Roundup 2021

 

Roundup 2021

It is the fashion for all sorts to pass opinion on the past year and the coming one. I daresay my view is idiosyncratic but here it is.

Obviously from a health perspective it has been another Covid year. Vaccines raised our hopes and Omicron has dashed them. Still we can hope the present peak will pass quickly and than vaccines prove as good as we hope.

My general feeing is fairly angry; perhaps anger is too strong and associated with people I detest, but I am very irritated.

I’m irritated but unsurprised that the Brexit issues are catching up with us. It was always going to be a slowly evolving economic penalty. This has largely been hidden from public consciousness by the Covid pandemic. What is more surprising is that the leavers are still fighting the battle. Led by Boris Johnson the dual push is to insult the Europeans as much as possible while denying there are any Brexit penalties. My impression is leavers are whistling to keep their spirits up.

The promised trade deals look ever more marginal. Boris by appearing to want to renege on the Ireland deal has ensured that there is no chance of a deal on trade with the USA whose President cares about Ireland. Cosying up to Trump didn’t do him or us any favours.

The world in general has become a more depressing place. The threat from China get’s worse every day while Putin’s Russia is becoming more aggressive For those like me who would hope to see a more liberal rational world the even bigger danger is that the big liberal democracies are falling prey to irrationality. The spectacle of 99 MP’s voting against a simple public health measure was dispiriting. Even worse was the extreme rhetoric used by some of them. To pretend the temporary measures were a step to a fascist state was so stupid as to be laughable. Less amusing is my suspicion that these are some of the very people who would happily support truly fascist measures.

More dangerous is the American situation. Trump persists in the lie that his election loss was fraudulent. Despite all the evidence that he is unhinged it appears that the Republican Party is in his thrall. Their saner members are being squeezed out.

It is better news that the Labour party is moving away from the madness and anti semitism of the Corbyn years. The worrying part is that he still enjoys some support from a segment which I suspect will cause future trouble.

The better news was that liberal causes did advance. The problem is that the “woke” element look to be exaggerating the advances and thereby putting them at risk. This advance isn’t everywhere as the American anti abortion lobby is slowly imposing its opinions on US society.

On the technology front there were some good benefits. The much ballyhooed 5G internet finally arrived for early adopters. The famous “internet of things” still seems as far away as ever. It was good news that the incredibly expensive James Webb telescope launched in Christmas Day. Even so a lot has to go right before it becomes fully functional. One name, that of Elon Musk, was associated with some visionary technology through Space X, Neuralink, and Hyperloop. Through the astonishing, and very welcome, success of Tesla he has become the world’s richest man.  Despite much obstructionism and a lot of nay saying he is doing a lot to advance humanity.

The success of vaccines owes much to progress in biosciences. These look to continue at  an even faster rate.

 I was mildly disappointed by COP26 the international climate conference. However I detect a definite shift in opinion. In view of the floods, fires and other extreme climate events the deniers are on a back foot. While some are just impervious to evidence I hope some will see evidence that it is not just a prediction for the future but is happening now.

In the context of energy production wind is now firmly established as a low cost method of electricity generation. This is also true of solar in sunnier climes. Welcome attention is now turning to other carbon sources. No good answer on space heating is forthcoming yet despite political bleating about heat pumps; fine for new houses but retrofitting doesn’t look practical at any reasonable cost. There are suggestions that a hydrogen economy might be suitable.

One fact is that a truly massive investment will be needed for the post carbon economy. There are positive signs that private investment is beginning to see a profitable end point and putting investment in place. On the opposite side there are also signs that fear of stranded assets is stopping finance of new coalfired power stations. The world faces a difficult problem of synchronising the run down of carbon with the ramp up of replacements. Hysterical voices calling for an end to oil and gas investment could lead to even worse energy crunches than the one we are experiencing.

Speaking of hysterical voices the eco terrorists of Insulate Britain have done a lot to antagonise sensible society. A  major  own goal which will set back sensible measures to combat climate change. The costly and ineffective roll out of smart meters shows how easy it is for wrong headed pressure groups to impose costly measures. The subject of cost is of major importance. It appears that a lot of quite sensible measures will require upfront costs before the eventual benefit emerges. We can expect to see plenty of rabble rousers decrying the costs; it is necessary to prepare now for public relations giving the facts.

It seems to me that society is very much in muddling through mode. I hope we are seeing two steps forward for one back; I fear it may be more like one forward, one back.

reusable rockets

 Reusable rockets

Almost all rockets used to date are non reusable. A typical satellite launch would put into orbit only perhaps 2% of the weight of the launcher. About 88% of the weight will be fuel but the launcher about 10% of the total is expendable often falling into the sea and sinking without trace, As Elon Musk( leader of Space X ) puts it “supposing you flew a jumbo jet across the Atlantic, threw it away and built another to fly back”

Put this way it seems obvious but the difficulty is that launching to space from earth requires prodigious amounts of energy to over come the gravitational pull. This is so difficult that virtually all rockets employ a staged configuration. In this the whole is lifted by the first stage which then falls away leaving a lighter second to continue on its way. Every ounce in weight carried to orbit unnecessarily is an ounce less payload.

Early launchers were very inefficient placing not much over 1% of launch weight into orbit. Expendable rockets have gradually improved so that Saturn V ( the Apollo moon mission ) achieved 4.1% to orbit

To reuse a rocket it has to return to earth landing safely and this requires fuel to deaccelerate. It also requires control equipment to guide to a landing. This weight effectively reduces the payload capacity.

The only practical reusable system today is the Falcon 9 by Space X. This is two stage rocket where the first stage carries enough extra fuel to land back after stage separation. The control is incredibly precise. Because the rocket cannot hover it must land back precisely as the rocket engine shuts off. This manoeuvre is known as a “hoverslam”.
The Falcon 9 has large landing legs which flip out just a right time before landing. These legs also pose a weight penalty.

The Falcon 9 first stage is recovered but not the second. The fairing around the payload is recovered by the expedient of parachuting into the sea where it floats. Refurbishment is necessary but other recovery methods using big catcher nets proved unsuitable being both expensive and prone to failure.

This reusable technology enables Space X to offer launches much more cheaply than competitors. The difference is so large that competitors are  designing new reusable rockets. Space X themselves for the next generation of large rockets are designing so they can hover. This somewhat simplifies landing control but increases the fuel weight penalty. The hovering rocket will not have the weight penalty of landing legs but is designed to be caught in the hover by a ground tower.

This is new technology largely pioneered by Space X but also learning from the past problems. The most ambitious effort at reusability was the Space Shuttle. This was designed to glide to landing so like an unpowered aeroplane. At launch the shuttle was also propelled by 2 large solid fuel boosters and both were attached to a massive fuel tank providing the fuel for the shuttle engines. The solid fuel boosters were designed to be detached once exhausted and fall into the sea ready for reuse. This proved to be a problem as refurbishment was lengthy and expensive.

A bigger problem were the heat resistant tiles protecting the shuttle from the fierce heat of re-entry into the atmosphere. These tiles had be replaced after every mission, every one was different and manual replacement was expensive and time consuming. As a result the shuttle program was considered too expensive overall and ended. Space X are seeking to solve the re-entry problem by using standardised tiles robotically placed as far as possible. The Space X rocket is in trials and it is yet to be seen if their approach will be successful.

It is clear that reusability is key to Rocketry success and all major companies are designing for future reusability. The sacrifice in terms of payload is outweighed by the cost benefit.

