transport

here are some actual pictures taken by matt, the funkypancake web-landlord.
it shows the real reason why people packed in to London last night. i can’t believe i missed seeing such a spectacle myself.
at work i have a powerpoint presentation consisting of a variety of streetcleaners i use to demonstrate the evolution of Internet access speeds. i suspect these photo might appear in that presentation (if matt allows me!)

no reason for this photo.

i was on a course yesterday quite near to paddington station so i was able to get a train an hour and half later than normal. it’s amazing what a difference it makes to the quality of the customers.
my normal train only contains hardened commuters – those who want to be at work early, and often work late too (i see many of the same faces if i get one of the later trains home). Everyone looks well worn out and haggared, and hardly anyone talks.
the ratio of men to women is probably around 7:3. this became apparent when one morning we arranged a snog lottery for the passengers.
the later train i got yesterday contained happy smiley, very nicely dressed people who were chatting away. the ratio of men to women was probably 4:6 (but i didn’t do a proper poll). When we got to paddington people sprung off their seats and jollied off to their places of employment.
i think i have a late train attitude stuck in an early train body.

update: i looked at the ratio on the earlier train this morning and it’s about 1 female to 20 males. see how the memory distorts these things !

it’s a little known fact that the congestion charge only applies to vehicles which have the driver below 10 metres from the ground. if it’s above 10 metres then you are clased as an aircraft and are exempt.
this has lead to the creation of all sorts of strange vehicles, including an attempt by London Transport to relocate their drivers upstairs in double decker buses (they abandoned this idea when they realised that they are exempt from the congestion charge anyway).
here is one such example. the driver sits in the bucket dangling on the chain on the end of the arms.

on tube strike days people try all sorts of ways of getting to work. here someone has tried using a life bouy ring thing.
usually these rings are kept locked in little cupboards and only come out in emergencies, but this one was out and about.

it looks like all the old custom minis have been replaced with new custom minis. After yesterday’s 265, here is number 460.

another glastonbury homage ? it’s a nice little set up of van, tent and big bits of telecoms equipment.

it’s been raining so much lately that the UK government has decided to build small water channels in a mini-venice type way.
should be ideal for boat races come winter

look. one of the numbered minis has been replaced by a different numbered car. i like this one better i think. It’s number 265.

pedalos are weird things. they aren’t a proper means of transport. i suspect they are what is commonly called “a pleasure craft”. a lot of effort goes in to making them go not very far not very fast.
here are our center parcs host family for the day. note how andy tries a backward pedalling technique to make things more exciting. it certainly was interesting to watch.
he soon gave up and let young adam have a pedal.

cars look after cycles who look after pedestrians. it’s the natural order of things. unfortunately the word ‘take’ in this sign looks like ‘fake’.
cyclists fake care of pedestrians is an all together different concept

look at this pink car. note the learner sign on the back. i think some parent is particularly worried about their child learning to drive and decided to spray the car pink to give it more visibility.
you can hear the teenager son/daughter’s reaction when they first saw it “ugh. MUM ! what HAVE you done. I’m NEVER driving that car”.
or some such.

i’ve just walked down to our local postbox and back with no shoes or socks on as an experiment. it took about 15 minutes.
it went quite well. I’ve walked 1200 kilometres since i got my pedometer. 99.999% of that has been wearing my Doc Martens. (just a small amount was wearing my ‘christmas shoes’). It was time for my feet to find out what my boots have been experiencing
here are my learnings:
* teeny stones and bits of grit hurt more than big stones and may join you on your journey like limpits by attaching themselves to your feet.
* different bits of the pavement feel very different. the scars from cable TV network layings are nice and smooth compared to the normal pavement.
* the road is very rough. don’t go there. stick to the pavements.
* i had a real fear of scraping my toes on the floor so i walked in a very strange way.
* carpet is an ABSOLUTE luxury to return to.

remember that Pete was meant to be flying round scotland this week ? well, he had a bike accident and in stead is at home perfecting a very strange tan. he also seems to be attached to a sun dial.
so no flying for pete (and no work for 5 weeks either)
poor old pete. get well soon !

water was pouring from the hanging baskets on to this bike. it was like a little rain show for the bike. a kind of airconditioning cooler thing for bike riders.

Look – it’s a segway !
i found one. what do i win ?
it was parked outside a pub near Marylebone High Street.
balance is key with driving a segway. let’s hope they were sticking to orange juice …

i’m still searching for all those numbered minis. here is my latest spot. number 286