Match Ten – Sheffield Wednesday 1 – Ipswich 1
Hillsborough, is still a stadium living on its past.
The Tired Hillsborough
Most stadia these days don’t have pillars that obstruct your view. But Hillsborough does! And it also has the worst information display in the Championship.
The only good thing about the place, is that the Leppings Lane tram stop is near to the visitors stand.
But at least Ipswich got a point in a hard fought draw.
Welcome back Jonny Williams!
A Well-Designed City Centre Hotel
On my trip to Sheffield to see Ipswich at Hillsborough, I had to stay overnight, as there is no return train after the match.
So I booked into the Leopold Hotel, mainly because it was in the city centre and by a tram stop. I booked the room without breakfast for just £85.50 on Late Rooms.
It is one of the best designed hotels, I’ve stayed in ever.
The bath and shower didn’t need a Master’s Degree in plumbing and your glasses to understand, the tea and coffee making in the room was one of the best and the bed was comfortable.
My only niggles, were that the TV wasn’t a Freeview one giving radio as well and they could do better and remove some of the clutter, like magazines and the radio/alarm, from the room.
Wi-fi was free, as it should be.
I would certainly stay in the hotel again, but I doubt I’ll get it at £85.50 again.
On Trip Advisor, people are complaining that it is a ten minute walk to get your car.
They are missing the point.
This hotel is one of those city centre hotels, where you come by train and use public ytransport for your stay. If you want car parking, stay on the M1 in a Premier Inn.
At the present time, that will be more expensive!
Every city needs at least one hotel like the Leopold or the Hope Street in Liverpool.
Before Overground – Cafe Issues
The stations to be incorporated into the Overground from the Lea Valley Lines have a sprinkling of cafes, like this one at Hackney Downs.
I got a nice cup of tea there, but on chatting with the owner, there are issues that London Overground need to sort out with these little cafes and other shops in the stations.
I also feel that in some of the smaller stations, the only decent small premises are the booking office, which was often closed. As it is Transport for London’s policy to do away with booking offices, perhaps some could be revamped as retail premises.
At Rectory Road, there was only one lonely guy sitting in the booking office. He should be on or watching the platforms, not hidden away!
Before Overground – A Lack Of Colour
To say some of the stations on the Lea Valley Lines are drab and colourless is an understatement.
Colourless it may be, but a station like Stoke Newington has some very interesting brick arches. Instead of just being filled with litter, perhaps some innovative ideas to brighten them up could be applied.
There are gardens in some stations, but they are generally drab and only enlivened by the odd patch of Japanese knotweed.
Perhaps a Highams Park solution can be applied, where local volunteers have created the gardens.
The Anonymous Widower 