Space X are developing the largest rocket ever built and designed very much with reusability  in mind- in fact they are aiming for fast turn- around times of hours instead of current days or weeks. Although the upper stage has briefly flown to a low altitude the whole 2 stages are assembled and undergoing ground testing but have not yet flown. The future intention is for the two parts to be caught by the launch tower. The first test flight would be to orbit speed and then both stages crash  land in the sea

The richest man in the world

 The richest man in the world

I find it irritating that the richest man today ( late 2021 ) is so misunderstood. That man is Elon Musk. His vast fortune largely derives from his position as owner of about 20% of Tesla, the car manufacturer. While he was wealthy before starting Tesla his vast wealth today stems from building up that company. Arguably investors overvalue Tesla but that is another story.

The story of Tesla to date is interesting because it says a lot about 21^st century life in the liberal democracies. Musk was a South African who went to university in Canada and then went to IT in California. He set up a software company which morphed into PayPal. After selling his stake he was left a wealthy man in his early life. Rather than sitting back he looked at society and with both a science and business background he determined that certain objectives were necessary for society. One important objective was to minimise global warming and that carbon free cars were a component of this. This was taking place in the very early years of this century.

One early decision was that automotive batteries were too big, heavy and expensive. Musk saw that small lithium ion batteries used in electronic gadgets like smartphones were cheaper because made in large numbers. He thus based his car on batteries made up of many hundreds of small batteries; still heavy but less expensive. He also saw that carbon free performance alone was not enough to attract buyers. Accordingly the first Tesla was a sports car built around an exiting chassis which exploited the big advantage of electric cars. This is that electric motors develop maximum power ( actually torque ) while the motor is a zero revs. This gives an electric car blistering acceleration.

Having made a modest success Tesla then stayed way upmarket making very sophisticated but also very expensive saloon and estate car. One feature of these cars was that the controlling computer software could be updated wirelessly. Effectively the cars could modified after years of usage by a wireless signal. Many details were also developed such as electric motors which were better than the competition.

Having established a position Tesla then used their expertise to launch a more affordable car. These were still expensive but say BMW prices rather than Rolls-Royce. The initial saloon, the Model 3, has been wildly successful in large part because it is an excellent car outperforming internal combustion cars in its class.

In the transition to non fossil fuel, non carbon cars the only possibilities which have emerged are hydrogen, probably via a fuel cell, and batteries. Elon Musk using his initial wealth, his engineering creativity and entrepreneurial skills has established with Tesla a growing presence among a rather sceptical car buying market..

It is shocking that this achievement is not widely recognised. In particular US president Joe Biden has propagated the lie that General Motors is leading the electrical revolution. Frankly it is puzzling that Biden is either deliberately telling this story or he is lamentably ignorant. The probability is that he is knowingly telling a piece of “fake news” worthy of Trump at his worst. One can only speculate on his reasons which might be that Tesla has a Gigafactory in China or that General Motors has a unionised workforce and Tesla does not. In any event Musk must be credited with a major role in bringing forward the switch to electric cars.

Tesla is more than an automotive company. It is actively involved in solar power for domestic use. This has been tied in with an integrated electric system storing solar electricity in batteries. Perhaps the most inventive idea is to move directly to solar roof tiles so that the apparently normal roof becomes a large solar collector. This is very much in accordance with Musk’s drive for renewable energy. One issue with renewable energy by wind or solar power is its intermittent nature. Tesla are pioneering grid scale batteries using large collections of individual batteries. Such was Musk’s confidence in Tesla technology that he gave a money back guarantee to the first purchaser.

Tesla is also possibly the most advanced in self driving vehicles. Based on Musk’s determination that this technology should be inexpensive and widely available Tesla are avoiding exotic lidar sensors used by others  but instead computer aided cameras. Tesla is using an artificial intelligence system which is in test by ordinary motorists.

Musk who is clearly a gifted engineer, scientist and entrepreneur has put his wealth to use in several other ways. Firstly in offering a$100m prize for carbon capture ideas. Secondly for supporting the hyperloop underground train idea. Thirdly for setting up and financing Neuralink , a research organisation looking at brain function.

His most notable venture has been Space X. Entirely a privately owned business Musk pioneered several important developments. The most notable is a move towards reusability where the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket is recovered. This recovery is by powered landing, a feat no one else has achieved. Musk has financed a company now said to worth a $100 billion,; but far more than financed he has actively participated in the great success of Space X. A particular idea is to provide worldwide internet by satellite transmission rather than towers. Again an early version is on test by normal members of the public  The brand name is Starlink. This is not a totally new idea but Space X is making it a reality. One of Musk’s objectives is to turn humankind into a multi planetary species. Musk feels humankind must spread its risks against the threat of some catastrophe enveloping its single planet. To this end Space X has in development a rocket which can travel to Mars.

To draw this together Elon Musk is a man who is using his wealth not on super yachts or other luxuries but along with his other talents to turn futuristic technology into reality in a way which is beneficial to society  He is in some ways a controversial figure. Partly many are envious of his abilities and position and thus  find reasons to criticise. It is sad that while Musk is the Thomas  Edison of the 21^st century the US President ignores him

Authoritarianism

 

Authoritarianism

It is depressing how many regimes in the world are authoritarian to some degree. If we see the correct purpose of government is to administer those areas of society which must be collective such as defence and otherwise to allow the individual the maximum possible choice in life then this the absolute opposite..

I’m not going to discus and analyse such blatantly authoritarian regimes as Russia and China. Particularly in China’s case they glory in suppressing individuality and their state philosophy is extremely dangerous. The governing philosophy in China needs a separate post.

More concerning is the spread of authoritarianism in supposedly free and democratic societies. It is interesting that democracy is touted universally even by societies which don’t seem to have the faintest idea what it means. The really sick example was somewhere like the former East Germany which called itself a “democratic republic” while practicing the antithesis.

Less it should be thought that the problem is exaggerated it is as well to realise that while it is very easy to slip into authoritarianism it is very hard to reverse. In fact there is almost a standard playbook in which an authoritarian regime takes power which is only torn from it by revolution. As examples take Cuba and Venezuela. Their regimes pauperised the country and limited freedom but survived; in the case of Cuba for well over 50 years. Another example is Iran where an irreversible theocracy has become entrenched.

The old idea that military coup’s are the usual method of installing authoritarian regimes as for example in Myanmar is outmoded. The modern day dictator is usually a bit more subtle. After getting power in some way, sometimes by election, subsequent elections are fixed by such methods as closing free press, controlling TV,  sham trials of rivals. A handy way of disguising reality is to invent imaginary hostile opponents and vociferously denounce them while pretending that rigid rule is necessary to defeat these opponents. A common choice of imaginary opponent is America although some regimes are much more subtle. The Hungarian regime demonises George Soros.

Defence against authoritarian rule depends on far more than democracy. It depends on strong and devolved institutions with none more important than the rule of law. One common feature of despotic rule is to manipulate the legal system and use it against opponents. It is appalling that Trump attempted to manipulate the US legal system. Trump appointees can hardly be trusted to be fair and impartial. He has been woefully successful in getting sympathisers onto the Supreme Court. On of the problems with democracy is that the Republican party, one of the two major US political parties, has now a history of gerrymandering, voter suppression and hosting wild conspiracy theories. The Trump election was also heavily influenced by systematic Russian interference. Although this all is problematic it is on the fringe of authoritarianism.

A depressing number of third world countries are falling for authoritarian government. The military coup in Myanmar is an almost classic example of an army takeover. Military takeovers have become less common partly because pre existing governments have become more wary of army power. Generally authoritarian regimes need to have support of the army.

A more common route is for authoritarian governments to gain power by pseudo democratic means and then manipulate the society so that they retain that power. An example is Guatemala.

Before we become too complacent in the UK we have to realise that the Boris Johnson government has shown distinct authoritarian tendencies. Their attempt to prevent parliamentary discussion by closing parliament when it suited was only prevented by legal action. They are showing worrying signs of attempting media control by hobbling the BBC and the deliberate exclusion of anyone who doesn’t agree with a pro Boris agenda is beyond normal practice. Fortunately the UK not only has strong civil institutions but also a group of aggressively libertarian MP’s within the Tory party.

