The Other Side of the Olympics
Tonight, I went to a preview day of an art exhibition at the ViewTube.
It was a series of drawings about the building of the various Olympic stadia by Jeanette Barnes, who lives close to the main Olympic Park.
In this picture the artist is shown with some of her art.
Jeanette Barnes and Some of Her Olympic Drawings
Here is a larger image of one of drawings.
The Aquatic Centre by Jeanette Barnes
And a collection of smaller ones.
More Drawings by Jeanette Barnes
I like her work and hope the exhibition goes well. Certainly, the Pimms they were serving was excellent.
Her work wasn’t the only art on show tonight.
Children's Art at the ViewTube
This was created by the local kids.
And of course starting to tower above it all is the ArcelorMittal Orbit.
ArcelorMittal Orbit
It’s rising fast.
How To Handle Enquiries
Horse racing often gets a certain amount of negative publicity.
On Saturday, I am thinking of going to the Epsom Derby, as if the Queen’s Horse, Carlton House, should win, it will be one of those truly I-was-there moments, that only happen once in a century.
So I phoned the enquiries number at the course, got straight through to a real person and the conversation went like this.
Q: Can you buy tickets for the Upper Tattersalls Enclosure on the day?
A: Yes! We hope to have lots on the gate.
Q: Will I be able to get into the centre of the course to the fun fair and the market from there?
A: Yes!
Q: How far is the enclosure from Tattenham Corner Station?
A: About half-a-mile.
I then decided I was going, especially as there is a direct train from London Bridge at 11:45.
So why sometimes do simple questions about events sometimes take hours?
Transmanche Metro
This is an idea that I found on Wikipedia for Stratford station, which talks of the proposed “Transmanche Metro” service to Calais via local stations.
It appears to contain a certain degree of kite-flying and some of the references seem to link it with French politics. There is this article on a holiday home web site.
On the other hand a direct route from Stratford in East London to Lille, via Ebbsfleet, Ashford and Calais might prove to be a lower cost alternative to Eurostar, especially for commuters, business and families, especially if it offered a virtually turn-up-and-go service.
The problems with setting it up would probably be more to do with the vested interests of Eurostar and SNCF, than anything to do with access to the Channel Tunnel or safety issues.
Will it ever happen?
Probably not for a couple of years or so, but then who’d have thought that such as Ryanair and easyJet would grow so big, when they started by providing a low-cost alternative to the major airlines. So don’t predict anything!
Yorkshire Has Its Own Ways of Dealing With Unwanted Noise
After the problems with swearing in Barnsley, we now have a story of how a group of over-excessive bell ringers were locked in their belfry by an irate pensioner.
Don’t get me wrong, I quite like bells, but they have a time and a place. And in this case three hours was probably too long a time, especially as they weren’t for a particular celebration like a wedding, but just for fun.
The Other Side of the Olympic Site
Yesterday, I took the train from Stratford to Tottenham Hale. It is actually a slow train to Stansted Airport, that stops in several places on its way to the airport.
It runs every thirty minutes or so, so it is not often the most convenient way to get between the two places, but because of the various developments and countryside along the line it makes a pleasant alternative as you wander up the Lee Valley.
The Anonymous Widower 