The BBC has a great new program that I have been watching on iPlayer called Around the World in 80 Days.  It is part of their charity appeal for Children in Need and is a very interesting program.  Based on Phineas Fogs fictional adventure, this program has six pairs of celebrities racing around the world for charity (there is only one rule: No Flying).  While you may say, “what another travel program” or “another reality TV show”, it is not that simple.  This is real travel!  They miss trains, get turned away at borders, have car trouble, and everything else that happens when you travel.  But, that is not why I am writing this post … it is because in the last episode (which I have not actually watched but needed to post about this before the auction ends), John Barrowman (of Captain Jack fame) gets a pair of custom cowboy boots from Rocketbuster boots.

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Behind the scenes with Leno:

I have to say that it was great to see Leno on Top Gear because he is one of the world’s greatest motorheads and, as I have written before, his garage is simply amazing.  To the amazement of the British audience, Jeremy Clarkson read out a portion of Leno’s collection … Read more »

Top Gear bills itself as the World’s Greatest Car Show and I would have to agree that it is. Top Gear is a BBC tradition – the original format ran from 1977 to 2001, with the current version running from 2002 till today. It is one of the few car shows that is not all about super-fast and cool-looking cars. In reality, while it is a car show, it is as much a show about three friends who love cars … and have a great time together. To see what I mean, read this piece from Slate. Read more »

Royal.gov.uk has been relaunched! The new and improved site offers a lot of new features including a lot of information about the Queen’s life. Her YouTube channel had been integrated into the site and there are plenty of pieces of old footage, if you are interested. In addition, it has a full history of the English & Scottish Monarchs from 400 AD to present.

The real reason that I am interested in this was to see if they posted any new Festival of Britain materials, which unfortunately they have not posted. In addition, they have posted nothing about the Royal’s relationship to the Science Museum.

via BBC

The 1937 Type 57S Atalante Bugatti that had been locked in a garage since 1960 has been sold for 3,417,500 euros (£2,989,495). The 2009 Bonhams’ Retromobile sale in Paris happened yesterday and is one of the biggest classic car auctions of the year, and this was one of the stars of this year’s sale because it is in untouched condition … including the fact that it has not been turned over since it was locked in the garage in 1960! Read more »

Awhile back, the BBC reported that the UK was closer to adopting the euro and today, the pound hit a historic market low against the euro … the BBC is reporting that £1 will purchase 88 euro cents. In addition, the pound to dollar rate is still hovering at about £1 = $1.50.

So, what does that mean? Well, it means that an Apple iMac which costs close to $2000 is actually cheaper to buy in the UK. The equivalent computer, including the 15% VAT, will only cost you about £1200 … which means that when converted, it only costs $1800.

Beyond the official exchange rate, the tourist exhange rate for the pound and the euro is essentially even. According to the one o’clock news on BBC, many of the tourist exchanges are already charging a nearly equivalent rate. It was reported that £500 would buy you only about 550 euros. In addition, it is expected that by the end of the year, the official exchange rate may be equivalent.

What comes next … only time will tell … but you can’t say that it is not an interesting time to be alive! Read more »

BBC’s The Box has reached Shanghai and is unloading its load of whisky. The article also mentions that Marks & Spencers has opened their first store in China. The Box passed thru the Seuz Canal earlier this month, highlighting the importance of that tiny strip of water thru the desert to international trade.

On a different note, this story has taken a different turn. It started out to be about the global economy and how we are all connected. Now it is turning into a story about the global slow-down (let’s not say recession … but we all know that is what it is). From stories of Chinese who have lost their life savings in the stock market crash (were as much as 80% of the value has disappeared from some stocks) to the dip in housing prices (even in the largest asians cities), the interconnectedness of the global economy is starting to hit home for so many people that took it for granted when everything was going up!

The Beeb has a new long term project called The Box … and it looks like it could be a great idea, to track a cargo container around the world to see where it goes and what it carries (see the map). Read more »

Yesterday, terrorists bombed London’s transportation system and brought Central London to a standstill (as far as public transit is concerned). Yet, I noticed several things that made it very interesting.

First and foremost, was the reaction of the London population. To many of them, it was like nothing major had happened. They understood the reason that they could not use the Tube, but they went about the day as if it was more-or-less a normal day. The reaction that many on the scene had was also pretty remarkable. Many of those involved were also very calm … at one point on the BBC, to find someone who was hysterical, they had to interview some American tourists, who were not even directly involved in the incidents. To me, this underlines the British attitude of just plugging along and getting it done, no matter what is thrown at you. The English culture is a tough one.

Second, I have praised BBC before but again, they showed that they knew how to balance new coverage and the other aspects of TV. For instance, it was not that long after the event that only BBC1 was still covering the event. The rest of the BBC family was back on normal programming. To be honest, ITV did the same for most of the day. It was nice and allowed you, as a viewer, to get an update by changing channels back to the news but not have to listen to the same thing repeated, like we had to in the States after 9/11. True, it is the biggest attack on British soil since WW2, but it is not enough to stop the Brits from going on about their lives.

That is another thing, Brits have a cultural (and personal) rememberance of real horror from WW2 and, so, that seems to be helping them to deal with situation. One WW2 vet on BBC even said as much, that the British are not going to be scared by something ’small’ like this because they were able to survive a lot more during WW2. It was both very reassuring and a little cocky … but in that British way.

I also want to praise the Metropolitan Police, especially the Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Brian Paddick. During a midday press conference, he answered a question about “Islamic Terrorism” with a very educated and thoughtful answer. In short, he said that it does not exist. Those people are terrorists but they are not true Muslims. That, according to his knowledge of Islam, being a terrorist is not something a true Muslim would be. The ones that are terrorists are fundamental extremists. Hopefully, with statements like that and with the condemnation of the acts by the Islamic community, the terrorist acts will not lead to any violence against the peaceful Muslim community in the UK.

Personally, I am not worried about getting on the Tube or buses in London. It is still safer to be there than to be travelling on the road in a car (according to the BBC, 7 times safer). So, this is not going to change anything about my life. I may be a little more observant on public transit, but it is not going to change my mode of travel to/from/around London.