More Idiot Train Reporting
Ben Ando on the BBC this morning, made the mistake in thinking that the A14 carries a lot of trucks with containers from Felixstowe to the North and back. Nowadays a high proportion of containers go by train via Peterborough and Nuneaton. In fact, I reported here, that they seemed to have decreased in number significantly.
But of course there might be more on the roads this weekend, as that idiot went too fast over the points at Bletchley.
How To Move An Agricultural Roller! Or Not!
Some years ago, I needed to move an agricultural ribbed roller from my house to my stud, which were about a mile apart. The roller was built from a series of sections and was about two metres long, with a stout triangular frame at the front to hitch it to the tractor.
I had a Land Rover Discovery at the time, so using some rope, I tied the frame of the roller to the toe-hook on the back of the 4×4.
As I wanted to do it slowly, I felt that six o’clock on a Sunday morning would be best, as there was little traffic about. It took me about an hour, with no mishaps en route.
It was only on Monday, that I found I’d woken everybody up, and they’d all wondered what made the amazing noise.
Huhne Has Been Stupid
When it was first rumoured that Chris Huhne had got his wife to take some of his speeding points, I put up a post.
I said this.
It sounds to me that this case might end up with a more serious charge.
Whatever happened to the beloved criminal quote of “It’s a fair cop, officer!”
It now seems I was right too, as Chris Huhne has resigned with all sorts of consequences according to this report on the BBC.
If he’d taken his punishment at the time, he would now still be a member of the government.
The fact that he didn’t shows how naive he must be. After all, he must have realised that once the story got out he’d be finished, so why not cap the story at the time by losing his licence.
Cyclists
The area of Hackney where I live is just north of the City and there are a lot of cyclists. Normally, there isn’t a problem, but they will sneak up the inside of say a bus that has stopped at a zebra crossing for me to cross and a couple of times, I have nearly been run over. Although, I’m a recovering sixty-odd-year-old stroke victim, I can just about cope, but there is a lot of complaints in the shops and pubs from pedestrians about cyclists ignoring the rules of the road and the pavement.
All I think we need is that everybody tries to follow what the law lays down.
Perhaps, what annoys me at the moment, is that there is building work opposite, which means there are extra hazards like delivery lorries and skips, where I cross the road. This would be fine, as usually everything is properly placed to cause the minimum of obstruction. The problem though is that so many drivers and motorcyclists use the road as a short cut and weave in and out of the hazards at speeds over the 20 mph limit for the road.
I think it would help if Hackney followed Islington and went for a borough wide 20 mph speed limit.
Is This The Sickest Lawsuit Ever?
David Belniak was drunk, had taken cocaine and Xanax, when he crashed his car at 88 mph into the back of someone else’s in a 55 mph zone and killed all four occupants. He got a twelve year sentence and you can read the whole story here in the Daily Mail.
He is now suing the relatives of those he killed for the mental anguish he went through.
I Thought Germans Obeyed Orders
This German trucker, obviously didn’t, as the signs said he shouldn’t cross the Forth Road road bridge.
Cutting Debts
I was listening yesterday to the BBC’s morning phone-in and they were talking about debts and especially how people have got into trouble over Christmas.
If I look at my finances over the last year, they have improved somewhat and I felt that although I’m living on my savings until my house is sold, I’ve probably got almost a year more before my avings run out, than when I moved here in December 2010.
So what major savings have I made.
The first is the the television, phones and broadband. I like Sky Sports, and the big saving is that I can’t have an obvious dish here, as it’s a Conservation Area. Although, I could probably hide one on the roof! I did try Virgin by cable to get Sky Sports 1 and 2. Now I’ve switched to BT Vision with of course Freeview. I now pay about £50 a month to get phone calls, broadband and Sky Sports 1 and 2.
I don’t seem to miss out on watching anything I want to, but the saving is a thousand on Virgin Media and a couple of thousand compared to Sky.
Note that I only rarely watch films on television and generally stick to the four BBC channels, the two Sky Sports channels and radio.
The biggest saving is not having a car. I don’t miss it one bit, although perhaps it would have helped on Christmas Day to get to my son’s. But with the amount of money I save, I can afford the occasional black cab or mini-cab.
Getting rid of the car has other benefits too in addition to the obvious financial and logistical ones.
You walk a lot more, which is obviously good for you. I always walk with my eyes open too and I see things in shop windows that I might like to buy to improve my lifestyle or things that are just interesting in the street.
Walking is a real joy in a city and in no way inferior to walking in the country. In fact, I think it is more thought-provoking.
So how many people with serious debt problems have still got the expensive television, the full Sky and an expensive car?
Using Mobile Phones whilst Driving
According to this piece on the BBC, the police are cracking down on people, who use their mobile phone whilst driving.
Edward King was on and e told how an AA man, had said the only punishment needed was to lose your phone number, so you’d have to get another.
What a simple idea! Often the simple ideas are the best.
I’m certain it would work well.
Jams In The West End
There has been a lot of controversy lately about the City of Westminster, bringing in parking charges in the evenings and on Sundays. Here ‘s a report from the Telegraph.
It seems to me that most of the opposition is led by celebrities such as Peter Stringfellow, who claim they are worried about jobs and of course where to park their own limos and excessive people carriers.
As I said the 38 bus was delayed getting to Shaftesbury Avenue and it took half an hour to travel the last bit from Bloomsbury. My progress after alighting from the bus, wasn’t helped by the fact that a coach was parked on the pavement, making both walking and driving difficult.
After the play it was worse and getting back up Shaftesbury Avenue was not easy, as drivers were blocking pavement and trying to go at speed into and out of the side roads. It wasn’t helped by the fact, that a large number of police cars and ambulances were trying to get through.
I finally got to the stop for the 38 bus and after checking by text, I found I had seven minutes to wait.
Whilst waiting you realised that what was holding up the traffic was the vast number of cycle rickshaws, which were illegally touting at the bus stops. A guy in the queue near me, who had the aura of a taxi-driver, said that mos of the rickshaws aren’t insured and he wouldn’t go near them. He was actually a van driver, who’d had a nght out with his family and was also waiting for a 38. There’s more on illegal rickshaws here.
It was also a night, when I wished I’d had my camera with me, as I would ave got a picture of a 19 bus, seemingly pushing a rickshaw slowly along the road.
Finally, I got my 38 back to the local stop.
So what would I do to improve matters?
It would appear that the 38 bus, might be one of the first routes to get the new Routemaster in 2012. Certainly, as they are quicker to board and exit, they should help a bit. Banning the rickshaws from bus lanes would also help.
I’ve always been in favour of pedestrianising Oxford Street or perhaps building a raised walkway above the middle of the street to speed people from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch and perhaps relieve the Central line. Although a bit to the north of theatreland, it would make it easier to get to Soho and then come south to Shaftesbury Avenue. My thoughts on the walkway are in this post.
I think I would make a large area of Soho a pedestrian only zone, as this would increase the capacity of the area dramatically. And the more visitors it gets, the more money gets spent. Perhaps, small electric buses could be used on the north-south routes to move people about.
But perhaps what will help most is already being built; CrossRail. Although it only goes to Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street stations, the high-capacity trains will probably run later than the Underground and they will at least get a lot of West End traffic away after the theatres and shows finish. I would run a shuttle service through from say Stratford to Heathrow to aid those, like essential workers, who had to travel in the middle of the night.
It has always puzzled me why there is no Underground station at Cambridge Circus. Perhaps the walking routes to Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road stations need to be improved.
The Anonymous Widower 