The UKIP effect in Lancashire

Posted on 4 March 2010 by Pete of MIP

The second article on how parties could affect the Preston area and Lancashire if they obtained power or held influence after the General Election.  UKIP are today’s subject as they were in the news last week after a speech by their leader that said Belgium wasn’t a proper country.

The main policy and purpose of UKIP is to leave the EU and reach a free trade agreement.  It isn’t easy to say how that will impact the region particularly as we are the furthest away from the continent, although close to Ireland.  Although it could be said that free movement of people across EU borders will no longer be a right and therefore migration patterns will change.   Most of the immigration in this area has not been from the EU so it will have little effect.  Although it seems locals don’t want to do the jobs EU migrants are doing and if they do it increases costs.  So whether increasing costs will drive work elsewhere, and if there would be an increase in illegal and non-EU labour to make up the numbers is an unanswered question.

One of the policies that might be good for the area is a 40% increase in the defence budget as there is a large regional defence industry. Although it isn’t said where the money will go, I assume home defence will be the main agenda. 

Also the policy of building nuclear power stations will retain existing Lancashire jobs at Heysham and Salwick and create new ones for the replacement stations that will be required soon.

The policy to replace VAT with local tax could have mixed effect.  If local areas are able to keep their sales taxes it should benefit areas containing businesses, although it would be subject to central government agreement no doubt. Councils with mainly residential property will not have as great an income from this so whether that effects them isn’t clear.  It could start a tax war between say Preston and Blackburn to attract trade. Although it would have to be a significant change to make effect.

Other policies include scrapping inheritance tax, allowing doctors to work as many hours as needed and having elected health boards. How many workers want their hours to be unrestricted? Personally I’d prefer to be treated by a doctor who hasn’t been up all night.  Notice there is no mention of scrapping the 48hr working limit for everyone else.  Scrapping Human Rights laws, increasing prisons and local voting on police priorities are listed.

UKIP’s other polices include combining income tax and national insurance and raising the tax threshold to £11,500, which sounds a good idea, both of which are similar to Liberal Democrat policies.

It could be said that overseas investment will be less if the UK isn’t in the EU.  Many companies invest here in expectation of it being a place with equal access to EU markets but generally with a more business friendly climate.  Also without a UK influence the EU could take measures against UK interests, perhaps deliberately, without us having a say.  Britains standing in the world might be affected by not being in the EU with the move towards large power blocks.  Some say Australia for example doesn’t have such an arrangement but Britain has historically been at the top table and might find itself squeezed unless being outside the EU creates a resurgence.
 
Overall an interesting package of populous measures designed to appeal to those who don’t like bureaucracy and don’t like the EU.   They are similar to what many Conservative voters would like.  It could therefore be said a UKIP vote is likely to help Labour, a triumph of unintended consequences.

Posted in Made in Preston, Political | 1 Comment

Snowdrops in March

Posted on 26 February 2010 by Pete of MIP

It’s nearly the end of February and snowdrops are out.  I thought that was January’s job.  We’re going to get a rush they say as the season is a month late; crocii, daffodils, tulips, blossom. Most days it’s been around 4degC when it should be 7ish. 

Now it’s raining hard making the soil difficult to work. You can’t have the season too compressed or nothing will ripen and we might be short of stuff like wheat, apples, corn.  The further north you go the shorter the seasons.  A lot depends on how the weather develops in the next few weeks.  Could be beautiful if all the blossom is out together but how stuff matures is a longer term event.

We’ve had leeks and spring cabbage in the ground over winter and they seem OK although someone said the cold comes up from underneath and spoils the hearts. So we’ll see, there’s always one merry soul waiting to say you’re doomed.

We have an outdoor apricot although it’s only given us one small fruit. The blossom is too early for round here and we’re not disciplined enough with our gardening. It needs a clockwork schedule to catch the short windows of opporunity so we don’t get a lot unless it’s inevitable like leeks.

Here’s to a good spring.

Posted in Made in Preston, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Snowdrops in March

Green Party and Lancashire

Posted on 24 February 2010 by Pete of MIP

An election is coming so what will some of the parties be offering to the region.  Starting with the Green Party. They deserve a couple of seats in Parliament, I think. 

You expect the Green Party to support green policies. Yes, wind power, insulation and waste management are high on the agenda.  Along with quite high social provision and low defence provision. 

