Litter at the entrance to B&Q

I visited B&Q recently to buy some paint and other DIY stuff. Whilst walking to the DIY store I looked down the embankment between the road entrance and the motorway bridge I spotted anormous amounts of Fast Food takeway litter.

The fact is a lot of it is in a location that would imply that it was thrown there by people in cars visiting the store and not cars passing the store heading for Leigh Park or Walmart.

The packaging is from a variety of sources including Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonalds.

It is sickening, especially as I believe the store provides bins in the car park.

I think authorities need to put in temporary cameras that will capture licence plate numbers and catch the culprits responsible.

As well as that I think the Fast Food businesses identified by the packaging along with B&Q need to get the mess cleared up.

Leaning tower of bricks

Two pallets of bricks leaning precariously towards an expensive iron fence and wall.
I estimate that the centre of gravity is well over to the left and it is close to toppling, potentially damaging the wall and fence. Hope the builders have good insurance!
It's also potentially a health and safety risk, since the wall/fence could fail and injure the owners of the neighbouring home.

 Update:

 Yes it did topple over after heavy rains. In this photo the top pallet is now touching the iron fence.
The good news is that later in the day the top pallet of bricks had been lifted off and were placed on the drive along with an additional delivery of bricks.

Sainsburys update

Sainburys large store (above) is due to open this winter. My mother who once didn't really mind or understand it's impact is now of the same view as me. It will have a negative impact on Waterlooville. What Havant Borough Council and others choose to ignore is that it effectively disrupts the flow of activity that was once present along Hambledon road into Waterlooville and effectively adds another 'block' to the traditional access of Waterlooville. The view is that Waterlooville will be cut off because many now won't bother going into the centre, especially in from the Hambledon road route.

The history of development and the cut off of Waterlooville started when the bipass was built and Hambledon road was cut off just below St Georges church. Following that event, Havant Borough Council sold the part of Hambledon road servicing Wadham Stringers to private investors. This eventually led to the retail park being developed and the road being turned into a feeder to the retail car park (above)

And so Havant Borough Council continues it's anti-local business agenda that supports mass car use and the monopolies of big business. In the photo above is Sainsburys attempt - that is fully supported by the council- to provide access to cyclists and pedestrians. The fact is it highlights the pro-car agenda the council has. The car park is a nightmare to get through for pedestrians and cyclists even now years after it was created and the ramp is just another meandering attempt to bodge another solution.

Pedestrians and cyclists are the leaders of sustainability and healthy life styles that reduce costs for the council, yet Havant Borough Council continue to push the car onto us with ideological intensity.

Natwest Waterlooville - passerby has a lucky escape

I think this post proves that keeping old photos and being in the right place at the right time can pay off. Recently The News reported that a van driver recently escaped death when a marble slab fell onto him from above as he was passing Natwest in Waterlooville.

I just happened to be in Waterlooville today and just happened to have my camera handy. OK yep, I was planning to take some photos of the building whilst also visiting the recycling centre and doing some shopping. But what I wasn't expecting was to see some people inspecting the building and also over hearing the general conversation!



The photo shows the 'inspectors' - probably from the insurance company and Natwest - looking up at where the marble panel was once fixed. The panel fell off the mounting and smashed on the floor. Those things are really heavy. Imagine if it had been the panel above the door whilst someone was walking in or out!

They have removed all three panels now, for obvious safety reasons. Whilst walking by the building I overheard the discussion, which seemed to suggest a number of panels are cracked or a bit loose, although they are mainly at ground level, so not as dangerous.

Some time ago I took some photos of the clocks viewable from the centre of Waterlooville, so I have dug out the one I took of Natwest a few years ago. Here it is:

In this photo you can clearly see the original panels. The middle panel clearly shows the Natwest logo.
Can't really get much worse for Natwest over this last week, what with the total cockup with their computer systems and this in Waterlooville. The impression one gets, is that they are trimming back on maintenance to much in a lot of areas.

Havant Goes Greener Fair 2012

A selection of photos from todays Havant Goes Greener Fair. The wind and rain held off for the day, an improvement on last year and it was busier to. I think there were about 60 stalls in total, up on last year (which was the first year of the event).

The Hampshire Coppice Craftmens Group, I bought a wedge door stop off them last year

Portsmouth Beekeepers always have a good stall - including a live bee hive segment

Wayside Organics

Not sure who these were, but they had a big stall selling herbs and plants

Whizz electric bikes

Emsworth Cycles

Cobblers II

In 2008 I bought a pair of hand made boots from Guat shoes in Sheffield. The experience was most satisfying. The boots are quite basic and traditional in design, they have real stitching rather than being glued together. There is no padding internally, the sort of thing you get with modern boots. Despite the lack of padding, they are just as or more comfortable than mass produced and marginally cheaper boots.

Apart from some scuff marks on the toe area and some wear on the soles. They are still going strong. I also have a theory that mass produced boots need a lot of padding because the outer skin design is so poor regarding comfort. eg. they design them to look cool, but that design is crap regarding comfort, so they stuff a load of padding in to compensate.

Unlike most modern boots however the soles on these boots can be replaced. The idea being that over the life time of the boots instead of buying two pairs for the approximate cost of £60 each (if you are lucky), I would spend an initial £90 for the hand made boots and about £30 for sole replacements later. The total cost being the same, but with just under half the materials used. I may even get away without replacing the soles, depending on wear.

That idea is still on schedule.

Isentropic officially relocate to Hampshire

Energy storage start up Isentropic have officially moved from Cambridge to Segensworth near Fareham. The company are developing a Pumped Heat Energy Storage system that can be connected to the electricity grid. The advantage of the system is that it uses low cost abundant materials. The company moved to Hampshire to take advantage of advanced mechanical engineering skills in the area.

See press release and web site for more info.

Cobblers

Thats what we need in Waterlooville and the wider area. More local shoe makers and cobblers. But until that happens I recommend buying British handmade shoes. Guat shoes of Sheffield are an excellent example.

They may seem expensive at first. But that assumes that you buy into the fashion and wasteful mass produced shoe concept. Basically the idea behind locally produced products like shoes, is that you pay more initially but then get them re-soled and/or repaired at least once later. The resulting cost is the same over the years as two pairs of good quality mass produced shoes that you just throw away when you have finished with them.

So for no real extra cost, you get a pair of handmade shoes, made in the UK from locally sourced materials, all of which is much better for the environment.

It would be great if we had many cobblers/shoe makers set up in all towns across the nation, including Waterlooville, reducing imports, providing local jobs and services, plus more importantly reducing emissions and helping the environment. Civilisation wouldn't collapse just because we go local.