The Disappointment of DAB Radio

We bought one of the first DAB radios,a Pure special which was £99. It was the first DAB to break the £100 barrier.
We love the ease of tuning and the station information but our first big disappointment was realising that Radio 4 on DAB was often mono,yet on FM it is in stereo.
Then came BBC7 another great channel,but in mono,also Oneword,but let down by really dreadful audio quality.
We now own a BUG,strange looking, but does great timer recordings to an SD card which you can then transfer to PC or Mac easily.
The main let down is the 'gritty' audio quality,and we have nearly 100% signal.
The bandwidth is certainly wasted in the commercial sector by lots of nearly identical 'pop' channels,we have GWR Bristol,GWR Bath,GWR Swindon/Wilts,all identical,well very nearly.There seems to be lots of duplication in the commercial sector and a lack of bandwidth planning in the BBC.
I thought the original idea of DAB was SFN,Single Frequency Network,i.e we would only be able to receive one GWR,not 3,or 2 Passions as an example.
I don't want to run down GWR too much,because without their commitment to investing in DAB chipsets we wouldn't even be using it.
DAB has become an excellent digital replacement for portables,mind you the reception problems for full UK coverage need some planning.
If you want quality radio reception then we use FM or Freeview into hifi.
The basic problem is that the MP2 coding does not hold up at low bit rates for good audio quality.
Thats my DAB moan over,here is a picture of Bath on a Saturday afternoon.

Plumbing

I have to change the kitchen mixer tap this weekend,not a job I relish,though I have all the bits to do it and have researched the best approach,my neighbour has offered to help if I have problems.
I had a good rehearsal in St Johns Festival choir last night ,even though the altos were dreadful,I love the early music.Went for a couple of beers at the Green Tree pub afterwards,a great pub with excellent beer,and good company from some of my fellow singers.Only a slight hangover this morning.
Here is a picture of the Kennet & Avon Canal in Bath,taken last weekend.

Demise of the British Front Garden

Am I the only one to notice how the British Front Garden is slowly disappearing in a sea of paviers and cars.
It seems to be fashionable to trash all living things in your front garden and pave it over and plant vehicles all over it.The purchase of an S.U.V. (4x4) almost guarantees the trashing of a front garden.
Maybe they should be called 'Shogun'/Range Rover or BMW gardens.
The RHS and BBC Gardeners World might consider running a campaign to promote nicely planted,pretty, front gardens.
We go on about conservation but need to practice it as individuals not rely on others.
Here is an autumn picture from Bristol Harbourside.

Jazz FM

This is a whinge.
Jazz FM has become Smooth and Jazzfm.com on DAB in the West.
What has happened to any Jazz music?
It plays Soul,Fusion,Funk,anything but Jazz.I cannot locate' Dinner Jazz' with Helen Mayhew at all,we used to listen most nights.
Ofcom have let them take the output downmarket,I think they cannot really call themselves JazzFM under the Trades Description Act.The Trade Name should be bought sold to a real jazz provider,maybe BBC Radio 3 ,as they seem to play more Jazz than Jazz FM.
I think the Jazzfm.com DAB slot should be filled by any of the excellent American of French Jazz stations.Dont waste valuable bandwidth on this rubbish.
If you tune to ClassicFM you get classical music,not so with Jazz FM.
that's it rant over.
Here is a picture of Oldfield Park rail station,which I use regularly,taken at dawn the other day.
Wessex Trains have failed to provide regular ticket sales here for 6 months,but the station attracts the nicest set of passengers anyway,no bias here!!

Combe Down

A lovely village on the outskirts of Bath,here is a garden in the village and its school,a good example of sensitive modern architecture.The stone mines under the village,from which most of the City of Bath are built, are currently being stabilised,i.e. filled in.
The bad news for the lab the does my MF and LF work,AvonColour in Bristol,is that they have laid of staff.
It seems there is just not enough film work to keep the pro labs going,the digital age is cutting a sythe through the photo business.It is just the same as happened to the 'print' business when DTP came along.