Cool Brands
The BBC is also reporting the coolest brands.
Top is Apple, which proves P. T. Barnum‘s statement of “there’s a sucker born every minute”. In fact of the top twenty brands, I only use five; YouTube, Google, BBC iPlayer, Sony and Nikon.
Surely though, the coolest brand in post-Olympic London is Heatherwick, who designed the Olympic flame and the New Bus for London.
Who’d have thought a bus could be cool, but then, who’d have thought that the BBC, would have designed, something that features highly on the list produced by Cool Brands.
Open House – SELCHP
SELCHP or the South East London Combined Heat and Power energy recovery facility, is a refuse incinerator, that generates up to 35 MW of electricity. I went for a look round during the Open House weekend.
It’s a long time since, I’ve been given free rein in an industrial plant. The last one that generated power was probably Cliff Quay or Sizewell A. Or it certainly was in the UK, although I have visited two others in the US; AEP Cook and Beaver Valley.
The site was impressive and I think they do a good job, getting rid of London’s rubbish. For those who object to incinerators on principle, it can’t be that bad, as they have now got resident peregrine falcons to keep down the number of pigeons. All I can find is this in a forum.
There’s also a bird of prey of some sort that nests at SELCHP, the incinerator opposite Millwall football ground. They provide it with special nesting boxes. Apparently, the high, bare walls look like the cliffs that are its natural habitat!
But the building probably looks no different to peregrines as does Tate Modern.
What A Name For A Shop!
The picture says it all.
hat A Name For A Shop!
They probably do sell good furniture and possibly even make it or get it made!
But it is a name with connotations.
Lingerie Adverts On The Tube
It was always said in the 1960s and before, that lingerie adverts were put on the Underground escalators, as because people were passing them at speed, they couldn’t write anything on them.
Then a few years later, certain women, thought the adverts were degrading and started putting stickers on them.
And then, yesterday I was ascending in Bond Street station, where a large number of copies of the same woman on video screens, was showing off her Marks & Spencer’s bra.
I suppose because the video lasted only a few seconds before changing to something else, this stopped them being defaced.
Open House – The Limehouse Hydraulic Accumulator
Rather a unique building available for view was the Limehouse Hydraulic Accumulator.
I managed the climb up the tower quite easily and as you can see some pictures were taken of the view from the top.
The machinery in the tower was originally built by William Armstrong and was used to provide hydraulic pressure to the cranes and other machinery around the docks.
Around The Limehouse Basin
From Ilford station, the one for TUCA, I took the train to Stratford from where I took the DLR to Limehouse station, where I walked around the Limehouse Basin.
My goal was to find another building open today in Open House; the Limehouse Hydraulic Accumulator.
Open House – TUCA
I went to the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy at Ilford.
It is an impressive place, that trains workers and prospective ones in the skills needed to work underground.
It is actually the first legacy of CrossRail, as they will be needing substantial numbers of workers over the next few years.
It’s Open House Weekend!!
I’m following an engineering theme this weekend.
Saturday
- Bond Street Crossrail Station
- TUCA – London’s University of Hole Digging
- Limehouse Accumulator Tower
Sunday
Obviously, I may add some more.
Walking From Manor House To Harringay Green Lanes
According to Wikipedia this is considered to be a walkable interchange between Manor House and Harringay Green Lanes stations between the Piccadilly and Gospel Oak to Barking lines.
Yesterday I walked it from the Manor House end and took these pictures.
It was a reasonably easy walk, as it’s all downhill. It was also very pleasant going into and out of Finsbury Park and past a cafe and a nursery, that sold plants.
Note the Manor House Pub, which was famous in the 1960’s for its rock music.
Coming back, I took a bus from Harringay Green Lanes to the Angel to do some shopping.
Paying For Plastic Bags
There is talk this morning, that we’ll all have to pay five pence for a plastic bag.
I’m not against the charge, but a total ban, as some are proposing, would create problems for me.
I usually shop once every day and never take a bag with me, as that is just something else to forget, when I go out. As too, I have a gammy hand, I find carrying an empty bag difficult and have dropped a couple on occasion.
But the biggest impact on me would be on my kitchen rubbish system. Here’s my waste basket.
My Kitchen Bin
It’s actually a large plant-pot from IKEA. As you can see in the next picture, it’s the ideal size for the standard Waitrose plastic bag.
My Fuller Kitchen Bin
The trouble with bought bags is that they are far too big or too small for my bin.
I have designed my own bin and sometime, I’ll get round to making it.
The Anonymous Widower 