The weekend begins

If I were to obtain some kind of report on my current sleep patterns, it would probably say something along the lines of "Must try harder".

This morning my alarm went off at it's usual time. It really shouldn't have done that because today is Saturday, but my alarm clock didn't know that.

When my alarm goes of, I usually leap up out of bed like a gazelle, rush around the house for 35 minutes like a lunatic, and then leave to catch a train to Marylebone shortly after 6 o'clock.

Today, the alarm went off as usual. Fortunately (despite being too stupid to switch off the alarm last night), my razor sharp mind immediately swung into action... Hand out... Hit switch... "Oh, it's Saturday"... Roll over... zzzzzzzz

Three hours later I wake up to a windy rainy day in rural Buckinghamshire, feeling as though I have jet lag.

I have to hope that my mind works differently in seven days, as next Saturday I do have to catch a stupid o'clock train to work.

Now that I am awake, I had better leap into action and start the household 'To Do' list. Oh, and now that I can blog from my phone, I haven't even switched on my computer, so no unnecessary distractions there.

Tea cool enough to drink. Slurp. Slurp. Think like a gazelle. Whoosh.

Hmmm... What should I have done?

Walking down Sherwood Street just now (16.45), to catch a Bakerloo Line train from Piccadilly Circus.

Saw a bike locked to a lamp post with one of those 'U' / 'D' shaped locks.

Pasty faced thin man walks up, lifts lock up over saddle, gets on bike and rides away leaving lock in situ.

Have I just see a bike being nicked?

Other than making 'firm' eye contact, I did nothing. No time to take picture with phone before there was but a red sweatshirt cycling away in the distance.

What should I have done?

Too much noise?

I was on the Southbound Northern Line platform at Leicester Square, this morning, for about 2 minutes.

During that time there were seven announcements over the PA system. All a bit much really.

PR Fluff

Transport for London put out a Press Release yesterday titled "Customers benefit from new Piccadilly line timetable". What a load of Public Relations rubbish.

"The Piccadilly line is unique because it serves the heart of the West End's tourist and entertainment districts as well as Heathrow Airport."

• Yes..... and??? The Central Line is unique because it serves Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road. The Circle Line is unique because it goes round in a circle (for now). The Victoria Line is unique because.........
  

"Changes were made to the timetable in 2008"

• So why put a press release out in the middle of 2009?
  

"In recent years, rising passenger numbers have meant that trains have to stop at stations for longer while extra customers get on and off trains, leading to an increasing level of late running and delay."

• Doesn't this happen on every line?

Talk about useless piffle. I could go on, but I won't.

Busy Weekend

Well, I sort of went back to work for a rest today...

• Friday. A day off. First of all some domestic chores. Then drove to Bicester to catch a Chiltern Railways train to Birmingham. Back to BCS then up the A43 to Northampton for the Saracens -v- Northampton rugby match. Saracens lost 16 - 13, that's the way it goes. Then a late drive home and straight to bed.
• Saturday. Domestics. BBQ at friends then to the cinema.
• Sunday. To Vicarage Road for the Watford v Derby County match The home side won 3 - 1. Free lunch in a box with friends, then home to do an hour or so of gardening.
• Monday. Early start down to spend the day with my family in Hampshire. Back after 10.... Ready for the usual 5.45 alarm this morning.

+Posted from my mobile. Please excuse any typos+

The devil is in the detail

There is detail and there can be too much detail.

Charter trains seem to fit into these categories as well - detail means an excursion train trip with friends and family to somewhere different. Too much detail, for me, means a rail enthusiasts tour to somewhere really obscure with strange engines and annotated notebooks along the way.

Yesterday was a pleasant fudge between the two. Our souvenir brochure included a detailed itinerary with waypoint markings and a map. I saw only a couple of notebooks and I got the distinct impression that more people visited Carlisle Castle during the afternoon than didn't.

I have spent many years traveling up and down London's Central Line, which has as its Western most terminus the station of West Ruislip. A small number of Chiltern Railways trains (typically one an hour in each direction) also stop there. It struck me as rather a strange sight to see the platform indicator at Carlisle with the ultimate destination of our train accurately described as West Ruislip, albeit that it was not the only stop.

The train was, I think thirteen carriages long. Very few stations can take trains that have thirteen carriages. So at all stations south of Banbury (most of which have platforms that will take trains with a maximum length of six or seven carriages), a member of the train staff had to sweep along the train from the back to make sure that everyone who wanted to get off had indeed moved far enough forward to find the platform. Not a procedure that would work well during a peaktime weekday service.

I originally come from the Yorkshire Dales. While I moved down south a number of years ago, I do still love the countryside of the dales. The Settle to Carlisle railway passes less than 25 miles from where I still have family.

This picture shows just how bleak and remote the line is (imagine it in bad weather). The hill directly in front of the train is the edge of Whernside (one of the 'Three Peaks'). It is about 25 years since I walked up that particular mountain.

For me travel is about understanding contrasts and appreciating differences. I am lucky enough to live in rural Buckinghamshire, a lovely part of the South East of England. But to be able to get on a train at a local station and to travel to the other end of the country, through some of the most fantastic scenery that it has to offer, was really very enjoyable and a good day out.

Day Trip

Today was a rather long day.

At not long after 6am I boarded a train, with some friends, at a local station in Buckinghamshire. After a change of engine and a carefully planned diversion up the scenic Settle to Carlisle railway line, we arrived in Carlisle shortly after 2pm.

We then spent the afternoon visiting Carlisle Castle and the Cathedral, before having 30 minutes to spare to find something to eat, before boarding the train back home. So, almost 600 miles and 17 hours later, here I am.

The picture is of the engine that pulled us to and from Carlisle - it is black and shiny because it usually pulls the Royal train. The crowd are passengers watching it being swapped over for another engine.

The train was a charter train trip organised by Pathfinder Tours.

