Jumping Jelly Beans ... tunnels and bridges ...

 

A bridge or tunnel too far perhaps … but as is my wont – I need(ed) a filler post … so coming from a bridge (civil) engineering family …

Their logo

When I saw that the Marmaray Tunnel – beneath the Bosporus Strait, Istanbul … linking Europe with Asia … had been built … my grandfather's firm of structural engineers had been contracted for the Bridge across the Bosphorus … opened in 1973. I was taken aback …

Bakirkoy - where the trains meet

As I'm no engineer my uncle and I would have brief discussions about engineering projects – particularly when we met out in South Africa … but he died in 1997.

The tunnel had passed me by … opened in 2013 just after my mother died, so perhaps understandable I hadn't 'twigged' … as the deepest immersed tube tunnel in the world.

Bosphorus Strait ... dotted
red lines indicate tunnel project

The construction originally mooted in 1860 … obviously not much happened – 130 years later! … preparatory work was able to commence.

As is usual archaeological discoveries held the work up somewhat … still unearthing our history enlightens us … in this instance from the Byzantine-era and other 8,000 year old archaeological finds …

East Mediterranean/West Asia
showing the various plates, including
in the north the North Anatolian Plate

The other part I enjoy learning about is the geology of the area … somewhat to my surprise – the tunnel is only 18 kilometres (11 miles) away from the active North Anatolian Fault:

Tectonic Plates

Since AD 342, it has seen large earthquakes that claimed many thousands of lives. It is expected that there could be a major earthquake in that area fairly soon …

Simpler map for info

Most of humanity lives through these eruptions, while others lose their lives … perhaps to be discovered at a later date, and then provide new information of eras past …

Some basic facts about the Strait …

It connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, and eventually into the Mediterranean Sea – it is an international waterway …

Length about 19 miles

Width between 0.45 miles – 2.05 miles

Maximum depth of 110 metres (360 feet)

Heavy traffic … 48,000 ships annually … reportedly three and four times denser than the traffic that used to go through (but due to war/drought) in the Suez Canal and Panama Canal; this traffic has also reduced due to restrictions placed on night-time transit of large oil tankers.

The Bosphorus Bridge

My filler got longer than necessary … but those rabbit holes became tunnels or bridges … letting us travel around and learn …

But where Jumping Jelly Beans came from ... I've no idea?! 

Links if you wish to look further …

Marmaray Tunnel ... 

Anatolian sub-plate ... 

Marmaray - the portmanteau word for this commuter rail project ... 

Bosphorus facts from Marine Insight ... 

BUT I almost forgot why this post got written – I found this fascinating interactive image – just click it … it's brilliant – just check it out please …

Bridges schematically shown from Trajan's Roman Bridge, to the Ponte Vecchio, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge and many more … see here:

1915 Canakkale Bridge ...  see comparison of notable bridges at end of this link ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Yakety-Yak part 2 …

 

Lunana, a Yak in the Classroom film … is a quite delightful story telling about a Yak in Bhutan, a recalcitrant youth, and a school high up in the Himalayas in need of a teacher …

Lunana is between the 'M & A' of the 
Himalayas name

… said youth had to finish off his teaching diploma before he could leave Bhutan, with his guitar, to pursue his dream of achieving a musical career in Australia – for which he already had a provisional visa.

Ultimately he has to qualify as a teacher … so off he goes up into the Himalayas … grumping and groaning as only a rebellious youngster can …

Pokhara Valley in Bhutan

The headman sends two herdsman to meet him – when the 'road runs out'; he has his walkman headphones permanently clamped to his ears … ultimately the batteries run out …

… the two villagers reassure him the walk is easy – it's along a river – yes, but that stream is pouring down the mountains – so the walk is an uphill wet trog. He'd purposefully bought Goretex boots before leaving – well they're no good – soggy wet feet step onwards!

Poster for film

We journey with him … it is beautiful, hardwork, we see cultural aspects, are introduced to a few peoples along the way.

Eventually he arrives – it is basic to put it mildly – he has his own hut … he's fed that first night … and given some basic instructions about how things work – he needs to light his own fire, cook his own food etc etc … eventually sleep comes …

Early the next morning there's a knock on the door – by the littliest schoolgirl – we're ready for you 'teacher' she beams announcing with delight …

See link at end

… oh dear – nothing's organised … eventually things sort themselves out – he's beguiled by the children, copes with wet yak pats – told he needs dry ones to light his fire … etc etc

His guitar comes out – he recognises there are excellent songsters in the hamlet … he sends for teaching tools from Thimphu, capital of Bhutan …

A Yak - they're sleek animals

He's given a Yak to look after – who has pride of place in the classoom – domesticated yaks are highly regarded for their milk, fibre and meat, and as beasts of burden – then there's their droppings – fuel for their fires … but the yak will not eat grain … they must have grass …

… in the end they have a happy year – but he's determined to leave … and does … he's qualified and can travel to Australia … his dream has come true … but has it …

Here he's playing his guitar to his yak!

