Rocking Back to the Past
Last night, I went to the theatre to see the stage version of the film, Backbeat, at the Duke of York’s theatre.
It was well-worth the ticket price and I haven’t enjoyed a musical play so much in years.
The only problem is it closes next Friday, so if you want to see it, you haven’t much time.
The play is mainly about how the Beatles formed into the four musicians we know so well and a fair proportion covers the story of their trips to Hamburg, where Stuart Suttcliffe left the band to continue his artistic career under Eduardo Paolozzi. Sadly, Sutcliffe died in April 1962 at just 21. I know little of art, but I have friends who do, and Sutcliffe’s early death may have been a bigger tragedy than we think.
The play catches the mood of Liverpool in the sixties well, although I arrived in the city, after the Beatles had left and they play a lot of the songs that have been handed down from that time.
I did see the Beatles once though, that was at the Hammersmith Odeon after Christmas in 1964. Sadly, I never saw them again. There’s more detsils of that here.
I often wonder what the world would be like, if the Beatles hadn’t happened. I’d probably lose at least a laugh a week, as somewhere I’ll hear strains of their music and it will bring a smile to my face.
I think the saddest thing is probably the death of John Lennon and what would the world be like if he hadn’t have been shot? He might have been the one figure who could have helped stop the disastrous interventions into Iraq and Afghanistan.
But to return to last night. As I walked home after dancing in the aisles of the theatre to the tunes of the Beatles, I almost wouldn’t have minded having a serious heart attack and going then. I’ve seen two of my nearest and dearest have long drawn out deaths, so something fast, when I’m in a happy mood might do for me. But it will have to be medical, as I’m going to reach the span that my body will set for me.
Risk Assessment – Japanese Style
Obviously, the nation that gave the world, that amazing game called Endurance, the method of risk assessment at Tokyo Zoo will be different to anywhere else in the world. This video shows them dealing with a rhino,that has been assumed to have escaped.
This scene is doubly funny for me, as C always laughed like a drain, when Clive James showed the clips of Endurance.
Transparency International and the Blackrock Sovereign Risk Index
I’d never heard of Transparency International until yesterday, when it was interviewed about corruption in Moscow and the problems of investing there on the BBC.
They publish a Corruption Perception Index for around 180 countries world-wide. The link points to their data for 2010. It is interesting reading.
The Blackrock Sovereign Risk Index does what it says on the tin and says how dodgy it is to deal in sovereign risk for various countries.
I wonder if the two are related, in that is a country low on the Country Perception Index, high on the Blackrock Sovereign Risk Index?
I shall be doing some investigating.
A Video of the Thames Tunnel
I went back to the Thames Tunnel on the East London line and took a video of an approaching train.
The video was taken from the same place where I took the still images in Wapping station.
Confusing Bath Taps
This video shows my bath taps.
I thought it was just me, but then my lady who does finds them just as confusing.
i suspect Jerry, picked them up cheap in a car boot sale. The bath is bad too as getting in and out isn’t easy.
Are Virgin Media the Worst Junk Mailers?
Every few weeks, I get one of these through the post, delivered by the Royal Mail.
Unwanted Mail from Virgin Media
I have registered with the Mail Preference Service and I do have sign which says No Junk Mail. But the mail is addressed to the Occupier, which is apparently not covered by any rules. Perhaps, I should send it on to the Occupy London people.
Virgin shouldn’t really worry, as except for their trains, I don’t and won’t use any of their products. And anyway Virgin Media is expensive.
Coping With Solar Gain
I’ve now found out why it is that my health has got worse since I moved into my new house. The picture shows my south-facing windows.
My South-Facing Windows
The house is probably highly insulated, has under-floor central heating and I suspect that the floor slab between the two floors is fairly immense and thus takes not only a long time to heat up, but a long time to cool down. At times, when I’ve been away for a couple of days in the cold, it seems that it’s almost taken another few days to get the house warm.
But when it gets hot, it gets very hot, as the light coming through the windows warms the house by the same principle used in somewhere like the Palm House at Kew Gardens. I have measured a temperature of 30 degrees.
To make matters worse, I also have a roof light.
My Substantial Roof Light
Not only does the house get hot, but also the air inside gets very dry. This means that my throat, ears, eyes and skin are all very dry. This article on Dry Skin and Winter Itch led me in the direction I have gone. Firstly, I installed this simple meter on the wall.
Combined Barometer, Thermometer and Hygrometer
So that I could measure everything properly.
I also purchased a humidifier from John Lewis to try to get the humidity between 50 and 55%.
Bionaire BU7000 Humidifier
I then turned the heating down as low as it would go and still maintain a temperature of about 22-23 degrees and used the humidifier to adjust the humidity to a comfortable level.
Then I did the difficult bit and decided to have a lukewarm bath every other day to moisturise my skin. My ears and eyes have definitely got better, but my throat has only marginally improved. That could be because of the cold outside, as it’s very dry there.
I’m now trying to see if I can cut the solar gain in the room, by some simple passive method like the right blinds. This article has been a help.
So what am I going to do first.
If you read the article, it indicates that one of the best systems is to use a blind or curtain, with a pelmet and a vent. I’ve tried a simple John Lewis blind to see that it looks like.
a Test Blind
Four of these cut to fit two to each window might be a good start.Note that the opening top windows can be used as the vent. And of course the blinds can be adjusted up and down for light control and visual security. For the pelmet, I might seriously consider a U-shaped one, that also acted as a shade for an LED ropelight to downlight the windows internally at night.
Happiness
There has been a lot of discussion about what happiness is lately.
When you’re a widower or widow, happiness is a big hug from someone, who has suffered the same loss. Sadly, I think many never get that luxury.
How To Move An Agricultural Roller! Or Not!
Some years ago, I needed to move an agricultural ribbed roller from my house to my stud, which were about a mile apart. The roller was built from a series of sections and was about two metres long, with a stout triangular frame at the front to hitch it to the tractor.
I had a Land Rover Discovery at the time, so using some rope, I tied the frame of the roller to the toe-hook on the back of the 4×4.
As I wanted to do it slowly, I felt that six o’clock on a Sunday morning would be best, as there was little traffic about. It took me about an hour, with no mishaps en route.
It was only on Monday, that I found I’d woken everybody up, and they’d all wondered what made the amazing noise.
The Anonymous Widower 