Royal Albert Dock

The Albert Dock at Liverpool is now a World Heritage Site. It consists of a rectangular stretch of water surrounded by massive 6 storey brick warehouses. Although alongside the Mersey it is approached via another smaller dock. The idea was that ships could berth alongside the  brick warehouses and unload high value goods( such as brandy, tobacco and silk )  directly into these warehouses Just south of Liverpool Pier Head the dock was opened in 1846 by Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. The construction of the dock was done with materials novel at the time, particularly the use of iron to the exclusion of timber.

We arrived on Merseyside in 1965. We lived on the Wirral peninsula which is a stretch of land about 6-7 miles wide between the Dee and Mersey estuaries. We often visited Liverpool travelling across the Mersey on a ferry from Birkenhead. At that time the river was bustling with large passenger ships in the port. The south docks were still open and freighters were common.  Later in the sixties much of the river traffic disappeared. The large ships were replaced by air travel and the freight traffic moved downriver to the new Seaforth dock.

This change in freight traffic was caused by the container revolution. Until then freight ships were loaded item by item by teams of dockers. This was replaced by loading items to be shipped into freight containers, giant steel boxes, at the point of manufacture. The container was then handled by specialist equipment and only unloaded at the final destination. This process was faster, cheaper and far less labour intensive. As a result older fashioned docks where container handling equipment could not be installed had less and less traffic. The Liverpool south docks became obsolete and closed.

At this time ( 1970-1) I was a student in Liverpool. The future of the Albert Dock was being discussed. A number of possibilities were being discussed including demolition and replacement by a tall building. This was overwhelmingly unpopular and a major plan was initiated to convert into accommodation for students at Liverpool Polytechnic ( later renamed John Moores University ). Although I was living in my own house I was interested in this project which seemed a desirable way of preserving the dock.

A fellow student, Malcolm, managed to secure entry into the dock via a contact so along also with Graham we set off to tour one morning. We all arranged our own schedules as research students so it was possible to set aside the time. We entered just by Pier Head, just past the Three Graces ie the famous trio of the Liver building ( with Liver birds on the roof ) the Cunard Building and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Building. It was an eerie experience as the docks were deserted. We set out to walk the whole length of the south docks, a distance of a few miles. Almost at the beginning we walked through the Albert Dock with its gigantic iron pillars skirting the colonnade at the foot of the warehouses. The warehouses of brick have very thick walls, about a metre thick at the base. They were built for massive strength. I felt sad that this magnificent structure could be demolished. We continued through all the remaining deserted docks before reaching the end and catching a bus back.

Later in the 70’s after rioting in Liverpool the government proposed a series of regeneration steps which involved clearing most of the south docks and building a garden festival. Clearance was a gigantic operation and the festival didn’t open until the mid 80’s. I was working for Castrol at Hyde near Manchester at the time and my excuse was showing a Danish visitor around. The festival was truly magnificent. I recall a giant “Yellow submarine” in a Beatles feature. A number of show houses has been put up for the festival which interested my visitor and we spent a long time there. Annette later helped supervise a children’s visit from our children’s school. At the time the dock was still standing empty with the area around becoming the festival car park.

The bold decision was taken by the Merseyside Development Corporation to redevelop the Albert Dock. The upper floors were converted into housing while the walkway level became shops and restaurants. The block at the south end was converted into hotels with a Beatles museum in between. At the north end one block became the Merseyside Maritime Museum while the great coup was to attract the Tate Northern which occupies part of the west block. For a time the ITV show “This morning “ was based at the dock with the weather report using a large floating map.

This was all part of the great flowering of Liverpool centre with a whole new area ( Liverpool 1 ) stretching from the old city centre almost to the docks  New growth has continued but at a less frantic pace with the new Museum of Liverpool and an exhibition centre between the Three graces and the Albert Dock.

We stayed at one of new hotels one time ( we usually prefer the Staybridge suites ) and were impressed by the conversion. Unfortunately our sleep was interrupted  by a false fire alarm.

I came to know Liverpool well in the 70’s.and I am amazed at the transformation. Not all change has been for the better as a 4d ferry ride has been transformed into a £10 Mersey cruise. Even so the rather depressed city I remember has been transformed into a bustling and prosperous one. I am very pleased to see the Albert Dock preserved in its new guise and I’m always impressed when we visit..

Millenium Dome

I have a nagging feeling I have written before about visiting the Millennium Dome in 2000 but I can’t find any relevant post. I try and keep a record of my posts although I must admit this isn’t complete. Way back when I started Annette also started as well but became disenchanted because the blogging site we used then only kept a few posts easily accessible.. I did discover a way of accessing their archive but this was just too much hassle and Annette abandoned blogging.

I was disappointed by the generally poor public response to the millennium dome and exhibition. I’m just old enough to remember the Festival of Britain in 1951. Reading about it at the time I longed to go and indeed I was fortunate enough to visit some of the permanent buildings on the South Bank and the Festival  funfair in 1954. I regarded the Millennium Exhibition as an essential visit. I have always thought their ancestor, the Great Exhibition of 1851 must have been a fantastic event. There is another parallel in that both the Crystal Palace built for the Great Exhibition and The Millennium Dome both saw later use.

The Crystal Palace ( in essence a giant greenhouse with prefabricated structure ) was rebuilt away from Hyde Park but sadly burned down in the interwar years. I am amused by the story ( probably apocryphal ) that Queen Victoria was worried about sparrows flying inside the building and asked her Prime Ministers advice. The PM of the time was The Duke of Wellington, a famously taciturn man. His answer, “ Sparrow hawks ma’am”.

We went to a London hotel the day before and set out by tube to the new Dome station. However our train stopped at an earlier station and we were told to take a bus. In sight of the Dome this was stopped by police who had closed the road. Slightly despairing we set out to walk as soon as pedestrians were allowed. We found out later this was the morning of the big diamond robbery when robbers had smashed their way into the dome using a digger. The police were waiting and the robbers were caught red handed. This was the reason for all the delays but obviously we could not be told until afterwards. However the exhibition opened late with the “Money” section closed.

We much enjoyed our visit. I rather amused Annette by queuing with a lot of children to have my avatar compiled on the BT stand. My reward was to see myself on a bicycle carrying ET home on their display screen. The avatar was my digital representation. I was a bit taken aback when during photography I was told to remove my glasses. Apparently the avatar thinks the glasses are eyes and blanks them completely when I ( digitally ) blink which gives a very strange effect.

 I was very amused by the buskers ( hired to jazz up the exhibition) as we queued to visit the cinema which was showing a special edition of “Blackadder” entitled “Blackadder back and forth” ; failed in some silly quiz, was declared a dunce, and made to stand aside wearing a dunce’s cap. All very light hearted and passed the queue time easily.

As we waited there were young ladies passing around like cinema ice cream sales girls with trays supported by straps around their necks. One I recall was calling out what sounded like “ices” but on inspection it was “eyes” and the tray contained ( very realistic )  mock eyeballs.

The joke continued inside as fake workmen ushered us in saying “sit anywhere you like except on the blue seats” as the chandeliers above were insecure. However ALL the seats were blue.

This jocularity continued with the film which was Blackadder back and forth. In an alternative history Waterloo was lost ( in farcical circumstances ) and England became French controlled ( with the franc as currency, this was pre euro ) However later a group of aristos are saying nothing has changed as they regarded paying for drinks in francs was normal. The audience was left to see the joke. I doubt that Boris and his cronies would think it funny.

We enjoyed the many exhibits. For example there was a giant body where one could walk inside We concluded our visit with the aerial display at the central area of the Dome. This was a circus like display telling a story but writ on a massive scale as the Dome was hundreds of feet high in the centre. I have never seen an aerial display as awe inspiring. We were assured that all the performers were not previously performers but specially trained for the purpose.

