HMS Ocean Arrives At Greenwich
With a great deal of professionalism, the Navy’s largest ship, HMS Ocean, was positioned at Greenwich this morning.
She will act as a base for helicopters and Royal Marines during the Olympic Games.
Jo Brand Has Trouble in Streatham
According to this report in the Standard, Jo Brand is in trouble with some of the things she said in Streatham.
I don’t think I’ve ever knowingly been to Streatham, as I do know it is south of the river and people born in the north of the city rarely cross the river without either a good reason or adequate precautions and preferably both.
The East India Dock Basin
Travelling towards the River Thames, you come to the East India Dock Basin, which is now a nature reserve, is described here.
As you can see, it is well-laid out and has good views of the River Thames. The island in the middle of the basin is growing using the same method that salt marshes do in places like Norfolk. There were quite a few birds about with sheld-duck, tufted duck and coot easily spotted. Apparently, there’s a local kingfisher too! There is a lot of good information. What would Jack Dash have thought?
There are plenty of places to sit and considering how close it is to the end of the 277 bus route and East India station on the DLR, it’s an ideal spot to go for a picnic.
Thames Water Can’t Win
There is a big row brewing in London about the Super Sewer that will run down the middle of the Thames.
The problem isn’t about foul water, but mainly about heavy rain causing problems, when it overloads the current system, which then causes foul water to be forced out onto the streets and into the Thames.
When I went down the sewers, I was given a presentation on the Super Sewer and totally understand that something must be done.
The question is what.
Some things don’t help.
London had 55,000 sewage blockages last year. Many are caused by inappropriate things, like chip fat, disposable nappies and general rubbish being put down the toilet. I’ve been told and not by Thames Water, I should add, that in tower blocks some residents are too lazy to walk down with their rubbish and use the toilet instead. There was also the notorious fatberg in Leicester Square outside a fast food restaurant.
Thames Water has launched a Bin it – Don’t Block it campaign.
There are also lots of people who have concreted over their front garden, which means that the water now runs off immediately.
You could argue that if you have a concreted front garden, then you should pay an extra drainage rate. I have a small patio between my front door and the road and wouldn’t mind paying a charge on a pro-rata basis. I also have a mature tree, which I think is a hornbeam, between the patio and the road, which might be bad for my hay fever, but it soaks up an awful load of water.
My Roadside Tree – A Hornbeam?
On a similar tack, new buildings should have plenty of green space and trees. But often this restricts the places to park cars and other vehicles.
Those that object to the Super Sewer use two main arguments.
The first is that it might not work and the second is that it will cost too much.
But most of the opposition is just the usual Nimbys, who don’t want construction near them. How many of these peple use disposable nappies on their babies? We never did in London, as in those days of the 1970s, there was still an affordable nappy service, where clean nappies were delivered regularly and the dirty ones taken away. The trouble is today’s parents are seduced by advertising. They may be all for saving the whale and the tiger, but when it comes to stopping sewage blockages, then that is not their problem.
So what do I think should be done?
Obviously, we first need to stop the blockages. This is mainly a publicity problem to get people to change their bad habits. If they won’t then more draconian solutions like the banning of disposable nappies and extra water taxes on fast food restaurants will be pushed for and might have to come in.
One idea I’d like to see tried is a SewerCam on the Greenway, showing what was going on beneath their feet in the Northern Outfall Sewer.
Thames Water have the start of a private museum at the old Abbey Mills Pumping Station, but where is the London Museum of Water and Sewage?
New technology has a part to play too.
On the Olympic Park all of the toilets and grass watering is going to be fed from recycled water, in part taken from the Northern Outfall Sewer.
Are London’s many parks kept green in the same way. I suspect many just use mains water, which just adds to the problem.
Surely someone could come up with a small water purification plant, that uses water collected from say housing estates to water the nearby parks.
We should also stop the covering of gardens with concrete and decking and make sure that all new buildings reuse all of the water they collect on their roofs.
But I’m afraid that if we use all the tricks we have available, we will probably need to put a Super Sewer under the Thames.
Walking Along The Thames
On Tuesday night I took a guided walk along the Thames from Bermondsey station to the Brunel Museum at Rotherhithe. The walk is described here.
These pictures were taken as we walked along the river.
The guide was excellent and the trip was well worth the eight pounds it cost.
A Piece of Concrete With a Lot of History
This piece of concrete in the Victoria Town Gardens behind the Palace of Westminster, looks like a very rudimentary and hurried repair.
A Repair to the River Thames Wall
But behind it all is a bit of forgotten history. This picture shows a steel girder, which could be a piece of railway line in the concrete.
Steel Girder in the River Thames Wall
And this shows that the detail on the river side, that is a feature of the Thames river wall is missing.
Missing Details in the River Thames Wall
So what is it all about?
I went to a lunchtime lecture at University College London about archaeology on the River Thames. The lecturer explained that during the Second World War, we identified that a serious break in the wall of the River Thames could have flooded much of the central part of the city. This would have probably flooded the London Underground as well.
So a top secret repair unit was set up to fix any breakages in the wall immediately. As the lecturer said, even today little is known about the unit. During the war they kept it quiet, as they didn’t want the Germans to know how vulnerable London was. After all, the Germans only needed to be lucky once.
But as you can see, even if the repair would not be acceptable today, it has fulfilled its purpose for seventy years.
The Dafs Are Out
Or they certainly are in the Thames Barrier Park.
Daffodils in the Thames Barrier Park
This park is one of London’s hidden gens, in that it has beautiful modern gardens, the river, the barrier and of course the coffee.
The Best £1.85 Capuccino in London!
Possibly! No! Probably! Today I was cold and as I walked through the Thames Barrier Park back from the Thames Barrier to Pontoon Dock station, I had one in the cafe in the park. It was in a china mug too!
The Cafe in the Thames Barrier Park
I’ve not had one better, since I had one for a Euro in the backstreets of Naples over three years ago.
The Anonymous Widower 