… he's playing in a bar in Sydney and realises no-one is listening to him … they're all nattering away … he's upset … then appreciates there's a calling at home – high up in Lunana …

Some brief stats and info … Lunana's administrative area has a population of under 900; rainfall is over six feet a year; many of Bhutan's glaciers are within the district, which lies at an altitude of 3,400m (over 11,000 feet); yaks are related to cattle and are also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox, or hairy cattle …

The movie inspired me – and still does – I hope you'll be able to make a plan to watch it sometime … 'a teacher touches the future' and 'you find what you seek in a place you least expect' …

The trailer to watch ... Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom 

Wikipedia's page on the film ...

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Miscarriage of Justice ...

 

Free Chol Soo Lee – an American documentary film released late last year – has just been screened by our Film Society … how evocative, while being informative, it was … quite, quite extraordinary …

The Towner's guide review is as follows:

Julie Ha and Eugene Yi’s intelligent, insightful and vital documentary explores systemic racism within the American criminal justice system via the extraordinary story of one man.

In 1970s San Francisco, 20-year-old Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee is convicted of a Chinatown gang murder after cursory racial profiling.

After spending years fighting to survive, investigative journalist K.W. Lee takes a special interest in his case, igniting Soo Lee’s hopes of acquittal and inspiring an unprecedented social justice movement that spanned generations.

At a moment when the Asian diaspora is experiencing a surge in racist violence following the pandemic, this extraordinarily moving documentary feels especially timely, a way of entering and understanding the long history of discrimination faced by this international community.

Exploring Soo Lee’s complex life after being freed, as well as his time in prison, Free Chol Soo Lee is a powerful indictment of systemic racism and the criminal justice system, and the stunning latest in a series of US films and TV series placing a contemporary lens on historic miscarriages of justice and bringing them back into the light.

Our Chairman sent out a reminder to members that they'd be missing out if they didn't get to see the 2^nd showing … the early group all praised it to the rafters …We complete a reaction slip for each film society programme we watch … one member confirmed the film as 'totally engrossing and absorbing' …

Chol Soo Lee

Story telling at its best – but about a real person … I was completely bowled over … so I do hope you'll be able to look into this documentary (86 minutes) … I can't praise it enough … and cannot do anymore than recommend it and hope you all will make a plan to see it …

Mentally I came away wondering how on earth one man could have lived a normal life after being in prison and on death row for years … the torment he must have experienced …

… then relate it to immigrants, and here to refugees, who have travelled vast distances, crossed seas … encountered who knows what …

… coerced into actions they'd never normally take … I am so lucky I live in the world I do … this film and others, I hope, make us realise how fortunate we are … I'm going to hear a talk by an Afghan refugee tomorrow night …

Oh how I would like people to be kinder, more thoughtful, not jump to conclusions … think about things – would you like that to happen to you … we are not living in easy times …

Tony Serra - courtroom sketch

I was intrigued to learn about Tony Serra – the civil rights attorney, activist, tax resister – who came to defend Chol Soo Lee … another real-life character worth knowing about …

Chol Soo Lee – Wikipedia

The Towner Film section … Free Chol Soo Lee

Tony Serra - Wikipedia

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Go … Fly a Kite … or 10,000 of them …#WATWB Hmb#4 ...

 

… or Come-Fly-a-Kite with 'me' … another wonderful uplifting story …

Alice Denny showing a kite - from
the Good Chance Theatre site

Master Afghan kite-maker and refugee Sanjar Qiam is celebrating the cultural history of kites by inspiring a festival of kite-flying across the UK and Europe on Saturday 20 August.

Many will gather for story telling, music, poetry and dance from Afghan artists and community groups to highlight the cultural significance of kites in Afghanistan's history …

Qiam Sanjir with his wife,
in their toy shop 'Rocket Science'

Some kites will be tethered to the ground through a single thread but fly free of the borders that define the land …

… and which are the embodiment of freedom and play … looked at collectively, on the stage of the sky, kites represent togetherness, our difference and our shared humanity.

