Oh wow!!!

Accordsing to the stats there's 20 folks looked this blog today and there I've been lazy again for a few days.  Haven't been birding though but yesterday Jan and I took Kile to Newport in sarf bigfish (think about it ... you'll get there I'm sure ;-))) ), for a few hours and we saw around 20 speices as we were on the road but only a Raven for this years list.  Sad enit?  Off for a day and we still record birds seen ;-)))

OK then, what else can I waffle on about ... I know, that new railway they want to build!  The question seems to eb do we want it?  According to one lot no we don't, according to another lot, yes we do.  Such arguemnt can got on for years and we would get no where.  One of the 'Yes' group arguments is that there are a number of high speed lines in Europe and we should have one becuase they have one and we will fall behind if we don't.  That sounds OK dunnit?  But hang a minute ...  

According to Wikipeadia (and I make no claims for its accuracy here), Britain has a physical size of 240,000km square with a population of 60, 003,000 giving it a density of 277 ppkm square.  The figures for France are, 676,843km; 65,821,885; 116km;  For Germany, 357,021km; 81,757,600; 229km.  I think for that it becomes very clear that both France and Germany have a lot more land that can used up for a highspeed railway.  Just think about how much l;and is going to be swollowed up by it.  Two tracks at least with a safe margin between them for going aorund corners at high speed; wide safety margins at both side of the track; access road for maintainance crews; new or expanded stations; they will take up loads of space that Britain just doesn't have to spare in reality.  I'm not a maths expert but by my figures, allowing 15m for width and 150km for the distance from London to Brum, it works out at a loss of 2500km square land lost for public use!  And don't forget the added plans to extent it to Manchester and Leeds to be added in - you can add the smae mount from Brum to Mancester and I have no idea for the route to Leeds!

Come folks ... can we really afford to lose so much to land just to keep you the Jones's, or what ever the European equivilants are?  I don't think so!

More photos then ...

Talking of Brum, here's three of cities greatest ... Boulton, Watt and Murdoch.

This work of art is now gone, burnt down by some 15 year old nut case who thought it a jolly good jape.  Sadly the brat on got a caution I think.  What I wanted was a public execution at dawn on the spot where this stood!

This is Waterbeach Baptist Church.  Nothing much there I suppose, except that it is the first church of one Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the great Baptist preachers of 19th century.  From here he mover to here ...

  ... the Metropolitan Tabernacle on the Elephant and Castle in London where he regularly preached to over 1000 people.  Oh how things have a changed.

And finally a birdy ... a black headed gull, very exciting eh ;-)))