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Posted: 15-10-2012 08:41 Post subject:

Very long article:

The Great Storm 25 years on: The positive impact on our woodland
Millions of trees across south-east England were felled by the Great Storm of October 15, 1987. Although it seemed like a catastrophe at the time, 25 years on it is clear that the devastation helped to reshape Britain’s woodlands for the better.
By Louise Gray
6:20AM BST 15 Oct 2012

On the night of the Great Storm, October 15, 1987, Ray Hawes was sitting in bed nervously watching the trees outside his window. They blew “back and forth, back and forth, back and forth… then one just kept coming forward until it practically fell into my bed.”

A huge 150 year-old oak crashed through the window within 3ft of the bed where the young forester and his new wife were sitting. Fortunately, such a close brush with death did not deter Mr Hawes, 57, from clambering up tree trunks for the rest of his career.
“You just have to get on with things when you deal with trees,” he says.
“Sometimes they come down when you don’t want them to, in places where you don’t want them to.”

He is now the head of forestry at the National Trust and a huge part of his job continues to be dealing with the aftermath of that catastrophic night.

While some people have stories even more dramatic than Mr Hawes’, many of us slept through the early hours of October 16, 1987. The entire nation was lulled into a false sense of security courtesy of the BBC weather forecast, delivered by Michael Fish that evening, in which he pooh-poohed the possibility of a hurricane.

But even if you did not hear the snapping branches, crashing trees and roots ripping out of the ground, you could not fail to notice the impact the next day.

The grand vistas of south-east England were transformed by the worst storm in 200 years. Of 15 million trees felled, 12 million were in forests and three million in parks, estates and along leafy avenues. Losses included six of the eponymous Sevenoaks of Kent, 100 trees at Hampton Court and 700 at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as well as many old friends in gardens around the country.

It was certainly a traumatic event for anyone who loves trees, but as we approach the 25th anniversary of the Great Storm, there is plenty to celebrate.

“In a way, losing all those precious trees made us appreciate what we have,” says Mr Hawes.
Everyone wanted to help in a massive planting programme that continues today. The National Trust alone has planted more than 500,000 trees. Since 1987 more than 500 million saplings have been planted in the UK and tree cover in Britain is now greater than it has been for 150 years.

The Independent Panel on Forestry, a group appointed in 2011 to advise the Government on forestry and woodland policy, want to see tree cover increase. It hopes to boost woodland cover from around 12 per cent of the total land area today to 15 per cent by 2060, taking England back to a level of woodland last recorded in the Domesday book in 1086.

The Great Storm not only prompted people to plant more trees but to replace the unpopular conifers that were planted after the Second World War. The Forestry Commission claims that broad-leafed trees are now being planted at a greater rate than ever before. Since 1993, the commission has planted more deciduous trees than coniferous.

However, the Woodland Trust points out that tree planting is slowing down. Just 2,600 hectares of woodland was planted in England in the 2011/12 season, compared with 18,000 hectares 10 years ago.

It seems that tree planting, like world peace, is a cause that no one is opposed to. But it takes vigilance to keep it at the top of the agenda. Should anyone doubt the strength of public feeling, however, one need only suggest the sell-off of Forestry Commission woodland, as the then environment secretary Caroline Spelman tried to do in 2010.

The outcry, and a campaign by the Sunday Telegraph, forced the Government into a U-turn. But fresh threats always loom: the Coalition is now considering new planning laws that would make it easier to build on the green belt.

In the wake of the storm, the value of woodland habitats was re-evaluated: conservationists realised that leaving felled trees alone rather than clearing away the debris allows wildlife to move in much more quickly. Dead wood left to rot provides habitat for insects, such as rare stag beetles, and increased light allows wildflowers to grow, which attract butterflies and other insects.

At Hollesley Heath on the Suffolk coast, the Forestry Commission noticed the numbers of chiffchaffs, woodlarks and willow warblers increased in the years following the storm as the richer ground cover and uprooted trees provided both nest sites and tasty insects.

Other subheadings include:

Arboretums revisited

Trees for cities

Climate change & disease

Trees for the future

Trees and trends

Hug a tree today

Local fruit

Renewable fuel

Fashion accessory

Do go down to the woods

The trees that stood up to the storm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/9604744/The-Great-Storm-25-years-on-The-positive-impact-on-our-woodland.html

I was 'shipwrecked' in that storm! Shocked

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=733070#733070

Posted: 15-10-2012 22:51 Post subject:

Another article on the Great Storm - just one part here:

25 years on: how Great Storm permanently changed landscape
Across large parts of the south east of England the impact of the Great Storm in 1987 is still visible. And for many people who had to cope with the devastating winds and their aftermath, the memories of that night are still vivid. Some have been sharing their recollections with BBC News.

