Archaeology In Dresden
There is a lot of rebuilding going on in Dresden, and I came across this site that was being investigated for archaeological purposes.
In a couple of places across Germany, I’ve recently come across examples of developers doing the sort of PR you see in London, to passify those affected by large developments.
Perhaps, everybody is watching Crossrail, who have used archaeology virtually as a PR weapon to fight off protesters and bad press!
An Encounter With A Latex Lady
As I descended in the lift in the Ibis hotel in Dresden to brave the weather and explore the city, I was joined by a couple aged about forty, who as he was carrying a folded umbrella and she was wearing a short black, buckled and belted, expensive-looking mac, were obviously better prepared for the weather than I was.
She man was beside me and she stood opposite us on the other side of the lift directly facing us, pulling poses at her partner!
It was then that I noticed that the mac was exceedingly short and that I couldn’t see any skirt or trousers beneath. I did think to myself, that that was sensible given the foul weather and it was then that I noticed she was wearing shiny black latex tights . On her feet were a pair of absolutely flat lightweight black leather shoes. Nothing fetishistic at all!
Leaving the lift they walked straight out of the door to wherever they were going, whilst I walked downtown.
It all reminded me of an evening about twelve years ago, where C had handled the divorce for a lady, to whom fetish clothing was no stranger. Although, C did say, that their sexual habits and preferences had contributed to the breakdown of the marriage. After the case, the lady gave C a pair of latex tights, that she said C might like to try.
As in Dresden that evening was very wet and let’s say it was very enjoyable.
BBC Weather Gets It Right
The BBC weather forecast yesterday was saying today that Prague would have a wet and thundery afternoon.
So I booked myself out of Prague on the 14:30.
And guess what? It’s raining!
Is My New Handrail Transforming My Life?
That may seem a rather bizarre question to ask, but then I live on the first floor of my house and I do have to carry quite a few things up and down stairs. This picture shows the stairs from the bottom.
My Stairs
Note that there are rails on both sides, so when going up and down, if I can, I use a hand on each rail. Just as I was taught on my extensive Health and Safety course at ICI.
Take last night. I keep a spare roll by each toilet and as it needed changing, I put the spare on the holder reader for use. As I keep the bags of rolls downstairs, I usually forget to bring one up and the inevitable happens next time.
But last night, I immediately went down the stairs and collected a new one. I’d have never done that before the handrail was installed.
I also now change the rubbish bags when they get full and take them to the bins, rather than let them overflow and leave them to my cleaners.
I have a gammy left hand, due to a school bullying accident, and I neglect to use it. There’s probably nothing seriously wrong with it, that using it as much as possible wouldn’t cure!
But now coming up the stairs with shopping, I’ll put the bag in my stronger right hand and guide myself up with the left, pulling as required. In the last few days, I’ve found that instead of walking up and down stairs on the right at places like Underground stations, I now go with the flow, even if that is on the left.
And then yesterday, my personal trainer came and we used the stairs to do various aerobic exercises on the stairs. Who needs to buy expensive equipment that takes up space?
I would have never thought that such a small thing would change my behaviour so much!
You do wonder how many people have been seduced into buying an expensive stair-lift, when all they really needed was to fit a handrail, that was worthy of the name and strongly fixed to the wall, so they could hold it properly, as they walked up and down.
London Overground: A Day’s Walk Around the Ginger Line by Iain Sinclair
The Evening Standard has a review of this book on their web site.
It looks like the book could be a good read for anybody who loves London and like me is seduced by the charms of London’s superb remodelling of the old railways into the London Overground.
Looking at the title, it would have to be a very fast walk to go round the Overground in a day, but one of the developments recently has been the opening of quality budget hotels like the Premier Inn in Dalston, close to me and virtually next door to where my maternal grandmother Upcott was born.
I’ve Now Got Handrails On My Staircase
The handrails are now fitted on my staircase.
They were made and fitted by Handrail Systems from Sheffield. I did think about brass, but in the end I settled for more affordable powder-coated steel.
History Goes Round In Circles
I have just read this article on the BBC web site entitled Balloons take tech war to North Korea.
This is the first paragraph.
Some anti-North Korean activists firmly believe the best way to defeat Kim Jong-un’s regime is to break the cycle of propaganda served up every day to those living north of the border.
It got me thinking about the origins of printing with moveable type.
In some ways it was the Internet of its day, as suddenly information and books became available to anybody who could read.
My father always said that printing started to break the power of the church, as now you didn’t need a priest or monk to read the bible or learned books.
So are the balloons taking their CDs and information to North Korea, just another manifestation of everybody’s insatiable search for the truth? Let’s hope they are as successful in breaking the power of the evil regime in North Korea, as printing was in breaking the power of the Church.
The Aussies Get Into Home Batteries
As you might imagine, Australia with its sunshine and lots of remote communities could be a big market for battery technology like Tesla’s Powerwall. But this article in the Australian Financial Review shows why the country will be a big market.
It says that for example in Queensland, a third of the houses have solar panels, which must only increase the demand for batteries.
But it also says that the way the Australians charge for electricity is different to the United States and this makes batteries much more useful. I think that in the UK, we follow the Australian model. Except for the sun of course!
The article has some interesting details on how the price of the devices will go, especially as it says that Panasonic who are one of the Big 3 battery makers will be entering the market soon.
I all think it goes to show that each market is different and I suspect that the UK market will be different again, as most of us don’t live in houses that are too friendly to solar panels.
But my house is with its flat roof, and I am watching the price of solar panels, because I reckon in the next few years, I’ll be able to fit a very affordable system, that will take me substantially off-grid, with a battery in the garage.
Solar panels, battery technology and small innovative energy companies are going to give the Big 6 energy companies, one hell of a kicking.
This Could Be An Interesting Way To Spend An Evening In Stockholm!
When I went on my wiuldlife tour looking for Sweden’s Mammals, the actual trip was organised by a company called Wild Sweden.
They’ve just sent me an e-mail talking about a Five hour wildlife safari in the evening, starting from Stockholm Central Station. It isn’t cheap but it does include dinner by a camp fire.
If I find myself in Stockholm this summer, I’ll certainly give it a try.
Women And Fraud
In all these frauds like MPs expenses, malpractices in the City and now FIFA, I can’t seem to remember a woman ever being involved.
The Anonymous Widower 