Island Life

When I referred to A Better Place, I didn't actually mean that it was better.

What I meant was that; There were hardly any people, the people that were there were friendly, the scenery was fantastic and varied, I didn't need my passport but it was like going abroad, and there is so little pollution in the air that on a clear night you can see many times more stars than you can in the crowded South-East corner of England.

OK, on many levels I did mean that it was better!

I have just returned from a few days on the beautiful Isle of Arran in Scotland. Now obviously the means of getting there and back will provide plenty of blogging fodder, but for now, all I can say is STUNNING!

Yes, we were lucky with the weather. My experiences of holidaying in Scotland tell me to take the waterproofs, and to count it as a bonus if you don't need to use them.

Anyhow, here is a very small selection of the photographs that I took while on the island. Hopefully they will give you a feel of the place:

A Highland Coo in Glen Rosa
According to my Ordnance Survey map, this is called Glenrosa Water or Garbh Allt. I call it picturesque.
Afternoon sun on the beach at Blackwaterfoot.
A still day at Lochranza

And finally, just to add a modicum of topicality, this is the CalMac ferry that took us to and from the island. The "Caledonian Isles" travels several times a day between Adrossan Harbour and Brodick, the largest settlement on Arran.

PS: At some stage I might jig the layout of this post around a bit. For now it will do as I have to head off to Watford for the rugby.

Simple Rules

I try to live my life by some simple rules. You know the ones; "Though shalt not steal", "Though shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife / oxen" and similar.

Two more:

-Eat chilli with rice, and
-Eat bolognese sauce with pasta

Unfortunately, having just put the rice on to boil, I have just discovered that the tub of chilli I have defrosted is actually a very tasty tub of home-made bolognese sauce.

Given that it is a Saturday evening, I suspect that there will many worse examples of rule breaking around our towns and cities tonight...

A better place

A fair bit of public transport over the last week or so - the best part being when it was taking me away from the South East of England.

Having taken loads of photographs, it will quickly become apparent where I have been - this picture is just to whet your appetites.

Regrettably I got more and more depressed this morning as I joined the hundreds of office drones walking between Marylebone and Baker Street. Still, work means I can pay for holidays.

Now, where was I? Oh yes....

Grumpy People

On a Saturday afternoon, Chiltern Railways usually run a Northbound 1727 service from High Wycombe, which calls next at Saunderton, then Princes Risborough and then Haddenham & Thame Parkway.

As I mentioned at the time, there was a rugby match last Saturday at Wembley Stadium, so Chiltern were running a tweaked timetable to cope with the extra passengers, of whom there were plenty.

The trouble was, the Northbound 1727 service last Saturday was a different train to usual, so it didn't actually stop between High Wycombe and Haddenham & Thame Parkway.

Cue lots of people who had an unexpectedly long ride courtesy of Chiltern Railways. You can't really blame them. Many were grumpy.

Usual timetable:





Last Saturday's stopping pattern:

Forty Four Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty Two

Yes - That's 44,832 people at Wembley Stadium for a club Rugby Union match. The top tier at the stadium was empty, but it was still pretty impressive and there was a great atmosphere.

Yesterday's match finished 19 - 16 to Saracens, though it has to be said that Northampton Saints put up a great fight and it was nail biting right until the final whistle.

I have to say, I was impressed with the effort that Saracens, as a club, put into making the afternoon a fun event. They had 'Diversity' doing some dancing, a rock band, the Royal Marines and an abseiling camel.

The first time I went to the stadium it was to see a concert , so it was good to see it in use for a sporting event. Despite my qualms about degraded public transport all went well, though Chiltern Railways' staff did seem to be letting too few people onto the platform for each train - I missed mine by about twenty people and the next one had a nearly empty carriage when it left the station. Still at least it offers me a virtually door-to-door service.

Apologies for the poor picture and video quality - I've come to the conclusion that my mobile phone is a rubbish camera.

Saracens are currently second in the Guinness Premiership - hopefully that will last a while, but only time will tell.

Diversity
Sarrie the Camel

The Royal Marines

Wemberleey!

