It looks like the middle way is winning. Barack Obama, criticised by the hawks for being too soft on Mr Putin, and by the doves for getting involved where the US has no business, seems to have quelled Russia's neo-imperialist ambitions for the loss of zero American lives. For the time being, anyway. Mr Obama's strategy, focused very tightly on financial and economic outcomes, is working much better than any show of strength by the Seventh Fleet in the Black Sea would have ever achieved.
Crimea might have been lost to Ukraine, but the cost of keeping it is beginning to hurt Russia. Unable to get water to Crimean fields or tourists to Crimean beaches, its economy is crumbling.
And finally Ukraine has shown it has the resolve and the muscle to oust the pro-Russian separatists from its eastern towns and cities. The separatists - who have been using Russian-supplied military hardware to wrest control of eastern Ukraine away from Kiev - have been pushed back to Donetsk and Luhansk.
What are the separatists' leaders after? Probably some kind of bandit quasi-state, recognised by no one, like Transdniestria, run by renegade Soviet officers as their own little mafia fiefdom, nevertheless desperately poor economically and with dismal human rights.
Petro Poroshenko, who won the Ukrainian presidential elections outright less than six weeks ago, has shown himself to be a statesman and nation-builder - although these are early days, and Ukraine has a track-record of electing leaders that turn out dodgy. But so far so good. The Ukrainian armed forces have got themselves together as a fighting force.
The separatists are on the run, a turning point has been reached. Voices in Russia are calling Mr Putin to step in and support the pro-Russian fighters; but Mr Putin is reluctant to do so. He may yet intervene militarily from across the border, but the likelihood diminishes with each passing week. Russia risks ostracism from the global economic system. The sanctions imposed on Mr Putin's wealthy associates by the US and (more reluctantly) by the EU have hit them where it hurts. Within weeks, their net worth was reduced by several billion dollars per head. Visa and Mastercard have shown that the US can turn off the life-blood of the Russian financial system at a single keystroke, and I'm sure Microsoft and Google have some nasty things they can infiltrate into Russian citizens' PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
A further defeat for Mr Putin is that the West has raised its guard against the Kremlin's disinformation warriors feeding lies and half-truths to gullible readers of comments sections of its online media. No longer are readers of the Guardian, Telegraph, Independent or Mail likely to come across dubious diatribes about Ukrainian Fascists conducting genocide on Russians in Donetsk.
And a victory for the balanced, intelligent approach. A defeat for those who say "sit back and do nothing", and a defeat for those who say "nuke the bastards to kingdom come".
The balanced way is hardest because its subject to attacks from all corners. In the case of Ukraine, it is shown to be working, despite the doubts from the West's left and right.
And all of this good news hiding below the headlines. Let's just hope Mr Putin skulks back to lick his wounds having learned his lesson - that all his nationalistic bluster and bare-chested bravado, does not get you far these days, especially when his mates' fortunes are at stake.
This time two years ago:
More about Modlin airport
This time five years ago:
Get on your bike and RIDE!
This time six years ago:
Moles in my own garden
[Before I discovered the Secret: Mr Dembo's special sauce]
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
Sunday, 6 July 2014
Thoughts on brewing and investing
The big brewers are in retreat, globally, because all they are doing is trying to pinch market share off one another, spending millions to push their brands. In the meanwhile, small artisan, or craft brewers, are brewing beer with enthusiasm and passion; they brew because they love what they're doing, not because they have to provide shareholders with a good quarterly set of figures.
The other week in Auchan I heard a woman asking her husband: "Łomża or Perła?", a question unthinkable five years ago, when the question would have simply been "Żywiec, Lech or Tyskie?". Choice now runs deep. Five years ago, I was despondent about the state of Polish brewing. Now, I can see (at Warsaw at least) huge improvements. They've not come from the Big Three - Heineken, Carlsberg and SAB-Miller, but from small breweries intent on creating great beers for consumers who care about taste and quality.
In recent weeks, Auchan has been selling a beer called Lubuskie IPA from Browar Witnica, an India Pale Ale with a taste I remember from my youth, massively hoppy, and unlike Witnica's Chmiel (Hops), it's not sweet. Unless I'm in a specialist beer shop where the choice also includes micro-breweries like Pinta and Ale Browar, the appearance of Lubuskie IPA has wholly satisfied my craving for a hoppy, unsweetened beer.
What's this got to do with investing?
Beer can be made by a small, local company. So can cheese, ham and pork pies. Which makes stock-market listed brewers and food processors susceptible to competition from small, local brewers and makers of quality foodstuffs. Without expensive managers, advertising companies, and other corporate overheads, your money that pays for those things can instead go on quality ingredients.
Lots of things can be made by small, local companies. Furniture, bicycles and clothing for example.
But there are things that can only be made by global corporations - such as airliners, pharmaceuticals and microprocessors.
These are the companies in which you should invest - because they only have to compete against one another, and not have to worry about losing market share to an artisan.
So then - buy locally, from people you know to be passionate about what they do and only invest in companies that make things that are the product of huge research and development budgets and global supply chains.
If you have got any shares in big global brewers - start thinking of divesting yourself of them. Better buy shares in, say, Airbus or Boeing, because while a start-up entrepreneur can brew you a beer, he'll never build you a 500-seat airliner.
