Not a lot going on…

Not a hell of a lot going on science-wise that I can post about at the moment. That is to say, there is a lot going on, but nothing I can tell anyone about.  A couple of science stories in the media have caught my attention and I might yet get around to writing something up about them.

In an effort to make sure I post here at least once per week, I’ve decided to start with some local history posts. These will probably be a fairly random jaunt though the early history of Dagenham, or more properly, Dagenham as it became during and after the construction of the Becontree estate. Kicking off tomorrow with  an aerial photo of Dagenham from 1921.

Open House

Once again the London Open House weekend has swung around and found me plan-less; not that I’ve had no warning, dg has mentioned it on and off for the last month.

I shall make hasty plans, restricting myself to my home towns and try and turn up something interesting.
__________________________________________________
Dagenham Civic Centre: Just me and three old ladies to trouble Dave the mace-bearer and part-time Mayor’s bodyguard [well, he’s mainly there to see that no oik takes off with the chain of office – valued at around �20k]. It’s obvious he loves both the building and his job – delivering a guided tour of the parts of the centre the public are lucky to ever see.
Following a fifteen month restoration at a total cost in excess of �1.9M, the building is now restored to its original 1930s art deco style and many original features have been rediscovered.

__________________________________________________
Barking Town Hall: Designed around the same time as its Dagenham counterpart, construction of the Barking Town Hall has interrupted by the war. Only the underground parts finished and converted to emergency air raid shelters. This was a rather brief tour by someone who could have easily spoken for longer on her subject; others in the party had asked for a brief tour to make other commitments.
There are plans to next year extend the building by another two floors – hopefully in keeping with the existing style and not taking inspiration from the new library opposite.

__________________________________________________
Eastbury Manor House: Dating from around 1560, Eastbury is one of the two surviving manor houses in the borough. Although rather grand in appearance, the inside is rather spartan, with large rooms mainly used for meetings and short events rather than any long term displays. By far the most disappointing of the buildings visited this weekend.

A foreign invader for EDWT

These bank holidays screw up your sense of time… I meant to post this on Wednesday.


The small smudge towards the middle of the leaf is my non-traditional entry for EDW this week.

Here is a zoom so we can really see the beauty of this little foreign invader.

This is Eupteryx decemnotata a Southern European leafhopper that has recently shown up in the UK. They have arrived on plants imported from the continent. They were first reported in the UK a couple of years back and have steadily established themselves.

Leafhoppers in general are very well dressed insects on any day of the week. They are also a total pain to try and photograph, the dedicated bunch over at Flickr are doing much better than I am.

Pie and Mash

I just caught the tail end of the local news to hear a reporter at the Heathway interviewing locals about Roy’s pie and mash shop – apparently it is closing due to lack of custom. The news segment seems to be trying to suggest that the changing demographic of Dagenham had reduced the flow of custom to Roy’s. Now perhaps this is true to some extent, but we also have to remember that Roy’s is a crap pie and mash shop.

It’s always a shame to see the end of a local institution like a P&M shop, but I’ve never been able to get enthusiastic about the food in Roy’s. Sadly, I foresee the premises ending up as another faux-American fried chicken shop or crap-pizza takeaway.

If you want decent Pie and Mash then Heath Pie Shop at the ‘Fiddlers or Rumford Pie and Mash in Romford, or Eastbrook Pie and Mash are all excellent. You’ll never go back to Roy’s after you’ve been to one of the others.

Nutters on the tube

The paragon of comfort and convenience that is the London Underground plays host to a fair number of oddballs, weirdoes and downright nut-cases. These mainly inhabit the central portions of the network. Unfortunately, living as I do, out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable eastern end of the District Line, I don’t often come across top quality hatstand-ness.

This morning, dressed head to toe in black, big headphones on, and an ‘I’ve not had anywhere enough Tea this morning’ expression on my face, I get on the train and park myself opposite a rather inoffensive looking little old man. Had I had enough Tea, I might have spotted the warning signs before I sat down – the fact there was an empty seat anyway and they way everyone was avoiding any eye contact with the chap.

Just as I made to sit, the old fellow jumps up as if to make room for me, then sits back down saying “alright mate?” “oh, you can’t hear me can you mate?” “I support West Ham”. I say “oh, right – nice one” – I actually dislike football then pull my book out of my bag ‘Confessions of an English Opium Eater’ and start reading.

In the meantime the old boy has gone off about how everyone is listening to music, and turning away from god. I’m just thinking we have a ripe one here, when he spots the book title and starts up about drugs and the ills of the world, how god died on the cross for us (umm, wasn’t it his son? Or at most a third of god?), then really hits his stride mangling some quotations from the book revelation. Of course “no one reads it these days, but it’s all coming true y’know.”

Were I more awake and up for some fun I may have joined in haranguing the passengers with the old fellow, quoting from the Life of Brian, “For the demon shall bear a nine-bladed sword. Nine-bladed! Not two or five or seven, but nine, which he will wield on all wretched sinners, sinners just like you, sir, there, and the horns shall be on the head, with which he will…”

He got off after two stops, the rest of the journey in was pretty tame.