If we have the same calendar, Jaime, I don't know what that says about your veggie credentials...
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
For Mandy
Ok, I probably missed the reason why we're all being so nice to Mandy. Not that we shouldn't be nice anyway. But not to be left behind, here's a photo of my desk at work.
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Four great reasons to move to England
Re my previous entry - Megan and Annie: if you want to come along at Christmas, you're more than welcome. It would be great to have you!
And now today's topic - Four great reasons to move to England.
This country still has the power to surprise me and make me smile. On my walk home the other day, I happened across a notice on the brick wall of a vaulted railway overpass next to the Thames (pictured). The sign said, in essence, that busking (performing live music for money without a valid licence) is prohibited. But it said it in such a quintessentially English way that I laughed out loud.
I then continued my walk. Hopton’s Almshouse, pictured in winter (I nicked this off the internet), is one of hundreds if not thousands of almshouses or ‘hospitals’ established in England from the Middle Ages onwards. This one, located in the heart of London near the Thames, was established in the eighteenth century. It is a horse shoe shaped estate of low buildings and gardens, dwarfed by the surrounding by large office buildings, such as IBM (across the street). Almshouses or hospitals were established as charities, usually to house the poor who could no longer work (at a time when there was no such thing as retirement). I can recommend a brilliant novel about one of these.
The next wonder I came across was the inscription over the door to the Kirkaldy’s Testing and Experimenting Works: “Fact Not Opinion”, a testament to the empiricism which underpinned the Industrial Revolution. From publicly available information, I learned that Kirkaldy’s works primarily involved the use of a giant machine 'which could test materials by putting the materials "under various stresses, namely, Pulling, Thrusting, Bending, Twisting, Shearing, Punching and Bulging"'. It was built in 1864-65 by Greenwood & Batley of Leeds, and measures 47 ft long and weighs almost 116 tons. The machine's hydraulic ram can produce a maximum force of 1 million lbs. "Kirkaldy's works attained a world-wide reputation in materials testing. Among its achievements, the machine performed tests for Blackfriars Bridge, which opened in 1869, the St. Louis Bridge over the Mississippi (built 1867-74), Hammersmith Suspension Bridge (opened 1887), Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the cables used to suspend the Skylon at the Festival of Britain in 1951. It was also used in accident investigations, including the 1879 Tay Bridge disaster and aircraft crashes."
Finally, just down the street from Kirkaldy’s works, I came upon a new Marks & Spencer Simply Food, which had just opened last week. I went in to have a look around and ended up spending way too much money on things I don’t need, like vanilla pods. Ben and Jaime, you will come to realise just how nice M&S is (and Waitrose, too).
And now today's topic - Four great reasons to move to England.
This country still has the power to surprise me and make me smile. On my walk home the other day, I happened across a notice on the brick wall of a vaulted railway overpass next to the Thames (pictured). The sign said, in essence, that busking (performing live music for money without a valid licence) is prohibited. But it said it in such a quintessentially English way that I laughed out loud.
I then continued my walk. Hopton’s Almshouse, pictured in winter (I nicked this off the internet), is one of hundreds if not thousands of almshouses or ‘hospitals’ established in England from the Middle Ages onwards. This one, located in the heart of London near the Thames, was established in the eighteenth century. It is a horse shoe shaped estate of low buildings and gardens, dwarfed by the surrounding by large office buildings, such as IBM (across the street). Almshouses or hospitals were established as charities, usually to house the poor who could no longer work (at a time when there was no such thing as retirement). I can recommend a brilliant novel about one of these.
The next wonder I came across was the inscription over the door to the Kirkaldy’s Testing and Experimenting Works: “Fact Not Opinion”, a testament to the empiricism which underpinned the Industrial Revolution. From publicly available information, I learned that Kirkaldy’s works primarily involved the use of a giant machine 'which could test materials by putting the materials "under various stresses, namely, Pulling, Thrusting, Bending, Twisting, Shearing, Punching and Bulging"'. It was built in 1864-65 by Greenwood & Batley of Leeds, and measures 47 ft long and weighs almost 116 tons. The machine's hydraulic ram can produce a maximum force of 1 million lbs. "Kirkaldy's works attained a world-wide reputation in materials testing. Among its achievements, the machine performed tests for Blackfriars Bridge, which opened in 1869, the St. Louis Bridge over the Mississippi (built 1867-74), Hammersmith Suspension Bridge (opened 1887), Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the cables used to suspend the Skylon at the Festival of Britain in 1951. It was also used in accident investigations, including the 1879 Tay Bridge disaster and aircraft crashes."
Finally, just down the street from Kirkaldy’s works, I came upon a new Marks & Spencer Simply Food, which had just opened last week. I went in to have a look around and ended up spending way too much money on things I don’t need, like vanilla pods. Ben and Jaime, you will come to realise just how nice M&S is (and Waitrose, too).
Monday, 2 June 2008
Christmas 2008 in England: what it might look like
Day 0 (Saturday December 20th)
Sam greets any early guests at the Bachelor Pad
Sam sends nanny to Ohio 1 week prior to Ben, Jules, Ella, and Sophie's departure to help with Ella and Sophie and packing - nanny stays on through trip and returns with kids on plane while mom and dad take mini break in the Seychelles...
