Sleep was delayed last night due to a swelling pain in my jaw around the teeth repaired during my last dental visit a week or so ago. Whilst it disappeared overnight and I awoke painfree, the niggling telltale signs of trouble were there within the hour.
The dentist, Ms Kenny, found an appointment for me at 12 and determined that the problem was not with the teeth itself, but likely a tenderness or even infection of the gum. I was given reassurance and a pack of antibiotics to use if the situation did not remedy itself naturally. By the evening, I succumbed to the waxing and waning pain and took a first antibiotic.
The rest of the afternoon had been spent in preparing and packing my suitcase for the imminent trip to Egypt tomorrow with Miss T.
Tuesday 30 August 2011
Dahlias and foraminifera
A leisurely Bank Holiday Monday as Mrs T and I drove to Anglesey Abbey for an afternoon walk and a photo-session with the Dahlias. The sun shone wanly through the high cloud and breaks, making the over-large blooms glow. My favourites were the varieties with a more raggedy appearance.
In the evening I pulled out the larger microscope and looked at the box from the Postal Microscopy Society that was due for posting at the end of the month. It was a mixed box put together by Mr Darnton, containing soundings from the RRS Disovery and HMS Challenger, from the Norman Bequest. I enjoyed looking at the foraminifera using crossed polars as they revealed the black cross pattern on a light background usually seen with starch grains. There was also a strew of multihued spicules, which looked equally attractive, whether under transmitted illumination or crossed polars.
Although past midnight when I finished, I was tempted to go online and do some last minute research on photography and photography restrictions in Egypt.
In the evening I pulled out the larger microscope and looked at the box from the Postal Microscopy Society that was due for posting at the end of the month. It was a mixed box put together by Mr Darnton, containing soundings from the RRS Disovery and HMS Challenger, from the Norman Bequest. I enjoyed looking at the foraminifera using crossed polars as they revealed the black cross pattern on a light background usually seen with starch grains. There was also a strew of multihued spicules, which looked equally attractive, whether under transmitted illumination or crossed polars.
Although past midnight when I finished, I was tempted to go online and do some last minute research on photography and photography restrictions in Egypt.
Sunday 28 August 2011
Hedgetrimming gets out of hand
Today is the last “look after neighbours chicken day”, sadly without a last complimentary laid egg.
Our neighbour, Mr H. dropped by to quickly trim his hedge on our side of the garden this afternoon and was overtaken by the consequences of his helpful nature. Part of the hedge was overshadowed by a large elderberry. The initial idea was to trim off the obstructing branches. However, it appeared far more logical to remove the multi-stemmed and unwanted Elderberry in full. This in turn revealed the overhanging branches of a neighbours shrub. We finished the whole job two hours after begin and filled two large green bins with the chopped foliage and branches.
The news from Libya is of the National Transitional Council asserting its control over Tripoli, with the rebels gradually making their way to Sirt. Evidence was emerging of atrocities committed by the retreating old regime, with massacres of prisoners and deaths of hospital patients. The rebels themselves have also committed some of their own executions according to the Daily Mail reporter on scene.
Our neighbour, Mr H. dropped by to quickly trim his hedge on our side of the garden this afternoon and was overtaken by the consequences of his helpful nature. Part of the hedge was overshadowed by a large elderberry. The initial idea was to trim off the obstructing branches. However, it appeared far more logical to remove the multi-stemmed and unwanted Elderberry in full. This in turn revealed the overhanging branches of a neighbours shrub. We finished the whole job two hours after begin and filled two large green bins with the chopped foliage and branches.
The news from Libya is of the National Transitional Council asserting its control over Tripoli, with the rebels gradually making their way to Sirt. Evidence was emerging of atrocities committed by the retreating old regime, with massacres of prisoners and deaths of hospital patients. The rebels themselves have also committed some of their own executions according to the Daily Mail reporter on scene.
Saturday 27 August 2011
Shopping for Egypt and dancing with Venom
After writing my diary last night, I spent a couple of more hours dealing with a document conversion of a brochure for one fellow HBN member and with finalising Mr Wishart's banner. Finally tumbled into bed at 4am.
With the neighbours letting out the chicken which I am looking after for another neighbour first thing in the morning, a lie in was permitted. Late morning, Mrs T, Ms T and I took the Park and Ride into Cambridge to purchase some last minute items for the Egypt trip. The need was on the one hand for a medium sized suitcase and on the other for bags that could be used as hand luggage, without being too heavy prior to packing.
Protection of my balding head from North African sun and my modesty by the pool was also ensured by a new wide brimmed hat and a pair of swimming/water shorts.
The P&R bus back was quite full, so I found myself sitting next to a young lady who had obviously been hoping to avoid the fate of a stranger sitting next to her. We studiously ignored one another for a while until, unable to resist any longer, I started to engage her in conversation. It gradually emerged that I was sitting next to a member of a contemporary and/or street dance group, Venom, who had come a close second in the youth section of the national XXL Street Dance Championships a couple of weeks ago! Intelligent, with a broad string of qualifications and hoping to pursue her schooling at a quality 6th form college, she had the ambition and passion to continue with dance. Back home I tried to find out a bit more about this dance movement and found it growing successfully within the UK after having hopped across the pond from the United States.
With the neighbours letting out the chicken which I am looking after for another neighbour first thing in the morning, a lie in was permitted. Late morning, Mrs T, Ms T and I took the Park and Ride into Cambridge to purchase some last minute items for the Egypt trip. The need was on the one hand for a medium sized suitcase and on the other for bags that could be used as hand luggage, without being too heavy prior to packing.
Protection of my balding head from North African sun and my modesty by the pool was also ensured by a new wide brimmed hat and a pair of swimming/water shorts.
The P&R bus back was quite full, so I found myself sitting next to a young lady who had obviously been hoping to avoid the fate of a stranger sitting next to her. We studiously ignored one another for a while until, unable to resist any longer, I started to engage her in conversation. It gradually emerged that I was sitting next to a member of a contemporary and/or street dance group, Venom, who had come a close second in the youth section of the national XXL Street Dance Championships a couple of weeks ago! Intelligent, with a broad string of qualifications and hoping to pursue her schooling at a quality 6th form college, she had the ambition and passion to continue with dance. Back home I tried to find out a bit more about this dance movement and found it growing successfully within the UK after having hopped across the pond from the United States.
Friday 26 August 2011
Huntingdon meeting
Yesterday was spent doing as much of the VHP report as possible, so that Mr Dodsworth can complete it.
Today, I took the new car to Huntingdon. With a clear A14, this was a blissfully short trip of 35 minutes, compared to the long journeys by bus or by bicycle over the previous two weeks. Holding the Huntingdonshire business network meeting in the Huntingdon Library cafe, we had an interesting discussion on three main topics; Non paying or late paying clients; How the UK was exporting to the rest of Europe via manufacturing based in China; the use of Klout to measure social networking activity.
I wrote a short blog article on the hbn.org.uk website on the discussions.
Back home, the neighbour's Goats moth larva had bored its way into a Rosewood twig and spun a silk cocoon to pupate into.
Mrs T in Germany called with a small problem in trying to produce a passport sized printed photograph from a large one. By using the screen sharing function on Skype, I was able to guide her through the process of creating a sized image in OpenOffice Writer.
Today, I took the new car to Huntingdon. With a clear A14, this was a blissfully short trip of 35 minutes, compared to the long journeys by bus or by bicycle over the previous two weeks. Holding the Huntingdonshire business network meeting in the Huntingdon Library cafe, we had an interesting discussion on three main topics; Non paying or late paying clients; How the UK was exporting to the rest of Europe via manufacturing based in China; the use of Klout to measure social networking activity.
I wrote a short blog article on the hbn.org.uk website on the discussions.
Back home, the neighbour's Goats moth larva had bored its way into a Rosewood twig and spun a silk cocoon to pupate into.
Mrs T in Germany called with a small problem in trying to produce a passport sized printed photograph from a large one. By using the screen sharing function on Skype, I was able to guide her through the process of creating a sized image in OpenOffice Writer.
Wednesday 24 August 2011
Out with the old car and in with the (relatively) new
Today was dominated by the exchange of our old car, a Renault Megane Scenic which we had had since 1998, for a newer one, a 2008 Honda Jazz.
The Renault's exhaust had finally broken away from its rubber holding rings and was rattling gently on the last journey to the Marshall's used car centre. The remaining two thirds of petrol in its tank reflected it's value almost exactly. It had been a true friend as the children grew up.
It was just in the past years that the leaky sunroof had to be sealed with old bicycle inner tubing . The flood of water gently sloshing between the passenger front seat on braking and and giggling passengers who lifted their feet to keep them dry as the wave crashed back to the back on acceleration was but a past memory of an inadvertent drive through an overdeep puddle after torrential rain. And at least the more recent loud clicking of the ventilation system could be silenced by setting the air circulation to internal. Yes, even we had come around to the fact that we did need a new car.
I left the Marshall's dealership with our 2008 Honda Jazz, currently a trouble free vehicle that should be more economical in these times of increasing fuel prices.
I came home to the imminent arrival of MJ Potts plumbers, who were coming to install new taps in the downstairs cloakroom washbasin. The cold water tap had started leaking profusely and a brief visit by the plumber yesterday was unable to dismantle the 50 year old taps to exchange a washer.
The plumber had started the previous day badly by falling out of a loft and found the rest of his day bedevilled, including the breakage of two screwdrivers in an attempt to remove a protective disk on the leaking tap to reveal an expected fixing screw. Once the disc was removed, he had instead found inaccessible clips that thwarted any attempts at extraction. He left after tightening the tap sufficiently to stop the leakage and with a promise to return for the tap replacement. With an apprentice in tow, this task at least progressed smoothly today. Within half an hour we had new clean and fully functional taps again.
After some work on the NRW report, it was off to see my first published author, Mrs H-T. In her mid eighties, it was lovely to see her again and hear of her newest plans to return to Cornwall for a painting break in the near future. We also made a short excursion to St Andrews, the Parish Church of Chesterton, once visited by Samuel Pepys. It is notable for being picturesquely illuminated at night and for the medieval doom painting that was hidden by a lime wash during the reformation and revealed again more recently.
Then it was back home in the new car, via a short shopping foray into Tesco's, to the curious eyes of the neighbours and the anticipation of Mrs T.
The Renault's exhaust had finally broken away from its rubber holding rings and was rattling gently on the last journey to the Marshall's used car centre. The remaining two thirds of petrol in its tank reflected it's value almost exactly. It had been a true friend as the children grew up.
It was just in the past years that the leaky sunroof had to be sealed with old bicycle inner tubing . The flood of water gently sloshing between the passenger front seat on braking and and giggling passengers who lifted their feet to keep them dry as the wave crashed back to the back on acceleration was but a past memory of an inadvertent drive through an overdeep puddle after torrential rain. And at least the more recent loud clicking of the ventilation system could be silenced by setting the air circulation to internal. Yes, even we had come around to the fact that we did need a new car.
I left the Marshall's dealership with our 2008 Honda Jazz, currently a trouble free vehicle that should be more economical in these times of increasing fuel prices.
