Our Royal family have an amazing knack of making fools of themselves. Perhaps it's in the Windsor gene pool. But today, when we read here the UK manages to top the Euro energy waste league the BBC reports that Buckingham Palace is to be lit up until Brenda's reign comes to an end. And although the LED lights, supplied by Philips, are described as "environmentally friendly", they are no doubt turning the royal meters at some rate.
Barmy!
TH: "Barmy!"
What price a flight to Sicily these days?
Posted by: APL | 25 October 2006 at 09:49 PM
Apl,
Funny you should ask. I've just visited Ryanair's website. Next May/June sixty quid return Stansted/Palermo.
You know it makes sense!
t
Posted by: Tony Hatfield | 25 October 2006 at 09:54 PM
TH: "Next May/June sixty quid return Stansted/Palermo."
Have a great holiday. But we are talking about energy waste here, do think of the trees Tony, hope you are planting lots. Shouldn't you at least consider a rowing boat instead of Ryan air. The UK is an island, Sicily is an island, you know it makes energy sense.
Posted by: APL | 25 October 2006 at 11:23 PM
APL,
It wasn't just the energy waste here, after all these L.E.Ds, according to the Buck house website, use only 10% of the power of "normal bulbs"-whatever they are. It was the absolutely hopeless timing of the announcement and the assumption in the Press Release why anyone would want to see such a monstrous piece of architecture illuminated at all.
t
Posted by: Tony Hatfield | 30 October 2006 at 02:35 PM
Every big office block in the country seems to be lit up all night like a Christmas tree with neon lights blazing (to deter burglars, or as a navigation aid to low-flying aircraft?), so I suppose a royal palace on top of all that isn't going to bring the implosion of the planet very much closer. In any case, we can turn out all the lights in the kingdom, ban all flights over the UK, and have all cars and other petrol or diesel vehicles in Britain crushed, and it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference so long as the US, China and India continue their present policies and practices. Of course, if we made all these heroic sacrifices, I suppose it's possible that the Americans, Chinese and Indians would be so impressed that there would be an overwhelming clamour in all three countries to follow our example and give up any idea of future development or prosperity....
PS: I would like to make a personal sacrifice by turning off my two video machines each night, but as that would mean having to reset their clocks every morning, I really can't be bothered, especially as games theory teaches me that it would be an empty gesture unless the entire populations of Britain, the US, China and India all did the same, and as most of them don't have videos to turn off....
Brian
http://www.barder.com/ephems/
Posted by: BrianB | 01 November 2006 at 10:27 PM