Month: February 2022

Hawk-Eye

Referees and umpires, we all should agree, have a very difficult job. The assistance of digital camera technology entered into the fray, […]

Referees and umpires, we all should agree, have a very difficult job. The assistance of digital camera technology entered into the fray, initially in cricket, in 2001. The pioneer was ‘Hawk-Eye‘, the vision of Dr. Paul Martin Hawkins, OBE (1974-) from Hampshire and colleague David Sherry (1967?-). Hawkins went on to develop the idea in a joint venture with a TV production company and set up Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd., now owned by Sony.

The patent focused on its uses in cricket but also suggested a more general application to any ball game; and so it has proved. It described a video processing system having at least four (now six minimum) cameras placed high in the stands feeding signals to a data store. This creates a 3D representation of the ball’s trajectory, thereby enabling a prediction of whether, for example, it would hit the stumps in a leg-before-wicket situation.

Tennis has enthusiastically adopted ‘Hawk-Eye’, as have around 20 different sports (involving moving objects of some description) in over 500 venues. They include football, which, after a cautious late start, now sees it as indispensable in supporting the referee. Hawk-Eye’s virtual reality on-screen graphics have also revolutionised sports commentary and training, since frame-by-frame analysis can be made.

(Top image of a Hawk-Eye wearable: Rebecca Bollwitt at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC 2.0)

24/02/2022
3 min
3 years
217 words

The Chartist Movement

The 1832 Reform Act was a small step towards equal rights, such as they were then perceived, but the oppressed working classes […]

The 1832 Reform Act was a small step towards equal rights, such as they were then perceived, but the oppressed working classes wanted more. Against a background of revolution in Europe, British activists held peaceful rallies and sent a People’s Charter to Parliament, hence the name of the ‘Chartist Movement‘, formed in 1838.

Parliament reacted with outrage and heavy-handedness, sending armed forces to harass and even shoot demonstrators. Nevertheless, three petitions were submitted, in 1839, 1842 and 1848, each of which was rejected even though they had millions of signatures. Their demands, and the years they were eventually met, were:-

All men aged 21+ to have the vote: 1918.
Voting to be by secret ballot: 1872.
Members of Parliament (MPs) no longer required to be property/land owners: 1858.
MPs to be paid: 1911.
Constituencies to have similar numbers of eligible voters: 1885.
MP elections to be held annually: not yet ~ on the contrary, the term has been increased to 5 years!

The Chartist campaign ceased in 1858 having seen the passing of, for example, the Mines & Collieries Act (1842) and the Factories Act (1847), easing working conditions for women and children, and the repeal of the Corn Laws (1846), reducing food costs. It had succeeded in posting notice that the people would not be downtrodden forever.

(Image of 1848 Chartist rally in London: William Kilburn via picryl.com / Public domain)

17/02/2022
3 min
3 years
216 words

Geography & Environment

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight (IoW) is a diamond-shaped island two miles off England’s south coast and is much favoured by holidaymakers from […]

The Isle of Wight (IoW) is a diamond-shaped island two miles off England’s south coast and is much favoured by holidaymakers from the mainland. Its population is around 142,000 but it happily accommodates 15 times that number each year in tourists, with the trend veering towards short breaks of 4 or 5 days. Queen Victoria (1819-1901) so loved visiting the IoW that Prince Albert (1819-61) had Osborne House built in East Cowes as their private retreat and that is where she died.

The IoW’s position forms a strait atop the English Channel called The Solent, thereby shielding the harbours of Portsmouth, Southampton and Lyminton, these being the departure/return points for 200 IoW ferries daily. There are remains of a WW2 radar station, historic forts and castles, as well as many shipwrecks in its waters. All but one of the island’s towns are seaward, with Ryde being the largest.

Farming accounts for 80% of the interior, some of which lies in the IoW’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The island’s 63-mile east-west chalk ridge is most conspicuous at The Needles on the westernmost tip. There was once a 120ft. tall chalk stack in the gap, but this eventually collapsed. Sand of 21 different colours can be found in the bay.

*Image of The Needles and lighthouse built in 1859: Ian Stannard at Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0*

(Top image: Alwyn Ladell at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

13/02/2022
3 min
3 years
232 words

Entertainment

Sir Roger Moore

Londoner Sir Roger George Moore (1927-2017) was gifted with good looks, quick wits, charm and charisma. In TV interviews RADA-trained Moore would […]

Londoner Sir Roger George Moore (1927-2017) was gifted with good looks, quick wits, charm and charisma. In TV interviews RADA-trained Moore would modestly deny that he was even a proper actor, describing feeling like “an overpaid schoolboy” on the film set, where he just wanted to “have fun”. In fact, he is remembered fondly as the star of many TV series and films, not least the seven in which he played James Bond, namely:-

‘Live and Let Die’ (1973)
‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ (1974)
‘The Spy who Loved Me’ (1977)
‘Moonraker’ (1979)
‘For Your Eyes Only’ (1981)
‘Octopussy’ (1983)
‘A View to a Kill’ (1985)

Fans of the previous incumbent, Edinburgh-born Sir Sean Connery (1930-2020) may have criticised the injection of humour into these classics, but this merely reflected Moore’s own character and style, and drew a new audience to the franchise. Those who appreciated his performances in TV shows such as ‘Maverick’ (1957), ‘Ivanhoe’ (1958), ‘The Saint’ (1962-69) or ‘The Persuaders’ (1971-72) watched the effortless transition of this cool, gentlemanly hero onto the big screen.

Outside of acting he worked in various capacities ranging from a model for knitwear brands (in his early days) to an Executive Director of Fabergé. He was also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and Monaco.

(Top image: Allan Warren at Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0)

04/02/2022
3 min
3 years
215 words

Quoting Neil Oliver...

I love Britain more than anywhere else in the world. With all my heart I declare that those of us born here, or who have made a home here by choice, are the luckiest, most blessed of all people. I am British. I will always be British.