Living in London

The electrical voltage is different in the US and Europe. In fact, it is different all over the world. In Japan and most of the Americas the voltage is between 100 and 127 volts. In the rest of the world it is between 200 and 240 volts. Some countries have an alternating current of 50 Hz (cycles per second) and others, like the US, use 60 Hz. Of course, the plugs and sockets are different in most countries as well.

I planned to do a little research on the internet and then write a concise post on why one system was better than the other. Alas, the explanations are more political than scientific.

In the early 1900's Nikola Tesla, a genius ahead of his time, did a number of experiments with electricity. He is credited with creating alternating current and the induction motor. Through his research he concluded that 240 volts at 60 Hz was the best for efficient generation and transmission. It is natural to assume at this early stage in the life of electricity that all the world would follow with 240 Volts at 60 Hz. If only life were that simple.

In the US, Tesla's preference for 240 volts put him at odds with Thomas Edison who already had several patents on devices that ran on 110 Volts. Edison was more politically powerful than Tesla and 110 volts, 60 Hz became the standard.

Originally, Europe was slated for 110 volts as well and a German company, AEG, built the first European generating facility based on 110 volts. However, since they used the metric system, the AEG engineers preferred 50 Hz over 60 Hz because 50 fit neatly into multiples of 10. This turns out to be an unfortunate choice. 50 Hz is 20% less efficient in generation and 10-15% less efficient in transmission. In order to boost the efficiency they doubled the voltage to 240.

Now we have a hodge podge of voltages and plugs in use around the world. Only a handful of countries (Peru, Ecuador, Guyana, the Philippines and South Korea) follow Tesla’s advice and use the 60 Hz frequency together with a voltage of 220-240 V.

Many thanks to the World Standards site for the excellent information on voltage and frequency as well as sockets and plugs.

Linda and I are in Brussels for the weekend. It has been a rainy and chilly couple of days but we managed to visit the plant where they produce their little sprouts.

The rest of the weekend we visited Bruges and strolled around Antwerp. Just to be polite, we sampled several varieties of local beer and tasted as many Belgian chocolates and waffles as we could. They were fabulous!

I finally figured out a way to avoid over eating on Thanksgiving . . .

Move to London, where the fourth Thursday in November is just another workday.

Sigh . . .

Eiffel Tower at Night	Arc De Triumph
We are back in London after a 40 hour whirlwind tour of Paris. Linda was impressive as she dug deep to remember her high school French phrases. We rode the Metro, ordered meals from entirely French menus and were able to give accurate directions to the taxi drivers. It was a wonderful trip and we are already planning a return trip in the spring.

As I write this in am riding on the Eurostar to Paris. Last week we were in Prague. This week Paris, and we will be in Brussels for the weekend. Damn! Are we international travellers, or what?

We will be flying back to London so I thought I would offer a comparison between the Eurostar and air travel.

• Cost: My BMI ticket was £12 plus £30.31 surcharges and taxes. Total BMI was £42.31. The Eurostar ticket was £149! Three points: air travel.
• Time: The Eurostar trip is 2 hours and 50 minutes (170 minutes) while the BMI flight is 90 minutes. However, Eurostar only requires you to be there 30 minutes in advance for check-in and airlines require at least an hour (90 minutes is more realistic). The Paris Charles DeGaulle airport is much farther from the city downtown area than the train terminal so the Eurostar is at least as quick for getting from London to downtown Paris. Tie: No points.
• Comfort: The seats on the Eurostar have about 3 more inches of legroom compared to typical coach seat on an airplane. The tray table is large and accommodates a laptop very well. One point: Eurostar
• Work Time: The train car is very comfortable and conducive to working. It is quiet and we have not been interrupted for any reason or told to turn off electronic devices until the plane has reached a cruising altitude. One point: Eurostar.
• View: We are cruising at 100+ miles per hour through rolling hills and beautiful countryside. Except for the 20 minutes that we spend in the Chunnel, there is no way to compare the view between air and rail travel. Three points: Eurostar.
• Personal Movement: Airlines are very restrictive in allowing passengers to move about the cabin. On a plane you have to be strapped into your seat during take off and landing and at the pilot's whim during the remainder of the flight. The Eurostar, on the other hand, offers no restrictions. There are no seatbelts and no flight attendants dragging drink carts up and down the aisles. One point: Eurostar.
• Extra points: On the Eurostar you have the freedom use the toilet or grab a snack from the food car whenever you want. One point: Eurostar.

