- Written by Peter Edwards Editor, Global Cement Magazine
The city of Zermatt, Switzerland, has no cars. Difficult to reach, locals and visitors must park in the next town across and take an Alpine train to get there. Post, deliveries, police and taxis are all milkfloat-style electric vans. Walking, cycling and, in the winter months, skiing are commonplace, while private vehicles are not allowed. Indeed, anyone wanting to use a milkfloat van for their own business must make their case to the city authorities. The result is an eerily quiet oasis in the Swiss Alps, without the constant rumble of traffic.
- Written by Peter Edwards Editor, Global Cement Magazine
As the main active ingredient in concrete, cement is essential to the past, present and future of the global construction sector. As well as homes, schools, hospitals, commercial buildings, roads, ports and other facilities, it will be vital to building the new infrastructure that helps the world to deal with climate change. This material will build CO2 capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) installations, offshore wind turbines, new water management infrastructure, sea-defences and much more besides.
- Written by Robert McCaffrey Editorial Director, Global Cement Magazine
I have sung in choirs all my life, including for 20 years in Dorking Choral Society, and now in my village choir, Ashtead Choral Society. I love singing, for the mental workout it gives you, for the camaraderie and for the lovely sounds that we can make (after plenty of rehearsals). I am a tenor (the higher of the two male voices), and we are quite rare, so we are heartily welcomed into any choir. Over the years, I have sung a huge variety of pieces, from Jacobean bawdy songs, to Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, and from the most delicate of motets to the huge waves of sound produced by massed choirs and orchestra in some of the grandest pieces of music ever written. The pieces are always chosen by the musical directors and conductors of the choirs I have sung in, and they will of course choose the pieces that will get an audience to turn up and pay for a ticket, or as we say, ‘get bums on seats.’
- Written by Peter Edwards Editor, Global Cement Magazine
Have you ever wondered how we ended up with so much... stuff? While many people that have contributed to this, one man arguably had the biggest impact of all on what the world buys - and why...
- Written by Robert McCaffrey Editorial Director, Global Cement Magazine
Have you ever found yourself sitting out under the stars, gazing up and wondering ‘What is life?’? Well, Paul Nurse, a Nobel Prize winner, has thought about it pretty deeply, and has written a book called just that. I thought it might be useful to report back on his conclusions.