For a reason that I haven't really been able to fathom out, Saracens are playing this afternoon's rugby match against Northampton Saints at Wembley Stadium. Somewhere around 35,000 / 40,000 rugby fans are expected on what could be a Bluebird Day (if it had snowed last night, which obviously, it didn't).

It suits me fine as it save a drive to Watford and the dreaded Match Day Parking CPZ around Vicarage Road - Today I can let the train take the strain, and possible have a sherbert or two, something I cannot normally do.

Chiltern Railways have extra trains stopping at Wembley Stadium - great for me, but with engineering works on the Amersham branch, and no Metropolitan Line from Northwood to Wembley Park and the Jubilee Line also out for engineering works, I suspect that London Midland services (serving both Northampton and Watford) at Wembley Central will be a bit busy.

Hopefully the rugby will not play second fiddle and it should be a great afternoon.

It's not too late to go - tickets are £10 on the door, £5 for children. Shades and shorts required.

So, what's my problem?

I have nothing against university, or of the concept of clever people studying hard to earn degrees that will help them push this country forward and far.

Many of the brightest graduates, or simply those clever enough to pass through an attribute based assessment centre process, are taken onto Graduate Training Programmes by large organisations. Mine included.

In my experience, some of the programme participants are rubbish. Most are good. A few are brilliant.

A brilliant colleague has just moved on, as have one from each of the other two categories.

Their replacements from this year's intake are to to arrive shortly.

My boss is teflon coated. My fear this morning was that I was about to be asked to line manage the newbies. I would really dislike doing that.

Fortunately, when my boss and I eventually spoke, he had other things on his mind.. Hopefully he was never going to ask me anyway.

The lovely ridge of high pressure currently sat over the UK means that it is now a truly glorious evening in Rural Buckinghamshire.

Seventeen Words

It's a beautiful sunny, morning. Not a cloud in the sky. I am walking from Marylebone to Baker Street.

My voicemail bleeps. Should I pick it up? I do.

Sigh. It's the boss.

"Hi xxx, it's xxx. Please could you give me a call? It's about the new grads. Thanks."

I have a sinking feeling.....

More later, and an explanation.

Ouch!

There are currently severe delays on the Central Line.

The next train from Northolt to West Ruislip is currently 23 minutes away and is at Queensway.

Ouch indeed.

Imagine if you will that..

... You have a full time job that involves working mixed shifts. The job is safety critical, with potentially dire consequences if you make a mistake.

The company you work for says that it will pay you double time if you volunteer to work exrra hours on Sundays.

After a period of time, the company decides that it no longer wants to pay you as much in return for you volunteering to work on Sundays.

You decide that you would rather spend the time with you family and friends.

Now imagine that you are a driver working for London Midland.

--
Sent from my mobile device

It appears that some people couldn't run a bath

I am sure that many people will find this quite incredible.

London Midland is a train operating company with a fairly extensive network of services.

Today (Sunday 6th September 2009) nearly all of London Midland's train services have been cancelled, due to many staff not volunteering to work today.

According to Bob Crow, the failure to volunteer "was not organised action by workers but a case of the contractual right not to work being exercised".

I find this a little strange. I don't know how many people have failed to volunteer to work today, but it strikes me that if London Midland have had to cancel most of their trains, the number must be statistically significantly different to the norm. In my experience, such a significant variation in the behaviour of people is rarely un-coordinated, or without cause.

Which ever way you look at it, this appears to be a case of management incompetence at London Midland.

Sparse Pickings

It's the 4th of the month and the blog pickings are sparse.

Just had a skinful to help a really good colleague celebrate his departure and move onto pastures new.

Cornish Pasty from the station and half drunk bottle of water on the table, An attemt to rehydrate.

Tomorrow sees me picking up two friends at 1130 for the London Double Header at Twickenham. Should be a good day

A cunning plan is to unfold to get home quicker than anticipated tonight. The train from Marylebone is quiet.

A good weekend to one and all! Zzzzz....

Some good news

A cursory glance at the Departure Boards for the Bakerloo Line would suggest that the 4 day suspension of service in Zone 1 (for engineering works) is over. That means that Bakerloo Line trains are once again running to all destinations.

Now for a depressing thought. Today (31st August 2009) is a bank holiday in the UK. The next time we have a bank holiday, you will have hopefully finished any Christmas shopping you were going to do.