Who could argue with wind, insulation and waste measures? Insulation seems to be one of the biggest factors in reducing energy bills. It isn’t very glamorous though and isn’t going to gain technological credibility so doesn’t get a lot of press. 

All those windmills.  Are they becoming a bit of a blight already?  They’re often not turning, so not very dependable. For the region with its seas, hills and facing the prevailing wind we can expect a lot more who-ever is in power but even more with the Greens. We can also expect Heysham Power Stations to close and the fuel site at Salwick.

Waste? All that plastic packaging and milk cartons. Surely it should be discouraged.  Some countries already re-cycle twice as much as the UK without too much difficulty.

Another Green policy is an increase in public transport.  Not too long ago their promise of building 30,000 new buses would sound like manna from heaven for this region, Leyland,  but now there is hardly any bus building except some body work at East Lancs Coachbuilders, Optare.  

There wasn’t much written about reducing car use but cutting rail fares by  30% and expanding public transport implies a reduction in car use. I’m not convinced about a 30% cut in rail fares. A cut from £10 to £7 is only marginally advantageous and if I was spending that every day, a cut from £50 to £35 wouldn’t be life changing. I’m against encouraging distance commuting so in some ways an increase in fares might help that.  I have free bus use now and have never used it, so cars will need to be penalised. 

The 30,000 buses are an interesting concept. British jobs for British workers?  Including steel from Middlesbrough for windmills and buses, although probably it’s the wrong steel and too little, too late and steel making isn’t green. 

Taxes on aviation, like VAT on aviation fuel, and restrictions on new runways coupled with reductions in rail fares, might create an advantage to resorts like Blackpool.  Especially if the pound sank because of the financial controls the Greens promise. 

On defence the Greens are looking at a defensive posture and only venturing overseas under the UN. As UN don’t usually use more than Land Rovers and light armour you could say no overseas capability will be needed.  Is that goodbye to Ascension, Falklands and perhaps Gibraltar.  Aircraft Carriers and their aircraft and probably a lot of the navy wouldn’t be needed. Trident is definitely out.  I wouldn’t hold much hope for the aircraft industry in Lancashire or ship industry at Barrow.  As an area with a large defence and nuclear industry how many defence workers does it take to insulate one loft.

The Greens are also big on social welfare including workers and human rights and a citizens wage. 

There are other policies about building solar arrays in Africa and using high voltage d.c. transmission lines to bring in the power.  As well as local generation.  It’s not long ago I was reading about the advantages of the a.c. distribution system so I must re-visit that. Surely a policy like that couldn’t be written without engineering awareness. 

The Greens also support the EU, but not as a nation, and support international co-operation, who doesn’t.

As you’d expect, some big changes would result and I was a bit surprised that they seem quite left wing when out of the major elements of the ‘green zone’.   I’d support a ‘greener’ track in many aspects and use of local producers and local workers appeals. There’s always a downside to this type of social engineering in that if basic stuff becomes more expensive you’ve less to spend on enjoyment. In conclusion they won’t get my vote but have my support as a pressure group.

Posted in Aviation, Made in Preston, Political, Rail, Road | Comments Off on Green Party and Lancashire

Space Shuttle – International Space Station over Preston

Posted on 21 February 2010 by Pete of MIP

Missed it again.  Friday morning, 19th Feb,  at 5.26am the Space Shuttle, Endeavour, and the International Space Station flew over Preston before separating, it was 200 miles high at 36 degrees  above the horizon so not directly overhead. Very bright as well.

Endeavour is scheduled to land in Florida on Sunday but bad weather might make it land in California. I have a friend in Los Angeles who says they hear the sonic boom as it approaches. I’d love to see and hear that.

www.spaceweather.com

Posted in Technology | Comments Off on Space Shuttle – International Space Station over Preston

1 Year Old

Posted on 18 February 2010 by Pete of MIP

Missed my blogs birthday on February 6th 2010.

The Made In Preston Blog is 1 year old and has about 180 posts. I thought it’ll only last a few weeks but it’s still hot. So tonight I’ll pop a bottle of wine and some bottles of beer and to cap the excitement watch Question Time at 10.30.  It’s either that or Newsnight.

