BIRD'S EYE VIEW
Page 57
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By The Hawk
A Good Cause i think I should warn readers
in Scotland, particularly those in the Edinburgh area, that they are likely to be called upon (strenuously!) this month to abandon (temporarily) any traditions of thrift that they may harbour. I hope they will do so, for the cause is an excellent one—the Edinburgh Students' Charities Appeal, which is on behalf of many very deserving bodies.. The students obviously take this work very seriously and intend to cover a lot of ground in the next two weeks. Transport costs might have been a considerable headache—but fortunately much help has been received in this direction.
The students have .their own Morris van, bought at a much reduced price from Thomson Bros., of Dunfermline. Some. of the parts, however, needed replacement—but letters sent to manufacturers and. agents soon produced the desired effect. Ferodo sent a set of brake liners, B.M.C. (Scotland) a steering box and linkage, Irvine Electrical a headlamp unit—and tyres arrived from all directions. Contributions of fuel have been received from many garages—and cheques to buy fuel were sent by various oil companies. Many other donations have been made by generous companies, including loans of a Leyland Titan TD5 double-decker (from Scottish Omnibuses), lorries, a Bedford Dormobile van, and a number of cars.
This, of course, is just the beginning of the story—I trust you'll help to see it has a happy ending.
Triumph for Man I was quite pleased recently
to hear about a rare victory of man over the machine. Apparently slot machines are fallible. I'm told that the most usual coin mechanisms are unsuited to high-value and high-speed work—the more sensitive the mechanism, the greater the likelihood of valid rejections of worn coils and the greater the subsequent delays. Because of this tolls on the Forth Road Bridge are to he collected by attendants and not by machines as originally planned. Eight attendants, it is estimated, will be able to handle as many as 1,000 vehicles an hour. This allows slightly less than half a minute on the collection from each vehicle.
New Clerk in North The Northern Traffic Area is,
hear, to have a new Clerk to the Licensing Authority in the person of Mr. J. D. Barber. He is to take the place of Mr. R. J. Grainger who has held the job down in Newcastle for several years now.
Mr. -Barber will he in familiar surroundings, for he was
head of the goods vehicle section of the Northern Area before he went off to Aberdeen as Clerk to the Scottish deputy LA.
"Janus at Seventy Five "—so read a headline in a national daily this week. Hastily glancing to see whether a well-kept secret had at last been revealed, I was disappointed. The article was featuring Arnold Toynbee, the historian.
This Janus believes that in the 21st century nationalism is going to be subordinated to world government.
Wonder what will have happened to nationalization by then?
Another Janus!
Planning Helps I don't suppose it will be
much consolation for you to know that other cotrntries also have major congestion problems on their roads. This point was brought home to me recently when I read a report about a new traffic control system to be installed along a half-mile stretch of the Brooklyn waterfront this Spring. Apparently congestion here has resulted in substantial loss of business to some operators, shippers having been forced to use alternative means of transport.
Under the new plan certain street lanes in the area will be allocated for through traffic, while other lanes will be reserved for truck-waiting, -truck-loading zones and access lanes for fire-fighting and emergency equipment. Overhead aluminium signs (6 ft. wide and 3 ft. high!) are to be used to indicate the appropriate lanes. I've no doubt at all that this scheme, devised by the city's police, traffic and marine and aviation departments—in conjunction with the pier tenants—will soon be saving many people much time and money.
Rumours are flying about the successor to Mr. Stanley Nelson, Western L.A., Bristol. When one considers the delightful counties that this Area takes in—Devon and Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucester, it is not surprising that there should be many contenders for this job. The latest name I have heard mentioned is Mr. Hanlon, the Northern L.A. Remembering that Mr. Nelson came to the Western Area from the Northern Area, such a suggestion is, I suppose, not_ at all beyond the realms of possibility! North to West ?