A Dangerous Staircase
If people complain about the London Underground not being step free, they may be missing an easier target. This is the exit from London Fields station.
A Dangerous Staircase
It is not as dangerous as some, but it is not what we expect in the twenty-first century.
London has plenty of stations like this and really needs to find an innovative solution to make them more accessible to all. I’ve flagged a few up in the past at places like Stoke Newington and White Hart Lane.
Where’s The Building Gone?
The last time, I walked through here on my way to Liverpool Street station, I’m sure there was a building.
But it’s gone now to be replaced by a new 5 Broadgate, which replaces 4 and 6. Those buildings didn’t live as long as I have so far!
Note that it will be completed in 2015. That shows what I think is a very tight timetable and probably some good project management.
It’s Burgers Tonight!
After the horseburger scare, I thought I’d have burgers tonight.
It’s Burgers Tonight!
Those in Waitrose, had another pollutant in them; gluten. So as you can see, I got these next door in Marks and Spencer. Note the gluten-free label on the front of the packet where it should be.
Incidentally, I met a couple of ladies, who were buying burgers for their families’ suppers. Perhaps the publicity had jogged their minds, that they hadn’t had them recently? But then we weren’t buying low-cost and/or low quality burgers.
Revolutionary Technology
I took this picture of HMV at The Angel.
Revolutionary Technology
Note the banner.
Revolutionary Technology in-store now
I thought that was what they sold; records. CDs and DVDs that go round and round!
They just don’t seem to be very successful at it!
Armchairs Outside St. Paul’s
As someone, who is getting on in years, I do like to see nice places to sit on the street. These chairs were outside St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Armchairs Outside St. Paul’s
I don’t think, I’ve ever seen single oak armchairs before. Sadly, it was so cold and miserable, I just walked on past.
The Food Market At One New Change
One New Change is a shopping centre in the City of London. I walked past it yesterday and stumbled on their monthly food market.
The Food Market At One New Change
This stall was selling, what looked to be a delicious paella, which was gluten-free of course. There are more details here on the centre’s web site. The next one is at 11 to 3 on the sixth of February.
Not A Street For Coeliacs
The name of the road says it all.
Not A Street For Coeliacs
Bread Street is the site of the ancient bread market.
Cromwell Tower In The Mist
I took this picture yesterday, a couple of hours after the helicopter crashed in Vauxhall.
Cromwell Tower In The Mist
Helicopters over London, have to fly under what are known as Visual Flight Rules. In layman’s language you must be able to see where you are going.
The visibility yesterday wasn’t good. I have flown fixed wing aircraft in such conditions and it is not easy. But the difference with a fixed wing aircraft is that you can use instruments to climb through the cloud and get on top of the muck. Provided of course you have the flight ratings to do it, which I had and the airspace rules allow it.
Sometimes the best decision you can take when flying any aircraft is to push it back in the hangar.
It’s Thirty Years Of Breakfast TV Today
I can remember, when it started and watched the first program. Probably in my attic at The house in Debach, where I was writing Artemis.
I can also remember ;listening to the opening of LBC, the London news station in the flat in the Barbican.
But some things never change. They showed what was about in 1983 and one was the InterCity 225‘s running out of Kings Cross. Although, they didn’t start running until 1988. So either I got the identification wrong or the BBC used a wrong clip.
Step-Free Access To The Underground
Coming back from Kings Cross station tonight, I took the indirect route using the Circle line to Moorgate station and then getting a 141 bus from just outside the station to just round the corner from my house.
The reason was that I had a heavy parcel of bedding, I’d bought in John Lewis and my normal change to the bus home at either Angel or Highbury and Islington stations would have meant crossing a major road.
Although I’m not in any way disabled, sometimes I do find that my left hand is a bit gammy and it is better to take an easier route, with escalators, lifts or right-handed staircases. For this reason, I know a lot of the best routes to get around London.
As I went through the gate at Kings Cross, the staff were chatting about step-free access and how difficult it will be to put in at some stations. I said that I think we’ll be finding some innovative engineering solutions used in some stations.
I know that inclined lifts are going to be used on Crossrail, but when I got home I found that at Greenford station, London Underground is going to get its first inclined lift. There’s more here on the Crossrail web site.
I think we’ll see a lot more of these, especially at stations, where there are three escalator positions, but the middle one has never been installed to save money.
The great advantage of inclined lifts is that in these stations, they can be installed without any digging or disruption to the station during the installation process.
I also think that buses have a large part to play in step free access.
As I said, I often plot my routes around London to avoid difficult stations or interchanges. For instance, I don’t change at Green Park station, as although it has lifts and is step free, you can walk miles between trains. Kings Cross too, is a bit of an Underground maze. Often though, the best route is to go to an easier station and then get a bus.
But not all stations have easy access from the trains to the buses and vice-versa like London Bridge, Euston and Victoria.
It may improve the lot of passengers and especially those who are disabled to improve the bus/Tube interface, as it will mean that some difficult stations can be bypassed.
I want lots more step free access to stations, but lets see if we can have innovative and more affordable solutions, that allow more stations to be given the full treatment.
The Anonymous Widower 