Richard King, Psychic Engineer

Edzard Ernst and Herbal Remedies

2010-12-30T15:52:00.000Z

In today’s Independent there is an opinion piece by Edzard Ernst, on the need for less opinion, at least as far as herbal remedies are concerned, specifically “Edzard Ernst: We need less opinion and more scientific research” on Thursday, 30 December 2010 (http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/edzard-ernst-we-need-less-opinion-and-more-scientific-research-2171782.html).

Having read a great deal of Ernst’s work and writings, I came to the conclusion, some time ago, that in much of his field of supposed expertise, he is, more or less, completely clueless.

The comment I contributed to the discussion in the Independent is as follows:

Edzard Ernst is, regularly, ready to give his opinion, sometimes based on “science” from his point of view, even though much of that science is seriously flawed.

The description of my own Healing modality in “Trick or Treatment?”, the book he wrote with Simon Singh, contains double figures of errors on a single page. When I questioned Edzard Ernst about such matters on his own Blog on the “Pulse” website, he, essentially, ran away. As a so-called Professor of Complementary Medicine who professes to know about my modality, has supposedly researched it and pontificates on it, he turns and runs when asked questions by someone who knows the subject, has years of experience of it, plus half a century of involvement with science; a combination that is clearly too much for him.

I do not claim to know other parts of the CAM field in depth, unlike Edzard Ernst and the semi-instant expertise of Simon Singh who went from zero to an “expert” in about two years. In practice Singh has not a clue what he is talking about and Ernst is little better.

Unlike Ernst, Singh and many others, I do at least have an appreciation of the history, principles and thinking behind many CAM modalities as well as a strong science background. Applying science to them would be advantages in several ways. Unfortunately the science usually applied is often rubbish. Because he understands so little that even my non-scientific Healer colleagues could, immediately, see the flaws in his research. The supposed mechanism of placebo is related to the self healing abilities which are natural too us. Many non-mainstream methodologies, including spiritual healing, specifically encourage, apply, “set in motion” an individual’s self healing abilities. Hence, Edzard Ernst essentially proved that Spiritual Healing did not work because Spiritual Healing was not better than Spiritual Healing, or placebo did not work because placebo was not better than placebo. Ernst made the basic error of assuming that the procedure he chose to act as a placebo really was a placebo.

From what I have read of Ernst’s work, which is fairly extensive, I doubt that his expertise is much better in other areas, including that of herbal medicine.

How many other professors are utterly clueless about a significant subject in the field they claim to profess, particularly one on which they have pontificated and given strong opinions?

There are many fields of endeavour that depend heavily on experience, both on a personal basis and the “handed down” variety. That is certainly true of my own profession of engineering, which is less than 20% science in content. If we applied the evidence based approach in purely the science sense, as opposed to the generality of evidence, the world as we know it would not exist. There many are areas of engineering where “evidence based” in either the straight scientific sense, or “randomly controlled trial” sense is impractical, ridiculously expensive, or simply not there, not available, unattainable. That is the difference between living in the real world and inhabiting the amateurish theoretical scientific world of Edzard Ernst and his acolytes.

Similarly, there are many other matters in which handed down experience, group and/or society experience is valuable, including herbal traditions.

Besides, how come that from a health point of view, herbal remedies are to be considered not safe unless proven to be safe, whereas mobile ‘phones and similar are to be considered safe unless proven unsafe? Such inversions of the proof of safety are very common in our society and seem to have a strong correlation with vested interests.

An Engineer and a soar point with Pterosaurs

2010-11-29T22:04:00.005Z

Colin Palmer, an engineer engaged in research on the aerodynamics of pterosaurs at the University of Bristol, has shown that the creatures were predominantly adapted to slow speed flight; too slow and flexible to use, or survive in, the stormy winds of some oceans, such as the albatross does in the southern oceans

Pterosaur wings had variable geometry and that, combined with their slow flight enabled them to land very gently, reducing the chance of damage to their thin bones. This goes a long way to explaining how pterosaurs became the largest flying creatures ever known, with a wingspan up to 10m across.

Colin Palmer said: “Pterosaur wings were adapted to a low-speed flight regime that minimizes sink rate. This regime is unsuited to marine style dynamic soaring adopted by many seabirds which requires high flight speed coupled with high aerodynamic efficiency, but is well suited to thermal/slope soaring. The low sink rate would have allowed pterosaurs to use the relatively weak thermal lift found over the sea.

“Since the bones of pterosaurs were thin-walled and thus highly susceptible to impact damage, the low-speed landing capability would have made an important contribution to avoiding injury and so helped to enable pterosaurs to attain much larger sizes than extant birds. The trade-off would have been an extreme vulnerability to strong winds and turbulence, both in flight and on the ground, like that experienced by modern-day paragliders.”

Palmer constructed models of pterosaur wing sections from thin curved sheets of epoxy resin/ carbon fibre composite, those sections then being tested in a wind tunnel. From those test the two dimensional characteristics of pterosaur wings were characterised fort he first time. This showed that the creatures were considerably less aerodynamically efficient and were capable of flying at lower speeds than previously thought.

Colin Palmer, trained as an engineer, originally in ship science and has over forty years of industrial experience. His interest in the propulsion of sailing vessels led to a study of the performance of thin aerofoil’s and low speed aerodynamics. He is now applying that knowledge and experience to the analysis of vertebrate flight, focusing on large pterosaurs for his PhD. His approach uses a combination of wind tunnel and vortex-lattice theoretical modeling to understand how pterosaur wings performed. More sophisticated aerodynamic analysis, using computational fluid dynamics, is to follow with the intention of providing enough information to create a free-flying model of a pterosaur.

The story reminds me of that of a particular type of dinosaur that was thought to live in marshes so that its body partially floated, due to its body structure, particularly its legs, being unable to bear its full weight. Sometime in the 1960s, or 1970s, an engineer carried out structural calculations to show that the creature’s skeletal structure was indeed capable of bearing its weight. Oddly, as I recall, the person concerned was an electrical engineer at the University of Reading. In a sense, not so odd as engineers have a good understanding of each other’s disciplines; my first year at Brunel University was a common one for all engineers; mechanical, electrical and production engineering. Either way both stories are a good example of why such matters should be investigated by other than just scientists.

Colin Palmer’s paper “Flight in slow motion: aerodynamics of the pterosaur wing” is in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B at rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2009/12/01/rspb.2009.1899.abstract.

Stephen Hawking says universe not created by God

2010-09-10T20:23:00.000Z

Stephen Hawking has, apparently, come to the conclusion that the universe had no creator, though that notion, is, of course, based on physics; “Stephen Hawking says universe not created by God”, The Guardian, 2nd September 2010 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/sep/02/stephen-hawking-big-bang-creator)

In his 1988 book “A Brief history of Time”, there was at least an indication that Hawking’s understanding might not be limited to just the physical, particularly when he wrote, “If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we should know the mind of God”

That Hawking’s understanding does not go beyond the physical is apparent from the article, as well as elsewhere. The Guardian article quotes Hawking as saying, "The fact that we human beings – who are ourselves mere collections of fundamental particles of nature – have been able to come this close to an understanding of the laws governing us and our universe is a great triumph."

Many of us are well aware that we are far more than “mere collections of fundamental particles of nature”, as is the rest of the physical universe for that matter; we are not limited to just our physical senses, which gives us a distinct advantage over almost all mainstream scientists, including Stephen Hawking.

As Hawking’s knowledge and understanding is limited to the physical, so must be his conclusions. Eminent though his work is, it is based on partial knowledge.

However, even with physical world limitations in understanding, there is still the matter of logic in that the so-called “laws” of physics are based on physical observation and have no particular bearing on what there was before the physical, putting aside the slight matter of time being as illusory as the physical world itself. Although the idea that the “Origin” of everything we know is all there is, time dose not exist and physical reality is complete illusion is difficult to grasp, it seems less so than the notion that the whole of the “real” physical universe suddenly appeared, totally spontaneously out of absolutely nothing. Once the knowledge and some experience of the vastness of creation, of which only the physical is a very small part, such understandings become easier to accept.

The other aspect is the matter of design. The title of Stephen Hawking's new book, co-written with Caltech Physicist Leonard Mlodinow, is “The Grand Design”.

Design is part of engineering, as is science, when the engineer deems science to be useful. Design is not science and is not a rational subject, it is art and irrational. Scientists may endeavour to investigate design, with their limited tools and limited understanding; they may have their own opinions on it. However, they do not, in general, have either the expertise, or qualifications, to pass any meaningful comment on design, other than from the very limited scientific perspective. Therefore, from the design point of view, the opinions of Stephen Hawking and his co-author are irrelevant, at a minimum mostly so.

These days it is not easy to find somewhere away from the light pollution of towns and cities to see a clear night sky. I remember a night, back in the 1960s, at a firework party on the beach at Holland-on-sea in Essex, adjacent to Clacton-on Sea where we lived. At one stage during the evening, I lay on the beach, below the cliff, looking out to sea, up at a clear, cloudless sky. Even what could be seen with just the naked eye more or less, screamed “Design?” In latter years I learned far more about design and began to see far more than the physical. Scientists in general, let alone physicists, often have no idea just how little they know, or, pursuing their current paths, will ever know.

Of web sites, computer gremlins and a dud Acer laptop

2010-04-06T20:40:00.001Z

Towards the end of a couple of weeks in which I finally obtained a refund on the failed Acer computer bought from “At your Fingertips in Leigh Park, I had problems connecting to my web sites to update them after something of a lull in activity.

Obtaining the refund was a relief, though had taken several weeks, several E-mails and a letter, a few consultations with trading Standards, plus Jo having her say, in no uncertain terms, while we were in the shop. Oddly, not much more than a minute after we got there, Cecilia Harding took a ‘phone call that turned out to be, apparently, from Anthony, her supplier, it being, for some reason, crucial that he agreed to supply a replacement computer to sell, as new, so that she would not lose out financially, not up to her to settle with me, a customer, and take it up with her supplier afterwards; completely at odds with Trading Standards interpretation of the Law in which they specialise; odd. Even odder was Anthony phoning a minute or two after Jo and I arrived, unannounced at het shop. My comment at the time was
“Your computer supplier must be more psychic than I am!”

After a further exchange of E-mails I was able to recover my £485 a few days later, on the following Wednesday, travelling over there with Fedor, to return the loan computer, which I had long before stopped using for fear that would give out as well.

The Hewlett Packard laptop I had already purchased from Currys, in Havant, was, at £400, cheaper, of a higher specification than the Acer computer, plus being a new one, compared suspicions on the vintage of the Acer computer after we looked it up online.

Over the weekend and early this week I went back to updating my web sites then came across a linking problem, again. The home version of the FTP programme I had used for many months refused to set up and link, as did my backup one, initially. Finally I managed to update several diary pages as well as the ones on the Second Hayling Island Bridge following an article a couple of weeks ago by Elise Brewerton in “The News” (Portsmouth), “Campaigners are hoping to get funding for a second Hayling bridge to make it safer for cyclists and pedestrians to cross to the island”.

On top of that I had “borrowed” a photo of the Aberfeldy bridge, with an acknowledgement of the source, which the Haying Island one would have followed on from if Havant Borough Council had been co-operative, only to realise that it would not appear on the Hayling Island Second Bridge page of my RLK Associates web site because it was a GIF image rather than JPEG image. That is something I have to sort out quickly in order to have it ready before sending a large circulation E-mail about the bridge that could have been had Havant Borough Council not ignored, obstructed.

The Sushi, the Stew and the Failed Computer

2010-03-15T07:55:00.001Z

Last Sunday, Mother’s Day, we went to our daughter’s house in Chichester, as we had the previous Sunday, the weekend when they moved into the house. On both occasions we had a very pleasant day. I had been over on the first Saturday, when they moved in; Fedor had come with me to the “At You Fingertips” shop in the Greywell Centre, Leigh Park, to try to help me retrieve my money for the failed Acer Extensa laptop computer.

On the first of those two Sundays, while Emma and I went to fetch bed from a friend’s house, Fedor had put together a meal of sushi, his favourite and well deserved after all his efforts during the house moving. Unfortunately, somehow, it was knocked off of the table, the plate breaking on the stone floor and the sushi ruined by shards of crockery.

The following day I had returned home, after visiting clients, to find Jo ad made one of her very good stews. With my plate of stew on the worktop in the kitchen, I open a cupboard to get a wineglass, there being some wine left over from the weekend. Somehow, I contrived to knock the glass against the cupboard, or somehow otherwise drop it, for the glass to bounce on the worktop and break on the floor. Clearing up quickly and pouring wine into another glass, I took the meal into another room and sat down to eat. I had only taken one mouthful when I saw two pieces of glass ion the edge of the pallet. Obviously, the glass had started to break when it hit the worktop, before landing on the floor. So, my meal was ruined by shards of glass in it, at least potentially and not worth the risk, though Jo had made plenty, enough for two days, so all was not lost.

It was peculiar to have two such similar incidents twenty-four hours apart, the only connection being that Fedor, being a computer consultant, had offered to come with me to a shop where I had bought a laptop computer, sometime previously, the computer had failed, so had the first repair, and I was having problems getting my money back.

The computer was purchased from At Your Fingertips, in Greywell Precinct, Leigh Park at the end of September 2009. It began to show signs of instability during November and failed completely by the end of the month; it kept going blue screen, “crash dump to disc”.

I agreed to the computer being repaired, though there was additional delay due to the shop owner, Cecilia Harding, being away due to illness. The computer came back from Acer, with, apparently, a new motherboard and a clean bill of health, though, when I started it, in the shop, it went blue screen, “crash dump to disc”. Cecilia Harding suggested I take it home for Christmas and try it, see if it settled down, otherwise bring it back afterwards.

The computer was no better after Christmas, Fedor said from what I told him about it, that it was a memory problem, and wondered whether the computer was an up to date model. After Christmas I accept the offer of a loan computer while we waited for a response from Acer about the supposed repair, matters being delayed due to Acers laggardly, to put it mildly, response and Cecelia Harding going on holiday.

There turned out to be additional complications and Emma suggested the obvious, ask for my money back, which was not refused but starting to get somewhat involved. I came across a Hampshire County Council trading Standards Officer at a Havant Borough 50+ Forum Coffee morning, when I called in at the Beacon Centre, in the Meridian Centre, Havant, early in February. She confirmed that Trading Standards Law was that, if a product failed in the first six months, it was deemed to be a failure at time of manufacture and a refund was due. When I, later, ‘phoned the number she advised me to contact, Consumer Direct on 08454 040506, the adviser who answered the call was of precisely the same view.

I had already begun to wonder about the stability and reliability of the loan computer, particularly being the same make and model, so I bought a Hewlett Packard laptop computer, from Currys in Havant. I had been to a PC World Store in Sussex immediately beforehand but, whichever PC World I went to Currys was closer and owned by the same holding company. Ironically, we had problems with Curry’s relating to both a fridge and a freezer during the previous several weeks but it was always down to their delivery people, those in the shop being very helpful; as was the case with Rick when I went in for the computer. The choice of the Hewlett Packard was decided by the specification and the offer price.

The loan computer was stripped of my files and software, though most of my files were on an external hard disc anyway, and returned to its box to await resolution of the situation with “At Your Fingertips”.

When he next visited us, Fedor pronounced the Hewlett Packard computer to be a good purchase, an up to date model with a good specification. He carried out an online search for the Extensa model of computer with which I had problems but could find out little about it in regard to the U.K. though did so on Eastern European websites, apparently known for memory problems, which fitted with his original diagnosis of the problem with the one I had purchased.

A couple of weeks ago I read an article in the Daily mail, about a couple who had purchased a laptop computer from a Comet Store, only to have it fail and Comet to decline a refund, at least until they essentially “camped” outside the store with a placard. In a way I can understand such reluctance but it is not good business, certainly in the long run.

When we went to “At Your Fingertips” in Leigh Park last Saturday, the shop was closed, though I was certain it did open on Saturdays; presumably that is a new development. The next time I go there the number of visits will definitely enter double figures, all in regard to one computer.

The Great Big Business Debate, The Rose Bowl, Eastleigh, Hampshire

2010-03-13T23:14:00.001Z

While talking to the people on the Business Link Hampshire stand at the Chamber of Commerce meeting at the end of January, I saw some leaflets for free seminars at the Rose Bowl, Hampshire County Cricket Ground, on 3rd and 4th March. I went to those events, which were free, expecting it to consist of seminars with a few exhibitors present; it turned out to be somewhat the reverse, mainly exhibitors with the seminars tucked away in rooms under the main stand.