This time last year:
Cruisers and low-riders - cycle fashion
This time This time four years ago:
Gone is the threat of Państwo Smoleńskie
This time six years ago:
Bike ride to Święty Krzyż
The other week in Auchan I heard a woman asking her husband: "Łomża or Perła?", a question unthinkable five years ago, when the question would have simply been "Żywiec, Lech or Tyskie?". Choice now runs deep. Five years ago, I was despondent about the state of Polish brewing. Now, I can see (at Warsaw at least) huge improvements. They've not come from the Big Three - Heineken, Carlsberg and SAB-Miller, but from small breweries intent on creating great beers for consumers who care about taste and quality.
In recent weeks, Auchan has been selling a beer called Lubuskie IPA from Browar Witnica, an India Pale Ale with a taste I remember from my youth, massively hoppy, and unlike Witnica's Chmiel (Hops), it's not sweet. Unless I'm in a specialist beer shop where the choice also includes micro-breweries like Pinta and Ale Browar, the appearance of Lubuskie IPA has wholly satisfied my craving for a hoppy, unsweetened beer.
What's this got to do with investing?
Beer can be made by a small, local company. So can cheese, ham and pork pies. Which makes stock-market listed brewers and food processors susceptible to competition from small, local brewers and makers of quality foodstuffs. Without expensive managers, advertising companies, and other corporate overheads, your money that pays for those things can instead go on quality ingredients.
Lots of things can be made by small, local companies. Furniture, bicycles and clothing for example.
But there are things that can only be made by global corporations - such as airliners, pharmaceuticals and microprocessors.
These are the companies in which you should invest - because they only have to compete against one another, and not have to worry about losing market share to an artisan.
So then - buy locally, from people you know to be passionate about what they do and only invest in companies that make things that are the product of huge research and development budgets and global supply chains.
If you have got any shares in big global brewers - start thinking of divesting yourself of them. Better buy shares in, say, Airbus or Boeing, because while a start-up entrepreneur can brew you a beer, he'll never build you a 500-seat airliner.
This time last year:
Cruisers and low-riders - cycle fashion
This time This time four years ago:
Gone is the threat of Państwo Smoleńskie
This time six years ago:
Bike ride to Święty Krzyż
Saturday, 5 July 2014
Making Poland's railways safer
The difference in health-and-safety culture between the UK and Poland is clearly visible, nowhere more so than on the railway. Things which in Britain would be deemed unacceptable are normal in Poland. In Britain, railway tracks are fenced off, straying onto a main line - or indeed a branch line - is not easy. The costs of keeping rails secure from trespassers must be huge - but the costs pay off.
It would seem from the statistics that Poland has to spend much money on infrastructure improvement and on changing people's attitudes. Polish railways are the second-most dangerous in the EU after Latvia (in terms of deaths and serious injuries per million passenger kms). The UK rail network is the EU's second safest after Luxembourg.
But despite the relatively poor performance of Polish railways as seen in the context of other European networks, Poland's railways are vastly safer than roads. As this document points out, your chances of dying in a car crash are 50 times higher than in a plane crash, and 25 times higher than being killed on the railways.
Poland's rail network is under-invested; I trust that EU funds from the 2014-2020 financial perspective will make their way to where they are most needed to improve the speed and safety of Polish railways.
This time last year:
Along mirror'd canyons
This time three years ago:
Mad about Marmite
This time four year:
Komorowski wins second round of Presidential elections?
This time fiver years ago:
A beautiful summer dusk in Jeziorki
This time six years ago:
Classic cars, London and Warsaw
It's worth referring to the European Rail Agency's latest safety report, which puts things into perspective. Let's start with level crossings. In Poland, the number of fatalities in level crossing accidents is nine times higher than in the UK (61 deaths compared to seven in 2012). Poland has around 14,000 level crossings, the UK 6,100. Yet the UK's rail network is larger (31,000km compared to Poland's 29,000km), more than twice as busy and with much faster trains.
The photo above, taken today on ul. Baletowa, shows the problem. Gamblers and chancers taking a risk with their lives and their passengers' lives. The coal train gave several loud hoots as it approached this unguarded level crossing (which lacks even signal lights). And yet until the very last moment, cars continued to cross.
Another category of rail accident is unauthorised persons on track hit by a train. In 2012, 180 people were killed this way in Poland, nearly six times more than in the UK where the death toll was 32.
Below: passengers crossing the track at W-wa Służewiec station to get to the tram loop. A footbridge has been provided (left), but that means walking up and then down a flight of steps.
It would seem from the statistics that Poland has to spend much money on infrastructure improvement and on changing people's attitudes. Polish railways are the second-most dangerous in the EU after Latvia (in terms of deaths and serious injuries per million passenger kms). The UK rail network is the EU's second safest after Luxembourg.
But despite the relatively poor performance of Polish railways as seen in the context of other European networks, Poland's railways are vastly safer than roads. As this document points out, your chances of dying in a car crash are 50 times higher than in a plane crash, and 25 times higher than being killed on the railways.
Poland's rail network is under-invested; I trust that EU funds from the 2014-2020 financial perspective will make their way to where they are most needed to improve the speed and safety of Polish railways.
This time last year:
Along mirror'd canyons
This time three years ago:
Mad about Marmite
This time four year:
Komorowski wins second round of Presidential elections?
