Hello and welcome to my page. I hope you enjoy reading my articles and they make you smile. You might be wondering what an Anorak is, well in this case it is not something you wear but a person that is a passionate supporter of radio stations, particularly of pirate radio stations that once broadcast from the North Sea. I have been a supporter of Radio Caroline for most of my life and today they are still broadcasting on Sky digital and on the Internet 24 hours a day. When supporters went out to the pirate stations on boats the DJs saw them coming wearing their anoraks and so they said," Here come another load of anoraks" The term stuck and now it has become a name for a passionate supporter of anything. I suppose you could call bird spotters or plane spotters anoraks. My articles started in early 2001 when Chris the webmaster of Woodley Net asked me to do some articles about radio and digital TV for his website. Many of my articles have been printed in the Romsey Gazette. You can read many more articles on my own website by clicking HERE or email me  HERE

TV Confusion - February 2012

The pace of change for televisions today is getting ridiculous. Back in the distant past I had a one channel set, two channels, ITV and BBC were available at the time but I kept fiddling with the channel change switch and it fell off leaving me with just the one channel. Then along came colour, 625 lines, teletext, Satellite, Digital, larger screens, 24 inch, 28 inch, 32 inch and even larger, Plasma and LCD and rear projection TVs. Now we have a TV with Freeview built in and in the future Internet and connections for computers and a USB socket. Oh, and 3D TV and soon even higher definition TV. Visit your TV showroom and you will find a bewildering display of TVs of every type but no sooner do I buy a new set and its time to buy another one. In the old days you put the old set in the spare room or sold it but I now have more TVs in my house than I will ever need and no one wants to buy my old sets now, in fact I can't even give them away. So its no wonder why all our council tips are filling up with so much unwanted rubbish. I still wonder what happened to all those cathode ray tube sets and computer screens that were dumped when everyone wanted a posh new LCD screen, some of them were still in good working order. If you are one of these people that can't tell the difference between a SCART or HDMI socket or can't decide if you need Freesat or Freeview or plasma or LCD then you are not alone, there are many others that are finding it difficult to keep up with all the changes. If your TV picture has disappeared recently then don't dump your old set because it is possible that all you will need is a little box to convert your set to receive all the new digital channels and they are available reasonably priced from all the main stores. Your next problem is to choose what channel out of the hundreds available to watch. At least we don't have to worry about the channel change switch falling off, but hang on, we have a remote control now and there we have more problems and I will have more on that later..

Hoarders - May 2011

I've always wondered why we leave our treasured cars worth many thousands of pounds outside on the road all night while we fill up our garages with junk and lock them up. Most of us hate to part with anything and according to website, Netcycler who surveyed 2000 adults, most of us keep items because we don't know what to do with them. I've got a collection of old mobile phones that I should send for recycling but I just can't get round to doing it, they bring back so many memories. What do you do with all those old vinyl records, tapes and CDs? I've go them stacked away somewhere but I'll never play them again and how many people still have a teasmaid or one of those fondue sets that were so popular many years ago. There are lots of recycling site springing up on the internet now that give you the opportunity to "give away" your old junk to someone that can make use of it, many of the sites are local and typing http://www.freecycle.org  into your browser will take you to a UK site where you can search for your town. So what am I waiting for??? I've got a cheese plant, remember them? its now reached the ceiling, but its been with us for 25 years and it become part of the family! I hope it gets a good home.

Health Fears - January 2011

My wife keeps telling me that I eat too much, especially between meals, she cooks me a meal and then when I finish eating I head for the refrigerator for a snack. Apparently my wife's concern is normal as there are many wives and girlfriends who worry about the health of their partners. Their main concern is stress at work where their partners work long hours under too much pressure and sometimes take work home because they can't complete it. They also worry that their partners don't take enough exercise, eat too much fatty food and don't get enough sleep. Engage Mutual who commissioned the study said that women had many concerns about their partners lifestyle and pressure at work was seen as the biggest issue. Some women hadn't mentioned their worries to their partners but had started buying healthier food and subtly changed their partners lifestyles without telling them. So if your wife has booked you into a gym or a sporting activity for a present or cleared all the junk food from the house then be grateful to her as she is worried about your health, enjoy your healthy exercise and don't become a couch potato.

Getting Lost - August 2010

Have you ever been completely lost? It first happened to me when I was a young child. I suddenly found myself all alone with lots of people around but my mum had gone. It didn't take long for her to find me but it was very frightening while it lasted. I once got lost walking around Venice, every corner and bridge looked the same and to make it worse there was a coach waiting for me and I thought I was going to miss it. Motorists regularly get lost, in fact men spend the equivalent of a journey from London to Newcastle driving around lost every year. That's a lot of petrol to waste. The under 25s get lost more often than the over 55s even though they are more likely to carry a sat-nav. The last time I got lost was when I was diverted off the Motorway as it was closed due to an accident. I had no idea where I was going and as there was nowhere to park to get a map out. I played "follow the leader" down country lanes until I found myself alone and realised that I had followed the wrong "leader". Its funny how everyone seems to disappear when you want to find someone to ask directions. Some people are too stubborn to ask for help and many drive around for half an hour before asking someone for directions. Several years ago a driver drove round and round London on the M25, not realising that he was going round in circles and going nowhere, I bet that happens a lot. There was also a guy who supported a northern football team who were playing Gillingham in Kent and he ended up heading for Gillingham in Dorset many miles from where he was supposed to be and when he arrived at the correct destination he had missed most of the game. Are you good at finding your way around or do you rely on a passenger to give directions? Have you ever missed your exit on the Motorway and driven on for miles to the next? Men have the best sense of direction while women are more happy to ask the way. Thanks to motor insurer Sheila's Wheels for the figures.

Slow service - June 2010

So you go out to a restaurant for a meal and the service is slow. What do you do? Wait patiently or complain. A guy sat down and ordered his meal. He waited over an hour for service and all the time he could see takeaways being shipped out to customers at home. He got a bit peeved with that and used his mobile to ring the restaurant, making out he was at home he asked how long it would take for a takeaway to be delivered. He was told 45 minutes for up to five miles. "So why have I been waiting for over an hour for my meal to be delivered at my table in your restaurant when you can deliver a takeaway five miles away to my home in 45 minutes?" Perhaps he should have ordered a takeaway on his phone and asked for it to be delivered to his table in the restaurant as it would probably have been delivered a lot quicker. Did you know that 60 per cent of meals eaten in Britain are of overseas origin? Chinese Italian, French and American food is more likely to be your choice while Mexican, Greek, Turkish and Thai food gives us the most cosmopolitan choice of foods on earth. Now what happened to Peas pudding and faggots?

Disappearing Pubs - May 2010

When I was a young lad my parents enjoyed visiting the countryside and we usually ended up in a lovely country pub for a drink and I always had a packet of cheeselets as a treat. They had smokeless children's rooms where I could eat my cheeselets and drink my lemonade or in the summer we could sit in the gardens. I never saw anyone drunk, in fact there was a lovely family atmosphere in them. Now many of these old pubs are closing and are becoming an eyesore. Some are being converted into houses and restaurants as It seems that no one uses pubs any more. These pubs were a meeting place where friendships were made and some of the rooms were used for various clubs to hold their meetings or sports events. I've played Table Tennis, darts, bar billiards, Skittles and Bat and Trap and these sports are disappearing as the pubs close. People will soon be buying all their booze in Supermarkets and drinking it at home while they watch the television. I wonder what people will do in the future when pubs become a thing of the past? Perhaps someone will have a bright idea to open a few pubs again.

Netwalking

A new danger emerging on our roads is called netwalking. Its when a person is out walking with their mobile phones in front of their faces writing test messages, e-mailing and surfing the internet. It's becoming a big hazard to motorists because these people even cross the road while looking at websites, watching films and TV shows on their mobile phones and some have even been studying social network sites while negotiating traffic. Researchers who called the new trend "netwalking" said that careless netwalkers were putting themselves and others in danger. According to the study as many as 15 per cent of Britons have already been hit or had a near miss on the roads while using their phones. Many people said that they used their mobiles without realising it while they crossed a road because it had become a habit while many more claimed arrogantly that they were capable of doing two things at once. Mike Pickard, at Esure car insurance said, "Mobile technology has revolutionised the way we communicate but it can have a detrimental impact on our day to day lives". Advice to pedestrians is to leave their mobiles in their pockets or bags and concentrate on what they are doing especially on busy highways.

