Three Reasons To Join The Tate
Obviously, if you join the Tate as I have, you get various advantages with the entry to exhibitions, but there are other less obvious ones.
In the Tate Modern, you get to use a Member’s Room with good views over the river.
The View From Tate Modern
This picture probably shows the Barbican and St. Paul’s better than the one I showed in the gallery. The Member’s Room also serves a mean cup of tea.
A Two Pound Pot Of Tea
At a mean price, I should say too, as I got two cups from the pot for just two pounds.
There are also two viewing galleries off the Member’s Room.
The Shard From Tate Modern
I only explored the South-facing one, which sadly is overlooked by the dreaded Shard.
Even if you’re not a member, the Tate has several cafes and restaurants and none seem to be small.
The Bold Millennium Bridge
The Millennium Bridge was not without controversy and many still call it the wobbly bridge.
But my walk shows how good the concept is and it was right to build a bridge there in the first place.
If you’re going to the Tate Modern, then in my view, it should be approached over the bridge.
It might be sensible too, to go back across using the new Blackfriars station, which is a bridge as well.
Or you could do as I did later and take the RV1 hydrogen-powered bus route to Covent Garden.
Through St. Paul’s To The Tate Modern
I went for a walk this morning, starting on the North side of St. Paul’s Cathedral and then over the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern.
I’d actually never been in the gardens of the cathedral before, which connect the two sides of the building. As it was fairly early, it would have been a pleasant place to sit around for thirty minutes or so.
There’s more on the blue trees here.
My Sunday Lunch
This picture may say I seem to be on the breadline.
My Sunday Lunch
However, I’m just returning to one of the traditions that C and I adhered to in the early years of our marriage. We tended to get up late, feed the kids, read the Sunday papers and then have bacon and egg and probably some extras like tomatoes, beans and perhaps mushrooms.
Why and when we gave it up, I do not know!
I only did it this time, as I wanted something simple to do, whilst listening to the Australians losing the cricket.
Who Needs Outside Investors?
The Sunday Times has two articles today about very successful companies that have become that way and financially secure, without any external finance.
I’ve known about the first, Martin Baker for many years and in some ways it’s surprising that they haven’t sold out, as anno domini catch up with us all.
The other is a Cambridge company called Real VNC, who provide software for virtual network connections. They have just won the MacRobert Award as is reported here.
I like the quote from Andy Harter, one of the founders of the company.
We need to persuade young people that engineering means the people who built the Olympic Park and the internet, and that it is a great choice of career.
I’ve spend a life in engineering and would thoroughly agree. I’ve even applied engineering principles to banking and finance. Bankers have needed me more, than I’ve needed them!
On the other hand when I needed a good banker, I found an excellent one in my friend David, who came to me because of the quality of my work on an internal project he started in the bank. How many bankers these days would recognise a good engineer or scientist? Only after he’s sold his or her company, I suspect!
Underneath East London
This article about Crossrail is worth reading.
I think the article fits the pattern where Crossrail are doing their utmost to be good neighbours.
After all, bad publicity or even protests in the middle of a projectr, is the easiest way to make it late.
To The Hive To See Ipswich Town
Barnet have a new ground called The Hive and I went there yesterday to see Ipswich play.
As new grounds go, it is a good attempt to create a 6,000 or so capacity stadium.
Note Edgar Davids playing for Barnet and Titus Bramble for Ipswich.
Distance Runners Just Do Not Do This!
The statement above is in a report in today’s Times about Mo Farah’s breaking of the UK and European records for 1,500 metres in Monaco last night. The BBC report is here.
I have tickets for the athletics in the Olympic stadium on Friday and Saturday, where Mo should be making an appearance, before going to the World Championships in Moscow.
I’m looking forward to what should be a really great night.
The Dangers Of Eating Pies
As a coeliac, I don’t eat pies unless they have a potato topping, rather than a pastry one. But this story, should be a warning to us all.
Aystralia seems to be going rather soft these days, what with the rugby and now the cricket.
Do We Rely On Cars Too Much?
This story from Birmingham shows the problems you get when you close a major route through a city centre so important maintenance can be carried out.
Birmingham to me, is one of the least pedestrian friendly cities in the UK and it seems to an outsider that everything has been given over to the car. On my last visit for example, I found no walking maps at all. I also went to St. Andrews to see Ipswich play Birmingham City last year and walking to the ground was a dangerous experience.
But then nothing must detract from the experience of driving!
The Anonymous Widower 