After much tooing and frooing got an iPhone. I very much a technology fan and an apple fan in particular. What has been off putting is the creepy attitude of apple fan boys (former fan boy here).
I ended making the same mistakes I have mad often in my life; making compromises which cost me in the long run. In this particular case it's only a bloody phone, nothing actually important.
Anyway fucking iPhone is rather awersome, must not be an iphone twat though
Not done anything with the blog…another start/stop, stop, stop, stop scenario. Tend not have much to say. Can’t be bothered with European politics, can’t be bothered with domestic politics.
Blogs themselves seem to have moved on. Services like Twitter are replacing everyday people blogs, with the more hardcore and professional blogs carry on. I do not have the connections or specific knowledge to contribute much. I just whiter on, mostly in a semi-rage induced state, not really adding anything to the debate.
I could talk about work, but the only people who blog around what I do are, to put it mildly, true believers in their field (not European politics).
And yet, I still keep coming back to this blog, I still want to say something, if just for my own sake. I have been in Manchester for a number of months and my life has not turned out to be all sunshine and lolly pops. Moving to Manchester and getting a job has helped a lot, but I still am rather lost. Any creativity I have seems to have been crushed out of me. A rather nasty bout of flu has not helped things…ill for three weeks, during which time I got rather addicted to World of Warcraft. I deleted all my characters on Friday, wiped the account and deleted the programme from my Mac. No point in doing things by halfs.
I have created a short video shot on my old Nokia N95 over 24 hours. See, it does not always rain in Manchester.
Afterwards I brought a wee little HD camera. Currently shooting footage of Manchester. Going to edit it when I have enough.
Lets just see what happens.
Interesting technological development from MIT's Technology Review.
I am not totally against nuclear power, rather I am hesitant about its implementation due to the incompetence of many national governments. The long term implications of its use don't seem to register beyond short term mind set of politicians. In the case of the UK, nuclear power was merely away to get the bomb. The nature of many reactors in use today do seem to reflect that original mindset among the leading nuclear development nations; USA, USSR, France, UK (I am not a nuclear engineer so be nice).
If the mindset had been more around power generation and NOT have nasty but nuclear bomb type material, this type of reactor might have been developed earlier.
Travelling wave reactors consume fissile material before it can be extracted, it never needs to be opened during its operational life and runs on what would normally be considered waste material in the traditional nuclear fuel cycle. Of course there is still the issue of waste disposal, hence my scepticism.
However, if nations are going to go ahead and build nuclear reactors, they could do worse than this type.
Been very quite the last couple of months (or rather years). The move is complete, having unpacked in my new flat, though 'settling in' will take a bit longer. My flat mate is nice enough, my work colleagues are nice enough, i'm an hour or some from the Sheffield crowd.I have found the move more of a wrench than I would have liked to admit. Its been a while since I have done anything like this and its easy to forget how hard it is initially after having such a good time eventually. Its important to keep that in mind.
My biggest challenge is that in the past, I have been in large organisations, sometimes with people in a similar situation. This is not the case now. Its is going to be harder, but I guess I am going to have to get out there.
So I'm off to the pubs and bars of Manchester with a slightly forlorn look in my eyes and going to see what happens.
Today's the day.
All boxed, bagged, tagged, labelled, cleaned, scrubbed and ready to dispatch. The family are on their way from the other end of the country and due in few hours, then its loading everything up and off to Manchester via a weekend in Matlock.
Strange seeing a chunk of my life sitting in the corner of the living room, kind of pathetic but also reassuring, having the freedom to move like this. Not owning so many possessions mean that I own them, they don't own me.
Saying good bye was hard, the people I worked, studied and played with, though its made easier in that I will see many of them again. I managed to squeeze a tear out (and it was water, not bile!).
I am sitting in the coffee shop on campus within which the caffeine powered last stages of writing up were undertaken. Not feeling nostalgic, just intensely happy. The fact that everything worked out in the end is mixed with fear and excitement about the future.
There are going to be some changes on the blog. I bought my first domain name, got it hosted and am working on a new website that will bring together more regular blog posts and my photography work and hopefully video. Working on the layout so expect some changes within a few weeks.
There are going to be some changes in my life. Leaving Sheffield gives me the room to rediscover aspects of myself which got buried.
All boxed, bagged, tagged, labelled, cleaned, scrubbed and ready to dispatch. The family are on their way from the other end of the country and due in few hours, then its loading everything up and off to Manchester via a weekend in Matlock.