I did not go to all of the seminars, just a couple over the two days, though found some of the exhibitors useful.

What also transpired was that Business Link Hampshire is being taking over by SERCO, or, at least, that is the company that has been awarded the new contract, there begin dissatisfaction with the performance of Business Link Hampshire in recent years.

When I went to ask someone on the Business Link Hampshire Stand about the potential new circumstances under SERCO the person I approached turned out, from his name badge, to be Chas Morrison. I had heard of him many years before, when David Bartlett had encouraged me back to Hampshire from Business Link Sussex in 2004. I had heard Chas Morrison might be helpful from my point of view though was never allowed to meet him or anyone else.

Although I mentioned that recommendation to Chas, he did not seem to think he could have helped, then added that I should have received a letter from Business Link Hampshire about my circumstances with them, probably from Jonathan Morris, the Director. I said I had never received a letter and that it may well have gone the same way as the E-mail I was supposed to have received from Sarah Anderson that I had never been able to find on my Email program, no matter what I searched under. Chas asked for my address in case it had been sent to the wrong one and made a note. The conversation went not much further than that.

No letter ever came, though I did not expect it to; the whole of Business Link Wessex is being taken over in April and, presumably, revamped; it certainly needs to be.

In contrast I had some potentially useful conversations with other people and have heard from a few of them since.

Business in Havant, in Hampshire, and David Willetts’ book “The Pinch”

2010-03-04T21:59:00.003Z

On the Monday afternoon, I spent a while at the Havant Borough 50+ Forum at Havant Civic Offices. Among the subjects that came up, one involved problems with obtaining replies to letters written to Havant Borough Councillors and Hampshire County Councillors, as well as to Council Officers. None of that was any great surprise; I was well used to problems of that type, particularly with Havant Borough Council, to the extent that I routinely published all correspondence with Havant Borough Council, whether by letter of E-mail, on the Internet. I mentioned some of my problems with Business Link Hampshire, saying that I had found public funded bodies in general, including the Councils, well out of reach as far as obtaining any redress are concerned. We pay those who use public funds but most seem beyond any control other than that they choose to exercise themselves.

While in Havant, on the Tuesday, I tried to find Julie Gallagher, of Hampshire Trading Standards, with whom I had a conversation at the Havant Borough 50+ Forum coffee morning in February, principally about the faulty computer I had bought at a small shop in Havant. It was at the same meeting that I had appraised County Councillor Ann Buckley, of the Liberal Democrats, about my problems with Business Link Hampshire discriminating against me, the County Councillor being somewhat taken aback by that, let alone my views on the atrocious level of business support in Hampshire; effectively, if anyone decides to come to Hampshire with their business, or develop one in the County, they should ensure that they keep all of their out of Hampshire, lines of communication, advice, finance and publicity open, join the Chambers of Commerce and smaller organisation such as Southern entrepreneurs but assume that all other organisations are useless, or hostile.

Julie Gallagher was not there but I had a very useful conversation with other representatives of Hampshire County Council, including, Trading Standards, who had some tables set up in the Meridian Centre. Mostly, the conversations I had were about the problems I was having with the shop where I had bought the faulty computer. However, I took the opportunity to confirm what I suspected, that organisation like Business Link Hampshire were outside the jurisdiction of trading Standards and similar, as problems with them were a business and civil matter rather than a criminal matter. On the other hand, I did find out something about the Havant Borough Council employee who had claimed to be a Member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, as it was then, by including MIEE on his business card, though that membership, it transpired had lapsed some twenty years earlier; nowadays that is definitely a criminal offence and likely was then, though will need some double checking. However, none of the several people I informed about that deception knew that, apparently, including Councillors, Council Officers, or members of the supervising Board of the Borough Partnership, such as a College Principal and the Business Link representative.

It was suggested that I speak to people in the Economic Development Office of Hampshire County Council, particularly about the situation with Business Link Hampshire. It was more likely that I would need to find alternative avenues to business development.

What was particularly amusing, at least in the black humour sense, so do, if you are a budding entrepreneur coming to Hampshire, do remember to bring that brand of humour with you, was that David Willetts, Member of parliament for Havant, had just brought out a book, entitled “The Pinch”, Atlantic Books; it is about the “baby-boomer” generation, of which I am one, making money out of the younger generations but not doing much to give, put, any back. The irony is that, since the 1990s, I have been trying to do just that but Havant Borough Council wrecked my project and five years work, David Willetts, who had never helped anyway, said that it was a dispute between Havant Borough Council and myself, and that he could, therefore, not intervene; I still have the letter. So Havant Council prevented me contributing to local business, putting anything back from my generation and David Willetts could do nothing about it, yet David Willetts’ book criticises my generation for not contributing.

There was irony on Tuesday in the form of Mac’s Cartoon in the Daily Mail. The cartoon involved two men, hanging by chains, being whipped by a mostly naked woman in boots. Above and on the door was “Madam Whiplash (Sado-Masochist) Specialist in Prolonged Torture. Impaled on a bed of nails was a newspaper with the headline, “Opinion Poll Shock”, a reference to news stories about the apparent collapse in support for the Conservative Party as we approach a General Election. Well, if Mac regards life under the current labour Government as torture, with which I do not necessarily violently disagree, he should try life in Hampshire in general and Havant in particular, especially business life.

Business Link Hampshire – Beyond Prediction Confirmed – The Call That Never Came

2010-02-23T22:18:00.000Z

Business Link Hampshire – Beyond Prediction Confirmed – The Call That Never Came

In preparation for the expected ‘phone call, from Nick Keogh, at 10.30 a.m., I collected together the material I had researched on the Internet the previous evening, computer diary notes I had printed off, an A4 pad and my telephone notebook. The A4 sheets were put in a ring binder and all were taken upstairs to my large desk with the old computer and telephone.

One of the documents that I downloaded and printed off was a Candidate Brief for applicants for the post of Managing Director of WSX Enterprise. It was of interest because it laid out the business Link Philosophy, which just happened to be the way it had been conveyed to me by others, was as I understood it but was not as practiced by Business Link Hampshire, at least not as far as I was concerned, or some other people I have met over the years, though those were before Jonathan Morris’ tenure as Managing Director of Business Link Hampshire.

For example, the note contained the following:

“Today’s business Link service is provided through three key elements:

I – Information
D – Diagnosis
B – Brokerage

Information is available primarily through telephone and web based support together with events. Diagnosis may be undertaken through those same points of contact but often requires a face to face intervention from a Business Link Adviser at a clinic or at the business premises.”

It was relevant to my forthcoming telephone conversation as telephone support was not particularly appropriate; there was relevant material I actually needed to show Nick Keogh, or whoever else I spoke to. The situation was also a far cry from the supposed up to four face to face, one to one, meetings a year to which I was supposed to be entitled, along with other Business Link customers, of course.

By 10.35 p.m. I was ready and busied myself on the computer, which is the one I use for E-mails at present, while I waited. Time passed and nothing happened, no ‘phone call, not by 11 o’clock, or anytime afterwards. Jo returned from her hair appointment just before 11.30 a.m. and I had still not received the promised ‘phone call.

Jo has a Membership Card for Havant Garden Centre, Wyvale in Bartons Road, Havant, and had received a two for one meal offer in the Garden Centre Restaurant. As out granddaughter was coming the following day and I was otherwise occupied in the later part of the week, today was our last day to use it, so we decided to do just that.

I ‘phoned business Link Hampshire, at 11.40 a.m., intending to ask for Sarah Anderson and query the missed telephone call from Nick Keogh. All I got was an answering service with the usual “You call is very important to us”; you need a wry, to black, sense of humour if you ever bring your business to Hampshire, though that is not just down to the local Business Link but most of the publicly funded business support in Hampshire as a whole. The glaring exceptions who are friendly and helpful are the Chambers of Commerce and Southern Entrepreneurs, plus their friends, of course.

I left a message to say that I had not received a call from nick Keogh, as promised, plus, of course, my phone number.

Jo and I went to Wyvale Garden Centre and had a pleasant enough lunch, though, unfortunately, they were not really geared up for the number of people who responded their meal offer, so, it was quite a long wait. Of the meals on offer, I opted for fish and chips, with mushy peas, though I prefer garden peas. At least it was better than I have had at Fuller’s pubs where the portion mushy peas is smaller than the dollop of tartar sauce and the chips are of the chunky variety. Wyvale would have been preferable to Fuller’s at the normal price; at the offer price they easily beat Fuller’s.

One of the other diners thought the Garden centre was not as good as it was, though job and I were of a different opinion. The restaurant is not quite as good as it used to be, the relatively high prices not helping, at least for several items; £3-50 to £4-00 for a slice of cake is a bit much to say the least. However, the surroundings are pleasant and the revamp, restocking of the Garden Centre has gone well.

On returning home I, immediately, checked the answering machine. There was nothing from Business Link, nor for the rest of the day.

During the afternoon, while job was out at afternoon tea with her friends, I got on with some research and writing. During that time I checked the statistics on my BlogSpot Blog. I was fascinated to notice a surge of visitors from Fareham, where Business Link Hampshire has its main Office; no coincidence, there had been visits from Business Link Hampshire. Those statistics were for the were only for yesterday and the Blog Post I put up last Sunday, 21st February, unless they caught my Monday evening Post early this morning.

I presumed that had something to do with me not receiving the promised ‘phone call from Nick Keogh, though they might have had the courtesy to ‘phone me and tell me it was off, postponed, or whatever, and given some sort of reason.

In the mid to late 1990s, before I was “blanked” by Business Link Hampshire, I had an advisor come to my house. He was on time to the minute. He took a pride in being on time and told me he had arrived ten minutes earlier and been waiting in his car over the road until the appointed time. How things change. If Business Link Hampshire was as in those days, as I found Business Link Sussex was and with whom I should have stayed, I would have brought a considerable amount of engineering business to the area, let alone the tourism side that my advisers are sure is worth so much, as were Business Link Sussex.

On the basis of the figures we have worked on, Hampshire and part of Sussex has lost £800m to £1bn pounds worth of business, over the last decade, compared with what would have been; it could be a little les, it could be a great deal more but should never have been lost at all.

The logic of the above is that, as long as I am blocked, Hampshire loses of the order of £100m per year in tourism income.

Why do public funded organisations, decline, year after year, to assist in bringing that level of business to their own region?

Do you really want to bring your business to Hampshire?!

Apart from other matters, on which I am working, I really will have to finalise the last fraction of a percent of the manuscript of “Remembering Lorelei” and let it go. I have been apprehensive about riding two publicity eruptions at once, one from the contest of the book, the other due to other matter, the Hampshire Business Link matter only being on the periphery of that. I am getting over the apprehension to the extent that I am increasing my presence on the Internet.

That is something else to bear in mind about Hampshire, you will need to use the Internet, or have connections outside the County if you wish to make sure that your voice is heard; the usual channels are poor to blocked, or, at lest, severely compromised.

My Web Sites are abroad anyway, or were last time I checked (a very appropriate current under the circumstances), though having a very good computer consultant as a son-in-law, who happens to be Russian, with family in the Baltic States and Russia, means that I could have them moved further afield if absolutely necessary; courage in the upper echelons of Hampshire is not very great as it is, let alone, perhaps, needing to contemplate falling foul of Russian Oligarchs, along with the possibility of polonium in their cups of tea.

The Structure of Water and Other Liquids

2010-02-23T21:18:00.003Z

I recently came across a review paper that shows a considerable amount, of progress in the last decade or so, in the understanding of the structure of liquids. That paper “The Structure of Liquid Water; Novel Insights from Materials Research; Potential Relevance to Homeopathy” constitutes a comprehensive review of work in the field. The authors, Rustum Roy, W.A. Tiller, Iris Bell and M.R. Hoover, are not lightweights in the science field, though many mainstreamers are likely to find fault, not least because the thrust of the paper and the evidence contained, referred to, therein, is diametrically opposite to what the mainstream wish to hear.

As the authors point out, the term structure is used in the materials science sense, to designate the three dimensional arrangement of atoms, or molecules, not the structure of s single molecule, or oligomer, as used in chemistry.

The structure of water is due not to just the well known hydrogen bonds but van der Waals bonds between and among the various oligomeric (cluster) structural units.

X-ray diffraction (XRD) is extremely useful for crystal structures but of no use for liquids. Currently, the only effective investigative tool for non-crystalline solids, such as glass structures, directly but only partially, is transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and this cannot be used easily, directly, on liquid structures. These difficulties have lead many scientists to hold the naïve view that all liquids, like most crystalline matter, are, broadly, completely homogenous structures down to the unit cell, atomic, or crystalline level and that they exhibit structural characteristics in line with the random network model, one of the two models developed in the 1930s for glasses.

Zachariasen’s 1932 model for the structure of glass was arrived at by model fitting to X-ray scattering but is based on no direct data from other methods. Even so it has dominated thinking in physics and chemistry ever since. I recall such diagrams from the time of my Master of Technology Degree, in Non-Metallic Materials, at Brunel University during the 1970s.

Opposed to Zachariasen’s model of a homogonous structure, was the early “crystallite” theory, which also brings back memories. That model posited that small 5-50 Ao fragments of various crystalline structures floated in a “monomeric sea”.

Between the 1930 and 1980s the concept of a homogeneous (random-network), or heterogeneous (crystallite) structure for glass (frozen liquids) was reconsidered at various times. Transition electron microscopy (TEM) rather than X-ray diffraction (XRD) produced definitive relevant data in common boro- and alumino-silicate glasses, which showed a heterogeneous nano-structure of very many transparent glasses which have even 2 or 4 separate phases; a phase is defined as a region of characteristic structure, or composition separated by a surface.

The whole of the glass-ceramic industry depends on this incipient nanoheterogeneity, or actual phase separation in glass, for its existence. The existence and the high probability of nano-heterogeneity in most strongly bonded glass and liquid structures are now established as the “standard model”.

After surveying experimental data and the resulting thinking about glass and liquid structures over the last several deacedes, Roy, et al, conclude that the actual expereiental data on the structrue of many glasses and liquids can be summarised as follows:

a) The ubiquity of nanoscale heterogeneity in the structure of many covalently bonded liquids

b) That such heterogeneity on the nanometer scale is the rule rather than the exception for the structure of all strongly bonded liquids (i.e. principally excepting ionic and metallic melts)

The Structure of Water

Roy, et al, wrote their paper in the “language” of materials science. However, they found that, via some 17 million hits on Google for “structure of water”, materials scientists have rarely studied what is an extremely common material. The vast majority of papers on the “structure of water”, in the chemical and biomedical literature, started and, most often, ended with statements and claims about what molecules exist in water on the basis of particular, increasingly specialised tools, with the prominence of hydrogen bonding in the molecules rarely being commented on.

Roy, et al, cite a prodigious work, a website by Martin Chaplin of South Bank University, London. As they say, it is an enormous, complex and well organised review of the entire field of water structure and related fields, like homeopathy, the treatment of the latter being unusual in that it is scientific, balanced and fair minded. The ambiguity in the chemical literature on the structure of water is well illustrated by the collected illustrations of that structure, as conceived, proposed, deduced.

What comes out of all of this is that water, along with other liquids, has a structure, in the materials science sense, that can store information and have information impressed in it by means of epitaxy (shape), pressure generation, electrically, magnetically, etc., and that information can be retained.

In their conclusion, Roy, et al, point out the key role of the nano-heterogeneity of liquid water and the resulting ease of change of structure. They go on to say that the understanding and mental images of the structure of water have been radically distorted in the minds of most scientists and, thence, the medical community. Liquid water (OH2) like its remarkably similar analogue SiO2, is not a homogenous structure at the molecular level. It is a dynamic equilibrium among changing percentages of assemblages of different oligomers. The structure, architecture, and these assemblages, or units, themselves are dependent on temperature, hence it’s many anomalous property temperature relationships, as well as on pressure and on composition. As a result the structure is more responsive to composition of low level solutes, to magnetic fields and to “subtle energies”.

There is an extreme structural flexibility that predisposes the water to change by both epitaxy and succussion, the latter introducing the possibility of a stable nano-air bubble colloid.