More to follow. Sleep beckons.

Oystercard Deposits

Transport for London announced today that, with effect from 17th May, a £3 deposit would be charged on all Oystercards. Currently deposits are charged on only a few cards.

The press release contains some startling facts;

• a third of all new Oyster cards issued with a 7 Day Travelcard or bus & tram pass on them are discarded after a week
• seven million Oyster cards have been issued to 700,000 Travelcard and 300,000 bus & tram pass season ticket holders. If I'm understanding this correctly, that means each season ticket holder has gone through an average of seven Oystercards.

I am on my second Oystercard - the first one developed a fault and I use the second one only for some journeys at the outer extremities of the Metropolitan Line. This is because I now have a cardboard Travelcard issued by Chiltern Railways (living as I do in rural Buckinghamshire).

I had always thought that the £3 deposit on pre-pay cards was to stop people exiting through gates (putting their cards overdrawn, which I think can happen up to £3), and then throwing the card away.

Given the facts as outlined by tfl, I think that the £3 deposit has to be a good idea. There is some shocking waste going on.

Don't Shout at Me!

Yesterday afternoon I was walking along the side of Dorset Square, between Baker Street and Marylebone Station.

A squirrel was sat in a tree, just above my head, who got extremely upset when I stopped to look at it. Growling and snarling would be an understatement.

I am not sure what would cause an urban squirrel to get so upset at this time of year. Unfortunately the photograph I took with my mobile phone (increasing volume from said mammal) was totally rubbish, so I am unable to share with you an image of bared teeth aimed at me.

Ooh-errr.

For no particular reason

Should it be holiday time for you, I hope that you had a good time and a very Happy Easter. Here in the UK we have had a four day weekend, so it is, thankfully, only a four day week at work for me before another weekend begins.

It has been quite busy - I spent a couple of days with family, had a good result at the rugby yesterday and have been just pottering today.

While looking for a particular picture, I found this image that I took last August. I didn't even walk out of my fromt door to take it. I like it and hope you do to.

The weather in rural Buckinghamshire has been a bit changeable over the last few days, but it has got out quite nice this afternoon.

There really isn't much going on, though trouble may be brewing a couple of miles up the road. Maybe more on that to follow....

The long weekend draws to a close.

Get off this train!

A couple of weeks ago a woman got on the train at High Wycombe. She turned round to the two youths who were making their way to follow her on.

"Get off this train!" She said, with some authority in her voice.

They made as if to argue... She repeated herself and said "... and you can get on when you have bought tickets." She pointed in the direction of the ticket office.

The youths slunk away. The woman had seen them jump over the fence onto the platform.

Good to see.

+The first post from my mobile+

Classic View

It is usually a complete waste of time to even attempt to take a photograph from a moving train, particularly through a window. The image is usually spoilt by dirt on the window, by unwanted reflections, by outside obstructions and a general inability to control most of the factors that contribute to framing a half decent image.

Friday evening saw me traveling on SouthWest Trains from London Waterloo to the Twickenham area using South West Trains.

As I'd had a bit of time to spare I was on a slow train, the one that leaves Waterloo and travels round the Hounslow Loop eventually arriving back at Waterloo. The automated train announcer started off by saying it was the train to Whitton. By the time I got off it was announced as going to Barnes Bridge - I suspect by the time the train had left the next station, it would have been announced as going back to Waterloo. I like the Hounslow Loop, it has a strange quirkiness to it!

Anyway, I digress. Because there weren't many people on the train by the time we were approaching the River Thames, I didn't feel too self conscious in whipping my camera out and snapping this picture. Given all of the aforementioned constraints to taking pictures from trains, I don't think it's come out too bad.

I also ought to mention that South West Trains' timekeeping, at both ends of the day, was impeccable. The trains were clean and the seats comfortable although I imagine that commuters closer in to town than Twickenham must get a bit fed up with never getting a seat.

Fraud

I spotted this yesterday on the wall of a railway foot tunnel. (Click image to enlarge.)

Oh, I see - a Fraud? And Hanging Chads weren't?

Bloody Argos!

I see something I want to buy, my local branch of Argos has one of it in stock, I reserve it on-line.

The store closes at 18.00.

I jump on the train, I walk to the shop and I get there at 17.55.

The cretins have locked the doors and the lights are dimmed.

Anybody who went to their bank to find they had closed five minutes early would be justified in complaining. I am pretty annoyed at Argos in High Wycombe.

I have complained to their Customer Services department. It won't achieve anything, but it reduces my ire slightly.

Grrr.

A Success Story

For reasons I won't bore you with, I left our offices in Canary Wharf at 21.00 this evening.

I was in High Wycombe before 22.00 and in my front door at 22.18. Now that is a good result.

It was achieved by way of:

• The Jubilee Line running really well,
• A brisk walk from Baker Street to Marylebone,
• Chiltern Railways offering their usual on-time service (NEVER expect their trains to run late!) and
• My car not breaking down (it doesn't*).

You'll gather from these timings that it has been a little difficult finding the time to blog over the last few days.

* Yet (touch wood)

Eeeek!

There I was at lunch time today at Waterloo. I had just got off the Northern Line and was turning the corner to go onto the travelator in the direction of the Jubilee Line.

I don't know whether it was a he or a she. You can't always tell by appearances. Anyhow our paths crossed right on the corner. We made eye contact.

It was certainly a surprise. I jumped and I think they did too. Neither of us said anything - I carried on my way while my friend did too, carefully trying to keep out of the limelight.

The problem is, I can't remember my friend's name. It might have been Mickey or possibly Minnie. I'm really not sure.

Yippee - No mobile phones in tunnels for now

Although I can't find an official press release, it appears that a lack of appetite by service providers means that we won't be hearing mobile phones in tunnels on the London Underground, at least anytime soon.

