Behaviour On New Routemasters
I am a people watcher, as was my late wife, C, and now that the 38 route, I use regularly is a route that uses only new Routemasters, it is fascinating to see how the self loading cargo use the buses.
I’ve spoken before about the friendly behaviour on these buses! Especially in the bay seats, although today when I returned from shopping, these seats were free.
Bay Seats On A New Routemaster
Although empty today, these bay seats are popular and often you’ll see families and groups travelling together using them.
The buses are ideal for shoppers, as you can get the average bag amongst your feet on a standard seat.
My Shopping Bag By My Feet
Regularly you’ll see someone sitting there, with their shopping trolley sharing the space.
I was actually sitting in one of the four rearward-facing seats, which seem to be popular with passengers.
As I rode today, these seats opposite were occupied by a mother and her baby, who she was amusing, by showing her things out the back of the bus.
I like to sit in these seats and have taken pictures and videos out of the back of the bus.
This post was prompted by two things that you’d never see on other buses in London.
A lady, who was certainly older than me, got up and walked down the bus swinging from hand to hand on the various hand holds in perfect safety along the flat floor, to the middle door, to prepare to leave the bus.
The designer would have probably been very happy, as when I went to a presentation of the bus in 2011, as he said then, he’d designed the bus so that passengers could move about easily with totally flat floors and easy to reach hand holds.
The other piece of behaviour was unusual.
An Asian lady about thirty, had forgot to touch in and after sitting in the bay seat on the other side of the aisle to where I was sitting, opened her hand bag and proceeded to look for her Oyster card. When she found it, she walked to the back platform to touch in, leaving her handbag fully open for anyone to help themselves.
No-one did, but surely few ladies would do this on a bus. Perhaps she did, as with a tail-gunner loaded, she felt very secure it would be unlikely she’d suffer a theft.
So do passengers generally feel more secure on new Routemasters?
Getting Ready For The Tour
I took these pictures yesterday in mid-morning, as I walked around Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly.
The crowds were as expected later, but as the pictures show, the streets were surprisingly empty. The BBC is reporting this morning, that traffic was down twenty percent yesterday, so perhaps a lot of people took the day off yesterday, or came in later on public transport.
Speaking to a couple of bus drivers and some Transport for London ambassadors, who were there to answer questions, none said that they’d heard of a bus passenger wanting to use cash. The ambassador told me, that no-one had even raised the subject of cashless buses with her.
The Scottish Team’s Uniform For The Commonwealth Games
It looks like they’ll be OK if the weather’s cold and wet.
Where’s Carole, the Scottish weathergirl on BBC Breakfast, when you need her forthright views?
This report is from the Scotsman. Here’s a paragraph.
Comments on Twitter compare the outfits to “a pair of curtains” or “something a 70s dance troupe would wear”. Some people did voice their support for the designs but the majority of the reaction poked fun at them.
I will not add further comment, except that I hope their warm-looking design doesn’t mean that the designer knows the Games will be held in bad weather.
Pure Bred Sandwiches
I said in this post that there are various criteria I use to judge good bread. Today I made some Pure Bred sandwiches.
Pure Bred Sandwiches
The sandwiches were good, but probably just not quite as these egg and watercress sandwiches I bought in Marks and Spencer. These must now be the Gold Standard for gluten-free sandwiches.
The Pure Bred bread has a similar flavour to the bread Marks use in their sandwiches, so could it be they are thinking on similar lines with respect to the flour used?
So would I use Pure Bred gluten-free bread in the future in preference to the Genius I normally use?
Genius has one good point and one fault.
The current formulation of Genius doesn’t seem to go mouldy, as quick as it did when first launched and usually a loaf is still edible a week after purchase.
But it does seem to have a tendency to have large holes in the loaf.
The Pure Bred was consistent throughout and it lasted as long as I needed it too.