What happens when a blog is a year old?  Are it’s teeth growing and a bit of hair. Sometimes it’s like a vent. Richard Wilson comes into mind as you find some ridiculous thing on the news and decide it’s a topic to rage about or maybe strongly agree with.

The most enthusiastic commenters are Russian, probably 10 a day. Their mail comes in the form of long stories with certain words spread about in them.  There is one person in East Europe who keeps writing about Grand Pianos although it has a strange link.  The fixer divides mail brilliantly and with one click the rubbish is gone.  I’ve switched off comments on old ramblings for a while.  You can make contact via the Made In Preston website.

The other good thing about the blog is a bit of deeper thought on matters.  Also the stuff doesn’t drop out of thin air. Sometimes Preston is a bit limited so for that reason the blog Origin North West has been started for broader topics.

So it’s upwards and onwards for another year.

Posted in Made in Preston, Uncategorized | Comments Off on 1 Year Old

Darren Ferguson Roller Coaster

Posted on 17 February 2010 by Pete of MIP

Preston are seeking a consistent formation since the arrival of Darren Ferguson. The result against Derby was disappointing after a good start.  

Tuesday 16th: Derby 5 PNE 3. From 1-0 up to 5-2 down.

Darren and the teams record in the league is:

Bpl h.0-0, Sheff U h. 2-1, Swansea a. 0-2, Barnsley h.1-4, Ipswich h. 2-1, Peterborough a. 1-0, Bristol C a.2-4.

Played 8, W3, D1, L4, F11, A17, pts 10 out of 24. With 15 games to go, the trend takes them to about 18 more points which will give them 57. Enough. Phew! 

In the past a struggle in January and such a forecast has resulted in a lot more points. Sometimes your luck runs out though.

Saturday PNE are at Newcastle who won 4-1 tonight. Forecast 1-1.  Defence sorted.  Good result. Well done to the team and Darren.

Posted in Preston North End | Comments Off on Darren Ferguson Roller Coaster

On your marks for a General Election

Posted on 17 February 2010 by Pete of MIP

The starting grid for the General Election is taking form.  What can be expected in the region?

In 2005 the results were:

Preston – Labour – majority 9,407.  Achieved 50% of the vote.

South Ribble – Labour – majority 2,184. Achieved 43% of the vote.

Ribble Valley – Conservative – majority 14,171. Achieved 52% of the vote.

Fylde – Conservative – majority 12,459. 53%.

Lancaster and Wyre – Conservative – majority 4,171. 43%.

West Lancashire – Labour  – majority 6,084. 48%. 

Chorley – Labour – majority 7,625. 50%.

Since October 2007 the Conservatives have been well ahead in all the major opinion polls but the lead has decreased over the last 6 months. Whether shocks are in store due to expenses and apathy, hard to say. 

Some of  the seats are being changed. For example Lancaster and Wyre will become Wyre and North Preston. Ribble Valley will extend  into South Ribble and an element of Preston constituency south of the river. South Ribble will move south.

Assuming there will be an overall swing to the Conservatives only one constituency on the list above looks likely to change: South Ribble. According to UKPollingReport this seat is Conservative target number 50 and the boundary change is mildly advantageous to Labour.

Chorley is regarded as a bellweather seat that since 1964 has changed with the government. Yet it is 152 on the Conservative targets which would signal a comfortable C win. The boundary changes are said to be mildly advantageous to Labour according to UKPollingReport.

West Lancashire is Conservative target 134.

The Conservatives need to win an extra 117 seats to get an overall majority. On current trends 80 seats looks more likely, but it’s all to play for.

Posted in Political | Comments Off on On your marks for a General Election

National Football Museum goes to Istanbul

Posted on 17 February 2010 by Pete of MIP

What a shock!  We all thought it was going to Manchester. Having a quick look at the NFM website – it seems it’s gone to Istanbul.  Closer look shows it’s a few pieces for a while.  Istanbul, Manchester perhaps hard to tell them apart and the driver wasn’t used to GPS.

Urbis is closing its doors for 18 months from 27th February 2010 to transform itself into the new NFM.  Difficult  to know what they’re doing all that time. One month to remove the old stuff out. A couple of months to move the new stuff in. A few shirts and boots, M&S would crack it in days and that leaves 15 months spare.

