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.