Leon Has Smart-Looking Glasses For Gluten-Free Beer
I had lunch in Leon at Ludgate Circus.
It was only a chicken burger and fries, but I did have an Estrella Damm Daura.
It even came with a smart-looking Glass.
What Is A Pimby?
We all know that a Nimby (Not In My Back Yard!) doesn’t want fracking, a nuclear power station or a new railway to be built or something similar near to where they live.
But I believe, we could see the rise of a new type of protestor – the Pimby or a Please In My Back Yard!
I was reading this article on CleanTechnica, which is entitled Coal-Killing Long-Duration Energy Storage For Vermont (Vermont?!?).
The article is about Highview Power’s planned energy storage facility in Vermont, which I wrote about in Encore Joins Highview To Co-Develop Liquid Air Energy Storage System In Vermont.
This paragraph is from Highview.
“Unlike competing long-duration technologies, such as pumped hydro-power or compressed air, Highview Power’s CRYOBattery™ can be sited just about anywhere. The CRYOBattery has a small footprint, even at multiple gigawatt-levels, and does not use hazardous materials.”
You could imagine a community, , perhaps miles away from the nearest power station, where jobs and economic prospects are being held back by a dodgy power supply.
So the community might start to protest not about building perhaps a gas-fired station to satisfy their electricity needs, but in favour of a Highview Power system and some renewable wind or solar power.
Pimbys might also protest in favour of a new railway station or electrification of their branch line. Providing the power for the latter would be a good use for a Highview system.
How I Became A Convert To Hydrogen
The title of this post is the same as that on this article on the Sydney Morning Herald.
I think that this article is significant, as it is written by Dr.Alan Finkel, who is Australia’s Chief Scientist.
It is a well-written article about the production of hydrogen with an Australian slant and is a definite must-read.
Greater Anglia Submits Bid to Improve Colchester Station
The title of this post is the same as that as this article on Rail Advent.
Colchester station is a busy station, that handles four and a half million passengers in a year.
The main stations on the Great Eastern Main Line have following passenger numbers in millions.
- Shenfield – 4 – Fully step-free
- Ingatestone – 0.8
- Chelmsford – 8.5 – Fully step-free
- Hatfield Peverel – 0.4
- Witham – 2.5 – Fully step-free
- Kelvedon – 0.8
- Marks Tey – 0.6
- Colchester – 4.5 – Partially step-free
- Manningtree – 1.2 – Fully step-free
- Ipswich 3.3 – Fully step-free
- Needham Market – 0.1
- Stowmarket – 1.0 – Going step-free
- Diss – 0.7
- Norwich – 4.4 – Fully step-free
I think it is fairly obvious, that the the very busy Great Eastern Main Line has not been high in the queue for full step-free access.
As the article says, Colchester has a lift on one side of the station, there is only a wheelchair stair lift on a staircase on the other side.
Why did one of the busiest stations on the line get only half a solution?
Probably, a civil servant who lives in leafy Surrey, said “Colchester has two entrances! Their driver can come round! And it’s only East Anglia!”
There are developments, that are happening, that make updated step-free access at Colchester station absolutely essential.
- Greater Anglia are replacing the train fleet and all those new trains will attrract more passengers.
- All the new trains are step-free between train and platform.
- Greater Anglia will be increasing the frequency of trains between Colchester and Stowmarket and probably in other sections of the route as well.
- Greater Anglia are introducing a new service between Sudbury and Colchester Town. Wheelchair passengers between London and Sudbury will need to change at Colchester, as Marks Tey is not step-free.
- Greater Anglia is extending the Peterborough and Ipswich service to Colchester. This will surely increase the number of passengers wanting to cross over at Colchester.
The current system will work until three people turn up in wheelchairs at the same time.
Greater Anglia will get it in the neck, when the fault lies with the civil servants’ belief that East Anglia is a backwater that doesn’t need good facilities.
Other Stations
These stations on the Great Eastern Main Line has no step-free access or plans to install it.
- Ingatestone
- Hatfield Peverel
- Kelvedon
- Marks Tey
- Needham Market
- Diss
Note.