This article gives some of the reasons. The words of a journalist that refers in March 2009 to the London terrorist attacks of 'A couple of years ago', do though need to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Personally I am pleased because (i) it reduces the likelihood of the person next to me bellowing into their mobile telephone and (ii) I can't get it out of my head that allowing mobile telephone signals in tunnels would give terrorists the technical ability to do things that they cannot do at present.

Anyhow, no testing on the Waterloo & City Line and and continued peace and quiet for the rest of us. Yeah right!

Crikey - What made me do that?

For some unknown reason, I made a totally irrational impulse purchase this afternoon.

A boxed set of DVDs of every episode of The West Wing ever made.

That's about 100 hours of my life gone up in smoke. Poof. Just like that.

I've watched the first two episodes this evening. I'd better ration myself to one or two a week.

My excuse? A bargain, reduced from £200 to £50.

Oh, and the driver of my Chiltern Railways train back from Aylesbury nearly missed it. Well he would have, if he had been a passenger and not the driver. He looked a bit sheepish - we left 5 minutes late.

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.

Welcome back Bill

I've just noticed that Bill Stickers is back, as Uncle Bill's Canadian blog.

Blogroll duly updated, especially as he is now firmly settled in beautiful British Columbia.

An erudite and most eclectic blogger.

Some kind of vermin

I got back this morning from a two week skiing holiday in British Columbia, Western Canada. A good time was had by all.

Last week was spent in Fernie, where there has been lashings of snow since we arrived. The following is a quote from the resort's daily Snow Report:

Stand by for open/closed status of White Pass chair.
Re: Unfortunately, a squirrel shorted our electrical system and the White Pass lift will not be operating today. Our team is working hard to restore service as quickly as possible. However, White Pass itself is open for hiking/skinning.

Last Monday evening we heard weasels, someone else told us rats, now they are saying a squirrel. Unless they found an ex- animal, I guess they have either measured the teeth marks, got trackers in, or are themselves guessing.

I think 'Family of Weasels' is best.

Best excuse ever for delays?

"A family of weasels chewed through the power cable."

Delay: 35 Minutes

Compensation: Yes

More to follow......

No prizes I am afraid, but see how close you can get to What, Where, When, How etc.

It happened to me this week. Not sure though that I trust the excuse.

Back soon.

CU

Mr Slow

Piccadilly Circus, Bakerloo Line to street.

Ordinary looking commuter, wearing suit, carrying briefcase.

• Walks up left hand side of escalator and then stops 10 steps before the top. Grrr.
• Stands at ticket barrier and waits until preceding passenger has gone through and gate has fully closed before slapping card heavily onto Oyster card reader. Grrr.
• Meanders crazily across station concourse causing at least half a dozen other people to take evasive action. Grrr.

Note to self: Get out of bed on the other side.

Stepping back in time

Back to my old stomping ground in the Northolt / South Ruislip area.

Get on Central Line at Tottenham Court Road (avoiding blocked subway near Andrew Borde Street).

Get seat immediately, bury nose in newspaper.

Look up as train pulls into Northolt station to terminate, 29 minutes later.

Unremarkable except for being remarkable. Why did I hardly ever have such a good journey home when I lived there?

Change of Routine

After almost a decade of the same 'tail end' of my journey to work (except when carrying out tube avoidance manoeuvres), I have been trying a new route to work.

The crossrail construction work at Tottenham Court Road station means that my usual walking routes to the office have been blocked and, as a creature of habit, I find this frustrating.

My fresh alternative involves catching the Bakerloo Line to Piccadilly Circus and then walking up through Soho. The thing is, when the Bakerloo is running well, it is 10 minutes quicker door-to-door than my previous tube route. Duh! Why has it taken me so long to work that one out?

Oh, and it also means that tube avoidance has gone out of the window as walking most of the way from Marylebone now takes 20 minutes longer. I'll have to find an alternative exercise routine.

Spam - A good result

I have always been very wary of ever giving out my real email address.

Because of a niggling issue with my main email service provider I have, however, been receiving unnecessarily large amounts of spam for the last couple of years.

By a combination of judiciously using auto-forwards, Googlemail and Mailwasher software, the problem has been under control. To the extent that it generally takes me no longer than a few seconds each day to deal with the issue.

Last week my email host moved me to a new server. Hey presto! They seem to have solved the aforementioned technical problem and their inbuilt spam filters seem at last to be doing their proper job. From the above graph, you can clearly see when the new server went live.

I know that the figures make it look as though I am a Billy-No-Mates, but I am quite happy to receive a small number of genuine personal emails per day, dealing as I do with dozens and dozens at work. All my mailing lists, blog comments etc go elsewhere.

Yes it's a small thing, but receiving no spam gives me a good feeling.

Somone at Chiltern Railways has a sense of humour

I saw this poster at Marylebone and also at High Wycombe this evening.

Obviously in reaction to this news story earlier in the week.

All just PR Puff, but at least someone at Chiltern has a sense of humour.

Details of the accompanying competition are below.

---

Virgin’s cancelled kissers welcome aboard Chiltern’s love train

Date: 17 Feb 2009 13:30

With the news that Virgin Trains have banned kissing in all but designated areas in their Warrington station, Chiltern Railways have responded with a bid to find their most romantic passengers.

Kirsteen Robertson from the Chiltern marketing department said:
“Railway stations are romantic places; they are where fond farewells and emotional reunions take place, where relationships start with a glance and even, in the case of our Marylebone station last November, where one passenger will propose to another over the public address system! So our passengers are more than welcome to share a kiss in our stations.”

She said:
“To show that we are dedicated to spreading a little love around our stations, we are asking our passengers to send us a photograph of them kissing at one of our stations. From Birmingham Moor Street to London Marylebone, we’ve got lots and lots of picturesque stations, perfect for that romantic moment.”

