An Oyster Card And A Freedom Pass
Although, I’m entitled to free travel in the London area, I actually carry both and I suspect many Londoners eligible for a Freedom Pass carry an Oyster Card as well.
I carry the Oyster Card mainly for the Emirates Air-Line, as it’s cheaper than paying cash and it gives me speedy boarding. But I also carry it, if say a friend should turn up and doesn’t have a card. I do keep them separate, so I don’t pay twice for a journey.
Yesterday, I went to Ipswich, which is outside the Freedom Pass and Oyster Card area. Ipswich like many stations has the same Cubic barriers at London, so wouldn’t it be nice if I could use an Oyster Card to pay for the journey. I know there’s the complication of the fact that I pay for my Senior Railcard to get a discount of a third on rail fares outide my Freedom Pass area, but computing could work that out.
Perhaps, even a Freedom Pass could also be uploaded with money like an Oyster Card.
There are endless possibilities and hopefully a sensible solution will be found. And of course, one that desn’t use a dreaded smart phone!
A Better Way To Pay By Credit Card?
There are certain things, I don’t like where money is concerned.
The first is smart-phones, as they are just status symbols, beloved of the light-fingered. So if anybody suggests that I need those to do things like buy a train ticket, a coffee or a pair of knickers, or even replace my rail ticket then I say a big no!
I don’t like too to always have to carry more than one payment card. At present, I usually carry two; my Freedom Pass for transport in London and usually my John Lewis/Waitrose credit card for purchases. I would like to be like the Queen and not carry any cash, but as I do like coffee, which is almost as good as milk for my throat, I’ve always got a few coins in my pocket. So I have a small folder with these cards, my Senior Railcard and a few of my business cards in my pocket. My wallet stays at home most of the time, when I’m in London. I did lose the folder once and within a few hours, the bus driver had phoned me saying he’d got it and I could get it from the garage.
So I was rather intrigued, when I saw in the Sunday Times, an article about Square, a payment company started by one of people who brought us Twitter. You upload your picture, a recording of your name and credit card details to a web site and then when you go into say Starbucks, their iPad app recognises you and your name recording is the password. You can get your receipt as a text message to any phone as new as a Nokia 6310i. I knew I was right about smart phones being dead end technology. Nothing will persuade me to get one. If for instance, a shop, a theatre or a train company said I must have a smart phone to purchase their product, then I will make sure that I take my business elsewhere and give them all the bad publicity they deserve.
I can’t wait to walk into Starbucks on Upper Street, say “Anonymous Widower” and get my cappuccino.
Gabrielle Douglas’s Hair
The Sunday Times said today that there was a bit of controversy over the hair of Gabrielle Douglas in the women’s gymnastics. It was in the caption of a marvellous picture of the gymnast.
I didn’t see the gymnastics, as it’s not a sport that I like, but surely in gymnastics how a woman wears her hair is about as important as the way she paints her nails. Surely her movement, balance and skill are much more important.
There’s a video here of what black Londoners think.
Has London Got Friendlier?
Every Sunday morning, I take the Overground to Shadwell, where I switch to the DLR and go to Royal Victoria station, from where I get the Emirates Air-Line over the Thames to the O2. From there, I go to Canary Wharf station, where I have a late breakfast in Carluccio’s. This was my intension this morning, but I left my Oystercard behind, so I took the Jubilee line from Canning Town station to get to Canary Wharf. I’ve done it now perhaps six or seven times and it allows me to get a good view on the mood of London. Today everybody was very chatty and there was a generally friendly mood.
This wasn’t the first time, that I’ve noticed this upbeat mood on a personal level in recent weeks. One particular feature, is that I’ve had more talks with black people lately, than I’ve ever had in my past sixty-odd years. Could it be, that the Olympics is helping us to live together better, as in fact we all have more common interests, than those things that divide us?
In one instance, I walked away from a bus, with a black woman about my age, chatting about our health problems, both of us remarking that twenty years before, we’d have probably not said a word.
If this is the legacy of 2012, I’m all for it! Or is it just that finally we’ve developed a modern society?
Was Half-Time Longer Today?
It was very hot and after the collapse of Fabrice Muamba last season, did the referee make half-time a bit longer today?
If he did, it was probably a wise decision.
A Welcoming Tunnel
I went to see Ipswich play Blackburn today. It was rather hot and I left a bit early to get in a nice cool First Class Mk. 3 coach early.
Ipswich station is just to the north of the Stoke tunnel.
Inside the tunnel, it was all very dark and beautifully cool.
The French Say Things Differently
The row about the bikes ridden by the British cyclists at the Olympics continues according to this in the Guardian.
The sprinter François Pervis, who had tweeted “la sodomie continue” (rough translation, “we got shafted again”) after Jason Kenny’s victory over Grégory Baugé in the match sprint final, said on Monday that he was certain the British were not using drugs, but that they had the edge on the equipment front. “I am sure they are clean but their kit …
So you now know how to say you’ve been shafted again in French.
Living Near Premier League Grounds
The Halifax has done a survey of house prices near Premier League grounds. It’s here in the Telegraph.
As I live within walking distance of the Emirates Stadium, I’m not bothered, especially as I have a buy-to-let close to both Old Trafford and Carrow Road. Don’t ask me why an Ipswich supporter should have those! But suffice to say, they were purchases my late wife made without consulting me. Although, I did think that nearness to football grounds could be an advantage.
Drinking My Way Back To Health
I got severely dehydrated in this house, due to the high solar gain , which caused temperatures of over thirty with zero humidity.
On the One Show on the BBC a few weeks ago, a guy from Loughborough University, suggested using milk as an electrolyte to help athletes recovery. Searching the Internet, found a few serious papers on the subject from reputable Universities. Since then, I’ve been drinking a couple of glasses of goat’s milk each day and my various pains and bad throat seems to have calmed down.
Last winter, I didn’t suffer to the same extent, but I did remark to a doctor, that I felt cappuccinos helped.
Obviously, the air-conditioning is helping too and the temperature now is about 24°C with about a 50% humidity.
The Anonymous Widower 