The list of countries which have escaped authoritarian rule is depressingly short. Pakistan has emerged from military dictatorship but is hardly a fully functioning democracy. It is depressing that India has been moving in the opposite direction under the dictatorial Modi government which is fermenting communal discord as a deliberate ploy.

Authoritarian government has downsides quite apart and in addition to suppressing individual liberty. They usually make their citizens poorer, the striking exception is China. They are usually corrupt and despotic rulers all too often are kleptomaniacs. The almost joke example was the Marcos government in the Philippines where Imelda Marcos had many hundreds of shoes. Even in mature democracies all too often political leaders seek to feather their nests.

Counters to authoritarian government include a free press and free journalistic TV, strong non governmental organisations and most of all scrutiny and protest by citizens. The great hope vested in social media has not been shown in practice where misinformation is rife. It was said some long time ago that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. All citizens everywhere need to recognise the proper boundaries of state control and be ready to oppose any attempt to step beyond those boundaries.

This post discusses state authoritarianism; some organizations also actively seek to counter liberty- it is a sad reality that the US Republican Party is such today.

 

Visiting London as a boy

 London as a boy

When I was 12 I spent a week in London. This was in 1954 and London was quite different then. I was taken by my mother who was determined I should visit some of the well known National features. It came as our family, never well off, was at a low point. Father had been ill and off work for some time and felt he couldn’t come. However mother felt that I needed the experience but was determined to do our trip as economically as possible.

I was a keen trainspotter  so I noted that we were hauled by a Patriot class 4-6-0 on our journey. These were a quite common locomotive on the LMS region. We travelled into Euston on the West Coast main line

We stayed at a cheap B&B in Putney. For entertainment we mainly relied on being an audience at BBC programmes which were free. As tickets were only available at two per address relatives were drafted to get more tickets. As a result we saw a recording of the then famous TV panel show “What’s my line”. We also attended several radio performances. The one I recall was a miscellaneous collection of performers all drawn from the Commonwealth. The audience “warm up” for “What’s my line” was Richard Dimbleby, panellist himself,  father of David and Jonathon prominent today. A very large, rather obese, man he was known as a solemn commentator at major state occasions but on that day he showed himself in humorous, even comic, mode. In describing the seating he said the reinforced concrete one was his.

In the village where we lived I had been quite friendly with Alf. Older than me he had become an apprentice chef at the hotel where his brother Danny was also an apprentice chef. Mother determined that we should invite these boys to spent the day with us. I think she thought that they might be homesick and grateful for familiar faces. As it happened Alf was in awkward shifts but Danny had a free day. He was old enough not to be inhibited by us who he didn’t know well. With him we visited a large library ( British Library ? ) where he was fascinated by Bradshaw’s rail timetable. Long ceased publication this book sized publication gave rail timetables for all  the UK. The one indulgence was to go a performance of the musical “White Horse Inn”. Danny much enjoyed this and mother for years after would recall his uproarious laughter.

During our trip we visited the Tower of London where we saw the Crown Jewels. At the nearby Tower Bridge I was astonished by the mudlarks; boys delving at the rivers edge for coins thrown by passers by.  Madame Tussauds I thought not very interesting but the new planetarium was fascinating. Brand new at the time, the only one in the country, this was regarded as the height of technical sophistication. We had a commentary pointing out the constellations. Ever since I’ve been able to identify the Great Bear ( aka the Plough) and the Pole star.

I was very interested in aircraft and flight and I persuaded mother to go to Heathrow. At the time this was the only airport of any note in the UK. Security wasn’t a big issue in those days and viewing areas gave close proximity to the aircraft. I marvelled at the big four piston engine craft like the Constellation flying international routes. At the time these were the height of technological prowess and were never seen at Birmingham Elmdon ( now called Birmingham International ). The only international route from Elmdon was to Ireland flown by ex WW11 Dakotas. I only learned much later that the massive radial engines were not very reliable and to have one fail over the Atlantic was unsurprising. Recently, with vastly more reliable turbofans, twin engines are common across the Atlantic.

At the time there were many inexpensive cafes by J Lyons and ABC. where we ate during the day. Lyons cafes were a national institution then but disappeared completely later. As we had a fierce schedule we were travelling around the city a lot and I became very footsore. When I moaned enough we would take a bus where mother would ask for a ticket in the opposite direction and then alight after a free ride a couple of stops in the direction we wanted to go. I was a trial during this manoeuvre as I would say we were going in the wrong direction. Mother was very conscious we were on a tight budget.

The Festival of Britain was long over but some remained. I enjoyed our visit to the Festival funfair at Battersea.

I was impressed by the 6 wheel trolleybuses along Putney Bridge road outside our digs. I was a bit surprised that they seemed absent from central London. There it was the old RT buses as I don’t recall the famous RM model at that time. Emergency vehicles were a not uncommon sight; Daimler ambulances with a bell instead of a siren which came later.

All in all it was a memorable and enjoyable trip. Later as a teenager I visited Parliament so I’ve always felt I know something of London which has such a central part in the life of the UK.. More recently I’ve become increasingly disenchanted by the crowds and expense of London. Our last visit to a Hub hotel very near Westminster Cathedral went very well but in general I regard the whole area of London and the south -east as best avoided unless necessary as in visiting our daughter at Guildford

Remembrance

 

Remembrance

When ever I visited Coalville with my mother as a small boy I was always taken to the war memorial in the centre. There I would gaze, slightly puzzled, among the inscriptions to one for W Baker, Private, Leicestershire Regiment. I was told this was my uncle killed in 1917 in WW1. There was a great gulf of years between William ( Bill ) the eldest child of the family and my mother the youngest. My mother spoke of him rarely, mainly of him teasing her, but she always retained his cap badge kept among her treasured objects.

In the lottery of war Bill’s brother George spent his military service in India and never saw a shot fired in anger. Still he valued Bill’s memory and named his son William.

When my children were small we spent several holidays in the south of France. In our journey we passed by the battlefields of northern France. One year we visited Vimy ridge whose memorial cross could be seen from the autoroute. Here the trenches, now softened by time, are retained on a battleground memorial to the Canadian soldiers who fought there.

One another occasion we stayed overnight at Albert the small town just behind Allied lines. The town is dominated by the Basilica of Notre Dame de Brebieres which is surmounted by a statue. In German shelling the statue was knocked sideways and hung precariously. The local story was that the war would be lost if the statue fell. This story was encouraged by the allies after first making sure the statue was held securely by hawsers.

Later we stayed with a Castrol colleague near Peronne on the Somme. Peronne houses the historial , museum of the great war. The museum gives a timeline of the three armies, French, British and German. In a spirit of European unity all are given equal prominence. During our stay we also visited a few of the many cemeteries of the Somme battlefield. It was a slightly eerie experience on a fine summers day to walk along a track to one of the many cemeteries. Large or small, all are very well tended with uniform rounded rectangular headstones regardless of rank with flower and shrub plantings following the line of headstones. The whole enclosed by a wall and with a large cross mounted prominently.

The headstones have either the rank, name and unit inscribed or in many cases where the soldier is unnamed the inscription coined by Rudyard Kipling “ a soldier of the Great War known unto God”. The memory handed down was that Bill had no known grave, my uncle George always said he would have liked to visit had there been a grave to visit.. So many had no grave and they are commemorated at the massive monument at Thiepval. This brick and stone colossus has the names inscribed on its walls. I went expecting to see Bill and was rather surprised that it wasn’t to be found.