She added:
“The couple in the winning photograph will win free travel to and from London and a romantic champagne afternoon tea at London’s exclusive Landmark Hotel. So pucker up and get snapping!”


To enter, send your photographs to press@chilternrailways.co.uk The closing date is the 3rd of March and winners will be notified by email. The judges’ decision is final.

Well, I messed that up

If you don't understand this, then that is good...

If you saw it I messed up. If you didn't, sorry what are you talking about?

All is good in this corner of rural Buckinghamshire. Sorry to have caused angst. Really sorry. My excuse is old age and memory loss.

On a more positive note, I've managed to wangle a free ticket to this afternoon's Wasps -v- Leicester match. I'd best remember to not wear my Saracens top.

Lap Lap Lap

There was a fair it of rain on Monday night.

Yesterday morning Chiltern Railways services appeared to start well, until it became obvious from the Marylebone Arrivals Board that something was amiss.

The problem turned out to be water, lots of water, near Northolt Park & Sudbury Hill Harrow stations. I think there was also further flooding out at Haddenham in Oxfordshire.

For a time no trains ran yesterday (10th February 2009) between West Ruislip and London Marylebone. By nine o'clock (am) trains were able to run through North West London albeit very slowly, with flood water lapping away at the top of the rails.

It's all rather strange - this particular railway company was hardly affected by last week's snow, but surplus water brings altogether different problems.

It's here at last

After a woeful attempt at winter on Monday, this corner of rural Buckinghamshire actually had some proper white stuff overnight.

This picture was taken earlier, within sight of my house, and is actually a colour photograph! I am quite pleased with it - click for a larger version.

My urge to rant about Chiltern Railways has diminished somewhat. They made a boo-boo this morning and voluntarily (ie I did not ask) put a Stop Order on a train to drop me off at the right station.

I am quite enjoying a week of pottering about. No London for me this week.

Sorry to disappoint

I am really sorry, but you are probably in the wrong place.

I have been writing this blog now for three years and it does have a general focus on public transport in London and the South East of England.

Consequently on a day when public transport seems to have gone into meltdown, it is almost inevitable that a large number of travel related queries will have the various search engines send people in this general direction.

I was never going to be going to London today. If I had done, I wouldn't have been able to travel by bus ('cos there weren't any) and much of the London Underground seemed to fall apart, but walking would have been fine by me. Chiltern Railways had a few cancellations during the day (particularly on the route via Amersham shared with the Metropolitan Line), but generally they had a better day than most of the railway companies in the South East.

Because I didn't go to London, you will have to make do with this picture of a station in my part of rural Buckinghamshire, showing that we've had a pitifully small amount of snow so far - hence why Chiltern Railways have done so well today.

There are some published timetable alterations on Chiltern Railways tomorrow, Tuesday 3rd February 2009, and I think they've done pretty well by also suggesting (and inserting) alternative train stops.

It's not all good though - I am building up to a rant!

I hope you got home OK and that you have a better day of it tomorrow than you probably had today. The weather forecast is not brilliant.

By the way, can anyone explain why the Waterloo & City Line was out of service for much of the day due to the weather, when it is totally underground?

Winter Weather

Thankfully I did indeed make it back from France in one piece.

Why is it though that I feel colder here at home than I did in an Alpine ski resort? It's sort of a rhetorical question but, even so, the outside temperature only just nipped above Zero today.

For some reason this cloud caught my attention when I looked out of the window just now. The peculiar thing is that I can still see it moving away, yet other clouds that I can see (much higher) are moving in a totally different direction. Weird.

It may of course be a sign of impending doom as at 1549 this afternoon, the Met Office issued a Flash Weather Warning. The warning itself is a little strange, because Milton Keynes is mentioned, as is Greater London, but no mention is made of the in-between counties of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Maybe I do not need to prepare my snow shovel? Only time will tell....

I have a confession to make

For the last week this blog has been running on auto-pilot.

If you have been commenting on my carefully crafted words, I apologise for the lack of response.

While I have been away, all my pre-written posts have been released to the world automatically, as I have had absolutely no access to a computer or the inter-web thingy.

Should all is going to plan, I ought now to be through the Arrivals Hall at Gatwick Airport and will be home shortly.

Hopefully, I have come back from a few days of skiing in France, sans injury, and normal business will be resumed shortly.

If the next posting you see here suggests something has gone horribly wrong, then it probably has. If all goes to plan you will never see it!

Fingers crossed- see you tomorrow!

Bus route changes near Tottenham Court Road Station

The redevelopment of Tottenham Court Road Underground Station will probably become a recurring theme over the coming months. Possibly years (groans to self). Blame Crossrail, not me.

Therer are a number of reasons for this:

1) The planned size and impact of the works are huge.
2) TCR is the closest tube station to where I currently work.

The recent permanent closure of Andrew Borde Street has had the effect of diverting a number of bus routes in the area, closing some bus stops and (I think) adding an additional stop or two on Shaftesbury Avenue.

I tend to use the Central or Northern Lines when in the area, or I walk. I rarely use the buses around Tottenham Court Road, so do not feel suitably qualified to offer a blow by blow account on the changes to the various bus routes in the area.

Details of current and future changes to London bus routes are available here. A spider map is also available here, though personally I find that this style of map is less useful when focused on the target spot.

As some of the changes will either be permanent, or will last seven years, you'll have plenty of time to get used to them!

The end of the line

We all like a tidy tube train.

The advent of two competing free evening newspapers in London has not helped the cause.

Where the Central Line terminates at West Ruislip, there are people employed to clear the trains of rubbish before they reverse and wend their way back into central London. During the evening peak they fight a losing battle as the trains are only sat in the platforms for a few mintes before they set off again on their return journey.

This pile of neatly stacked rubbish sacks is the result of the cleaners' work only part way through the evening peak. Mostly the contents were the aforementioned free newspapers.

