Is This The Cheapest Rail Ticket In The UK?
Look at the price on this ticket.
Is This The Cheapest Rail Ticket In The UK?
The train wasn’t bad either, even if it was an immaculate nearly-new Class 172.
So £1.25 return was definitely good value.
A Small Cathedral For A Big City
Birmingham’s cathedral is the third smallest in the country.
A Small Cathedral For A Big City
Surprising really, considering the size of the city.
It Has To Be By Anthony Gormley
This sculpture just has to be by Anthony Gormley.
And it was, as the plaque shows.
A Gold Statue
You don’t see may gold statues. Or even gold coloured ones like this.
A Gold Statue
It does strike me as being rather gaudy.
Where’s The Middle Door?
I took this picture of one of Birmingham’s many buses.
Where’s The Middle Door?
Outside of London, buses rarely have the second door, that all London buses do.
Two door buses have the advantage of much quicker loading and unloading, especially for buggies and wheelchairs, which results in a faster service.
A Manchester bus driver told me that the low life hangs around the driver trying to nick his money on a one-door bus, but with two doors in London you never see this behaviour, as they leave the driver to get on with his job.
The image of bus travel could be greatly improved by making every one two doors, as the service would be faster and less hassle.
And whilst they’re at, why do drivers outside of London issue me with a ticket despite the fact I have a free bus pass?
History Repeats Itself
One of the classic tales about Ted Kid Lewis, is that late one night, he was walking home through the East End, after a function and he was set upon by four thugs. As he despatched the last into the gutter, he produced his visiting card and dropped it on the attacker.
And now a group of thugs have tried to nick Amir Khan‘s Range Rover in Birmingham! It’s reported here in the Telegraph.
In this attack, the report says that there were about six thugs, but then Amir had his brother, Haroon, who is another boxer with him.
Apparently, the thugs didn’t make a complaint to the Police.
How To Draw An On-Board Map
I took this picture on the tram between Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
An Excellent Route Map
It shows how with a bit of thought, you can make maps on trains, trams and buses really useful. Note how all the destinations are annotated with what is near to the stop.
Birmingham Moor Street Station
Of all the stations, I have visited on my trip, Birmingham Moor Street is one of the best. It is not a modern steel and glass c reation, but a well-refurbished station with a 1930s theme. Just look at these seats.
Seats At Moor Street Station
It is also home to the cosmetically-restored 2-8-0 steam engine, GWR 2885.
GWR 2885 at Moor Street Station
More of these engines should be displayed at stations, just like Locomotion No.1 used to be at Darlington. The story of that is described here.
It has been a very good restoration of a station, which has won awards according to Wikipedia.
Refurbished in 1930s style, the station has reproduction lamps, clock, seating, and signage. The renovation won the Railway Heritage Trust award for 2004 and The Birmingham Civic Society’s Renaissance Award for 2005.
I doubt the Dyson hand-dryers in the Gents are original though.
Please Adjust Your Dress
The sign may well be original though.
One Birmingham Is Enough
andrew Green of Migration Watch has just said that if the net migration continues at the current level, we’ll need a new city the size of Birmingham every year or so.
Surely one Birmingham is enough!
Rubbish Collection
Some parts of the UK seem to be having problems with collection of rubbish.
But!
I’ve recently moved just before Christmas into the London Borough of Hackney. I thought there might be problems, what with disposing of all the moving boxes, the deep snow and unfamiliarity on my part with the new systems.
But not at all!
Everything has worked smoothly and they even made a return collection for all the excess cardboard.
So what has gone wrong in places like Birmingham and Exeter. This article from Channel 4 News offers some reasons.
It says this about Birmingham.
Refuse collections have been hit by a combination of cold weather and industrial action – at a time of year when there’s already far more household waste than usual.
December’s heavy snow and icy roads meant many collections were cancelled for safety reasons, as it was deemed too dangerous for refuse trucks to negotiate slippery roads.
On top of that, hundreds of binmen have been involved in a work to rule, after a one-day strike before Christmas, in a long running dispute over pay. The dispute relates to the council’s obligation to equalise pay rates between men and women, under the Equal Pay legislation – but the GMB union claimed some workers, like binmen, could be left £4,000 worse off.
I think Birmingham’s rubbish problems may only be just starting as the Government cuts will mean that Danegeld will no longer be a solution.
The Anonymous Widower 