A close shave

After my quiet commute in to town today, I later had to travel out to Canary Wharf.

I wandered down to the Bakerloo Line, down to Waterloo and then caught the Jubilee Line out to Docklands.

Coming back, I noticed that the electronic boards at the entrance to the station said that there were severe delays to the Jubilee Line. I whipped out my phone and the Live Departure Board confirmed that this was indeed the case.

I then trogged over to the Docklands Light Railway, caught a train to Bank, the Central Line to Oxford Circus and the Bakerloo Line up to Marylebone. I then had to walk half way to Hampstead (well Platform 4 at Marylebone anyway) to catch my Chiltern Railways train home.

I was dripping (ugh).

I've just noticed that the Jubilee Line is now part suspended with severe delays on the DLR.

Could be a fun journey home for many.

If you are reading this on a normal web page, the Live Service Updates should show to the right.

What a waste of time

I regularly have to travel over to Canary Wharf for meetings.

Today's meeting lasted 25 minutes.

I traveled for two hours to get there and it took me two and a half hours to get home.

The Jubilee Line was suspended on the way, which meant that I diverted from Baker Street along the Hammersmith & City Line to Moorgate, then took the Northern Line one stop to Bank and then the DLR out to the East End.

Coming back, I did catch the Jubilee Line, but the gaps in service were such that I missed my train.

I know that dialing in or video conferencing ought to be the name of the game (the meeting room is set up for that), but it isn't, and my boss is rather self centred.

Bottom line - I do as I'm told!

The last week

This time last week (Sunday), I had safely returned from Gatwick airport, unpacked, put the washing machine on and was about to go grocery shopping. Unfortunately I fell asleep for hours in the afternoon which wasn't in the Master Plan.

On Monday, despite still being officially on holiday, I started to plough through 17 days of work emails. I also edited down my holiday pictures and uploaded them for printing.

On Tuesday I went to work and stayed happy and smiley all day.

On Wednesday I had an early meeting at Canary Wharf so had to catch a stupid o'clock train to get there on time. My single meeting then turned into several so I only just made my 3 o'clock meeting back in the West End on-time . Stayed happy and smiley all day. Ordered new broadband package.

On Thursday I really didn't want to get up. I did. Slightly less happy and smiley today but still good. People seemed to have realised that my endless weeks away from the office (4 1/2 weeks out of 6) are over and have started to form queues at my desk. Leave early, to work from home for a specific purpose. Get home to find that my broadband order has been cancelled and then spend most of afternoon doing the BT shuffle. Pick up holiday snaps, go shopping, spend a mini-fortune on new home-office chair.

On Friday got to office early. Received text message from BT confirming that my re-order of broadband from yesterday had not been cancelled. Act as query resolution point for most of the day, leave on time, out for curry with friends, home late.

On Saturday woke up at 0935 with sun streaming in through gap in curtains. Go to post office, do shopping, plant two clumps of nerines (very long story), attack buddleia, take ex-buddlea to tip, go to see Gran Torino the latest (and possibly last) Clint Eastwood Film. Good day.

And so the cycle continues...

Public transport: Chiltern Railways, Bakerloo Line, Jubilee Line, Docklands Light Railway, Central Line, Hammersmith and City Line and Metropolitan Line.

Work, sleep or blog?

To put it mildly, work is interesting at present. Very early starts, later than usual finishes and projects that have nothing to do with my usual job. All in some way connected to the unprecedented happenings in the financial services industry over the last few months.

My use of public transport has not diminished - the only problem is that I am generally dashing from A to B to C and using the down time to think, and plan how to move forward with the various projects. Usually such in-depth use of brain power isn't required. It's great fun, but something has to give.

Decent sleep is a necessity, I need to keep my job (and I enjoy it), so blogging has slipped down the to do list recently. Sorry.

The one thing I would say is that the Jubilee Line is beginning to seriously hack me off. The other day I was traveling from the West End to Canary Wharf when I had to get off the train somewhere South of The River to join a conference call, simply because the 'Good Service' Jubilee Line was actually crap. That is just one example.

Also it has been mentioned elsewhere that changing lines at Bank is not as bad or inconvenient as tfl would imply (though there are definite issues if you want to interchange at Bank Station with the District/ Circle Line platforms. On Thursday I was so hacked off with the silver line that I decided to use the DLR for the first time in months, it was mid afternoon. The interchange was so good (two upwards escalators from the DLR platforms towards the Central Line), that I shall certainly be traveling back to the West End that way for the foreseeable future.

If you have the willpower, please read Diamond Geezer's excellent 'transforming the truth' article.

Now some sleep...

DLR services Monday 29 September

TFL have been pretty quick to put out a press release this morning to say that there are unlikely to be any Docklands Light Railway Services between Bank and Canary Wharf during today's morning rush hour. This is due to over-running engineering works in the Westferry area.

Fortunately my plans to travel from the West End today to Docklands were to go via Waterloo. (a) I prefer to and (b) that's what we are encouraged to do, because of ongoing escalator works at Bank station.

Well done TFL for the prompt advice. Less well done for the works over-running in the first place.

