Cariadus

Google Street View launched in the UK last week and there has been a storm of protest over privacy. And it’s easy to see why.

Consider this for instance. Barbara has a work colleague called Julie. I’ve met Julie a couple of times at parties and work functions but otherwise I don’t know her that well. So Google Street View comes out and Barbara and her work colleagues decide to look up their homes to see if they’re on there and what they look like. And the shot for Julie’s house looks like this:

That’s me sitting in my car parked outside her house. Even though faces and car number plates might be blurred it’s still possible to identify people by the car they drive, the clothes they wear. That is undeniably me in that picture.
So she asks me later whether I’ve ever been to Julie’s house. “No,” I say. She shows me the Street View picture. Oh-oh, it’s not even as if I’m driving past, I’m actually parked outside the house. Uh…so now I’m scrabbling around for an explanation…oops. I end up admitting that maybe I’ve got to know Julie a little too well.

OK, so I’ve made that up. It’s actually outside our house and I don’t have to think up any explanation as to why I would be there.

But you can imagine all the little incendiary devices laying hidden in Street View ready to be stumbled upon. And in the scenario above it’s no good Google removing the image when they receive a complaint about it. By then it would be too late and the incendiary device would have exploded.

I have ambivalent thoughts about Street View. I can certainly see the privacy issues with it. I don’t really mind being on it myself because I’m doing nothing more innocuous than sitting in my car outside my house, but I can see how some people would mind.

Last week I had to collect a client from an address in Cardiff – a house that was supposed to be difficult to find. I was not only able to look it up on Google Maps but I could also do a ‘drive through’ of the street and familiarise myself with it before I got there. The client was amazed that I was able to find his house without having to telephone for directions (as everyone else does, apparently). For that kind of use Street View is an invaluable tool.

But if I had been photographed in less innocuous circumstances I probably wouldn’t be thinking of it as a valuable tool.

Not that that would be likely to happen of course…

It’s almost exactly six years since our greyhound, Tim, was run over on the road outside our house. He lost so much blood he almost didn’t survive. His right foreleg was so horrifically broken I was sure that he would lose his leg. I was amazed when the vet said he could fix it. The caveat was that it would be a long process, it would be expensive and there was no guarantee that he would have full use of the leg afterwards. Even if the bone healed nerve damage could render the leg useless. Amputation would be quicker and cheaper. It didn’t take us long to decide that if there was any chance of the leg being saved it would be worth it.

Tim had to endure six months of painful treatment and many times I wondered whether we’d made the right decision to try to save it. The vet, Stefano Susanna of West Farm Veterinary Clinic in Cowbridge performed a minor miracle in saving the leg, including an operation to pin the bone and fit a metal frame to the leg.

Throughout this time we had much-needed moral and financial support from Greyhound Welfare.

And now to see Tim run through the water on the beach with a look of pure enjoyment on his face, or striding across the sand, you would never guess that he came so close to losing his leg. A miracle indeed.

Four months ago today we moved to our new home in the seaside town of Barry. Compared to our previous home in the ‘posh’ town of Cowbridge a move to Barry was a step down. Barry is synonomous with run-down areas, crime and faded seaside glamour. At least that was the way that I saw it, in common, I’m sure, with most Cowbridge residents.

But what I hadn’t realised until about a year ago, is that there are actually some very attractive parts of Barry, such as the areas around Romily Park and The Knap. And, overall, once you get to know it, it’s not such a bad place.

And after four months I have to say that I love it here. To have a beautiful coastline and sandy beaches within walking distance of our home is wonderful. To be able to walk the dog on the beach is wonderful. I’ve always wanted to live by the sea, and now I do. Perhaps one day I’ll get blasé about it but at the moment it’s almost like being on an extended holiday.

These photos were taken walking the dog yesterday and today and, hopefully, you’ll see what I mean.

Yesterday evening we went to an Exhibition of GCSE and A Level Art and Textiles at Siân’s school. Siân had work exhibited in the art and textiles section.
(Click a photo to see the details.)

She’s a very talented artist and the dress she designed and made is stunning.
Needless to say we were very proud parents.