Cows and towers

Here's a question for you. How much milk does a cow produce in a day?

I answered a gallon. What do you reckon? More? A lot more?

The answer is 123 pints, or 15 gallons. I couldn't believe that, but apparently the udders are only a tiny part of a cow's milk storage area!

You might wonder why I am asking this. It's because my wife's inner city school had a visit from a farmer and two cows today and we've just been chatting about it.

Apparently it wasn't only the children who were amazed to see these strange creatures - nearby workmen dropped their tools and came over in fascination, too.

Bit worrying when cows are considered to be so unusual. I wonder where they thought milk came from?

Anyway, none of this has anything to do with today's photo, which is a pretty average one of Bristol's lead shot tower, which I walked past this morning (just didn't have the inspiration today, I'm afraid).

It was put up in 1968 and dominates the landscape in this part of the city.

It replaced a lead shot tower built in 1782 - the first in the world - by plumber William Watts. He devised a method of making perfectly round lead shot by pouring molten lead through a sieve and allowing it to drop from a height into water.

The original tower was demolished for road widening. The 140-foot tall concrete replacement continued lead shot production for a while, but machinery was eventually removed and today it is available for lease as office space. It is a grade II listed building.

I had no idea of its original use - if you'd asked me, I'd be racking my brains until the cows came home.