The allure of summer vacations and festive holidays undeniably boosts the hospitality industry. But what about the off-season? Does it have to be a time of empty rooms and dwindling bookings? Absolutely not! With a strategic and creative hotel marketing plan, the off-season can be an opportunity to attract new guests, generate revenue, and strengthen your brand reputation.
Here at Grow My Bookings, a leading hotel marketing agency, we understand the challenges and opportunities unique to off-season marketing. This blog equips you with a comprehensive plan to transform your off-season from sluggish to successful.
Understanding Your Off-Season:
The first step is to clearly define your hotel's off-season. While some locations have distinct off-seasons (think beach resorts during winter), others might experience a dip in bookings during specific weekdays or shoulder seasons.

• Analyze Past Data: Review past booking trends to identify periods with lower occupancy rates.
• Consider Location & Weather: Factor in your location's weather patterns and typical tourist seasons.
• Benchmark Competitors: Research how your competitors approach off-season marketing.

Crafting a Winning Off-Season Marketing Plan:
Once you've defined your off-season, it's time to craft a targeted marketing plan. Here are key strategies to consider:
1. Target the Right Audience:
During peak season, you likely cater to a broader range of guests. But for the off-season, focus on attracting specific guest segments with interests that align with your hotel's offerings and the off-season experience. Here are some potential off-season target audiences:

• Business Travelers: Attract business travelers with competitive corporate rates, special packages with workspace amenities, and convenient weekday booking options.
• Local Residents: Offer staycation packages for local residents seeking a relaxing getaway close to home. Partner with local businesses for discounts at restaurants or attractions to create a well-rounded staycation experience.
• Weekend Warriors: Entice weekend getaways with romantic packages, family-friendly deals, or themed weekend events (think fall foliage tours or cozy winter retreats).
• Digital Nomads: Cater to the growing trend of remote work by offering attractive long-term stay packages with discounted rates, co-working space access, and high-speed internet.

2. Leverage the Power of Content Marketing:
Create engaging content that showcases the unique appeal of your hotel and surrounding area during the off-season. Here are some content ideas:

• Blog Posts: Write informative blog posts highlighting the advantages of visiting your location during the off-season. Feature articles on local events, hidden gems, and seasonal activities guests can enjoy.
• Social Media Marketing: Share captivating photos and videos showcasing the beauty of your hotel and surrounding area during the off-season. Utilize targeted social media advertising to reach your chosen audience segments.
• Email Marketing: Develop targeted email campaigns promoting off-season packages and highlighting the unique benefits of visiting during this time. Segment your email list to ensure your message reaches the most relevant audience.

3. Create Enticing Off-Season Packages:
Develop irresistible off-season packages that incentivize bookings and highlight the value proposition of your hotel. Consider these components:

• Competitive Rates: Offer discounted room rates to attract guests price-sensitive during the off-season. Bundle room rates with value-added amenities, such as free breakfast or spa treatments, to heighten the package appeal.
• Themed Experiences: Create themed packages that cater to specific interests, such as "Wine & Dine Weekends" partnering with local wineries, or "Fall Foliage Escape Packages" including guided hikes or scenic drives.
• Local Partnerships: Collaborate with local businesses to offer bundled packages that include activities or experiences relevant to the off-season. This showcases your hotel's integration with the local community and creates a more immersive guest experience.

4. Optimize Your Hotel Website & Online Presence:
Ensure your hotel website is optimized for off-season marketing. Here's what to consider:

• Highlight Off-Season Activities & Amenities: Showcase the activities and amenities your hotel offers that are particularly appealing during the off-season.
• Update Your Website Content: Modify your website content to emphasize the benefits of visiting during the off-season. Include clear information on off-season packages and promotions.
• Optimize Your Hotel Listing: Ensure your hotel listing on online travel agencies (OTAs) and travel booking platforms is updated with accurate information about off-season rates and packages.

5. Embrace the Power of Public Relations (PR):
Reach a wider audience by generating positive press coverage about your hotel and the off-season experience. Here are some strategies:

• Press Releases: Issue press releases announcing exciting off-season packages, themed events, or partnerships with local businesses.
• Media Outreach: Proactively reach out to travel journalists and bloggers specializing in your region or target audience. Highlight the unique off-season offerings and experiences your hotel provides.
• Social Media Contests & Giveaways: Run engaging social media contests or giveaways that encourage user-generated content and promote your off-season offerings.

Grow My Bookings: Your Partner in Off-Season Success
Navigating the complexities of off-season marketing can be challenging. Partnering with Grow My Bookings offers several advantages:

• Data-Driven Strategies: Our team utilizes data and analytics to identify underperforming periods and develop targeted marketing campaigns to maximize off-season bookings.
• Content Creation Expertise: Our content creators craft compelling website content, social media posts, and email marketing campaigns that effectively reach your target audience and entice off-season bookings.
• Package Development & Promotion: We assist in creating attractive off-season packages and implementing effective online and offline promotional strategies.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Expertise: We optimize your hotel website and online listings to ensure your hotel appears prominently in search engine results for relevant off-season travel queries.
• Public Relations & Media Outreach: Our team has established relationships with travel media outlets and can help generate positive press coverage about your hotel and off-season offerings.

Transform Your Off-Season from Slow to Sold Out
By implementing these comprehensive strategies and partnering with Grow My Bookings, you can transform your off-season from a period of sluggish bookings to a time of increased revenue and guest engagement. Remember, the off-season presents a valuable opportunity to attract new guest segments, showcase your hotel's unique offerings, and strengthen your brand reputation.
Contact Grow My Bookings today for a free consultation. Let's discuss your hotel's unique needs and create a customized off-season marketing plan that drives bookings and propels your business towards year-round success.
Together, let's turn your off-season into a season of opportunity!

