FREIGHT BREAK\\\


Issue 2 2017 - Freight Business Journal


A night to remember


Aſter a lifetime of apathy, your editor is finally getting on his bike in a good cause. The 100km Liverpool Nightrider event takes place on the night of 15/16 July and he will be completing it in aid of the Royal Marsden hospital, whose dedicated staff do incredible work in curing and treating cancer in London and the south-east. The ride consists of a loop on


the Wirral and another through Liverpool, departing from the city centre at about 11pm and including the novel experience – for yours truly – of cycling through the Mersey Tunnel while sober. (I’ve done it a few times aſter missing the last train following an evening in the pubs of Birkenhead.)


Self-inflicted poverty The lost continent


Freight forwarders are fond of boasting how many continents they have operations on, in their advertising and on their websites. The accepted number seems to be six, few firms having ventured as far as the seventh, Antarctica, which is populated mainly by polar bears and scientists, both dangerous species you would do well to keep clear of, in our experience. But could the freight industry


norm soon be seven continents out of


eight, not six out of


seven? In what seems an act of incredible carelessness, geologists have apparently until now overlooked the existence of a whole new land mass, all 1.9 million square miles of it, right under their noses. In fairness, only the highest mountains of this ‘new’


continent – otherwise known as New Zealand - are above water, the rest of Zealandia being submerged by the ocean. Which you would have


thought kind of disqualifies it as a continent - one of the definitions of ‘land’ not being under hundreds of feet of water and populated solely by marine life.


However, if you believe


the Geological Society of America (and who are we to dispute such an august group, even if they do have a habit of mislaying extremely large objects) Zealandia could be admitted to the Continental Club on account that it is higher than its surrounding area, has a distinctive geology, well-defined area and a crust thicker than the regular ocean floor.


I’ve just spent the last few days aſter returning from Ireland to London unable to buy a drink in a pub, pay for a bus fare or buy a newspaper, despite having tens of pounds stuffed in my wallet. No, it’s not because I came back with a load of Euros and


Kinder wrong


Following the piece in last issue’s Freight Break about small plastic toys being washed up on the German island of Langeoog, a representative of the Ferrero company has been in touch denying all knowledge of such an event (‘Kinder Surprising’, page 24.) They point out that the capsules


involved are not manufactured by Kinder or any other Ferrero brands - the Kinder Surprise capsules have a single-piece design. As always, we’re happy to clear up any misleading information.


didn’t realise what they were; it’s because I made the mistake of visiting a cash-till just before hopping on my flight back from Belfast. For a place where a large the population


percentage of


apparently wants to stay British, the Northern Irish have done an incredible job of making their


banknotes look like foreign currency. Since my last visit, a good number of the province’s banks have been taken over by an outfit called Danske Bank. This lot haven’t even bothered to translate their name into English before plastering it all over bank facades, advertising and – yes – banknotes. At least, the old Northern Bank


that they took over did sound vaguely English although possibly not legal tender south of the Trent. Trying to convince suspicious


curry house owners, bus drivers and publicans of south London that my Northern Ireland notes aren’t some old leſt-over Danish currency has been an uphill task, to say the least.


Cargo stats come up roses


I suppose, given the premium prices of green veg, you could have tried offering ‘Er Indoors a bunch of broccoli as an alternative to the usual Valentine’s Day bunch of red roses, but I really wouldn’t recommend it. Meanwhile, Heathrow airport


said on 13 February that its latest figures show a spike (or should that be thorn?) in imports of roses with almost 8 million stems - 570


tonnes - imported in February. Heathrow points out that a


single rose sent on Valentine’s day is traditionally seen as a declaration of true love, a statement which I readily concur, given the prices of the things in our local supermarket. However, the airport hastily


added – perhaps mindful of the welfare of its cargo business - that a dozen roses is symbolic of


complete love. Red roses may also be


England’s national flower but as Valentine’s Day inconveniently falls in the middle of the coldest winter month, most sold at this time of year are likely to be from abroad. In 2015, Kenyan roses accounted for 60% of rose imports at Heathrow – with the remainder from Colombia, India, Tanzania, and Ecuador.


The Nightrider website warns


that there are unlit sections in the Wirral where good lights are required, so the potential for


disaster is clearly there.


Any survivors are treated to brekkie at the finish, assuming


28


they complete the course in the stipulated ten-hour maximum. Any contributions, small or


large (or very large) gratefully accepted – please go to: http:// uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ ChrisLewis25


C M Y CM MY CY CMY K simpex-express.com


Get your instant quote online now


Dedicated and Semi-Express services to and from the whole of Europe


J


u


s


t


5


s


s


s


i


e


m


l


p


t e


p


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48