God Has Taste
The BBC has just shown a dramatic picture of a lightning strike on Manchester Piccadilly station.
She couldn’t have chosen a better target!
Piers Morgan On The Royal Baby
With so many congratulating the Duchess of Cambridge on a successful birth, there had to be one or two that were funny. I like this one from Piers Morgan.
My money’s on an Australian cricket birth – all out by tea.
Obviously, it was on the news that the Duchess had gone into labour.
The BBC Gets The Pronunciation Wrong
According to the BBC Six O’Clock News, Gateacre School has been closed because of the heat. The story is here on the Liverpool Daily Post site.
But the BBC pronounced Gateacre wrong, by effectively making the mistake of treating it as two words; gate and acre.
I made the very same mistake, when I first went to the city.
The Birth Of Our First Son
With the birth of the baby to the Duchess of Cambridge expected within a day or so, it is perhaps a good time to tell the true story of our first son’s birth in 1969.
Our circumstances just before the birth on the 16th of July, were a bit chaotic to say the least. I did outline them to a certain degree in this post about waiting for Apollo 11.
To summarise, we had no hospital for the birth, were living with C’s mother in Barnet and the baby was four weeks overdue.
C thought it would be a good idea to go and sit in St. James’s Park, as it was getting rather oppressive with her mother, who had no idea or experience about childbirth as C had been adopted. Mother felt she should be in the Victoria Maternity Hospital in Barnet. You never told C what to do, if it was against her wishes. Especially, if you were her mother!
It was a lovely day and we sat in deck chairs in the Park until about five o’clock, when C said that she thought she was in labour. As I said in the other post, she decided she was going to the old Middlesex Hospital, where because of her imminent state, she was seen by a doctor and admitted as an emergency.
As I said in Part 2 of the waiting for Apollo 11 story, I stayed all night and nothing happened, except that about midnight the contractions stopped. C always said she was telling me to go back to her mother’s and get some sleep, but whether I was being loyal or stubborn, I don’t know and I just stayed.
I went to work on the Monday and the evening was another of waiting, with the odd contraction thrown in.
Part 3 gives the full story of the birth, with our first son being born soon after midnight.
Only after we had returned to her mother’s did C reveal the truth about what had happened. Until about four or five hours after they broke the waters, did she ever have a proper contraction.
She had fooled the doctors, so she could get into her chosen hospital.
I doubt the Duchess of Cambridge is faking!
Rape Justice – Dubai Style
This story is horrific.
Why anybody would want to go to such an awful place, I do not know. I went once with C and we we found it a hot concrete jungle with no soul.
The BBC’s Gloomy Reporting
Despite the good news of the near £10 billion boost the Olympics gave the UK, BBC London is leading with two negative stories.
In one they are saying local business in London are moaning about loss of business because of the games.
And in the other, we have the residents of Surrey complaining that they have more road closures this weekend because of another cycling event. I suppose that it does make it difficult to drive the 4×4. I did hear once that you need a degree in moaning to live in Surrey.
Of course for balance the BBC is also reporting that too much of the Olympic benefit came to London.
In some ways the best legacy from the Olympics in this weather, are the new air-conditioned Class 378 trains on the London Overground and the S Stock on the sub-surface lines of the London Underground. It can also be said, that the place which has benefited most from these trains, is Derby, where they were built or are still being built in the case of the S Stock. It can also be argued that these trains would have been ordered anyway. The value of the orders is approaching two billion pounds.
Liverpool University’s New London Campus
after a false start a few doors away, Liverpool University seem to have at last got a building for their campus in London. It’s reported here.
My only complaint, is that I think it’s in posh Islington, rather than practical and common-sense Hackney. At least though it’s only a short walk from the 141 bus stop, I can get close to my house. For those visitors from Liverpool, it’s just a 205 bus from Euston to Epworth Street.
Riding Whilst Pregnant
There has been a bit of criticism of Zara Phillips riding, whilst she is pregnant.
I do wonder if her mother and grandmother gave up whilst they were pregnant!
I’ve known lots of women, who continued to ride after they became pregnant and some for quite a long time. In none of these cases was there any complications. Although an anaesthetist once told me, that he once had to give an epidural to a very fit ballet dancer during childbirth and had difficulty getting the needle home, as her muscles were so strong. But it all turned out right in the end.
The funniest story was from a mate of mine, who rode up to a forthright lady we both knew well. “Good morning, Mrs. S”, he said and the reply was “I’m pregnant and so’s the horse!” Both births were successful, and I’ve met the daiughter involved many times.
Barts Take A Strong Line Against Smoking
This story in the Standard has the headline.
Hospitals warn smokers: no treatment and £75 fine if you light up
I can’t why this isn’t in force all over the country.
The Beard Liberation Front Gives A Dispensation To Trim
I like this story about the Beard Liberation Front from the Standard. Here’s the first paragraph.
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has announced that for the first time in its history it is permitting supporters to trim their beards due to the extremely hot weather.
I sympathise and am seriously thinking of getting rid of my nearly fifty year old member of my family. I did it once about thirty years ago and I immediately grew it back again. Mainly, I think because of complaints from C. In fact, I don’t think my youngest son, ever saw me without a beard and my middle son, doesn’t ever remember me without one. I certainly grew it before he was born.
Alternatively, I could write to Monty Panesar to see if he has any tips for beard wearers in hot weather. It’s a subject that Sikhs probably know a lot more about than most.
The Anonymous Widower 