A Fuelly Year On

Last year I started to record my vehicle fuel consumption on a regular basis via the website Fuelly. Last week I completed a full year's worth of motoring having recorded all mileages and fuel purchases. Well, what have I learnt?

I suppose the first thing which surprised me is how consistent my fuel consumption is. It was slightly higher in the Summer and lower during the Winter months but, over the year, I have managed a fairly respectable 52.5 mpg. However, this has equated to a quite astonishing £1,361.57 over that year. In terms of running the car I also have to add in around £180 for insurance, £125 for tax and numerous maintenance bills (for the period covered I would estimate that this came to £400). I would also have to add in the extended warrantee costs which come in at around £280 but which has proven to be well worth the money in the circumstances and which also includes the full AA package. There is also depreciation to take into account but this now appears to be down to around £600 per year.

The question is, could I reduce this amount? In terms of driving style, I don’t think there is too much else I could do safely. However, one thing that may be worth bearing in mind is whether a different fuel would have helped. There is no diesel equivalent for my car but the replacement model did have a diesel engine which is claimed to return an impressive 63mpg. Compared to the official 51mpg of my car and at current prices this would result in a £180 saving in fuel costs. That's not an amount to be sniffed at but the higher cost of the diesel models (up to £1000 more) and the tendencies for modern diesels to go hideously and expensively wrong compared to their petrol equivalents probably evens things up - and I really don't want to put up with that noise on a model of car which isn't the greatest for screening out noise.

The other interesting comparison is how much taking the train would cost instead. The main reason for actually having this car is to get to work. My office cannot be reached on foot so, even with a free shuttle bus to the station, it is not entirely practical to use public transport. However, if I did, it would cost me a pretty hefty £2,132.00 and involve a journey of around an hour and a half each way at best. If I was still working in Glasgow or Edinburgh the cost would be £1,668.00 or £1,840.00 respectively. It's not cheap but the journey time is much less and the cost of parking in either city is high enough to justify the fare alone. On top of that it's no fun driving into the big cities so the train starts looking far more attractive. If I was still city based I would probably not bother with the small car at all.

I think both car and public transport have their advantages: the train gives me some quality reading time and the car allows me to indulge my musical adventures. However, when looking at the figures, it is surprising at just how much it costs to work!

Shostakovich and the Heavy Metal Cello Quartet

Being bored and waiting for the Hogmanay celebrations to start I ended up online shopping with some Christmas present vouchers to hand. I was toying with the idea of getting some more Jazz CDs but ended up returning to form and bought some classical music. Partly this was as a result of watching the Symphony series on BBC Four and spotting a few (i.e. many) glaring holes in my classical music collection. I ended up going for a couple of Shostakovich works recorded on the budget Naxos label (although they are possibly amongst the more expensive recordings these days); namely the 7th Symphony and a collection going by the title of Jazz suites. Nina asked me if I was getting anything else. I told her that I was also getting a compilation album by a Finnish Heavy Metal Cello Quartet. She thought I was taking the piss. I wasn't.

I've always been quite partial to the Soviet era composers. Apart from anything else, Prokofiev and Khachaturian have always struck me as amongst the more accessible of 20th century classical composers and Shostakovich, whilst having a reputation for being somewhat more intense, has always appealed to me - particularly his 5th Symphony which is the musical equivalent of a bunch of dour looking old men in fur hats watching a progression of tanks roll past. In fact, it is interesting how the Soviet composers produced works which fitted in with Marxist dogma whilst managing to mock it at the same time. Shostakovich's 7th is probably best known for its first movement, an extract of which I have had on a compilation album, but the full symphony is a vast work telling of the siege of Leningrad during the Second World War - it is music about terror. According to the sleeve notes it was intended as much as a description of the horrors of Stalin as those of Hitler although one assumes that he must have kept that to himself at the time.

The one thing that strikes me about the Suites for Jazz Orchestra is that they aren't particularly Jazzy. They are, however, in a much lighter tone than many of Shostakovich's works. Although the small orchestras used to perform these works include Jazz instruments, the works are more of a showcase for light classical and dance music with waltzes, polkas and foxtrots. Again the sleeve notes are quite informative as they point out that suite 2 was, in fact, a misnomer and the original Jazz suite 2 was lost until recently. What was referred to as Suite 2 is actually now called Suite for Variety Orchestra of which a few segments sound very familiar. It does say that the seventh movement, Waltz 2, was used in Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut - but I'm assuming it has been used elsewhere as it sounds like a standard and it's years since I've seen that film.