There was a lot of carping at the cost at the time and the controversy dragged on for years. When I contemplate some of the waste of public money today I feel it was well spent.

As part of our village Millennium celebrations we organised an exhibition of old photos in our “Memory Lane” display. I also wrote and published a village history. This has since been incorporated into a book about our village.

Something different

The judge asked the defendant his occupation

“ Locksmith your honour”

“What were you doing in the jewellers at 3 in the morning”

“Making a bolt for the door”

Various,- Bohemian Rhapsody, Steampunk, Blackberrying

Usually for my posts I have chosen one topic. I find however that there are things which I would like to include but are not enough to fil a post on their own. Accordingly I’m devoting this post to a couple of separate topics.

Bohemian Rhapsody

I went to see this film in the pop up outdoor cinema in a nearby town. It details the life of Freddie Mercury, the singer with Queen. Frankly we went because of the urgings of some friends on our village book group who accompanied us. In the event it was better than I expected. Although we sat fairly near the back after arriving after most of the audience I could see and hear fairly well. I was a bit cold towards the end but the rain held off and the wind wasn’t too bad. I enjoyed the film although I could have done with more music. It finished with a long passage set in the “Live Aid” concert in the 70’s. Parts had the audience waving their hands with the music. The punchy stamp, stamp, clap of “we will rock you” only got a brief showing.

I’ve never been able to decipher the lyrics by listening to the songs.but I was inspired to look them up. In particular I often wondered about Radio GaGa. Reading the lyrics on the internet makes sense of the song. The intro says

“ everything I had to know, I heard it on the radio”

“ so don’t become some background noise, a backdrop for the girls and boys”

And finishes by saying its finest hour is yet to come

The chorus “ all we hear is radio gaga, radio goo, goo …” then is a reference to the mindless pap of so much present day radio. To see Mercury punching this out on stage is a reminder that “ when we tire of all this visual….. you’ve yet to have your finest hour. Radio “

I’ve always enjoyed the music, now I’ll enjoy the song..

Steampunk

We were with Frances and family at Whitby for steampunk weekend. It must have been a success last year because it is now promoted to a full weekend at high season. One feature of steampunk costume is a pair of goggles. Not worn over the eyes but pushed onto the forehead or over any headgear. I suppose these are sort of logical as in a steam era you didn’t want cinders or ash in the eyes.

Going around the steampunk fair Alice was much taken by the costume so Annette succumbed to buying her a bowler hat and goggles to go over it. Alice is tall and thin at nine years old but I must say she looked quite good in this part outfit. I’m not sure if she will ever be interested enough to look for a complete outfit although Annette has promised to sew something for her. I guess we are waiting to see if she will lose interest.

I can sort of see the interest. It is a fantasy world where you can dress up and act out without anyone turning a hair. Having said that punkers about town did look somewhat strange. I think the best I saw was a lady in Edwardian dress with a tall hat.who looked both imposing and charming.

Blackberrying

Usually I don’t like picking fruit but I don’t mind picking blackberries. It helps that I like the fruit particularly cooked in pies with say apple. Fruit picking is a bit difficult because of the thorns. I always think of my mother when I’m picking. She enjoyed approaching the task with almost military thoroughness. A curved handled walking stick for reaching difficult branches, an old coat so snags didn’t matter plus a pair of stout gloves for any brambles that were necessary to grasp.. Before getting ready a thorough reconnaissance was conducted to see where the best bushes were located. One favoured spot was just below our garden because it was easy to walk to although a fearsome thicket on arrival.

Radio Days

This a unashamedly nostalgic post for all who , like me, relied on radio for entertainment in the fifties. As a family we were late to TV which was impossible until we had mains electricity installed. We had our first TV in 1959.

Radio was the sound track of my childhood. When still young I enjoyed Children’s Hour . I still recall Uncle Mac’s sign off “Goodbye children , everywhere” Inevitably I also listened uncomprehendingly to adult radio,  I just about remember “It’s that man again” featuring comedian Tommy Handley. He introduced many famous characters including Colonel Chinstrap who interpreted almost everything as an invitation for a drink. “ I don’t mind if I do” was his regular response. Handley was famous for initializing joke phrases such as YTYTK ( You’re too young to know ) although most were far more complex.

When I was a bit older we had “Educating Archie” where bizarrely Archie was a ventriloquist’s dummy. A series of young comedians tried ( unsuccessfully ) to educate Archie in his radio personage as a mischievous schoolboy. The ventriloquist ie. The voice of Archie, was Peter Brough; and one supposed tutor was Max Bygraves.

We heard a variety of comedians also

I say , why does a bear wear a fur coat?

I don’t know, why does a bear wear a fur coat

Look silly in a mackintosh ( boom,boom).

Another comedy series was “Take it from here”. Featuring Jimmy Edwards this also had a long running saga of Edwards daughter, Eth and her courtship in the Glums. Much humour of the time was based around the common experience of the armed forces. All adult males served 2 years conscription. A sketch of Roman legionnaires had them numbering off

I, II, III, IV, V ….

My father was a great fan of “Have a go” with Wilfred Pickles as very genial and gentle question master.  The slogan for the show was “presenting the people to the people”. The format was Pickles first interviewing the people asking often silly questions like “ if you could say I love darling but” what would the but be. This produced answers like “why do you always squeeze the toothpaste tube in the middle”. This was then followed by a series of questions with right answers rewarded by small sums of money. The questions were designed to be easy and relevant to the person. Thus a miner was asked “what is colliers ham?” The answer being jam.

I always remember one comic who gave questions to a specific answer. Thus

Answer:9W

Question : tell me Mr Wagner do you spell your name with a V

Later we had a comic travelogue with lines like

“ Here in the prairie the prairie dogs howl. Aren’t no trees in the prairie, jest cactus”

Later still as a teenager I was captivated by the Goons. I didn’t understand some of the jokes but the surreal plots were amazing. At the time eggs were to be branded as a national standard with a Lion stamp. As Neddy put it

“ It’s all a lie, they aren’t lions eggs”

The Goons were not above the classic running gag. One they used was at some point some character fell in the water to great sounds of splashing and with Eccles saying “He’s fallen in the water” to great cheers and laughter from the audience( this was dubbed in )

Hard to imagine now but the BBC was the monopoly broadcaster. There were three national services. The Home Service on medium wave and the Light Programme on long wave. The Third programme was classical music and obscure talks which were ignored by us.

It was just possible to reach into the airwaves to hear Radio Luxembourg. This was only possible in conditions of very good reception particularly in the evening. I enjoyed “Smash Hits”. The idea was to submit a record you hated which was then played and finally smashed. In pre vinyl days records were breakable. I was childish enough to find this enjoyable.

Re-reading this post I find its mainly about comedy. I listened to a lot of serious radio as well.I  didn’t quite subscribe to Queen in Radio Ga-ga who say “Everything I need to know I heard through the radio”. Among many serious programs I see that ”Any questions” is still going( even that had its lighter moments)

Various: TV, Amazon

TV

I first saw TV when I was about 6 in 1948 or 9. TV had come to the Midlands with the opening of the Sutton Coldfield transmitting station in 1948. TV sets were very few and households with them had to put up with expense and frequent breaks.. We were visiting my Aunt Amy and Uncle Jim in Coventry  when Amy said that a friend would welcome a visit to see their new set. Because TV was so new people who had sets were proud of the fact and were pleased to show off their acquisition

So we trooped around to Amy’s friends. The programme was the Remembrance Day Service which I thought stunningly boring as a programme but fascinating to watch the television. We didn’t have electricity so there was no chance we could have TV. Not only was the set very expensive but there were frequent technical breaks in transmission. Some of the gaps were filled with clips which became famous such as the potter’s wheel.

