Best of British: June 2012

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Tony Robinson

You may know him best as Blackadder’s sidekick, Baldrick.

That scene was back in 1989 and marked the end of probably the funniest sitcom ever, but Tony had a cunning plan way before.

He started acting aged 12 back in 1958, playing a role in the original West End production of Oliver. After appearing in a few West End shows, the die was cast.

Or was it?

Tony Robinson had bit parts in quite a lot of productions, both on TV and the big screen, and also did a stint on the kids show Play Away. He a very easy manner which suited the job as a television presenter well.

His real fame came with a role in Blackadder which made him a household name. Since then, he has become the face and voice of archaeology and history on TV.

Hey, there is an unofficial Tony Robinson website which is full of facts..

http://www.unofficialtonyrobinsonwebsite.co.uk/

Here in Canada, we got the Blackadder series, and we also get Tony’s history and archaeology television presentations, and I must admit to being able to listen to them all day.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Light where you need it - any angle..

Recognise this?

It is the model 75 Anglepoise table lamp, designed and developed originally by George Carwardine, a car suspension designer in the UK. These lamps are not cheap but there is no other multi-position lamp that does it as well as an original Anglepoise.

The original appeared in 1932 and could only handle a 40w light bulb. These days, they have LEDs, but apart from some styling changes, they have remained pretty much the same. You can even buy remakes of the original 1227 design. How cool is that?

Where wouldn’t you find one of these? Anywhere where there is no electricity supply. They were and are still used in homes, offices, hospitals, workshops etc.

Floor mounts, table stands, desk clamps, even a wall mount, there is always a way to make one of these lamps work for you.

Variations of this type of lamp have appeared, but none will be as versatile or long lasting as a real Anglepoise. A full range of spares is available for them too, so you will never have to commit an Anglepoise to the landfill like you do for so many of the other cheap look-a-likes.

For more, see here.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglepoise_lamp and for the current range.. http://www.anglepoise.com/

Why so many manufactured goods?

Great Britain, the UK, whatever you want to call us is a small island surrounded by even smaller islands. Until the ice receded all of those eons ago, there was no island. The ice cleared late and, when it finally did, left little time for the development of flora and fauna. What wasn't there couldn't get there. Size also determined the amount of collectible raw materials available.

We don't have copious amounts of anything which we can sell in its raw state, but we can buy in raw materials and then make something really useful out of them. This enables us to trade with the rest of the world.

So now you know why this blog features so many manufactured items.

You may well make fun of us, but before you do, consider this.

Our small island, bordered by some of the roughest seas and oceans in the world, commanded an Empire larger and longer lived than any other nation on earth. The Industrial Revolution started in Britain and much of our technology and wares have found their way to many countries across the world. While much junk has been produced by us, there are some outstanding examples of Britishness that command respect from people across seas and oceans, classics of a time gone by.

If we feel the need, we can produce fine products which are head and shoulders above anything else. I will endeavour to show you what we have done and can do