I Don't Have a Television.

Visitors to this site from outside the U.K. may find it amusing and bizarre that in Britain, we are required to have a licence to watch television. (Not to own one, it's the USE of a television that is licenced, but retailers are REQUIRED BY LAW to inform TV Licensing of all purchases. )
Currently, a colour tv licence costs £142:50, ($233.o45), a black and white TV licence (when did you last see a b&w tv?) costs £48:00 per annum.
Historically, this was born when the British Broadcasting Corporation began broadcasting, as a means of funding it by its users, let's call it a radio tax.
It was called, then, a "Wireless Licence", it permitted the holder to operate "A Wireless Receiving Station", and it cost ten shillings, for a year.
(In 1920, for a skilled craftsman in the building trade, that was about half a day's wage.)
After 1971, the wireless licence was discontinued, and the Television licence took over as the main source of the BBC's income. All the activities of the BBC were so funded, except the BBC World Service, which received separate funding.
The BBC carried no commercial advertising whatsoever, which is often incomprehensible to foreigners, used to a commercial break every few minutes. BBC productions run uninterrupted, a fact of which I greatly approve. However, the beeb does advertise itself, upcoming programming, dvds, radio programs etc.
If I used only a satellite-dish connected TV to watch programs from Outer Mongolia, I would still require a licence.
If I view broadcast television on a computer monitor, laptop, or cellphone, I would require a licence.
It ignores the fact that the BBC is no longer the only game in town, and the requirement to have a TV licence is in no way reduced if you watch only commercial channels.

However, I have no TV, I don't watch any device amounting to a TV at home, I do see it at other people's houses, and at no point do I get any yearning to have one myself. I can go to my mother's house, flick through a huge number of channels and find nothing whatsoever that I want to watch.
I like some of the discovery channel, history channel, I like Top Gear, a quirky motoring show, I like Scrapheap Challenge, I like engineering, and history, and especially both combined.
But I have no interest in soap opera, reality TV contests, people who think they have talent, awards shows, tv sport, Yaaaaaaawn!
So I have no TV.
The TV Licensing Authority, which sounds quite governmental, but in reality is a trademarked name owned and operated by the BBC, cannot comprehend that there are people who choose not to have televisions. I admit, I had one, for years, I unplugged it whilst decorating, and it sat there gathering dust for several years, so I gave it away.


To the TVLA, any address without a TV licence is suspect, and it harasses the occupants with threatening letters, says it's sending enforcement officers, will apply for a warrant to enter and search... It assumes guilt, contrary to the principles of the law of the land. I just received one of their threatening missives, having already told them I do not have a TV, so I went to the BBC's website, found the complaints procedure and sent this:-

*I received, recently, a notice from TV licensing which implied that by not having a TV licence, I was probably guilty of an offence.
I found this notice to be threatening in tone, containing implied threats.

Why am I writing to the BBC? because TV Licensing IS the BBC.

I quote:- "TV Licensing" is a trade mark of the BBC and is used under licence by companies contracted by the BBC to administer the collection of television licence fees and enforcement of the television licensing system. The majority of administration is contracted to Capita Business Services Ltd, with cash related payment schemes contracted to Revenues Management Services Ltd. Over-the-counter services are contracted to PayPoint Plc. Marketing and public relations activities are contracted to the AMV Consortium. This consortium is made up of the following four companies: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO Ltd, Fishburn Hedges Boys Williams Ltd, PHD Media Ltd and Proximity London Ltd. The BBC is a public authority in respect of its television licensing functions and retains overall responsibility."

I do not have a television, I do not watch or record broadcast TV.
I have told TV licensing this, in the past. However, their assumption appears to be that all homes (and workplaces) must have a licence, as they cannot comprehend that there are sectors of the populace who have no interest in watching TV.
In continuation of this delusion, even after I have told them I do not have a television, nor do I watch or record broadcast TV, they have told me that they may send an enforcement officer to search my home.
This threatening behaviour runs contrary to the principles of United Kingdom law.

I do not have a pilot's licence. At no point has the civil aviation authority contacted me to demand proof that I do not need one, and at no point have they threatened to search my home for a hidden clandestine jumbo-jet.

At this point, I hereby inform the BBC that any implied consent to access by its employees or assignees to visit my home is withdrawn as of the moment of sending this email.
Any further threatening letters will be taken to be harassment.

If you think you have evidence that disproves my statement that I do not watch TV at this address, you are free to lay that evidence before a court.

I suggest you reply to me that you are apologetic for the actions of your (the BBC's) assignees, and will cease, immediately, implying that I am guilty of the offence of watching or receiving broadcast television without a licence.

If at some point in the future, I decide to embrace the cornucopia of riches that is TV, I will purchase a licence, thus informing you of my change of heart.

Until that point, my declaration stands. I do not have a TV licence, because I do not need a TV licence."

Update (not an unexpected sort of response):-

"Dear Mr ******
Thanks for your e-mail regarding the TV Licence.