As time wore on gradually more people had bought sets. The Queen’s Coronation in 1953 has been attributed as the reason for a rapid increase just before. Certainly we watched the Coronation at my Aunt ( actually great Aunt )  Ethels house. It was wonderful and really made you feel part of the event. The BBC ( the monopoly broadcaster ) pulled out all the stops and had a huge commentary team anchored by Richard Dimblebly who was the “goto” man for the type of event.

Dimbleby was far more versatile than giving commentary at public occasions. He was a panellist on a very popular show “What’s my Line”. I went with mother to watch a recording in London. The panel of 4 had to guess the contestants occupation by a series of yes/no questions. The panel of two men, two women also had Gilbert Harding who was famously rather grumpy and Lady Isobel Barnett. The panellists did change a bit throughout the run over 1950-57, I think that Barbara Kelly was the second lady when I watched. Lady Isobel Barnett was a genuine peer who was famous for taking the show very seriously and gave some extraordinary leaps of intuition. The show  had Eamon Andrews as compere who introduced the contestants, and sometimes helped with answers to awkward questions.

For me as a boy I was fascinated by TV. The TV series “Quatermass” was much talked about at school and I felt I was missing out. For me the main attraction on visiting relatives was to watch TV. I certainly recall a young Bruce Forsyth in a slapstick comedy routine papering a room. My mother particularly enjoyed the comic “Mr Pastry” ( Richard Hearne ) dancing with himself doing the lancers.

When Aunt Alice and Uncle Arch had TV I saw more because Alice was mothers closest sister and we visited often. I seem to recall a Shaw play “When we are married” about a middle aged couple who discover their marriage was not legal.. Mother was fond of quoting the wife saying her ( supposed ) husband was a bit stingy when deciding whether to legitimise the relationship.

Amazon

The retail and IT giant founded a few short years ago now dominates the retail business. We recently toured the Rugeley fulfilment centre. This is the Amazon name for its warehouse and dispatch centre. The first curiosity is that its Amazon name is BHX1. Apparently this refers to its nearest large airport and the fact it is the first in the Midlands. There is plenty more Amazon speak inside such as the workers are all called associates with managers called leadership associates.

The centre is huge. We stood at a viewing platform for photos ( otherwise forbidden ) and the building just disappears into the distance with far end barely in view. The building is so large and maze like that area are labelled with names of US states to enable associates to find their way around.

BHX1 is devoted to smaller items, the criterion is whether they fit into tote boxes used to carry goods around. These are quite large maybe 0.4m x 0.9m. Larger items are warehoused elsewhere and then either dispatched from there or brought into BHX1 to marry up with the rest of the order.

The major surprise is how goods are stored. They are stored randomly. Each item is coded and the location is coded  and a computer marries up the information to guide a stock picker who has a hand held computer guide. Apparently this not only gives the location but also a picture of the item to ease stock picking.  I was impressed by the tote box conveyors which maintain precise gaps. Each tote is coded so that a picker may pick only part of an order in his particular area. The items are then “wrangled” together at the next stage.( another piece of Amazons’ own language )

As befits the highly IT led operation even packing, while a manual operation, is computer guided; picking the right box, the right wrapping tape length etc. The customer details by label are added at the final stage in a fenced off area for confidentiality Then off to a giant automated sorting area ( I imagine like a post office parcels sorter ) to allocate the final transport.

All very impressive and the working conditions seemed reasonably pleasant quite unlike those subject of well publicised complaints. They say after a year Amazon pays 95% of tuition fees and arranges working times to allow higher level study. I just wish they paid a more just share of taxes.

Tesla

Ever since I was a boy I’ve been interested in cars. My interest has been in the technology; what makes them tick. Most cars on the roads today are fundamentally similar in that they are powered by oil based fuels in internal combustion engines ( ICE ). These engines are sophisticated, inexpensive and fairly refined after over a century of development. They do have one overriding problem that they emit carbon dioxide. It is essential that mankind switches to a non carbon economy. The current consensus is that electric cars are the future. The only alternative being seriously developed is hydrogen which has some attractions but many difficulties. The automotive industry is overwhelmingly choosing electric.

The Tesla car company in America was founded about 15 years ago. It must be coupled with the name of founder, Elon Musk. It took great nerve to start the first major car company for decades. Tesla is now valued on the stock market at more than Ford or General Motors. Tesla is named after Nikola Tesla, a technologist working towards the end of the 18^th century who pioneered much alternating current technology. Tesla cars are all electric. Many other  electric cars are hybrids ie. combining ICE engines with electric. Also Tesla’s use a battery pack of very many small Lithium Ion cells combined together unlike most electric cars which use monolithic batteries.

Under the influence of Musk, Tesla cars are unlike any others in many other respects. Their interior is startlingly minimalistic with most control and instrument functions combined in one large multifunction touchscreen. Much of the car electrics can be modified wirelessly in the same way as computer software over the internet. Tesla is also going heavily down the self driving route. Already the cars use an auto driving mode enabling the driver to supervise.

Tesla started by making high end vehicles, very expensive and have only recently started making vehicles in the medium price range. However these have been very successful and Tesla is ramping up production from the current 350,000 annually. Tesla is building very large factories ( gigafactories ) first in America and then in China and Germany. The factory in China has been built and commissioned at phenomenal speed with start of construction at the beginning of 2019 to initial production expected start of 2020. At present batteries are made in partnership with Panasonic in America but it seems likely Tesla will move to fully in house production

Recognising that charging stations are very important Tesla has built its own chain with increasing charging speeds in N America and Europe.

While Tesla is not alone in all electric cars it seems that it is far ahead of the competition and independent assessments put their technology ahead. It appears that some cunning ensures their motors are more powerful and efficient. Battery packs supply DC electricity which is turned into AC ( called inversion ) for the motor. The battery pack is stored in a flat ( one cell tall ) sled underneath the rest of the car body. This means the vehicle centre of gravity is low and so the car handling is very good. This arrangement also gives a lot of storage room with the under bonnet volume replaced by a “frunk “( front trunk in American parlance )

Founder and chief executive Elon Musk was a rich man through his initial development of PayPal which he then sold. With both technical and business degrees Musk has become a serial entrepreneur. In addition to Tesla, Musk started Space X, the Boring Company and Neuralink. His wealth, ideas and contacts have enabled these companies to do extraordinary things already with the promise of more to come. Musk is a somewhat controversial figure with a tendency to talk about impossible goals and incredible timelines. What distinguishes him from idle dreamers is that he delivers on his promises albeit not always at the time he intends.

Musk is very aware of the climate emergency and that was his motive for founding Tesla.. At its present stage Tesla has 2 upper market products , one middle market with another entering production soon and a pick up truck and commercial vehicle at the prototype stage. Tesla also make and install solar energy equipment including a combined roof tile and solar cell. They have also installed grid scale battery back up for the western Australia electricity grid.

The particular feature of Tesla cars is their extraordinary acceleration. Because electric motors give high torque at zero revs; Tesla cars can approach or surpass supercar performance. While this is a feature in normal driving the cars also have a “ludicrous” mode which draws a high current from the battery but which gives blistering acceleration. While the cars just haven’t been around long enough for real life data Tesla guarantee the battery will retain 70% of capacity for 8 years. After that time it is suggested that batteries may have a further life in electricity grid back up before eventual recycling.

Battery electric in my judgement is still slightly marginal. Batteries are heavy, expensive and not very efficient. We appear to be looking at 250-300 miles range with a fast recharge to 80% capacity taking 10-15 minutes. Battery development is underway with an immense effort by Tesla and many others. We may expect improvements although no basic chemistry to supersede Li –ion has yet emerged.

