On my way to the bin rooms, I ran into a couple of lift engineers. On being asked ‘are you finally fixing the lift’ the answer was ‘We hope so. Trouble getting parts’. So there we are. Perhaps we will have two lifts working tomorrow!
The Gas man is extending his empire. There are now “real” parking restrictions along the waterfront and they are clearing all the cars out preparatory to digging more holes.
All the cars have a big “No Parking” sign on their windscreens.
That image was taken yesterday afternoon. Today, there is one car left and the Gas are digging!
I was coming out from parking my car in the undergreouf car park when I saw that Thistle was back in so I popped up to take a photo.
It was a lovely day but the wind was so strong. There was a party turning up to go on a trip but, speaking to the crew, that seemed unlikely.
The crew did tell me of a bit of excitement. It seems that, with the high winds as they were, a woman had been blow into the water down by the Cult Café. It appeared that she had been rescued but a call had gone out to the RNLI. They came, but, of course, got caught up in the lock so it took some time for them to appear.
I have a suspicion that they broke the WetDock speed limit! I don’t know the outcome but the woman had a good crowd around her helping in her time of need.
There has been scaffolding all along University Avenue since almost when the work started on our one. It has made going round onto Duke Street very risky as I was forced onto the road in my wheelchair and, unlike someone on foot, I can’t just jump out of the way. It is mostly coming down now although they are still playing around with the façade on Duke Street itself.
What is now ocurring is the work on the back of the accommodation block and the rear of the Hahir Building. Not much to say about it but here are a couple of photos for your interest.
Crossing from Aqua Pharmacy on my way to Tescos I was very pleased to see this, next door to Bella Napoli.
At last, a new tenant to fill the dreadful gap of empty shops. My joy was quickly dampened when I turned along the pavement to see this.
Subway appear to have left. One in and one out you might say.
I have been speaking to the Gas people. They have given the Ok for me to distribute their FAQ regarding the work around the Waterfront. You can download it HERE. They have taken over some of the Anglo-Nordern yard.
They are busy digging along Patteson Road inform of Capstan House.
That’s about it for today. It’s nice and warm out there and the Aurora is open so pop down for a coffee!
We had a new arrival yesterday – well not really new as she was here a few years ago – T/S Royalist – the Sea Cadet training ship. She is an impressive sloop (is that the right word for a two masted sailing ship?).
She had a full compliment of cadets on board, all under strict orders.
While I was taking these images I noticed that Alert was also in.
While out photographing ships I felt that I needed to update everyone on the state of Patteson Road. It is now closed for a good while. People don’t seem to realise that by going down Cliff Road and round via Ship Launch Road and Helena Road, it is possible to still get to the waterfront and to the Aurora Car park. Anyway, here is the current state of play!
Given how difficult it is to park around the estate, this doesn’t lift my heart at all. Still, they have to get the road up so this is the only way. Let’s hope that it isn’t too long.
Here is the reason for all this. . This has to be uprated with new PPE pipes that will last for another few decades! This one is on the corner of Patteson Road and Helena Road. They got the earth (or whatever) out using what looked like a skip lorry but actually was a huge vacuum cleaner that sucked everything out
You can see the ancient gas pipe at the bottom of the hole. The girder above is also evident in the hole outside the Aurora.
I had a nice chat with the people from Cadent who are starting some major works around us which are expected to last until October! Here is the current sign at the bottom of Patteson Road.
They are currently digging around the area that they were working on recently. As I mentioned last time, the pipes under our roads are Victorian/Edwardian and are to be replaced with new construction which should last …
I would refer you back to “Do I Smell Gas” where I was talking about the previous visit that we had back in March where they had the following hole dug up.
Whilst speaking to the Customer Service people from Cadent and the site manager – Martin – I am told that I will get some updates to pass on here.
It is going to be tricky with all the road closures and it is a bit of a bother considering that no-one in our block or Anchor Street has gas anyway. But there we are. As said in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (albeit about local councils) “you have to build bypasses” which could easily apply to these circumstances – smile.
It was a lovely day today and I went out looking for some flags as it is the official birthday of the Prince of Wales. There was some controversy in the newspapers about the choice for an official Suffolk flag. However, there was no sign of any flags but I was pleased to see the the Thames barge Thistle was in. If you want to know more go along to the Topsail Charters website.
She is a lovely example of the breed and sits very nicely outside the James Hehir building. There is not much more than I can say so here are the photos that I took.
Well, have a lovely day. Don’t forget – If you would like to offer your support to the blog, go to the Patreon Web site and sign up. You will be charged £1 and then monthly until you cancel.
They actually opened on Friday evening. I popped down to have a look and they seemed to be quite busy.
I went back on Saturday lunchtime to have a look while I was waiting for the aircraft for the Trooping of the Colour flypast to come over and they were just as busy. I did notice that the expensive cars have returned. We used to get some Rolls Royce, Bentley, Lamborgini etc. but they have been missing since lockdown. Anyway, this was a nice one.
I was down there with my camera because the aircraft for the Trooping of the Colour flypast normally come over us. A few years ago, they used to fly directly over Capstan House which was tremendous. However, they now fly over down by the Orwell Bridge. This is a little cameo of what I caught. (Mind you, I didn’t bring my long lens with me!).
A large number of Typhoons flew over as well as the Red Arrows but I failed to get them! Next year, I will go across to the Suffolk Food Hall just by the Orwell Bridge so I should get some better photos.
It is one of those days when you just have to get out into the sunshine. Being wrapped up doesn’t let you enjoy the weather.
Having rolled around in the sunshine, it was time to check out “A Lister at Aurora” to see how they were getting on and if they will be ready for Saturday. There were a lot of tradesmen working around. There are electricians setting up the lights over the outdoor seating.
They have put out the seating along the front of the building. I hope that it doesn’t matter that they have encroached over the line.
They have all their new branding up in the windows.
As I understand it, they are providing a full table service which will be much better than having to go into the bar to order. To make this work, they have put up a couple of “sentry boxes” with tills and card machines available so that should make the service easy.
Lastly, they appear to be opening up the outdoor bar (but I am guessing there).
OK, on to other stuff. We have had a change to the entry systems this week and it’s not a change for the better from my point of view. When I first tried it, I couldn’t get any response as I didn’t know the correct code to apply. On the old system, you just entered our apartment number and it rang my mobile. It seems that you now need to add an “A” in front so enter A200 etc. How you are supposed to know this defeats me. Here is the new unit on the Podium.
Before I moan at EWS about the need for this code, check out the same unit but on the main entrance on Patteson Road.
Oh look, there are some instructions! Pity they couldn’t do that on the Podium. Also, the instructions refer to a “WELCOME BUTTON”. Can you see one because I can’t!
The system comes with an app which gives you access to the video camera built in so that you can see who is wanting to come in. This is great unless… When I am out and about and expecting a caller or a delivery I keep the phone keypad up on my car’s screen so when the call comes to my mobile, I answer the call as usual in the car and then hit the zero button to let them in. With the new app, you have to “use your phone” as you have to touch a button on the screen which will be against the law. I have now deleted their app and gone back to my phone answering as before. As a tiny moan, there is now only one phone number that calls unlike the old system where each door had its own. Hence, I can’t tell now if the call comes from the front door or the podium. Not a biggie but…
Lastly, I had a look at the Podium entrance to the block as this has been chaotic due to all the scaffolding. Now that they have finished the “east” wall, it looks so much better.
