Another Tax on the Poor
I’ve just been interrupted by an advert on ITV4, where I’m watching the cycling for something called the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Reading about it, it would appear it only promotes itself in Scotland, Wales and the North of England.
I don’t like lotteries, as they are only a tax on the poor and stupid.
Certainly, if you don’t watch ITV or buy tabloid newspapers, it would appear you don’t hear about it.
Melianie Reid Gets Angry
I always read Melanie Reid in The Times every Saturday.
She is in a wheelchair after a riding accident and today, she vents her spleen on the crows, rooks and jackdaws, who are decimating the song birds in her garden. The RSPB seem to find all excuses about what is happening to songbirds, never believing that other feathered friends are responsible. Melanie with the evidence of her eyes has disproved this and will probably get the wrath of those that believe all birds are innocent. I shall check the on-line version of the story for comments.
The Canadian Family in Penang
Years ago, C & myself were waiting for the Penang Hill Railway to get on top of Penang Hill. I can’t remember exactly how we got talking, but it could have been a can of Coke in the hot weather and this Canadian family with three children helped clear up the mess. It turned out they were two teachers and had sold up all of their possessions and were going round the world. They were obviously educating their children as they travelled.
They had started in the UK and then crossed Europe by train to take a ferry to North Africa, where they crossed the Sahara in a truck. Gradually, they progressed through Africa to Dar Es Salaam, from where they took a dhow to India. When we met them, they were living in a two dollars a day flophouse in Penang. In a few days, they woukd be off and hoped to get to Darwin.
I asked if they had had any trouble. They said, only really the baboons. But then babons are the hooligans of Africa. Although, their son had broken his humerus, somewhere in Northern Nigeria. The local head man introduced them to the local bonesetter, who felt it all back into place. Later in Lagos, the Canadian High Commission, got them an appointment with the best orthopaedic surgeon in Nigeria. When he looked at the arm, he just gave a knowing look and said that the bonesetter was better than he was at puting broken bones back together. He’d not had any trouble since. I wish that bonesetter had put my gammy arm back together.
I always wonder what happened to that family. I assume all was well, but it would have made the travel book of the decade. I suspect, the authorities would have something to say, if a family tried it now.
The City At Sunset From Hoxton Station
Coming back from the Emirates Air-Line, I stopped off at Hoxton Station to take these pictures from the Northbound platform.
These are not the first photographs I’ve taken from the station, but the photograph on this post, was taken from the Southbound platform
EggsMilkButter
EggsMilkButter is the name of a new cafe close to my house. The name comes from the tiling.
It will be nice to pop across the road to get a cappuccino.
The Sun Sets Over The City of London
I rook these pictures this evening from the Emirates Air-Line.
The title of this post, is rather appropriate tonight, as Mervyn King had been having a go at the banks, as reported here.
Beware The Essex Girl
This story in the Daily Mail, shows that not all Essex Girls live up to their stereotype of being thick and have liking for Ford Capris, sex, fake tan, silicon breast implants, booze and white stilettos in no particular order.
Certainly, Georgina Blackwell doesn’t follow the stereotype. although, she is trained as a beautician.
I remember in the early days of BBC Breakfast television, they had a female legal expert, with long bleached blonde hair, a job at one of the job law firms, a penchant for very short skirts and an accent forged in Dagenham.
I think she was too much for Northern inferiorities, so she was quietly dropped.
Emirates Air-Line – It Was So Good I Did It Twice
The Emirates Air-Line that is!
This time it wasn’t so crowded and I had a gondola all to myself.
As you can see I was sitting on the City side of the gondola. Sitting on the other side should give good views of the Thames Barrier.
It really is good value at £3.20. Although, it was a bit shaky in the wind today and getting good pictures was more difficult.
Who knows, I might go back about sunset on a day it decides to show it’s face.
Police Use London Bus For Disguise
London has been having trouble with Eastern European con artists, so they used the obvious solution of how do you get lots of boys in blue to the area, without the con-artists knowing. You use a big red London bus and cram it full of police. The story is here in the Evening Standard. More than 25 were detained and a dozen or so were charged.
Surely though, the choice of a Number 2 bus was wrong. Perhaps it should have been a 49 or 99, or perhaps one that went past a convenient prison like Wandsworth, Pentonville or Wormwood Scrubs. That would give a whole new meaning to the phrase “Go Directly To Jail”
A Review of the Emirates Air-Line
I think it’s only fair that I put down all my thoughts on the Emirates Air-Line, so that others can criticise what I have said.
Construction and Design
People have criticised the cost of the cable-car, but then they are not buying a cheap cable-car, but a quality one designed for a long life.
As far as I can tell, everything looks and feels right. As an example, the seats in the gondolas are very comfortable and of a standard you’d expect in a quality commuter train. The doors close tightly and there was no noise at all. There was little sway and only a slight downwards movement as the gondola descended into North Greenwich.
It took a lot to get C into something like this, but I think she’d have approved.
Ticketing and Boarding
As I showed here, there was a bit of a queue, when I arrived due to people having to buy their boarding passes.
Because I was using my Oyster card, I was allowed to bypass the ticket desks and go straight to boarding. Whether they will allow this at all times, I do not know, but it certainly meant I got the cheaper Oyster ticket (£3.20 instead of £4.30) and speedy boarding as well.
Freedom Passes
You don’t get the Emirates Air-Line free with a Freedom Pass, but you do get a discount on the ticket if you queue up at the ticket office. Judging by the number of people I saw in their last third of life at the system, it will be popular, as it gives such wonderful views if the city. But let’s face it, the cost is only a pound more than a cappuccino in Starbucks.
On Board
It really was very smooth and probably more so than the system in Singapore, that I travelled on with C. That system incidentally costs £13.0 for a round trip, whereas a return ticket on the Emirates Air-line is £6.40.
I thought you might get intrusive adverts, but you only got the odd subtle ones, like “Thank you for using the Emirates air-line”. I can live with that.
Disabled Access
I saw three wheel-chair passengers in the short time, I was there and one, who I think was from North America with a really hi-tech wheelchair, said it was very good. They also have lifts at both ends to get to the loading point, which means that anybody on crutches or sticks, should have no trouble getting on. There was plenty of staff about, but remember it is early days. On the other hand, the contractor, MACE, is operating the system at present and I suspect they’d like to sell more based on their experience with the Emirates Air-Line.
In Conclusion
With my experience of project management, I’ve seen few projects with as high an overall standard as this one.
Small Problems
There is a major small problem with the overall system and that is that kids will love it. Or mine certainly would have done! So parents might get a bit fed up with being pestered for a ride.
I also think that a few more cafes and restaurants at the Royal Docks end are needed. But that is not really a problem, but an opportunity.
The Anonymous Widower 