Engineers Will Be Engineers
Coming back from Ipswich last night, as the train sped through Stratford, I was reminded of a story from the time I worked for ICI at Welyn Garden City in the 1960s.
In those days staff travelled up to the major plant at Wilton on Teesside quite regularly. One of my tales is detailed here.
Usually, staff travelled from Stevenage, as the fast trains didn’t stop at Welwyn Garden City.
One day, the train staff announced on a trip down, that the train would not be stopping at Stevenage for some reason and passengers would have to alight at Kings Cross and get a train back.
There was quite an ICI contingent on the train, and one was a railway enthusiast, who knew the speeds and distances of the line.
He calculated that if the communication cord was pulled so many seconds after the train crossed the Digswell Viaduct, the train would coast safely into Welwyn Garden City station.
The plan worked perfectly and anybody who wanted to, disembarked safely at the station.
British Railways were not amused!
Why Is This Story Popular?
This morning, this story about the execution of Saddam Hussein, was second on the most-read list on the BBC News web site.
It’s still at number five!
Why? It was written in 2006!
Do People Prefer A Terrible Local Hospital?
This article from the Express and Star illustrates the problems of reforming local health services.
The problems that existed at Stafford Hospital have been well documented. This report from the BBC is typical of many I’ve seen.
One of the problems with hospitals with bad reputations either in the media or amongst medical professionals, is that no staff will move there, as they want to protect their professional reputation. There is a story about this from the Stoke Sentinel.
But those that want to keep Stafford Hospital going, have no right to use some of the abuse they have against Julie Bailey, who fought valiantly to expose the scandal of poor healthcare at the hospital. It’s probably lucky for Ms. Bailey, that she appears to be white. I suppose that is lucky for her abusers, as otherwise some of the language used would have probably involved a reference to the police.
An Excellent Use For Rats
I saw this story about rats being used for mine clearance in Mozambique first in The Times. But here’s the report with a picture from the Mirror.
The Gambian pounched rat used for the clearance certainly looks to be a bit bigger than your average UK rat. Good luck to the charity Apopo in their work!
The bad news is that the Gambian pounched rat is not a genuine rat, so those murophobics won’t be pleased, if something goes wrong.
Tan And Ollie
The BBC commentator on the Cardiff match at Arsenal on Match of the Day last night deliberately referred to Vincent Tan and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Tan and Ollie.
I was amused, but was the Cardiff City owner?
A Day Of Lots Of Misses And Rain
Yesterday was one of those days. I went to Portman Road to see Ipswich play Charlton.
I got there on time, but only just, as the journey to Liverpool Street was a succession of misses, buses and Underground trains. I had to skip lunch, as my usual pit-stop at Carluccio’s at Spitalfields was closed for New Year’s Day. The alternative of sandwiches from Marks and Spencer was also not on, as they were closed.
No Sandwiches
Luckily, I was able to get a couple of EatNakd bars from Boots, although after I’d bought them, I found that the Camden Food company had a bigger selection.
I was soaked, by the time I got to my seat and the rain was so bad, they’d had to move some spectators to a drier part of the stadium.
To say the match was ruined by the rain, would be an understatement. That makes it three out of the last four matches that I’ve seen, have been ruined by the weather.
To add to the misses, David McGoldrick missed a penalty, so the match was only drawn.
Coming back, I wasn’t as fast as normal to the station and as the match finished late, I missed the train and had to wait for forty minutes in the cold.
And then coming back from Liverpool Street, I decided to take the dry route to Barbican station to get a 56 bus. And as i walked to the stop, the bus I wanted roared past. So I had to take a 153 and then a 38!
It was not the best of days! It probably summed up my miserable Christmas. But speaking to others at the match, mine seemed to have just about this year’s norm. Next year, I won’t be here!
The Anonymous Widower 