Buses, Trains and Walking
On Wednesday, I needed to get from Aldgate to Piccadilly Circus, so I took a bus. In London, you just look at the list of places on the shelter and then find out, which stop in the area is the one you want. In this case, I was lucky as it was the same shelter, but usually, it’s only a walk of a couple of metres. I think I waited perhaps a minute before my 15 bus arrived. I have a free pass, as I’m over sixty, so it was just a matter of showing the card, climbing upstairs and finding a seat. As I get tired, I find that buses are a convenient place to sit in towns like London. After a brief rest, I arrived at my destination.
Similarly, the trains are now pretty comfortable and for my journey home, after a second bus ride to Kings Cross, I was able to get a seat. As the train was busy, First Capital Connect were employing a firm lady to organise everybody in the carriage. We do things differently here to Japan, but she had the same effect, as she got everybody sitting orderly, by eliminating those, who feel that they are entitled to two seats.
I was quite refreshed by Cambridge, before my transfer to the train for Newmarket. There was a bit of hassle, as I had to exit the station to get another ticket, rather than purchase it on the train. They have now installed gates at Cambridge to clamp down on fare dodging, but they’ve also made it difficult to say go to the M&S in the station to get your supper, whilst you are waiting for your connection. They should think these things through properly.
I don’t really have a problem with walking, but where I was in London wasn’t too well provided with places to sit, to get the rest I need to take. So in some ways, I thought that it might be better to use my pass and just sit in a bus.
But at least I know I can manage!
Travels With My Stroke
Yesterday, I proved that I could undertake simple journeys by myself. Admittedly, I had lifts to and from home, but everything in the middle was done by myself, whether on train, tube, bus or by walking.
Did I have any problems?
Not really!
I thought about it afterwards and feel it could be a newspaper column, followed by a book. I could visit all of those places, I’ve never been before, stay in cheap hotels or with friends, travelling most of the way by public transport.
Yesterday, was the first trip, although I suppose you could could the return from Hong Kong.
I travelled up and back to London, by train from Cambridge, then used the Circle Line to get to my hotel and then used buses to get back to Kings Cross. This would seem a model that could be used for many trips.
My first planned trip will be to Middlesbrough for the first match of the season. My secretary will drop me at Bury St. Edmunds station on the Friday afternoon and then I’ll take the train to Middlesbrough, changing at Peterborough and York. I’m still trying to find a hotel in Middlesbrough for two nights, as hotels and especially near the Riverside Stadium appear to be very thin on the ground. Surely, places to stay should be one of the priorities of a council these days, as it attracts visitors, who spend money and thus create jobs.
The next weekend, I’m going to Edinburgh to see Jarlath Regan at the Gilded Balloon. Again it will be by train, with perhaps a rush back to see Ipswich on the Saturday.
I’ll see how it all progresses.
An Evening in London
After the cardiologist, I took the train from Cambridge to London, where the aim was to have supper with my son, stay a night in hotel and then do a bit of shopping and have lunch with a friend in the morning, before returning in the afternoon.
This was my first trip anywhere on my own, since I had the second stroke in Hong Kong.
As we often, do we ate in Carluccio’s in St. Pancras Station, which can do me gluten-free pasta, if I feel like it, as I did last night.
Afterwards, I took the Circle Line to Tower Hill, where I had a reservation in the Premium Inn.
Do We Somehow Absorb The Events Happening As We Are Born?
I don’t mean in an astrological way, as that is a load of old rubbish. But surely the state, feelings and emotions of the mother, must be passed to the child!
When our first son was born in 1969, everybody was on edge for the first moon landing. But it all turned out well! Gayle Hunnicutt whose own son was born at the same time, said her son was placid. Was ours? Perhaps as a young child, but not like how Gayle described her son.