Strange seeing a chunk of my life sitting in the corner of the living room, kind of pathetic but also reassuring, having the freedom to move like this. Not owning so many possessions mean that I own them, they don't own me.
Saying good bye was hard, the people I worked, studied and played with, though its made easier in that I will see many of them again. I managed to squeeze a tear out (and it was water, not bile!).
I am sitting in the coffee shop on campus within which the caffeine powered last stages of writing up were undertaken. Not feeling nostalgic, just intensely happy. The fact that everything worked out in the end is mixed with fear and excitement about the future.
There are going to be some changes on the blog. I bought my first domain name, got it hosted and am working on a new website that will bring together more regular blog posts and my photography work and hopefully video. Working on the layout so expect some changes within a few weeks.
There are going to be some changes in my life. Leaving Sheffield gives me the room to rediscover aspects of myself which got buried.
It had to happen....I have my first job, my first career job.
On a research post at a top ranked research centre, on an interesting and relevant research project which in turn opens a number of doors. On top of that its in a city I love, Manchester, and getting paid the top rate for the post as well.
On a rational and abstract level, this is everything I could want.....but, but something.
Replacing one concern, that of finding a job, has brought to the front, a range of others. Surprisingly, the most obvious one, whether I can do the job, is not at the forefront of my mind.
Some crazy shit is going down, and I seem to have run out of ways to ignore them.
Hmmmm, here is a picture of Manchester from yesterdays less than successful flat hunting.
What do we believe and more importantly, why do we believe it?
Nosemonkey down at Europhobia posted a letter that he sent to the satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’. He was responding to an article about the EU. In that article, the director of something called the ‘The National Platform EU Research and Information Centre’. This centre turns out to be one guy and a blog.
Now, there is nothing wrong with one guy and a blog. Some very serious work is done by bloggers. However, this particular ‘centre’ appears aint one of them. Nosemonkey does know what he is talking about. He has knowledge, he has ‘credibility’.
The second article I read was regarding the ‘50 cents army’. These are employed by the Chinese government to post pro-government, for want of a better word, propaganda to message boards. This has been done mainly in Chinese, though English language message boards have also been hit, namely during the Olympics. Popular opinion can not always be seen as being a credible reflection of peoples feeling in this case (I will talk about this in another blog…being popular dont make you right!).
Both examples focus on two aspects of credibility in discussions, be it knowledge or popular opinion. With the shift from dead tree media to on line, these discussions are becoming more common, but how do we believe what is being said to true, be it from ‘centres’ or popular sentiment?
Credibility can be built up over a long period of time, by having a physical presence within a known community. However, that is not always practice, or even safe, and can result in very closed discussion between the usual suspects.
Its an issue that is going to become of increased importance.
And to be weak is strong.
The powerful always look to being seen as weak or victims to justify their actions, while seeking to portray those in weakness as being powerful.
"As ever, mighty Israel claims to be the victim of Palestinian aggression but the sheer asymmetry of power between the two sides leaves little doubt as to who is the real victim. The resort to military force is accompanied, as always, by the shrill rhetoric of victimhood, self-pity and self-righteousness."
Israeli War: Eye for an eye? The eye is for an eyelash
As is always the case with this particular conflict I have to make a number of statements.
I am not anti-Semitic, I am not a member of Hamas, I am not a mooslim terrorist and evil dooer, I believe that Israel has the right to exist and be a free and peaceful land, I am not a Nazi etc.
The fact is that what happened to the Jews plays a very strong role in my world view. As a child I learnt about the plight of the Jews over the centuries and the Holocaust. I studies and Anne Frank and ending up cry when I finally visited her house in Amsterdam. The persecution of people for who they are is wrong. The abuse of state power is wrong. Discrimination and bigotry is wrong. These tenets form a core of my being (I'm not very good with words but I am sure you get the drift).
That is why I believe what is going on in the Gaza strip and West Bank is wrong.
I also be live in creating a better future. Recent discussions about Gaza always bring up the past, the persecution of the Jews, how the early state of Israel was nearly wiped out. To build a future you need to know about the past, but not live in it.
If Israel is going to have a future, it has to deal with not just its own past, but the past of those living in Gaza and the West Bank, and in doing so, acknowledging the injustices that have lead to the present. Then maybe everyone can look to the future.
The powerful always look to being seen as weak or victims to justify their actions, while seeking to portray those in weakness as being powerful.
