University education is not an automatic right,
but something which is a privilege.
In many parts of the world even the most rudimentary form of
education is something which a lot of people still strive for.
Those of us who are in our 60s & over can remember a time
when university was only available for those who came from a
wealthy background,
while the majority of the population started work at 15 or
earlier. Continue reading Work Time – Study Time.
The Imperial War Museum ( IWM ) has changed a lot since I first
visited it some time around 1963.
I still have a very strong impression of just what the museum
was like at the time,
and the displays upon the horrors of World War One.
I’ve been back to the IWM several times over the years since
then.
I Recently went on a librarians visit to the new
Explore History Centre within the IWM.
The Explore centre replaces what used to be the Museum
Library, and is a good starting place for anyone who wishes to
learn more about the various aspects of the various wars
which Britain has been involved in since the turn of the 19th
century.
Not only can one access the books and papers which are held
within the museum,
but it’s audio visual materials too.
This is also the starting point from which one may undertake
some research in to ones family history,
but find out about how wars have been waged during the 20th
century.
The idea behind the Explore Centre is that what is held within
the Museum should be easily available to everyone.
Both World War One & Two were ‘peoples wars’,
and the collection is a reflection of this very fact.
Thus the Museum has a vast collection of books, documents,
and other items upon the subject of Conscientious Objection,
together with many sound recording made by COs.
e.g.
by Harold Bing.
Amongst the items I was shown the last letter of Edith Cavell,
whos statue Women In Black hold their vigils,
&
a collection of letters from people who were on the Lusitania
when it was torpedoed in 1915.
The IWM has a holding of over 5 miles of books,
50,000 badges,
and the largest collection of paintings within the UK.
So you should be able to find something of interst for
everyone.
Cornwall 2010.
At the end of September I want on a 5 day trip to Cornwall.
Here is my diary account of what I experienced during those few days.
This was a journey in to my memory of the past,
and just how what I held to be true has changed over the years.
So with train ticket & freedom Pass I set out from home,
only to find out just how the information which was stored in my memory has been true,
or become distorted,
and just how things have changed in over 42 years.
Now read on —- Continue reading Cornwall – 42 Years Later
Have you ever wondered what the Initials of the Nukiller Power provider EDF might mean?
I did so and came up with a few possible answers.
Here is my list:-
– Especially Dangerous & Faulty.
– Expensive Dodgy & Fissile.
– Everything Dangerous & Fissile.
– Extremely Dangerous Fellows.
– Economically Damaging & Faulty.
– Ensuring Damages Follow.
– [ An ] Eroding Deadly Failure.
– Emissions Destructive & Frightening.
– Ensuring a Desolate Future.
– Entering a Doomed Future.
– Enterprising a Deadly Folly.
All other ideas as to just what EDF might mean would be most welcome,
and I’ll just add then to this list.
What do you think that D R S stands for?
Dangerous ?
Radioactive ?
&
Secretive ?
No.
It stands for Direct Rail Services (DRS) .
Direct Rail Services (DRS) is a freight operating company
which was created in 1995 by British Nuclear Fuels Limited,
and so now a subsidiary company of the
Nuclear Decommissioning authority.
DRS owns all those nice nukiller waste flasks which it
transports up to the Windscale ( Sellafield )
Nukiller Waste Factory in Cumbria.
While the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority also owns such
companies as:
– Pacific Nuclear Transport.
– International Nuclear Services.
– U K Nirex Ltd,
&
Newton Manor Ltd,
which is a waste disposal company.
Of course it goes without saying that the activities of all
these nukiller organisations posse a major threat to us all.
Now just follow the links & you will know who to Direct your
protest at – – – – .
I’m constantly amazed at just how bad design information can
make life really difficult for us all.
Here are just a few example which illustrate the point.
– That one constantly sees posters about the dangers of
running up & down escalates.
Yet if I ever have to use a stationary escalator then I get
vertigo.
I’m still waiting to see a sign that says
Danger! Stationary Escalator.
– That self checkout machines in supermarkets are never
designed so for those of us who want to use our own
backpack?
I’ve still got to come across one that is designed by someone
who uses ergonomic principles.
– That there is never any thought given to the needs of
pedestrians waiting for traffic lights to change.
I’ve always thought that they should include a rain shelter as
one can sometimes take an age to wait for the pedestrian light
to change green.
It would also be better if it there was some indication as to
just how long one would have to wait before crossing over to
the other opposite pedestrian way.
These lights do already operate in the Netherlands, and so
what about bring them in to use in the rest of the world?
– That those who set the standards on VDU use have never
worked out that they do not march up with the very different
distance requirements of those of us who use verifocals.
Perhaps they should try setting up a working group of those
who use verifocals in order to produce a new set of real
world VDU user standards.
– That more medications do not have a brail label as a part of
the design upon the packaging.
It’s not that difficult to do so with modern packaging
technology.
Hum – Maybe I should set myself up as a design consultant.
I couldn’t produce worse results that what some of the
current designers have left us with – – – Could I ?
I recently paid a visit to Ely.
In the 22 years since I last paid a visit to the city it was
changed a lot for the better.
A major restoration of the cathedral has left it looking like
the magnificent building it is,
rather that the rather neglected place which I remember it as
being.
There is also a stained glass museum within the cathedral
which I would highly recommend anyone to visit.
What I found of particular interest is to be found within the
Lady Chapel,
which is a very fine example of Gothic architecture.
At one stage the windows of this chapel was servery damaged
and there are now just plain glass windows where formally
there would of been magnificent stained glass windows.
Should you visit the Lady Chapel then you might notice
something else which is not ‘bog standard’ in most cathedral
buildings,
for etched in to the bottom of each window is listed one of the
bodies which has help to restore the cathedral,
with with the organisonal symbol or crest placed next to
their name.
The first one of these I noted was that of
Tescos PLC.
I jest not.
The other names include:
– The Marshall of Cambridge.
– The Mercers Company.
– The Kings School.
– British Railway Board.
plus
Barclays, Midland, Lloyds, and Trustee savings banks.
Just how one can justify the inclusion of any references to these corporate bodies as a
part of such an important historical building still needs to be seen.
Cambridge Electronic Instutries also have their own window
within the lady Chapel.
Cambridge Electronic Industries
manufactures electronic interconnection items.
It is owned by Wilson-Mottaz Ltd.
I’d be interested to learn just which companies their products are sold to?
Last week I saw an advertisement which claims that one in
eight of the people who use the tube are victims of identity
theft.
I just sat there and thought that equates to12.5% of the
population,
which must also mean that 87.5% of the population do not
suffer from any form of identify theft.
The interesting difference between saying 1 in 8
and 87.5%
is that one of them sounds alarmingly high number,
while the other sounds like a reasonably low percentage.
Perhaps that’s why I always like to see the raw statistics,
rather than any one else’s interpretation of just what they
might mean.
When it comes to any fiscal or population figures then it
makes a lot of sense to do so.
For even 1% of a population can equate to many thousands of
people, which in turn will equate to many thousands of
individual tragedies.
When it comes to percentage cuts in public finances it is not a
question of looking at the figures,
but just what this means to individuals,
and the social impact it will have upon the population as a
whole.
There is a very good argument that all social services should
be protected.
On the other hand there is a conservative argument that
people should not be encouraged to stay within a benefits
reliant culture,
but do something in order to help themselves.
The problem with this comes with a belief that this can be
solved with a totally unrealistic and totally unatonable
‘enterprise culture’.
There is an old socialist saying:
‘ From each according to his abilities
From each according to his means.’
I would agree with the conservatives that we do need to get
away from a benefit reliant culture,
but that must mean setting up more self help projects,
while also establishing more workers & consumer
co-operatives.
Perhaps it is time to look at the figures again,
and see just what will work of the benefit of all.
Talk of cutting public expenditure by 25% may sound very
draconian,
but cutting military expenditure be 100% would be most
welcome indeed.
It might also be worth while if we could all start to think of
public expenditure in terms of encouraging social cooperatives.
If cuts are on the way, then we are going to really need to
money in to those projects which would benefits us all,
rather than just keep paying out money to the individual.
Failure to do so will mean a lot more poverty stricken
individuals that will need some sort of fiscal help.
It’s not the percentage figures which matter,
but just what those figures mean within the real world.
This coming Tuesday I will mark 2/3rds of my life as a vegetarian.
Now that’s something which I think of as an achievement.
I just wish that there were more people making it a 1st day vegie,
&
there would be a lot more to celebrate next week.
I’ve been hearing of late about the whole process of just what
goes on when nukiller waste is put in to storage.
Now we all know that the nukiller industry produces a lot of
very radioactive waste,
but it should also be remembered that what is left behind is a
very toxic chemical mixture which could become very volatile
if it is handled in the wrong way.
Many of these chemicals are also very corrosive,
which makes for some very difficult storage problems,
particularly given that this material is going to present a
radioactive danger for many centuries in to the future.
Thus Windscale,
which was rebranded as Sellefield,
should be regarded as being:-
– a Nukiller Reactor plant,
– a storage facility for highly radioactive waste,
– a facility in which Plutonium is extracted from Highly
Radioactive waste,
&
– Very large chemical conversion factory.
All of which means that what goes on in the plant presents
some very challenging safety problems for us all.
Even if all of the nukiller plants throughout the globe were
to close down right now,
and no more plutonium were to be extracted from the
resulting waste,
then there will still be an ongoing problem which we will have
to be faced up to.
It is not just a problem of safeguarding the waste,
as there will also be a financial burden which will last for
centuries to come.
Meanwhile back at Windscale: –
there have been so many reports of chemical & radioactive
leaks over the years,
that it all makes for such a very very very long list.
That’s why I’m not even going try to mention just 0.1% of what
has gone on within or around the plant over the years.
Never mind the growing list of criticisms about just how the
plant operates,
which might be best summed up as a chemical incompetence.
For while there has been a lot of effort put in to reducing the
quantity of waste,
very little thought about just how to deal with the resulting
highly radioactive chemical gunk.
This is not to say that there have not been various proposals
as to how this waste might be stored.
For example:
There have been efforts to store this waste deep
underground,
such as happened in Germany.
The trouble is that none of these supposed ‘solutions’ will
ever work.
Just storing the waste while it is still undergoing a chemical
reaction is not the brightest idea as to what might be done
with it in the short to medium term.
Never mind the long lived radioactivity which is just another
problem which future generations are going to have to deal
with !!!
So some of the recent developments within Cumbria should be
regarded with alarm.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is looking to axe
jobs.
As with all the various UK government agencies financial cuts
are on the way.
This means job losses.
Depending upon which reports you read,
both within the NDA and at Windscale this will effect between
90 and 1,200 workers. *