The Bold Millennium Bridge
The Millennium Bridge was not without controversy and many still call it the wobbly bridge.
But my walk shows how good the concept is and it was right to build a bridge there in the first place.
If you’re going to the Tate Modern, then in my view, it should be approached over the bridge.
It might be sensible too, to go back across using the new Blackfriars station, which is a bridge as well.
Or you could do as I did later and take the RV1 hydrogen-powered bus route to Covent Garden.
Through St. Paul’s To The Tate Modern
I went for a walk this morning, starting on the North side of St. Paul’s Cathedral and then over the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern.
I’d actually never been in the gardens of the cathedral before, which connect the two sides of the building. As it was fairly early, it would have been a pleasant place to sit around for thirty minutes or so.
There’s more on the blue trees here.
Who Needs Outside Investors?
The Sunday Times has two articles today about very successful companies that have become that way and financially secure, without any external finance.
I’ve known about the first, Martin Baker for many years and in some ways it’s surprising that they haven’t sold out, as anno domini catch up with us all.
The other is a Cambridge company called Real VNC, who provide software for virtual network connections. They have just won the MacRobert Award as is reported here.
I like the quote from Andy Harter, one of the founders of the company.
We need to persuade young people that engineering means the people who built the Olympic Park and the internet, and that it is a great choice of career.
I’ve spend a life in engineering and would thoroughly agree. I’ve even applied engineering principles to banking and finance. Bankers have needed me more, than I’ve needed them!
On the other hand when I needed a good banker, I found an excellent one in my friend David, who came to me because of the quality of my work on an internal project he started in the bank. How many bankers these days would recognise a good engineer or scientist? Only after he’s sold his or her company, I suspect!
Underneath East London
This article about Crossrail is worth reading.
I think the article fits the pattern where Crossrail are doing their utmost to be good neighbours.
After all, bad publicity or even protests in the middle of a projectr, is the easiest way to make it late.
The Dangers Of Eating Pies
As a coeliac, I don’t eat pies unless they have a potato topping, rather than a pastry one. But this story, should be a warning to us all.
Aystralia seems to be going rather soft these days, what with the rugby and now the cricket.
Tigers At The London Zoo
I am a member at the London Zoo and went there to check out their new restaurant and also see my old friends, the penguins.
I also ended up at their new Tiger Territory.
Incidentally, they’d just introduced their male and female tigers to each other. but the female was being rather coy and hiding in the long grass.
The territory is much better than anything I’ve seen for big cats in the past. Except of course for lions in the Masai Mara.
How To Get Your Own Back At The Devil
This story from the Standard about two brothers, Bob and Paul Forkan, who were orphaned by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, have fought back from adversity, by starting a company making flip-flops called Gandys.
So don’t ever give up! You’ll only encourage her!
Cissé’s Stand On Wonga
Papiss Cissé is adamant he won’t wear a Wonga-branded shirt, as reported here in the Guardian.
I support his stand.
I would like to see a law, where all loan companies from the banks, through peer-to-peer lenders to the legal loan sharks, have to publish the amount of money they lend in various parts of the country.
That way we could see if shirt sponsorship was a good idea for lenders.
The Mary Rose And The Vasa Compared
In many ways comparing these two preserved ships is a bit like being asked to judge between two great actors, artists or musicians, who is the best.
In some ways to appreciate either, you must see the other one, as I have done in the last few weeks.
The Vasa is obviously more complete and in a better state, due to being a hundred or so years younger and being in the less destructive waters of the Baltic. Compare my pictures of the Vasa with those of the Mary Rose.
One big difference, is that when the Vasa sunk, it was almost an empty ship as it had not been fully victualled, whereas the Mary Rose was a ship full of supplies and artefacts, so it gives valuable insight into Tudor life. The two museums reflect this difference.
In some ways though it is best to almost consider the Vasa and the Mary Rose as two separate galleries in the same museum. Add in HMS Victory and HMS Warrior, with perhaps a visit to HMS Belfast and you have an almost complete living history of warship design.
In some ways though, those that work on both the Mary Rose and the Vasa are very close and a lot of the preservation techniques have been used on both vessels. If we ever find and raise another ancient wooden ship, we probably have the knowledge and competence to show it to everyone’s advantage.
The design and architecture of both museums may also find applications in other areas of archaeology, where we need to show delicate items.
The Mary Rose
One of the main reasons to go to Portsmouth was to see the Mary Rose.
The building might look rather bland on the outside, but the Tudor warship and the way it is displayed surrounded by objects retrieved from the wreck is truly spectacular.
Some of these pictures were taken from a glass-walled lift that ascends at one end of the museum giving superb views of the ship.
It will become even more spectacular inhopefully 2016, when because the ship will be completed dried out and preserved, they will be able to fully open up the views of the ship.