I got my Mobula7 1s about a week ago, and I've spent every waking hour trying to get it to work. I finally got it up and flying and I flew about 40 packs, broke 2 motors off the frame and broke the antenna. I have more screws and a replacement antenna in the mail. It is even more fun than I was expecting.
If I was more weak of heart, I would have given up on the setup process. I am in IT and my job requires a lot of research, trial and error, and tech research. I was following YouTube videos, but so many settings and things have changed on new updates, I wanted to give my exact setup directions so someone like me can find this and see what I did to get mine to work. Looking back I probably spent...15-18 hours trying to get it all right. I set up and re-set up a lot of things.
**Starting out in FPV Takes a LOT of knowledge and setup of equipment. Follow along and watch ALL of the videos, sometimes multiple times. I found myself finding an answer by re-watching and going over the steps multiple times and catching something I'd missed. This is a time commitment, setting up your quad and your radio is going to take A COUPLE OF HOURS AT LEAST! So get comfortable.
Here's what I started with:
Happymodel Mobula7 1s - Analog 0802 20k X12 ELRS
Radiomaster Pocket (I wish now I had started with a Boxer, but I will probably save for a Boxer Max. For $65, the Pocket has been great, and now I'll have two when I get the one I want, sweet)
EV800D Goggles - For $100, these are useable to start out
BetaFPV BT2.0 Pigtails - get that juice
Soldering Iron (I got a 60w all in one kit and I wish I got the TS100
8x Tattu 1s BT2.0 450mah HV batteries - charge to 4.35v
ViFly Whoopstor 3 - highly recommend, charges 6 batteries quickly
64gb SD card for goggles
Skyzone USB OTA Receiver - does every new fpv pilot buy one of these so other people can watch?
2x Meteor75 Pro Frames (everyone and their dog recommends the M75P frame as the most durable, I got extra to build a slightly "larger" build for outdoor - You can use 45mm props with the Meteor75 Pro
Gemfan blades - mine have chipped already, but these don't really break
**After flying for 2 days, I'm ordering 100 M1.4x3 screws ($7) because the motor screws break off from the frame when flying/crashing. They give you extra but I've used them up and I'm on the last ones. I'm also ordering these 75mm u.fl antennas because I've broken the ceramic tip off of the antenna and if I go behind a wall I lose signal. No big deal, a few bucks. UPDATE - after flying about 20 packs, the antenna is better than nothing but not as good as the flimsy original one, but i did bend it a lot. I have a truerc singularity in the mail.
Lets start with the radio:
Radiomaster Pocket - (I'm sure this same thing works with Radiomaster brand radios, I followed along with people on the boxer and zorro - also if you don't have a radio I have to vote against the zorro for the small batteries)
Follow Captain Drone explain and setup switches (STOP at 8:30, where he starts binding. Betaflight update lets you bind from your computer. Start watching again when your drone is connected and the firmware is updated. Later he will walk you through setting up the "arm" switch and flight modes.
Download the ExpressLRS Configurator from Github
**I struggled to bind my Mobula for a long time until I realized that the video and the walkthrough on Github both failed to mention the "packet rate" setting in the radio menu when you press the ELRS lua script. The default is D500, and MOBULA WILL ONLY BIND on the 500hz setting. Anything with a letter in front and you will wonder what is wrong.
Update your Radiomaster internal ELRS lua script to have your binding phrase. Follow these exact instructions, but set the correct packet rate!
Plug in your quad and connect to betaflight (explained in Mobula section)
Go to the Receivers tab, set SPI reciever mode, with CRSF, and the binding phrase you put in the lua script. Save and reboot
Either press "bind" or go to the CLI and type "bind_rx"
Run ELRS lua script and press Bind. There should be a C in the top right corner. Your radio is bound.
Mobula7 1s - Setup and bind to Betaflight
Soldering BT2.0 connector - (gives you more power and more amps, highly recommend) This was my first attempt with a soldering iron. I watched Bardwells 30 minute tutorial and it helped tremendously. I started at 300C and it was too cold, I got the positive off but not the negative. The thru holes are difficult and so small. You have to hold the ground for quite a while for it to come out. I was holding the board and it got very hot, to the point I thought I messed it up. I tried again later with a hotter iron and doing quick 1-2 second bursts and it went much smoother. Take your time, line everything up. I successfully did it, but I should have practiced first.
Download Betaflight configurator (the web version didn't work for me on my Windows machine)
Plug in your quad and let Betaflight (BF) find it.
**SAVE YOUR CONFIG - go to the "presets" tab and Save Backup to someplace you will remember. After you flash the firmware, you have to reload the backup
Go to firmware flasher - Auto detect or the Mobula7 is CRAZYBEEF4SX1280. It should match the target in the top left.
Load Firmware (Online) and then Flash Firmware. You might have to save and reboot or unplug and plug back in.
**This is a huge part where I got stuck (I don't remember if it was before or after firmware). The radio and quad weren't binding. Finally, on the BF Welcome tab there are links to drivers. Download the ImpulseRC Driver Fixer. It is a tool which automatically fixes the incorrectly assigned driver for STM32 BOOTLOADER (FC in firmware update mode)
Move your quad around and make sure the model on the screen matches with what you're doing, and that the arrow points to the front of the quad.
Go to the Receiver tab and make sure your radio is bound with your quad. Move the sticks and make sure they correlate with throttle, yaw etc.
Betaflight Setup - go back to the Radiomaster section to the Captain Drone video. Start after he binds at 8:30. (You will use "bind_rx" in cli tab) It walks you through setting up arm switch and flight modes, etc.
Presets - this is especially useful because you can use someone else's information to get you started. I used the UAVTech Whoop preset, I believe it sets the master multiplier at 1.6x, and it works for me.
Bluejay Firmware - Everyone should have this. It enables bidirectional dshot and rpm filtering and makes the quad run way better with longer flight times. It's an online configurator that flashes the flight controller built into the Mobula
This OscarLiang post describes how to flash your Mobula perfectly. The only changes I made were: both common parameter sliders I moved ALL the way up. I saw 2-3 YouTube videos and posts where they upped the startup power min and max to the most allowed and it runs perfectly. (When you are on the "select target" page, the default leaves it at BLHeli_S, you have to choose the drop down of "Bluejay")
I chose the latest version firmware, and 96khz pwm frequency is recommended for tinywhoops and that it what I used. Definitely play with the startup melody, they have super mario and star wars tones that your quad will make every time you power up. Every time I plug in a new battery I get the super mario bros theme song.
Go back to BF, on the Configuration tab, my gyro update was 8khz and pid loop frequency was 8khz. After I setup the OSD, my controller was running at about 75%+ (you can see the cpu load in bf) which is about the cutoff for being too high, according to my research. Setting it at 8khz gyro and 4khz pid loop was the smoothest running for me.
**Please setup your BUZZER - I did, and the captain drone video he walks you through setting it as a switch. This saved my drone countless times already. Once you crash into a bush and take your goggles off, you completely forget where you were flying. The buzzer helps track it down more than you would expect. Flip over turtle mode is a lifesaver also, that is mandatory.
On the Motors tab, turn on Bidirectional DShot, make sure dshot300 is selected. The mobula7 has 12 motor poles. You can test each motor individually to make sure they are spinning the right direction.
**At this point, I could see the video in my goggles, and I could power up and arm the quad, but it kept jumping, twitching, and cutting power every time I gave it throttle. After lots of things, I checked each motor. Run each one individually and feel if air is blowing above or below, if it's not below, then it's the wrong direction. The solution to this was the checkbox under quad x "motor direction is reversed". I turned that on, and it worked perfectly.
I moved throttle expo to .30 and I like it quite a bit, everything else I left the same.
Closing - I'm sure I forgot/confused a few crucial steps, I'm going to be updating and fact checking these steps to hopefully help someone who was stuck like me. I hope I described each problem I had well enough so that if it happens to someone else, they can figure it out.
Since starting to write this two days ago, I've ordered a couple more things:
TrueRC Singularity 20mm locking u.fl antenna (best antenna, fits under canopy)
Extra set of HM RS0802 20k motors. Mine are champs but if one breaks I want to swap it.
TBS Trimph Antenna RP-SMA male ($20) - Huge upgrade to omni antenna on EV800D, if I find a cheap patch cable that would be cool but I'm saving for digital
Extra Runcam Nano 3 Camera (I want to try the TW Pinch)
2x Mob7 v4 frames - mine has pretty bad road rash (tinywhoop.com has cool colors)
New canopy with camera mount (the first few times you take it apart, the tiny foam piece is a pain to keep under the camera
Have fun flying!!

