Thursday 30th April 2009 08:26

As much as my mind is a disorganised mess, I do think that it's imperative to keep jobs and all the paperwork that accompanies it, as organised as possible. This applies to my graphic design work and my photography (yes, I do still take photographs; they're all very organised, it's just that my arse seems to be in the wrong gear to put them on my website!)



JobPro Central, suitable for both Mac and PC, was developed by Softouch Technologies, Platinum level members of the FileMaker Business Alliance. The Irish-based company have both graphic design and web technology skills to integrate FileMaker programs with PHP and other languages as well as being members of Apple Developer Connection and SAGE. The business management software helps you or your company be extremely organised.
Click on either of the logos to find out more.

Wednesday 29th April 2009 21:00

Over the past eight weeks, BBC2 has been televising a great show called 'The Speaker'. I guess it could be classed as reality TV, nevertheless, I think it's been an absolutely superb series.



It all started with thousands of 14 to 18 year olds who were asked to compete in a series of challenges, testing every aspect of their communication skills until one of them was eventually picked to become 'Britain's Best Young Speaker'.
Of course the show attracted what could only be described as jumped-up twats with personality disorders however, the judges had to pick 160 of the best, where they were then invited to the next stage. Auditions were then held in Manchester, London, Cardiff and Glasgow where the speakers had to deliver a one minute speech in front of the Judging Panel, John Amaechi, Jo Brand and Jeremy Stockwell. Only 20 were selected to go through to the next stage.

Anyway, the final three, Kay Kay from London, Irene from Bristol and Duncan from Bristol all battled it out in the final show, with Duncan becoming the winner. Excellent show.
To visit the website, please click on the logo above.

Tuesday 28th April 2009 22:00

Released on August 29th 1989, 'Personal Jesus' was one of the best singles ever to be released in the 80's. It was different, it had attitude and just in case you disagree with my opinion, it was voted as one of the "100 Greatest Songs Ever" in Q Magazine, so there.



Anyway, I suppose you want to know why I'm harping on about the song. I'll tell you then. They were on "Later with Jools Holland" on BBC2 tonight and it was one of the songs they performed.
Click on the image to listen to and watch the original video of the song and, if you're left wanting to know more about the band, please visit depechemode.com

Monday 27th April 2009 20:00

St. James' Park, home of relegation-struggling Newcastle United, saw their Premiership clash with Portsmouth tonight. When it comes to the end of the season, there's usually a handful of teams involved in the fight for survival however, it feels a real shame for a team such as Newcastle United to be in the midst of it. Not only that, I think Alan Shearer is a good bloke and I feel he's been incredibly brave taking on such a high profile job as one of the largest iconic Geordie figures and may well end it by being the complete opposite.
Having said all that, I still wanted Pompey to win and a draw would have benefited either side.



The game was a very tense affair with neither side fully committing to an all-out attack, which meant a midfield-based scrap with the odd attack and counter-attack. The closest chance came in the 82nd minute when Pennant floated in a cross, Richard Hughes nodded it on only for every player in the vicinity to be rooted to the spot, including Harper, The Magpie's 'keeper, as the ball bounced back off the upright. Shame, the match needed a spark.
It ended 0-0.

Sunday 26th April 2009 10:12

After all my ranting about the English being unable to celebrate the day of their own saint, Emsworth came up trumps, for today it was holding a St. George's Festival Market, one of four special markets to be held at Emsworth throughout the year. You may have picked up on my utter dismay that the Food Festival was abolished last year, so these four smaller markets are a sort of compromise and, whilst walking around, you do sense a certain optimism from the market visitors and stall holders alike. I'm so pleased that the weather was perfect for the event.
It's all organised by Emsworth Business Association - you can find out more by clicking on the logo below.



The stalls are mainly based around food, whether they be selling pies, cheeses, relishes or confectionery. It's all too easy to splash out on such an excellent concentration of food, and we did! It's great to see so much hand-crafted produce and it wasn't long before the temptations for fudge, chutneys and various cheeses got the better of us.
Please click on any of the logos below, all of which we bought produce from...

