Busway Humour – 2
There’s nothing like putting the boot into a project that has its troubles. So it is no surprise that the Cambridge Busway is the butt of humour in the Cambridge Evening News.
Dinosaur bones have been discovered on the guided busway – and tourist chiefs hope it could lead to the scheme becoming a major tourism attraction.
It’s not as funny as their previous attempt.
A Cloud
I’ve just photographed this cloud through the window of the hotel.
A Cloud
To illustrate how fleeting this image was, I took another a few minutes later.
A "Not-So-Good" Cloud
A New Tax on Death
I’ve just found out that the cost of extra Death Certificates not ordered when you report a death, is going up from £3.50 or £7 from April 5th.
What was it they said about two things you can’t avoid; death and taxes? It is certainly and and not and/or.
MPs for Hire
Stephen Byers, Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon have been shown in a compromising position over offering themselves for hire on the Channel 4 programme, Despatches.
But their major crime is that they were stupid. And they were ex-ministers!
I think it just shows the sort of dross we have in Parliament.
We will continue to get time-servers, get-rich-quick-merchants, blow-your-own-trumpeters and other ne’er do-wells, until we properly reform Parliament.
They do work hard, or all the MPs I’ve known did, except one, they work unsocial hours, every part of their personal life is scrutinised by the tabloids and they have lots of family problems. And they do it all for a pittance, which when it is recommended it is increased, they never get all of it.
Could that be why the expenses were so lax and Byers etc., were offering themselves for hire?
Here’s my deal.
- Let’s have half the number of MPs and pay them twice the amount of money. We want quality not quantity.
- But no outside jobs, except perhaps expenses-only non-execs to major companies and organisations in their constituency.
- Put proper non-political staff in the constituency in a fixed office, that is obvious and the first port of call if you have a problem. If the MP changes, the office doesn’t.
- E-mail, SMS and other access to MPs or their offices.
- Give MPs a free and secret vote, so they are no longer party hacks. After all they are our MPs and not the parties.
- Free first-class rail travel to and from the constituency and sensible expenses for second homes if required.
We need a Parliament for the twentieth century, let alone the twenty-first.
The History Boys
I went to see The History Boys last night in Cambridge with a friend.
Perhaps, I should have gone to a matinée as I had a bit of a problem staying awake. But not because of the play which was very good.
I hadn’t actually seen the original stage play, but I did see the film of a few years back with my late wife. The two are different obviously, but the story is virtually the same.
So if it comes to a theatre near you then go and see it. You won’t be disappointed.
Beckham Makes The Times Leader
Yesterday, David Beckham made a leader in The Times.
This illustrates the power of the man and the respect most of us feel for him.
I saw it most in Belarus, when I went to support England. The amazing cheer when he came on, was not just from the England supporters but also from those of Belarus.
I sometimes wonder how we’ll all see Beckham in say twenty years time. He will surprise us all.
The Flat in St. John’s Wood
St. John’s Wood it may have been, but then it was on the fourth floor with no lift. And we had three small children.
Townshend Court, St. John's Wood
It does look as if they’ve improved the block.
Primrose Hill
When we lived in St. John’s Wood, we used to go to Primrose Hill a lot. There is the hill itself and also the area that sits between the bridge over the West Coast Main Line out of Euston, the hill and Regent’s Park.
West Coast Main Line from Regent's Park Road
Note the tower blocks behind the railway. Our doctor was in one of those towers, but which one I don’t know.
The bridge has been painted as long as I can remember. This is the south side.
Regent's Park Road Bridge, South Side
And this is the north.
Regent's Park Road Bridge, North Side
These paintings were done in 2007.
I wandered around the area, found that some of our friends were still about after nearly forty years and took a picture of the old Mustoe Bistro.
Where was Mustoe Bistro?
Sadly, it is now a shop selling up market bric-a-brac. I’d much prefer Edward’s simple fare and interesting chat.
I then walked to the top of the hill on my way to St. John’s Wood.
The View from Primrose Hill
On to Chalk Farm
I had intended to go to Hampstead using the North London Line from Highbury and Islington station. But that line is closed for a few month for an upgrade, so I decided to take the Victoria and Northern lines instead. But I changed my mind and instead of going all the way to Hampstead, I got off the tube at Chalk Farm.
Chalk Farm Station
I’d used this station many times, as in the early seventies I’d commuted from our fourth-floor walk-up flat in St. John’s Wood to ICI Plastics Division at Welwyn Garden City, by walking to Chalk Farm and then going to Kings Cross to get the train. It was actually a pleasant commute, as I was going the wrong way most of the time.
Some things never change and Marine Ices is still there.
Marine Ices, Chalk Farm
The shop was one of the pleasures of when we lived in the area.
And then there is The Roundhouse.
The Roundhouse
I went there for a coffee. It was good.
But it wasn’t the first time that I’d been there. I’d seen a couple of shows over the years at the venue, including the amazing de la Guarda.
But I do have one very bad memory of Chalk Farm. It was there that I was stopped by the police whilst driving a wreck of a Triumph Herald that I bought that I really shouldn’t have bought. I remember parking it on this road here before I got it towed to the dump.
Regents Park Road, Chalk Farm
It was all different then in 1971 or so, with no flats and no parking restrictions.
Street Art in Dalston
This mural is at Dalston Junction, where the Balls Pond Road meets Kingsland Road.
Street Art, Dalston Junction
Appropriately, it is by the old Reeves offices and factory.
Reeves Offices in Dalston
This was probably the place where my mother worked before she got married. I’m not too sure what she did, but I think she worked in accounts or wages, although I do know that worked a comptometer. I can remember her telling me that you used to do division, by multiplying by the reciprocals. She still knew her reciprocals many years later.
Reeves Offices in Dalston
As befits a company, whose business has been art for nearly 250 years, the details are very much in keeping.
Another twist in this area, is that my grandmother, who my mother always said thought herself terribly posh, was born round the corner in the Balls Pond Road. It’s going back up again!
