How To Handle Enquiries
Horse racing often gets a certain amount of negative publicity.
On Saturday, I am thinking of going to the Epsom Derby, as if the Queen’s Horse, Carlton House, should win, it will be one of those truly I-was-there moments, that only happen once in a century.
So I phoned the enquiries number at the course, got straight through to a real person and the conversation went like this.
Q: Can you buy tickets for the Upper Tattersalls Enclosure on the day?
A: Yes! We hope to have lots on the gate.
Q: Will I be able to get into the centre of the course to the fun fair and the market from there?
A: Yes!
Q: How far is the enclosure from Tattenham Corner Station?
A: About half-a-mile.
I then decided I was going, especially as there is a direct train from London Bridge at 11:45.
So why sometimes do simple questions about events sometimes take hours?
Transmanche Metro
This is an idea that I found on Wikipedia for Stratford station, which talks of the proposed “Transmanche Metro” service to Calais via local stations.
It appears to contain a certain degree of kite-flying and some of the references seem to link it with French politics. There is this article on a holiday home web site.
On the other hand a direct route from Stratford in East London to Lille, via Ebbsfleet, Ashford and Calais might prove to be a lower cost alternative to Eurostar, especially for commuters, business and families, especially if it offered a virtually turn-up-and-go service.
The problems with setting it up would probably be more to do with the vested interests of Eurostar and SNCF, than anything to do with access to the Channel Tunnel or safety issues.
Will it ever happen?
Probably not for a couple of years or so, but then who’d have thought that such as Ryanair and easyJet would grow so big, when they started by providing a low-cost alternative to the major airlines. So don’t predict anything!
The Other Side of the Olympic Site
Yesterday, I took the train from Stratford to Tottenham Hale. It is actually a slow train to Stansted Airport, that stops in several places on its way to the airport.
It runs every thirty minutes or so, so it is not often the most convenient way to get between the two places, but because of the various developments and countryside along the line it makes a pleasant alternative as you wander up the Lee Valley.
A New Stratford Emerges
I went to Stratford station today as it has now been announced that the station upgrade is complete.
There are still a few things to do, but as the pictures show, it’s a lot better than a few years ago.
Dalston Junction to Canary Wharf with an Awkward Parcel
This morning I had to take an awkward parcel, which was something I’d sold on eBay to Canary Wharf for the buyer to take away. It wasn’t that heavy, but it was 60 cm. long and 36 cm. in diameter. I’d wrapped it in an IKEA carrier bag, and it wasn’t too difficult to carry to Dalston Junction station. The station has a lift and this took me down to the platform, where I was able to wait in a New Cross train until it left. I took the train to Canada Water, where I used the lift to get me to the Jubilee line for Canary Wharf, where another lift and an escalator got me to the level of the shopping centre, where I was to meet the buyer outside Waitrose.
After lunch in Carluccio’s and some shopping in Waitrose, I retraced my route, with a large shopping bag, that except for the two hundred metres or so, happily sat on the floor of the lift or train.
It just shows how if you have to move something large, you can often do it using the stations with lifts. At least with a bit of planning!
A Good Day For Wales
Yesterday, Swansea got into the Premier League at Wembley and the English cricketers turned a certain draw into an unlikely win at Cardiff.
I wish Swansea well at their new status. Their ground, the Liberty Stadium is certainly up to it, as I found last season. Perhaps, all it needs is a station of its own or better transport from the town centre.
More Trouble With East Coast Main Line Overhead Cables
It doesn’t seem to be long between occurrences of overhead cable problems on the East Coast Main Line. There have been more problems today.
What the problem was has not actually been announced,but it won’t stop the speculation.
On one forum, I’ve seen privatisation, re-nationalisation, installation of a cheap system in the 1980s and both the Conservative and Labour parties all blamed.
As someone, who has taken an interest in the line for many years and have even analysed things like signal failures in the old British Rail days, I do wonder if a lot of the problems are down to the electrification in the 1980s. Wikipedia says this.
Rail services are vulnerable during high winds and there have been several de-wirements over the years due to the unusually wide spacing between the supporting masts of the overhead lines. This wide spacing was a result of extreme pressure from the Department for Transport (as proxy for the taxpayer) to reduce avoidable costs when the line was originally electrified between 1985 and 1990.
With all the electrification scheduled to be done in the next few years, let’s hope we get it right this time.
When you look at British overhead wiring, it always looks flimsier than say that on HS1 or railways on the continent. But this may just be a simplistic perception!
A Good Reason For Not Owning A Car
As I walked to get the paper today, someone had broken down in an almost brand-new BMW X-5. The service van had just arrived and the driver of the BMW had that About-Time-To look on his face. As I walked back the service van was leaving.
I suddenly realised that doesn’t happen to me anymore! It must be a good reason to not own a car!
If my bus or train breaks down, it’s not my problem! When a train was an hour late recently, they sent me some vouchers, which I might use for a trip to somewhere exciting like Margate or Brighton. It might actually be Birmingham, as that appears to be hay-fever free at the moment.
Manchester United Set A Good Example
There are pictures and a long report in the Daily Mail about how Manchester United took the train to London for Saturday’s Champions League Final.
I can remember when football teams regularly took the train. In fact on one trip down on a Saturday evening from Darlington, I shared a carriage with the Millwall team that has just beaten Newcastle United in the FA Cup.
Branas Boxes Bite Again
I have a new delivery of some IKEA furniture tomorrow and to finish it off I need some more Branas boxes.
As I was going to have a coffee with a friend in Covent Garden, I thought that I might go on from there. But getting to Covent Garden had been difficult on the Piccadilly line as someone had stupidly been hit by a train at Southgate. So the obvious route back to IKEA at Edmonton which involved using the Piccadilly line to Manor House and then a 341 bus, was probably a no-no!
So I decided after my coffee to take the circular route from Embankment of a District line train to Wimbledon and then the Tramlink to IKEA at Ampere Way. Afterwards I intended to continue on the tram to West Croydon to get the London Overground to Dalston Junction.
The Chimneys at IKEA Croydon
The two chimneys of the old power station that give the road its name are still there.
As are the concrete blocks, that sit in the pedestrian entrance to catch the drunk, the lame and the elderly.
Welcome to IKEA - Again!
They may have been moved since I last visited the store.
I did have a nice lunch in IKEA before I bought another eight boxes.
Or should I say seven and four-fifths boxes? As when I checked out, a bottom was missing! I did check them, as I’d been caught once before, but I obviously didn’t check well enough! It meant another walk through the store as punishment to get a replacement. At least I didn’t take it home and now will be plotting a return.
IKEA at Croydon at least has one advantage over Edmonton. It is easy to take a trolley to the tram stop. Not that I did as many had done and dump it somewhere awkward for pedestrians, but I was able to leave it in a handy trolley park to shorten the walk considerably.
From Ampere Way I took the tram to West Croydon to get the East London line to Dalston Junction.
Overground Directions at West Croydon
The picture shows the excellent signage at the West Croydon interchange.
I actually changed trains between West Croydon and Dalston Junction, at Surrey Quays, so that I got on a train that ended its journey at Dalston Junction, which meant I only had a short walk to the lift.
It was then a couple of stops on a 38 bus home.
It would be so much easier, if I could buy the Branas boxes online in fours.
The Anonymous Widower 