Now it is time for me to catch up with you all properly!
Click on photo for a larger view.
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Monday, 28 April 2008
The Joy of Train Journeys
Today was my regional TU meeting in Nottingham. So I set off early to meet a colleague at the station and collect two others along the way. We had arranged that we would all be on the same train by the time we got to Birmingham!
But we hadn't bargained on the new direct train to London breaking down and making all subsequent trains late!!!
The train before mine was a stopper (calling at every station) and it was 20 minutes late leaving only ten minutes before mine which was on time and a non stopper. Well of course that meant we had to stop at all the red signals and we were severely delayed. Due to this, the train in front kicked it's passengers off at Wolverhampton which meant that all those passengers needed to get on our train which was already full!
Why was it quite so full? The proper train had broken down and this one had only had two carriages instead of four... We had been greeted with an apology as we got on the train!
The sea of faces waiting on the platform when we got to Wolverhampton was quite alarming. We set off and were treated to weird announcements such as 'Weee! Green Lights'! The explanations and apologies were quite amusing! We were so crammed in that it was boiling hot, the air was stale and I began to feel a bit squiffy. One poor girl went quite white and I thought she was going to pass out. I did offer her my seat but she sat on the floor instead, thankfully that helped her recover. I hate to think what would have happened if there had been a train accident or another emergency.
Eventually we reached Birmingham and searched the masses for our missing colleagues. Amazingly, the one who had caught the stopper had managed to cram onto our train after being kicked off at Wolverhampton. It seems that on Wolverhampton station there was a lot of shouting to keep back, stand clear and not get on the train.
Of course due to the delays we missed our connection. We arrived at the meeting 30 minutes late...
I bet you are wondering about the journey back. Well between Nottingham and Birmingham it was stop at every red signal so we missed the connection again. And guess what, all the trains were still 20 minutes late.
But we hadn't bargained on the new direct train to London breaking down and making all subsequent trains late!!!
The train before mine was a stopper (calling at every station) and it was 20 minutes late leaving only ten minutes before mine which was on time and a non stopper. Well of course that meant we had to stop at all the red signals and we were severely delayed. Due to this, the train in front kicked it's passengers off at Wolverhampton which meant that all those passengers needed to get on our train which was already full!
Why was it quite so full? The proper train had broken down and this one had only had two carriages instead of four... We had been greeted with an apology as we got on the train!
The sea of faces waiting on the platform when we got to Wolverhampton was quite alarming. We set off and were treated to weird announcements such as 'Weee! Green Lights'! The explanations and apologies were quite amusing! We were so crammed in that it was boiling hot, the air was stale and I began to feel a bit squiffy. One poor girl went quite white and I thought she was going to pass out. I did offer her my seat but she sat on the floor instead, thankfully that helped her recover. I hate to think what would have happened if there had been a train accident or another emergency.
Eventually we reached Birmingham and searched the masses for our missing colleagues. Amazingly, the one who had caught the stopper had managed to cram onto our train after being kicked off at Wolverhampton. It seems that on Wolverhampton station there was a lot of shouting to keep back, stand clear and not get on the train.
Of course due to the delays we missed our connection. We arrived at the meeting 30 minutes late...
I bet you are wondering about the journey back. Well between Nottingham and Birmingham it was stop at every red signal so we missed the connection again. And guess what, all the trains were still 20 minutes late.
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Freedom of Speech
You might remember that I posted about a demonstration that was taking place about the building of the Military Academy in St Athan. I didn't go myself but I wanted to check on how the demo went. PCS view here.
Whilst reading around the events of the day I was alerted to this article published in the guardian today:
Whilst reading around the events of the day I was alerted to this article published in the guardian today:
"The power of the police to mount surveillance operations at peaceful protests will be challenged in court this week.I for one hope that the case is won! I don't see why someone has to have their picture/details taken just because they want to express an opinion!
In a case seen as opposing Britain's move towards a Big Brother-style society, the High Court will determine if police are legally entitled to take photographs and compile information on protesters even if they do not break the law."
Book Meme
- Pick up the nearest book.
- Open to page 123.
- Find the fifth sentence.
- Post the next three sentences.
- Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.
There must be over a hundred books right be me so I am using the book I am currently reading for my book group.
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
At the Unkapani quay, I left my longboat a little after Black and his Enishte had left theirs. I was behind them as they leaned on one another and mounted the hill. At the site of a recent fire in the shadow of the Sultan Mehmet Mosque, they stopped and exchanged parting words.
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
At the Unkapani quay, I left my longboat a little after Black and his Enishte had left theirs. I was behind them as they leaned on one another and mounted the hill. At the site of a recent fire in the shadow of the Sultan Mehmet Mosque, they stopped and exchanged parting words.
Saturday, 26 April 2008
Silbury Hill
The May edition of Heritage Today has a very interesting article on the latest discoveries regarding the mysterious Silbury Hill. The hill is near Marlborough just on the edge of the A4.
In 2000 a large hole opened up and archaeologists and engineers teamed up to find a solution. The hole was caused by a shaft that had been sunk by the Duke of Northumberland in 1776. Furthermore the soil was seeping into various tunnels that had been channeled into the hill over the years. The largest tunnel was created by Professor Richard Atkinson in 1968. The BBC sponsored him to carry out the dig and Magnus Magnusson presented a programme from within. The entrance can be seen in the following picture (from Heritage Today magazine). To repair the hill all the voids had to be filled from the middle outwards with bags of chalk followed by a chalk and water mixture. The door to the entrance has now been placed in the nearby Alexander Keiller Museum in Avebury.
In 2000 a large hole opened up and archaeologists and engineers teamed up to find a solution. The hole was caused by a shaft that had been sunk by the Duke of Northumberland in 1776. Furthermore the soil was seeping into various tunnels that had been channeled into the hill over the years. The largest tunnel was created by Professor Richard Atkinson in 1968. The BBC sponsored him to carry out the dig and Magnus Magnusson presented a programme from within. The entrance can be seen in the following picture (from Heritage Today magazine). To repair the hill all the voids had to be filled from the middle outwards with bags of chalk followed by a chalk and water mixture. The door to the entrance has now been placed in the nearby Alexander Keiller Museum in Avebury.
There have been many theories as to the significance of the hill; burial chamber for an ancient king, a platform for druid sacrifices and astronomical observatory are among the suggestions. The stabilising of the structure enabled archaeologists to shed a bit more light on the hill. It is now certain that there was no burial beneath the mound. A piece of pottery at the site has also established that the Romans had a settlement there.
Due to radiocarbon dating using pieces of antler it has now been established that the hill was started around 2400BC and probably went on for several hundred years. It is composed of a series of layers secured by stakes, then gradually built on top of. The mound eventually got covered by different layers of local material; clay, chalk, topsoil, turf and even some sarsen stones. Whilst looking in the main tunnel the archaeologists realised that the hill had started off as several mounds which later joined into the single mound, initially it stood 5 metres high. The mound grew to 25 metres high, the top part consisting of chalk that had been quarried from an adjacent ditch. At this stage it appears that the mound was left for a while as there is a layer soil showing signs that grass had colonised it. After this rest period more chalk was piled on top until the hill eventually stood at 37 metres high. It is the largest prehistoric mound in the whole of Europe that has been hand made by humans.
Due to radiocarbon dating using pieces of antler it has now been established that the hill was started around 2400BC and probably went on for several hundred years. It is composed of a series of layers secured by stakes, then gradually built on top of. The mound eventually got covered by different layers of local material; clay, chalk, topsoil, turf and even some sarsen stones. Whilst looking in the main tunnel the archaeologists realised that the hill had started off as several mounds which later joined into the single mound, initially it stood 5 metres high. The mound grew to 25 metres high, the top part consisting of chalk that had been quarried from an adjacent ditch. At this stage it appears that the mound was left for a while as there is a layer soil showing signs that grass had colonised it. After this rest period more chalk was piled on top until the hill eventually stood at 37 metres high. It is the largest prehistoric mound in the whole of Europe that has been hand made by humans.
Click on photo for a larger view.
I shall leave you with the final paragraph from the article.
Silbury Hill has been called the British equivalent of the pyramids, but why did Stone Age man build it? Nobody knows, exactly. Quite apart from any ritualistic significance Silbury may have had for its builders, just constructing it would have been its own reward. Having such a great shared purpose would have helped the community to cohere. Perhaps future generations will say something similar of the people who came to repair the monument in the early twenty-first century. why has Silbury been mended? Because our nation is strengthened through doing it.
More interesting facts about the mound can be found on the Silbury Hill page of the English Heritage website.
Friday, 25 April 2008
The Inkblot Test
Kate has just done a depressing test and needs something to cheer her up! That got me thinking... I remembered an inkblot test I took quite a few years ago, which made me smile. Mmm what was the site called? I know it has changed it's name since I did the test. Ah yes Tickle.
You don't need to do the test unless you want to, but it is well worth just looking at some of the pictures and the questions beneath. Some of the questions certainly make me smile :-)
A sample picture inkblot picture:
You don't need to do the test unless you want to, but it is well worth just looking at some of the pictures and the questions beneath. Some of the questions certainly make me smile :-)
A sample picture inkblot picture:
If you decide to do the test you can only get a summary (unless you choose to pay). Here is mine. Do you think this is me? I know what I think ;-)
Thursday, 24 April 2008
A Bitty Day!
Firstly: Organising train journeys why is that so complicated?! I guess because our rail service isn't the best, making it complicated for everyone to meet up in the same place at the right time!!!
As part of the train sorting out conversation it came to light that one of my claim forms for the PCS conference should be in by Friday 27th April (is there a Friday 27th April???). I had to drop everything else and sort out the claim form and find a first class stamp. *fingers crossed* it gets there in time!
Then I noticed on the PCS website that I am supposed to be at a meeting on Monday. I hadn't received any details about it... The problem is that the mailing list thinks it knows me but it has listed my email address incorrectly. I thought the problem had been sorted a few weeks ago!!! I think it's sorted now.
In addition to all of those irritations, the gas board still haven't got back to me, I have heard nothing about my new car which was supposed to arrive in the UK tomorrow and my leaky tap is still leaky...
As part of the train sorting out conversation it came to light that one of my claim forms for the PCS conference should be in by Friday 27th April (is there a Friday 27th April???). I had to drop everything else and sort out the claim form and find a first class stamp. *fingers crossed* it gets there in time!
Then I noticed on the PCS website that I am supposed to be at a meeting on Monday. I hadn't received any details about it... The problem is that the mailing list thinks it knows me but it has listed my email address incorrectly. I thought the problem had been sorted a few weeks ago!!! I think it's sorted now.
In addition to all of those irritations, the gas board still haven't got back to me, I have heard nothing about my new car which was supposed to arrive in the UK tomorrow and my leaky tap is still leaky...
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