The third CD I bought was a compilation by Apocalyptica, a Finish Heavy Metal Cello Quartet. I think, over the years, the more I've discovered culturally about Finland, the more it appeals to me. This was, after all, the country that won the Eurovision Song Contest with a bunch of monsters and who have a language which is closely related to Klingon. I heard of Apocalyptica a few years ago when they seemed to be regarded as a novelty act, having recorded an album of Metallica covers on the Cello. However, since then they have gone on to record several albums and have written many compositions of their own and collaborated with established singers on various songs. Amplified - A Decade of Reinventing the Cello is a "Best of" album split between a disk of instrumentals and a disk of songs with guest singers. The instrumentals vary quiet a bit with the original Metallica covers sounding very much like a classical quartet and the later, amplified tracks sounding very much like a thrash metal band. In fact, it is this remarkable similarity between classical and thrash that allows the whole enterprise to work in the first place - although their version of Slayer's Angel of Death has to be heard to really appreciate just how odd a concoction it really is.

Anyway, I seem to have another Amazon voucher in my inbox so I'll see what other noises I can inflict on the kids.

The Joy Of Football

I have been becoming progressively more disenchanted with professional football in the last few years. It's difficult actually to pin it down to one thing but I am increasingly finding club football to be more of an ordeal to be endured rather than an entertainment to be enjoyed. The last few times I've watched a game on the telly I've found myself irritated by the lack of commitment from the multi-millionaire players and have found the fans to be seriously detached from the reality of what is going on. I sat through the midweek League Cup game between Manchester City and Liverpool largely bored and generally annoyed at the aimless excuses for professional sportsmen on display. The fact that the main talking point was whether one of the players should have been sent off merely for having the gumption to win the ball in open play just about sums up the level that this dross has fallen to. At least, on this occasion, I did sit through to the end of the game.

On several occasions I have simply switched the TV off. I've largely taken to avoiding the Old Firm games which have descended into pointless needle matches watched by amoeba-minded sectarian bigots but other matches fare little better. I watched the last Liverpool vs Manchester United game for a while. I was singularly annoyed at the constant gamesmanship in lieu of any kind of footballing skill but what really forced me to switch off was the chanting of the supposed "fans" of these two clubs. Apparently, it is deemed appropriate to sing in joy at those who died at Hillsborough stadium in 1989 or at Munich airport in 1958. What kind of twisted mind actually takes pleasure at this? I can remember in the aftermath of Hillsborough that it was two dyed-in-the-wool Manchester United fans that organised a collection for the bereaved at my workplace. Whatever the footballing differences they felt a kinship with fellow North-Westerners and fellow football fans - and clearly they realised that the state of safety at football grounds could just as easily have affected their club. These are the real Manchester people and not the glory hunting bigots with no sense of their club's history. The chanting about the Munich disaster by alleged Liverpool fans is even more unbelievable as anyone with even a passing knowledge of their own club would know that Matt Busby was a much loved and highly respected former Liverpool club captain and was even offered the assistant managers job in the post war years. Real Liverpool people were shocked and saddened by the loss of so many young men back in '58.

The thing is, I still do enjoy football and have been trying to pass this love of the game on to my kids. The problem is who, in their right mind, would want their children mixed up in this cauldron of hatred. I have been wanting to take my oldest boy, Raymond, along to a match for a while and I have bought tickets to see the Olympic football at Hampden Park in the summer. I think international football still retains some of the joys of football simply because the qualification to play does not lie with who has the largest wallet to buy the best players but on the simple criteria of where one was born. However, I didn't want to take him along for his first game to the national stadium without seeing a match on a smaller scale. As he has just had his tenth birthday I thought it was about time that he had his first baptism of football so we headed off to Ochilview Park to see Stenhousemuir take on Forfar in a Division Two match.

