cut into 20 pieces.



Here is a close up side view of a piece of my Flapjack showing the Galaxy chocolate on the top :




The Ingredients used for making my Flapjacks :


As with all cookery, you can change the ingredients to suit. Perhaps you don't like Milk Chocolate and prefer dark instead etc.

Thanks
Andy

Is it going to snow in Derby this weekend?, Depends which weather forecast you look at.

Looking at some weather forecasts at the moment it would appear that we may get some snow in Derby.

For example :
"A spokeswoman for the Met Office said: "The greatest risk of snow for Derby and Derbyshire is on Saturday when we could see five to 10cm of snow as we move into the evening and overnight."

Do we believe them? well best to prepare for it just in case.
Looking at most of the forecasts it would appear that we may start to see snow on Saturday 4th February about 3pm and it will continue to snow for a few hours and then freeze.

I wonder if Sunday's game between Derby and Nott'm Forest in the Championship will take place? Kick off is at 12:15.

Derbyshire Snow Webcams
People seem to like my Derbyshire webcams page during these times as it allows you to see for yourself if its actually snowing right now rather than trusting a weatherman to tell you!

I also have a section for Staffordshire Webcams as this is the next county to the south west of Derbyshire so you can see how bad the snow is effecting them.
One of the webcams I have added to this page is provided by www.leekonline.co.uk and is extreamly good as it allows many viewing options including almost live video streaming so you can actually see the snow coming down.

Sledging Guide.
If you would like to make the most of any snow we get this weekend then check out my Derby Sledging Guide, its packed with information to do with sledging in Derby. Including Local Weather Forcasts, Live local Webcams, Detailed Sledging Location Map, Smartphone mapping drop pins, Where to buy a sledge, Derby snow photographs, Videos of sledging in Derby.
I have provided a link to is Snow Map based on people submitting Tweets via Twitter.


Click the photo to visit my Derby Sledge Guide...

Hope you find my guide of use, please let me know if YOU know of any good locations to go sledging in Derby that I have not yet added to my Derby Sledging map.

thanks
Andy

Video : Derby Hippodrome Theatre "Rescue Me", What will become of this treasure ?

I created the original "Hippodrome then and now" photograph back in 2003 see it here.
I decided that it would be a good idea to remake this then and now as the Derby Hippodrome building has suffered quite a bit in recent years and I thought it would be good to do make a video too.
Below is the video I have created.
I have rendered it at 1080p HD so please view in fullscreen mode by clicking the Full screen icon in the bottom right corner of the player window. My then and nows look amazing on a large HD TV.

Feel free to use this video on Facebook, Twitter etc.

My video : Derby Hippodrome Theatre "Rescue Me".

I hope you enjoy my video, please rate and comment.

Views of this building :
Birds Eye view on Bing Maps - Derby Hippodrome. In this you can see the extent of the damage caused by the "roof repairs" in March 2008.

Google Streetview - Derby Hippodrome. Google captured this area at the time the roof was being repaired!

An online survey has now been launched to gather residents' views on the future of the building and it raises questions about the overall theatre provision in Derby.

Derby Hippodrome Restoration Trust is a building preservation trust that operates in Derby with the purpose of preserving buildings of particular beauty, historical, architectural or constructional interest in or around Derby, in particular the building known as the Hippodrome Theatre, Derby.

Derby Hippodrome was built in 1914 as a purpose built 2,300 seat theatre for the city. Over the ensuing years it has played a key part in Derby’s entertainment and cultural provision, being a variety theatre, cinema, and in more recent years a bingo hall. When the building closed in 2007 it was purchased by a London developer and has been standing empty since that time.

The building suffered extensive damage when the owner attempted to repair the roof of the auditorium in March 2008, demolishing the auditorium roof and part of one main wall as well as a substantial part of the stage house. Further damage has subsequently occurred to the interior of the building through two fires.

There was also another fire on November 26th 2011 which casued even more damage. Read HERE.

Latham Architects and PHT Consultants have been engaged by the DHRT to compile an independent “Options Appraisal” report to help decide the future of this building. Consultation is an important part of this work and we would like to hear your views.
We would be grateful therefore if you could spare a few moments to complete the questionnaire survey by clicking on the link below :

The future of Derby Hippodrome Theatre. <-- Click the link to fill in the survey.

The above survey is conducted on the SurveyMonkey website.

Please note your survey responses should be received no later than 1st February 2012

Thanks
Andy