This department, unfortunately, only can deal with queries and complaints about the Licence Fee when they're related to how we choose to spend it on programmes and services.
To proceed with your complaints you will need to contact TV licensing direct. They can be contacted by writing to:
Customer Relations
TV Licensing
Bristol
BS98 1TL

You may also find their website http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/index.jsp of interest.
(The BBC isn't responsible for the content of external websites)
I'd like to take this opportunity however, to assure you that I've recorded your comments onto our audience log. This is an internal daily report of audience feedback which is circulated to many BBC staff including senior management, producers and channel controllers.
Thanks again for taking the time to contact us with your concerns.

Regards
**** *******
BBC Complaints".



"Our TV detector vans are equipped with state-of-the-art detection equipment which can tell in just 20 seconds whether you are using TV.

How do the detector vans work?
-
Our vans feature a range of detection tools. Some aspects of the equipment have been developed in such secrecy that engineers working on specific detection methods work in isolation, so not even they know how the other detection methods work. This gives us the best chance of catching licence evaders.

What if you can't get close enough to detect my TV from your van? -
Our Enforcement Officers may use a hand-held detection device instead. This measures both the direction and the strength of a TV signal, making it easy for us to locate TV receiving equipment in even the hardest to reach places."

This technology is so secret that the BBC refuse to disclose it, and just how many detector vans they actually have. Some people believe it's all a bluff, and the vans are really empty. Nobody seems to be able to find ANY case of anyone being prosecuted using detector van evidence.
The vans seem to get parked in town car parks and supermarkets as a high visibility reminder that big brother is watching us.
It's probable that the real humans just look for the tell-tale blueish flickering light from unlicensed adresses, then march up to the door and say "Gotcha!". In my case, I might be watching a dvd or a youtube. .

Here's a good quote from their own website:-
"An Enforcement Officer knocked on the door of a suspected evader and asked if he had a TV, to which the owner said he did not.
The officer then asked, "Well then, why have you got a satellite dish on the outside of your house?"
The man looked down and said with a grin, "I have two pints of milk on my doorstep, son, but I don't have a cow in the garden!"

Wired for Sound.

Yes, I know, I'm just a shill for Sony's advertising campaign.
The town in the video, is Seyðisfjörður, on the western edge of Iceland. I've been there, my bike and some other stuff were sent to me from England, via an Icelandic trawler, it was a lot cheaper than normal freight, but.....
It was supposed to come to Reykjavik, where I was living, in a couple of weeks, but the skipper diverted to the north, found good fishing, landed his catch in Norway, went out toward Jan Mayen to get more. That was five weeks...I got a message to say the nearest he'd be coming to Reykjavik for another month was Seyðisfjörður, to land his catch, and take on more ice.
So I decided to take a few days off work and take the slow bus, and my trusty little tent, around the south of iceland, up the crinkly west coast, and retrieve my bike.
Ha!
I had to bribe a guy at the fish dock to steam-clean it.
Never ship a bike on a trawler. It will arrive all pearly with fish-scales, and the stink of cod.

An Anglo-Saxon Hoard

Recently found in Britain by a metal detector. The hoard of gold and silver contained about fifteen hundred items, the biggest such find ever in Britain. It was buried in what is now south Staffordshire, archaeologists believe, in the seventh century .
More HERE.

All of the pieces are believed to be from weapons and armour, I'm staggered by the quality of craftsmanship here, from a time we think of as the primitive "Dark Ages". Oh how I wish I could stumble across things like this in the muddy stubble of a field. Yes, it's worth a huge sum, in monetary terms, but I don't care, I'd just love to find something like this, rub the mud away, and keep it as a thing of beauty, and a thing of mystery, I'd muse about the people who made it, those who carried it, chieftains, princes, the king, perhaps of the kingdom of Mercia. Or were these, perhaps trophies of battles against others?

This one in particular... I want it.

Artichoke

I intended to eat them, but left it a bit late. I love the flowers, they look like a gas flame burning efficiently....
Yes, I'm qualified as a combustion engineer, I like playing with fire, i like the whole business of burning things efficiently, kiln control, thirty feet of flame out of a little stick of wood, a cone of fire out of a kiln chimney, on final reduction, like a jet exhaust.
And I like these beautiful flowers. They're about 3"-4" (75-100mm) across.
I should clarify... these pics were taken in august, not now, the plants are dying back for winter now. For those who don't know them, Artichokes are a bit like giant thistles.

You cook the bud, a thing the size of a large fist. They take twenty or thirty minutes to cook (steamed, grilled, laid in hot coals)....
It's debatable whether it's worth the effort.

It's Been a Busy Week

No time for myself, gales, flooding, long hours at work sorting out flooding, blocked drains, damage, dismantling trees, etc.

Partially blocked.

Yippee, this one's as it should be.

Oh dear, This one's been full to the top, see the debris on the sides? Water gets away, but only at a certain rate. If the rain fall is above the rate at which the drain can soak away into the earth, this will fill, and overflow. The top of this chamber is six feet above the nearby building's floor level. And there's a basement ten feet below that.

