Fun At The Hackney Records Office
I wasted an hour or so this afternoon at the new Hackney Records Office by Dalston Junction station. The welcoming and competent Sian showed me where everything was and I quickly got all the information I needed. Printouts were just tens of pence each.
I’ve used other Records Offices in the past and Hackney was streets above all the others.
Hackney’s Cracked Pavements
I took this picture in the little bit of the City of London, that is actually in the London Borough of Hackney.
Hackney’s Cracked Pavements
My Hackney pavements are very good, but obviously not all parts of the borough get the same quality of service.
Praise For Hackney, Wooden Spoon for Wandsworth
I know I missed the torch at the end of my road, but that was mainly because I took too long for a pit stop, but I did know where it was going to go, as the maps were good. But that is not what can be said for Wandsworth yesterday, where I tried to see the torch about 17:00. When I asked around, people seemed to be very anti-Olympics and it seemed mainly because of the Olympic Route Network, that made driving difficult. But then I always remember that driving is difficult south of the river.
Wandsworth or at least the centre is perhaps best summed up by the old Ram Brewery site. There’s even an old steam engine in there somewhere, that worked until the 1980s.
It used to produce one of the best real ales, but look at it now.
Chemical lager manufacturers have a lot to answer for. ADanish friend of mine once said that in Denmark, Carlsberg bought up every brewer and meant the only beer you could get is their product. He advised all in the UK, to not let it happen here.
It doesn’t matter to me now, as I can’t drink beer, but I know many feel that the destruction of the traditional British drinking culture has been one of the disasters of the last few decades. As a policeman once told me in all seriousness, you never get trouble in a real ale pub.
Torch Chasing in East London – Clissold Park
On Sunday, I missed the torch at the end of my road, as after the Royal London Hospital, it took me longer to get home, have a pit-stop abnd then get down there. So Ijumped on a 141 bus and went to Clissold Park.
The torch was visiting the Hackney Festival.
The Clockwork Orange
The bus advertising Ed Sheeran was also around.
The Clockwork Orange on Route 38
I’ve heard it referred to as The Clockwork Orange.
Ed Sheeran incidentally, was praised for his performance in the recent BBC Radio 1’s Weekend at Hackney.
My First Time on Stage
Surprisingly, a few weeks from my 65th birthday, I went on a theatrical stage for the first time last night.
On Stage at the Hackney Empire
It was a fundraising event for the Hackney Empire. The picture doesn’t really do justice to the interior of the theatre.
A Smart 277 Hybrid Bus
Of all the routes near me, the 277 generally has the worst buses. But as I generally only use it for a couple of stops to get to and from the station, I can put up with it.
Imagine my surprise to see that this morning, a brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 hybrid bus, appeared to be heading towards Highbury and Islington station with 277 proudly emblazoned on the front.
I’ll treat it as a mirage until I see it again.
All Beautiful Things Need Careful TLC to Grow
I took this picture of LT4 yesterday in the Essex Road.
All Beautiful Things Need Careful TLC to Grow
To be fair to Wright Bus, the bus had only been in operation since Monday and there have been no other reports of New Buses for London, breaking down, except for the incident, where it ran out of fuel.
At least if a 38 bus breaks down, there’s always another one a couple of minutes behind. I suspect that this is one of the reasons, the bus is being tried out on this route. It’s also a pretty typical Central London route and it is served by the garage at Hackney, where the buses turn round at Hackney Central.
This all shows me how professionally, the development phase is being handled, by both the manufacturer and Transport for London.
Haringey to Limit Junk Food
The Sunday Times reports today, that Haringey is to going to limit the number of junk food shops in poor areas of the borough. Here’s a flavour of their report.
Health officials in Haringey, north London, plan to curb the number of fried chicken, burger and pizza outlets in poor parts of the borough where men die, on average, nine years younger than those from its leafier areas. It proposes using planning powers to limit fast-food restaurants after finding there were up to six times more such outlets in poorer districts.
Let’s hope it all works out and spreads to the next borough to the south, Hackney. The Kingsland Road has little else, except loan and pound -shops.
From Ballymena With Love
According to this article in the Ballymena Times, the New Bus for London will feature in the new James Bond film, Skyfall.
The bus is set to feature in an action scene set in Trafalgar Square involving the 007 spy, played by Daniel Craig.
Surely, the designer of the bus, didn’t envisage it to be James Bond’s latest transport.
It does however mean that there is a lot of scope for film and book titles.
On the Hackney Express is the obvious one, as the buses at present go to Hackney Central on route 38.
The Anonymous Widower 