This time fiver years ago:
A beautiful summer dusk in Jeziorki
This time six years ago:
Classic cars, London and Warsaw
Thursday, 3 July 2014
First impressions of Jeziorki's new Biedronka
A week after Biedronka opened its doors to Jeziorki, I ventured into the new supermarket on my way from work. I must say, my first impression was favourable. Seven and half out of ten. The new shop will give our local Lidl a run for its money.
The Biedronka chain is run by Jeronimo Martins Distribution, a Portuguese-owned chain now registered in the Netherlands for tax reasons. JMD is Poland's no.1 retailer, ahead of Tesco and Carrefour.
Interestingly, Biedronka is exactly the same distance from our house as Lidl - 1.1km on foot. Both are 300m from the nearest bus stop, both of which are just one stop from Trombity.
The layout is similar - you enter to the left of the store, past the bakery department, then tinned groceries, fresh fruit and veg with the refrigerated meats, fish and cheeses at the far end. Like Lidl, Biedronka sells some non-food items, including stuff not seen at Lidl such as bicycles and TVs. One little difference - the baskets. These have extendable handles and wheels, and can be pulled along, encouraging you to buy more as you're no longer limited by how much you can carry.
On my first visit I bought beef carpaccio (Beefmaster by Biernacki, 140g - as at Lidl, premium meat), own-brand pesto, 190g jar at half the price of Auchan's Gran Italia - and not bad at all; some 'Światowid'-brand 14 month-old mature cheddar cheese* - made in Great Britain for (na zlecienie) Lactalis Polska for Jeronimo Martins Polska; some stir-fry mixed sprouts; and a fillet of smoked salmon**. These five premium items came to just over 32 zlotys - around £7. Excellent value - and excellent quality.
Where's the alcohol, I hear you asking. Indeed a question I intended to ask one of the staff myself. I feared the following answer: "Because the shop turned out to be less than 100m as the crow flies from a railway station, we were denied a licence to sell alcohol, even though it's actually a 400m walk to get here from the platform".
Fortunately, my doubts were misguided. I asked and yes, there will be a licence - in three weeks time. Eight months it takes to build and fit out the shop start to finish, nine months to get a licence to sell alcohol. Hey-ho.
So I look forward to some refreshing vinhos verdes and some robust ruby ports from Portugal for when the nights get longer.
How will Biedronka fare against Lidl? It will be a tough fight for the affections of shoppers. Lidl seems somehow lighter, brighter; more daylight from the south-facing windows. Biedronka seems cheaper. Time will tell which car park is fuller at the weekend.
But unless Biedronka can sell me something that Lidl and (in particular) Auchan can't, my shopping habits won't change much. It'll still be Auchan for me of a Sunday morning.
One unanswered question: the road sign as you leave the Biedronka car park and approach the junction to Karczunkowska. It says 'end of cycle path'. What cycle path? Where did it begin? Will one be built? If so, where from? And only in one direction?
* The 14 month-old matured cheddar is excellent value for 7.49zł for 200g. It tastes better, and is 4zł cheaper, than the Kerrygold mature cheddar sold at Auchan.
** I was hoping also for bacalhau - dried cod-fish, a Portuguese staple. No such luck. Nor indeed Queijo de Serpa, a hard goat's cheese. Maybe one day, as the the tastes of Warsaw consumers become even more cosmopolitan.
This time last year:
In the highways and the hedges
This time two years ago
How Warsaw's public transport authority communicates with passengers
This time three years ago:
Farewell to separate alcohol tills at Polish supermarkets
This time four years ago:
Twin turboprop cargo planes at Okęcie
This time five years ago:
To the countryside, Czachówek
This time six years ago:
Why I feel freer in Poland than in the UK
This time seven years ago:
Stormy summer night
The Biedronka chain is run by Jeronimo Martins Distribution, a Portuguese-owned chain now registered in the Netherlands for tax reasons. JMD is Poland's no.1 retailer, ahead of Tesco and Carrefour.
Interestingly, Biedronka is exactly the same distance from our house as Lidl - 1.1km on foot. Both are 300m from the nearest bus stop, both of which are just one stop from Trombity.
The layout is similar - you enter to the left of the store, past the bakery department, then tinned groceries, fresh fruit and veg with the refrigerated meats, fish and cheeses at the far end. Like Lidl, Biedronka sells some non-food items, including stuff not seen at Lidl such as bicycles and TVs. One little difference - the baskets. These have extendable handles and wheels, and can be pulled along, encouraging you to buy more as you're no longer limited by how much you can carry.
On my first visit I bought beef carpaccio (Beefmaster by Biernacki, 140g - as at Lidl, premium meat), own-brand pesto, 190g jar at half the price of Auchan's Gran Italia - and not bad at all; some 'Światowid'-brand 14 month-old mature cheddar cheese* - made in Great Britain for (na zlecienie) Lactalis Polska for Jeronimo Martins Polska; some stir-fry mixed sprouts; and a fillet of smoked salmon**. These five premium items came to just over 32 zlotys - around £7. Excellent value - and excellent quality.
Where's the alcohol, I hear you asking. Indeed a question I intended to ask one of the staff myself. I feared the following answer: "Because the shop turned out to be less than 100m as the crow flies from a railway station, we were denied a licence to sell alcohol, even though it's actually a 400m walk to get here from the platform".
Fortunately, my doubts were misguided. I asked and yes, there will be a licence - in three weeks time. Eight months it takes to build and fit out the shop start to finish, nine months to get a licence to sell alcohol. Hey-ho.
