The Nightmare That Is Croydon
I went to IKEA at Croydon, as I needed to get some drawers and seat cushions, which weren’t in stock at Edmonton. The easiest way to get there is to take the Overground to West Croydon and then get the Tramlink to Ampere Way.
The Nightmare That Is Croydon
This picture sums it all up. There was no signposting to the westbound tram stops and in the end, I had to cross the road in a long subway, take an eastbound tram and then walk across to a westbound one.
It really needs a good sort-out and it not up to the usual standard that Londoners expect.
They could also make it a lot more pedestrian friendly crossing thev road at West Croydon station and getting to and from the tram at IKEA.
They could start by putting up some proper signs to direct people who want to go west from West Croydon. It would probably at the moment mean going via East Croydon, but then hopefully signs would stop people from getting lost, like I did!
At least two pedestrian crossings with lights also need to be installed. or does Croydon have a policy of discouraging pedestrians. After all they do make bit of a mess to the motor, if you hit one hard.
There doesn’t seem to be any plans to route some westbound trains past West Croydon station, but then it does seem to me, that it’s now too late, as logically, this should have been done, when the initial lines were laid down.
Is Mark Carney A Lucky Governor?
Napoleon is reputed to have said.
I know he’s a good general, but is he lucky?
Mark Carney may or may not be a good central banker, but he certainly seems to have arrived in his new job, just as the recovery in the economy seems to be starting. It’s reported here in the Independent.
So it would seem that Cameron and Osborne, might have been influenced by Napoleon’s words, as Mark Carney does appear to have the luck to inherit good figures. Perhaps tough, Mervyn King should be given more credit, as it would seem that things got going under his stewardship of the Bank!
But we’ve seen this economy inheritance before. Tony Blair inherited a good economy and then proceeded to waste it all, so that his successor left us in the mess we are today.
It’s not that we have boom and bust, we have had a succession of governments in this country of generally a pretty good one followed by one that isn’t that good at all. I’m not going to play party politics here, as you can find bad governments of both left and right. And good and bad periods of governments that were in power for a long time. Find me a man or woman, who says that everything Margaret Thatcher or Tony Blair did was good, and I’ll show you a liar.
Perhaps we need to have more of the country run by independent organisations like the Bank of England and the BBC. Why for instance, isn’t the NHS, totally removed from the meddling of politicians? After all, how many politicians could successfully run a whelk stall?
To return to the economy, Mark Carney has said that interest rates could possibly rise next year.
They already are!
My Zopa figures are showing that their five ear loans, which were about 4.5% earlier in the year, have been rising slightly in recent weeks and now sit at 4.8%. I haven’t had a major bad debt for six months and the only blot is that my true returns are still stuck between 4 and 4.5% before tax, and are marginally down on last year.
As I believe Zopa is a stable system, where the sensible, savvy lenders, provide loans for canny borrowers of good credit, it could be a good marker as to the way the market is going.
Reminder Of A Joke
As I walked out of my house to get my newspaper, a guy passed me carrying a heavy case and a large stepladder.
It reminded me of Act 2 of a very old joke.
In Act 1, a guy walks across the stage carrying a case and he’s asked what he’s doing. He says that he’s a lawyer and he’s taking a case to court.
In Act 2, the guy walks back carrying the case and a ladder. His answer to the same question is that he’s taking the case to the High Court.
In Act 3, the guys walks back again, just carrying the ladder. This time his answer is that he lost the case.
I think I first saw it performed at a Scout camp, when I was about twelve.
No Wonder The Co-Op Is In Trouble
The Co-op is reportedly in trouble financially, so today they are in the news, not about curing their problems, but because of their new office block. Here’s the first paragraph.
The Co-operative Group’s £100m new office has been declared the most environmentally friendly building in the world – ahead of its official opening by the Queen today.
One Angel Square achieved the highest ever eco rating for a building by BREEAM, the industry environmental assessment experts.
“Does the Queen get a divi?” was asked on BBC Breakfast this morning. I suppose to the BBC in Manchester, this is a low-cost story, as their crew, can just get on the tram.
I occassionally go into the Co-op at Dalston Junction station, but rarely buy anything except a paper and the odd grocery item. It does sell Genius bread, but the last time, I tried to buy one at the store, there was only one very sorry example on sale.
I can see this morning, why they are in trouble. Flagship projects and forgetting about customers.
Spain Is Becoming No Place To Hide For Criminals
The BBC is reporting this morning about Operation Captura, which is leading to the arrest of British criminals hiding in Spain and other places.
There is also this report on Sky.
We are obviously getting success in finding and locking up some of the worst of the worst.
But also this story appears on the BBC. Here’s the first paragraph.
A man wanted in connection with the murder of his 21-year-old wife in Bradford is believed to have left the country, police have said.
It is reported that he’s probably hiding in Pakistan. I suppose that means, there is no chance he’ll be brought to justice.
We really must sort our relationship with that troubled state and especially, a minority of its citizens, who feel they can carry on, as they might in certain areas of their homeland.
The Anonymous Widower 