"As ever, mighty Israel claims to be the victim of Palestinian aggression but the sheer asymmetry of power between the two sides leaves little doubt as to who is the real victim. The resort to military force is accompanied, as always, by the shrill rhetoric of victimhood, self-pity and self-righteousness."
Israeli War: Eye for an eye? The eye is for an eyelash
As is always the case with this particular conflict I have to make a number of statements.
I am not anti-Semitic, I am not a member of Hamas, I am not a mooslim terrorist and evil dooer, I believe that Israel has the right to exist and be a free and peaceful land, I am not a Nazi etc.
The fact is that what happened to the Jews plays a very strong role in my world view. As a child I learnt about the plight of the Jews over the centuries and the Holocaust. I studies and Anne Frank and ending up cry when I finally visited her house in Amsterdam. The persecution of people for who they are is wrong. The abuse of state power is wrong. Discrimination and bigotry is wrong. These tenets form a core of my being (I'm not very good with words but I am sure you get the drift).
That is why I believe what is going on in the Gaza strip and West Bank is wrong.
I also be live in creating a better future. Recent discussions about Gaza always bring up the past, the persecution of the Jews, how the early state of Israel was nearly wiped out. To build a future you need to know about the past, but not live in it.
If Israel is going to have a future, it has to deal with not just its own past, but the past of those living in Gaza and the West Bank, and in doing so, acknowledging the injustices that have lead to the present. Then maybe everyone can look to the future.
Ownership: the relation of an owner to the thing possessed; possession with the right to transfer possession to others
Ownership is normally thought of as being related to physical property, ownership of objects. However, ownership can be applied to your beliefs, your knowledge, your understanding and concepts, your mistakes and failures as well as successes and triumphs.
My PhD took a very long time to complete, primarily due to a failure to take ownership of it. That failure was mine, I have no problem is accepting that, though what that truly meant took time.
What has brought this idea of ownership to my thoughts has been the below stated instances on facebook as well as the comments. I have kept this blog identity separate from who I am in the real world. I did not want to own up to what I posted here as being mine. On facebook this is not possible and I have been involved in a few heated discussions with people I dont know e-mailing me to followup a discussion. This initially upset me, thinking that I could run and hide from what I had said....but worse is that is not who I am.
I am afraid of taking ownership due to the belief that I know nothing, that what I say is irrelevant and not worth comment. The fact that people where responding, not always in a supportive manner, was seen as supporting that. I did the same with my PhD, my supervisor (who was not the easiest human being to work with) knew more than me...I had to do what he said, not what I thought needed to be. I ended up in a situation in which I was writing TWO PhDs at the same time, I would strongly, strongly, STRONGLY recommend against doing that.
I do having something to say, and even if people disagree with it, as I disagree with others, it does not make it irrelevant, just different. You really should not try to disown your mind....it just makes you sad. It sounds like a cliche but be yourself.
Ownership is normally thought of as being related to physical property, ownership of objects. However, ownership can be applied to your beliefs, your knowledge, your understanding and concepts, your mistakes and failures as well as successes and triumphs.
My PhD took a very long time to complete, primarily due to a failure to take ownership of it. That failure was mine, I have no problem is accepting that, though what that truly meant took time.
What has brought this idea of ownership to my thoughts has been the below stated instances on facebook as well as the comments. I have kept this blog identity separate from who I am in the real world. I did not want to own up to what I posted here as being mine. On facebook this is not possible and I have been involved in a few heated discussions with people I dont know e-mailing me to followup a discussion. This initially upset me, thinking that I could run and hide from what I had said....but worse is that is not who I am.
I am afraid of taking ownership due to the belief that I know nothing, that what I say is irrelevant and not worth comment. The fact that people where responding, not always in a supportive manner, was seen as supporting that. I did the same with my PhD, my supervisor (who was not the easiest human being to work with) knew more than me...I had to do what he said, not what I thought needed to be. I ended up in a situation in which I was writing TWO PhDs at the same time, I would strongly, strongly, STRONGLY recommend against doing that.
I do having something to say, and even if people disagree with it, as I disagree with others, it does not make it irrelevant, just different. You really should not try to disown your mind....it just makes you sad. It sounds like a cliche but be yourself.
New year, resolutions, all that shit will not be discussed here.
I have discovered World of Warcraft, which is fun, finding getting a job is harder than I thought it would be, and starting to reconcile having a PhD means I am not stupid, though I am very aware of the limits of what I know.
