June 2008 Archives
Learner Drivers
A loophole in Irish driving laws is about to be closed from midnight tonight.
In recent times, learner drivers on their second provisional licence have been allowed on the roads on their own. However, from tonight they will now have to be accompanied by a qualified driver - someone who has held their full licence for 2 years or more. (see Road Safety Authority announcement [PDF])
The exception that allowed learner drivers on the roads unaccompanied originally arose because of delays in drivers getting a test date. Several years ago it was no unheard of for learners to wait up to 2 years for a test. However this situation has now been reversed, and it takes no more than a couple of weeks to get a driving test now.
The problem, however, is that many people haven’t felt the need to apply for a test. Until now they’ve been able to legally drive around without bothering - which at one point meant there was an estimated 1 in 7 unqualified drivers on the Irish roads. That’s gone down recently as learners have rushed to sign up for tests, ahead of this law change.
However, there are still as many as 92,000 learner drivers affected by the new law — each of which faces a minimum fine of €1,000 if caught driving on their own.
June 30, 2008
UPC Upgrades
It’s no more than a month since my NTL (UPC) broadband speed was doubled from 3 megabits to 6 megabits, and now I read that from July onwards the they’re increasing the downloads bandwidths again to 20 megabits for the €40 package, and 10 megabits for the €30 package; the one I have (see news item: UPC announces 20Mbps broadband for €40 a month)
At long last we’re achieving reasonable download speeds in Ireland, comparable with other countries in western Europe. Shame that they continue to restrict the related upload speeds so much.
However, they have announced that they’re going to abolish the data caps on their new 20 and 10 megabit packages, so I shouldn’t moan too much, as they now seem to have the best offering on the Irish market
Organ Improvisation of Silent Movie
This Friday evening (20th June) there’s a live organ accompaniment of a silent movie in Christ Church, beginning at 9.00pm. The organ improvisation is provided by David Briggs, who’s rather good at this kind of thing. I remember very much enjoying last year’s event, when the same organist improvised along to the film Phantom of the Opera—which, although it had nothing to do with the Andrew Lloyd-Weber show, had the odd flash of homage to the more well-known stage musical.
This year’s screening is of the 1939 film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and I’m hoping to be able to attend. That’s if I can get a ticket. They’re available free of charge (courtesy of the Temple Bar Cultural Trust who sponsor the event) from the Central Ticket Bureau (Phone: 0818 205 205). And if last year is anything to go by, it’ll be a really popular event.
Firefox 3 Download Day
Join the attempt to get a Guinness World Record, for the most software downloads in a 24-hour period.
Firefox 3 is due to be released as a free download on Tuesday 17th June 2008, and organisers of the Download Day are hoping for as many as 5 million downloads on that day. So far, about 1.2 million people from all over the world have pledged to join the record attempt.
EdFringe systems failure
It’s red faces all round in the Edinburgh Fringe office, as their box office sales are still suspended. They were due to begin selling tickets for this August’s festival shows at 10.00am on Monday (9th June), but because of technical problems with their new box office software, tickets will not be available until next Monday (16th) at the very earliest.
Early reports from the start of the week stated that the software problems were only affecting online sales on the edfringe.com website. However, the continuing downtime has forced the Fringe Society to suspect all ticket sales (including those in person and on the phone) until the problems are resolved.
Lisbon Reform Treaty Referendum
On Thursday Ireland goes to the polls to vote in a referrendum on the Treaty of Lisbon, and at the moment it seems too close to call what the result will be.
In a remarkable display of unity, all of Ireland’s major political parties (except for Sinn Féin) are pushing for a ‘Yes’ vote, to amend the country’s constitution and ratify the Lisbon Treaty. But the ‘No’ vote campainers have also done a very good job about putting their message forward, citing numerous justifications (some of them quite spurious) as to why the people should reject the changes.
And it seems, with the majority of the population mostly ignorant as to what the Lisbon Treaty is actually about, the voting will mostly be led by people’s hearts rather than their minds.
