NET9 Open Ocean Aquaculture Demonstrator Design Unveiled
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item on the Impact9 web site.
Bananas And Me
According to my mother, I didn’t see or taste a banana until I was seven.
That would have been 1954, which is when rationing ended.
The Wikipedia entry entitled Rationing In The UK is a valuable resource.
Bananas had been available since 1945, although they had not been imported during the war.
I had been born in 1947, with my sister born in 1950. As my paternal grandmother lived with us, we were a family of five.
So I suspect, that although they were available my mother didn’t buy them for some reason.
The Wikipedia entry has a section called Political Reaction, which talked about reaction to rationing after the war. This is said.
In the late 1940s, the Conservative Party utilised and encouraged growing public anger at rationing, scarcity, controls, austerity and government bureaucracy to rally middle-class supporters and build a political comeback that won the 1951 general election. Their appeal was especially effective to housewives, who faced more difficult shopping conditions after the war than during it.
My father had been politically active before World War II, but he was much more politically agnostic after the war, judging by some things he said to me. I can’t ever remember my mother saying anything political, although I can remember her saying something, which agreed with the last sentence of the Wikipedia extract.
I suspect she was under pressure from my grandmother, so perhaps she kept the shopping light because of rationing.
Anyway, I can remember her telling my wife that my face had been a picture when I saw and ate my first banana.
I’ve not stopped eating them since.
- I generally eat between one and three every day.
- I have problems with fruit that needs to be cut up because of my gammy left hand, so for pineapple, melon and mango, I usually buy them ready-cut in pots from Marks and Spencer.
- I also eat a lot of berries, when they are in season.
But, I never eat oranges, apples or pears, except in a processed form.
Bananas And My Family
As far, as I can check, I’m the only one of my family, who likes bananas and eats them regularly.
I have checked on two sons and my granddaughter and none seem to like them.
Could it be my mother’s denial of the fruit to me until rationing ended, gave me a love of the fruit?
Bananas And Coeliacs
This page on the Harvard University School of Public Health gives the nutrition facts about bananas.
This is the second paragraph.
The scientific name for banana is Musa, from the Musaceae family of flowering tropical plants, which distinctively showcases the banana fruit clustered at the top of the plant. The mild-tasting and disease-resistant Cavendish type is the main variety sold in the U.S. and Europe. Despite some negative attention, bananas are nutritious and may even carry the title of the first “superfood,” endorsed by the American Medical Association in the early 20th century as a health food for children and a treatment for celiac disease.
Now there’s a thing.
This page on the Gluten-Free Watchdog is entitled Early Dietary Treatment for Celiac Disease: The Banana Diet.
I’d never heard of this diet until yesterday.
Interestingly, a large banana contains 50 mg of vitamin B6 according to Dr. Google.
I take a B6 supplement and I wrote about the advice I received from a doctor at a respected medical university in Amsterdam in Vitamin B Complex for Coeliacs.
I
An Expedition To Muswell Hill To Get Some Lovely Liver
After my plea in Need To Regularly Eat A Large Plate Of Calves’ Liver, I got a recommendation to try The Cilicia at Muswell Hill.
It was delicious and just what my body wanted. The liver had been cooked in sage butter with tomatoes, mushrooms and potatoes.
I shall return!
The only problem is that Dalston and Muswell Hill is not the easiest journey to make by public transport.
My route was as follows.
- I took by taking a 141 bus from close to my house to Manor House station.
- I then got a Piccadilly Line train to Turnpike Lane station.
- From there it was a 144 bus to Muswell Hill Broadway.
It took about 45 minutes.
But it might be quicker to take a 102 bus from Bounds Green station.
Or go to the Angel Islington and get a 43 bus from there to Muswell Hill Broadway.
But my route could all have been so different.
This map shows the Muswell Hill branch which was closed by British Rail and has since been mainly built over.
The Muswell Hill branch would have been part of the comprehensive Northern Heights Plan.
- The Northern Line would have been extended from Edgware to Bushey Heath.
- The Mill Hill East branch would have been extended to Edgware.
- If you look at the maps in Wikipedia, the Northern Line would be very different through London.