The Perfect Storm

Actually, that perhaps ought to read "The Perfect Millpond".

A bit like an unusual alignment of the planets, today we have;

- August
- School holidays
- A Bank Holiday weekend
- Friday
- The second day of no Bakerloo Line in Zone 1

I can report that this currently means loads of seats on Chiltern Railways' trains this morning, plus loads of space in their expensive car parks.

Oh, and traffic was flowing well just now through the roadworks on the North West bit of the M25. That will definitely change later.

Happy Friday!

Bakerloo Line Closure - Zone 1 - 27 August to 30 August 2009

Don't forget.. the Bakerloo Line is closed for engineering works from today (27 August 2009) through to Sunday in the whole of Zone 1.

This means, no underground trains from Paddington through to Elephant & Castle today, or 28 August 2009 or 29 August 2009 or indeed 30 August 2009!

For now, Chiltern Railways have a useful link to the closure leaflet.

Along the Central Line

Nowadays, it is something that I don't do very often - that is, travel "Along the Central Line".

There are four reasons for this:

1. I no longer live two hundred yards from Northolt Underground Station. Northolt is on the Central Line in Travelcard Zone 5 - it used to be a simple journey to Tottenham Court Road station, the nearest station to where I usually work.
2. Tottenham Court Road is currently in the early stages of a major rebuilding programme, as part of the building of Crossrail. This means that it is a little more difficult for me to enter and leave the station than was previously the case, so I tend to go elsewhere.
3. I walk a lot more now than I used to. As most of my tube journeys are confined to Zone 1, walking is often a realistic option.
4. One of my frequent journeys is from the West End (London's central shopping district) to Canary Wharf, the upstart business district in the East End. Escalator works at Bank station mean that travel via that station is often impractical, so I tend to go via Waterloo which means that I use the Jubilee Line in preference.

So, Saturday saw me traveling from Central London back out to Northolt.

It seemed that half of the Underground system was out of service this weekend due to engineering works. My journey down from Marylebone caused me to see; the closure of the Southern bit of the Metropolitan Line, the closure of the Jubilee Line and the closure of the Southern bit of the Victoria Line.

It was therefore of some relief that my journey out to Northolt was hassle free, quick, quiet and actually pretty enjoyable.

A couple of weeks ago, I'd heard on the radio one evening of serious road congestion in Northolt due to a serious fire.

Spot the difference:

Although the picture I took on my phone (below) is pretty rubbish, you will probably be able to tell that "serious fire" is probably a bit of an understatement.

The Plough in Northolt is currently closed.It was never my favourite pub, but for 18 years it was what I saw when I looked out of my window. For that reason alone it is sad to see it in it's current state. I suppose thatch and modern city life don't really mix.

Hopefully the brewery will rebuild and reopen the pub. Only time will tell whether or not it is improved.

View from the back window

There I was, sitting slouched on the sofa, watching The X Factor. Shhh - don't tell anyone. The patio door was open and I heard a whooshing noise.*

No surprises - you can probably see the picture. Anyhow, this picture of a hot air balloon taking off in the Chiltern Hills in rural Buckinghamshire, was taken from my bedroom window at eight o'clock this evening.

I hope it wasn't going too far as it was beginning to get dark.

*Whooshing - The unmistakable noise of the burners used to chuck hot air into the balloon.

”Boing"...

... said Zebedee. "Time for bed." said Florence.

Indeed.

Just been to cinema for fourth time in eight days. Guess I'm seeking value from my Unlimited Cineworld card. One good, none bad.

No more people watching today - the station is deserted.

Mustn't forget to switch off the alarm clock off when I get home. Two days of not getting up at Stupid O'clock.

Goodnight.

Misplaced Geography

Another train... More people.

This time a middle aged American tourist and his teenage son. Laptop and GPS charging on the free onboard electricity.

They seem to be under the impression that Dover (Castle) is near Weymouth.

WRONG!

Am I Living in a Soap Opera?

OMG. This time, I am sat on a Chiltern Railways train from Marylebone back home to Rural Buckinghamshire.

Chiltern have substituted the usual posh Clubman for a slightly slower Turbo.

