Wot No Advertising!
Quite a few London buses seem to be short of adverts at the moment, like this one.
Wot No Advertising!
So perhaps now is the time to start your campaign 0n the buses.
Work Starts On Crossrail’s Victoria Dock Portal
I went and had a look at this important work earlier in the week.
The Victoria Dock Portal will give access to a short length of tunnel connecting this part of Crossrail to the site at the Limmo Peninsular.
As the tunnel will be bored from Limmo to Victoria Dock and the site is alongside the DLR and overlooked by the bridge at Royal Victoria station, you might get a chance to view the tunnelling machine as it emerges.
There is a very good time-lapse video of the construction here.
The Oscar Pistorius And Vicky Pryce Cases
These two cases going through the Courts in South Africa and London, are in my mind not news and it is wrong they lead the BBC News.
The first is a tragedy for everyone involved and the second is a bit of political tittle-tattle that is all about the breakdown of a marriage, which went a lot more than wrong.
Why is the BBC wasting my licence fee on these sort of stories? The cases should be left to the tabloids.
The third story, the rise in the number of employed in the UK,should have led the News. Jobs are much more important than gossip.
The Bad Design Of The Cambridge Busway
Over the life of this blog, especially when I lived near to Cambridge, I’ve flagged up the shortcomings of the Cambridge Busway. I wrote this post on the flooding in November 2009.
It seems that flooding is still a problem judging by this article in the Cambridge News.
Surely over three years later, they should have got it right by now!
A Glimpse Of The Morning Star
A few days ago, I saw a lady reading The Morning Star on a bus. I hadn’t seen a copy for many years.
The lady was reading the television programs and I wondered whether they carry the information for channels not very well disposed to the left.
Perhaps the funniest story about the paper, was that many years ago, their racing tipster was doing very well in the naps table carried in The Sporting Life, that gave a prize for the best tipster after the season. Their sales went up a couple of notches.
Three Young Children
It is often said, that children are too protected these days.
But a couple of days ago, I was walking to the bus and noticed three children, where the eldest was about six waiting impeccably for the pedestrian lights to change, so they could cross the road.
A few seconds later they walked quickly across the road on the green and joined the queue at the bus stop to wait for the bus.
It was immaculate behaviour, by those that are generally not given that level of responsibility for their own safety.
Incidentally, my mother used to take me to the 107 bus, when I was about six or seven and sit me in the back by the conductor to send me to my aunt’s house in Enfield.
I wonder if this will start to happen on the New Bus for London?
Bacon Factory Curve Action
As the train to Woodbridge passed onto the East Suffolk Line, north of Ipswich station, it would appear that at last work is starting on creating the Bacon Factory or Ipswich North Curve to allow trains, and especially heavy freight ones, to pass to and from Felixstowe without reversing in Ipswich station.
Crazy Ticket Prices
Yesterday, I went to the football at Ipswich. I’ve always found evening matches difficult and expensive, as I’ve never really found a sensible gluten-free restaurant or cafe in the town and usually I have to pay through the nose, to come out of London in the rush hour. Yesterday though, I decided to come early on the four o’clock train and then go to Woodbridge to have a curry in the Royal Bengal by the station, before getting a train back to Ipswich for the match.
I’d expected to have to buy two return tickets, one for Liverpool Street to Ipswich and return and another for the short journey between Ipswich and Woodbridge. But I was sold a return from the Zone 6 Bounday to Woodbridge for just £20.95. This compares with the two tickets I bought on Saturday to get to Ipswich for a total of £18.25. So the extra journey to Woodbridge cost me £2.70. An Off Peak Senior Day Return would appear to cost £2.80 bought on the Internet.
So it would appear I got a bargain. There was also no problem using the effectively one ticket to do two journeys.
I also saved twenty pounds by not travelling in the rush hour, which was enough to pay for the meal.
It would be nice to have a decent gluten-free restaurant somewhere between Ipswich station and Portman Road.
Feeling Better In The Fog
It was really funny yesterday in that in the foggy air, I felt a bit better. Could it be that the damp air was getting into my lungs and doing me good?
Watford’s Unfair Loan Tactics
I feel that the number of loan players that are allowed in the Football League is about right, with up to five loan players about to start and only two from one club. But the problem is that international players don’t count.
I know Ipswich lost 2-0 to Watford and didn’t play too badly, but they were playing a team, that was probably good enough to play in the Premier League now. And it’s not just me who thinks it’s unfair, as here‘s Ian Holloway on the subject.
There was a report in the Standard last night, saying that the clubs will be discussing the matter in the summer and possibly changing the rules. Here’s the guts of the article.
The club are third in the Championship after bringing in 11 players temporarily thanks to their owner Gino Pozzo having stakes in Udinese and Granada.
League clubs can only have five loan players in match-day squads but the limit does not apply to players, who have international caps. That means Watford have been to select players such as Joel Ekstrand, Almen Abdi, Matej Vydra and Daniel Pudil without worrying about the rule.
I also thought that UEFA stopped owners controlling more than one club.
The Anonymous Widower 