For context - my girlfriend and I wanted to make drinks to go with the semis/finals, and prepared for the EXPECTED top 4 teams… however, oxygen and resolve threw a wrench in those plans.
But with some quick adjustments, I present to you themed cocktails for the EU top 4!
(In order)
Potion of vitality - pineapple, mint, rum, club soda
William’s basil gimlet - gin, lime, basil, simple syrup
Os-kiwi melon Joyo-hito - kiwi, melon liqueur, blue curacao, rum, club soda
The gintlemate - blackberries, gin, cointreau, lime, club soda
Fittingly, the potion of vitality was our favorite :)

This is a store-deployed update that began deploying April 30 and is still rolling out, which also changes the game icon to a Star Wars themed one
_________________

• This information HAS been QAed and integrated into original observation posts
• IceJD maintains many other comprehensive resources in this DEB Facebook Group as an admin - join now to ensure access to info given future unknowns about the reddit platform

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📢🎁 May 1-7 apology gift: 2 Free Blitz Start Boosts🎁📢

Login at any point between May 1st and May 7th for a single free gift of 2 Blitz Start Boosts.....but you must have V62.1.0 installed to get the gift. Why the apology?

"Hey Blitzers! We heard some players were experiencing overly-long game rounds and other issues with Emoji powers that affect Blitz Mode in unique ways. These issues have been addressed and we thank you for your patience. Your Emoji Blitz Team!

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Changed Emoji Trigger Data

I think this is the first time I'm ever reporting the majority of changes (14 of 15!) are buffs *(*not nerfs!) to emoji power trigger requirements!

