A Memorial To Lee Rigby
There has been discussion on the BBC and an article on their web site about a memorial to Lee Rigby.
The only real memorial will be for something like his murder never to happen again.
All parties should work for that aim.
May Puts The Boot In
One of the lead stories on the BBC is about Theresa May’s speech to the Police Federation. This is the first paragraph.
Theresa May has urged the Police Federation of England and Wales to reform, or she will enforce change.
But the extraordinary thing about the report in The Times, is not the report itself, but the number of comments entered by readers.
As these comments do not seem to favour one side or another, surely the large number, indicates that many Times readers are very interested in what happens to the Police Federation.
Could This Happen In The UK?
This article on the BBC web site is about how the French have ordered 2,000 new trains that are too wide for the platforms.
The French train operator SNCF has discovered that 2,000 new trains it ordered at a cost of 15bn euros ($20.5bn; £12.1bn) are too wide for many regional platforms.
But could it happen here?
The front cover of the February 2014 edition of Modern Railways has a headline of Mind the Gap. Inside it describes how at some London Underground stations there is a problem of large gaps between trains and station platforms with the new S Stock.
But the London Underground problem is for a different reason. As the lines get upgraded and new trains are delivered, London Underground is endeavouring to get the platform-train interface to help passengers and especially those with accessibility problems. And they have some curved platforms that make this difficult and will need rebuilding.
Regularly on the Overground, I see a wheelchair-bound passenger push themselves effortlessly into and out of the Class 378 trains, where the interface is easy. As the Overground platforms are lengthened for the new trains, any small gap problems are probably being addressed.
On the Continent except on Metros, there is usually a step-up into the train, which with heavy cases or a baby in a buggy is a slower process.
I wonder how long it is before some anti-Europe and anti-metrication politician or dinosaur, blames the EU and/or metrication for this French problem.
After all, the French are only probably doing what London Underground are and adjusting the platforms to their shiny new trains.
But are the new French trains solving the problem of access?
I can’t find any detailed descriptions of the trains or even their class, so I can’t answer that one.
This train-platform problem will happen more in the future, as many train platforms in the developed world were designed in the steam era and have been updated over the years. I suspect we’ll probably find some newish stations may have to be rebuilt for the next generation.
So we will see more of approach taken by the French and London of ordering a train, that you want for passenger needs and then adjusting those stations that don’t fit the new trains.
After all you would prefer to have the same type of train for all your lines like London Overground has done with the Class 378 rather than have a special version for some stations. If you look at the Class 378 as a go-anywhere train on the Overground, it has a dual-voltage and selective door opening capabilities to cope with lines without overhead electrification and short platforms.
I suspect that the French problems are worse as it’s a much larger number of trains and stations and there are politicians with axes to grind.
The Queen Starts An Inter Union Row
Her Majesty doesn’t often get involved in trade union disputes, but according to this report in the Standard, she’s very much involved in this one on the London Ungerground.
What puzzles me about this dispute is why we still have so many unions involved in the rail industry.
Over the many years, I’ve been watching industrial relations, it strikes me, that companies with a single union, seem to have better industrial relations, than those with more.
Upgrades Are Starting At West Hampstead Station
I found this article about the installation of lifts at West Hampstead station in the Ham and High. In addition they do say this about the station.
It will form part of a wider redevelopment of the entire station which starts next year.
But the bad news is that it won’t be finished until the end of 2019.
London’s Express Buses
Many cities in the UK and elsewhere have express buses to speed you on your way.
With the introduction of a substantial number of New Buses for London on route 38, it seems that London now has express buses, as they are faster than the traditional buses.
Today, I arrived at Dalston Junction station and as I do caught the first bus along the Balls Pond Road. It was an elderly 56 and before it got to the first stop, it had been passed by a following New Bus for London on route 38. The 38 had been able to make a faster getaway at the lights, as their hybrid drive train seems to give better acceleration.
But by the time I got to my stop at Southgate Road, the new bus was on its way to Islington. This is probably because with three doors the cargo gets on and off a lot quicker.
It also helps that only about a third of the passengers need to go past the driver to check in.
As I can get both 38s and 56s to the Angel, it’ll be interesting to see if the 56s get less crowded when route 38 has its full compliment of new buses.
It would also appear than the traditional buses are having their route displays updated for the introduction of cashless buses in July, with nudge messages suggesting you go cashless. They are also saying you can go in and out through either door.
So will the two door buses be fitted with a touch pad at the rear door, just as the new buses do?
It would certainly speed loading and unloading of buses.
All of this shows that good design can make something as mundane as a bus better!
Annoyances In My InBox
Every day, I get at least two e-mails asking me to register PDF Suite 2014. I’ve never used it or bothered with this company before.
I also get something every day from IT Brief.
How do we stop spam coming from these companies? All the unsubscribe requests have failed and of course spam like this from across the pond is impossible to stop.
Is This The House Of The Future?
All over the world we have a problem of affordable, quality housing.
So when I saw this £30,000 house for one on the BBC web site, called a Y-Cube I had to investigate.
It has a good pedigree in being designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour and backed by the YMCA. There’s a lot more about the concept here.
This design may not succeed, but others will!
We are all too ambitious (or is it greedy?) about the type of property we want to live in.
And the tax system encourages well-off single people like myself to live by ourselves in larger houses. Why should I get a Council Tax rebate because I live alone?
Sometimes, I think I’d prefer a minimalist luxury two-bedroom flat high in a tower block with spectacular views of the river. One of the reasons, I don’t move, is that I’d probably be the only person, actually living in a flat they owned.
Perhaps, Councils should publish the occupancy statistics for every street and block in their area. Possible incomers would then see the areas with the right mix of population for their choice of dwelling.
Asparagus Fish Bake
I cooked this recipe on Thursday night and there was enough to warm up the part I didn’t eat for yesterday.
The original recipe is here and as it is an American one, I’ve converted it into sensible units.
I used the following.
- 6 medium fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 2.5 centimetre pieces
- A two-pack of Waitrose haddock
- 1 chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free flour
- Salt
- Pepper
- 200 mg. milk
- 100 gm grated cheddar cheese
- Two decrusted slices of Genius bread
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
And this is the method used.
1. Place the asparagus in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook for 1-2 minutes. Drain and place in a 1.3 litre. baking and top with fish; set aside.
Asparagus Covered By Fish
2. In a small saucepan, saute onion in 1 tablespoon butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Pour over fish.
3. I then sprinkled the breadcrumbs I made with the Genius bread over the top.
Ready For The Oven
4. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until crumbs are golden brown and fish flakes easily with a fork. I nearly did cook it at 350°, but of course that was the little-used Fahrenshite. I used 180°C.
The Cooked Bake
It was delicious and the second portion needed about 15 minutes at 180°C to warm through after twenty-four hours in the fridge.
The more I create crusts with Genius bread, the more I think, it’s an ideal way to cover a bake or pie.
Did Arsenal Shilt Themselves?
On of my long-standing friends, who just happens to be both Jewish and a Hull City supporter uses the word shilt to mean bringing bad luck on yourself.
So did announcing the Victory Parade cause Arsenal to go behind so early.
If a
Did Arsenal Shilt Themselves?
nybody knows the real spelling of shilt please tell me.
The Anonymous Widower 