To me, it comes down to one overiding principal: do you want the governance of Europe to be fair and equal for all, or do you want the early EU entrants in Western Europe to continue to exercise a disproportionate amount of power? A ‘Yes’ vote would see increased equality for all member nations, and a reduction in the stalling and veto powers of western nations. And conversely, a ‘No’ vote would see the status quo continue, with newer members in Eastern Europe being treated like second-class citizens.
I can see why a lot of people in Ireland want to vote ‘No’ and reject the Treaty. The European Union has been good for Ireland; providing much of the funding that has driven the economic revival the country has enjoyed over the last 20 years or more. And people will naturally want to protect the status quo when they’re on to a ‘good thing’. In the past Ireland has always been a net recipient of EU funding; receiving more cash back from Europe than it paid out. But with the more recent addition of somewhat poorer counties in Eastern Europe, this situation will undoubtably change in the future, as EU development cash will be redistributed to these other countries. And with a ‘Yes’ vote, it’s conceivable that this changeover to being a net contributer to the EU would happen faster.
There’s also the arguement that a ‘Yes’ vote will lose Ireland some political influence within the EU. And for a country of some 4.2 million residents, out a total EU population of almost half a billion, it has certainly held a disproportionate influence in the past. And even with a ‘Yes’ vote, it will continue to do so, as smaller counties always get more representation than their population would warrant. And with a ‘Yes’ vote, the Dáil (along with every other country’s national parliament) would get more say in European policy too.
But don’t take my word for it. If you’re an Irish citizen, then you really should take the time to inform yourself about the Lisbon Treaty, and make an informed decision in the reforendum on Thursday.
New Diocese Website
In case you hadn’t noticed, the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough have recently released a new design for their website. It’s worth a look if you’re interested in that kind of thing - and is (as it ever was) an excellent source of news from around the diocese
I forgot that is the UK
Was just reading on the blog of Kimberley Larkin about how she had attended the ordination service yesterday, and was most amused by this section:
Afterwards, I was down in the (c. 1030!) crypt getting tea when a young man in a long red robe came up and introduced himself. His robe had a clerical collar and I automatically assumed he was a priest (and then forgot I was in a Church of Ireland cathedral and assumed he was wholly being friendly ;). He was from England and is one of the choir members (hence the medieval robes), which is all good and well but: the fascinating part was when he asked if I’d been to the UK. Yes, I said, a week in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland. He paused, puzzled. “Northern Ireland?” Yes, I said. “Oh, I forgot that is the UK.”
Thankfully this shocking ignorance of geography is not representative of the vast majority of the choir, and I shall be making enquiries to find out who this was.
Ordinations
This afternoon at Christ Church, we celebrated the ordination of 3 deacons within the diocese. This is the first of two ordination services taking place in the cathedral; the second of which being the ordination of priests next Sunday.
Both the services are quite special in their own way. However, for me the ordination of deacons seems like the more significant occurrence for those involved, as it’s the culmination of years of study and preparation, and it’s also the process that marks the final transformation of ordinary people to members of the clergy.
And as such, it was great today to have so many people in the congregation; there to support these people as they made this big step. We also had a lots from clergy from all over the diocese and beyond (including the Bishop of Cork) attending the service in support of their new colleagues.
The music for today’s service was:
- Processional Hymn: At the name of Jesus (Evelyns)
- Gradual Hymn: I, the Lord of sea and sky (Here I am, Lord)
- Gospel Fanfare: Tu es Petrus - Duruflé
- Litany Ending: Agnus Dei - Peter Hurford
- Hymn: Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire (Veni Creator)
- Offertory Hymn: O Jesus, I have promised (Wolvercote)
- Mass Setting: Missa Brevis - Lennox Berkeley
- Communion Instrumental Piece: Ruach - Anne-Marie O’Farrell ‡
- Communion Motet: Tu es Petrus - Robert Pearsall
- Communion Motet: Holy is the True Light - Harris
- Post-Communion Hymn: Pour out thy Spirit from on high (Warrington)
- Voluntary: Toccata from Vième Symphonie - Widor
‡ piece for three wind instruments, written specially for today’s service by one of the ordinands.
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