Charles De Gaulle Airport - 40 Years On

Terminal 1 - CDG Airport

40 years ago today, the newer Paris airport at the northern suburb of Roissy opened. Named after French leader Charles De Gaulle (1890 – 1970), it is located approx. 16 miles to the north-east of the French capital and is the 2^nd busiest airport in Europe (beaten only by Heathrow in London). In 2012 it was the 7^th busiest in the world.

The planning and construction of what was originally known as l’aéroport de Paris Nord, commenced in 1966 and it now covers an area of approx 8,000 acres of land. The main architect was Paul Andreu, who also planned airports in Manila (Philippines), Jacarta, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Brunei and the smaller original Paris location at Orly.

 

Air France jets parked at CDG

I had the pleasure of travelling into Charles De Gaulle Airport on an Air France jet from Heathrow a few years ago. I must admit that I was suitably impressed with the airline, finding that there were only 14 people on the flight and everyone was transferred up into Business Class.

 

Getting to the other end, everything seemed to run smoothly and a pleasant trip was had all round. Going back to Heathrow was another story, best left for another time maybe.

Happy Birthday l’aéroport de CDG

Shelter from an Air-Raid

2014 is the 75th anniversary of the start of the 2^nd World War which began in Europe on the 3^rd September 1939. 6 months previously, on the 25^th February, the first Anderson air-raid shelters were delivered to households in the Islington area of London.



Anderson Shelter at Bedford Museum

Designed a year previously by William Paterson and Oscar Carl Kerrison, they were named after Sir John Anderson – the Lord Privy Seal - who was responsible for preparing British air-raid precautions before the expected outbreak of war.

Each shelter was designed for 6 people and was a simple structure of corrugated steel panels that had to be bolted together and then buried a metre underground, with a layer of soil and/or turf on top. They came similar to flat-pack furniture, i.e. the families were expected to construct the shelter themselves from a set of instructions.

Before hostilities broke out and during the conflict, approx 3.5m Anderson shelters were built and they were distributed free to those with annual incomes of less than £250 (£5 a week), or at a charge of £7 for everyone else.

 

 

 

The Anderson shelters performed their task efficiently, but in winter they were unpopular, being cold, dark holes in the ground, that often became flooded in wet weather. Their unpopularity led to the development of the more user-friendly, indoor Morrison shelter.

At the end of the war, households were expected to dig up their shelter and return the corrugated iron, but many were allowed to keep it in return for a small fee. Many shelters were converted into garden sheds and indeed, many actually survive to this day.

Have you seen a surviving Anderson shelter?

What use does it perform today?

 

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Happy Birthday to H-P

Not only was it Christmas this week, but a few days beforehand I celebrated my own birthday. Now into my mid-50’s, I guess it must be almost impossible for others to buy for me. Not because I have everything I need, but age gives you simpler tastes and requirements maybe and whenever anyone asks me what I would like, I can never think of anything I actually want.

However I did receive a present for both celebrations from my “better half” of a new laptop computer. My old ASUS eee netbook had seen better years and I was fortunate to receive a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion Touchscreen example, running Windows 8.1 and as I write, I am still learning the ins and outs of it.

On 1^st January, it will be the 75^th anniversary of the founding of Hewlett-Packard. William"Bill" Redington Hewlett (May 20, 1913 – January 12, 2001 and David Packard (September 7, 1912 – March 26, 1996) both graduated from Stanford University in 1935.

Packards Garage

In 1939, Packard and Hewlett established Hewlett-Packard (HP) in Packard's garage in Palo Alto, California with an initial capital investment of $538. The decision of whose name came first came about from the toss of a coin, from which presumably, Mr Hewlett was the victor.

Hewlett-Packard (or HP as they are generally referred to these days), is the world’s leading PC manufacturer although they did fend off a challenge to their supremacy from Chinese competitor Lenovo (click HERE for details).

So far I am very pleased with my HP Pavilion and am even getting to grips with the new Windows operating system and the touchscreen.

HP HQ in Palo Alto

So on New Years Day, as well as singing "Auld Lang Syne," please join me in wishing wish a very Happy 75^th Birthday to HP. 