Flying Kites ... 

With the Taliban in power … kites are banned, along with music, free journalism, theatre and dancing – all and any self-expression.

Qiam Sanjar, Master kite-maker, says:

Fly-With-Me is a reminder to the world:

Remember Afghanistan

… while in Afghanistan, kites occupy a unique space between national art form and national sport.

They are a universal symbol of expression, skill and cultural pride.

Sanjar was a successful business man in Kabul … but decided in 2011 to move away … having married a non-Muslim wife … he first went to India and then flew here to the UK … with his 10,000 kites!

This ad for the festival ... says it all ... 

He now has a toy shop in Brighton, along the coast from here, on the south coast … as well as establishing a centre for creative ideas …

… offering craft workshops, story-reading sessions in different languages, 'educative' toys from various countries … France, Australia, Russia, USA, Netherlands, China and of course his homeland … opening the doors to learning while playing …

With the Good Chance Theatre (link below)

The business concept can be rolled out for others to take up the mantle of helping new settlers in our country … combining work, with family time, while broadening their and our knowledge of life in another country …

Perhaps across our South Downs, Sussex

Go Fly A Kite … with friends, contacts and family is already opening so many doors for those looking to expand their horizons …

Funds raised will go to Afghanaid and its By-Her- Side campaign to support women in rural Afghan communities.

We are the World Blogfest

In Darkness, Be Light

BBC - Kabul to Brighton ... video ... 

Independent article - Escaping the Taliban and finding security in the UK ... Kite Flying

Good Chance Organisation had kite making packs for sale, but here they describe how to make a kite - simple details by the look of it ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

We are the World Blogfest - #WATWB Hmb#2 - Singapore – a green oasis of calm …

 

This appealed as Singapore is Singapore (believe it or not!) … I've never been – but would love to visit sometime …

Outline of Singapore with its surrounding
islands and waterways

They only became independent in 1965 … and as they were in the 20^th century realised protecting their resources were essential.

The article compares Hong Kong with Singapore … interesting variances as both countries developed … Hong Kong under British colonisation from 1840s …

… while Singapore in the same era as a British Crown Colony, believed after WW2, in the 1960s, that its future lay with Malaysia; ...

1825 Survey Map - showing the free-trade
port on the Singapore River

… but talks broke down, then Malaysia expelled Singapore, when it had no choice but to reluctantly become a newly independent country.

The charismatic prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, is known as the founding father of the nation. He was described as the philosopher king … he also had a nickname “ Chief Gardener” …

Lee Kuan Yew (1923 - 2015)

… so the new government set out to transform the city into a tropical garden city … giving the citizens pride in their new freedom and ...

… it was realised that tiny Singapore needed to be self-sufficient within its own compact footprint … Malaysia was known to consider threatening to turn off the water …

Lee, chose the month of November, as it is when saplings need the least amount of water, to hold the first annual Tree Planting Day to beautify Singapore … in 1974 they had over 150,000 trees, by now they've planted over 1.5 million.

With this in mind as development continued … water cleansing and capturing were essential elements to be integrated into the cityscape …

Lee's first choice of tree
'Cratoxylum Formosum'

… water is captured in mini reservoirs, rooftops, parks, roadways and sidewalks … an elaborate system of channels, tunnels and pumps then moves the water to treatment plants …

Lee also realised that if citizens owned their own homes – they'd be more responsible with their properties. The Housing and Development Board built low-cost housing, which tenants could rent … ultimately purchasing with their pension funds. (Interesting idea, I thought).

The development continues … parks, rivers, ponds co-exist in the urban centres and high-rises … while authorities encourage developers to include plants with a higher leaf-area index.

Vernonia Elliptica - one of many
creepers promoted within the city
(curtain creeper)

There's more … I leave you to read … I found it fascinating … the city's newly planted trees and green walls will help cool buildings, provide shade, and reduce outdoor temperatures … encouraging more exercise – walk to work etc …

I loved the idea that floors and walkways were built with deep planting beds for drainage, absorbing water during times of tropical downpours. Encouraging growth of tropical plants to drape and over time cascade around the building/s …

The book, accompanying the article, 'Supertall: How the World's Tallest Buildings are Reshaping Our Cities and Our Lives' … sounds really interesting …

Stefan Al, one of the authors, is a TED Resident – this is an incubator group for breakthrough ideas … each resident has a talk … see more here … again I found this interesting, as I hadn't heard about this concept.