Apologies

Sorry my post Neo Fascist has been repeated- clearly a d glitch in the system

Neo Fascist

After I graduated one of the places I applied for a job was the Atomic Energy Authority. To get an interview I had to pass the preliminary stage of security vetting. This was just a questionnaire which asked about communist or fascist involvement. At the time ( mid 60’s) I realised that communist leanings were a serious matter. The idea of fascist leanings seemed like a joke just in to counterbalance the leftward questions. I thought then that fascism had died in the WW11 as firstly Italy, then Germany, then Japan had been defeated and their fascist regimes toppled. I now see that neo fascism is resurgent and a source of concern.

I’m not talking about the fringe activities of such as the British National Party. This has never gained traction and I hope never will. I find much more worrying that neo fascist parties rule in Poland and Hungary and have significant footholds in Germany, Sweden, Austria. The one unifying theme is hatred of “foreigners”. To be anti immigrant is not in itself a definition of neo fascist but is accompanied by a wish to eliminate the foreign, impose statist economies, abolish the rule of law and eliminate parliamentary norms. All of this accompanied by the “strong leader” approach to government.

In the UK the UKIP party is clearly sliding into a neo fascist mentality such that it is too much for even Farage to stomach. More worrying is that the majority party, the Conservatives under Johnson were quite willing to step outside parliamentary norms to the extent that it required the Supreme Court to stop. I don’t think any apology has ever been made and indeed the transgression was quite deliberate. Clearly Johnson felt desperate measures were called for in the peculiar circumstances but it is an appalling precedent. He has rightly been reprimanded for the language used in Parliament but this hardly represents fascism.

Donald Trump, surely the worst President ever in the US, slides into racism. This is not always done overtly but by divisive statements and actions. In his case it stops somewhat short of fascism but his contempt for civilised behaviour and the rule of law has considerably coarsened American political dialogue and leaves the way open for others to move towards fascism in future. Regrettably there is a strong streak of anti black racism there which despite advances in recent years readily shows itself.

In Europe the racism is more virulent. Disguised lightly as anti immigrant it may be largely a throwback to earlier times but the popularity of supposed anti immigrant political parties shows where the priority of many people still lies.

It is curious that the UK Labour party which supposedly prides itself on tolerance cannot shake off the anti Semitism within its ranks. Anti semitic racism is by no means confined to the Labour Party and appears to crop up as a feature of most of the supposedly nativist parties in Europe. Although Holocaust denial is still very much a minority opinion it is worrying it exists at all. Deniers are impervious to reason or evidence. This behaviour is all too common in cultish deniers ( flat earthers etc )

The Corbyn leadership of Labour is of great concern. He is not philosophically a democrat and approves of the Venezuelan dictatorship. That such a grotesque individual should lead a major party is disastrous. Under his tenure the Labour Party is sliding into the hands of extremists.

The above focus has been on organised political groups. It is depressingly clear that individuals feel free to indulge in behaviour which ten or twenty years ago would have been unacceptable. Although the murder of an MP was hopefully an isolated incident there is no doubt that the public dialogue has changed such that formerly extreme views are openly declared.
All of the recent political trends have been unhelpful to democracy and an opening to neo fascism. The rise of “populists” is deeply worrying with their contempt for democratic norms, bullying behaviour and tendency to elevate supposedly strong individuals. The cynicism about freedom shown by a significant section of the population is of great concern. The public toleration of extreme behaviour only increases the prospect of worse

Neo-Fascist

After I graduated one of the places I applied for a job was the Atomic Energy Authority. To get an interview I had to pass the preliminary stage of security vetting. This was just a questionnaire which asked about communist or fascist involvement. At the time ( mid 60’s) I realised that communist leanings were a serious matter. The idea of fascist leanings seemed like a joke just in to counterbalance the leftward questions. I thought then that fascism had died in the WW11 as firstly Italy, then Germany, then Japan had been defeated and their fascist regimes toppled. I now see that neo fascism is resurgent and a source of concern.

I’m not talking about the fringe activities of such as the British National Party. This has never gained traction and I hope never will. I find much more worrying that neo fascist parties rule in Poland and Hungary and have significant footholds in Germany, Sweden, Austria. The one unifying theme is hatred of “foreigners”. To be anti immigrant is not in itself a definition of neo fascist but is accompanied by a wish to eliminate the foreign, impose statist economies, abolish the rule of law and eliminate parliamentary norms. All of this accompanied by the “strong leader” approach to government.

In the UK the UKIP party is clearly sliding into a neo fascist mentality such that it is too much for even Farage to stomach. More worrying is that the majority party, the Conservatives under Johnson were quite willing to step outside parliamentary norms to the extent that it required the Supreme Court to stop. I don’t think any apology has ever been made and indeed the transgression was quite deliberate. Clearly Johnson felt desperate measures were called for in the peculiar circumstances but it is an appalling precedent. He has rightly been reprimanded for the language used in Parliament but this hardly represents fascism.

Donald Trump, surely the worst President ever in the US, slides into racism. This is not always done overtly but by divisive statements and actions. In his case it stops somewhat short of fascism but his contempt for civilised behaviour and the rule of law has considerably coarsened American political dialogue and leaves the way open for others to move towards fascism in future. Regrettably there is a strong streak of anti black racism there which despite advances in recent years readily shows itself.

In Europe the racism is more virulent. Disguised lightly as anti immigrant it may be largely a throwback to earlier times but the popularity of supposed anti immigrant political parties shows where the priority of many people still lies.

It is curious that the UK Labour party which supposedly prides itself on tolerance cannot shake off the anti Semitism within its ranks. Anti semitic racism is by no means confined to the Labour Party and appears to crop up as a feature of most of the supposedly nativist parties in Europe. Although Holocaust denial is still very much a minority opinion it is worrying it exists at all. Deniers are impervious to reason or evidence. This behaviour is all too common in cultish deniers ( flat earthers etc )

The Corbyn leadership of Labour is of great concern. He is not philosophically a democrat and approves of the Venezuelan dictatorship. That such a grotesque individual should lead a major party is disastrous. Under his tenure the Labour Party is sliding into the hands of extremists.

The above focus has been on organised political groups. It is depressingly clear that individuals feel free to indulge in behaviour which ten or twenty years ago would have been unacceptable. Although the murder of an MP was hopefully an isolated incident there is no doubt that the public dialogue has changed such that formerly extreme views are openly declared.

All of the recent political trends have been unhelpful to democracy and an opening to neo fascism. The rise of “populists” is deeply worrying with their contempt for democratic norms, bullying behaviour and tendency to elevate supposedly strong individuals. The cynicism about freedom shown by a significant section of the population is of great concern. The public toleration of extreme behaviour only increases the prospect of worse.

Hierarchy and feminism

I started work in 1965. I realise that is something like the dark ages then compared to todays society. I will admit I joined a research laboratory which in the nature of things wasn’t the most diverse of organisations. Neverteless  the hierarchy was absolute. All of the scientific staff were men while almost all the technical assistants were women. There was also  an additional element of difference in that all the technical assistants were local people and mainly young women yet to start a family. In contrast the scientific staff were mostly from different places around the country with several from overseas.. In addition the scientific staff were more varied in age and background but typically youngish married men with families.

In the course of my 15 years working in the same laboratory the mix did start to alter somewhat. A few of the scientific staff were women by the later 70’s while a few of the technical assistants were men. These men were, like the girls, recruited locally and usually post A level. I realise I need to explain my use of laboratory. My employer was Unilever Research Laboratory , Port Sunlight ( URLPS ). This was a massive organisation ( one of the largest non government research laboratories in the country) of some thousand people of which about 250 were scientific staff, roughly the same number technical assistants and the remainder support staff of all sorts. Within this there were many individual laboratories often with a dozen or so people working on various tasks.  The main task was development of soap and detergents but there was also other work supporting company interests  in various areas such as plywood. During my stay I worked in several different laboratories within the whole area.

