Re: OT - for once, a nice story..

anything@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Hi Guys,

I was trying to find a URL for this page but couldn't get one, but
here's something cool for a change.

The three mast barque 'Belem' will be carrying 60,000 bottles of wine
from Languedoc to Dublin later in the year. I believe a delivery to
the UK is on it's way.

By using the sailing ship, the exporters hope to save 18,375lb of
carbon.

Of course, by the time this type of initiative takes hold ('scuse the
pun) I will be long dead, as wil be most of this NG.

I like the idea of moving stuff around by wind power, rather than
lorries, especially if it's stuff like wine. It makes jobs (albeit
somewhat hazardous), and reduces the carbon footprint to virtually nil
- the carbon on-cost is in distribution at both ends.

Living as I do in a port (Bristol), it would be great to see tall
masted ships unloading in the centre of town, instead of 50,000 ton
container ships dumping car after car at Portbury and seeing them sit
there for months waiting for dealerships to take up their allocation
(cars, that is - the ships *** off as fast as they can).

Good luck to the winemakers of the Languedoc, and their brilliant,
quaint, imaginative initiative.

I'm off work until the end of March at least - hospitalisation
(thankfully over). I might just build a little barque in the meantime
if I can find a decent kit.

Actually, this is excercising my mind. I want to do several things.

1) Get my guitar playing back up to scratch. I've spent 3 weeks on my
back on intravenous drips, and on so many drugs I can hardly play a
chord. I sat down with the parlour yesterday and actually had to think
about how to play a major scale.This may have been the drugs of course
but dispiriting nonetheless considering I haven't had to concentrate
on my playing for 30 years.

2) Learn to fingerpick a little.

3) Try and remember a song without using a crib *** (favourite at
the moment is 'Under My Thumb', considering the long thread about
sexual harrassment recently)

4) There is no number 4.

5) Build a boat. Favourite is a model Edwardian Thames day boat with a
little steam engine which can putter about on a local lake.
Unfortunately decent steam engines start at about £1000 so somewhat
unlikely.

6) return to normal self-confidence. This will happen as soon as the
whole dug out of my leg by some surgeon heals up in about 6 weeks
time.....

Sorry to blurb on - gotta get back into the swing of things...:-)

Pete

Pete.

1) Hope that the recovery process is smooth and quick.

2) Fingerpickin' and a nice little parlour, ah now that sounds good.

3) I spent a few years on and off playing with radio controlled sailing boats, much more relaxing than power boats. There are some really nice kits out there. I built a model of the first sail powered lifeboat, a Scandanavian boat that I forget the name of.

4) Yes, there is a four. The self confidence comes back as the strength improves. Anyway, I don't think you'll have too much trouble on that score <g>.

5) Your blurbs are always entertaining, I've missed you.

MJRB
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