I saw one train where the 'rear' cleaner only managed to get 1 1/2 carriages cleared before jumping out of the closing doors.

Helpful hint: If you are wanting to travel on a litter free train in the early evening, into London on the West Ruislip branch of the Central Line, travel in the back carriage.

Oompa Loompas and all that...

Great Missenden is a village in Buckinghamshire. It has a train station served by Chiltern Railways that is one stop after Amersham. Amersham is the end of the Metropolitan Line and is also the highest point above sea level on the tube network (147m / 490ft).

Fortunately the A413 now bypasses Great Missenden, because the High Street is very narrow. It is a bit strange - it is sort of picturesque, but somehow not really. Difficult to describe.

Walking along the street I came across two petrol pumps from a bye gone era. Apparently the 'Red Pump Garage' was the inspiration for parts of "Danny, the Champion of the World" a 1975 book by Roald Dahl.

Dahl spent a large part of his life living in Great Missenden. He is also buried there.

Just down the street from Red Pump Garage is The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre. This museum concentrates on the life of Mr Dahl and how he developed stories. It also provides a super environment for children to develop their story telling skills with some super interactive displays.

My favourite display was one where you could make a 15 frame time-lapse film using toy animals. It's great (a) because it really works and (b) because it is so simple to do.

A lot of the items on display in the Museum are changed every three months, so regular visitors will often have different things to see.

Roald Dahl wrote many iconic books, both for children and for adults. What I cannot say where he got the inspiration for the Oopma Loompas, but certainly I didn't see any while walking up the high street.

After my visit to the museum, it was a five minute walk back to the train station for my journey home.

Ticket Machines... Again

I mentioned back in August last year that Chiltern Railways had a major problem with their Fast Ticket machines being robbed and, in the process, being damaged beyond serviceable use.

There is no such thing as a ticket machine fairy and so it has consequently taken till now for the repaired machines to be reinstated at some of the quieter stations. Some stations are still bereft of ticket issuing facilities.

I understand that a couple of weeks ago, three stations in Buckinghamshire were once again targeted and their ticket machines broken into and robbed. One of them was on the day that the repaired ticket machine had been placed back into service, though that was probably a coincidence.

Personally the lack of a ticket machine would not affect me (I am in the fortunate position of buying just the one ticket a year). Nevertheless the problem must be annoying to those passengers affected, a major pain in the neck for the railway company and, of course, it must also be having an adverse affect on revenue.

I hope they catch whoever is doing it.

Radio Silence

CU has been a poorly bunny this week. I don't do sick (I have managed to increase my total days off in 25 years from 8 to 10). I don't do doctors - today I have been to see my GP about an illness for the first time in 15 years.

Writing about planes, trains and automobiles has not been high up my 'To Do' list. Sorry.

If things are no better by the morning I have to start a short course of antibiotics. Potential side affects include ruptured Achilles tendons. Joy.

Artificial Slippery Stuff

I don't particularly enjoy ice skating, but a lot of people do.

This evening someone at work organised a trip to the ice skating rink at Somerset House, which is is in the heart of London. I think a good time was had by most!

Afterwards I wandered over Waterloo Bridge to catch the Bakerloo Line from Waterloo to Marylebone and then onwards home. This must surely be one of the most photographed night shots in London. It shall remain nameless.

A bit windy

Last night the wind here was gusting up to 55 mph (88 km/h). Strong enough to blow the end ridge tile off my roof.

I am not quite sure how, but somehow it managed to land on the grass in one piece. I moved the car overnight, because a tile on the car would not have been pretty.

Amazingly a number of people who know me have asked "Oh, have you been up to repair it?" You have got to be flipping joking! Tomorrow, I'll have to find a man who can.

Big Weekend of Engineering Work - 17/18 January 2009

There is a huge amount of engineering work taking place this weekend across the London Underground Network.

The only lines that are NOT affected in some way, manner, or form are the Bakerloo, Northern, Piccadilly and Waterloo & City lines.

Out West, the Central Line is totally closed today (17th January 2009) and tomorrow (18th January 2009) between West Ruislip and North Acton, with two rail replacement bus services in place.

Live updates on the status of the various lines is available here.

Packed to the gunnels

I walked up to Marylebone last night. Just after I had arrived I got a text message from tfl to say that there were severe delays on the Central Line due to a fire alert at Mile End.

There followed a sigh of relief that I had walked, and then I thought no more of it.

That was until my big train passed a Central Line train on the approach to South Ruislip. The tube train had large numbers of people standing and it looked very full.

Bearing in mind that South Ruislip is in Zone 5 and half an hour from central London on a good day, it must have been an unpleasant journey home last night for many thousands of people.

Wow - What a lucky escape!

News tonight on the main BBC News of an incredible escape for 150 passengers on a US Airways that has crashed into the Hudson River in New York.

Incredible.

It's the little things that count

I mentioned last week that Chiltern Railways had started to read my blog. I am currently being visited every weekday and have had 52 specific page views in all.

Some blogs get masses of readers - I don't, and am grateful for each and every hit....

Now, I mentioned in my previous post that the Chiltern timetables on display at West Ruislip Central Line Station (it provides an interchange with the Chiltern Line) were out of date.

It may of course be a coincidence, but when I visited West Ruislip yesterday, the up-to-date timetables were on display. I shall of course take all the credit!

West Ruislip today yesterday, tomorrow The World.

Andrew Borde Street

What? Where?


View Larger Map

Andrew Borde Street is a funny little street that runs south of (and east under) Centre Point. It seems to be part bus station and also takes the traffic heading from the Holborn area up Tottenham Court Road.

At least it did.

As part of the Crossrail redevelopment of Tottenham Court Road tube station, Andrew Borde Street is now blocked at it's junction with Charing Cross Road and will remain closed for the foreseeable future. I have seen mentioned elsewhere that the closure of the road is permanent.

