The Anonymous Widower

A Double-Headed Wedding

These two Routemasters were parked at the Angel today.

Is it getting hitched in style or just showing off?

October 13, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

Looking Backwards

I took this video this morning backwards from a New Bus for London.

On the way home, I got another of the new buses.  The driver/conductor said that they are debriefed about road safety and the incidents they see.  Now that’s a good idea.

October 13, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , | Leave a comment

Red Bull Strike At A New Bus for London

Or that’s what it looked like!

Red Bull Strike At A New Bus for London

The bus made a quick turn and got away safety down the Essex Road.

October 13, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | 1 Comment

Cabin Baggage

Apparently, an airline is going to cut down the amount of cabin baggage, we can take on a airliner.

It took me about forty years to moderate C, my late wife’s packing for holidays.  In the last year of her life, we had seven holidays and by that time we could do a weekend with a small bag between us.

Sadly she died of cancer in 2007 and I doubt at 65, I have enough time to find or train another lady.

I would solve the problem in another way. Some of the things we take are quite bulky, like hair rollers, laptops and books, but they could easily be picked up or even rented at the other end.

If we were really seriously about cutting the weight on flights, which of course is the way to better fuel efficiency and lower fares, then all passengers should be weighed and charged accordingly.

Since C died, I did meet one lady, who had an obsession about buying the largest case, that she could use as hand baggage.

On the subject of weight with aircraft, there’s always the story of the charter pilot, who used to fly the flat jockeys around in a Piper Seneca.  Brimful with jockeys and a few saddles, he could fill the fuel tanks completely and not exceed the maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft. After a summer flying jockeys around the UK and Europe, he then had a job to fly a group of businessmen to a meeting. He followed the habit of the last few months and filled the tanks, only to realise that with his passengers, the plane was too heavy.  So he had to drain some fuel out of the plane! He never made the same mistake again!

October 12, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , | Leave a comment

The Bus Windows Aren’t Steamed Up!

It was a filthy wet night, as I came back from supper with my son. But the bus windows aren’t steamed up.

The Bus Windows Aren’t Steamed Up!

Two years ago on a similar day in Cambridge, the bus to Haverhill was steamed up inside and nothing could be seen through it.

It could have been the weather was worse, or that the London buses have better air circulation.

October 11, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

Meet Frank!

This is a dachshund, I met on a 38 bus.

Meet Frank!

You really do meet a good class of dog on that route.

October 11, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , | 2 Comments

Dalston’s Diagonal Crossing

Oxford Circus may have the latest X crossing, but here in Dalston, we’ve got a simple diagonal one.

Dalston’s Diagonal Crossing

Time will tell, if it works or not. It could certainly do with a countdown number for the green. But then like the other stroke of the cross, lights is extra. I suppose though, if you do get knocked over, you haven’t far to go to get help from a solicitor.

Safety isn’t helped at the junction as the bus stop has been removed, prior to relocation.

Wot No Bus Stop!

People coming out of the Overground at Dalston Junction station get completely lost looking for a bus.

October 11, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

The Definitive View From The New Bus For London

I travelled up to the Angel this morning on a New Bus for London.  I sat at the back downstairs looking behind, as depending on what bus fell in behind, I might have made a  change.

In the end I had a quick chat with the driver/conductor and he described an incident that could have been serious, due to the ill-thought-out behaviour of a group of pedestrians.

It strikes me that as these buses get more numerous, they might actually improve the safety of pedestrians, if feedback from these all-seeing driver/conductors was fed into the system and this led to better pavements and crossing points in the places, where near misses have been observed.

October 11, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

An Incident On A Bus

I was on a bus this morning, when a couple tried to get on without paying. They seemed to produce an old ticket claiming it had been issued earlier. But obviously, this didn’t fool the driver and he said no.

After a minute or so everyone on the bus started to get a bit impatient ringing the bell and rumbling about moving on. But the couple stood their ground.

it was then that the two biggest passengers on the bus moved forward to try to support the driver and sort the impasse.  One was a stockily-built, fifty year old or so,  white man in a suit and the other was a much younger, tall black man in jeans and a cotton jacket.

Faced with this irresistible force, the couple got off and possibly waited for another bus.

I was sitting next to a rather slight young lady and remarked that luckily you don’t see that too often. She agreed and we both wished each other well, as we got off a couple of stops later.

Perhaps we should have all cheered, but I think we thought that discretion was the better part of valour.

So, in the end, no-one or nothing was hurt, except perhaps the couple’s pride.

October 9, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

London Bridge Is Falling Down

Not the bridge in the nursery rhyme, but the station.

Admittedly with a little help from its friends.

In a few years time, it will be one of the best stations in London. If this impressive computer generated video. is anything to go by.

October 7, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment