By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions. We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
Mr Sheen's post about 'Neutral Moresnet' made me think of Konigsberg, another one of those geopolitical anomalies that not a lot of people know about (as Michael would say). Now known as Kaliningrad, it is the capital of the Russian province of the same name, that exists wholly outside of Russia, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic Coast. Must be weird living there. I read this about getting there by car:
"The road system is extensive in the Kaliningrad region; however, they are not always well-maintained, and sometimes it is hard to get around because of absence of signage indicating directions/destinations (especially in the city). On large roads, signs are displayed in Cyrillic and Roman letters.
"Driving rules are generally the same as in most European countries, but many do not follow the rules, especially during rush hour in the city. Beware of the traffic police because they like to stop foreigners and often expect bribes."
Agreed, it was painful listening to him. I enjoyed some aspects of Rogue Heroes, the historical elements and taking on board the incredible truth of what the SAS achieved - which was vividly brought to life - but all the silly stuff, epitomised by the ultra glamourous Algerian French agent, showing up at the front line in her chic outfits and so on, blew it for me. Even though they put the disclaimer at the beginning: this is NOT a history lesson...
Meanwhile, on a very different tack, I've finally got round to watching The Detectorists. What a delight.
When we moved into our new flat in 1962, my mum bought an LEC fridge with a small freezer compartment. It looked like those trendy Smeg fridges you see today.
She moved to Yorkshire with her partner in 1984 and took the fridge with her. The last time I went to see her partner (mum died several years ago), the fridge was still going strong. That's 63 years it's been running, and even the freezer compartment still works!
I'd left my daughter with friends who lived just off Askew Road. When I went to pick her up after the game, they said: what happened? We all heard this enomous roar.
That's right, the roar was so loud, they heard it over a mile away!
Ah, the old Bridge. It still haunts my dreams. I must have walked back and forth over it well over 10,000 times, on my way to school and back, on my way to the delights of West London.
The current bridge was actually opened in 1887, designed by the famous Joseph Bazalgette, he of sewers fame. The orginal, the first suspension bridge over the Thames, was built in 1828, and designed by William Tierney Clark, who lived and died in Hammersmith and also designed the Széchenyi Chain Bridge across the Danube in Budapest, Hungary. The first bridge linking Buda and Pest...
The eminent Mr DMM of this site and I went there recently to pay homage to the old thing.
The actress Hedi Lamarr was also an inventor, and in 1942 patented a 'secret communications system', and early version of frequency hopping, which played a significant role in WWII and was eventually used to develop Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.
We lived at the other end of Castelnau, a stone's throw from Hammersmith Bridge. Remember the Red Lion well. And the common of course. An utterly brilliant place to go wild in when you were a kid!
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