I happened to discuss this with my cousin who was able to give me Bill’s army number. Armed with this I approached the Commonwealth War Graves Commission who quickly told me where to find Bill’s grave. The reason our family had lost track was that Bill had been reburied in a consolidation after the war’s end. The information was exact; Plot 1, Row V, grave 26 at Philosophe cemetery near Mazingarbe. Unlike the rather picturesque Somme landscape Philosophe was located in a heavily built up area surrounded by colliery spoil heaps. I remember thinking this was appropriate for a boy from Coalville.

The grave was in a row with the cross at one end and the remembrance stone at the other. This latter inscribed “ their name will live for evermore”. Information at the visitors book lodge told me that 2000 British servicemen were buried there along with a few Commonwealth , two French and one German. As I filled in the visitors book I felt quite emotional feeling it should have been my uncle George visiting. He had died without knowing where his brother was buried.

Like so many Bill was caught up in the patriotic fervour of the war and lied about his age( he was 17) to enlist.

On our Somme tour we visited the Ulster tower which is the official Northern Ireland memorial. Standing at least three storeys tall I remember we paid to climb to the tiny museum at the top. The site is close by the Schwaben redoubt, a strong German defensive position captured by the Irish.

On the same tour we also visited the tunnels by the church in Albert. These were refuges for the locals during shelling. I purchased the nose cap of a shell as a souvenir. Earlier by the Ulster tower we had been approached by a local scammer offering to sell a pair of “genuine” German army binoculars. In the 1990’s this seemed highly unlikely they had survived seven decades. Detritus from the war emerges all the time and fields often have piles of rusted shells waiting to be collected by bomb disposal teams.

Going electric

 

Going electric

I’ve taken the plunge and my new car is a hybrid electric. It is a Hyundai hybrid plug in electric. I take care to say a plug in hybrid as opposed to many hybrid which are , controversially, described as self charging. In this case the petrol engine runs all the time but gets some assistance from a small battery charged by regeneration braking. In contrast a plug in hybrid has a larger battery, can be recharged by mains electricity, and can drive for short distances on battery electric power alone.

The so called self charging hybrid can be best thought of as a more fuel efficient petrol engine car. In contrast the plug in hybrid can both recharge by regeneration and by taking in mains electricity .In terms I now find more ambiguous than I realised both types are serial hybrids in that both electric and petrol engine power the car. It is claimed that there is a benefit in the characteristics of the two engines are different. The electric motor/generator gives torque from zero revs while a petrol engine doesn’t develop useful torque below about 1500-2000 revs.

This combination of different torque curves( turning force vs engine revs ) is claimed to give something of the best of both worlds. In some cases the petrol engine is deliberately tuned for maximum fuel economy  at the expense of maximum power and torque. This is achieved by a slight variation on the normal ( Otto) cycle known as the Atkinson cycle. Essentially this reduces the engine compression but allows the expansion portion more freedom to use all of the combustion.

I haven’t gone for a full battery vehicle. Although I recognise the immense strides made in design I can’t afford the far and away the best design leader of Tesla who make fine vehicles but beyond the reach of my pocket. Non Tesla cars mainly look at ranges below 250 miles and the recharging infrastructure just isn’t good enough. Any long trip is going to be hassle. Tesla can reach 350 miles. There are other issues surrounding all electric cars particularly charging times. High capacity chargers can recharge a battery to 80% in about 15mins.

In contrast a plug in hybrid can do many hundreds of miles in normal hybrid mode once the battery is discharged to about 15%. At that level of charge the car is effectively a more efficient petrol engine one, with some energy recovered ( regenerated ) during coasting or braking.

My actual purchase was somewhat fraught as normal online bank procedures didn’t apply. Because of fraud worries my transfers made in the usual way were not honoured and it was necessary to phone ( with the massively extended wait ) in order to release the cash. The bank claimed to have sent a message saying the payment was held but I never received it. A very patient car salesperson guided me through the whole prolonged business.

I couldn’t wait to take my first all electric journey. Even though the car is a hybrid it has a battery big enough for about 30 all electric miles. Although I’m gradually learning all the controls I managed to select all electric and did a round trip of about 10 miles. This had the practical use that we could visit the place of Annette’s tuition day where she had left ( getting forgetful ) some paints. The journey was uneventful. The electric motor coped perfectly well with everything from a steep hill to slow town driving. The whole took about the expected 30% of battery capacity .A couple of days later a round trip to a nearby town of some 20 miles took 65% of the battery charge.

The electric motor is rated at 60 bhp. While not a lot this gives decent performance with 60mph very easily attained on a dual carriageway. The all electric performance is generally rather good giving the strong impression of reining in the car rather than struggling. A part of the reason for this is the very good aerodynamics with a drag coefficient of 0.26. The downside is weight; with 100kgs of battery the vehicle is rather heavier than average. One big downside of battery vehicles generally is weight. The best lithium ion batteries weigh much more per kW than petrol engines. As fuel is consumed the weight slowly deceases in a petrol car while the heavy batteries continue even when discharged.

Another downside is that batteries use significant quantities of materials like lithium, cobalt and other hard to obtain or expensive materials. The result is that the plug in hybrid car is considerably more expensive that the “self charging” hybrid. There are developments which show some success in reducing the cost of batteries.

A final issue is battery life. Pure battery vehicles seem to be showing good longevity with something like 5 years to reduce capacity to 90% of original. This doesn’t seem to fit well with common experience with smaller batteries where life is often fairly limited. Time will tell although Hyundai appear to offer good guarantees

It has been a long time since I habitually concluded my posts with a joke. My mother was fairly straight laced and the closest she came to a risqué  joke was the following conundrum.

What is it that a man does standing up, a woman sitting down and a dog on three legs?

The audience immediately springs to the obvious answer but surely that can’t be the intended reply. It isn’t because the correct answer is – shake hands!

Self driving cars

 

Self driving cars

There has been a lot of press talk about this predicting that many thousands of truck drivers will become redundant. Also recently UK government has announced plans to allow limited self driving on UK motorways.

In describing self driving the US Auto standards association recognises 5 levels ranging from Level 1 automatic lane keeping through to level 5 full self driving. No vehicle is presently authorised for routine use at level 5 although some development use is permitted.

There has been use of driver aids which permit a car driver to drive more safely. For example lane departure warnings. My ten year old car has adaptive cruise control which is tied to a crude heads up display warning of proximity to cars ahead and giving an indication of closing speed. The only automatic function is emergency braking to mitigate possible collision. This is all taking data from a forward facing radar.

The key automatic functions now found on most cars are anti lock braking ( usually denoted ABS after the German )and dynamic stability control. Anti lock braking is fairly self explanatory. It functions by releasing the brake pressure at the point of wheel skidding and reapplying it again. This cycle is repeated many times very quickly. Anti lock braking does slightly increase braking distance but the compensation is retention of vehicle control as a skidding car can much increase stopping distance.

Dynamic stability is the automatic selective application of brakes to help ensure the vehicle goes where the driver intends it to go without skidding. For example to limit the tendency of the car to understeer ( ie go straight on .unless more steering lock is applied ) the inner rear wheel is braked . Similarly other wheels are individually braked according to circumstance. This does not improve the cars cornering capability but ensures that driver control is retained. Since loss of control due to skidding is the fundamental cause of one third of all accidents this is a massive safety boost. Use of this technology is mandatory for all new cars. The technology comes under many names such as electronic stability control ( ESC )

Self driving vehicles were originally sponsored by DARPA ( The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency ) .  The trials in the Mojave desert eventually showed the technology was possible and commercial development began about 2010. The acknowledged leader in autonomous vehicles is Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet the parent of Google. Waymo has collaboration agreements with several major car companies including Nissan and Volvo

Waymo have tried building dedicated vehicles as Robo-taxis but seem to have settled for modifying some electric vehicles such as Chrysler minivans. Essentially these vehicles are equipped with cameras and LIDAR ( a form of radar using laser light ). LIDAR is claimed to be able to detect objects up to 300m distant. In addition short range radar detects closer objects. Waymo is operating at Level 4 which is autonomous on public roads with other users but in conditions of good climate, particularly visibility.

