Alex - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Born in Portugal in 1960, my parents brought me to the UK in 1968 and I then spent my formative years in Cardiff.I graduated with a Physics degree in 1981 and joined the British Antarctic Survey, overintering at Halley Bay. I also spent time on South Georgia and Signy islands.I then worked for over 20 years in the civil nuclear electricity industry in the UK as a safety engineer.I now help my wife run a boarding kennels. We have 5 English pointers of our own and help out with English pointer rescue.

In addition to occasionally blogging on MySpace, I contribute to the following sites:-

*** I dabble on the writers' site Helium, at Helium

*** I contribute to the progressive music site Sea of Tranquility, at SeaOfTranquility

*** I post general CD reviews on Amazon at Amazon

My Interests

My main interest is listening to music. Unfortunately I am not a musician, having started to learn the piano only in my 30s! I live in the countryside and enjoy all types of nature. I also enjoy soccer and support Cardiff City!

I'd like to meet:

Anyone who shares any of my interests and wants to exchange views, news, ask questions etc. etc. See the music section below!

Music:

My main passion! I love most types of music - anything from heavy rock to opera! A few favourite artists are Barclay James Harvest, Tom Paxton, Puccini, Wagner, Verdi, Camel, Hawkwind, Dream Theater, Elton John, Renaissance, Muse, The Cranberries, Van der Graaf Generator, Cate Brothers, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Yes, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, Bruce Springsteen,Procol Harum, UFO, Tangerine Dream, Jethro Tull, Magna Carta, Caravan, Van Morrison, Jools Holland, Seal, Santana, Wishbone Ash, Bryn Terfel, Pet Shop Boys, Led Zeppelin, Electronic, Climax Blues Band, Anita Baker, Mostly Autumn, I Am Kloot, Blackbud, Magna Carta, Seal...but there are many many more!

Movies:

Anythying with a happy ending! If I had to name a favourite I'd say "Blade Runner". Also "Dances with Wolves"; "2001: A Space Odyssey"; "Mary Poppins" (!); "The Asphalt Jungle"; "Flying Down to Rio"; "Kelly's Heroes"; "The Godfather (I and II). I also enjoy going to the theatre.

Television:

"Dr.Who"!! (in all his reincarnations!) Red Dwarf. The recent Jekyll series on BBC 1 was great! Generally, I enjoy watching comedy, music programmes and soccer.

Books:

My favourite genre is science fiction but my favourite all-time book is "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Another favourite is "Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury. Also "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" (can't remember who by, but this is an account of the destruction of the native north American people); "To Kill a Mockingbird" (Harper Lee); "God Only Knows" (Joseph Heller); "Gormenghast" and "Titus Groan" by Mervyn Peake. Anything by Paulo Coelho. Iain Banks is currently a favourite author. Favourite SF authors are Arthur C Clarke, Phillip K Dick, A E van Vogt, Christopher Priest and Edmund Cooper. Also, Dylan Thomas's poetry.

Heroes:

Nelson Mandela.Anyone who can bring different religions or ethnic groups to live together in peace.For enriching my life with their music for more than 30 years - the four members of BJH (John Lees, Les Holroyd, Woolly Wolstenholme and Mel Pritchard (RIP)) and Tom Paxton.

My Blog

My fervent wish...

...is that Obama, his wife and his family all walk away from the White House, safe and sound, at the end of his term(s).
Posted by Alex on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:24:00 PST

The Biggest Scam in the History of the World

Yes, it's the biggest scam in history, it is losing YOU money, and the robbery is occurring in broad daylight with the blessing of our politicians and the police authorities. It is an absolute disgrac...
Posted by Alex on Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:00:00 PST

Autumn has arrived!

It's official - Autumn has arrived in the UK. You may remember that I announced the arrival of spring when the second of our tortoises woke up from its winter slumber. Yesterday, walking back with (ye...
Posted by Alex on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 05:44:00 PST

The Thought Stayed Free

I've not been on here much for a while - the last couple of visits have involved some interactions with douglip and Tommy Fain on the war in Irag/Afghanistan sorts of issues - we more or less see eye ...
Posted by Alex on Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:36:00 PST

Worlds End

Mrs.T and I don't like eating at motorway service stations, so if we are journeying and have time, we usually drive off and point the car in a random direction, hoping to come upon a nice country pub ...
Posted by Alex on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:55:00 PST

Driving in the Third World

I don't know what brand of cigarettes she smokes, but whenever we visit my mother's I leave with an unpleasant stinging feeling that permeates my lips, nostrils and the lining of my mouth. It takes ab...
Posted by Alex on Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:03:00 PST

Album Review: Mermaid Kisss "Etarlis" (2007)

"Etarlis" is my first taster of Mermaid Kiss following a recommendation on the Barclay James Harvest forum by "purplestreak" Lin, who is also one of my friends on MySpace. Thanks Lin! On the strength...
Posted by Alex on Thu, 22 May 2008 11:58:00 PST

Swallow-time

You may remember that I reported on global warming recently by informing you that our tortoises had awoken a couple of weeks earlier than last year. Well, so as not to be accused in future of having...
Posted by Alex on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:43:00 PST

A Review of Guillemots’s CD "Red" (2008)

This is Guillemots’s best release to date: they are an extremely precious commodity in the modern world - a wonderfully inventive band who play incredibly catchy and danceful pop music. "Red" i...
Posted by Alex on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:39:00 PST

Forty Years Ive Been Waiting!

Forty years I’ve been waiting. Well, if we’re being pedantic it’s actually 38 and a bit, ever since Saturday, 11th October 1969. That day my dad took me to see Cardiff City for the ...
Posted by Alex on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:44:00 PST