...

John Cope, electricity company worker, Sittingbourne, Kent

"Part of my job was looking for the next fault to fix. After the storm we spent the next three and a half weeks working 18-hour days to rebuild the network. I would be told to go home at 23:30 only to be back at work by 06:00 the next morning.
"It was the first time that we had what we call a 'black start', in that the National Grid had to completely shut down to prevent further damage, and then be brought back on in stages.

"As I recall, two people died during this time for a variety of reasons including electrocution. Also trees could collapse at any time, so the job was very dangerous.
"Emergency repairs were made in several cases and permanent repairs went on for many months afterwards. We received help from staff around Britain as well as France to meet the demand to get the electricity back up.

"It was a tremendous effort in a great spirit by all concerned in spite of some unhappy customers. My wife was running a staff canteen at the time and provided food around the clock for office and field staff."

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19947449

Posted: 15-10-2012 23:17 Post subject:

Glad he could cope.

Posted: 16-10-2012 07:28 Post subject:

Cold War missile sites get listed status

Two Cold War nuclear missile sites are to get listed status to mark the Cuban Missile crisis's 50th anniversary.
The former RAF sites - in Harrington, Northamptonshire, and North Luffenham, Rutland, are the most intact examples of Thor missile bases in England.

They were put on alert as the Soviet Union and the US came to the brink of nuclear war in October 1962.
The USSR eventually agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba and the US pledged not to invade the island.

The Thor missile site at the former RAF North Luffenham, Rutland, has been given a Grade II* listing.
And the site at former RAF Harrington, Northamptonshire, has been listed as Grade II.

The two sites still have concrete launch pads and blast walls, along with mounting bolts for the platforms that would raise the missiles into a vertical firing position.

The listing, which recognises the two sites' architectural and historic importance, followed advice from English Heritage and is part of an ongoing project to ensure the best Cold War structures are preserved.

Dr Simon Thurley, chief executive of English Heritage, said the remains of the Cold War were "fading from view faster than those of the world wars".
"These two missile sites are among the few physical reminders in this country of the Cuban missile crisis, a moment when the entire world held its breath," he said.
He added that they deserve to be protected "to remind present and future generations of this knife-edge moment in history".

Similarly, Heritage Minister Ed Vaizey said Cold War heritage was "often overlooked", adding that the sites were "an important reminder of a point in history" and therefore "worthy of protection".
"Listing these two missile sites is particularly poignant on the 50th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis and serves as a very physical reminder of an uncertain and tense period where the world feared a nuclear war," he said.

In total, 60 Thor missiles, developed by the US, were deployed at 20 sites in the east of England from 1958 under the codename "Project Emily".
They were manned by the RAF, although their warheads remained under US control.
The decision to launch them would have been made jointly by the two countries.

RAF North Luffenham is now St George's Barracks, while RAF Harrington is now mostly farmland.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19957466

Posted: 21-10-2012 07:57 Post subject:

Veterans mark El Alamein 70th anniversary
20 October 2012 Last updated at 15:07
[video]

Veterans have gathered in Egypt from around the world to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein.
Ceremonies have taken place to mark the anniversary of the battle, which is considered to be one of the key turning points of the WWII.
The campaign did much to restore British morale and is remembered by the Allied forces with pride.

Jon Leyne reports.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-20014747

Posted: 21-10-2012 08:44 Post subject:

One for petrol-heads:

Ford Cortina at 50
Celebrating 50 years of the Cortina – and it's less well remembered, but better selling, rival the Morris 1100.
Andrew Roberts
4:36PM BST 19 Oct 2012

The year is 1962. The place is a pair of semi-detached villas in suburban housing development somewhere on the outskirts of pre-Swinging London. On the right-hand side lives a commercial traveller who secretly believes that the entire cast of That Was The Week That Was should be deported, while on the left resides a junior advertising executive who favours contemporary furniture and who regards David Frost as a dangerous rebel. In their respective driveways are parked a Ford Consul-Cortina De Luxe (better known simply as the Cortina Mk1) and a Morris 1100.