High Call out Charges

Call out charges made by some large companies can be very high and the prospect of being charged £100 plus can be a bit frightening for some people. Many firms will charge a large fee to inspect a problem with new equipment they have fitted into your home and if the engineer decides that it was caused by your neglect. they will make a charge. Normally you will not know if it is your fault until they arrive and then it is too late. Recently I rang my Mother in Law who is now in her 80s, there were lots of loud crackles on the line and she told me that it was like that every time the wind blew. We were eventually cut off completely and a BT robot voice told me that the other person had put the phone down. When we were reconnected she was still talking and had no idea that I hadn't heard what she had been saying and was not pleased when I had to ask her to repeat everything. She thought I had been ignoring her. She told me that the telephone had been like that for weeks and it was going to cost £127 to call out a BT engineer. I rang BT and the lady did a line test and told me that they couldn't find a fault but then said that doesn't mean that there is no fault. I told her that there was definitely a problem and they need to send an engineer and she said that if they send an engineer to her house and it was due to faulty equipment within her home there would be a charge of £127. Now that is a lot of money for an 80 year old to pay out. Luckily when the engineer arrived it only took a few minutes for him to decide that the fault was due to a tree that had been planted alongside the telephone pole. Now every time we have high winds the engineer has to reconnect the line in the tree for her but no one will cut the tree down. I wonder what would have happened if she had not wanted to risk losing £127 and she needed the phone in an emergency, BT and other firms should realise that if they are going to make these hefty call out charges they should allow for an honest mistake.

Personal Grooming

I have a lot of surveys sent to me but the one that came in recently was one of the most surprising that I have ever received. It claims that men are now taking longer than women to do their personal grooming. Simon Comins, Superdrug’s director of toiletries, which conducted the poll of 3,000 people, said: “Once upon a time it was cool for men to appear rough and ready, looking like they hadn’t spend more than a couple of minutes getting ready “But these days, everyone appreciates a man who takes care of his appearance, smells nice and looks like he has made an effort. in a morning". The study shows that men dedicate an average of 83 minutes a day to their personal grooming which includes cleansing, toning and moisturising, shaving, styling hair and choosing clothes. This is four minutes longer than it takes a woman. He also spends 23 minutes in the shower every morning and 18 minutes shaving. Choosing an outfit is also a timely operation for blokes who want to look their best – taking 13 minutes compared to 10 minutes for women. Apparently the ladies now appreciate a man who takes care of his appearance and smells nice. In the past rugged men such as Liam Gallagher, Brad Pitt and Russell Crowe were favoured but now the David Beckham, and Cristiano Renaldo look is what pleases the ladies. I am very much in favour of seeing men looking smarter but not so sure about 23 minute showers. Will they get to work on time? It would be nice if we return to the days when men travelled in smart clothes instead of trainers and casuals but I am still not convinced that men will ever take longer than a lady to do their grooming. If I spend 23 minutes in the shower my wife will not be pleased especially if I spend a further 18 minutes shaving.

Television

Figures were released recently by the TV Licensing Authority to mark the 40th anniversary of the start of colour television and they revealed that there are still 28,000 households in the UK using old black and white TVs. Colour programs started officially on November 15th 1969 with a Petula Clark concert broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall in London, although there had been test transmissions for a while. Soon, Dixon of Dock Green, the Harry Secombe Show and Match of the Day were broadcast in Colour. By the end of 1969, 200,000 colour TV sets were in use across the UK. and in 1976 colour sets began to outnumber black and white. There have been many milestones of television over the years, the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1952 caused a boom in the sale of TVs and the people that had bought a television invited their neighbours in to their houses to watch it with them. The start of commercial TV in 1955 saw the introduction of advertising, the first Satellite broadcast across the Atlantic in 1962, the start of BBC2 in 1964 when there was a power cut in the studio ruining most of the first nights programs and the introduction of video cassette recorders in 1974. It was a few years before they were mass marketed and then video rental shops opened up on almost every high street renting the latest horror movie. The majority of them have closed now. In 1982 Channel 4 was launched and soon after in 1983 breakfast TV started. Back in the early days of TV, daytime programs were very limited, Listen with Mother and a housewife's program were just about the only offering from the BBC. Some people actually watched the test card and listened to the music that came with it. Gradually the daytime hours were increased, mainly with sport at first. Yes, we could watch sport and the test card during the day but very little else. Eventually the start of breakfast TV completed the full day and at last we could watch TV in bed in the mornings. Sky was launched in 1989 with the start of multi channel viewing and Channel 5 in 1997 became the last terrestrial channel when many of us had to have our sets adjusted because the channel used the same frequency as our video recorders. Now we have the start of High Definition services and the big analogue turn off has started as we go all digital. Do you remember your first colour TV set? or you are one of the few people still watching in black and white please let me know. I would love to know if you manage to get your black and white TV repaired when it breaks down. Tell me your memories and send your pictures to-. rolandbeaney@tiscali.co.uk

Spam

To most people Spam is a message that we receive mostly by e-mail that tries to trick us into giving out our banking details and some offer us goods of a doubtful standard that we should never buy. Many people don't realise that Spam is a food that has been in production since 1937and amazingly it is still being sold widely today. Making its debut in 1937, what is believed to be the first singing commercial advertising it came out in 1940. More than 100 million pounds of Spam was shipped out to feed allied troops in the war and many people actually ate it for their Christmas dinners. In 1959 the one billionth can of Spam was produced and in 1970 the 2 billionth can was produced when Monty Python's Flying Circus made that famous TV sketch. Since then different varieties have been introduced, with cheese, oven roasted turkey and hot and spicy, garlic and golden honey versions and even Spam burgers. In recent years less fat and less salt varieties have been introduced proving that we are caring for our health but now we have Spam Hot Dogs. Amazingly 7 billion cans of Spam have now been sold. Who would have thought that a product that was produced to feed the poor many years ago would be adapted with modern recipes, to feed the hungry today. So when you delete your next Spam message on your computer, remember that the real Spam is still available to buy in the shops and nothing to do with the messages that we get on our computers. Do you still eat Spam? Please let me know by sending to rolandbeaney@tiscali.co.uk

Blue Houses

I received an e-mail recently with the results of yet another poll and this one suggested that if you live in a blue house you've got it made. Apparently people living in houses painted blue are more successful than those living in homes painted any other colour.

The average professional living in a blue-painted house earns an impressive £38,000 a year and drives an Audi TT to work. He or she takes 27 days annual leave a year and treats themselves to at least two holidays abroad to exotic locations such as Barbados or the Maldives .

The poll, conducted by Sandtex Paints of 3,000 homeowners, reveals that 23 per cent of people in blue houses have already worked their way up to Director level at work. A further 31 per cent are proud to call themselves 'manager' or a job title of similar status. Also most of these professionals have at least three members of staff working beneath them. Blue homeowners will have already achieved two significant promotions to date in their high-flying career. Victoria Jones, spokesperson for Sandtex Paints, said: ''It is incredible to think that the colour of your house could have any bearing on how successful you are in your career or at home.' 'This poll certainly demonstrates that people decorate their houses differently depending on how they are doing in their professional and personal life.''

In contrast, the poll reveals that people living in green houses are the worst off - earning just £13,100 annually. Unfortunately if you are the owner of a green house then you would be a lot less fortunate, only earning about half your blue house colleagues earn and drive a tatty old car and nowhere near the top of your game.

There is a lot more info in the poll but I haven't got the time to pass it on to you as I am off to paint my house, that's if they've got enough blue left on the shelves.

Recycling

Recycling is not new, Its certainly being promoted now more than ever before but I think our parents recycled a lot more than we do today but in a different way. I watched a vehicle taking away a container full of glass bottles and no one could fail to hear the noise of breaking bottles when the container was moved. The smashing of glass bottles when the public throw the bottles into the containers is bad enough but the noise of the container being moved was deafening. I pity anyone living near to these containers. The gas guzzling vehicle was then driven off to some distant place where more of the worlds useful resources will be used to turn millions of pieces of glass into something useful.

Back in he 1950s it was different, the milkman delivered the milk in glass bottles on the doorstep and when they were empty they were put out on the doorstep and taken back to the dairy where they were cleaned and used again. Soft drinks were also bought or delivered in glass bottles and again they were returned for re-use and sometimes our parents were given money back for the safe return of the bottle. No big steel containers on street corners or big lorries making a special journeys to take them away and no breaking up bottles so that they can be melted down and made back into bottles again. Now we get most of our our drinks in cardboard or plastic containers that have to be washed out with precious water and placed into the recycling bin where they will be taken away in gas guzzling vehicles to a plant that can turn them back into something useful. People also kept their domestic furniture a lot longer then and it was not unusual for families to have second hand furniture and when it got scratched they sanded it it down and repainted it. Food was used up and not wasted and the meat left over from the Sunday joint would have been served with a salad on Monday, not thrown away. Now we see the remains of takeaways thrown away in rubbish bins or even on the street and the remains of your Sunday joint will contaminate your rubbish bin. When people grew out of their clothes they were handed down to their younger brothers and sisters or given away to another family. These "hand me downs" were used again and again until they were completely worn out. Who can remember knitting a jumper and then turning it back into a ball of wool to knit another jumper because the person had grown out of it?

I think we could learn a few lessons on recycling from our parents and grandparents and perhaps we should completely change our attitude to recycling. We throw away far too much today.