• Alma Madrigal- slightly less emojis needed to activate at Level 3; several less emojis needed to activate at Levels 4 and 5
• Captain Lightyear - slightly/several more emojis needed to activate for the first time at Levels 1 thru 4; no changes for subsequent activations
• C1-10P "Chopper" - no changes to emojis needed to activate for the first time; for subsequent activations, slightly less emojis needed to activate at ALL Levels
• Almost There Tiana - no changes to emojis needed to activate for the first time; for subsequent activations, significantly less emojis needed to activate at ALL Levels
• Rainbow Mickey - slightly less emojis needed to activate at Level 5
• Dapper Minnie - no changes to emojis needed to activate for the first time; for subsequent activations, slightly/several less emojis needed to activate at Levels 2 thru 5
  • The changes to Dapper Minnie were overridden by V62.1.0 Observations - (OTA May 1st & After Installing V62.1.0)
• Cave of Wonders - no changes to emojis needed to activate for the first time; for subsequent activations, slightly less emojis needed to activate at ALL Levels
• Holiday Tinker Bell - no changes to emojis needed to activate for the first time; for subsequent activations, slightly/several less emojis needed to activate at Levels 3 thru 5
• The Emperor (Mulan) - significantly less emojis needed to activate at Level 5
• Pixel Ralph - several less emojis needed to activate for the first time at ALL Levels; for subsequent activations, slightly/several less emojis needed to activate at ALL Levels
• Chernabog - no changes to emojis needed to activate for the first time; for subsequent activations, slightly less emojis needed to activate at ALL Levels
• Ruby Mushu - no changes to emojis needed to activate for the first time; for subsequent activations, slightly/several less emojis needed to activate at Levels 2 thru 4, and significantly less emojis need to activate a Level 5
  • The changes to Ruby Mushu were undone by V62.1.0 Observations - (OTA May 1st & After Installing V62.1.0)
• Platinum Mickey - no changes to emojis needed to activate for the first time; for subsequent activations, slightly less emojis needed to activate at Level 5
• Platinum Nemo - no changes to emojis needed to activate for the first time; for subsequent activations, slightly less emojis needed to activate at Levels 2 thru 5
• Platinum Jiminy Cricket - no changes to emojis needed to activate for the first time; for subsequent activations, slightly/several less emojis needed to activate at Levels 2 and 3, and significantly less emojis need to activate a Levels 4 and 5

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Changed/Relocated Emojis

• Captain Lightyear - seconds added by power reduced for Levels 2 thru 5 (+0.175, +0.20, +0.225, +0.25 +0.17, +0.19, +0.20, +0.22)

