An Unusual Way To Promote Road Safety
I like this story from the BBC. Here’s the first bit.
“Sexy” lollipop men and women are being used in a road safety campaign aimed at pedestrians who have been drinking.
The move is targeting young adults who are more likely to wander across roads while drunk.
A video, filmed in Oxford, appeared to show more pedestrians used a zebra crossing when accompanied by the scantily-dressed models.
I hope it works.
I remember in the 1960s, seeing a safety poster of two railway trucks with a space between them. The heading said.
Trespassers will be executed.
Sadly, in some parts of the world, this is the law.
Serial Cooking – Ham, Potato And Fenland Celery Gratin
This is another Lindsey Bareham recipe from The Times
It was different and I quite liked it. It was also rather nice warmed up in the microwave the following day!
London’s Best Restaurants For Allergy Sufferers And Gluten-Free
I’m just putting a link to the list of 10 in last night’s Standard.
They missed out my two favourites; Vozar’s in Brixton and Arbutus in Soho.
But that makes a dozen.
The First Two Shelves For My Vertical Garden
They might not look like that as they sit amongst the builders rubbish in my garage, but I’m getting ready to start assembling my vertical garden.
The pictures show the steel beams in their primed state, some of the beams in my house with their dark chocolate paint and brass bolts, and the large expanse of wall with the glazed roof above.
I’ve put the lights in the pictures, as I have masses of lights in this house I don’t like.
Ever since I moved here, I’ve searched for something better, but all I see is expensive crap more suitable for an Algerian brothel or an Arab’s palace in Mayfair.
So what if I got a length of steel beam about 600 mm long, painted it chocolate and bolted it to the wall with brass bolts. On top could be some LED ropelights and their driver. I could also put ornaments or flowers at each end of the light. I would use IP65 components, so that it didn’t matter if they got wet.
Someone actually pointed out to me that orchids don’t need watering.
I reckon each light would cost about a hundred quid and if I didn’t like the colour, I’d just change the flowers.,
Isn’t designing gardens in the air fun?
Sorting Out My Staircase
I live on the top floor of a two story house in the sun. This is my staircase.
It needs a handrail capping off the glass. The glass is 20 mm thick.
The level bit at the top is 880 mm.
The top slope is 2640 mm long and the bottom is 1310 mm.
As everything is at all sorts of angles, I think it’ll be a nightmare to fit.
I also need a handrail on the wall.
I know that brass will be expensive, but this London mongrel doesn’t want to meet the devil through falling down the stairs. She threw me back once, so she’d probably reject me again!
Where Do Vets Go For Their Christmas Outing?
I’ve just been talking on-line to a vet and their practice is going to see Cats?
I’ve never seen it myself!
In fact, I don’t think I’ve been to a show this year!
I don’t like going alone, as you’ve no-one to talk about it with afterwards.
More Trouble With AnsaldoBreda Trains
In an article eighteen months ago entitled; A Train Builder With Form, I talked about the poor performance of Denmark’s IC4 Trains.
It would seem that according to this article in Global RailNews, that the situation might be improving, although it is still not sorted.
The only relief for the UK, is that none of the trains on order are from AnsaldoBreda.
Incidentally, as the performance of the IC4 trains are pretty similar to InterCity125s, if Denmark still needs some high speed diesel units in a few years, perhaps we could lease them a few nearly fifty-year-old InterCity125s to get them through until the date, that the lines are electrified.
On the other hand, we could use them on longer cross-country trips all over the UK network.
Another Reason For Not Shopping At Tesco
In a few minutes time, I’m off to a lecture at the London Geological Society on Piccadilly.
I shall take a 38 bus all the way, as it stops virtually outside my house and the Society.
But I will leave myself plenty of time, as it is the time of day, when Tesco always seem to park their truck outside their convenience, or in this case inconvenience, store at Islington Green, which usually manages to delay the traffic by fifteen minutes or so.
I don’t deal with arrogant businesses like that!
No wonder the company, is a ripe one for breaking up by the vultures of the City!
Refurbishing A Northern Rail Class 319
There has been a bit of disquiet up North, about the new Liverpool to Manchester electrified service being run by late-1980s vintage Class 319 trains. I took a few pictures in October and they can be seen on this post.
I think it is best to charitably describe the interiors as something designed by a committee of accountants, with a love of pink!
I would use the word dreadful liberally! Now look at this page on the Northern Rail web site and in particular this image.
Inside A Northern Rail Class 319
Where’s all the pink gone? Or are Northern Rail applying a liberal use of Photoshop?
I doubt it’s the latter, but it does show how British Rail got the engineering right with the Mark 3 coach, on which the Class 319 is based.
On the page on the Northern Rail website, there’s a time-lapse video of the refurbishment, if you still think it’s all fake.
The proof of the pudding will be in the eating and I can’t wait to ride between Liverpool and Manchester on an electric train.
To be fair to the Class 319, it must be one of the ugliest trains on the UK network and I bet everybody wishes they’d got someone like Kenneth Grange to upsex the front end, as he did for the InterCity 125. But as an old Suffolk horseman said to me.
A good horse is never a bad colour.
The Class 319 is a good train, but the old colour isn’t the best.
The Anonymous Widower 