The laboratory ( speaking of the whole organisation ) was subdivided into three product areas, personal washing ( soaps ), fabric washing ( laundry products ) and hard surface cleaning ( dishwashing, floor and kitchen cleaning ). In addition there were groups concerned with analysis and surface chemical research. I worked firstly as an information scientist for a couple of years them moved to hard surface cleaning for a further 12 years. When I became a little more senior I had a technical assistant working for me. Initially these were students in their holidays, then full time people, firstly young ladies and then a young man, Mike.

I don’t recall any overt sexism. Male technical assistants were treated equally with female. Both had the opportunity for day release for further study. However many females had to give up when they became pregnant. There was no particular policy to take back women after a career break. As far as I recall this was treated with a shrug as “that’s the way it is “; I don’t recall any returning although female parental leave was just being introduced.  I remember vividly when my first child was born phoning HR to ask if male parental leave was available. I was greeted with a chuckle and told “no but it will come”. And it has

I had recruited Mike mainly because his brother had been a big success  but this turned into a very happy decision as Mike was excellent. While I was by no means an excellent scientist myself I was having a particularly productive time with lots of ideas many of which were relatively successful. Mike was a huge help showing great initiative and never just “awaiting instructions”. I had hit on the notion that I wasn’t very good at “selling” my ideas as I lacked the “gift of the gab”. Rather I determined to develop prototypes which I could demonstrate with the demonstration selling the idea without any verbal persuasion..

I’ve said that Mike’s brother , Gilbert had been a big success. Gilbert was one of the first men recruited as a technical assistant. He had bags of self confidence and a rather wicked sense of humour. In keeping with the Merseyside humour this was rather bitter and often used at someone else’s expense. I was a victim once. I didn’t dress very well and Gilbert remarked one day that I was “man from Oxfam”. This was at the time of the “man from… “ ads and it was funny and I couldn’t take offence.

Just along the corridor a girl joined who was very skinny. As Gilbert said “ she’s so thin she wears padded tights”. We never did discover her name but she was thereafter known as padded tights girl.

Morale was quite high and often social occasions would consist of most in any particular lab going out together as a group. It might be thought that the combination of male and female together would be combustible . While there was some flirting I can say I was never aware of any serious hanky-panky. The girls were typically either newly weds or with serious local boyfriends while the males were very career orientated. I think most of the scientists were very aware they could easily be put in a very awkward situation with career damage on the horizon..

One reason most of the scientists were quite young was the company had an unofficial policy of “get on or get out”. The first tier of management was the objective of the ambitious while transfers into the other parts of the company was the route for many. Unilever is a massive business so opportunities were many. After 15 years I was in danger of becoming what our senior manager referred to as his “old lags”. I moved to Unichema, a Unilever chemicals company in nearby Bromborough. This was disaster because shortly after the company closed. This worked out well for me in the long run but at the cost of short term trauma. One result was I spent a year working on Teeside only returning to my family at weekends.

The way we were

Having just given a presentation to the local History Group it has made me think about how things have changed. I was mainly talking about our book which is mainly concerned with the 20^th century. The book gives accounts of two villagers lives; one 1915-1935 and the other 1910 -1982. I view these refracted to my own life 1942 – present day.

One thing which leaps out is the change in dress. When I was young girls wore dresses and boys short trousers. This lasted for boys until 12 or so. Things were starting to change and long trousers became the norm for both sexes. This is far more practical. Annette often bemoans the scars on her knees from childhood incidents while wearing dresses.. The actual material has changed. Nowadays denim is near universal for casual dress. I recall in my industrial year in 1964 thinking a colleague was completely mad to import Levi’s from the USA. This was not just for material but the aura of the brand. I didn’t realise he was a leader of a trend which became universal.

When I was small I wore boots, miniatures of my father footwear. They were stout, hardwearing and reasonably cheap. I didn’t wear shoes until secondary school when inside the building  we had to change into plimsolls. At that time trainers were unknown. I’m not quite sure when trainers became commonplace; I don’t recall buying any for our children in the 70’s and 80’s ( but then they were probably rather deprived ).

It is commonplace to say dress has become more casual. For men wearing a suit has for most become reserved for formal occasions. When I started work it was quite normal to wear a suit, white shirt and tie. This slowly changed so that even in my later managerial position I only wore a suit for important events. Curiously although I wore a cardigan around the office and lab I always changed into a jacket for lunch.

Work has changed completely, especially in location. Up until the fifties most people worked very near where they lived. Jobs in mining or agriculture sufficed in both the village I was brought up and the one I live in now. It is a source of resentment that where I live now has become a dormitory village albeit with lots of retired people. The house prices have become prohibitive for the children of villagers as they reach adulthood.

The nature of work has changed. When I watch quiz shows such as Pointless I am struck by how many have occupations unknown when I was young. It isn’t just the type of work but there is a continual flux of employer. My father always had the same employer all his life after he reached adulthood; it is few who can say the same  nowadays.

Education has also changed. Universal secondary education only dates from 1948. When I started school in 1947 children were still completing their education up to age 14 in the village school. Higher education was very unusual in the village. I became only the second in our family to go to university with the predecessor my cousin only 4 years older. In those days of the  early sixties probably less than 5% had a university education while now it has reached nearly 50%. Where I was brought up I would think only the vicar had a degree. Even teachers had, at best, a teachers certificate. It is only fairly recently that teaching has become an all graduate profession. Indeed a degree has gone from being prestigious to a minimum requirement for many jobs.

Travelling has changed completely. Just after the war when I was a child there were very few private cars. I used to happily play in the road and a vehicle would pass maybe every quarter hour. Country roads were surfaced but edging came later. Even by the forties roads had advanced from tracks to metalled surfaces through the early years of the century. The big increase in car ownership came in the fifties through the eighties. The increase was accompanied by big increases in reliability and reduction in costs.

There has been a reduction in truly communal activities. I see this clearly running down in our present village. It is predominantly older people who go to church, join the Women’s Institute and participate in gardening clubs, book clubs and the like. This has been the subject of a study by Robert Puttnam, an American academic in a book called Bowling Alone.( a refence of US bowling leagues ). He finds that for a vast range of communal activities membership peaked in the sixties and has been falling ever since. He has no explanation for this atomisation of society although TV and the internet must play a part.

Just to mention the internet is to show it is so ubiquitous that it has changed society completely. I have always been in highly technical jobs but microelectronics only started to intrude in the late 70’s. Even a technically advanced company like Castrol didn’t embrace the internet before I left in 1996 although by then I was used to a networked computer on my desk plus a portable for life away from the office. However by the time I retired in 2007 even a small company where I spent my final working life was starting to embrace the internet and mobile phones were then used for communication. I have to confess I haven’t really caught up with the smartphone revolution of recent years..

Gettysburg

In writing this post I would not want to give the false impression I spent a lot of time swanning around the world at Castrol’s expense. For almost all my limited company travel I was accompanied by a minder. This was someone who organised, translated and accompanied on visits. There was a feeling that scientific types were loose cannons not to be allowed into customers on their own.

On just one occasion when I had become fairly senior ( well established anyway ) that I was able to plan a trip and conduct it on my own and as I wished. The occasion arose at a conference on chlorofluorocarbon replacements in Washington. There was a great concern about CFC’s damaging the ozone layer and I was elected to present a paper to show that Castrol was part of the international effort to find replacements. The conference was due to last several  days and I decided to arrive early and visit the Air and Space museum. At the end of the conference I hired a car and over a weekend drove north to visit the main Castrol East Coast laboratory in the next week and thence on to Newark to return to the UK.