Saturday 25th April 2009 12:10

Today involved browsing in a few shops, mainly for a garden furniture set, amongst other things. Keydell Nurseries, a rather large garden centre is about ten minute's drive away from us and is probably the largest garden centre in our area. In fact, they've been growing their own plants and fruit at their family-owned and run Horndean site for over 50 years.
For more information, please click on the logo below.



Whilst we were there, I couldn't help but notice a particular sign situated at the edge of an outdoor pond on their premises. I know what it is meant to say, it's just that the wording had me in hysterics; I do hope that you find it as amusing as I did!



From there, we then went on to Stansted Park as Tanya had offered to buy lunch and it meant that we also had the opportunity to have a look at the garden centre there whilst we were at it. For quite some time now, The Pavilion Tearoom has been closed for refurbishment and it had recently been reopened so we had lunch there. It's a beautiful building and I'm so pleased that the designers of the new-look tearooms chose to be sympathetic with their choice of decor and colours.
It appears that their website is under construction at the moment, nevertheless I'll provide a link for the time-being. I was hoping that they'd provide me with a decent sized logo to use and in the end, I redrew it for I haven't heard anything from them.



From the rather civilised morning and early afternoon, we then changed our spots and sat down to watch the latest installment of 'Saw' film series from Twisted Pictures. I've never been a huge fan of sequel films, particularly when they go past the third one, yet the brutality and goriness of the Saw films keeps me entertained in a curious sordid way!
If curiosity has the better of you too, click on the movie poster below to find out more.

Friday 24th April 2009 15:37

I love websites that offer something for nothing, are easy to register with, well designed and have a cool logo. Isuu offers all of that, and more. It turns your documents into online publications to an audience of millions whereby you're able to put your message across to anyone, anywhere, and as I said, it's free.



Issuu (pronounced 'issue') is a dedicated team who strive for excellence in online publishing, with their product and services providing instant gratification for individuals, businesses and publishers alike. With it being a totally free service, it reduces the frustrations often associated with publishing on the internet. Their first public version was started in December 2007 and they have since had their venture backed by Sunstone Capital.
Click on the logo above to find out more and possibly sign up.

Thursday 23rd April 2009 13:23

It was the farcical St. George's Day today. Don't get me wrong, I'm very patriotic and proud of my roots, it's just that our country has little or no idea how to celebrate our day.



The Irish have the best idea and at least the Scots and Welsh have a public holiday for theirs, so that's a start at least. All we seem to get is a load of grief for flying our own flag! It's a refreshing change to be living in the south and seeing the St. George flag flying high whether it be outside someone's house or a local pub. Try doing that up north and the council ask for it to be removed because it's 'offensive'. I find it offensive that you're asked to take down your own country's flag!
Anyway, for a taste of patriotism, click on the logo above.

Wednesday 22nd April 2009 14:47

There's a great delicatessen in Emsworth that sells all the sort of produce you'd expect, and since it had been a while since we last had a look in, we stopped off there before going for our regular walk around the Mill Pond.



We're both big lovers of cheese and biscuits (even though they always appear to be more of a cracker than a biscuit). Emsworth Delicatessen, located on West Street, sells a great range of cheeses and crackers and it wasn't long before we'd chosen a packet of Artisan Biscuits (formerly Ashbourne Biscuits) and decided on a cheese called Cornish Yarg; very creamy, satisfying taste and it's wrapped in nettles of all things - the sharp kick of the nettles complements the creaminess perfectly.
Please click on either logo to find out more about each product.

Tuesday 21st April 2009 20:20

Every now and again, there's a design job that comes up and it needs full concentration, reading the brief over and over and piecing the elements together in a way that it will hopefully please the customer.



My brief was to create a bespoke t-shirt design for a 'bunch of middle-aged bikers who have planned to go to Ireland for six days and "do what blokes do when allowed out on their own". Ride, eat and drink'. Suggestions of a pint of Guinness, a shamrock, a leprechaun and anything else Irish were given to me, along with several destinations of their coastal tour.
As you can see, my design is featured above.

