Working Around The Victoria Line Closure
Today, I wanted to go to IKEA and a decent B & Q, so as both are close to Tottenham Hale station, it required a trip to that station or thereabouts.
The problem is that the Victoria Line is closed past Seven Sisters in August, so they can remove the bottleneck at Walthamstow Central that was part of the cheapskate design of the 1960s. Click here for the full story.
So I couldn’t take my usual route of an Undrground train to Tottenham Hale and a 192 bus.
I decided to go to IKEA first, which is just an easy trip all the way on a 341 bus from perhaps a hundred metres from my house. But as I got to the stop, the 341 whizzed past. Luckily it was followed by a 476 bus, which joins up with the 341 at Northumberland Park and hopefully because of the route it takes will get there first.
So I got the 476 and sat upstairs. I was watching to see if the 341 was behind us as we turned off Tottenham High Road and saw the 341 appear behind.
At the next stop I got off the bus to get the 341, only to see that bus go straight past. Luckily, I was able to get back on the 476, so in the end, I went all the way to Northumberland Park, a couple of stops short of IKEA. The bus information saif I’d haveto wait twenty minutes for a 341, so I walked over the level crossing to the Marigold Road stop for the 192. Again my luck was in, as a 192 had just turned up and they were changing drivers.
Coming back, I was carrying a full IKEA bag, and wanted to get to B & Q at Tottenham Hale for a couple of small bits, so I needed a 192 bus. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a gap in the service, but after about twenty minutes, I’d done my hopping and needed to get home.
So I walked back to Tottenham Hale station, hoping that there was a Hackney Downs train due.
Remarkably there was one in a couple of minutes and I just had time to climb over the bridge to catch it.
At Hackney Downs, the train dropped me on Platform 1, so I could either go down into Hackney Downs station and get a 56 or 38 bus, or use the new walkway to Hackney Central, from where I could get a more numerous 38 bus.
As it was a warm day and there was a lift in the walkway, I decided to take the newly-opened route.
I’m glad I did, as it turned out that due to the wire mesh at the top of the sides of the walkway, it was remarkably cool.
I’d surmised it would have been good in wet weather, but I’d never thought I’d be pleased to use it because of the heat.
According to one of the staff to whom I spoke, the walkway is staring to be increasingly well-used as passengers discover it.
I think that we’ll see this type of walkway in other places on the UK rail network.
One thing that helped this morning to get around the Victoria Line closure, which removes a bit chunk of my usual routes to Tottenham and Walthamstow, was London’s superb text message-based bus information system, which like any good system is designed to work on any device that can send and receive text messages.
And it does it all without using any dreaded app.
Fixing The Shortened Grundtal Rail To The Wall
When I improvised the utensil rack, I wasn’t sure how to fit the cut end to the brick wall.
These pictures show how I did it.
Note that the single bracket now holding the rail can support the weight, unless I put too much in the pot, so all the dowel does is locate the rail in the correct position.
A Rack For Le Creuset Dishes
I have a selection of smaller Le Creuset dishes; in both 1.1 an 0.6 litre sizes.
They have a problem in that they don’t stack well. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, one pole fell onto one of the 1.1 litre dishes and reduced it to several smaller pieces.
I then found this Variera pot lid organiser in IKEA at just £5. Which is less than a replacement dish!
It certainly did the job, even if they are not pot lids.
The New Wall Cabinets In My Kitchen
This morning the Hungarian Handymen put the wall cabinets and my new cooker hood on the walls.
There is still a bit to do, but it has certainly released some more space. I also now have wall cupboards that don’t constantly take lumps out of me, like the steel ones did.
Before Crossrail 2 – Angel Road
Angel Road station is one for which there are big plans.
However, it will be on Crossrail 2 and will be one of the main features of the development at Meridian Water, which may give the station a new name.
This Google Map shows the station and the surrounding area as I walked to the Tesco superstore to get a bus to Tottenham Hale.
Angel Road Station
It is not the most beautiful of stations and the walking route is pretty dreadful.
After I arrived, I walked Northwards along the line and then climbed up onto the flyover on a set of rusty steps, before walking alongside the road and under the North Circular Road, taking these pictures as I walked.
Angel Road must surely, be one of the most inaccessible stations for the able-bodied not just in London, but the whole of Europe. No wonder it is the second least-used station in London. I shall have to visit Sudbury and Harrow Road station, which sees fewer passengers. The station is also so lacking in facilities, that there isn’t even a convenient place to drop or pick-up a passenger with a vehicle.
The one good thing about this truly dreadful station is that there is more than adequate space to put the two extra tracks for stopping trains and Crossrail 2 between the current West Anglia Main Line and the busy Meridian Way.
Short term plans for this station include an hourly service pattern. So when there is limited development at the station, which must include decent pedestrian access direct across Meridian Way from IKEA and Tesco with perhaps a footbridge with lifts, the prognosis for passenger numbers at the station can only be upwards.