Messrs Packard and Hewlett’s fine company have brought new life and fun to an aging fool’s computing activities.

ukwriter.co.uk

The Master - Sir Jack Hobbs (1882 - 1963)

On Saturday 21^st December 2013, it will be the shortest day here in the Northern Hemisphere, 100 years since the first crossword puzzle was published in the New York World newspaper, the 50^th anniversary of the first appearance of the Daleks on Doctor Who and also 50 years since the death of one of the greatest batsmen in world cricket - Sir Jack Hobbs.

John Berry “Jack” Hobbs was born in Cambridge on 16^th December 1882 and became the leading run scorer and century maker in first class cricket, amassing 61,760 runs and reaching 3 figures on no less than 199 occasions (Wisden, the cricketer’s bible, dispute these figures however, claiming he achieved 61,237 runs with 197 hundreds) . Known to cricket players and fans alike as “the Master,” he played for Surrey between 1905 – 1934, with his England career stretching for 22 years between 1908 and 1930.

Hobbs (left) and Herbert Sutcliffe

A right-handed batsman and occasional right arm medium pace bowler, Hobbs excelled in the field, being a specialist fielder in the covers. In the 1920s he was the UK’s biggest cricketing star and, similarly to sporting stars of today, lent his name to commercial products. He had greater financial security than many of his contemporaries but continued to be concerned that his family kept the stability and security lacking from his own childhood.

He became the first professional cricketer ever to be knighted (in 1953), yet was very reluctant to accept the honour. He was eventually persuaded to take the honour when it was explained that he was taking it not only for himself, but for all professional cricketers.

Sir Jack passed away in 1963 only 9 months after his wife, who had been unwell for a number of years, died. His health began to fail soon after her death and they are buried in Hove cemetery where they both spent many of their later years.

So it's half a century since "the Master" left us. The great man should be turning in his grave after the gutless way the current England team recently relinquished the Ashes in Australia. If only there was anyone out there with half of his batting talent, we would at least have put up something of a fight!

RIP Sir Jack.

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Christmas Tree: Star Vs Angel?

Have you got around to putting up your Christmas decorations yet? If so, is your tree of natural pine, or do you go in for an artificial one? I must admit that for numerous reasons, all too tenuous to go into great depth here, we always have one of the latter persuasion. But more to the point (especially for this posting) is your tree is topped with a star or by an angel?

The concept of a Christmas tree was introduced in Germany as far back as the 16^th century (and possibly going even further back) when Christians brought a tree back to their homes and adorned it with decorations etc. Although the idea of a tree at Christmas had been brought to the British shores previously, its main popularity in the UK has been attributed to the husband of Queen Victoria, namely Prince Albert.

In 1848, Victoria, Albert and their family were pictured on the cover of the Illustrated London News, all standing around their tree at Windsor Castle and soon enough, the tradition was being followed by many of the wealthier middle-class English families who took great pleasure in covering them with the likes of  apples, nuts and dates etc. 

In fact the young Victoria had previously been used to a tree being placed in every room of the house during her childhood, prompting her to write in her journal as a 13 year old in 1832:

"After dinner... we then went into the drawing-room near the dining-room... There were two large round tables on which were placed two trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments. All the presents being placed round the trees..."

                                                                           

In these earlier days, Victorians preferred the use of an angel at the top of their trees which signified the angel who proclaimed the birth of Jesus to the world. Moving on to the 1870s with the growth of the British Empire, a nationalistic fervour took over and many people took pleasure in topping their trees with the Union Jack (Flag).

Many people however (and I have to admit to being among them) like to top their tree with a star, signifying the Star of Bethlehem from the Nativity.

So, if you have one, how do you top your tree? 

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The 1908 Olympic Games

London hosted the XXX Olympic Summer Games in 2012. This was the 3rd occasion that the games have been held in the city with previous Olympiads taking place in 1908 and 1948.

The 1908 Olympic Games or the IV Olympiad, came to London at very short notice, after originally being designated for Rome. However in 1906, an eruption of Mount Vesuvius devastated Naples and the Italian authorities decide to divert the funds they intended for the games, to helping the disaster.

White City Stadium
The 1908 London Olympics took place over an extended period, between April and October and were mainly located at the purpose built White City stadium (also known as the Great Stadium in Shepherd's Bush), which was previously arable farming land. Built in very short time and holding a capacity of 68,000 the White City complex was thought of as a technological marvel. The track circumference was a third of a mile long, with a swimming and diving pool, along with platforms for wrestling and gymnastics.



