Real life airfix kit
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best.
Oh so thats where the Co-Captain sits!
Kulula Air is the South African equivalent of EasyJet here. But no bright orange paint-job here. Green. With labels! The fleet of 737’s are covered with details about the plane, with arrows pointing to the most important parts including little bits of clever commentary.
Someone there clearly has a great sense of humour. I couldn’t help but wonder whether those of a nervous disposition might be more worried when they see where bits of kit are. I understand that there is a marking for the ‘black box‘ (which are usually EasyJet orange). I’m not sure you need to remind those slightly worried looking passengers – although the old joke used to be to sit on top of it – on the basis they always recover the black box!
Some of the labels:
galley (cuppa anyone?)
avionics (fancy navigation stuff)
windows (best view in the world)
engine #1 and #2 (26 000 pounds of thrust)
some windows = kulula fans (the coolest peeps in the world)
back door (no bribery/corruption here)
loo (or mile-high club initiation chamber)
rudder (the steering thingy)
galley (food, food, food, food…)
ZS-ZWP (OK-PIK) = secret agent code (aka plane’s registration)
fuel tanks (the go-go juice)
cockpit window = sun roof
nose cone (radar, antenna, and a really big dish inside)
Brilliant!
It also has another use – when I used to fly (much smaller planes than this) one of the tricky bits to learn was the check-list for the walk around (or pre-flight check). No such problem here! The check-list is painted on the plane….
Clockwork Lights – the next Rolling Stones?
As a fan of live music as you can perhaps guess, it was great news when my youngest son decided that he wanted to be in a band. That was the good news, the less good news was that he wanted to play drums!
chilling out in the green room (sofa)
He and his mates are in their second incarnation – the first band played last year, but only one gig. They were called Five Card Trip.
But with a new line up for 2010 – Clockwork Lights are now up and running.
They have facebook page here – with over 400 fans. The power of the internet!
The band are:
Chris Green – Vocals
Haroon Thantrey – Guitar
Matt Hamblin – Bass
Jak Garratt – Drums
So, I have learned to live with the practising in the house by a sneaky method. What I hadn’t quite anticipated was being a hardcore roadie! Last night they played a gig at The Golden Fleece in Nottingham. And the other band members seem to have limited amount of ‘kit’? Drummers appear to need a truck.
Still, it was great to see, they played well – and they have more gigs coming up (16/03/10- The Maze & 18/03/10 – The Old Angel) It was good to see all of their college and old school mates turn up. At the moment they also let their mums and dads turn up too – I do wonder how long that will last? We didn’t dance.
One day I wonder if I will be backing the car up to the O2… or Wembley…. or even Madison Square Garden …
Robin Hood – taxing the rich (Banks) to help the poor
I normally have a lot to shout about Robin Hood. But my evangelism is to promote Nottingham with the City’s best loved (?) son.
Robin Hood taxman to the Bank
Yesterday our local MP Graham Allen tabled a motion in the Houses of Parliament promoting a new Robin Hood tax, I quote in part:
As someone born and bred in Nottingham and one of the City’s Parliamentary representatives it gives me a special pleasure to introduce this short debate on the idea of a “Robin Hood” tax . Remarkably the proposal to debate this issue is so convincing that it has the active support of the current Sheriff of Nottingham.
The social contract between banks and society needs to be re-written, so that banks give something back to the societies they serve and ensure we can live up to our commitments to tackle poverty and climate change, at home and abroad.
A Robin Hood Tax is a timely solution that can tackle, head-on, the major financing challenges we face while renewing the social contract between banks and society. Continuing public anger at the institutions that caused the crisis makes the introduction of the tax not just possible but popular. Reputationally helpful for bankers and politicians
It would be quick to implement and would raise significant funds. The UK could unilaterally introduce a levy on wholesale trades of sterling, no matter where in the world they take place, with the proceeds being captured automatically at the point of settlement. This would raise at least £3 billion a year and would not adversely affect UK trade, as a 0.005% FTT would be comfortably absorbed in the current margins.