Shopping In IKEA Without A Car
I don’t drive, but when it comes to shopping in IKEA, I can get to the three London stores at Croydon, Edmonton and Neasden by public transport.
Edmonton, to where I get a 341 bus, is probably the easiest and if say I bought something that was too big to carry, the store will put me in a mini-cab.
Croydon is actually the farthest, but I use it at times, as it is so easy to get to using the tram from West Croydon. So if I’m going South of the river for some reason, and I need to check something, I’ll pop in to that store.
As my house and the built-in garage front the street and there is usually plenty of parking outside, I usually shop at IKEA by going to a store and ascertaining what I need and then ordering on-line. It doesn’t always work out as it should.
Due to finger trouble I ordered the wrong freezer for my kitchen. And as I only discovered too late to send it back, if you want an IKEA DJUPFRYSA, I’ll be putting one on eBay soon!
I need to check on a few things at the moment.
On my trip to Huddersfield on Monday, I wondered, if there was an IKEA in Sheffield that I could have visited to answer my queries. But there isn’t.
So it got me thinking, as to how many IKEA stores in the UK, are as easy to get to by public transport, as the three in London.
Only four seem to be easy to get to from the local station or tram stop.
Here’s Manchester, shown on a Google Earth image.
IKEA Manchester
This store would have been ideal, as there is a direct train service from Ashton-Under-Lyne station, which is near the store to Huddersfield. Except that there were no trains to Manchester on Monday and anyway I’d already bought my ticket via Sheffield.
As to the other stores on the UK mainland, they are Cardiff, Coventry and Southampton, all of which are in easy walking distance of a train station. But they wouldn’t have been much use on Monday!
So I’m off to Croydon today!
Would Anybody Like This Pre-Loved Expedit Storage Unit?
Because IKEA has changed from Expedit to a new form called Kallax.
I use a lot in my house, as it means I can use the same inserts everywhere.
This 4 x 2 in brown-black is a bit tatty, but with a bit of glue and perhaps some other work, it would be ideal for a lot of places.
I live in the Dalston area close to the Islington border, so if anybody would like it, let me know. I may have some others in the future, as some will have to be replaced to fit with the new style.
Doesn’t it get annoying that IKEA have discontinued the old design. Hence the reason for the Bad Design tag.
Assembling My New IKEA Kitchen
I like putting flat pack furniture together.
The pictures show some of the units as I assemble my new kitchen.
IKEA says that assembling the frames is a two-person job. But if you think about it, if this one good-handed pensioner can put it together, then everybody can, especially with a helper.
My rules for success in assembling furniture like this.
1. Assemble the furniture in a large space, preferably on a carpet, close to where the furniture is to go.
2. If like I do, you have to carry the parts upstairs, for the heavier units unpack them by the door, where they came into the house. I’m lucky, in that my integral garage opens onto the street, so IKEA just put all the boxes there. I unpack them there if needed.
3. Clear up all the endless cardboard packaging as you go.
4. Use little bowls to keep track of the screws.
5. Have a large pair of scissors handy to cut all the little plastic bags.
6. I also use a magnetic screwdriver, which is useful for picking up screws that get stuck in difficult places.
The only problem, I’ve had is that I put the wrong front on a drawer and couldn’t get it off. IKEA actually phoned me back within three hours of an e-mail, but I still can’t get the front off and in trying I cut a knuckle on my right hand. And of course, my left hand isn’t dexterous enough to put a plaster on it.
In the end I found that this drawer front problem is a common one and there a very good video. IKEA should put up an even better one!
Incidentally, after my cut knuckle, how many people end up in A & E with similar injury, because they live alone and there’s no-one to kiss it better?
Now here’s an offer to anybody living alone in the vague N1 area of Hackney and Islington. If you are thinking that say buying and assembling flat pack furniture is beyond you, why not contact me. Two brains and four good hands will be better than half the number.
My IKEA Furniture Now Has Some Brass Knobs!
My house has a theme of dark black-brown steel beams fitted together with brass fittings.
Dark Steel And Brass Bolts
When I bought the house, it still had Jerry’s gold-painted steel bolts, which I have replaced with real brass ones. Even if some might be just be real bolts glued into Jerry’s crude holes.
So when I bought some of IKEA’s Expedit boxes, which are just the right colour for the beams, I was disappointed that they only come with natural aluminium knobs.
IKEA’s Aluminium Knobs
So it was off to Birmingham by train to visit Honeyglen Anodising in Sparkbrook to see what they could do. I’ve now got the trial batch and here’s one in place.
Expedit With Brass Knobs
I’ve now got to get all the others together and send them off to Birmingham. I am getting them in a pretty standard brass colour, but there are more details here of the colours available.
Looking For Some Brass Knobs
I have lots of these IKEA Expedit drawers and cupboards.
IKEA Expedit Drawer
As my house has chocolate brown steel beams with brass details, I’d like to replace these knobs with brass ones of a similar form.
Does anybody know someone, who could anodise me about four dozen in brass?
The Anonymous Widower 