How the UK went hi-viz
QUESTION When were hi-viz jackets first used in Britain? FLUORESCENT colours were invented in the thirties by U.s. brothers Bob and Joe switzer.
While studying medicine, Bob switzer was injured unloading crates at the heinz ketchup factory in Berkeley, California. he had tripped and fallen, and severed his optic nerve, permanently damaging his vision. he went into a coma lasting months.
Confined to a dark room while he recovered, he and his brother Joseph, a chemistry major at the University of California, began investigating fluorescent compounds. By mixing naturally fluorescing organic material with shellac, they developed the first black (or ultraviolet) light fluorescent paints.
the switzers initially sold their new DAYGLO paint to magic shows and theatre productions. they also pioneered Day-Glo fabrics, which were picked up by the U.s. military in World War ii. Fluorescent fabric panels were used to send signals from the ground that could be seen by an aircraft thousands of feet in the air.
Buoys treated with fluorescent paints marked areas in the water that had been cleared of floating explosives and mines. Aircraft carrier crews clad in fluorescent suits lit by ultraviolet lamps guided pilots during night-time landings.
hi-viz jackets were first used in the UK in 1964 by the scottish Region of British Railways. in a trial, they were issued to 15 track workers in Glasgow on the electrified pollokshields to eglinton street line.
train drivers agreed that workers could be seen more easily and, in 1965, highvisibility clothing was issued to all engineering and staff working on the newly electrified West Coast Main Line. Wearers became known as ‘fireflies’.
the 1974 health and safety At Work Act and 1992’s personal protective equipment
QUESTION How is Georgian Kvevris wine made? the manufacture of Georgian wine is a simple process which dates back thousands of years.
the kvevris ( or qvevris) are large fermenting wine vessels made of clay which are buried underground — the earth insulates the vessel and regulates the temperature of the fermenting wine.
Unlike conventional methods, Georgian winemakers harvest the grapes which are gently crushed and placed, pips, skins, stems and all into the kvevri.
the lid of the kvevris is sealed with wet clay coiled around the top and then a heavy stone is placed over it. the kvevris are buried in deep holes with earth and sand packed in tightly on all sides.
the wine is left to ferment until the following spring when it is extracted. Because the juice is left to macerate on the skins and stems for such a long time, the white wines are a distinctive orange colour, tannic and show a lot of savoury notes like dried herbs. Reds are more familiar-looking, but have a distinctly tannic flavour.
the quality of the clay used in the making of the kvevris is an important factor: the best clays have a high amount of silver content, which is of note, as silver has pronounced anti-bacterial properties.
it is an artisan craft. each one is handmade and takes a long time to build — they are effectively giant pots holding between 400 and 800 gallons and, because of their size, can be very fragile.
G. Toreli, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs.
QUESTION Mozart never heard his last three symphonies performed, so when and where were the premieres of these works and who performed them? FURTHER to the earlier answer, it is indeed generally assumed that at least the G minor symphony (No 40) must have been performed in Mozart’s lifetime as he later added clarinets to the traditional oboes (and altered their parts), a move to upset the purists among his followers, bemoaning the loss of the symphony’s chaste character.
trumpets and drums are absent from both versions.
if his last symphony, which has them all, was performed at the concert of the Vienna Tonkuenstler Societaet in April 1791, it was, of course, as ‘a grand symphony’ and not as the ‘ Jupiter’ — that sobriquet, number 41 and K551 in herr Doctor von Koechel’s numbering all came later.
According to Mozart’s son, Franz Xaver, it was the German violinist, impresario (he managed to invite Joseph haydn to London in 1791- 2 and 1794- 5) and composer Johann peter salomon (17451815) who first called it Jupiter.
As a matter of curiosity: the British Library has the only known edition of the ‘Jupiter’ symphony arranged for piano, flute, violin and violoncello c.1823 by Mozart’s pet hate Muzio Clementi (1752-1832). E. Felix Schoendorfer,
Stoke Poges, Bucks.