Surrounded by a mother and four daughters. Ages range from about 10 to 15.

All very well behaved, except for the eldest girl who has just had a blazing row with her mother about how many times she can see her boyfriend this weekend.

Chill. Chill. Chill. It's the weekend!

Unreasonably Grumpy

Yes, that's me this morning. Unreasonably grumpy.

It's Friday. Yesterday was a good day at work. The film I saw last night was OK. I got plenty of sleep...

What's the problem?

The train is sparsely populated and the two guys sitting next too me haven't stopped talking for half an hour. That's all.

Lazy writing

One thing that I really dislike is companies and organisations being lazy when disseminating information for general public information.

Sometimes that laziness simply leads to information being wrong while quite often it leads to over-spin.

Overnight, my Bloglines RSS Feed brought me a news release from Saracens, the Rugby Union club at which I am a season ticket holder.

Saracens play at Wembley Stadium, against Northampton Saints, on Saturday 12th September. It should be a good afternoon out.

The news release is all about how to get to Wembley. It is more or less the usual pre-pack of blurb put out by Wembley. Among other things, it extols the virtues of the Metropolitan Line and the Jubilee Line.

The only problem is that both of these lines will be seriously affected by engineering works on 12th September, meaning that they are pretty useless if traveling from Watford, where Saracens usually play.

The engineering works are mentioned in a set of comprehensive asides, but so far down the article that you can only see them if you subscibe to the website! Grrr.

+Posted in a rush from my mobile+

How to steal a train

This morning, I caught the Bakerloo Line down from Baker Street, before the ambient temperature got too high.

The air conditioning at work broke down. Very old fashioned method used to cool the building. We opened the windows.

Ice creams on the house this afternoon.

Meandered my way back to Marylebone. Tube Avoidance.

No. 18 bus along Marylebone Road uncomfortably rank and full.

Train like an icebox. Cancelled.

All shepherded to an alternate train several hundred yards away. One extra carriage, not quite as cool, nine minutes late.

Looks like we stole the 1751 MYB to HWY which I note has been cancelled.

+Posted from my mobile+

Escalators at Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus is going through a major escalator refurbishment programme.

The latest phase has meant that it has been a slight inconvenience getting to or from the Bakerloo Line. However all escalators to/ from the Bakerloo are now running - they've now moved to one of the lower Piccadilly Line sets, which is likely to cause slightly more inconvenience at busy times. Progress.

Hoorah for U2

U2 were playing at Wembley Stadium on Friday and Saturday evenings.

I went to the cinema, by train.

Upon my return, I expected to have to wait 30 minutes for a train. However, Chiltern Railways had a special timetable running to help cope with the estimated 86,000 concert goers.

Impact? I only had to wait six minutes for a train. Good result.

Oh, and the train was busy.

Bakerloo Line - Upcoming Weekday Closure

I spotted some posters at Baker Street on Friday that advised of some significant engineering work that will affect the Bakerloo Line on weekdays at the end of August.

From Thursday 27 until Sunday 30 August, inclusive, the Bakerloo Line will be suspended between Paddington and Elephant & Castle. This means that the line will be closed South of Paddington on two weekdays, which will no doubt catch many people unaware.

The word on the streets is that the work is towards reinstating the crossover at Piccadilly Circus. This will enable trains in the Southbound platform to reverse back over onto the Northbound Line. I do not work for London Underground so cannot confirm that this is the case.

I have no idea when or why the crossover was removed, but if it is to be reinstated it must be good news long term, as it will improve operational flexibility for the Bakerloo Line in times of stress.

Silent Running

This is the GWR Castle Class 4-6-0 no 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe running fast and quiet (with no rolling stock) on its way back to Tyseley this evening. The rolling stock went back up the line about an hour before.

The train would have done a reversing manoeuvre around the Greenford Triangle, so that it was facing in the right direction.

Tootling up and down the line - More Steam

GWR Castle Class 4-6-0 no 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe (a steam train) has been tootling up and down the Chiltern Line today.

It went this morning from Marylebone to Stratford-Upon-Avon this morning, calling at Beaconsfield on the way. It then came back late this afternoon and the engine, sans carriages, is now whizzing its way back up to Tyseley in the dark.

