The Anonymous Widower

Walking From Leamouth To Canning Town Station

This morning in what could be the last of the summer sun, I took a 277 bus to Leamouth and then walked to Canning Town station along Bow Creek.

The area is one of the more interesting in London, with the River Lea of which Bow Creek is part, gradually silting up and reverting to reed beds. The inside of the bend used to be the the home of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company and now it is one of the tunnelling sites for CrossRail. The successor of the works football team of the Thames Ironwork still exists as West Ham United, but the company is long gone, deespite building many ships for the Navy and companies like P & O.

From Canning Town station, I  got the DLR, the Emirates Air-Line cable-car and the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf for lunch. I suppose, I could have taken the Jubilee line from Canning Town station, but the cable-car has better views.

Thinking about the route, you could take the 277 bus from any number of places like Highbury and Islington and then go back to Central London on the Jubilee line.  but on a sunny day, don’t cut out the cable-car as it gives some spectacular views.

October 14, 2012 Posted by | Sport, Transport/Travel, World | , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Boring Day

There is not much sport to see today.  Live, I’ve the choice of Barnet, Gillingham or Wimbledon close to London, but I’ve more important things to do now, as the e-mail has got corrupted on my computer. Scanpst may work well, but it’s rather slow.

Hopefully it’ll get better.  Even Andy Murray didn’t help, by disposing of Roger Federer rather quickly.

October 13, 2012 Posted by | Sport | , | 3 Comments

Sorting Out Highbury Corner

Highbury Corner is one of London’s busiest interchanges, which is being restructured to make it easier for all users. The picture shows the terminus of the 277 bus.

277 Buses At Highbury Corner

I regularly get a bus from here to my house and the stop is badly placed for the Underground. It is also a very busy stop, just off the roundabout towards Dalston and not the nicest place to wait for a bus.

I think that whatever you do, you’re not going to make a great improvement, unless the 277 route was extended a bit towards Holloway. But then there probably isn’t another suitable terminus.

Traffic was particularly bad last night, as Arsenal were playing at home and people will insist on driving to the Emirates.

October 4, 2012 Posted by | Sport, Transport/Travel | , , , | Leave a comment

Two Friendly Stadia

I’ve seen Ipswich draw one-one twice in four days.

I could argue, that with a bit more luck, they’d have got a couple more points. But on the other hand, I can say that both stadia; Oakwell and the Amex, are friendly places, that are easy to get to by public transport. Especially, if you don’t take my indirect route to Brighton.

October 3, 2012 Posted by | Sport, Transport/Travel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

To Brighton via Cable Car And A Lot More

And a few other things too!

I had plenty of time yesterday to get to the Ipswich match at Brighton, so I thought, I’d see how many different forms of transport I could use.

1. A 21 Bus to Bank


I started the simple way by getting on this 21 bus to take me to Bank station for the DLR.

A 21 Bus To Bank

It didn’t actually go to Bank, as southbound buses have to take a detour at Moorgate because of Crossrail.

2. Docklands Light Railway to Royal Victoria Docks

I then took the DLR to Royal Victoria Dock station for the cable-car.

DLR Train At Bank

I did take a pause at Limehouse station to take pictures of the Hydraulic Accumulator Tower.

3. Emirates Air-Line To North Greenwich

I’d actually come this way to give me a good title to the post.  But, as I had a gondola to myself, I was able to take good pictures of the Crossrail site at Limmo.

The Crossrail Site On The Limmo Peninsular

Work seems to be proceeding at speed and hopefully Elizabeth and Victoria will be dropped in the big hole soon.

4. Jubilee Line To Canada Water

This was the point, I realised I hadn’t got an SD card in the camera, so I purchased one by the O2.

Jubilee Line At Canada Water

At least the Jubilee line was working properly.

5.Lift To The Overground

This might seem like blatant cheating to get my count up. It is!

Lift To The Overground

Although it was a nice clean lift!