I have been posting a huge amount on my Facebook profile and have discovered a side of people I would not normally see (or want to see). Everyone seems to be closet Daily Mail readers....or maybe I am just very intolerant.
I have discovered that any criticism of the USA automatically makes me anti-American, while the same criticism of any other country brings no response.
I have also discovered a casual racism exists against the evil mooslims which is no real surprise but it comes from people I would have expected more from.....this is in real life and Facebook.
The problem with services like Facebook is that they are very shallow in terms of interactions. You cannot get across any subtlety, which can lead to misinterpretation and confusion on both sides.
I have also discovered I love White Russians.
I have discovered World of Warcraft, which is fun, finding getting a job is harder than I thought it would be, and starting to reconcile having a PhD means I am not stupid, though I am very aware of the limits of what I know.
I have been posting a huge amount on my Facebook profile and have discovered a side of people I would not normally see (or want to see). Everyone seems to be closet Daily Mail readers....or maybe I am just very intolerant.
I have discovered that any criticism of the USA automatically makes me anti-American, while the same criticism of any other country brings no response.
I have also discovered a casual racism exists against the evil mooslims which is no real surprise but it comes from people I would have expected more from.....this is in real life and Facebook.
The problem with services like Facebook is that they are very shallow in terms of interactions. You cannot get across any subtlety, which can lead to misinterpretation and confusion on both sides.
I have also discovered I love White Russians.
Italy increasingly seems to be slipping back into the dark ages.
"Where in the world does the average citizen spend just two hours a week online? An isolated backwater, perhaps? Or maybe netizen figures from a far-off land trapped in a time bubble of its own desiring? Well, close. This bastion of digital indifference is Italy, one of our closest neighbours, a super-rich G7 nation and homeland to the inventors of the telephone and radio."
This is social networking, Italian style, The Guardian, 6th Novermber 2008
Something has to be said about to much Internet access (something I am very prone to!). . However, I have found that the online world can enhance my off life world, though it is very easy to lose yourself. Thankfully my journey into Azeroth was short lived, namely because I was not very social online!
The example given is Italian banks not suffering the same way as their UK counterparts because of their lack of techno know how. There does seem to be a rather disturbing trend in Italy and among Italians in recent years. Believing that they are the best, and the unpleasant fascist elements that keeps rearing its head. I just wonder if its all just part of a trend which dislikes the modern and the future and harks back to a "better time" (before the Internet, when Italy had empires, woman could not vote etc).
"Where in the world does the average citizen spend just two hours a week online? An isolated backwater, perhaps? Or maybe netizen figures from a far-off land trapped in a time bubble of its own desiring? Well, close. This bastion of digital indifference is Italy, one of our closest neighbours, a super-rich G7 nation and homeland to the inventors of the telephone and radio."
This is social networking, Italian style, The Guardian, 6th Novermber 2008
Something has to be said about to much Internet access (something I am very prone to!). . However, I have found that the online world can enhance my off life world, though it is very easy to lose yourself. Thankfully my journey into Azeroth was short lived, namely because I was not very social online!
The example given is Italian banks not suffering the same way as their UK counterparts because of their lack of techno know how. There does seem to be a rather disturbing trend in Italy and among Italians in recent years. Believing that they are the best, and the unpleasant fascist elements that keeps rearing its head. I just wonder if its all just part of a trend which dislikes the modern and the future and harks back to a "better time" (before the Internet, when Italy had empires, woman could not vote etc).
To say that Turkeys membership aspirations for the European Union has been rather thwart is a bit of an understatement. French, German and Austrian political and popular opinion has been rather against it, and there has been a general anti-Muslim sentiment across much of western Europe.
However....
"Put crudely, Turkish membership will signify a choice for Europe between becoming an outward-looking union at peace with its internal diversity that prioritises the economic and security needs of its members, or an insular, almost parochial grouping, searching for an imagined cultural homogeneity."
Turkey is central to the EU, The Guardian 10th November 2008
There are sentiments that I strongly agree with. The EU itself is the product of an outwardness and creating an environment in which inherent diversity could be accommodated without conflict. Turkey is just another step, and as long as she signs up to the a common set of rules, there is no problem.
The cultural bigitory of current members is against the European ideal
However....
"Put crudely, Turkish membership will signify a choice for Europe between becoming an outward-looking union at peace with its internal diversity that prioritises the economic and security needs of its members, or an insular, almost parochial grouping, searching for an imagined cultural homogeneity."
