Posts by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
(DIR) Post #AbvlW7XUI9zi06TEO0 by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-11-18T09:19:01Z
1 likes, 3 repeats
(DIR) Post #Ac09FKBXCF6BpYZ8Ma by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-11-20T09:42:01Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
(DIR) Post #AcIePKKI7XXyaZBp9k by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-11-29T10:07:53Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
My name is Karen and I demand to speak to the manager.
(DIR) Post #AcXPaAebq1QtponyCm by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-06T16:14:40Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@todayilearned The numbers are similar for Russia.
(DIR) Post #AckFjEGwAwjbm98KZc by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-12T09:12:58Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
It is Christmas. So take a breather and let me tell you a story about London, trains, love and loss, and how small acts of kindness matter.I'm going to tell you about the voice at Embankment Tube station.Just before Christmas 2012, staff at Embankment Tube station were approached by a woman who was very upset.She kept asking them where the voice had gone. They weren't sure what she meant. The Voice?1/n
(DIR) Post #AckFjGC3260njYrSEK by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-12T09:15:01Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
The voice, she said. The man who says 'Mind the Gap'Don't worry, the staff at Embankment said. The announcement still happens, but they've all been updated. New digital system. New voices. More variety.The staff asked her if she was okay."That voice," she explained, "was my husband."The woman explained that her husband was an actor called Oswald Laurence. Oswald had been the chap who had recorded all the Northern Line announcements back in the seventies2/n
(DIR) Post #AckFjHwsVT49B5mMrY by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-12T09:16:03Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
And Oswald had died in 2007.Oswald's death had left a hole in Margaret's heart. But one thing had helped. Every day, on her way to work, she got to hear his voice.Sometimes, when it hurt too much, she explained, she'd just sit on the platform at Embankment and listen to the announcements for a bit longer.For five years, this had become her routine. She knew he wasn't really there but his voice - the memory of him - was. To everyone else, it had just been another announcement. 3/n
(DIR) Post #AckFjJprUWdr1uVnCi by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-12T09:16:45Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
To HER it had been the ghost of the man she still loved. And now even that had gone.The staff at Embankment were apologetic, but the whole Underground had this new digital system, it just had to be done. They promised, though, that if the old recordings existed, they'd try and find a copy for her.Margaret knew this was unlikely, but thanked them anyway.4/n
(DIR) Post #AckFjLm2Hiln2cjlWC by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-12T09:18:23Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
In the New Year, Margaret sat on Embankment Station, on her way to work. And over the speakers she heard a familiar voice. The voice of a man she had loved so much, and never thought she'd hear again."Mind the Gap" Said Oswald Laurence.Because it turned out a LOT of people within @TfL and beyond had lost loved ones and wished they could hear them again.And they'd all realised that with luck, just this once, for one person, they might be able to make that happen.5/n
(DIR) Post #AckFjNdFNMvanwdm64 by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-12T09:20:00Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Archives were searched, old tapes found and restored. Others had waded through the code of the announcement system to alter it while still more got exemptions. And together they made Oswald talk again.And that is why today, even in 2019, if you go down to Embankment station in London, and sit on the northbound platform on Northern Line, you will here a COMPLETELY different voice say Mind the Gap to ANYWHERE else on the Underground.It's Oswald.Merry Christmas everyone.6/6
(DIR) Post #AcnhjyoOWSrUJ3oCps by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-14T09:04:25Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
It's hard for people to visualize removing tons or billions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂). I propose we talked about CO₂ removal (CDR) like a time machine (e.g., this machine will take us back 5 minutes). For example:Q: How far back in time does planting 100 million trees take us?A: If one mature tree takes up an average of 25 kg of CO₂ per year, then 100 million trees will take up 2.5 MtCO₂. That's a time machine that takes us back 33 minutes and 6 seconds in a year. It's not a lot.
(DIR) Post #AdAQ6nsKt2fwy8gYuu by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-25T09:05:04Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
1/nKatharine Hepburn’s childhood, in her own words.“Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me.There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean.
(DIR) Post #AdAQ6os1Bi123RXp3o by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-25T09:06:07Z
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2/nThe children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus before. It would be a highlight of their lives.The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be.
(DIR) Post #AdAQ6qEO81VIH71CZE by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-25T09:07:22Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
3/nThe mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, "You're my knight in shining armour." He was smiling and enjoying seeing his family happy.The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly responded, "I'd like to buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady stated the price.The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver.
(DIR) Post #AdAQ6qyTMgMoa2a0Om by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-25T09:08:37Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
4/nThen he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again stated the price.The man didn't have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!)
(DIR) Post #AdAQ6rtXwU1LR3HaMK by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-25T09:09:32Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
5/nMy father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."The man understood what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation.He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek,
(DIR) Post #AdAQ6sr6N3ewPl99Bg by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-25T09:10:06Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
6/nhe replied; "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.
(DIR) Post #AdAQ6thvCfuV3ZrKW8 by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2023-12-25T09:10:27Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
7/nThat day I learnt the value to Give.The Giver is bigger than the Receiver. If you want to be large, larger than life, learn to Give. Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything.The importance of giving, blessing others can never be over emphasised because there's always joy in giving. Learn to make someone happy by acts of giving.”~ Katharine Hepburn
(DIR) Post #AdXR5u4fSH4scwu0gq by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2024-01-05T08:36:36Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
And you think your area is rough.
(DIR) Post #AdhptFzHwN1Ylh3eRU by MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk
2024-01-08T11:51:03Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Every year UK loses £120 billion pounds in tax that should be paid but loopholes, like tax havens are used to avoid it. There is a tax avoidance crisis and Government could fix it in a matter of weeks.If it wanted to. I wonder how he votes