Fyra Suspended
The launch on the Fyra trains between Brussels and Amsterdam, must rank as one of the worst launches of any train services in the last few years. We’ve had a few bad ones in the UK, where reliability has been questioned and we’ve also had problems with the wrong kind of snow, but nothing, which seems to have been hated by so many as this train has. The BBC tries to explain the mess here.
If we are going to go back to the future, let’s hope that Eurostar are able to reinstate their beautifully simple ticket to Any Dutch Station.
I will be first in the queue to buy one!
If they don’t I’ll just go by train to that jewel of the Essex coast; Southend, get in an orange aeroplane and hop across to Schipol. The Belgians, Brussels and the planet will all be losers.
London’s Step-Free Bus Stops Show Their Worth
The picture shows the bus stop I used to go to lunch today.
A Typical London Bus Stop
It is typical of many stops in London these days, with a wide pavement reaching out into the road, so the bus can draw close alongside.
This one has the standard shelter with a seat and I suspect a map inside showing all the local routes. It’s also got a litter bin.
It looks like too, that Hackney Council has been keeping the snow off the pavement to make it all very safe.
When I got off, there was no chance I would slip, as I only had a downward step of a few centimetres to get off the bus.
It would be interesting to look at the statistics of accidents where passengers are getting on and off buses. I suspect they’ll be some very bad anomalies.
I also think that the expense of these more spacious stops may well pay for itself in less accidents.
To The Other Side Of Hackney For Lunch
My youngest son used to live near Victoria Park and to get there I used to drive down Lauriston Road. I also used to go there to get postcards for various clients and businesses from a company called Just Postcards. The company did move to Norfolk I think, but they are no longer on the web. A pity, because they did a good job.
So today, I went to the area to check out a pub called the Empress of India. I was not disappointed with my lunch.
Lunch At The Empress Of India
As you can see I had some beef with cauliflower, capers and kale. It was gluten-free of course. I washed it down with a glass of Hogan’s cider.
I chose it because I’m very much a sucker for capers, but then if you’ve been to the Aeolian Islands, you always are.
History doesn’t record much of Queen Victoria’s taste in food, but would she be amused that a good pub/restaurant is named after her.
It is one of these places that is very convenient for me, as I just get a 277 bus all of the way.
Le Pong Invades England
The whole of the south of England has been invaded by Le Pong, which originates in a plant in Rouen. Reports of the smell have been received by the BBC from people as far north as Daventry. The story is here on the BBC web site.
Taking The Prison Bus
I have joked that the 274 bus, is the prison bus for Pentonville a few times, as it always seems to drop of and pick up unfortunate wives, partners and girl-friends in the vicinity of the prison.
I took the bus back to The Angel, so I could get some shopping before coming home.
What surprised me was outside the prison, I was getting a rather strong Wi-fi signal. Was it escaping?
What Is The Dutch For In It Up To Your Neck?
We have had problems with trains including the wrong kind of snow, but the Dutch with their new high speed trains called Fyra seem to have got the wr0ng kind of everything, like politicians, strategy and trains. It’s all described here on a Dutch web site. This is the introduction.
The problems with the Fyra high-speed train service from Amsterdam to Brussels are as much to do with politicians as with the train manufacturer and railway operators, according to the main Dutch railway union chief.
Roel Berghuis of union FNV Spoor says the problems with the Fyra service go ‘well beyond the teething problems when a new train is brought in’.
So don’t knock Network Rail and the train operating companies too much, as it might happen here.
Holloway And Caledonian Road Stations
In some ways these two stations are a pair, but not in their step-free access.
Holloway Road is a classic two lift station, where you descend to just above the tracks and walk down to the platforms. But there is more to this station than meets the eye. Just look at this picture.
Holloway Road Station
It shows two passenger bridges over the westbound platform. according to Wikipedia, the station was built with two lift shafts and experiments were tried out with a spiral escalator. Perhaps the second one was for this device. The tiles certainly show a second entrance to the platforms. That spiral escalator would have been something if it worked.
If Transport for London could find a solution for step-free access here, they could probably solve the problems at other stations, like Covent Garden and Russell Square.
Caledonian Road shows what might have been. The lifts go down to platform level and you step outside, turn left or right and you’re on the platform. Perhaps they made a mistake somewhere and dug the lift shafts too far. But they did create a truly step-free station. But this is curious.
Where Are Lifts 1 and 2?
I found lifts 3 and 4, but where are 1 and 2?
Glum Faces
Judging by the glum faces on the buses this morning, we’ve all got fed up with this weather.
Respect At Highbury Cormer
This morning I was at Highbury Corner, waiting for a bus.
A funeral cortège passed and several of the men present took off their hats.
An Irreplaceable Winner
Michael Winner who died yesterday, is one of those people you just can’t replace. You can always put him down as another Great British Eccentric like Patrick Moore or Henry Blofeld, but in some ways he was more than that!
He may not be looked upon as a great director of films, but he did make some good ones, although not all were to my taste. I remember the film, West 11, being discussed in the papers in the early sixties. It was one of the first serious roles for that tragic actress; Diana Dors. And then there was Hannibal Brooks, which must surely be one of the most unusual war films ever. But look at the credits and cast lists of his films and he certainly could persuade the best to work with him.
But no-one is saying this morning he didn’t have lots of personal charm.
As to his restaurant reviews, I can always remember C, searching for them in The Sunday Times and then having a good laugh.
I doubt, we will see the like of Michael Winner again!
The Anonymous Widower 