Turkey is central to the EU, The Guardian 10th November 2008
There are sentiments that I strongly agree with. The EU itself is the product of an outwardness and creating an environment in which inherent diversity could be accommodated without conflict. Turkey is just another step, and as long as she signs up to the a common set of rules, there is no problem.
The cultural bigitory of current members is against the European ideal
This is fucking bogus.
There is no such thing as a camera licence (well, maybe in Burma or Saudi Arabia).
Anti-Terrorism laws allow police to check what someone is doing (ie no blowing shit up).
And in the UK it is legal to take pictures in public spaces. People have no right to not have their picture taken in public (which given that there are 4 million cameras in the UK we should be getting used to!).
I hope the officer got an education...police enforce the law, not make it up!
From the BBC.
"He want to make bankers put their money where their mouths are.
The requirement that "originators" of financial products must retain a 5% stake in the products they sell could have a transformative impact.
This is because it will mean if a product loses money, so will the bank."
Getting Bankers to act responsably, 02/10/08
Business rights balanced by business resonsabilities? I like this idea. Prevent the peddling of the banking equiverlant of snake oil.
"He want to make bankers put their money where their mouths are.
The requirement that "originators" of financial products must retain a 5% stake in the products they sell could have a transformative impact.
This is because it will mean if a product loses money, so will the bank."
Getting Bankers to act responsably, 02/10/08
Business rights balanced by business resonsabilities? I like this idea. Prevent the peddling of the banking equiverlant of snake oil.
"Cameron and Brown are united in saying they will do what is needed and not allow political differences to get in the way of financial stability. Good, but do either realise what may be needed in a worst case? The only viable British Paulson plan - bar a £500bn-plus international loan - may require us to join the euro to win the support of the whole of the European economy and European Central Bank as part of a pan-EU initiative to create "good banks" for Europe."
Will Hutton, Dithering Britain needs its own plan, and it may hinge on joining the euro
The Guardian, 01/10/08
Could the UK have the €uro by 2010? Nothing should ever been ruled out in politics. If joining the €uro was seen as neccessary to save the UK banking industry (which is overly dominate) but the UK population voted against it.....well, we just have to see what happens in the USA (surprise, surprise).
It would be rather ironic if a Tory government takes us into the €uro as a result of deregulation and the actions of the US government!
Will Hutton, Dithering Britain needs its own plan, and it may hinge on joining the euro
The Guardian, 01/10/08
Could the UK have the €uro by 2010? Nothing should ever been ruled out in politics. If joining the €uro was seen as neccessary to save the UK banking industry (which is overly dominate) but the UK population voted against it.....well, we just have to see what happens in the USA (surprise, surprise).
It would be rather ironic if a Tory government takes us into the €uro as a result of deregulation and the actions of the US government!
Pavel Felgenhauer, a Moscow-based defence analyst, told the Guardian. "This is the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union that the Russian military is actually preparing for an all-out nuclear war with America." He added: "I believe we [the Russians] are sending the west a serious message. The message is treat us with respect, and if you don't go into our backyard we won't go into yours. Russia wants to divide the world into spheres of influence. If not, we will prepare for nuclear war."
Luke Harding, Russia challenges west with nuclear overhaul
The Guardian, 27/09/08
Spheres of influence....make me spew my guts up.
All this willy waving....make me spew my guts up.
Luke Harding, Russia challenges west with nuclear overhaul
The Guardian, 27/09/08
Spheres of influence....make me spew my guts up.
All this willy waving....make me spew my guts up.
"The Labour Party is unmaking Britain, turning it into the surveillance society that Britain's foremost prophet of doom, George Orwell, warned against. Labour admits that we migrants are only the first step, and that every indignity that they visit upon us will be visited upon you, too. If you want to live and thrive in a free country, you must defend us too: we must all hang together, or we will surely hang separately."
Cory Doctorow, Britain will make foreigners carry RFID identity cards and will put us in a huge, Orwellian database: the rest of Britain will be next
Boing Boing, 26/09/08
A form of madness seems to have taken hold in this country, a disease of types. This contagen seems to spread regardless of reality, research, fact, reason and common sense. I do not see the Tories doing any better, but something has to give.
I belive the more abuses that are undertaken, the more police brutailty and invasion, the more that councils spy on us, the more people will resist.
This restance can take place as small act of definace, to protest and to large court cases. The Human Rights Act, article 8 is on privacy. We should us it.