So I look forward to some refreshing vinhos verdes and some robust ruby ports from Portugal for when the nights get longer.
How will Biedronka fare against Lidl? It will be a tough fight for the affections of shoppers. Lidl seems somehow lighter, brighter; more daylight from the south-facing windows. Biedronka seems cheaper. Time will tell which car park is fuller at the weekend.
But unless Biedronka can sell me something that Lidl and (in particular) Auchan can't, my shopping habits won't change much. It'll still be Auchan for me of a Sunday morning.
One unanswered question: the road sign as you leave the Biedronka car park and approach the junction to Karczunkowska. It says 'end of cycle path'. What cycle path? Where did it begin? Will one be built? If so, where from? And only in one direction?
* The 14 month-old matured cheddar is excellent value for 7.49zł for 200g. It tastes better, and is 4zł cheaper, than the Kerrygold mature cheddar sold at Auchan.
** I was hoping also for bacalhau - dried cod-fish, a Portuguese staple. No such luck. Nor indeed Queijo de Serpa, a hard goat's cheese. Maybe one day, as the the tastes of Warsaw consumers become even more cosmopolitan.
This time last year:
In the highways and the hedges
This time two years ago
How Warsaw's public transport authority communicates with passengers
This time three years ago:
Farewell to separate alcohol tills at Polish supermarkets
This time four years ago:
Twin turboprop cargo planes at Okęcie
This time five years ago:
To the countryside, Czachówek
This time six years ago:
Why I feel freer in Poland than in the UK
This time seven years ago:
Stormy summer night
Tuesday, 1 July 2014
Judging Mr Guział by his works
The local government elections are not till 16 November. And yet, for the past few weeks, the innocent, juvenile face of Piotr Guział, mayor of the Warsaw district of Ursynów, has been staring down on the capital's voters. For Mr Guział has ambitions to replace Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz as prezydent miasta (mayor) of Warsaw.
So I welcomed the opportunity (thank you Neighbour for the reminder) to pop by the school on ul. Kajakowa on my way home for a public meeting with Mr Guział about matters pertinent to Jeziorki (and indeed the whole of Zielony Ursynów, the part of the district to the west of ul. Puławska).
Impressions? Rather than the angelic youth beaming down upon the people of Warsaw, an older, street-fighting political operator, in his element among a crowd of disgruntled voters. Educated at SGH (Warsaw School of Economics) where he majored in local government finance, the 39 year-old has spent his life in public administration and local politics. A man of the Left, he drifted in and out of several left-wing formations before allying himself and his localist Nasz Ursynów group with PiS (Law and Justice) in attempting to oust Ms Gronkiewicz-Waltz last October.
Positives - Mr Guział knows his patch. Whatever street was mentioned by people at the meeting - he knew where it was, and what the issue was. Very good grasp of detail.
Negatives - Mr Guział is not the best orator I've listened to; his diction is garbled, telescoping one word into the next. But above all, it's spychotechnika or buck-passing. While we understand that sewers are the responsibility of MPWiK, buses of ZTM, main roads of ZDM etc, he should be more proactive in supporting local residents in their fights to get good drainage and roads.
[Sadly, I wrote a longer post but I must have pressed the wrong key, because when I returned to this page, the second half had disappeared; I don't have time this morning to recreate it. Suffice to say I'll vote for Ms Gronkiewicz-Waltz again in November on the basis of the vast improvement the city's enjoyed on her watch. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.]
Follow-up Friday 11 July, 9:30am. Less than two weeks after this meeting, Mr Guział honoured his promise to visit residents of ul. Achillesa about asphalting the two bits of ul. Nawłocka together.
Click here for an account of this meeting in Polish from the Halo Ursynów website
This time last year:
Communication breakdown
This time two years ago:
Getting ready for the opening of Modlin airport
[Amazing to recall that it opened, closed for nearly a year, and has been functioning normally since last October...]
This time seven years ago:
Maybugs in July - a plague of cockchaffers
So I welcomed the opportunity (thank you Neighbour for the reminder) to pop by the school on ul. Kajakowa on my way home for a public meeting with Mr Guział about matters pertinent to Jeziorki (and indeed the whole of Zielony Ursynów, the part of the district to the west of ul. Puławska).
Impressions? Rather than the angelic youth beaming down upon the people of Warsaw, an older, street-fighting political operator, in his element among a crowd of disgruntled voters. Educated at SGH (Warsaw School of Economics) where he majored in local government finance, the 39 year-old has spent his life in public administration and local politics. A man of the Left, he drifted in and out of several left-wing formations before allying himself and his localist Nasz Ursynów group with PiS (Law and Justice) in attempting to oust Ms Gronkiewicz-Waltz last October.
Positives - Mr Guział knows his patch. Whatever street was mentioned by people at the meeting - he knew where it was, and what the issue was. Very good grasp of detail.
Negatives - Mr Guział is not the best orator I've listened to; his diction is garbled, telescoping one word into the next. But above all, it's spychotechnika or buck-passing. While we understand that sewers are the responsibility of MPWiK, buses of ZTM, main roads of ZDM etc, he should be more proactive in supporting local residents in their fights to get good drainage and roads.