Monday 20th April 2009 17:24

How cute is this? My parents sent me an email tonight, telling me about a little visitor they've had in their garden (which appears to have also taken residency in their house as well!)
Mr Field Mouse, pictured below, has somehow found its way into a bird feeder in my parent's garden. I'm informed that the lid of the feeder was still secure so therefore it has taken one of two routes to find the food; either through the holes of the perches or it may have burrowed up through the food source, nevertheless, it's amazing!

Sunday 19th April 2009 13:17

You might think that after all that ale yesterday, I'd be feeling very delicate.
You'd be sort of right. I did feel a little queasy at times, with the sweats and palpitations trying to be a foreground feature. Other than that, I rode the storm rather well.
A walk around Emsworth Mill Pond blew the remaining cobwebs away and once we returned home, we thought the best way of enjoying the rest of the afternoon was by watching a film on FilmFlex. I had seen an advertisement via email saying that Saw V was now available... it turned out that it was, from the 21st. Arse. In the end, it was a unanimous decision that we watched 'Death Race'.



Anything with Jason Statham in is going to be a hit with Tanya... it must be something to do with the fact that we're both dashingly good looking (in your dreams - Ed). We've watched some excellent films he's been in, 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', 'Snatch', 'Revolver' and 'The Bank Job'. Did you know he's also known as one of the few actors who insists on doing all his own fight scenes, completely unchoreographed and without any support... he was a model for French Connection... and in 1992, he finished 12th in the diving World Championships?

'Death Race' is a great action-packed film, full of fighting, death, explosions and corruption. I make it sound like a blood bath but that's not the case. Set in The United States of America, 2012: The imprisoned population is so vast that private companies are hired to contain them. In Terminal Island Prison, 'Death Race', a gladiator-like fight-to-the-end competition is held to raise funds.
Rather than me go on about it any more, click on the movie poster to visit the 'Death Race' website.

Saturday 18th April 2009 12:03

Some may say I had a deathwish today. Why? Well I'd decided to take up the offer of going to Fratton Park (Portsmouth FC's home) and watching them play my team, Bolton Wanderers. Sounds okay does it? I guess it would have been, only I'd be sat with the home supporters - not only that, I'd be drinking beforehand in some of Pompey's most renown drinking holes. I contemplated about wearing my Bolton shirt but Damien, Tanya's brother, who's a stout Pompey fan advised me not to. Probably a very wise decision.

After Tanya dropped us off at Havant station, Damien and I caught the 12:03 train to Fratton and were at Fratton within five minutes and headed straight for 'Smiffy's' - Jamie, Damien's mate, met up with us there and once we'd had a pint or two, we headed off to the next pub, which was called 'The Magpie', I think! We visited three or four pubs before heading off to Fratton Park.



We were in the Milton End, apparently the last stand in the Premier League to have a roof added and is home to both home and away supporters - the temptation of joining in with some of the away fan's chants was almost irresistible at times but my life was more important! Anyway, the first half was fairly uneventful but Portsmouth looked by far the stronger side. Half time, time for a Cornish Pastie... to soak up some of the beer!
The second half seemed much like the first, although Pompey definitely pushed more than Bolton; I think Bolton just turned up and that was about it, apart from a strike by Johan Elmander which was well saved by David James. In the 78th minute, minutes after replacing David Nugent, Kanu managed to steer the ball in the net and that was that, Bolton couldn't find the equaliser. Ah well, at least I showed my support!

From thereon in, we left the ground, Pompey fans happy, me feeling slightly pissed off, and continued with our tour of the pubs around Fratton. We may have gone into the Devonshire Arms but apart from that one pub, I cannot recall the names of the others! I also remember eating a couple of bags of crisps, again trying to soak up some ale and we headed off back to Havant at about 21:30 feeling very drunk indeed!

Friday 17th April 2009 16:11

For quite some time now, I've been relying on the handful of local supermarkets and off-licences to rotate their stock of real ales, Morrisons and Threshers seem to be the best at stocking new ones, as well as keeping the best-selling ones.
There's a wine merchants on the outskirts of Emsworth so we decided to go in there this afternoon in the hope that they sold a stock of real ales in there. When I asked, the owner said, "Sorry, this is a wine shop". Felt a bit of a fool to be honest, almost like going into a fish and chip shop and asking for a haircut (which would prove to be a double dose of irony in my case); nevertheless though, the man was most helpful and told us of a place called the Southwick Brewhouse.



