BBC NEWS | England | South Yorkshire | Blast demolishes landmark towers
The end of the mighty Tinsley Twins. What a pity it came to this.
Farewell towers.
Sunday 24 August 2008
Friday 22 August 2008
Interactive: Crash at Madrid's Barajas airport kills more than 100 | World news | guardian.co.uk
Interactive: Crash at Madrid's Barajas airport kills more than 100 | World news | guardian.co.uk
Horrible news from Spain, my thoughts are with those who have been affected by this terrible tragedy.
Horrible news from Spain, my thoughts are with those who have been affected by this terrible tragedy.
Tuesday 19 August 2008
A tale of four towers
Draakplaats, Antwerp, Belgium
The Blackburn Meadows power station originally had eight cooling towers. Six were demolished and two remained. The German-based owners of the site - e-on - announced that the towers would be demolished and replaced with a chimney. There was a popular local campaign, along with petitions, to save the Tinsley Twins as a monument to the region's industrial past. The campaign failed and the towers will be demolished in the next few days.
What a contrast - the Belgian water towers preserved as a monument to the industrial past of the region, whilst here in the UK we allow a foreign company to dictate what we can and can't have as monuments to our industrial past.
Draakplaats was a centre of rail and tram operations in Antwerp. The two water towers shown in the picture were used for the steam trains, but when they were no longer required, they were preserved as examples of industrial monuments.
Tinsley, Sheffield, England
The Blackburn Meadows power station originally had eight cooling towers. Six were demolished and two remained. The German-based owners of the site - e-on - announced that the towers would be demolished and replaced with a chimney. There was a popular local campaign, along with petitions, to save the Tinsley Twins as a monument to the region's industrial past. The campaign failed and the towers will be demolished in the next few days.What a contrast - the Belgian water towers preserved as a monument to the industrial past of the region, whilst here in the UK we allow a foreign company to dictate what we can and can't have as monuments to our industrial past.
Sunday 17 August 2008
BBC NEWS | Scotland | Edinburgh, East and Fife | Military penguin becomes a 'Sir'
BBC NEWS | Scotland | Edinburgh, East and Fife | Military penguin becomes a 'Sir'
I saw this story yesterday and thought it was quite funny. I love the way the penguin looks at the troops as he walks along the line!
I saw this story yesterday and thought it was quite funny. I love the way the penguin looks at the troops as he walks along the line!
Friday 8 August 2008
Holidays 2008 Part Two
We booked our Christmas hotel online the other day. We had to book online or else go and book in Filey or Pickering because Scarborough is the only town in the area which has no proper travel agent. By "proper" I mean an independent one and not one of those tacky high street chains who are only bothered about their commission and how many insurance packages, excursions, transfers etc they can get you to fork out for.
Last year Scarborough had a really good independent agent who we had booked with for years and never had a problem with. Then the owner retired and closed the shop so our main September holiday hotel was booked with a well-known high street chain. We had nothing but problems with this travel agent chain and at one point we contacted our tour operator about them because we weren't happy with the rubbish they were coming out with. We also complained to the manager of the travel agent who did not even have the manners to answer our concerns. Thankfully we booked our flights online with the airline so we didn't have to deal with a high street travel agent apart from booking the hotel.
Our Christmas hotel is the same one we stayed in last year, as it was very nice with a minibar (great for storing your beer in), nice rooms, a nice location and freshly-cooked eggs at breakfast (soft boiled as well - very rare in Belgium!) I always had the scrambled eggs with my buffet breakfast, they were gorgeous and tasted really buttery. The only downside to the hotel is the depressing classical music they insist on playing in the lounge and breakfast room.
Last year Scarborough had a really good independent agent who we had booked with for years and never had a problem with. Then the owner retired and closed the shop so our main September holiday hotel was booked with a well-known high street chain. We had nothing but problems with this travel agent chain and at one point we contacted our tour operator about them because we weren't happy with the rubbish they were coming out with. We also complained to the manager of the travel agent who did not even have the manners to answer our concerns. Thankfully we booked our flights online with the airline so we didn't have to deal with a high street travel agent apart from booking the hotel.
Our Christmas hotel is the same one we stayed in last year, as it was very nice with a minibar (great for storing your beer in), nice rooms, a nice location and freshly-cooked eggs at breakfast (soft boiled as well - very rare in Belgium!) I always had the scrambled eggs with my buffet breakfast, they were gorgeous and tasted really buttery. The only downside to the hotel is the depressing classical music they insist on playing in the lounge and breakfast room.
Sunday 3 August 2008
hull - zeebrugge - P&O Ferries
hull - zeebrugge - P&O Ferries
These are the details of the ship we'll be going on, it sounds good and completely different to what I'm used to!
These are the details of the ship we'll be going on, it sounds good and completely different to what I'm used to!
Holidays 2008
We have just booked the first part of our annual Christmas get away to Belgium. Normally we would not consider any other transport but the plane, but this time we plumped for the ferry, and we leave Hull on 23rd December on the "Pride of Bruges". We arrive in Zeebrugge the following morning and then we get a bus into Brugge (easier than getting from the ferry terminal to Dorp station!) We leave on 28th December and arrive in Hull on 29th December. It saves the hassle of overnight hotel stops because we can get trains or a bus straight from Hull to Scarborough.