So Robin is now being turned into a tax man – something he must surely would have him turning in his grave.
It all sounds very compelling – a tiny tax. With no impact on consumers. £3bn a year for doing nothing. Reputationally helpful for Bankers and Politicians. It also seems to have widespread support judging by the website set up.
On the face of it, it’s probably a good idea. But, we are a nation obsessed with taxation. I do have a concern about this; top rates of income tax for the highest earners are now 50%. National Insurance creeps ever higher – and is nothing short of a stealth tax. VAT has slipped back up to 17.5%. We are told it’s not going to get better. Of course some people just avoid the UK tax system!
I wouldn’t mind all of this if I thought the Government were any good at spending the money they collect. In reality, and in my opinion, they’re not… You don’t have to look far for examples.
Urban farming – the way forward?
Seeing Countryfile last weekend reminded me of a scheme I had seen a few years ago for my ideal home-from-home, New York.
The WAC scheme for New York
A New York architectural firm, Work Architecture Company, produced some brilliant ideas for an urban farm and apartment building as part of an ideas competition for a block in the city. The site was visible from all sides, and the architects decided to bring the farm back to the city, though in this case stretch it vertically. The designers – Dan Wood and Amale Andraos were interested in urban farming and ways to cut food miles.
It was Mark Twain who said, “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore”. You can see the attraction of vertical farming. Especially in New York – where they are very used to high-rise. We are less inclined to go here in Nottingham!
As much as Central Park in New York is considered a green lung for the overcrowded city, imagine the benefit these vertical lungs could provide? But they also provide much more – local produce for the local area. This is real green living. Cutting down the miles food travels is an important part of getting the CO2 emissions down. Of course the location of the plants adjacent the living city means that the air is cleaner.
I love the thought that it can also be a piece of art – and provide shelter below, for cafes and the like – no doubt serving food grown above!
Sadly it didn’t get built – but what a great idea. Playing golf between the 10th and 12th floors would be stunning! It would bring a whole new meaning to the expression “fore”!
There is a great video showing a French take on the idea – la tour vivante, the living tower. Imagine working in an office overlooking the forest of trees. Or having your apartment with a similar view? The only thing would be they would need to quieten those wind turbines!
Some of this architecture and ideas would be fantastic here. The only issue, I suspect, will be cost?
They’re off! Cannes here they come…
Jon Collins (leader of Nottingham City Council) and Nigel Turpin (Head of Urban Design) today set off for Cannes – from Nottingham. The sun was shining and a small crowd had gathered. Raleigh were on hand to offer the technical help you need for such a trek.
But this is green travel at its finest – on bikes. I have blogged about this before, but I make no apologies for plugging this again.
Only 1700 km to go then!
Jon and Nigel left the Market Square with a small contingent of helpers to get them to the County boundary – including Mark Hobson from Mabers, John McCay & Helen Andrews from Rizk McCay and a few others!
They were seen off by Team Nottingham – mostly dressed in pink!
Also accompanying them was Nottingham-born Olympic and World Cycling medallist Bryan Steel – a few looked a bit worried at the prospect of Bryan setting the pace!
The main Cycle to Cannes event runs from London and starts on Thursday – but these hardy souls have decided that even the train fare to London is too much! They are cycling today and tomorrow to London. The fun then starts as they tackle the remaining 1500 km ride – hoping to arrive an the Croissette next Tuesday around 2.30pm.
The route is anticipated to be:
Stage 1: London – Folkestone 119km
Stage 2: Calais – Reims 320.9km
Stage 3: Reims – Dijon 316.5km
Stage 4: Dijon – Chanas 275.4km
Stage 5: Chanas – Aix en Provence 301.0km
Stage 6: Aix en Provence – Cannes 176.4km
They are raising money for Charity – and you can donate here. This is for a fantastic cause – Maggies in Nottingham!
I wish them both well (and the other 83 brave (?) riders). This is no mean feat. And when I am on the plane on Sunday heading for the South of France I shall be thinking about them – and not complaining about the lack of legroom…
UPDATE 10.3.10
Jon Collins reaches London
Jon & Nigel’s progress can be found on Nottingham City Councils MIPIM blog – link is on the right of my site!
Teaching Sustainability?
A couple of years ago I gave some advice to Castle College in Nottingham about a potential new teaching Centre.
Smartlife Centre Hamburg
As the College were becoming involved in new builds at Highfields Science Park and the main Centre in Chilwell we started to think about how the College could learn from these real life projects. The College always make sure that any building contracts have an ability for their own students to see progress formally during the build.
We also started to see in increase in the use of new technology for carbon reduction. We were being encouraged to look at Photo-Voltaic cells, Ground Source Heat Pumps, high levels of insulation, double and triple glazing, rainwater harvesting, biomass boilers and the like. But what was evident was that although these new technologies were being specified by Architects, the operatives fitting them were often struggling. Or you had to employ specialist sub-contactors (some of whom travelled miles thus negating some of the green credentials?).
We went to see two Smartlife centres -one in Malmo, the other in Hamburg. These centres were way ahead of the UK – and were brilliant showcases for some of the technology.
I was delighted to see that a Centre in the UK has been opened. It has been built by Wolseley – the worlds largest heating and plumbing supplier. It is known as the Sustainable Building Centre. It is a showcase for around 170 products – with information on a total of 7,000 – all under one roof.
Like the Genesis Project in Taunton, the centre uses the technology in it’s own construction. But there is a subtle difference. I visited Taunton and we saw quite specialised construction – including rammed earth and straw bales. This hasn’t found its way in to the Wolseley centre – it isn’t scalable enough to be distributed.
So, although the centre is pushing new technology – it is with a very close eye on commerciality. And for this reason, I think it an excellent project. Sometimes, I think we fall too easily for the green technology on the basis that it sounds sexy. The reality is that some of it is not really commercially viable – payback times can sometimes go beyond the life of the building!
In a recent report to Government the easiest and cheapest way of achieving a substantial CO2 reduction was highlighted as turning down room thermostats by 1 deg C. This is estimated to reduce, in the UK, emissions by 5.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually!
Sadly, the LSC funding for College schemes like the Sustainable Building Project pretty much dried up before we were able to get a centre built in Nottingham. Maybe one day someone will realise we need this sort of centre – for future builders!
Nottingham Castle in the winter sun
As I continue to write my presentation for MIPIM I decided to spend an hour at Nottingham Castle yesterday morning.
Nottingham Castle by Jak Garratt
I needed some stock shots – and with the bright blue sky, this was an ideal day! My son, Jak came with me.
Although I am convinced that Nottingham should capitalise on Robin Hood by building a new visitor attraction, there have been doubters. They come from all walks of life. Some write to the Evening Post and bemoan any sort of ambition the City has. Some work for the Council and think that the current Castle is just fine as it is (an Art Gallery). Some people tell me they have heard it all before and nothing will ever happen (the defeatists!). Some believe that only the private sector can get the thing to fly.
My personal view is that Nottingham needs to think big. We do ‘own’ Robin Hood – he doesn’t belong at the side of a runway in Doncaster.
And yesterday, in the sunshine I watched a coach load of tourists arrive. I think they were German! There were Japanese tourists too – trying to get their picture by the statute of Robin Hood. All were talking excitedly in their own mother tongue.
I couldn’t help but wonder though whether they would leave Nottingham feeling ever so slightly let down? The Castle isn’t a real Castle – it’s a Ducal Palace. There’s no real story of Robin Hood being told. There was no Robin Hood and his band of merry men wandering around. This is where we are missing a trick – people want to come and be part of the story.
My son said afterwards that there was ‘nothing there’. Perhaps that’s a bit harsh – but I know what he means. The offer is limited!
With the film coming out in just over two months time – the visitors will not lessen! Now’s the time for the City to get Robin back and make something of him – the benefits for the whole City could be enormous!
One True shopping experience in Nottingham!
I blogged earlier in the week about Nottingham and its shops. One of the shops I mentioned was One True Saxon – who have a slogan which suggests, “If you have to ask – you can’t afford it!”.
Best not argue with pooch
Actually, it wasn’t as expensive as Paul Smith. But it was very cool! I bought a few things – and the guys in the shop were really friendly – the free tee shirt and discount was well received! It is really great to see a very small shop, tucked away in the Lace Market doing so well. Visitors come from all aver the UK. It is truly a destination shop.
The have supplies in a number of other shops (including John Lewis) but they explained that they are looking to open some more shops.
I’m not sure I want them to.
I used to buy Muji pens – from Oxford Street in London when no one else had them. I also used to buy Abercrombie & Fitch from South Street Seaport in New York – when no one else had them.
There is something ‘cool’ about having stuff that other people don’t have – I guess it’s what makes us different. But then again, perhaps everyone should be able to get hold of some of the excellent gear that One True Saxon sell! And as Carl Froch buys his gear there and he’s mates with them – perhaps I will let them do what they want!
The shop is in a rally interesting part of Nottingham – with some great pubs and cafes. But there is also the Galleries of Justice and The Nottingham Contemporary within a few yards. If you are interested in Architecture, there are some great buildings too. It was some time since we had wandered around this part of the Lace Market – but we will be back…
When I have saved up!
New York – just brilliant!
Yesterday Sue Churchill from local talented Architects Church Lukas sent me a great link to a video – entitled The Sandpit by Sam O’Hare.
I don’t need to blog very much – it really speaks for itself. It is just brilliant! Sue said “Beautiful – The video, not you”. Harsh perhaps, but true.
There are some details about how it was filmed here. The technique of time-lapse photography and post production with a shift-lens are really clever.
Enough words – I hope you enjoy it. I wonder if we could do one for here?
[Update 7 March 2010 - I had a link to the film on Youtube, but it looks as though the video has been removed].
You can see it here on Vimeo though! Well worth watching….
Rock City – are we too old?
Last night we headed off to Rock City in Nottingham to see The Stranglers. They were brilliant – it’s the third time I have seen them. They have been together for 36 years! I remember No More Heroes in 1977. Jet Black (the drummer) is 71!
picture courtesy David Baird
Evidently they had been in town overnight and had visited the big wheel in the market square – even changing the lyrics to Peaches – suggesting they’d ‘rather be 60 feet up on the big wheel’, as opposed to the ‘end of a skewer’. You had to be there.
I am a great fan of live music and have notched up hundreds of bands. I was wondering about the audience for the bad boys of punk / new wave. I am pleased to say it more the creaks of the arthritic joints than applause! There were some granddad punks – I am not sure you can satisfactorily bleach your grey hair? At times the view was like a Captain Birds Eye convention.
There are those who squeeze past everyone apologetically suggesting they have to get to the front. Presumably they have left their wallet there? At least I am their ‘mate’ or ‘buddy’.
But the ones who really make me smile (providing I am next to them) are the guys who have fought their way from the bar back to their position – which their mate has saved for them for 10 minutes. They then proceed to pogo with their beer. The origin of beer shampoo? It’s quite expensive at £3 a pint wash.
And why does the 6′8″ bloke have to stand in front of me? Doesn’t he have a good enough view?
I couldn’t help but notice (as they were somewhat irritating after about 3 minutes) a group of blokes in front of us. They were a bit vertically challenged but I think one must have been worried about losing his dad. His dad had no neck. The kid spent all night looking round for dad, then squeezing past to make physical contact (holding hands I think) and chat about all manner of things. Not sure he got the gig thing. He was probably 45.
It was fascinating that his library books were overdue. I was going to suggest a live CD for him?
Having arrived home I realised how well organised we have become – We left home at 7.50pm, drove into town, parked, walked in to Rock City at 8.14. JJB and the boys entered stage left at 8.15. They finished at 9.55, we were back at the car at 9.58 – paid for less than two hours parking and was home at 10.10pm. Clinical execution and fits my busy diary perfectly! I must be getting old?
Now where’s the Ovaltine?
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