Although they’re going to spend a few million pounds so quite a bit of time will be spent designing a new format. More interactive it is said and good enought to attract 400,000 visitors a year. With Harvey Nichols and Selfridges only a stones throw away the smart set must be getting excited.

Then there is some kind of handover and an on-going negotiation about what,  if anything, remains at Preston.  The museum is only just at critical mass in one location so the idea of having equal status at two locations seems far fetched.

My own plan is that some elements of the NFM and some special exhibitions should be at Preston.  There should also be a Lancashire football and sport exhibition for Preston, Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, Accrington, Wigan and maybe Bolton.  It could include other sports like Lancashire rugby and cricket. Lancashire needs somewhere to celebrate it’s sporting past and future.

That Preston attracted 100,000 visitors a year isn’t a bad number. I wonder how many visit other museums in the area and what a target for a reduced museum would be.

I think the museum a bit difficult to take in, maybe it’s bad attention span. Maybe football is too club oriented. Personally I’d rather look at stuff about PNE than Bobby Moore’s shirt, without meaning to be disrespectful. The Tom Finney exhibition and view over the Deepdale pitch are the highlights for me.

So how about a PNE and Lancashire Sport Museum with view over the pitch and a cafe worth going into.

Posted in Made in Preston, Preston North End | Comments Off on National Football Museum goes to Istanbul

H.J.Berry in administration

Posted on 15 February 2010 by Pete of MIP

The old furniture maker in Chipping went into administation this week. A blow to a way of work, skills and manufacturing as well as the staff and village. Last year it featured on Gerry Robinson’s TV programme and he offered to put in some funds in exchange for a majority share. However it seems he didn’t take it up. It is thought the factory will now be used for another industry.

All isn’t lost in manufacturing. Not directly related, an old weaving company in Wellington, Somerset, Fox Bros. founded in 1772, has been saved by Deborah Meadon of Dragon’s Den fame. She sees a future for the top end of manufacturing quality as at this flannel maker. Would be nice if she looked at Chipping but she has some association with Somerset.

Posted in Made in Preston, Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on H.J.Berry in administration

December 2009 house prices in Lancashire

Posted on 15 February 2010 by Pete of MIP

According to the Land Registry average house prices in Lancashire reached their lowest in August 09 and have since risen to £117,750 in December 2009,  equal to February 2006. This change is fairly uniform across the range of houses from detached to apartment.

The peak average house price was February 2008 at £136,688. Is it a coincidence that peaks and troughs occur in February although the minimum was £114,291 in August 2009 which being 6 months from February, is there something in the 6 month cycle?

Prices rose at around £1000 a month up to February 2008 and that was during a boom. Anyone having bought a house between February 2006 and February 2009 is likely to be owning a property worth less than they paid for it.  This happened to us in 1980 and it took a few years to get back. Fortunately we were in no hurry to move.  If we’d had to move because of work for example it would be difficult to know if commuting a long distance would be preferable to selling at a loss. All our circumstances are different depending on how much deposit you placed for example.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on December 2009 house prices in Lancashire

Angel of Preston

Posted on 14 February 2010 by Pete of MIP

There is a flurry of commentary about placing a statue next to the M6 to symbolise Preston.  One is a semi-buried soldier denoting the historic battles that took place in Preston and the other is a statue symbolising a military aircraft to relate to one element of the local industry.

While supporting art forms both modern and traditional, it seems both of these are unimaginative ideas on a major scale.  It joins the race to create ‘angels of the north’ all over the country with a horse being built at Ebbsfleet which seems fairly pointless and unimaginative.  The Angel of the North was fairly controversial when it opened but now represents something unusual and dramatic, something no corporate design company could create.

It’s also seen as an opportunity to make a name for individuals and corporate designers.

Is a large public artwork the answer or would this amount spent on the Harris make it a bigger attraction. Why shouldn’t the Harris celebrate local business and build up to the Guild. Preston is known for cotton, trams, buses in Leyland, planes and now call centres.

It isn’t clear where the funding for implementing these ideas comes from. The council is offering money to the Football Museum and maybe, with that almost certainly going to Manchester, then there is some spare. Although I’d imagine that to make a good job of such a feature would cost at least £3m.  There are examples of art being bought apparently expensively such as Bolton Museum buying the imitation sculpture, Preston buying Pauline in the Yellow Dress during the war, and Trinity Hospice spending £50k on 7 commissioned artworks this year. So money for art is available, sometimes when you don’t expect it.