Our main holiday will be in four weeks - we go down to Derby on 31st August and then fly from East Midlands to Brussels on 1st September with bmi. I like bmi, we flew on them last year on an ERJ135 - the smallest airliner I've been on, the Fokker 50 is a wide body in comparison! This time the aircraft is to be an ERJ145, the bigger cousin of the 135. We have 10 days in Oostende, and hope to have a trip to Dunkerque in France as well, we can get a cheap day ticket from Oostende on the Kust Tram and then the bus.
I'll also get to see my beloved Zeebrugge (at sunrise and sunset in December!) a few times this year.
Our main holiday will be in four weeks - we go down to Derby on 31st August and then fly from East Midlands to Brussels on 1st September with bmi. I like bmi, we flew on them last year on an ERJ135 - the smallest airliner I've been on, the Fokker 50 is a wide body in comparison! This time the aircraft is to be an ERJ145, the bigger cousin of the 135. We have 10 days in Oostende, and hope to have a trip to Dunkerque in France as well, we can get a cheap day ticket from Oostende on the Kust Tram and then the bus.
I'll also get to see my beloved Zeebrugge (at sunrise and sunset in December!) a few times this year.
Unfair Dismissal
Sorry for the lack of postings recently. The story below explains why it has been so quiet on here:
My latest job lasted exactly four weeks. I (along with a load of others) officially became employed by ***** ******** on 30th June. The ****** chain was to open a new place here, and we were taken on a few weeks before to enable us to be trained up in various parts of the country. I got Meadowhall for four days of the first week.
Meadowhall was fun, I worked with a great team and coming from South Yorkshire originally, it was like going home for me.
During the second week I had five days in Gateshead, which I didn't like very much. The manager of the new Scarborough ********** was, apparently, impressed with how I was doing. The third week consisted of three days in Gateshead and a stay in a Travelodge, which I hate!
The Scarborough ******** was scheduled to open on 22nd July, and teething problems followed. The pot washing machine did not work, so dishes had to be washed by hand. At one point it had to close owing to sewage problems.
On 25th July I spent 12 hours (with a half hour break) washing pots because the machine still did not work. We took it in turns because no rubber gloves were provided and prolonged exposure to the chemicals was bad for your hands. It was impossible to get some of the things clean because they were greasy and we could not wash at a hot enough temperature to shift the grease. One of the kitchen staff was complaining about the poor hygiene.
On 26th July I was ill. My Mum phoned in three hours before my shift was due to start to tell the manager.
On 27th July I phoned up to find out my shift time for the following day. The manager ummed and aahed and then said 11:30-9:00.
On 28th July I turned up in time for my shift and went to look at the weekly rota. My name was missing. The same had happened to the guy who had complained about poor hygiene - and he had been sacked.
I was called into the office and told that it was "unacceptable" to be ill and they were "letting me go". They also said that they did not need to give notice because I was only "probationary". So I had been sacked without any warning and I had done nothing wrong, we had worked damned hard for that company and now two of us had been sacked!
This is a company which employs idle Poles who do not lift a finger yet keep their jobs, whilst hard working Brits are sacked without warning.
My latest job lasted exactly four weeks. I (along with a load of others) officially became employed by ***** ******** on 30th June. The ****** chain was to open a new place here, and we were taken on a few weeks before to enable us to be trained up in various parts of the country. I got Meadowhall for four days of the first week.
Meadowhall was fun, I worked with a great team and coming from South Yorkshire originally, it was like going home for me.
During the second week I had five days in Gateshead, which I didn't like very much. The manager of the new Scarborough ********** was, apparently, impressed with how I was doing. The third week consisted of three days in Gateshead and a stay in a Travelodge, which I hate!
The Scarborough ******** was scheduled to open on 22nd July, and teething problems followed. The pot washing machine did not work, so dishes had to be washed by hand. At one point it had to close owing to sewage problems.
On 25th July I spent 12 hours (with a half hour break) washing pots because the machine still did not work. We took it in turns because no rubber gloves were provided and prolonged exposure to the chemicals was bad for your hands. It was impossible to get some of the things clean because they were greasy and we could not wash at a hot enough temperature to shift the grease. One of the kitchen staff was complaining about the poor hygiene.
On 26th July I was ill. My Mum phoned in three hours before my shift was due to start to tell the manager.
On 27th July I phoned up to find out my shift time for the following day. The manager ummed and aahed and then said 11:30-9:00.
On 28th July I turned up in time for my shift and went to look at the weekly rota. My name was missing. The same had happened to the guy who had complained about poor hygiene - and he had been sacked.
I was called into the office and told that it was "unacceptable" to be ill and they were "letting me go". They also said that they did not need to give notice because I was only "probationary". So I had been sacked without any warning and I had done nothing wrong, we had worked damned hard for that company and now two of us had been sacked!
This is a company which employs idle Poles who do not lift a finger yet keep their jobs, whilst hard working Brits are sacked without warning.
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