Although documentation is easiest in digital format, both in terms of writing and in taking photographs, still there is no beating the pen and paper when it comes to sketching and outlining.

Here is one of TLE’s consultants putting down the final touches to what will later become a series of puzzles to solve for our participants.

What is your choice of instrument?

* Baskets have a long history, having been used for thousands of years. Homer in the Odyssey mentions a wicker basket in which newly made cheeses were placed to let the whey run through.

* In more recent history (hundreds versus thousands of years ago), the Romans cultivated willows for basketmaking, later extending them to the creation of furniture and chariots.

* Today, as you can see in the picture below, despite its age (and unlike many inventions today), baskets have maintained their usefulness. In fact, believe it or not, there are even basket collectors all over the world.

* In finance, a “basket” refers to a collection of consumer goods and services that are tracked in the process of calculating a consumer price index (the numbers on the index tell us if prices in general have gone up or down over a period of time). It is also called a “market basket”.

GUILFORD
Yet another rainy afternoon on one of my favourite streets in the university town of Guilford, Surrey County. Students from the University of Surrey as well as local residents like to walk along Guilford High Street going about their daily activities. Stores range from well known brand names such as ‘Marks & Spencer’ to nameless budget shops.

SHEPHERD’S BUSH
In fact, in some shops, you never need to check the price tag. Yes, this is a £1 shop and yes, everything is 1 UK pound. It is located in Shepherd’s Bush green mid-town London. Mid-town? As Shepherd’s Bush is lying between downtown and uptown hence it is called Mid Town! Being sandwiched in the middle has its benefits as once can easily walk up to bustling Oxford Street a mere 5 miles away or trod down 5 miles to the multi-ethnic and eclectic downtown of Hounslow.

These types of shops are popular among both the poor and rich as they usually sell a wide range of home accessories all for the low price of … well, £1.