It took us a bit of time to find exactly where it was, just hidden away, on the Fareham side of Portsdown Hill. When we arrived, it was difficult to tell whether it was open so it was a case of getting out and investigating. It wasn't long before we spotted a sign and after a step down into an almost cellar-like room, it immediately became apparent that this place was a bit special!
Advertising 175 different beers and ciders suddenly made me realise that we were in real ale heaven and it has its own steam brewery museum located upstairs. Spoilt for choice was an understatement, even though I could see a handful of beers that I'd tried before. I asked Martin, one of the co-owners for some recommendations and then Tanya and I chose others that we either liked the sound of or we liked the label!
About half an hour later, we left very satisfied with eight different bottles.
By clicking on the logo above, you can find out much more about the Brewhouse.

Thursday 16th April 2009 11:05

Some years ago, not entirely sure how many, I became a member of CreativeMatch, an online social business network that provides everything for the UK creative industry; their target audience being creative companies, individuals and their clients.



The website has regular news, jobs, training and blogs, as well as a monthly competition for illustrators and photographers, sponsored by The Association of Illustrators and The Association of Photographers and has great prizes to be won each month.
Their logo has recently been updated, along with a new-look website - please click on it to find out much more...

Wednesday 15th April 2009 20:08

As you may well know, every now and again a television advert comes along and I end up raving about it. Well, another one has. In hindsight, I'm sure it's dreadful and I'm also sure that it gets on a lot of people's tits, yet there's something so brilliantly cheesy and very 1980's about it, I think it's bloody superb! Not only that, I end up humming the damn thing every time I hear it!



The 60 second 'Directory Heaven' TV ad features cult internet cartoon character 'Magical Trevor' and includes scenes illustrating a range of business services that people call 118 24 7 for. Created by Rapier, the 30 second ad attracted over 260,000 views on YouTube in less than four weeks from its launch on March 20th and experienced a "tremendous uplift in calls" to its directory service.
If you dare to watch the ad, please click on the logo above.

Tuesday 14th April 2009 16:58

Since it was our first day back to work after a very enjoyable four-day break, I'd been told that we thoroughly deserved to share a couple of real ales with our evening meal.



The first, 'Iron Horse' brewed by Horsham-based Hepworth & Co Brewers was very enjoyable indeed. At a rather satisfying 4.8% ABV this premium ale has a dense flavour accompanied with a subtle sweetness and a delicious fruity aroma. Incidentally, the beer is named after Richard Trevithick's first steam-powered engine on rails.
Please click on the logo above to find out more about the brewery.



The second is 'Red River Ale' by W.J. King & Co Brewers, who are again based in Horsham. A distinct malty and spicy aroma, this 4.8% ABV ruby-coloured ale is quite stoutish with a slight taste of cocoa. Brewed with Marris Otter with a blend of three east Kent hops, this was a very enjoyable ale indeed - just be careful when pouring, it contains quite a bit of sediment.
To find out more, click on the beer label above.

Monday 13th April 2009 08:37

Even though we arrived back home to enjoy the evening last night, we both resisted the temptation of going on our computers, so it proved an unbelievable surprise when I received an email from a brewery, giving me the opportunity of designing a beer label in return for beer!

Other than focus my attention on designing the said label, I did little else today! More about this project in the coming months - all I can say is that this could be a rather large creative door that's opening!

Sunday 12th April 2009 07:13

Although we went to bed remarkably early due to a mixture of being totally shattered and having drank quite a bit, we had a dreadful night's sleep. Why? Because the dregs of Eastbourne congregated right across the road from the hotel, having been to a nightclub at the end of the pier and then most of them threatened to 'fucking kill' each other. This palaver went on from around 11pm until 4am, so it was fortunate that it didn't last long (do I detect a hint of sarcasm there? -Ed).
Anyway, we were up, showered and dressed and the first ones down for some breakfast - much needed too! We had until 11am to vacate our room and the hotel so this gave us ample time to have a mooch around the pier and shoreline before we had to leave. Both of us were rather disappointed because we hadn't taken advantage of the photographic opportunities when it was all lit up at last night; nevertheless though, it was a great morning for taking photographs and, before we knew it, we'd spent a good hour and a half on, under and around the pier.