The latter factors provide a theoretical feasibility for, as the authors put it, “the robust outcomes data of dozens of researchers in the homeopathic field, who have reached more or less similar conclusion by other routes”.

To quote the following paragraph directly:

“The connection of the imprinting, via succussion and possible epitaxy, of the different specific homeopathic remedies on the structure of water eliminates the primitive criticism of homeopathy being untenable due to the absence of any remnant of the molecules. Structures change properties vastly more easily and dramatically than chemistry changes them. Beyond the homeopathic field, such an enormous structural pliability also provides a plausible framework for the claims of the most reliable workers in the field of “subtle energies” to be able to change the structure and properties of water.”

Also, in the words of the paper, relating to homeopathy, with which I have to agree:

“The central thrust of this paper, which has presented an argument which nullifies the simpleminded argument of ‘zero concentration of solute, hence no possible effect,’ is that it is structure NOT composition which ahs the effect.”

As Roy, et al, say, their paper outlines testable hypotheses about the ability to alter the structure of water in the ultra-dilute regime, though epitaxy, coupled with succussion (vigorous shaking) generating pressure and nano-bubbles leading to properties markedly different than those of untreated water.

Business Link Hampshire – Prediction Confirmed, Business Assistance and Advice Limited and Difficult to Obtain

2010-02-22T21:08:00.001Z

Just before going out I ‘phoned Sarah at Business Link Hampshire about my appointment, with Jenny Oakley, at 10.45 a.m. on Tuesday 23rd February at the Emsworth Pastoral Centre, as I had not received an E-mail giving the location of the Pastoral centre, as promised, or confirming the appointment, though I had already realised, discovered, that the Pastoral Centre was at a church in the Centre of Emsworth. Someone by the name of Mark answered and said that Sarah had just picked up the ‘phone to speak to someone else.

I used the opportunity to double check on surnames, partly in order to have a closer look at my E-mails to see if I had missed anything. Mark advised me that Sarah’s surname was Anderson and it transpired that his was Bartlett. I asked if he was any relation, meaning to David Bartlett, Business director of Business Link Hampshire, but Mark said he was not any relation, though commented that “everybody asks that”, which was not really surprising..

I had known David Bartlett since the late 1990s, when he was at many meetings I attended, in Hampshire, while setting up my Technology Diversification Centre project as well as many meetings to do with the project, to which he was invited, also a member of the Board of Havant Borough Partnership to which my project was given, only for Havant Borough partnership to wreck it and the cover-up to ensue; the people of Havant are still unaware of having had their money (up to £1m at today’s prices, quite possibly more) used to pay back the money defrauded from Europe via the Government Office, though that was not just my project that was used to do that, as confirmed by the Well-Wisher, the former senior Havant Borough Council Officer, after retirement, though I had been aware of for other reasons, including “non-charge invoices”, to claims for matched funding, being requested at meetings, by the people to whom my project was given.

In the early 2000s I was “blanked” by Business Link Hampshire; it was as a Business Banker who used the term, though at the same meeting conceded that my non engineering interest were definitely viable as a business, a view which was later confirmed by others but never received any support from Business Link Hampshire. In 2004 I approached Business Link Sussex for help and they agreed my non-engineering interest were worth a very great deal, more than my engineering career. While Business Link Sussex were being very helpful, David Bartlett contacted me to suggest that I come back to Hampshire. I made the mistake of doing so; it saved me a great deal of travelling but my time and resources were simply wasted; I was only allowed to meet with David Bartlett, none of the more knowledgeable, appropriate, people with whom I requested to have discussions, ostensibly because his time was free and other peoples’ time would be expensive, and I progressed absolutely nowhere. So it remained for many years.

Just before I was due to leave for my appointment, the ‘phone rang; it was Sarah Anderson, of Business Link Hampshire, calling me back after my conversation with Mark Bartlett.

Sarah told me that my appointment with Jenney Oakley at Emsworth Pastoral Centre on 23rd February had been cancelled. They had, obviously, caught up with the fact that I had met Jenny Oakley before, in 2008 and, it seems, that I had problems with Business Link Hampshire before. According to my contemporaneous notes, which I usually try to make during such telephone conversations, it was said, had been said, that I had made a formal complaint against Jenny Oakley, which incensed me, somewhat, as it was totally untrue, though someone with Business Link Hampshire seems to have been putting several untruths about in relation to myself and Business Link Hampshire, in relation to other matters, so why not a supposed, manufactured, complaint as well.

Apparently, Jenny Oakley had said our previous meeting did not go well. That is entirely true, it amounted to a wasted one and a half hours. I had been invited to a one-to-one meeting and had accepted, primarily out of curiosity.

While I was at a networking meeting, arranged by Southern Entrepreneurs, some time before the meeting with Jenny Oakley, I mentioned the coming meeting to an experienced Hampshire businesswoman, who I had previously met. Her reaction was simply to look downwards and shake her head. That had nothing to do with Jenny Oakley, simply the appalling reputation that Business Link Hampshire had at the time, as well as for many years previously and, as yet, it does not seem to have improved. I had expected the meeting to be a waste of time, as someone within Business Link Hampshire has been working against me for years, though is far to cowardly to come out into the open. I fully expected the meeting to be a complete waste of time, as it was, though also recognised that Jenny Oakley was in a totally invidious position and that, left to her own devices, the outcome would have been different, quite possibly very different. I have more than enough experience of the machinations within industry and business not to be aware of such circumstances.

The 2008 meeting “not going well” was no reason, or excuse, for Jenny Oakley not to get back to me, in some form at least, though, as I have written, I fully recognise the difficulty of her position; hence my reaction to the suggestion that I had made a formal complaint against Jenny Oakley. As the underlying situation was none of her doing that would have been totally unfair. Similarly, the “block” and machinations being at a higher level than her would also have made it unfair. Besides, I made a formal complaint against Business Link Hampshire back in the early 2000s, probably during the years it was known as Business Link Wessex, as I recall. (I may have time to check and come back to edit this later.)

The complaint, against Business Link Hampshire/Wessex, was to Glen Atherfold, then of the Small Business Service. That was when I learned that a formal investigation into a Business Link amounts to, essentially, approaching the Business Link concerned on the basis, “Have you done anything wrong?”, “No?”, “Good, that’s all right then,” investigation over, case closed. Like other Public Bodies and Publically funded bodies, including Local Government, Business Links are a law unto themselves, though, probably, not, unlike at least some Local Government, above the law.

In the event, I told Sarah that I would like to see the complaint that I was supposed to have made against Jenny Oakley. I mentioned the letter I had received from Jonathan Morris, the Chief Executive of Business Link Hampshire, principally about moving information to SEEDA, the South east England Development Agency, under which the local business Links now come, and, in passing, mentioning my request never to be contacted by Business Link Hampshire again, something I had never done and something clearly generated within Business Link Hampshire itself.

As far as the latest foray is concerned, I came across the Business Link people, Susan Obbard and Madeleine Morton, at the Chamber of Commerce Meeting, as described in my previous Blog entry (Business Link Hampshire – A Prediction) and on the January 2010 page of my Journal Web Site. That is also why I was so careful to spend time talking to them, ask questions and make notes of exactly what I was entitled to receive in terms of business advice and support from Business Link Hampshire. The intention was to go along with it as far as the person near the top controlling these matters would allow, once they, or someone close to them, found out and to chronicle developments and my experiences on the Internet. What I had intended to do was to write the detail of the encounters in, more or less, inverse proportion to the how positive my encounters with Business Link Hampshire turned out to be and the amount of help received. If it developed well, what I wrote would be in generalities, if it went poorly, there would be more detail. In part that would be because, if it went well, I would be more occupied in following up Business Link Hampshire’s leads, as well as seeing no great sense in publicising details for those involved with the cover up and trying to prevent me getting into the public domain to come across.

At some stage Sarah Anderson suggested that I might like to talk to Debra Wyatt, who, when I asked about her position within Business Link Hampshire, was advised that she occupied the position of Director of Operations. It is strange that I am never directed to the person pulling the negative strings, the coward hiding in the background.

Sarah said it had been decided that a telephone consultation would be better; never mind what the customer wants, though this is a publicly funded organisation after all, the raison d’être is the customer in theory, though not in practice.

I decided I would go along with the suggestion and see what happened, though, having already discussed the Business Link Hampshire block on me, discrimination against me at Borough Councillor and County Councillor level, as well as with Business Link South East (outside Hampshire) and others, I would be letting them know how I was getting on, as well as blogging events.

The conversation with Sarah Anderson made me a little late for an appointment, though I arrived to find out that it had been cancelled anyway, due to illness, though no-one had called me to say so. As a result, I returned home, earlier than expected and, soon afterwards, went through my E-mails trying to find the E-mail Sarah said she sent me on 4th February. I could find nothing under Business Link Hampshire, either in the main folder, the Business Link Hampshire folder, the old Business Link Wessex folder, or the Junk E-mail folder, under either “Business Link”, “Sarah”, or “Anderson”.

As with many other organisations, I have no doubt that the majority of people at Business Link Hampshire are decent, helpful, capable people; the problem, as ever, comes when there is a senior person, or two, or three, or, very occasionally, more, with their own agenda.

That does not detract from the fact that Business Link Hampshire have contributed mightily to preventing me bringing tens of millions of Pounds worth of engineering business to Hampshire as well as tens to hundreds of millions of Pounds worth of tourism business to Hampshire, Sussex, Essex, etc. I am quite prepared to discuss that in even more public venus than this Blog; the person hiding within Business Link Hampshire would not be so prepared, though that person is not alone.

On Tuesday 23rd February, I am due to receive a ‘phone call from Nick Keogh, of Business Link Hampshire. We shall just have to see holding my breath. That has nothing to do with Nick Keogh, though has everything to do with the person manipulating matters behind the scenes.

Business Link Hampshire – A Prediction

2010-02-21T22:07:00.003Z

On Tuesday 24th January 2010, I attended the Chamber of Commerce Meeting at 1000 Lakeside, North Harbour, Portsmouth, the former IBM Building, happening to arrive, in the car park, at about the same time as Maureen Frost, Chief Executive of Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Chamber of Commerce.

The Meeting was on one of the upper floors of the building and well attended, as usual, plus numerous people and organisations with stands.

One of the stands was, inevitably, occupied by Business Link Hampshire Stand. The two representatives of Business Link Hampshire, to whom I spoke were Susan Obbard and Madeleine Morton, though, principally, principally Susan Obbard. I had met Susan Obbard before, during a similar Chamber of Commerce meeting held at Fratton Park, home of Portsmouth Football Club. On that occasion I had asked for business assistance and gave Susan Obbard my business card but heard nothing thereafter. I wondered if she would remember, half thought of using another name, but then decided to go ahead, using my own name, see what happened, then chronicle everything on the Internet as well as advising others I had spoken to at Business Link South East (outside Hampshire), County Councillors and others.

It was during that conversation that Madeleine Morton said she thought she had met me before, at a Business Breakfast at Cams hall Golf Club. That had been a long time before, though I also remembered Madeleine from an East Hampshire Chamber of Commerce meeting at the east Hampshire Council Offices in Petersfield.

What I learned from Susan Obbard was what I had always thought about Business links and the helped that they should offer.

Like anyone else, I was entitled to on-to-one business counselling and support, up to four meetings per year, each of one hour to an hour and a half duration.

At such a meeting, certainly the first one, the topics that would be gone over were:

Strategy
Customers
Operations
People and skills
Finance
Information Technology

There would be telephone support and support on the Business Link website.

There would be one-to-one support with advisors.

Susan Obbard said that Jenny Oakley was very good at her job.

I asked Susan Obbard if there should be feedback from each of the on-to-one meetings and she confirmed that was the case. Similar, I checked my understanding, from what she had said and what I had understood from other sources

When I asked her how long it might be before I heard from them she said that Business Link Hampshire’s turnaround time was within twenty-four hours and that I should hear from them on the following day, Wednesday.

The above is what I understood Business Links should provide in terms of help. Watch these pages and my Blogs to see if it transpires, this time. My easy prediction is that it will not and business Link Hampshire will continue to discriminate against me and that will be at the behest of a senior manager without he courage to come out in the open,

I did not hear from Business Link Hampshire on the Wednesday but that would have been a ratherrapid reaction, so left ti to see what would transpire.

On Friday 27th January I had a dental appointment early in the morning, in Havant. Everything turned out to be alright and no treatment was needed.

When I arrived home I learned there had been a ‘phone call for me from Sarah at Business Link Hampshire.

I ‘phoned Sarah back, at 12.34 p.m., at Business Link Hampshire, before leaving for my afternoon business appointed. Sarah thanked me for calling back and set about arranging an appointment for me to see the Business Link Advisor, Jenny Oakley.

There were possible appointments on Monday 15th January in Havant, or Tuesday 23rd January in Emsworth, with a third possibility being on Tuesday 9th February at Brambles Farm Business Centre, Waterlooville. Some of the available times clashed with my already arranged appointments.

The appointment in Havant would have been at the Civic Offices in Havant, Havant Borough Council Offices, where I had met Jenny Oakley in June 2008 and got absolutely nowhere; I gained nothing from the meeting and never heard from her again, let alone being provided with another three meetings over the following twelve months, all with assistance to develop my business, etc. I had no doubt, then, that Jenny Oakley was under instruction not to help me and that is what transpired; hence asking detailed questions of Susan Obbard at the Chamber of Commerce Meeting to make doubly sure that I was entirely correct in what I understood business Link assistance should actually be.

Of course, I mentioned none of the foregoing to Sarah, during our telephone conversation, simply making the appointment to see what would happen, though, this time, intending to follow through and put everything on the Internet.

Similarly, I mentioned nothing of the letter from Jonathan Morris, the Chief Executive of Business Link Hampshire, which, in passing, alluded to my supposed request, never to contacted by Business Link Hampshire again, a request I had never made, having only asked them for assistance, many times, over several years but never received any.

In the end, the appointment was made for a meeting with Jenny Oakley at 10.45 a.m. at the Pastoral Centre, Emsworth (http://www.findachurch.co.uk/churches/su/su70/emsworthmc/). I told Sarah that I was not sure where the Pastoral Centre was, not being able to place it at the time. Sarah said that she would provide details of the location of the Pastoral Centre in the E-mail she would send me. I wondered I that would happen, or whether someone would catch up with my request for the meeting and block it, the E-mail from Sarah not then being sent; that was later to transpire, the E-mail never arrived.

The prediction, based on previous experience, is, of course, that Business Link Hampshire will continue to discriminate against me. Developments, in whatever direction, will be published on the Internet, as will reactions from other people I contact, including County Councillors, Borough Councillors, people I have spoken to within Business Link South East, though outside of Hampshire, etc., though not necessarily with their names.

2010-01-20T15:16:00.000Z

Recently, I came across an article in “The Times”, “Why non-scientists are a pain in the arts” by Ben Miller, presumably the physicist turned comedian, going back to his science roots, which explains a lot. The title of the piece derives from an art graduate who thinks the moon landings were a fake.

After berating the media for being arts dominated Miller goes on to write:

“This is how we end up in the ludicrous situation we find ourselves in with the Large Hadron Collider. Ten thousand of the world’s top scientists spend 20 years building the ultimate in particle accelerators at a cost of £4.4 billion and the only story that makes the headlines is the one about some nutter in Hawaii who thinks it’s going to cause a black hole that devours the Universe. This is somehow conflated into a story that when the machine gets switched on, scientists believe we are all toast. And when the ruddy thing was finally powered up, everyone shakes their heads in bemusement at the endless folly of scientists. Haven’t they got any common sense? Can’t they see that turning that thing on was never going to herald the Apocalypse? And E=mc2 or not, what kind of barmcake doesn’t wear socks?”

That, of course, is totally wrong. The large Hadron Collider was built by engineers. Wanting something, wishing for something, is one thing, realizing it is quite another. I doubt if scientists would know were to begin, after all, science is only a small part of engineering, less than 20%, so scientists would well short of the required knowledge, let alone expertise and judgment; besides, engineering requires art, among many others things, as well as science, when appropriate.

Miller later writes:

“The problem is, of course, that success in the arts depends on having — how can I put this charitably? — interesting opinions, whereas success in the sciences depends on one thing alone: maths.”
Mathematics, like science, is only a tool, useful at times, though not always. Besides, I would rather listen to interesting arts opinions than the overbearing arrogance that pervades much of science these days, as well as it being full of errors that many scientists and their acolytes are too blind to see.