I came home to the imminent arrival of MJ Potts plumbers, who were coming to install new taps in the downstairs cloakroom washbasin. The cold water tap had started leaking profusely and a brief visit by the plumber yesterday was unable to dismantle the 50 year old taps to exchange a washer.
The plumber had started the previous day badly by falling out of a loft and found the rest of his day bedevilled, including the breakage of two screwdrivers in an attempt to remove a protective disk on the leaking tap to reveal an expected fixing screw. Once the disc was removed, he had instead found inaccessible clips that thwarted any attempts at extraction. He left after tightening the tap sufficiently to stop the leakage and with a promise to return for the tap replacement. With an apprentice in tow, this task at least progressed smoothly today. Within half an hour we had new clean and fully functional taps again.
After some work on the NRW report, it was off to see my first published author, Mrs H-T. In her mid eighties, it was lovely to see her again and hear of her newest plans to return to Cornwall for a painting break in the near future. We also made a short excursion to St Andrews, the Parish Church of Chesterton, once visited by Samuel Pepys. It is notable for being picturesquely illuminated at night and for the medieval doom painting that was hidden by a lime wash during the reformation and revealed again more recently.
Then it was back home in the new car, via a short shopping foray into Tesco's, to the curious eyes of the neighbours and the anticipation of Mrs T.
Tuesday 23 August 2011
Identifying Stentor on a snail's shell
Received first feedback on the draft press release for the NRW delegation – we sought approval from our various hosts. Some changes required, including a revision of the original title which had been emasculated by the suggested revision. Sighed, accepted my lot and made the changes, then sent on to Ms Luetje and Mr Juengst to keep them informed. Still have another permission/edit outstanding to be mailed to me.
The mood was enlivened by the arrival of Ms Fleming and Mr Snoswell with a pond sample containing small ramshorn snails with strange green goo at the central depression of their whorls. I had been intrigued by the photos on Ms Fleming's Facebook post, which tantalisingly lacked sufficient detail for clear identification. We soon had the stereo-microscope out and were chasing the snails in a petri dish as they threatened to zoom out of view at 6x to 20x magnification.
I attached my camcorder to the microscope and made some recordings which we then replayed on a larger television screen, with identification guides on hand. We soon established that the green matter comprised colonies of Stentor polymorphus, which absorb chlorella as symbionts. The vase shaped organisms, with their cilia rimmed apertures, were oblivious to the movement of both the snail and the petri dish.
I edited a short video with a range of clips. Mr Heker called in via Skype on another matter and was roped in to help with the audio editing via shared screen! The video was uploaded to YouTube and also embedded in a short blog article which was subsequently submitted to Micscape, an online microscopy magazine.
The rest of the afternoon was a return to continuing the manuscript review begun yesterday.
The evenings news is is full of the Libyan rebels storming Gaddaffi's compound, a key target in Tripoli. No sign of the colonel or his sons though.
The mood was enlivened by the arrival of Ms Fleming and Mr Snoswell with a pond sample containing small ramshorn snails with strange green goo at the central depression of their whorls. I had been intrigued by the photos on Ms Fleming's Facebook post, which tantalisingly lacked sufficient detail for clear identification. We soon had the stereo-microscope out and were chasing the snails in a petri dish as they threatened to zoom out of view at 6x to 20x magnification.
I attached my camcorder to the microscope and made some recordings which we then replayed on a larger television screen, with identification guides on hand. We soon established that the green matter comprised colonies of Stentor polymorphus, which absorb chlorella as symbionts. The vase shaped organisms, with their cilia rimmed apertures, were oblivious to the movement of both the snail and the petri dish.
I edited a short video with a range of clips. Mr Heker called in via Skype on another matter and was roped in to help with the audio editing via shared screen! The video was uploaded to YouTube and also embedded in a short blog article which was subsequently submitted to Micscape, an online microscopy magazine.
The rest of the afternoon was a return to continuing the manuscript review begun yesterday.
The evenings news is is full of the Libyan rebels storming Gaddaffi's compound, a key target in Tripoli. No sign of the colonel or his sons though.
Monday 22 August 2011
Humorous manuscript review
Checked out the registration details of the new car to be purchased and ensured insurance in place for switchover later in the week.
The rest of the day spent reviewing a manuscript. It is a very amusing biography of an accident prone teacher and porter. I managed to progress just over half way through today.
The news today from Libya was of the rebels having made significant inroads into Tripoli, with the last strongholds of Colonel still holding out in some quarters. Whilst last night there were some predictions of an early end, tonight there was a more realistic expectation that it might take more time, with some gains by rebels being lost in the city to Gadaffi troops.
The rest of the day spent reviewing a manuscript. It is a very amusing biography of an accident prone teacher and porter. I managed to progress just over half way through today.
The news today from Libya was of the rebels having made significant inroads into Tripoli, with the last strongholds of Colonel still holding out in some quarters. Whilst last night there were some predictions of an early end, tonight there was a more realistic expectation that it might take more time, with some gains by rebels being lost in the city to Gadaffi troops.
Saturday 20 August 2011
New car, giant caterpillar and battles in Tripoli
Awoke surprised that there was no pain or stiffness in my legs despite the marathon cycle ride yesterday. I did not escape totally unscathed, as I soon found my backside still saddle sore when I sat down on a hard surface. I had had a migraine in the night, which disappeared by after treatment by midday.
Mrs T had discovered a possible car online, to replace our elderly vehicle, and after lunch we set off to Marshalls to try it out. Wheels grind slowly in our household, but today the car we tried, a Honda Jazz, appeared to be ideal and we progressed to initiating a purchase. As if acknowledging imminent retirement, the exhaust on our existing car came off some of its rubber rings, giving a rattle as we made out way back home.
Our neighbours had shown me a giant insect larva, some eight or more centimetres long. It was relatively smooth, white on the underside and dark brown on top, and was armed with a fierce set of manibles. My first thought yesterday was that it was a beetle larva, but an internet search did not find anything similar enough. Today, in a spare five minutes during cooking dinner, I took out my Collin's Guide to Insects and flicked through the image plates and almost immediately found an equivalent, the caterpillar of the Goat moth.
The Goat moth, Cossus cossus, is a large moth, with a wing span up to 96mm. It is so called because of the goat like smell of the caterpillar, which lives for up to five years boring in wood until emerging to pupate in the soil, hatching out in the following year.
In the evening, I watched the DVD version of Dune with Mr T. This was an extended version, as we found out by watching to the bitter end after three and a bit hours! Slow paced, it was still interesting and unintentionally amusing.
Turning on the news afterwards whilst writing up the day's events, I found it dominated by the potential advance of the rebels in Libya into the suburbs of Tripoli. The question is, are Colonel Gaddaffi's days numbered? Is he even still in the Capital?
Mrs T had discovered a possible car online, to replace our elderly vehicle, and after lunch we set off to Marshalls to try it out. Wheels grind slowly in our household, but today the car we tried, a Honda Jazz, appeared to be ideal and we progressed to initiating a purchase. As if acknowledging imminent retirement, the exhaust on our existing car came off some of its rubber rings, giving a rattle as we made out way back home.
Our neighbours had shown me a giant insect larva, some eight or more centimetres long. It was relatively smooth, white on the underside and dark brown on top, and was armed with a fierce set of manibles. My first thought yesterday was that it was a beetle larva, but an internet search did not find anything similar enough. Today, in a spare five minutes during cooking dinner, I took out my Collin's Guide to Insects and flicked through the image plates and almost immediately found an equivalent, the caterpillar of the Goat moth.
The Goat moth, Cossus cossus, is a large moth, with a wing span up to 96mm. It is so called because of the goat like smell of the caterpillar, which lives for up to five years boring in wood until emerging to pupate in the soil, hatching out in the following year.
In the evening, I watched the DVD version of Dune with Mr T. This was an extended version, as we found out by watching to the bitter end after three and a bit hours! Slow paced, it was still interesting and unintentionally amusing.
Turning on the news afterwards whilst writing up the day's events, I found it dominated by the potential advance of the rebels in Libya into the suburbs of Tripoli. The question is, are Colonel Gaddaffi's days numbered? Is he even still in the Capital?
Friday 19 August 2011
Cycling to Huntingdon and back.
Getting up a bit earlier today, I prepared to cycle to Huntingdon. I wore a loose T-shirt and shorts and, after packing a drink , banana and nectarine, notebook and netbook, decided to leave out a change of clothes from the rucksack for weight reasons. The journey commenced at 8:55.
I managed to maintain a minimum speed of 16 kmh until Swavesey, compensating for the occasional slowing down by other stretches of accelleration. The strategy fell apart beyond Swavesey because the macadamised stretch finished and turned into a dirt track. Also, whilst the guided busway that I was following stayed on a relative level, the cycle path began to undulate. This sapped strength and reduced the rate of progress.
However, I was still fairly confident by the time I reached St Ives after about 90 minutes. I acelerated through the market place and onto the main road out of St Ives towards Houghton where I encountered a Hill. This dramatically reduced my speed as my legs could not deal with extra effort without beginning to develop severe lactic acid muscle ache. The only way to get forward was to use the lowest gear possible.
Once over the peak of the hill it was again easier to cycle into Huntingdon, albeit at a more sedate 12 kph until I reached the Huntingdon Indoor Bowls Club for the HBN committee meeting and follow on HBN meeting. Fortunately, there was a sufficient supply of Jaffa cakes to do some carbo-loading.
Fortunately, Mr Foster and Ms Ekblom knew of a return route that avoided the hill, by going through Godmanchester and making my way to Houghton Mill and then into St Ives along a path closer to the River. Ms Ekblom, who had also arrived by bicycle, offered to show me the way and did accompany me through to the Church by the river in St Ives. A more frequent cyclist, she set a pace between 18kmh and 20kmh until realising that I was not really able to keep up.
I made it to Swavesey within 90 minutes, effectively exactly half way back home, but then diverted to Over for the Friday Tutorcloud meeting at Mr Beal's premises. The availability of copious supplies of tea and cake was also extremely welcome.
The journey back home was one of decreasing velocity with several stops as the balance of energy in the legs decreased. By the time I reached the Milton Cycle bridge, I had to dismount and walk up it.
I arrived home around 7:20pm, extremely glad that I had made it and also quite pleased that I had finished the 70km round trip (around 45miles) under my own steam.
I did not manage to make the journey in the same time as my trip by public transport last Friday. However, the fact that old ladies, fit young men and women on their bicycles regularly overtook me suggests that with suitable training, I could do so in the future. For the moment, I do not intent to repeat the exercise in the near future!
I managed to maintain a minimum speed of 16 kmh until Swavesey, compensating for the occasional slowing down by other stretches of accelleration. The strategy fell apart beyond Swavesey because the macadamised stretch finished and turned into a dirt track. Also, whilst the guided busway that I was following stayed on a relative level, the cycle path began to undulate. This sapped strength and reduced the rate of progress.
However, I was still fairly confident by the time I reached St Ives after about 90 minutes. I acelerated through the market place and onto the main road out of St Ives towards Houghton where I encountered a Hill. This dramatically reduced my speed as my legs could not deal with extra effort without beginning to develop severe lactic acid muscle ache. The only way to get forward was to use the lowest gear possible.
