Michael

Today is a special day as my eldest son, Michael is retiring.  Yes, after some 27 years in the markets he's decided to hang it up.  He's 46.  He came to me about 1983 to say that although he had the qualifications to go to university, he didn't want to do that and instead he wanted to go to the city and make some money.  I thought that was great as at least he knew what he wanted.  So he went to a trading house, then eventually into the money markets.  After a few other moves he went out to Japan, back to the UK and then back to Japan with his lovely wife Eiko.  They have lived there now for about 13 years.
His workmates want to know why he's retiring, and his answer is simply that the reason he's worked so hard is so that he can give it up.  Sensible chap!  Oh, what of the future?  Well, as anyone who knows him will expect, he won't be idle for long.  For those of you worrying that the family is not paying its fair share, my younger son, Simon, is hard at it still, and also daughter, Sue, up in Reno, so taxes are still being paid!

Flowers

We're getting ready for the planting season up here in the mountains.  But beware, there is an old saying:  "Don't plant before Mother's Day!"  But it's hard to take the advice.  After all, the temperatures are up in the 70's every day with bright blue skies - a little chilly in the morning but the sun comes up early.  However, the price for visiting the nursery too early is that you'll be going back there again very soon.  We've all done it!

Our neighbors came up from their home in Las Vegas the other day.  Both keen gardeners, they put a lot of little plantlings in before we had a chance to tell them of the problems with the time of year.  Sadly, most of their efforts have gone for naught.  The temperatures, you see, go down to about 35 at night and that's enough to put a dusting of frost around, which will kill flowers.  As old hands, we'll delay our planting for another week, I think, even though it's Mother's Day on Sunday.

Bicycles

My friend Paul, in England, sent me this link http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/7a562fd6-7766-11e0-824c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Lefvo4HF  It's about the popularity of a new bicycle hiring scheme they are running in London.  For a couple of years now they have developed the hiring of bicycles from racks to take to other racks all over the city.  (Apparantly you never have to go more than 400 yards to find one) Basically, you pay a fee - about $100 a year and then $10 for each trip of over half an hour - I think less than that  its at no extra cost.
There are 5,500 bikes in the scheme and they make a collected 24,000 trips each day.
The bikes are very distinctive and heavy - about 50 pounds each and colored blue and grey.  So far they have only had ten stolen. 
I wonder if this idea will come to any American cities - I think you can rule out San Francisco!

Sunday's Column - Nature Center in Fontana

Sunday's column was about the Mary Vagle Nature Center in Fontana.  It's a modest place, but serves to teach children about the natural world.  Without their instruction most of the kids who come to them would not know the difference between a goose and a duck!  By the way, do you ?

Anyway, while I was there one of the volunteers, called John, brought out an animal for me to see.  It was a bearded dragon lizard.  One of the skills this creature has is when it's scared it shoots blood out of its eyes?  Yes, I think under the circumstances, I would back off a trifle!

John also offered to put me up close and personal with a snake that had just shed its skin.  I'm not fond of snakes, but he said he could cure my phobia in a few minutes.  I told him it wasn't a real phobia, but having lived with it all these years, I'm happy to travel the rest of the way in a similar condition, thank you very much!
You can read the entire column at www.sbsun.com/trevorstravels

Bulls

The other evening while at my favorite watering hole, the TV was showing bull riding.  Now if ever the saneness of man is to be questioned it is with this in mind.  Who on earth would want to sit astride a very angry one-ton animal, who has had his nether regions tampered with, and then be released from a cage out into an area?  Madness!

And yet this particular form of entertainment is very popular with the NASCAR crowd.  Once thrown off, the bull is distracted by some other madman dressed in clowns clothing and make up, while the rider escapes.  I'm not sure which of the two is the worst profession.
In Uwakima, Japan they have another form of bull fighting, which is called Sumo Bull.  Here the two antagonists - bulls - are put to the task of pushing each other out of the circle, like human sumo wrestlers do.  They have handlers to help them in this task.  I guess if I had to choose, I would go the route of the latter "sport."  And don't even get me started on the Spanish thing - totally unspeakable!

Music Track - Crown Imperial

This week, I've chosen the piece of music that was played for the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they walked down the aisle of Westminster Abbey.  Had I been responsible for the music at the affair I would have made the same choice.  Crown Imperial by Sir William Walton.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WMrQe87gRk

The Lost Column

I was bought lunch this week by my editor.  There was no particular reason for this event; the paper is doing well and buying up others in the region.  He was also able to allay my fears of unwanted retirement with the strange disappearance of my column last Sunday.  (I know one particular gentleman up here would have had his entire day spoiled by its absence.)

It is a mystery to us both as it came out in all the other papers.  So my "award winning!" piece on The Ice Castle in Lake Arrowhead is in today.  It's about the practice rink where many of the world's greatest skaters come to hone their skills.  While I as there, I met a couple of young men who were putting on quite the show. Daisuke Mirukami from Japan and Misha Ge from Uzbekistan.  The Ice Castle is open to the public but beware, there are no hand rails!