My harvest hymn — with added Chinese chemicals
By Jeremy Clarkson (The Sunday Times, April 28)
Many of us will remember that Mungo Jerry song featuring the line, “Have a drink, have a drive. Go out and see what you can find.” And of course we all realise you can’t even think that any more. And nor, really, is it considered acceptable to follow up with: “If her daddy’s rich, take her out for a meal. If her daddy’s poor, just do what you feel.” Times have moved on.
Of course lots of lyrics now feel as if they’re from another aeon. "Clair" by Gilbert O’Sullivan especially. But you might think it’s impossible for the lyrics in a harvest festival hymn to become out of date. “We plough the fields and scatter. The good seed on the land. But it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand.” Absolute timelessness. It was true ten thousand years ago and it’s true now.
No, it isn’t. God doesn’t water the land any more. The coal-fired Chinese power stations do that. And he doesn’t feed it either. That’s handled by CF Industries, which makes all the chemical fertiliser that farmers use on their fields.
We don’t even scatter seeds any more, because that’s wasteful onanism. We drill them into the ground, at precise intervals and at a precise depth using a computer-controlled, £40,000 seed drill. That’s towed behind a £250,000 Case tractor, which was built in the factory where they used to make Tiger tanks. Not much Goddishness going on in any of that.
There isn’t even any ploughing any more. In the olden days farmers would turn the top layer of soil over using a plough so that the weeds were buried. And because they were deprived of sunlight they died. It was a lovely, natural, rosy-cheeked way of creating the perfect seedbed for the following year’s crop.
But then along came Little Miss Thunberg and her merry band of Packhamites, who decided that 1,500 billion tonnes of carbon is stored in the planet’s soil. And that if you turn this soil over with a plough, all of it will be released into the upper atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. Which is bad. So the lovely, natural method of killing weeds had to stop. And instead farmers had to use chemical sorcery from Monsanto, BASF and the Zhejiang Xinan Chemical Industrial Group.
Farmers didn’t mind, if I’m honest, because ploughing is extremely expensive. You simply would not believe how much diesel is needed to drag a two-tonne land anchor through a muddy field. Using weedkiller instead is much cheaper.
Or rather it was. But weedkiller prices have gone up dramatically in recent years. And from where I’m sitting it doesn’t really seem to work any more. Every year Kaleb goes into the fields like a rural Terminator, hosing down the weeds with his ungodly chemical sorcery and then, a few weeks later, Cheerful Charlie walks me through the same fields, pointing out the brome and the black-grass, which is easy to spot because it’s purple and green and completely immune to anything the world’s chemists can throw at it.
So this year Charlie said we should become medieval and plough the fields instead. Selfish? Well, yes, this will shoot a tonne of CO2 into the troposphere and that’s obviously bad. And I’ll use four times more diesel than I would if I used weedkiller. So that’s not good for the environment either. But here’s the kicker: I wouldn’t be pumping any chemicals into the soil.
So that’s the choice — soil or sky? You have to hurt one of them if you want to eat. I went for the sky and rented a plough.
I settled on an eight-furrow monster for two good reasons. Number one: the bigger the plough, the faster you get the job done. And number two: none of Kaleb’s tractors would be powerful enough to pull it, so we’d have to use my 270bhp Lamborghini. Which would annoy him. Even admitting that it’s better than his tractors gives him a hot flush. Sometimes he vibrates with fury when he goes near it.
The only drawback to this cleverly wrought large plough plan was that, because Kaleb refuses to drive my tractor, I’d have to do the ploughing.
This is something I’ve done before. It was on Top Gear about 200 years ago and I did very well. Partly this was because my competitors in the ploughing competition were James May and Richard Hammond. And partly because one of the two judges was a really good friend of my mum.
In real life, though, things were different. I couldn’t hitch the plough to the tractor without help. I couldn’t do a three-point turn when it was attached. And I couldn’t make the tractor move when the furrows were in the sodden soil. All four wheels just sort of spun. So I had to lift the plough slightly, which meant I wasn’t ploughing. Or wiggle the steering wheel, which made big holes and, when it worked, caused me to set off in a new direction. It began to look as if a drunk, blind man with no arms was doing the ploughing.
All the time I was watching the fuel gauge plummet like the depth gauge in a holed submarine, and wondering if it might be cheaper, easier and kinder to the environment to use chemical weedkiller instead.
This is farming. Only last week I discovered that approximately 18 billion slugs have come to live in the fields where I’ve planted spring barley. If I adopt a live-and-let-live rewilding attitude and do nothing they will eat the lot and, next year, there will be no Hawkstone lager. As that makes no sense, I therefore have to pepper the field with slug pellets, which will kill them. Great. But these pellets will also kill all the worms. So what’s the answer? There isn’t one.
Similarly, I have signed up to the government’s eco-friendly grant scheme and will be planting things that aren’t food in three fields. They’re good for the soil and they’re good for my bank balance. But it means I’m not growing stuff people can eat. I know one chap who has taken 60 per cent of his farm out of food production and he’s not alone. So yippee. All that stored carbon and all of that fixed-in nitrogen.
But what if you want some bread? You’ll have to get a loaf made from wheat that was grown abroad. And how’s that good for global warming? And will it have been grown under the same stringent rules that we have here? Or will it have been fertilised with human faeces? You face a choice then. Do you want net zero in the UK? Or do you want to eat a Mexican’s turd?
Do you want lager or worms? Do you want healthy soil or a healthy sky? Do you want bees or orangutans? These are the questions I’m facing every single day. It’s a multiple-choice world of no right answers.
Which brings us back to another harvest festival hymn.
All things bright and beautiful. All birds that must be plucked. No matter what we choose to do, we’re well and truly.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Kaleb Cooper: ‘I’ve taught someone triple my age to do a better job’
The Diddly Squat farmers Jeremy Clarkson and Kaleb Cooper are back for a third series. We put our wellies on to meet the odd couple of the Cotswolds
By Ben Dowell (The Times, April 29)
During filming for the forthcoming third series of Clarkson’s Farm, Kaleb Cooper drove into work and saw Jeremy Clarkson vacuuming a blackberry bush. While the spectacle was “something I am never going to forget”, the sandy-haired, cherub-faced youngster was so unimpressed that he didn’t even get out of his car to ask what was happening.
These two have grown into one of television’s best double acts. For the show’s executive producer, Peter Fincham, there is an “element of Jeeves and Wooster” about them, a delicious odd couple relationship that is all the more gratifying because the team didn’t need to cast Cooper. He was already working on Diddly Squat Farm when the show started.
Cooper is a farmer to the tips of his muddy wellies and has taught Clarkson most of the practical business of farming his 1,000-acre establishment near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, as well as how hard the job is and the risks farmers take for little financial reward. Cooper may have just completed a sell-out national stage tour building on his popularity and more than two million Instagram followers. He may have been invited to No 10 to meet Rishi Sunak (more on that later), but everyone on the show — the producers, one of Cooper’s “Chippy” friends I spoke to and Clarkson himself — are clear: the 25-year-old hasn’t changed one iota since the show started airing in 2021.
“I think it’s very easy to be grounded if you don’t leave Chipping Norton,” Clarkson says. His girlfriend, Lisa Hogan, who has become another star of the show, agrees. “How Kaleb comes across is exactly how he is. He is very thoughtful and kind and very bright. His use of language is also very easy on the ear. We could have had a monosyllabic tractor driver and that wouldn’t have worked but we were lucky we had Kaleb.”
He has written two books as well: The World According to Kaleb and Britain According to Kaleb, with a third (Life According to Kaleb) on the way. These ruminations are often spoken into a Dictaphone (supplied by his publishers) during the 18 hours he spends each day alone in his happy place, his tractor cab. The books now sit on the shelves that a ten-year-old Cooper and his carpenter father put up in the local bookshop. Though, of course, one of the running jokes in the show is that he has only read one other book in his life apart from his own, and that was one of Clarkson’s.
There is another moment in the new series when Clarkson and Cooper (who are in competition with each other across the eight episodes) are working a field when they spy someone in the distance on another tractor drilling “his” field. He is Andy Cato of the electronic pop duo Groove Armada, and Cooper seems totally nonplussed, not least because he doesn’t know who or what Groove Armada is. The same probably goes for many of his near-neighbours, who include Joe Wicks, Simon Cowell, Natalie Imbruglia, David Beckham and Amanda Holden. When Cooper bumped into David Cameron (now Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton) in a local eaterie, he wasn’t quite sure who he was either. Strangely Cooper is now as famous as at least a few of these people. His appeal extends across the globe — Andy Wilman, Clarkson’s old Top Gear producer who edits the show, tells me that he rarely hears an English accent in the farm shop as tourists flock to see their agricultural idols.
Since Clarkson’s Farm aired, Cooper told his theatre audiences, he has been offered snazzy haircuts from top-level salons, perhaps to stop the constant mickey-taking from Clarkson. But he still goes to the same local hairdresser.
Brilliant moments are not always captured by the cameras and while the team may wake up with plans, farmers and the show’s fans will know that the weather often has other ideas. “Cheerful” Charlie Ireland, the farm’s land agent and adviser, does pop by a couple of times a day, as he does in the series, often to pour cold water on Clarkson’s latest schemes. But many of these moments are not filmed. Is that annoying?
“Sometimes you think, ‘Oh, that would be really good, that’d be funny on TV,’ but actually [the cameras] are not there,” Cooper says. “But you don’t say these things, to make it up for the TV. I may have taken drama in school, but I got a U in it, so actually I’m not an actor.”
Clarkson agrees: “It is [effortless] because I don’t have to pretend to be someone else. With The Grand Tour, Richard Hammond isn’t as stupid as he’s made out. I’m not as bombastic as is made out and James May isn’t quite as boring as he’s made out. And so you’re playing a caricature, you’re playing a role, you’re there to provoke and be stupid. Here, we haven’t got any of that. So we’re just ourselves. You get up and you just have to be yourself, which is incredibly relaxing. And in that regard it is effortless. Farming is not effortless. Make no mistake, the television side of it is a piece of cake because I don’t have to think, ‘Oh I’d better say something idiotic now.’”
“You do that anyway,” Cooper says.
The two bicker in exactly the same way off camera as they do on. At the press conference for the new series they quarrelled with good humour about their dogs. Cooper says Clarkson’s pair of fox-red labradors (named Sansa and Arya after Game of Thrones characters) are “posh man’s dogs” who “never do a thing he says”. Clarkson maintains that Cooper just locks his dog in his tractor cab. They also bicker about the goats Clarkson keeps. Clarkson likes their eyes and thinks they do a good job mowing his grass. Cooper thinks he should breed and slaughter them in the conventional way and sell goat meat in the farm shop.
There is a similar clash of approaches over the pigs. Cooper doesn’t get as emotional as Clarkson and Hogan when things go wrong (and they do go wrong with the pigs this series). When Clarkson holds aloft a newborn piglet, Cooper calls him a “proud parent”, which feels part mickey-take, part genuinely warm compliment — a common theme in their complex relationship.
Clarkson is learning to be more steely and is, Cooper says, actually now a “good pig farmer”. Is the younger man pleased that Clarkson has come on? Or is there a bit of him who would still enjoy showing him the ropes?
“I think there’s a bit of a proudness of teaching someone maybe triple my age … to go out and do a better job … Hopefully I’ve taught him a lot about it. But he’s taught me so much equally about the television industry.” In fact, Cooper says, he has learnt so much that he cannot watch TV now because he knows how it all works behind the scenes.
He is a voice for farmers, showing us how hard the job of people who put food on our table is, and demanding that we respect it. Cooper has arranged two bursaries of £3,000 plus a work placement for young farmers and is keen that more enter a profession where the average age is 59. When he met Sunak last May he was more interested in the PM’s hair than anything, principally because he didn’t expect much from him.
“Let’s put it this way. If someone invited me tomorrow to go to a farm … if I go to that farm and that farmer says to me, ‘Kaleb, you know what, this week I’m gonna plough that field,’ I know for a damn fact that that farmer is going to go out there and plough that field because he said he’s going do it. If the prime minister or anyone from politics goes to me, ‘Kaleb, I’m going to do this next week,’ they’re not going to do it, are they?”
While he doesn’t have much faith in our legislators making life easier for hard-pressed farmers or for supermarkets to pay them more, he must be pleased that people, especially city folk, now know about farming thanks to him, I say.
“Yeah, everyone knows what a tramline is now, right? And let’s face it, I always say this: it doesn’t matter what phone you’ve got, what car you’ve got, what house you’re living in, what matters the very most is what’s coming across your plate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And therefore that is the most important thing to me.”
Cooper is open to offers of shows such as I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! but thinks he probably won’t have the time with all the work he has to do. Clarkson called him “easily the most entrepreneurial person I have ever met” and he is laser-focused on his ultimate goal of having a farm one day, which will have to be local, despite the “extortionate” price of land in the area.
“I want to farm here,” he says. “I don’t want to move away from my family and everything I know. This is where I was brought up and this is where I’m going to stay.”
But the show will be with us for a while. It is hugely popular — series four is being filmed and while viewing figures aren’t available, it is believed to be Prime’s most popular programme in the UK by, well, a country mile.
Cooper is engaged to his partner, Taya (mother to their three-year-old son and ten-month-old daughter), but doesn’t know when he will have time to walk down the aisle. He knows he will “have a great party”, and isn’t yet sure if Clarkson will be his best man. But one thing’s for sure, Clarkson has already found his.
The new series of Clarkson’s Farm is on Prime Video from May 3.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
No Sun column this week, but the Guardian (!) has published a long interview with Clarkson: "'Dismissing global warming? That was a joke': Jeremy Clarkson on fury, farming and why he’s a changed man". Let me know if you have problems viewing it.
Clarkson's columns are regularly collected as books. You can buy them from his boss or your local bookshop.

