Are The Ghosts Of Long-Dead Steam Engines Powering Great Britain On?
As a ten-year-old or so, I used to bunk the engine sheds in East London to collect the numbers of the steam engines stabled there at the motive power depot. It was a massive place, as the number of engines needed to power services into East Anglia and Essex was very large. Many were being scrapped, as electrification of the suburban lines out of Liverpool Street continued.
Much of the site was cleared for HS1, the link to the Channel Tunnel from St. Pancras, but much of the area ended up a derelict site, supporting large numbers of businesses.
But it was here in Stratford, that the Olympic site was created.
So are the ghosts of those long-dead steam engines powering Great Britain on?
A Coeliac Compares Islington and Highbury Corner Waitroses
I have two Waitroses close to me and both are just a single bus ride from the stop on my corner. The Islington store is at the Angel and the Highbury Corner one is just a littleWaitrose across the road from Highbury and Islington station.
I can get most things I need in the Highbury Corner store, except for the goats’ milk and yoghurt, that I like. They even have the Genius Gluten Free bread and a good selection of gluten-free cakes and biscuits.
The bigger store at Islington, is always a bit short and the bread is sometimes non-existent. They do generally stock some gluten-free beer, which I haven’t checked for at Highbury Corner.
The Rise of Gambling Spam
I’ve had the impression for a week or so now, that the amount of spam I’m getting from dodgy gambling sites has been grown somewhat.
On the 1st, to the 7th of August, I’ve received 26, 32, 25, 21, 35, 24 and 29 messages respectively. A few months ago, they were quite rare.
They are ideal practice for using the Delete key on your computer.
I must admit I do like the odd small bet, but then only when I have inside information about the nag involved.
The only thing I do with Spam is occasionally eat it, as I’m a coeliac and it’s gluten-free.
I have now found that most of this spam comes from a website called http://www.promotion-rewards.com,which is registered with a Slovenia address.
C Swam In The Serpentine
I’ve said before that my late wife, C, was a manic swimmer. One summer when we lived in St. John’s Wood, we went to the Serpentine to swim. Or in my case, just stand and sit around.
Now, there’s swimming the triathlon in the same lake, over forty years later.
Why Are Our Women Athletes Good At Heptathlon?
I’m just watching the start of the Olympic women’s heptathlon and we had three in the field.
I do mind it strange that we do so well in this event, especially when it is compared to our performances in other athletic events.
It would be easy to blame Dame Mary Peters for her inspiring performance in Munich in the pentathlon. Did she inspire the previous generation, who are now the coaches and parents? But over the last few years, the good performers have just kept coming.
The Public Olympics
Because it’s in the UK, we are seeing much more about the home life of British athletes. And often their mothers.
The Games Of The British Underdogs
This is becoming very much a games where some of the British medals have been won by athletes who were not fancied and have had tremendous difficulty getting to the Games at all.
Outstanding is probably Gemma Gibbons in the judo, who won an unexpected silver after the death of her mother to leukaemia a few years ago, then had a difficult draw.
I know they haven’t won a medal, but at least they’ve won a match for the first time. But the trials and tribulations of the Volleyball team have been enormous, as detailed in The Sun, in the paper’s inimitable manner.
Remember what Mark Twain said, “It’s not the size of the dog, but the size of the fight in the dog”
Death Of A Cyclist
It is always very sad when someone dies, but the death of a cyclist outside the Olympic Stadium is creating a few waves as well.
He was knocked off his bike and killed by a media bus, at a place that cyclists have said was dangerous for years. It was the typical cyclist under a turning vehicle accident, if any accident is typical.
I know it doesn’t help his family, but Bradley Wiggins has made strong statements about safety and said that all cyclists should wear helmets at all times.
One subsidiary point, was that quite a few of the soldiers guarding the Olympics were about but sadly couldn’t save the victim. Surely, this in itself is an argument for using soldiers at big events, as I suspect their emergency medical skills are a lot better than your average security guard.
Painted Nails
Many of the female athletes and even the Canadian men, are getting flags painted on their nails.
I hope the British get their Union Flags put on the right way up!
As to the Canadian men, perhaps Monty Python was right!
Walthamstow To Excel By Public Transport
I’m putting in this journey as it illustrates how good the public transport is for the Games.
Most would take the Victoria line and then fiddle round to Bank for the DLR. Or perhaps go into Liverpool Street and then either walk or take one stop to Bank.
But I wouldn’t!
I’d take the 69 bus or big red taxi as they are known this summer to Canning Town station and then take the DLR two stops from there.
The Anonymous Widower 