Penalty Points: I just returned from the loo where the toilet was plugged and the tissue is rougher than 180 grit sand paper. Minus two points: Eurostar.

So in the end, it is Eurostar ahead by two points. It was a very nice trip. Once we arrived in Paris we realized that we were much less stressed than if we had have flown. Highly recommended.

Set your VCRs. Schedule your Tivos. Heather is about to make her television debut. If you live in the UK you will want to tune to a new show on the BBC 2 on Thursday nights called The Culture Show. On Thursday, November 25th at 7:00 PM GMT Heather will be featured as an enthusiast for the latest technological craze to sweep the internet.

Podcasting has recently exploded as a new form of audio content and a new channel for distribution. Basically, the idea is that people record audio shows on their computers and upload them as MP3 files to their blogs. Some simple software automatically downloads the shows and loads them onto my iPod. Of course it works with most any MP3 player but the iPod has become a household word (like Kleenex or Xerox) and the name "podcasting" has taken root. My current favourite podcasts are Coverville and the Whole Wheat Radio Daily Rant. There are hundreds more and new podcasts are being added every day.

The producers of The Culture Show wanted to capture some enthusiasts who listened to podcasts and I was an eager volunteer. On Tuesday Colin Lennox from the BBC stopped by our flat with a digital video camera for about an hour and a half and recorded me pontificating about podcasting. Upon reviewing the films they liked the footage and called back to ask if they could get some additional shots with me listening to my podcasts in real life situations. I met a different recording crew this afternoon at a café in Oxford Circus. Five of us (and one big camera) boarded the fist uncrowded bus to come along while the camera man shot video of me standing at the back of the bus enjoying my iPod. Finally, we picked a stop where I would get off and they filmed me walking off into the crowd.

Thanks to Brian Ibbott at Coverville for connecting me with the BBC people. The taping sessions were a blast.

I returned home to London today while Linda remains in Prague throughout the week for her work. My original flight from Prague had a 60 minute layover in Munich. There were only 8 passengers on the 30 seater turbo-prop and I was becoming a little distraught when my flight was posted with a 40 minute delay.I had no expectation that I would make the connecting flight and began to resign my self to a long day in airports. Worse, based on previous experience with delayed flights I had no expectation that my luggage would arrive at my final airport on the same flight as me.

The smaller airplanes (such as turbo-prop jobs) do not rank a terminal gate and are relegated to park on the tarmac at what seems like miles from the terminal. Arriving into Munich with only 20 minutes to make my connecting flight I was pleasantly surprised to find a separate car and driver ready to whisk me and the three other London-bound passengers around the tarmac directly to the gate of the London flight. Maybe parking on the tarmac isn't such a disadvantage after all. I still wasn't sure where my bag was but I was relieved to have made my connecting flight.

The icing on the cake was when my suitcase was the SECOND bag to come tumbling onto the luggage carousel at Heathrow. The original check-in agent in Prague had labelled the bag "HOT" and Lufthansa delivered!

Yesterday while out walking around Wenceslas Square, we went into an old Soviet style department store to use the Water Closet. After paying the surly attendant 3 Kc (12 cents or 7 pence) we entered the toilet where we learned (just in time) that we needed to take the toilet paper from one main dispenser before entering the stall. Gave me a feeling of what "state control" must have been like. Wonder what happens if you take too much?

Today we went on a tour, mostly via bus, which turned out to be a blessing since it rained most of the morning. We saw the highlights of Prague, walked around the castle, and stayed for the changing of the guards. The architecture here is really very amazing; every style is represented, from early Roman to Baroque and late Renaissance. In many cases the different period styles are represented all on one block and in some cases even on the same building!!

The tour was given in both English and German and, having once taken a tour in both Japanese and English, we reinforced our vows to NEVER take a tour that is provided in two languages. The tour guide in these cases just doesn’t have enough time for anecdotes and stories that make the tour interesting. They are too busy telling the same basic facts in two different languages.

