This dead tree is to be found next to the where the Renault Crossroads Garage has been demolished and Cranbourne Homes are about to build 62 residences. The ivy up the trunk is till thriving but the spreading limbs are leafless.
I’m not blaming the ivy. I’m not blaming the demolition work. I’m not even blaming Drayton Road air pollution. I expect the tree died of old age… Unless you know different.
Trinity Church has always operated a no-smoking policy, but now in order to comply with the new law, appropriate signs are displayed at various points, like this one on the door of the choir vestry.
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A man came into church and lit up a cigarette. There were mutterings, then a steward approached him and said “You cannot smoke here. Didn’t you see the sign?”
The man flicked ash across the carpet. “Ah ha,” he said, “Today is national smoking day and I can smoke wherever I want.”
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Just a dream.
At Harwell ( a few miles south of Abingdon) there was an Open Day at the doughnut shaped building called the Diamond Light Source.
It is what is known as a synchrotron, a series of super microscopes using a incredibly bright and intense light. It is the biggest civilian scientific project in the UK for thirty years. The first seven super microscopes in the synchrotron have been working since earlier this year and many more will follow. They all take light from the central core.
The tour involved film shows, displays and experiments.
In the inner area we saw a series of electro-magnets – used to accelerate electrons, and then on the outside the shiny precision equipment that beams the generated synchrotron light ( x-ray, ultra-violet or infrared) at whatever is to be studied.
This display of textile art shows microscopic forms like viruses and pollen done with needles and thread, rather than super-microscopes. The synchrotron technology itself is kept simple at times. They use pin hole photography techniques to ensure the beam of light is in line.
Anyway, having learnt something, we emerged from the doughnut with bags full of information sheets and free gifts. The lucky ones even had yellow hats.
