Watching the coverage from Downing Street today showed the failings in
the obsession with doing everything from the scene of an event. I
presume the ones in Downing Street were relying on their earpiece and
a single monitor (which was likely covered in rain).
They had no idea where the PM's convoy was most of the time. You
might think they would have someone who knew London well - they could
always hire a taxi driver. I was watching on ADS-B so could see quite
clearly where the news helicopter was so could follow the convoy. If
they had been in the studio then they could easily have seen what was happening.
They made a few comments about they might "go around the block", again
if they had been in the studio they would have a much better idea
where the convoy was and what they were doing.
As usual several times they missed the car arriving or leaving Airport
/ Balmoral because they were too busy talking.
Sky News were better, they showed a screenshot from Flight Radar of it doing circles above Aberbeenshire, and when the motor convoy was heading for Downing
Street, their presenter (Dermont Murnaghan) was actually giving a commentary of
where they were simply by looking at the live shots, and using his own knowledge
(no pun intended) of London's streets.
Mark Carver wrote:
Sky News were better, they showed a screenshot from Flight Radar of it doing circles above Aberbeenshire, and when the motor convoy was
heading for Downing Street, their presenter (Dermont Murnaghan) was actually giving a commentary of where they were simply by looking at
the live shots, and using his own knowledge (no pun intended) of
London's streets.
In some ways, the motorbikes carving their way through the streets for
the convoy is impressive, but if they'd just taken her by car from RAF Northolt to Ruislip Gardens, commandeer a Central line train to
Tottenham Court Road and picked her up by car again, it'd likely be
faster ...
In my experience most people (and particularly journos) haven't got a clue about the geography of places. I've pointed our own house out to Mrs C
when we've flown over it at 12k feet, she just glazes over and nods
politely. What a waste of a window seat.
Mark Carver wrote:
Sky News were better, they showed a screenshot from Flight Radar of
it doing circles above Aberbeenshire, and when the motor convoy was
heading for Downing Street, their presenter (Dermont Murnaghan) was
actually giving a commentary of where they were simply by looking at
the live shots, and using his own knowledge (no pun intended) of
London's streets.
In some ways, the motorbikes carving their way through the streets for
the convoy is impressive, but if they'd just taken her by car from RAF Northolt to Ruislip Gardens, commandeer a Central line train to
Tottenham Court Road and picked her up by car again, it'd likely be
faster ...
On 07/09/2022 09:07, NY wrote:
"Mark Carver" <mark.carver@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:jnqtifFjtpiU1@mid.individual.net...
In my experience most people (and particularly journos) haven't got a
clue about the geography of places. I've pointed our own house out to
Mrs C when we've flown over it at 12k feet, she just glazes over and
nods politely. What a waste of a window seat.
If you can spot your house from 12k feet (unless it's *very*
distinctive) then you have phenomenal eyesight. That's over 2 miles
away. I might be able to spot the general shape of a town, or the
general shape of various villages in relation to each other, but I
find that aerial photos are not easy to interpret even when you are
used to the corresponding OS map.
Might not be 12k, but no lower than 8k (that's the range of altitudes of
LHR planes that go over our house)
I can pick out individual roofs and cars on driveways, but you obviously
have to be almost overhead. It's easier to start with a major road
junction, and follow the route back to your house.
"Mark Carver" <mark.carver@invalid.invalid> wrote in message news:jnqtifFjtpiU1@mid.individual.net...
In my experience most people (and particularly journos) haven't got a
clue about the geography of places. I've pointed our own house out to
Mrs C when we've flown over it at 12k feet, she just glazes over and
nods politely. What a waste of a window seat.
If you can spot your house from 12k feet (unless it's *very*
distinctive) then you have phenomenal eyesight. That's over 2 miles
away. I might be able to spot the general shape of a town, or the
general shape of various villages in relation to each other, but I
find that aerial photos are not easy to interpret even when you are
used to the corresponding OS map.
Watching the coverage from Downing Street today showed the failings in the obsession with doing everything from the scene of an event. I presume the ones in Downing Street were relying on their earpiece and a single monitor (which was likely covered in rain).
They had no idea where the PM's convoy was most of the time. You might
think they would have someone who knew London well - they could always
hire a taxi driver. I was watching on ADS-B so could see quite clearly
where the news helicopter was so could follow the convoy. If they had
been in the studio then they could easily have seen what was happening.
They made a few comments about they might "go around the block", again if they had been in the studio they would have a much better idea where the convoy was and what they were doing.
As usual several times they missed the car arriving or leaving Airport / Balmoral because they were too busy talking.
I can pick out individual roofs and cars on driveways, but you obviously
have to be almost overhead. It's easier to start with a major road
junction, and follow the route back to your house.
Yep. Someone with 6/6 (20/20 as was) vision can resolve 1 arc minute.
From 12,000 feet that's about 3 feet, easily enough to find your way home. And lots of people have better than 6/6 acuity - or did when they were younger :(
Yes. I was amused yesterday morning on BBC News, a live shot of Liz
Truss's plane landing at Aberdeen, then they cut to Nicholas Witchel at Balmoral who immediately told us it was still in a holding pattern
unable to land.