This video is of the train leaving Beaconsfield at about 7.20pm, on its way towards London.

Man on Wire

I've just seen a BBC Trailer to advise that "Man on Wire" is on BBC2 tomorrow night (Sunday 2nd August 2009) at 9.00pm.

If you didn't get the chance to see this film in the cinema or on DVD, I cannot recommend too strongly that you ought to watch or record the film tomorrow night.

I saw the film at a special screening at my local cinema earlier this year, immediately before the Baftas and the Academy Awards were dished out. I found it quite mesmerising. Hence the plethora of awards.

A good result

A quick trip to the pub after work tonight, in Soho.

Left slightly too late, delays on the Bakerloo Line, missed my train home from Marylebone by about 10 seconds. Grrr.

Decided to catch the next train to an adjacent station and wait for an age.

Was chatting to someone who was meeting a fellow passenger and was offered a lift to the bottom of my road, taking them two or three miles out of their way. Most kind, and I thus got home half an hour earlier than would otherwise have been the case. Thank you kind people.

Well, I never knew that!

Driving North and East past Heathrow Airport yesterday morning, for the first time ever, I noticed that arriving planes were using both the North and South Runways at the same time.

Five minutes of searching the interweb thingy has failed to reveal when this practice started, but I guess it must be a good thing if it helps get planes onto the ground quicker. Obviously it can only be done when there are relatively few departing aircraft.

During my only partially successful research I found this whizzy technical tool, Webtrak, guaranteed to give hours of endless fun to those so minded.

Music in the Rain

During the early part of each Summer, the Royal Military School of Music in Twickenham hosts a series of open air concerts titled "Concerts in the Park".

Tonight was the series finale, attended (along with maybe a couple of thousand others) by three generations of my family.

The theme tonight was 'Last Night of the Proms'. Whatever the theme, the concerts are always excellent and tonight was no exception.

Having checked the weather forecast yesterday, we decided not to eat al-fresco. Instead my sister fed us all beforehand, dessert provided by our mother. food move.

Waterproofs came in handy, though fortunately the rain was not persistent enough for the concert to be curtailed. The bands soldiered on and a good evening was had.

I suspect that a bit of elbow grease would have been used afterwards drying all the instruments - pity the bandsman responsible for the three xylophones!

Hopefully back to the same venue in a couple of months for the Rhythm Force Rock & Pop Concert, including an appearance by Jools Holland.

HP anyone?

I don't particularly like HP Sauce, so as a moderately frequent cinema goer, the HP can only refer to Harry Potter.

I attempted to go to see the latest film "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" on Wednesday, the day the film came out.

I arrived at Cineworld in High Wycombe at 8.50 pm for the 9.00pm showing (ie 30 minutes before the film would actually start, after the adverts and trailers). I got the to top of the escalator to find about 200 people in a long line that meandered around the mezzanine area. Given that the ticket queue rarely has more than 10 people, I high tailed it home and deferred my cinematic experience to this evening.

There was a bit of Sauce in this HP and at 154 minutes long, the film didn't drag. However there didn't seem to be as much magic as usual though there was nothing wrong. Near the beginning there was a sign in an underground station scene that said "Platforms 4" which was either a really obvious goof (not currently mentioned at IMDB) or a subtle plot point that was too subtle for me.

Overall, nothing to write home about, but don't avoid on my say so.

Away from the city

I have a couple of days off work.

I am down in deepest Hampshire, having just returned from a most pleasant meal out with my parents.

No tubes till Monday, at least two days with no trains. Even the drive from home earlier was quite pleasant.

Why am I so chilled? That would be because I have four days of not being at work.

Tottenham Court Road - Update

TCR tube station is going through the mother of all upgrades - eventually it will be a mega interchange station between the existing Central and Northern Lines and Crossrail.

Anyhow, tfl have deemed it appropriate to issue a press release giving an update on what is going on. To be honest it's not exactly exiting, but it'll no doubt appear as a full page article in the Metro and will inevitably be regurgitated by lazy journalists in other news outlets as well.

AVP - Part 3

Back in January, I visited the new Aylesbury Vale Parkway station. Not just on one day, but on two separate days.

