The waiting areas in the '30s London railway station

Some of London's finest built heritage has disappeared over the passing years.

On Sept 1st, 1936 London opened a new Art Deco train station with a formal opening by Sir Percy Vincent, Lord Mayor of London England. The station lasted less than 30 years before being demolished in 1963.

 

Located below the railway tracks, the concourse was entered down a ramp from the main floor lobby just inside the station entrance. The concourse was 117 ft. long by 36 ft. wide and sat under 3 platforms. At the far south end of the concourse was the entrance to the L&PS (London and Port Stanley) subway tunnel - 100 ft long by 9 ft wide.

 

 

Photo source - https://ingeniumcanada.org/archives CN Images of Canada collection

Info source - https://railwaypages.com/carl-riff-s-railway-history-diaries

Brilliant thinking increases productivity

It's hard to see but this is a bit of truly brilliant thinking. It only took one man to deliver a new gas water heater to our home. The steel dolly used to move the heater had a small motor and a sliding bottom platform that descended down a central track at the push of button. No need to bump the dolly down the stairs.

The platform, driven by the small motor, can be extended five feet to where it is stabilized on a lower step. Then the movement is reversed and the extended dolly collapsed. At this point the dolly is again slanted back and the platform descends again taking the heater to a new and much lower step. The operation as repeated until the water heater reaches the basement floor.

The old heater is removed the same way. No wear and tear on the home. No tearing of the carpeting. Very little strain on the installer. Brilliant.

When we think of urban life, we don't always consider the support staff. Folk like this hot water tank installer are important and if they are very productive all the better. This dolly clearly makes this man a far more productive worker. Unfortunately, it also puts one person out of a job. The last heater installation required two delivery folk.

Back to the river is sunk

The project at the Forks of theThames was known as Back-To-The-River. Supposedly Londoners has forgotten the river that runs through the city from east to west with a very large branch forking off in the core to head north.

Is this true? Have Londoners forgotten the river? I can't speak for others but I've always been very aware of the Thames River and the larger North Thames River. I live where I do because of the river. I didn't want to live on flood plain and that is one reason I live near the local ski hill.

I lived for years in a neighbourhood near the Forks of the Thames and each spring I lived with the fear of a flood. Before Fanshawe Dam and Pittock Dam floods were not common but they did happen and homes were lost and people died.

Note the depth of the water in the illustration of the curving walkway proposed for the Forks of the Thames. The height is a lie. A dam on the river in the southeast of the city washed out a few years ago. That dam held back the river creating a reservoir that extended all the way upstream to the core of the city. Without the dam, the water is lower, cleaner and one might say healthier.

Now, with the cost of covid-19 looming, the cost of the Back-To-The-River walkways seems out of the question. The folk behind the effort have withdrawn their funding and the project has been canceled. Many folk will not be sorry. A natural, free-running river with fish and osprey and even a few bald eagles is more to their liking.

Forget the river? I don't think so. But it may not take long for many Londoners to forget the winding walkway.

We share our cities

We think we are important when it comes to the scheme of things -- and we are. We are far more influencial when it comes to what happens on our planet than our numbers appear to warrant. For instance, insects make up the bulk of the world’s animal species, some 70% in fact.

Many of us don't give the other species on our planet enough credit. We need them. The linked article may overstate the problem. It is hard to extrapolate the way the author does. Yet . . .

It may feel more natural to fret about wolves, sea turtles, and white rhinos dying off than it is to feel remorse about vanishing bugs.

But the loss of insects is a dire threat — one that could trigger a "catastrophic collapse of Earth's ecosystems," according to a February 2019 study.

Source: Last year, 40% of honey-bee colonies in the US died. But bees aren't the only insects disappearing in unprecedented numbers. -- Business Insider.

The first of the month. Is this share a park day?

London's parks are peaceful but across the States parks are in shambles after days of protest and rioting. Canada is not free of the taint of racism. There but for the grace of god as my dear departed mother would have said.

The unfolding story in the U.S. is a wake-up call for Canadians. We have racist issues and these issues have resulted in violence, very localized, but violence in the past nevertheless. These matters must be addressed, dealt with and dealt with successfully.

One thing that I have not seen discussed is that half way through this century whites will be the minority, at least in the States for sure. If we have not solved the race issue, we, or our children and grandchildren, may suffer the same fate we have inflicted on others for centuries. This game could flip.

Urban landscape owes a lot ot the banks

Opened in 1822, the Bank of Montreal is Canada's oldest bank. If it gets through the covid-19 financial disaster without touching its dividend, it will have gone 198 years without ever being forced to reduce its dividend. An enviable record but one that is not out-of-place in the Canadian banking world.

Buy a home and you may well find yourself dealing with one of Canada's big five banks. Housing and banking is a partnership with deep roots. But any big personal expense may send a Canadian to visit a bank. Banks are seen by many Canadians as almost a friend. Always there offering support in tough times.

But Canadian banks do more than just loan money. For instance, the Bank of Montreal has a very successful ETF investment arm. When a Canadian is born, the little baby may be given an RESP or Registered Education Savings Plan. During one's life, a Canadian may well save for their senior years by putting money aside in an RRSP or Registered Retirement Savings Plan. And when a Canadian dies, it may well be a bank that acts as the executor of the will.

Compared to U.S. banks, in size Canadian banks would be rated among the largest regional banks in the States. With a market capitalization of only $43.4B Cdn., about $32B U.S., BMO is dwarfed by the immense size of big U.S. banks like JP Morgan Chase with a market capitalization of about $336B U.S.

So, why are Canadian banks so successful? Many claim it is because the Canadian banks operate in a highly regulated environment which is much different than that found south of the border. On the surface all the regulations don't seem to work in the Canadian banks' favour. For instance, according to Morningstar the Canadian banks are forced by law to hold more risk on their balance sheets that their U.S. counterparts. But this, some argue, forces Canadian banks to act more fiscally responsibly.

The future of banking in Canada may be different than the history of banking in Canada. U.S. banks are trying to make inroads while Canadian banks are expanding south of the border. How these actions will play out is a big question with the role protectionism will play in the unfolding story an immense grey area.

Canada's banks are part of the fabric of the country

The Bank of Nova Scotia is the third largest Canadian bank with what many say is the largest international presence. The BNS has invested heavily in Latin America.  A move that many see as potentially a negative today.

Lots of Canadian seniors hold Canadian bank stock for the generous and dependable dividends. Those dividends can be very important in retirement. Today the BNS dividend is $3.60 annually resulting in a yield of 6.53% based on the present price of the BNS stock.

Founded in 1832, the BNS has gone 187 years without once missing or even reducing its dividend. In fact, the bank habitually does the reverse; it has increased its dividend in 43 of the last 45 years. Because of losses related to covid-19, it is feared investors will not see a dividend increase for three or four years. On the other hand, the bank promises  it will not cut its dividend. It says it will not break an almost two century long tradition.