England's Old London Bridge Is Now In America's Arizona...

The old nursery rhyme about London Bridge falling down was correct as Mr Sharkey reminded me yesterday.
The first London Bridge was made by the Romans in 43AD. That and subsequent bridges were destroyed by invaders and fire.
The 1831 London Bridge featured bridge lamps fashioned from melted down cannons that belonged to Napoleon's Army.
After the Second World War, bridge traffic increased to the point that the bridge did start crumbling with bits falling into the Thames.
England's government was in dire financial straits so it put the bridge up for sale. It needed someone willing to buy the crumbling heirloom and remove it for them.
Luckily, Robert McCulloch, founder of Lake Havasu City in Arizona and chairman of McCulloch Oil Corp offered $2,460,000 which was enough to do a deal.
The bridge was dismantled and each stone numbered. Everything was shipped the ten thousand miles to Long Beach California and then trucked to Lake Havasu City.
Reconstruction began in 1968 and the new bridge opened on October 10, 1971.
This London Bridge crosses a narrow boating channel that connects with Thompson Bay on the Arizona side of Lake Havasu.
See, some nursery rhymes are true...

London's About To Have The World's Largest Solar Bridge...

A famous nursery rhyme said many years ago that London Bridge was falling down, well today there's still over one hundred of them crossing the River Thames.
One of them, the Blackfriars Station Bridge will soon be the world's largest solar bridge.
When it's completed, it'll provide 900,000kwh of electricity annually, provide more than fifty percent of the power needed to operate the transit hub and each year, dramatically reduce CO2 emissions by around 511 tonnes.
The finished solar roof will consist of over 4,400 panels. Other energy saving measures on the bridge include rain harvesting systems and sun pipes for natural lighting.
For more information, have a look here.
Congratulations London.
May the sun shine brightly on you...

China Bathes In The World's Most Over-Crowded Swimming Pools...

In the heat of summer, many people in China take to the swimming pools to cool off.
There's certainly no room to swim in these seething masses of humanity and they're lucky if they're able to stand up without drowning while the mayhem continues around them.
There's one pool in the Yao Stink district of China that somehow accomodates 230,000 people at the one time!
These people don't realise or perhaps don't care they're being covered in almost 100% coli bacteria.
Toxicologists have noted that urine and fecal matter makes up nearly 90% of the lethal mix.
In 2008, one man died, surprisingly only one, and over three thousand people were poisoned when they swallowed the water which contained body waste from 47,000 bathers in Beijing's gigantic Mao Mao Pool.
If you're not totally nauseated, you might wish to read even more here.
I'm off for a shower and a walk in the fresh air...

Tiny Rustic Dwellings And Shacks To Delight The Senses...

I was over at Cabin Porn last night and came across these delightful images that I just had to share with you...

Fun Things To Do With An Old VW Beetle...

These two iconic old VW Beetles still have plenty of life left in them but not the sort of life they were designed for.
But both options are better than a scrapyard somewhere and someone's getting enjoyment out of these innovative Backyard Beetles...

The Simple Joy Of Baking Bread In A Camp Oven...

Let's get back to basics. And to simpler times.
The simplest things give the greatest pleasures and it's wonderful to be fortunate enough to be able to indulge in many on a daily basis.
It's the cutting wood, collecting water things I'm speaking of that allow a person to retain a closeness to the basic essentials of life.
Life for some wouldn't be worth living without them. And living close to Nature.
Another's the wonderful delights of making bread, and the kneading, kneading, kneading
that's required for a successful bake.
And then there's the aroma.
Mmm, as you know, there's nothing quite like the aroma of fresh bread baking.
These little Rye loaves with Cumin seeds I made yesterday are about six inches long, the two small baking tins just sitting on a trivet and fitting in my traditional style camp oven.
Such simple pleasures...

The Flying Tortoise Gets A Facelift And A Bottom Job...

The Flying Tortoise has been looking a bit, well, shabby lately. I've had her for over five years and she's been through some rough weather at various beach areas with sea spray and sand.
It was time for a makeover.
So into the operating theatre she went last week, the surgeon promising me a successful outcome.
He sandblasted her steely front, her wheels and her rear bumper back to bare metal.
And her entire cute bottom too
She was as naked as a new-born baby.
Then she was covered with a good coat of quality primer followed by lashings of an epoxy and finally a couple of coats of very expensive two-pot urethane paint.  Her face is black, she has a red grill and a very red bottom.
I'm assured her gorgeous little body will remain rust and corrosion free for many years.
As of now you could eat your dinner off her beautiful clean shiny bottom.
If you were so inclined...