Who Is Burt?
The caption on the travel news on BBC London this morning said.
London Bridge bus station is closed due to burts water main.
Who is this Burt? And why does he own an important water main?
To Notting Hill For a Pizza
As a coeliac, I don’t get to eat pizza very often. In fact the last time, I ate one, was in Naples in 2009. But that was rather special in that the restaurant was one of the best in that wonderful city in Italy.
Otto Pizza is a short walk from Notting Hill Gate station. I found it on the web last night, after I felt that after seeing the poster in La Porchetta, that I ought to have found gluten-free pizza in the over two years, that I’ve lived in London.
So this lunchtime, I took the Underground to Notting Hill Gate station and then got a 328 bus to outside the restaurant at the Artesian Road stop. Not only did I have a delicious double-flavour pizza, I had a gluten-free beer as well.
The only problem was that streams of Wonga-encrusted buses kept stopping outside.
In fact in one short period of time, of the eight buses that stopped, five had adverts for the barely-legal loan shark. And of the three that didn’t, one was a half-size bus and the other was still an advertising virgin, unmarked by commerce.
As to the unusual pancetta and sprout pizza, it was something I liked a lot. But C, would have really turned up her nose at the Grapes of the Devil.
This is a restaurant that deserves to succeed big time, if only because it doesn’t follow the rule book laid down by big chains.
I Didn’t Get On The iBus
I let this bus go when I got to the stop.
I Didn’t Get On The iBus
I don’t like it’s up front advertising especially for Apple products, but I was talking to a guy with an adorable ten week old baby in his arms. Anyway with 38 buses, you only have to wait a minute or so for another one. And when it did turn up, it was a New Bus for London. These are now saying that they accept credit cards.
Credit Cards On The Buses
Who needs a car, when personal transport is so frequent. It did seem to me though, that with all that advertising the iBus was rather slower than the new bus I was on.
The Slow iBus
I’m always reminded of the joke about how you make an Apple computer go faster. You drop it from a taller building.
The New Buses for London seem to be faster over a distance than the standard ones. I think partly it’s due to the hybrid drive, which gives good acceleration, but also as passengers seem to get on and off a lot quicker.
London’s Boxing Day Nightmare
I asked for luck as I set out for Charlton and more or less achieved my objective in that I got to the match without trouble. After taking my pictures at Kings Cross, I took a 205 bus towards Bow, with the intention of getting the DLR to Lewisham. I wasn’t sure of where the bus went, so I changed at Mile End to a 277 bus and picked up the DLR for Lewisham at Westferry station.
The Reliable DLR
As ever the DLR did its bit, but then it doesn’t have drivers, who have to have a party on Boxing Day.
I changed at Lewisham to a 380 bus, which meandered through Blackheath and other green parts of Greenwich to The Valley.
Meandering Through Blackheath
It must be one of the smallest buses operated in London.
A Small Bus
But I suppose, it does have the advantage, that any hooligans arrested at The Valley can be sent directly to jail.
The nightmare started after the match, which was characterised by a first half display by Charlton, that was almost as bad of that by Ipswich at Leicester.
Normally, to get to The Valley, you take a train to Charlton station next to the ground from central London. But it was Boxing Day, so the trains weren’t running. The Underground wasn’t running either as the drivers weren’t, but in getting to Charlton, it’s not much use.
So I was left to struggle home on the buses.
And struggle I did, as they were rather overcrowded to say the least.
It took me three hours to get to the Angel, as I had to change twice at Lewisham and Bank. The second change wasn’t the best, as due to the delay, I needed the toilet, so I took the first bus that came and had a pit-stop at Carluccio’s in Upper Street. At least, I got a bus home virtually immediately.
If we are going to have Sales in the shops and a full sporting program on Boxing Day, wouldn’t it be a good idea to have a full bus, train and Underground service, albeit with a reduced frequency.
Roll on driver-less trains like the DLR. I know it’s not as simple as some think, but as a control engineer, I know that trains can be without drivers, provided there is a train captain, like on the DLR.
Avoiding The Rain
I went to the football at Ipswich yesterday and the rain was so bad, I didn’t feel like walking to the bus stop to get a 141 bus to Liverpool Street station.
So I walked to the closest stop and got a 56 bus to the Angel. It wasn’t any better there.
A Very Wet Angel
But at least I got there in the dry and was able to walk into the Underground, to get a train to Liverpool Street with one change at Moorgate station. Normally, I’d have walked from Moorgate, but it was just that wet.
Coming back, the weather was just as bad, so I used an unusual route to keep dry. I took a Metropolitan line train to Barbican station and caught another 56 back to my house.
At least the rain seemed to have abated slightly in Ipswich, but the game wasn’t a good one. There were so many mistakes and I suspect precise control was difficult. So many simple passes were missed by both sides. Perhaps football yesterday was summed up by the result at Peterborough, where the home side beat Bolton by five goals to four.
The Kids Are Alright
I was travelling home on a bus last night at about seven, sitting minding my own business, when a seventeen-year-old or so kid in front, turned to me and asked very politely if he could borrow a pen. As I always carry two for my Sudoku solving, I handed him one.
A couple of minutes later he returned it and moved himself and his bags to the four empty seats next to me. We chatted about the ephemera of life like football and phones, for the rest of my journey home and he politely wished me a good evening.
If this had been an unusual occurrence, it wouldn’t be worth reporting, but it seems that hardly a day goes buy without a similar experience. As an example, I’ve lost count of the number of times, I’ve had a reverse argument with kids, be they black or white, male or female, about who gets on the bus first.
It does seem that the Polite Society is alive and well! Certainly on the buses of East London.
Whiplash
I don’t drive anymore, as my eyesight deteriorated badly due to a stroke.
I object to all the money that is wasted by the NHS in dealing with so many of these non-existent lawyer-driven whiplash claims.
People should just drive a bit more carefully!
Or use public transport like I do! The great thing about public transport in many parts of London and especially this one, is staff and fellow passengers often make it a friendly experience. Perhaps, Transport for London, should sell silly hats like this one, in aid of charity!
Santa’s In Charge
I rode back from the Angel today on a New Bus for London. The driver/conductor was dressed for Christmas. And for the weather!
Santa’s In Charge
At least the red is compatible with London buses’ iconic colour.
Falling Out Of Love With Driving
The BBC is carrying a report about how we’re falling out of driving.
I had a stroke two years ago and my eyesight went, so I stopped driving. I could probably get my licence back, as my eyesight has improved, but I just don’t want the hassle.
I’ve moved from Suffolk to leafy Dalston in London and use buses and trains all the time now,
Do I miss driving? Not at all, despite my last car being a Lotus. My bank account doesn’t miss driving either!
Is This An iBus?
This is a bus I certainly won’t get.
Is This An iBus?
As a real programmer, I’m seriously allergic to adverts an d especially Apple products.
The Anonymous Widower 