It is actually the first time I've been along to see Stenny at home since we moved back to Larbert. Over the years I have lived within walking distance of quite a few clubs: Liverpool (and Everton, for that matter), Cardiff, Newcastle and Celtic amongst them. Stenhousemuir are very much on the smaller scale of things but the atmosphere is warm and friendly. This is a club where families go along to watch the game together and away fans are free to mingle with the home support without any hint of aggravation. I have to say that I have actually set off to see more Stenhousemuir games over the years than I actually got to watch. The pitch used to be very prone to waterlogging but the new plastic pitch has put an end to that and it was probably very welcome yesterday in the freezing weather. The game itself had, at least, some action and it looked like it might be a day to remember as they took the lead just before half time only to have Forfar draw even a minute later.

I though it was important to show Raymond all the rituals of match day (although I forgot to buy a match programme) so we queued up at half time for a Scotch pie and a coffee (or at least a can of juice for Raymond) and settled down for the second half with a good view of the Forfar goal. Somehow, the action seemed to heat up in the second half (which was just as well as I really should have put on a second jumper) and it looked like there was a second Stenhousemuir goal shortly after until it was ruled out for a supposed handball - no one could see this apart from the linesman, I suppose he did have a better view but the general consensus was that he should take the advice of his shirt sponsor and visit Specsavers. Nevertheless, Stenhousemuir did take the lead and it looked like Raymond would start his football watching days with a victory until the 80th minute when Forfar drew level. Never mind - a draw seemed like a fair result until the last minute when Forfar grabbed a winner. Well, you can't win them all.

The odd thing is, I didn’t mind too much. Forfar won fair and square and I really enjoyed the afternoon out - as did Raymond (apart from needing a thicker coat and another pair of socks). Aside from the general positive atmosphere, the thing I really enjoyed was the players. No-one tried to dive for a penalty or tried to get an opponent sent of by feigning death for having been breathed on. Some of the pass-and-move may have turned to hoof-it-and-hope on occasion but there was no sense that any player was giving any less than total commitment. There were no prima donnas. There were no imaginary cards waived and the only serious foul, in which a player was accidentally elbowed in the face, resulted in an apology and a handshake. Whilst the loss may have been disappointing I cannot begrudge Forfar their victory as they played by the rules and in the spirit of the game and won on their own merits. Above all, I enjoyed, for a change, seeing a display of sportsmanship rather than gamesmanship. These 22 footballers combined may not earn as much as a single English Premiership player but they could certainly teach them a lesson or two in how the game should be played.

So maybe that is the key to the Joy of Football: the players should be earning less than I am.

Something For The Dads

This week's blog posting has been brewing for a while and regards the important subject of which one of Doctor Who's female assistants would be the best to be locked up in the TARDIS with. This started off as a tea-break conversation at work although I must admit the conversation got a little salacious. The general opinion seemed to be Peri - or, for those that never saw the original series, Rose or Amy. In fact, when the show was originally devised the producers were very careful to make sure that there was something of interest for all the family: granddaughter Susan would appeal to the kids, with Barbara and Ian of more appeal to older viewers. For the first few series there wasn't really anyone specifically designed to appeal as someone "for the dads" - someone with obvious sex appeal to keep the dads tuned in.  However, over the years the Doctor has travelled time and space with some remarkably attractive young ladies - although some may have had personality traits that would be really grating: would you really want to be stranded in the little blue box with them for any time? Now, for the first time, on a Doctor by Doctor basis, we have the definitive list of the Doctors' top companions - at least as discussed by my mates at the pub.

The First Doctor, played by William Hartnell, had quite a few companions during his three year stint in the role. However, I have to say I'm a little limited here as there are one or two that I've never seen on screen. One of my colleagues said he had a serious crush on Susan, the Doctor's granddaughter, and I must admit that I find Carole Ann Ford a very attractive actress. The odd thing I find from watching these old black and white episodes is that it is the male companions who tend to be much stronger: particularly Ian (played by William Russell) and Steven (Peter Purves in his pre-Blue Peter days). The leading lady at the start was Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) who was Susan's history teacher. I actually think Barbara was one of the best companions from the whole series, acting as the voice of reason to Hartnell's cantankerous Doctor, but if there is one companion that would have to get the dad's vote it would be Polly, played by Anneke Wills, who portrayed the character as "a proper 60's dolly bird" and really established the trend for the veritable old time lord hanging out with some serious eye candy.

