Pinky and Perky in Front of the Olympic Stadium
I took this picture yesterday as the train slowed to pass the Olympic Stadium.
The Sewage Pumping Station at the Olympic Park
Note the two pink cylinders, nicknamed Pinky and Perky, in the pumping station, at the right of the picture. If you enlarge the picture you’ll see that the right cylinder is partly obscured by a graffiti covered signalling cable box. I hope that graffiti isn’t goig to be a problem on the Olympic site!
I Was Overcharged at Liverpool Street Yesterday
Getting the right ticket to go and see Ipswich from London is quite a problem, even at weekends, when everything is Off Peak. As I have a Freedom Pass, I only need to buy a return from the Zone 6 Boundary (Harold Wood) to Ipswich. I usually upgrade to First for the outward journey. The trouble with doing a full upgrade is that often the first and quickest return train is a slow one and I get off these at Stratford and then take the London Overground to Dalston Kingsland.
This type of ticket is not really complicated, but you can’t buy it on-line, so I had to go to the ticket office at Liverpool Street first.
Yesterday the ticket office at Liverpool Street was very crowded and because Ipswich is a gluten-free desert, I wanted to have lunch in Spitalfields first, so I didn’t have much time available.
I asked for the return from the Zone 6 boundary and the outward First upgrade, but felt that it was a bit expensive. I checked with the clerk and she said that was what I’d got. But as they don’t give you your tickets until you’ve paid, I couldn’t check. It was only when I checked outside the ticket office that she’d sold me an unwanted First Class upgrade for the return journey.
after my lunch, I did think of queuing again, but the ticket offce was still busy, as was the one at Ipswich. I’ve now written to National Express East Anglia. Here’s the main part of what I said.
I have a Freedom Pass and a season ticket at Ipswich Town, so when I go to matches, I use the train, as I have had a stroke. I generally travel buy a Standard Class return ticket from the Zone 6 Boundary (Harold Wood) to Ipswich. On a Saturday, I upgrade to First Class outward, as this means I can lay the paper out properly. Coming back, I usually return to Stratford and then take the Overground home to Dalston Kingsland, as if the train is crowded or it is raining it is quicker and more convenient.
Yesterday, the ticket office was very crowded, so after a long queue, I asked for the Standard return and the outward First Class upgrade. Only when I walked away in a bit of a hurry, as I wanted to have lunch before catching the train, did I realise that I had been sold return First Class upgrade, which I hadn’t asked for. I had queried the price, but the girl in the office had said it was right, but as I didn’t get the tickets until after I had paid, there was no way I could check.
So basically, I was overcharged £7.
I did try to complain at the time, but this would have meant going through the long queue again, which would have meant missing my train.
At Ipswich, the ticket office was very busy too.
How do I claim my seven pounds back?
Incidentally, the train I came back on from Ipswich to Stratford didn’t appear to have any First Class accomodation anyway.
I would prefer to be able to buy these tickets on line, but I don’t think I can. So I suppose the only way to get the right ticket is to make a special visit to Liverpool Street earlier in the week.
It will be interesting what the reply is.
Are Police Drivers Really This Stupid?
According to The Times today, policemen and I suspect policewomen as well are very adept at misfuelling their cars, as this extract shows.
Police forces have spent more than £300,000 in the past two years repairing diesel cars and vans damaged by officers who filled them with petrol.
Almost one in six diesel vehicles owned by the Metropolitan Police — the worst offender — was filled incorrectly, costing more than £170,000. Many forces have had to fit preventive caps and warning stickers because of the number of incidents.
How many plods have done it more than once. Surely, you get fired on the second time!
I’ve never done it and won’t now, as I don’t drive!
I do remember though a lady in serious distress once at Sainsburys in Haverhill. She’d taken her husband’s car to supposedly stay at her sister’s on Saturday night at somewhere that wasn’t Haverhill. But she’d gone to have a tryst with a man there. So being the good girl, she had left early on Sunday morning and then she’d gratefully replaced the fuel she had used. Except that she had put petrol in her husband’s diesel car. I’ve never seen a woman in so much tears, except where a death was involved.
Not My View of Burnley
Burnley gets a pasting from The Times today. Here’s a flavour.