Then you might say who judges what should be built.  An example is Blackpool Promenade where a number of large public art pieces have been built that many people seriously dislike. Yet over time they are becoming established features and wearing well with time.  So there is a chance that the only art worth getting is that most disliked at the time. In general, and it may sound pompous, it could be that the public shouldn’t be trusted to judge on what makes good art, otherwise the shops wouldn’t be full of kitsch and more people might go into PAD. So I’d support a reputable artist deciding. Keep the corporates and local representatives well away or a paper aeroplane with no lasting appeal will result.

Posted in Made in Preston, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Angel of Preston

Island of Preston

Posted on 29 January 2010 by Pete of MIP

The Coastal Management Plan for the next 100 years has been issued and the coast around the Ribble estuary is largely to be protected except for an area on the south bank that will be allowed to make a managed change.

A bit of a surprise as 10 years ago it was common to see maps showing Preston on the coast with the Fylde underwater except for a few islands by 2050.  Ten years on maybe the rate of change doesn’t make it sound probable anymore.

Reading that further does it make the climate change warnings overall seem a bit more distant and with a lesser scale.

Posted in Political, Technology | Comments Off on Island of Preston

Winckley Square as it was

Posted on 26 January 2010 by Pete of MIP

A couple of thousand are said to have completed cards objecting to the plans for Winckley Square.  As I wasn’t aware of what the objectors are voting for, except a vague statement that the square should be restored to its previous appearance and not liking the new design, particularly the totem pole, I thought I’d have a deeper look. In the library is a book by Marian Roberts who was a keen local historian and her book about Winckley Square is interesting reading. 

The square appears to have had three general forms.  Originally it had a large area in the middle that looks like flowers and trees, with a number of other beds scattered about in a pattern. Some time later it appears the square was divided into plots which acted as gardens for the surrounding houses. Then it became the grass and tree area we know today, although it had a period of neglect and almost became a car park.  Round that time what now appears as civic vandalism was rampant and many good buildings in the square were demolished and replaced with ‘modern’ offices.

At the moment the square is very green with grass and a lot of trees. Personally I’d like it to be more open with floral beds and surrounded by trees.  The lights are fine, the fountains will be fine.  When will this be settled?

Posted in History | Comments Off on Winckley Square as it was

North West football ups and downs

Posted on 19 January 2010 by Pete of MIP

North End well beaten with a mixed display at Bristol with Mr Ferguson in charge for the first time. There’s time, but with Chelsea scoring 7 and playing PNE in the cup next week the defence are no doubt practicing blocking the goal line. Although Darren F says attack and entertainment is his philosophy so lets hope he gets it right.

Preston’s plight is similar to a number of north-west teams this season. Even the mighty Man.U. are looking out of sorts but still high in the table.  Some glimmers of light,  last weekend on TV, Everton and Wigan looked like they’d turned a corner and maybe they’ll move up the table.

Some common themes are management disruption. Preston, Bolton, Burnley, Wigan, Man.C. have had changes to their managers. Man U, Liverpool have tensions between the fans and board. Man.U. and Liverpool have also had injuries to some key players.  The recession is also increasing the damage and, although denied, this and the fall of the pound against the Euro makes overseas clubs able to make bids that those with the UK£ will find more difficult to turn away and more difficult to buy replacement.

Another feature is that Chelsea and Arsenal are playing great football this season.

The north-west has been very successful in football terms in the last decade and even places like Morecambe and Fleetwood are having their best time.  Can’t really account for this but hope that things aren’t changing just yet.

Posted in Preston North End | Comments Off on North West football ups and downs

Firing Squad

Posted on 19 January 2010 by Pete of MIP

Went to visit Mr Growing With Nature at Pilling last Saturday as he was to tell us how to grow our organic vegetables better, which seemed a bit of a contradiction as he sells them to us.  A murky and cold day in the depths of the Fylde with country lanes as narrow as the car and a misty view of the fells. Turned into a very narrow lane and were confronted by a convoy of 4×4’s.  A local shooting club who’d been out firing at geese. A bit of a mystery to me about what sort of enjoyment there is shooting at geese as they fly in their majestic formations slowly and at low altitude, while chatting to each other, over the Fylde.  I do eat chicken and turkey, and maybe the wild geese get a better life, and perhaps hunting them is what humans have always done. Yet I know that if I deliberately killed another creature that wasn’t a threat I wouldn’t sleep peacefully ever again.

