Where The Queen Gets Her Energy
Yesterday’s edition of Countryfile on BBC1, was entitled Royal Special: Windsor.
In the program, they shows how Windsor Castle and the surrounding estate, use an Archimedes screw in the River Thames to generate electricity.
I found this video on the Internet.
There is also this document on the Internet.
It may look crazy, but after reading the document, it would appear to be cost effective.
This Google Map gives aerial view of the weir and the installed screws.
The two screws are installed in two sections of the weir at the right end.
It may look crazy, but after reading the document, it would appear to be cost effective.
- At peak flow the two units generate a total of 320kW/hour.
- There is a six year return on investment.
- The design life is fifteen years..
- The owner of the generators has a forty year lease on the site.
I suspect, we could see more units like this!
In Bruges
I thought that I was passing the city, I should take a pit-stop in Bruges, with perhaps a gluten-free breakfast.
If you go to most cities in Germany, there is always a handy tourist office at the station.
As I didn’t know the city, I needed information on how to get from the station to the centre, which was a twenty minute walk.
If it hadn’t been for a helpful local man, who spoke impeccable English, I wouldn’t have found out that the buses were convenient, but you had to buy the tickets from the paper shop inside the station.
In addition, there wasn’t any visible staff at the station.
How tourist-friendly is that for a welcome to one of the most important sites in Belgium?
My gluten-free breakfast wasn’t very good either!
It came with ordinary bread and only the tea was good.
My argument is that if you advertise gluten-free, then make sure you can do it properly.
Finding a bus back to the station wasn’t easy to cap it all.
Conclusion
Don’t expect to turn up in Bruges on a train and spend a pleasant hour or two before moving on.
Unlike many cities in The Netherlands, Germany and Italy, the information lets you down.
Millicent And Ursula Prepare To Go Tunnelling
I went to the Tideway Open Day today to see Millicent and Ursula before they go tunnelling.
Other than the names on the sides, you will notice that Millicent has less teeth on the business end, than her friend.
This is because Millicent will be going West from the site near Battersea Power station and Ursula will be going East.
As the geology is more challenging to the East, Ursula has more teeth.
Some points to note!
- Millicent was named after Dame Millicent Fawcett.
- Ursula was named after Audrey ‘Ursula’ Smith.
- Both machines will have a statue of Saint Barbara, who is the patron saint of miners and tunnellers.
- These machines are larger than those of Crossrail.
- A documentary is being made for television about the tunnel.
There’s more on Millicent and Ursula on the Tideway web site.
Square Comes Full Circle For Grosvenor Estate
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in the Business section of today’s copy of The Times.
It describes the history of Grosvenor Square and its relationship to the Grosvenor family.
There has been an American presence in the square since 1785, but with the moving of the American Embassy to Nine Elms earlier this year, the need for security measures has decreased and control of the square has returned to the Grosvenor Estate.
These are the last two paragraphs of the article.
After a public consultation, Grosvenor is seeking ideas from urban designers, architects and artists to “recreate a place fit for the 21st century”.
Craig McWilliam, chief executive, said that Grosvenor Britain and Ireland wanted to create “a haven where locals and visitors can enjoy the best of the city”.
Donald Trump has stated that moving to Nine Elms is crazy, but London will gain immensely from that move.
Does Talk Radio Make Telephone Fraudsters Go Away?
At the moment, I’m being plagued by telephone fraudsters. What they are up to, I don’t know, but I get around five a day, if I’m sitting by my computer writing.
I usually have my television switched to Radio 5 or something like the News on BBC1, when they call and I find it strange that if I don’t switch the sound on the television off, by the time I get the phone to my ear, the line is dead.
The fraudster seems to hear the noise of the talking and feels they may be wasting their time.
But it never seems to fail!
It reminds me of a story told me by a farmer, who was breeding free-range organic chickens for one of the major supermarket groups.
The local foxes were a problem, until someone suggested that he wire an old radio up to a car battery and put it on Radio 5 all night at a lowish level. It appeared the calm voices of Doton Adebayo and Rhod Sharp convinced the foxes there were people around and he was losing fewer chickens to the foxes.
