Bus Roulette
I said yesterday, that on my way to Kings Cross, I would be playing bus roulette.
I drew 476 and as I was a bit early, I got off at the last stop on Pentonville Road and crossed a couple of roads and walked into the front of King’s Cross Station. It was probably easier on a dry day, than going to the official stop opposite the station and using the underpass.
Coming back from York, I played roulette again and got another 476 to the Balls Pond Road from directly outside King’s Cross Station.
In some ways it is a bit of a forgotten route, as perhaps only one in four of the buses that go down the Essex Road to the Angel and on to Kings Cross are 476s.
The Monster Loony Party’s Thoughts on the Cambridge Busway
This story is priceless and puts one of Britain’s worst transport projects in perspective.
Loony politician Lord Toby Jug has launched a campaign to have Cambridgeshire’s guided bus route rebuilt in rubber and stretched to the Channel Isles so St Ives can become a tax haven.
Lord Toby, leader of the Cambridge and Huntingdon branch of the Official Monster Loony Party, is also campaigning to have a witch-ducking stool built on the Quay at St Ives.
This would be used so that council officials who came up with the “crackpot” guided bus scheme can be dunked in the River Great Ouse every hour.
Lord Toby Jug is also raising money for Alzheimer’s Disease research.
Stoic Londoners
Last night, I had to go to the bus stop to pick up a friend, who was coming to dinner.
At the moment, the Balls Pond Road, is more like the Balls Pond Roadworks and as buses through Dalston appeared to be being diverted, buses were stacked up to get to the stop, where my friend was to alight.
But was it all fraught, with shouting and waving?
No! Everybody just got on with their travel, perhaps walked a bit if necessary and got off buses in the middle of the road, if that was all they could do.
Hopefully, it’ll all be better in a week or two, when the works finish.
You do sometimes think that stupidity makes it worse. Yesterday, as I walked back from Dalston Junction, the road was narrowed by the road works, so what did some idiot decorators do? Block the pavement with ladders, so they could paint a building. This meant mothers with buggies had to use the road and weave between buses, trucks and other vehicles. Hopefully, there wasn’t an accident.
Off to York Today!
Today I’m off to York to see a old friend. This is the ticket, I used as a test to find the optimum time to buy. It’s so much easier to do trips like that from here, than where I lived in the country. It’s just a bus or a bus and a tube to King’s Cross. It just depends what number bus turns up first.
Is that playing Bus Roulette?
Are These Idiots After a Darwin Award?
The Central Line today was disrupted by cable thefts today.
This follows a pattern and eventually, it will lead to someone winning a Darwin Award.
The Darwin Awards commerate those who yield to natural selection and “remove” themselves from the gene pool…thereby ensuring that the next generation is smarter by one.
Of necessity, the award is usually bestowed posthumously.
Here’s typical behaviour that can win an award or in this case two.
Who would park the car on a busy freeway in heavy fog, for a quickie?
That’s the whole picture: A young couple, driving along Via Dutra, the largest freeway in Brazil with tons of heavy traffic, at 6AM under heavy fog. The couple decided that this was the time to park (for “dating” according to the charming Google translation) and, yes, they parked on the freeway in the right-hand lane, not on the shoulder, the median, or at a gas station. Naturally, given time a cargo truck encountered a “speed bump,” instantly killing both — during the act of procreation — double-double Darwin Award! (2) people making (2) obviously bad decisions, and natural selection acts at the very moment the two are reproducing. Textbook!
Stealing live high-voltage cables is probably equally stupid. But would our legal system pay out damages to the family of idiots killed in this way?
Surely being nominated for a Darwin Award disqualifies you from receiving compensation!
Welcome to IKEA
I finally got the spice rack last night at IKEA in Croydon.
It’s quite an easy journey by public transport, as I just get the 21/141 bus to London Bridge, a train to East Croydon and then the Tramlink to Ampere Way.
In a strange way, the journey summed up one of the things I like about London; friendliness. I chatted about my troubles and travels to a pleasant guy called Duncan from the Bank of England and then as I waited for the tram, I talked to the tram driver, who was to take my tram to Wimbledon. Incidentally, Duncan doesn’t have a car, so like me he uses public transport everywhere. Perhaps, we’re ahead of our time and in a few years or so, non-driving will be the normal thing to do.