Polly was around when the Doctor first regenerated into cosmic clown Patrick Troughton. However, the second Doctor is probably most fondly remembered for trusty Highland companion, Jamie McCrimmon, but he also had two attractive young ladies travelling with him in the form of Victoria Waterfield and Zoe Heriot. They actually demonstrate two of the problems that the writers have had with the female companions over the years. Victoria was a sweet, pretty girl but screamed at pretty much everything: Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors, the lot... I can only assume that the Doctor took her along as a sort of early warning system. Zoe, on the other hand, was a brain-box and general bloody know-it-all and seemed to regard the Doctor as being something of a fool at times (which, admittedly, he could be). However Zoe had the great advantage of having an ace line in catsuits, so she gets the vote. In fact this is a bit dodgy for the dad's vote as the character was only mean to be about 15 years old. However, Wendy Padbury who played Zoe was about 21 at the time - so that's OK then?

Moving on to the Third Doctor, played by Jon Pertwee, we get another brain-box in the form of Liz Shaw. I think Liz was a decent enough companion but she didn't quite gel with the Doctor in the same way Zoe had and her replacement, Jo Grant (Katy Manning), was the complete opposite: an attractive but highly scatter-brained young woman. I also think that the regular cast at this time were a very close knit team and Pertwee's final scenes with her, where he pensively drives off as Jo leaves to get married, were not just down to good acting. The sensible money should go on Jo but her replacement in the form of Elisabeth Sladen's Sarah Jane Smith was a revelation. Here, someone finally managed to get the character of female assistant down to a tee. She was very pretty but still assertive and intelligent without ever competing with the Doctor. She could also pull off being both brave and vulnerable at the same time. She would appear alongside Pertwee again in the 5 Doctors TV special - so Sarah Jane it is.

Now, of all the Doctors, I think Tom Bakers Forth incarnation really had the best looking companions. He started off with Sarah Jane and, in his third series in the role, started travelling with Leela: a savage girl played by Louise Jameson in a sort of leather bikini type thing. Apparently, she was rather surprised at the amount of attention this brought her - until she realised that appearing on teatime telly, just after the footy results, in front of lots of hormonal teenage boys and their lecherous dads, in a somewhat risqué outfit was probably asking for quite a bit of attention. Leela appeared for a couple of series until it was decided that the Doctor should have a timelady as his companion: Romanadvoratrelundar (or Romana, for short) in the very shapely form of Mary Tamm. She only appeared in one series: The Key To Time. I've been watching this with the kids on DVD and she really was the most elegant thing to look at - it's just a pity that they couldn't write some better lines for someone who was, even then, an accomplished film actress. However, it was her reincarnation in the shape of Lalla Ward that was my favourite - I really was infatuated with her at the time. There was always the feeling that there was more to her relationship with the Doctor than platonic friendship and, in fact, Tom Baker and Lalla Ward were married for a while. For that reason it has to be Romana Mk II for the Forth Doctor.

As far as the Fifth Doctor is concerned it's Peri. However, we have to reserve her for the Sixth for reasons that will become obvious. Peter Davidson's Doctor did inherit a crew from the Forth Doctor including Sarah Sutton's Nyssa and Janet Fielding's Tegan. Now, Sarah Sutton is lovely but I always found the character of Nyssa to be rather dull. Again, I think this was the fault of the writers who seemed to find it easier to write for Adric (another bloody know-all who they saw fit to blow up during Davidson's first series) and Tegan - a perpetually complaining Australian air hostess (standing the whole whinging pom thing on its head). The only really memorable story involving Nyssa was Black Orchid in which Sarah Sutton also played Nyssa's doppelganger - I'm assuming the writers were prodded to write a decent story line for her. So, for the Fifth Doctor, I'm going to go for the constantly bickering Tegan: mainly for miniskirt related reasons.