6. Overground To West Croydon

Those who know London’s transport system can argue that I should have taken the Jubilee line to London Bridge station and got a train from there.  But hey! That would not be fun.

Arriving At West Croydon

But even the Overground takes you to wrong station at Croydon for Brighton. But at least, West Croydon station now has a quick exit to the tram.

7. Tram To East Croydon

At least when you’re going West to East in Croydon, the Tramlink is simple.

Tram at East Croydon

In fact, if say I’m coming from Brighton to my home, I will probably go direct to the London terminus. But going south, I tend to take the Overground from close by my house and then the tram to East Croydon station, as I did here.

8. Train To Brighton

I bought my first ticket of the day.  a senior return to Brighton for £11.70.

My Train To Brighton Arrives

I arrived in Brighton on time.

I then walked down the hill to Carluccio’s for an early supper.

October 3, 2012 Posted by | Sport, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Comeback To End All Comebacks

Europe’s win in the Ryder Cup is being celebrated as one of the great comebacks.

It is a great comeback, but in many ways it pales into insignificance compared to that amazing, cold and wet Saturday afternoon on the 21st December 1957, when Charlton Athletic beat Huddersfield Town seven-six at the Valley after being five-one down, with only ten men. It must be one of the few Second Division matches of the era to have its own Wikipedia page.

Reading that Wikipedia page, you find that Huddersfield were managed by Bill Shankly and he had rested a young Denis Law. Shankly later said about the match.

one of the most amazing games I have ever seen

And he’d seen a few matches!

October 1, 2012 Posted by | Sport | , | Leave a comment

Another Coloured Police Horse

South Yorkshire Police gave the horses an exercise, whilst Town were in Barnsley.

As you can see, one is a very striking coloured horse, which the officer told me proudly was one of a matched pair. It certainly proves the odd Suffolk phrase.

A bad horse is always a bad colour, but a good horse is always a good one.

Usually, that was said in respect to chesnut mares, but then in Suffolk, chesnuts are always liked because of the Suffolk horse, which only come in that colour.

September 30, 2012 Posted by | Sport, World | , , , | 1 Comment

A Goal Out Of The Sun!

Ipswich scored a curious goal yesterday, where some reports said the Barnsley goal-keeper was at fault.

Looking at the angles and shadows after it had been scored, the shot could have come in the exact direction of the sun.

So why is it that keepers never seem to wear caps these days? Surely, those great keeps of the 1950s and 60s can’t all be wrong.

September 30, 2012 Posted by | Sport | , , | 4 Comments

The Cure Seemed To Work

As I said, I was going to Barnsley today to see Ipswich play.  The football was the same as last time in 2011, with a one-one draw.

But the fresh air above the town did the trick and now after my return, I do feel a bit better.

I won’t jump to conclusions though.  At least not yet!

I also felt a bit better, after a trip to see Ipswich at home a few weeks ago. Ipswich is virtually on the coast and it was breezy there too.  so it could be the air!

Or it could be my bobble hat, which does seem to stop my head itching so much!  Perhaps, it just makes it that bit warmer. On the other hand sites on the Internet suggest that hats make your head itch. Not mine! But it could be the reverse.

I’m going to Brighton on Tuesday, so let’s see what difference that makes.

September 29, 2012 Posted by | Health, Sport | , , | Leave a comment

Taking The Cure In Barnsley

I’m going north tomorrow to see Ipswich play at Barnsley.  I don’t hold out much hope for the football, but then I’m not going for that.  I’m hoping to repeat what happened in February 2011, when I went there and came back refreshed with all that air on the moors. If you don’t know Oakwell, it’s high on the moors behind the railway station and I suspect it can get a bit breezy.

I bought my train ticket last night and it cost me just £40.95 to go First Class to Barnsley from St. Pancras and I think because I’m a season ticket holder at Portman Road, the ticket is costing just £11.00.

Sounds like value to me!

September 28, 2012 Posted by | Sport, Transport/Travel | , , , | 2 Comments