It was time to say our goodbyes to our hotel room and Eastbourne and head off for Beachy Head and Birling Gap, both of which are a relatively short drive away from each other. Unbeknown to the both of us, Beachy Head is infamous for suicide, mainly down to the unprotected cliff face with a sheer drop of some 530ft, the highest such cliff in Britain. Ever since the 1600's it has been known as a suicide spot, particularly at night, however since the implementation of evening patrols, there were only seven incidents in 2006 as opposed to around 20 per year beforehand.
Enough of the doom and gloom though, the area is absolutely beautiful and the views were stunning, regardless of the hazy sky. There's also a great Countryside Centre there that has a free museum called the Downland Experience and takes you on a trip through time and learn more about the history of the Downs. As well as that, you'll also find a gift shop and the Sussex Gallery, full of local artist's works, photographs and pictures.
For more information, please click on the logo above and you'll also learn that Beachy Head has its own brewery... completely gutted that I only became aware of this since returning home!

Once we'd had a good look around there, we drove on to Birling Gap, parked up and then walked down the purpose-built steps that take you from the top of the cliff down to the beach. From there, we tried to walk around the coast back to Beachy Head so that we could take some shots of the famous lighthouse from sea level, since we'd taken many from the cliff top. Alas, the incoming tide started to get the better of us, even though we'd walked a considerable distance, and we were forced to turn back for fear of becoming stranded. Ah well, the walk was a tough-going one and we felt great for having done it, even though we hadn't reached our goal.

All this exercise had made us somewhat hungry and we suddenly found ourselves on a bit of a wild goose chase trying to find somewhere decent to eat, bearing in mind that it was Easter Sunday! Unfortunately, we'd passed all the idyllic sleepy villages and were heading towards Brighton which was so busy, there wasn't a single place to park along the seafront and, before we knew it, we stopped at Arundel for it was the most attractive place to stop for a bite to eat.
We ate at the Moathouse Café Restaurant, a quaint little place at the heart of the town, just across the road from the river Arun. We stuffed our faces and both of us thoroughly enjoyed our meal - good value for money and great service, especially as the place was literally full to the brim! Unfortunately, the café doesn't have a website that I can direct you to.



Now that we had satisfied our hunger, we had a lovely walk around the town. There were absolutely loads of tourists and locals but not an intolerable amount, so we had a good look around the many shops within the town. Unlike many small towns, Arundel has a superb mix of shops, ranging from ones that sell local food produce, to picture framers and art galleries, a few of which I have included links to, both above and below.
As a matter of interest, I managed to finally buy a pint mug for my tea from Sparks Yard, which I was delighted about. Liquorice Fudge from Castle Chocolates that works with an internet business, Arundel Chocolate and Fudge and an excellent range of locally brewed real ales from Pallant of Arundel. What more could one ask for?!

Saturday 11th April 2009 10:53

Today's weather was a slight improvement on yesterday's - at least it had stopped raining and that gave us enough of an incentive to get off our arses and spend a couple of days in the area of Eastbourne, East Sussex. Even though Sussex is an adjoining county to Hampshire, it's a considerable distance to say the least, 65 miles to be precise and a good hour and a half's drive away.

We headed for Seaford first, as we had decided to visit the Seven Sisters. This has nothing to do with the ones that married the Seven Brothers, they're actually chalk cliffs and are part of where the South Downs meets the sea. On average, the cliffs are receding at a rate of around 30-40cm every year, most of which is caused by either rough seas or heavy rain. Surprisingly though, the falls help protect the base of the cliffs which means that it's unlikely a fall will occur in the same place until about eight or nine years later. As a matter of interest, the seven names are: Haven Brow, Short Brow, Rough Brow, Brass Point, Flat Hill, Bailey's Hill and finally, Went Hill.
To find out more about the area, please click on the logo below.



