Are Lawyers Going To Be The Biggest Beneficiaries Of The Scottish Independence Referendum?
In a front page story today, the Sunday Times says that a leading lawyer is going to mount a challenge under EU law, that expatriate Scots should be allowed a vote in the upcoming Scottish Referendum.
You can rest assured, that at the bottom of every big argument, there is a lawyer stirring the pot and trousering a few large fees.
It doesn’t affect me, as the only thing Scottish in my veins is the odd glass of Bells!
A Pleasant Surprise In Middlesbrough
I like nice cafes and it was only as I was leaving Middlesbrough, that I found the Traveller’s Rest in the station.
From a quick perusal of their menu, it would appear that there is something I could have eaten, which was a pity, as I didn’t get anything to eat until I got home about five hours later.
There’a positive review of the cafe here.
I did chat to the owner and he also indicated that Northern Rail had been very encouraging in his venture. Are they repeating the philosphy, which was obviously at play with the Overground at Crystal Palace station and South Eastern at Margate?
Let’s hope so, as all fair-sized stations need a distinctive and spacious cafe or restaurant for the passengers.
The Unwelcoming Thing About Teesside
It can’t be said that Teesside is not a breezy place and the wind on my visit was strong, cold and straight off the North Sea. Joking with the locals about this, they at least felt that this winter, they hadn’t had much rain.
I think the architect of the Riverside Stadium took this into account, as it was pleasant inside for the match. Even if the result was disappointing.
Teesside is certainly a place, where you should wrap up well. But saying that, one of the things I remember about living in Felixstowe is the wind off the North Sea.
Walking To The Riverside Stadium
My purpose in going to Middlesbrough was to see Ipswich play Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium. On a pleasant day, it is one of the better walks from a station to the stadium, as there are things to look at.
I even popped into the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, where I went over their current exhibition called Art and Optimism in 1950s Britain. It was interesting, but it was an exhibition, that would have been excellent to visit with someone of my own age, as a lot of the things shown, would bring back memories for those like me, who can remember the 1950s. I can’t actually remember the Festival of Britain, but I have seen photographs of myself, there in my Cumfifolda pushchair, with my grandmother.
I was a bit disappointed to see that some of Middlesbrough’s liths had been vandalised, as had the statue outside the court. There’s a report here on the latter, but the other damage looked like thieves were after the metal.
Redcar And The Beacon
I deliberately went up early for the football at Middlesbrough, so that I could go and have a look at Redcar and its new attraction, the Redcar Beacon.
I first came across the Redcar Beacon, when it was nominated for the 2013 Carbuncle Cup.
I quite liked the idea of the Redcar Beacon, but some of the details had been rather poorly executed. The food seemed to be pretty good, with a good choice of cakes, including some gluten free ones, but many of the seats were set too low to see out.
Redcar scores highly for information with maps and liths everywhere.
To me though, the real problem it has for visitors like me is Redcar Central station and the Tees Valley line, that gets you to and from Darlington and Middlesbrough. Hopefully, it’ll get better trains in the future and someone will try to do something clever with some of the stations on the line.
Romeo’s Gluten Free Bakery Opens
Romeo’s Gluten Free Bakery actually opened yesterday, but I only found out late last night from a waitress in Carluccio’s.
It was well worth a visit and I had a cup of tea, a chicken pie and a loaf of bread to take home for fourteen pounds.
The chicken pie was superb and was one of the best lunchtime snacks, I’ve ever had. The pastry was just how it should be and I’ve never had gluten-free pastry like it before.
If you want to go, the easiest way is to walk down Upper Street in Islington from either the Angel or Highbury and Islington stations. It’s virtually opposite Islington Town Hall.
Mind The Gap – Threeses Style
I got off a Central line train at Bank station tonight and it was all a bit difficult for a family with a set of threeses, who were probably about three years old.
The platform there is rather curved and there must have been at least a twenty-five centimetre gap between the train and the platform.
But ushered by their parents, they jumped it successfully!
It really is a gap that needs sorting. This page has more details.
Visitors To The UK And The Two Together Railcard
The Two Together Railcard has just been launched in the UK.
I’ve since found out, that it is available to any two people, who habitually travel together in the UK, even if they aren’t resident here.
So it would be an ideal way for say an American, German or Vietnamese couple to get a third off rail fares, provided they didn’t want to travel before 09:30.
Come To Christ And Get A Free Gun
I didn’t believe the story in the Times that the Lone Oak Baptist Church is giving all new members a gun. But it’s all over the web, including here on the New York Daily News.
Let’s hope they don’t open a branch in London!
Kiera Knightley’s Waist
There has been a lot of talk in the paper’s lately about Keira Knightley and her waist. There’s an article here in the Telegraph.
In the Times today, they say it is twenty-three inches and that between 1951 and today, womens’ waists have risen on average from 27½ to 34 inches.
My waist at 30 inches, is only an inch or so bigger than when I left University and C’s waist was never much more than twenty-four. Although, I suspect that when we got married it was naturally about twenty-two.
If the claims that Kiera’s waist was natural in the photos is true, I can believe it, as some of us are naturally very slim. I do wonder if some of those tiny Victorian corseted waists, were on women, who perhaps naturally were in their low twenties and were just enhancing, what their genes had given them!
My only problem with being this slim, is that I do sometimes find it difficult to buy clothes. On the other hand, I don’t think that there are any health problems about being built like the Aldgate Sphinx.
The Anonymous Widower 