In addition to various test areas in the US Waymo operates a test commercial service in Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix road system has been fully mapped into the cars computer. Residents can call up the car and be driven where they want in the city environs. There is  usually a safety driver although not always.

In addition to Waymo there is CRUISE, a General Motors autonomous driving company and another associated with Uber

The most different is Tesla the electric car company of which Elon Musk is chairman. They are taking a somewhat different approach. Tesla do not use LIDAR ( which is expensive ) or even radar but rely on a suite of cameras around the vehicle. For some time Tesla cars have been available with Autopilot as an option. Autopilot allows for automatic lane changes . This has been developed to a prototype full self driving system. This is currently in beta test which means it is available to a few Tesla owners for test and evaluation. The objective is an autonomous system which doesn’t require road pre mapping.

All these systems rely on artificial intelligence( AI ) as part of the computing. This simply means training the computer system to think like a human. Think of this like a network. It learns by allowing reinforcement of the paths leading to a correct solution. In its training phase the computer is presented with a picture. Lets say we are teaching the computer to differentiate between a cat and a dog. If the computer gives the right answer the network is reinforced, if wrong the pathway is  weakened. The decision is made by a human  whether the computer is right or wrong. By looking at many thousands of images the computer learns by reinforcement what is right and what is wrong. Correct training leads to the computer knowing the characteristics of a dog from a cat and makes the correct choice. On a massively larger scale this is what the driving computer does.

In Tesla practice for full self driving there are two computers side by side which have to agree on the decision. Training the computer is essential which means that many thousands of images must be presented and interpreted. It so happens that Tesla cars have always been fitted with cameras, initially to aid the driver, but this means that Tesla has millions of hours of real driving images for training. This is sometimes seen as a key benefit for Tesla relative to its competitors.. The importance is the occurrence of unusual situations. For example a tow truck might tow a broken down truck with its rear wheels suspended so the recovered vehicle is facing backwards. It is essential that this is not confused with a vehicle being driven  the wrong way on a divided carriageway.  Many other situations occur rarely in driving but it is essential that the AI is trained for all of them.

It seems clear that at present Tesla is ahead of the industry in testing self driving. Their objective is a system which will work on any road without any prior mapping and also one which is affordable. The existing charge is $10000 but this is for a more limited level 3 system. It looks as if the rate determining step will be regulation not technology.

Night Mail/Not Pygmalian likely

 

Night Mail

This highly acclaimed documentary film was made in 1936. Made for the postal service ( the GPO then ) it follows the progress of the mail train going north from London to Scotland overnight. It is available on the internet and well worth watching. The first part is a straight documentary of the sort we are now used to seeing although the style was brand new at the time. The second part is given over to a famous poem by W H Auden which was written specially for the documentary.

The viewer is shown the mobile sorters working in the special carriage. As the train speeds through the night it picks up mail at the trackside by a catching device without stopping.

The start of the poem begins as the train crosses the border to Scotland; spoken by John Grierson to a score by Benjamin Brittan, and over the pictures of the steam train speeding through the night.

This is the night mail crossing the border

Bringing the cheque and the postal order

Letters for the rich; letters for the poor

For the corner shop and the girl next door

Pulling up Beattock, a steady climb

The gradients against her but she’s on time

The fireman is busy piling on coal while the driver keeps a careful watch. Across the Cumbrian wastes the train shovels steam over her shoulder as it races onwards.

Then the Auden poem switches to a steady beat following the rhythm of the train.

Letters of thanks: letters from banks

Letters of joy from girl and boy

Receipted bills and invitations

And applications for situations

And timid lover’s declarations

And gossip, gossip from all the nations

This always reminds me of my introduction to the poem at school. I don’t remember the precise occasion but I imagine a late autumn afternoon in Room 8. Tall windows on one side looked out on to the Ashby Road and opposite the central quadrangle surrounded by a covered walk way. The teacher was “Flash” Ferriman. I never understood why he had the nickname “Flash” as he was anything but. He was a wise and humane teacher whose natural authority meant no discipline problems. His humour was to include in his examples of English usage the names of his pupils thus “Hall gazes abstractly out of the window”. My attention would snap back. He was sometimes driven to throwing chalk or even the blackboard rubber.

Very occasionally he would wear his battledress jacket with his navigator wings. Just occasionally he would impart life lessons as in the psychology of volunteering. “ All those who don’t volunteer take a step back”

Auden’s poem slows as the Night Mail pulls into Glasgow and muses on the recipients

But who shall wake soon and hope for letters

And none will hear the postman’s knock

Without a quickening of the heart

For who can bear to feel themselves forgot

Not Pygmalion likely

In mid 1914 the play Pygmalion premiered. Written by George Bernard Shaw it features a phonetics expert Henry Higgins taking a flower girl, Eliza Doolittle and teaching her to speak so that she can be passed off as a Duchess. The play highlights Shaw’s belief that manner of speech was important in class distinctions. A fervent socialist he was keen to show how superficial speech is. Nowadays the original play is mainly known for the musical adaption “ My Fair Lady”.

At the time Pygmalion was notorious because Eliza has the line “Not bloody likely”. Swearing on stage was unknown then and although bloody is considered mild today it aroused much comment at the time. Because it was thought to be contraction of a religious oath such as “God’s blood” it was held to by some be sacrilegious. Many more were scandalised by swearing on stage.

Gentle folk who wanted to swear indirectly would say “not Pygmalion likely” ; a phrase I remember in use even as late as 50’s.

Shaw has a good point that the English class system partly depends on how you speak. Partly a matter of vocabulary and partly a matter of accent. Nancy Mitford had a deal of fun mocking speech as U or non U. For example it is upper class to say lavatory, lower class to say toilet. When she wrote in the 50’s this may be so but toilet is now widely used and accepted. However the fact remains that speech is still a main class identifier today.

Regional accents are now well accepted and the standard southern English accent is no longer the necessity it once was. There is a hierarchy of accents with Scottish considered pleasant and to show integrity. My own faint “Brummie” is not viewed favourably.

Physics at a time of uncertainty

 

Physics at a time of uncertainty

I nearly entitled this post “The death of Susy” for reasons which will become apparent but I rejected it as out of keeping with the serious tenor of this contribution. Physics is the part of science that deals with the material world and of course a great deal is understood and certain. Physicists have long been interested in the fundamental building blocks of matter. Study of the atom has shown it to be made up of different parts. These parts were gradually fitted together during the latter part of the 20^th century. The generally accepted version of these parts is known as the Standard model.

The Large Hadron Collider ( LHC )  is a massive atom splitter occupying a 27 mile tunnel at the French/Swiss border. Early on in its career the LHC was instrumental in the discovery of the Higgs boson, a particle predicted 50 years ago by theoretical physicist Peter Higgs. This was highly satisfactory as it suggested the Standard model was very much along the right lines.

However a range of other particles was also predicted as larger, heavier versions of the variety of known particles. This was expected to explain the puzzle of dark matter and to connect with gravity. The Standard model explains three basic forces but doesn’t explain gravity, a vastly weaker force. These expected particles were called supersymmetric particles and the whole theory supersymmetry or Susy for short. No such particles were found which has led to much head scratching.

A great deal of the investigation of these phenomena is mathematical. No Susy meant also that doubt was cast on the mathematics of string theory. This latter posits that matter at its most fundamental level is made up of vibrating strings in a 10 or 11 dimensional universe. String theory also suggests that 6 or 7 of these dimensions are rolled up so small that they don’t affect the 4 dimensions of space and time we normally experience. Very weird!

