Pics of Little Venice and Canalways Cavalade

[Re-posted from Facebook] Pics from 2008 and 2007

The annual Canalways Cavalcade was the main attraction of the weekend [1st Bank Holiday in May 2007 & 2008], having enjoyed a brief visit last year [then I was doing the Little Venice to Camden Lock walk, a superb intro to the area - London Walks].

The canals around Little Venice are filled with colourful boats and the towpath with lots of interesting stalls. There are lots of events for the three days for all ages. The area is so striking: the lovely setting of the canal basin c1820, so soon to be superseded by the nearby railways and with road flyovers overhead. It seemed to me a tad subdued compared to last year, probably because two leading lights of London IWA had died in the meantime, including one of the key organisers, Mike Stevens.

I took the opportunity to see the adjacent Paddington Basin development and the famous Rolling Bridge by Thomas Heatherwick - the local Estate management had a sign on it saying 'closed', though there was no visible problem.

Tower Bridge, Waverley, St Katherine's Dock

Pics from the Tower Bridge area last weekend, including paddle steamer Waverley going through Tower Bridge and a Thames barge entering St Katherine's Dock I saw the Waverley in the Clyde in April.

Tesco storm drain on Riverside

Cambridge Evening News story: Storm drain may be a killer, Tesco told.

A FAULTY storm drain close to the River Cam in Cambridge could kill, council chiefs have warned.

They claim that Tesco is responsible for the drain - and are demanding the store giant takes urgent action to make it safe.

The potentially deadly drain runs from under Tesco's Newmarket Road site down to the river.

[...]

The story refers to this clip on YouTube.

I went past this spot a few days later and had wondered about the broken manhole cover in the middle of the road.

I wonder if Tesco will try to evade their responsibility?

They're not behaving responsibly in Mill Road: the No Mill Road Tesco Campaign.

The problem with bail-outs

From the FT, Tue Sep 30th 2008: a very elegant exposition...

The problem with bail-outs

If you owe the bank $10, it’s your problem. If you owe the bank $10m, it’s the bank’s problem.

If you and a million others owe the bank $10 each, it’s still your problem – but now it’s also the bank’s problem.

If the bank then sells to an investor the $10 you owe, it ought to be the investor’s problem. But if you have a problem repaying the $10 and the bank insured the investor against your problem, then it’s both the investor’s problem and the bank’s problem.

Your problems and your neighbours’ problems and the investor’s problems mean the bank now owes another bank $10bn. That is both banks’ problem. But if banks can’t or won’t pay the $10bn they owe to other banks, it’s very quickly a $700bn systemic problem.

And if the government then owes the banking system $700bn, it’s your problem.

andrew.hill@ft.com