Saturday 15 April 2017

The Saturday list #125 - Great Technology in the London Borough of Barnet!

A special edition for Saturday list #125 - this number got me thinking of the Iconic Inter City 125 train, which passes through Mill Hill on the way to Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield and a host of other stations. Sadly, the trains don't stop in the Borough of Barnet, so we can only marvel at them as they whizz through!So I thought I'd do a little tour of some great technology that can be seen in our amazing Borough. Technology makes our life better, even if we whinge about it all the time.

1. The Intercity 125 train. Stand on any Thameslink platform and you'll see this iconic 1970's piece of technology whizz through. These beasts were supposed to be the future of Britains Railways, sadly for most of us, we've had decades of slow chug-a-lug suburban trains on a daily basis. I seem to recall they were called Inter City 125's as they did 125 MPH. That would get you into St Pancras from Mill Hill in 5 minutes! If I do it in 20 most days, I'm happy.  (credit to CHOO-CHOO!!Plane) for the video.



2.The Spitfire. Youc an see this at The RAF museum in Hendon, along with a whole stack of other great technology. The countries premier aircraft museum. (Credits -  aeroengpilot )




3.The Boris Bus. The future of London Buses? Well it was till Boris decided that being Mayor was beneath him! You can see these on the Saracens Match day service occasionally. Sorry that don't have a better picture



4. The National Institute for Medical Research. This is perhaps the most important building in the country! Or it was until it was decided to miove it to The Crick in St Pancras. A whole host of medical discoveries have benn made here. Ones which have changed the lives of millions for the better. It's also been used as a location for Batman films! See it before it gets knocked down

Image result for NIMR mill hill



5. The University of London Observatory. I love astronomy and the fact we've got a world class observatory in our locality!




Image result for uLU Observatory mill hill


6. The Ibanez Turbo Tube screamer! This technology makes a guitar rock! This to me as a guitarist, is technology at its best.

7. Brent Cross flyover. This for me as a kid was the future! Roads over roads over roads. I always love the view of the flyover from the tube as the sun is setting. It always seemed magical to me. I always particularly liked the street lighting.  A masterpiece of 1960's engenering and technology.

Image result for Brent Cross flyover


8. 4G football pitches. I play football on these every week at Powerleague in Mill Hill. They are great. Unlike the original plastic pitches, no carpet burns and a softer surfcase so less dodgy knees and broken ankles.

Image result for powerleague 4g pitches Mill Hill

9. Fridges. This may seem an odd thing to say, but there is no invention that has had more of an effect on our life than the humble fridge. Before fridges, we simply couldn't have all of the lovely food we eat on a daily basis. At the heart of every restaurant, every kitchen and every cafe is a fridge.

10. The Oyster card. I love contactless technology. It just makes life so much easier.  We use it all the time at our tube and train stations and on the buses. It has made a huge difference to the way we do our business. Like much technology, we take it for granted.


Whilst they are the least glamourous of all the ten things I've listed, in many ways fridges and Oyster cards are the type of applications that change the way we do things and how we live our lives more than anything else. It is perhaps humbling to think that whilst just about everyone in London has a fridge most of the earths population does not have access to refridgeration. The contactless card is something that keeps London moving. In many parts of the world however, the only means of getting from A to B is to walk for the population. Makes you realise how lucky we are.




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