Seen in the News

[Tizer]

Why I mentioned that Turner is a Labour supporter is that she's having to criticise a Labour MP; she's not a Tory having a go at a Labour MP. In other words, me trying to point out that it's not politically driven.

[Stanley]

Understood Tiz.

[Tizer]

Wall cladding on tower blocks is in the news again with the fire at the student digs in Bolton. The reports say the cladding is not the aluminium composite cladding (ACM) used at Grenfell but high pressure laminate cladding (HPL). The latter is made by layering sheets of wood or paper fibre with a resin and bonding them under heat and pressure. Some grades have fire retardant but others don't. The systems without retardant are judged `very unlikely to adequately resist the spread of fire' and `Building owners with these systems should immediately take action in line with Advice Note 14 (first published in December 2017 and updated in December 2018).' Even the highest grade HPL panels `should not be used in an external wall when carrying out building works on new residential buildings of 18m or more (i.e. new build, refurbishment of the external wall or a material change of use)'. HPL

More on ACM cladding safety here: ACM

[Stanley]

I heard that report Tiz and was impressed by the testimony of the student in the block opposite who saw the flames spreading 'up the side of the building'.
There's a good piece in PE this week about the bad behaviour of some landlords who have properties that are affected.
Also, don't I remember a statement that the government was going to help and take 'immediate action' on sprinkler systems as well?

[Tizer]

This looks like a cover-up by the airline...
`Did a 'soap spill' really divert a flight?' LINK

[Stanley]

I agree entirely Tiz. There have been to many incidents like this due mainly to the fact that the lubricants used in jet engines are so specialised. I forget the additive, is it an organic sulphur derivative? When they vaporise on a hot surface after a spill the vapours can be sucked in by cabin heating systems that use waste heat from the engines. There have been several court cases where flight crew have been affected by long term exposure. The culprit is the cost of having an independent heating system. The cheap and dirty system using the engines wins every time.

[plaques]

The cheap and dirty system using the engines wins every time.

i wouldn't call it cheap and dirty. The air is usually drawn off in the intermediate stage (IP) compressors and on the older engines its pretty clean stuff. You should see the engine performance drop when you open up these 'cooling air' valves. Some of the latest engines have introduced a massive gear box between the IP and the big front fan this of course has to be cooled with special oils. Where to put the excessive heat? may be the cause of the dirty engine problem. This is just a guess.

[Tizer]

Back to Grenfell Tower and cladding again...
`Grenfell cladding manufacturer declines to release documents' LINK
The FT says that US metals group Arconic (formerly Alcoa) is declining to release documents about flammable cladding used on the Grenfell tower to a US court hearing a lawsuit from survivors and victims’ families. It cites a French law limiting disclosure in foreign courts, and it has also invoked this in the UK public inquiry. The company faces a wrongful-death lawsuit in Pennsylvania from survivors and the estates of many of those killed.

[Stanley]

I suspect we will hear a lot more of this as the enquiry moves into the next stage Tiz.
David, I agree basically. What I was imperfectly trying to convey was that having a separate unit to heat sub zero air for the cabin would be heavy, space consuming and expensive in fuel use. I called the present system 'cheap and dirty' because I don't think anyone is arguing against the vaporised oil fumes containing organic chlorides being dangerous. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the Trump impeachment hearings. Not a killer blow as regards actual impeachment because of the Republican majority in the Senate but the case builds against him and one hopes the electorate are watching!

[Tizer]

And yet more on tower cladding from a new report just released. The type used in the Bolton tower is even more dangerous than that used at Grenfell...
`Second common cladding type raises Grenfell fire risk fears' LINK
`A widely used cladding, known as high-pressure laminate [HPL], is at least as flammable as the type targeted by a UK government safety programme after the Grenfell Tower disaster, a new independent study has found. Researchers from Imperial College London and Warsaw’s Building Research Institute found that HPL cladding failed fire safety tests 80 per cent of the time, while the category of cladding similar to that blamed for the rapid spread of the catastrophic fire at Grenfell [ACM] failed 60 per cent of the time. The two types of cladding were the most flammable categories assessed by researchers in the most comprehensive study to date....'.

[Tripps]

The enormous cost and the decision as to who will pay, will ensure that this situation isn't resolved quickly. It looks like the Bolton fire started near the upper floors. Had it started lower down the consequences could have been much worse.

[Stanley]

High time blame was allocated and old fashioned justice, both civil and criminal, was unleashed. One of the depressing things we see these days is the reluctance of the government to seek justice against anything that smells of money! Think bankers....

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC account of a report that says the UK has the most extreme form of capitalism in the world. Basically this means that by law, the making of profit for shareholders is more important than business ethics or affect on wider society and directors are forced to follow this model.
Why does this not surprise me?

[plaques]

Reading through the Conservative manifesto, as one does the first thing of a morning, I was stopped in my tracks by one of Johnson's opening paragraphs,
Get Brexit done - and we can release that lion from its cage and take this amazing country forwards.

My mind immediately sprang back to the WW1 phrase. Lions led by Donkeys. Then just to keep myself up-to-date I Googled the phrase only to comfirm there is a political satire group calling themselves, you've guessed it, Lions led by Donkeys. Donkeys 'Led by Donkeys' won the award for Best Social Media Campaign in the 2019 Social Purpose Awards organised by marketing website the Drum.
Will heads roll at CCHQ, I doubt it, too busy making up false news to keep abreast of what's going on in the real world.

[Stanley]

I show my age here P. Mention of 'lion' triggers this off. LINK.
If you liked that have a look at THIS. Marriott Edgar wrote many other monologues, many of them performed by him and Stanley Holloway, all well worth looking up!

[Wendyf]

I used to love listening to Albert & the Lion on Children's Favourites. Think I had the book too, or would get it out of the library.

[Stanley]

[plaques]

Knew quite a few off by heart as they say. Always liked 'Sam Sam Goes to it' Always reminds me that old codgers like us sitting in a corner boring the pants off everybody.

[Stanley]

Ah, but the 'old codgers' occasionally have useful things to say and should continue to bore as many people as possible. It's called Oral History! See the LTP for a good example, the best interviews I did were with the most elderly respondents. Billy Brooks at about 100 years old was one of the best. He pulled me up short one day when he talked about watching British Soldiers in red uniforms forming squares to fight off cavalry. It turned out he was talking about the Boer War but he called it the 'African War', he was there as a young stretcher bearer!

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the stabbings on London Bridge yesterday. The perpetrator was a convicted terrorist out on licence. There are questions to be asked.

[Tripps]

It emerges that the victim in the terror attack last Friday lived in the street where I went to clean the plaque earlier in the year. Not the same house though. Harvey Road

[Stanley]

Spooky?

[Tizer]

`Conservative leaflet bungle mistakes Wells for Wales' LINK
`A printing error has seen hundreds of election leaflets sent out by the Conservative Party in Wells containing details about its manifesto for Wales. Other constituencies including Yeovil and West Bromwich in the West Midlands also received misprinted leaflets...'.

[Stanley]

I suppose I am privileged because of my years on the tramp and other driving going to obscure places all over the UK but it constantly amazes me how ignorant some people are when confronted with a place name.
(How many people could tell you where Ruyton of the Eleven Towns is or Land of Nod? Both places where there was a dairy nearby we used to tank milk to.)