We had a request from one of our readers for a list of hobby ideas as she was looking for a new passtime to occupy herself.
We have compiled this list of hobby ideas. We hope that you enjoy it. If you have any more ideas please drop us a line and we will add it in. (Read more…)
A tobacco kin makes a great survival kit
Having a small a small survival kit in your pocket can be very useful, and could even help to keep you alive. It is best made out of a small tobacco tin.
It is small enough to carry with me all the time in the pocket of my barbour coat. Although unlikely to be needed in an extreme survival situation it would be very useful if you went out for a long walk.
You could equally make one out of a plastic take-away container.
Latin Text Lorum Ipsum
This is what I found (Read more…)
A very bad year
1879 was one of the worst years on record. Here is a very descriptive account of what happened.
Cardiff Naturalist’s Society – Meteorological Section Meteorological Report for 1879
By Franklen G. Evans, M.R.C.S., F.M.S., &c, The stars in their courses have brought us round once more to that period of the year when we are accustomed to make up our profit and loss account with the elements, and see how we have fared during the previous twelve months.
The stars in their courses have brought us round once more to that period of the year when we are accustomed to make up our profit and loss account with the elements, and see how we have fared during the previous twelve months.The retrospect is a gloom one, and will show, I fear, that the profit was nil , save that of learning wisdom from the most adverse experience; and that the loss was that of money, crops, rent, and all that goes to make up the sum of material prosperity, and even the little reputation for climate this country previously enjoyed. The inhabitants, if any, of the starry worlds might have seen the earth going round the sun in that lazy manner which, on the principle of least action in Nature, we are assured she adopts, like an idler determined to exert no more force than the occasion requires. But this would only apply to her course in space, for it would have been noticed that on her surface an opposite principle was at work, that seemed to endeavour to compress the utmost action into the smallest space of time, to expend the bulk of the year’s rain on the summer and autumn months so as to effectually quench the heat of the sun, and to crowd the greatest number of storms into the brief space of the harvest season.
Facetious critics, in the spirit of the late Mr. Samuel Walker, have been anxiously casting their eyes across the Atlantic for a scapegoat on which to pour out their vials of meteorological wrath. We will not impatiently follow their example, nor yet attempt a Yankee forecast, but quietly examine the facts, and see how the land lies – and the water that flooded us last year.
A good year
1893 Weather in Cardiff- Cardiff Naturalist’s Society – Meteorological Section By Franklen G. Evans, F.R.A.S., F.R. Met. SOC., &c,
The Meteorology and Kindred Phenomena of 1893 The past year, basking in unwonted sunshine, glided placidly and quickly away to join the phantom host of departed predecessors, and to take its place as a fresh link in the lengthening chain of past time.
The past year, basking in unwonted sunshine, glided placidly and quickly away to join the phantom host of departed predecessors, and to take its place as a fresh link in the lengthening chain of past time.It was indeed annus mirabilis [a miraculous year], probably without an equal in the written records of modern weather observation, or the oral traditions of our ancestors. We cannot be sure, however, that it was absolutely without a parallel. The Chariot of Time, drawn by Pheobus’ swiftest steeds, began its annual journey through the circle of the Zodiac in January, which derives its name from Janus, the two faced god who (we may suppose) looks back with one old wrinkled visage in longing to regret to the lost joys of the expired year, and forward with young and beaming countenance in anticipation of the delights of the coming one. Then the winged chariot passed into February – meaning purification- in abundant rainfall, which was appropriate to the name of the month, and to the signs of Aquarius and Pisces. March in its sign Aries, falsified all its old traditions, and was, in fact, a summer month* and the lambs escaped the usual harsh wind, and luxuriated in warmth and sunshine. Most of the other signs were journeyed through in similar summer weather, and, speaking generally, it was a halcyon year, under the genial sway of the heavy twins, – calm and sunshine. Libra, on the other hand, showed that the balance of advantage was not all on the right side, for the sickle revealed the fact that Ceres was not abundant.
The summer was a paradise for tourists and excursionists of all kinds, as well as for invalids and stationary folk, who are able to lead a life of peace and contentment in the warm air and gentle zephyrs.
South Wales plays a unique part in the history of wine – for between 1875 and 1914 it produced the only commercially grown wine in Britain.