The Sixth Doctor gets Peri! Colin Baker only has one other option and it’s really no contest. Melanie Bush was probably the last person one would want to be locked in the TARDIS with. Now I've nothing against Bonnie Langford, who is a perfectly decent actress, but the character of Mel was dreadful. It was as if the writers had set out to make a Doctor Who spoof: what does the companion do? Get caught by aliens and scream a lot. Part of the problem was that I could remember Ms Langford in Just William. She was great in that as the bratty Violet Elizabeth, the lisping little girl who would " thcream and thcream and thcream until I'm thick!" Unfortunately, Mel would scream and scream and scream until she made everyone else sick. Peri, on the other hand probably made quite a few adolescent boys (and their dads) go blind.  I seem to recall that the first time we see her she is wearing a bikini and she had a habit of wearing not particularly much quite regularly. However, I also liked the character (even if they did occasionally portray her as being a Scotch egg short of a picnic) and she also made the best of some of the more ropey scripts. She could argue with the Doctor as well as Tegan but there was certainly lots of affection there - even if the Sixth Doctor tried to strangle her once! I actually saw Nicola Bryant appearing in a comedy a couple of years back and she is still as gorgeous as ever.

The Seventh Doctor started out with the dreadful screaming Mel and probably some of the lousiest scripts the series has ever produced. Things improved in the last two series as Sylvester McCoy developed the Doctor into his darkest territory since the early Hartnell episodes. He also had a new travelling companion in the form of Ace, played by Sophie Aldred, a sort of Tomboy nutter with a past almost as mysterious as the Doctor's. It was an interesting departure for the series as the character development of the assistant became almost as important as the Doctor's adventures. This would become a feature of the series when it was brought back in 2005 although we never saw the conclusion of this story as the show was cancelled in 1989. We can only assume that the Seventh Doctor and Ace rode off into the sunset together.

The Eighth Doctor is a bit tricky as Paul McGann only made the one TV film. It wasn't the best realisation of the show, in spite of the big production budget, as they seemed to have lost its essential British quirkiness, and for that reason Dr Grace Holloway (played by Daphne Ashbrook) seemed more of an obvious romantic interest which wasn't in keeping with this series (although actually rather fitting for this blog entry!) Anyway, as far as the Eighth Doctor goes I'm going to cheat. Whilst the show was off air there were many radio plays made of Doctor Who (which continue to this day) with former actors adding their voice to this extended Whoniverse. Paul McGann has made many of these plays and one of his regular companions is Lucie Miller, played by the lovely Sheridan Smith. In fact, it was rumoured that she was going to star in the TV series before Catherine Tate was cast. It's a pity that she didn't although Donna Noble did make for an interesting character.

The Ninth Doctor will have to be Rose - and I can't see Christopher Eccleston doing radio plays any time soon. There were some eyebrows raised when Billie Piper was cast in this role as she was mainly known as teeny pop singer. I had actually seen her acting prior to this in a BBC adaptation of The Canterbury Tales so I thought it was a smart move: and so it proved to be. As with Ace there was more backstory to Rose and it was also more than slightly hinted that there was romantic involvement between them. It was also interesting that we saw more of the character's home life and extended family (including Camille Coduri as her unfeasibly young mother).

The Tenth Doctor gets quite a few companions, starting with Rose, and including several guest appearances - even Kylie gave it a go. I suppose that, Rose aside, Donna Noble and Martha Jones are the main ones. I think Freema Agyeman wins in the looks department whereas Katherine Tate had the loudmouth redhead thing down to a tee. However, the most significant character he meets is the mysterious River Song played by Alex Kingston. I think the gung-ho nature of the character makes her instantly fun and Alex Kingston's flirtatiousness and somehow slightly inappropriate sexiness (like your aunt trying to cop off with your best mate) really add to the appeal. So, even though she features more with the Eleventh Doctor, I'm going to lock her up in the TARDIS with David Tennent's Tenth. Hello Sweetie!

And so finally to the Eleventh Doctor who will get to spend some quality time with Amy. After all she manages the holy trinity of be Scottish, ginger and with legs that are about 7 feet long. It actually took me a while to warm to the character as she came across as rather prickly during her first series in the TARDIS. In fact I preferred her portrayal as a child by Karen Gillan's cousin to begin with. However, I think the character progressed and the chemistry between Karen Gillan and Matt Smith brings out the best in both characters. Amy has really moved on and it's not all about shouting a lot and wearing really short skirts. But let's face it: those legs are great, aren’t they?

