The Irish Boiler Problem
When I think of Scotland being independent, I’m always reminded of a problem, that was ongoing at a hotel we stayed in, in Dublin.
The boiler for the central heating had failed and the poor plumber was trying to get it going again. The boiler had been made in England a few years before and it wasn’t a cheap one. But it turned out that as it was rather a special, the spare that the plumber wanted wasn’t held in Ireland. And as it was about six on a Friday evening, the factory in I think Birmingham had closed for the night.
So the hotel had to wait a few days for heating. At least they had an immersion heater for hot water.
The plumber told me, how this was often happening as with expensive plumbing and its spares, was generally not kept in Ireland as it was only a small country and it was usually ordered overnight from England.
One of the things that might be a problem with Scottish independence, is that companies don’t keep stock north of the border and it becomes much more difficult to get something urgently. You might also have more paperwork and different currencies and VAT rates.
Prices in Scotland might rise! Or they might fall. Who knows?
Before Overground – Silver Street
A Disgraceful Station By An Important Hospital – Rating 1/10
These are pictures taken at Silver Street station.
It is not one of the better equipped stations, as it has no lifts, escalators, no open ticket office or cafe.
The stairs are also long and precipitous. They would be impossible for anybody with a baby in a buggy!
What makes this a lot worse, is that the station is close to the North Middlesex hospital. So if you have access problems and are visiting the hospital, steer clear of this station. You’d be better going to Edmonton Green and ordering a taxi.
All hospitals should have very easy step-free access from the nearest transport interchange.
Before Overground – Edmonton Green
A Prototype Station For The Lea Valley Lines – Rating 8/10
This is the first of a series of posts, where I post pictures of the stations on the Lea Valley Lines before the takeover by the London Overground in May next year.
Edmonton Green station is one of the better stations on the line and the lifts that are being installed, should be fully working in a month or so.
I’ve used quite a few stations on the Lea Valley Lines, but this must be one that needs the smallest amount of work to bring it up to a high standard. It’s got lifts, a cafe, tasteful shelters and seats.
It also has good bus connections, so it is one of those stations, where if you were in a wheelchair or pushing a buggy, you might swap your mode of transport.
Up And Down On The East London Line
My memories if the East London Line don’t go back very far, as I probably only ever used the line once before I moved to Dalston in 2010. I think it must have been around 2000, when I was travelling from Brighton to my youngest son’s house in Bow. I changed trains at New Cross Gate to get to Whitechapel, from where I must have used the Metropolitan Line to Mile End, near to where he lived.
Comfortable and clean it wasn’t! The trains weren’t as bad as the travelling urinals of the North London Line, but the A Stock were forty years old and very tired.
I posted here about the step-free access improvements on the London Overground, so I thought I’d check them out.
The pictures show my route from Dalston Junction to New Cross, from where I walked to New Cross Gate for a train to Crystal Palace. After a refreshment stop at the excellent Brown and Green cafe at the flagship southern terminus of the East London Line, I retraced my steps stopping to look at the improvements at Honor Oak Park and Brockley.
Of the stations south of Surrey Quays on the New Cross and Crystal Palace branches only Sydenham will not be substantially step-free by early next year. At Sydenham though it is effectively two stations, one for each direction, which means with planning, difficult stairs can be avoided.
Several excellent new cafes and coffee stalls, seem to be setting up in the stations.
The future is definitely looking up on the East London Line.
A good start has definitely been made on bringing some of the stations in South London into the twenty-first century.
An Advantage To The Rest Of The UK Of Scottish Independence
If Scotland becomes independent after Thursday, then we won’t have to suffer, when the weather forecasts give out the often more depressing forecast for north of the border.
The weather forecasts would be even better, if Northern Ireland were to become independent as well.
Transport for London’s Latest Plot To Get Us To Climb Stairs
London’s buses are effectively computer terminals and displays, that just happen to carry passengers about the city.
These pictures that I took on route 141, show the latest software upgrade.
The clock has been shown on the Next Stop display for some time, but the display, showing how many spare seats are on the upper deck, is new.
Will it help to increase the loading of buses? The only problem, is that the system is not as attractive as a comely conductress calling politely for everybody to please move along the bus!
There’s more about the technology here on the IanVisits web site.
Does The Fashion Industry Think People Have More Money Than Sense?
Over the last few days, I’ve been through several glossy supplements to Newspapers and they seem to supporters by the big fashion companies, selling over-designed and over-priced clothes and accessories. They are mainly for women, but you do see adverts for watches that are more difficult to understand for the average Joe, than Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History Of Time.
I’ve always had a policy of not buying any clothes with any form of branding on it, unless the design is what I want. C was very much the same and usually her handbag was lacking any obvious label, although often they were expensive.
But seeing these adverts and also observing ladies around the world, why is it that they overpay for a handbag and then have some enormous advert slapped on it, which generally ruins any style the design had in the first place?
C once bought a very expensive bra and knickers set, because it fitted her so well. When she put it on for the first time, I asked her if she really wanted to show off where she had spent her money. She was rather embarrassed and after that first wearing, it was never seen again. When she died, I sold it for a lot of money on eBay. Just because of the name!
I think where fashion is concerned, there are several born every minute!
Action By The River
There was a lot going on in London by the river.
The pictures show the preparations for the Tour of Britain and a barge race on the Thames.
I met a lady from Stoke Newington, who was on her way to see Harmondsworth Barn near Heathrow.
I think there are millions of us, who use their Freedom Passes to explore London.
Match Six – Ipswich 2 – Millwall 0
Town got their second win of the season and the match was again lit up, by a sparkling display from the eighteen-year-old Teddy Bishop. He combined well with McGoldrick and their joint persistence made the first goal.
Walking to the ground from the station is easy at Ipswich, especially as you can see the ground virtually all the way and there are several maps. But surely those near the ground, should show the layout of the stadium to ease the walks of supporters and visitors.
History But No Stand Information
But at least Ipswich has got maps, which is more that can be said for most large cities and towns.
Millwall have a bad reputation for fan behaviour, but on the way home, I was sat with three fans and they were just phlegmatic about their teams performance.
The police told me, that they’d just had a nice trip to the country.
Art At Spitalfields
It is always good to walk through Spitalfields to get to Liverpool Street station.
The goat has been there for some time, but it’s the first time I’ve looked at Cecil Balmond‘s work!
The Anonymous Widower 