Actually driving out of Washington was a bit fraught but thereafter it was fairly straightforward. On a sunny day I was relieved to have the conference behind me: presenting the paper to a large conference had been a bit stressful. I had a sense of time out of time as the weekend stretched before me. I passed through Amish country and overtook one of their horse drawn wagons. I also went through Oxford, USA. As I lived then in Oxford , England I stopped and took photo’s. It was very different. I also passed near Gettysburg and I made a small diversion to visit.

Gettysburg is the site of a major battle in the American Civil War. This was between the Southern Confederate slave owning states and the Northern Unionist states who wanted to abolish slavery. Gettysburg represented the high water mark of Confederate advances. It was a large and bloody battle fought over 3 days which resulted in a Unionist victory. General Meade’s forces for the Unionists defeated General Lee’s Confederate army in what is now seen as a turning point in the war. The Confederates were never to advance so far north again.

After viewing the static display I took a bus tour of the battlefield. The area is extensive extending over several miles. On the bus route there are mile after mile of cannon by the roadside. I was very struck by the fact that there was a painstaking attempt to treat both sides equally as the result is still raw over a century later It was hard to imagine looking at the rolling green countryside that such carnage had existed. Although the Unionists won and slavery was abolished sadly racial discrimination still exists. It has to be said this discrimination is helped by President Trump

Some seven months after the battle a cemetery was completed and it was to be formally opened by President Abraham Lincoln. However Lincoln was not the main speaker as a known orator spoke for about an hour followed by Lincoln himself. His few short words ( only 271 in all ) have become famous as the Gettysburg address.

Lincoln started with the iconic words “ four score and seven years ago” referring to the Declaration of Independence 87 years previously. He went on to say “ the nation was conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” and represented the Civil War as testing that idea. He extolled the sacrifices on the battlefield saying” these people should not have died in vain- that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth”. I feel rather sorry for the special orator who was so outclassed. I think his address fully deserves its fame ( Trump could profit by reading it although I gather his reading ability is limited )

I drove on to Philadelphia for the night.  The American congress met there for some years and the Liberty Bell is also there. I was lucky enough to take the city tour the following day as it called at the hotel just as I was leaving. For many years while Washington DC was under construction it was the nations capital. The tour embraced many historic sites including Independence Hall and the home of a lady, Betsy Ross, who sewed the first American flag. When we stopped to visit Betsey Ross’s house I intrigued other members of the tour by not having any idea who she was..

Rather a bitter joke

Work hard and save your money and when you are old you will be able to buy the things only the young can enjoy

Morgan Cars

We recently went on Planters garden centre trip to visit Morgan Cars. Morgan are a tiny company producing about 800 cars per year. They are an anachronism in the car industry with each vehicle hand assembled. They are known for thirties style sports cars with a traditional open top. Various efforts to update the cars have been made including some exciting and stylish prototypes. However the only modern design sports car which went into production did not sell well. They are now essentially a niche producer of 30’s and 40’s style cars with minimal changes to meet modern regulations.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the production of a modern three wheeler. This type of cycle car with an air cooled engine ahead of the front bonnet was popular in the 30’s when Morgan themselves plus others such as BSA made them successfully. The new three wheeler is very much in the style of the thirties with the minimum of changes to meet modern regulations

Although Morgan make traditionally styled cars they use modern engines and gearboxes Sourcing engines is always an issue because of the small volumes involved. This means that Morgan are subject to the decisions of engine manufacturers. For example the very successful model using a Rover V8 had to be dropped when Rover decided it wasn’t worthwhile updating to meet regulation changes. At present the 4 wheelers use Ford engines except for the top of the range Plus Six which uses a BMW engine and a ZF gearbox. Morgan make the wooden body support and some of the bodywork themselves as well as assembling the finished cars. Each car is assembled by one man. We were told about 70% of the cars are bought in.

In keeping with the style of the three wheeler an air cooled motorcycle V twin in used from S&S in the US. To maintain a semblance of cornering performance the front wheels ( two front, one rear) are narrow motorcycle type while the rear is wide to maintain a roughly similar amount of “rubber on the road” at both ends. While road holding isn’t great the stability is vastly better than the old Reliant cars with their one front, two back layout.

I have said Morgan cars are 30’s style. This extends to the manufacturing techniques. On a metal chassis is a wooden superstructure to which all the body panels are fitted. This has long been a superseded technique. For engineering cognoscenti the independent front suspension is also unique being a sliding pillar design. This requires greasing every 1000 miles something long left behind by modern cars. This is regarded as a desirable feature for these hobby cars

Just because the cars are old fashioned it shouldn’t be imagined they are cheap. On the contrary they are very expensive however the owner can be consoled that depreciation is low or even positive. They are effectively thought of as newly made semi classic cars. For example the three wheeler costs about £40,000

The separate chassis and body method was replaced in the 50’s and 60’s throughout the industry by the monocoque ( all in one metal box ) body. This was cheaper, safer and more rigid. More recently with aid of computer design there is used a method which retains the floor plan and suspension topped by a variety of styles retaining the monocoque construction. By this means a wide variety of models are made available with a minimum of design and engineering effort. To reduce costs it is important that as many of one underpinning are made as possible.
It is a tragedy of the British motor industry that the once popular twin seater sports car ( as exemplified by the MG TC of the 40’s ) was allowed to wither away. It might be said that Morgan Cars are keeping something of that market alive. It was also good to see that by apprenticeships and employment Morgan is keeping craft skills alive

Morgan 3 wheeler

Climate change

I can almost hear the groans” Oh no not that again”. My reason is that this is an existential threat to all mankind. As Al Gore said – it’s an inconvenient truth. I know it doesn’t sound too bad – the climate a few degrees warmer. It would perhaps be quite nice if England changed to something like the south of France. The reality is much darker. As arctic ice melts huge amounts of fresh water are entering the North Atlantic. This is interfering with the existing circulation in the ocean. It is this flow of warmer surface water, the Gulf stream, which gives England its mild climate. If it stops, and it is already slowing, then Britain becomes more like Norway, wet and cold with a lot of snow.

The basic physics is simple, to a first approximation.  Carbon dioxide is transparent to light from the sun. However it is opaque at the longer infra red ( heat ) wavelengths which are re radiated from the earth after it absorbs sunlight. This radiation is trapped in the earths atmosphere and causes it to warm up. Other gases show similar effects with the most important, methane, far worse than carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is produced when fossil fuels like coal,  oil, natural gas or petrol are burnt.

Incidentally diesel engines which are more efficient than petrol ones produce less carbon dioxide. The issue is that they also produce more oxides of nitrogen which can cause respiratory problems at higher levels. There has been much publicity around this issue as some manufacturers tried to cheat by making it appear their engines produced less than reality. The most modern diesel engines have a mechanism for reducing nitrogen oxides. Diesel engines also produce fine particles but particle traps in the exhaust alleviate this.  

Now we can , and will adapt to climate change. Better insulated houses, warmer clothing, agriculture done differently are things which can be changed. The rising ocean level which will flood many coastal cities is a more dramatic change requiring massive adaption. A more aggressive weather with more frequent stronger storms and heatwaves will be more difficult, again stronger structures with better drainage and air conditioning for hot spells is all doable but at a big cost in money and dislocation.

Climate change deniers seem to cluster at the rightward end of the political spectrum. It seems to me they are reacting to those on the left who are trying to piggyback on climate change to urge their political agenda. For example some left leaning critics have tried to say the free enterprise system must be abolished and authoritarian government is necessary. In fact a whole series of leftish views have been tagged on the climate change banner under pretext they are in some way necessary to its resolution. This is almost always absolute rubbish.

Some ideas have a germ of truth. For example meat production is relatively inefficient and ruminants such as cattle produce methane in their digestion. It is therefore legitimate to say one potential way of adapting would be to eat less meat. This is all the more likely as reduced land will be available for agriculture in the future. There are interesting technological developments such as meat free burgers. It may be that there are health benefits from eating less meat.

