The roof

We are in the middle of some fairly major work to create bedrooms for Alexander an Eleanor in the roof. Previously this space was only accessible from outside via a ladder, so we're getting a new staircase put in and the roof itself moved up a bit to make enough space for two bedrooms and shower rooms. Progress reports (with photos) are on the next page

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The Kitchen

Some of you may know that we recently completed the remodelling of our kitchen. The following page gives an insight into the whole process, some hints and tips if you're going through a similar project, and some before and after pictures. We also give recommendations for products and suppliers - as well as noting some that we would choose to use in the future. These are, of course, personal opinions and not to be relied upon in any way!

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The Quiz league

For the past two years we've been representing our local pub (as the 'B' team) in a Winchester-wide quiz league. The quizzes are devised by David Potts, who runs a parallel league in Oxford, and Last year we did well enough to get to a play-off against the Oxford runners up (beating our 'A' team en-route). 

David posts the results on his own website (), which also has a mini-quiz you can try for yourself. 

The TV

The old CRT was on its last legs so I've taken the plunge, and after much research bought a plasma screen:

This includes the sub-woofer and shows how neatly and carefully the guys set it up.

This shows the positioning of the stand, keyboard & screen. I particularly like the stand which is made of solid cherry wood by Sanus Systems.

This HD image is taken from a PS3 trailer and shows how nicely the side speakers frame a 'cinema' image. You can also see how much the reflection from the screen is reduced compared to the surround.

This HD image gives a better impression of colour rendering and black definition.

This SD image is taken straight off Freeview.

Proper commentary and explanation will follow!

Following images illustrate the 'blinking' problem. These are large .avi files. to download, right-click and choose 'Save Target As...'

13 March:  First image file here

28 March:  Second image file here

  Third image file here

  Fourth image file here