I’m Closing My Funding Circle Account
For similar reasons to why, I’m closing my Ratesetter account, I’ve decided to close my Funding Circle account.
Unfortunately, I’ve found it impossible to login, so I e-mailed them this.
Please can you close my account and return any monies to me.
Unfortiunately, I can’t login, as I’ve forgotten my password and I can’t answer the questions correctly to reset it. When I registered, I couldn’t answer the question about who my best friend at school was, as I didn’t have one.
It actually, is true, but I didn’t really have a best friend at my school, as my best friend, who lived a few doors away, went to a boarding school.
I’m Closing My Rate Setter Account
I have just sent this e-mail to Rate Setter.
I’ve never really got into Ratesetter, so I’d like to close everything down, or at least withdraw the money that has not been lent.
It’s just that the concept of the site requires a lot of managing and as Zopa now has their Safeguard product, which gives me a reasonable rate and quite a bit of security, I might just as well have the use of the money or give it to charity.
The Best Free Camera Platform In London
I was on the top of One New Change, this morning in the sunshine.
You can also see the Shard all too clearly. But I didn’t take a picture, as it’s ruined enough of my pictures already.
It really is the best free camera platform in the centre of London.
Do We Need Big Arrows In Underground Stations?
Last night, as I was coming back from Burnley, I deliberately got to the front of the train and walked straight out through the gates at Kings Cross station. You can see how the square is coming together and soon, you’ll walk straight out and to either the buses or the Underground entrance on Euston Road.
There is a passageway, through the site and I used it to get to the Underground,down the steps and escalator to the Northern line platform for the Angel.
one of the peculiarities of the London Underground, is that unlike many metros in the world, trains don’t necessarily arrive on the platform in the same direction. For example Southbound trains on the Northern line at the Angel, arrive from left to right, whereas those on the Victoria line at Highbury and Islington station, arrive from right to left. I think the Victoria line is the most inconsistent, with Northbound trains at Highbury and Islington station, arriving from left to right.
At Kings Cross yesterday, I wanted to make sure I was in the rear section of the train, as this would mean I didn’t have to walk a long way back down the platform. I walk pretty straight these days, but I do think it is safer to get off the platform as quickly as possible.
There is no indication at Kings Cross to say from which direction the trains will arrive and i think it would be a good idea, if this was indicated on the platforms. Perhaps a big arrow above the adverts or a little sign saying from which direction the trains arrive.
It would have two effects.
Like with me yesterday, you’d probably be more likely to get in the right carriage for your home station.
But also because it would forewarn passengers of the direction of trains, it might be just that bit safer, and we got a few less accidents on the platforms.
Note that Transport for London already announce on the Victoria line, which side the doors open at each station to help passengers, so it wouldn’t be that radical.
Does UKIP Allow People To Express Their Prejudices?
We all have prejudices. This philosophy was first expressed to me by a postman in Ipswich, who happened to be black. He told quite a few tales how racial prejudice and the fact that he was a postman, got some strange reactions, which on balance were positive. This was all thirty years ago and he said if you scored all your prejudices and added them up and the sum was negative, you are a sad bastard.
I have three major prejudices; Imperial weights and measures, smoking and any supposed science, that is accepted or rejected without scientifically-correct review.
With Imperial weights and measures, I grew up with feet, inches and pounds, but as I was trained as an engineer, it wasn’t long before I realised what a stupid system they are. When I worked for ICI, I was told by someone, who knew the truth, that one of the partial causes of the Flixborough disaster was that it was a plant that was copied from a European one, by converting it to Imperial units. And someone got a calculation wrong. It is interesting to note, that ICI went totallyto SI units in the mid-1950s. The worldwide use of SI units is described like this in Wikipedia.
The system has been nearly globally adopted. Only Burma, Liberia and the United States have not adopted SI units as their official system of weights and measures. In the United States metric units are not commonly used outside of science, medicine and the government; however, United States customary units are officially defined in terms of SI units. The United Kingdom has officially adopted a partial metrication policy, with no intention of replacing imperial units entirely. Canada has adopted it for most purposes, but imperial units are still legally permitted and remain in common use throughout a few sectors of Canadian society, particularly in the buildings, trades and railways sectors.
It’s about time we changed fully. My son, who is in his forties, doesn’t understand Imperial units.
Incidentally, I won’t allow a rule with Imperial units into my house.