- Strangely, Ingatestone is probably the most important, as when the line is closed for engineering works, it is used as a bus interchange.
- Marks Tey is also important, because of interchange between Sudbury and London. Watch this one as Pritti Patel is the MP.
- Diss has had serious disabled access problems in the past.
- Needham Market could be difficult, but Stowmarket is an alternative.
All the stations between Liverpool Street and Shenfield will be fully step-free, when Crossrail is completed.
Conclusion
Personally, I feel that the whole Great Eastern Main Line should be made step-free.
Good And Bad Doctors
I’m listening to a program on BBC Radio 5 called How Do You Cope?, which is discussing doctors. And what makes a good one!
I am reminded of the story of the birth of our first son.
He was born in a London teaching hospital and delivered by a student doctor, who obviously didn’t do a bad job and made no mistakes.
The next time I saw C, she told me, that she’d had a visit from the Professor, who asked after her and her experience.
He told her, that the doctor was a problem for the Medical School, in that they felt he had shown the ability to make a very good surgeon, as he had the right attitude and physical skills. But he was having difficulty in passing exams.
I sometimes wonder, if that would-be doctor became a brilliant surgeon or left the medical profession early.
Was Gordon Brown Partially Responsible For Labour’s Defeat In The 2019 General Election?
When automatic enrolment into pensions came in, I was very much in favour, as I feel everybody should have a pension.
There is a section called Automatic Enrolment in the Wikipedia entry called Pensions in the United Kingdom.
If you read the section, this is the last paragraph.
Between the introduction of auto enrolment and April 2016, “the overall proportion of eligible employees saving into a workplace pension increased from 55% to 78%” with the largest increases found in the private sector.
Consider.
- When I started work in the 1960s, the average man and the few women on the factory floor weren’t very well educated. But now, they are much more likely to have a few good qualifications.
- Most too will be computer-savvy to a level, that would have been unimaginable to their forerunners in the 1960s.
- Newpapers too, from the Sun and the Mirror to the Times, \guardian, Telegraph and FT, now offer easy-to-read financial advice to help everyone manage their money better.
Many working people today have a pension, that although some didn’t want it, they probably feel could be a help in retirement.
So did Labour’s reckless or ambitious spending plans, frighten many of their traditional supporters?
They certainly frightened me!
Would the election result have been different, if Gordon Brown hadn’t started the modern pension with the Pensions Act of 2008 and had left well enough alone?
As my quote said earlier in 2016, just over three-quarters of eligible employees are saving into a workplace pension.
Some may have been subscribing for over ten years now and they will feel protective of that amount pf money!
Will The Queen Be Amused?
The picture shows another terrible bus livery in dark colours.
Try spotting one of these in the distance with dodgy eyesight!
There seems to be a design competition, to see who can design the most camouflaged bus!
When I first saw this bus, I thought it was advertising Crown’s new paint for the Army!
Top Class Service With A Smile
I only went into this busy Leon on Tottenham Court Road for a hot chocolate and a gluten-free cake.
As it takes a minute to make a hot chocolate, the young lady at the counter, suggested I sit down and she’d bring it over.
Which she did with a smile.
I’m Not Dreaming Of A Wet Christmas
I took these pictures yesterday, close to my house.
I have a feeling that a Wet Chistmas, is what we’ll get in London.
Eco-Friendly Party Bag Wrapping
I usually do the party bags for Christmas Day and these pictures show how I wrap the goodies.
Note.
- The cotton drawstring bags come from The Clever Baggers.
- I found the little plastic pots called Mini Bites in Robert Dyas.
- The Mini Bites have a screw lid, which is easier to open than most packaging.
They have lots of reusable possibilities.
- Last night, I found that the capacity of one Mini-Bite is ideal for frozen peas for one.
- I keep shoes in the cotton bags.
- I shall be using a Mini Bite to hold a selection of my daily pills.
- As the pictures show, they hold a sensible portion of nuts, sweets or chocolate.
- Are they a daily pack of forbidden foods, like chocolate and sweets?
We need more packaging ideas like these!
The Anonymous Widower 