Once over the peak of the hill it was again easier to cycle into Huntingdon, albeit at a more sedate 12 kph until I reached the Huntingdon Indoor Bowls Club for the HBN committee meeting and follow on HBN meeting. Fortunately, there was a sufficient supply of Jaffa cakes to do some carbo-loading.
Fortunately, Mr Foster and Ms Ekblom knew of a return route that avoided the hill, by going through Godmanchester and making my way to Houghton Mill and then into St Ives along a path closer to the River. Ms Ekblom, who had also arrived by bicycle, offered to show me the way and did accompany me through to the Church by the river in St Ives. A more frequent cyclist, she set a pace between 18kmh and 20kmh until realising that I was not really able to keep up.
I made it to Swavesey within 90 minutes, effectively exactly half way back home, but then diverted to Over for the Friday Tutorcloud meeting at Mr Beal's premises. The availability of copious supplies of tea and cake was also extremely welcome.
The journey back home was one of decreasing velocity with several stops as the balance of energy in the legs decreased. By the time I reached the Milton Cycle bridge, I had to dismount and walk up it.
I arrived home around 7:20pm, extremely glad that I had made it and also quite pleased that I had finished the 70km round trip (around 45miles) under my own steam.
I did not manage to make the journey in the same time as my trip by public transport last Friday. However, the fact that old ladies, fit young men and women on their bicycles regularly overtook me suggests that with suitable training, I could do so in the future. For the moment, I do not intent to repeat the exercise in the near future!
Thursday 18 August 2011
Recession Ghost fleets and contemplating a long bike ride
A Skype call to Australia to talk to the author, Mr J, of the document that I was proof reading and to go through the textual recommendations, the decision being up to the author whether to accept or reject them. We also talked about the impact of the global recession and I was directed to a 2009 image of a ghost fleet of ships mothballed around Singapore and the Straits of Malacca. Apparently people living on nearby islands cannot see the horizon anymore due to the number of ships moored there.
This reminded me of the still ocean going ships at anchor in the upstream waters of the river Fal, away from Falmouth harbour. We saw these, again in 2009, when on holiday in Cornwall and taking a boat trip from Truro to St Mawes.
Mr Heker was back from his holiday in Spain and looked suitably bronzed when Skyping me over lunch time. He had had three viable enquiries for work from UK dentists, a positive homecoming result. We talked about the possibility of chasing that bane of any business, the client forgetting or delaying payment as long as possible. I promised to make a phone call on his behalf in this matter.
Mr H had interrrupted a search on Google Earth to try and gauge the distance from Milton to St Ives via the guided busway and from there to the Huntingdon Indoor Bowls Club. I am severely tempted to try and cycle the stretch tomorrow and to do so in a time equal to or shorter than the 126 minutes taken last Friday when travelling by public transport, including the guided bus itself.
The distance is 22km to St Ives P&R and from there 11km to the Huntingdon Indoor Bowls Club. To achieve the objective, I would have to cycle at about 16km/h. The one concern is that I would have a headwind of roughly the same speed on the way there, and a lot of the trip is across open country.
I will see how I feel tomorrow morning!
The world unites today in asking President Assad of Syria to step down, after the brutal crackdowns against protests in the country are reported to have resulted in the deaths of 2000 or more civilians. The other worrying news was the stock-market plunging over 4%, the greatest fall for two and a half years.
This reminded me of the still ocean going ships at anchor in the upstream waters of the river Fal, away from Falmouth harbour. We saw these, again in 2009, when on holiday in Cornwall and taking a boat trip from Truro to St Mawes.
Mr Heker was back from his holiday in Spain and looked suitably bronzed when Skyping me over lunch time. He had had three viable enquiries for work from UK dentists, a positive homecoming result. We talked about the possibility of chasing that bane of any business, the client forgetting or delaying payment as long as possible. I promised to make a phone call on his behalf in this matter.
Mr H had interrrupted a search on Google Earth to try and gauge the distance from Milton to St Ives via the guided busway and from there to the Huntingdon Indoor Bowls Club. I am severely tempted to try and cycle the stretch tomorrow and to do so in a time equal to or shorter than the 126 minutes taken last Friday when travelling by public transport, including the guided bus itself.
The distance is 22km to St Ives P&R and from there 11km to the Huntingdon Indoor Bowls Club. To achieve the objective, I would have to cycle at about 16km/h. The one concern is that I would have a headwind of roughly the same speed on the way there, and a lot of the trip is across open country.
I will see how I feel tomorrow morning!
The world unites today in asking President Assad of Syria to step down, after the brutal crackdowns against protests in the country are reported to have resulted in the deaths of 2000 or more civilians. The other worrying news was the stock-market plunging over 4%, the greatest fall for two and a half years.
Wednesday 17 August 2011
A visit to the dentist and purchasing Kevlar bicycle tyres
Staggered out of bed at 6:30am to get ready for a dental appointment. Mrs T and I caught the Number 9 bus at 8am, which actually arrived punctually. This being the summer school holidays, the traffic into the city was relatively quick. After a walk across Parker's Piece, I arrived half an hour early but fortunately had my Kindle with me.
The ever friendly Ms Kenny, gently anaesthetised my left inferior alveolar nerve in order to repair two fillings on the rear lower molars. Ironically, the drilling was painless, it was the clamp around the teeth prior to applying the filling that caused pain as it had to be pushed right down onto the gum. Fortunately, the trial was soon over and I departed with a numb lower jaw and lip.
I met up with Ms T. at the railway station and we then made our way into town to purchase some Egyptian Pounds from Marks & Spencer, the relevant office being situated just around the corner from the ladies lingerie. We then went our separate ways.
Having missed the next bus to Milton, I had time to spare and sought out some new outer tyres for my bicycle. In particular, I was looking for Schwalbe Kevlar tyres that are much more resistant to punctures. The stall at Cambridge Market had a pair at a cool £35 each, so I walked further up towards Hill's Road to Howe's Cycles, where the same tyres were only £22 each.
On the way back to the bus stop, I purchased a maple syrup and walnut icecream and felt my spirits lifted at last after the lingering effects of the dental treatment.
Returning home, I spent an hour before lunch replacing the tyres on my bicycle.
For the afternoon, I completed the proofreading of the scientific article begun yesterday, a task that took another 3 hours.
The ever friendly Ms Kenny, gently anaesthetised my left inferior alveolar nerve in order to repair two fillings on the rear lower molars. Ironically, the drilling was painless, it was the clamp around the teeth prior to applying the filling that caused pain as it had to be pushed right down onto the gum. Fortunately, the trial was soon over and I departed with a numb lower jaw and lip.
I met up with Ms T. at the railway station and we then made our way into town to purchase some Egyptian Pounds from Marks & Spencer, the relevant office being situated just around the corner from the ladies lingerie. We then went our separate ways.
Having missed the next bus to Milton, I had time to spare and sought out some new outer tyres for my bicycle. In particular, I was looking for Schwalbe Kevlar tyres that are much more resistant to punctures. The stall at Cambridge Market had a pair at a cool £35 each, so I walked further up towards Hill's Road to Howe's Cycles, where the same tyres were only £22 each.
On the way back to the bus stop, I purchased a maple syrup and walnut icecream and felt my spirits lifted at last after the lingering effects of the dental treatment.
Returning home, I spent an hour before lunch replacing the tyres on my bicycle.
For the afternoon, I completed the proofreading of the scientific article begun yesterday, a task that took another 3 hours.
Tuesday 16 August 2011
Writing and proofreading
Battled on with the press release for last week's NRW visit to London, tidied up the first draft and sent off for approval and correction.
The rest of the day taken up by proofreading a scientific manuscript by a non-native speaker. At eighty pages, managed to work half way through the document.
The rest of the day taken up by proofreading a scientific manuscript by a non-native speaker. At eighty pages, managed to work half way through the document.
Monday 15 August 2011
Guided bus article and interview
Sunday had been a leisurely day but towards the end, I looked at the collated information on the timings of my trips with the guided bus to Huntingdon and set about writing an article for the Huntingdonshire Business Network blog. The article was finally completed around 3am, with the title “A businessman's experience and view of using the guided bus to travel to Huntingdon”, posted and provisionally distributed via twitter, and therefore facebook and linkedin.
I also placed a short note with a link to the article on the facebook page of the Andie Harper radio show, as the article was a more coherent analysis of the journeys and impressions. Arising shortly after 9am today, Monday, the consequence was a call from the radio station asking if I were willing to comment in an interview with Mr Harper of my experience. Fortunately, this was not till 10:20, permitting breakfast and feeding the neighbours chicken.
I think this was probably my most animated and passionate interview, primarily because I really did feel that an opportunity had been lost and that Huntingdon itself was not experiencing the real benefit of the guided bus. I later made a recording of the interview clip for my records.
The remainder of the working day was devoted to writing the press release for the visit of the NRW delegation. As usual, the process started slowly as the structure was first put in place. By the end of the day, I had completed the draft of the report on the meeting with the National Trust. The remainder will be completed tomorrow hopefully.
News is still dominated by the aftermath of the riots, with politicians trying to find populist solutions, the new mantras being mending a “broken society” and the “moral collapse”. As one lone expert raised on radio 4, there is a persistent tail of circa 5% of the population who are socially excluded and disconnected from mainstream society – and governments have been battling for years to make positive inroads into bringing help to these. However, the harsh crackdowns in Syria and the trial of Hosni Mubarak and sons in Egypt are emerging as news items again.
I also placed a short note with a link to the article on the facebook page of the Andie Harper radio show, as the article was a more coherent analysis of the journeys and impressions. Arising shortly after 9am today, Monday, the consequence was a call from the radio station asking if I were willing to comment in an interview with Mr Harper of my experience. Fortunately, this was not till 10:20, permitting breakfast and feeding the neighbours chicken.
I think this was probably my most animated and passionate interview, primarily because I really did feel that an opportunity had been lost and that Huntingdon itself was not experiencing the real benefit of the guided bus. I later made a recording of the interview clip for my records.
The remainder of the working day was devoted to writing the press release for the visit of the NRW delegation. As usual, the process started slowly as the structure was first put in place. By the end of the day, I had completed the draft of the report on the meeting with the National Trust. The remainder will be completed tomorrow hopefully.
News is still dominated by the aftermath of the riots, with politicians trying to find populist solutions, the new mantras being mending a “broken society” and the “moral collapse”. As one lone expert raised on radio 4, there is a persistent tail of circa 5% of the population who are socially excluded and disconnected from mainstream society – and governments have been battling for years to make positive inroads into bringing help to these. However, the harsh crackdowns in Syria and the trial of Hosni Mubarak and sons in Egypt are emerging as news items again.
Saturday 13 August 2011
BBQ at a toastmaster friends house
A shopping trip into town followed by an afternoon barbecue in Southoe, courtesy of Ms Jeffroy-Salmon, who had invited members of two toastmasters groups and their partners. Two grills worked hard, one for carnivores and the other for vegetarians. Despite the cloudy skies, temperatures were balmy enough to sit outside in conversation till early evening. Someone had worked hard to create an excellent spread of desserts. A good day for body and mind.
Friday 12 August 2011
Testing out the guided bus
The challenge today was to travel to Huntingdon using the new guided busway that had been in operation since last Sunday.
I set of at about 09:50 to the Waggon & Horses Milton bus stop to catch the 10:01 No. 9 bus. It arrived 10 minutes late, though I had allowed for delays. Dropped off at the Milton Road bus stop opposite the Science Park, by Taylor Vinters. This meant a walk to the guided busway stop, five minuts away on foot. I saw one bus round the corner and disappear into the distance before I could reach the stop.
My bus arrived 6 minutes late but was soon racing along the track towards St Ives, travelling past lakes and rivers until arriving remarkably quickly at the St Ives Park and Ride. Here I had to wait for ten minutes or so for another guided bus that was travelling through to Huntingdon. Arriving at 11.21 it was a double decker, packed full with mainly elderly passengers. A whole crowd disembarked at the next stop, St Ives bus station. I used the opportunity to go upstairs for a better view as an equally long queue of passengers boarded.
In comparison to the first stretch, the journey from St Ives to Huntingdon along normal roads was painfully slow, exacerbated by the fact that the route in St Ives and through Huntingdon were both convoluted. We finally arrived at Huntingdon bus station at around 12:00.
I took a walk to the Huntingdon Indoor bowls club to put up a sign reminding people that this week, HBN was meeting informally in the library. Then it was a walk back to the centre to the library, where I arrived at 12:40.
In the end, there were six HBNers sitting around a table in the cafe in the library, engaged in conversation. Mr Wishart was amongst them and also asked for feedback on the design I had prepared for his banner.
I had to depart shortly after 14:00h with the aim of catching the 14:15 from Huntingdon to get to Swavesey. This bus was delayed a full 20 minutes, meaning that when I finally arrived at Swavesey guided bus station, at 15:30, I had missed the connecting bus that could have taken me to Over, for my meeting with Mr Beal and my Tutorcloud colleagues. The walk up the gentle hill and down into Over to Mr Beals office took 25 minutes.
By five, rain had arrived and so I gratefully accepted a lift from Mrs Farndale back to the Swavesey guided busway stop, aiming to catch the 17:43 bus back towards Cambridge. Buses were running in closely spaced groups of three in either direction at this time of the evening. Again, my bus was about 6 minutes late but speedily transported me to the Science Park bus stop. What I did miss were announcements of the next bus stop coming up as it was otherwise so easy to miss one's destination.
I walked to the conventional bus stop around the corner – which lacked a timetable so I was not sure when the next bus would come. Fortunately, the Park and Ride buses to Milton were still running and one arrived within 10 minutes. From the P&R it was then again a 10 minute walk to finally arrive home, about 75 minutes after setting off from Over.
It was an interesting day, where I spent at least four hours travelling plus another hour or so walking. My pedometer indicated an accumulation of 10,000 steps over the course of the day.
I set of at about 09:50 to the Waggon & Horses Milton bus stop to catch the 10:01 No. 9 bus. It arrived 10 minutes late, though I had allowed for delays. Dropped off at the Milton Road bus stop opposite the Science Park, by Taylor Vinters. This meant a walk to the guided busway stop, five minuts away on foot. I saw one bus round the corner and disappear into the distance before I could reach the stop.
My bus arrived 6 minutes late but was soon racing along the track towards St Ives, travelling past lakes and rivers until arriving remarkably quickly at the St Ives Park and Ride. Here I had to wait for ten minutes or so for another guided bus that was travelling through to Huntingdon. Arriving at 11.21 it was a double decker, packed full with mainly elderly passengers. A whole crowd disembarked at the next stop, St Ives bus station. I used the opportunity to go upstairs for a better view as an equally long queue of passengers boarded.
In comparison to the first stretch, the journey from St Ives to Huntingdon along normal roads was painfully slow, exacerbated by the fact that the route in St Ives and through Huntingdon were both convoluted. We finally arrived at Huntingdon bus station at around 12:00.
I took a walk to the Huntingdon Indoor bowls club to put up a sign reminding people that this week, HBN was meeting informally in the library. Then it was a walk back to the centre to the library, where I arrived at 12:40.
In the end, there were six HBNers sitting around a table in the cafe in the library, engaged in conversation. Mr Wishart was amongst them and also asked for feedback on the design I had prepared for his banner.
I had to depart shortly after 14:00h with the aim of catching the 14:15 from Huntingdon to get to Swavesey. This bus was delayed a full 20 minutes, meaning that when I finally arrived at Swavesey guided bus station, at 15:30, I had missed the connecting bus that could have taken me to Over, for my meeting with Mr Beal and my Tutorcloud colleagues. The walk up the gentle hill and down into Over to Mr Beals office took 25 minutes.
By five, rain had arrived and so I gratefully accepted a lift from Mrs Farndale back to the Swavesey guided busway stop, aiming to catch the 17:43 bus back towards Cambridge. Buses were running in closely spaced groups of three in either direction at this time of the evening. Again, my bus was about 6 minutes late but speedily transported me to the Science Park bus stop. What I did miss were announcements of the next bus stop coming up as it was otherwise so easy to miss one's destination.
I walked to the conventional bus stop around the corner – which lacked a timetable so I was not sure when the next bus would come. Fortunately, the Park and Ride buses to Milton were still running and one arrived within 10 minutes. From the P&R it was then again a 10 minute walk to finally arrive home, about 75 minutes after setting off from Over.
It was an interesting day, where I spent at least four hours travelling plus another hour or so walking. My pedometer indicated an accumulation of 10,000 steps over the course of the day.
Thursday 11 August 2011
Design, debate and debrief after rioting
Caught up with report writing this morning. Followed on with a banner design for Mr Wishart. The challenge was to take a variety of different rectangular elements, such as QR codes, photos and text blocks and also a very long and thin logo. Equalised the width of the 6 rectangular blocks and arranged them in a gentle vertical wave. The long logo was rotated by 90 degrees, which allowed it to take up the full length of the banner. Sent design to Mr Wishart to discuss, change or approve.
Mr Wellman dropped by to return his evaluation of my Toastmaster's speech last week. We found ourselves in a fascinating discussion on the nature of people, personality. This digressed onto perceptions of reality and the observer principle (the observer influences the object observed). Discussions took an interesting turn towards debating fear and phobias, where Mr Wellman found himself in a vigorous discourse with Ms T.
With grateful feedback from the author, made some final corrections to the e-book I was editing yesterday, incorporating metadata, tags, cover image and ISBN. Sent off to the author and to my Kindle for checking.
The discussions in the media are now taking on the aftermath of the past days rioting. Many of the submissions to the local radio station tended towards authoritarian solutions. This was mirrored by the e-petition to the government, that offenders should have their benefits removed. This is likely to reach the 100,000 signatories to ensure that it is debated in parliament.
The police are caught in a vice between criticism that they did not do enough at the time of the riots and concerns that stronger action would be counter productive or lead to charges of police brutality. However, television images of police breaking down doors to get potential offenders and there was praise for police bravery in certain situations.
Parliament met in special session today and there was unanimous condemnation of the riots and looting and repeated questions of “where were the police”. Magistrates are still active dealing with the accumulation of cases. However, it was reassuring that the government thought that extra draconian measures were not required, rather changes in police policy to permit faster responses and release more desk bound staff for the streets.
Magistrates are still active dealing with the accumulation of cases. In London, half the people charged were under 18. One of the factors brought forward to explain the raiding and looting was the increasing social pressure to have high status clothing and other items to show status, even in deprived areas. The contrast was that there were no opportunities in those areas for work to actually earn money to meet these perceived needs – hence the idea of stealing when the opportunity arose.
Inspiration of the day came from the Malaysian student attacked and robbed by people “helping” him. Slightly hampered by a broken jaw repaired with a metal plate, he was saddened that even small children were involved. However, he was not going to be put off staying in the UK to complete his accounting training and appeared remarkably resilient and positive.
Mr Wellman dropped by to return his evaluation of my Toastmaster's speech last week. We found ourselves in a fascinating discussion on the nature of people, personality. This digressed onto perceptions of reality and the observer principle (the observer influences the object observed). Discussions took an interesting turn towards debating fear and phobias, where Mr Wellman found himself in a vigorous discourse with Ms T.
With grateful feedback from the author, made some final corrections to the e-book I was editing yesterday, incorporating metadata, tags, cover image and ISBN. Sent off to the author and to my Kindle for checking.
The discussions in the media are now taking on the aftermath of the past days rioting. Many of the submissions to the local radio station tended towards authoritarian solutions. This was mirrored by the e-petition to the government, that offenders should have their benefits removed. This is likely to reach the 100,000 signatories to ensure that it is debated in parliament.
The police are caught in a vice between criticism that they did not do enough at the time of the riots and concerns that stronger action would be counter productive or lead to charges of police brutality. However, television images of police breaking down doors to get potential offenders and there was praise for police bravery in certain situations.
Parliament met in special session today and there was unanimous condemnation of the riots and looting and repeated questions of “where were the police”. Magistrates are still active dealing with the accumulation of cases. However, it was reassuring that the government thought that extra draconian measures were not required, rather changes in police policy to permit faster responses and release more desk bound staff for the streets.
Magistrates are still active dealing with the accumulation of cases. In London, half the people charged were under 18. One of the factors brought forward to explain the raiding and looting was the increasing social pressure to have high status clothing and other items to show status, even in deprived areas. The contrast was that there were no opportunities in those areas for work to actually earn money to meet these perceived needs – hence the idea of stealing when the opportunity arose.
Inspiration of the day came from the Malaysian student attacked and robbed by people “helping” him. Slightly hampered by a broken jaw repaired with a metal plate, he was saddened that even small children were involved. However, he was not going to be put off staying in the UK to complete his accounting training and appeared remarkably resilient and positive.
Wednesday 10 August 2011
A mundane day and the despicable rioting
A working day on the computer, interrupted by a consultation with MS Lockyer of the Currency Exchange with regards to arranging suitable safe money for travel on an impending trip to Egypt.
At the end of the day, a short Skype call by another author trying to format his text for Kindle. The call extended as the apparently simple task proved ever more difficult – for trivial reasons. I played on with the book later whist watching television until finding a suitable solution after a couple of hours.
In the news, the lumbering giant of justice was finally gaining speed as Magistrate courts in London and elsewhere began to haul the offenders in. 805 arrests have been made in London alone. Three deaths of people trying to protect property by a hit and run driver have added a very serious note to the days events.
The sickening site of “assistance” being offered to an injured Malaysian student, which turned into blatant casual robbery, has made one YouTube video go viral as the scene is spread through Facebook to winkle out the culprits.
The streets of UK cities are calmer tonight, perhaps in part by the onset of wet weather as much as policing.
At the end of the day, a short Skype call by another author trying to format his text for Kindle. The call extended as the apparently simple task proved ever more difficult – for trivial reasons. I played on with the book later whist watching television until finding a suitable solution after a couple of hours.
In the news, the lumbering giant of justice was finally gaining speed as Magistrate courts in London and elsewhere began to haul the offenders in. 805 arrests have been made in London alone. Three deaths of people trying to protect property by a hit and run driver have added a very serious note to the days events.