Wet Wipes Could Face Wipe-Out In Plastic Clean-Up
The title of this post, is the same as this article on the BBC.
What are wet wipes?
In my seventy years, I’ve never used or even seen one!
I don’t think my late wife ever used one either!
Do we really need them?
Artificial Photosynthesis Offers Clean Source Of Hydrogen
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Engineer.
This is the first paragraph.
Devices made using conventional semiconductor technologies could make hydrogen using just fresh or saltwater and sunlight.
It would appear to be an interesting concept, but after reading the article, there is still a lot of research and development to be done before it is an affordable proposition.
But I do feel, it could be one of those technologies that are commonplace in a few decades.
Will TSB Exist In A Couple Of Months?
I am seventy and I have been programming computers and using them since I was eighteen.
I also worked for Lloyds Bank in the 1970s, although not on their computing side, but as a high level consultant, where I was using data extracted from the main computer system to calculate bank costs, through a program I had written that was effectively a giant spreadsheet.
So I have heard a lot of stories from the 1960s, of when banks were first computerised, over drinks with bank e,employees.
One was about an absolutely brilliant fraud, that would make a good film.
None were as horrific as what TSB have inflicted on their customers over the last few weeks.
I like to check my bank account every morning, as in my view, that is the best way to pick up any fraud.
So if I had been a TSB customer, I would already have long ago moved my account.
It would be in everybody’s interest, if all TSB account holders moved to other banks.
As that would hopefully, close TSB!
This would surely mean, all banks and other financial institutions made sure they got their computing right.
From my computing knowledge, I do wonder whether the TSB problems are being caused by an evil programmer!
The chaos undoubtedly, could have been created deliberately.
But for what purpose?
- There is always a rogue state or organisation, wanting to create mischief.
- Banco Sabadell, who are TSB’s parent, are a publicly-quoted company. Their share price appears to have been falling recently. Could someone have placed a big bet on the share price?
- Chaos is a good smokescreen for fraud.
Hopefully, the truth will come out in the end!
The Resignation Of Amber Rudd
In the almost forty-six years from 18th October 1964 to the 11th May 2010, there have been several Governments of both sides and twenty Home Secretaries.
Which means the average tenure is under two and a half years.
Incidentally, how many of the twenty can you name?
So Amber Rudd‘s tenure is just under the average.
The remarkable thing about the list of Home Secretaries is how few last more than four years, so Theresa May‘s tenure of six years, must show a certain something.
In the same period, there have only been twelve Chancellors of the Exchequer.
I have seen it said by respectable commentators, that if a company has a large turnover of CEOs, then there is something fundamentally wrong with the company.
So is there something fundamentally wrong with the Home Office?
It is a large department with a budget of nearly £9billion and around 30,000 employees.
The Home Office web site, these are the department’s responsibilities.
- working on the problems caused by illegal drug use
- shaping the alcohol strategy, policy and licensing conditions
- keeping the United Kingdom safe from the threat of terrorism
- reducing and preventing crime, and ensuring people feel safe in their homes and communities
- securing the UK border and controlling immigration
- considering applications to enter and stay in the UK
- issuing passports and visas
- supporting visible, responsible and accountable policing by empowering the public and freeing up the police to fight crime
- fire prevention and rescue
Would Sainsburys put such diverse responsibilities together?
I’m certain, that some of these responsibilities need to be reorganised.
Perhaps, then Home Secretaries will find it easier to stay in the job.
L&G To Build 3,000 Affordable Homes By 2022
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Construction News.
This is said.
Legal & General is to start building affordable homes with the aim of delivering 3,000 a year by 2022.
The firm said it will target affordable housing due to underinvestment in the sector.
L&G is aiming to become the “leading affordable housing provider in the UK” by drawing on its £15bn investment programme, according to chief executive Nigel Wilson.
It looks like the story could be better than the headline.
The Anonymous Widower 