The Engineers Get To Grips With Food
This report from the BBC, would seem to suggest that the Institute of Mechanical Engineers are venturing into areas that are none of their business. This is two key paragraphs.
The report found that between 30% and 50% of the four billion tonnes of food produced around the world each year went to waste.
It suggested that half the food bought in Europe and the US was thrown away.
I don’t think it is a surprising set of findings, but what are governments doing about it. Nothing! Which is a total scandal.
Perhaps, it’s about time we had more engineers at all levels in Government, all over the world. Waste is anathema to every engineer I’ve ever met!
I wonder if there has ever been a President or Prime Minister anywhere, who has had an engineering qualification? Even an O Level or equivalent in Technical Drawing would be rare. The nearest I can think of is Jimmy Carter, who was deeply involved in the clearing up of this nuclear incident in Canada. After his presidency he has shown himself to be a very practical man.
The Shops Are Closing
There are a lot of empty shops in the UK with m ore closing, according to various reports like this.
They’ve just had a town centre manager giving his views on BBC Breakfast.
No wonder shops are closing with this view from a real dinosaur in Bury. It was all about anchor tenants, large chains and advertising bringing in the punters.
Shopping must be exciting and fun and you don’t get that in chains!
It should also be chugger and smoke-free, with good public transport.
Yesterday, I needed to get a few food items, so I went to Finsbury Pavement in the City. I got a bus to outside the large Marks and Spencer there, did my shopping, then crossed the road to get my return bus from the other side of the road.
Now that is what I call convenience shopping! I could have had a coffee and visited any one of about thirty other shops in the area.
There are a few chains there, but they are ones I use like Maplins, Boots, Gap and O2 in addition to the excellent Marks.
I’ve never seen a chugger there either and smokers aren’t that common.
The only problem is that there isn’t a good gluten-free cafe, except Starbucks or by walking through to the Barbican or Spitalfields. But at least the Starbucks doesn’t masquerade as a public toilet.
Pictures Of Crossrail
This gallery on the BBC shows some good pictures of the Crossrail sites from the air.
Some of my pictures show the view from the ground.
Did You Know You Can’t Take Flowers In The Channel Tunnel?
I was thinking about taking some to a friend in The Netherlands, but I’ve found out you can’t take them.
It’s all to do with the fact that as the Channel Tunnel is below sea level, the negative pressure causes the petals to drop off. It’s the same if you’re in a train or in the Shuttle.
Hoist By His Own Petard
I’m reminded of one of my father’s favourite phrases by this story about the leader of the English Defence League.
He can’t really complain about his punishment, as I thought the EDL wanted to keep unwanted immigrants out of the country. So what were the Americans doing? Just that, when he tried to get there using someone else’s passport.
Cambridge Busway Troubles
The Cambridge Busway may be running fairly well now, but it still seems to cause trouble for politicians, as this report shows.
At least though the Edinburgh Tram has come along to give the busway company in the book of bad projects.
Do I Need A Smart Phone?
I’ve recently bought a Samsung Tab 2 7. This is the seven inch screen or the small one.
I can keep it in my pocket and use it to send e-mails and surf the Internet. I checked my Zopa and bank details on Saturday and even entered a small post to this blog.
I’ve only a wi-fi version, which proved excellent on the train on Saturday. But then we are seeing more and more free wi-fi hotspots in pubs and cafes everywhere.
So quite frankly, I’ll stick to my Nokia 6310i for phone calls and text messages.
Who needs a smart phone?
The Dignity Of A Sari
On Saturday, I was on a 30 bus at Highbury Corner and an Indian lady of about sixty or so got off the bus and walked up the road.
She was obviously going somewhere special, as she was immaculately dressed in what looked to my untrained eye an expensive sari. She was also carrying a big bunch of flowers, so perhaps she was going to visit a friend or family for lunch.
She had this aura of dignity, that I have observed so many times in India, with women dressed in a similar way.
You don’t see Indian women dressed this way so often where I live.
The first time, I came across a lady in a sari, was when my mother had an operation for varicose veins in the 1950s. The doctor then was a very beautiful Indian lady, who used to do her ward rounds in a sari. Both my parents incidentally, thought it perfectly normal.
I also remember, when I used to work at ICI in Welwyn Garden City, that one of the team I worked with; Manju, occasionally came to work in a sari on important days, or perhaps when someone was leaving.
You don’t seem to see Indian women in the workplace these days dressed in a sari.
I’ve Only Seen Three Of The Highest Grossing Films
I found this list of the fifty highest grossing films on Wikipedia.
They are Titanic, Skyfall and Star Wars.
But then most in the list don’t appeal to me.
The Anonymous Widower 