Becoming a developed nation

Getting set to go

Assigned to go to a meeting in Cambridge I had to make preparations sorting out the trip details and finding out about the temperature and weather as that would dictate the type of clothes I was to pack. It has become a chore getting packed as I also have to anticipate the numerous checks I have go through at the airport. Well aware of the long queue when one comes through Heathrow Airport I waited patiently as I moved the first barier (whihc said 'approxiamtely half hour to immigration' . As I would be coming in at half seven am and would not be check into my hotel in Cambridge till after 2 pm, I thought I should take a slow ride using the National Express Bus.  Online booking was easy but stipulated I should take an insurance, so there I was, down a further pound!

The National Express stated it was a direct run, so I thought I could get a good ride and hopefully I could doze off after the 14 hour flight into London. Autumn was setting in as the leaves of most of the trees lining the M1 Highway had browned. There were miles and miles of farmland but they had been closely shaved off the turf. Bales of hay were steeped up on the edges creating a blanket of brownness over the once green fields. Strong winds made the few trees I saw bow in one direction while the sky was overcast with thick clouds. The sun peeped in between occasionally, as the bus trotted along.

I did not know there would be four stops on the way but that was okay, at least I got to know where Luton Airport was and the little towns littered along the way, with their quaint steeples and uncanny brick walled houses devoid of colour or plaster.

I did not have an idea where I should drop off in Cambridge as there were two stops and I had selected to hop off at Trumpington Park & Ride station. When I arrived at the latter it looked like as if I was still out of town and I sheepishly told the driver if I could not get off here and if he knew where  Hills Road was (where my hotel was located). He answered in the affirmative but permitted me to ride into town with the remaining passengers, the last stop.  A taxi ride brought me gingerly to the steps of the hotel, so I did not have to struggle too much with my luggage.

Planning to move around Cambridge

Planning to move around in a new place, finding the cheapest means of transport, reasonably priced restaurants and how to operate the washing machine have become a bit cumbersome at my age. Going through the internet to locate sites of interest is often so easy for the young of today. It has always been a problem for me - reading maps that don’t stay in one page but requiring a great deal of scrolling tends to make me lose orientation. I look forward for some saviour to help me trace the shortest route on a printed hardcopy. The GPS is something I have to get a hold of.  This statement comes about as the young man at the counter in the hotel told me I could have access to the internet though the free WIFI  –I-Cloud, while I was in the hotel.  Planning to sort the internet access at night I planned to work out the times of the bus rides after dropping my bags in the allocated room.

The last time I had been to Cambridge was some 15 years ago when a scientific meeting was held at Selwyn College. As all had been planned then, and we had to reside in the college premises, I did not venture on my own except go to the River Cam to view the weeping willows, a sight one should not miss in Cambridge.

The bus rides to my meeting site was both educative and informative as one could observe the behaviour of the local people and also that of foreigners, many being students checking into the colleges as the new academic year was beginning.

Learning and leaning

In between boring deliberations on how to detect holes in condoms and what should be acceptable for clinical trials so that manufacturers of non-hormonal contraceptives will not find the ISO too stringent, I managed to escape into the city for the usual walkabouts in this University City built in the 1200s.

The King’s College has not changed much; in fact all the colleges have the same outlay with a large quadrangle of well-trimmed lawn and four storey buildings as if stacked like matchboxes with closed windows arounf the quandrangle. There are signs all over the qunadrangle , ‘No entry to visitors’. I was told that only the Master of the College is permitted to walk on the grass! Further down the road was St John’s College with a distinct sign at the entrance ‘Entrance fee for visitors’!
An uncanny remark by a British born Indian youth protesting to his friend pushing a bicycle caught my ear, 'Ridiculous them chargeing entrance fees to enter into the qunadrangle of St. John's College'!

The Round Church further down the road was yet another heritage building. As I was tracing myself back along St. John’s Street a young man stopped me asking me for directions to St. John’s College! He would not have known that I had discovered the site not 15 minutes earlier as he thanked me, hurrying along, as I pointed out the direction with an air of confidence.