Day 1 (Sunday December 21st)
Early: People begin to arrive at London Gatwick and take the train to London Bridge
Noon: Check-in at Chez Kessler followed by snowball fight in the square
12.30 p.m.: Takeaway from Pure Pie (London Bridge) to be eaten by the Thames
Please choose your pie now.
Afternoon: Naptime/free time
7.00 p.m. Dinner is served at Sam’s
Late: Slumber party
Day 2 (Monday December 22nd)
9.00 a.m. Travel from Paddington to Oxford
10.30 a.m. Meet the Itens
1.00 p.m. Travel to Woodstock to check in to our lodgings
Afternoon: Stroll across the street to Blenheim Palace and walk around the deer park
Evening: Family dinner at the Trout Inn beside a log fire
Day 3 (Tuesday December 23rd)
Morning: Hang out with the Itens
6.00 p.m. Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at Christ Church Cathedral
Day 4 (Wednesday December 24th)
Morning: Collect Christmas goose and Christmas nut loaf from the Covered Market
Day 5 (Thursday December 25th)
All day: CHRISTMAS!!
Day 6 (Friday December 26th, i.e., Boxing Day)
Adults: Lie in
Late morning: Walk to Wytham for pub lunch
Afternoon: Kesslers and Itens travel to London
6.00 p.m.: Ice skating at Somerset House
9.00 p.m.: X Box tournament
Late: Slumber party
Day 7 (Saturday December 27th)All day: Sam laments as people begin to return to the U.S.
Friday, 16 May 2008
Job alternatives
When I looked out the window ealier today, this was the view I was greeted with.
As I had spent all day yesterday down on the Solent sailing a clipper ship and pondering that perhaps an outdoors-y kind of job might be just the thing for me, the idea of getting to dangle in mid-air on a harness, building what may be liberally described as giant Legos immediately struck me as a fantastic idea.
In other news, today is of course Ben's birthday (happy birthday, bro). I'm very excited by the prospect of having Ben, Jaime and the girls around! Haven't had a younger sibling (let alone an entire clan) in the UK since Anne Marie left St Andrews for St John's. Not to downplay the benefits of having Ben K & family to hand in Northern Ireland every now and then for a quick and treacherous game of Risk, it's nice to think that I'll be able to invite the Itens round for a proper Sunday lunch every now and then without the need for anyone to board a plane.
In order to be a proper doting uncle, I'm contemplating Christmas in the UK. But to that end, I would want to be sure to get a chance to see all (or almost all) of the siblings in Cape Hatteras August. Sadly, this is an either / or (either Cape Hatteras or Christmas in the US). Vote now.
On the topic of the Northern Irish branch of the family, Susie and I will be travelling to Bangor in June to meet Barry, Anne and the Mournes. I'm hoping to be able to get over in August, too, to meet Sophie.
Thursday, 1 May 2008
I voted three times
Right, having implied in my last post that I don’t get obsessed with politics....
Today local elections are being held across England and Wales. Almost 5.5 million people are eligible to vote in London. Unlike the rest of England and Wales, London has since 2000 been able to elect a mayor (not to be confused with the Lord Mayor of London, who is, I believe, elected by the City guilds and presides over the Square Mile, i.e., the City of London). The Mayor of London is a very powerful executive position with access to an £11 billion budget, making decisions on education, transport, social services, policing and environmental issues.
Many people choose whether to vote based on the weather. Because of this, what would otherwise be a non sequitur flows quite naturally in this BBC report this morning: "Polls opened at 0700 BST and close at 2200 BST. A mixture of sunshine and showers is forecast in most areas." If it's sunny, I anticipate my three votes will be diluted.
We Londoners get three votes: one for Mayor of London, one for the London Assembly, and one for our local borough assembly. For complicated reasons (which would give away who I voted for if I explained them), I voted for three different parties.
Now we wait.
And while we’re waiting, an interesting fact (which I can verify). As you will all know, in AD 1215, a group of barons famously forced King John (of Robin Hood fame) to yield a number of royal prerogatives, and to grant certain civil liberties. The writ of habeas corpus and the right to trial by a jury of one’s peers were among these. The charter (“Magna Carta”) was confirmed by a number of subsequent monarchs, and the version now on the books dates from AD 1297. This excerpt is from the moiety of Magna Carta which still has the force of law in England and Wales:
“The city of London shall have all the old liberties and customs (which it hath been used to have). Moreover we will and grant that all other cities, boroughs, towns, and the barons of the five ports, and all other ports, shall have all their liberties and free customs” (Magna Carta 1297, chapter 9).
This provides the legal basis for the other London mayor, the Lord Mayor of London, who is also Chief Magistrate of the City of London, Admiral of the Port of London, Chancellor of City University and President or Patron of many other civic and charitable organisations. The Lord Mayor is elected each year. The first recorded Lord Mayor was Henry Fitz-Ailwyn (1189).