The article opened my mind to many aspects – about how architects, engineers, hydrologists, planners, designers, and data scientists are all influencing and working together to build more sustainable, resilient and equitable environments within our city scapes.

Panoramic view of the central business district -
the 'funny' skyscrapers - are linked 500 feet in
the air - available for joggers and walkers in a
green oases of calm

It's the sign of our times … as we need to remember planet earth … yes please to green oases within our urban landscapes …

Big Think - the present: SuperTall Singapore ... 

We are the World Blogfest

In Darkness, Be Light

Let's all encourage peace amongst

our human race ...

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Bran Tub # 18: Friends ask to share Olympic Gold Medal …

 

There’s been hope, success, horrors, sadness – yet many armchair pundits have noticed that competitors have been …

United by Emotion

Gracious in Defeat

Encouraged

… and Thankful for Life …

 

Charlotte Worthington - the woman
who dares to do backflips over a 
concrete floor ...
(it is beyond comprehension!)

This happy punter noticed that home-dinosaurism had crept in – her brain couldn’t cope with ‘flying’ upside down on a bicycle above a concrete floor – doing a 360 degree backflip, landing thumpety-thump – getting up and doing it again successfully: winning gold, just to avoid going back to work in a Mexican restaurant.  Strange life!

 

These new sports … well this near fossil appreciates them a little more now, as ‘these kids’ will take the new sports forward – opening doors for others.

 

The two guys celebrating friendship

The highlight of the Games for me …was the two high jumpers – who’ve competed together for years, suffered injuries and returned – yet on equal scores at the end … just said ‘can’t we share the gold medal?’ – wonderful … it’s the first time since 1912 that two athletes share a podium place.

 

An incredible Olympic high jump final ended with both Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi sharing the gold medal/s.

 

I know some of you will not have appreciated the Olympics … and I have friends who’ve disappeared with a few books for the duration …

 

c/o Steve Barley's squirrels

So just to suggest something you could try – your reward will be a few peanuts … but please lose weight first … the Squirrel Leapathon is open for viewing:

 

Squirrel Leapathon – c/o the Beeb (1.47 mins)

This one is last year's NHS themed Squirrel Obstacle Course ... 

I could reflect more … but time (my life towards fossildom) rushes on … so just enjoy the Squirrel Tokyo Leapathon … reward: not adulation, but a few peanuts …

 

A cartoon from the 1936 Olympics imagines the year 2000 when spectators will have been replaced by television and radio, their cheers coming from loudspeakers;   how prescient those cartoonists were … as the pandemic in 2021 has shown us.

Next comes the ParaOlympics (24th Aug to 5th Sept 2021) – they are incredible people – my admiration abounds for them … from them we can learn what it’s possible to achieve.

 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

We Are the World’s Blogfest # 51: the King of Bhutan sets an example for his people - educating them about Covid …

 

This to me this is what a leader should do … in the time of crisis – they should go above and beyond …

 

King and Queen, with
the Emperor of Japan

Any leader should always set examples, let their people know what is going on – in simple terms, keeping them informed and warning them of impending dangers ….

 

 

Kingdom of Bhutan,
in the Himalayas

The King of Bhutan travelled round his country by foot, car and horse to all the remote hamlets - overseeing the measures warning his tiny kingdom about the coronavirus outbreak that has flared up in neighbouring India.

 

 

Rice Terraces in a fertile
valley

He really has set out his stall as leader … so wearing a baseball cap, a knee-length traditional gho-robe, carrying a backpack -  Bhutan’s king has walked the jungles avoided  leeches and snakes, trekked mountains all the while informing his 700,000 citizens how to protect themselves again this dreaded virus.

 

Women of Bhutan

It is evident that his efforts have proved helpful to his people … only 2,506 cases, with 2 deaths as at yesterday’s date.

 

 

I also wanted to add in how he described his wife, and Queen:

The Queen in
2014

For the Queen, what is most important is that at all times, as an individual she must be a good human being, and as Queen, she must be unwavering in her commitment to serve the People and Country.

 

As my queen, I have found such a person and her name is Jetsun Pema. While she is young, she is warm and kind in heart and character.

 

 These qualities together with the wisdom that will come with age and experience will make her a great servant to the nation.

 

The King in 2007
in his Gho-robe

He seems to be a very caring, humble King … and if I lived in Bhutan I’d be hugely impressed that he’d gone to that trouble for me and my family … a King, who puts his people first and cares for them …

 

We are the World Blogfest

In Darkness, be Light

 

 

Jigme Dorji National Park

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories