The New London Overground Platform at Clapham Junction
The new platform 1 at Clapham Junction station to accomodate both ends of the main circular London Overground route is nearing completion, as these pictures show.
The train in the picture will use the West London Line to get to Stratford.
It would also appear, that when the extension to the East London Line opens in December this year, that there will be a new station entrance.
Could the London Overground Call at Brixton?
The London Overground extension of the East London Line to Clapham Junction station goes on a viaduct across a lot of South London and before flying right over the top of Brixton tube station to reach its destination by way of Clapham High Street and Wandsworth Road stations. This picture show the two bridges that cross Brixton Road to the north of the tube station.
The Two Rail Bridges Over Brixton Road
The high bridge in the foreground will carry the London Overground, whereas the one just visible behind takes the main line trains to and from Victoria. The picture was actually taken from the entrance tro the tube station and you can see how difficult it would be to get passengers between the two levels.
Turn the corner into Atlantic Road and you see how difficult the problem is.
The Overground Flies Over Brixton Station
The track that will take the Overground extension, now flies over Brixton railway station. It is almost as if, the designer of the rail lines in the area, went out of his way to make connecting them difficult, To further complicate matters, there used to be an East Brixton railway station on the line that the Overground will use. This was closed in 1976 and demolished soon afterwards.
If the East Brixton station was to be rebuilt, it does give some interesting connection options, albeit with a bit of a walk.
I tend to think that the only solution would be to spend millions to create a proper interchange station, that connects all of the three lines; Victoria, East London and main line together. But in the present financial climate that is impossible.
One point is that today, after seeing Brixton, I took a 35 bus to Clapham Junction station. It is obvious, that one of the UK’s busiest stations needs a proper connection to the Underground network. It is possible the Northern Line extension will eventually deliver this. At present the best you can do is to take a train to either Waterloo or Vauxhall stations and get the Underground from there.
It’s Swimwear Buying Time Again
Judging by this picture of a London bus, it’s time to buy swimwear again.
H&M Swimwear Advert on a London Bus
Not me, as I don’t swim. And the advert wouldn’t apply to me personally, as I’m a man.
My late wife, C, was a manic and enthusiastic swimmer to say the least and every day before work, she’d swim umpteen lengths in the pool at Bedford Lodge Hotel in Newmarket. She used to wear out Speedo Endurance swimsuits regularly, and I used to watch eBay for when last year’s models were sold off for here. Do professional swimmers have suits and trunks made out of something more long-lasting, or does the sponsor just pay?
I remember in 2007, which was the year she died, that C decided she needed some summer clothes and that of course meant swimwear. Since her breast cancer a few years before, she always felt that she must look the best fifty-year-old on the beach, not out of vanity, but more to stick two fingers up to the cancer. Although, she was probably two polite to do that other than metaphorically.
So she bought tickets on easyJet and one Friday in April we took the plane to Nice and checked in at the Hotel Windsor, which is much recommended. We had a marvellous weekend in the sun.
It was the first of seven holidays that we took in that fateful year before she died in December of a cancer totally unrelated to that in her breast.
My biggest memory of that holiday, is that C decided to buy a couple of bikinis for the summer. So we headed to Gallerie Lafayette and for a couple of hours, she tried on most that were suitable in the shop, whilst I passed what I thought might be suitable or a different size over the door of the changing room. It was a difficult job, but someone had to do it. They got hard work that last summer she was alive.
The picture shows C on the beach on the island of Panarea. I think you can just see that she was wearing nail polish, something she rarely did except on holiday.
It’s Not Just Customers That Hate Banks
I found this article entitled Why Investors hate banks. It is a fascinating read, with the main point being that if you invest in utility shares over the past year, your return will be six times that of investing in banks.
Iranian Faces Death Penalty For Watching Satellite TV
This may seem rather extreme, but it’s true.
An Iranian political prisoner, following 2 years of detention in various solitary prisons, has received a death sentence from a criminal court in Tehran for having watched and contacted an Iranian dissident television program, Simay-e Azadi, says HRDIA.net which is a Persian language website with a focus on human rights situation in Iran.
Simay-e Azadi is a program in Farsi language that is broadcast from abroad presenting the views of the Iranian opposition, the Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK.
Mullahs consider the MEK to be their arch foe enemy.
Gholamreza Khosravi, 47, is said to support the MEK. He was previously jailed for his political activities during the 80s.
He had earlier received a much lighter sentence in his hometown but when his case was transferred to a court in Tehran, he received the death sentence. A review court later turned down the sentence but another court immediately reinstated it.
Khosravi told reporters that he will not ask for a pardon and that his death sentence is illegal and he did not commit any crime to deserve such punishment.
The Iranian people are, more than ever, using externally produced satellite television programs as their main source of information, news and entertainment. But the mullahs’ regime, on the other hand, considers the free flow of information to be a growing threat to its authoritarian rule. Along with internet and the new mobile phone technology, satellite TV leaves no room for control of information and censorship the way a dictatorial regime prefers to have.
Iranian police attacks houses and neighborhoods at nights, collecting satellite dishes from atop buildings and apartments. Those arrested receive harsh punishments. But this may be the first instance of a death sentence being handed down for charges related to satellite TV.
Has there ever been a regime as cruel and bonkers as Iran.
The Anonymous Widower 