The sickening site of “assistance” being offered to an injured Malaysian student, which turned into blatant casual robbery, has made one YouTube video go viral as the scene is spread through Facebook to winkle out the culprits.
The streets of UK cities are calmer tonight, perhaps in part by the onset of wet weather as much as policing.
Tuesday 9 August 2011
Lost in Suffolk and rioting spreading to other cities
This morning's news was of flare ups in Liverpool and Manchester. Everyone is waiting to see how the government ad police respond today.
Set off to meet with a new author, Alan James, in the depths of Suffolk, south of Bury St Edmunds. The satnav generously took me to highpoint prison, perhaps in anticipation of future misdemeanours. After some driving around unexpected blocked roads, I arrived half an hour late. Fortunately, my hosts were not unduly put out.
The following hours were busy in establishing some simple guidance on formatting the first manuscript and setting up file sharing, as well as finding a wealth of paintings that could be used to illustrate the book. Numerous cups of tea and a lunch later and it was almost 5pm before I departed, the route back being more straightforward.
Unfortunately I had missed an afternoon call, but the new client called back later with a request for some work on commenting on a text in the next week.
This evening, found myself suddenly committed to looking after some cats for the weekend and a chicken too, as well as volunteering for a cub scout activity lead later in the year.
A German video order had arrived and I settled down in anticipation to watch episode one of the cult German sci-fi TV series from 1966, “Raumpatrouille Orion” (Space patrol Orion); Black and white, with the best effects of the day in shaky spaceship models and examples of the future of dancing in the year 3000. Very enjoyable.
The financial markets had recovered after falls during the morning
With 16000 police descending on London, violence was present in Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham. Looters already active in daylight and cameramen attacked, with frightened women stranded due to the cancellation of buses and trains in the centre of Birmingham. London was relative quiet.
Car fires and shop looting and arson of stores appear to be the main activities captured on camera. Fortunately, plain stupidity is also apparent with some London looters tweeting or posting YouTube videos on their activities. Sadly, someone is already cashing in with London Riot T-Shirts.
In previous nights, much had been made of the use of social media to coordinate the looting and fast paced change of locations. Today, a positive alternative when social media were used to bring together a large group of volunteers who met in London to help clear up after the trouble.
Set off to meet with a new author, Alan James, in the depths of Suffolk, south of Bury St Edmunds. The satnav generously took me to highpoint prison, perhaps in anticipation of future misdemeanours. After some driving around unexpected blocked roads, I arrived half an hour late. Fortunately, my hosts were not unduly put out.
The following hours were busy in establishing some simple guidance on formatting the first manuscript and setting up file sharing, as well as finding a wealth of paintings that could be used to illustrate the book. Numerous cups of tea and a lunch later and it was almost 5pm before I departed, the route back being more straightforward.
Unfortunately I had missed an afternoon call, but the new client called back later with a request for some work on commenting on a text in the next week.
This evening, found myself suddenly committed to looking after some cats for the weekend and a chicken too, as well as volunteering for a cub scout activity lead later in the year.
A German video order had arrived and I settled down in anticipation to watch episode one of the cult German sci-fi TV series from 1966, “Raumpatrouille Orion” (Space patrol Orion); Black and white, with the best effects of the day in shaky spaceship models and examples of the future of dancing in the year 3000. Very enjoyable.
The financial markets had recovered after falls during the morning
With 16000 police descending on London, violence was present in Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham. Looters already active in daylight and cameramen attacked, with frightened women stranded due to the cancellation of buses and trains in the centre of Birmingham. London was relative quiet.
Car fires and shop looting and arson of stores appear to be the main activities captured on camera. Fortunately, plain stupidity is also apparent with some London looters tweeting or posting YouTube videos on their activities. Sadly, someone is already cashing in with London Riot T-Shirts.
In previous nights, much had been made of the use of social media to coordinate the looting and fast paced change of locations. Today, a positive alternative when social media were used to bring together a large group of volunteers who met in London to help clear up after the trouble.
Monday 8 August 2011
Contrasting peaceful and safe London with rioting hotspots
The early morning start in the bathroom was interrupted by a mobile message informing me that the German delegates were stuck in their airport with a plane cancelled. Fortunately, by the time I was dressed, they had been able to board an alternative plane and so I found my self catching the five to eight bus to Waterbeach to travel to London on the train.
With the ticket machine not working, I had the pleasure of being served by a real ticket inspector whilst catching up with the i newspaper on the night's riots.
The underground announcements mentioned that Brixton station on the Victoria line was closed and when I sat down in the Cafe Grana in St James Park station, I found myself next to a television camera crew from ITN, taking a break before travelling on to Scotland Yard – apparently there had been problems in Brixton and a minor incident in Oxford Circus too.
The Herrn Juengst, Noll, Zawierucha and Koenig, with Ms Luetje arrived soon afterwards before we went to their first meeting with the National Trust at their London Offices in St Anne's Gate. A fascinating presentation and synergies in terms of information exchange and the possibility of cross border training.
Our next appointment was in a London Square with an architect responsible for the planning of a major façade renovation. The differences between project management in the UK and in Germany were illustrated and much useful advice obtained.
In the background there was the sound of a demonstration taking place, though it sounded like the peaceful shouting of slogans, distorted by the wind and unintelligible. I found out later that it was the Burma Campaign UK outside the German Embassy, in protest of Germany blocking the European Union's support for the establishment of a UN Burma inquiry.
Afterwards we had a tour of the actual work site, clambering up the scaffolding to view the top of the building, where plaster was coming away from the brickwork and the bricks themselves were disintegrating as well as in part being mortared with Thames mud. An interesting conundrum as the usual requirement for renovation of a listed building is replacement of like with like.
The German party had to make its way back to catch an evening flight from the airport. We parted at Hyde Park tube station as I forewent the delights of a crowded tube at rush hour and decided to wander in the direction of Kings Cross Station on foot, three miles away.
I was distracted in St James Park by one of the bike hire places as I attempted to hire a bicycle. Unfortunately, the unlocking code given could not be punched in as the number keys had been damaged, so I continued on foot.
Coming out onto Piccadilly, the noise of a passing police van with sirens howling and the more frequent presence of police on patrol made itself noticed. I diverted to one of the parallel back-streets with the thought of visiting Paxton and Whitfield for some Blue Stilton but the shop was being renovated, two workman taking a tea break when I glanced through the slightly ajar door.
From Piccadilly circus, I drifted into Chinatown, which was bustling with visitors and Chinese, accompanied by the tempting scent of oriental food wafting from some of the vendors.
Back on track briefly, I then wandered into Covent Garden, the streets were busy with tourists and sight seers and the suited visitors to the pubs spilling out onto the streets. By now it was just after 6pm, so I gave in and took the tube back to Kings Cross.
There was sufficient time to buy a tea and a sour-dough baguette with Mozzarella, rocket and tomatoes before catching the Kings Lynn train from Platform 4, garnering one of the last seats by a table.
Later that evening, the news was full of the troubles that had spread like wildfire to other parts of the capital – a major shop burning in Croyden, and trouble in Hackney and Peckham. Cars set alight in Lewisham and looting in Clapham. Flames in Woolwich. A separate incident had ignited in Birmingham.
Added to that, shares continued to tumble as the financial markets are still in turmoil.
With the ticket machine not working, I had the pleasure of being served by a real ticket inspector whilst catching up with the i newspaper on the night's riots.
The underground announcements mentioned that Brixton station on the Victoria line was closed and when I sat down in the Cafe Grana in St James Park station, I found myself next to a television camera crew from ITN, taking a break before travelling on to Scotland Yard – apparently there had been problems in Brixton and a minor incident in Oxford Circus too.
The Herrn Juengst, Noll, Zawierucha and Koenig, with Ms Luetje arrived soon afterwards before we went to their first meeting with the National Trust at their London Offices in St Anne's Gate. A fascinating presentation and synergies in terms of information exchange and the possibility of cross border training.
Our next appointment was in a London Square with an architect responsible for the planning of a major façade renovation. The differences between project management in the UK and in Germany were illustrated and much useful advice obtained.
In the background there was the sound of a demonstration taking place, though it sounded like the peaceful shouting of slogans, distorted by the wind and unintelligible. I found out later that it was the Burma Campaign UK outside the German Embassy, in protest of Germany blocking the European Union's support for the establishment of a UN Burma inquiry.
Afterwards we had a tour of the actual work site, clambering up the scaffolding to view the top of the building, where plaster was coming away from the brickwork and the bricks themselves were disintegrating as well as in part being mortared with Thames mud. An interesting conundrum as the usual requirement for renovation of a listed building is replacement of like with like.
The German party had to make its way back to catch an evening flight from the airport. We parted at Hyde Park tube station as I forewent the delights of a crowded tube at rush hour and decided to wander in the direction of Kings Cross Station on foot, three miles away.
I was distracted in St James Park by one of the bike hire places as I attempted to hire a bicycle. Unfortunately, the unlocking code given could not be punched in as the number keys had been damaged, so I continued on foot.
Coming out onto Piccadilly, the noise of a passing police van with sirens howling and the more frequent presence of police on patrol made itself noticed. I diverted to one of the parallel back-streets with the thought of visiting Paxton and Whitfield for some Blue Stilton but the shop was being renovated, two workman taking a tea break when I glanced through the slightly ajar door.
From Piccadilly circus, I drifted into Chinatown, which was bustling with visitors and Chinese, accompanied by the tempting scent of oriental food wafting from some of the vendors.
Back on track briefly, I then wandered into Covent Garden, the streets were busy with tourists and sight seers and the suited visitors to the pubs spilling out onto the streets. By now it was just after 6pm, so I gave in and took the tube back to Kings Cross.
There was sufficient time to buy a tea and a sour-dough baguette with Mozzarella, rocket and tomatoes before catching the Kings Lynn train from Platform 4, garnering one of the last seats by a table.
Later that evening, the news was full of the troubles that had spread like wildfire to other parts of the capital – a major shop burning in Croyden, and trouble in Hackney and Peckham. Cars set alight in Lewisham and looting in Clapham. Flames in Woolwich. A separate incident had ignited in Birmingham.
Added to that, shares continued to tumble as the financial markets are still in turmoil.
Sunday 7 August 2011
Aftermath of Rioting
Sunday 7th August: On coming downstairs this morning caught up with the news from Tottenham. The riots had continued well into the night and the damage to shops, burning of flats above them and the looting was quite extensive. However the streets appeared to be under control and the sad task of slow recovery now had to begin.
Spent the rest of the day in more relaxed mode. In the evening we watched the film inception for the first time. The idea (using dreams and dreams within dreams as part of industrial espionage) story line, and effects were truly a cut above the general run of recent films. In fact it took a while afterwards to wind down again to reality.
Switching the news back on last thing at night found it awash with the aftermath of the Tottenham riots – the damage, the 28 injured police officers, the 55 arrests so far. A second flareup of car jacking, and skirmishes was ongoing in Enfield, further up north in London. However this appeared to involve a smaller group of around 100 in battles with the police.
Spent the rest of the day in more relaxed mode. In the evening we watched the film inception for the first time. The idea (using dreams and dreams within dreams as part of industrial espionage) story line, and effects were truly a cut above the general run of recent films. In fact it took a while afterwards to wind down again to reality.
