The Lack Of A Standard In Buying Train Tickets
I regularly buy tickets from lots of train companies. Over the last few months, I’ve bought tickets from GreaterAnglia, East Coast, East Midland, Southern, First Great Western and Virgin to name just six of them.
Today, I bought a ticket on First Capital Connect and duly registered.
I didn’t have any serious problems, but I do have some observations.
Why is it, that I can’t have a global account, that works with all train companies? That way, I wouldn’t have to deal with several different logins and I could have access to all tickets I’ve bought and it would probably be a lot easier, to book a repeat journey. I would probably use one credit card for all tickets, so that the only thing, I would need to book, would be the security number on my card, after choosing the tickets.
I always pick up my tickets from Dalston Junction, as it is a shortish walk from my house. But some companies don’t have it on the list of their stations, where I can pick up the tickets. That is a bug to me!
In an ideal world, all of these web sites would have the same feel, even if they were to be individually branded.
I never use the all purpose sites like TheTrainLine, as when I did once, I just got a load of spam, that could probably be traced back to them. I always find that cutting out the agent is the best way to save money.
Is Banning Hands-Free Mobile Phones In Vehicles A Good Idea?
The BBC is reporting that there has been a call to ban hands-free mobile phones in vehicles. they also had a lively phone-in about the subject, with high emotions on both sides of the argument.
As a non-driver, I’m not that bothered, except that I’d like to see the current law enforced, as I constantly see bad or selfish driving, where the driver has his phone clamped to his ear. A couple of times, I’ve been waiting at a zebra crossing and instead of stopping as the Highway Code says, they’ve sped across in front of me, hoping that I can’t see their phone on the opposite side of the car.
But this is a problem that will sort itself out, one way or another.
In the next few years, one country, state or city, will ban the use of hands-free mobile phones whilst driving and we will have some reliable data to enable us to make a sensible decision.
One of the biggest objectors today, are probably professional drivers, who drive hire cars, taxis, trucks and vans.
A few months there was a documentary on the BBC about London’s buses. The instructions for the driver are relayed by computer, so that if the driver is to change route, it’s all there in front of them on a screen. These sort of systems are obviously designed not to distract the driver and will come increasingly common, reducing the need for the use of mobile phones in vehicles.
It should probably be the law, that all taxis, hire-cars and delivery vehicles should be controlled by such an approved system.
The Draining Of Camden Lock
This happens every twenty years or so, to clear out the shopping trolleys and other rubbish. Sometimes, like this year, they change the lock gates.
It has proven to be a popular event this year, as the pictures show. There’s more here on the BBC.
It just goes to show, how everybody loves an event, even if it is not in the mainstream. I had wanted to go down into the lock, but all the tours were full.
Samvo – A Betting Cafe
I’ve seen this type of outlet in Scandinavia, but I hadn’t realised we had them in the UK.
Samvo – A Betting Cafe
They could be an interesting addition to the High Street if they serve good coffee and snacks, as they’ll obviously have toilets. I do sometimes have the odd bet and it should be a much better environment, than the average betting shop, which tends to be where a lot of the local unfortunates gather to loss their hard-earned money. This extract from this page on thee Internet, explainsSamvo‘s philosophy.
“They’re Betting Cafés,” he explains. “We wanted to create something different on the high street, a little more high class; a stylish refit with sofas, somewhere comfortable. The whole café style is more relaxed and it’s very important for us to build a nice atmosphere for the customers to enjoy. We also like the technological aspect so we make sure we’ve got HD TVs as standard and Racing Post touchscreens.
I think we’ll see more of this concept!
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Sebastian Faulks has written a new Jeeves and Wooster book, called Jeeves and the Wedding Bells.
Nice Work If You Can Get It
He has form in taking over from others, as wrote one of the new James Bond books.
But is that right? I prefer original works, although I rarely read fiction.
A Clock On A Pizza Hut
We don’t normally associate fast food joints, with nice pieces of street art.
A Clock On A Pizza Hut
But I did see this exceptional clock on a Pizza Hut in Central London.
Should We Ban Smoking Outside Pubs?
This was the pavement outside a pub near me, on Sunday morning.
Should We Ban Smoking Outside Pubs?
Not only do their customers with a death-wish block the pavement and make it difficult to get by, they leave a lot of mess for our excellent pavement sweeper to clear up.
If nothing else, pubs should be made to clear up the mess their customers create.
How Much Useless Advertising Do We Receive?
My Sunday Times is always full of junk. This picture shows this weeks offering.
How Much Useless Advertising Do We Receive?
How much of this is actually read? And how much ends up in landfill?
In my case, it was even more pointless, as I’ve just installed Sky.
A Must Read Opinion In The Sunday Times
Camilla Caendish’s opinion in the Sunday Ties today is very much worth reading. The title says a lot.
Tribal tensions on the ward are putting patients at risk
And it starts like this.
Managers bullying staff into fiddling cancer figures. Whistleblowers gagged with pay-offs. A&E doctors coping with patients who should have been seen by the GP. And that’s just last week’s headlines. With so many of the staff at loggerheads, it’s not surprising the National Health Service sometimes seems to forget about the patients.
It is full of nuggets that apply to any company or organisation. Like this one!
Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridge has borrowed a programme from Toyota called Stop the Line. This lets any member of staff halt a procedure if they think the patient may be at risk. In one recent case, a patient was about to be stitched up after surgery when two theatre nurses found a swab was missing and “stopped the line”. An x-ray showed the swab in the patient’s abdomen. It was removed, saving the patient from harm and the hospital from heaven knows what kind of negligence claim.
If you can find the article, read it!
The Scandal Of 084x And 087x Numbers
The BBC is reporting today about expensive calls to financial companies and other institutions like the Inland Revenue and the NHS. It’s here on their web site.
For the first time, since I moved to BT in 2010, to save myself some money compared to Virgin, I decided to check my bills.
I have a tariff that allows me to call any landline at any time, for a flat fee of seven pounds a month. As I have some long landline calls, I suspect, I’m quids in on this.
But what surprised me was a fairly long call to the Netherlands cost me just twenty-eight pence. Most of the call charges were calls to mobile numbers.
As to my bank, Nationwide and my two credit/charge cards, all are on 0845 numbers, which under my calling plan are free. Not that I ever call them, as most seem to respond well to queries sent on-line.
In fact the only higher rate number I have rung in the last few months was a short call to my doctor, to book an appointment, as it’s an 0844 number. But whether, I’m charged for it, I don’t know. You shouldn’t be charged for calls to your doctor. Booking an appointment, is something, that should be done on-line.
There is an interesting point here. How many of us have calling plans, on which some or all of our landline calls free. So as we realise what we get, if companies published their actual numbers, they might get a few less customers, angry at hanging on at high cost. After all, if you do call direct, you probably get in the same queue. So you will probably wait as long, but at no expense.
The real problem is calling these numbers on a mobile phone, as I’ve found several instances of people like benefit claimants being fleeced.
The Anonymous Widower 