This problem demands further investigation and several mathematical theories have been advanced. There are some anomalies which may give a way forward. In the past it has often been trying for an explanation of small anomalies from generally accepted theories which has resulted in major advances.

There is a more basic issue with looking at sub atomic particles. This simply put is that quantum theory which is such a good explanation of small things up to hundred of atoms doesn’t mix with the best explanation of large scale phenomena in relativity theory.

Quantum theory is strange. Essentially it says matter is both a particle and a wave at the same time. Mathematically the wave is described by a wave function which essentially gives the probability that a particle will be in a particular position at a particular time. For a chemist like me concerned with the electrons around an atom, often shown a bit like a miniature solar system this means that the electron is not at a fixed point but rather as a cloud around the nucleus. All we know is the probability it will be in a particular position. This uncertainty continues until something happens to fix its position ( to decohere in the jargon )

The infamous thought experiment often quoted is ascribed to Schrodinger of a cat in a box. Personally I don’t find it helpful but it is quoted in almost every effort at a simple explanation. The outside observer knows the quantum cat is both alive and dead. Opening the box decoheres the cat and a result is observed as either alive or dead

It might be protested that quantum theory can’t be right. However it passes every test we can construct and it’s application has led to many electronic gadgets we use every day. At present there is no resolution of the composition of dark matter or of relativity vs quantum mechanics.

China

 

China

There has been a massive change of attitude among the liberal democracies towards China in the past 5 years or so. In Britain Cameron and chancellor Osbourne saw China as a vast business opportunity while Johnson fears China’s economic strength and recognises its existential threat. From about the late eighties the West looked on indulgently as China grew at an amazing economic pace, Essentially China went from a poor and backward country to an economic powerhouse in about 30 years.

We can see more clearly now that China policy was hopelessly naïve.  China used Western technology remorselessly to move up the manufacturing chain from simple metal bashing to the most sophisticated goods. There was a belief that a wealthier country would gradually liberalise politically, recognise human rights and evolve a proper independent legal system. The opposite has happened. While foreign investment bringing the best technology was welcome there was little hesitation in using Western technology for underhand methods like cyber spying.

The tremendous pace of China’s economic growth was enabled by limiting treasured communist collectivist ideas and allowing the private sector to flourish. In so doing a sort of informal pact was made by the leadership that allowed economic freedoms but completely barred political ones. This understanding enabled mighty cyber companies like Alibaba and TenCent to grow. These now fully match, in some ways surpass, such as Facebook and Google.

The result of the tremendous economic growth is that Chinese citizens standard of living has been transformed. From being mostly very poor now people enjoy world class infrastructure and excellent education.. The result is that the natural pride in an ancient nation has been transformed into virulent nationalism.

China is a very authoritarian state. In exchange for relative economic freedom Chinese people have no political freedom. Communication is very tightly controlled such that the internet in China is almost totally separate from the rest of the world. Chinese people cannot access anything that the authorities block which includes a vast amount normally accessible. This internet control has even resulted in the description ”the great Chinese firewall”. It appears that China is rapidly becoming a police state with many of the attributes of the former East Germany with surveillance and arbitrary action. There is no law in any sense separate from authority.

Under President Xi Jinping this totalitarian swing has accelerated. Very roughly the Chinese attitude to the world can be subdivided as Nationalism 50%, Communism 40%, Xi Jinping philosophy 10%. This is being manifested as internal repression and external aggressiveness. The treatment of non Han Chinese minorities has been shown with the treatment of Uighurs. The Chinese government entered into a long term agreement with Britain before Hong Kong was returned in the late 90’s. Almost from the start political control was imposed and this has been followed more recently with severe security suppressing any political action, even of token protests, while eliminating any press freedom.

Externally China has extended its aggressive attitude. It has long claimed Taiwan and a vast area in the South China Sea. It has extended and fortified small islands in the South China Sea. There is no international recognition and Britain and others do occasionally make “freedom of passage” voyages through the South China Sea. They are trying to pressure governments with island claims in the South China sea by posting large numbers of fake “fishing vessels” as a deterrent.

The Chinese leadership sees their totalitarian model as desirable not just for themselves, not just for South East Asia but for the whole world. Their objective is nothing less that the subjugation of the liberal democracies who would be turned into satellites. This is a threat to be taken very seriously China is rapidly building a large military force with a high technological capability. Their aim is to become so overwhelmingly powerful that nobody, certainly not in South Asia, dare oppose them..

The only countervailing force is America. Unfortunately America while steadfast under President Biden may not be so if it repeats the disaster of Trump or a Trump clone. It is a tragedy of gigantic proportions that one of the two great political parties, the Republicans, has fallen completely under Trumpite control. This extends to the extent that Trump fantasies are indulged. America cannot be regarded as a reliable ally with this political split.

The Chinese threat is very serious. Unlike the Cold War with Russia the liberal democracies are faced with a determined foe with ability for long term planning and great economic and technological strength. It seems that unlike Russia in the Cold War the Chinese government enjoys general internal support. Of course this level of support cannot be tested and is a matter of difficult estimation The philosophy of government is attracting a good deal of admiration in the Third World.

The very freedom enjoyed in the West has allowed companies to invest on a large scale in China. This has enabled China to invest heavily overseas in pursuit of their long term political ambitions. Some recent arbitrary decisions may give the less naïve investors pause for thought

While a shooting war is unlikely in the short term China will continue its aggressiveness and will exploit any weakness.

Ironically for all its massive 1.6bn population the main long term internal challenge is demographic. After the Mao imposed “one child” policy alarm has been growing among Chinese leaders about the long term fall in China’s population. The policy ( only possible in a totalitarian regime) has been relaxed twice recently to permit now 3 children. It appears that young people in China are following the world wide trend in that increasing prosperity is reducing family size. The situation is made worse by the Chinese cultural propensity to prefer boys. During the one child policy the ratio of boys to girls increased The result is that there is expected to be a surplus of males unable to find partners and hence reproduce.

Life on Venus/Swearing

 

Life on Venus

Don’t expect exotic green men, Venus surface is poundingly hot and with a suffocating atmosphere. What is speculated upon is some kind of very primitive life such as bacteria  high in the Venusian atmosphere. High could mean 50 miles high. The evidence isn’t very strong but it is fascinating. Essentially evidence has been found for phosphine gas high in the atmosphere. The evidence isn’t unambiguous but the fascination is that there is no known mechanism which makes the gas other than life.

The scientists have identified the gas by two separate telescopes although the identification is rather limited in other ways. Alternatives for phosphine production have been considered and eliminated. This means that if the production is by some non living process then that process is unknown at the present.

In a sense we have been here before. Many years ago life was pronounced present on Mars based on microscopic examination of meteorites  thrown up by Mars and found on Earth. This examination thought that they saw fossils of ancient bacteria. Although widely publicised at the time this is now thought not to be fossils.

There is a fascination in the search for extra terrestrial intelligence ( SETI ). There are two main threads to this. One is focused on possibilities in the solar system and the other on a search for unusual signals ( by radio ) from the universe at large.

The search in the solar system is based around what sort of conditions might enable life to begin. The expectation that anything will be very elementary such as bacteria or very simple lichen type plants. The search is directed by looking for environments where earth like species may exist. One important consideration is the presence of liquid water. It is thought to be difficult for life to exist in frozen water. There is a speculation that life may have begun on Mars in the distant past when conditions were probably more favourable but has probably either died out or retreated to ecological niches. Almost certainly Mars had abundant liquid water millions of years ago as evidence of ancient seas have been found.

Alternative possibilities in the solar system are suggested in the moons of Saturn and Jupiter. At least one is thought to have an existing sea but one covered in ice. In general these moons are too cold although some may have internal heating judged by the evidence of volcano like activity.

The search for life elsewhere in the universe is being conducted by the aptly named SETI project. SETI is Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence.  Essentially the driving force has been the speculation that there are so many suns which have so planets that statistically some must have generated intelligent life. The project has been analysing radio reception from radio telescopes. Any anomaly is eagerly pounced upon by the community but so far an alternative explanation has been found.

There are good physical reasons why this is highly likely to be a futile exercise. Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light( according to known physics ). Radio waves travel at this speed but the universe is so large that radio signals take many years. The nearest stars are over 4 light years away so that even travelling at light speed radio waves take over 4 years to reach us. In general stars are much further away and other galaxies ( star clusters ) even further. A message from say 100 light years away will do nothing to establish communication but only let us know it exists. Just image a conversation that takes 200 years between comment and answer Looking at things another way all radio type signals from earth will have only travelled about a 100 light years from earth. Even if the other intelligence is listening out the bubble of earth signals will only be about 100 light years across.

Swearing

I’m in favour of swearing but not in front of others. An effective bout of swearing relieves the feeling of distress or disappointment. Although futile in its effect it succeeds in a temporary relief of ones psyche.

I recall our English teacher at secondary school lecturing us on swearing which he attributed to a lack of vocabulary. This is not a thesis with which I agree. He pointed out that many ( what would now be considered mild ) swear word s were connected with religion. To express an oath of “god’s blood” now reduced to bloody was deeply shocking even sacrilegious in an age where faith was nearly universal. A range of other swearing such as damnation has similar origin and effect.

More recently the so called 4 letter words have become distressingly common even in common discourse. By their very use the shock value is blunted. I hope we have reached a time when even a comedian uttering f..k  no longer arouses a laugh.

For myself I find I swear like my father. He would never use 4 letter words but b….r was relatively common . I find now that I’m rather inhibited in using 4 letter words but like my father I regard b….r as relatively mild. I note that as religious exclamations are now mild in this age where faith is not so significant that most modern swearing has sexual connotation.

It seems that maybe Americans are somewhat unusual in that refences to one’s mother are somehow deeply disturbing thus s-o-b and the litany of related swear words scarcely ever occurs in England while if literature is to be believed these are common in the USA

I remember being quite shocked early in my career when a ( lady ) technician I was working with remarked quite casually that I swore a lot. The task was a frustrating one but I regarded my swearing as quite mild and without obscenities. If I had imagined that the technician found it shocking I would ( I hope ) refrained. I think she was referring to my use of b….r which perhaps was unusual. The lady concerned was not protesting but voicing her observation.. I hope I was more careful in future.

Berlin

 Berlin

I visited Berlin as part of a rail tour firstly to Poland and then on a second occasion while visiting the great cities of Eastern Europe. I was excited to visit Berlin, a city which has figured large in recent history. On my first visit we stayed in an ultramodern hotel  on Alexanderplatz. We had a room high in this hotel with a view over a swath of former East Berlin including its imposing TV tower which dominates the Berlin skyline. I was taken aback that our bathroom had only strategically placed areas of opaque glass with most clear.

On our first day exploring the city we set out to walk past the former German Air Ministry from Nazi times. This was a grave disappointment being a gigantic ( even grandiose ) building with absolutely no exterior interest. It is now used for some bureaucratic purpose unconnected with flying. Walking on and nearby quite by chance we came upon the former Gestapo headquarters. It was almost totally demolished down to ground level but the basement level was still visible. It seemed almost unbelievable that these basement cells were where so many were tortured. A major museum to Gestapo activities is adjacent to the site and it was instructive, if horrifying, to visit.

We hurried on to our destination which was Check Point Charlie. As a tourist destination the Checkpoint is actually moved from its original site. It is now an attraction in its own right with actors dressed in US and Soviet uniforms posing outside for tourist photos. Some of the signage is still there as a tourist prop such as large signs “You are now leaving the American sector”.

Much more interesting was the nearby museum devoted to East Germans crossing the Berlin Wall. This wall erected in 1961 and demolished in 1989 was much more than just a tall concrete wall. On the East German side was the “death zone” of some 50m of cleared sandy area where the border guards were told to shoot. Sadly many from the East were killed trying to escape East Germany. One of the most haunting aspects of the museum was the advice to escapers to try and catch the guards eye and smile so that by exhibiting a common humanity the guard might not shoot to kill. The escapers showed incredible ingenuity. In the walls early days before so much was destroyed escapers could hope to jump or run from nearby  buildings.  A border guard escaped this way and a lucky photographer captured a famous photo.

Other bizarre ways included a hot air balloon, con tricks such as flashing a Playboy Club passport which resembled a diplomatic passport, secret tunnels, a tightrope walk or Zip wire, or using makeshift boats on rivers or canals which cross the wall. A wide variety of hiding places in vehicles were used. The most extreme was an East German soldier who stole a tank, tried to crash the wall only to become entangled in barbed wire. Although shot the soldier escaped.

Part of the experience was a coach tour with a guide. Although German the guide had a great command of English which he used to make wry jokes during the tour. A great deal of building work is underway and seemingly modern buildings are being demolished to make way for even newer ones. The guide introduced this by saying it was a prominent aspect of the city life. Then when we would pass yet another demolition site he would roll his eyes and say “ you know what our city hobby is…” The guide was excellent and we were very fortunate to encounter him again on our second visit. He claimed to remember me but he must see so many this seemed a bit unlikely. The truth of his jokes was shown in that our first hotel had been demolished despite being very modern.

A small section of wall remains and Berliners have taken advantage of the sandy exclusion zone by treating it as a beach. In fact touring Berlin shows artefacts from the communist era from 1945 to 1989 for east Berlin and from the Nazi era 1933-1945. Berlin was subjected to intense bombing during WW11. The Nazi’s built strong bomb shelters above ground which were surmounted by anti aircraft guns. These flak towers are so massively built that it isn’t always worthwhile to demolish them and we passed one in our tour.

We took a day trip to Sanssouci palace in Potsdam quite close to Berlin. Built by King Frederick of Prussia the name ( French for without cares ) it was used as a retreat from the cares of government in Berlin. On our journey we travelled along the Avus motorway, the first restricted access road in Europe. Its widely separated dual carriageways had a dual function as a motor racing circuit with hairpin bends joining the two carriageways. The road may be considered the precursor to Nazi era autobahn.

Back in Berlin no visit is complete without a visit to the Brandenburg Gate. Atop the classical 4 column gate is a mythical chariot drawn by four horses. Although the structure is central  at the end of the Unter der Linden, the premier street, it is rather a tourist trap with lots of “living statues” alongside. Nearby is the rather impressive Holocaust Memorial. This consists of an 19 thousand square metre area  of plain slabs of varying height on a sloping field.. The  2700 slabs are separated so one can easily walk between them. This description sounds very bland but walking through with slabs gradually rising above head height is strangely impressive

Coventry

 

Coventry

Watching a documentary on construction of the new Coventry cathedral on TV recently made me realise that of all the great Midland cities I have the closest and strongest links with Coventry.

Initially it was the city I visited most because of family visits to my aunt Amy and uncle Jim. It was in Coventry that I saw TV for the first time in 1948. It was at one of Amy’s friends. I thought it was marvellous although I thought the programme, the Festival of Remembrance  extremely boring ( I was only 6 ). They had one child, daughter Winifred, who I wasn’t at all close to as she was 8 years older. However Winifred played a big indirect influence in my life. At the start of WW11 Winifred was evacuated to live with my parents in the North Warwickshire countryside. Looking back my mother was smitten with her as charming 5 year old. I’m sure my mother insisted that she should have a child of her own as Winifred went to live with her mother in a nearby village. My father was one for putting things off but I think my mother was insistent and so I was born in the middle of the war.

