The Voice Box

WATERLOO STATION Since the main photo for the blog was taken at this station, I thought it would be the right time to say something about it. I use it about a few times a week usually on my way to Richmond, and simply as a shortcut to visiting Kew Gardens. There was a time when I used it on my way to Paris, but that was years ago when the Eurostar operated from here to the Gare du Nord. The Eurostar has since left, and now operates from St. Pancras International. Today, Waterloo station is owned and operated by Network Rail. The first trains started here around 1848, and it got its name around 1886. It is the largest and busiest station in the UK, covering approximately twenty-five acres. And in Europe it is second only to the Gare du Nord with passenger traffic. Its trains generally serves The South West UK including all the surburbans areas. It also connects with the Underground via the Jubilee, Bakerloo and Northern Line; and Waterloo East station..

A COLD DAY IN BERLIN Berlin is one my favourite cities in Europe. And yet unlike Nice and Barcelona, it belongs to the colder end of the spectrum. Every now and then, I head that way in the middle of the winter to examine the life . A few weeks ago I did just that. But this time, my main intention was to view the recently reopened main glasshouse of the Berlin Botanical Garden. And yes, it was impressive. As a plant lover, I am always curious about the way Botanical Gardens in Europe present themselves. Faced with the limitations of the four seasons in their zone, it is an unenvious task to design an indoor garden to impress, and yet survive. Somehow, they always do. This time I noticed the weather, but only on the way in, revealing the day temperature of minus 3 Centigrade falling to a minus 6 degrees in the late evening. This made it much colder than the London that I had left behind. Also noticeable was the presence of snow everywhere. And yet I mannaged to do all my inten

KEW GARDENS: A Sense of the Tropics

Election Time! LONDON, UK. A small leaflet came through my door recently, stating very dramatically that this year we will be having three votes at election time. It definitely sounded unusual, and therefore it was something to celebrate. But I did not feel that way, and I saw no reason to be particularly excited by the prospect. This is the UK, and national elections are held approcimately every four years. I say approximately, because the nature of the system allows the government in power to move the goal posts a bit as to when the elections are held. We are assuming that the election will be held in May, 2010. Whatever your feelings, elections have reached the stage, even in so-called democracies like ours, of being rather dull affairs. The parties go through their motions, finally we are left to make our choice. It does not help when details of the event, and the candidates are left to being disclosed at the last moment. The three votes, discussed, which offer an option to select