Coulsdon South Station Has Gone Step-Free
Coulsdon South station went step-free a couple of months ago, so I went to take a look.
These are my thoughts.
The Bridge
Mechanically, the bridge is typical of many in the UK, but someone has taken care over the design, by the use of well-chosen colours and bricks.
The Café
We need more station cafes like Jaconelli’s Espresso Bar.
- Full range of proper coffee and other drinks.
- Cakes and snacks.
- Gluten-free options.
- Wude selection of alternative milks
- Knowledgeable and friendly staff.
I suspect it is also owner-managed, as most cafes of this type would be in Italy.
It’s one of the best cafes of its type, that I’ve found in a long time.
The Old Bridge
According to one of the guys in the café the old bridge needed replacing.
But leaving it intact, gives the young, fit or agile a second route across the tracks.
Local Walks And Attractions
There are walks nearby in the Surrey Hills and on the London Loop.
I was also told, that you can get a bus to the Lavender Fields.
Zone Six Station On Thameslink
The station is in Zone Six, which puts it in Freedom Pass territory.
It also has two Thameslink and two Southern trains per hour, so it is easily reached.
Car Parking And A Taxi Service
This Google Map shows the station.
Note the car parking and a taxi service, which is called District Cars.
Conclusion
Coulsdon South is now a very well-equipped station and it must be an ideal place to meet a friend, family member or work colleague to either have a chat or a serious discussion.
Surely, with more people continuing to work from home, the need for meetings between those in the office and those at home will grow! Zoom etc. can only do so much and the cpncept doesn’t suit everybody!
So perhaps we’ll see more community-managed meeting rooms, like the one I described in The Newly-Decorated White Horse Room In Westbury Is Open For Bookings.
Nespresso
Just heard the CEO of Nrdpresso defending his product, where seventy-two percent of the product goes into landfill.
Ridiculous!
My tea-bag goes straight into the food composting bin!
So much more environmentally-friendly!
A Plaintiff Plea On Wake Up To Money
I regularly listen to Wake Up to Money on BBC Radio 5 Live.
One morning, they were talking to Kentucky Fried Chicken about their new vegan burgers. As a coeliac, I say Yuck! to that!
Somebody else texted the program and said something like.
I’m a coeliac, how about more gluten-free food.
In fact it was a bad week for me as a coeliac last week.
- I found Beyond Bread had closed on Upper Street.
- Le Petite Bretagne closed in Dalston.
- I spent about twenty minutes looking for a coffee and a gluten-free cake in Liverpool Street.
All this passion for vegan and vegetarian food, is marginalising those like me, who have to avoid gluten.
I’ve still got a couple of cafes in Dalston, where this is possible and I could always go to M & S and take a cake home.
But I refuse to buy an expensive coffee maker.
After Liverpool Street, I ended up in Leon in Moorgate.
Note the excellent gluten-free cake and the posh cup and saucer.
Note, that because of my stroke, I like a proper china cup or mug
I tend to avoid American-owned chains like Costa and Starbucks, as some American gluten-free practices are suspect to say the least. I used to like Cadbury’s Bournville chocolate, but now I believe it uses addictive wheat-derived glucose, I wouldn’t dare touch it.
As I said finding good cafes and restaurants that do gluten free well is becoming more difficult.
- Carluccio’s is creaking and many that I used regularly like Glasgow, Islington, Liverpool and Westfield have closed.
- Pattiserie Valerie is struggling and has closed a lot of outlets.
- Jamie’s Italian has gone bust.
- If I go a bit upmarket, there is Bill’s and Cote, but they are not ideal for a fast pit-stop.
As last week, I suspect that most coeliacs hope that Leon or others following their relaxed, quirky and customer and diet-friendly model, prosper.
Freedoming
These days many pensioners like me, get free public transport in their local area.
Londoners like me, get a Freedom Pass, which gives free buses, Underground, Overground, trams and trains, within the M25.
I will often get up, look at the BBC London News, the weather and other sources. I may then decide to go to Canary Wharf, Richmond ir wherever to have a walk, see an exhibition or whatever.
London is an amazing cornucopia of delights, which is a sentiment echoed by others who live close to our other great cities.
Free public transport enables this lifestyle.
I think the various cafe and restaurant chains can tap into this lifestyle, as often one of the reason to go to a place is to have a good meal or a drinki.
If like me, you like particular chains, I believe that their web sites could be an important part in planning how to waste a few hours.
Suppose, their web site had the following features.
- A simple list of all their cafes and restaurant, with st most a short description like “Close to Pierhead”
- The ability to sign up to a simple e-mail alert of new openings and closures. Note the word simple!
I believe that if I got a message saying a chain had opened in say Kingston, it might prompt me to go and have a walk and perhaps lunch, with a friend I haven’t seen for years.
Note.
- Lists are much better than maps, if you don’t know the area.
- Companies are relying too much on apps, which are OK for finding places near where you are, but are useless, if you are using the cafe or restaurant, as the resewn to go or the starting point for an explore.
- I believe Carluccio’s troubles started, when they abandoned their list on their web site. I told them so in strong terms.
Patteriserie Valerie has an excellent list.
Leon Goes Posh!
I took this picture in the Leon Restaurant on Moorgate yesterday, where I often go for breakfast.
I’m not a lover of plastic cups and in that restaurant, I can have a big mug of tea with my gluten-free full English in a pot!
As you can see, those who don’t like plastic cups or mugs sized for builders, can now have their beverage in a real cup and with a posh saucer.
Bean About Town
I liked this name when I saw it on a coffee stall outside Kentish Town station.
I also noted that the stall was selling the mandarin and chocolate chip gluten-free cake.
I’d have had some, but I had just had breakfast.
When I’m in the area I’ll check them out properly.
A Visit To Heathrow Terminal 5
The Heathrow Pod I talked about in An Innovative Scheme For A Rail Link To Glasgow Airport, just had to be seen, so when I found myself at West Drayton station and a 350 bus arrived with Heathrow Terminal 5 on the front, I just had to take it.
I got on the top deck and took these pictures, followed by others when I arrived at the Terminal.
Many of these pictures of the system were taken from the Cafe Nero on the Departures Level of Terminal 5. This cafe is a good place to meet someone, as the views are good if you have to wait.
I got a good view of the Heathrow Pod, but because of all the steel-work in the way, getting a good photo was not easy.
A few points about the Heathrow Pod.
- It appears that both carriageways of the system are bi-directional.
- The developer’s web site is here.
- The official web site is here.
- The most interesting comment was from a member of British Airways ground staff, who said that her kids always want to use it.
- BAA has a stake in the company that makes them.
- What I saw is probably a restricted system designed to be as reliable as possible.
Here’s a video
Watching the video and reading about the pods, I suspect they are best described as self-driving cars, that run on a restricted network of roads, which are described as guideways.
But the most interesting snippet is this from the developer’s web site, about a proposal for a new PRT system at Heathrow.
In May 2013 Heathrow Airport Limited announced as part of its draft five year (2014-2019) master plan that it intended to use the PRT system to connect terminal 2 and terminal 3 to their respective business car parks. The proposal was not included in the final plan due to spending priority given to other capital projects and has been deferred.
There have been suggestions that they will extend the service throughout the airport and to nearby hotels using 400 pods.
I’ve read somewhere, that connecting to Kingston-on-Thames is in their sights.
This is perhaps not so fanciful as you think. Look at this Google Map of the Western end of Runway 09L at Heathrow Airport.
The Western End Of Runway 09L At Heathrow
If you can’t quite distinguish the Heathrow Pod, which is the narrow line snaking its way across in front of the runway, here’s an enlarged view of the Heathrow Pod on the Northern side of the runway.
The Car Park End Of The Heathrow Pod
And here’s another on the Southern side.
The Terminal 5 End Of The Heathrow Pod
The Expansion Of Heathrow Airport
Looking at these Google Maps and applying my devious mind to the Heathrow Pod, I am coming to some conclusions about the expansion of Heathrow Airport.
- Pollution caused by traffic is a big problem around Heathrow. By developing existing and future train services and an extensive Heathrow Pod system serving hotels and car parks, all cars, taxis and buses could be removed to a sensible distance from the Airport.
- In the Heathrow Hub proposal for expansion of the Airport, there is a 650 metre gap between the two portions of the Northern runway. This gap would allow the ILS for the Eastern runway to remain in place and so the approach to this runway would probably be identical to what it is now.
- I suspect the runway gap would also allow the Heathrow Pod to remain in its current place. But that would not be as tricky to move as the ILS. Or as safety-critical!
- The Heathrow Pod system has charisma in digger-buckets.
I feel that an expanded Heathrow Pod could just swing the government to back Heathrow Hub, rather than totally new runways at Heathrow or Gatwick.
The Ultimate Heathrow Pod System
After a drink, I’ve let my mind race ahead.
- Heathrow Pod stations could be placed in all hotels, car parks and train/bus stations ringing Heathrow, up to perhaps five or even ten miles away.
- Passengers who are flying out, could scan their boarding pass and passport in the pod.
- The pod would take you to the appropriate holding area for your flight.
- Or if you failed the checks to an appropriate area for further checking.
- Passengers who are flying in, would use the touch-screen terminal to tell their pod where to go.
- A quick scan of your parking ticket could take you to the station nearest to your car.
I’ve always been sceptical about driver-less cars, but these versions which are all identical running on a fixed and limited network of guide-ways could be another matter.
A Sad Footnote
The driving force behind the system would appear to be Martin Lowson.
Sadly he died in 2013.
A Cafe That Doesn’t Take Cash
IKEA have opened a cafe in Shoreditch High Street, which is just a short walk from the station of the same name.
IKEA Cafe, Shoreditch
I was a bit disappointed, as the gluten-free options were non-existent and it didn’t take cash.
So I had a small cappuccino in a paper cup and left to get the train home.
I won’t be bothering to go again!
Coffee And Seats At Manchester Victoria
The upgrade at Manchester Victoria station is approaching completion and as I passed through yesterday, the refreshment room was open and their were extra chairs everywhere in a Northern Rail promotion.
It’s just a pity that the coffee shop, just had to be those tax-avoiders; Starbucks.
A New Route To Legal Services
I passed this cafe in Hampstead yesterday on Haverstock Hill.
A New Route To Legal Services
I suppose that The Legal Cafe might make a sensible profit on the coffee and cakes.
A Board Outside The Haggerston Espresso Room
I’ve used the Haggerston Espresso Room several times, as it’s near to my doctor’s surgery and it serves decent coffee and tea.
The pictures show both sides of the board that was outside.