The only problem, I had on the journey down, was caused by a slight lack of signage at East Croydon, my uncertainty about how to use the tram and which one to get.
Duncan pointed me at this book; The Brain That Changes Itself. I shall check it out!
I was then presented to this at IKEA.
Welcome to IKEA
Just look at those concrete benches, that are ideally placed to bump the shins of people with limited vision. It wasn’t the easiest walk to and from the tram stop, with some roads controlled by pedestrian lights and others that worked on the cross-quickly-and-be-lucky principle.
Coming back was quite easy, in that I took the tram to West Croydon and then took the East London Line to Dalston Junction. But there is no signage at West Croydon to the Overground from the tram stop. Supposedly, plans are in place for a better connection. At Dalston, I was even lucky enough to avoid the five minute walk, by getting a convenient bus along the Balls Pond Road.
The spice rack is now on the wall.
Ice Cold in Cornwall
I went to Cornwall for the weekend with friends.
Cold wasn’t the word for the weather.
Icicles at Boscastle
This was the walk by the river in Boscastle. In the end we retreated to the Wellington Hotel for some delicious hot chocolate. We also had an early dinner there before returning to London. The menu was very coeliac and vegetarian friendly.
I had some delicious liver and bacon. All that B12 seems to have freshened up my skin quite a bit.
The Tuesday Night Football Test
So I can’t go to Derby for the Ipswich match on Tuesday night, but how many of the Championship grounds are possible to visit for an evening fixture and get back to London at a reasonable hour?
Here’s a list based on the current clubs in the Championship.
- Barnsley – No return train
- Bristol City – Into London at 00:33
- Burnley – No return train
- Cardiff – Possible if you miss the last 30 minutes
- Crystal Palace – Not relevant
- Coventry – Into London at 00:04
- Derby – No return train
- Doncaster – Possible with a taxi
- Hull – No return train
- Ipswich – I’ve done it after the Arsenal match.
- Leeds – No return train
- Leicester – Possible if you miss the last 15 minutes
- Middlesbrough – No return train
- Millwall – Not relevant
- Norwich – Possible if you walk quickly
- Nottingham – No return train
- Portsmouth – Into London at 00:30
- Preston – No return train
- QPR – Not relevant
- Reading – Easily done
- Scunthorpe – No return train
- Sheffield United – No return train
- Swansea – Just a bit too far
- Watford – Easily done
It should be said that quite a few like Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham have very early trains, where if you were a real fan you could wait for perhaps four hours in the station or find a B & B. But I was never that enthusiastic!
I think though it shows the need for the matches to be planned better. Perhaps local matches like Ipswich against any London club should be the ones for Tuesday nights. Although it could be argued that Ipswich to Derby is an easy drive and many fans will go by coach.
The Sunday Lunchtime Test
I was talking to a friend yesterday about my troubles on getting back from Derby after the football on Tuesday and he happened to say that it’s very difficult to get to some places in the UK from London by train for lunch on a Sunday. In some ways this isn’t something that is fair, as engineering works sometimes take place, but surely things like this should be possible most of the year.
Out of curiosity I decided to check some routes.
- Cardiff – Three trains before 13:00 – Two direct and one almost
- Liverpool Lime Street – Two trains before 13:00 – Both direct
- Manchester Piccadilly – Three trains before 13:00 – All direct
- Newcastle – Two trains before 13:00 – Both direct
- Norwich – Two trains before 13:00 – Both direct
- Plymouth – One train before 13:00 – Direct
- Swansea – One train before 13:00 – Direct
I have checked the next three Sundays and found that in some cases trains weren’t running due to engineering works, especially on the Norwich route.
Incidentally, I was surprised that Plymouth and Swansea are possible. Especially as the High Speed Trains are nearly forty years old. But they are still very comfortable, have windows aligned to the seats and are very fast. Incidentally, I checked and found that on the 12th of February you can get to Plymouth for £14.20 in Standard and £28.70 in First.
But if it’s granny’s birthday and you’re booking a few weeks in advance, it seems that the system is pretty predictable.
Seeing Ipswich at Derby is Impossible.
As Ipswich aren’t playing this weekend, I thoght it would be nice to see them at Derby on the Tuesday.
But there is no return train, so I won’t be going! I don’t fancy waiting up until four in the morning to get a train back to London either.
Obviously, Derby County supporters don’t live in London and go to the match by train!
The Anonymous Widower 