Walk : Round the Cheltenham Racecourse

Had a great mini walk around the Cheltenham Racecourse. Was only a short 2.6 mile walk, since we had to get back to railway station! Did not want to miss the last train back to Toddington!

Check out the mini route at www.strava.com/activities/760745709.



Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway : 30-Oct-2016

That’s another UK Heritage railway line off my list! This time it’s the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.



More photos from this set can be found @www.gordon-valentine.com/zenphoto/days-out/30-10-2016/

UK TV programmes to watch this week : 29/10/2016

Britain's Greatest Bridges - 04-11-2016 - YouView appChris Tarrant: Ice Train to Nowhere (Channel 5/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 31st October 2016)

Documentary series in which Chris Tarrant explores the world’s most extreme railway lines. Chris heads to the Arctic to explore a railway which probably should never have been built, the Alaska Railroad. Constructed when the USA’s largest state was barely populated, Chris wants to find out how and why it has become such a success.

Little British Isles with Alison Steadman (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Wednesday 2nd November 2016)

Britain is made up of over 6000 islands and 267 of them are inhabited. Acclaimed film actress Alison Steadman OBE has always been fascinated by idyllic island life since holidaying on the Isle of Man as a little girl. In this series she celebrates the wild remote beauty under our noses and meets the people who call these hidden jewels their home, to discover what island life is really like. In this episode Alison visits the tranquil Isles of Scilly, which have some of the most spectacular unspoilt beaches in Europe. On the lesser-known ‘Off Islands’ of Tresco, Bryher, St Martins and St Agnes, she discovers one of the finest sub-tropical gardens in the northern hemisphere, visits a Robinson Crusoe-style desert island with white sandy beaches and a history made famous by Harold Wilson, and gets hands on at one of the world’s smallest working dairy farms. She also discovers how the welcoming islanders have had to find inventive ways to keep hold of their slice of island paradise.

Grand Designs (Channel 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Wednesday 2nd November 2016)

If you want to make life tricky, try building a new house with a huge, complex curvy roof. If you live in the countryside you could even make it the shape of a plough. And if that’s not challenge enough, why not build a working barn at the same time. That’s exactly what Mark and Candida Diacono are doing on their 17 acre smallholding in Devon. Mark and Candida set themselves an ambitious schedule of just seven months. The house has a timber frame and timber cladding, whereas the barn is all steel frame and traditional Devon cob. It’s a unique technical challenge for a local builder, who has his own mission to bring work and skills to local people. It’s a non-traditional set of farm buildings made by a non-conventional team of builders. But will it prove a recipe for success, or disaster?

Television’s Opening Night: How the Box Was Born (BBC 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:30pm | Wednesday 2nd November 2016)

In a unique experiment, Dallas Campbell, Professor Danielle George and Dr Hugh Hunt join forces in an attempt to re-stage the very first official broadcast on British television, exactly 80 years after it made history. The very first official broadcast came from Alexandra Palace on 2nd November 1936 – but there are no surviving recordings. To find out just what went on, this 21st-century team attempts to piece back together and recreate every aspect of the show from scratch – from the variety acts to the cameras – using the original technology and filming techniques to capture the excitement of the day. The team uncovers the mixed influences of high-minded radio and bawdy variety shows on early TV, at a time when it was still a science experiment and not a mass medium. Dallas learns how much harder his job would have been 80 years ago, when the first television announcer Leslie Mitchell was plastered in bizarre make-up and given a cue for ‘action’ that bordered on physical assault.

Secrets of Great British Castles (Channel 5/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Friday 4th November 2016)

Part-dramatised history series. Dan Jones explores the history of Cardiff castle over more than 2,000 years and reveals how it became transformed from a strategically important Roman and Norman stronghold to a lavish fairy-tale Victorian home.

Britain’s Greatest Bridges (Channel 5/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Friday 4th November 2016)

Documentary series. In May 1970, four boys set light to Robert Stephenson’s famous Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait, destroying one of the most important advances in structural engineering of the last 200 years. Rob Bell recounts the story of its pioneering design and construction – and why it caused of one of the most bitter disputes in the history of bridge building.

Still Game (BBC 1/HD | 9:30pm to 10:00pm | Friday 4th November 2016)

Comedy series in which lifelong friends cope with everything modern life has to throw at them. Jack and Victor become dogsitters, and Winston’s jealousy sparks some serious pet one-upmanship. Isa prepares for the Craiglang Community Bake Off.

The Last Leg (Channel 4/HD | 10:00pm to 11:05pm | Friday 4th November 2016)

Fresh from their hugely successful run at The Paralympics in Rio, the award-winning show returns live to Friday with its unique brand of irreverent satire for its ninth series. Hosts Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe examine the biggest and most entertaining news stories via the #isitok Twitter hashtag, where viewers tweet in edgy current affairs questions that other shows might duck. In this edition, celebrity guests Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer join the trio in the studio to help dissect the week’s events.

All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.

