Rainham Marshes is one of my favourite wild places in the UK. I like it because of it is both wonderful and incongruous, hemmed in by the M25, clearly visible rising over the Queen Elizabeth II bridge over the Thames, by the A13 and the high-speed Eurostar line from London to the Channel Tunnel. And… Continue reading
Wales government rejects M4 relief road and passes first big test of climate resolve
The Welsh Government will not proceed with the £1.4bn M4 relief road around Newport. First Minister Mark Drakeford axed the scheme today (June 4), citing cost and environmental impact. This is a significant, and rare, rejection of a road scheme, which was widely supported by the CBI and many local politicians. Plans to build a… Continue reading →
Pavegen funds its walk-on part in a cleaner future
UK “energy and data from footsteps” firm Pavegen has launched (May 28th, 2019) a crowdfunding campaign to raise the additional £5m it needs to expand production of its revolutionary V3 energy generating tile, and make it at a lower unit cost. Pavegen, founded by Laurence Kemball-Cook, the company’s CEO, in 2009, came up with the… Continue reading →
Are men ready for upmarket hair care?
Melogy has since closed. So I’ve amended my piece, below, to turn it into a kind of lament. When the original St. Pancras Hotel opened alongside the Midland Railway London terminus 138 years ago, the cameras picked out a host of important and august men in top hats and frock coats. But while their beards… Continue reading →
Ferry force – two villages linked by swift boat across the Towy
The ferry Glansteffan has resumed regular services across the Towy Estuary, from Ferryside to Llansteffan. The river ferry Glansteffan resumed regular services to Llansteffan, across the Towy Estuary in West Wales, this month (May, 2019) after a ‘very long and painful wait for essential parts and a full engine rebuild’, according to its Facebook site…. Continue reading →
How Christopher Fraylng won the West – a passion for Leone
Sir Christopher Frayling, the academic and scholar of Westerns has written a hefty coffee table tome on one of the last great films in the genre, Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West (£50.00). In their notes on the book, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, Shooting a Masterpiece, publishers Reel Art Press… Continue reading →