London Exodus

This week I am moving home. I'm moving to a small town beyond the M25 ring road, the proverbial wall of the city.

I am joining thousands of people and leaving London because the living costs of the city are inflating too high.

I hope to build a new life with my wife in a sleepy westward town.

What October means to me

October is the month when the Catalonian people actually tried to break away from the rest of Spain and become a separate country. It is also the month when a deranged man fired hundreds of bullets into a large crowd of people in Las Vagas and caused the biggest single civilian gun assault in American and possibly world history. 

In the northern Temperate zone, October is the end of Autumn and the start of the colder winter months, here in the UK it ends with a scream because the last day is for Halloween. 

October 2017 is the month when the round Pound coin came to an end as legal currency in the UK, it was replaced by a twelve-sided almost round coin. If it is hard to choose between nickel or brass alloy then the problem is solved with the new coin because it was made with both; Nickel in the middle and brass on the outer edge. It is thinner and harder to forge than the old coin. The people that run machines that take cash were faced with challenges and lots of work. 

In my little world, it was the first time I saw the sun turn red when it was at full mast due to dust from a nearby storm getting in the way of the blue part of the light rays. I was very busy this month looking for a new home and dealing with certain issues. To me, October 2017 was being busy and shocked by the news. It is also the month when mainstream media heavily debated the outcome of Brexit, UK's exit from the European Union, a very annoying episode in British history for many people. No one wants to hear scary economy stories, no one wants to be told poverty could come and no one wants to hear the same boring story over and over again!!

I am grateful that November will be a happy month, It is not just my superstitious side thinking that, my logical side also thinks so. I am grateful for a new day every day when things can be better.

 

First Frost

This morning, the first frost came to my area. If you are reading this blog from a tropical country and have never seen frost or snow, let me explain. In the temperate regions of the world during winter, the air becomes so cold that the water vapor crystallizes directly out of the air and sticks to objects. Cars are very prone, they get covered in ice and the windscreens become opaque. I often wonder if we will ever stop the frost.

It has been a busy day so far. I hope for happy outcomes.

Catalonia Catastrophe

Yesterday I learned that the Catalonia region attempted to declare itself an independent country from the rest of Spain. The Spanish government has taken action and will halt the devolved government of the region and force the community to accept unity.

I have no view myself because I'm not Spanish and I believe it is none of my business. I only hope that this episode does not lead to a civil war, no one wants that. I don't know if it is just me but I noticed people that have a flag that contains both a star and stripes tend to resent imperial authority and have a rebellious nature.

Cheapest way to live

The cheapest way to live in the UK is to live in a remote town where living costs are low and commute to your job by Moped or motorbike.

Most two wheeled vehicles are about 3 times as fuel efficient as my small city car. My car burns about 1 litre of fuel every 15 kilometers on a good day with no traffic. Many two wheeled vehicles will travel close to 50 kilometers on one litre.

All two wheeled vehicles are dangerous and simply falling off your bike can cause life changing injuries or death.

The next cheapest way to live is the get a car with a similar engine to a motorbike, like a smart car. Smart cars are twice as fuel efficient as my small city car. Or to car pull. Take it in turns to drive a group of people into the Area. Each member of the group uses their own car.

I feel that it shouldn't be this way. Public transport should be the cheapest way to get around. But it is not. In fact it is more expensive then the car, even when the cost of insurance and road tax is considered. A typical season train ticket is around £500 per month. One liter of Petrol costs around £1.10 per litre in the UK.

I sense that profiteering and greed plays a role in the high costs of commuting in the UK.

What a road means to me

In my world and my time, roads are made of a black composite material called Asphalt. Asphalt is sand and small pebbles bound together by Bitumin, also known as Tar. Asphalt is not the best material to use for roads but it is a compromise between strength and cost. It is not too weak and not too expensive. Most of the ingredients of the roads are by-products of other industries, tar or bitumen is a by-product of the petroleum industry and the pebbles and sand particles are often waste aggregate from the building industry and Quarries that would otherwise have no use other than aggregate for cement in the concrete industry.

When I look at it I see a black resin with small stones embedded in it. It is black so all road markings are very clear. When it was first made it was heated so that it could be molded into a smooth surface using heavy rollers. In my opinion, the smell of a new road is very nice. It makes me feel relaxed when I breathe in the air around a new road surface. 

Asphalt has many weaknesses that I am very much aware of. It is very brittle so any ice crystals that can form inside it can shatter the road and make pot hols. If very heavy vehicles suddenly break when moving over it, a linear dent or two can appear in it. When it rains, it is largely waterproof so it becomes slippery and can trap puddles that can cause hazards on the road.

We have roads that are stronger than dirt roads and cheaper than solid granite pavements. I wonder what the roads would be like in the future. I'm sure that Asphalt won't be the surface of choice.

Red Sun

Yesterday a storm passed by and plowed into Ireland. The apron of the storm passed over me in England. The storm was carrying dust it picked up when it passed the Mediterranean area. It was carrying sand from the Sahara desert and soot from the Portuguese fires. The sun turned red because the blue part of the sunlight has a very short wavelength and can be blocked by dust particles but the redder part of the spectrum has a wide wavelength so it can pass around the dust particles. Although I know this, my superstitious side felt slightly concerned. My logical side had the last say.