[Sadly, I wrote a longer post but I must have pressed the wrong key, because when I returned to this page, the second half had disappeared; I don't have time this morning to recreate it. Suffice to say I'll vote for Ms Gronkiewicz-Waltz again in November on the basis of the vast improvement the city's enjoyed on her watch. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.]
Follow-up Friday 11 July, 9:30am. Less than two weeks after this meeting, Mr Guział honoured his promise to visit residents of ul. Achillesa about asphalting the two bits of ul. Nawłocka together.
Click here for an account of this meeting in Polish from the Halo Ursynów website
This time last year:
Communication breakdown
This time two years ago:
Getting ready for the opening of Modlin airport
[Amazing to recall that it opened, closed for nearly a year, and has been functioning normally since last October...]
This time seven years ago:
Maybugs in July - a plague of cockchaffers
Sunday, 29 June 2014
Down the line from York
While I got to Ripon quite easily by air (Warsaw-Heathrow-Leeds), getting back was troublesome, given that there were no connecting flights from Leeds to Warsaw on a Saturday, either via Heathrow or Amsterdam or indeed Paris (thanks to a strike). So I took the train down to London from York, taking a bus from Ripon to Harrogate, thence a train on to York.
Warming to Yorkshire for its landscapes, friendly folk and rich history, I took the opportunity to catch an earlier train to York and spend an hour wandering around the city (which I'd never been to before).
Alighting at York station, I marvelled at the vaulted, cast-iron roof over curved platforms (below). When opened in 1877, this was the world's largest railway station. Today it still impresses.
Below: the New Measurement Train (the only one in Britain), nicknamed the 'Flying Banana'. It is stuffed with measuring equipment of the latest sort, lasers, what have you, and as it trundles up and down the railway lines of Britain at speeds of up to 125 mph (200 kmh) testing the railway infrastructure. And here it passing through York.
Below: Stepping out of the station towards the city centre, I'm struck by the skyline. Why, there it is - York Minster.
Below: I proceed further into town, looking up (the best views of historic British cities are above eye-level). To the left of the towers of York Minster, the Catholic church of St. Wilfred's built in 1869.
Below: gazing in awe at the Gothic splendour of York Minster - the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe. Taking nearly 400 years to complete, this is high Gothic (compare to the simplicity of Ripon Cathedral and its Early English architecture).
The church of St. Michael le Belfrey, next door to York Minister, also in spirit of the Tour de France, the second stage of which starts in York next Sunday (6 July).
Below: three more yellow bikes decorate the lawns on Duncombe Place. Like Harrogate and Ripon, York has been filled with yellow bicycles, yellow, green and polka-dot knitted jerseys and indeed French flags.
This beautifully customised Ford Popular, aptly on Museum St. The Popular was the most-basic Ford, in production until 1959 and a great favourite for customisers who could shove a V8 engine in front and Jaguar independent suspension. Its retro style (even for the late '50s!) made it the perfect hot-rod.
Below: the bus driver waited patiently for the geese to cross the road. The nearby Memorial Gardens is home to around 500 Canada and Greylag geese. They are totally unafraid of humans or their devices, and stroll about as if they owned the place.
York is a walled city, a proper mediaeval fortress town; the walls served a military purpose and are not some faux Victorian decoration. Below: the section of the city walls between the River Ouse and the railway station. Can you spot two more yellow bikes in this picture?
Below: back at the station with a few minutes before my train is due. Time to pop into the York Tap for a chance to sample a Great Heck beer - in this case, a Shankar IPA. Superbly hoppy, bitter and refreshing.
My train left at eleven am, less than two hours later I'm in London, some 200 miles/300km away. A superb service. And once in London, across town by Piccadilly line, and I'm back at Heathrow Airport in under and hour.
This time last year:
Czester and his sister
This time three years ago:
The Cold Weather Guys - a short story
This time four years ago:
Bike ride along the banks of the Vistula
This time five years ago:
Three hill walks around Dobra
This time six years ago:
90th Anniversary of the Polish Navy
This time seven years ago:
Memory and comfort
Warming to Yorkshire for its landscapes, friendly folk and rich history, I took the opportunity to catch an earlier train to York and spend an hour wandering around the city (which I'd never been to before).
Alighting at York station, I marvelled at the vaulted, cast-iron roof over curved platforms (below). When opened in 1877, this was the world's largest railway station. Today it still impresses.
Below: the New Measurement Train (the only one in Britain), nicknamed the 'Flying Banana'. It is stuffed with measuring equipment of the latest sort, lasers, what have you, and as it trundles up and down the railway lines of Britain at speeds of up to 125 mph (200 kmh) testing the railway infrastructure. And here it passing through York.
Below: Stepping out of the station towards the city centre, I'm struck by the skyline. Why, there it is - York Minster.
Below: I proceed further into town, looking up (the best views of historic British cities are above eye-level). To the left of the towers of York Minster, the Catholic church of St. Wilfred's built in 1869.
Below: gazing in awe at the Gothic splendour of York Minster - the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe. Taking nearly 400 years to complete, this is high Gothic (compare to the simplicity of Ripon Cathedral and its Early English architecture).
The church of St. Michael le Belfrey, next door to York Minister, also in spirit of the Tour de France, the second stage of which starts in York next Sunday (6 July).
Below: three more yellow bikes decorate the lawns on Duncombe Place. Like Harrogate and Ripon, York has been filled with yellow bicycles, yellow, green and polka-dot knitted jerseys and indeed French flags.