Posted in Food | Comments Off on Firing Squad

The resilience of Preston?

Posted on 18 January 2010 by Pete of MIP

Todays Times newspaper names Preston as one of the top ten most resilient places in the UK during the recession.  The story is from a report by a group called the Centre for Cities. It says the claimant count has increased by 1.3% (2,882 people) in Preston between February 2008 and November 2009. This compares with the lowest, Cambridge, with 0.8% increase and the highest, Hull, with 3.7%.  Surprisingly perhaps Blackpool was slightly better than Preston while Wigan and Rochdale did quite a bit worse.

Without reading the report there are a lot of unanswered questions. For example, the report says the government should put money into Swindon because of its high increase.  Yet not long ago Swindon was the place with zero unemployment. Is it not more important to say how many are claiming, not just the change since 2008.

Swindon has lost 3,813 jobs which although over twice the percentage of Preston is a lot less than double the number. If Preston had 3.1% it would be 6,800 and one of the highest numbers. So percentage isn’t telling a full story either.

Why are Preston and Blackpool relatively unchanged? Is it that many people are working in the public sector or on government projects?  If so, what happens if  the government starts cutting the public sector later and the money has gone into Swindon.

If Preston was one of the worst the increase would be over double which would be another 3,000 on the dole. A lot of people.  Take Birmingham, it has an increase of 41,000. That is serious stuff.

So to the 2,882 who have lost their jobs and probably some more who don’t claim, this ‘resilience’ is not really good news and they’ve as much right to government help as anyone else. The M4 corridor is a job magnet, Swindon will soon be doing fine without help.

Posted in Political | Comments Off on The resilience of Preston?

Combined Heat and Power from Baxi

Posted on 11 January 2010 by Pete of MIP

Baxi say they are geared up to deliver up to 20,000 combined heat and power units a year from their Preston, Bamber Bridge, plant. 

The government is issuing contracts worth billions of pounds for green energy but the great majority of the manufacturing work is expected to go overseas.  Combined Heat and Power (CHP)  isn’t regarded as a ‘green’ technology in government terms although it gives the capability to return power to the grid or for use in the building reducing dependence on the grid. It’s downside being that it is still using gas. So no government green manufacturing contracts are coming to Preston for this.  They’re going to Germany and Denmark, perhaps China.

Micro-CHP sounds an interesting solution but I don’t know a lot about it.  Is it more efficient to generate electricity in small generators, does that adequately offset the distribution costs and need to import?  Baxi claim their domestic unit, the Ecogen, is 90% efficient compared to 35% efficiency for grid electricity. 

Security of supply is a good point, as we did have an electricity black-out for one hour last month and for several hours 2 years ago, in the final stages of X-factor as well, but I don’t think I’d spend much to reduce the risk. You’d need a smart meter as well I’d think.  At the end of the day I’d be looking at how much the boiler costs and how much my gas and electricity bill will change. That’s why green often doesn’t get bought, it’s not cost efficient and a government grant is needed.

Baxi also supply a Ground Sourced Heat Pump although it isn’t known where that is made, probably not Preston.  I’ve read good things about these and might take a further look.

Perhaps we could take advantage of the governments £400 boiler scrappage scheme.  Notice that B&Q are selling a boiler for £399 so do you get a pound back and find you’re own fitter. Surprising that I read that a new boiler typically costs about £2000 to install.  The pipes are there and so is the gas,  if that is the case it costs £1600 to remove and fit the boiler, then adjust a couple of feet of pipe. Should take under a day.  Nice work if you can get it.  Our house has warm air heating and the previous owner bought a new boiler that cost a lot more than £399.

Found this on the Baxi website. Quote:

What is mCHP?

Combined heat and power (CHP), or cogeneration, is the simultaneous production of useful heat and electricity from a single source. Large scale CHP, suitable for industrial and commercial applications, has been around for some time.

Micro or Mini-CHP (mCHP) refers to the small-scale production of heat and power for  individual commercial buildings, apartments and individual homes. These units meet the demand for space heating and hot water whilst providing electricity to supplement or replace the grid supply.

