Archive for July, 2008

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Sneaky Sound System

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

Sneaky Sound System

They’ve been around since 2001 and I’ve never heard of them. They’re Australian. They make electronic music. They’ve won awards. They’ve supported Jamiroquai, Robbie Williams, and the Scissor Sisters on tour. They were recommended to me by my brother. They are Sneaky Sound System.

The three-piece from Sydney have been well-known in their native land for over seven years, but only now has the time seemed right to bring their bright and infectious pop to the UK and the rest of the world. Signed to 14th Floor Records, their first UK groove, Pictures, was released here on 21 July.

Radio 1, by no means a barometer of the UK’s music tastes (and record-buying public), hit on Pictures in the early summer, and the track was also added to many of London’s commercial stations’ playlists, too. Good? Well, the power of London radio saw the single shoot into the charts at number… 94.

Bright and breezy electronic funk pop is probably the best way to describe the music; undeniably cool the group behind it. An album featuring the best of their debut long-player Sneaky Sound System, and their 2008 project 2, hits the shops on 22 September. From what I’ve heard so far, it will be well worth a listen.

It puzzles me why UK listeners have been kept in the dark for so long. Back home, the pop clubbers are music industry multi-award winners. The dance pop with the funky edge and the cool image should have gone down a storm with UK music lovers. Had she needed a support act, they would even have been just the tickets to support Kylie on her KylieX2008 tour.

So, thanks for the sneaky tip, Ean. It crept up on me, but proves that little brothers can be more than useful sometimes…

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Renaultsport Twingo 133

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Renaultsport Twingo 133 is the first performance Twingo 
New Renaultsport Twingo 133 is the first performance Twingo

The first-generation Renault Twingo was a cheeky chap, although you’d have been lucky to have seen him in the UK. Left-hand drive utility chic, he found many friends in France (Parisians love him) and mainland Europe. Killed off and replace with a newer – and blander – model, his successor might have problems finding friends, with the more attractive Fiat 500 stealing the attractive glances once destined for him.

Not able to go the British Motor Show at Excel this week, the new Twingo’s hotter and pumped-up brother would have caught my admiring glances. And although cooking new Twingo will be more than a little put out, I suspect he won’t mind really, as his tougher brother will bring more new owners into the fold; especially those who lament the demise of the affordable and tiny hot hatchback.

New cooking Twingo thinks that la Regie has covered all bases with his range, and he’d be right. There’s no doubt he’s still a nippy and tuck-in city car, but with butch additions and his company’s hot hatchback genes, his brawny brother could punch above his weight. That was something old Twingo never did. He was a fun, utilitarian and useful small hatchback with good manners; nothing more, and nothing less.

Looks take cues from its larger Clio and Mégane siblings
Looks take cues from Renaultsport Clio and Mégane siblings

With a 1.6-litre, 133bhp engine, Renaultsport Twingo 133 can get to 62mph from rest in around 8 seconds, certainly benefiting from his gym workout. While he may be less powerful than his new Italian rival, he doesn’t care. Taking styling cues from his larger Renaultsport Clio and Megane siblings, with blistered wheel arches, 16-inch anthracite alloy wheels, and dark grey body detailing, he looks sharp. His 10mm lowered suspension and wider tracks further ensure that he looks ready for business, and has the potential to be more athletic than his cooking brothers.

He even has orange seatbelts.

His limited bright colour palette further guarantees exclusivity, while he can be specced with either a Sport or Cup chassis. Just like the larger Renaultsport models, Cup is the more extreme personality suitable for keener drivers, and brings with it 17-inch wheels and a removable rear bench seat. That might not sound like much, but when taken out, it saves 20kg. And in the hot tiddler class, where weight is everything, every gram counts. Renaultsport Twingo 133’s diet might just pay off.

Lowered suspension and wider tracks should ensure great handling
Lowered suspension, wider tracks should ensure great handling

So, a keener Twingo for keener drivers, that’s Renaultsport Twingo 133. At a keener price, too. £11,550 is his asking price, which although more expensive than his more sedate brothers, is still inexpensive in the budget hot hatch landscape. And just like the generation before him, he brings cheek back to the Twingo range. He hasn’t yet been thoroughly road tested, but there’s every hope that this new-found cheek extends to his road manners, too. Yoofy hooligans might even adopt him as their new hot hatch hero when he lands on these shores in September.

Who’d have thought it? A leaner and meaner new Twingo with added cheek, and slightly naughty manners…

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Geocaching at Berners Roding

Monday, July 28th, 2008

Sign at Berners Roding church

From the looks of it, the sale ended years ago. In fact, it was probably the last event the little tumbledown church welcomed, closing its wooden door and saying goodbye to the last of the bring-and-buyers. But, it was nice to be sitting in the porch of the fourteenth century All Saints Church in Berners Roding, while the summer rain hammered down in the graveyard.

Making pinging noises on the leaves and wild ferns, and gushing off the rusty and broken drainpipes, the wet stuff had come with no warning. We’d been pleased we’d broken the back of our months-long geocaching hiatus, and we came so close to finding the treasure.

But, it was then that the heavens opened and decided that the cache was going to remain hidden. We had an inkling something might happen, what with having been such an oppressive and close weekend, and we could see the streams of showers some distance away over the flat Essex fields. Why then, though, when we were only a few metres away from a find?

