Laser Leanings

The Meridian laser from Greenwich power station

On Friday night, when I went down to check out that splendid ship near Lovell's Wharf, I realised that the best view was probably to be had from outside the Cutty Sark pub. Sadly, by the time I'd got there, the light was failing and the outline of the ship was fuzzy, but something else was all too clear...

At first I couldn't work out whether the fabulous laser that marks the Meridian Line had got a friend in Silvertown/Canary Wharf that met it somewhere over the Thames, but it didn't take too long to work out that actually it's just our beam, which now hits what looks like a new building on the other bank.

Presumably the workmen knock off before the laser gets switched on and nobody's noticed that one of the bedrooms/offices has its very own Unique Selling Point - that it is precisely in (Meridian) line with the Royal Observatory's laser-marker. No one's going to get much sleep in that room...

Being a Phantom of Very Little Brain, I can't help getting images of James Bond strapped to a chair with a laser beam slowly cutting between his legs (in an easily-escapable room while the ubervillain has left him to his fate in the hands of very stupid henchmen who have conveniently turned their backs on the whole thing.) Presumably the Observatory light is not of the evil movie-instrument-of-torture variety but it's still going to be Very Bright.

How are estate agents going to sell this apartment, I wonder? Clearly it will get points for being on the Meridian Line, so it's all very historic and cultural. But there must be some advantages of buying this particular flat...

• "Ideal for insomniacs!"
• "Zero lighting bills!"
• "Never lose your way home again!"
• "Be seen from outer-space!"
  

I guess they'll just make the Observatory tilt the angle (easier said than done when you're dealing with a fixed line and a light beam that goes for miles) despite the fact that they were there first. I'd be really fed up if they make them switch it off - it's a fantastic little feature.

Thank you to Andy and Anonymous who also noticed this.

Would you buy this apartment?