The Pavements Of Budapest
Budapest doesn’t seem to do plain man-hole covers in the centre. They also allow shops to have their name in front in brass.
I would think they don’t have a theft problem.
Inside And Around St. Stephen’s Basilica
St. Stephen’s Basilica wasn’t far from the hotel.
I passed on the mulled wine, as I had just warmed up in the hotel.
Exploring Buda Castle
Eventually, I arrived on top of the city on the hill on which Buda Castle sits.
Note the excellent hot chocolate.
I think it may be true to say, that although a lot of damage was done to the buildings during the Second World War, quite a bit of damage was done since by the Communists. Wikipedia says that quite a few statues and facades were destroyed.
In the Hungarian National Gallery, there was a large section devoted to the works of Mihály Munkácsy. I’d never heard of him before, but to my untutored eye, he was fairly impressive.
Mrs Thatcher: A Professional Woman
I never met Margaret Thatcher, although I should have done, solely because she got her priorities right.
A few months after we won our Queen’s Award, I went to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen,several politicians and a few others, for a reception, which I described here. Each company incidentally sent three people.
Mrs. Thatcher was supposed to attend, but the Welsh Secretary died that evening and she had other more important things to sort out.
I’ve Never Understood The Lure Of Waxworks
Madame Tussauds are no advertising on the DLR.
I’ve Never Understood The Lure Of Waxworks
I’ve never been that I can remember and these adverts won’t dissuade me in my view that waxworks are a waste of space and time.
It used to be spelt properly as Madame Tussaud’s, but apparently, they have dropped the apostrophe.
I think it would be very scientifically incorrect to go to a museum, that deliberately misspelt its name.
Blankets At Carluccio’s In St. Pancras Station
Carluccio’s in St. Pancras Station has started issuing customers with blankets.
Blankets At Carluccio’s In St. Pancras Station
I’m not sure, but I’ve used that restaurant for some years now and I’ve never seen the blankets before. A few customers outside had the blankets wrapped snuggly over their laps and around their legs.
Has this winter been that bad? Or are we all getting soft and feel the cold more?
I did find the blankets mentioned in Trip Advisor for March 20th this year.
I Brought My Piano To A Station And Someone Asked Me To Play
I took this photograph at St. Pancras station this morning.
Piano And Pianist At St. Pancras Station
It would appear it’s a street piano and that the music and the musicians are well liked.
Now It’s The Turn Of The Milcs
According to the Times, the next source of trouble for the Eurozone is the Milcs, or the small countries with overblown banking sectors.
So just when you’ve learned what Piigs means, you’ve now got to work out what Milcs does.
It’s actually Malta, Ireland, Luxembourg, Cyprus and Slovenia.
As Ireland and Cyprus have imploded, they reckon Slovenia is next!
Bitcoin
A Leader in today’s Times has alerted me to Bitcoin. this is a sort of mission statement from their web site.
Bitcoin uses peer to peer technology to operate with no central authority; managing transactions and issuing Bitcoins are carried out collectively by the network. Through many of its unique properties, Bitcoin allows exciting uses that could not be covered by any previous payment systems.
As a software man, I think it could be a good idea.
But according to The Times, it has been a preferred method of payment for drug-related transactions.
They also think is could be another bubble, as does the Telegraph.
But the thought of a peer-to-peer transaction network, unencumbered by credit cards and bank charges has a certain appeal.
I shall be watching, but I don’t think I’ll be using it yet!
In the meantime, ideas like this, are just another reason to get rid of your bank shares.
The Anonymous Widower 