Our tour guide was about 60 and has lived through many changes during her life here. She made and interesting an haunting comment. She was telling us about the devastating flood in Prague in August of 2002. She said "We have had at least two major wars in every century from the beginning of our history. This last century was the worst. There were two world wars and then communist rule for 20 years. We finally got free and then this terrible flood happened. The heavens do not favor us." It was so sad and made us wonder if the people here have always been so down. The echoes of Communism reverberate through the city and as we walk the streets we sense an air of fatalism.

Then tonight we went to a short concert and our spirits were lifted. Prague embraces their rich history of classical music and there are many classical concerts advertised around the city. We decided to avoid the big venues and went to a baroque library in an old church. As we sat there listening to Mozart's A Little Night Music and Vivaldi's Four Seasons, music that is over 200 years old, played by the members of a fabulous little chamber orchestra, we realized something important: there are some things that transcend war, tyranny, and natural disasters. Bravo to the Prague Chamber Orchestra.

Although the Czech Republic joined the European Union in May of this year, they have not yet converted their currency to the Euro. They have retained their national currency called the Czech Crown (Koruna) abbreviated as Kc. With today's exchange rates $1 US Dollar = 24.39 Kc and 1 British Pound = 44.98 Kc.

Costs are reasonable here. A 30 minute taxi ride from the airport to the hotel was 650 Kc ($26.65 and £14.45) and a 500 ml (17 oz) bottle of Coke from a street vendor is only 25 Kc ($1.03 / £.0.56)

Other observations on our first day:

• The majority of the Czech Republic is comprised of a region in central Europe that was known as Kingdom of Bohemia
• Franz Kafka was born in Prague when it was still the kingdom of Bohemia. He worked for the Workers Accident Insurance Institute and refused to publish any of his work during his life time.

Well, we arrived in Prague and had the chance to walk around a bit this afternoon. Pretty much what you would expect - lots of smoking, sausage grilling street vendors, and fur hats. Also Pilser Urquell on tap for $1 a glass. These are the highlights so far. We hope to take a tour tomorrow and become better informed.

-LmG

Today was clear and cold in London, and I think we may be leaving Autumn. We are going out of town for a few weeks, off and on, to Prague, and Paris, and Brussels, and even to California for a week. When we come back old man Winter will no doubt be in charge of London, and we will be in the grips of the Christmas spirit.

Watch for the next post from Prague.

-LmG

A Numerical Guide to London
Check out Capital Numbers . . . because London Counts.

Click on any number and you will see many fascinating facts about London related to that number.
For example:

• number 10 reveals that London's most famous address is 10 Downing Street
• and twenty six informs us that it was "at the 1908 Olympic Games in London that the twenty-six mile marathon race from Windsor to White City was extended by 385 yards to finish in front of the Royal box. All modern marathons have been 26 miles 385 yards long ever since.

Fascinating site.

-HrH

We made a fantastic discovery today. We found the Royal Academy of Arts.

The academy is a fine building, next to the Royal Astronomical Society and the Society of Antiquarians, with a nice blend of old and new architecture. They had an exhibit of the work of William Nicholson, a British painter, print-maker and theatre designer who lived from 1872 - 1949. His wood cut prints are just fabulous, and still somewhat available.

I have become suddenly aware this week, over my few days off, that we need to buy art to remember our life here and to decorate the fabulous new place we are going to buy. Better get back to work soon or this could get expensive.

LmG

The management company of our housing complex has decided to invest some of the homeowner dues in a few capital improvements. Their current project is to update the lobby in our building and today they are pouring concrete. As a result, we had to be out of our apartment between 10:00 and 5:00 PM. Well, actually they didn’t care whether we were in or out, but they did, in the very polite British way, say that we should not annoy them by running in and out all day. Rather than risk having to climb out the bathroom window with an urgent need for a latte, we decided to just leave and play tourists for the day.

So off we went, only to discover 5 minutes into our adventure that we had forgotten the camera. (Doh! We were scared to go back lest we end up embedded in concrete.) Cameraless, we plodded full speed ahead. Our first stop was Westminster Pier only to discover that the boat tours of the Thames are rather limited this time of year. We had hoped to take a cruise down to the Thames Barrier, a part of the flood defense defence system protecting London against rising water levels and tidal surges. (We know you all remember that the Thames is a tidal river which means its level can rise or fall up to 20 feet!).

