Amateur Ramblings

An Accident Waiting To Happen

'So windy in #Leeds - nearly blown off my feet near the canal, which is emitting much spray. A window on our office has blown out.'

So I tweeted on Thursday after getting back from a lunchtime walk. I purposely chose a route that took me over the Aire Bridge on Neville Street and down Water Lane, just to experience the invisible but powerful forces that swirl at the base of Bridgewater Place.

Not an hour after getting back to my desk, a city-bound lorry was blown by a strong gust across the central refuge of the pelican crossing, where people were stood waiting to cross the road. One man was killed and a woman was injured in the accident, which caused Neville Street to be closed until well into the evening.

The Yorkshire Evening Post were characteristically quick to put up a story on their website, and initially they used a opportunistic picture taken moments after the event by someone who works in my office. I'm not sure I would have stood feet away from where a man lay dying and felt like it was appropriate to whip-out my camera-phone.

This intersection has been especially windy since the completion of Leeds' tallest building, and now this tragedy has prompted some (long overdue) discussion as to whether anything should be done to mitigate the effects of the wind here.

Slim Fast

 

The above story broke yesterday. The fresh job losses seem to be affecting the banking side of RBS. But I haven't seen any reporting on cuts affecting RBS Insurance (where I work), which were announced last Thursday. So important was the news that the entire company effectively shut down for around 30 minutes while the closures were communicated to us via local managers and hired-in flat-screen TVs.

It was actually pretty worrying; we'd already picked up on rumours that there would need to be some closures, but didn't know where. And given that there are three offices in Leeds, it seemed reasonable to suppose that one or more might go. RBS Insurance will be sold at some point in the next three or four years, and the company are looking to trim some fat and make the division more attractive and better value-for-money to potential suitors.

But it turns out that the plan is make the Leeds sites into something of a hub, and all three are to remain operating (two other smaller offices here are already in the process of being shut down). So my job is safe. The only effect will be a move from one office to another.

RBS Insurance has 30+ offices around the country, and the plan is to cut this number to thirteen. Closures include Croydon (once the HQ of Direct Line), two of the three Bristol sites (my old office is to remain), and the Cardiff office, where we have a Customer Relations Department - this means that some of my colleagues are being made redundant.

As I say, worrying times.

Things Beginning With An 'S'

I can't quite decide if this is a brilliant spoof or a genuine nut.

Update - he's the former.

Via A Welsh View.

Police State

This is an absolute disgrace.

Via Boing Boing.

No Fly Zone

I have never striven on this site to bring you up-to-date news, but I thought I'd share with you a strange story I just heard on the radio a few minutes ago.

Apparently, the recent volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajoekull (in Iceland) has produced a significant cloud of ash, which is today drifting over the United Kingdom.

And this morning, this is causing massive disruption for the countries airports. Those in the south of England are cancelling numerous flights, whilst many airports north of the Midlands are actually closed!

Clio (Fast) Lane

You may already have seen this amazing mobile phone footage taken within a few miles of this location.

From BBC News:

The footage shows the truck travelling along the A1(M) near Wetherby with the Clio trapped in front. West Yorkshire Police confirmed it had attended the scene. A spokesman from Cheshire-based Arclid Transport said: "There was an incident between a car and one of our vehicles in January". He added that he believed the female driver of the Clio had not been injured in the incident.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police  said: "In light of the new evidence that has come to light we are re-investigating the collision and the matter has today been passed to our major collision inquiry team and inquiries are ongoing."

Six Offender

As I walked through town today, I saw a police car draw up alongside a busker who was mid-tune (High and Dry by Radiohead). The policeman got out and I overheard him explaining to our song-smith that they has received a complaint from members of the nearby Leeds Library.

I didn't realise that this was a kind of metaphor, albeit a pretty weak one. For the TV screens in Barclays Bank minutes later were confirming news that had been expected for a week or so; the BBC are closing 6Music.

This is my joint-favourite radio station (along-side No-Fun FM), and the decision seems both wrong and against the principles of the BBC. How can it be in the interests of 'Inspiring knowledge, music and culture to be closing down a station almost entirely staffed by knowledgeable music-lovers? As is so often the case in such matters, Andrew Collins analyses the situation well. I think this is a clear case of the BBC pre-empting enforced cuts that it perceives will be forced upon it by the next government, whatever its colour.  

So, if you care about saving a really good little radio station (one that could reach a much larger audience if it wasn't restricted to digital broadcasts), tell the BBC your views here.

Heading back towards the office, I noticed the busker was still playing, sans police accompaniment. Another metaphor? I hope so.

Embarassing Illnesses

Over on Bad Science, Ben Goldache has found recent footage of what appears to be a mentally ill lady extolling the virtues of homeopathy during a BBC news interview. Sadly, she is labouring under the giant misapprehension that taking watered-down water has cured her cancer.

How To Report The News

Everone else on the Internet seems to have posted this video this week, so I thought I'd join in. Especially as I love Charlie Brooker, and his guide to the vital ingredients for packaging a news report is both funny and true.

The White Stuff

I thought I'd interrupt my Christmas updates to tell you about the massive snow we have seen in Leeds.

 

It started snowing here before dawn yesterday, and even though we were allegedly only seeing the edge of a snow storm, it managed to carry on coming down until mid-afternoon. By then, there was a good couple inches of lying snow in Leeds City Centre, and more like three inches here in East End Park. And looking through my window now, it seems another inch or so has fallen overnight. Reckon I'll be wearing wellies to work for the second time in a fortnight.

 

Conditions were bad in comparison to recent mild winters, with trains, buses and planes all being affected, and many offices and shops in the City decided to close early (if they managed to open at all). All across town, sledges were dug out of wherever they needed to be dug out of, and snow was piled up and fashioned into the effigy of a pipe-smoking, over-weight, dead-eyed man.

I've been checking out the BBC weather loads in the last few days, and I thought I'd leave you with a link to a fansite I just found celebrating Daniel Corbett, the BBC's nutty weather presenter.