This beautifully customised Ford Popular, aptly on Museum St. The Popular was the most-basic Ford, in production until 1959 and a great favourite for customisers who could shove a V8 engine in front and Jaguar independent suspension. Its retro style (even for the late '50s!) made it the perfect hot-rod.
Below: the bus driver waited patiently for the geese to cross the road. The nearby Memorial Gardens is home to around 500 Canada and Greylag geese. They are totally unafraid of humans or their devices, and stroll about as if they owned the place.
York is a walled city, a proper mediaeval fortress town; the walls served a military purpose and are not some faux Victorian decoration. Below: the section of the city walls between the River Ouse and the railway station. Can you spot two more yellow bikes in this picture?
Below: back at the station with a few minutes before my train is due. Time to pop into the York Tap for a chance to sample a Great Heck beer - in this case, a Shankar IPA. Superbly hoppy, bitter and refreshing.
My train left at eleven am, less than two hours later I'm in London, some 200 miles/300km away. A superb service. And once in London, across town by Piccadilly line, and I'm back at Heathrow Airport in under and hour.
This time last year:
Czester and his sister
This time three years ago:
The Cold Weather Guys - a short story
This time four years ago:
Bike ride along the banks of the Vistula
This time five years ago:
Three hill walks around Dobra
This time six years ago:
90th Anniversary of the Polish Navy
This time seven years ago:
Memory and comfort
Saturday, 28 June 2014
Yorkshire's smallest city
Yorkshire is a very specific county. God's Own County. The Texas of England. A county so big, it has to be divided into four administrative areas (North, South, West and East Ridings). Its biggest cities are Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Hull, York. Ten times smaller than York is Ripon, a city by virtue of its 12th Century cathedral. A jewel of a city in a county with attractions enough to fill an average-sized nation.
Ripon is worth a visit. Fly to Leeds-Bradford Airport, then take the number 36 bus to the end of the line. Ripon is, of course, a walking city; and a spa. That's 'spa'. Not 'SPA' or 'S.P.A.'. 'Spa' as in 'Bath Spa', 'Royal Leamington Spa' or 'Harrogate Spa'. Or indeed 'Francorchamps Spa'. But never all upper-case.
Below: the western elevation of Ripon Cathedral. Built on the site of an earlier church, work on the cathedral commenced in 1069, just three years after the Norman Conquest. A plain facade, an example of Early English (after Romanesque, before Gothic).
Below: Ripon is a market town, market day's on Thursday. Overlooking the marketplace is the town hall. The quote comes from Psalms 127:1 - unless the Lord watches over the city, the Wakeman (the title of Ripon's mayor before 1604) stays awake in vain. Each day at 9pm, the Ripon Hornblower blows the ceremonial horn; until dawn keeping the peace in the city was the responsibility of the Wakeman. If there was any crime in Ripon as the city slept, the Wakeman would be held financially responsible. Note the two yellow bikes attached to the railings on the first floor.
Below: in the marketplace, the historic Century cabmen's shelter, built in 1911 by Boulton & Paul of Norwich (who just 26 years later were manufacturing the Defiant fighter plane that fought in the Battle of Britain). Traditional red telephone boxed have been retained on the market place.
Below: another period piece in the marketplace - part of the celebration of Armed Forces Day (28 June), a WWII vintage Jeep stands in front of the Hawksmoor-designed obelisk in the centre of the square.
Below: between the market place and the cathedral runs a steep hill, home to many shops, bars and restaurants. Turn left, along Kirkgate, for the cathedral, carry on right for Duck Hill.
Below: to the west of the market square, is Westgate, leading to the more recent, Victorian-Edwardian, part of town.
Below: Victorian shops on North St. Coming off it - Allhallowgate, yet another street with 'gate' in the name - along with Blossomgate and Fishergate.
Below: a row of Victorian terraced cottages on Church Lane. Housing emblematic of Brictorian Britain.
The Edwardian baths and swimming pool, dating back to 1904. Ripon Spa, drawing on sulphurous waters from a nearby spring, has come and gone (closing in 1947). The name remains in the hotel in which I stayed - a charming, atmospheric place, but with gaps in the windows wide enough to slip a finger through, I'd not recommend the Ripon Spa Hotel for a winter break.
Ripon has a canal - the Ripon Canal. Below: an idyllic scene, taken from the towpath towards the Rhodesfield Lock. Opened in 1773, the 2.3 mile-long canal connected the city with the River Ure, allowing coal from Durham to be brought in by barge.
Below: the end of the Ripon Canal, terminating in a small basin just large enough to turn a barge around in. Can you spot a yellow bicycle in the picture?
Left: the stables and paddock at Ripon racecourse. The horses are led out of the stables to be paraded around the paddock, where punters can examine the form of their chosen bet from close up. Although horse-racing in Ripon dates back to the 17th Century, and Ripon saw the first ever horse-race for women jockeys (1723), this course was only opened in 1900. Ripon is one of eight racecourses in Yorkshire (out of 57 in Britain). It was the venue for the conference at which I was speaking.
Yorkshire is rich in tourist delights, and visitors will find a vast amount to see and do, whatever the weather (I had three days of light rain and drizzle).
