Talking up Defiencies
They’ve just had a very one-sided phone-in on BBC Radio 5, with virtually an hour of the dismal Jimmies and Jennies complaining about all the inadequacies.
We’ve just had a volunteer complaining, that they are not being given car parking on the Olympic Park. It sounds to me, that they should have been turned down as a volunteer.
Let’s face it, if you don’t like the conditions, don’t volunteer.
We should be celebrating what we got right.
My field is project management and we should be celebrating the fact that all of the venues and transport links have been constructed on time and generally on budget.
Remember the Olympic Park is built in a marsh and with all the bad weather we’ve been having lately, that has not only caused construction problems, but made the design of the park difficult. Luckily, the main site of the Games is by the River Lea and Joseph Bazalette‘s massive Northern Outfall Sewer, so hopefully we’ll cope, with water and sewage.
I’ve watched the plans unfold and East London has improved beyond all expectations.
When we won the bid the London Overground from New Cross to Dalston and from Stratford to Richmond only partly existed as a set of travelling urinals. now it is a modern railway with new trains, signalling and completely renewed track. The East London Line deserves five stars in its own right, as it was built through Brunel’s Thames Tunnel of 1840 and under the Kingsland Road, without breaking anything.
As the icing, London has now got its magnificent cable-car, which will be the fun legacy of the games.
And now the phone-in is talking about the failure of the O2 mobile phone network. My Nokia 6310i works well on O2 at the moment.
Fifty Shades of Grey on the Tube
This morning,as I went to the dentist on the Central line, I noticed that the young lady next to me was reading a book. But not just any book, but Fifty Shades of Grey.
It’s funny, but I don’t think a man would even have read Lady Chatterley’s Lover on the tube even a dozen or so years ago.
I Didn’t Have A Bad Weekend
It could have been better, if Murray had won, instead of lost to Federer, but I doubt there is any player, who on his best form could have beaten Federer on Sunday. But as Jeff Tarango predicted, the roof issue was against Murray.
But then we did have the wonderful victory of Marray and Neilsen winning the Mens Doubles.
We did at least thrash the Aussies again, during breaks in the rain at Chester-le-Street.
I did enjoy the cable-car in the rain too.
And especially, the pop-up museum about Crossrail and the archaeology.
But otherwise I was just reading the papers, feeding myself and watching television.
At least we have the Olympics coming up.
London Receives Its 300th Hybrid Bus
This report says that London has now got three hundred hybrid buses on the streets.
It also says that there are seven New Bus for London on route 38. I’ve only seen five.
And Then There Were Five!
I passed New Bus for London, LT8, on the way back from the Angel this afternoon. So that means at least five; LT1, LT2, LT4, LT6 and LT8.
A Morning Trip In The Rain
I’ve been there many times in my past, both as a child and as a parent.
It’s raining, cats, dogs and hippopotami and all of the things to do indoors have been done to death. So this morning, I decided to see what the new Emirates Air-Line is like in the heavy rain.
I took my usual route to the Northern terminal at Royal Victoria DLR station, by taking a bus and a tube to Bank station and then getting the faithful Docklands Light Railway. Is there a railway anywhere in the world, that was built as on-the-cheap as the DLR, that has morphed so successfully from an ugly duckling into a swan? Or possibly in the DLR’s case to a whole game of swans.
Even on the short trip from Bank to Royal Victoria, there is much to see, like the expensive yachts, housing and offices, the many spires of the East End and mud flats, factories and construction of the River Lea. It is a trip that delights most children.
I took these pictures on the way to Royal Victoria, during the crossing and then at North Greenwich.
Afterwards, I took the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf for a late Full Italian breakfast at Carluccio’s.
So was it a worthwhile trip? And would it be with young children?
- I only got wet walking between Royal Victoria DLR station and the cable-car and between the cable-car and North Greenwich tube station.
- The queues were less than last Sunday and marginally worse at North Greenwich. Is that because there’s parking on the South bank of the river.
- The view from the gondola wasn’t too bad at all. Is the glass treated with a water repellant?
So on balance, a trip in the rain, may even have an advantage in that the crowds are smaller and you don’t have to wait.
Bison to Bedlam
This was the archaeology story for CrossRail, that I mentioned earlier. I took these pictures.
The sad thing was that it is an exhibition for one day only. The work done deserves to be seen by many more. And it would be if it was shown again, as it really drew in the crowd.
Archaeology In Europe’s Biggest Project
As you can imagine if you dig a hole as large as CrossRail through London, you’ll find things, that history will value.
There’s an exhibition for one day only today. I shall try and go!
Is The Shard Value?
The Shard is charging £24.95 to go to the top. The Emirates Cable-Car is different and it costs just £3.20 to actually get somewhere. The London Eye is very coy about tickets and I think it costs £15, with the ability to pay extra for fast-track. You get fast-track for nothing on the cable-car if you use your Oyster card.
It strikes me that the choice is a no-brainer. Go on the cable-car, if cost is important to you.
One important point, is that all three projects have been realised by the MACE Group.
The Anonymous Widower 