Burnley has been called “Poundland” land by a councillor because it has so many discount and £1 stores.
The Lancashire town has had its fair share of hard economic times since the Industrial Revolution.
Only last month it was highlighted in a survey as having the lowest property prices in Britain. Four of the top five streets with the lowest house prices in England and Wales are in the town.
Perhaps after my last three years, I tend to see everything half-full rather than half-empty.
I won’t deny Burnley has problems, but it has a lot of things going for it, like the football club and Towneley Hall. And I would say that everybody I met last Saturday was friendly and very welcoming. That includes stewards and police too!
It was definitely an enjoyable day out and I shall be going next year, if we’re both in the same division.
More on the Clutter Around Dalston Junction
I now avoid Dalston Junction as much as I can because of the bad pedestrian routes, as I want to go on my terms and not those of a driver who feels pedestrians are targets to be hit. However today, I wanted to explore an address to the east of the station, so I had no excuse but to try and walk up the Kingsland Road and turn into Dalston Lane.
Pavement Clutter at Dalston Junction
The picture illustrates why I said try and walk. note the several advertising hoardings and the cafe encroaching towards the road.
As it was sunny and I’m feeling better, I was able to get through and then had to cross Dalston Lane and walk down an equally restricted narrow pavement on the north side of that road. There was nowhere to cross until a set of pedestrian lights, well past the station. One point I noticed, was that if you had wanted to take say a 30 bus to Hackney Wick, you’d have to walk some way to the stop and where it was wasn’t at all obvious. In the end I walked south and then used Forest Road to get back to the Kingsland Road. At least I was able to ascertain, that the bus station at Dalston Junction appeared to be complete.
opening the Southern entrance to the station would make things so much better and safer.
No Shredders in the City
My rather-too-cheap shredder failed a week ago and you’d think being close to the City of London, it would not be difficult to get a new and better one!
Wrong!
After a couple of abortive trips to the nearest PC World and Maplins, where they were out of stock, I decided to take the bull by the horns and go to Staples at Tottenham Hale.
In the end I chose one that just fitted in my large Tesco bag-for-life.
It also fitted the steps of the escalators on the Underground well and I could place it under the seat on one of the new Victoria line trains, so getting it back home wasn’t the hassle I thought it would be.
But why are there no shredders in the City?
Crazy Ticketing
Next week, I’m going to an evening match at Portman Road on Tuesday and the following week it’s the Norwich match on the Thursday.
Unless I want to spend forever in Ipswich before the match because of ticketing restrictions, I can’t use a cheap ticket on any train out of London after 16:30. Which means that I end up in a town with no decent gluten-free restaurant, with nothing to do until kick-off time. There are some nice things to do in Ipswich, but I’ve done them all.
It was suggested to me by the ticket staff at Liverpool Street, that as I indicated I could profitably travel to Cambridge or Bury St. Edmunds, that I could save money by taking a return to Bury St. Edmunds and then breaking my journey on the way back.
How many fans will see the crazy midweek prices and not go by train at all?
Does Public Transport Combat Racism?
I wonder about this, but the masses of different races and nationalities, that use public transport have to get on.
When you swipe your card by the driver on a bus say, you often wave and say thank you and if the bus isn’t busy you’ll often get a cherry reply, whatever the race of the driver. And let’s face it, is there a race not represented amongst London bus drivers.
Often too, you’ll strike up a conversation with the person next to you, about something trivial. Sometimes this will be caused by my apologising for being clumsy because of the stroke and I can’t remember receiving a rude response.
One incident stands out. I was needing to get by a black man of my own age, as I’d rather hidden myself away on a corner seat, at the back of the bus. So I apologised before I hit him with my rucksack. He said not too bother, as he was very happy and after five years as a widower he was going to propse to his girlfriend that day. I said I was a widower too and he said that it’ll all work out. He waved me goodbye as I left the bus. Good luck to him and I hope the lady accepted his proposal.
So when you throw people together and they all get mixed up, does it take the racial tension out of living?
I think the only thing we need to ensure is that when we travel on a bus or train, that we treat everybody in the way we would like to be treated ourselves.
The Anonymous Widower 