The idea for an ultra-modern, front-wheel-drive replacement for the Morris Minor was mooted as early as 1956 before Alec Issigonnis was re-assigned the task of producing a small vehicle which would rid the roads of Britain of all bubble cars. By the time of the Mini's launch in 1959, the plans for a larger stablemate applying the still startling engineering formula of front-wheel drive and in-sump gearbox to a four-/five-seater small family saloon were firmly in place. The new Morris, officially called ADO16 (Amalgamated Drawing Office project number 16), would also boast coachwork from Pininfarina that would appeal to affluent young motorists. The Morris 1100 was launched on August 1962 and such was the appeal of its crisp Italianate styling that it could have sold tens of thousands merely on the strength of its showroom appeal.

But those Farina lines masked the most advanced small family car in the world – a FWD Morris powered by a transversely located engine with front disc brakes, fluid Hydrolastic suspension and space for five adults in a vehicle less than 12 ½ feet in length. "Developed by the great Issigonis team that produced the Mini-Minors, it embodies much of the engineering magic of these fantastically successful cars," crowed the brochures with only moderate hyperbole. The Morris 1100 made British rivals such as the Triumph Herald 1200 look dated and overseas competitors such as the VW Beetle look prehistoric; within a year of its launch it was the best-selling car in Britain.

That same year, the chaps at Dagenham had launched an ultra-conventional car to fill the vacuum between the recently launched Anglia 105E and the soon-to-debut Consul-Classic. Work on Project Archbishop commenced in 1959 with the design brief of giving buyers optimum performance and economy at the lowest possible cost. Much of the running gear was from Ford GB's existing line-up and one early casualty of the limited budget was independent rear suspension.

Another, possibly more welcome, sacrifice was the 'breezeway' rear screen – the latter looked undeniably chic on the Anglia but moderately vile on the larger Consul Classic. The official reason for fitting the new Ford with a conventional rear window was that the sloping version made it look "too small" but in reality it would have given it the fake-American air of a pre-Beatles British rock and roll singer. In the event, the styling from Roy Brown was quite a triumph, giving the Cortina mid-Atlantic overtones, from the flattened rear fins to the tri-pod tail lamps, without making it so vulgar as to frighten the horses and the fleet managers.
This last detail was the result of a last minute intervention from Ford HQ in Dearborn, ordering that horizontal rear lights were now officially "out".

Another pre-launch change was the name – the Ford of Great Britain MD Patrick Hennessey allegedly favoured "Caprino" for the car until just before the launch when someone discovered that this was Italian slang for goat dung. Shocked

It was a scenario that had all of the hallmarks of a 1962 vintage British comedy, preferably starring Raymond Huntley as the chief of Ford and Jim Dale as his bumbling assistant, and fortunately there was still time to re-name the Caprino after the host town for the 1956 Winter Olympics in Italy.

The Ford Consul-Cortina was launched in October 1962 as a two-door saloon and, compared with the £675 retail price of the Morris 1100, the base model retailed for a mere £639.

etc...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/classiccars/9596128/Ford-Cortina-at-50.html

Posted: 01-11-2012 13:04 Post subject:

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Cheer!

(nobel is now banned for spamming - stu)

Posted: 08-11-2012 08:59 Post subject:

Enniskillen Remembrance Day bomb marked by service 25 years on
By Julian Fowler, BBC News

A memorial service is to take place to mark the 25th anniversary of the Enniskillen Remembrance Day bomb.
Eleven people were killed and more than 60 injured when an IRA bomb exploded in a hall close to the town's cenotaph on 8 November 1987.

Those who died were all Protestant and they included three married couples, a reserve police officer and several pensioners.

....

Analysis
Mark Simpson, BBC Ireland Correspondent

The 25th anniversary of the Enniskillen bomb is a reminder of how Northern Ireland's hopeful future is built on a painful past.
Many people in the town still bear the scars of the explosion, both physical and mental.

It is little consolation to them that the global revulsion at the no-warning bomb attack in 1987 helped bring about the peace process which eventually led to an IRA ceasefire.

Anyone old enough to remember the Enniskillen bomb will never forget it, or where they were when they heard about it.

.........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20245308

Posted: 09-11-2012 00:00 Post subject:

Heart transplant patient marks 30 years since surgery

A Buckinghamshire man is thought to have become the UK's longest surviving heart transplant patient.
John McCafferty, 70, from Newport Pagnell, was given five years to live when he had his operation in 1982 at Harefield Hospital, Middlesex.
It held a celebration earlier to mark the occasion and the success of the transplant programme as a whole.
"I am astounded and slightly shocked that I have managed to get as far as I have," he said.

Mr McCafferty had his operation on 20 October 1982, the 41st time doctors had ever performed it. He said all the 40 people before him, "his markers", were now dead.