Success depends on maths?

There was a time when bridges were safe, according to the mathematics; just one problem, at least until other problems came along, the mathematics of aerodynamics, or lack of it. So, before the aerodynamics came in, there was a large element of over design; following the Tay Bridge disaster, when it was brought down by a storm, came, on a never again, like the Tay Bridge, basis, the Forth Bridge; massively over designed but safe, still standing after 130 years and a magnificent piece of art as well.

Then there was the situation of aircraft being safe, according to the mathematics, apart from a small matter of stress fracture, as in the Comet aircraft of the 1950s.

One of the many examples on a personal experience level was during my time in the aircraft industry, specifically the early 1980s when I was responsible for the stress analysis and some of the design of the fuselage tanks and floor structure of the VC10 air-to-air refueling tankers and still in service, it seems. For peculiar reasons it was specified that the tanks had to be flat ended, despite being required to take internal and external pressure, and had to be mounted on the seat rails, rather than a special purpose raft, an extra structure. In the crash case, according to the structural analysis and the mathematics, the tanks would go through the aircraft floor. Ron Boxer, the Deputy Chief Stressman, with whom I was working, suggested recalculating assuming the floor beams nearest the tank supports deformed plastically but the tanks still went through the floor; try the next two as well, still structural failure; try the next two as well, reserve factor of 1.01. After a few seconds thought Ron decided that would do. The mathematics, combined with structural theory, took us only so far; thereafter it was down to engineering judgement based on over thirty years experience of aircraft structures.

Mathematics is useful but there is no substitute for experience and judgment, especially engineering experience and judgement in practical situations; the same applies to science.

Mathematics provided no proof in the case of the black hole scare story, connected with the Large Hadron Collider, being wrong, it was, still is, only a tool for assisting in an assessment.

Overall, Ben Miller’s writing and reasoning reads more like a script for the Armstrong and Miller Show, which I have found very occasionally amusing, never particularly funny.

Ben Miller’s piece is subtitled, “Were the moon landings faked? Yes or know, I for one would never trust the irrational opinion of a mere arts graduate.”

Well, apart from accepting that the moon landings were real, after all it was we engineers who made it possible, I for one, would never trust the often, arrogant, not always entirely rational, opinion of a mere science graduate; I know more than enough about science, as well as other matters, to be quite capable of making up my own mind.

Mainstream Science and Medicine, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Legal Action and Double Standards from the Mainstream

2009-06-04T22:42:00.003Z

In the 16th May Issue of New Scientist David Allen Green, otherwise known as Blogger Jack of Kent, wrote a piece entitled “Don't criticise or we'll sue” New Scientist 6th May 2009, page 24. Until the the British Chiropractors Association legal action against Simon Singh, I had not heard of much by way of legal action by Complementary and Alternative therapy practitioners, against any mainstream scientists, or anyone else, or vice versa. Even in the situation between the chiropractors and Simon Singh, the chiropractors gave an opportunity for the offending comments to be withdrawn, though that was declined, even though it would have made little difference to the thrust of the argument.

Everyone I know in the CAM field is somewhat bemused and, to some degree, amused by the general attitude of the mainstream people, both scientists and their “hangers on”. Their arrogance is, admittedly, an irritation, though the immaturity of their absolute certainty in themselves and their ways, as well as their juvenile language is, usually, met by indulgent smiles, gently shaking heads and wondering how long it will take them to grow up.

In the current issue of New Scientist (6th June 2009, page 26) there is a letter from Dr George Lewith, who also writes that, until the chiropractors' action against Simon Singh, he was unaware of any CAM people taking legal action against critics. On the other hand he has been on the receiving end of legal action from anti-CAM people. The was of no great surprise to me as the ant-CAM brigade, as George Lewith refers to them, as well as a vast swathes of mainstream scientists and their supporters are consistent in very few ways, though one of those ways is inconsistency. Another way is the obvious juvenility; I deliberately hold back from using the word “childish” for the simple reason that to so characterise the behaviour and attitudes of very many of the anti-CAM brigade and many other of the mainstream types, would be an insult to children. There is a similarity with children in the “running to mummy” syndrome that rapidly develops. While they are deriding and “bad mouthing” others everything is fine; as soon as someone hits back, “Wah!, That's not fair.” I think we have a long wait before they grow up.

I have reproduced George Lewith's letter below:

George Lewith,
Complementary and Integrative Medicine Research Unit
University of Southampton, U.K.

David Allen Green suggests that there is an increasing trend towards complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners threatening libel action against those who criticise them (16 May, p 24). I am unaware of anybody prior to the chiropractors he describes taking this course of action in the U.K.

Furthermore, as a medically qualified researcher of CAM, I have experienced two prominent members of the “anti-CAM brigade” attempting to take legal action against me, which I had to defend. It should be noted that the article you published on this matter is from a prominent member of the anti-CAM brigade.

Science, Knowledge and Noblesse Oblige

2009-06-04T18:43:00.000Z

The matter of Simon Singh and the British Chiropractic Association rumbles on.

For some strange reason there are many who still try to characterise the situation as a freedom of speech issue. If there was absolute freedom anyone would be able to say what they wished to anyone else, do what they wished to anyone else, a complete free for all. It would also deny people freedom from unnecessary and undue harassment and harm. Usually, there is a balance with everyone being able to say and do as they wish, up to a point.

Simon Singh could easily have made his points on chiropractic procedures without using the word “bogus”. You do not have to be more than an average “word smith” to achieve that.

However, there is also a problem which many have overlooked. Just because someone is a scientist that does not make them sufficiently knowledgeable, generally able, or qualified to move into areas outside their own.

The first sentences of the Preface of “What is Life” by Erwin Schrödinger (Cambridge University Press Edition, page 1) reads as follows:

“A scientist is supposed to have a complete and thorough knowledge, at first hand, of some subjects and, therefore, is usually expected not to write on any topic of which he is not a master. This is regarded as a matter of noblesse oblige.”

Noblesse Oblige:
Literally “the obligation of honourable, generous, and responsible behaviour associated with high rank or birth “
Merriam Webster Dictionary

In practice the implication is that those who have inherited, or attained, a position with which comes wealth, power and prestige, also comes social responsibilities including a moral obligation to act with honour, kindliness and generosity.”

In this context and similar, a scientist should keep to the subject, or subjects, that he has mastered, tread very carefully if he ventures outside them and moderate his behaviour towards others.

A physicists going well outside his area or making strident assertions without proving those assertions hardly fits with those requirements on any count; not just the chiropractic matter but the repeated use of the word “lies” in the book “Trick or Treatment”, co-authored with Edzard Ernst.

Admittedly with Edzard Ernst it could be argued that he is not outside his area of expertise, or at least supposed expertise. However, his ways of delivering judgements tends to wards the strident, seeming to have become more unpleasant, and he is co-responsible for the repeated use of “lies” in the book. However, since he, along with Simon Singh does not know the definition of Spiritual Healing, or any idea of the “mechanism” and he carried out experiments on the subject that failed to rule out an obvious variable, one wonders how competent he is. To spend fifteen years as a Professor of Complementary Medicine and not know the definition of a major topic in the field, let alone make such basic errors in experiments, is a major achievement, albeit a perverse one.

Admittedly, Schrödinger goes on to write:

“For the present purpose I beg to renounce the noblesse, if any, and to be freed of the ensuing obligation. My excuse is as follows:”

… which I will leave any interested reader to follow up.

However, the point is that Schrödinger was well aware of his limitations and the dangers of stepping outside his field of knowledge and expertise. Not only that, when he did so Schrödinger progressed with extreme care, a tightly argued and carefully structured approach, and always conscious of his limitations.

Contrast that with the approach of Simon Singh and, is his own particular way, Edzard Ernst; neither of them are remotely in the same league as Schrödinger. Their approach to science and evidence, let alone analysis is nowhere near that level.

Simon Singh, the British Chiropractic Association and the High Court Ruling by Sir David Eady

2009-05-12T20:34:00.003Z

Over the last day or two, reports have appeared on the Internet about the High Court Ruling on the legal action taken against Simon Singh by the British Chiropractic Association by the Judge, Sir David Eady.

As usual, one of the most comprehensive descriptions and assessments in on Jack of Kent's Blog.

The passage in Singh's original article which caused most difficulty is:

“The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments.”

The judgement revolved around ruling whether the passage was a “comment” or “statement of fact”, Singh's lawyers arguing the former and the BCA's lawyers arguing the latter.

The Judge ruled that, although the passage in Singh's article was a comment piece and published on a comment page, it was a statement of fact.

Jack of Kent writes that this ruling did not even refer to the fact that Singh's use of the word bogus is actually set out in the following paragraph in the original article:

“I can confidently label these treatments as bogus because I have co-authored a book about alternative medicine with the world's first professor of complementary medicine, Edzard Ernst. He learned chiropractic techniques himself and used them as a doctor. This is when he began to see the need for some critical evaluation. Among other projects he examined the evidence of 70 trials exploring the benefits of chiropractic therapy in conditions unrelated to the back. He found no evidence to suggest that chiropractors could treat any such conditions.”

That is fair enough, if it is fully substantiated, though would still be better couched in less emotional terms, science is supposed to be objective after all. However, not finding evidence that chiropractors could treat such conditions is not proof of anything other than that inability to find evidence; it might suggest something else, it may be possible to tentatively infer something else, but it is not proof of anything else. It is certainly not proof of the treatments being bogus; they may be, they may not be but no evidence was brought to bear to prove that they were bogus.

In any case, I have read and wrote a review of Singh and Ernst's book, “Trick or Treatment” and it is certainly not a good science book; a populist book but not science book, certainly not in the textbook sense. Although, of course, many of Singh and Ernst's supporters laud it as science as it confirms their prejudices. “Trick or Treatment” contains no references and an extremely limited bibliography, while I would expect a book of science to have at least references, preferably references and bibliography; science is about providing evidence, after all, or at least it is supposed to be. “Trick or Treatment” is peppered with the word “lies”, in the “untruths”, “falsehoods” sense of the word, though I did not come across any proof that anyone was telling lies. The book has only one page on the knowledge, area, of “Spiritual Healing” and makes numerous errors in just a few hundred words, displaying a complete lack of understanding of the subject, wrongly describing the procedures involved and failing to give an accurate definitions of Spiritual Healing, quite an achievement for supposedly competent sceintists, let alone Ernst who has specialised as a Professor in a field that includes Spiritual Healing for fifteen years. I reviewed the Spiritual Healing section of “Trick or Treatment” separately as I practice it and, clearly, know more about it that either Ernst or Singh.

Then there is the matter of definitions. Although, as Jack of Kent wrote, the ruling did not refer to Singh's use of the word bogus being set out in another paragraph of his article, there seems no pressing reason that it should need to do so. Surely an intelligent man and experienced writer like Simon Singh is aware of language and tat it is wise to check definitions. There seems little point in having a language and dictionaries if anyone who wishes to can simply come up with their own definition. I am probably too pedantic but I tend to write on my word processor with dictionaries to hand, both usual and technical, with several browser windows open to check definitions, references, etc. No-one is perfect but it does reduce errors somewhat.

Bogus: counterfeit, not genuine, spurious
Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

Bogus:
1. An apparatus for counterfeit coining
2. adj. Counterfeit, spurious, sham 1852
The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary

The statement made by Simon Singh seemed fairly definitive and the way I was brought up to learn and practice science, along with engineering, which uses science at times, as well as life in general, if you make a definitive statement you provide the evidence to back it up, or have the evidence to hand if asked for it. If there is not enough evidence to make a definitive statement, you make a qualified statement commensurate with the strength, weight and reliability of the evidence.

It is a matter of thoroughness, completeness and precision which seems to have gone out of science in recent years, decades, even to be replaced by a juvenile howling down and name calling. Never mind the quality of the evidence, if any at all for their positions, feel the juvenile bile and weight of numbers.

“Trick or Treatment” comes over as very much in that vein. So, recent utterings and writings by both Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst being even stronger in that sense have come as no great surprise.

It is not just the language that is juvenile, much, most, of the so-called science brought to bear is of a similar level.

Science, wisdom, the human brain and supposed “discoveries”

2009-04-06T07:07:00.001Z

Scientists ‘discover’ source of wisdom in the human brain, the opening two paragraphs of which read:

“Scientists have discovered the source of wisdom in the human brain, it was revealed today.

Experts have pinpointed the part of the brain that guides people when they are battling with difficult moral dilemmas, according to the study.”

As usual the reality of the research is somewhat different to what is claimed for it.

The author of the study is Dilip Jeste, Professor of psychiatry and neurosciences at the University of California in San Diego. He is quoted as saying, “Our research suggests there may be a basis in neurobiology for wisdom’s most universal traits”.

Although the findings of the study are described as “a significant departure into the area of expertise that has long been regarded as one of religion and philosophy”, as is most often the case, further reading and just a little thought is far short of such claims and interpretations.

The research of Jeste and his colleague, Thomas Meeks, which is to be published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, claims to show that a person weighing up an issue that just called for am altruistic response used the medial prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is linked to intelligence and learning, but that when someone is considering a moral dilemma other areas of the brain are used, such as those parts that are linked to rational thought and primitive emotions.

According to the report, “Professor Jeste admitted the possibility that wisdom and free will are based on the make-up of someone’s brain rather than metaphysics is unsettling”, though is quoted further as saying, “Knowledge of the underlying mechanisms in the brain could potentially lead to developing interventions for enhancing wisdom”.

Well there are certainly many mainstream scientists, among numerous other people, science reporters included, who could do with a strong infusion of wisdom, though that is unlikely to be the way to obtain it, at least not the best, or lasting, way.

Although many in mainstream science tend to consider the brain as the source of mind that is not proven and is only opinion. Many others are of the opposite view that the brain, along with other material world constructs, emerges from mind. On a practical experience and direct knowledge level that is my view, more properly my knowing. I am well aware of the underlying structure to the physical world, the body and the brain included. I am also aware of thoughts, wisdom, etc., that are of mind in origin without that mind having a physical brain.

Professor Jeste is more careful with his words than the reporter is and, I suspect, many others will be. Indication of processes in the brain is not indication of the processes being only there let alone proof that they are.

Pendennis, Dawkins and The King delusion

2009-03-23T07:13:00.001Z

In his Observer Diary Pendennis Column (Sunday 22 March 2009 ) Oliver Marre writes:

“A new 'ism' for Richard Dawkins. An excited source at pressure group Republic, which campaigns against the monarchy, says Dawkins is an official backer. Suggestions that he's cross because he's never been knighted are perhaps less pertinent than that he enjoys a fight.”
The story seems to be not that recent, going by an entry on the Republic Web Site, “Richard Dawkins backs Republic's campaign for end to monarchy”.

I am not really surprised. Dawkins often does give the impression of being “spoiling for a fight” rather than reasoned debate, though that goes for many, most(?), of the self-styled sceptic, limited classical science and materialist community in general.

The Human Aura, Science, Non-Science, the Esoteric and That Which Falls in Between

2009-03-22T21:09:00.004Z

During a recent meeting, connected with esoteric matters, that I attended, the subject of auras came up, largely in connection, at least initially, with a person who was new to not just auras but mediation and matters to do with the non-physical in general.

One of those present described the aura as the magnetic field around the physical body, adding, if I recall correctly, that it emanated from the body. I pointed out that the field of the aura was not magnetic and that the physical body emanated from the field of the aura, not the other way round, adding that referring to the aura as a magnetic field compounded the problems that people like me, who understand science, were having with the mainstream science people when non-science people were persisting in using such terminology.

When the magnetic field explanation was repeated, I said that it was not detectable with magnetometers, it was not physical but was an etheric field. A person who taught yoga then said that the people she taught were of mixed religions, many of which could not handle the term “etheric”, so she insisted on calling it a magnetic field. Then the matter of the ancient science connected with yoga was brought up. Since the ancients did not know about magnetic fields I could not see how that made any sense. Either way it came down to people being told that the aura was something that it was not and, apparently, science, of a fashion, being brought into it as well. By such routes is disinformation and misunderstanding borne.

As it was then put that the aura not being magnetic was just my opinion, I started to explain what I understood and include the science, as far as it could go, thought about it, then just said that it was at the quantum physics level, really beyond that; I was talking to people who would be lost a that level anyway; not an adverse comment on them, it was just that I would be using terminology and concepts that were outside their knowledge and experience.

I thought about such matters on the way home, maybe thought too much, then decided that I really must try to finish the explanation for auras, as well as other matters, that I started writing a couple of years ago, or more, for my Psychic Engineer Web Site. The problem, as is usually the case with me, was spending too much time and effort getting everything as right as possible, before actually publishing it. Were it not for such a trait there would be far more on my Web Sites and Psychic Engineer Blog. My book "Remembering Lorelei" might also be finished, though the reticence there is partly, largely, to do with the eruption that will take place when certain information on events in Havant finally emerges into the public domain.

I recalled an article that I had read “A Brief Scientific Look at the Human Aura, Its existence and Meaning” by Violet Aura on Associated Content. While I have no doubt that it was written with the best of intentions it is, regrettably, far from scientific and much of the rest of the article does not fit very well with my understanding of such matters.

A great deal of work, with apparent progress, has been carried out on auras by Konstantin Korotkov and Alexander Levichev, with much being explained in “The 3-fold way and Consciousness Studies”.

For the time being a reasonable approximation would be to view the aura as an energy field, more properly a field that can be represented by a stress-energy tensor which is not in Einstein-Minkowsky space-time; it is to form structures in physical reality but only partly in physical space-time.

Wikipedia is useless for non-physical matters, or anything non-mainstream, though the mainstream itself is very questionable, due to the large number of amateur editors with a heavy materialistic bias who “know it all”, though have not a clue. However, for limited instances involving mainstream explanations, it has its uses; from that point of view the Wikipedia explanation of the stress-energy tensor may be useful.

As already pointed out, the aura does not emanate from the physical body, the physical body emanates from the aura. That is generally applicable in that all biologically living entities have a comparable structure, as well as other “entities”, plus physical reality being generated by and supported by non-physical energies and structures.

The spiritual is prime, the non-physical sub-prime, the physical sub-sub-prime; at least as an approximate explanation.

The aura is part of the non-physical level of existence that is close to the physical, part of what David Bohm referred to as the implicate order, supporting the explicate order of physical reality.

For an overall understanding without the science mentioned above, this is best achieved by referring to Barbara Brennan’s books, such as “Hands of Light: A Guide to Healing Through the Human Energy Field” and Web Sites relating to Barbara’s work. Barbara Brennan gained mainstream science degrees before she developed knowledge of this field. Though I do not see as much as is illustrated in Barbara’s books, all that I do see and feel corresponds with those descriptions and illustrations, similarly for my Healer colleagues.

Pi Day

2008-03-14T21:34:00.002Z

This afternoon I came across an interesting item on the BBC Web Site from which I learned that today is Pi Day, a celebration of the mathematical ratio (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7296224.stm).

Of course this only works by taking the 3.14 approximation of Pi in the American dating style sense, that is the English style reversed, of course; 3/14 working better than 14/3, or 14/03, from the Pi Day point of view. Clearly the residents of that great expanse of rock and mud west of the Pond has more uses than playing football with their hands and needing to wear crash helmets to do so, turning Rounders into a national sport and having an English dictionary written by some who cannot spell.

Mind you the thought of a reversed dating style, belatedly, seemed even stranger; more like “boomps a daisy” than anything intimate.

Anyway, less of the frivolity; back to Pi and its fascinations. As a Professional Engineer, plus an interest in science before that, Pi has been part of my life for over half a century. Even so, I came across a couple of interesting points in the BBC piece that I do not think I recall having seen before.

Pi Day, 14^th March, is also the birthday of Albert Einstein.

Another gem was the ratio off the lengths of a river. Apparently, if you divide the length of a river from source to mouth, across a gently sloping plain, by its direct length, “as the crow flies”, the answer is Pi.

I was aware of the Great Pyramid of Giza having Pi related ratios and, of course, very familiar with Pi in waves, though, rather than the ocean waves mentioned in the article, those in electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical vibrations, stress waves, etc.

There are other enigmatic constants as well, of course, such as “e”, the base of natural logarithms, though Pi is the most readily recognisable in the general sense.

However, as Daniel Blatner, author of the BBC article and the book “The Joy of Pi” points out, Pi is an ever present, sometime grating reminder that there are puzzles that can be solved and there are mysteries that, perhaps, cannot.

Of course my background and experiences are such that I am only too well aware of the limitations of science, at its present level. What is beyond is both beautiful and fascinating, far more so than even the science and mathematics.

Heroes, zeroes and the rest of us

2008-03-09T23:15:00.000Z

I was somewhat surprised to come across a news story about Airmen from RAF Wittering being told not to wear uniforms in the City of Peterborough in order to avoid being verbally abused by civilians. Apparently, people who oppose U.K. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq had been taunting service personnel from the base. However, on later reflection I wondered how much it had to do with the ethnic mix in Britain nowadays.

I have been totally opposed to the illegal and immoral wars in which corrupt, cowardly politicians have involve my Country, since the possibility of such conflicts arose. Except for very rare and pressing exceptions I do not believe wars are justified except in self defence and any actions that might result in loss of life should only be undertaken as a last resort. Note that none of the politicians who sent others into those conflicts have ever had the courage to serve in the Armed Forces themselves, other than one who joined a “home defence force” apparently to avoid serving abroad.

However, I have had nothing but admiration for those who have been asked to serve this Country, risk and, unfortunately, give their lives in the process. I seriously doubt if their abusers would get anywhere near their level of courage, more likely turn and run at the lightest threat to their safety.

My late parents met while serving in the Royal Air Force during World War Two. I was born was my father was on a posting in India and owe my life to a surgeon at the Royal Air Force Hospital, Ely; I was belatedly diagnosed with intussusception and operated on with only about half an hour to go. If it had not been for my father effectively overruling the Base Medical Officer, I would not even have made it to hospital. We also used to live in Cambridgeshire, at Upwood R.A.F. Base, not far from Wittering, as well as in my mother’s home town of March, which arises in te early Chapters of my book “Remembering Lorelei” (www.rememberinglorelei.com), hopefully available from May 2008, onwards.

Partly because of my parent’s involvement with the Air Force, though for many other reasons besides, I have considerable respect for the Armed Services. If it was not for them this Country would not have enjoyed the freedom it has, though, regrettably, that is now being taken away by stealth by the very politicians who make use of brave people for the aforementioned immoral, illegal ends.

In the few days following the report of the incidents in Peterborough I have been delighted to read that there has been a huge up swell of goodwill and support for Service personnel from by far the greater majority of people in this Country; that includes the suggestion of an Armed Services Day being incorporated in the calendar.

News Blackouts, Princes and Kings

2008-02-29T21:31:00.010Z

The story of Prince Harry serving in Afghanistan under a news blackout has, naturally, generated a great deal of discussion. It has a personal interest connection in that something I was involved in, as well as myself, to a very large extent, has also been the subject of a news blackout. The difference was that, unlike Prince Harry. I was not party to it, or involved in any way. In fact I would have preferred everything to be in the open. The other difference is that there is nothing illegal in Prince Harry’s situation, while there is everything illegal about the situation connected with me, though nothing to do with any of my actions, mine were totally above board.

As Jon Williams, BBC World News Editor, put it, in his Blog of 29^th February 2008 (News black-out):
“ At its simplest, journalism is about telling people things they don't know. So when the Ministry of Defence approached the BBC - along with other parts of the UK media - to ask us not to tell our audiences about a possible deployment of Prince Harry to Afghanistan, it was something we thought long and hard about.”

He goes on to write that:
“ A news black-out is unusual, but not unique. An agreement exists between the police and the media over the reporting of kidnaps - the police have the right to request that media organisations don't report an abduction while negotiations are under way, in case it makes the release of the hostage more difficult; in return, they accept the responsibility to update the media regularly and reveal the full story, on camera, once the situation has been resolved. When lives are at risk, it's not always helpful to have things played out in the glare of publicity.”

The local situation had nothing whatever to do with kidnaps, or anything remotely similar. It had everything to do with major fraud perpetrated by local public officials.

The actual offence was misappropriation of European Funds by false accounting, deception and fraud. The money had to be paid back to avoid prosecution. Government Bodies do not, usually, bother to prosecute unless the money is not paid back, or the sums involved are several, many millions of Pounds; as confirmed by a friend who is Financial Director of a major company. Even so, the sums involved were in the hundreds of thousands of Pounds, quite possibly a million Pounds, or more, at 2008 values. To pay the monies back the local residents and taxpayers were defrauded and have been kept in the dark about it ever since.

A reporter said I should let them know when I wanted to go public. When I expanded on what was involved in terms of work and time for the reporter the encouraging response was, “As long as it takes”.

Soon afterwards the reporter was moved to another office. The responses from a main office reporter and a local replacement was completely different to the original, positive, helpful, expected, professional approach. A reporter at the main office who I contacted after he wrote and published a short, very incomplete report was,
“ You will say one thing and the Council will say another, and our readers will not be interested.”
I would have thought they would have been extremely interested at the time, let alone the alter information I received to confirm that it was fraud and on a scale far greater than even I knew about.
When, also just after the original events, I had a conversation with yet another reporter, adding that there was an additional matter of professional qualifications that claimed by a public employee who was heavily involved being false, the response was,
“ I’m sure you must be disappointed … ” and took it no further.

Some months later I ‘phoned the main office in relation to a completely unconnected matter and found myself talking to the original reporter; we recognised each others voices. Without me even asking about the major fraud investigation on which that reporter was prepared to embark, it was quickly brought up anyway,
“ On the other matter; there was a high level meeting and it was decided we could not help you.”

It seemed odd from the start. My non-physical side with its unique connection would normally be worth a story in its own right, even if only to take, or attempt to take, the proverbial. Major public sector fraud is normally a front page story; even, possibly, a national one, at least on that scale, particularly with the connections involved. Even though I was a victim of the fraud rather than the perpetrator, one person was involved in both stories, yet even the combination was not enough. No wonder other media professionals thought it odd. Quite apart from me being worthy of “a high level meeting at which the decision was made, or conveyed after already having been made.

A radio presenter, who was a former reporter, whom I spoke to on a radio ‘phone in reacted to the non-reporting story I told him, in general terms, by saying,
“Very strange.”
Not long afterwards, in a conversation with a regional BBC reporter my story elicited the same exactly the same response,
“Very strange.”

Years later “The Well-Wisher”, who had seen it all from the inside, described the relationship as “neighbours and very close friends”, in addition to having already confirmed that the fraud was very real, was a major one and indicating that the repayment money had been taken from local resources. I was also told that I was why I was being slandered behind my back, which I had heard about anyway, to dissuade officers and others from responding to me, to discriminate against me. The jigsaw was close to completion.

“The Well-Wisher” also thought my computer problems of late 2006 might have been due to an attack, as there are very good computer people within the organisation working against me, though I am not sure. However, should my Web Sites and Blogs disappear, or anything else untoward happen, I would not be surprised. There are not many people who are anxious to have a free “holiday” courtesy of Prince Harry’s Grandmother, let alone a group of them.

As the BBC’s Jon William’s said, “journalism is about telling people things they don’t know”. Clearly, some journalists are prepared to help others prevent people knowing what they wish to keep from them.

Unfortunately, I only outrank Prince Harry in name, otherwise matters would have been different.

Thanks to me being read about, around the world, in Barbara Ford-Hammond’s book “Past Life Tourism - Gateway to Bridging Your Past and Future”), a change is at least beginning to happen. Quite apart from my Web Sites and Blogs, as well as other Internet contributions, people around the World are getting to know more about Havant, Hampshire, U.K.

Unexpected Visitors

2007-11-13T07:46:00.000Z

On Saturday (10 November) Emma and Fred brought Anna, our new granddaughter, to stay with Jo and I for the day while they had a break in Poole. Fred wanted to indulge in some surfing and Emma had Open University studies to catch up on. Between feeding Anna Jo and I walked into Havant with her, had lunch on our return and a relatively quiet afternoon.

In the early evening our son, Tim, rang. He and his Jo were at Bognor Regis, visiting Jo’s relatives and wanted to come to our house to see Anna. The result was all of us together for the evening.

What was, in a sense, the most significant part came later, after we had a meal, followed by an hour or two of Anna receiving a great deal of attention. By then Anna was tired, so, after yet another bottle of milk Jo put her in her pram and rocked her to sleep.

By then it was a about 9.00 p.m. a little after that, ten past nine, or thereabouts, I was looking over my left shoulder towards the pram with Anna in it, plus Jo, Tim and his Jo, Emma and Fred, wondering what my mother and father would think about the group, particularly Anna, when my higher senses suddenly became more open. My late parents were behind me, by the lounge door, together; they were happy and delighted. They were standing with their backs to the door, a foot or two from it, my father nearest to me with my mother a little further away, on his left, their arms around each other. It was a shame they were not in the physical to see and be with their great granddaughter in that way but, in the greater reality sense they were with us anyway, as we are all always together. They were both very happy and pleased with what they saw. The left side of my head was “fizzing” as it tended to, at times, when my senses were that attuned and it stayed that way for at least fifteen to twenty minutes, only starting to fade when Emma, Fred, Anna, Tim and his Jo were leaving.

A very enjoyable day had ended unexpectedly busy, plus the added extra of my late parents arriving, a pleasant surprise which I told Jo about the next day. Fortunately, Jo is open enough to be able to accept that with ease; while my mother was terminally ill in 2004 events reached a stage where Jo sensed and said, to me, that my mother was not really there; her physical world representation was but not the real, actual, person, something I had largely concluded some time before that (www.richardspsychicrealm.com/RPR_PreDEMM.htm).

An interesting Conference and a strange amateur video

2007-10-18T21:20:00.000Z

While September ended busily and October began much the same, it soon turned strange as well.

On 6^th October, a Saturday, I travelled to London for the “Healing and Spirituality in the 21^st Century” Conference at the Friends Meeting House in Euston, conveniently directly across the road from the Underground and Railway Station. The Conference was organised by the National Federation of Spiritual Healers and the London Branch of the Doctor Healer Network

An odd Sunday when several small things went wrong during some DIY around the house was followed by an even stranger Monday. Everything was normal as I stopped off in Havant on the way back from a meeting with a client. I walked through the Meridian Centre on my way to collect a copy of the local newspaper, The News, from the Newspaper Office in East Street, our Saturday copy not having been delivered.

I was most of the way through the Meridian Centre when I was passed by some youths going the in the opposite direction, one of whom stopped, came over to me and started talking, asking questions, all of which fell somewhere between incomprehensible and gibberish. The only parts that made sense included something to do with Moo, which turned out to be M.O.O., an abbreviation for something to do with video and DVD and mention of a spoof programme whereby people were set up in some situation and secretly videoed, plus, occasionally asking me if I had a word for him.

It was at that point that I realised the youth had occasionally glanced down. When I looked down as well, I saw a video camera pointing at me. At that point I asked wheat he was up to and reached for the camera. He ran as fast as he could with me after him, catching up with him outside the north side of the Meridian Centre with the camera not in sight. Remembering he had asked me if I had a word for him, I reminded him of that and said I had not one word but two, “snivelling coward”.

In due course I tracked the student back to Havant College, the authorities of which readily apologised , along with a letter from the student, though he was still not brave enough to give his full name. The full storyof the college media student is related on my Journal Web Site.

Anna and the Book

2007-10-14T07:44:00.001Z

September ended busily and interestingly, fascinatingly, so this is something of a belated entry.

The most important event was the arrival, on 26^th September, of Anna, a first grandchild for Jo and I. Anna was born to our daughter, Emma and her partner Fred (Fjodor) at St Richard’s Hospital Chichester. The only downside was that Emma had a rough time which ended in an emergency Caesarean and her back was injured on the delivery table. The injury was not noted or reported but, overall, both Anna and Emma were well looked after.

The day before, on 25^th September, Barbara Ford-Hammond’s book “Past Life Tourism – Gateway to Bridging Your Past and Future” (Mirage Publishing) was published (www.richardspsychicrealm.com/RPR_Barbara_Ford-Hammond.htm).

Sylvie Lucas (www.familiarspirit.co.uk/FS_Sylvie_Lucas.htm) the editor of my book (www.rememberinglorelei.com) is also in “Past Life Tourism” (www.pastlifetourism.com).

