BBC NEWS | UK | Rare Titanic life vest at auction

Not as rare as the lifeboats were ! BBC NEWS | UK | Rare Titanic life vest at auction

Pont Aven and a seagull in Ringaskiddy

Pont Aven and a seagull in Ringaskiddy
Originally uploaded by despod.

Importance of Proof Reading

I received an invitation in the post today to an official opening of the new offices of a Cork based company. Part of the description: "wines and canopies served from 5.45pm". And no, the company wasn't Thomas Sanderson......

Clipper Adventurer in Cork (NCHQ)

Clipper Adventurer in Cork (NCHQ)
Originally uploaded by despod.

How the other half flies...

How the other half flies...
Originally uploaded by despod.

New Child Safety in Cars legislation.

New legislation came into force on 13th September regarding carseats for children. I didn't know this. Did you ? Its not surprising that such an important new measure was unpublicised. After all our Ministers were busy touting the Ryder Cup and declaiming that they would not have their private monetary affairs investigated ("whad I do with my confirmation money is my business..."). The upshot is that all children under age 11ish have to have a booster seat or cushion - many of my young fellas classmates travel without car seats so it will have an impact. The UK introduced similar legislation but it was well publicised. Surely flyers to schools would have been an ideal method of publicising the matter ? Here's a link

Volkswagen Ireland - where falsehoods rule.

Back in May I bought a VW Golf. Base model. Being a VW it comes with not a whole lot and certain things are extra.

After a week I noticed that the website and brochure mentioned items as standard which my car didn't have so I fired off an email to the VW distributors for Ireland. They requested my chassis number and I heard no more. I sent a reminder in June and got a "oh dear we'll check it.." email in response.

At the beginning of this month I decided to send them an email again but this time CC'ed it to the VW boys back in Der Vaterland. It worked and I got a quick email back from VW Ireland which said: / "Thank you for your query which I received this morning.

Although listed in the brochure and on the website, I wish to inform you that the two items of specification referred to i.e. Illuminated Vanity Mirrors and Load-Through Provision, are not currently standard on the base model Golf. I would like to bring your attention to points 6 and 7 of the terms and conditions listed on the Volkswagen website:

6. Although the specifications, illustrations, equipment and other information contained in this site are based upon up to date information and while MDL makes all reasonable efforts to ensure that all material on this site is correct, accuracy cannot be guaranteed and MDL makes no warranties or representations as to its accuracy. All warranties in relation to the information contained in this site whether express or implied by law are hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law. 7. Before placing an order for an Volkswagen product the User shall confirm the exact specification thereof with an authorised Volkswagen dealership.

and also to the note on page 51 of the VW Golf brochure where it states "The specifications contained in this brochure are for information purposes only as we cannot confirm the exact specifications of the vehicles. If you require any specific feature, you must consult your Volkswagen dealer who is regularly updated with any change in specification. Please check model availability and full specification with your Volkswagen dealer prior to ordering"

If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me."/

So in this VW are claiming the usual defence of what you see in the brochure may not be what's available, check it out beforehand etc.

But - and here's the nub - their website for the Golf (http://www.volkswagen.ie/configurator/index.cfm?fuseaction=vw.Standard&variantID=5816 ) still says :

/"Asymmetrically Split Backrest 1/3 / 2/3 With Load Through Provision And Rear Centre Armrest"/ even though they know that the vehicle will not ship in this configuration and unlike printed brochures the web page could be changed in a flash. So much for German efficiency or is it just rip-off Ireland ? Strangely enough the other two new cars I have ever bought complied exactly with the brochures.

So is VW a company which entices customers with knowing falsehoods ? Sheesh Ryanair are more upfront than that....

Largest Number of Hits to date...

Yesterday's fire meant that I had 280 page impressions which was the highest figure yet ! I was linked from Damiens Site as well as Donncha's . When I woke up yesterday through the back window I could see smoke and hear sirens. After dropping the lads to school I heard on the radio that it was the R&H Hall silo on Kennedy Quay. Needless to say I decided to head home, pick up my new D50 and go down to have a look. There weren't a whole lot of people around so it was easy to walk down as far as Odlums on Kennedy Quay and watch the "Gerry O'Sullivan" prance around with its fire monitors. Then guys from the examiner turned up and were surprised when they were told that they couldn't cross the line. The boys from TV3 drove down and were told the same which left them a wee bit non-plussed. After taking a lot of shots (left the camera on rapid fire) I decided that I had better go to to work... I took a few shots tonight of the Norwegian Royal visit here in Cork. I tried at lunchtime as well but the lads were fast asleep in the car so I could hardly abandon them ! The King left tonight to go home (I expect) and the Queen is staying on reportedly to cruise around the coast of West Cork. Not great weather for it by any means. I've posted the pics to my flickr page and as usual some haven't made it to the blog. This is a regular flickr/blogger problem...

Norwegian Royal Visit to Cork - speed shot of convoy leaving North Custom House Quay

Norwegian Royal Visit to Cork - speed shot of convoy leaving North Custom House Quay
Originally uploaded by despod.

The convoy went to the airport where the King boarded a SAS 737

Norwegian Royal Yacht "Norge" in Cork

Norwegian Royal Yacht "Norge" in Cork
Originally uploaded by despod.

Kennedy Quay - view of the fire appliances.

Kennedy Quay - view of the fire appliances.
Originally uploaded by despod.

A better pic of the snorkel fire appliances..

Cork - Kennedy Quay Fire - view of fire appliances

Cork - Kennedy Quay Fire - view of fire appliances
Originally uploaded by despod.

As you can see the larger "snorkel" tender (whatever is the technical term)

has just been taken down. Not a great picture but the sun was behind the

buildings.

Gerry O'Sullivan at Kennedy Quay

This should have come via Flickr but here it is:

Grain Mill Fire - Cork Kennedy Quay

Grain Mill Fire - Cork Kennedy Quay
Originally uploaded by despod.

Black Prince in Cork

Black Prince in Cork
Originally uploaded by despod.

Using GPS in Ireland.

We went to visit friends in lombardstown (near Mallow) yesterday and took a different route home. I had the GPS up (Navman ICN510 - Teleatlas maps) and it showed me quite clearly how bad the maps are. For a lot of the journey we were off the main road and the GPS showed a blank. I wasn't familair with where we were and we eventually got near the main Cork-Mallow road. There it was on the screen all tantalising in its green primary roadness. But no sign of how to get onto it. We eventually made it but no thanks to the GPS or indeed Irish signposting which directed us to take a left for the N20 and then a few hundred yards later was a fairly large crossroads without any signage...pah... I wonder are the new Navteq maps any better ?