Peter and Pauline Curtis's Information Service

Welcome to our site. Pauline is an author, consultant, lectures in the Open University and Open Business School and is researching into innovation policy and Total Quality. Peter was in the Space game - Earth Observation and Satellite Meteorology. Our background includes research, government service and small firms.

We enjoy problem solving, proposal writing and working as consultants or in partnership to offer practical advice on policy, strategy and tactical approaches, especially in support of Small Firms.

Our home is in England, alongside the River Thames. Our pastimes include Travel, photography (Still and Video), music, Winemaking, Watercolour Painting, Writing, IT, Fitness and much time restoring our listed house. We have a Narrowboat called Corinna and had a Birman cat called Tigger.

• First visit - why we have a web site and a basic guide to the site
• Pauline's Pages - of interest to Artists, Authors, OU Students and Tutors, .
• Uniquely New Zealand - A Touring and Camping Guide to the places a "Package" can not reach.
  • Recent - Touring and Sailing in New Zealand 2012 - All parts are now available and illustrated.
• Travel Highlights - some of our more recent trips of interest to those who want to travel the world.
  • New - Return from the Antipodes on the Queen Mary 2 - a 46 day section of the 2013 World Cruise taking us from Auckland round New Zealand to Wellington, the Akoroa Peninsula and Fjordland before crossing the Tasman to Australia to visit Sydney, Melbourne, Adelade and Perth followed by a long passage across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. It was then on to Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town in South Africa and the the passage north to Namibia. We crossed the equator and on to the Canaries, Madeira and finally Vigo in Spain before home to Southampton.
  • Recent - A Magical Mystery Tour - a cruise on the Cunard Queen Victoria in 2012 taking us from Southampton to see the Ancient Wonders of the World. The itinery was changed several times both due to bad weather and the problems in Egypt so we did not go to Port Said or Alexandria in Egypt for the Pyramids and gales prevented use entering Rhodes but we did go to Cyprus where we met up with a college friend and to Ephesus which was the highlight of the trip. Other ports were Vigo in Spain, Palma in Mallorca, Valletta in Malta, Piraeus for Athens in Greece,Katakolon (for Olympia) in Greece and Malaga in Spain. It was the Queen Victoria's 5 th birthday at the end of the 21 day cruise.
  • Recent - The Black Sea and Turkish Splendours - a cruise on the Cunard Queen Victoria in 2012 taking us from Southampton to an area which we have never visited before - the Black Sea. The cruise took us to Palma in Mallorca, through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits into the Black sea to visit Yalta and Odessa in the Ukraine, Constanta in Romania and two days at Istanbul in Turkey before returning via Catania in Sicily and Vigo in Spain. We had plenty of days at sea to soak up the sunshine during the 20 day cruise.
  • Recent - A Summer Getaway Voyage in the Princess Grill on the Cunard Queen Elizabeth - a bargain booked at the last minute which took us to Zeebruge and Cherbourg but most import, allowed us to sample the luxury of the Grills.
  • Fjordland Vistas - A cruise on the Saga Ruby to Norway in 2012 - the Saga Ruby started life as the Vistafiord and was taken over by Cunard where she became the Coronia before passing to Saga in 2006. We were keen to go on her before she goes out of service.
  • Caribbean Odyssey 2011 - A cruise on the Cunard Queen Elizabeth starting late November from Southampton to the Caribbean via Ponto Delgada in the Azores to Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St Kitts, Tortola, St Maarten and back via Madeira to Southampton with all the Christmas preparations onboard.
  • A Cruise on the new Cunard Queen Elizabeth to New Zealand in 2011 - Including the Maiden Atlantic Crossing in tandem with the Queen Victoria, the meeting of the Three Queens in New York, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, Mexico, Los Angeles and Pacific Islands as far as New Zealand.
  • An Autumn Cruise on The Ocean Countess to the Canary Islands and Madeira in 2010 . This is about a trip down memory lane - the Ocean Countess was originally owned by Cunard as the Cunard Countess. Four days at sea and seven days ashore – in Vigo, Agadir, Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Gomera, Madeira and Leixoes for Oporto.
  • "Baltic Explorer" and "Jewels of the Mediterranean Cruises". We had wanted to go to Tallin and St Petersburg for a long time so we started by booking the Baltic Explorer Cruise but it seemed very short so we decided it would be nice to continue for another 12 nights round the Mediterranean.
  • Journey to the Antipodes - a cruise in 2010 on the Cunard Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to Auckland via the Suez canal including India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malasia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Pacific Islands and the Great Barrier Reef off Australia. In 6 parts with lots of pictures.
• Technical “How to” Articles - of interest to those setting up and supporting systems. Some of our most popular or recent articles include:
  • Updated - Fun with Ubuntu Linux - Actually my first serious look at migrating from Windows to Linux to give security and economy in data use whilst traveling. I am convinced and rarely use anything else on my dual-booted desktop or laptop. Now the entry point to a series covering specialised aspects of Ubuntu Linux.
  • Extended - Global Computing and Communications - of interest to those who need to keep in touch round the world
  • The MSI Wind U100 Netbook and Ubuntu Linux - the story of getting Ubuntu to work on our Wind U100 netbooks to give the ultimate in mobile communications.
  • A Guide to Painless Networks - The introductory article in a series of simple guides to setting up a network for home or a small firm.
  • JavaScript Popup Windows for Images - Open larger images in a single new window of the correct size when one or more thumbnails are clicked.
• Small Firms Section - of interest to small enterprises that need a presence on the Internet including:
  • Theale Fireplaces, The Craven B&B, Huxley's Brave New World Restaurant in Cambodia and Katrina Richards - Artist
• Site Search - of use to anyone looking for specific places or information on our sites.
• Newsletters: 1996 , 1997 , 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 , 2009, 2010, 2011, and our 2012 Newsletter
• Peter's Resume and Pauline's Full Resume and her Open University Lecturing and Consultancy Experience - of interest to potential employers and customers.
• Diary of the creation of a home page -a technical Diary of how it all started in 1996 when the Internet was young - of historic interest to those creating a web site. The series of pages also documents the work leading to our technical 'Howto' Articles. Now on Part 23.
• Technical Blog and Diary - we are starting to put our Technical Diary onto a Wordpress blog, all at a very early stage starting with the articles on our Wind U100 netbook. We get a lot of feedback but this should allow more discussion and interaction.
• Our Poster Collection covering 1895 to 1915 - Vintage Prints, Bovril Prints by C W Faulkner and Co of London, Pears Posters and Vintage Calendars of Melksham, Bristol and Calne - of interest to collectors
• Fitness Peter's attempts to bring a scientific and objective approach into a world of hype - of interest to all wanting to extend their life.
• Watercolour Painting - Pauline's diary of progress since she restarted painting on a recent cruise - just admire or buy a print.
• Diary of an Author - Pauline's experiences in succeeding in getting a book written and published - of interest to others either contemplating or already starting to write seriously.
• Peter's Home Winemaking page - of interest to all who get this far!

We would be very pleased if visitors could spare a little time to give us some feedback - it is the only way we know who has visited the site, if it is useful and how we should develop it's content and the techniques used. We would be delighted if you could send comments or just let us know you have visited by sending a quick Message to us.

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Copyright © Peter and Pauline Curtis Most recent significant revision: 14th May, 2013