Marathon
It was at these games where the marathon distance was established. The original plan was to race over a distance of 25 miles, but this was extended to 26 miles 385 yards so that firstly, the race could start at Windsor Castle and secondly, it would finish in front of the King at the stadium. In 1921 this was adopted as the standard distance for the marathon.
The games most famous event took place at the marathon, where Dorando Pietri of Italy, was the first athlete to enter the stadium. But after running the wrong way and being helped by officials, he was disqualified from 1st place after crossing the line in premier position. The next day, Queen Alexandra, who felt sorry for the athlete, awarded the Italian a silver cup for his efforts.

Sports Played and Venues Used Included:
Archery, Athletics, Boxing, Cycling,  Diving, Fencing, Figure skating, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Lacrosse, Polo, Rackets, Rowing, Rugby union, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, Tug of war, Water motorsports, Water polo and Wrestling.
As well as the White City, other venues used included Wimbledon (tennis), Bisley ranges (shooting),  Henley (rowing),  Princes skating club in Knightsbridge (figure skating), Northampton Institute in Islington (boxing, diving & swimming) and Southampton Water/Solent (sailing).
22 nations took part, with Great Britain (the host nation) being the most successful, winning 56 gold medals from a total of 146. The United States was 2nd with 23 golds, followed by Sweden with 8.

Highlights from the games

Controversy
Controversy surrounded the games. Many teams decided to march at the opening ceremony without being preceded by a national flag. This was in protest at the insistence that the Finnish team paraded after the Russian flag, as it was part of the Russian Empire at the time.
The Swedish flag had not been displayed above the stadium so the Swedes refused to take part in the opening ceremony and the United States flag was also not above the stadium, causing the flag bearer to refuse to dip the flag when passing the royal box.

Stadium Demolition
The White City stadium continued to be used up until the 1985 when it was demolished and the site now houses the British Broadcasting Corporations Media Village. The Media Centre houses a memorial dedicated to the games and the stadium that once stood on the site.
The stadium had been used over the years as an exhibition site and for numerous sporting activities such as greyhound racing, speedway, a temporary home for Queen’s Park Rangers Football Club and it hosted one match in the 1966 World Cup.

Yorkshire's Rhubarb Triangle

The Rhubarb Triangle in West Yorkshire, England, is an area famous for the production of early, forced rhubarb which is situated between the towns of Wakefield, Morley and Rothwell. During the first half of the 20th Century, it covered a wider area of approx 30 square miles, stretching further north and west to the cities of Leeds and Bradford.

The village of Carlton (6 miles south of Leeds) is generally thought of as "the hub of Yorkshire rhubarb growing" with suggestions actually having been made that it changes its name to "Rhubarb". Early each year, Wakefield hosts an annual Rhubarb Festival which draws visitors to the area from far and wide.

The plant has been an important part of the local economy for well over 150 years. Originally grown for local markets, in the early days special rhubarb trains left Wakefield every day, bound for London loaded up with tons of the reddish/pink vegetable.

Rhubarb Origins

Being a native plant of Siberia, is it any wonder that it thrives in the damp, cold winter conditions often found in Yorkshire? The plant has grown wild on the banks of the Volga River for centuries and has been utilised by the Chinese for medicinal use, often being dried and used as a laxative.

It is usually considered to be a vegetable, although a US court decided in 1947 that as it was used as a fruit, it was to be counted as such for the purposes of regulations and duties.

It is more often than not stewed with sugar and made into rhubarb pies or desserts, but it also has its place as a savoury dish and can even be pickled.

So What is Forced Rhubarb?

A Forcing Shed

Forced rhubarb is where the vegetable is grown inside a long, low forcing shed under dark and warm conditions. Traditionally grown by candlelight, it is believed that if you keep very quiet, you can actually hear the rhubarb grow!

Forced rhubarb is considered to be more tender than its cousin grown outdoors in summer. Away from daylight, the leaves grow to a greenish yellow colour and the stalks are bright crimson with a wholly smooth texture. The harvest is generally completed by the end of March.

In February 2010, Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb was awarded Protection Designation of Origin status (PDO) by the European Commission. An accreditation similar to Champagne, Melton Mowbray Pork Pies, Stilton Cheese and Parma Ham.

Further Reading

To find out more about the rhubarb growing industry it is suggested you read the article, 'The Story of Rhubarb' written by local historian John Goodchild, included in the book Aspects of Wakefield (Wharncliffe Publishing 1998)