Wine was introduced into Britain by the romans and at that time there were many vineyards. Wine was mainly a drink for the Romans and the Anglo-Romans, with the Britons prefeering their regular tipple of Ale. Wine making fell into decline following their departure and was kept on around the monasteries. This tradition carried on for many years until the times of Henry the Eighth and the dissolution of the monasteries. Trading links had been established with the vineyards of Bordeaux since the times of the Richard the Lionheart and there were plentiful supplies of claret available. There was little need for British wine. Wine went into several centuries of decline.
In the 19th century the Third Marquis of Bute having restored the castles of Cardiff and Caerphilly decided to restore Castell Coch as a recreation of a medieval castle. Having built his chateau he needed a vineyard to go with it.
The choice of Castell Coch for the vineyard was a good one. It was on a gentle south facing slope and protected from frosts by surrounding woodland. The mild, albeit wet, coastal climate coupled with the good soil made it suitable for the production of wine.
The choice of grape selected was not so wise. The Gamay Noir was more suited to the warmer climate of Beaujolais in the South of France, than the colder and wetter South Wales. Producing a red wine may have also been a mistake. It produced a red wine by fermenting off the skins. When wine growing was re-introduced into Britain after the war, it was white wine that was the most sucessful.
The first vines were planted in 1875 and the first crop was harvested two years later. The grapes were pressed in a wine press in the gardens of Cardiff Castle, and that first year 240 bottles were produced. The results were encouraging. The dismal summer of 1879 was cold and wet and no wine was produced. The summer prevented the ripening of the wood and no wine was produced for another two years.
Two more vineyards were established, one at St. Quentins and another at Swanbridge near Sully. The vineyard at St. Quentins was too windswept and was soon abandoned. The vineyard at Sully was on a more favorable site than Castell Coch and the vineyard continued until 1920.
The results of the vineyard were sketchy. There were serious problems with the outbreak of the wine mildew, but during the hotter summers viable quantities of wine were produced. The long hot summer of 1893 produced a bumper vintage of over 12,000 bottles.
So what did it taste like? The wine did not have the complex flavor and aroma of some of the foreign wines, but it was honest and uncomplicated and generally well received. Not all of the recommendations of the wine were glowing. When the magazine Punch got to hear that wine was going to be made in Wales it was suggested that it would take four men to drink it. Two men to hold the victim down and one to pour it down his throat!
The wine from the vineyard was sold initially through the Angel Hotel in Cardiff and later to wine merchants in London. The price however was not cheap – selling wholesale at 60 shillings per case (around 15 Pounds a bottle in modern prices) and considerably more if bought in a restaurant.
The wine was produced at Castell Coch until the outbreak of the First World War when problems obtaining sugar made wine making impossible. Little interest was shown after the war and in 1920 the vines were uprooted and put to other uses. The vineyard site is now occupied by a golf course.
Between the two was no wine was commercially grown in Britain and wine making fell into another decline. Things picked up after the war and in recent years there has been a big revival. There are now well over 1000 acres under vines in Britain and now over a dozen vineyards in Wales.
Early Railway Headlamp
This was one of the best things that I have ever done. I did it in 1983 as a college project. This was pre-internet and it took around 3 months to find the information. On the internet today it would take a matter of days.
The History and Evolution of the Railway Locomotive Headlamp
A history of the railway locomotive headlamp from its dim beginnings to today’s brilliant lamps.
The role of the locomotive headlamp is not as one may suspect to light up the track for the driver. Unlike a car, the momentum of a train traveling at a reasonable speed means that it unlikely that it would be able to stop if it saw an obstruction.The main purpose of the headlamp is that it can warn people on the track ahead of an approaching train, and with sufficient time for them to take evasive action. The other main benefit is the ability to light up whistle posts and landmarks.
In the UK, most, if not all of the track is fenced off from the public. However in the United States, with many miles of unguarded track and unguarded level crossings, the requirements for a powerful headlamp were more important.
When railroads were introduced into North America, the need to increase profits came up against one major problem – how to run trains at night. The first recorded solution came from Horatio Allen who built the South Carolina Railroad Company in the early 1830s. Allen solved this problem by placing a fire of pine-wood knots kept burning in an urn-shaped basket made of iron rods. The basket rested on a bed of sand that covered the foremost of the two platform cars in front of the locomotive. (2)
This form of lighting could only have been a stopgap measure. In August 1840 the Boston and Massachusetts Advertiser announced
“The Boston and Worcester Railroad Company is preparing a very bright headlight with powerful reflectors, to be placed in front of the locomotive which is to be run on the road after night.”
