The Coldest Station on the Underground
Whilst I was being let in to Elephant and Castle station to get north of the river, I was joking with the barrier staff, that it was cold, but it wasn’t as cold as Oakwood station, which is one I knew well as a child. I did say that if you ever were offered a transfer there then don’t accept, as on a cold day like today, it’s always freezing.
With the wind in the east at Oakwood it gets particularly cold, as the wind blows all the way from Siberia. In fact, if you were to fly level due east from the station, the first land you hit is the Urals. It all probably explains how our house there, at 73 Sussex Way, was so cold and regularly had sheets of ice on the windows in the winter.
Apparently, there used to be a plaque in the station about the height and the Urals, but I couldn’t find it, when I visited.
My Freedom Pass Failed South of the River
I’ve indicated before that London has always been two cities; my side of the North and the other side of the South.
Now I’ve got nothing against those who live south of the river and in fact some of my friends live there, but it’s a different country. It’s nothing new, as my father said that the two sides didn’t agree on anything before the Second World War. I blame it on Arsenal’s move from south of the river to Highbury. It was almost as bad as Wimbledon going to Milton Keynes.
But that still doesn’t explain, why my Freedom Pass wasn’t accepted at Elephant and Castle, either coming out or going in. However, in both cases, the helpful staff let me through.
Do the barriers read your DNA and if it’s from the North, you’re barred? We should be told!
Why Is The Jubilee Line Always Delayed?
Or it seems to be when I go near it!
This morning I went to Elephant and Castle and passing through Monument, an announcement said that all lines on the Underground were running well except for the Jubilee.
It always seems to be like that. Could it be, that as it was built to be finished by the Millennium for the do of the great-and-good at the Doom, that it wasn’t done properly? Or was it NuLabor couldn’t afford the bribe to keep the workers on the job, so they left out a few important wires?
As it was, today it didn’t matter, as I took the Bakerloo from Embankment. But it was still suffering delays, when I came back!
In Search of Strata
If you look south from the river, you’ll see a curious building with what look like three clock faces. The building is called Strata London and today I went to Elephant and Castle to have a closer look at it.
Unfortunately the sun was in the wrong direction and the pictures aren’t the best.
The clocks are actually wind turbines. Although there are doubts about their effectiveness. Wikipedia says this.
Strata SE1 is one of the first buildings in the world to incorporate wind turbines within its structure. The three nine-metre wind turbines at the top of the building are rated at 19 kW each and are anticipated to produce 50MWh of electricity per year. They are expected to generate sufficient energy to provide power for the common areas of the building (8% of the energy needs of the building), although questions about their real efficiency will remain unanswered until the completion of two years of comprehensive wind data analysis.
Having lived on the 11th floor of one of the towers in the Barbican, I’m not sure that this building would be as nice a place to live.
An Insult In My Recycling Bin
Thursday is recycyling day and I didn’t bother to get my recycling bin in. So someone put a present in it.
An Insult In My Recycling Bin
It was a half-eaten steak pie. Is this a deliberate insult as obviously the junk food isn’t gluten-free? They could have put it in my wheelie bin for general rubbish, as that was actually next to the other bin. But they would have had to lift the lid!
If we assume it wasn’t a deliberate insult, it just goes to show that those eating junk food have few manners and feel it is their right to throw the remains anywhere.
It’s a pity that the pie didn’t have a name on it, as I would have someone to sue, if I felt the effort worthwhile.
Property Prices In London
I was surprised to read this article in the Evening Standard.
Property prices may be flat elsewhere, but it seems they’re holding up in my part of London. Am I bothered?
The Anonymous Widower 