The area is absolutely stunning and although the sun had decided to hide away for a while, it really worked to our benefit because a strange misty haze enveloped the cliffs and was perfect for photography. Once we'd satisfied our photographic needs, we continued with our adventure in the hope that we might be able to find somewhere to stay for the night.
Tanya had done a lot of internet research and there were some outstandingly beautiful villages and hamlets in the area - hopefully somewhere would have a room for the night. We drove through Jevington, Alfriston, East Dean, Willingdon and Wannock, sadly, nowhere had any vacancies. Whilst driving round though, we did manage to fit in a visit, and short walk, to The Long Man of Wilmington, so all was not lost!

The Long Man of Wilmington is a 235 feet high outlined figure found on the steep slopes of Windover Hill. It seems that over the years, the shape and finer details of the figure have taken various forms, although it appears that the most precise was drawn by surveyor John Rowley in 1710.
More about the mysterious figure can be found by visiting the Sussex Archaeological Society below.



Due to lack of time, our determination with trying to find somewhere to stay was imperative. In the end, even though we'd imagined staying in an idyllic cottage with a great local pub just up the road, we had to settle with staying in Eastbourne - don't get me wrong, Eastbourne seemed a pleasant enough place, it's just that we'd set our sights on the former. The majority of hotels within Eastbourne that had vacancies were all twin rooms, even the Travelodge was full. Finally, after almost giving up, Tanya spotted a sign which said, 'Rooms available from £32 per person per night'... in we went, took a look at our room, booked it, so we were staying in The Queens Hotel, right across from Eastbourne Pier.

Once we'd settled in, it was well and truly time for our evening meal. It had taken some four hours to finally find somewhere to stay, so we'd worked up an appetite. Rather than just pick the nearest available place and eat there, we had a walk around the centre of Eastbourne to see what tickled our fancy. It turned out that the place we decided on was literally around the corner, we'd chosen an Italian called 'The Spaghetti Factory' and I have to say, the food was exceptional. Sorry, there's no website to direct you to but the address is: 215-217 Terminus Rd, Eastbourne, BN21 3DH.

On the way back to the hotel, we chose to have a walk along the pier and stopped for a drink at the Waterfront Café Bar, which has been recently refurbished. Again, there's no website to direct you to... may be it's a market we should target! We finished off with a couple more drinks, a hotel quiz and bingo before sleepily retiring to bed.

Friday 10th April 2009 17:20

Having recently had a short break away, it was a great feeling knowing that today was Good Friday, which meant four whole days off to do whatever we pleased! We had talked about going away for a couple of nights but that had been put on hold due to persistent rain disrupting play. In some respects, I'm quite happy when there's little else to do other than spend the day in front of a computer screen or television; either way, it means catch-up time either with my blog or programmes we may have missed during the week.
Apart from that, we did very little else.



As a matter of interest, the term 'weblog' was first used by Jorn Barger on the 17th December 1997. It was then shortened to 'blog' by Peter Merholz, who jokingly split the word weblog into the phrase 'we blog' in the sidebar of his blog www.peterme.com in 1999. Shortly after, Evan Williams at Pyra Labs used 'blog' as both a noun and verb ('to blog', meaning 'to edit a weblog or to post to one') and created the term 'blogger' in connection with Pyra Labs' Blogger product.
If you're interested in starting your own blog (where people can also add their comments - unlike this one), please click on the logo above.

Thursday 9th April 2009 12:15

I've never found myself drawn to gaming; this describes the action of playing a game with a video interface, just in case you weren't familiar with the term. As a teenager, I remember the first arcade games, particularly 'Space Invaders' and 'Pole Position'. I also remember getting unbelievably stressed and panicked about losing a life (ultimately, that quickly became lives). Even Pac Man disturbed me! However, I can see the appeal I guess, especially as I seem to be sat in front of a computer the majority of the time!
Anyway, I spotted another logo which I thought was excellent, not just because it captures your imagination with the gaming culture, but also the subtle use of the infinity symbol, the striking colours and the complementary font.



