The Problem With The Mansion Tax
I’ve just been watching Ed Balls on The Andrew Marr Show talking about the Mansion Tax.
I don’t know Andrew Marr’s personal circumstances, but I wonder how many of the commentators like him live in houses that are worth a couple of millions. The Sunday Times today is reporting that Jeremy Paxman is being paid a million for his memoirs. Will he put that into property?
So many of these heavyweight commentators will be passionately against a Mansion Tax.
Incidentally, my view on property taxes is based heavily on the fact we have a housing shortage and it is a serious moral offence to leave a house empty for more than a few days a year.
Common Sense On Energy From The Economist
This article in The Economist reviews the energy market and says that increasing competition is shaking up the energy market. It is very much a must read for everyone.
The article finishes with this point.
Indeed, Mr Miliband’s threat of draconian intervention already looks dated. If anything, argues Mr Reid, the Labour Party leader might have forced prices to remain higher for longer than they might otherwise have been. Companies have been reluctant to reduce prices too much, he says, for fear that they might not be able to raise them again after the election.
It probably illustrates that dealing with the big energy companies is not simple or something for an amateur.
Reflections On Rochester
Rochester and the walk I took, shows a bit of a patchy nature. The eastern end is a bit scruffy and it looked like it wasn’t my sort of High Street. But get past the excellent Visitor Centre and towards the free-to-enter cathedral and it all improves. And then across the bridge in Strood, it all gets scruffy again.
The big change to the area will come when the new station at Rochester opens in 2015 and refurbishment work at Strood station finishes. Judging by the early stage of the building at Rochester station, I do wonder if they’ll meet their target. I do wonder though, if this will make any difference to those in the area, who voted for Ukip in the recent by-election, as I suspect the average Ukip voter probably doesn’t put trains at the top of their priorities!
Rochester together with Chatham is also an easy day out from London, especially if you use the High Speed service. I do wonder if visitor numbers would be improved if Off Peak tickets from London on the High Speed service were more affordable. (At present an Off Peak Return on High Speed is £20.80 and by normal trains it’s £12.65!) My train out was virtually empty, so reducing fares for non-existent passengers wouldn’t cost much!
So Rochester has probably got a lot of things going for it, but whether the negative connotations of the kippers will put off visitors, can only be judged in a few years time.
A Solution To The Tea Bag Problem
In Rochester High Street, I had a very nice cup of tea in a cafe called Dot Cafe. What a good name for a cafe with good internet and wi-fi.
As you can see milk was served alongside in a small wider jug, which was an ideal place to put the teabag. The lady in charge said that was what you did!
A simple idea that solves a messy problem! Perhaps you could put some words on the jug like “Milk – After The Teabag”
Nigel Was Here!
I took this photo outside a pub on Rochester High Street!
Nigel Was Here!
Yuck!
Although the High Street was generally tidy, there were places with a bit of an air of being run-down.
In some ways you can understand, why they voted for the kippers.
Walking Between Rochester And Strood Stations
I took the South Eastern Class 395 and explored Rochester.
I walked along the High Street, visited the cathedral, castle and the museum before crossing the Rochester Bridge to get the train home from Strood.
A Surprise For Bournemouth
I have always believed a story once told me by a hairdresser who used to work there, that Bournemouth does more blue rinses than any town in England.
So I was surprised to see this shop as I walked from Pokesdown station to Dean Court, down the rather less than salubrious shopping street, with its collection of shops which are not the best.
A Ukip Shop In Bournemouth
Who’d have thought that Bournemouth would be a hot-bed for kippers.
Using The Strange Property Of Water To Advantage
Most people, except perhaps those, who live in hot climates, know from their personal experience that ice floats on water. But most people don’t know that water is at its densest at 4°C. So water at this temperature sinks, but it rises at all others.
I once heard somebody use the existence of this property as a reason why God exists. He argued that if it didn’t, then life would have been impossible in water. It was all a bit contrived, but it is still as a strange property.
This morning, I was listening to Wake Up To Money, when a company called SureChill was mentioned. So I looked them up and found that they are using this property to create a new type of refrigerator. This page explains it all. This section describes the solution.
Sure Chill is a brand new kind of cooling system. It doesn’t need a constant power source. In an on-grid situation with intermittent power, it works perfectly well. In an off-grid situation, where a solar panel may be used, a Sure Chill powered refrigerator doesn’t even need a rechargeable battery. It shouldn’t work but it does. And it works beautifully.
Water surrounds a Sure Chill refrigeration compartment. When it has power, the water cools and forms ice above the compartment leaving only water at four degrees cooling the contents. When the power is switched off, the water warms and rises while the ice begins to melt, keeping only four-degree water cooling the contents of the compartment. So it has its own internal and entirely natural energy store that maintains a completely steady temperature. The system can operate like this, without power, for days and weeks.
People think physics is boring. Outside of Metier, I’ve done well in my career and made quite a bit of money by understanding the laws of physics that govern our lives.
My surprise at this idea, is that the technique could have been implemented in a refrigeration system decades ago. Artificial refrigeration was first performed by William Cullen in 1755. My bible; Nelkon amd Parker says that the maximum density of water was first measured by Thomas Charles Hope in 1804.
That is a long time from experimental proof to reality!
Devo Manc Explained
I found this article on the OpenDemocracy web site, which explains proposed political changes in Greater Manchester and the creation of a mayor over the whole area. This is the lead paragraph.
The announced Mayor for Greater Manchester doesn’t overturn the will of the people of Manchester. It is a new solution, designed in Greater Manchester, for Greater Manchester.
It does also seem that other commentators are using the term; Devo Manc.
I’ll believe it happens, when he or she is finally sworn in.
Allen Jones At The Royal Academy
It was Friends Day for the Allen Jones retrospective at the Royal Academy today.
Allen Jones At The Royal Academy
Some may not like Allen Jones‘s art such as Hat Stand, Table and Chair, but I like its forthright and almost jokey touch, which reminds me so much of good times with C, in the sixties and seventies.
I remember once seeing with C, a table inspired by Jones at Heals in Tottenham Court Road in probably the mid-seventies. She liked it, but the price was way above the level we could afford.
I pretty much know, that if she’d been there with me today, we’d have enjoyed it together.
But isn’t art meant to both amuse and make you think?
The BBC’s report certainly says it does that.
The Anonymous Widower 