Friday Five News 29/7/16

This is a non-political post.  Hurray I hear you say.

So for LOCAL news I bring you this video clip of how to build a Crossrail train in 30 seconds.  Of course it takes a lot longer than that but it’s topical today as they began testing the new trains in Derby.  Crossrail, or the Elizabeth Line as it will be known, will be part of the London Underground system but it will also extend as far as Shenfield to the east and Reading to the west.  It will also connect to Heathrow.  The new trains will be air-conditioned and have Wi-Fi access.  They’ll need to be air-conditioned as although they can carry up to 1500 people only a third of that number can be seated. It’s particularly relevant to us as our local station is on the new line and when the service starts partial operation in May next year we will be on that first section of the line.  It won’t be fully open until 2019.  I’m looking forward to trying the trains out in person.

For an INTERNATIONAL story check out this smiling volcano in Hawaii.  It seems to be in quite an uninhabited area and it wasn’t reported as being a problem but I wouldn’t have wanted to get as close as some people seemed to be.   If you watch the video you can see some boats that are nearby but then spot the people on top of the cliffs!

In SPORT I’ve picked this article on inspirational people who are taking part in the RideLondon event this weekend.  Again it’s topical to me as we live so close to the Queen Elizabeth (Olympic) Park where the race will start.  If like me you’re a bit of a couch potato this might make you want to get on your bike!  (I am concentrating on building up my walking at the moment but I haven’t given up on the bike yet.)

Last week I mention Idris Elba in connection with James Bond and Idris crops up again in ENTERTAINMENT news as his latest film, Bastille Day, has been pulled following the recent events in Nice.  It seems the film was a bit too close to real life events.  I can understand the decision but it must be hard on all those who’ve worked on it to see it come to nothing.

Oops that was verging on the political and so is the story about the latest Whitehall cat.  If you do want to know more about Gladstone click here otherwise for MISCELLANEOUS  I bring you this music article on 11 song lyrics you probably won’t understand if you’re under 30.  Unfortunately I do remember transistor radios, televisions that only had 2 channels (yes 2!) cameras that used film, cassette tapes, video tapes, payphones, pagers and Woolworths.  The article is quite long but it’s pointing out how some song lyrics haven’t stood the test of time, particularly due to the advances in technology.  There’s also an interesting take on some Morrissey lyrics but as I promised not to talk about politics today I can’t possibly comment! (See #3 on the list if you can’t resist.)

All links are courtesy of the BBC website. Opinions are my own.

Have a great weekend.