Looks harmless enough, doesn't it?

It's about ten feet deep, the old step irons have broken off further down. Not allowed to use them, these days, anybody going down there need to be lowered by winch, wearing a recovery harness and gas detector. It looks harmless enough, but methane gas, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide can pool in the bottom of holes like this. The person who goes down becomes unconscious quite rapidly, and then a rescuer goes down, and the same thing happens.
Repeatedly.

"On July 26, 1989, five farm workers died after consecutively entering a manure pit on their farm. The pit measured 20 by 24 feet and was 10 feet deep. The victims were a 65-year-old dairy farmer, his two sons aged 37 and 28, a 15-year-old grandson, and a 63-year-old nephew. The younger son initially entered the pit to replace a shear pin on an agitator shaft. (NOTE: Agitation of the manure, which is required to facilitate transfer, causes a rapid release of the gases formed during decomposition.) While attempting to climb out of the pit, the initial victim was overcome and fell to the bottom. The grandson then entered the pit to attempt a rescue. He too was overcome and collapsed. The nephew, the older son, and the dairy farmer then entered the pit one at a time, attempting to rescue those already overcome. Each was overcome and collapsed in turn. A carpet installer working at the farm house then entered the pit to attempt a rescue. He too was overcome but was rescued by his assistant and subsequently recovered. Finally, the owner of a local farm implement business arrived on the scene with two of his workers and, using a rope, extricated the five victims from the pit. When the local emergency rescue squad arrived on the scene approximately 20 minutes after the incident, they immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The nephew was pronounced dead at the scene. The remaining four victims were transported to the local hospital. The farmer and his younger son were pronounced dead on arrival, and the older son died an hour after reaching the emergency room. The grandson was transferred to a major trauma center by helicopter but he died approximately 6 hours after his removal from the pit. Reports of the medical examiner cite methane asphyxiation as the cause of these five deaths [NIOSH 1989c]. "

Best way to do it is to cheat, call for a big suction tanker:-


Then you suck all the gloop out (technical term:-"gloop"), jet the line up and down with high pressure water, stick the four-wheel-drive remote camera in and take a virtual journey along the pipe, looking for cracks, debris, roots, and collapses. In this case, there's a collapsed section and tree roots about 100 ft outside our boundary line, so it's the city's mains drainage department's job to fix it, but access might be difficult for a full size backhoe, they might need minidiggers... and the beaurocratic ramifications of crossing multiple private properties to get there....
But we've informed them of it, and given them the camera footage to show the problem, so if there's another deluge, and businesses on our site get flooded, then the claims will be against the city, not us. We can prove our drains are clear and properly maintained.

Last bit of tree, a few bags of debris, and I can think of going home, to a hot bath, and early to bed. Bliss.

(in this last pic, you can see how the road level on one side of the building is at the same level as the rainwater gutters on the roofs. Any drain problem here can mean a big trouble inside.)

Piglights

Years ago, back in the dark distant past, I had a customer who collected anything to do with pigs. She was a regular buyer of piggy banks, but one day she came in and said "Could you make me a piggy-lamp?".
So I did. Whilst it was sitting on the shelf awaiting firing, several other people saw it and asked for one. So they went into limited production. My mother kept one, and eventually my brother claimed it.
He recently took these pictures and sent them to me.

Why's the sticker still on it? I really don't know, I peel stickers OFF!, but the sticker says, alongside a nice little mediaeval style image of a woodcarver, "Produced by a Member of the Guild of Master Craftsmen".
The guild claimed it only accepted real MASTER craftsmen as members, but in reality, it took cash, with few questions, in return for membership. I expected to have to prove my worth in a selection process. But the guy who interviewed me knew NOTHING about pottery.
I paid up, and I was in.

However, my customers loved the logo and stickers, because it reassured them that this stuff was really good, it must be, because it's got this sticker, see, that says it was made by a member of......

(Logo used for illustrative purposes only)
( I was entitled to use it, at the time the pot was made, but allowed my membership to lapse, long ago.)

I always felt a little guilty about it, knowing that the Guild had not screened me enough to be a guarantee of anything. But undeniably, membership of it was worthwhile, it sold pots.

Maybe I'll start an international Guild Of Master Potbloggers. Send me a bunch of money and you can join.

Disclaimer:My comments refer to the Guild as it was in 1986, or thereabouts. It may be a very different organisation today, it still exists and has a website, Here.

Can You See What it is Yet?, Part 2

Remember this?

Revisited..

Then come the guffaws... when he realises he didn't put it on straight...
Doh!

Still, let's call it a "proof of concept piece", like those motorshow cars that don't actually go.......
I mean, I could come back and do one right, yes?

Might have to put a light in, I throw facing the open garage door, which means the bit in front, and on the right is poorly lit against the bright outdoors. That's my exscuse, and I'm sticking to it.

Ceramics/houses/kilns

http://lyricflight.blogspot.com/2007/11/housing-obsessed.html