Random

Crossing bridges:

Yesterday I walked across the Swinemunder Brucke (where the coffin passes from East to West Berlin in the film "Funeral in Berlin" and today I walked across "The Bridge of Spies" (Glienicker Brucke) just outside Potsdam.
Between those two, I visited the Sachsenhausen museum/memorial, it was one of the concentration camps used by Hitler and his mates. Sadly I see many similarities between what he did with the Jews, Romanies etc about 90 years ago, and what Putin is doing today with Ukraine - an attempt to destroy a people "just because". He needs to be stopped as a matter of urgency

The Russian spy, Rudolph Abel, who was swopped for Gary Powers is still the most famous former pupil of my school, Whitley Bay High. He got a stamp with his face on in Russia. We're all very proud of him. 

I went to Berlin when the wall was coming down (I'm not saying I had anything to do with it, but....). I smashed off a bit of the wall, watched the Trabants drive through Checkpoint Charlie, and the money changers move in on the East Germans with their Ostmarks.

My biggest regret is that an East German Border Guard offered to sell me his entire uniform (inc. helmet but sans gun) and greatcoat, and I declined as I only had hand luggage. I'd have had to wear the helmet through Newcastle Airport customs.

Oh we've met?

I pressed some buttons in my Evoque today and I managed to call up a critique of my driving. I got 53mpg and a rating of 98%. That's nice of it but there's clearly 2% room for improvement. I never knew it was keeping an eye on me

Pictures, taken with a modern TT Artisans 50mm f2 which can be bought for just £79. That's cheap for a modern lens.

Here it is in all its glory, the Bridge of Spies, still painted in two shades of green to mark the divide between east and west

Love places like The Bridge of Spies above that show a clear line between two or more places.  
Was in Germany and Switzerland at the same time during the summer and took these below. 

Europe's first traffic light (it's the green thing, you can just make out the light units at the top, and they're mounted horizontally not vertically). It's been "preserved" roughly where it first stood

I left home at 6am this morning and there was a house on the main road that had been fully decorated (full front of the house and illuminated crap in the garden) and everything was switched on.

Was on Twitter this morning and reading reactions to Musk being in charge (Chief Twit as his bio now says).
One career politician was complaining about how Musk has benefitted from billions in government money and is now a multi billionaire as a result.
Needless to say this politician is a socialist, who fails to see that his entire lifestyle is supported by government money, sorry, taxes that we all pay.
It got me thinking that politicians should have a time limit on how many years they can be in politics and then have to work a regular job (shop, factory, hospital- if they have skills or training, go into that again) for a defined number of years to contribute to society in a different way, and to experience what life is like for the other 99.9% they represent.
Can’t see that happening anytime soon though.

I'd prefer they started that way before going into politics for a time-limited spell.

^ Wow! How small is your head??

Not small enough, but my 2 year old was really keen to try….

That’s fine with me though, I have no desire to dress up like a Power Ranger!

It is too nice to hide away.   It lives on the storage unit in my office at home, along with my current favourite car model (the others/older ones are on the other side) and below the signed picture (by Mr Mansell) that Lindsay bought me for my 40th.  That's the plan for now and depends on whether or not I start a collection, but Lindsay is a huge F1 fan so no issues if I do.