OnLive will be launching the world’s highest performance Games On Demand service, instantly delivering the latest high-end titles over home broadband Internet to the TV and entry-level PCs and Macs. Founded by noted technology entrepreneur Steve Perlman (WebTV, QuickTime) and incubated within the Rearden media and technology incubator, OnLive spent seven years in stealth development before officially unveiling in March 2009.
For more information about how digital media will be reshaped, please click on the logo above.

Wednesday 8th April 2009 14:49

Discovered a new local brewery today, courtesy of the Co-op in Emsworth who are selling several of their ales. Hammerpot Brewery are based in the foothills of the South Downs, two miles away from Arundel and within a stone's throw away of a hamlet named Hammerpot.



With five core beers and regular seasonal ales, the brewery has been growing at a steady rate since it was established in 2005. The names of the ales are based on Sussex themes, one of which I sampled tonight. 'Meteor' is a chestnut coloured 3.8% ABV session ale and is named after The Gloster Meteor, the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. On September 7th 1946, Group Captain E.M. Donaldson, established a new world absolute air speed record of 615.65 mph off the coast of West Sussex in the aircraft. The ale is brewed with a combination of malts and a hoppy smoothness that creates a refreshing yet smooth strength with a slightly dry finish.
For more information about the brewery, please click on the logo above.

Tuesday 7th April 2009 08:45

Whilst working on redrawing a particular logo today, I wanted to create a disc with a brushed metal effect. I knew that it would be relatively easy to do via Photoshop but I wanted to keep the logo and accompanying text all vector-based. This proved to be quite difficult and after a quick 'vector brushed metal effect' via Google, I stumbled upon this fantastic website.



There are a myriad of tutorials, hints and tips, many of them being shared by like-minded designers who are members of the site. Vectips was designed and is maintained by Ryan Putman, his pseudonym being Rype Arts, and he contributes his diverse illustrations and designs exclusively to iStockphoto.
Please click on the logo above to either join or find out more.

Monday 6th April 2009 15:33

I often stumble upon logos that I think are brilliant, the one below is no exception. Designed by Cato Purnell Partners, who have offices spanning the globe, the logo needed to depict Dubai from being the aviation centre of the Middle East to the aviation hub of the world. Eventually, Al Maktoum International Airport will be the world's largest airport. Further sub-brand identities were also developed by using key elements from each one.
To see other examples of the logo, please visit the airport's main website by clicking on the logo below.

Sunday 5th April 2009 12:37

Having done very little in the way of exercise this weekend, we decided to go on what is becoming one of our regular walks along the Billy Track in Havant down to Langstone and back. The weather was beautiful once again and there was definitely a sense that spring had taken a foothold at last. The whole spring feeling gave me enough of a reason to suggest dropping in on The Royal Oak for a quick pint to satisfy how I felt.



The great thing about The Royal Oak at Langstone is that they have a regular turnover of guest ales, as well as having Greene King's 'Old Speckled Hen' and 'Abbot Ale' on as permanent fixtures. Today's offering was 'Yankee' a pale-coloured ale with a distinct sweet-smelling aroma, coupled with an amazingly refreshing lingering fruity finish. At 4.3% ABV, this would undoubtedly make a superb session beer. Brewed with Golden Promise malt, soft Yorkshire water and Cascade hops from the Yakima Valley, this is the brewery's most popular ale.
I'd also like to take this opportunity for thanking Becky at the brewery for sending me a high resolution image of the pump clip - please click on it to find out more about the Yorkshire-based brewery.

Saturday 4th April 2009 15:08

Apart from a visit to Morrisons for our weekly shop this morning, we did very little indeed. Tanya had arranged to go into Havant in the afternoon to have a look in Next and spend the voucher that Abbi had bought her for Mother's Day.
Not that I was complaining, I had the Bolton v Middlesbrough premiership fixture to watch, and what better way to do it than crack open a bottle of cider that Abbi had brought me back from her recent visit to Cornwall. I've got to be honest, it's fairly recent that I've even been able to stomach cider, due to a very bad encounter when younger, and let's face it, cider ain't the nicest taste regurgitated!
Anyway, enough of that, take a look at Healey's Cornish Cyder Farm website...