Ripon is worth a visit. Fly to Leeds-Bradford Airport, then take the number 36 bus to the end of the line. Ripon is, of course, a walking city; and a spa. That's 'spa'. Not 'SPA' or 'S.P.A.'. 'Spa' as in 'Bath Spa', 'Royal Leamington Spa' or 'Harrogate Spa'. Or indeed 'Francorchamps Spa'. But never all upper-case.
Below: the western elevation of Ripon Cathedral. Built on the site of an earlier church, work on the cathedral commenced in 1069, just three years after the Norman Conquest. A plain facade, an example of Early English (after Romanesque, before Gothic).
Below: Ripon is a market town, market day's on Thursday. Overlooking the marketplace is the town hall. The quote comes from Psalms 127:1 - unless the Lord watches over the city, the Wakeman (the title of Ripon's mayor before 1604) stays awake in vain. Each day at 9pm, the Ripon Hornblower blows the ceremonial horn; until dawn keeping the peace in the city was the responsibility of the Wakeman. If there was any crime in Ripon as the city slept, the Wakeman would be held financially responsible. Note the two yellow bikes attached to the railings on the first floor.
Below: in the marketplace, the historic Century cabmen's shelter, built in 1911 by Boulton & Paul of Norwich (who just 26 years later were manufacturing the Defiant fighter plane that fought in the Battle of Britain). Traditional red telephone boxed have been retained on the market place.
Below: another period piece in the marketplace - part of the celebration of Armed Forces Day (28 June), a WWII vintage Jeep stands in front of the Hawksmoor-designed obelisk in the centre of the square.
Below: between the market place and the cathedral runs a steep hill, home to many shops, bars and restaurants. Turn left, along Kirkgate, for the cathedral, carry on right for Duck Hill.
Below: to the west of the market square, is Westgate, leading to the more recent, Victorian-Edwardian, part of town.
Below: Victorian shops on North St. Coming off it - Allhallowgate, yet another street with 'gate' in the name - along with Blossomgate and Fishergate.
The Edwardian baths and swimming pool, dating back to 1904. Ripon Spa, drawing on sulphurous waters from a nearby spring, has come and gone (closing in 1947). The name remains in the hotel in which I stayed - a charming, atmospheric place, but with gaps in the windows wide enough to slip a finger through, I'd not recommend the Ripon Spa Hotel for a winter break.
Ripon has a canal - the Ripon Canal. Below: an idyllic scene, taken from the towpath towards the Rhodesfield Lock. Opened in 1773, the 2.3 mile-long canal connected the city with the River Ure, allowing coal from Durham to be brought in by barge.
Below: the end of the Ripon Canal, terminating in a small basin just large enough to turn a barge around in. Can you spot a yellow bicycle in the picture?
Yorkshire is rich in tourist delights, and visitors will find a vast amount to see and do, whatever the weather (I had three days of light rain and drizzle).
Yorkshire's yellow bicycles
This time next week, for the first time ever, the world's greatest, most famous bicycle race, the Tour de France starts - in Yorkshire. For two days (5-6 July), Yorkshire will see the tremendous spectacle on its doorstep. And the county is celebrating this event in a unique and memorable way.
For the past three days I've been in Yorkshire, flying into Leeds Bradford Airport, travelling on to Harrogate and thence to Ripon (a city, on account of its cathedral). Ripon is a charming place, and will see Le Tour passing through next Saturday. All along the route, yellow bicycles have been popping up.
Yorkshire has always been mad keen on cycling since Victorian days. The Yorkshire Dales are best seen from the saddle rather than from inside a car, and you can cover more ground on than on foot. Cycle culture and scenery made Yorkshire a natural venue for an English start for the race.
Below: just outside Harrogate - a town that will see the Tour go through it on both days. Yellow is the colour of the race leader's jersey (the King of the Mountains wears a red-on-white polka dot jersey, the green jersey is for the Tour's best sprinter). Rows of knitted small yellow, green and polka-dot decorate premises along the route.
Left: printing on a yellow T-shirt - the route of the first stage of the Tour de France 2014. The second stage starts in York and ends in Sheffield.
Below: 'Watch England live here' - I'm sure the cycling will prove more interesting for the locals than the football was. With two British cyclists winning the Tour de France in the last two races, hopes for a hat-trick run high.
Below: the roof of The Navigation, a charming Victorian pub at the end of the Ripon Canal. Bricktorian Britain at its best. The bike did the trick - I popped in for a pint of Theakston's.
Below: bricks, slate, chimney pots and drizzle - and a ray of sunshine. Life is made brighter by the arrival of Le Tour.
Below: the entrance to Ripon race course, a third yellow bicycle out of site. The race course's green acres are being turned over to camping and caravans for the weekend. The bike in the foreground is a lovely 1950s Raleigh roadster with drop handlebars and a three-speed Sturmey Archer hub. I hope this bike finds an owner willing to bring it back to its former glory.
Below: the hotel I'm staying at gets into the Tour spirit. Note to my Polish readers - the word 'Spa' is a word, not an acronym, so 'SPA' in all upper-case is incorrect usage.
The road between Harrogate and Ripon will be closed next weekend. French flags are already flying - despite Britain's inability to stop the federaliser Juncker becoming the EU's next president, there's a sense of a welcoming, friendly Euro-enthusiasm around at odds with Yorkshire's famed insularity.