• CalyxOS 5.6.3
• Available for all supported devices

Rollout

Release channel	Date	Notes
Beta	27 April, Saturday	Pixel Tablet, 3a, 3a XL, 3, 3 XL releasing later in the day
Security express	29 April, Monday
Stable	30 April, Tuesday

Changelog

• CalyxOS 5.6.3
• April 2024 Feature update
• Chromium 124.0.6367.82 (latest stable)
• SeedVault Backup: Completely revamp backup scheduling
• SeedVault Backup: Add scheduling options
• SeedVault Backup: Improve backup notifications
• SeedVault Backup: Include user profile name in backup name
• SeedVault Backup: Auto-disable apps that cancel the entire backup
• SeedVault Backup: Add support for RoundSync as a storage provider
• microG: Allow configuring custom local service URL
• microG: Location: Improve update delivery
• Firewall: Fix sorting crash when no apps are installed
• Settings: Hide "Use precise location" for unsupported apps
• Include Breezy Weather by default for new installs.
• If you're using Geometric Weather, that's no longer maintained.
• We recommend installing Breezy Weather from F-Droid.
• Update all included apps
• Updated translations

Pixel 8, 8 Pro, Fold, Tablet, 7a, 7, 7 Pro, 6a, 6, 6 Pro, 5a, 5, 4a (5G), 4a, 4, 4 XL, SHIFT6MQ

