Leeds Castle Balloon Trip

A great day out at Leeds Castle. Arriving at 5pm your group of twelve to fifteen people help set up the hot air balloon. It's not possible to plot a course really, you go where the wind blows! We travelled for an hour and land fifteen miles away in Paddock Wood - touching down in a field where a Land Rover picked us up.

More information here.

Thames Barrier [at night]

Taken some time prior to 2002 these are a bit wobbly. The Thames Barrier and the area around it looks much better at night.

The Thames Barrier is a flood control structure on the River Thames at Woolwich Reach in London. It is the world's second largest movable flood barrier after the Oosterscheldekering in the Netherlands.

Built across a 523 metre wide stretch of the river the barrier divides the river into six channels between nine large concrete piers. The flood gates across the openings are radial, i.e., half-cylindrical, and they operate by rotating, raised by hydraulics out of a horizontal sill below the water to form the barrier. They can rotate further to allow for 'underspill' for maintenance. All the gates are made of steel. The four large central gates are 61 metres long, 10.5 metres high (above local ground level) and weigh 1,500 tonnes; the outer two gates are 31.5 metres. Additionally, four radial gates by the riverbanks can be lowered. These gate openings, unlike the main six, are non-navigable.

Berry Pomeroy Castle

On a wooded hill, close to the River Dart in southern Devon, lie the unusual remains of Berry Pomeroy Castle. This site was first occupied by the Pomeroy family during the 11th century, and throughout its inhabitation, the castle has been in the ownership of only one other person - Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector during the reign of King Edward VI. The Pomeroys built the original medieval castle during the 12th century, and continued to undertake work on the castle until the 15th century when a substantial programme of work was carried out to restore and replace much of the original building. On a wall in the eastern tower of the Gatehouse, it is possible to see a wall-painting dating from this period. Berry Pomeroy Castle was sold to Edward Seymour during the 16th century, who had elaborate plans for the castle, which were continued by his son.

Although many of the grand designs were incorporated into a wing of state rooms containing exceptional Renaissance work, his ideas were never fully executed and the work remained unfinished. Situated in front of the Seymour Wing, a five-bayed Loggia connected the staircase towers, a feature paralleled at Old Somerset House in London. The Seymour family deserted the site during the 17th century and from that moment in time the buildings were left to deteriorate, and fall into the ruinous state as they appear today. Despite this, the castle has remained in the possession of the Seymours.

Throughout the substantial remains, there is much evidence of different building styles and materials which suggests that many structural alterations were made to the original castle during its habitable life. Both the Pomeroy and Seymour families have left their stamp on this intriguing mix of medieval castle and lavishly detailed mansion.

Tape to MP3

It's taken me long enough to try transferring tape to MP3 but I found a great page on the net that explained it idiot style for the likes of me. To the best of my knowledge the files below are not under copyright but if they are and you are associated then please leave a message in the comments box and I will remove them immediately. The files are not stored on a server owned by myself or blogger so let me know and I will remove them myself.

Mark Anderson - Lightning FM feat Hijack and the HQ Posse.

This was a disappointment. I've had this tape stored since around 1990 and I've never played it since recording it from the radio. I was expecting 90 minutes of Hijack freestyles but found only four minutes of a half-hearted rap. Ok for the completist but not the Holy Grail I was expecting.

Dj Bizznizz Mix

This is a twelve minute mix from Bizznizz when he was a guest on Tim Westwood's Capital Rap Show. I'm guessing it's circa 1990 - Terminator X released Wanna Be Dancing around that time and MC Lyte's Slave To The Rhythm was out the year before.

Oldies But Goodies

Big Daddy Kane's Dj Mister Cee takes us on a thirty minute mix of classics. Enjoy.

Original Concept Live In Session

Presented on Tim Westwood's Capital Rap Show 95.8fm - this comes from a session in New York with Jeff Foss. A great session from an underated act. Great beat change around 07:40 with a Dre solo.

Boogie Down Productions at London's Town & Country Club 1989 Part 1.
Boogie Down Productions at London's Town & Country Club 1989 Part 2.


Presented on Tim Westwood's Capital Rap Show 95.8fm - the track listing should be as follows; Jack of Spades, I'm Still #1, Criminal Minded, My Philosophy, Sorry, 9mm, Break, Hip Hop Rule, Up To Date, Why Is That?, Jimi, Who Protects Us, The Bridge Is Over, Gimme Dat, The Blueprint, Ghetto Music, Jah Rule, Stop The Violence, Self Destruction, The South Bronx. Hopefully that's close enough.

Def Jam Tour 1987 Brixton Academy - Public Enemy
Def Jam Tour 1987 Brixton Academy - LL Cool J

From the Radio London 94.9 Dave Pearce Show this is the show that was on 30th November at 19:30. LL was the headliner with Public Enemy in support. Not played on the radio was the other support act Eric B & Rakim.