NB: Usual disclaimer - this is not a live site. Click here for current position.

So where did November go?

So, here we are one month on from the clocks going back, and it's just as dark again at silly o'clock in the morning. It is tipping it down with rain and there is bad weather due for tomorrow. Yum yum.

Actually, I've been feeling a bit guilty of late. What blogging there has been has been mostly off topic, and there has been a definite rationing of mentions of the Central Line.

Today was a bit strange in London- there just didn't seem to be many people about. Our office had less than 1/3 of the usual bums on seats and this seemed to be reflective of how busy it was on the streets and underground.

I caught a Metropolitan Line train from Baker Street towards Aldgate at about eight o'clock this morning. There was hardly anyone on the platform and the train was half full (or half empty).

This evening the Central Line platform at Tottenham Court Road had only a smattering of the usual gormless tourists people in the way and my big Chiltern Line train home had plenty of seats.

I can't fathom it out- where is everyone?

The Bakerloo Line was suspended a few minutes ago between Elephant & Castle and Queens Park. However I was long gone and it seems to have sorted itself out now.

Apart from the aforementioned lines I have, this week, been on the Docklands Light Railway, The Jubilee Line and The Northern Line. All without problem or hassle. Just how it should be.

While I remember, I did have a bit of a 'mare on the DLR last Thursday (22 Nov) when it took half an hour in the evening from Bank to Westferry. Never mind, I was on the way to the pub, hence why I had almost forgotten.

That's me caught up for now- hopefully (?), December will be a bit more interesting.

What's to be done about the Jubilee Line?

When I first moved to London, I used to commute in every day from Stanmore which is at the Northern end of the Jubilee Line. My Father would go all the way to the other end (Charing Cross) while I would get off at the penultimate stop, Green Park. The service was good.

Please note: The Jubilee Line does not go to Charing Cross anymore (unless you are Jason Bourne). The line has now been extended on from Green Park to Stratford via Canary Wharf (and lots of other interesting places).

I should point out that I am talking ancient history here. The Docklands Light Railway had not yet opened, London City Airport had not opened and not a brick or girder had been laid at Canary Wharf.

Now, I quite regularly have to go to Canary Wharf. If I am going from home, I will pick up the Jubilee Line from Baker Street. Quite frankly traveling from the West End to Canary Wharf sucks.

This morning I was at Baker Street by 7.25am and the Jubilee Line was packed. I've done the same journey loads of times this year and it is always heaving. Yuck.

The problem is, there are just too many people using the Jubilee Line at peak hours. It isn't going to get any better, because they keep on putting new buildings up in Docklands. More buildings = more commuters.

I don't know what the answer is, but it must get worse before it gets better.

Yesterday morning was bad for someone, for many and for the Central Line

Yesterday (29th June) I had an early morning meeting in Canary Wharf. It is the first time I have had to travel directly all the way from leafy Buckinghamshire to Docklands. While the Jubilee Line (and Chiltern Railways) were as good as ever, I am pleased I don't have to make that particular journey every day.

The return trip from Canary Wharf to Tottenham Court Road was, unfortunately, not good.

It is always a bit of a lottery: Is it better to take (i) the Jubilee Line to Waterloo and then change to the Northern Line to Tottenham Court Road or (ii) the DLR to Bank and then the Central Line to Tottenham Court Road?

Yesterday we chose option (ii), the wrong one. Unfortunately there had been a serious incident at Liverpool Street on the Westbound, so our journey ended up being:

• Walk to Canary Wharf DLR
• DLR from Canary Wharf to Bank
• Stand on Westbound Central Line platform at Bank until we gave up
• Northern Line from Bank to Euston, change to Charing Cross branch
• Northern Line from Euston to Tottenham Court Office
• Walk to office

What is usually a 25 - 30 minute door-to-door journey turned into a very hot and sticky hour long expedition.

My only observations about the root cause of the problem would be (a) it wasn't the fault of London Underground and (b) however bad life gets, why the flipping heck should should train drivers and the emergency services have to deal with such crap? Seek help or find a way that causes less distress to other people.

No Baked Beans

Yesterday I was asked to attend a Vendor Presentation Workshop for work. It was on the other side of town and started early. I don't usually do this sort of thing so found it quite difficult. My nominated sessions were over by mid-afternoon so I was home in reasonable time, but with a stinking headache.

I have to do it all again tomorrow. Joy.

The only problem is, my solution to a stinking headache is to drink loads of water and go to bed. This I did.

Woke up at 5.30am this morning feeling quite hungry. I have nothing sensible in at all to eat for breakfast. No bread, no milk, three rashers of bacon and no baked beans. There is half a Victoria Sandwich sponge cake in the tin, but even I draw the line at eating that after no food whatsoever for eighteen hours.

I'd better go to the supermarket NOW to do some food shopping. 7.00am on a weekday morning... outrageous.

In the last week I've used Chiltern Railways out to leafy Buckinghamshire, First Great Western, the Docklands Light Railway, the Jubilee Line and the Central Line. Good for me as not a single delay or problem. Bad for blogging, hence the baked beans.