• Update to AP1A.240405.002.B1 (Pixel 8, 8 Pro, 7a, 7, 7 Pro)
• Update to AP1A.240405.002.A2 (Pixel Fold)
• Also includes the below changes from CalyxOS 5.6.2:
• microG: v0.3.1.240913
• Update translations
• Dialer: Material You theme & icons
• Dialer: Visual voicemail support for more carriers
• Dialer: Allow per-call account selection (for multi sim)
• Dialer: Call statistics
• Files app: Fix zip archive interactions

FP4

• Fix eSIM / SIM Manager issues by using the app from FP5

FP5

• Make AGPS toggle work better

Note

• Over-the-air Updates: CalyxOS updates are delivered over-the-air (OTA) automatically, without any manual intervention needed. However, if you'd like to manually update your CalyxOS install, see OTA.
• Security Updates: The Pixel 8 Pro, 8, Fold, Tablet 7a, 7 Pro, 7, 6a, 6 Pro, 6, 5a (5G) contain the full security patch, as they are still being updated by Google.
• Security Updates: The Fairphone 4, Motorola moto g32, moto, g42, moto g52 stock OS follows a different security update release schedule, which usually lags behind by a month or two compared to Pixels. The CalyxOS releases for it only contain the latest fixes to the open source components, such as the OS code and the Linux kernel. Proprietary components such as the bootloader, modem firmware, and other firmware get updates as soon as the stock OS update is available.
• Security Updates: SHIFT6mq stock OS follows a different security update release schedule. The device is still supported by the manufacturer. The CalyxOS releases for it only contain the latest fixes to the open source components, such as the OS code and the Linux kernel. Proprietary components such as the bootloader, modem firmware, and other firmware get updates as soon as the stock OS update is available.
• End-of-life: The Pixel 4a (5G), 5, 4a, 4 XL, 4, 3a XL, 3a, 3 XL, 3 are no longer being updated by Google, so the CalyxOS releases for these devices only contain the fixes to the open source components, such as the OS code and the Linux kernel. Proprietary components such as the bootloader, modem firmware, and other firmware no longer get updates.

Matrix channel

• If you're having trouble trying to post messages to the #CalyxOS matrix channel, try to leave the channel if possible, and then try writing /join #CalyxOS:matrix.org in any chat in Matrix. That should re-connect you to the channel.

We have progress! =)
Enable bluetooth:
{"command":"BLUETOOTH_PAIRING","payload":{"enabled":true}}
These were extracted from the decompiled parents app APK:
BLUETOOTH_PAIRING (Default pairing code is 6688)

{"command":"BLUETOOTH_PAIRING","payload":{"enabled":true}} {"command":"BLUETOOTH_PAIRING","payload":{"enabled":false}} 

LIGHTS

{"command":"LIGHTS","payload":{"enabled":true}} {"command":"LIGHTS","payload":{"enabled":true}} 

VOICE_LOCK
INTERACTION_LOCK
MAX_VOLUME
NEXT

{"command":"NEXT"} 

CodePackage.OTA
PARENTAL_LOCK
PAUSE

{"command":"PAUSE"} 

PLAY

{"command":"PLAY"} 

PLAY_HIGH_PRIORITY

{"command":"PLAY_HIGH_PRIORITY","payload":{"url":"http://codeskulptor-demos.commondatastorage.googleapis.com/GalaxyInvaders/theme_01.mp3","stop_when_done":false}} 

PREV

{"command":"PREV"} 

REQUEST_INFO

{"command":"REQUEST_INFO"} 

SELECT_PLAYLIST_AND_PLAY
SELECT_PLAYLIST

Link to article on marvelsnapzone: https://marvelsnapzone.com/marvel-snap-april-25-2024-ota-card-balance-updates/
​
Red Hulk

• [Old] 6/11 – When your opponent ends a turn with unspent Energy, +4 Power. (if in hand or in play)
• [Change] 6/11-> 6/9

Red Hulk has been the best 6-Cost in the game since release, and even created upticks in a handful of other options that effectively countered one big play, like Leader and Spectrum. Elements of the strength and its counters were intentional, given the mechanic revealing Red Hulk to your opponent was a novel bit of mechanical space we rarely explore. We expected that to mean Red Hulk’s cube gain rate would be much lower when compared to similarly winning cards, due to it being very difficult to get the final double, so part of the card’s baseline strength was compensation for that downside. However, Red Hulk’s cube gain rate has also been quite strong, leading to today’s nerf to level the playing field. In fact, some of us have wondered how many 8-cube games Red Hulk was stealing by “tricking” opponents into countering the big guy, only to lose to a combination of smaller cards!

​
U.S. Agent

• [Old] 2/3 – Ongoing: 4, 5, and 6-Cost cards here have -3 Power.
• [New] Ongoing: 4, 5, and 6-Cost cards here have -4 Power.

On the flip side, U.S. Agent released a bit on the weak side. The change to Zabu reducing the number of 4-Cost cards in play combined with the resurgence of Angela-based swarm decks probably reduced the potential impact of U.S. Agent. However, the data doesn’t indicate that this card is too far off the mark, so we’re just improving the effect a little.

​
Jean Grey

• [Old] 3/3 – Ongoing: Players must play their first card here each turn. (if possible)
• [Change] 3/3 -> 3/4

No, this isn’t just because we’re all loving X-Men ’97-although that’s definitely true! Jean has stood on the edge of a balancing knife for some time now, with an effect that can be frustratingly strong. However, with the metagame seeing a major uptick in big combos like Annihilus and Hela, along with Angela-based decks easily evading the effect’s downsides, now seems like a good time to explore pushing a bit more Power into one of the strongest X-Men. Jean’s Ongoing can uniquely hurt specific opponents alongside tech cards like Cosmo and Echo, offering players who enjoy a more controlling strategy a new way to play.

