My Trip to Kuwait

A bit of an audio diary I made whilst on a business trip to Kuwait. Listen here or click the right hand player (Libsyn) above... Enjoy.

It really was this beautiful

And now it's gone... see below...

Arthur Dent - I feel like Arthur Dent

This place is around the corner from mine. It was built around 1841 as it says that date above the door (I'm not sure you can make it out) which makes it 166 years old. Now get this. It's been destroyed, squidged and is now going to built over.

Now, not surprisingly, because of its location (prime) it has been bought by a developer who is going to squidge it, build "executive homes" on the land and we lose a piece of local history...

[rant] How can this be? We protect (List) buildings which are younger, uglier, less everything than this one and yet some git of a builder can toss it out at stroke. Unfair!!!! [/rant]

Two rants in one day - I am doing well...

You know what? I like Trafalgar Square all grassy...

We should keep it like this. Excellent!

But I'm sure health and Safety would have something to say about it... What a waste of space our illustrious Health And Safety Executive are. I mean, what is the point of them now? I'll tell you eh? It's to keep themselves employed and they do that by rolling out every more "safety concious" crud that turns our lives into a bubble-wrapped constantly observed world.

At my railway station last week three guys with hedge strimmers were at work lopping back the branchlets and leaves that were poking through the fence. One guy was doing the cutting, another guy was blowing the leaves away - any idea what chap #3 was doing? Yep - he was stopping us from walking along the platform - "Sorry mate, Health and Safety". WHAT? You're protecting me from the evil killer leaf that might slice my neck open? The twig that, having been cut off by a super-mega-high-speed-laser-guided *hedge strimmer* would embed itself in my chest and cause death by twig? Come off it. It's pathetic.

The HSE are de-risking our lives here - and in so doing are making our lives more dangerous by desensitizing us to risk - therefore THEY are cause of increased risk and should, therefore, be abolished!

Come the day of the Glorious Revolution Brothers and Sisters and the Health And Safety Executive *will* be first up against the wall!

A wary tale for bloggers everywhere...

Or do they? Answers by email please or comments below!

TWiL Episode 12 - Cutty Sark

Well hello everyone and welcome to Show 12 of the This Week In London podcast. I had a show planned for tonight but news events overtook it so instead of that one I'm kind of winging it with a show about the Cutty Sark and the events of today. A terribly sad day for Londoners and specifically those of us who have lived in Greenwich. I hope I do the old girl justice....

Click the players above, the heading of this post or HERE to listen!

Here are some videos:







Music tonight is by:

Ingrid Michaelson with Breakable
Patricia Paay and the Star Sisters with the Medley 2007 and
Finniston with Changes

Please do visit the bands websites and let them know you heard the music here. More importantly let them know you liked their music. That's more important...

Comment on todays show here or via email - the address is in the panel to the left! Thanks for letting me take 30 minutes or so from your day...

PS - Next time I am aiming to bring you a competition cast. Keep yours ears open!

Corrections to TWiL #11

In the show I did last night I made a couple of faux pas. Russell Square tube is of course on the Piccadilly Line and not the Central Line and JM Barrie wrote Peter Pan.... Thanks to Dean Whitbread for the correction.

TWIL Episode11 - Bloomin' Bloomsbury

Hi once again and thanks for joining me for another This Week In London. I hope you enjoy the show. Keep the emails coming in - details to the left. You can listen to this show by clicking the heading of this post, by clicking here or by using the green PuPu player about. Just click to listen!

This time we're in Bloomsbury, thanks to a listener who emailed in with the suggestion. That makes two on the trot - and next times will be listener selected too! Thanks!

I appreciate that you take 30 minutes or so out of your valuable time to listen to the show. If you have comments, criticism or (blush) praise then please do email me - the links are to the left of this post. You can of course leave a comment if you prefer!

On with the show!

Locations
The Lamb at Lambs Conduit Street - info here
The British Museum is available here
Great Ormond Street Hospital - you should give generously here
A 360 degree round and round view of Bedford Square
And a site all about Blue Plaques - apparently you can buy books about them too!

Music
Ellie Myles, Connected at www.elliemyles.com which takes you to Slashed Seat Affair
Daize Shayne, No Way Out at www.daize.com
Jill Parr, Do you Hear What I Hear? from www.jillparr.com



Off to Kuwait on Saturday. Hot.... very hot. No beer. None. Zip. Nada. No alcohol. At All... Arghhhhh!

Question

I've put a little cash aside for a question I posted up at www.theflashing12.com... I think my money's safe. What do you think?