The junction from Sutton Row (leaving Soho Square) is also closed to traffic.

Tottenham Court Road tube station is served by the Central and Northern Lines, and according to Diamond Geezer's number crunching is the 6th busiest underground station that is not also a National Rail station.

One of the four station exits from the ticket barrier area at TCR leads to a long subway (underneath some fountains), which itself has three exits. Two of those exits lead onto Andrew Borde Street.

Those two specific subway exits, and the long subway leading to them will be closed later this month. Given the nature of the development work taking place, I suspect that no member of the public will ever see the subway again in anything like it's current form.

Penalty fares go up

Starting on 11th January 2008, the penalty fare for non payment on London's Bus, Tube, DLR and London Overground services increased to £50 from the previous level of £20. Apparently the penalty is reduced to £25 if paid within three weeks. Conceptually this is similar to what happens to many parking tickets.

Spending in excess of £3,000 per year on my season ticket, I certainly have no problem with this increase in the penalty charge amount. What the tfl press release does not say, is how many people are actually fined, how many people are prosecuted and how much revenue is raised through the penalty fare system.

Hours of endless fun

Ever since I was at school developing and printing my own black & white photographs, I've been keen on photography.

Over time I have been fortunate enough to visit some fabulous places that have been so photogenic that even I have been pleased with the results.

Here are a couple of my favourites:

I am sure that, with practice, my new camera will enable me to take the occasional half-decent picture.

In my experience one has to try, try and try again. I doubt if I will ever be as consistently good as Uphilldowndale, but that is the standard to which I aspire.

Anyhow, with practice in mind, I nipped out to a local station last night last night to once again try the panoramic functionality of my new kit. Clearly I need to take a tripod next time, but nevertheless I am impressed with the ability of the software to stitch the images together.

As you can see, it was a bit quiet out in rural Buckinghamshire last night. And windy.

More problems for the West Coast Main Line

There are no trains between Oxenholme Lake District and Carlisle until further notice. This is due to flooding.

Quite a lot of people will be affected by this temporary closure - it effectively blocks the West Coast Main Line for people going to Glasgow and also affects passengers of Transpennine Express.

For up to date information, please visit Network Rail's website (this blog should not be used for up-to-date travel information). This clickable image above was updated at 6.36 this morning, but it is an image and not a live link.

I suspect that the management at Virgin Trains will be particularly frustrated with this latest problem. However the truth is that if you want to drive trains through one of the wettest places in the country, you will occasionally encounter water.

Later: I've got home to note that train services between Oxenholme Lake District and Carlisle resumed at lunchtime. On this occasion UFN was precisely that, and not for too long.

AVP - Part 2

On a Sunday, some of the Chiltern Railways' train connections in Aylesbury are so bad, that I didn't lose any time today by visiting the building site again. I ended up on the same train that I would have done if I hadn't made the effort.

I bought myself a new camera yesterday - the picture above shows the TTTs, the waiting room, ticket office, shop and (surprise surprise) the car park. I'm quite pleased because it's actually four pictures that some software that came with the camera has automatically stitched together into a panorama shot. Granted, a mountain top panorama would have been nicer, but I was in Aylesbury. Anyhow, at least I know the system works.

It was considerably warmer today, but the toilets were still dis-functional. I suspect that it may be a day or two before this sign can be taken down.

The next picture shows the location of the two thrones in relation to the rest of the thriving metropolis, with the new station building growing in the background. Even once the arctic tundra has given way to spring and the facilities become available to use, I suspect all around will know precisely where you have gone. No secret ablutions here. That's enough toilet talk....

Naturally, AVP wouldn't be a train station unless it had trains. It can only ever have one at a time.

Two things to note:

1. As has been noted elsewhere the dot matrix at the front of the train simply said 'AVP', and
2. It was another Ghost Train.

One final observation. It can be deduced from the number of regimented lamp-posts beyond the emerging station building, as seen in this last picture, that the car park will eventually be much larger than is currently the case.

AVP

AVP is the Three Letter Abbreviation given to the new Aylesbury Vale Parkway station. The station is three miles North West of the centre of Aylesbury and opened on 14th December 2008. The station is served by Chiltern Railways.

I went to AVP today and can report that:

• It is called Parkway because there is a car park there. Other than that it is a building site with some portacabins and two temporary toilets.
• Eight people got off the train (it is the end of the line). Three had gone past Aylesbury by mistake and got back on the train. I wandered around a bit and then got back on the train as well. That leaves a man and his three toddlers- he clearly did want to be there because he got in his car and drove away.
• There was a security man wandering around. He looked pretty bored, but did manage to find a discarded newspaper on the train, so presumably he would then have been less bored.
• It was very cold - there was still freezing fog hanging around. The Portaloos were closed because the pipes were frozen. Even the sheep in a nearby field were running around to keep warm.
• The ticket office was closed, the shop/ snack bar was closed, the buses don't currently run there on a Saturday and there are no ticket issuing facilities when the office is closed.

The station will probably be quite useful if you live within it's catchment area (parking is free while the station buildings are being constructed), but don't go there expecting wild excitement.

I'll link to some pictures and more information shortly.

Gilligan and the Railways

Andrew Gilligan is a columnist with the London Evening Standard. He used to work for the BBC until he resigned over the 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' / David Kelly affair.

Mr Gilligan is certainly opinionated- he is often like a dog with a bone. I don't think that Ken Livingstone likes him very much. I don't much care for many of his views.

Yesterday's Standard saw a piece on the railways. As I was reading it my blood pressure went up and my blood started to boil. The article appeared to be a rant against the entire public transport infrastructure in this country. I was getting cross and was about to spit feathers.

Then I came across this sentence:

"To avoid Virgin, take the excellent (and cheaper) Chiltern trains from Marylebone to Birmingham, or the even better Wrexham and Shropshire service from the same terminus."