In Ripon itself, shops have been vying with one another as to who has the most inventive display. A crocheted bike, a crepe paper bike - but my vote goes for this skeletal cyclist in the window of a Ripon osteopathist (below). Note the yellow, polka-dot and green jerseys.
Below: a hipster's Amsterdamka with lovely period chainguard - again, I hope this bike finds a new user after the Tour has moved on.
Below: not just bicycles - a little tricycle with flower-basket adorns the front of a house on the Harrogate-Ripon road.
Below: frog and yellow scooter. Is there no end to the inventiveness of Yorkshire folk? One I didn't manage to snap from the bus from Harrogate was a yellow bike with its front forks replaced with a lawnmower.
Left: Brewery Timothy Taylors's has produced a special ale for the occasion, Le Champion. I tried a pint at the Royal Oak - I must say, I prefer the brewery's Landlord (Le Champion being a bit too sweet for my taste). The 'Cask Marque' concept is about getting smaller breweries' products into the bars of mainstream pubs. Poland could do with something like this - there are still too many bars where the choice of beers is limited to the big brewers' products (Tyskie, Lech and Żywiec).
If like me, you crave the taste of hops in your beer, try the locally brewed Shankar from Great Heck Brewery. Outstanding - gives my currrent British fave Brew Dog's Punk IPA a run for its money.
Below: another pub, another yellow bicycle: the King William IV.
Left: another two yellow bikes in Ripon. The Tour shows just how much sporting events can enliven an entire region. Not a stadium-based event, the Tour will bring an estimated three million people spread over hundreds of miles of public roads to see the three English stages. This is great for Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and London, for the businesses along the route, and for Europe. This quintessentially French sporting event will don an English flavour this year from the start, a century after the outbreak of WWI. And fingers crossed for another British victory!
This time last year:
Cramp in the night
This time two years ago:
Football goes home
This time three years ago:
Birds of Omen
This time four years ago:
Yes, it does matter who you vote for
This time five years ago:
Poland could do with some more mountains
This time six years ago:
Warmth of the Sun - the Beach Boys and Noctilucence
This time seven years ago:
Polish roads that look like America
For the past three days I've been in Yorkshire, flying into Leeds Bradford Airport, travelling on to Harrogate and thence to Ripon (a city, on account of its cathedral). Ripon is a charming place, and will see Le Tour passing through next Saturday. All along the route, yellow bicycles have been popping up.
Yorkshire has always been mad keen on cycling since Victorian days. The Yorkshire Dales are best seen from the saddle rather than from inside a car, and you can cover more ground on than on foot. Cycle culture and scenery made Yorkshire a natural venue for an English start for the race.
Below: just outside Harrogate - a town that will see the Tour go through it on both days. Yellow is the colour of the race leader's jersey (the King of the Mountains wears a red-on-white polka dot jersey, the green jersey is for the Tour's best sprinter). Rows of knitted small yellow, green and polka-dot decorate premises along the route.
Below: 'Watch England live here' - I'm sure the cycling will prove more interesting for the locals than the football was. With two British cyclists winning the Tour de France in the last two races, hopes for a hat-trick run high.
Below: the roof of The Navigation, a charming Victorian pub at the end of the Ripon Canal. Bricktorian Britain at its best. The bike did the trick - I popped in for a pint of Theakston's.
Below: bricks, slate, chimney pots and drizzle - and a ray of sunshine. Life is made brighter by the arrival of Le Tour.
Below: the entrance to Ripon race course, a third yellow bicycle out of site. The race course's green acres are being turned over to camping and caravans for the weekend. The bike in the foreground is a lovely 1950s Raleigh roadster with drop handlebars and a three-speed Sturmey Archer hub. I hope this bike finds an owner willing to bring it back to its former glory.
Below: the hotel I'm staying at gets into the Tour spirit. Note to my Polish readers - the word 'Spa' is a word, not an acronym, so 'SPA' in all upper-case is incorrect usage.
The road between Harrogate and Ripon will be closed next weekend. French flags are already flying - despite Britain's inability to stop the federaliser Juncker becoming the EU's next president, there's a sense of a welcoming, friendly Euro-enthusiasm around at odds with Yorkshire's famed insularity.
In Ripon itself, shops have been vying with one another as to who has the most inventive display. A crocheted bike, a crepe paper bike - but my vote goes for this skeletal cyclist in the window of a Ripon osteopathist (below). Note the yellow, polka-dot and green jerseys.
Below: a hipster's Amsterdamka with lovely period chainguard - again, I hope this bike finds a new user after the Tour has moved on.
Below: not just bicycles - a little tricycle with flower-basket adorns the front of a house on the Harrogate-Ripon road.
Below: frog and yellow scooter. Is there no end to the inventiveness of Yorkshire folk? One I didn't manage to snap from the bus from Harrogate was a yellow bike with its front forks replaced with a lawnmower.
If like me, you crave the taste of hops in your beer, try the locally brewed Shankar from Great Heck Brewery. Outstanding - gives my currrent British fave Brew Dog's Punk IPA a run for its money.
Below: another pub, another yellow bicycle: the King William IV.
This time last year:
Cramp in the night
This time two years ago:
Football goes home
This time three years ago:
Birds of Omen
This time four years ago:
Yes, it does matter who you vote for
This time five years ago:
Poland could do with some more mountains
This time six years ago:
Warmth of the Sun - the Beach Boys and Noctilucence
This time seven years ago:
Polish roads that look like America
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