92 Clubs By Public Transport Alphabetically in a Calendar Month – Day 3
This could be one of those days, where I visit four clubs; Birmingham, Blackburn, Blackpool and Bolton. It could just be five if all things go well and I can finish off at Bournemouth.
However after checking the train times. it would appear that to get to Bournemouth is impossible, so it’ll be a return to London and my bed.
I think, I’ll have to assume I’m starting from Barnsley or Birmingham city centre, as it doesn’t look like that on Day 2, I can get home easily.
92 Clubs By Public Transport Alphabetically in a Calendar Month – Day 2
This is not an easy day, as Aston Villa, Barnet and Barnsley are all within easy walks of train stations, but I do have to go up to Aston Villa and then up to Barnsley, with a short detour from Euston to High Barnet in between.
I should be back from Aston Villa before 15:00 and so should be ready to leave St. Pancras by 16:00.
I think I’ll have to go to Birmingham to start Day 3.
Proposed Schedule
London Witton
08:50/11:26 09:50/12:26
Witton London
12:17/14:17 13:17/15:17
Euston High Barnet St. Pancras
60 mins
London Barnsley
16:25/19:37
Barnsley Birmingham
20:12/22:08
92 Clubs By Public Transport Alphabetically in a Calendar Month – Day 1
This is an odd day, where I hope to visit Accrington Stanley, Aldershot and Arsenal, but at least I’ll end up in my own bed as the Emirates is just a few kilometres or so from my house.
I shall probably go up to Liverpool the day before and spend the night there.
There are two ways to get from Accrington to Aldershot and a lot depends if I watch all of the game. If I can get a lift in a supporters coach, but not a car, that would probably get me back to Aldershot at around 22:00 or 23:00. Trains are not easy, in that if I leave Accrington on the 17:06 train, I get to Aldershot at 22:19.
The last train back to London leaves at 23:34, but there quite a few of them..
So it is a very tight day.
Proposed Schedule
Liverpool to Accrington
9:57/11:59 10:59/12:59
Accrington/Aldershot
15:06 20:19 16:06/21:19 17:06/22:19 18:06/22:19
Aldershot/London
23:04/00:01 23:34/00:32
Are The Welsh Preparing to Invade?
Dai Greene yesterday won the 400 metres hurdles in Daegu.
With a name like Dai, he has to be Welsh and of course is.
So when the his event takes place at Stratford over the 3rd to the 6th of August next year, will there be a shortage of leeks and daffodils in London?
The big question is where are they going to park the dragon? The problem is that East London and the Olympic Park in particular, has lots of rivers, canals and water in general. So will this put the fire out? Or do dragons have waterproof fire?
After Ruining Horse Racing and Cricket Coverage, are Channel 4 Now Doing It With Athletics?
I have not watched any of Channel 4’s coverage of the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, and it seems according to this article in the Guardian, I’m not missing much, by listening on the radio.
They try too hard to make sure they get the advertisers, that they ruin the product. They did this with horseracing and now it has been dumbed down so much I don’t watch.
In the end, there is only two ways to show quality sport; either-free-to-air without advertising or by subscription. I know Sky has adverts and they can be irritating, but their presenters are generally professional. Comparing Sky coverage of the Champions League, with that of ITV, is much more than a matter of chalk and cheese.
We won’t have to worry for long though, as events like the Athletics World Championship will be available on a quality basis over the Internet in the near future for a fee. And hopefully for a fee that has two levels; one with advertising and one without.
Farce Start
What is going on at the World Athletic Chanmpionships in Daegu?
For a start there is no live pictures in the UK and we have to do with just the radio commentary.
I’ve just found that the pictures have been on Channel 4, but as I never watch that channel normally, how was I to know? I didn’t see anything in the papers and searching for details on the Internet didn’t seem to work.
Would I have watched it, if I’d found it? Probably the pictures only, with sound from BBC Radio 5.
But the starts of the various races seem to be bordering on the farcical. Here’s a typical report.
Let’s hope they all get this sorted by the Olympics next ear!
A Wanted Extra
I needed a new bag for my tennis things. As real tennis rackets aren’t the normal shape, a lot of bags don’t work. However, I found this one at Wigmore Sports, just behind John Lewis, which fitted the bill well.
A New Tennis Bag and a Wanted Extra
For display purposes they’d padded it with an old shoe box. As I have to post a pair of shoes, I’ve just sold on eBay, I was pleased to take it home with me.
I would certainly recommend the shop to anyone.
We Thought That Ipswich Town Couldn’t Defend
After Ipswich Town’s fiascos against Southampton and Peterborough, I thought that things couldn’t get worse. Ipswich certainly improved against Leeds, but then today their defence was seriously out underperformed by both Spurs and Arsenal.
I think I’ll wear my Ipswich hat tomorrow.
Ipswich Beat Ten Man Leeds 2-1
They probably didn’t deserve it, but then Andy D’Urso did his best to make things difficult for Town until he rightly sent off Aidy White. Although, according to this report in The Telegraph, Simon Grayson, the Leeds United manager felt it harsh.
D’Urso is from Billericay in Essex, so should he officiating at a match in Suffolk?
On the other hand Leeds seem to be getting into practice to compete at the Olympics next year! In the diving!
A Plan For Tottenham Is Emerging
It would appear that Spurs are on the point of dropping their bid to take over the Olympic stadium according to the BBC.
I have looked at the plans for the new stadium and feel that the way it would be built is innovative and good project management, making the best use of all the resources.
A deal seems to be being working out with the Mayor and the Government about improving public transport in the area. As I said earlier, I believe this should be achieved by giving some or all of the Lea Valley lines to Transport for London and adding them to the Overground. The trains, track and power supplies are not the worst, but improving the stations with their dreadful access and especially the link at Hackney Downs to the North London line and to buses must be done. A point here, is that this access traps the locals in the area, whether they like football or not.
It would also help London and Tottenham Hotspur, if a large Park and Ride was built somewhere to the north of White Hart Lane station on the Cheshunt line by the M25. London and the City lacks a decent Park and Ride and parking at most stations to the north and east of London is inadequate and overpriced.
So in my view a proper modern railway run to the same reliability as the Overground would transform the whole area from Bethnal Green, through Hackney and Tottenham to Enfield and the M25.
Finally, it has always irked Spurs supporters that Arsenal have their own Underground station. So why shouldn’t White Hart Lane be renamed Spurs?
The Anonymous Widower 