“The transportation of freight at night is a very material gain at this point of time.”
It was believed that candles were used to produce this “bright light”. In any case the fire car was now a thing of the past.
Subsequent headlamps used whale oil burning through a wick burner.
By the time of the American Civil War, the headlight had been standardized in the form of a box with a glass front. Some of these lamps were of a considerable size – up to 26 inches high and 23 inches wide. Often plain in appearance, these were sometimes decorated with landscapes, animal studies, portraits and other works of art.
A painting on the locomotive W A Smith showing a portrait of the former president of the North Carolina Railroad (later the Southern Railway).
The decoration on the headlamps did not last for a long time. The lamps became smaller and rounder. Engine numbers were stamped out of the metal and covered with glass. These spaces served as an additional identification of the engine. Other changes occurred through continuous experiment with various types of reflectors and lenses. (2)
In 1865, Irving Williams, introduced coal oil (kerosene) for use in locomotive headlamps. This kerosene lamp, while lacking power as a strong headlamp proved to be very successful, often as a tail or marker lamp, and was used on various locomotives for almost a century.
In the early years of the 20th Century various headlamps were introduced using acetylene gas which although the results were very encouraging, never really took off in a significant way.
The days for the Kerosene headlamp were limited. Two Americans invented electric lamps. Charles Francis Brush introduced his arc lamp and Thomas Edison invented his incandescent lamp.
In 1881 the Westinghouse Air Brake company was reported to be replacing electric lamps in the place of oil lamps (6). Run by dynamo, the largest problem was that of supplying electric power when the train was in a station. The carbon arc lamp, familiar to many from its use as an anti-aircraft lamp, produced a light that was so bright that it would temporarily blind the drivers of incoming trains(7). The only alternative was to turn off the beam of the lamp while in the station.
The filaments developed for use in the incandescent lamps were too delicate to withstand the vibrations of the locomotive (8).
Shortly after 1888, when he purchased some earlier patents and organized the National Electric Headlight Company, Robert Pierce of Indianapolis produced an instrument that operated continuously from terminal to terminal. Within eight years his lamp was in use in 20 railroads in the US and on two foreign railroads (4).
In 1896 George Pyle, who had been associated with Pierce in the National Company, adapted and elaborated on the newly developed steam turbine for use with the headlight. He also developed a simpler arc light.
Pyle and the old National Company organization joined forces. Now the Pyle-National Company, the firm began production of the new light and in 1899 sold 472 Pyle-National headlights. Up to the previous year, less than 175 electric locomotive lights had been manufactured in the United States.
In 1902 a powerful arc lamp was developed which had a vertical beam as well as a horizontal beam. The vertical beam, which served well as an indication for other train drivers and people crossing the line, had been seen at up to 21 miles on a cloudy night. (9),(10)
However the powerful arc lamps frequently gave erroneous or phantom aspects to signal lanterns. (11)
The arc lamp was a big step forward in the development of the locomotive headlamp. However the largest breakthrough occurred in 1913 when a new ductile tungsten filament was developed with a new method of attaching the filament to the lead in wires. This was strong enough to resist the vibration of a powerful locomotive. (12) Still stronger filaments followed, and with them bulbs with greater vacuums to make the filaments burn brighter. The new filament lamps, often battery supplied, fulfilled all the requirements of a modern locomotive headlamp. The headlamp had come of age. (4)
With the widespread introduction of the diesel locomotive, it became possible to operate the headlight off a battery that was charged by the locomotive generator – itself turned by the diesel engine.
The locomotive headlamp had developed into a standard fitting. Although lamps came in a wide variety of powers, technical specifications and “standard fittings”, adding a headlamp to the locomotive was a very simple task at the design stage. (13)
Current American law requires all locomotives to carry two flashing headlamps that must be operated when the train is running over or coming up to level crossings. The only type of lamp that fulfills these regulations is xenon strobe. These flashing headlamps are used in conjunction with a main headlamp. It is hoped that it will make level crossings without warning signals or barriers much safer. (14)
In Great Britain most of the railway network and every level crossing is gated or appropriately guarded. (15)
The need for a headlamp was simply as a nighttime indication of an incoming train to staff on the permanent way. This was especially for signalmen and railway policemen who, in the early days, hand signaled trains from the track side. The headlamps were small oil lamps that could be fixed onto the front of the locomotive. (16)
Around 1880 railway companies began to use a headlamp code in which positions of headlamps on the locomotive signified the type of train. This enabled signalmen and other staff to identify them. Different companies used different codes. In cases in which there were joint or shared lines this constantly lead to mistakes and often to fatalities. (17)
In 1903 the railway companies and the railway clearing house brought in a universal code of engine headlamps. It also required that all lamps show white light. This code was not completely successful and there were still regional variations in use. The headlamp code only became completely standardized when the railways were nationalized in 1948.
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With the advent of the diesel and electric locomotives the old lamp gave way to electric marker lights serving the same purpose. These have recently been phased out.
Fairly powerful headlights have now appeared on modern motive power in Britain. This is particularly to give line side staff and permanent way workers warning of the approach of a train, in particular the fast modern trains such as the high speed trains.
Ever since the railway locomotive was invented there was a need to operate the railway safely during the hours of darkness, which represents well over one third of the day. Since the first night travel in the 1830s the railway headlamp has taken a variety of forms and has been beset by technical problems. Today, the headlamp is now a mere standard fitting, very much of an afterthought in locomotive design.
The headlamp has been nursed out of its infancy by far-seeing engineers. These engineers had the determination to operate trains at night with a speed and safety equal to that possible in the light of the brightest day.
(1) The Engineer 23 October 1914 p391
(2) “The locomotive headlamp”, Railway Employees Journal, April 1962 pp. 8-9
(4) “Ties”, Southern Railway Employees Journal, February 1962
(5) The Engineer 25 October 1901 p431
(6) Railway World 19 February 1881
(7) The Electrician 2 October 1925 p381
(8) The Electrician 23 September 1910 p975
(9) The Electrician 9 May 1902 p85
(10) The Electrician 26 September 1902 p895
(11) The Electrician 15 November 1912 p208
(12) The Engineer 13 March 1914 p283
(13) “Recommended Lamps for locomotive and passenger car lighting”, Manual of Standards and recommended practices. RP 564 Association of American Railroads 1958 pp. 342 – 343
(14) “Proposed requirement for display of alerting lights by locomotives at public grade crossings”. Federal Railroad Administration, US Department of Transport [RSGC-2, Notice 2] 1979
(15) Tulpin, WA “the Steam Locomotive” p100
(17) The Engineer 6 February 1903 p147
Kids craft party ideas
See kids faces light up to a table covered in colourful, sparkly and imaginative crafts.
(Read more…)
History ideas
The contents are very fascinating.
The evolution of the railway locomotive headlamp
Traces the evolution of the railway headlamp from its dim beginnings to its brilliant today
Between 1875 and 1914 the only wine grown in the UK was grown by the Marquic of Bute in a small vineyard just outside of Cardiff
Phew what a scorcher! This was one of the hottest years on record. Read a glowing summary in some of the best victorian language that I have seen.
Doom and gloom. This was one of those summers that never really happened. A once in over a hundred year occurence. And this was before global warming.
A small village just outside Taff’s Well with a spring that was used in Roman times. It is now locked up. What a shame! Here is a victorian analysis of the water.
I’m bored
Here are a few things to do if you are feeling restless.
Other websites to visit
Things to do
Welsh songs - great to lift your mood
Here are a few verses that you can easily sing along to and should cheer you up.
They are great for use at Internationals too!
We’ll keep a welcome in the hillside
Far away a voice is calling,
Bells from memory do chime (Read more…)
We are always coming up with ideas and did not know what to do with them. We also know from our other sites Presentation and Call Centre websites that many other people are also looking for ideas.
So it seemed to us a good idea to build an ideas website where people could post their ideas. We have tried to make it as easy as possible to leave an idea.
If you have an idea that you would like to leave us. Just pop it in the box below and one of the team will take a look at it. If it is suitable we shall publish it.
Christening Gift ideas
This is the problem that Reece has got coming up. Do you have any good ideas?
Here are a few ideas that we have come up with but we need a few more..
The water of Taffs Well
Templates for PowerPoint
Professional PowerPoint templates.