- The Muswell Hill branch would have given better access to the magnificent Alexandra Palace.
But Austerity after World War II meant the extension never happened.
I can see a case could be made for some parts of the Northern Heights plan, but it is too late now, as viaducts have been demolished and routes have been built over.
My feeling is that if there was a need for the Northern Heights plan in the 1930s, then as London has expanded, that need will need to be fulfilled in the future.
So when Austerity hits as it did after World War II and as it is happening now due to Covid-19 and Vlad’s war in Ukraine, we should make sure we don’t compromise our plans for the future.
I believe that with a small amount of safeguarding in the 1960s, the Northern Line would now have a useful branch to Alexandra Palace and Muswell Hill.
I Need To Regularly Eat A Large Plate Of Calves’ Liver
I’ve always liked liver, as did my father and we would eat it regularly at home. We were the two coeliacs in the family, although neither of us had been diagnosed at the time.
My late wife never ever cooked me liver, but would always be happy to go with me, when I ate it. I remember once in Berlin, she found a wonderful restaurant that served liver, on the other side of the city to where we were staying.
I also used to eat it regularly in restaurants when I moved to London, especially in Carluccio’s. The one round the corner from me in Islington is long gone and I used to eat liver there often.
But now finding a restaurant that serves calve’s liver in London is extremely difficult. Marks and Spencer also used to sell it, as I wrote in Lovely Liver. They still sell lamb’s liver but it’s not the same.
I’m certain, if I don’t supplement my B12 injections with a nice plate of liver, I get medical problems.
I suspect that my stroke-damaged brain, may well snaffle a lot of the B12 injection, thus leaving the rest of my body with just a few dregs.
So does anybody know of a quality pub or restaurant within easy reach of public transport from London, that sells liver?
Or failing that a proper butchers, that can prepare it for me to cook.
It should be noted, that I’m not good at cutting up meat, as my left arm is damaged. Not by the stroke, but by the school bully, who broke my arm, when I was fourteen.
My First Christmas Snack Supper Of 2022
I saw the first of Marks & Spencer’s gluten-free Turkey Feast Christmas sandwiches in their Finsbury Pavement store today.
Note.
- The only allergens in the sandwich are egg and mustard.
- The cranberry sauce is real, but there appear ti be not enough cranberries to affect my Warfarin-controlled INR.
- Although the Adnams Ghost Ship 0.5 % is labelled as containing gluten, it seems to have no adverse effect on my body.
- I have discussed this with the brewer and they have told me, that there is so little barley in each bottle, that some might find the beer appears to be gluten-free.
I do think it the best humble sandwich, I’ve ever tasted.
The Five Minute Walk Between Oxford Circus Station And The Hanover Square Entrance To Bond Street Station For The Lizzie Line
With Bond Street station on the Elizabeth Line opening tomorrow, I thought I’d take a reconnaissance today and find out how long it takes to walk.
I took these pictures as I walked.
Note.
- I started from the South-East entrance to Oxford Circus station.
- I walked a few yards down Regent Street and took the first right into Princes Street.
- Princes Street has a few cafes and restaurants, a toilet and a Timpsons.
- I then walked straight across the Northern side of Hanover Square to the station entrance.
- I passed Harewood Place on my right, which leads directly to the London’s largest John Lewis.
If the station had been open, the walk would have taken five minutes.
Hanover Square
Hanover Square now is a London Square with its own station entrance. I suppose that Sloane Square is the only other one, but that doesn’t have the formal garden that Hanover Square does.
The Medici Courtyard
Hidden behind the station building is the Medici Courtyard, which has been created by the developers of the station entrance.
These pictures show the courtyard.
Note.
- The Medici Courtyard leads between Hanover Square and Bond Street.
- It joins Bond Street, just to the North of Fenwicks.
- It contains a high-class hotel, an upmarket coffee shop and some shops.
- There is a courtyard, where you can sit and enjoy a drink.
- There were a lot of flowers.
It is a very unique station feature, that has been designed to attract visitors and shoppers to the area.
Would A Tunnel Between Oxford Circus Station And The Hanover Square Entrance To Bond Street Station Be Possible?
