The Twins Paradox by Alan Gasparutti (best contemporary novels txt) 📖

a little searching, Andrew traced a list of Irish councils in Gaelic, and after checking their locations, found one based at Tralee, by the coast of County Kerry. There, after reading the home page and moving across to the Developments sub page, they found the project Henry had referred to. Henry felt vindicated, as Andrew read the page aloud.
“Do you think you can get planning permission here for my project?” Henry asked.
“I’m not going to make any final decisions at this moment in time,” Andrew replied. “I’d like to contact the council in Tralee to find out a bit more about the Irish project, first of all.”
“You are still in favour of the scheme?” Henry queried.
“I am keen on the project, but I first want to get some advice on the costs of the project,” said Andrew.
“I may be able to help you there,” Henry told him. “I may be able to get hold of the material and resources for the project.”
“Do you have any idea how much this will cost?” asked Andrew.
“Not at the moment,” replied Henry. “I’ll have to speak with my Engineers first of all. I’ll confirm the details as soon as I can.”
“I’ll tell you what,” said Andrew. “I’ll take you along the western road of the island. We can then see if there are any locations suitable for such a project, eh. By the time we’ve finished, I can take you back to Stornoway Airport.”
“On consideration, I think it may be better for me to stay in town for the night,” suggested Henry. “By the time I arrive back on the mainland, I’ll probably book another hotel overnight, rather than drive home in the dark.”
“Okay then,” said Andrew. “I’ll contact the council in Tralee, see if I can get hold of the scheme administrator.”
Andrew contacted the telephone no. on the home web page for the council, and after speaking to a lady in reception, was put through to his equivalent manager.
“Hello there, how can I help?” the manager asked at the other end of the line.
“I noticed details on your web site of a scheme to harness the power of the Atlantic currents,” said Andrew.
“That will be project Atlantic, I believe,” replied the manager. “Can I first ask whom I’m talking to, before I divulge any further information?”
“My name is Andrew MacDougall, Planning Manager for the Western Isles council off the north west of Scotland,” Andrew told him. “I’m looking into a similar project for our islands and would be grateful if you could give me a little information on your scheme.”
“Well, planning permission may be granted over this coming month, so I’m not aware of any fixed dates to carry out the construction of the turbine,” the manager replied. “The best people to speak to would be Shamrock Power, as it’s their project.”
“My main concern at this moment is the cost of such a project,” said Andrew. “At this time, we don’t have a great deal of money to spend, but would obviously like to save on any future expense.”
“Well, I believe the project would be around 10 million Euros,” said the manager. “I can’t be certain, as costs of projects are often increased along the way due to unforeseen overheads, so please don’t quote me on that.”
“That’s okay for now,” said Andrew. “A least I have an idea of the costs. Do you know how this is likely to be paid for?”
“As I understand it, this is likely to be paid on the average current bills of residents who will be affected by the project,” the manager informed him. “Three quarterly payments from residents should account for the total expense. Once again though, please don’t quote me on that.”
“Do you know who I can speak to at Shamrock Energy?” asked Andrew.
“Shamrock Power, you mean?” queried the manager.
“Yes, sorry about that, I meant Shamrock Power,” said Andrew. “
“I believe Brendan O’Hagan will be the best person to help you,” said the manager. “You can find his telephone number on our web site. Is there any more I can help you with?”
“Probably not at this moment,” replied Andrew. “Thanks for all your help. I’ll get onto Brendan O’Hagan right away.”
“Did you say Brendan O’Hagan?” Henry then asked Andrew as he came off the phone.
“Yes – do you know him?” Andrew queried.
“No, the name sounds familiar though,” admitted Henry. “Anyway, what do you think about the project after talking to your Irish counterpart?”
“Did you hear our conversation?” Andrew asked Henry, to which he acknowledged. “Well, the estimated cost of the project is 10 million Euros, about the same in sterling at the moment. That’s too much for a small council like ours.”
“The project needn’t be that excessive,” Henry insisted. “The turbine and other material involved in Ireland are probably larger than would be needed here.”
“Even if the costs are half the amount, it’s still too much for the Western Isles,” said Andrew
“I may be able to sort out the materials & resources for the project,” Henry suggested.
“Do you know how much it will come to?” asked Andrew.
“No, not at present, but I should be able to reduce the costs substantially,” Henry insisted.
“Hhmmm, I don’t know,” Andrew mumbled. “Perhaps we could speak to Scottish Energy about this. We could run the project in partnership.”
“I don’t really trust energy companies,” commented Henry. “From my point of view, they’re only in the business to make money. They increase the cost of energy due to oil prices, and yet they still have plenty of coal-fired power stations on the mainland, and plenty of coal to utilise.”
“I know, I know,” said Andrew. “I know coal isn’t the greenest form of energy, but the energy companies will never try to cut costs. Not unless they have to.”
“And the government aren’t doing much to help, either,” added Henry. “I think the time has come to take matters into our own hands.”
“I suppose we could submit plans to the Scottish parliament, and ask for an increase in funds,” considered Andrew. “They may be of more help.”
“You are still keen on the project?” Henry then queried.
“Ochi,” said Andrew. “Actually, thinking about it, there is another option.”
“Oh, what’s that?” asked Henry.
“You could take over the energy contract for the island,” suggested Andrew. “The current one will run out later this year.”
“It will take some time before we get our money back for the construction and implementation,” emphasised Henry. “Not to forget the administration, either.”
Andrew then looked at the energy costs for the previous year, 2008/08, which were over £2million.
“You could recover the costs in a couple of years. After that, all the money made on the island’s energy will be at a profit.” he insisted.
Henry still wasn’t too keen on the idea, however.
“Perhaps we could throw something into the cost,” Andrew then suggested. “That will help lighten the expense. And you will be able to sell your idea.”
Henry was coming round to the suggestion.
“I’ll tell you what, then,” Henry said to Andrew. “I’ll assess the costs from my point of view, and leave the rest to you for the time being.”
The two of them agreed to the suggestion, and after a brief chat and a cup of tea, Henry said farewell for the time being. He then went to book himself a room at a nearby hotel for the evening, before asking a local taxi driver to take him around the island to get a good idea of the Atlantic coast, before going back to the hotel.

Henry woke up early the next morning, in preparation for his return flight to Inverness. He booked into the local airport by 8’ and arrived back on the mainland at 9.35. By the time he returned to his car, it had overstayed the 24 hours he had paid for by a few minutes, but as there was no ticket on the car windscreen, he decided to leave.
This time, Henry took the A9, much of which was dualled. He stopped on the journey, and rang home to confirm he was okay. He stopped a couple more times on his way home, and didn’t arrive back at Ribblehead Cottage until 4.45. He made himself a cup of tea, and not long after finishing it, he fell asleep.
Ramondo and Zebrina arrived home before 6pm, and found Henry laying on the sofa. They tried to wake him up, but without success. Then, at almost 7 in the evening, Henry opened his eyes.
“Well hello there,” Ramondo said to him. “How did things go these last few days?”
“Oh, not too bad,” Henry struggled to say, as he yawned at the top of his voice.
“Did you manage to sell the idea of the sea turbine?” asked Zebrina.
“Yes and no,” Henry told her. “The chap at Stornoway, Andrew, seemed keen on the idea.”
“So, what was the problem?” asked Ramondo.
“Money, as per usual,” said Henry. “He managed to trace that scheme in Ireland, and spoke to somebody over there. Unfortunately, the estimate for the project was too much for Stornoway.”
“They seemed to be able to pay for the scheme in Ireland,” commented Ramondo.
“That’s because their scheme covers a much larger number of people,” explained Henry. “Stornoway is the main town in the Western Isles of Scotland. There can’t be many more than five thousand people on the isle of Lewis.”
“Oh,” muttered Ramondo. “Can’t we do the job at a much smaller cost?”
“Yes, in practice,” said Henry. “Other things have to be taken into consideration, though.”
“Such as?” asked Zebrina.
“The Western Isles are about fifty miles from the mainland,” said Henry. “If we were to take on the project, we’d have to set up the materials and resources on the island itself.”
“Couldn’t we produce them here and take them by lorry to wherever the local ferry operates from?” queried Ramondo.
“Possibly,” said Henry. “I wouldn’t fancy taking such big and heavy items for such a long distance, to Ullapool I mean. We don’t even know if the local ferry could take the cargo, either. And even if it could, it would probably mean more than one journey.”
“What, for the ferry or for taking the items to the local port?” asked Ramondo.
“Both, probably,” replied Henry.
“So, what’s going to happen now?” asked Zebrina.
“I’ll have a think about it over the next few days,” said Henry. “In the meantime, Andrew on Stornoway is going to see if he can get a grant from the Scottish parliament. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get a few million quid for such an environmentally-friendly scheme.”
“Even in this current climate?” asked Ramondo. “Didn’t you say he suggested we could take on the lease for the energy supply on the island?
“He did - that’s another option we may want to consider,” said Henry. “For now, though, we’ll see what he says about the grant.”

Over the next few days, Henry examined the costs of scheme to his business. Though it wouldn’t cost anything to replicate the necessary materials & resources, there would be costs for hiring of contractors and supervision of work. Then there were the costs for transportation of cargo, as the work would be carried out on an island 50 miles west of the mainland, in the Atlantic. On the plus side, at least the island was ideal for replicating the materials and resources, bare, empty and where a few bits of missing rock wouldn’t be recognised, unlike in the south-east of England.

Later that week, Lucas reminded Henry that he had made an agreement with a car scrap yard west of London.
“I thought we were going to utilise that scrap yard more often,” Lucas queried.