Cory Doctorow, Britain will make foreigners carry RFID identity cards and will put us in a huge, Orwellian database: the rest of Britain will be next
Boing Boing, 26/09/08
A form of madness seems to have taken hold in this country, a disease of types. This contagen seems to spread regardless of reality, research, fact, reason and common sense. I do not see the Tories doing any better, but something has to give.
I belive the more abuses that are undertaken, the more police brutailty and invasion, the more that councils spy on us, the more people will resist.
This restance can take place as small act of definace, to protest and to large court cases. The Human Rights Act, article 8 is on privacy. We should us it.
"But, first of all, Europeans should trust themselves: they are not an endangered species without Russia and the US."
The new Warsaw Pact, Gyula Hegyi
The Guardian, 24/09/08
I get tired of this East vs. West, them and us, Cold War mentality. Why should we align ourselves anymore?
As a child studying history I have a vivid memory of a newspaper cartoon. It showed a map of the northern hemisphere with a huge crater where Europe is and a joint speech bubble from the USA and USSR saying 'oppps'.
We need to find our own way, and I am sure others will join us if, like the European project itself, it is built on trust, respect and cooperation.
The new Warsaw Pact, Gyula Hegyi
The Guardian, 24/09/08
I get tired of this East vs. West, them and us, Cold War mentality. Why should we align ourselves anymore?
As a child studying history I have a vivid memory of a newspaper cartoon. It showed a map of the northern hemisphere with a huge crater where Europe is and a joint speech bubble from the USA and USSR saying 'oppps'.
We need to find our own way, and I am sure others will join us if, like the European project itself, it is built on trust, respect and cooperation.
my mind is stuck. I am depressed, and unable to focus on.....emmmm, anything.
Since I was but a 'wee nipper' I have worried about events way beyond my control...and I am at it again. There is so much I want to say but just cant say it.
Part of it is the whole Phd thing. I can no longer just state an opinion, I have to research it, in depth, for hours, days even. I just cant bring myself to do that right now.
To be frank, I would rather jam rabid squirrels down my pants than write anything even remotely serious right now.
Instead of writing crap on this site, I am going to do that else were. I have a more 'artsy' side that needs airing.
As for this place....how I feel right now will pass, but I dont want it to rot...so I am going to just post links and a few comments as a way to keep it going.
Ughhhhhh
Since I was but a 'wee nipper' I have worried about events way beyond my control...and I am at it again. There is so much I want to say but just cant say it.
Part of it is the whole Phd thing. I can no longer just state an opinion, I have to research it, in depth, for hours, days even. I just cant bring myself to do that right now.
To be frank, I would rather jam rabid squirrels down my pants than write anything even remotely serious right now.
Instead of writing crap on this site, I am going to do that else were. I have a more 'artsy' side that needs airing.
As for this place....how I feel right now will pass, but I dont want it to rot...so I am going to just post links and a few comments as a way to keep it going.
Ughhhhhh
A bit I wrote for a uni mag.
Meadowhall at 2am on a Sunday is not normally a place one would want to be. But then, this was no normal Sunday. After 70 years, the cooling towers for the Blackburn Meadows Power Station, which was closed down in the 1970s, were to come down.
While we arrived at 2am, there had been reports that people had been arriving all day. In the Meadowhall car park, there must have been at least 500 people, possibly over a 1000. However, the flashing of cameras on the hills all the way around the cooling towers pointed to many more people watching the mass destruction.
The atmosphere was one more akin to fire works display, with a wide cross-section of Sheffield present. An elderly couple with their grandson stood to our right, a 20 something couple to our left, and a group of teenagers behind us. There even appeared to be a hen night in full swing below us. I did not know controlled demolition was a traditional hen night theme!
Given that it was August, the height of the British summer, it was raining. Umbrellas were going up and down all night, but as we approached 3am, the umbrellas all came down to give those behind a better view.
The towers were light up, and as demolition time approached, the horns blasted out. We were expecting a loud explosion, but instead we got a two dull ‘thuds’ and a rumble in the ground. The towers seemed to come down in slow motion, and for a glimpse, you could see the concrete sections of the towers coming part. Dust spewed out from the sides and top of the towers, eventually covering the entire sight.
There were a number of cheers; though the teenagers behind seemed rather sad to see the towers go, giving of a loud booooo! Once the dust had settled, everyone pretty much departed.
The site is to be cleared now, making way for a new biomass power plant, 21st century fuel replacing 19th century.
More pictures here.
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