Consider.
- At some point Oxford Circus station will be remodelled to provide extra capacity and full step-free access.
- In a few years time, there will be reliable statistics on how many passengers will change between Oxford Circus Station and The Hanover Square entrance to Bond Street Station.
- There will be more pedestrianisation in the area.
- I wouldn’t be surprised to find out, that the The Hanover Square entrance to Bond Street Station has provision for a possible tunnel.
I suspect various proposals will be put forward for improving the connection, if it is needed. Some will include tunnels.
Knightsbridge Station – 21st October 2022
I last visited Knightsbridge station in April, this year, when I wrote Knightsbridge Station – 25th April 2022.
Construction has moved on in the six months since I visited, as these pictures show.
Note.
- After arrival at the station, I left using the exit at Harrods and then walked back along Brompton Road to Harvey Nicholls.
- The entrance for the lift is in an alley. According to this article on Ian Visits, two lifts are needed to get to the platforms.
- The ticket hall is under the Burberry store and has three entrances with steps.
- One unusual feature of the ticket hall, is that it has a micro-Starbucks. Is this idea going to be repeated?
In Ian’s article, he describes the step-free entrance like this.
By reusing some old tunnels, and a side alley around the corner, they will be making the station step-free for the first time. The station used to have lifts from the street down to a corridor that then linked to the platforms via a short set of stairs, but was taken out of use in the 1930s when escalators were added.
What’s being done is that a new entrance, with ticket barriers, has been created in Hooper’s Court, and there will be two lifts that will take people down to just above platform level where the old corridors are still available. There will then be a second small lift to link the corridor down to the platform level.
It looks like it was rather a tight squeeze to get everything in. But then in Knightsbridge, the space for a single toilet will cost at least a couple of millions.
Making Carbon Dioxide Into Protein For Innovative Animal Feed
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Horizon.
These are the first three paragraphs.
It’s common knowledge that proteins, a key component of human nutrition, are also essential for making animal feeds. Less well known is the uncomfortable fact that much of the protein we feed animals in Europe leads to deforestation and overfishing worldwide.
Biotechnology start-up Deep Branch have designed a biochemical transformation process that turns carbon dioxide (CO2) into a protein-rich powder for animals to eat.
The Deep Branch process converts carbon dioxide into a powder, called Proton, which has around 70% protein content. This is much higher than natural soy, which has around 40%.
Note.
- The technology is the brainchild of Peter Rowe, a PhD graduate in molecular biology of Nottingham University in the UK.
- Deep Branch appears to be a well-backed Anglo-Dutch company.
- Their backers are European and British household names and institutions.
- Drax, who have plenty of carbon dioxide, are also backers.
I believe that even if Deep Branch doesn’t succeed, then someone else will, with this technology.
French Farmers Are Covering Crops With Solar Panels To Produce Food And Energy At The Same Time
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on euronews.green.
These paragraphs explain the technique.
Agrivoltaics – the practice of using land for both solar energy and agriculture – is on the rise across France.
In the Haute-Saône region, in the northeastern part of the country, an experiment is being conducted by solar-energy company TSE. It is hoping to find out whether solar energy can be generated without hindering large-scale cereal crops.
Previous attempts to experiment with agrivoltaics have been through smaller-scale projects. But, keen to see if it can thrive on an industrial level, 5,500 solar panels are being spread over this farm in the commune town of Amance by TSE.
The article also contains a picture, which shows panels high in the air and a tractor going underneath.
I’m not sure of the idea’s practical application, although, I do know of a farmer, who is experimenting with using solar panels in a field with sheep. He also has found that on another field fully fitted with solar panels, hares were thriving.
In Understanding Floatovoltaics, I talked about another French idea; floating solar panels, where solar panels are floated on calm water like a reservoir.
Talking of reservoirs, I remember seeing a Tomorrow’s World, as a child, where it was proposed that concrete reservoirs, like those under the Heathrow flightpath, be filled with foamed concrete and covered with soil, so they could be used to grow crops.
- The water capacity would be slightly smaller.
- There would be less water losses.
I wonder what happened to that idea.
The Anonymous Widower 