Switching the news back on last thing at night found it awash with the aftermath of the Tottenham riots – the damage, the 28 injured police officers, the 55 arrests so far. A second flareup of car jacking, and skirmishes was ongoing in Enfield, further up north in London. However this appeared to involve a smaller group of around 100 in battles with the police.
Spring cleaning and the Tottenham Riots
Saturday, 5th August: We had a mini Spring clean, initiated my Mr T, which resulted in the disposal of a substantial collection of video cassettes. We ordered DVD replacements of the key films we wished to see again but of course the question is how long this technology will still be current before it is superceded.
The trip to the recycling centre was followed with a visit to Emmaus, near Landbeach. This charity, run by and for the homeless, runs a large store of second hand goods and furniture. We pottered around, looking for an alternative television cabinet. We did not find one, but I came away with a science fiction novel and Ms T. with a music CD. Again the latter being a technology in decline!
I spent a couple of hour in the afternoon going through all the photographs accumulated in the past weeks, in Germany and at Whipsnade. The blurred images were discarded and the remaining culled further to keep only those that were of particular interest.
This evening's news is dominated by the riots in Tottenham, London that have broken out at about 20:30h, when two police cars, a bus and a shop were set on fire and shop looting occurred. It began with a peaceful demonstration at 5 pm, which was prompted by the killing of a Tottenham man in a police shoot out during a failed arrest. By the early hours of the morning, there was still sporadic violence, with a BBC television crew being attacked and some equipment damaged.
The trip to the recycling centre was followed with a visit to Emmaus, near Landbeach. This charity, run by and for the homeless, runs a large store of second hand goods and furniture. We pottered around, looking for an alternative television cabinet. We did not find one, but I came away with a science fiction novel and Ms T. with a music CD. Again the latter being a technology in decline!
I spent a couple of hour in the afternoon going through all the photographs accumulated in the past weeks, in Germany and at Whipsnade. The blurred images were discarded and the remaining culled further to keep only those that were of particular interest.
This evening's news is dominated by the riots in Tottenham, London that have broken out at about 20:30h, when two police cars, a bus and a shop were set on fire and shop looting occurred. It began with a peaceful demonstration at 5 pm, which was prompted by the killing of a Tottenham man in a police shoot out during a failed arrest. By the early hours of the morning, there was still sporadic violence, with a BBC television crew being attacked and some equipment damaged.
Presentation on Presentations
Friday, 5th August: Travelled to Huntingdon for the first Friday of the month seminar of the Huntingdonshire Business Network.
Mr Frost, a familiar face and friend from the Huntingdonshire Speakers, gave a presentation on - Effective presentation. It was a light hearted affair, with humour, audience participation and yet conveyed important points that others could use for their own presentations.
Afterwards, had to travel to Over via St Ives due to a major accident on the A14 which was blocking eastbound traffic.
Arriving late at Mr Beal's offices, found Mrs Farndale and Ms Heenemann already in attendance for our Tutorcloud meeting. We made good progress in finalising articles to be made public on the Tutorcloud website in the near future.
Mr Frost, a familiar face and friend from the Huntingdonshire Speakers, gave a presentation on - Effective presentation. It was a light hearted affair, with humour, audience participation and yet conveyed important points that others could use for their own presentations.
Afterwards, had to travel to Over via St Ives due to a major accident on the A14 which was blocking eastbound traffic.
Arriving late at Mr Beal's offices, found Mrs Farndale and Ms Heenemann already in attendance for our Tutorcloud meeting. We made good progress in finalising articles to be made public on the Tutorcloud website in the near future.
Financial turmoil
Thursday, 4th August: Continued to make progress on the German project report.
The previous night's news was of renewed turmoil on the financial market was also topic of convesation on Radio Cambridgeshire in the morning. For once I was not feeling optimistic and sent in an e-mail indicating that the markets were driven by the emotions of Trust, Confidence and Fear, and also recommending Mr Slezac as a suitable individual to contact for comment if need be.
I was most gratified to hear not only my comment read out, but also the following expert from the Judge Business School, an expert in Macro-economics, make specific reference to my comment and acknowledge that currently, emotion is a driving force in the markets.
The previous night's news was of renewed turmoil on the financial market was also topic of convesation on Radio Cambridgeshire in the morning. For once I was not feeling optimistic and sent in an e-mail indicating that the markets were driven by the emotions of Trust, Confidence and Fear, and also recommending Mr Slezac as a suitable individual to contact for comment if need be.
I was most gratified to hear not only my comment read out, but also the following expert from the Judge Business School, an expert in Macro-economics, make specific reference to my comment and acknowledge that currently, emotion is a driving force in the markets.
Presenting the speech “Write it down”
Wednesday, 3rd August: Continued with the two themes of writing the final report for a project (in German) and preparation for the Huntingdonshire Speakers speech tonight.
By lunchtime the speech “Write it down” had taken on more detail with a structure:
I've planned five visual aids; a 1000 year old quote from Sei Shonagon's “Pillow Book”, Dr McArthur's book “Ka Sefofane”, One of Mr Heker's technical articles, Mr Juengst's white paper and finally the Kindle with my “Your business startup: Twelve pillars of advice in brief” which has appeared published on Amazon today!
Since this talk will be given without notes, I prepared a series of visual mental cues as a skeleton to hang the talk on. The most difficult and nerve racking was learning the Sei Shonagon quote off by heart.
Not sure whether to pass around the visual aids or hold them up.
The evening was then spent at Huntingdonshire Speakers and fortunately my speech was the first. I had practiced to give it in seven minutes. In the event, I was just under a minute over. The decision to pass round the visual aids when they arose during the talk worked but might have proved distracting – next time hold them up! However, received a lot of positive feedback from all the attendees in the short written comments that are part of the Toastmasters experience. Mr Wellman evaluated my speech positively with constructive advice for the future.
Other entertaining speeches came from the two minute “Tabletopics”, based around an geographic theme, using the colours of the olympic rings to define regions to be talked about. There was a hilarious foray into the consequences of cross dressing and a passionate lament on the current economic crisis in the Eurozone by Mr Slezak.
A satisfying but exhausting end to the day.
Bought a copy of Mr Frost's autobiography, “Growing Forward” and made the mistake of beginning to read it. I continued till the end, around 3am. A fascinating youth of involvement in a strict religious group, rebellion and even breaking the law before reforming, and of love gained – and lost. All before the age of 25.
By lunchtime the speech “Write it down” had taken on more detail with a structure:
- Introduction
- Why write it down (door to the past, present and Future)
- Where to write it down (mentioning additional media)
- When (and when not) to write it down
- Call to action - “Write it down”
I've planned five visual aids; a 1000 year old quote from Sei Shonagon's “Pillow Book”, Dr McArthur's book “Ka Sefofane”, One of Mr Heker's technical articles, Mr Juengst's white paper and finally the Kindle with my “Your business startup: Twelve pillars of advice in brief” which has appeared published on Amazon today!
Since this talk will be given without notes, I prepared a series of visual mental cues as a skeleton to hang the talk on. The most difficult and nerve racking was learning the Sei Shonagon quote off by heart.
Not sure whether to pass around the visual aids or hold them up.
The evening was then spent at Huntingdonshire Speakers and fortunately my speech was the first. I had practiced to give it in seven minutes. In the event, I was just under a minute over. The decision to pass round the visual aids when they arose during the talk worked but might have proved distracting – next time hold them up! However, received a lot of positive feedback from all the attendees in the short written comments that are part of the Toastmasters experience. Mr Wellman evaluated my speech positively with constructive advice for the future.
Other entertaining speeches came from the two minute “Tabletopics”, based around an geographic theme, using the colours of the olympic rings to define regions to be talked about. There was a hilarious foray into the consequences of cross dressing and a passionate lament on the current economic crisis in the Eurozone by Mr Slezak.
A satisfying but exhausting end to the day.
Bought a copy of Mr Frost's autobiography, “Growing Forward” and made the mistake of beginning to read it. I continued till the end, around 3am. A fascinating youth of involvement in a strict religious group, rebellion and even breaking the law before reforming, and of love gained – and lost. All before the age of 25.
Planning a Speech
Tuesday, 2nd August: There were two main items to consider today. The first was continuation of writing a final report for a project. I had a long Skype conversation with Ms Schmidt in Berlin regarding advice on a translation she had undertaken; in return, she provided some useful information at short notice on her efforts as part of the project fo which the report is being written.
Second, I have decided to do talk 3 out of the Public Relations manual, the Persuasive Speech. The objective is to give a presentation with at least one visual aid, that will persuade the audience to take an action.
I've decided on the title “Write it down”, with the objective of persuading the audience that there is a real benefit to them in recording their experiences and expertise with a view to sharing it with others.
Writing down bullet points, the rough structure is likely to be:
Still mulling over the details in my mind.
Second, I have decided to do talk 3 out of the Public Relations manual, the Persuasive Speech. The objective is to give a presentation with at least one visual aid, that will persuade the audience to take an action.
I've decided on the title “Write it down”, with the objective of persuading the audience that there is a real benefit to them in recording their experiences and expertise with a view to sharing it with others.
Writing down bullet points, the rough structure is likely to be:
- Why you should write it down
- What you can write down
- When to write it down
Still mulling over the details in my mind.
White paper and kindle book development
Monday, 1st August: Completed the conversion of Mr Juengst's discussion document into a fully formatted White Paper and sent it to him.
Went through numerous formatting and reformatting stages of the business startup booklet until I had a version that looked satisfactory on the Kindle. This was then uploaded and published on the Amazon Kindle publishing page. Now, I just had to wait for it to appear as accepted and published on Amazon, “Your Business Startup: Twelve pillars of advice in brief”. Finally climbed into bed at about 4am in the morning.
Went through numerous formatting and reformatting stages of the business startup booklet until I had a version that looked satisfactory on the Kindle. This was then uploaded and published on the Amazon Kindle publishing page. Now, I just had to wait for it to appear as accepted and published on Amazon, “Your Business Startup: Twelve pillars of advice in brief”. Finally climbed into bed at about 4am in the morning.
Battling with Kindle formatting
Sunday, 31st July: Having established yesterday that the formatting of my trial Kindle booklet using illuminated capitals was unsuccessful, I chose an alternative solution, where the illuminated letter and the title, available in the book designed originally in Scribus, was converted into an image that would span a kindle page width. Simple in concept but a time consuming process.
The stages were: exporting the Scribus pages individually as images; Editing these in the image processing software, GIMP - first cropping to the headings alone and then sizing the images to be 520 pixels wide. The images were then incorporated into Sigil as an e-pub format document with the correct text underneath.
The original cover that I had designed was a bit bland too. Since the title was to include the phrase twelve pillars, I set out to design an ionic column, following Greek proportions of column height being eight times column height nine times if including upper and lower units). This was achieved using the software Inkscape, whilst sitting on the garden bench.
Then it was back to editing and extending the text in Sigil that Mrs T kindly proof read for me.
The stages were: exporting the Scribus pages individually as images; Editing these in the image processing software, GIMP - first cropping to the headings alone and then sizing the images to be 520 pixels wide. The images were then incorporated into Sigil as an e-pub format document with the correct text underneath.