Never mind. We’d had foresight to grab the cameras, and after running back along the soil public footpath, sidestepping the farmer’s peas, we settled for an hour in the church porch and took pictures of the natural world around us. Close-ups of watery and overflowing pipes, insects collecting nectar from purple thistles, and atmospheric and abandoned church furniture were our treasure yesterday.

Thistle in Berners Roding churchyard

Once the rain had decided it was staying, we came to the conclusion we didn’t need the extra exercise anyway, what with cycling 12 miles to Galleywood and back on Saturday morning for breakfast. And, with the sound of wasps buzzing around a nest in the trees above, and no-one else around, we enjoyed being on our own, chatting and snapping before running to the car and heading home.

A non-find, yes, but for once, one that we didn’t mind.

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Kellogg’s cyclometer

Friday, July 25th, 2008

Kellogg\'s cyclometer records readings every five seconds
Kellogg’s cyclometer records readings every five seconds

We’ve had them since the New Year, but one of the things we did on our week off recently, was to finally get my Kellogg’s cyclometer working. It’s not the first time we’ve tried. The wires have been in place since January, but the readings were somewhat off then, but a bit of tinkering with the reading magnet seems to have cured the problem.

It’s somewhat ironic then, that now Nik’s doesn’t seem to want to record properly, even though it did all those months ago.

Given in return for cereal tokens (yes, I did eat a lot of Rice Krispies) as part of its Cycle10 Challenge to get the nation on their bikes, the little digital white box records lots of useful information every five seconds while you’re pedalling.

I tend to walk a lot, the car is in semi-retirement and doesn’t get nowhere near as many miles added to its 154,000 total as it used to, but I do enjoy a good cycle. It will be interesting to see how many miles I cycle in a year, and compare it to the cost of those miles if the journeys were done in a car using fuel.

Just in that week off, over two days, the little machine is telling me that we cycled for 2 and-a-half hours, and did over 22 miles at an average of 8mph (with a 22.82 mph top speed – I’m a bit of a speed demon if I can see the cyclometer recording). The wheel even went around 17,602 times.

Kellogg\'s cyclometer
Digital box with LCD display is similar in design to iPod 

It’s fascinating stuff, and it makes you feel fitter, even though it’s probably not making that much difference. With the so-called ‘credit crunch’ making itself felt, and many workplaces in London offering cycle to work schemes, pedal power is set to become popular again once more.

And although the bike is in Chelmsford at the moment and I’m walking to the station every day in Ipswich, when I can ride it, it’s good to be part of a revolution, watching the white box record my revolutions.

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The Orchard, Grantchester, Cambridge

Monday, July 21st, 2008

The Orchard, Grantchester - Thanks to gasindius (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gasindius/557134604/)
The Orchard, Grantchester, Cambridge (picture courtesy of gasindius)

Jeffrey Archer, David Attenborough, Cecil Beaton, John Cleese, David Frost, Stephen Fry, Stephen Hawking, Eric Idle, AA Milne, and Emma Thompson are just ten of the famous names that have taken tea in The Orchard at Grantchester near Cambridge. Yesterday afternoon, we followed in their foosteps, and enjoyed a late afternoon cream tea under a cloudy sky.

Planted in 1868, The Orchard really is a very special place, and nearly didn’t become a tea house at all. It was only when Mrs Stevenson of Orchard House served tea to students under the blossoming fruit trees one morning in 1897, that a great Cambridge tradition was started. Young King’s College poet Rupert Brooke loved the place, and even lived next-door in the Old Vicarage, now home to Lord Archer.

Becoming popular in the 1920s, by the 1980s The Orchard was attracting visitors by the thousand, and came perilously close to serving its last cups of tea, as the land was to be sold off for residential redevelopment. Rescued from this fate, one day the present owner intends to sell it off to the general public in small plots, so that it can be enjoyed by future generations of local and far afield visitors alike.

It’s hard to put a finger on what’s special about The Orchard, but special it undoubtedly is. There’s always a queue at the serving pavilion, waiting patiently to choose from a mouth watering selection of cakes, pastries, and cooked lunches. Tea is the foundation that The Orchard is built upon - and it offers a wide selection - but coffee is served, too. In a pleasant change from the high street chains, though, you can only drink basic filtered coffee at Grantchester; there are no fancy lattes or mochas here.

Sitting under the shady fruit trees in dark green canvas and wooden deckchairs, the relaxing atmosphere really weaves a magical over you, and it’s easy to imagine Victorian men bedecked in their hunting tweeds sipping their hot beverages alongside ladies in their hoop-dressed and parasoled finery, The Orchard really does evoke a bygone age, and it’s no wonder it’s attracted such a selection of luminaries to stroll through its leafy grounds.

Open seven days a week (closing at varying times depending on the season), The Orchard can be found in Mill Way, Grantchester, Cambridgeshire. Alternatively, if you’d like to take morning coffee, lunch, or afternoon tea in an enchanting setting, call 01223 845788 or visit the website to find out more. For that truly romantic Cambridge experience, though, why not hire a punt from the city and explore the River Granta, passing through Grantchester Meadows, and arrive at The Orchard in a little bygone style?

Time for tea? The Orchard comes highly recommended.

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