He had begun to feel unwell aged 39, and, after tests at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart muscle.
It meant the organ could not pump blood efficiently and would affect other organs.

He was told to rest for six months in the hope that it would repair itself.
"Unfortunately it didn't and the rest is history," he said.
"In those early days, it was still very much experimental surgery and the longest which someone had ever lived was two years.
"But I was very ill and went into the operation with basically nothing to lose - it was a chance.
"I thought, well, five years is five years, at least I might be lucky enough to see my son grow up, that's the only goal that I had."

He said the factors he feels helped him survive for so long are a positive attitude and keeping mobile.
"To sit and vegetate is not my scene, I've got to keep myself active," he said.
"Besides the advances made in my medication, this mental approach might have been one of the things [that has kept me going].
"How much longer I have left is not in my hands; I'm just grateful for every day that I have got."

Mr McCafferty is using the anniversary of his life-saving operation to "firmly support" an opt-out system for organ donation.
"I think the responsibility should be on the individual to take their name off the [organ donor] register if they don't support it," he said.
"We spend an awful lot of money advertising [for donors] and it would cut out on a lot of this if everyone was automatically put onto the donor register."

He added: "Is it worthwhile people donating their organs? When you look at somebody like me, then of course it is absolutely worth it.
"I don't know what's round the corner, I don't know what is in the future, I'm just grateful to the donor who has given me that 30 years."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-20256316

Posted: 18-11-2012 09:35 Post subject:

King's Cross fire 25th anniversary to be marked

The 25th anniversary of the fire at King's Cross Underground station is to be marked by a union raising concerns over Tube safety standards.
Thirty one people died when a fire on a wooden escalator engulfed part of the London station on 18 November 1987.
The blaze is thought to have been started by a dropped match and led to a smoking ban at Tube stations.

Members of the RMT union will gather on Sunday at the station to commemorate the fire and highlight safety fears.

Bob Crow, the union's general secretary said: "Due to a culture of complacency and systemic failure, 31 people lost their lives at King's Cross."
He has called for London Mayor Boris Johnson to withdraw the threat of cuts to staffing levels and maintenance schedules and abandon plans to introduce more driverless trains.

Frank Dobson, the local Labour MP since 1979, said such tragedies highlighted the need for stations to be "properly staffed".
"There are all sorts of propositions put forward by people 'Oh, you can get rid of these staff and you can rid of others' and then there's even this idea of getting rid of drivers on the Underground trains, which may be all very well until something goes wrong."

More than 100 people were taken to hospital after the King's Cross fire, after becoming trapped as the escalator went up in flames.
About 150 firefighters wearing breathing apparatus fought the blaze. One of them - fireman Colin Townsley - was among the dead.
He was awarded, posthumously, a certificate of commendation for his bravery, as were five other firemen who survived.

In 2004, the final victim of the blaze was finally identified as 72-year-old Alexander Fallon, a Scottish man living rough in London at the time.

After the King's Cross fire, wooden escalators were phased out in favour of metal replacements and smoking was banned at stations. It had already been banned on Underground trains.

Nobody has ever been prosecuted over the fire. The Director of Public Prosecutions and the Railway Inspectorate said there was "no justification" for charges.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20383221

Posted: 20-11-2012 09:42 Post subject:

A happier anniversary:

Queen and Duke celebrate 65th anniversary

The Queen has become the first British monarch to reach a 65th wedding anniversary.
She and Prince Philip will spend their blue sapphire anniversary privately together at Buckingham Palace.

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece married on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wed last year.

The anniversary comes in the same year as the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, which was marked with UK-wide celebrations.
Prince Philip, 91, was forced to miss some key events during the special bank holiday weekend at the beginning of June after being hospitalised with a bladder infection.

On the eve of their anniversary on Monday night, the couple attended the Royal Variety Performance - itself marking its 100th anniversary - at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Performers included Kylie Minogue, Girls Aloud, Sir Bruce Forsyth, One Direction, Katherine Jenkins, Alicia Keys and Neil Diamond.

The Queen and Prince Philip first met back in 1934 at the wedding of Philip's cousin, Princess Marina of Greece, to Princess Elizabeth's uncle, the Duke of Kent.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20405795

Happy Anniversary! Very Happy

Posted: 20-11-2012 15:38 Post subject:

Still angling for an MBE?

Posted: 20-11-2012 16:46 Post subject:

Posted: 20-11-2012 17:27 Post subject:

Posted: 20-11-2012 19:27 Post subject: