Seaton Delaval Station – 30th March 2025
After I’d taken the pictures at Newsham station, I took the train to the next station on the way back to Newcastle ; Seaton Delaval station.
I took these pictures of the single platform station.
Note.
- It is a step-free single platform station.
- There are disabled parking spaces.
- It looks like charging points for electric vehicles have been installed, but not commissioned.
- Two disabled parking spaces will be for electric vehicles.
- There is space behind the platform for emergency service vehicles.
- There is a shelter and several sets of seats.
- The station connects to the local footpath network.
- There is good provision of litter bins.
It is one of the best single-platform stations I have seen.
I had a problem, at the station, in that my onward train was cancelled, due to a staff shortage.
However, the guy manning Northern’s Help Point, told me, that there was a pub by the station entrance.
So I walked the two hundred metres to the pub.
Note.
- The Hasting Arms has a gluten-free menu.
- The lunch was delicious and even the Yorkshires and the desserts were gluten-free.
- There is also a shop nearby.
- The landlord also said, that the new railway had brought more business.
I was also able to sit in the warm for an hour.
I have only one criticism of the station. There needs to be a local information board, giving a local map, and details of the pub, shop, buses and taxis.
How Jewish is Volodymyr Zelensky?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Jewish Chronicle.
This is the sub-heading.
The Ukrainian President is hailed as one of the few Jewish world leaders not from Israel, but how Jewish is he
The article is a must read, as it gives a valuable insight into what drives Zelensky.
These two paragraphs describe his upbringing.
Zelensky grew up in the Russian-speaking city of Kryvyi Rih, in the eastern part of Ukraine. Like most Soviet Jews, his parents were highly educated but limited in where their careers could go. His father was a professor of mathematics and his mother studied engineering.
Zelensky said he grew up in an “ordinary Soviet Jewish family,” which was to say, not very religious, since “religion didn’t exist in the Soviet state as such.”
We could certainly do, with more world leaders, who understood science and had less religion.
It also publishes a story of four brothers that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
“Three of them, their parents and their families became victims of the Holocaust. All of them were shot by German occupiers who invaded Ukraine,” he said. “The fourth brother survived. … Two years after the war, he had a son, and in 31 years, he had a grandson. In 40 more years, that grandson became president, and he is standing before you today, Mr. Prime Minister.”
Zelensky has come one hell of a journey and it has been very much a Jewish journey.
In addition to all the pogroms, persecutions and the Holocaust, he would probably know all the various medical problems and diseases, that members of the Jewish faith seem to have suffered, in Eastern Europe.
Today, The Times published an article which is entitled Zelensky: Putin Will Die Soon And The Ukraine War Will End.
IThe article has this sub-heading.
The Ukrainian leader says after Nato summit that the Russian president is near death and fears losing his grip on his people.
I would believe, that the Ukrainian leader is talking from a position, where he is sure of his facts, because of his Jewish heritage and what he knows of Putin’s heritage, which is partly Jewish, and his life and medical history.
Consider.
- As a coeliac, who lost his son indirectly to coeliac disease, I believe that it is a dangerous disease to have, if it is undiagnosed and you are not on a gluten-free diet.
- From some of the stories, I’ve read about Putin, I wonder, if he could be an undiagnosed coeliac. As I spent fifty years of my life that way, I know what it’s like.
- According to the NHS, coeliac disease is much more common in women and backing this up, is the fact that I’ve only ever met two male adult coeliacs.
- Is coeliac disease in Russia, very much a girly disease, that action men, like Vlad the Butcher can’t get?
- If Vlad is an undiagnosed coeliac, there could be something nasty, like a stroke or cancer lurking in his genes.
Given his upbringing, Zelensky is probably giving us, a scientific analysis of the facts about his adversary.
To Norbiton For A Plate Of Lovely Liver
I seem to need a lot of Vitamin B12.
- I am coeliac, which probably means I don’t absorb enough out of my food.
- Although, when my gallstones were removed, the surgeon had a look and said everything was good.
- When Homerton Hospital found my Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease, that I talked about in I’ve Got Uncomplicated Pancolonic Diverticular Disease, they also said everything else was good.
- In the United States, Vitamin B12 is given to stroke patients to help recovery.
- I’ve had Vitamin B12 injections for nearly thirty years, since they were prescribed by Addenbrooke’s hospital.
Certainly, I find that a Vitamin B12 injection doesn’t seem to have the same effect, it had twenty years ago. So, is my brain saying, I’ll have that, when I have an injection?
When I lived in Suffolk and I felt my Vitamin B12 was low, I’d go down the pub or carluccio’s in Cambridge or Bury and have a plate of liver.
But liver is rare in London restaurants and Carluccio’s don’t serve it any more.
A guy in the reader’s comments in The Times told me of a restaurant called the Trattoria Calabrese, that sold liver in sage butter yesterday. So today, I took a train to Norbiton to get myself some extra Vitamin B12.
These pictures describe my first visit to Norbiton.
The short walk to the restaurant from Norbiton station was very much worth it. I shall go back!
Ryanair Flies Into Sahara on Sea (And Africa’s Oldest Conflict)
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Chieftains fighting for a strip of land claimed by Morocco are threatening to step up attacks as the tourist industry grows
These are the first three paragraphs.
Towards the end of the flight on Ryanair’s new route to Dakhla a vast expanse of apparently pristine desert coastline unfurls below.
But this land is nowhere near as tranquil as it looks from above. Instead the Irish airline’s choice of destination has flown the company into the heart of Africa’s longest-running conflict.
These direct flights from Madrid and Lanzarote take its planes to the coastal town in Western Sahara, a tract of desert the size of Britain that tribal chieftains and three countries have struggled to control through the centuries.
This is a Google Map showing the location of Western Sahara with respect to the Canary Islands.
Note.
- The islands off the recognisable coast of North West Africa are the Canary Islands.
- Lanzarote is the Southermostof the two North-Eastern islands.
- Western Sahara is to the South-East of the Canary Islands.
- Dakhla is on the Africa coast at the Southern edge of the map.
The map will be enlarged if you click on it.
I have my thoughts on this article.
Western Sahara And Coeliac Disease
I have a feeling that this area has one of the highest levels of coeliac disease in the world.
- It all started some years ago, when they had a terrible famine, so the US donated a lot of wheat to alleviate the famine.
- But the people of Western Sahara don’t grow wheat and their bodily systems can’t cope with gluten.
- This gave the people a lot of coeliac disease, which can be passed on genetically.
A similar process went on during the slave trade, where the slavers fed their captives on bread made from wheat and water. Consequently, many of the slaves suffered from various problems and that could be why many died on the crossing. These days there is coeliac genes among the Caribbean and American black population that has been passed down through the generations.
After their first actions, it only looks like Trummkopf and his sidekick are going to make matters worse, after their destruction of US Aid.
Bristol May Be First English City To Face Monthly Black Bin Collection
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
More than 4,000 Bristolians are opposing the council’s plan to switch to a four-week cycle, which the city says would save money and be better for the environment
I live in Hackney and we still have two-weekly collections for recyclables and weekly for waste food.
These are my thoughts on Bristol.
As a widower, who lives alone , I don’t put much in my black bin, as I do recycle properly and use my waste food bin and green sack recycling fully.
I’ve also noticed, that a lot more items have been marked that they can go in the green sacks.
I am a coeliac and suffer from a vitamin B12 deficiency for which I get three-monthly injections at the GP. But that is not enough and I have found that one of M& S’s Liver and Bacon Ready Meals adds enough B12 to keep be going at full speed.
The trays of M & S’s Ready Meals are now recyclable and I suspect, they’re not the only packaging, that can now be recycled.
So as more and more packing is recycled, we can surely reduce the black bin frequency.
It would appear, that by making packaging more recyclable, we can make rubbish collection more efficient.
Do Ocado Save Me Money?
Probably not in the normal way, as they are an upmarket on-line shop.
A Rough Order
I generally put my rough order in on the Saturday soon after the delivery for that day arrives at about 06:30 in the morning.
The rough order is stored on Ocado’s computer, so it’s usually just a matter of choosing the delivery slot and adding a few extras.
If I’m cooking for myself all week, that usually means I will need seven meals, which could be ready-meals, something more substantial or perhaps just a tasty home-made snack or sandwich, if I’m eating out.
Typically, my order will get refined through the week and this tends to reduce the cost, as if say I’m a bit short, I might buy something like fruit earlier in the week, rather than get it delivered on Saturday.
Fruit
I don’t eat a lot of fruit, but I do have a banana every day in the morning and when I can get them, I eat a lot of strawberries.
Bananas and strawberries are two fruit, that are rich in magnesium and coeliacs like me, can suffer from a lack of it. As a child, I used to bite my nails, which stopped immediately, I went gluten-free at fifty.
From my experience, I feel lack of magnesium can cause nail-biting in coeliacs.
I usually don’t order fruit online, as I feel the quality is better in local shops, that I pass.
Gluten-Free
I am coeliac, so I have to be gluten-free.
In my opinion, Marks & Spencer do the best gluten-free food, so being able to shop in-store or on-line is a bonus.
Bread
I don’t eat a lot of bread in a week, so I find one of Marks & Spencer’s pack of brown bloomer slices is sufficient.
Toothpaste, Soap Etc.
I buy a lot of things like these online, as I have several days to carry them upstairs and put them away.
I have a large IKEA storage cabinet close by my front door and non-perishables are stored there first, along with my beer.
Milk
Usually, a pint plastic bottle of Marks & Spencer Organic Milk , lasts me all week.
But if it doesn’t l can pick up another bplastic ottle, at any one of four shops within two hundred metres.
Conclusion
I don’t save a lot with my hybrid shopping at Ocado and Marks & Spencer, but I don’t throw much food away.
Is Vitamin B12 Pulling Me Through?
About five months ago, I swapped my food shopping from Marks & Spencer in-store to Ocado once a week. This was mainly to cut down on my walking with shopping, but also to make sure, I’d usually got a meal or two in.
In August, I wrote Liver From Ocado and I’ve generally been eating one of these ready meals a week.
Although, Ocado doesn’t always stock them, so I have to go hunting round the various Marks & Spencer stores looking for Liver and Bacon.
Unfortunately, I’m not always successful.
Today, I went searching round South London looking for a transformer. Nor a kid’s toy, but a National Grid electrical one with the weight of thirty African elephants.
I didn’t see it, but I did walk quite a bit.
I then realised that the various muscle pains in my legs, that I’ve been having for the last few months had gone.
Was it the Vitamin B12 in the ready meal, as I stopped taking the paracetamol some months ago?
Also on Thursday, I had my three-monthly Vitamin B12 injection, so my body probably had enough of the vitamin.
The older I get, the more I feel that the Vitamin B12 injections have helped my stroke recovery.
House Sitting With Ocado
I like animals and I miss having cats, dogs and horses around.
I particularly miss our stallion ; Vague Shot, who had a nickname of Cyril. When I was feeling down, he always had time for a chat and a cuddle.
It may seem strange, but when C died, Cyril was the first I told. But then as he was a stallion, the stud was his personal domain. Hence his understanding.
Recently, I’ve taken to doing my shopping at Ocado, which means that my coeliac disease, is not a problem, if Ocado deliver.
I had thought about house and pet sitting before, but my coeliac disease and the fact I don’t drive seemed to end discussions.
So I think, I’m going to do a bit of house and small pet sitting, mainly to get a welcome change of scenery. I’ll leave the logistics to Ocado.
Consider.
- I have no pets myself.
- I am a non-smoker.
- I am more or less tee-total these days.
- I have no children or grandchildren under 23.
- I will tell Ocado, as I have no connection with them, except as a customer, who uses their services regularly.
What do my readers think?
British Gas Partners With Strata And Daikin To Launch Eco-Tech Low Bill Homes
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.
This is the sub-heading.
British Gas is set to supercharge sustainable living across the UK with the launch of Low Carbon Homes – a ground-breaking pilot in partnership with Strata and heat pump manufacturer, Daikin.
These are the first four paragraphs, which fill out a bit of detail.
In anticipation of The Future Homes Standard, customers will move into new build homes which have been fitted with a full range of the latest low-carbon technology at no extra cost to the housebuilder or owner. The homes will be equipped with a 6-8 kWh Daikin air source heat pump, 4 kWh solar panels, 5 kWh battery storage, Hive electric vehicle charger and thermostat. These items will be integrated into Hive’s award-winning app, providing customers with one-stop visibility and control of their energy usage.
The first trial phase will launch at a Strata’s “Breathe” development site in Kiveton, Rotherham. As a thank you for participating in the pilot, British Gas is giving homeowners access to a fixed rate tailored British Gas tariff. Participants in the trial will also have access to a dedicated British Gas energy manager to help them optimise the technology and keep bills as low as possible, while still meeting their desired comfort levels.
Each home will be fitted with a Hive hub, which connects to the WIFI network and acts as the home’s operating system, integrating all the sustainable technology. The customers energy and heat schedules and budget will be optimised by the Hive Hub for further savings.
When the customer connects to Hive’s app they will be able to control and maximise efficiency by setting schedules and spending budgets and allowing the Hub to help them reduce their bills.
Note.
- As a Control Engineer, this to me is a good start.
- I suspect that a 6-8 kWh Daikin air source heat pump, 4 kWh solar panels and 5 kWh battery storage will keep the average house warm.
- I would expect that the three companies have optimised the ratios between the sizes of the components to give the best performance.
It is amazing to think that it was in the early seventies, that in the two sections, where I worked at ICI, engineers had just started controlling and optimising flows, pressures and temperatures in complex chemical plants.
If you’d asked any of us, when our houses heating systems would be as fully controlled, we’d have given twenty years at most.
What kept the world so long?
I have a few thoughts.
Could The Housing Have Gas For Cooking??
Yes! Centrica owns a big share with Hyundai, Kia and others of a start-up company called HiiROC.
- This is the HiiROC web site.
- HiiROC can take any hydocarbon gas and split it into green hydrogen and carbon black.
- Green hydrogen is obviously useful and the carbon black can be used for making tyres for vehicles, anodes for lithium-ion batteries and in agriculture for soil improvement.
- Waste off-gas from a chemical plant can be split into green hydrogen and carbon black.
- Biomethane from a sewage plant can be split into hydrogen and carbon black. Could a sewage plant on an estate be used to create biomethane for cooking and feeding to the HiiROC plant? Yes!
- Could green hydrogen produced on the estate be used to drive vehicles like cars, vans and ride-on-mowers. Yes! If the manufacturer of the vehicle allows it!
- How convenient would it be to have Hydrogen-at-Home?
How Much Does A British Gas Hive Save On My Energy Bill?
I asked Google and I got this answer from Home Hive.
£119. A smaller carbon footprint and a smaller bill – our award-winning smart thermostat could cut your energy bills by up to £170 a year. Join Hive Plus to boost your thermostat’s savings – and get exclusive access to £60 bill credit with any fixed British Gas dual fuel tariff.
At present, I have no intention of changing my energy supplier, but come the summer or if my health or energy circumstances change, I might see what is available.
Will British Gas Develop A Hive For a Smaller Dwelling?
I suspect in ten years, if I’m still of this world, I shall be living in the following circumstances.
- Alone.
- In a two bedroom house, cottage or flat.
- Some form of probably electric central heating or perhaps even hydrogen.
- No car.
- A short walk to the bus stop and/or train station.
- Communal gardens to sit in.
- An Ocado style delivery for food, groceries and other essentials.
- A local gluten-free cafe.
- Full Wi-Fi
Perhaps, British Gas and others will develop a community for people like me?
The Odd Sugary Snack May Be Good For You (But Lay Off Sugary Drinks)
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Tunes.
I shall be discussing this research with my cardiologist. My relationship with him is as doctor/patient, researcher/lab-rat and just friends. I am also coeliac and very much feel that I need to take the odd sugary snack to keep my energy levels up. I also had a serious stroke at 64, thirteen years ago, due to atrial fibrillation.
Sweden and coeliac disease could be another complicating factor here, as Sweden went the wrong way to try to eliminate coeliac disease after WW2 and just created a lot more.
I found about this Swedish research in a peer-reviewed paper entitled Coeliac Disease: Can We Avert The Impending Epidemic In India? in the Indian Journal of Research Medicine.
A History Of Sugary Snacks And Drinks And Me
Growing up in London, after World War 2, I didn’t get much sugar, as it was rationed.
But I did put it in tea and coffee.
I never ate many cakes, except for some chocolate ones.
My habit of not eating cakes and proper puddings really annoyed my mother-in-law.
I was a sickly child and I didn’t really get better until I was found to be coeliac at 50.
I am fairly certain, that my consumption of sugary snacks has got more, as I’ve got older.
But because American drinks, sweets and snacks could use sugar made from wheat, I don’t touch any American sweetened products.
But I haven’t put on any weight, since I was fifty.
Thanks to the likes of Leon, Marks and Spencer and the cafe at Worksop station for excellent sugary gluten-free snacks to keep me going!
The Anonymous Widower 