Goodness me. At last I have found something on which I agree with Mr Gilligan.

Falling down around our ears

Anyone with a modicum of interest in public transport in the UK cannot have failed to have noticed the string of problems that have affected the West Coast Main Line over the last few days.

Problems have included:

• A fatal plane crash on 2nd January, near Stafford, which destroyed overhead power lines and caused service cancellations for a few days
• The power cables coming down near Watford Junction on 4th January, again causing a total suspension of services
• Another set of power cables coming down on 6th January, somewhere near Wembley, causing a total line closure, and
• Further power cable problems (this time in Warwickshire) today, 8th January.

Now, the first of these incidents was obviously a tragic accident, but the rest do seem to call into question the nature of engineering work and/ or maintenance of the West Coast Main Line infrastructure.

According to reports, Network Rail have set up a major enquiry into the events of this week. That is good to note - in my line of work a Post Incident Review would be instigated for events that would have a far smaller operational or financial cost.

I do not know what staff turnover is like within either Network Rail or its subcontractors, but I do wonder whether the person who has trained people how to tie up the power cables actually knows how to do it?

Maybe someone will sit up and take notice?

Cor blimey - I've been wittering on here for three years. I've got a small number of loyal readers, an even smaller number of regular commentators and the usual surprised visitors who've arrived by means of weird search engine terms.

I've made it now though - someone at Chiltern Railways has been having a jolly good read of this blog in the last few days. Now generally I am pretty good about Chiltern because, by and large, it is acknowledged that they are one of the best railway companies in the UK.

Hopefully this will mean that if I make constructive suggestions, my reader in Aylesbury will prod someone to take action. I don't rant too much.

Chiltern Railways found me by doing a 'blog search' for Chiltern Railways. I've always thought that this is good corporate practice for any Media or PR department. Also, it seems that they might have bookmarked me, so hopefully they'll be back.

Whoever you are - Welcome!

Optional test: The timetables on display outside the main tube station entrance at West Ruislip are out of date. Could you possibly arrange to have the new ones put up? Thank you.

So you got a new bag for Christmas...

I can see you got a new bag for Christmas. It looks as though it might have a laptop in it. It may only contain a few manky sandwiches, but I can't tell. Your bag is well attached to your shoulders. Up in the real world it is quite cold, so it may be helping to keep your back warm.

However, the Jubilee Line at Baker Street in the morning rush hour is not the place to be impersonating a camel. Take the bloody thing off your back and let some more people on the train.

Thank you.

It's slippery out there

At present it's a chilly -3.7 C out in my part of the Chiltern Hills. I can vouch for the fact that local un-gritted roads, where the snow has been compacted by vehicles, are quite literally sheets of ice.

If you are driving or walking in the area (or indeed anywhere else experiencing similar conditions), please be very very careful as it is treacherous out there.

Edit: Tuesday morning, 06:30. It is now -7.8 C and has dropped 0.9 of a degree in the last half hour. Brrrrrrr.

What do they teach in schools nowadays?

Last night, while in Princes Risborough, I spent the un-princely sum of £1.20 and paid with a £20 note.

After handing over the note, I then realised that I had a 20p coin, so handed that over as well. In my world that is called 'making it easier' for the assistant.

The cash register told the girl serving me to hand me back £18.80. Giving her the extra 20p totally blew her mind and she could then not work out how much change to give me. Duh!

Shopping Trip

As it is nearly Twelfth Night, I thought I ought to get the Christmas present my parents had promised (and which I had asked for).

I am much more M&S than Prada, but no joy yesterday at the M&S store in High Wycombe.

This afternoon I decided to venture a little further to the new Westfield shopping centre in West London. I did pay a brief visit before Christmas, but it was then too busy for my liking.

It appears to have settled down a little now, in terms of the crowds, and I managed to purchase the coat I was looking for in the unsurprisingly modern M&S. I also latched onto a ridiculously expensive ski suit in Ellis Brigham that I first saw at the London Ski Show a couple of months ago, but fortunately managed to keep my plastic firmly in my pocket for that.

Getting to Westfield was quite straight forward. A Chiltern Railways stopping service saw me change to the Central Line at West Ruislip and it was then plain sailing to White City. I arrived at White City only two minutes after my first train would have arrived at Marylebone, so it was definitely the best way to go. Returning home was the same trip in reverse.

Edit:Westfield transport links are shown here (click image):

**Eden photo by kingpin1055**

Balanced, Secure and Realisitic

Apparently that's me - based upon the following. It may be about as accurate as a horoscope, but I'm happy with the answer!

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

11 Impressionist, 11 Islamic, -6 Ukiyo-e, -7 Cubist, -11 Abstract and -11 Renaissance!

Impressionism is a movement in French painting, sometimes called optical realism because of its almost scientific interest in the actual visual experience and effect of light and movement on appearance of objects. Impressionist paintings are balanced, use colored shadows, use pure color, broken brushstrokes, thick paint, and scenes from everyday life or nature.

People that like Impressionist paintings may not always be what is deemed socially acceptable. They tend to move on their own path without always worrying that it may be offensive to others. They value friendships but because they also value honesty tend to have a few really good friends. They do not, however, like people that are rude and do not appreciate the ideas of others. They are secure enough in themselves that they can listen to the ideas of other people without it affecting their own final decisions. The world for them is not black and white but more in shades of grey and muted colors. They like things to be aesthetically pleasing, not stark and sharp. There are many ways to view things, and the impressionist personality views the world from many different aspects. They enjoy life and try to keep a realistic viewpoint of things, but are not very open to new experiences. If they are content in their live they will be more than likely pleased to keep things just the way they are.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

Ghost Train

A first for me just now.

Traveled one stop on a train out in rural Buckinghamshire. I was the only passenger to get on, I was the only one to get off. Other than me the train was empty.

Spooky!

