Although we are no longer in full lockdown there are still uncertainties and restrictions. So for the present we are continuing to hold our meetings online.
I hope you are all keeping safe and well and will be able to join us online.
Contact Gareth ( or to iceni@woolridge.org.uk ) if you don't think you are on our meeting list of participants for online meetings if you are interested in joining in; since he is sending out the links prior to each meeting. Just follow the link and follow on-screen instructions.
There is nothing to download or install. We still meet on the third Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. via Jitsi.org Video conferencing. If using a Mac IOS the Safari Browser works correctly for screen sharing your own screen, but this doesn't work for Firefox.
Peter
Well can we have a distanced party? Some think it is possible!
I hope as many as possible will join in this evening. I must admit being a bit thin on the gadget front this year. I seem to have done more repair work than gadget investigation. As always"Gadget" means anything your enjoy using and can range from a piece of software, camping gear, cameras or household devices and tools. It is up to you as long as you are happy to demonstrate it or talk about it.
As for the party bit a few mince pies or a pleasant drink on the side would be quite acceptable. It is entirely up to you!
We noted at the start that Firefox and Jitsi have a compatibility problem which is not found on using Safari or Chromium. The problem prevents screen sharing on Firefox.
As usual this is one of our most popular evenings and produced the usual variety of subjects and locations. Always interesting to see where people have been and what they are interested in.
Peter showed some summer pictures in his garden and a shot of the private aircraft which his daughter, partner and granddaughter had flown up to Elmsett from Lasham, near Basingstoke. However when he tried to run some video it was unable to show it because the bandwidth was too low. Even the quality of the stills was not good. He will have have to download shots to his Mac in future. He was viewing the photos on his NAS so that probably made it worse with a wireless link to his hub although the NAS was wired to the HUB. As Duncan said perhaps it could not handle a download and an upload together. We live and learn! He also showed photos of of Landguard Fort and Felixstowe Port. The cafe there does very good fish and chips by the way.
Michael joined us at this point.
Duncan the showed some landscape shots in the snow during lockdown when we could not really go anywhere. He then showed some Spring flowers. However he had to endure Anglian Water digging up the road behind his house for a fault. Some pretty Poppy shots. He showed an old Baptist parsonage near Cambridge which his brother had taken over as resident Baptist Minister.
He had later got to the Lake District on Lake Windermere and camped at Howthwaite near Lake Coniston. I must admit I have never been to the Lake District and it does look fantastic. This was the countryside which Arthur Ransome's books portrayed with some place name changes. [ Ed.I read all these as a child].
Penny Rig quarry with underground tunnels linked to copper mines was also interesting. Last picture was of the Women's cycle tour going past Duncan's house. An interesting set of photos.
Then Paul took over to show his photos. He also showed a snow shot in Winter. He had managed to visit his favourite holiday destination of the Isles of Scilly once more. His account of the 15 minute 28 miles Air flight on the twin Otter 17 seater aircraft GBIHO flying from near Land's End gave good views of Sennen Cove, Wolf Rock Lighthouse of the port of St.Mary's. Because of Covid restrictions they were unable to stay in their usual Guest House but were able to use self-catering accommodation close by at Old Town Bay.
He had various pictures of the local plants like Pittesforum bushes especially adapted to grow in a salty seaside environment and which gives protection to other plants. They were there early in the year and had not expected to see the Agapanthus in bloom. He also pointed out the interesting rock formations such Pulpit Rock, a finely balanced stone on top of another rock walk on it if you dare!
Historically there were two shipping disasters on the Scilly Isles one SS Schiller just before WW1 and the feet of 4 ships under Sir Cloudesley Shovel Admiral of the fleet in 1707. He also showed some very good stained glasswork by Auriel Hicks a local artist. He also had photos of several lighthouses and ships.
Paul has been there so often now that he knows many of the locals and can get invited to visit places which other visitors would not see.
Gareth
Shots of various holiday weekends with Aidan and Sophie in his camper van. Later in June though he hired a larger Camper Van with rather more comfort for a weeks trip. Aidan has decided he liked Mr Whippy Ice cream and went to see the Gruffalo Trail. They also visited Beaulieu and later enjoyed Baylham House Farm, Orford Castle and Ipswich Transport Museum. He could not believe he had never visited it before. [ Ed. I've never been there either!] Aidan also seemed very interested in the car rally they went to.
Michael
His girlfriend had been to York University and there were some interesting views across the lakes there. Having not visited York it looks very picturesque. York Cathedral, City wall, River Ouse and remains of a ruined Abbey. They had also discovered a Retro Games Shop with all the old Console games.
Also they visited Nottingham on way home with shots of the Town Hall and also a shopping precinct with a fantasy clock. We saw a video of this in operation. They also visited a cats' Cafe with lots of cats ( really unusual) . They had also visited Banham Zoo in September with giraffe, tiger and Red pandas.
[ Ed. I have been there !]
Michael had also become an Uncle to Charlie this year and Gemma and he had moved house this year and showed their new house which they are pleased with.
A very good evening altogether. A pity the quality of mine was spoilt.
If anyone would like to present a talk please let us know. As always there is scope for adjustments as we go through the year and we are hoping the Covid restrictions will have eased and we can have the social functions. If anyone has a favourite restaurant for our social evening please let us know.
Once the restrictions allow in-person meetings it has been suggested that we alternate our meetings between online and in-person as it has been quite convenient for several of us to avoid going out but still attend a meeting. Gareth suggests this may need a decision at the AGM.
Peter
| ICENI Future programme 2021/2022 | ||
| 2021 | ||
| December 15th | Gadgets and Party Evening | All |
| 2022 | ||
| January 19th | Social Evening TBA | All |
| February 16th | Photo and Video Editing | All |
| March 16th | Home Networking and Network Storage | All |
| April 20th | Apps and App Stores | All |
| May 18th | AGM + Extras | All |
MEETINGS WILL NOW BE HELD ONLINE BUT STILL ON THE THIRD WEDNESDAY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. FURTHER DETAILS TO FOLLOW.
Our meetings are held at the Bourne Vale Social Club, Halifax Road,
Ipswich IP2 8RE ,
for a map and other details please see the website. http://icenicomputerclub.org.uk
Membership fee currently £15, visitors free.
"ICENI does not have any Insurance cover for computers or other equipment so please be advised that you bring machines to the club at your own risk."
However many household insurance policies will include cover away from home often with no increase in premium. (Ed.)
Our website URL is
http://icenicomputerclub.org.uk
Email to: iceni@woolridge.org.uk
I am open to suggestions on what people would like to have included in the website.