The original cover that I had designed was a bit bland too. Since the title was to include the phrase twelve pillars, I set out to design an ionic column, following Greek proportions of column height being eight times column height nine times if including upper and lower units). This was achieved using the software Inkscape, whilst sitting on the garden bench.
Then it was back to editing and extending the text in Sigil that Mrs T kindly proof read for me.
A working Saturday
Saturday, 30th July: Mainly a work day, concentrating on translating a discussion document for Herr Juengst.
Revisited the notes on Business Startup prepared for the radio interview of the previous week with a view to converting it into a Kindle book.
I had prepared illuminated letters for each of the twelve sections that I wished to include. I used a software, Sigil, to do the editing in the computer language HTML. Here they could be aligned with the remainder of the chapter heading text alongside. However, when converting into a mobipocket book using Calibre, the formatting was not as desired when exported and viewed on a Kindle e-book reader.
Revisited the notes on Business Startup prepared for the radio interview of the previous week with a view to converting it into a Kindle book.
I had prepared illuminated letters for each of the twelve sections that I wished to include. I used a software, Sigil, to do the editing in the computer language HTML. Here they could be aligned with the remainder of the chapter heading text alongside. However, when converting into a mobipocket book using Calibre, the formatting was not as desired when exported and viewed on a Kindle e-book reader.
The slight disappointment of Whipsnade
Thursday, 28th July: The whole family made our outing to Whipsnade zoo. Having visited Banham zoo and Colchester zoo in the past years, we did have high expectations of this zoo as part of the Zoological Society of London.
The tone was set with the entry price which included an optional donation that one had to actively opt out of, the map we were given to find our way around contained inaccuracies and there was no indication of the feeding times of program of events given at the outset.
However, with warm and mainly sunny weather and cameras in hand, we made the best of the day. The impressions that remain from the day were the Maras and small deer that ran around freely, the pigmy hippopotamus mother with her calf, the antedeluvian appearance of the White Rhinos and the lively action at the end of the day at the elephant enclosure.
The tone was set with the entry price which included an optional donation that one had to actively opt out of, the map we were given to find our way around contained inaccuracies and there was no indication of the feeding times of program of events given at the outset.
However, with warm and mainly sunny weather and cameras in hand, we made the best of the day. The impressions that remain from the day were the Maras and small deer that ran around freely, the pigmy hippopotamus mother with her calf, the antedeluvian appearance of the White Rhinos and the lively action at the end of the day at the elephant enclosure.
Shopping for a present
Wednesday, 27th July. A lie in followed by an urgent trip into town to find a Birthday present for Mrs T. Followed by an evening baking a sponge cake and wrapping presents.
The journey home
Tuesday, 26th July: Time to travel back home. Mr T. is a frugal and financially prudent person who had cannily determined that our journey back would be cheaper if we flew from Bonn airport rather than Duesseldorf, despite requiring an additional train journey with a change in Cologne.
Mrs T therefore drove us to the station at Osterath. This did have the faint air of the deserted station in the film “The Station Agent”, with weeds abounding between the rails. However, a double decker train did stop there and we managed to acquire a seat on the top deck for an enjoyable ride.
We arrived at Cologne with 15 minutes between trains and I realised that this was our last opportunity to enjoy ice cream in Germany. Leaving Mr T with the luggage I set out for a search in the very large Cologne railway station, and to my delight found an excellent ice cream parlour and bought two large cones for us, which we enjoyed with relish.
Bonn airport involved a long walk and a long wait, fairly typical for air travel. We spent the latter in one of the small restaurants having a light lunch and a drink to while away the hours before proceeding through the gate.
We arrived back in Stansted and did not have to wait too long for the Stansted Express back to Cambridge, and thence home.
Mrs T therefore drove us to the station at Osterath. This did have the faint air of the deserted station in the film “The Station Agent”, with weeds abounding between the rails. However, a double decker train did stop there and we managed to acquire a seat on the top deck for an enjoyable ride.
We arrived at Cologne with 15 minutes between trains and I realised that this was our last opportunity to enjoy ice cream in Germany. Leaving Mr T with the luggage I set out for a search in the very large Cologne railway station, and to my delight found an excellent ice cream parlour and bought two large cones for us, which we enjoyed with relish.
Bonn airport involved a long walk and a long wait, fairly typical for air travel. We spent the latter in one of the small restaurants having a light lunch and a drink to while away the hours before proceeding through the gate.
We arrived back in Stansted and did not have to wait too long for the Stansted Express back to Cambridge, and thence home.
Business visitors for lunch
Monday, 25th July: Herr Juengst and Herr Noll came to Meerbusch for an informal business related visit. They had been part of a previous NRW delegation to the UK and were following up with another visit, coming to London on the 8th August. I had initiated the meeting as it is always a pleasure when previous visitors to the UK actually follow up on potential business.
We covered some aspects that might be of assistance to them and then enjoyed a Schnitzel at the only nearby Pension that was open on a Monday.
That evening, photographed my German grandfather's typed diary text. This had been originally transcribed from handwritten notes into a word-processor document by my oldest uncle, printed and sent to family members. However, the original digital files had been lost. In my publishing role, I was interested in seeing if it was possible to recreate the digital version for future use. Mr T turned the pages (over 300) whilst Mrs T read through the notes, finding mention of herself as a child and chuckling at her fathers perception of her as a headstrong girl.
We covered some aspects that might be of assistance to them and then enjoyed a Schnitzel at the only nearby Pension that was open on a Monday.
That evening, photographed my German grandfather's typed diary text. This had been originally transcribed from handwritten notes into a word-processor document by my oldest uncle, printed and sent to family members. However, the original digital files had been lost. In my publishing role, I was interested in seeing if it was possible to recreate the digital version for future use. Mr T turned the pages (over 300) whilst Mrs T read through the notes, finding mention of herself as a child and chuckling at her fathers perception of her as a headstrong girl.
Fishy photography at the Aquazoo
Sunday 24th July: Sunday had promised to be a dull wet day, so Mr T, Mrs T and my good friend Mr Lingnau visited the Aquazoo – Loebekke Museum in Duesseldorf. The route there was somewhat convoluted as the usual Rhine Ferry was not in action and we ended up queuing in the rain with the hundreds of other visitors who had made the same decision.
Mr Lingnau and I were armed with our cameras and took up the challenge of photographing both static and moving marine and freshwater exhibits. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the circuit, not departing till closing time at 18:00h.
Later that evening, we reviewed our photographs, amazed at the success of some and accepting that others were simply blurred due to the long exposure times.
The photos are now part of the large collection taken in Germany and will need a quiet day to begin selecting and editing the best.
Mr Lingnau and I were armed with our cameras and took up the challenge of photographing both static and moving marine and freshwater exhibits. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the circuit, not departing till closing time at 18:00h.
Later that evening, we reviewed our photographs, amazed at the success of some and accepting that others were simply blurred due to the long exposure times.
The photos are now part of the large collection taken in Germany and will need a quiet day to begin selecting and editing the best.
The Gasometer and it's 616 stairs.
Saturday, 23rd July: Today we did successfully make the trip to the Gasometer, which is actually in Oberhausen, to see the exhibition “Magic Places - Natural and Cultural Monuments of the World” (http://www.gasometer.de/en_GB/index.php?pid=3_1).
The exhibition featured large panels of photographs of natural and geographic features, interspersed with mineral and fossil samples on the ground floow. On the next level, there were beautifully recreated cultural artifacts from the Gipsformerei der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin (Replica Workshop of the National Museums of Berlin). The low light was a challenge for photography, but I persevered in attempts to capture the bust of Nefertiti.
The centre of the hall was dominated by the giant sculpture of a rainforest tree that loomed up into the vast space and was illuminated by gradually changing lighting.
On the way in to the exhibition, I had noticed that the the outside stairs leading all the way from the bottom to the top of the 100m high gasometer were actually open to the public. After wandering around the exhibition, I moved outside to take up the challenge of making the ascent. An initial rush soon changed to a steady pace. I started counting steps but soon gave up as the stairwell had a varying number of steps around each quarter. I later established that there were 616 steps to a height of 115m (the total height of the Gasometer is 117.5m), making this one of the largest industrial stairs in the world.
At 30m, I was already looking down on a tree-top climbing activity. The view gradually expanded to take in the river, railway and related exhibition areas. The wind also picked up and my ears were beginning to freeze. It took me more than 20 minutes to make the ascent, breathless but with a feeling of achievement.
The exhibition featured large panels of photographs of natural and geographic features, interspersed with mineral and fossil samples on the ground floow. On the next level, there were beautifully recreated cultural artifacts from the Gipsformerei der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin (Replica Workshop of the National Museums of Berlin). The low light was a challenge for photography, but I persevered in attempts to capture the bust of Nefertiti.
The centre of the hall was dominated by the giant sculpture of a rainforest tree that loomed up into the vast space and was illuminated by gradually changing lighting.
On the way in to the exhibition, I had noticed that the the outside stairs leading all the way from the bottom to the top of the 100m high gasometer were actually open to the public. After wandering around the exhibition, I moved outside to take up the challenge of making the ascent. An initial rush soon changed to a steady pace. I started counting steps but soon gave up as the stairwell had a varying number of steps around each quarter. I later established that there were 616 steps to a height of 115m (the total height of the Gasometer is 117.5m), making this one of the largest industrial stairs in the world.
At 30m, I was already looking down on a tree-top climbing activity. The view gradually expanded to take in the river, railway and related exhibition areas. The wind also picked up and my ears were beginning to freeze. It took me more than 20 minutes to make the ascent, breathless but with a feeling of achievement.
Easy shopping for long legged men
Friday, 22nd July: Greeted with a mild head cold this morning, which fortunately was not yet incapacitating and permitted an excursion to Tonisvorst, north of Krefeld, where there was a factory outlet for a gentleman`s outfitters called Otten.
As a tall, long legged person, it is difficult to find trousers to fit at the usual outlets in the UK and I have always had more success in Gemany. It was such a change to be able to go into a shop and find that there was actually quality clothing off the peg in my size. Within an hour I left with several pairs of trousers at discount prices, as we had arrived during a mid season sale.
On the journey back to Meerbusch, we stopped off in Krefeld to visit the bank and also partake of the excellent Italian ice-cream from one of the ice-cream parlours. Today I checked out kiwi and pistachio balls in a cone.
In the afternoon, we had intended to visit the most recent exhibition at the Gasometer in Essen with Ms Mix. We deferred until the following day to give us more time and instead had a very enjoyable evening playing the board game “Siedler von Catan”.
As a tall, long legged person, it is difficult to find trousers to fit at the usual outlets in the UK and I have always had more success in Gemany. It was such a change to be able to go into a shop and find that there was actually quality clothing off the peg in my size. Within an hour I left with several pairs of trousers at discount prices, as we had arrived during a mid season sale.
On the journey back to Meerbusch, we stopped off in Krefeld to visit the bank and also partake of the excellent Italian ice-cream from one of the ice-cream parlours. Today I checked out kiwi and pistachio balls in a cone.
