BT Will Setup BT Sport On The Olympic Park
There was good news today for Hackney, when BT said that they will run their BT Sport operation from the Broadcast Centre on the Olympic Park. It’s all here on the BBC.
As BSkyB is also London-based, does it not look to have been a bad decision to move BBC Sport to Manchester?
Beware Of Young Girls
I was travelling back from shopping this morning, when I became aware that a rather pretty blonde young lady was leaning over me. It took me a few moments before I realised she was a ticket inspector and her machine with the London Bus logo was being held out. It rather surprised me, as the usual inspectors, be they male or female, are generally older and look like they can handle themselves in a serious fight.
As the ads on London’s buses and tubes say. “Ticket inspectors look just like you!” Or not me, in this case, but the sort of lady, I’d like to take out for the evening. Although, my son would have said, she would have been too young for me. Which is probably true!
Will The New Bus for London Change London Forever?
I could have entitled this post “Will The New Bus for London Change London And Bus Travel Forever?”
It may be an outrageous statement, but then I believe it will.
Yesterday, when I got stuck in the jams at Highbury Corner and the New Bus for London arrived, I was very relieved and felt that the crew would sort out the mess.
I had been prepared to walk down St. Paul’s Road from the bus stop where I stood, to jump on the platform at the back. But the driver stopped and allowed everybody who wanted to get on normally.
Having used the bus for some months now, this is typical behaviour of the drivers, as they seem to delight in picking up passengers, which can’t always be said for everybody, who’s ever driven a bus.
It could be that because these driver/conductors were hand-picked, they only took those, who treated the job very seriously. After all, if they hadn’t done a good job from the start, there would have been a lot of political fall-out.
There is also the Kings of the Road effect. In my youth, those who drove the heaviest of trucks, always felt themselves superior and made certain they never did anything to dent their reputation.
The crew of the New Bus for London seem intent on creating a similar reputation. Talk to one working in their conductor role and they will always say they like both the bus and the job. Especially, as they get to meet the public properly and seem to enjoy the banter and the experience.
We are very much social animals and the New Bus for London feeds on that. If you want to chat, no-one seems to bother and if you don’t then that’s OK too! I’ve said before that the New Bus for London is a superb viewing platform for tourists and those like me, who’re fascinated by the environment.
But remember, this is only the first radical bus design in fifty years or so. I doubt it will be the last and who’s to say that Scania, MAN or the other manufacturers won’t come up with a better and even more radical take on mass transportation.
I’ve said before there’s a war out there, and the New Bus fir London, is just one of the first attempts to dominate the market.
So what in my view, should the design of a bus have.
- It should have at least two doors, so that access is better and the driver is away from the scrum at the exit.
- Obviously, wheelchair access must be to at least the standard on all London buses.
- The bus should at least have hybrid drive. All electric is an option, but until power storage problems are solved, it will always be a novelty.
- It should talk to the passengers automatically, so that they know where they are.
- Larger buses may well benefit from a conductor, as I believe London has shown they do.
- Ticketing must be touch-in like London. This speeds up the buses and increases capacity.
It’ll be interesting to see the next skirmish in the bus war. But in this war, the only winners will be the customers.
Good Riddance To Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Earls Court is an exhibition centre, whose sell-by date was decades ago. I can remember going to events there like The Motor Show in the 1960s and it wasn’t the best then. I can also remember being at the NEC in Birmingham about 1980, talking to one of the top people in Hewlett-Packard, where he reckoned at that time the NEC was one of the best places they exhibited.
So what has Earls Court done in those intervening years? Absolutely nothing! Read about the NEC and it is a story of continuous development and updating.
If ever a building was saying “Please knock me down!” it’s Earls Court.
So I’m now pleased to see that this is going to happen. It’s reported here on the BBC. But as ever there are those, who want to turn the clock back. Two housing estates will be incorporated into the scheme and the report says this.
But tenants and leaseholders on the West Kensington and Gibbs Green housing estates who will have to be re-housed have called for a judicial review on the grounds that the plan is contrary to Hammersmith and Fulham’s local planning policy.
As ever, selfish people seem determined to not co-operate for the good of the many. So be prepared for a long and expensive fight which will only delay the inevitable.
On a personal note, I’ve only visited Earls Court once in recent years. I try to avoid the place, as it is one of those places where I can’t find anything to eat.
Now we have the problem of what to do with Olympia. After all with Excel and the O2 Dome we have made a start on providing alternative venues.
The Cheesegrater
The Cheesegrater is another building under construction.
London seems to have a good naming systems for buildings these days. Do other cities and countries stick the definite article in-front of a nick-name.
London has or might have The Cheesegrater, The Gherkin, The Pinnacle, The Razor, The Shard and The Walkie-Talkie for starters.
The Pinnacle
The Pinnacle is another building going up in London.
Although as the pictures show, construction has halted for the moment. The Cheesegrater is in the background, with the wall of yellow scaffoulding.
The Back Of Moor House
I think this building with the distinctive windows is Moor House.
The Back Of Moor House
It does remind me of Oriel Chambers in Liverpool.
Oriel Chambers
But that building was completed in 1864 or 140 years before Moor House.
Cromwell Tower
I took this picture of Cromwell Tower from where I took the picture of The Heron and CityPoint.
Cromwell Tower
We used to live on the eleventh floor, which is just about the lowest floor visible in the picture.
Considering this tower was built at the end of the 1960s, it is still an iconic and distinct building.
The Heron And CItyPoint
This picture was taken from the Barbican.
The Heron And CItyPoint
CityPoint used to be known as Britannic House and it was a much plainer and brutal building, when we lived in Cromwell Tower. It has since been rebuilt. The Heron is a new residential block, yet to be completed.
The Heron Tower
The Heron Tower is a newly-built skyscraper in the City of London. I can actually see it from my front window, as some of these pictures show.
It is the tallest in London after The Shard. And I like the Heron Tower much better.
The Anonymous Widower 