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. .