If Pure Bred was available in my local Waitrose, I’d buy it in preference to Genius, which is not sold there. This would be mainly to avoid going to Sainsburys to have a second shop for just bread.
If Pure Bred was avaiable in Sainsburys, then I would always buy bread there and buy whatever I fancied that day.
Brian Redhead Was Right
He was quoted as saying that if television had been invented before radio, then radio would be the dominant medium, as the pictures are bretter!
Following the Tour de France today on ITV, I’m constantly switching to Radio 5, during the adverts ruining the program. So Brian is certainly right today.
Vive Le Tour!
That is the headline on the wrap around The Times today.
Vive Le Tour!
I do think that Yorkshire has shown how to do a Grand Depart. I suspect that Utrecht next year, will follow Yorkshire’s lead.
In some ways it’s all a bit sad, as there aren’t many events like the Tour de France, that can be used to build a great event around.
Yorkshire is apparently starting the Tour de Yorkshire, London has the Marathon, Liverpool the Grand National and Newcastle the Great North Run, so perhaps we ought to get our thinking caps on, to create some more iconic events.
An Iconic Picture Of A New Routemaster
I like this picture and report from the Wrightbus web site.
It shows a new Routemaster outside the Northern Ireland parliament building at Stormont, all decked out in pink for the visit of the Giro d’Italia.
The picture says so many things, some of which are political, but to me it shows how if you get the design of anything right, that stimulates the economy and creates jobs. But also as the report about the New Bus for West Yorkshire shows, these classic designs, look great in any colour, although black might be a bit much, as London has shown.
A New Bus For West Yorkshire
When searching for Routemaster and wi-fi, I found this article from the Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Here’s the first two paragraphs.
Transport company First has revealed plans to introduce London-style buses in Bradford and the whole of West Yorkshire.
It is proposing to introduce a fleet of Routemaster buses, which would have multi-door entry and exit points including a hop-on and off platform at the rear, free wi-fi and lower emissions.
As someone who has seen the transformation of the new Routemaster-equipped route 38, over the last couple of years, I believe that these buses have three main benefits for the passengers. The buses are faster, because they load and unload quicker, but surprisingly they are much friendlier places than the older London double-deckers, as the design seems to promote conversation and politeness. But as someone, who often travels with a large shopping bag and who sometimes can be a bit unsteady, their ride is so much better, that I choose my routes home accordingly.
I don’t think Bradford though, will buy Routemasters, as after all they are a London thing, and cities of the north don’t generally follow good examples from the capital. Look at their bus maps and information from the Dark Ages for a start.
More And Better Wi-Fi For Trains
There are reports like this one from the BBC, which say that a Network Rail fine is going to be used to improve wi-fi on trains.
I believe that Chiltern Railways have got wi-fi right, with free access on their Mainline trains to Birmingham. Virgin appear to be going the same way too.
So lets hope that in a few years all trains have free wi-fi in all classes!
I must admit that if GreaterAnglia had free wi-fi in all carriages, then I wouldn’t bother to book First Class when I go to football at Ipswich, which would save me money.
I would think that it could be a good marketing tool for train companies, as it might be the service that will tempt people out of their cars and onto the trains.
And if trains can be wi-fi enabled how about more buses. I had hoped that London’s new Routemasters would be enabled, but they are not.
A Fish Supper For One Using Gluten-Free Bread
I regularly use this recipe from Mary Berry. But I simplify it. I start by setting the oven to 200ºC, putting one piece of salmon in a greased baking tray. pulverising a slice of decrusted bread with a teaspoon or so of parmesan, and make a paste of cream cheese, garlic and lemon zest.
Fish, Breadcrumbs and Cream Cheese
I then cover the fish in the cream cheese paste and sprinkle the bread crumbs on top.
Ready For The Oven
I then put them in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
The Cooked Fish
This one was made with Pure Bred gluten-free bread and it tasted virtually exactly the same as ones I’ve made previously with Genius bread.
The Anonymous Widower 