Brekkers

Growing up, every morning, my mother would cook a full English breakfast for us.  Eggs, bacon, possibly a tomato and always fried bread.  Now this, like the rest, was cooked in lard which had usually come from the roast beef or lamb cooked every Sunday. Of course, at the time none of us realized we were eating heart attack stuff, although we all managed to survive.  Years later I gave up breakfast completely and ate nothing until lunchtime, along with that I've never been much of a fruit person. So She Who Must Be Obeyed (S.W.M.B.O.) recognized that some improvement could be done on the model and began encouraging me to eat fruit first thing in the morning.

She cuts up the fruit and gives it to me like this every morning.  Strawberry, melon, blueberries and grapes are sometimes accompanied by a chopped banana.  I have to say I've become rather fond of it and in fact I'm nibbling away at it now as I edit this post.

Tree Felling

We have a lot of very tall fir trees in the Valley.  Being at so high an elevation most of them are immune to the dreaded beetles that pervade other areas.  I was told by local botanists that at this elevation in order to survive, they have to be a lot hardier.  However they do from time to time contract this pest and have to be felled.  Watching the men do this is fascinating.

Firstly, they chop off all the side branches.  This is done by a man wearing grabbers on his legs and feet, and using a harness that goes around the trunk.  He has to shin his way up removing the side branches, usually from the bottom, allowing each limb to be lowered on a rope to his colleagues beneath.  They then feed these branches into a wood chipper.  For the main trunk the same system is used.  Using a chain saw, he starts cutting off lengths from the top, about ten feet at a time, lowering the pieces carefully downwards.  These men are working in the street opposite and they let the big chunks fall straight down.  It shook the ground considerably.  These large chunks are then carted of in trucks.  Costs for such an operation of 100-foot tall trees like these are at least $1000.

iPhones

During our trip on Milestone, it was noticeable that Michael used his iPhone to navigate our way 500 miles, and not always in good conditions.  We had GPS on board and our professional sailor too had a set with him.

But it was the iPhone that guided us safely across the Pacific and along the Inland Sea.  The device says clearly that it is not to be used for navigation purposes and that it is for "entertainment" purposes only, but frankly it was a lot easier to use than the other devices.  A true wonder of technology that will get you to within 20 feet of where you're wanting to go.

Boating

One of the first posts I did on this blog was about the problems I had with raccoons.  Pretty little animals but not the sort of chaps you want living on your boat.  Now in fairness, unlike my friend Dave, who's boat it seems was an inducement to wild raccoon parties, they behaved themselves on mine.  Nonetheless, they are quite destructive and had eaten a life jacket that was under one of the seats where they liked to go.  And let's say, they're not exactly house trained, or even boat trained!

So we contacted a lady up here last year and she made a waterproof cover which is kept on with pop studs, and I can report it completely defeated the normally nimble little hands of the invading creatures.  At the end of last season, while the boat was being shrink wrapped and with its cover off, they came around to check on things and their little paw marks were all over the back seat. So they really do seem to like my boat..

Here we are just about to drive the block and a half to the yard for a tune up prior to launching.  I invested heavily in some Mexicans down at the car wash to detail the boat, and I have to say it was worth it as the old girl gussied up nicely.  Happy boating!

Sunday's Column - Ice Skating

Well, it doesn't happen very often but I was dropped this Sunday, although the story of Lake Arrowhead's Ice Castle is up on the Web site at www.sbsun.com/trevorstravels if you can't wait a week.  I'm sure it will be back next Sunday for those of you needing the hard copy.

Traveling Story

I have no real story to tell of my travels recently as most of them have been endured by everyone.  But some time ago a man told me this story which is worth repeating.  He was traveling to LA and on arrival there was a woman looking around the carousel area.  He asked her if he could help her, and she said that she was waiting for her dog to come through as she'd traveled from Philadelphia with it.  He suggested that she wait by the area where they unload extra large packages.  Nothing appeared, and so he made inquires for her.  It seemed that the dog had inadvertently been sent on to San Diego, which was the last stop for the plane.  The woman seemed upset so he said to the attendant that he wanted to be sure that the dog would be reunited with its owner, and to call him to let him know.

The next day he was contacted and was told that it had been very upsetting all around.  When the dog arrived in its crate it was seen to be dead.  The authorities saw that it was a a pretty ordinary animal and in a panic they ran around all the shelters to find one that looked the same.  Eventually they found a mongrel that seemed to look right and sent it up to LA to the woman.  Standing at the door with the dog on the end of its leash they rang the bell.  "Here's your dog, lady," the lucky lad said, being totally in the dark about it all.  "That's not my dog,' the woman said.  "My dog's dead!  I brought him out here to bury him."
It seems that in San Diego, the dead dog had been thrown in the trash.  My raconteur didn't know what happened next, but I think it might have been uncomfortable for the airline employees, don't you?.

Music Track - Malaguena Salerosa

Still sticking with the Kill Bill II theme, here is the final walking out music, unless you want to read all the people who took part in this stimulating movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiiMAq13-ZI
I have to say I really like Mexican music and this is some of the best.