Lord Adonis, the latest unelected functionary that the nice Mr Brown is allowing to play with our train set, visited AVP the week before last. His visit was to formally open the station (which actually opened seven months ago, albeit serviced by a row of temporary buildings.

I wasn't able to turn up on the day to visit the farmers market (laid on for the day), but can confirm that the frozen loos and building skips have long gone. The car park is huge (and empty), when I visited the station was deserted with non-functioning ticket machines, but it is nevertheless a new station, a new extended railway line and Chiltern Railways are to be applauded.

Japanese follow up

Someone at Chiltern Railways is clearly trying to help the influx of Japanese visitors that pour into Bicester North, en-route to the Bicester Village emporium of designer shops.

This notice is now stuck, in a prominent position, on the ticket machine by the entrance to the station.

I sense that no further translation is necessary.

Shadows stitch me up

This picture is of the South end of the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham. It's easy for me to get to as Moor Street Station is just across the road - Chiltern Railways call there twice an hour in each direction.

'Stitch me up' can mean 'Make me laugh'. By the quirkiness of the English Language it can also mean that someone had something pre-arranged for me.

In this context I am being ridiculous - The shadows stitched me up, and they didn't make me laugh.

Click on the picture and you'll see what I mean. The ability of the software on my computer to stitch together pictures only goes so far.

Friday night - I'm expecting the worst

Holborn. Busy interchange station connecting the Central Line and the Piccadilly Line.

Five twenty on a Friday night.

The gate line is busy. The downward escalators are busy. The concourse at the bottom seems to have literally hundreds of people milling around.

Walk along the passageway towards the Eastbound Central Line Platform to catch a train to Liverpool Street. It takes a while. Everyone is walking with pigeon steps.

Walk down the steps. It's slow - I hear a train pull in and then away.

Onto the platform, turn right. Within seconds another train pulls in. Gird myself for the crush.

Doors open.. What? Less than half the seats are taken. Room for everyone to sit down. I must be hallucinating, or the train only started at Marble Arch. One of the two.

Going where?

Approaching Oxford Circus on a Northbound Bakerloo Line.

Automated announcement comes out of the speakers; "The next station is Waterloo, change here for... blah blah".

Cue some puzzled looking tourists. Waterloo is four stations before Oxford Circus.

In my head the Bakerloo Line is so solid and chunky with old technology it should either work, or it goes phut. A bit like a Bakelite telephone.

I was therefore surprised (and I've never seen it happen before on the Brown Line) that the on-board announcements got out of sync with the stations. At least it has kicked the hiatus into touch.

Spin

Hundreds of thousands of people have bought tickets to some music concerts. Unfortunately the concerts have had to be cancelled - it is impossible for them to be rescheduled.

I read in the media this morning that ticket holders may either apply for refunds OR they may keep the tickets as souvenirs [and not get refunds].

I wish I could say that I find this approach to not refunding all ticket money unbelievable. Unfortunately it isn't.

Shit really does happen

Geoff Marshall is a really good guy, who used to work for the BBC, who once held the world record for traveling around the entire tube network in the fastest time and is currently on a mission traveling round the USA.

Today the sky has fallen in and many of his material goods (the stuff he needs to do his job) have been stolen.

Grrrrr.

Context probably provides the answer...

A couple of weeks ago I posed an isolated question.

Here is the full picture:

The signs are indeed at Bicester North station in Oxfordshire.

Bicester is home to Bicester Village, a retail park stuffed full of designer shops. It seems very popular with Japanese visitors traveling out on Chiltern Railways' trains from London.

A fleet of mini-buses transport passengers between the station and the shops (for a fee) - It is safe to assume that it is those buses that the Japanese sign is alluding to.

People spotting

I work in the heart of media land in central London. My colleagues always seem to tell me of the famous people they see. I never see them. People always seem to me to look different, to me, in real life.

Anyhow, I saw Brendan Cole in my local Waitrose last Sunday and, as I type, Ann Widdecombe has just got on a Chiltern Railways train at Marylebone.

Ooh err!

Bags

Today my journeys to and from London were on South West Trains as opposed to my usual Chiltern Railways.

When you get on a Chiltern peak hour service, most people put their bag(s) on the overhead luggage racks. On South West Trains this evening, mine was one of just two bags on the luggage racks.

