An Interesting Correlation With Job Creation
Today, the Centre For Cities published their Cities Outlook 2015. The report is discussed here on the BBC web site, in a report entitled Economic growth ‘dramatically’ diverges between North and South.
They compare the top five cities; Milton Keynes, London, Cambridge, Brighton and Bournemouth for job creation with the five worst; Gloucester, Rochdale, Blackpool, Newport and Hull and conclude that the performance difference is due to the five best being in the south-east.
They can make their point, but if you look at the next five best and worst, I believe another pattern is starting to emerge.
In sixth to tenth place are Portsmouth, Coventry, Newcastle, Aberdeen and Nottingham and the next five worst are Grimsby, Huddersfield, Swindon, Wigan and Burnley.
I’m going to put a list of the top and bottom cities together with how many trains there are with less than two changes to London after 20:00 and what the time of the last direct or one-change train leaves.
This is the top ten.
Milton Keynes – > >20 trains with last train 00:24
London – N/A
Cambridge – >20 with last train 23:22
Brighton – 15 trains with last train 23:05
Bournemouth – 7 trains with last train 23:12
Portsmouth – 12 trains with last train 23:19
Coventry – 11 trains with last train 23:31
Newcastle – 3 trains with last train 21:15
Aberdeen – Not relevant, but you can fly after 20:00
Nottingham – 5 trains with last train 21:32
And this is the bottom ten.
Burnley – 1 train with last train 20:12
Wigan – 3 trains with last train 21:28
Swindon – 6 trains with last train 23:16
Huddersfield – 4 trains with last train 21:12
Grimsby – 1 train with last train 20:34
Hull – 2 trains with last train 20:57
Newport – 3 trains with last train 21:43
Blackpool – 1 train with last train 20:21
Rochdale – 1 train with last train 20:00
Gloucester – 3 trains with last train at 22:14.
I think it is true to say that for the top ten in the creating jobs table, they have much better return trains to London in the evening than the bottom ten.
Some of those in the bottom ten like Grimsby, Hull, Blackpool and Rochdale have truly dreadful services back to London.
I haven’t looked at the outward journey in any detail, but surely if the return is bad, the outward journey would be of a reduced standard.
So some of these cities are not only a long way to drive, but a complete pain on the train. Would you establish or expand a manufacturing plant or offices, if you knew that every trip might have to incorporate an overnight stay? Given that you could now fly to a lot of places in Europe, do a day’s work sand return to your own bed.
It is my view that we could improve the productivity of decision makers , many of whom are based in the London area, solely because London has such a large population, by ensuring that every major town and city south of Hadrian’s Wall could be reached from the capital in a reasonable time with no more than a single change.
One effect of this would be to create a multiplicity of places, where perhaps a new factory was located, or you’d be going to get something you needed manufactured. All too often, certain cities have advantages over their rivals, as when the money was being dolled out a few years ago, they got an improved railway or a better station.
It Must Be Warm, As I’ve Put My Electric Blanket Away
I’ve taken my electric blanket off the bed, as I have found I’ve not used it for some months.
The bed ceretainly feels more comfortable and the only new problem I’ve got is that I can’t fold it up to put it away.
London’s New Bridge
It’s not often that London gets a new bridge. But the swing bridge over Deptford Creek opened today.
They even closed it so, that I could walk over the creek.
It All Happens In London In May
May is looking to be a big month for the infrastructure of London.
I’ve just read this article in the Hackney Gazette, which is entitled Canary Wharf Crossrail Artwork Released.
But as the article says, we won’t see the artwork until 2018, when Canary Wharf Crossrail station opens.
But what the article does say, is that the shops, restaurants, bars and the roof garden will open to the public in May.
So what else is happening in May?
1. Crossrail will take over the Shenfield Metro services in May. I have spoken to staff about this and everybody I spoke to seemed positive about the move and there has been the odd article like this one in the Btrentwood Gazette that has shown a positive tone.
2. Cossrail has put out this report, which says that tunnelling will be complete in the Spring amongst other things.
3. The Lea Valley Lines become part of the London Overground on the 31st of the Month. I don’t think you’ll find many, who believe it was wrong that London took over the North and East London Lines to create the Overground in 2007. So probably the sentiment for this takeover is positive.
4. Today on Hackney Central station, I asked a London Overground employee, when the pedestrian link to Hackney Downs station will open. It should be in May. He also told me about all the other developments at Hackney Central that are being planned, like extra lifts. The Overground does seem to have instilled infectious enthusiasm into its staff.
There is also the little matter of the first General Election of 2015.
Walking Through My Maternal Grandparents’ Lives
My maternal grandmother, Harriet Martha Upcott, was born opposite Dalston Junction station in Dalston Lane in May 1871. In September 1894, she married my grandfather, Henry Millbank, who had been born in Clerkenwell in 1870. Census and other records show that in 1894 they lived at 29 Dalston Lane and then by 1901 they had moved to 90, Princess May Road in Stoke Newington. As Princess May Road is perhaps a kilometre from where I live now, I walked round all these places this morning.
In some ways, one thing that struck me as I walked in a semi-circle to St. Mark at the back of the famous Ridley Road Market was how intact the late Victorian terraces were. But why was 90, Princess May Road missing. Was it just development or did the Luftwaffe have a hand? I shall go to the Hackney Records Office opposite where my grandmother was born in the week.
It was a family joke between my parents, that my grandmother was born in the Balls Pond Road, when it was posh the first time around. The Balls Pond Road is the continuation of Dalston Lane towards Islington.
I can’t salso ever remember talk of Dalston, despite my mother having worked at Reeves. Stoke Newington and Islington were mentioned.
BT Annoys The Big Six Energy Companies
You would think that BT would be very much in bed with the Big Six energy companies, as they probably draw their directors and advisers from the same pool of fat cats.
So I was surprised to find this guide to the quirkier small energy companies on BT’s web site.
I doubt a big broadband/telephone/mobile company would get into the energy business, as the corporate world is littered with failures of companies trying to ride two horses at once. But with smart meters coming in and all the connectivity that a broadband company has, they could offer you a free lifestyle application that calculated your energy usage and suggest how you could save money.
I can certainly see these applications being developed and when properly connected to your house or flat they could make a lot of difference to your lifestyle and how you sustain and support.
Electricity, gas, phone and broadband usage can all be precisely monitored and relayed to the app on your phone, tablet or laptop.
Much modern housing also has an activity monitor in each room of the dwelling. I have one in each room here and they are the controllers for the underfloor central heating. My ones aren’t but others exist that could be connected into the system. As the average adult is quite a large heat source of upwards of a kilowatt, they can effect the heat input to the room to maintain the required temperature.
Given to, that the Internet of things is coming, which will know what’s going on in the dishwasher, microwave, cooker and washing machine, the best apps will be able to tell you why you’re lifestyle is expensive.
And of course, I haven’t linked this to your car and credit card bills, yet!
Suppose too, you had intelligent scales that weighed you each morning and automatically took things like blood pressure and pulse.
Hopefully, these apps will nudge people to a better lifestyle.
I suppose in some ways, they will be a bit like automatic lifestyle coaches, suggesting things you might or should do.
Match Twenty-Six – Millwall 1 – Ipswich 3
This was an unusual match for me, in that I went both ways between my house and The Den, by using a single bus and a couple of walks to the stops. Admittedly the walk at the Millwall end was longer at fifteen minutes, than the couple or so, it takes to get to the stop for the 21 bus at my house.
When I was at Liverpool University, I may have taken a bus to and from Liverpool or Everton from my first year digs in Huyton, but I can’t think of any other instance in my life. I have gone to both Leyton Orient and Charlton totally by bus, but for those grounds, I did have to change. I took these pictures on my journey and at the match.
As to the match, it wasn’t very exciting and since the last meeting between the clubs, Millwall seemed today to have made no progress. They did lose both matches by two goals as well.
Ipswich’s third goal summed up Millwall. The ball was flicked to Jonathan Parr and he proceeded to run across the Millwall goal with it, just outside the penalty area. No attempt was made by the Millwall defenders to close him down, so he tried a shot, which he aimed just inside the post. It went in and looked to be a classy finish. But he shouldn’t have been able to have the shot.
Work To Start On Lea Bridge Station
According to this article on the Walthamstow Guardian web site, work could start soon on the new Lea Bridge Station and it could be open by the end of the year.
I first reported on this reopening in April 2013.
Should Every Train Have A Clock?
Every London bus shows a clock on the stop display and because of this, I rarely wear a watch these days.
Some trains now show a clock on their destination displays too!
I hope this is going to be universal.
Do Crossrail Trains Need Toilets?
ITV have published this web article entitled The £1bn Crossrail where you can’t spend a penny.
It’s a catchy headline, but is the article just knocking copy to get views or rival politicians making a point.
At present, the Class 315 trains that run from Shenfield to Liverpool Street, do not have toilets. The journey takes up to forty three minutes. So does anybody get taken short on a train?
I discussed this with a customer support guy, that I met at Tottenham Court Road. We thought that some Underground journeys would be longer. I’ve just looked up Cockfosters to Heathrow, which is a journey that if I still lived in the area where I grew up, I’d probably do occasionally. It takes ninety minutes.
So if toilets were to be provided on Crossrail Class 345 trains as some journeys will take nearly an hour, they should probably be provided on long distance Underground services.
In my chat at Tottenham Court Road, I was reminded about the version of the iconic tube map that shows the location of toilets. It actually shows, whether toilets at stations are inside or outside the gate line.
Surely, a much better and more affordable solution would be to update the ribbon maps in all Underground and Crossrail trains to show if the station had toilets, in the same way, they show the step free access. Some extra signs on stations showing the status and location of toilets would also be a good idea.
Incidentally on the Essex and Reading legs of Crossrail, several of the stations already have decent toilets. Getting off a train and catching the next one, to have a relaxed toilet break, is probably not a huge delay, due to the high frequency of the trains.
London has a chance to set high standards in this area, without putting toilets on any trains.
Although saying that, Thameslink’s Class 700 trains will have toilets, but then Brighton to Peterborough might take two hours plus.
Perhaps, ITV should stick to reporting the news they do best, like I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
The Anonymous Widower 