It All Happens In London In May
May is looking to be a big month for the infrastructure of London.
I’ve just read this article in the Hackney Gazette, which is entitled Canary Wharf Crossrail Artwork Released.
But as the article says, we won’t see the artwork until 2018, when Canary Wharf Crossrail station opens.
But what the article does say, is that the shops, restaurants, bars and the roof garden will open to the public in May.
So what else is happening in May?
1. Crossrail will take over the Shenfield Metro services in May. I have spoken to staff about this and everybody I spoke to seemed positive about the move and there has been the odd article like this one in the Btrentwood Gazette that has shown a positive tone.
2. Cossrail has put out this report, which says that tunnelling will be complete in the Spring amongst other things.
3. The Lea Valley Lines become part of the London Overground on the 31st of the Month. I don’t think you’ll find many, who believe it was wrong that London took over the North and East London Lines to create the Overground in 2007. So probably the sentiment for this takeover is positive.
4. Today on Hackney Central station, I asked a London Overground employee, when the pedestrian link to Hackney Downs station will open. It should be in May. He also told me about all the other developments at Hackney Central that are being planned, like extra lifts. The Overground does seem to have instilled infectious enthusiasm into its staff.
There is also the little matter of the first General Election of 2015.
Walking Through My Maternal Grandparents’ Lives
My maternal grandmother, Harriet Martha Upcott, was born opposite Dalston Junction station in Dalston Lane in May 1871. In September 1894, she married my grandfather, Henry Millbank, who had been born in Clerkenwell in 1870. Census and other records show that in 1894 they lived at 29 Dalston Lane and then by 1901 they had moved to 90, Princess May Road in Stoke Newington. As Princess May Road is perhaps a kilometre from where I live now, I walked round all these places this morning.
In some ways, one thing that struck me as I walked in a semi-circle to St. Mark at the back of the famous Ridley Road Market was how intact the late Victorian terraces were. But why was 90, Princess May Road missing. Was it just development or did the Luftwaffe have a hand? I shall go to the Hackney Records Office opposite where my grandmother was born in the week.
It was a family joke between my parents, that my grandmother was born in the Balls Pond Road, when it was posh the first time around. The Balls Pond Road is the continuation of Dalston Lane towards Islington.
I can’t salso ever remember talk of Dalston, despite my mother having worked at Reeves. Stoke Newington and Islington were mentioned.
BT Annoys The Big Six Energy Companies
You would think that BT would be very much in bed with the Big Six energy companies, as they probably draw their directors and advisers from the same pool of fat cats.
So I was surprised to find this guide to the quirkier small energy companies on BT’s web site.
I doubt a big broadband/telephone/mobile company would get into the energy business, as the corporate world is littered with failures of companies trying to ride two horses at once. But with smart meters coming in and all the connectivity that a broadband company has, they could offer you a free lifestyle application that calculated your energy usage and suggest how you could save money.
I can certainly see these applications being developed and when properly connected to your house or flat they could make a lot of difference to your lifestyle and how you sustain and support.
Electricity, gas, phone and broadband usage can all be precisely monitored and relayed to the app on your phone, tablet or laptop.
Much modern housing also has an activity monitor in each room of the dwelling. I have one in each room here and they are the controllers for the underfloor central heating. My ones aren’t but others exist that could be connected into the system. As the average adult is quite a large heat source of upwards of a kilowatt, they can effect the heat input to the room to maintain the required temperature.
Given to, that the Internet of things is coming, which will know what’s going on in the dishwasher, microwave, cooker and washing machine, the best apps will be able to tell you why you’re lifestyle is expensive.
And of course, I haven’t linked this to your car and credit card bills, yet!
Suppose too, you had intelligent scales that weighed you each morning and automatically took things like blood pressure and pulse.
Hopefully, these apps will nudge people to a better lifestyle.
I suppose in some ways, they will be a bit like automatic lifestyle coaches, suggesting things you might or should do.
The Anonymous Widower 