It seems that everywhere in England wants it’s own landmark and tourist attraction. London has The London Eye, Gateshead has The Angel of the North and Kent now appear to want a huge horse that will be able to be seen from land, rail or air.
I can see the attraction to the London Eye as it has a purpose, you can see amazing views all over London and it is quite a special experience. It is now the most popular paid tourist attraction in the UK attracting more than 3 million people every year. However, where sculptures like The Angel of the North are concerned I need a little more convincing. I think that it is a fantastic piece of architecture and it looks so simple yet it needed 150 metric tonnes of concrete as it’s foundations, quite unbelievable. It also created a huge topic of interest at the time and much publicity for Gateshead but I wouldn’t class it is a tourist attraction so I’m not sure what benefit it brings to the area. Some would now class it as the landmark for the North of England and apparently it is one of the 12 official icons of England.
Kent, Ebbsfleet to be precise, are now looking for their own £2m hilltop landmark. The 5 shortlisted ideas include an abstract steel latticework of stacked polyhedrons, an enormous white horse 33 times’ life-size, a ’signal’ tower consisting of a laser beam of light, a giant pairing of a concrete disc and detached wing, a kitsch temple with an altar at the centre and a craggy mountain made out of recycled excess material excavated from the site. Each actually looks very eye catching and would certainly bring a focal point to an area that is not known. The Telegraph has more details on the sculptures and artists.
At the moment Ebbsfleet is just a train station, the town itself doesn’t exactly exist but there are plans to develop this area with new homes, offices and shops and that is where this sculpture comes into play. The aim of the sculpture is to bring an identity to the area, somewhere where people will want to live. The question is who would like to have views from their kitchen window looking at the back end of a horse or a craggy looking moutain made out of recycled excess material? We’ll have to wait and see.
May 8th, 2008
It is actually finally starting to feel like summer and it is that time of the year when people start to book their holidays. It is very easy to spend all your time choosing your holiday destination and then busily buying new summer clothes and shoes that forgetting to buy or check your travel insurance is common place.
There are many travel insurance providers and it can be very confusing as to what type of policy to go for and who to go with. Some people may already have received free travel insurance through their bank account but please ensure that you have read the small print and understand exactly what you are insured for.
The Times Online have compiled a really helpful article about how to choose your travel insurance policy. It takes you through what The Foreign and Commonweath Office recommend your travel insurance should cover and more useful information.
Don’t forget that if you are travelling in Europe you need to apply for your European Health Insurance Card as this entitles you to free or discounted medical treatment.
Make sure that the Travel Insurance you buy is the best for you in terms of price and cover. For example if you normally have two or three holidays in the year then it would probably be cheaper to buy an annual multi-trip policy rather than a single policy for each trip. Also, if you are a sporty person and plan on taking part in a certain sporting activity on holiday, make sure that this is included on your insurance. An article by MSN gives more tips on this including ensuring you have adequate car insurance cover if driving abroad and the all important luggage and baggage cover should anything go missing or get damaged.
May 6th, 2008
I must admit that I have never liked politics much. I hated it at school and haven’t taken a huge amount of interest in it over the years, other then when there has been the odd dodgy photo - like when Cherie got snapped accepting a bouquet of flowers one morning looking rather worse for wear.
However, over the past couple of weeks I have been becoming increasingly more interested in who is going to be our next Mayor of London. Would I vote for someone who admitted that he ‘deliberately trapped the Government into bidding for the 2012 Olympics to attract fund for developing the city’s run down East End area’ as reported in The Telegraph or do I vote for someone who says that ‘If you vote for the Conservatives, your wife will get bigger breasts and your chances of driving a BMW M3 will increase.’ Mmmm a close call. (more…)
April 29th, 2008
Swiftcover.com is offering a £25 discount on your car insurance and everyone is eligible.
With petrol prices, house prices and food prices all out of our control it is nice to be able to control one element of our spending. Car Insurance. It is one of those necessary legal purchases that we all hate to make but it is a God send to have if you have the misfortune of being involved in an accident. (more…)
April 23rd, 2008
The Telegraph has reported that men behave like Cavemen when behind the wheel. (more…)
April 22nd, 2008
I read an article on The London Stock Exchange website which identifies the rising cost of car insurance as a contributing factor to people not being able to afford to run a car any longer. (more…)
April 17th, 2008
The thought of ever having to take my driving test again would fill me with dread. Although I was actually very confident about my driving ability, the mere fact that I was sitting a test made me really nervous and I failed my first exam. Thankfully I passed second time so only had to go through to nightmare twice. But retaking it at 17 was bad enough so I would hate to think what state I would be in if I had to take it in my old age. And for that reason I hope that I never have to. (more…)
April 17th, 2008
As a member of the public, I was really pleased to read that The RSPCA has announced that at their Society summer conference they will be examining the challenge of managing dogs within our communities. (more…)
April 10th, 2008
Like many home owners I am in the position that in a few months time my current mortgage deal ends and I will be looking for a better deal. Unfortunately, even with the announcement today that The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is to cut interest rates to 5% from 5.25%, it looks like I will be lucky if I manage to get a similar deal never mind a better one. (more…)
April 10th, 2008
The government plans to build 10 Eco-Towns across the UK and have announced the 15 towns in the running.
The Prime minister announced his plan for the first new towns to be built since the 1960s. He would like to see 5 new sustainable eco-towns by 2016 and a further 5 by 2020. Planners have been told that there should be an acre of parkland to every 100 houses, schools and shops within walking distance so that people don’t have to use cars to do school and shopping runs and good public transport links. I have read that the plan is to use cutting edge green technologies and brownfield land, like former MOD sites and disused industrial sites, rather than Green belt areas. Such schemes could do away with the need for car insurance but I’m not sure what the affect would be on home insurance prices. (more…)
April 8th, 2008
Previous Posts
Car & Travel Insurance Related News
- Ban on camera tampering called for
Fresh laws could be introduced banning the use of technology that can damage the effectiveness of speed cameras. - Safety message for all ages
North Dorset drivers have been given the opportunity to learn more about dangerous driving at a recent event. - Footballer in school visit
A star footballer has visited a Preston school after it performed well on the road safety front. - Cash generated from cameras
More than £4 million was generated from speed cameras in Sussex in 2007, it has been revealed, something that could have damaged motorsists' car insu. […] - 'More cameras' for Yorkshire
Highways organisations in one area of Yorkshire are planning to introduce more speed cameras in the near future.
