Huhne Has Been Stupid
When it was first rumoured that Chris Huhne had got his wife to take some of his speeding points, I put up a post.
I said this.
It sounds to me that this case might end up with a more serious charge.
Whatever happened to the beloved criminal quote of “It’s a fair cop, officer!”
It now seems I was right too, as Chris Huhne has resigned with all sorts of consequences according to this report on the BBC.
If he’d taken his punishment at the time, he would now still be a member of the government.
The fact that he didn’t shows how naive he must be. After all, he must have realised that once the story got out he’d be finished, so why not cap the story at the time by losing his licence.
The Correct Term is a Light Engine
When you have just a railway engine travelling by itself, it is called a light engine!
One has caused chaos on the West Coast Main Line by getting itself derailed at Bletchley, as reported here on the BBC. But few reports have called it a light engine, most have called it a freight train, as it is owned by a company called Freightliner, although it is at present leased to Virgin Trains. So at least they can read, even if they don’t know the correct railway term.
The BBC report says this.
A spokesman for Network Rail said the Freightliner locomotive appeared to have approached a set of points at Bletchley south junction too fast.
This caused the tracks to buckle, damaged wooden sleepers and brought down some overhead cables.
There is as yet “no estimate for the completion of repairs and therefore it is not yet known whether services will continue to be affected on Sunday”, according to the National Rail Enquiries website.
As no-one seems to have been seriously hurt, but many have been seriously delayed and inconvenienced, this will turn out to be one of those stories that will run and run all the way to the Supreme Court. After all the engine wasn’t owned by Virgin Trains, but it was being run on their behalf.
So will Virgin Trains be suing themselves for all the compensation, they’ve paid out to passengers?
Incidentally, I usually go to see Ipswich at Coventry, but won’t be going today. I was going to go and get in by buying a ticket on the gate. But because of this light engine crash, I wouldn’t have been able to get to Coventry.
So should I add my case for compensation to the rest?
No! But, if I’d bought a ticket you could be rest ensured, I wouldn’t be a happy bunny, aif I’d been unable to get to Coventry!
Cyclists
The area of Hackney where I live is just north of the City and there are a lot of cyclists. Normally, there isn’t a problem, but they will sneak up the inside of say a bus that has stopped at a zebra crossing for me to cross and a couple of times, I have nearly been run over. Although, I’m a recovering sixty-odd-year-old stroke victim, I can just about cope, but there is a lot of complaints in the shops and pubs from pedestrians about cyclists ignoring the rules of the road and the pavement.
All I think we need is that everybody tries to follow what the law lays down.
Perhaps, what annoys me at the moment, is that there is building work opposite, which means there are extra hazards like delivery lorries and skips, where I cross the road. This would be fine, as usually everything is properly placed to cause the minimum of obstruction. The problem though is that so many drivers and motorcyclists use the road as a short cut and weave in and out of the hazards at speeds over the 20 mph limit for the road.
I think it would help if Hackney followed Islington and went for a borough wide 20 mph speed limit.
Hitler’s Possible Legacy for CrossRail
It is being reported that they are searching the Connaught Tunnel for any legacy of unexploded bombs from the Second World War, before they rebuild the tunnel for CrossRail.
Suppose they did miss a small one and it did a little bit of damage to one of CrossRail’s German-built TBMs.
It would be embarrassment all round!
What Do You Call People You Don’t Know?
They had this discussion on the BBC this morning, after a bus driver called a lady babe in Brighton and she objected.
Generally, I don’t mind, except if they call me Jim. Jim was my father, as I said before.
You should never assume any nicknames and to me, ones like sir, thanks, mate and luv are generally acceptable. I notice also in London, that a lot of drivers often wave you through after your ticket has been accepted. Which is acceptable to everybody and especially those who are hard of hearing. The machine also tells you to go with a visible message.
I had to laugh though when Quentin Somerville of the BBC, then said his report was on his Twitter account called MrSommerville.
So not everyone is informal!
The Americans Don’t Have A Sense of Humour
It’s all here.
I rest my case!
Now we have even more reasons to not visit the Land of the Hi-tech Death Penalty!
The Elsenham Level Crossing
NetworkRail has pleaded guilty to causing the death of two girls at the Elsenham level crossing in Essex.
There is now an immense footbridge there, so you don’t have to walk over the level crossing. It would be a difficult climb for someone like me at 64 with a dodgy heart valve. So does everybody use it? Sometimes level crossings with proper warning systems are much better for most people, except the stupid and impulsive. At a similar level crossing at Foxton, pedestrian access across the tracks is controlled by locks on the gates controlled by the signalling system. That system has been at Foxton for years, so why wasn’t it installed Elsenham?
Further north, just south of Newmarket there is a level crossing on the Ipswich to Cambridge line at Six Mile Bottom. It is on a long straight road with a thirty miles per hour limit and the crossing has barriers and flashing lights. But it still manages to have had a couple of cars hit trains in the last twenty years.
My view has always been that all level crossings should be eliminated on railways, as they have always been a major place for tragic accidents. And also for suicides, as at Ufton Nervet, where several people died. But to eliminate some level crossings, like say the one at Six Mile Bottom would cost several million pounds.
Under The New Roof at Kings Cross
I popped into Kings Cross today and took these pictures of the new roof over the Western Extension to the station.
Note that a poster says it will open in March 2012.
I didn’t show the most disgusting part of the new station; the smokers surrounding the entrance to the area.
Is Bob Crow Going to the Olympics?
I suspect that if he does go, he won’t be too popular after holding the organisers to ransom over extra payments to his members.
Unless of course Ken wins the London Mayor election and he’ll be a guest of honour, along with a lot of other strange people.
London Bus Myths
When we were kids, there was always a story or myth about a particular London bus route, that ever since one got a direct hit from a German bomb has gone in convoy. I know 38s, seem to run in threes, but I don’t think it was that route.
The myth round here is that 4s have a take your own line approach to getting from one end of their route to the other. This was illustrated today as I saw a 4 going towards the Islington Angel on the Essex Road. I did find though when I got home, that there had been a traffic accident.
There must be many more myths.
The Anonymous Widower 