Halloween 2016 @ theDogs! : part 2

Yep here are, some more Halloween photos! Yes got another one of the lads in my police handcuffs! 🙂

More photos can be found at www.gordon-valentine.com/zenphoto/england/peterboroughgreyhounds/halloween-2016/

Halloween 2016 @ theDogs! : part 1

Halloween at work has been so much fun so far this year! Still got Friday and Saturday left! So I am, sure I will get even more great photos! Was good getting to see one of the lads in a Morphsuit!! LOL! Oh and yes, my police handcuffs did come out to play! 😀

More photos from this set can be found at www.gordon-valentine.com/zenphoto/days-out/halloween-2016/

UK TV programmes to watch this week : 22/10/2016

Still Game - 28-10-2016 - YouView appCoast: The Great Guide (BBC 2/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Wednesday 26th October 2016)

Neil Oliver and Tessa Dunlop present their insiders’ guide to the Western Isles – a coastal cluster of a myriad sea-girt islets that include the Inner and Outer Hebrides, Argyll and St Kilda. Neil sets out on an island-hopping adventure that takes in three of the most stunning settings: Mull, Staffa and Gometra. Along his journey taking to the waves on a range of wonderfully restored vessels, he compiles our great guide from a wider canvas of Coast stories that stretch right across the Western Isles. He learns the secrets of crab fishing from a professional, samples a local delicacy from a surprising source, searches for stunning wildlife and meets the sole resident of one of Scotland’s most remote islands.

Little British Isles with Alison Steadman (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Wednesday 26th October 2016)

Britain is made up of over 6000 islands and 267 of them are inhabited. Acclaimed film actress Alison Steadman OBE has always been fascinated with idyllic island life since holidaying on the Isle of Man as a little girl. In this series she celebrates the wild remote beauty under our noses and meets the people who call these hidden jewels their home, to discover what island life is really like. At their closest point, the Channel Islands lie just eight miles from France. Alison wants to know how they’re holding onto their unique identity in a changing world.

Grand Designs (Channel 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Wednesday 26th October 2016)

Can you really build a Grand Design when you’ve only got £500 to start with? That’s what Simon and Jasmine Dale had in the bank when they started to build their unique three bedroom family house high up in the hills of rural Pembrokeshire. This is their take on 21st century low-impact self-building, featuring foraged and recycled materials. Despite the budget, their house will be open plan, have underfloor heating, an inside flushing loo, and a set of greenhouses that wouldn’t disgrace Kew Gardens. They are part of a pioneering, government-backed, sustainable village called Lammas, which has a fierce planning condition attached: in return for the right to build on open farmland, they must become self-sufficient on their seven acre plot in five years, or lose everything. It’s a huge double challenge.

Secrets of Great British Castles (Channel 5/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Friday 28th October 2016)

Documentary series. Historian Dan Jones flies the flag for British castles. Edinburgh’s handsome hilltop bastion is Scotland’s most popular paid tourist attraction. With a slew of sieges to its name, it is no surprise that the site boasts some formidable defences, and Dan puts one heavy duty cannon through its paces.

Britain’s Greatest Bridges (Channel 5/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Friday 28th October 2016)

Documentary series. Rob Bell tells the story behind the design and construction of Brunel’s famous bridge over the picturesque Avon gorge at Bristol – and discovers that some people question whether the great man’s ‘Darling’ was entirely the product of his own inspiration.

Still Game (BBC 1/HD | 9:30pm to 10:00pm | Friday 28th October 2016)

Comedy series in which lifelong friends cope with everything modern life has to throw at them. After a year of marriage, Fergie gets relationship advice from Jack and Victor. Navid and Boabby settle a dispute over whose job is the cushiest.

The Last Leg (Channel 4/HD | 10:00pm to 11:05pm | Friday 28th October 2016)

Fresh from their hugely successful run at The Paralympics in Rio, the award-winning show returns live to Friday with its unique brand of irreverent satire for its ninth series. Hosts Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe examine the biggest and most entertaining news stories via the #isitok twitter handle, where viewers tweet in edgy current affairs questions that other shows might duck. A special guest joins the trio in the studio to help dissect the week’s events.

All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.

STV Player launches on Freesat

stv player on freesatSTV’s catch-up and on-demand service STV Player has launched on Freesat this week!

Which I am very pleased with! Since I use a Scottish postcode on my box, I had no way for watching anything from itv, using a on-demand service via Freesat, but that’s now been fixed!

Can also watch stuff from stv Glasgow now! Which is also well cool!

Chasing Mavericks, amazing movie!

WOW! Just watched Chasing Mavericks for the very first time! I have to say it’s the best surfing film, I’ve ever seen! I would recommend that you watch it! But beware you will cry at the end! Well I know, that I did!

New section, 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs

Another 100 Greatest Cycling ClimbsI’ve just added a new page to the cycling section of my website! It lists climbs, I’ve done out of the 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs series of books!

So far, I’ve only done 3 of them! Which out of 200 climbs over 2 books, is not very good at all! 🙁

Check out the mini list @ www.gordon-valentine.com/cycling/100-greatest-cycling-climbs/.