So we looked around for the biggest tourist attraction we could find, feeling it is our duty to visit each of these so we can steer our American visitors to only the best when they finally get over here.

We ended up at the Tower of London, slogging through the rain listening to taped tours. The place was filled with a surprising number of people given that it is 52 degrees, rainy, and a Monday in November. The highlights were the Crown Jewels and the six ravens that are permanent residents of the tower. We would rate it a C overall, which means that you should probably see it if you are interested in British history, but we won’t be going back with you. (We have been educating ourselves on British history through Simon Schama's 6 DVD setA History of Britain.) Delighted to tell you how to get there however!

-HrH and LmG

On Saturday we decided to go to the London Transport Museum.

We took the tube from Gloucester Road to Covent Garden (exit only at Covent Garden from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Saturdays because there are SO many people around there!) and spent a couple of hours at the museum. It wasn’t that interesting. We often find that when museums are geared to be learning events for children, they aren’t all that appealing to us. Anyway, we did get a couple of excellent posters we will keep as mementos of life in London.

To our good fortune, we discovered that the Transport Museum is adjacent to the Covent Garden Market that just happened to be holding a Food Lovers Fair on Saturday. This fair is recognised as a "showcase for the very best of sustainable, traceable, British produce." We tasted some delicious samples, and watched some good street performers before purchasing some weird-looking but delicious-tasting Scotch Eggs.

-LmG

London Bloggers is a tube map with links to all the bloggers operating from near that tube stop. Click on the phrase "To see a list of stations with weblogs already registered, click here" and then choose "High Street Kensington" to see the seven blogs in our area, including YOUR favorite blog in London.

-LmG

Every country in which I have lived seems to have an annual fireworks celebration. In Canada we celebrated the queen's birthday with fireworks on the last Monday in May. In the US, of course, there is the 4th of July, and San Francisco even has KFOG's Kaboom concert in early May.

Here in London we have been hearing fireworks for a few nights now, but last night, Friday 5 November, it sounded like we were in a battle field. It’s Guy Fawkes day in England. Each year fireworks and bonfires are burned on November 5th to celebrate the Gunpowder Plot, in which a group of Catholic conspirators attempted to blow up the British Houses of Parliament on that date in 1605. The plot failed, and in their relief, the British have continued to commemorate the day for 400 years with explosives and fires of all kinds.

This event, and legend, is the source of the familiar rhyme begins ‘Remember, remember the fifth of November'.

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
gunpowder, treason and plot,
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.

(The full text is available at this Wikipedia entry.)

-HrH

On Thursday night Linda and I ventured out to the historic Gielgud Theatre for another dose of London's West End Theatre. The theatre was first opened in 1906 and one has to assume that people had shorter legs in 1906. The leg room was horribly cramped.

We saw the critically acclaimed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with Christian Slater in the lead role of Randle Patrick Murphy. I am a big fan of Christian Slater, having loved his performance in the black comedy, Heathers. Unfortunately, Christian Slater's performance was underwhelming. He just didn't look comfortable or convincing on stage.

However, the joy of the show was the two supporting lead characters, Mackenzie Crook (who plays Gareth on The Office) and Frances Barber, who played Nurse Ratched. Both of these actors were a delight to watch on stage.

-HrH

The British have a strange relationship with W's. Not far from our house is a street called Warwick Road. The British pronounce the first W but the second is ignored: it is pronounced 'War-ick.'

Similarly, there is an area of London just east of us called Chiswick, (pronounced Chizz-ick). Strangely, the W is not acknowledged.

I guess sometimes it is hard to know what to do with a W.

-HrH

We see a wide variety of sights on our walks in Kensington Park. The dogs remain my favorite: they are so happy and free-spirited and well behaved. Here’s a big guy who decided to go for a dip just to see if his master would pull him out (as I’m sure she always does).

Click each image for a larger picture
Time for a little dip	Aaargh. I need help getting out of here	Brrr . . . anyone have a towel?

-LmG