So would you agree or go for someone different? (I must admit, Jo Grant and Leela should really be up there.) Just to balance the wanton sexism of this we did try to come up with Doctor by Doctor list of the best male companions but got rather stuck around Doctors six and seven. Maybe that's one for another day?

On My Radio

After last year’s Hogmanay debacle, whereby I acted as designated driver and ended up breaking my arm through reasons of sobriety, I made sure that I was well over the legal drink-drive limit by early evening. The odd thing is that I don’t feel particularly hung over this morning and I have even taken the dog out for a walk (without breaking any limbs, I may add). This has also given me the chance to have another play with my Christmas presents – it’s not just children who get toys from Santa.

I actually received a decent selection this year. I hate it when I receive presents that are just obviously “for work” like a tie or shirt. It just seems like an anti-present because it is making the point that earning money is the only thing one exists for. So this year, I received a big illustrated book about The Beatles, a decent single malt whisky, Kate Bush’s new album and a DAB radio. Clearly someone does know what my interests are. In fact, I almost bought Kate’s new album before being a bit tight fisted and thinking it would be half the price in the new year. In fact it is probably worth the full price – it’s not as immediately accessible as Aeriel, her previous album, but it is definitely a grower. Whereas Aeriel portrayed a Summer’s day in England, 50 Words for Snow is all about different aspects of Winter set around a rather sparse and minimal piano arrangements.

The one thing I have really been playing about with today is the DAB Radio. I have never had a digital radio before although I have had some of the channels via Freeview. In terms of sound quality it is better than I had heard DAB before – I listened to it at my sister’s old house but the reception was minimal and made everything sound as if it was being played under mud. The sound out of my new radio is very clear but it doesn’t quite have the crispness of good FM reception. However, it is the choice of channels which is the big bonus with DAB. Outside of the BBC channels (and possibly Classic FM) I find the commercial radio stations to be very samey. Clyde and Forth are practically interchangeable and I did like Real radio until they started having the blokes-talking-pish-about-fitba phone-in for what seems to be about 90% of the time I tune in. DAB has the advantage in that it still is a minority pursuit so there is a niche for everyone. The intention is that all radio will go DAB eventually although they are really going to have to fit it in cars for that to happen.

The one channel that many people have raved on about (and got rather cross when the BBC threatened to close it) is BBC 6. I listened to this quite a bit on Freeview but it disappeared in the evenings when BBC Alba started up. It’s nice to have it back. However, one feature I like on the DAB Radio compared to Freeview is that all channels are listed alphabetically so such unlikely bedfellows as Jazz FM and Kerrang! sit next to each other. I like both: Jazz does pretty much what it says on the tin whereas Kerrang! does heavy metal, punk, rock, grunge and anything else that goes Kerrang! There are also a Planet Rock channel but I haven’t decided whether this is  better or worse than Kerrang! There are a few nostalgia channels which concentrate on the 1980s or 1990s (apparently the 90s are now a distant memory – who’d have thought) and there are even a couple of channels which play Asian music – at least that is what it turned out to be. At first, I thought it was Tony Blackburn. Why do DJs put on that ridiculous voice? If the presenter had an Indian accent or a regional British accent (as I assume they were probably British-Asian) it would seem quite natural, so why the DJ accent? It sounds stupid when Tony Blackburn does it.

The only downside with the DAB radio is the alarm function. In fact the alarm works well enough but the clock face is left permanently illuminated even when the radio is off. This has the problem that there is a light perpetually on in the bedroom. My current clock alarm does this as well and it seems like such a stupid oversight. In fact the only alarm I’ve had that isn’t permanently illuminated actually used a light to wake the sleeper rather than a radio. Is it not beyond the wit of man to combine the two? I’m actually experimenting at the moment to see what is the best channel is to wake up to. I had been using Radio 2 as they have a nice little 3 minute news bulletin just when the alarm goes off but I find Vanessa Feltz to be far too damn perky for that hour of the morning. I’ll have to see who does a decent bit of news and then cuts to something a little more gentle. Like Motörhead, for example.