Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Merit and demerit
A merit to the makers of Elastoplast this morning - makers who appear to be holed up in Germany rather than good ole Blightly - see http://www.beiersdorf.com/. Leaving aside their domicile, I was delighted to find that the reel of half inch pink strip is back on the market. When I was very small this used to be the thing for patching all kinds of small wounds. Easy to apply and stayed on through several wettings. Then this got replaced by ready-cut patches made of pink stuff OK, but neither very stretchy nor very sticky. Vastly inferior to the childhood product. But now the reel of half inch - or maybe three quarters of an inch - pink strip is back. A rather loose weave fabric, quite stretchy and very sticky on the back. Protected a near blister at the base of a finger very well the other week. And another piece is doing sterling service holding the springy black tape on my handlebars, the original retaining tape having given up.
And a demerit to the makers of Aquafresh toothbrushes. Mine having been made with a double fold in the plastic handle. Partly to make the head a bit springy and partly as an appearance thing. Makes it look a bit more whizzy. But the catch is that the double fold is a wonderful trap for second hand toothpaste and all sorts of other gunge. Wonderful biosphere for MRSA and goodness knows whatever other bugs and plagues. I hope the things are banned from all NHS hospitals.
Yesterday to Brighton, the most recent of several visits this year. Managed to park up properly on this occasion, just below the sea life place. Lots of space mid-week, early summer. Strolled along the esplanade to Hove, taking in the sights and sounds.
So at the head of the pier we had a whole lot of things looking a bit like small bus shelters, made of quite heavy duty galvanised steel and housing large pictures of whales, marmosets and other things of that sort. A sort of seaside version of the poster display outside the natural history museum in London. But this version must have cost a good deal of money and as far as I was concerned did little else than block up the walkway, rather in the same way as all the junk buildings littering the concourse areas of large railway stations these days. I suppose they would serve as a windbreak, somewhere to get a fag going, if there was a bit of a breeze. They may have been connected with a wildlife flavoured gift shop - which I hope was the source of the funds, rather than the taxpayer.
Then there was the fishing museum, complete with some elderly boats. One of them was rather striking. Heavy looking, clinker build, maybe 15-20 feet long. Counter stern, pointed bow, but otherwise shaped just like a rather deep bath tub. Presumably the idea is that the thing sits fairly low in the water and is steady. Not tossed about too much by the waves and the weather - while still having a flat bottom which enables it to be drawn up onto the beach.
Next we had a huge Victorian church, St Patrick's of Hove (http://stpats-hove.co.uk/). One end has been turned into a night shelter and the other end was still a church, C of E despite the name and subordinate to the bishop of Chichester. Perhaps one of those anglo-catholic jobs. Sadly locked as it looked from the outside as if it must have been very grand on the inside.
Down Western Road to find lunch and lighted upon a place where we got a lightly gastro'd version of the sort of fish stew that is a staple at the rather less gastro Estrella of South Lambeth Road. But very good it was to, and nicely served. A place called the real eating company and one which recently got an hon. mench. in the food bit of the Sunday Telegraph. So it must be OK.
They also sold cheese, mainly of a cheddary variety, so stocked up on that. Which was followed by a visit to a nearby breadshop (the real patisserie and bakery) which was very into hand moulded bread in stone decked ovens. Bread not bad, but a bit heavy, in the way of gastro bread generally. Not like the stuff from Cheam at all.
# posted by Jim @ 12:40 AM 