Today local elections are being held across England and Wales. Almost 5.5 million people are eligible to vote in London. Unlike the rest of England and Wales, London has since 2000 been able to elect a mayor (not to be confused with the Lord Mayor of London, who is, I believe, elected by the City guilds and presides over the Square Mile, i.e., the City of London). The Mayor of London is a very powerful executive position with access to an £11 billion budget, making decisions on education, transport, social services, policing and environmental issues.
Many people choose whether to vote based on the weather. Because of this, what would otherwise be a non sequitur flows quite naturally in this BBC report this morning: "Polls opened at 0700 BST and close at 2200 BST. A mixture of sunshine and showers is forecast in most areas." If it's sunny, I anticipate my three votes will be diluted.
We Londoners get three votes: one for Mayor of London, one for the London Assembly, and one for our local borough assembly. For complicated reasons (which would give away who I voted for if I explained them), I voted for three different parties.
Now we wait.
And while we’re waiting, an interesting fact (which I can verify). As you will all know, in AD 1215, a group of barons famously forced King John (of Robin Hood fame) to yield a number of royal prerogatives, and to grant certain civil liberties. The writ of habeas corpus and the right to trial by a jury of one’s peers were among these. The charter (“Magna Carta”) was confirmed by a number of subsequent monarchs, and the version now on the books dates from AD 1297. This excerpt is from the moiety of Magna Carta which still has the force of law in England and Wales:
“The city of London shall have all the old liberties and customs (which it hath been used to have). Moreover we will and grant that all other cities, boroughs, towns, and the barons of the five ports, and all other ports, shall have all their liberties and free customs” (Magna Carta 1297, chapter 9).
This provides the legal basis for the other London mayor, the Lord Mayor of London, who is also Chief Magistrate of the City of London, Admiral of the Port of London, Chancellor of City University and President or Patron of many other civic and charitable organisations. The Lord Mayor is elected each year. The first recorded Lord Mayor was Henry Fitz-Ailwyn (1189).
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Are we in for a rough ride?
Sub-prime mortgages, packaged into asset backed securities, are sold to investment banks -- especially in London. The US property downturn results in negative equity and thus inadequate security. Liquidity troubles arise in the financial centres of the US and the UK as banks refuse to lend to each other, each fearing one anothers' creditworthiness amid prospects of bankruptcies from exposure to the sub-prime. Northern Rock, which had relied on a business model entirely dependent on inter-bank borrowing, looks set to collapse. The Bank of England does very little to alleviate the crisis, taking a traditional British laissez-faire approach. There's a run on the bank -- the first in the UK since the nineteenth century. Bear Stearns collapses, and the Fed reacts instantaneously to reassure the market. The UK government -- the same government that implemented sweeping reforms to the tax system in 1997 -- announces plans to scrap some of the keystones of those reforms. They will tax all foreigners living in the UK on worldwide income, whether or not it is ever brought into the country. The UK government also announces plans to raise taxes on share disposals by up to 80%. These measures, largely targetted at the very rich, and particularly at private equity, are the government's feeble answer to popular unrest at the gaping divide between the rich and the poor in the world's most successful financial centre. Unfortunately, the timing could not be worse.
With the UK economy slowing down, government spending increasing and tax revenues faltering, bitch-slapping entrepreneurs seems like a daft move.
So yes, I think we're in for a rough ride.
And how long will it last? Of course the wider global economy has a large part to play, but if we have any hope at all of avoiding a descent into unemployment and grinding poverty, the government (whether this one, or one which replaces it) will have its work cut out for it. This government did a great job in many ways, but it appears to have spent more money than it gathered in revenues for the last 10 years, during a period of strong economic growth. Any government which intends to do anything other than cripple the entire nation will have to be a government which is willing to make some very unpopular choices. Massive spending cuts would be in order.
I have no idea why this turned into a discussion about politics. I really intended just to welcome Sophia to the world (thanks for being born on my birthday), welcome Ben, Jaime and the girls to the UK (all this gloom probably means a better exchange rate), and to thank Mandy for putting up all of those pictures.
Oh, and to connect Mandy's picture of bad-ass Patches to Brad's blog:
http://wabasawki.blogspot.com/2006/04/patches-feline-cat-barely-alive.html
With the UK economy slowing down, government spending increasing and tax revenues faltering, bitch-slapping entrepreneurs seems like a daft move.
So yes, I think we're in for a rough ride.
And how long will it last? Of course the wider global economy has a large part to play, but if we have any hope at all of avoiding a descent into unemployment and grinding poverty, the government (whether this one, or one which replaces it) will have its work cut out for it. This government did a great job in many ways, but it appears to have spent more money than it gathered in revenues for the last 10 years, during a period of strong economic growth. Any government which intends to do anything other than cripple the entire nation will have to be a government which is willing to make some very unpopular choices. Massive spending cuts would be in order.
I have no idea why this turned into a discussion about politics. I really intended just to welcome Sophia to the world (thanks for being born on my birthday), welcome Ben, Jaime and the girls to the UK (all this gloom probably means a better exchange rate), and to thank Mandy for putting up all of those pictures.
Oh, and to connect Mandy's picture of bad-ass Patches to Brad's blog:
http://wabasawki.blogspot.com
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