​
Stature

• [Old] 5/6 – Costs 1 if your opponent discarded a card this game.
• [Change] 5/6 -> 5/7

Similarly, Stature has proven that one more Power is within reach. This has been an unusual card to monitor, as every now and then we’ll see Stature temporarily vault into our Top 10 cards on internal metrics, but never make a prolonged stay. After seeing the cycle often enough, we’ve chalked it up to the cyclical presence of Mobius M. Mobius in various decks. With Pixie decks that always play Mobius performing well lately, it’s fair game to give Stature a small buff in compensation for that vulnerability.

​
Mantis

• [Old] 2/2 – On Reveal: If your opponent played any cards here this turn, copy one of them into your hand.
• [Change] 2/2 -> 1/2

Admittedly, we were quite conservative on the previous functional change to Mantis, going with 2/2 out of concern for the card becoming annoying against enemy Venoms and the like. Since those fears proved unfounded, we’re restoring Mantis to 1/2.

​
Jane Foster

• [Old] 5/8 – On Reveal: Draw all cards that Cost 0 from your deck.
• [Change] 5/8 -> 5/9

Last but not least, the Mighty Thor! It’s no secret that we think the Asgard-themed deck built around finding and slamming various hammers is a lot of fun, and players seem to agree. It’s an archetype that flirts with competitive play fairly often-as this is being written, Beta Ray Bill is on the rise-but struggles to maintain such performance. In fact, we’re chalking part of that up to the new Sandman punishing turn 5 Jane especially well. Adding a bit of Power for those games where you have to prove your Worth the hard way makes sense.

​
​

April 25th - Balance Updates
Welcome back! We'll be resuming our "OTA, Patch, OTA, Off" cadence after this week, assuming future patches continue to land as scheduled. We're largely happy with the metagame at the moment, so today's changes aim to weaken one threat in particular while distributing a handful of buffs to more fringe cards.
Red Hulk

• [Old] 6/11 - When your opponent ends a turn with unspent Energy, +4 Power. (if in hand or in play)
  
• [Change] 6/11 -> 6/9
  

Red Hulk has been the best 6-Cost in the game since release, and even created upticks in a handful of other options that effectively countered one big play, like Leader and Spectrum. Elements of the strength and its counters were intentional, given the mechanic revealing Red Hulk to your opponent was a novel bit of mechanical space we rarely explore. We expected that to mean Red Hulk's cube gain rate would be much lower when compared to similarly winning cards, due to it being very difficult to get the final double, so part of the card's baseline strength was compensation for that downside.
However, Red Hulk's cube gain rate has also been quite strong, leading to today's nerf to level the playing field. In fact, some of us have wondered how many 8-cube games Red Hulk was stealing by "tricking" opponents into countering the big guy, only to lose to a combination of smaller cards!
U.S. Agent

• [Old] 2/3 - Ongoing: 4, 5, and 6-Cost cards here have -3 Power.
  
• [New] Ongoing: 4, 5, and 6-Cost cards here have -4 Power.
  

On the flip side, U.S. Agent released a bit on the weak side. The change to Zabu reducing the number of 4-Cost cards in play combined with the resurgence of Angela-based swarm decks probably reduced the potential impact of U.S. Agent. However, the data doesn't indicate that this card is too far off the mark, so we're just improving the effect a little.
Jean Grey

• [Old] 3/3 - Ongoing: Players must play their first card here each turn. (if possible)
  
• [Change] 3/3 -> 3/4
  

No, this isn't just because we're all loving X-Men '97–although that's definitely true! Jean has stood on the edge of a balancing knife for some time now, with an effect that can be frustratingly strong. However, with the metagame seeing a major uptick in big combos like Annihilus and Hela, along with Angela-based decks easily evading the effect's downsides, now seems like a good time to explore pushing a bit more Power into one of the strongest X-Men. Jean's Ongoing can uniquely hurt specific opponents alongside tech cards like Cosmo and Echo, offering players who enjoy a more controlling strategy a new way to play.
Stature

• [Old] 5/6 - Costs 1 if your opponent discarded a card this game.
  
• [Change] 5/6 -> 5/7
  

Similarly, Stature has proven that one more Power is within reach. This has been an unusual card to monitor, as every now and then we'll see Stature temporarily vault into our Top 10 cards on internal metrics, but never make a prolonged stay. After seeing the cycle often enough, we've chalked it up to the cyclical presence of Mobius M. Mobius in various decks. With Pixie decks that always play Mobius performing well lately, it's fair game to give Stature a small buff in compensation for that vulnerability.
Mantis

• [Old] 2/2 - On Reveal: If your opponent played any cards here this turn, copy one of them into your hand.
  
• [Change] 2/2 -> 1/2
  

Admittedly, we were quite conservative on the previous functional change to Mantis, going with 2/2 out of concern for the card becoming annoying against enemy Venoms and the like. Since those fears proved unfounded, we're restoring Mantis to 1/2.
Jane Foster

• [Old] 5/8 - On Reveal: Draw all cards that Cost 0 from your deck.
  
• [Change] 5/8 -> 5/9
  

Last but not least, the Mighty Thor! It's no secret that we think the Asgard-themed deck built around finding and slamming various hammers is a lot of fun, and players seem to agree. It's an archetype that flirts with competitive play fairly often–as this is being written, Beta Ray Bill is on the rise–but struggles to maintain such performance. In fact, we're chalking part of that up to the new Sandman punishing turn 5 Jane especially well. Adding a bit of Power for those games where you have to prove your Worth the hard way makes sense. — That's all for this week. Until next time, happy snapping!