Transmission fading

I wonder why this was left to gather dust in 'drafts' rather than being published.  Oh well, out you go now.

I was initially sympathetic to the plight of the inventor of the clockwork radio, Trevor Baylis.  Although he owns a large property on the exclusive Eel Pie Island in south-west London, he had spent forty years there and made it to his own specifications, such as a (small) swimming pool in the meeting hall or a hot tub in the garden.  Therefore, he would be losing a bit of himself were he to have to sell up.

Baylis’ fate was a little like Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborne in the first Spiderman, by Sam Raimi.  Having created the company Baygen Power Industries (later renamed Freeplay to remove all reference to him) to market the clockwork radio, the board eventually muscled him out and ‘upgraded’ his invention, making his original patent redundant and robbing him of any further commission.  Now such radios that are being produced rely on a human to charge a battery in the machine, rather than just wind up a spring in the radio.  Unlike, Norman Osborne, he cannot don a Green Goblin outfit and eliminate the board, which is probably a plus overall.  Not to mention he would look silly in the supervillain suit, like Dafoe did.

So Baylis says he scrapes by in poverty, his subsequent venture in helping entrepreneurs bring their ideas to market hitting the buffers in the Great Recession and after-dinner speaking engagements similarly drying up.  Then it is revealed that the 75-year old owns a pristine E-Type Jaguar that is protected from the elements in a garage and was recently offered £80,000 for it.  While nice to have it for summer jaunts, it is a luxury most people could live without.  Given that he only has a plump Labrador in terms of family to feed.  He could easily get by rather comfortably for four more years if he sold it.  Maybe it is just as well that Baylis feels he needed to say that he doesn’t want pity for his situation, but rather to draw attention to the state of patent law in this country.  I think another reason for the interview is to drum up a few more after-dinner appointments.

One mustn’t deny the incredible altruism which motivated him to create the clockwork radio (and he is a hands-on designer).  With AIDS ravaging parts of Africa, he wanted public information about how to combat it to reach areas with no electricity and little wherewithal to obtain, let alone purchase, batteries.  And he is still designing gadgets (e.g. a self-weighing suitcase).  I hope he does get to see out his days on Eel Pie Island and his finances take a turn for the better, but (like his plastic flowers on pots that rest on synthetic grass) clearly there are economies that could be made and I'm sure the car is not