St P and Kraut
It is quite remarkable that the Wren Cathedrall survived the war. If ever the Germans wanted to demoralise the Brits during the World War, the destruction of St Pauls would have gone a long way. And indeed, damage was inflicted - in some instances severe requiring an ongoing rebuild through 1962 - but the dome, or I should say the layers of domes, remain in tact despite the Luftwaffe's best efforts (as an aside, I worked with a German kraut Michael Handrick whose father bombed the tar out of London during the war. Afterwards, Michael sent to England for his education and a better life and when I worked for him at investment firm Botts & Co. he always found it entertaining to discuss his father's raids). Like the the Empire State Building, Great Wall of China or Eiffel Tower, St Paul's has a life which changes throughout the year and, indeed, the day depending on the sun's rays. Similar to the Golden Gate Bridge, the water offers a sense of majesty and adds to the thing's personality. In my picture, for instance, the tide half-way and the flow, that is, the draining direction, Eastwards. Fewer cranes distort the skyline given today's recession.
Despite government's Knives Actions programme from last year, "sharp instrument homicides" in the high-crime areas - London, Essex, Lancashire, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Nottinghamshire, South Wales and Thames Valley - have increased to126 for the year ending March, 2009, up from 119 in 2008. The majority of these crimes committed by under-24s, where there has otherwise been a drop in Britain's violent crime overall (the Met). What the figures do not show is the horrific nature of these crimes. Sonnet's recent Old Bailey, where she and her fellow jurors put two Sci Lankens away for life (good riddance) saw a gang-related decapitation using a Shogun sword. neighbors witnessed the homicide, meant to serve as a warning to the street. No doubt, it served a purpose. I fail to understand why we do not eliminate pointy ends, which are rarely needed for kitchen work or otherwise. Blunting the means may not lead to an end but it could save a few lives.
Kraut btw was a common GI term for the German soldier and from the abbreviation of sauerkraut, the sour cabbage, a common food of the Germans.
"Ich möchte Stechschritt und essen saurkraut"
--Germany