In the afternoon, we had intended to visit the most recent exhibition at the Gasometer in Essen with Ms Mix. We deferred until the following day to give us more time and instead had a very enjoyable evening playing the board game “Siedler von Catan”.
Mr Heker`s practice, The Cathedral and Synagogue to Essen
Thursday, 21st July: This morning breakfast was followed by a quick check on the business e-mails and removing the accumulated spam comments on the Cambridge Open Studios blog.
The it was off to Oppum railway station to catch the train to Essen to meet with Mr Heker. The first train was a Regional train, stopping at every station to Duisburg. Alighting from the train there, a fifteen minute wait to catch a double decker Regional Express which then took me speedily to Essen.
Arriving at Mr Heker dental technical laboratory “Teeth R Us”, it was a great opportunity to have a tour of the laboratory equipment and techniques with Mr Heker. We then spent a couple of hours catching up on possible tasks and strategies for attendance at the BDA exhibition in Birmingham in October.
Afterwards I was taken on a tour of central Essen, The first highlight was the Dom, the cathedral of Essen. Although only a cathedral since 1958, its origins go back to the foundation of an abbey by Bishop Altfrid in the late AD 850s with a peak of influence in the elefventh and twelfth centuries.
For me, the absolute delight were the modern stained glass windows completed in the 1950s to 1960s by a variety of artists (see http://www.dom-essen.de/index.php?id=263). I took an extensive series of photographs which I hope to edit in the near future.
The tour continued to the Synagogue, renovated and resplendent with its large dome. A police bus was discretely parked nearby, indicating the sensitivities still extant. The interior was delightfully elegant with clean lines, reflecting the modern construction style at the turn of the 20th Century and there was an interesting set of exhibits on the building` history and also Jewish traditions. The technological highlight was a series of two giant cogged wheels that interlinked to show the relationship between the Gregorian and the Jewish calendar. Flash photography not being permitted, I hope that the hand-held or supported photos give unshaken results.
We finished with an evening meal in a Greek restaurant (Artemis) before I finally caught the train back to Meerbusch via Krefeld Oppum.
The it was off to Oppum railway station to catch the train to Essen to meet with Mr Heker. The first train was a Regional train, stopping at every station to Duisburg. Alighting from the train there, a fifteen minute wait to catch a double decker Regional Express which then took me speedily to Essen.
Arriving at Mr Heker dental technical laboratory “Teeth R Us”, it was a great opportunity to have a tour of the laboratory equipment and techniques with Mr Heker. We then spent a couple of hours catching up on possible tasks and strategies for attendance at the BDA exhibition in Birmingham in October.
Afterwards I was taken on a tour of central Essen, The first highlight was the Dom, the cathedral of Essen. Although only a cathedral since 1958, its origins go back to the foundation of an abbey by Bishop Altfrid in the late AD 850s with a peak of influence in the elefventh and twelfth centuries.
For me, the absolute delight were the modern stained glass windows completed in the 1950s to 1960s by a variety of artists (see http://www.dom-essen.de/index.php?id=263). I took an extensive series of photographs which I hope to edit in the near future.
The tour continued to the Synagogue, renovated and resplendent with its large dome. A police bus was discretely parked nearby, indicating the sensitivities still extant. The interior was delightfully elegant with clean lines, reflecting the modern construction style at the turn of the 20th Century and there was an interesting set of exhibits on the building` history and also Jewish traditions. The technological highlight was a series of two giant cogged wheels that interlinked to show the relationship between the Gregorian and the Jewish calendar. Flash photography not being permitted, I hope that the hand-held or supported photos give unshaken results.
We finished with an evening meal in a Greek restaurant (Artemis) before I finally caught the train back to Meerbusch via Krefeld Oppum.
On over-fit septuagenarians
Wednesday, 20th July: A gentle start to the day before beginning to update my computer here in Germany, which took till early aftenoon. Then it was off to collect Mr T from the railway station in Oppum, returning from a family visit to my sister and her children.
Mrs T dragooned me into accompanying her and two other of her friends to a water exercise class for the rheumatoid at a swimming pool in the nearby town of Krefeld. Forty five minutes of vigorous exercise later left me pleasantly fatigued and amazed at the stamina of septuagenarians.
Confirmed the final details for tomorrows travel and visit to Mr Heker, to discuss a forthcoming business trip to the UK.
Mrs T dragooned me into accompanying her and two other of her friends to a water exercise class for the rheumatoid at a swimming pool in the nearby town of Krefeld. Forty five minutes of vigorous exercise later left me pleasantly fatigued and amazed at the stamina of septuagenarians.
Confirmed the final details for tomorrows travel and visit to Mr Heker, to discuss a forthcoming business trip to the UK.
Flight to Duesseldorf with optical illusions
Tuesday, 19th July: Packed bags, had a last minute haircut before catching the taxi to railway station. The journey on the Stansted Express was uneventful and I arrived early at the airport. A queue began to form in front of the check in desk, but with a subconscious gap, as if Harry Potter himself was taking space in the queue under his invisibility coat – an illusion maintained until other travelers passed through the gap on their ways to their separate destinations.
Stansted was relatively quiet and security particularly tight. It was a shoes and belt off day, rather precarious as todays trousers were loose around the waistband. Fortunately they did not drop. Post security, it was the usual wait with a cup of tea for the call to gate.
Todays plane looked small on the tarmac, being a turboprop Bombardier DASH 8. However, with a lower flying altitude of about 7600m, it promised to be visually more interesting.
This was justified during the flight across the Channel on a still day. The sea was remarkably calm and with the blue sky, it seemed more like part of the sky. The flees of container ships and faster ferries left white contrails and seemed to be flying rather than floating.
The illusion was shattered when the continental coast came into view and was replaced by another interesting phenomenon. There was a clear algal bloom changing the sea from light blue to cyan. It could only be a thin layer as the ships passing through left a darker trail of original sea colour behind them.
Low continental cloud then obscured the view until we were closer to Duesseldorf.
Arrived at Mrs T's with a fresh supply of English tea bags to see her through the coming months.
Stansted was relatively quiet and security particularly tight. It was a shoes and belt off day, rather precarious as todays trousers were loose around the waistband. Fortunately they did not drop. Post security, it was the usual wait with a cup of tea for the call to gate.
Todays plane looked small on the tarmac, being a turboprop Bombardier DASH 8. However, with a lower flying altitude of about 7600m, it promised to be visually more interesting.
This was justified during the flight across the Channel on a still day. The sea was remarkably calm and with the blue sky, it seemed more like part of the sky. The flees of container ships and faster ferries left white contrails and seemed to be flying rather than floating.
The illusion was shattered when the continental coast came into view and was replaced by another interesting phenomenon. There was a clear algal bloom changing the sea from light blue to cyan. It could only be a thin layer as the ships passing through left a darker trail of original sea colour behind them.
Low continental cloud then obscured the view until we were closer to Duesseldorf.
Arrived at Mrs T's with a fresh supply of English tea bags to see her through the coming months.
Redundant interview?
Monday, 18th July: Woke up too soon after a late night and, after a short breakfast, walked through the blustery wind to the BBC Radio Cambridgeshire Studio on the Cambridge side of the A14, following Mr Harper's program on the way. Greeted by a smiling welcome from Mrs Carman, it was almost directly into the studio.
The interview discussion was almost anticlimactic as the Apprentice Final had already become history – nice guy wins quarter of a million to start a new business (yawn) had been overtaken by a runaway audience interest in the novel uses of old red telephone boxes. Mr Dee finding interesting local tales of red phone boxes being used as mini libraries and shop displays and a historic display of a WWII evacuee (I later posted information about the Cambridge Open Studio in a phone box).
The avuncular Mr Harper took on the subject professionally and we had a good 10 minute interview before returning to the real hot topic of the day – phone boxes. After a friendly conversation with Mrs Carman, it was back on the walk home
There were practical personal lessons – I was still talking too fast in the interview. New danger – rabbiting on (though at least I stayed on topic).
There was a personal benefit, preparation for the interview had generated a series of notes of broader interest – I therefore set up a series of Twitter posts for the next few days linking to the Issuu book. The notes also provided the possible foundation for a future book.
In the evening we visited the cinema to visit the last of the Harry Potter films, The Deathly Hallows Part 2, which we thoroughly enjoyed as a family, though it did raise questions about discrepancies with the original book.
The interview discussion was almost anticlimactic as the Apprentice Final had already become history – nice guy wins quarter of a million to start a new business (yawn) had been overtaken by a runaway audience interest in the novel uses of old red telephone boxes. Mr Dee finding interesting local tales of red phone boxes being used as mini libraries and shop displays and a historic display of a WWII evacuee (I later posted information about the Cambridge Open Studio in a phone box).
The avuncular Mr Harper took on the subject professionally and we had a good 10 minute interview before returning to the real hot topic of the day – phone boxes. After a friendly conversation with Mrs Carman, it was back on the walk home
There were practical personal lessons – I was still talking too fast in the interview. New danger – rabbiting on (though at least I stayed on topic).
There was a personal benefit, preparation for the interview had generated a series of notes of broader interest – I therefore set up a series of Twitter posts for the next few days linking to the Issuu book. The notes also provided the possible foundation for a future book.
In the evening we visited the cinema to visit the last of the Harry Potter films, The Deathly Hallows Part 2, which we thoroughly enjoyed as a family, though it did raise questions about discrepancies with the original book.
Last Open Studios day and completing work for Business Startup interview
Sunday, 17th July: The last day of my Cambridge Open Studios was accompanied by a steady stream of visitors, with a break over the lunch period. Today's guests were more sight-seers than serious buyers and it was good to see some younger families too.
At the end of the day, I was astonished to find that I had had about 120 visitors over the Open Studios weekends. Now it was over and the pictures came down, the studio turned back into a garage – until the next year.
The startup business notes expanded into 12 separate pages of an illuminated book. Writing a couple of relevant paragraphs took me into the night. I used the BBC i-player to view the Apprentice Final. This allowed me to skip over the filler repeats within the program. It was interesting to see the business plans by the four finalists be presented and taken apart. I was delighted when Tom, inventor and the one person who seemed to almost be out of place due to his positive, constructive and just plain likeable attitude, actually won on merit.
The notes were finished as a PDF book, sent a copy to the Andie Harper Show and uploaded to Issuu for good measure to share with anyone interested. I'd watched the Apprentice Final and, at 4am felt sufficiently well prepared for the Monday Radio interview.
At the end of the day, I was astonished to find that I had had about 120 visitors over the Open Studios weekends. Now it was over and the pictures came down, the studio turned back into a garage – until the next year.
The startup business notes expanded into 12 separate pages of an illuminated book. Writing a couple of relevant paragraphs took me into the night. I used the BBC i-player to view the Apprentice Final. This allowed me to skip over the filler repeats within the program. It was interesting to see the business plans by the four finalists be presented and taken apart. I was delighted when Tom, inventor and the one person who seemed to almost be out of place due to his positive, constructive and just plain likeable attitude, actually won on merit.
The notes were finished as a PDF book, sent a copy to the Andie Harper Show and uploaded to Issuu for good measure to share with anyone interested. I'd watched the Apprentice Final and, at 4am felt sufficiently well prepared for the Monday Radio interview.
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