My cousin has always said my mother wanted a girl like Winifred although I have to say she never even hinted at any disappointment when I was growing up. Winifred was always a family favourite. I remember she came to stay with us while learning to ride her new Piatti motor scooter just prior to taking up her midwifery position in London. I remember my father in despair as she was a very poor rider. I think it was just as well she soon got a small car.

We did spend a family holiday staying at Amy’s house while they were away. My main memory of that visit was that we gorged on cinema visits something normally difficult. “Reach for the Sky” about Douglas Bader and “Privates Progress” but my fathers favourite was “Genevieve”. He always commented on the trumpet playing of  Kay Kendall, one of the leading ladies. Much later I found out that this was actually played by a double but I never disabused him.

Throughout this time of the late 40’s and 50’s Coventry centre was being rebuilt after the severe bomb damage of the 1940 attack. I was vastly impressed by what seemed to me to be a pinnacle of modernity. It was the forerunner of the separation of traffic and pedestrians. The centre led down from a square making clever use of the gradual slope to have two level access over part.. What was perhaps a less classy aspect was that the modern town hall boasted the Godiva clock. On the hour Lady Godiva would ride in front while Peeping Tom looked upon her from above. This miracle of the clockmaker’s art fascinated me.

A little way away. but with modern centre axis aligned with the tower of the old cathedral, was the cathedral complex. The old cathedral’s nave was completely destroyed with only the walls remaining with the majestic tower at one end still intact. The new cathedral was at right angles to the old connected by a gigantic porch. The new nave had a serrated edge with one side filled with stained glass. At the end nearest the old church was a curved wall with an abstract sun burst motif in stained glass. This floor to ceiling design is quite magnificent- in fact the whole is a triumph. No attempt at a tower is made as the old one is magnificent, just a lattice work tower at one end. The porch wall is entirely of glass which gives the new cathedral a light and airy feel.

I remember at my first rag week I determined to absent myself from the main activities and Annette and I went to Coventry for the day. I was anxious to show her how modern town planning had transformed the centre and accommodated the car.

With Castrol I had to visit the GEC Telephones factory right by the modern ringroad.  I was surprised to learn this was a listed building as the first steel framed in the UK, Later in my career with Castrol I quite often had the task of entertaining foreign visitors from Castrol units around the world. My routine on such occasions was to go to the Jaguar engine plant at Radford Road in the morning and visit the cathedrals in the afternoon. The Jaguar engine plant had an ongoing supply and maintenance contract for cutting fluids and the like. I knew the Castrol staff quite well and this relatively new deal was sure to be of interest.

Then at the cathedrals I knew the detailed story quite well. I was able to describe how on the morning after the raid a cross of giant nails was picked from the rubble and erected in the burnt out nave. This became the symbol of the rebirth of the church which dedicated itself to forgiveness and reconciliation. The cross of nails is now an emblem. The full story is shown in a film in the crypt of the new cathedral.

More recently I bought my car in Coventry from a Volvo dealer on the outskirts. Volvo dealers are few and the most convenient one closed. Waiting while the car is serviced we spent the time in Coventry centre. The Herbert museum which combines art and local history is just by the old cathedral.

Sadly the new centre hasn’t worn particularly well and is about to be redeveloped. I suspect one big problem is that it was designed around lots of small individual shops. There is no space to put big modern shop units. To site a large Ikea store it is located just beyond the mall end. I will be sorry to see it go but shopping habits have changed immensely in the past 70 years.

Scooter boy

 

Scooter boy

I had thought long and hard before buying my first vehicle. It had to be two wheels for cost, and a scooter for ordinary outdoor clothes. I read carefully a book on scootering. This gave lots of useful advice but erred on one important fact. This was the recommendation to prefer the rear wheel brake to the front. I soon learned that weight transfer ( greater weight on the front wheel when braking ) meant a judicious mixture was best.

I was living in college in Loughborough and I found a dealer in Nanpantan Road selling a second hand Lambretta Li 150 for £114. Naively without attempting to negotiate I bought it along with a helmet and set off on my first ride. Completely new I managed to ride out of town, turn around and back parking in a college car park. In those days there was ample room. My scooter had a full height windscreen. This presented a massive air resistance but gave significant protection from the elements.

I was entering my “industrial” year working for Bostik in Leicester. The daytime traffic by their premises was too busy for a learner but every evening when the roads were quieter I went for a ride. My confidence grew and I started to think about my full licence test. It was a simple matter to locate the test centre and observe the routine used for two wheeler tests. In those days there was no written test and highway code knowledge came as a few verbal questions before the practical test. The only part which worried me was the emergency stop.  However I soon observed that the examiner used a particular straight stretch of road, positioning himself behind a parked car then stepping out. In the event it was perfectly obvious to see him some way away and get ready.

Having passed my test I was ready to face rush hour traffic. There was one busy 5 way junction on my route to work which I found tricky until I had enough confidence and ability to master it. Because of the road layout it meant two sets of lights with multiple lanes. With my full licence I could now take Annette as a pillion passenger.

Our ambition was a day trip to the seaside. From the centre of England this was no simple matter. We set out early one Sunday morning to go to the East Coast. About 5 miles out of Leicester on the A47 the clutch broke leaving no drive. There was.no alternative but to push the scooter back to a repair shop in Leicester. It was testament to our relationship that Annette helped uncomplainingly. . Fortunately there were a lot of downhill gradients when we were able to coast. We later made a successful trip to Skegness..

Arguably the most ambitious trip was to London. Annette was spending a week with her college group ( mainly at the Victoria and Albert museum ) and I went down on a Saturday to bring her back. The scooter was totally unsuitable for the motorway ( it was illegal anyway ) so it was a case of following the A6/A5. Returning at night navigating through towns was tricky. Part way back we turned off for a break and a cup of coffee at a café. Afterwards without thinking I turned to retrace our route only to be stopped by a policeman as I was going the wrong way down a one way street. Fortunately he let me off with warning. We eventually made it back to Leicester tired and cold and very pleased to have ended our travelling.

Our most ambitious journey was a holiday to Skegness and then up the east coast to Bridlington. This was the only time Annette’s father expressed reservations- not because we were going away together as ( I hope ) he realised my intentions were honourable, but rather he was concerned about two wheeler travel. In the event it was on this trip we decided to get formally engaged. Travelling up the East Coast I could see the Humber crossing but I hadn’t realised that at that time ( 1964) it was a ferry crossing. We delayed any announcement of our engagement for a few weeks so as not to steal Annette’s brothers thunder as he also got engaged at the same time.

Two wheel travel is dangerous. I learned to have great respect for the grip from two small tyres. Small wheels meant the amount of tyre on the road was rather minute. The most frightening incident occurred on a frosty morning on the London Road in Leicester. I suddenly lost grip, fell off and saw a double deck bus looming above me. Fortunately he stopped in time but I was very frightened by the experience. Helped by my father I bought an old Morris 1000 van and soon gave up two wheels. The intention was my father would learn to drive. Ironically he had a full driving licence grandfathered from his pre war motorcycling. He never did learn to drive as he was in his sixties by then and his vision had started to fail.

Although I could drive accompanied by him I took lessons with David O’Brien in Leicester This was on the strong recommendation from two girls at Bostik whom he had taught and who thought he was “dishy”. He was certainly rather eccentric, given to commenting on cars and girls we passed by. I did pass my test but only on the second attempt. Unfortunately this was in Hinckley where I didn’t know the roads and in a strange car as the driving school car had broken down. The examiner commented my driving while obeying all the rules was rather jerky.

I have since driven many thousands of miles and on the whole enjoyed motoring. But I sold my scooter and resolved never again to rely on two wheels. I was quite pleased to give my son a car ( a cheap hand -me -down after I got a company one ) and warned him off two wheels.