Sylvie and Richard Lucas, Jo, Lorelei, Familiar Spirit Web Site and the Havant Healers’ Group

2007-08-05T09:29:00.000Z

On Saturday 14^th July 2007, Sylvie Lucas came to my house for us to spend a few hours building a Web Site for her and Richard Lucas (www.richardspsychicrealm.com/RPR_familiar_spirit_richard_lucas.htm), Sylvie’s discarnate husband. The result is the Familiar Spirit Web Site at www.familairspirit.co.uk. Sylvie’s own page on the Web Site is www.familiarspirit.co.uk/FS_Sylvie_Lucas.htm.

I had cleared enough space in the room where I have my computer for Sylvie to be able to sit beside me as we went through the Web Site building process. Richard Lucas along with Lorelei (www.loreleilegend.com), my discarnate Soulmate were content to stand over by the door.

Sylvie had previously E-mailed me the text and some illustrations though, as it transpired, it will be best to double check copyright on some, though clearance ahs been given in principle.

Richard Lucas and Sylvie had a preference for a green background so I had made up a dark green to very light green left to right fade on the GR Sites (www.grsites.com) free facility the night before. Through experience I had found that a white background is preferable, otherwise text needs to be large, or bolder, than otherwise. Sylvie could see that when I showed her on my monitor, so I went back to GR Sites and made up a dark green to white fade. Sylvie was happy with that and so was Richard Lucas; Sylvie told me but I had already heard him and turned to him to acknowledge that.

I thought the process might take two to three hours; in the event it was more like six hours. As a result, Sylvie stayed for some light refreshments at lunch time, which we had in the garden with Jo (www.rememberinglorelei.com/RL_Jo%20my%20Wife.htm). We needed the break anyway.

Jo had met Sylvie before but not had time to get to know her very well, so made up for it while we were in the garden, particularly as Jo had recently read Sylvie’s story “I married my spirit lover” in the August Issue of “Take a Break - Fate and Fortune”.

In the afternoon we returned to the computer and finished off the Web Site, the result being basic but that is all that is needed. “Flash” Sites tend to be just that, flash. Many times I have come across Web Sites that seem “too clever by half”, take a long time to load, are confusing, etc., and have given up on them almost immediately, as have many other people I know.

I took a few digital photographs of Sylvie, in our garden, to give her a selection to choose from for her page (www.familiarspirit.co.uk/FS_Sylvie_Lucas.htm) on the Familiar spirit Web Site (www.familiarspirit.co.uk).

As Sylvie left, we briefly discussed the day and she commented, in reference to Jo, that she could “see the light coming out of her”. The connection between Jo and Lorelei, Soul Sisters (www.rememberinglorelei.com/RL_Jo%20and%20Lorelei.htm), made abundant sense to Sylvie.

The four of us, Sylvie, Richard Lucas, Lorelei and I met up again on Tuesday 24^th July as the local healers’ Group, of which we are members, was due to have a picnic that evening, Napier Hall (www.horndeanpc-hants.gov.uk/hallhire.htm), Horndean (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horndean; horndean.net/churches/baptist.shtml), where it usually met on that evening, being closed for refurbishment. I had not been to the Napier Hall before, only attending the Healers’ Group on the other two Tuesdays of each month (the first and second Tuesday) at The Bear Hotel (www.thebear-hotel.com/findus.htm) in Havant.

I was the first to arrive, then Sylvie, who told me that the plans had changed and we were going out for a meal instead. Lene, Sheila, Sue, Doreen and Jan arrived soon afterwards and it was decided we would go to the Colonial Bar (formerly the Good Intent) next door to the Hall.

Sheila insisted on buying us all drinks and during the conversations that followed I said something about IPA, which I noticed on the bar. Sheila did not know wheat it was so I explained, India Pale Ale. At that point I thought I heard Richard Lucas say something about IPA not being around in 1840, when he was last incarnate, and mentioned it to Sylvie.

“Oh, no, it was just ordinary beer then,” she confirmed, though I was aware of that anyway.

Then I heard Richard Lucas say, complain, good naturedly, that, on his current level, you good not get drunk, sloshed, as he seemed to put it, on alcohol. Again I mentioned it to Sylvie.

“He’s often complaining about that,” she confirmed, it does not have the same effect over there, “He says you cannot get wet either, not properly. He used to love walking on the downs in the rain.”

Then someone indicated we would be going upstairs, to a table on a raised floor, for our meal. As I glanced up I saw a beam, past the top of the stairs, with “MIND YOUR HEAD” in gold letters.

“Good job I haven’t go my high heels on,” commented Lorelei, which I passed on to Sylvie as I thought that, though Lorelei is tall, she is also discarnate and her head would go through the beam anyway, if she did not duck, uncomfortable but not disastrous. Besides, the beam did not look quite that low.

As when we had built the Web Site, as well as other on occasions, we were in a four way conversation, two incarnate, Sylvie and I, two discarnate (Richard Lucas and Lorelei). I commented to Sylvie that we would probably end up being carted away if the relevant people overheard us.

“More than likely,” said Sylvie, grinning.

As it happens, there are those who have already been putting it about that my “marbles are loose”, for nefarious ends and purposes, as they have for several years and which was confirmed by “The Well-wisher” (www.richardsjournal.co.uk/RJ_The_Well-wisher.htm) early in 2007. Fortunately, that is contrary to the opinion of all of my colleagues, including Members and Fellows of the Royal College of Psychiatry.

In due course we went up stairs, at which point I realised that the beam was somewhat lower than it had seemed from the ground floor; Lorelei was right. As Lorelei is discarnate, her head would simply have gone through the beam, though that would not necessarily have been particularly comfortable for her.

The rest of the evening proceeded relatively normally, with Richard Lucas and Lorelei remaining, mainly, in the background, recognising that the rest of us have physical lives which we need to live.

2007-07-07T05:31:00.000Z

Familiar Spirit – Sylvie Lucas and her discarnate (spirit) husband

Thursday 5^th July 2007, was an interesting day and one I had looked forward to for several weeks, along with my friend and fellow healer, Sylvie Lucas, of Waterlooville, Havant, Hampshire. The reason was that the story of Sylvie and her discarnate (spirit) husband, Richard Lucas (www.richardspsychicrealm.com/RPR_familiar_spirit_richard_lucas.htm), was that their story was to be in the August Issue of “Take a Break, Fate and Fortune”. Sylvie wrote her own story, which was initially edited and put forward by journalist Andrea Wren (www.andreawren.co.uk/2006/09/my_story.html). Following a little extra editing by Sharon Jaffa and photographs by Angela Nott, the final product arrived in newsagents and similar, across the Country. It will be interesting to see what reactions there are, particularly as the story of Sylvie and Richard Lucas has become entwined with the story of Lorelei and I (www.rememberinglorelei.com), in addition to us all being in a new book by Barbara Ford-Hammond (www.barbaraford-hammond.com).

Sylvie’s original title, “I married a spirit”, was changed only slightly to “I married my spirit lover”, with the lead on the cover, “A ghost proposed to me and I accepted!”. I had already found Sylvie to be a good writer. Andrea Wren and Sharon Jaffa, the story editors, seem to have been of a similar opinion as the printed story did not appear to vary a great deal from the version Sylvie sent me by E-mail several months ago; it certainly flowed as well. They did not give it any silly treatment and sensationalise it, though, to most people, it is fairly sensational as it stands. How many other people are married to a discarnate person.

Both Sylvie and I had wondered what sort of presentation the magazine would give her story. That was due to comments from different sources about how badly some magazines treated people’s personal stories, changing them almost completely but keeping the name of the person whose true story had initiated the magazines involvement. So, there was a degree of apprehension, which proved to be unfounded.

I bought a copy of “Take a Break, Fate and Fortune”, at W.H. Smith, in Havant, on the Thursday morning, on the way to a meeting with a client, and managed to find time to read it later in the day. Something that intrigued me was the stock photograph of the horseman used in the article; if you put a dark beard on him it would be a close very likeness to Richard Lucas as I see him.

Sylvie’s story had been passed on to Andrea Wren by Barbara Ford-Hammond (www.barbaraford-hammond.com). I had met Barbara through an abortive television recording and thought she might be interested in Sylvie’s experiences. Barbara was sufficiently intrigued that Sylvie and Richard Lucas are both in Barbara’s forthcoming book, “Past Life Tourism”, along with Lorelei and I, as well as, in a sense, the prominent businesswoman helping me with my book.

The television recording was not used, along with two others Barbara made with the same company, for which she is very thankful as the programmes were so bad.

It was during 2006 that I first met Sylvie, at one of our local Healers’ Group meetings. Sylvie was new to the Group and that particular meeting was the fifth Tuesday in the month; on such evenings we gathered at the house of a member of the Group rather than one of the healing locations. The subject of an editor for my book, “Remembering Lorelei” (www.rememberinglorelei.com) came up in during a conversation. I jokingly suggested that my Healer friends could manage the editing between them, as it would only work out at about twenty thousand words for each of the six of them.

Then Sylvie said, “I’ll do it.”

It transpired that Sylvie could read quickly and accurately, as well as having carried out similar work before.

The other development was that Sylvie, who sees other people’s discarnate companions, friends, only occasionally, saw Lorelei, more or less, immediately. We exchanged our own stories in more detail after the meeting.

Much later I learned that Sylvie had a conversation with Richard Lucas about their involvement with Lorelei and I and he expressed the opinion that it could be quite a ride, a fascinating experience. So it has proved to be with Lorelei and Richard Lucas working behind the scenes over the last several months. That included Richard Lucas watching the local artist who is painting the cover for my book, putting the finishing touches to his work; as he was making minor adjustments to the painting, Noel glanced to his right and saw a man stroking his beard while watching him paint. I have seen Richard Lucas in the same pose while he has been watching Sylvie healing.

To Beard or not to Beard?

2007-05-18T21:32:00.000Z

After many years of delays in progressing past a particular situation this summer looks like being very interesting in that I am due to appear in a book as well as having my own autobiographical book published. Details will follow when the Good Witch of the South and I have finalised the book manuscripts, my book Web Site being at www.rememberinglorelei.com; all will become clear, along with other connections, in a few weeks time.

In addition, I had recently been in a conversation with a “Well Wisher”, who confirmed what I had thought about certain past events in Havant and Hampshire, as well as providing valuable information, having followed my progress through my Web Sites. The same person also advised me that certain people were putting it about that “his marbles are loose”, though professional experienced psychiatrists, Members and Fellows of the Royal College of Psychiatry no less, who know me well consider me entirely sane (www.rememberinglorelei.com/RL_About%20me.htm), though, from a limited intellect point of view, that is understandable, given the nature of my Web Sites (www.rememberinglorelei.com/RL_RK_mows.htm).

Hence, there was too much on my mind while shaving one morning in mid-April. The lack of concentration led to a cut chin. As Jo and I were going on holiday in the New Forest the following week, the obvious choice was to simply stop shaving and let it grow.

A couple of weeks later I had a respectable beard, though was not sure whether I liked it or not. Jo had thought she might like me to have one, which was another reason for letting it grow, as an experiment.

However, Jo thought it made me look stern and Emma, our daughter, said it made me look older, which beards usually do, and Jo agreed. Partly because of a remark Jo made, I told Emma, who is expecting a baby, that I was practising to be a grandfather.

I thought it might be interesting to keep it into the summer, maybe for amusing confusion when the books are published and I finally get into the public domain; as compared with the photographs on my Web Sites (www.richardking.name, www.richardsjournal.co.uk, etc.).

Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of having a beard, or not, as and when the mood takes me, though Richard Lucas, Sylvie’s husband, who I have come to know quite well, does just that. Unlike Sylvie, my Proof Reader/Editor and I, Richard Lucas is discarnate, has no physical body, at present, and with that comes such ability in defining, deciding, one’s appearance (www.richardspsychicrealm.com/RPR_familiar_spirit_richard_lucas.htm).

A positive development was a conversation about beards, Richard Lucas, the non-physical, Lorelei (www.rememberinglorelei.com/RL_Lorelei.htm, www.loreleilegend.com) and so on, during an evening while on holiday in the New Forest.

Jo is very intuitive and senses at a high level, at times, including a little while my mother was terminally ill in 2004 (www.richardspsychicrealm.com/RPR_PreDEMM.htm). However, she is very much in the physical and muted, particularly considering she is Lorelei’s Soul Sister (www.rememberinglorelei.com/RL_Jo%20and%20Lorelei.htm), a connection which surfaced when Lorelei helped Jo through a major operation in the mid 1990s. During that conversation, who Jo really is began to surface more, at least a little.

A cold spring in Paris with the Three Chicks

2007-03-28T06:29:00.000Z

Thanks to a generous present from Tim and Emma, our son and daughter, last Friday Jo and I were heading for a late March weekend in Paris.

We left Havant at on the 10 04 p.m. train and, after a short delay on the way to London, due to a freight train negotiating a signal problem, arrived at London Waterloo only ten to fifteen minutes late. Jo had texted ahead to Tim to warn him, as he was meeting us at the station to confirm the tickets.

The Eurostar train left London Waterloo International at 1.41 p.m. and arrived in Paris, at the Gare du Nord. The train was impressive, particularly traveling in France when, while running alongside a motorway it appeared to be overtaking vehicles at about twice the speed they were traveling, which would have meant a train speed in excess of 150 m.p.h.

Outside Gare du Nord there was a very long queue for Taxis. We were offered a limousine style Taxi for 90 Euros (about £60), which seemed a might excessive for even a reasonable distance, let alone what was purported to be a fifteen minute walk.

After consulting a map, I took a deep breath as regards finding the way and we decided to walk. As far as map reading went I got us quite close to the Hotel, Les Trois Poussins (The Three Chicks) in Rue Clauzel, but the map was not detailed enough. After consulting a female Police Officer, who could not speak English, and a couple of greengrocers, who were very pleasant and helpful, we found the Hotel.

It was during the walk that my first impressions of Paris formed, essentially, just like London, except they drive on the wrong side of the road and the signs are gibberish. Maybe it was the cold weather combined with trying to find my way through a strange city. In any even, my mood, feelings, soon lighted. They certainly did by well into the following day, Saturday. Besides, my French, largely remembered from forty-five years previously, at school, was enough to make out quite lot, at least as far as signs and shop fronts were concerned; later, menu items started to come back as well.

The only sensible way to get to other parts of Paris, without spending a fortune on Taxis, was to use the Metro. Finding one’s way around on an underground, Metro, system is far easier that bus routes. The Paris Metro not only has colour coded lines, as does the London Underground, but each line has its own number, so, it was simply a matter of deciding on the route and following the relevant colours, number. It was also quite inexpensive at 1. Euros each way to the Bir-Hakeim Station near the Eiffel Tower.

Unfortunately, that Saturday was very cold and, intermittently, rather wet. It was also overcast and a little misty. So, apart from a long cold wait to go up the Eiffel Tower, the view at the top, up to 74 kilometers on a clear day, was very restricted. We opted for a tour bus instead. Unfortunately that was so cold, on the open top, we moved down inside; not such a good view and no place to take decent photographs but decidedly warmer. I listened to the commentary provided, on earphones, and, though the quality of the sound was, occasionally, not brilliant, I learned quite a lot about the parts of Paris that the tour covered.

It was fairly late in the afternoon before we returned to the Hotel. It was a relief to be out of the cold. We lay on the bed and read as we rested, intending to go to a restaurant for a meal in due course.

That evening we ate nearby, at La Calangue Pizza Restaurant. Jo and I had a pizza each, though somewhat different; Jo’s was her usual Marguerite, mine a Provençale. We shared a half bottle of rose and finished with a real crème brouillée as opposed to the usual supermarket variety, version.

On returning to the Hotel, I asked the Receptionist for the key to Room 203, adding that my numbers, in French, did not go that high.

She said it was easy, “Deux cent trois.”

I had not been thinking enough, or remembered enough.

She was right, it was easy, so I said and repeated,

“Of course, deux cent trois.”

“Your accent is South of France,” commented the Receptionist.

I laughed as I corrected her,

“My accent is Clacton County High School, 1960.”

She laughed as well as Jo broke into our conversation,

“Come on. You’ve had two much wine.”

