John Elkington

British Museum 1

Early on in our two-week holiday, which we are spending in and around London, Elaine and I went in to see how things are coming on with the new Volans office in Bloomsbury Place.  Then we had lunch with Sam, before returning to the office to screw legs on to a new sofa.  Then Elaine and I visited the neighbours in the British Museum, which is some three minutes walk away.  We particularly wanted to see the Sutton Hoo hoard, after reading the book The Dig, but were struck by the standard of the exhibition design throughout.  Then a raid on Waterstones and the old Virgin record store in Piccadilly on the way home.

British Museum 2 British Museum 3 British Museum 4 British Museum 5 – Sutton Hoo helmet British Museum 6 – Sutton Hoo platter Gaia and Hania’s card to us – for their birthdays this week

Among the most beautiful things I have ever seen were the cuneiform tablets we were shown in Syria a few years back.  This morning I finished a book I had meant to read since I began to write The Good Afterlife Guide over 15 years ago, subsequently abandoned because Elaine said I would be the subject of a universal fatwah: Gilgamesh.  

The ‘new’ English version by Stephen Mitchell (Profile Books, 2004) begins: “In Iraq, when the dust blows, stopping men and tanks, it brings with it memories of an ancient world, much older than Islam or Christianity.  Western civilization originated from that place between the Tigris and the Euphrates, where Hammarubi created his legal code and where Gilgamesh was written — the oldest story in the world, a thousand years older than the Iliad or the Bible.”

The story was decoded from the cuneiform fragments on 11 clay tablets discovered in 1850 in the ruins of Nineveh, although they were not fully deciphered until the end of the nineteenth century.  And it was extraordinary to read of Utnapishtim, a Noah-like rider of the Flood, conceived ages before our own Noah surfaced.  I was particularly struck by the way that story doesn’t simply circle back to its beginning, but evolves in a spiral, reaching a new level as it ends.

 

Stamped out – but No. 21 lives on in the imagination  

When I met him recently, fellow cyclist London Mayor Boris Johnson and I very much saw eye-to-eye on buses – particularly on the need to get rid of the bendy nightmares and the potential for rehumanising this city’s overground public transport by reanimating the spirit of the much-loved, much-missed Routemaster. Now he has joined Transport for London to launch a competition to design a brand new bus for London, inspired by the Routemaster.

At a launch event in the London Transport Museum he and Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy invited would-be designers to submit their ideas. Budding designers are encouraged to submit their designs in one of two categories:

1. Design a bus for London. Entrants will have the option of submitting a design for a specific part of the bus or a ‘whole bus’ design. In this category, designs will have to be quite detailed and must comply with guideline specifications as provided by TfL. A number of drawings will be required, as well as written documents providing reasoning and more detailed descriptions of the design and features of the bus.

    

2. imagine a bus for London.  In this category, entrants can submit single design concepts for particular features of the bus, or a sketch of the overall look. The judges will be looking for the best ideas rather than detailed technical designs. Entries will be judged in four age categories: under 11, 11-15, 16-18, and over 18.

The new bus “should have a stylish, imaginative design which will have a big impact on the streets of London. Key features designers must consider include an open platform to allow passengers to board and alight quickly and easily; good use of interior space; accessibility; and green technology.” Further details and full terms and conditions at www.tfl.gov.uk/anewbusforlondon.

Oxford Street eastward 1

One of the great joys of cycling in London is the sky views overhead. Stopped several times today to take photos of the aerial extravaganzas overhead.

Oxford Street eastward 2  Holborn

One of Britain’s finest contributions to the art of well-informed conversation is The Chatham House Rule. Frustrating, too. Had dinner this evening at the Chef’s Dining Room, Mews of Mayfair. Others around the table included the CEOs of well-known companies.  The conversation revolved around climate change in general – and, in particular, the conclusions of Fred Krupp of the Environmental Defense Fund in his new book, Earth: The Sequel.

 

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg had this to say about the book: “Krupp and [Miriam] Horn have turned the doom and gloom of global warming on its head.  Earth: The Sequel makes it crystal clear that we can build a low-carbon economy while unleashing American entrepreneurs to save the planet, putting optimism back into the environmental story.”  These – at the for-profit end of the entrepreneurial spectrum – are some of the people we aim to find new ways to help through our fledgling new company, Volans Ventures.