I do wonder for the reasons for the difference in passenger behaviour.

I suspect it is down to the different train designs - We shall have to see.

Bad news for football fans hoping to travel to Wembley on Wednesday 10th June 2009

In their infinite wisdom, Chiltern Railways have decided that no trains will stop at Wembley Stadium tomorrow after 12 Noon.

With the expected total shutdown of the London Underground, this will make it even more difficult for people to get to the England -v- Andorra match on Wednesday evening.

I merely observe, but on this occasion do not opine.

+Posted from my mobile+

48 Hour Tube Strike starting 7.00pm Tuesday 9th June 2009

This is a blog ostensibly about the London Underground.

Bob Crowe and his merry men have seen fit, once again, to attempt to hold London to ransom following a failure to successfully negotiate a pay rise with the management of London Underground. Oh well, that's nailed my flag to the mast.

In the interest of trying to retain some semblance of impartiality, it would appear that the Chairman of Transport for London (and Mayor of London), Boris Johnson, has done far too little far too late to try to resolve the industrial dispute.

Anyhow, bottom line is that services will severely degrade from 19.00 this evening (Tuesday 9th June 2009), with little likelihood of a sensible service resuming until the morning of Friday 12th June 2009.

Up to date information should be available on the tfl website.

The Sir Nigel Gresley - 06 June 2009

Somewhat against my better judgement, I have been chasing a steam train today.

This is the Sir Nigel Gresley leaving Beaconsfield at 21.36 this evening, having picked up water on its way back from Chester to London Paddington. Maybe more to follow...

Here's a question for you

Ok... on my travels.

I took a picture of this sign today.

Where was I and what does it say? (I do know where it is and can guess what it says from the context.) I am just interested to know if anyone else has spotted the sign as I have never noticed it before.

Clue: My passport is at home, as is the car.

Pip pip!

Some weeks later: The answer (sort of) is here.

Not something you see very often

Chiltern Railways are generally able to offer a pretty reliable service.

That has all gone to pot this evening. There has been a signal failure somewhere in North West London affecting all trains out of Marylebone.

This screen grab is of the departure board at Princes Risborough a few minutes ago. It is completely un-typical of the usual reliability seen by passengers in the Chilterns.

It looks as though I got home just in time tonight.

An absence of trains

I spent all three days of last (bank holiday) weekend at work.

The weather was great.

I could think of a thousand things that I could have done that would have been more enjoyable than being stuck in a Soho office, while everyone else was off enjoying themselves.

Anyhow, the consequences are that I haven't been to work since Wednesday.

The Sun Gods have been good. My garden is looking all the better for a little attention. I am now enjoying the weekend in deepest Hampshire, living life in the fast lane with family while enjoying the company of a new spotted member of the family.

The rat race resumes tomorrow.

Beldlow Village Hall

During the weekday peak services, Chiltern Railways' train services are served by an occasional Buslink service between Chinnor and Princes Risborough.

Bledlow is a small and picturesque village along the route.

The only thing is that the automated departure announcements at Princes Risborough station clearly announce one of the bus stops as "Beldlow Village Hall".

More than a little careless?

Live blogging on the Underground doesn't work

First of all, you have to follow up disruption news - for a sporadic blogger this is a pain.

Secondly, most of the stuff that matters to people happens, by definition, underground. This means that Live Blogging isn't live at all as only a tiny proportion of the stations with platforms below street level have effective mobile coverage.

Thirdly, the tfl website is far better at it than me.

Lastly, it is really boring to read!

BTW The Jubilee Line wasn't too bad just now. Two minutes and eight minutes till the next Westbound trains from Canary Wharf does indeed count as 'minor' delays at this time of day.

Jubilee Update 18 May 2009

Following the earlier suspension of service between North Greenwich & Stratford, the Jubilee Line is up and running again. Allegedly with 'minor' delays - I wouldn't bet my house on 'Minor'.

Retarded

Every Monday I have to be in Canary Wharf for an eleven o'clock meeting.

This morning my Jubilee Line ground to a halt at Bermondsey at 10.45.

Have just arrived into daylight at Canary Wharf. See time stamp.

Grrr.

Makes me look like a fool.....

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....