The Anonymous Widower

The Hats are Still There

I went into Cambridge this afternoon and the hats I mentioned earlier are still there.

So I took some pictures of Kings College Chapel and Senate House.

Note that the hats are quite small, so enlarge the pictures to see them on the four spires.

December 1, 2009 Posted by | News | | Leave a comment

Is This the World’s Naffest Product?

There are certain things in life that I don’t like.

And this product combines two of my least favourite products in one very naff package; the iPhone and a table lamp!

December 1, 2009 Posted by | World | | Leave a comment

Eco-Hypocrites

I laughed when I read this article in The Times.

But with global warming it isn’t quite so funny! 

I used to be a private pilot.  I say used to be advisedly, as flying an aircraft is a bit like riding a bicycle or riding a horse, in that once you’ve done it, you never forget.  So if I’m on a flight, when both pilots eat the fish that makes them ill, then hopefully I’ll be able to do the hero bit and save everybody.  I say hopefully, but as I said in a piece in The Times some years ago, the important thing is being able to work the radio, so someone can tell you which buttons to push!

I could claim the moral high ground and say that I don’t fly for ecological reasons, but that is not strictly true.  It is just too expensive these days and I prefer to spend my money in other ways.  I also flew before the low-cost airlines were about and that made a difference to the cost benefits.  Perhaps one day, I’ll take to the air again for fun, but now I look upon it as just an enjoyable phase of my life.  Sadly, there are few pictures of either of my aircraft and the wonderful places I took them.

But I was no Harrison Ford.  As the article in The Times says.

Harrison Ford, who is vice-chairman on the board of Conservation International, voices public-service messages for an environmental federation called EarthShare, and once shaved his chest hair to illustrate the effects of deforestation, is another hobby pilot. He once owned a Gulfstream but now makes do with a smaller Cessna Citation Sovereign eight-seater jet, four propeller planes and a helicopter.

Or John Travolta, Tom Cruise, Opray Winfrey etc.

The sad thing about these people, is that so many celeb-wannabees want to be like them, with multiple homes, private jets, large 4×4’s, the ability to fly your hairdresser all the way from LA to Europe and all sorts of other energy wasteful processes.

On the other hand I heard a story about another rich and famous couple, who did a similar horse-riding safari to myself in Kenya.  They turned up with their enormous entourage of just two friends, mucked in with the other guests and had a very good time.  So did all the other guests!  Often you hear of celebrities and politicians ruining holidays for everybody else.

What we need is an index of celebrities eco-credentials.

They’d love all the publicity!

Or would they?

December 1, 2009 Posted by | Transport/Travel, World | , , | Leave a comment

Our World

Whilst writing the previous post about students, I looked up Cliff Michelmore.  I’d quite forgotten that he was the presenter of Our World, the first global television link-up, which included segments from the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia.

I remember the program for the performance of the Beatles.

Today, it is most famous for the segment from the United Kingdom starring The Beatles. Performing at the height of the Vietnam War, the group wanted to spread a message of peace and love to the world. They gave a live performance, transmitted at 8:54 p.m. GMT, performing a new song written by John Lennon, “All You Need Is Love”, composed especially for the occasion. The Beatles invited many of their friends to the event to create a festive atmosphere and to join in on the song’s chorus. Among the friends were members of The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Marianne Faithfull, Keith Moon and Graham Nash. The performance required only a single rehearsal.

It made a boring, but worthy program, absolutely memorable.  But then no-one in the history of pop music comes anywhere near the Beatles.

Can I remember anything else? 

Yes!  I can remember tram cars coming out of a tram-shed somewhere.  I thought it was Toronto, but it was in reality Melbourne in Australia.

December 1, 2009 Posted by | World | , | Leave a comment

Students will be Students

When I was at Liverpool University, I had a friend on my course called Alvin John Slasser, who was known as Shaun.  He was an experienced climber and climbed everything in site, including the giant crane that was being used to build the Catholic Cathedral.

So when I heard on the news this morning that students had put Santa hats on Kings College chapel I was amused.  It was just students following the tradition of Shaun and others.  It would appear though that the college authorities are not amused.

The article in the Telegraph also notes this student prank.

In 1958 a group of Cambridge engineering students hoisted an Austin Seven onto the roof of the Senate House at night and left it balancing there.

A few years after this happened, I remember them showing how they did this on the legendary Tonight program with Cliff Michelmore.  On the previous night they’d hoisted beams to make a crane and then the car with its back axle removed was lifted, followed by the axle.

I sometimes wonder what happened to the students who did that stunt.

I got a lot of that wrong, when I originally wrote it.  The full tale is here.

Sadly, Shaun, my friend at Liverpool University died when abseiling down a rock face in Snowdonia.

Life can be cruel.

December 1, 2009 Posted by | News | , , , | 2 Comments