Thank you very much to all who took part in last week's video playback test. I received literally hundreds of reply emails and only one person who replied clicked the 'unable to view' option. I guess that means that the experiment was a resounding success!

This week, I would like to try another experiment, to see if the video plays if embedded within the web site page. I like photography but, although I have video cameras, I am not really that keen on filming moving pictures as such, so have rarely done so in the past. This week, after much searching, I have dug out some footage I took on the day Ross Town Centre flooded - December 8th 2000. (This is something of a topical subject at the moment.)

Here is a small clip from that footage, which will open in a separate window. It may take a moment for the video to start, even with broadband. Please bear in mind that I hand held the camera, so it is quite shaky, and that I have drastically reduced video quality to get the file size down to a little over 5Mb in order to reduce bandwidth used whilst still in the testing stage. This is particularly noticeable when looking at the flood water.

If you have time, I would appreciate knowing if the embedded video clip plays OK on other computers. It does work for me in the office. It also works well on my wireless laptop computer, even when situated quite a long way from the router and through two brick walls. It even plays whilst monitoring the office security cameras at the same time.

Please click here if the video clip played ok -

Please click here if you were unable to view the clip.

Above: Wishing Andras Weinhardt a long and happy retirement! Andras started Meader's Hungarian Restaurant in Ross on Shrove Tuesday 1985 and is retiring on Shrove Tuesday 2006. Andras is pictured above at Meader's with Sandra Morgan (left) and Rachael Hopcraft.

Below: Traffic chaos following an accident on the M50 on Friday morning, 24th February. When I first met up with the jam, lorry drivers had resigned themselves to 'chilling out', drinking tea and reading magazines in their cabs. Luckily, I was heading in the other direction and returned two hours later to take the photograph below, from the Greytree bridge..

Above: Rebox celebrate their Rural anniversary at the Noah's Ark, Tudorville on Friday, 24th February with a 'Green Santa'. The rural collection of blue recycling boxes has been a huge success and a new vehicle is being purchased as well as collections changing from fortnightly to weekly in rural areas.

Below: Valentine's Day Ross Gazette prize-winner, Douglas David is presented with his bouquet of flowers at Like's Florist by Dawn Davies on Thursday, 23rd February.