As the train continued on its merry way, I did wonder whether the driver was aware that he was there for his own pleasure...

Meanwhile, Chiltern Railways were featured extensively on this evening's main 10 o'clock news on the BBC. All the Chiltern trains and platforms shown were just as quiet as I have experienced all week (well- not quite as quiet as just now).

I guess it will be back to normal on Monday when everyone goes back to work and the usual drudge of commuting resumes.

Another one bites the dust

Bumped into a fellow blogger on the way home tonight - he was working, so hope it's not too busy.

The big trains this week have been marvelously quiet. This morning my four carriages had a total of 14 people got off upon arrival at Marylebone. Not many more on the way home just now. The underground was pretty quiet as well.

I'm off to Abbots Langley now for a quiet, hopefully sedate dinner party, with bed thrown in as well. Result!

As another year bites the dust, this post marks the end of my third year of infrequent blogging - it also means that 2008 does not have the lowest number of posts. Yay!

Thank you for coming to read my meanderings, especially to those of you who take the trouble to comment.

May I wish you a very Happy New Year. I hope that 2009 brings you everything that you hope for.

CU

And the wind down begins....

Well, the Underground was particularly quiet this morning.

My 'big train' to rural Buckinghamshire (en-route to Birmingham), mid-afternoon, was packed to the gunnels.

A very Happy Christmas to my reader.

Chiltern Railways are running to a special timetable over Christmas and New Year, with no trains whatsoever on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. A copy is available to download here (walk to your manned Chiltern station if on dial-up).

London Transport Christmas and New Year travel arrangements are still available here.

Yuck...

I have a pet hate - people who file their nails on the train. I don't know why, but I find it revolting.

Today it went one worse - someone clipping their nails. Click.. ping.. click.. ping..

Aaarrgh!

Is the competition hotting up?

Over a large number of weekends this year, mainly due to engineering works in the Rugby area, Virgin Trains have been running hourly trains from London Euston to Coventry and Birmingham International, diverted up the Chiltern Railways route through rural Buckinghamshire.

According to a Network Rail press release put out today, the engineering work is now complete. Starting from next weekend the number of trains using the West Coast Main Line will increase dramatically, with journey times seeing significant reductions.

This is of course good news for travelers who will see a significant increase in seat capacity between London, Birmingham and stations north.

Hitherto, Chiltern Railways have offered the best value (ie cheapest) easily available fare between London and Birmingham at £5 each way (obviously, subject to restrictions).

In tonight's evening papers were Virgin Trains adverts offering tickets from the same price between London Euston and Birmingham, supposedly from next Sunday which is when the new timetable starts.

What a fantastic way for Virgin to thank Chiltern for their co-operation during the weekends of the Rugby blockade (see press release of 12 June 2008).

I do admire Chiltern Railways, but I've just checked with Virgin and it is possible to get a weekday mid-morning booking next month, from Euston for the promised £5 and the journey is scheduled to be as quick as 1hr 22 min.

Chiltern would appear to have some stiff competition!

Christmas & New Year Travel Guide for London

Transport for London (aka tfl) have today published a Travel Guide to getting around London over Christmas and New year.

It weighs in at a hefty 2Mb and is in pdf format. For now the guide is available here, but if they move or change the file name, please let me know.

A summary is:

• Christmas Eve 2008: Most stuff finishes early
• Christmas Day 2008: London stops
• Boxing Day 2008: London starts to get going again, except for the Jubilee Line (no service Friday, Saturday or Sunday), the Metropolitan Line (no service) and the Waterloo & City Line. There are also other station closures on the Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Northern Lines.

• There are also pages and pages of guidance should you be in London on New Year's Eve.

It isn't possible to summarise here all the travel changes detailed in a 25 page guide, so I recommend you obtain a copy if you intend to travel in London over the holiday period.

I note that there is no mention of a corporate sponsor for the free late night travel arrangements on 31st December. The economy really must be in a bad way.

Edit: 2 January 2009. Tfl have removed the guide from their website. At present I do not have any suitably anonymous webspace to host the document. If you can host, please let me know - if you want a copy emailed to you, please let me know. Thank you.

Scoop...

I went to Banbury today, by train, using the ever efficient services of Chiltern Railways. One of the trains was too short (no room to swing a cat), but it was a bit parky outside- huddling together helps one to keep warm

Where was I? Oh yes - Banbury.

Woolworths, to be precise. The sadly soon to be gone, in Administration, up to 50% off sale shop that holds a strangely nostalgic piece of most peoples' hearts.

I spent a grand total of £15.56 and did pick up several bargains. The best of which was a ice cream scoop, for which I paid the princely sum of 40 pence.

The item comes with a 5 year guarantee which states;

"This item is guaranteed for 5 years from the date of purchase. It will be replaced with the same or similar item, if there is a defect due to faulty materials or workmanship, during that period. The guarantee does not cover defect occurring due to abuse. This does not affect your statutory rights. In the unlikely event that a fault should occur, to claim under this guarantee return this item to your nearest Woolworths store, together with the purchase receipt."

May I be so bold as to state that this particular guarantee is probably not worth the paper it is printed on?

Oh, and they didn't have any carrier bags, so my haul of goodies was transported home in a marvelous black bin bag.

A new world record

What? Two hours and thirty eight minutes - that's what....

The length of time it took this morning from walking out of my front door to arriving at my desk.

That is a long long time for a commute. Indeed a world record for me. To say I was a little jaded upon arrival would be an understatement.

There was a fatality at about 5.10am this morning, on the railway near High Wycombe station. The police took some time to release the line back to the railways, so the line was closed until about 7.40 am. Understandably, it then took Chiltern Railways some time to get trains running in any sort of order.

I managed to grab a lift to Great Missenden and traveled to Marylebone on the Aylesbury via Amersham line.

It would seem that a lot of people gave up, because the trains home this evening were very quiet.