Why mCHP?

mCHP is a true low (or zero) carbon alternative to a gas boiler.

Installation of mCHP appliances – in existing or new buildings – can be more cost-effective and less disruptive compared to other renewable and low carbon technologies, as installation and servicing relies largely on current skills required for heating installation.

What are the benefits of mCHP?

  • Carbon emissions are reduced by generating electricity at the point of use – avoiding the system losses associated with central power production.
  • Economic savings are generated for the user, by reducing imported electricity and by selling surplus electricity back to the grid.
  • Security of supply is greatly enhanced by reducing reliance on centralised power production

End of quote from Baxi website.

Posted in Made in Preston, Technology | Comments Off on Combined Heat and Power from Baxi

Garden Bird observations in snowy weather

Posted on 10 January 2010 by Pete of MIP

Two Fieldfare birds have been visiting our garden this week.  Have never heard of them before, let alone seen one.  The snow has driven them out of the country and they’ve nearly stripped our holly tree of berry’s.

We read that Redwings are doing the same and we thought that was what they were but they’ve more intense black lines round the eyes and have a very pale breast brighter than a thrush.  Bit bigger than a blackbird although the blackbirds are chasing them away.

We’ve also had a woodpecker having a go at our ‘superfortress’ of mixed sunflower seeds.  The woodpecker is greedy, versatile and strong with no refinement but very attractive.  

The ‘superfortress’ is the best squirrel proof seed feeder we’ve had, but seems to be out of production. It’s other great feature is that the top is attached by twisting the lid. So re-filling is done with no screwing or taking it down.  The squirrels have been scratching it but the top is too big and strong for them to turn or lever off.  It’s also broader than high so it’s easy to get seeds into it.  Since buying it I’ve never seen another and it’s a few years old now.  If you’re out there ‘superfortress’ maker send me an e-mail.

A couple of days ago around 9am hundreds of geese passed nearby in several large V’s heading south west which seemed to be towards Blackpool Airport.  If they were heading for Martin Mere, south of the Ribble they’d be going more south.  How come they are moving at 9am as I’d have thought southerly headed birds would be at the end of their journey, so what time did they set off, was it dark. Not sure what is going on with geese at the moment as one day they pass north or north east and a couple of days later it’s the opposite direction.  Great sight and sound though.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Garden Bird observations in snowy weather

Darren Ferguson in at PNE, Alan Irvine at Sheff W

Posted on 8 January 2010 by Pete of MIP

Certainly adds spice to the managerial roundabout when PNE get a new man and Sheff W, a rival Championship club, take on the old one.

On Wednesday at 4pm Darren Ferguson and Derek Shaw had a press conference to introduce the new manager. Didn’t seem like it was rehearsed as neither made inspirational listening. From it I took that Darren Ferguson likes to see entertaining football, he doesn’t know how much money he has and I’d think he must tire of people asking if his dad agrees.  Derek Shaw referred to Darrens father being a good contact and saying the money would be shown if the target looked right. 

Darren has brought his assistant, Kevin Russell, and a trainer, Scott Taylor, from Peterborough so Rob Kelly is probably looking for a job after his great result last Saturday. Having read the Peterborough local newspaper these are people who have been with him for some time and the assistant is someone close.

The match on Saturday is postponed which will help familiarisation.

Alan Irvine must be happy to walk into a new job so quickly and probably still getting his compensation from PNE.  An interesting position with Sheff Wed almost at the bottom and having the potential to be a very big club although never achieving it. It would be decent for him to do well although not too well, making PNE look bad isn’t what is wanted, so it’s mixed feelings.

Halfway through the season.  23 games to go and 45-50 more points needed.   14 wins,  8 draws, 1 defeat although 3 defeats might be enough.  In reality the play-offs seem unlikely but possible.

Posted in Preston North End | Comments Off on Darren Ferguson in at PNE, Alan Irvine at Sheff W

Darren Ferguson imminent?

Posted on 5 January 2010 by Pete of MIP

Around 9pm news organisations started announcing they ‘understood’ Darren Ferguson is to be the new PNE manager.  Started on the BBC, then Sky, then LEP.  LEP comments pages still on the daily 200 inputs.  Most supportive of the new appointment.

Await the official announcement.  Nothing settled till it’s settled.

Posted in Preston North End | Comments Off on Darren Ferguson imminent?