Cambridge to Finally Get a Bigger Station Hall
This article details how, the size of the hall at Cambridge Station is going to be increased in size substantially.
Having used the station a lot in recent years, I can’t say it’s not before time.
Pay-As-You-Go Solar Electricity
This system from Eight19, got a big plug in the Sunday Times today.
I think the company has got something here, as it can provide low-cost lighting to all of those places in the world that are off-grid.
The article shows how in places like Kenya it can be used to provide lighting and mobile-phone charging at a very affordable cost, by combining good solar technology with simple systems based on scratch cards and mobile phones.
But I think it has other applications,where you need a small amount of power in a difficult to get to place. Remember that even in the UK, we have a surprising amount of sunlight most of the time. But of course not now!
What’s Going on in Scottish Football?
At the moment, I’m listening to the last match in the Glasgow Premier League at Celtic Park. It is usually on one of the main Sky channels, but today it is on Sky Sports 4. Are those of us who get our Sky through BT Vision being censored? Or do they expect it will be too red-blooded for English tastes? Especially, as from what I can gather from the commentary, the Celtic crowd have been giving the Rangers fans a warm and very bigoted welcome. I think that if say some of the banners unfurled by the home fans, appeared at say an Ipswich against Norwich fixture, they would certainly be confiscated.
All of this is a minor battle compared to what happens in the next few weeks. Rangers will probably loose a lot of their best players and the transfer embargo they are under will mean they won’t be able to sign any more.
What puzzles me about Rangers, is that the Inland Revenue didn’t fully investigate the non-payment of tax by the club a couple of years earlier? After all, if this forces the club into liquidation, then it will be the English at fault. Could it be, that Prudence didn’t want it to happen under his watch?
As a taxpayer, I have a right to know, about all the tax and contract mandering that happened in Scotland in the last days of the worst government we’ve had since Lord North.
Which Brother and Sister Played for Two Different Countries in Different Sports in the 2010 Commonwealth Games?
This sounds like a trivial pursuit question and it is. The answer is in the long form in the Sports section of today’s Sunday Times.
They are Christa Cullen, who if she is fit, will be playing in the Hockey in the London Olympics and her brother Gray who plays rugby for Kenya. There’s more about it here in the Guardian.
Jeremy Clarkson Was Right
I’m not slways struck on Jeremy’s taste in cars. But he does know his dogs. Not the four-legged variety, but those cars, those of us who understand them, wouldn’t be seen dead in.
Two seasons ago, he gave the worst review to any car, that I’ve ever seen, with the exception of this one.
So imagine my delight to see the object of this review, outside my house, being given a fuel transfusion by a specialist recovery company. As the car appeared to be a petrol model, it would appear that the pratt not only was stupid enough to buy a BMW X6, but was stupid enough to put diesel in it.
The Rain Claims a Victim
Tonight, the rain didn’t give up, so I took the bus to Carluccio’s in Upper Street for supper. In fact I had to go somewhere, as I hadn’t got any supper in because of the rain.
But coming down Essex Road, there had been an accident, and as we passed, I noticed that a motor cycle was on its side and it appeared that a passer-by was giving first aid to the rider. It looked like a police car had just arrived and they were helping out too.
Hopefully, everything will be alright in the end.
But it is that sort of night, where accidents will happen and you’re much safer in a full-size bus.
Religious Spam
I just received some rather evangelical religious spam. It’s funny but it is actually quite unusual to get spam like this, although I do get a fair bit through the letter box and see it stuck to the bus stop. But then that tends to be a bit phobic in various ways.
This message was just too long to read, so I deleted it.
I did have brief look at it and sees that it mentions someone called Linda Newkirk from Arkansas. Searching for her on the Internet reveals the sort of things, that give Christianity a bad name in the minds of the well-read believer. But then people like this have always been around to burn Catholics or Protestants at the stake, persecute the Jews, Huguenots, the Muslims, the Hindus and the Sikhs, to name a small selection of those persecuted over the centuries. And I suspect the Homo Sapiens used to persecute the Neandertals before that!
If this mad woman had any faith, she’d be against capital punishment and would proclaim the fact, as it is still legal in Arkansas.
To me anybody, who believes in capital punishment and religion is a complete hypocrite.
The Manager is a Physio
I’m watching Southampton take on Coventry in a game that if they win, they’ll be in the Premier League next season.
Surprisingly, the Southampton manager; Nigel Adkins, trained as a physiotherapist and was employed in that position at Scunthorpe, when he was made manager there. He also played over 300 games as a goal-keeper for Tranmere Rovers, Wigan Athletic and Bangor City. Tradition has it that keepers don’t make good managers.
However, there is a precedent for a physio, who went on to be a top-class manager; Bertie Mee, who led Arsenal to the double in 1970-71.
Plastic Brits
There has been a lot of criticism about the UK choosing athletes, swimmers and others from other countries. There is an article on the BBC here, in which Paula Radcliffe talks about the subject and defends those who come here to compete.
But in some ways, it’s always happened. After all, Linford Christie was born in Jamaica, although he’s lived in the UK, since he was seven.
The Times today tells the story of Ben Helfgott, a Polish Jew, who survived the Holocaust and eventually ended up in England, who competed in two Olympic Games for Great Britain. He later went on to be a respected internsation weightlifting administrator. Today at 82, he is president of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
Like Paula, he wouldn’t agree with the term plastic brit.
Is the Ukraine the Place for Euro-2012?
I have just read this article about the Ukraine on the BBC.
England will be playing their three qualifying group matches for Euro-2012 in the Ukraine, although not anywhere near where Yulia Ymoshrenko is imprisoned. The Times also reports bomb explosions in the city.
I think that it could be a bit of a difficult trip for England and especially their supporters.
Remember too, that the patron saint of the Ukraine is Saint Andrew.
Talk about a baptism of fire for England’s new manager. Fire must be fought with fire! Even if only it the of the metaphorical sort! So the England team should contain the two English heroes of the Nou Camp; Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard. And of course Stuart Pearce must be on the touchline! Even if he’s just number two in name to some overpriced so-called man with the right experience!
The Anonymous Widower 