I had only had a glass and a half of rosé. It was just my natural exuberant sense of humour and quick wit; not something with which all my family are happy, though immediate family are okay with it.

Jo should certainly have been used to it after thirty five years, plus; though she had some wine as well

Sunday, the day of our return, was somewhat warmer, with the weather due to improve after we left.

However, overall it had been an interesting visit with Les Trois Poussins turning out to be a very pleasant little hotel.

We finally arrived home at about 9.30 p.m., via a coach from Petersfield due to engineering work on the line south of there.

I booted up the computer to see if there was an E-mail from Barbara Ford-Hammond, a reaction to Lorelei’s thoughts on Andrea Wren’s regression, for her forthcoming book, “Past Life Tourism”, Mirage Books; about which, more later; Barbara had wondered if Lorelei (www.loreleilegend.com/index.htm) would like to comment and Lorelei had been only too pleased to do so, of course. There was no E-mail, so I told Jo and mused that Barbara was either so taken aback that she did not know what to say, or was having the weekend off, among other possibilities; though in practice, it is Barbara who is supposed to be muse, according to her Blog (www.newsfromthemuse.blogspot.com).

Jo said something along the lines of,

“You’ve probably shocked her so much you’ve blown the poor woman’s bunions off.”

Actually, they are supposed to have gone already by other means, but that is Barbara’s story, though I accepted the sentiment of Jo’s reply.

I did begin to wonder if Jo was becoming more in tune with her Celestial Sister, remember, sense, what she is like, at this stage of our current physical life together.

It turned out to be a little different, in due course. Barbara found Lorelei’s comments “interesting”. Does that mean Barbara is getting used to Lorelei? Now that is an achievement, for, almost, anyone.

The store that was not, perhaps, to be; plus a journey to Oz?

2007-02-14T22:49:00.000Z

On the way back from Fareham, yesterday afternoon, I called in at Tesco, Havant, for a little shopping and to buy some coal.

When I was at the checkout, in the store, I asked the Checkout Assistant if she knew what was happening with the new store that had been proposed. She said that, as far as she knew it was not going to happen, not be built.

She said that Tesco had sold off land at each end of the site. That I, more or less, knew, as they had been denied planning permission to go beyond the present store site; hence the proposal to build a store “in the air”, in effect above the existing car park and existing store ground area.

The Assistant said that the Council had refused planning permission, due; it seemed to the large number of objections to the new store that it had received. I was surprised, taken aback; that meant that Havant Council had actually said no to Tesco.

On the basis of events over the last several years I had developed a general “rule of thumb” that Havant Council would cave in to anyone who had financial muscle of a few hundred thousand Pounds, to a million Pounds, or more, even when planning permissions were breached; anything less than that and you did not stand a chance with the Council.

The idea of Havant Council denying an organisation of Tesco proportions what it wanted was phenomenal. I began to wonder where the Council had gained its courage, short of a trip down the Yellow Brick Road to see the Wizard of Oz. So that is a fantasy, though no more than Havant Council standing up to someone bigger than itself seemed.

The Assistant said that Tesco could re-apply in March but seemed to think that it would not happen. Part of her reason for that was the new checkouts that were due. The staff had, apparently, been complaining about the old ones and asking for new ones for some time. They had new ones due to be installed in June or July, some six months, or so, hence. So, to the best of her knowledge, the new store was not going to be built.

Strange things happen in Havant, at times.

Education and Standards – Personal Experiences

2007-02-13T08:14:00.000Z

The Saturday 10 February entry on the Blog of my hypnotist and muse friend Barbara Ford-Hammond (www.newsfromthemuse.blogspot.com) reminded me of my own experiences three years or so ago at educational establishments in southern England.

As well as lecturing in engineering materials and design at a further education college I was involved in providing support for students who were finding their studies difficult. That covered a range of students though included those studying engineering.

One such student, on an Engineering Diploma Course, had difficulties with a number of the problems he had been set.

Of the problems with which I helped him there was always one which particularly came to mind. It involved a weight suspended by two cords, each at a different angle to the horizontal; a simple statics problem. I showed him how to solve it by resolving forces horizontally and vertically; the sum of the horizontal forces in the cords being, of course, zero, and the vertical forces in the cords being equal to the weight supported. The horizontal forces were the tensions in the cords multiplied by the Cosine of the angle to the horizontal and the vertical forces were the tensions in the cords multiplied by the Sine of the angle and the weight.

The student looked at what I had drawn and written for a few seconds, then asked,

“What’s Sine?”

Bearing in mind that I was talking to a student who was eighteen or nineteen years old, well into his Engineering Diploma Course, and I had mastered such levels of trigonometry by the age of fourteen, I was somewhere between amused and bemused.

More was to follow. After setting out a problem in my usual way; read the question careful, draw, lay it out on paper, set up the basic equations and solve, the student again looked at what I had done, listened to my explanation, and asked a question; on that occasion it was,
”What’s Pythagoras?”

Another student was studying electrical engineering, something I had not been involved with in earnest since my first year at Brunel University (www.brunel.ac.uk) in 1967. He was stuck on some problems involving alternating current in electrical circuits with the usual resistance, capacitance and impedance elements. When such knowledge is long gone, or, at least, ahs not been used for some time, the obvious starting point is the College Library and appropriate library research skills; find an appropriate book, look up the basics, find similar problems in worked example form, follow them through and regain forgotten knowledge. A little over an hour later I had done electrical calculations of a type last worked through some thirty-five years previously and a student was a little happier and more confident with his work.

At a higher level, I lectured final year Engineering Degree Students on engineering materials at a University for a several weeks. Of the forty-plus students many (most?) were foreign. There were only about half a dozen of those who could have lived with my 1967-1971 Brunel University Engineering Degree Course.

Barbara’s 10^th February anecdote of a conversation that illustrated the woeful standards of knowledge was very much in line with my experiences in the education system. To say that education standards have been dumbed down would be a rather gentle way of putting it.

Back Online and Visible Again

2007-02-12T21:32:00.000Z

For the last couple of years I have been concentrating on my Web Sites and have neglected blogging as such; though the Blog of a relatively recently acquired and very good friend, Barbara Ford-Hammond (www.newsfromthemuse.blogspot.com) has encouraged me to try to do more with this one. We have similar interests in the non-physical field and, it would seem, a not dissimilar sense of humour.

Besides, having been off the Internet for the best part of two months, thanks to some malware and not particularly brilliant computer repairers (eventually sorted out by someone else) it is good to be back on the Internet and visible again. This is as good a way to start as any, particularly while I play catch up with my Web Sites.

As you will gather from my Web Sites such as www.richardsjournal.co.uk, as well as the archives of this Blog, an Internet presence is about the only way of being heard in the town where I live, or the County for that matter; Havant, Hampshire, England.

However, despite all of that, there have been positive developments. My autobiographical book, “Remembering Lorelei” (www.rememberinglorelei.com) should, at long last, be out in the next few weeks, will be reviewed in national publications and I should be appearing in such publications before that.

Developments can be followed through the above Journal Web Site (www.richardsjournal.co.uk), at least when I finish catching up with the word processing.

2005-11-16T18:51:00.000Z

Yesterday “The News” (Portsmouth) carried an article about Christmas lights being banned in Havant (Hampshire, UK), or, rather, it being decreed that the Christmas Lights will be known as Festival Lights to avoid upsetting no Christians.

Today the story is on page 31 of the “Daily Mail”. Presumably, Andy Dolan, the “Daily Mail” reporter, took the story from “The News”, local to national being a common route.

The culprits were, of course, the Council Officers who are the real power in Havant Council, though they ran for cover when “The News” tried to interview them.

They did not seem to have considered that they might offend Christians as well as non-Christians with their stupidity.

The Council Leader, David Gillett, is reported as begin vociferously against such lunacy, though, Councillors in general have let vastly more serious matters pass, including those beyond the civil context. I have one removed personal experience of Councillors being sent packing” by Council Officers and Agents of the Council.

The general level of incompetence, illustrated by the Christmas Lights fiasco, runs right through the Council, including, especially, relating to business: see my other Web Sites, especially the older ones --- the My Other Web Sites page on any of my Sites will guide you to the others (e.g. http://www.rlkassociates.co.uk/RLKA_mows.htm).

Contrary to the impression given by articles such as that in the “Daily Mail”, Havant and the surrounding area is a very pleasant place to live. Unfortunately it is ruled by a “we know best” Council which is beyond the control of and unresponsive to the Residents.

That apart, I would strongly recommend this part of the Country as a place to live, though not, at present, a place to which to bring a business or attempt to establish one, nor much of Hampshire or the local Business Link region for that matter. Sussex and east, Surrey and north, or west of Dorset is much safer.

2005-11-12T23:02:00.000Z

This Web Log is long overdue for updating.

My thoughts were to a large extent elsewhere than Blogs for much of 2004 as my mother was terminally ill in Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Buckinghamshire, from the end of June until 11th October. From then onwards, apart from sorting out the estate, mostly, almost entirely, done by my brother as he is retired, I have been more concerned with surviving and putting up a larger collection of interconnected Web Sites.

There was a development in June 2005 when I recorded a contribution for a Discovery Channel Programme on predicting the future, with Barbara Ford-Hammond of Alton, Hampshire. Filming was mostly in Blenheim Gardens, Denvilles, Havant with my house becoming a television studio for many hours. More details of that are on my Business Web Site (http://www.rlkassocites.co.uk/) under “Press Release” (http://www.rlkassociates.co.uk/RLKA_PresRel.htm).

Hopefully that will break the logjam I find myself in.

To be heard in Havant, Hampshire, UK, (as well as the County as a whole, to some extent) you have, it would seem, to resort to the Internet and have sufficiently unusual connections to be of interest to an International Television Company.

In order to develop business of immense value to Havant, Hampshire and the South of England generally I am not only having to go out of Hampshire but, in many ways, out of the Country.

Welcome to what passes for democracy and representation in Havant.

You can easily find me by entering “Richard King, Havant”, “Richard King, Engineer”, or “Richard King, Healer”, in an Internet search, especially non-Google for the greatest number of results; as long as you remember my name “Lorelei, Legend” or Loreleis Links” will also do. Thereafter, you can find all my Web Sites from any one of them.

One outcome of those months through the summer of 2004 was a series of pre-death experiences totaling thirty to fifty hours depending on definitions, how they are counted, etc. Some of those are recounted on my Richards Psychic Realm Web Site (http://www.richardspsychicrealm.com/), I know of no one who has had that much, though only some of the less demanding ones are recounted on the Web until my family becomes more acclimatized to such matters.

2004-08-26T06:35:00.000Z

On Monday 9th August I called in at the regional Business Centre in Havant to ask about South East Hampshire Enterprise Agency (SEHEA) Personnel who worked at the Havant branch. In the process I met Jo Horan who made the appointments. She asked if I wanted to arrange to see anyone but I said I needed to write to Glen Atherfold and Eddie Tuttle at the Small Business Service, Guildford, first.

The rest of the week turned out to be quite hectic, plus the weekend traveling to see my wife’s father in Clacton and then traveling back to see my mother in Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Added to that was a message from my brother on my mobile ‘phone on the way to Stoke Mandeville, that made me wonder what was happening but which did not turn out to be quite what I expected. There were a few other complications on the way, plus a stopover at my brother’s house in Chinnor on the way home.

I had to go back to Chinnor on Monday and Stoke Mandeville the following morning, to see Dr Durkin at the Hospital, along with my brother and sister-in-law. For a number of reasons I asked Lorelei and Cathy (my discarnate Soulmate/fellow healer and Guardian Angel, respectively) to accompany me on the journey, which they did, Lorelei in the front of the car and Cathy in the back. (There are more details about Lorelei and Cathy on my Website: http://website.lineone.net/~richard.king.ceng. A non-Google search for “Richard King, Healer” or “Lorelei, Legend” will also find it.) I arrived back in Havant during Tuesday afternoon and was in plenty of time to attend the Healer’s Group at the Bear Hotel, Havant, in the evening.

On Thursday 12th August I wrote to Lucille Pendry (of Tailor made Services), the new President of Portsmouth and South east Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry, offering to contribute more to the Chamber and, therefore, the region. At present, the Chamber is my only local route to making a contribution to the area which I live; not the most encouraging state of affairs for people contemplating developing their business in this part of the South of England.

On Friday 13th August I had experimented with Windseek, a new Search Engine I had heard about through one of the regular Internet related newsletters that brought up this Web Log with the relevant search terms. So, maybe, more people will read this, even in advance of my other Web Sites, with their links, going up.

The weekend of 21st/22nd August, involved me in another journey to Chinnor and Stoke Mandeville. As my brother and his wife were going out on the Saturday afternoon and evening, he was visiting my mother in the morning so I decided to go with him, breaking my journey at Chinnor, rather than a two hundred and fifty mile round trip to Stoke Mandeville on my own. That morning, apart from whatever else I picked up with my non-physical senses I was told something else at the Hospital that I partly understood but was not able to confirm it until back at my brother’s house and able to borrow a dictionary to look up, check, the meanings of essence and quintessence.

There were a few other things I was not sure fitted in terms of what I had sensed physically and non-physically over the previous days and, to some extent, weeks. However, a fairly detailed conversation with my healer colleagues on Tuesday 24th August resolved all of that with ease. In effect, that helped me to resolve the anomalies, which were only apparent anyway, and increased my understanding in the process.

There has been so much going on in the non-physical, as well as the physical, sense lately that it sometimes becomes confusing when I refer to “the Girls” in conversation with my wife, Jo. I often have to qualify whether I am referring to Judy, Lene, Doreen and Sheila (my physical Healer colleagues) or Lorelei and Cathy, who, are, of course, non-physical.

Unfortunately, it was several days before I managed to send an overdue E-mail to Glen Atherfold and Eddie Tuttle of the Small Business Service. I wished to follow up the suggestion of Mark Torokwa, of Hampshire County Council, and obtain assistance from South East Hampshire Enterprise Agency to write a business plan for my esoteric side. That I have now managed to do so, hopefully, there will be some progress on that front.

2004-08-03T20:14:00.000Z

During the month of May I had conversations with Reverend David Gibbons and Sandra Haggan of St Faith’s Church, Havant. Over the years the Church has come to mean quite a lot to me. Quite apart from which, that is where I met Jeanne D’Arc. Towards the end of the one I had with Reverend Gibbons I found I was feeling quite emotional at times. I seemed to more that way recently but it was mostly the recollection of those marvelous experiences. After all, how often do you meet a discarnate Saint let alone, as happened a few weeks later, have her sitting next to you while your auras expand and blend together.

I was not sure if it was because I was becoming more connected with Real Reality, the non-physical, which I have noticed more and more in recent weeks, especially when we were on holiday at the end of may.

I had known for some time that the Church was in need of funds to restoration and, had circumstances be different; I would have been able to contribute fairly substantially to that.

The latter part of June brought the end of term at Chichester College, where I lecture on Engineering Materials for an “A” Level Course as well as contributing to the provision of additional support for students, especially in engineering and higher mathematics. Unfortunately, the month did not end in the best way with my Mother becoming critically ill and having to go into Stoke Mandeville Hospital. That necessitated Jo and I rushing to Chinnor, in Oxfordshire, she had been staying with my brother and sister-in-law in the early hours of a Tuesday morning and then on to the hospital, as well as visiting on weekends since then.

There were compensations, though minor in comparison, in that in among all of the emotion I had some pleasant, occasionally humorous experiences over the weeks. Those included a conversation with my (late) Father, Cathy (my Guardian Angel) assisting my Mother at one stage, a short spell in Stoke Mandeville Hospital Chapel with Lorelei and meeting the person in charge of the team looking after my mother on “the other side”, Upstairs. He was short and stocky with receding white hair and white mutton chop whiskers on the side of his face, white shirt, dark tie with a slight diagonal strip, dark waistcoat, trousers and shoes with an unbuttoned white coat over those. He had been a Doctor in his most recent lifetime and a priest in a life before that, though not immediately before as I understand it.

Lorelei had been visiting my Mother frequently over the weeks including going to Stoke Mandeville between us providing healing for a couple of people at the healers Group one week. Being discarnate does wonders for covering such distances very quickly, more or less instantaneously. On a recent Tuesday (20th July) she dropped into the car beside me while I was on my way to our regular Healers’ Group meeting at the Bear Hotel in Havant, to assure me that my Mother was not suffering, not in any distress. From my conversation with the Upstairs Doctor the following Saturday (24th July) that was also clearly the situation from his point of view as well.