My Everyday Rule
The picture shows my everyday measure. It is metric only and I bought it in France.
My prejudice against smoking is obvious and is shared by many. My father was a heavy smoker and was it one of the causes of my childhood ill-health, that haunts me to this day.
As a scientist and engineer, I’m always wary of something that doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny, like homeopathy, faith healing,non vaccination of children for MMR, capital punishment, creationism and religion.
But a lot of prejudices we have are not rational and some are quite frankly sexist, racist, anti-immigrant or homophobic and rightly against the law.
So do people with these type of prejudices and other ideas, that have been proscribed by Parliament, vote for UKIP, as they think the party might do things, like lift the smoking ban in pubs, bring back capital punishment, allow people to keep hand guns?
After all the party seems to have changed its policity on HS2 to get votes in Buckinghamshire, depending on what web site you read.
I would love to have definitive UKIP answers to the following questions.
- Would they cancel HS2?
- Would they allow smoking in pubs, clubs and restaurants?
- Would they allow full use of Imperial measures?
- Would they bring back capital punishment?
- Would they bring in heavier prison sentences?
Simon Barnes On The Environment
On the way up to Burnley yesterday, I read my copy of The Times. Saturday’s edition is always graced by the nature notes of Simon Barnes, who is one of my favourite journalists and firmly in the tradition of great reporters.
Yesterday, he talked about the banning of the pesticides, that may be harming bees and finishes his piece with this.
Politics is based on short-termism — what politician ever thinks beyond four or five years?
But such thinking is hopelessly inadequate for the big questions that involve the fabric of the world we live in.
Well said, as ever! But politicians only want power, not legacies.
Are We Seeing A New Type Of Shopping Centre?
I have been impressed by One New Change by St.Paul’s in London.
Today, as I needed to eat on the way back from Burnley, I visited Trinity Leeds, which is a shopping centre close to Leeds station to have a late lunch in Carluccio’s.
Although, Trinity Leeds is four times as big as One New Change, it has a similar upmarket feel. When you stand both of them alongside such centres as Meadowhall, Lakeside and quite a few others, there is no comparison, although they are smaller.
They have both been developed by the same company; Land Securities. it would seem that some of the features and tenants have been chosen to improves the shopping experience. Both centres have an extensive selection of restaurants and have been designed to blend in, rather than dominate their neighbours. Leeds has even got an Art House cinema from Everyman Cinemas. Usually shopping centres, just have a multiplex showing exclusively Transatlantic trash.
From my point of view, the centre is ideally placed, as it puts a second Carluccio’s close to my preferred interchange station in the North of England; Leeds. I won’t use Leeds every time there is not a direct service from London, but for Burnley, Blackburn and possibly a few others, it is the best route, especially if I can get lunch.
To And From Turf Moor
I took these pictures of the walk to Burnley’s ground; Turf Moor and the walk back by a route avoiding the dreadful pedestrian-unfriendly roundabout by the station.
Burnley is a town that needs a few more light-controlled crossings, as both walks involved lots of crossing of major roads, often with iron railings to get in your way.
Many clubs would organise a bus service on match days, especially as the climb back to the station is quite severe.
Burnley Manchester Road Station
Burnley Manchester Road station must be one of the most rudimentary stations, that serve a major town in England, as these pictures show.
But at least they would appear to be building a new station. It’s detailed here.
It is badly needed, as there is little shelter on the platforms, virtually no facilities and steep climbs up to the road above the station, that serves as a footbridge. You could argue that my old station at Dullingham is better, although the train service is probably less comprehensive.
The Bridge In Leeds Station
A few weeks ago, I visited Reading station and took pictures of the new overbridge there.
Today at Leeds I got a close look at the similar bridge over the tracks at Leeds station.
It is not so impressive as the bridge at Reading, but it is a few years older and probably built to a tighter budget. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more stations being built or rebuilt on similar lines.
Leeds shows one of the advantages of this design, in that on the bridge at the station, is a large coffee outlet, an information kiosk and plenty of seating. This seems to put them all where they are needed on the walking route for passengers changing trains. As the sides of the bridge are to a certain extent closed in with glass, it is much better place to wait for your train, than on the draughty platforms below.
If there is a problem, it is that there is possibly not enough escalators, although each platform does have a lift.
The Anonymous Widower 