Why Would Anybody Use Heathrow Express?
On Tuesday, I’m off to Malta from Heathrow on the 11:25 flight.
I’ve just consulted Transport for London’s journey planner. If I go anywhere and especially west of Kings Cross on the Piccadilly line, I generally take a 141 bus from the corner by my house to Manor House station and get the line from there.
I’ve just seen how long it takes from Manor House to Heathrow Terminal 4, where my flight leaves. It takes 67 minutes if you take the Underground all the way and ten minutes less if you take a route using Heathrow Express, which involves a several changes of train including one at the airport to get to Terminal 4.
So for a saving of ten minutes, I pay a lot of money and have a lot more hassle.
The Underground may be unsexy, but it is generally reliable and a lot more convenient.
Crossrail will be faster and probably save me upwards of half-an-hour getting to Heathrow, unless I want to go to Terminal 5.
The Great Car Con
Tomorrow night on Despatches on Channel Four are showing a program called The Great Car Con. They say this in summary about the program.
Motorists were promised diesel would be the cheap, green fuel of the future, but it turns out that’s not the case. Why did politicians encourage the ‘dash for diesel’?
All of today’s generation of politicians, won’t know much about air pollution, like my generation suffered from before the Clean Air Act of 1956, cleaned up our major cities. Unless of course they have been on a freebie to Beijing.
In my view we need to agree an objective function, where the amount of everything we emit into the air is balanced in a scientifically-correctly weighted way.
I would want a strict limit for CO2 and all the other pollutants. And there should be a firm cut-off date when after which vehicles that do not meet the limits are banned. I should also be Europe-wide.
In London we should start with buses, taxis and trucks, which would be controversial. But lots of legislation is opposed, but if it is sensible and well thought out, after a brief time, no-one would want to give up the improvements to their lives.
Does anybody want to allow smoking on buses, trains and in public houses?
I used to love my cars, but I haven’t driven for nearly five years now. Do I miss it?
Of course not!
I do wonder if people choose to give up driving voluntarily or not bother to learn, then they should be entitled to a discount on public transport.
Emirates Air Line – 25th January 2015
I took these pictures today from the Emirates Air-Line.
It wasn’t very busy, but in some ways that is better, as you get a car to yourself.
No Contactless Cards On The Emirates Air-Line
This is the welcoming sign you get at the Emirates Air-Line.
No Contactless Cards On The Emirates Air-Line
As there is talk that contactless cards are gradually taking over from Oyster, not accepting them, is a really good way to discourage ridership.
Custom House Station – 25th January 2015
I took these pictures today.
Compare them with those taken six weeks ago.
Progress seems to be happening, with some stairs and the tunnel towards London now showing themselves.
The Five Car Class 378 Trains Are Showing Themselves
I described my first sighting of a five car Class 378 in this post in December 2014. Since then, I have had the odd trip in one, but over the last few days they have become more numerous.
The pictures show the brighter upholstery in the new carriages.
Today, I sat in one and the helpful announcer said that I was in Car 5 of 5. In fact, the carriage was in its normal position of four.
Details Of My Bathroom
I’ve now got some of the bathroom as want it.
Note.
1. The hooks and the towel ring are stuck on with a special epoxy. The tiles are so hard to drill one hole costs at least a tenner in drill bits and the good temper of the driller. So far the glue is performing, as I hope it will.
2. The grab rail is positioned in line with the right side of the bath, so that it steadies me, as I get in and out.
3. I probably need a shorter grab rail on the other side of the bath low down for my left hand, as I sit and stand up.
4. My bathroom is off the front hall, so it doubles as a wet clothing and umbrella room.
5. The stool is one of Suffolk Six and one was in our last bathroom in Suffolk. I’d sit on it, whilst talking to C, as she luxuriated in the bath.
6. The towel ring stuck by the side of the bath is big enough to hold a towel, that a lady with long hair might use after washing it. To get the towel size right, I asked an assistant in John Lewis for her opinion. She tested the size, whilst serving me at the till.
7. I use a ceramic tray for my soap and shampoo, as until I find the right one, I’m not going to drill the tiles and so avoid Jerry’s problem.
7. I never use a mirror in the bathroom and forget to put one in. My stupid builder didn’t spot the omission either! So now I’m looking for a compatible stick-on mirror, so that the tiles don’t have to be drilled.
The fittings are the Bond range from Miller of Sweden. They look good and are very easy to put up straight. They supplied the special epoxy.
This bathroom has been a long time coming, as work started in Oct 2012 and I even had my first bath in the new bath in December 2012.
BT Sport Channel Numbers On A Steam Broadband Box
Despite almost being in the centre of London and only about a hundred metres from the exchange, I can’t get fibre optic here. I think, it’s because unlike everybody else in the road, I have a direct line to the exchange, so that unless they dig up the road to the exchange, I can wait for ever for fibre optic broadband. I might just as well be on St. Kilda as far as BT are concerned.
So I have to watch football, as I am now, through my steam broadband connection. To be fair the picture is generally acceptable.
But the problem is that I can never find the channels, as BT’s security system gives them obscure numbers, so that their steam broadband system doesn’t get overloaded.
The channel numbers are as follows.
507 – BT Sport 1,
508 -BT Sport 2.
509 – ESPN
How logical is that?
Simon Fanshawe Questions Our Attitude To the Death Of King Abdulla
Simon Fanshawe is a respected commentator and today, he reviewed the papers on BBC Breakfast. He picked up this article in the Daily Mail entitled Flags at half mast and fawning praise for a King ‘loved by his people’ sparks furious backlash over rule which saw ‘death by stoning’ for adultery and regular beheadings.
It is not often I agree with the Daily Mail, but I agree with the areticle’s tone and would go further. David Cameron and Prince Charles should not be going to Saudi Arabia. How about sending two of Princess Anne/Prince Andrew and Nick Clegg/Theresa May?
I have never been to Saudi Arabia and never will until they bring their justice into the civilised world and treat women, homosexuals and other religions with respect. The same principle applies to other countries like the United States, Israel, Zimbabwe, North Korea and quite a few other countries. There are just so many interesting places with better systems, that I’m not cutting off my nose to spite my face.
Brighton Police And White Helmets
After my visit to Brighton, where at the football, I saw a few police in their traditional custodian helmets, I remembered that in the 1960s I’d seen images of policemen in the town in white helmets.
Then this article on the BBC web site entitled Just how practical is a traditional Bobby’s helmet?
The article says this about Brighton’s white helmets.
From the 1930s to the 1960s, police in Brighton and Hove wore white helmets in the summer, as they kept the head cooler. This discontinued when they became part of Sussex Police.
Perhaps it is an idea that may come back in another form.
As an aside, a friend in the sixties was a Metropolitan policeman, who served for a time in Anguilla in 1969.
Because of the heat instead of their standard police shirts, the police who went to the island, were issued with special Van Heusen tropical shirts in an appropriate colour.
When he returned to normal duties in London, he once told me, that the shirts were invaluable on hot days.
The Anonymous Widower 