Sky News were better, they showed a screenshot from Flight Radar of it
doing circles above Aberbeenshire, and when the motor convoy was heading
for Downing Street, their presenter (Dermont Murnaghan) was actually
giving a commentary of where they were simply by looking at the live
shots, and using his own knowledge (no pun intended) of London's streets.
In my experience most people (and particularly journos) haven't got a
clue about the geography of places. I've pointed our own house out to
Mrs C when we've flown over it at 12k feet, she just glazes over and
nods politely. What a waste of a window seat.
In some ways, the motorbikes carving their way through the streets for the convoy is impressive, but if they'd just taken her by car from RAF Northolt to
Ruislip Gardens, commandeer a Central line train to Tottenham Court Road and picked her up by car again, it'd likely be faster ...
On 07/09/2022 08:58, charles wrote:
Or simply used a helicopter from Northholt to HorseGuards Parade.
I think they were avoiding helicopters because of the unpredictable
weather conditions
I suppose it helps if you've got a map in front of you (or can
*remember* the pattern of roads etc on a map that you've seen earlier)
at the time you're seeing the view from the plane window.
Or simply used a helicopter from Northholt to HorseGuards Parade.
On 07/09/2022 09:18, Mark Carver wrote:
On 07/09/2022 09:07, NY wrote:
"Mark Carver" <mark.carver@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:jnqtifFjtpiU1@mid.individual.net...
In my experience most people (and particularly journos) haven't got
a clue about the geography of places. I've pointed our own house
out to Mrs C when we've flown over it at 12k feet, she just glazes
over and nods politely. What a waste of a window seat.
If you can spot your house from 12k feet (unless it's *very*
distinctive) then you have phenomenal eyesight. That's over 2 miles
away. I might be able to spot the general shape of a town, or the
general shape of various villages in relation to each other, but I
find that aerial photos are not easy to interpret even when you are
used to the corresponding OS map.
Might not be 12k, but no lower than 8k (that's the range of altitudes
of LHR planes that go over our house)
I can pick out individual roofs and cars on driveways, but you
obviously have to be almost overhead. It's easier to start with a
major road junction, and follow the route back to your house.
Yep. Someone with 6/6 (20/20 as was) vision can resolve 1 arc minute.
From 12,000 feet that's about 3 feet, easily enough to find your way
home. And lots of people have better than 6/6 acuity - or did when
they were younger :(
Yep. Someone with 6/6 (20/20 as was) vision can resolve 1 arc minute.Fortunately I still have excellent 'infinity' vision, however I'm wearing specs to type this :-(
From 12,000 feet that's about 3 feet, easily enough to find your way
home. And lots of people have better than 6/6 acuity - or did when they
were younger :(
On 07/09/2022 10:15, MB wrote:
On 07/09/2022 08:58, charles wrote:
Or simply used a helicopter from Northholt to HorseGuards Parade.
I think they were avoiding helicopters because of the unpredictable
weather conditions
It didn't stop the TV News one being up though !
It didn't stop the TV News one being up though !
On 07/09/2022 08:17, Andy Burns wrote:
In some ways, the motorbikes carving their way through the streets for
the
convoy is impressive, but if they'd just taken her by car from RAF
Northolt to
Ruislip Gardens, commandeer a Central line train to Tottenham Court
Road and
picked her up by car again, it'd likely be faster ...
Yes the SEG are impressive, usually just one lead motorbike and about
three going ahead - none of the dozens of motorbikes seen in other
countries.
Do they have the police whistle built into the helmet?
The amazing bit was the three up front. When the convoy had passed they
too sped past the convoy to their next point - and the speed that they
went past - I would guess at least 60!
On 07/09/2022 12:29, Woody wrote:
The amazing bit was the three up front. When the convoy had passed they
too sped past the convoy to their next point - and the speed that they
went past - I would guess at least 60!
One stays in front of the car the whole time and then the others go ahead
to stop traffic at junctions etc then go at speed to get back into
position. I presume they are all in contact on the radio the whole time - they used to have a dedication channel and presume now a dedicated Airwave talkgroup (unless the digital delay is unacceptable?).
I mentioned previously, they have a police whistle built into the helmet because it was found years ago that there are so many sirens in London
that do not have much impact unlike a blast on a whistle which will be
heard by pedestrians and drivers - cyclists will probably ignore it :-)
The amazing bit was the three up front. When the convoy had passed they
too sped past the convoy to their next point - and the speed that they
went past - I would guess at least 60!
2012 Olympics torch relay was covering the country, there was a
truck providing live coverage (I think it used a batch of 3G
mobiles for comms). Checking out places I know has been good, as
has seeing how the plethora of police bikes shepherd the convoy
through.
I've never sat in a window seat on an aircraft: I like an aisle seat: a) so
I can get up can go to the loo; b) so I can lean into the aisle to avoid >rubbing shoulders with Mr Blobby who (in one of his many personifications) >always seems to get the seat next to me.
I was struck by the efficient organisation and cheerfulness of
all involved, and also have never seen so many police motorcycles
in one day. I know the Met provide two teams of 8, but there were
also lots of local ones around.
I never overtake a car on the left if it is indicating
left: that is one thing that I think the HC is*very* remiss in not banning as a "hanging offence".
On 07/09/2022 16:46, Chris J Dixon wrote:
I was struck by the efficient organisation and cheerfulness of
all involved, and also have never seen so many police motorcycles
in one day. I know the Met provide two teams of 8, but there were
also lots of local ones around.
Even here in Highlands some of the police vehicles were Met Police (I
wonder if they were allowed through Surrey - famously the Chief
Constable refused the Met Police firearms unit's assistance on the day
the Hungerford shooting even though they were training only a few miles
away. Various threats were made about would happen to anyone who let
them in his areas. :-)
Woody wrote:
The amazing bit was the three up front. When the convoy had passed they
too sped past the convoy to their next point - and the speed that they
went past - I would guess at least 60!
2012 Olympics torch relay was covering the country, there was a
truck providing live coverage (I think it used a batch of 3G
mobiles for comms). Checking out places I know has been good, as
has seeing how the plethora of police bikes shepherd the convoy
through.
Whilst I have little, if any, interest in the actual sporting
side of the Olympics, I found the torch relay fascinating, and I
watched quite a bit of the live feed. I even managed to see it
live in Loughborough.
I was struck by the efficient organisation and cheerfulness of
all involved, and also have never seen so many police motorcycles
in one day. I know the Met provide two teams of 8, but there were
also lots of local ones around.
Hungerford is not in Surrey. I suspect it was Thames Valley Police's CC
On 07/09/2022 17:41, charles wrote:
Hungerford is not in Surrey. I suspect it was Thames Valley Police's CC
I thought it might have been Thames Valley but was not sure if still counties.
"MB" <MB@nospam.net> wrote in message news:tfa09j$7in2$1@dont-email.me...
On 07/09/2022 12:29, Woody wrote:
The amazing bit was the three up front. When the convoy had passed they
too sped past the convoy to their next point - and the speed that they
went past - I would guess at least 60!
One stays in front of the car the whole time and then the others go ahead
to stop traffic at junctions etc then go at speed to get back into
position. I presume they are all in contact on the radio the whole time - >> they used to have a dedication channel and presume now a dedicated Airwave >> talkgroup (unless the digital delay is unacceptable?).
I mentioned previously, they have a police whistle built into the helmet
because it was found years ago that there are so many sirens in London
that do not have much impact unlike a blast on a whistle which will be
heard by pedestrians and drivers - cyclists will probably ignore it :-)
Cyclists avoid *anything* to do with roads - eny fule no that a cyclist has >precedence over everything (pedestrians on zebras, motor vehicles, red >traffic lights) and the rules of the road don't apply to them - as Dick >Francis had one of his characters say in one of his novels "If a rule is >inconvenient, ignore it - it doesn't apply to you". That could be the >cyclists' motto.
I should add that I *do* cycle - but I ride as if I were a (very >low-powered!) human-powered car, obeying all the same rules. I try to be >aware of whether there are cars behind me on a single-track or >double-white-line no-overtaking road, and identify where I can pull off for
a second or so to let a car go past. And I *always* obey traffic lights and >pedestrian crossings. I never overtake a car on the left if it is indicating >left: that is one thing that I think the HC is *very* remiss in not banning >as a "hanging offence".
Yep. Someone with 6/6 (20/20 as was) vision can resolve 1 arc minute.
From 12,000 feet that's about 3 feet, easily enough to find your way
home. And lots of people have better than 6/6 acuity - or did when they were younger :(
https://www.flickr.com/photos/doffcocker/albums/72157677653941023
I've been staring at maps for over 50 years, and I still do.
On 07/09/2022 09:32, Robin wrote:
Yep. Someone with 6/6 (20/20 as was) vision can resolve 1 arc minute.
From 12,000 feet that's about 3 feet, easily enough to find your way
home. And lots of people have better than 6/6 acuity - or did when
they were younger :(
With a ladder and some glasses you could see the 'Ackney Marshes
If it wasn't for the 'ouses in between.
'Glasses' and 'marshes' rhymes, you see, down there. They don't say 'glasses', they say 'glarses'. Strange isn't it?
Whilst I have little, if any, interest in the actual sporting
side of the Olympics, I found the torch relay fascinating, and I
watched quite a bit of the live feed. I even managed to see it
live in Loughborough.
I was struck by the efficient organisation and cheerfulness of
all involved, and also have never seen so many police motorcycles
in one day. I know the Met provide two teams of 8, but there were
also lots of local ones around.
Chris J Dixon wrote:
Whilst I have little, if any, interest in the actual sporting
side of the Olympics, I found the torch relay fascinating, and I
watched quite a bit of the live feed. I even managed to see it
live in Loughborough.
I was struck by the efficient organisation and cheerfulness of
all involved, and also have never seen so many police motorcycles
in one day. I know the Met provide two teams of 8, but there were
also lots of local ones around.
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