My sense is that the truth about the reality of climate change is slowly dawning. It seems to me this realisation is being driven by increasingly extreme and destructive climate events. These include droughts leading to fires on a massive scale through to unprecedented rainfall leading to floods. It is depressing that many political leaders not only can’t lead but are active deniers.

It is very encouraging that free enterprise is coming up with some answers. Partly this is some known technology becoming more efficient and lower in cost. For example offshore wind turbines operators are now offering electricity at or below fossil fuel prices. It is depressing that so called climate activists try to criticise big oil companies who are in fact looking hard at alternatives. In all it does appear that industry as a whole is starting to react; for example in the flood of electric vehicles coming on the market. Much now depends on societies reaction. I’m unsure that the hysteria around the “Children’s strike” and Greta Thunberg is helpful.

It seems increasingly clear that the climate crisis will require some form of “negative emissions”; that is actively reducing carbon compounds in the atmosphere. There are also possible ways of reducing solar input. These must be approached with great caution as potential side effects would need careful study. One suggested method is to release a lot of reflective particles high in the atmosphere.

On a lighter note

How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?

One, but it really has to want to change.

Falling over

One of my self imposed rules in this blog is that I won’t write about my medical issues. At 77 they are significant but of little interest to others. I’m making an exception because it is about something long standing which recently caused me to panic and which it is cathartic to write about.

In 1993 I suffered a stroke. This was a tremendous shock, psychologically as well as physically. I was at home for seven months but over time I made a good recovery. I went back to work part time at first but then full time after another couple of months. I suffered from two main residual problems, poor speech and lack of balance. I realise now my speech wasn’t as bad as I feared. I spoke as little as possible at work and avoided using the telephone. I uses talking to Frances in the evenings as speaking practice.( we were living together on weekdays in Oxford, she was at school there ). With time and practice my speech improved and I no longer was embarrassed by it. My lack of balance proved more enduring. I could no longer ride a bicycle which had been an important source of exercise. I could ride along happily for a few hundred yards and then suddenly, abruptly  fall off. After suffering dreadful bruising I gave up before anything worse.

Although I retired early from Castrol this was partly because they were stripping out the older staff. I managed to secure a part time position locally in the Midlands with Techtron which was a tiny company where I had previously worked in the late eighties This suited both them and me as I worked three short days a week. The company made industrial maintenance specialities. They were pleased to get an experienced scientist quite cheaply. I soon became an all purpose technical guru running the gamut from IT to post fire reclamation. After a few years their IT needs outstripped my limited ability and specialists were needed

In 2005 I was visiting my daughter in Camberley, was taken to a local beauty spot, tripped and fell. In falling I broke the neck of my femur. Taken to Frimley Park hospital I was cheered by the doctor saying repeatedly “ but you’re only a young man”. In fact I was just 63 but apparently this is something more usually seen in folks in the seventies. I had a repair operation which was unsuccessful so I had an artificial hip installed.

My stay was memorable because I was in a military ward as Frimley is near major army centres such as Sandhurst. It seemed very strange to be approached by doctors in uniform. Initially I didn’t realise and I was surprised on admittance to be approached by a nurse in typical nurses outfit but with discreet chevrons on her sleeve. I rather stupidly asked if this was fancy dress. The indignant reply was she was sergeant so and so. I must say the treatment was excellent. All local forces medical staff were on the roster to “keep their hand in” as they told us cheerfully. This meant that unlike standard NHS wards there was rather a surplus of nurses and doctors.

My recovery from the second hip operation proceeded normally. At check up I asked how long I could expect the new joint to last. The doctor grinned and said it might well see me out. I wondered afterwards whether this meant a long life for the joint or a short one for me. Now artificial joints are not the same as natural. I’m conscious it is weaker and in rehabilitation I was taught how to favour it. Even so it sometimes painful. I am aware that some hip replacement can be very unsuccessful so I am thankful for small mercies.

Knowing my balance is poor I have tried to adopt mitigating behaviour. I realise some of the circumstances where I fall such as sudden turns. I also tend to walk looking at the ground avoiding trip hazards. This does lead to a slightly strange bent posture

I’ve had a nasty scare recently when  I fell twice in two days. In the first I was carrying a step ladder through a door way, in the second I just rose from a chair turning suddenly. Although I only part fell it was awkwardly  and I felt a pain in my hip. I could scarcely walk and spent the morning in bed. Gradually over several days the pain has reduced and I’m walking almost normally. I had dreaded damaging the joint and needing a replacement. I was worried this was going to be necessary but my concerns have diminished as I seem to have recovered.

My present situation is that I’m trying harder to avoid falls. I have to recognise I have I had a narrow escape. I need to avoid situations where a fall is more likely.

The joke book I’m using is particularly savage about lawyers

Whats the ideal weight for a lawyer?

About 3 pounds including the urn.

Norway Rocks

We have just returned from a mini cruise to Norway. This was onboard the new Saga ship “Spirit of Discovery”. Having previously travelled with Saga on one of their older, smaller ships we were very impressed by the style and comfort of the new vessel. It is about twice the size of the older ships which gave two obvious advantages. Firstly the greater size made for  smoother sailing. Although the sea was fairly heavy with a 3-4 metre swell and Force 6-7 winds the passage was generally quite calm although it helped that the wind was predominantly from the rear. Secondly the larger size gives room for a proper raked seating theatre seating 400 plus and nearly full every time we attended.

We had a slight scare one evening when the crew came and lashed down the veranda seating and secured all loose objects in the cabin. Annette suffers from seasickness but having taken tablets she slept well. As far as we could tell the climate was no worse that night than most others.

We were rather taken aback by the luxurious accommodation. I suspect I booked a higher grade than I expected ( or wanted ) as we made the reservation in rather a hurry. On arrival in our two room suite we were greeted by a complimentary bottle of champagne in an ice bucket. This was followed by our butler anxious to provide  various services, meals in the cabin etc. Frankly the butler was rather an irritation as we finished up looking for an excuse to use his services. The pre dinner canapes were not greatly to our taste.and we only finished up booking a speciality restaurant with him once.

The gimmick is that this was a boutique cruise. This seemed to me to mean lashings of free booze. We both drink only very moderately. I was taken aback however to be charged a pound for an orange juice in one of the lounges. I made use of the mini bar for cans of mixers but the rack of spirits doesn’t appeal to us. I guess a glass of wine with a meal was our alcoholic limit. One feature of cruises is that the amount of food is simply enormous and often good quality at that. I was somewhat amused to have fish and chips ( line caught  cod ) served in elegant trays lined with fake plastic newspaper. Over the top pretentious I thought.

By accident two of the three trips we went on called at a museum of houses. These were genuine old houses transported and rebuilt on large museum sites. The first was quite interesting with the oldest from about 1650 being a wooden farm house. This featured a central hearth with smoke left to exit from a hole in the ceiling. It contained two double beds. both small. one for the farmer and his wife and one for his parents. Apparently folk slept sitting up as lying down was considered death like. At the second museum we focused on the large collection of old boats.

Later houses from early 1800’s had proper chimneys and some measure of private sleeping quarters. Houses from say 1850 onwards seemed to be fairly modern with separate rooms albeit with stairs which very steep. Even later say by 1900 or so they had electric stoves.

The early wooden houses were built several feet above ground on columns of stones so the wood rotted less quickly. The flammability risk was high and Alesond had 80% of its houses burnt out in 1905. In Bergen some of the early wooden houses are still in use as shops. These were built rather later than 1650 and much modified since.  Incidentally prices in sterling are very high. Even tourist trinkets seemed to cost a minimum of £5.  Norway appears a very prosperous tidy nation built on wealth from offshore oil and gas. Many of the ports we visited had oil platform support vessels.in the harbour. Although there is a lot of talk about fishing my impression this is now quite small scale and more recreational than commercial. Having said that Alesund had a small fish market still in use.