I was born on the 16th August 1947, just a day after India gained independence. I am a few hours late to be one of Midnight’s Children. Has it affected me? I love India and most things Indian. I’ve been twice and hopefully I’ll go again. I’ve just watched John Sergeant’s excellent documentary on Indian railways, which talked eloquently about the tragedy and violence of partition, when around a 1,000,000 people died. It must have been in the papers and on the radio around the time I was born. I’ve also heard of this violence from a man, who at the time was a young officer in the British Army trying to move civilians to safety in soft-skinned vehicles. He wouldn’t talk about it.
In Sergeant’s documentary, we saw how the tragedy still continues, with India and Pakistan refusing to forget the violence and emnity and try to build a better future.
Today London showed how bad that relationship has become, with Pakistan playing Australia at the neutral venue of Lords. Judging by the fact that Pakistan are on top, they will claim victory, when in truth they have been defeated by the terrorists, who have forced them to play in England.
We must learn to renounce violence and surely the Indian sub-continent has seen enough in the last seventy years.
I Wouldn’t Like To Be These Thieves If the Commuters Get Them!
Thieves have stolen 90 metres of signalling cable from outside Paddington according to the BBC. It is causing major problems.
But at least the systems appear fail-safe and no-one has been hurt. It would be different of course, if the commuters got their hands on the thieves.
Years ago, I did some analysis for Railtrack and to stop signal cable thefts, they were replacing copper cable with fibre optic. The latter was cheaper and of coursehad no value if stolen, as who wants lots of glass thread? So the thieves just turned up with cutters and destroyed the fibre optic cables, in the vain hope that Railtrack would replace it with copper. They didn’t of course.
Perhaps though, those that get caught stealing cables, which control life-saving systems like signals or motorway signs, should be charged with something more serious like attempted manslaughter.
Travelling with Time to Spare
Since I’ve had the stroke, I try to make things easier for myself.
Take yesterday, as I had to get to Heathrow for BA 027 that left at 21:25, I decided that it would be a good idea to get my taxi to drop me at Whittlesford to catch the 16:30 train for Tottenham Hale. There it was to be the Victoria Line and Piccadilly Line to the airport for about an eighty-minute ride with just one walk across the platform at Finsbury Park.
But two things happened.
I forget to take my driving licence and we had to go back. It was only a delay of about five minutes, but it made things tight.
And then the automatic machine at the station wouldn’t serve me any suitable ticket. What I wanted was an open return with my Senior railcard. In the end I settled on a single to Tottenham Hale. I know in the cost of the this trip, it is a small thing, but if you do look after the pennies, you can afford to do the bits where the style is worth it!
I’d been on the train for a couple of minutes, when I noticed the train was going to Broxbourne. Weird! Then I found out the lines were down and it would be a bus from Broxbourne to Cheshunt.
Oh! Well!
I still had plenty of time. But then we waited and waited outside Harlow for well over half-an-hour after a bit of a crawl from just before Bishops Stortford. I was starting to get worried. I do seem to worry more, but perhaps it’s just worried about being worried and stressed. Perhaps, I should try Yoga!
We got to Harlow about six and I saw a taxi and asked the driver to take me to the Tube. I had thought about Redbridge or Walthamstow, but he suggested rightly that Epping would be better.
And so I had a marathon ride from one end of the Tube network to the other with just a change from the Central Line to the Piccadilly Line at Holborn. I was safely in Heathrow at eight-fifteen after an hour and three quarters and forty stations. Note that this isn’t far out from the formula of two minutes a station and fibve minutes for a change.
I wish though that I’d missed the first train. I would have found out what had happened and the taxi could have taken me to Cambridge, where I could have gone to Kings Cross at speed.
But I didn’t! In the end nothing really happened except more stress than I wanted, which could have been avoided by better thought on my part and better information on that of National Express.
MTR Tickets in Hong Kong
The MTR is Hong Kong’s version of the London Underground. Some things are similar like their Octopus Card and our Oyster.
The reason that I stated the latter, is that I have just bought my Tourist Ticket for Hong Kong on-line. It gives me two airport journeys and three days travel in the territory. I collect it at the Airport and then just use it!