There were some potentially interesting physical world developments on Friday 23rd July, when I attended a Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry Business Breakfast at the Lysses House Hotel in Fareham. The first person I spoke to, apart from Maureen Frost, the new Chief Executive of the Chamber, was Tracy Culross of The Holiday Inn, Portsmouth. I had first met Tracy at a previous Chamber Event, the Annual General Meeting, at the Kings Theatre in Southsea. We both remembered that meeting and I pointed out that, along with Lene Foot, one of my Healer colleagues, I would be involved in a presentation on coping with stress at The Holiday Inn Hotel later in the year.

The event began with a presentation by Simon Richards of Conference Hampshire, he being accompanied by Frances Stokes who used to be more involved with defence related business; both working for Hampshire County Council. The main purpose of the meeting was to say goodbye to Bob Gumbrill, the retiring Chief Executive of Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Chamber. Many people were sad to see him leaving as he had done an excellent job during his time in charge. I owed him a great deal as I would be effectively isolated in the region if it was not for Bob and the Chamber.

During his farewell address Bob mentioned Michael, sitting at his table. That turned out to be Michael Johnston, Chief Executive, Portsmouth Printing and Publishing Limited, publishers of The News (Portsmouth) among other things. After the main part of the event, I took the chance speak to him about my tourism related business interests and Lucille Pendry, the new President of Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also became involved for a while. The outcome was that Michael suggested I contact Daniel Bardsley, the Business Editor of “The News” he also mentioned the Havant Reporters Office, suggesting I might get in touch with them as well. In any event, he strongly recommended that I contact Daniel Bardsley. Because of other commitments that will take me a few days to get around to but, one way or another I will. After all, “The News” should support and encourage an influx of business to the region, especially when it is on the scale that this would be.

Lucille Pendry suggested I might write an article for the Journal by which she meant the Chamber Journal. I pointed out that I joined the Chamber under my engineering side and involvement in composite materials. Lucille said that, as a Member of the Chamber I could write for the Journal anyway. When I mentioned this to Maureen Frost, Chief Executive of Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry, just before I left, she seemed to be less sure, though that was mainly down to my interpretation of her resulting expression. The Chamber was doing its best to be helpful and friendly, as it usually was; how that turns out we will have to wait and see.

On Tuesday 27th July I had a meeting, in Winchester, with Mark Torokwa of the Economic Development Department of Hampshire County Council. We had spoken on the ‘phone three weeks or so previously and exchanged letters in the meantime.

Mark listened patiently as I told him about my engineering background and then the outline of my nonphysical side, particularly the story of Lorelei and I. he agreed on the commercial potential and advised me to write a business plan as Sussex Enterprise had advised me to do. The conversation helped my thinking in that I realised that what I needed to do was put the arguments I had gone over verbally and in e-mails and letters many time in a compact coherent form and call it a business plan, which, essentially, is what it would be.

Mark Torokwa, at the very least, agreed with Sussex Enterprise positive assessment and said he was sure I would get past the present situation or words to that effect. (In fact I had avoided going into any detail about the negative things that had happened, preferring to go around them or bypass them as far as possible.) He seemed certain that when our story got out there were people who would really “run with it”; no doubt that it was very commercial and very likely to be of considerable interest.

In any event the meeting with Mark Torokwa was very encouraging. As far as the business plan was concerned he said I could get free help from South east Hampshire Enterprise Agency (SEHEA). Several months previously, John Stainer of SEHEA had indicated that they could help. There was just the problem of Business Link Wessex, though John thought I was taking the correct course by writing to Martin Wynn Griffiths, the Chief Executive of the Small Business Service (SBS) for help. So, I would have to write to Glen Atherfold, of SBS Guildford, with a copy to Eddie Tuttle, the Regional Director, asking if they could help, encourage, SEHEA to assist me.

In the interim Jo and I had a break by way of our first visit to the Hampton Court Flower Show. Unfortunately it rained but was certainly worthwhile going. The show was two big to get around fully in one day and we would certainly go back another year, hopefully next year. We understood it was set up on a rather large area, in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace, than the Chelsea Flower Show, so, although there were plenty of people there it was not so crowded as to be oppressive.

I also had some interesting business related conversations with people on Hayling Island, which is suffering from a drop in tourism and I could contribute a great deal to reversing that, if I was allowed to do so. I will post more details of that on my journaling Web Site, which I hope to have set up in the not too distant future.

2004-05-17T21:03:00.000Z

I finally completed the slightly overdue E-mail to Paul Fisher of Hayling Island Residents Association about the second bridge Proposal for Hayling Island on 15th March 2004. It was rather long but included the history of the Aberfeldy Bridge as well as my 1999 suggestion/proposal for a second bridge, which was conveyed to Havant Borough Council in the Spring of that year.

After I had sent it I wrote to the television research/producer who had asked, through the Exceptional Human Experiences Network if anyone was willing to help by describing their experience.

On the Wednesday it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to send the reply I had from Paul Fisher (a straightforward return of my E-mail to him with his reply at the top) to a few selected Councilors. Although I was not sure how they could stop me being involved with Paul Fisher and the Hayling Island Residents Association, I knew there were people who would want to do so.

At about the same time we also heard from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Benevolent Fund. They still considered us in need of help. The psychological effect of the letter was also very useful. Added to the support of the Chamber of Commerce, my renewed involvement with the Scientific and Medical Network, my coming attendance at conferences (with Lorelei), the opening of a dialogue with a television researcher/producer and the general thrust of recent events, Jo and I were feeling encouraged.

During the following Friday it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to send prints of the E-mail to some of the Councilors, by Post. If I did so by E-mail, it might, on past experience be intercepted and blocked.

There were those Councilors who might do something; clearly others would not; there being no point in sending them to the latter.

While on Hayling Island in the afternoon, I called at newsagents to see if the Hayling Islander was published that week, though thought I was early for the next edition. That turned out to be the case. During a conversation with the lady in the shop I told her why I wanted a copy of the Hayling Islander and that the Island could have had its second bridge four or five years ago, more or less free. There was no reason she should have known about it and clearly she did not. Her surprise that they had been denied the bridge was, therefore, no surprise to me.

The story of Lorelei and I and the huge tourism potential, for Britain and Germany, let alone locally, were an open secret across the South of England, as well as across the Internet; the saga of the bridge far less so. Besides, compared with the hundreds of millions of Pounds being lost by the tourist and related industries, each year, the loss of a multi-million Pound bridge (even though it would have cost the region next to nothing) was extremely small.

Over the passage of two months, from March to May, I heard nothing.

However, there were other positive developments during that period. I rejoined the Scientific and Medical Network (SMN); attended the SMN Mystics and Scientists Conference at King Alfred’s College, Winchester, at the end of March; attended a Conference of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Esoteric Group at Kings College Hospital London; a Workshop on Synchronicity with Professor Vic Mansfield; a meeting of the Winchester Branch of the Theosophical Society; had a suggestion for a presentation on coping with stress, jointly with fellow Healer Lene Foot, accepted; and other opportunities developing, including presentations on complementary therapies at Colleges and other venues.

In the days before the Synchronicity Workshop, on 24th April 2004 there was a fascinating series of coincidences, no such thing of course, which I shall have to put on one of my Web Sites at some stage.

One of the outcomes of the Mystics and Scientists Conference was meeting up again with Dr Peter Fenwick and his wife Elizabeth; both are researchers, authors, etc., in the esoteric as well as their mainstream careers. Elizabeth was surprised that it was taking me so long (five years and counting) to get passed the present situation and for Lorelei and I to be fully in the public domain. All that time ago she had considered our story very marketable and still did. Since those earlier days, others, including very prominent businessmen had expressed similar opinions, though from a different perspective.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists Esoteric Group conference, “Beyond Death, Does Consciousness Survive” (of course it does; “death” is only a transition) was attended by about three hundred people, roughly a third of them Psychiatrists.

More recently, I have E-mailed Glen Atherfold, of the Small Business Service, to ask for assistance from outside the area in which I live as I am unable to obtain it within my own area. I finalised the E-mail and sent it about midday on Wednesday 12th May, while at home between a couple of appointments. A great deal of the e-mail was about my esoteric side. While I was doing so, I turned on the television, only to find that they had a weekly regression item, past life regression, with therapists Andrea Foulkes. That day they showed a video of a regression session with H of Steps, not a group whose music I know very well, not my era really. The subject matter in each case seemed to tie up quite nicely.

Mr Atherfold was very prompt in his response, with a positive reply arriving on the Friday; he actually took only a day and a half to respond apparently having already discussed possible assistance with others in the interim. Local business support may not be any good but elsewhere it seems to be rather different.

Also, on that Wednesday, I sent a print of the E-mail, as background information, with letters to other authorities. That was something I had been delaying for a long time but circumstances left me no option. Besides, on several occasions, I had been told, esoterically, that was the appropriate action to take.

2004-03-15T22:32:00.000Z

I began the previous week by endeavouring to complete the E-mail to Paul Fisher, of Hayling Island Residents Association, about the Hayling Island second bridge. As it turned out the delay helped because it gave me time to think more about the ramifications of the situation.

Although it seems there has been a long-standing interest in such a bridge, the level of that interest had only become apparent to me in the last few months, particularly with an article in the “Hayling Islander” newspaper in November 2003. It came up again in the March 2004 edition of the same paper. As a result I ‘phoned Paul Fisher to ask him if he knew that I had proposed such a bridge in the spring of 1999. He had not and that came as no surprise to me whatever.

In 1998 I had almost succeeded in setting up the Technology Diversification Centre but had that taken from me and wrecked. During the process of setting it up I was heavily involved with new materials in civil engineering and knew of a technology demonstrator bridge built with composite materials in Aberfeldy, Scotland. I proposed a next step, next generation, bridge as a second bridge for Hayling Island. Two major International Civil Engineering Groups were interested in pursuing the idea and seeking funds from Europe to build it; I had discussed the matter with very senior people in both Companies. I wrote to Havant Borough Council about the bridge suggestion but they were not interested.

(The story of the Aberfeldy bridge will appear on a page of my business Web Site (www.rlkassociates.co.uk) at some stage and possibly on my Journal Web Site, the latter being, at present, a draft Site on my computer; as will the reasons such large Companies were interested in being involved and why it would have benefited the region.)

In summary, the bridge now suggested and wanted could have been built four years ago at a low to zero cost to the region.

This week we received copy of “Serving You” the Havant Borough Council Quarterly Magazine with the Post.

The cast of “Eastenders” had recently been to Hayling Island, which is part of the Borough, to film a few episodes. (For those outside of the UK, who have not heard of it, “Eastenders” is a BBC Soap Opera.) There had been several articles about those events in “The News” (Portsmouth Newspaper) and the “Hayling Islander” in recent weeks. “Serving You” had an article extending over more than half a page.

The “Serving You” article mentioned an “Albert Square” street sign, signed by the cast, which will be put up for auction to benefit the Mayor of Havant’s Charity and that, “It’s also worth noting a vast amount of publicity is generated when Eastenders go on location”.

As Lorelei and I are worth at lest £8 million Pounds a year to the Borough and our story would generate world-wide publicity, it is very odd that the Council does not promote us for the benefit of the Borough. That is quite apart from the hundreds of millions of Pounds each year we are worth to an area across a great swathe of the South of England plus, of course, Germany. (The estimates are based on extensive conversations and consultations with business people of high local and international standing.) it would certainly cost the Borough no more than publicising the Eastender's visits. There has not been the slightest mention of us in "Serving You" or anywhere else.

The article also points out that local shops served the cast and crew.

Obviously, the story of Lorelei and I, the strong connection with the Borough, including Hayling Island, would not only do the same but also for far longer, several years rather than a few weeks.

The same article quoted Andy Jackson, the BBC Location Manager, as estimating that £350,000 had gone back into the Borough as a result of the location filming; something the Council seems pleased with going by the tone of the article.

A few days previously there had been an advertisement in “The News” (Portsmouth) for Economic Development Officer at Havant Borough Council. It extolled the virtues of helping build up the local economy. All very strange when they are ignoring a gift worth millions of Pounds a year.

Early the following week “The News” reported and commented on the millennium tower fiasco. It had cost the City about £8M. little did they know that by certain people blocking the story of Lorelei and I coming out Havant was losing that every year and Portsmouth three times that every year, let alone all of the other areas affected.

I attended a Business Lunch, courtesy of Brittany Ferries on Wednesday 10th March. The invitation was from Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Partnership. The guest speaker was John Bird founder of “The Big Issue”. He turned out to be as knowledgeable and amusing as expected.

Unfortunately, I was not able to arrive at the very beginning due to a morning appointment.

To start with I did not recognise anyone there, then realised that Gwen Andrews, Managing Director of Havant Borough Council, was at the row of tables behind me. From what she had said at a warbling ton and Denvilles Residents Association meting in May 2003, I had thought there would be large changes in the Council. In a way there had been but not the ones necessarily expected. Moreover, considering her experiences with the Australian Government and various other information I found out about her on the Internet I could not see much of a match between what I assumed was a good level of integrity and what I knew of certain matters. It made me wonder if she really had been put fully in the picture.

The lunch was on the MV Normandie and we had to make sure we were off of the ship by 2.30 p.m. as it was leaving for France soon afterwards.

There seemed to be no immediate provision for vegetarians. A vegetarian dish came later, after Mark Baker, of the University of Portsmouth, and I had helped ourselves to some more salad, assuming that nothing else would be forthcoming. It came later. Mark kept with the salad and I soon wished I had. I was unable to eat more than a few mouthfuls as the vegetarian option as the cheese constituent of the dish was too strong.

Anyway, I spoke to a few people as we left, including members of staff of the Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Partnership. From what had been said at the lunch it was something worth supporting, which I would be in a far better position to do once past the present block.

2004-03-04T22:16:00.000Z

First, an introduction:

I am a Chartered Engineer (Professional Engineer for non-UK readers), which, until 1991, is about all I thought I was. However, as numerous events, detailed in a millions word plus diary, first autobiographical manuscript of 130,000 words, etc., show, there is rather more to me than that, though it has been difficult for me to accept, even though I have actually lived it.

Specifically, I am also a Healer with a degree of general psychic ability. More importantly I have a Soulmate, Lorelei, who is discarnate in this particular lifetime of mine, though we have been together during many physical lives and will be in others to come. However, accepting the intense events of the early 1990s, shared with many other people, my Lorelei is not just anyone by that name but the Lorelei, as in German Legend. More correctly, she was, in one of her physical lifetimes, the person behind the Legend, though the Lorelei I know is far more like the German view of her than that from outside Germany, which is rather different. I was a huntsman, Kurt Langerhan, during that lifetime, as I remember.

I live in Havant, Hampshire, England and it is around the South of England that most of the events took place which brought all of this back. During the early 1990s these were particularly intense with a major event occurring every two three or four weeks, mostly in Havant, Hayling Island, Chichester, Portsmouth and Southsea, though some in London, Essex, Surrey and elsewhere. These are described to some extent on my first Web Site (http://website.lineone.net/~richard.king.ceng/), though far too much happened to relate them anywhere near in full in a book, or the proposed series of books, let alone a Web Site. I now have a professional Web Site at http://www.rlkassociates.co.uk. Both need further development but, as with the draft Sites, that is taking time. However, at least one of them, by its very nature, should be quite larger, at least as far as this Country is concerned.

Of necessity I had to teach myself how to use the Internet and to build Web Sites. The facilities were there, I was directed to them, though I was not allowed to avail myself of them. That remains the same today as it was three or four years ago.

Also of necessity, I am having to go outside my geographical area for assistance to give our story back to the region, it being worth a very great deal in terms of tourism for the region and elsewhere; from Dorset, through Hampshire and Essex in England to he Middle Rhine in Germany.

Hence the reason for this Web Log, which, as with my other Web Sites and the several draft ones on my computer, is a route out past local constrictions when most of the usual ones are closed. As yet, the Internet is a communication system that is not susceptible to strong arm treatment. More about the background is available on my original Web Site at http://website.lineone.net/~richardking.ceng/ which was on the Web for sixteen months before I took the “negatives” out of the Site; though, having made no progress locally, I republished it at a very slightly different address, just the “.” removed from between my first name and my surname.