I wasn’t much impressed by the entertainment on offer. The weeks highspot seemed to be a vocal quartet who had a rapturous welcome with at least half the audience  giving a standing ovation. I thought it quite a slick act and quite well done without being outstanding in any way.. Perhaps we are too used to only seeing the cream on TV? I suppose I’m just not very interested in singing groups.

One big advantage of Saga travel is the door to door service. However our driver on the return journey was a slave to  his satnav following it straight into a blocked motorway despite warning signs miles previously showing a recommended diversion.. More worrying still he drove with one hand on the wheel while chatting away. I was glad to be back. My lesson from the trip is to be much more careful booking in future. .

Heatwave

In July the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK was observed at just over 38C on Thursday 25^th..At the same time continental Europe was suffering even higher temperatures while the central USA had had bouts also of unusual heat and there is drought in Australia. Shortly after parts of the UK saw very heavy rainfall which led to flood problems plus damage to a dam in Derbyshire. The physics is that hot air can hold more moisture but is less stable.

For a long time climate change deniers have been…. well denying. However the realisation is slowly dawning that these events are not the natural extremes. Climate scientists still cannot say that these extreme weather events are 100% caused by climate change; what they can say is how the odds on such events is increased with climate change. It is a fact that it is not just this summer but 9 out of 10 hottest July months have occurred in the past ten years.

At the other end of the spectrum just as was forecast there has been an increase in severe winter storms.

It seems to me that the evidence is now so plain and overwhelming that the reality of climate change is being accepted. Not by the terminally stupid liars like Trump. Not even sadly by Jair Bolsonaro the new Brazilian leader who wants to destroy the Amazon rain forest. While there are holdouts I think ( hope ) they are getting fewer and lacking credibility.

A paper claiming that climate change is caused by small differences in solar input has been shown to be severely flawed. Essentially it claimed the distance of the earth from the sun was changing slightly which has been shown to be wrong. Deniers have used papers such as this to try to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt ( FUD )

I do notice that other more visual issues are getting more publicity. While it is entirely right that the problem of plastic waste in the sea gets attention it would be bitterly ironic if this was at the expense of the far greater issue. What climate change needs are some cuddly pictures similar to those on Blue Planet..

It is trite to say that fossil fuels are the problem and big oil is the villain. The truth is that we are all villains for demanding and using fossil fuels. The way forward is becoming clearer. Transport need to be electrified with electricity generated by renewable sources. For the UK this means mainly wind power. On shore wind generation is now cost competitive and off shore wind approaching competitive with coal generation. Back up generation capacity will be needed and for a transition period combined cycle gas turbine looks the best bet. Longer term is less clear but wave or nuclear look good possibilities.

A more uncertain prospect is fusion power. Essentially this means a sun on the earth. A massive international program is based on ITER, a prototype facility in the south of France where almost all technically advanced counties have pooled their resources. The objective of ITER is to produce more power than is consumed in making it work. ITER is massive, over 70m high and costing many billions. There is some scepticism about the prospects for fusion power; the joke is that fusion power is 30 years away and always will be. This reflects the difficulty of retaining and controlling a plasma at a temperature of many millions of degrees. It is an encouraging sign that a few private companies have entered the field.

The more down-to-earth problem is that liquid fuels such as petrol or kerosene are excellent sources of concentrated energy. In contrast batteries are fairly heavy per unit of energy supplied. While there are small gains to be made in battery technology there is no great step change improvement in sight.  Research is continuing at a furious rate and there are some interesting possibilities .

 I find it interesting that electricity is now taken seriously for aviation. Already small electric aircraft are available. For commercial aircraft the way forward being explored is the hybrid where a gas turbine generates electricity which is then user to power electric thrusters. This relies on the gas turbine being small and running efficiently at constant speed while batteries supplement during take off and climb.

For larger aircraft ( wide bodied ) there is no substitute for liquid fuel. The hope here is for fuels made from renewable sources.. The technical difficulty is that while regenerative braking helps recharge car batteries there is no equivalent for aircraft. As I say above the general plan is to use an onboard turbo generator working efficiently at constant output using batteries to the full on climb out and recharging as the  aircraft descends. This would only be practicable for fairly small aircraft , say 50-100 seats.

Merrymeet

It isn’t often that the whole family can meet up. My son and family are in N Yorkshire while my eldest daughter lives in Guildford about 300 miles away. It is perhaps fortunate that we are roughly equidistant from the two. Our youngest daughter lives in Birmingham which is quite close by. The two sisters are close and often exchange visits. My son Martin and his family have become deeply enmeshed in local activities so tend to be very busy. We did manage a family gathering last year but this year we have done something more ambitious.

We hired a “partyhouse” engagingly called Merrymeet in Derbyshire to accommodate all of us for a long weekend. This was particularly significant because Alison our eldest daughter has decided to take Debajit as a partner. He has two sons from his first marriage and this was our first opportunity to meet them. The oldest boy, Rajiv, is fresh from extraordinary A level results obtaining 4 A star grades. He goes up to Cambridge to read economics this autumn. The younger boy, Ronnie, is 15 and embarking on his GCSE year. Although they are a little older than our grandchildren,( Ellie is 15 soon with the rest ranging down to 7), they had no problem joining both with our grandchildren as well as the adults.

Merrymeet was situated just on the southern edge of the Peak National Park at Back o’the Brook near Waterhouses. It was a fairly remote location approached by narrow single track lanes one of which crossed a ford. Designed to accommodate 16 of us it had a large lounge, dining toom with a massive table, six bedrooms and a massive games room. This latter was the initial attraction for the kids with table tennis, mini billiards, table football and not forgetting the X box. The games were so attractive that the older children were up until past 3 in the morning at the end of our first day.

The dining table was massive enabling all to join together for our evening meal. Essentially Annette and the girls had catered for casual breakfast and lunch. Each day we joined together for an evening meal. Frances provided pizza slices and trimmings one evening, Annette several flans another, while Martin prepared a massive chili on another. When he left to go to university Martin had no cooking knowledge at all but now he is quite adept in the kitchen. As he reminded me this is very much part of being a modern man.

One afternoon we had hired a “nerf gun” experience. Essentially this was light hearted team combat using “nerf” guns which fired a largely foam plastic bullet. This came with an organiser who set things up and suggested various games. These were team versus team. I organised the teams by the simple expedient of lining the participants up in height order and allocating alternate ones to the two teams. The location was a steep sloping lawn at the rear of the property which had blow up obstacles including a blow up tank. I sat on the side lines and watched but I admired Frances and Matt for joining in with the kids. The activity was chosen so that the youngest, Ben, could join in which he did with gusto.

Various groups went on various expeditions. There was a walk to nearby Grindon and then a long group walk following a guide book recommended route.. This was partly cross country along steep paths. I just did the portion on the paved part. Grindon is significant as some of my distant ancestors lived there and also at nearby Ford. We found some references to Hall’s in Grindon church but the gravestones of the period ( 16^th and 17^th centuries ) are too worn to be decipherable. We have earlier tracked some through parish records. More fruitful was  Fradswell ( a village in North Staffordshire ) where my ancestors lived until the mid 19^th century

Other visits were to Ilam with its National Trust parkland and gardens. The house at Ilam is a Youth Hostel and not open to the public. It does have an excellent tearoom.

Unfortunately Rajiv had to leave early to attend a combined cadet force dinner which I gather had represented a big interest outside school. I had always been rather cynical about these groups but Alex has found Whitby Air Cadets interesting. He plays in the band and has had several opportunities for flying experience.
Our group photo is below. My son Martin is 8 from left and daughters Frances and Alison are extreme right