Incidentally, getting an Oyster for use in London, doesn’t appear to be so simple. If it isn’t, then it should be.
Victoria Line Delay
Yesterday, I left Selfridges about five with the intention of getting to Blackhorse Road by five-thirty and home in time to see England play South Africa in the Twenty20 World Cup.
But I hadn’t bargained on the signalling problems that happened at Seven Sisters, that effectively meant that no trains could run through.
Now one of the things that works on public transport in London is that there are a lot of different ways to get from A to C, even if doesn’t mean going by B.
Eventually we gave up at Euston, where we had sat for about five minutes. The driver had told us to try to find alternative routes, but to get to the further parts of the Victoria Line is not easy. Especially as the Circle Line to Liverpool Street was shut as it was being upgraded. Why Liverpool Street? You can get a Chingford train to St. James Street in Walthamstow.
I was talking to an Aussie, who wanted to get to Pickett’s Lock, where he had planted his tent for about three pounds a day. That must be the cheapest bed in London, although these days it must be pretty cold. But then he was going walking near Inverness and was wearing shorts on quite a cold day. I was actually wearing a T-shirt under my shirt!
So we legged it and immediately caught a Northern Line train to Kings Cross St. Pancras. A long walk through that station brought us to the Piccadilly Line, where we immediately caught a train towards Finsbury Park, where the aim was to see if we could get a bus towards Seven Sisters and Blackhorse Road. Or in fact rejoin the Victoria Line, but that now not running at all.
It was there that I made my first mistake. All the world and his wife seemed to have the same idea and masses were scrambling towards the exit and the buses.
So it was back down to the Piccadilly Line and back on the next train to Manor House.
We were in luck and a few minutes later we were on a 279 bus to Tottenham Hale for myself and all the way to Edmonton Green for my travelling companion. He would be exactly where he wanted to be and I would be a short bus ride away from the Lotus Elan at Blackhorse Road. Note that buses are so much better today, now that they actually tell you where they are going!
It was all very complicated, but at least I had a someone pleasant to talk to. I arrived about forty minutes later than I would have done directly by tube.
Incidentally, one thing that was very good was the attitude of London Transport staff. My companion’s tickets didn’t work the barriers as his was just a simple return, but they just waved him through.
The whole journey could have been one hell of a lot worse!
London to Den Haag by Train
I was in London last Wednesday and as I was going to Den Haag for the Bank Holiday weekend, I decided to take the Eurostar to Brussels and then take a train direct from there to Den Haag. You can go by Thalys from Brussels to Rotterdam and then take a local train, but it’s actually easier to do what the man in Seat 61 says and take the Belgian/Dutch Intercity train direct from Brussels.
Or it should be?
The problem is that I didn’t have a ticket for the Intercity train and it left about twenty minutes after the Eurostar arrived. Or at least mine did. And it took thirty minutes to buy the ticket in Brussels. They have no automatic machines to do this! Grr!!!
But the Intercity train was comfortable, especially as I took the option of First Class for about 90 euro instead of 60.
Remember that there are two stations in Den Haag; Centraal and HS. The fast trains only go to HS, but you generally want to go to Centraal. On Thursday, it was just a walk across the platform. But I got seriously lost at Centraal, as I couldn’t find the bus station. It’s actually on the top, but the signs are discreet to say the least.
Spot the Sign to the Buses
Coming back was easier, in that I’d decided to spend a few hours in Brussels. So I got an early train to Brussels, dumped my case in a locker and then got a day ticket for the public transport.
The latter should have been easy, but the automatic machines were all broken and it took me about fifteen minutes to queue for a ticket. What is it about Belgians and selling tickets.
The Eurostar got me back in to London on time and in fact I was able to get to Whittlesford Parkway on an earlier train. But my excellent taxi driver, Michael, from Sawston Taxis was there to take me home in comfort. He is to be recommended.