The ‘Corpus Clock’ at King’s Parade in Cambridge shows a giant grasshopper clawing its way minute by minute to keep time shown on a 24 carat gold face shield illustrating both technological advance and creativity in line with development in this otherwise city well known for its traditional approach to excellent tertiary education. Just on the left,  opposite St Benet’s Church, owned by the Corpus Christi College is the Eagle Pub, established in the 1400’s as Eagle and Child which was in close proximity to the Cavendish Laboratory in the 1950s, where Watson and Crick, the Nobel Prize winners (discovery of the DNA double helix) used to have their meals and drinks. Apparently this pub was the largest inn then and was patronised by these Nobel laureates frequently. A blue plaque hangs over the entrance reminding visitors of the historic event of the discovery of the double stranded DNA, even if one does not know what DNA stands for .

The contrast in style in these  landmarks is the demonstration of collective pride exhibited by the residents of Cambridge; the need to recognise the effort of others so as motivate readers to move on in life, modern or traditional. The short five day trip to Cambridge made me realise the sense of sensibility that was apparent everywhere. The developed nation status is not about being able to put up the tallest building and having the highest per capita income alone. It is about sustaining a social state of caring for its citizens and maintaining a safe place to live in.

Sustaining a safe environment

Being environment friendly the buses boast of being fuel efficient and low emission. Drivers are pleasant in assisting people into their vehicles and it is so heartenin  to hear both locals and visitors thanking the driver each time they alight at the end of the journey. Professionalism is at its best in these dedicated workers who pride over efficiency and accountability. Timeliness is in built and if the UNI-4 bus is expected to arrive at the stop at 0740, it does come in time (+/- 2 minutes). Walking 20-30 minutes to their destination is not uncommon and I have not seen that many bicycles in Cambridge since I read that China had the largest number of bicycles in the world. I see the shift in the re-awakening of citizens in this city  bicycling to work compared to automated travel e look for in our country!

It was in the sixties when I cycled to school that I always wanted to know where the nearest bicycle repair shop was before I went on my destination. The commonest problem then was a bicycle puncture. I remember vividly the Chinese bicycle shop owner who had a small wooden stool to sit and a metal cross bar made from metal pipes to hang the bicycle over its cross bar so that he can freely wheel the punctured tyre. He would exteriorise the outer tyre so as to deliver the inner rubber tube; completely get it out of the rim and re-inflate to detect where the puncture was by dipping the inflated inner tube systematically in an old half cut metal drum filled with murky water. Once the puncture site was recognised, this area was dried with an old rag, and then sandpapered before glue was applied with his finger. A pause followed as the glue dried and an e patch of rubber cut from old inner rubber tubes was placed over the site to fix the puncture.

It was pleasing to see a number of bicycle repair shops in Cambridge; the clock appears to have been wound  back!  It is not so back in Malaysia where the youths of today either want a car or a motorbike. One afternoon, as I was riding the bus to my meeting site, I overheard two youths , clearly from one of the EU countries (probably Spain) who had just been admitted to one of the colleges in Cambridge discussing in depth about which bicycle to buy and if a second hand one for 140 British Pounds was a good buy. The conversation went on to the cost of the course and how to get the best deal with sharing accommodation. As the European economic squeeze is being felt by everyone , Britain is not spared and the common man on the street is  aware of getting the best deal, how to get a bank loan for the university course and what the job opportunities will be available in the long run. Two of the women delegates at the meeting I was in were lamenting about the how the children will cope after they graduate, will they have a job, how are they going to afford a mortgage to purchase the first house and are the banks safe to look after their deposits.

Caring for the maimed and ill

The politicians are the target of all newspapers. There is so much talk about how millions of pounds were lost because of a failed railway project and how the National Health System is slowly being given less money to run the healthcare system. Britain had one of the best health care systems in the world, a system born after A.J. Cronin’s book, the Citadel. Developed countries have thrived well over decades as healthcare; education and housing were all taken care by the government of the day. The Scandinavian countries have such an enviable and excellent social system that one does not mind paying taxes during their active working lives as they would be looked after in their retirement years.

Conclusion

Developing countries will need to strive to developed status by getting the priorities right- education is about responsibility to the environment and accountability to a safe and fair system for the people. Rapid technological advances have advantages in precision and efficiency but  a cost- eco-friendly approaches are mandatory. If one is save the world, producing graduates ready for the market should be the aim, healthcare should be affordable and accessible to all and agriculture and food should be given reasonable place in any budget drawn by governors of nations.

Sivalingam

7th Oct 2012

6^th Oct 2012