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HomeWorld |
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Not sure how you landed here but I'm glad that you have :-) This is my main page which acts as a link to other pages which I've constructed about where I live, what I do to earn money, my interests and hobbies. There are also some pages for my family to use. I use this page as my gateway to the Internet so there are links to places I visit often. You may find them useful as there are links to sites relating to computers & software, music & Brass Bands, local information about Crowle & Worcestershire. Hope you find them as useful as I do!<G>. Click on the underlined headings to browse on the information about these various subjects - as is usual, there are still a lot of pages that are unfinished and probably never will be. Have fun! Something on this site was updated on 7th August 2000 |
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I'm Mike Smith, aged 51
(not mentally!<G>) married to Penny and have 2 children
- Nicola ("Nicky") aged 16 & Stephen ("Stevie",
"Stigs" or "Stogs") aged 14. Born and went to school in Harrow, Middlesex (not the public school!<G>) in the suburbs of north-west London. Failed 11-plus and went to Lascelles Secondary Modern School managing to get enough GCE 'O' levels to go to Harrow County Grammar School to get GCE 'A' levels in science subjects. I then finished my formal education at Exeter University in Devon obtaining a 3rd Class Combined Honours degree in Physics & Pure Mathematics - plus Penny as a wife - and a good time!<G>. Started my working life in the Midlands at British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC, Austin-Morris etc) and lived in Rubery very near to the Longbridge factory in the south-west of Birmingham. Married Penny who I met at University and whose family have lived in the Worcestershire countryside for many years and we first lived at Kidderminster in the north of Worcestershire through the 1970's. In 1983 we moved to a village Crowle just to the east of Worcester and handily placed for travelling, near to the M5 motorway. |
 Mike Smith Solutions |
Since 1993 I have been self-employed
running my own computer consultancy business. I have worked in the computer industry throughout my life first at British Leyland in their systems department as a programmer moving through analysis and system design to project management. Worked on all sizes of computers from IBM mainframes, DEC mini-computers and PCs and a range of applications in the motor industry, farming, travel and finance sectors. The BLMC systems department became a separate company called BL Systems, changing it's name to Istel becoming a privately owned comapny later through a mangement buy-out until finally being bought by AT&T in 1989. I was made redundant in 1993 and decided to become self-employed concentrating on supporting small businesses to support their PC needs. I class myself as "knowing a little about everything and a lot about no one particular aspect". Since 1998 I have also supported the ever increasing communications aspects of PCs with the Internet and using software to be able to design web-sites. |
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I have always been interested
in motorsports of all kinds. I did some rally navigating in the
1960s and went to many motor racing circuits following single-seater
and saloon car racing. With the PC supporting these racing simulations I started racing at home using Microprose F1GP in 1992. |
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I then found the Compuserve on-line service in 1995 and the Sports Simulation Forum where we competed in the Formula 1 Simulators Association (F1SA) using at first Microprose F1GP and then Microprose Grand Prix 2 in 1996 on the PC. |
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| Here is the Lungrotter CrowleSpeed Rhino (Team LCR) car |
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In October 1998 a
new era was born wth the release of Sierra/Papyrus "Grand
Prix Legends". This simulates the F1 cars of the 1960's
before sponsorship wings etc. Also the circuits that be today's
standards would not be acceptable on safety grounds - no large
run off areas, tyres etc - mainly straw bales to keep you on
the track and kerbs that you don't dare go over. The tracks include
the original ones used and includes the awesome 14 mile per lap
Nurburgring - "The Nordschleiffe"!. However, as this wasn't enough the extra ingredient that heralds the new era is true on-line racing across the Internet so you can truly be racing wheel-to-wheel with someone across the world at that moment - and it works! To see pictures, race reports, driver biographies and how the 199 championships is progressing go to Mark Fisher's pages |
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I have also raced
TOCA Touring Cars and RAC Rally Championship - and any other
simulation that can be run on the PC! I have Sports Car GT on my hard drive, but with the hectic schedule of Grand Prix legends I haven't had any time to actively race these anymore. |
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I first started playing in a brass band at school in Harrow back in the early 1960's. One of the teacher's was the local Salvation Army bandmaster so I soon joined learning to play the cornet. I became principal cornet before I left school. GCE 'A' levels and University meant I didn't play again for many years apart from the university orchestra for a short time. Then in 1995 my son asked to learn an old trumpet I had and I took him to a junior training band, Pre-Perscoran Brass in Pershore for 1 hour on a Monday evening. It so happened that one of the teacher's there, Helen Fishbourne, found I used to play and lent me a cornet to help with the band. I then bought a cheap Euphonium which I'd always wanted to play and a good cornet for my son. Then Helen asked if I'd like to go along to play with Stourport-on-Severn Brass Band where she plays 2nd principal Solo Cornet. Now I'm a regular in Stourport managing to re-learn what I had forgotten and learn what I never knew about tuning, and playing to a standard necessary in today's brass bands. Started again on 2nd Baritone also contributing by joining the committee and then in 1998 becoming Band Treasurer. At this point the music and PC worlds crossed over as I took on the webmaster's role for the Official Stourport Band Web site! The in 1999 I inherited the 1st Baritone position forcing me to widen my range of notes and use the valves faster rather than count bars rests or play "om-chucks"<G> |
 
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