Along Tottenham High Road
As the cricket was called off today, I decided to go to IKEA today, as I needed to check out a few ideas.
The 341 bus, that I take goes along the Tottenham High Road, which was badly affected by the riots last week.
It looked to me, that apart from one or two notable exceptions, the damage wasn’t as bad as it had been painted by the media.
One of the pictures shows the entrance to the garage, where I used to bike for half-a-crown to see Spurs in the early 1960s. It doesn’t look to have been done up at all since.
The Tottenham area of Haringey was never the best, and as the pictures show, there are very few quality buildings except for White Hart Lane Stadium and that is too small and parts of it were built in the 1930s.
Spurs say they intend to build a new much larger stadium on the land north of the existing stadium, but whether they will is open to question. The stadium has always suffered from access problems, but then so has Chelsea and West Ham.
But developing the football club and the surrounding area could be a stimulus to the whole area, especially, if the Lea Valley Lines were upgraded.
Somebody Nicked The Beach
The beach at N1 has gone.
The Beach at N1 Has Gone
Did it get nicked? Or have they decided summer is so terrible, that it just had to go!
India Goes Barmy
My next door neighbour was once a retired British Army Colonel. After visiting India and seeing the rehearsal for the Republic Day ceremony in New Delhi, I said it was the best military ceremony, I’d seen and that included quite a bit of the Guards in London.
He said it was debatable, whether the Indians copied us in this field or we copied them. It doesn’t really matter, as a good spectacle is always a good spectacle.
So now after a disappointing summer for their cricketers, Charaan Shetty has launched the Indian Cricket Dundee, which is talked about in the Times today as an Indian version of the England’s Barmy Army.
Farewell Dr. Zebra
Little is to be found on the Internet about George Charlesworth, who died last month. He was the man, who suggested the black and white stripes to improve pedestrian crossings and was therefore nicknamed Dr. Zebra. His obituary is here.
He is one of those few people, who have earned a similar inscription on their grave as Christopher Wren.
Reader, if you seek his memorial – look around you.
There are only a few of whom that can be said.
Camera Trap Study Reveals Wildlife
The world’s largest camera trap study has revealed lots of animals in remote locations. Read about it here.
I’m all for this type of work, but we must analyse the data correctly. It must not be hi-jacked and interpreted on a basis to prove questionable theories or promote dubious business models.
The Otters Are Back
According to this report, otters are now back in every county in England.
Many years ago, when supposedly otters were extinct in Suffolk, I used to know a real countryman, who in his time, had been the Master of the East Anglian Otter Hounds. They hadn’t hunted otters for many years and just followed the scent they left. If they wanted sport, they hunted the two pests of mink and coypu.
He believed that otters were there and said that the reason they were never seen, was that those who looked didn’t know how to find them, as they tended to look for the signs of otters, rather than the animals themselves. He also felt that if people believed otters to be extinct, this would mean more money and visitors for otter sanctuaries. Others like Bjorn Lomborg believe that some organisations make out that things are worse than they are for their own selfish reasons.
So I wouldn’t be surprised if my friend was right, that otters were about, but preferred to keep their own company.
That is not to say that their numbers were small because of pesticides, bad water quality and other problems. Another naturalist once told me, that the biggest threat to otters on places like the Norfolk Broads was powerboats, as the boats’ wakes drowned otters and their young in their holts.
There was also a story last year about koi carp being stolen from an ornamental pond in Birmingham. The usual suspects were put in the frame and CCTV was setup. Everybody was surprised when the culprits were identified as otters from a nearby canal.
It just goes to show that animals are much more common than you think.
How long before an otter gets spotted in the Olympic Park. They already have foxes and a dead otter was found in Wapping in 2006.
Abercrombie and Fitch
I don’t wear designer brands and especially those that are obvious to others in the street.
So I was rather amused that Abercrombie and Fitch are reported to be getting angry about a reality TV show in the United States, where some of the odious cast wear their brand. Incidentally, I generally don’t use American brands unless I know the company’s policy on the environment, workplace policies, the death penalty and other matters. As an example you’d never see me in Asda, but I do buy products from Microsoft.
I Thought Spain Was a Catholic Country
There is news today, of protests today over the visit of the Pope to Spain.
The authorities say that the visit is self-funded, but with record youth unemployment and other problems , the protestors feel the money could be better spent.
If the Pope really wanted to help this world he could change his stance on birth control. Something that is used by most Spaniards.
The Anonymous Widower 