So, there I was, sat watching the match with a large bottle of Cornish Scrumpy... within 8 minutes, Bolton had taken the lead, courtesy of some quick-thinking by Kevin Davies and, just as I was expecting them to go into the break at 1-0, Middlesbrough equalised with a goal from ex-Pompey Gary O'Neil. A minute before the interval, Gary Cahill restored Bolton's lead from a well-flighted free-kick from ex-Pompey Matt Taylor and some exchanged passes with Johan Elmander before slotting the ball home.



Sustained pressure mid-way through the second half meant nervous times for Bolton, especially when Gretar Steinsson under-hit a back-pass which almost led to Alves putting the teams level again. Luckily though, Bolton were awarded a free-kick on the right flank and Matt Taylor delivered a high, looping cross that escaped the forehead of Huth and bounced past Boro's 'keeper. If that wasn't enough to dampen the visiting side's spirits, Ricardo Gardner scored a superlative goal from a Matt Taylor cross. A sensational result for Bolton, particularly as this home fixture has resulted in four draws in successive seasons until today's rout.

Friday 3rd April 2009 17:39

Ever since loading Mac OSX Leopard on to my iMac, my Font Book application program went awry. It just used to be a case of double-clicking on a font and Font Book would automatically add it to my library, ever since upgrading, it's meant I've had to manually drag each font into my library.



That was until my mate Nick told me about Linotype Font Explorer. I've been running it on my Mac for quite some time, just kept forgetting to feature it as a subject in one of my blogs. The first version of this management tool was first released in 1990 and at that time it was a catalogue with a CD. Although a version was developed for PC, it is now unavailable and a version of Font Explorer X for PC will be available in the not-too-distant future.
To find out more about the program, please click on the logo above.

Thursday 2nd April 2009 19:33

Some time ago, I talked about a great site, specifically geared towards graphic designers, called LogoSauce. It's some time since I've actually entered any competitions on there, yet someone contacted me about a specific logo I'd designed and entered into a competition. My entry, at the time, wasn't chosen as the winning one; nevertheless, I've kept all my designs on there as a way of showcasing my work.



Anyway, the particular logo I'd designed was for Roger's Design, yet the woman who contacted me wanted to purchase the logo as a gift for someone trading as DR Productions. Luckily, it meant that the actual logo part remained as was, with just a change of company name below. A quick transfer of money via PayPal and the transaction was complete and I'd made money out of something I'd designed on the 7th July 2007!

Wednesday 1st April 2009 20:00

Tonight saw the second of England's international matches, this one was a crucial World Cup qualifier against the Ukraine. Once again, England started off very confident , whereas the visiting side were played good football but lacked any form up front. The breakthrough came for England in the 29th minute with Frank Lampard swirling in a cross from the left, John Terry nodding the ball into the danger area and Peter Crouch scissor-kicking it past Pyatov, the Ukranian 'keeper. 1-0 to England... and to think Capello had toyed with the possibility of leaving Crouch out of the starting line-up. That's how the scoreline stayed as the teams went in for half time.



The second half proved to be frustrating, don't tell me England were trying to sit on a 1-0 lead again?!
Somehow, in the 65th minute, Wayne Rooney avoided a booking, let alone a sending off, for a dreadful bulldozing tackle on Oleksandr Aliev. His temper (some may say passion) worries me at times. Sure enough, in the 74th minute, the Ukraine were awarded a free kick for an innocuous challenge by John Terry. Andriy Shevchenko happened to get on the end of it, celebrating his 40th international goal. Could England claw back and be victorious?
The game suddenly became alive and it really was end to end stuff. In the 86th minute, David Beckham won a free-kick over something and nothing and fired a fast-paced ball in from the right, Steven Gerrard at full-stretch managed to head the ball down towards John Terry who then side-footed it into the back of the net from four yards out. 2-1 to England and game over. They remain top of their group and look set to be heading to South Africa next year.