Amateur Ramblings

The London Times

It’s been almost exactly one year since the last sustained piece of nice weather in the UK. I remember the day well; it was my birthday and we all went for a picnic in Ilkley. This year, a fortnight ago, a handful of us went to Bradford to catch the Cartier-Bresson exhibition and eat cake. Then on the Sunday we caught a GNER National Express East Coast train to London. We dashed south through the eastern counties on what seemed to be a train which was fitted out in comfy 70’s beige.

Once at King’s Cross, we walked the short distance to the newly refurbished St Pancras International (passing platform 9¾ on the way). The newly refurbished station smelled of concrete dust. Resisting the urge to jump on a train to the continent, we used our shiny and new Oyster Cards to catch a southbound Thameslink service under London to Loughborough Junction, where we were met by Sarah who walked us the five minutes to the Brixton / Herne Hill flat she shares with Tom. Here I was welcomed by birthday balloons and a welcoming cup of tea.

We planned to keep busy each day, and here is a kind of diary-within-a-diary summary of our short break.

Sunday

We decided upon a lazy Sunday. In the afternoon, we (minus Tom) headed over to Dulwich Village. This is a well middle-class enclave full of yummy-mummy’s pushing 4x4 buggies and shouting kids on strange yellow bikes. But the place itself felt like somewhere straight out of the Cotswolds, and was generally very agreeable. Sarah explained that London is full of neighbouring suburbs that are vastly different in class or ethnic make-up, and I think this is one of the reasons why London to me is so exciting and interesting and unpredictable.

Back at the flat, we learned that Loughborough Junction Station is the only one in the UK from which it is possible to see six railway bridges all carrying different lines – it really is a mini spaghetti junction of the rail network. Then we got on to the serious subject of the new Mayor of London. None of us could really believe that Boris Johnson had managed to beat Ken Livingstone, and neither Sarah nor Tom knew anyone who voted for the former. All agreed that this was a disastrous move and that we were sad about it.

Monday

After a lovely breakfast of poached eggs and bacon, plus some really sweet cherry tomatoes and home-baked bread, we all went to the London Transport Museum.

Tom helpfully pointed out that the advertised entry fee is £10, but £2 of this is secretly a voluntary donation (which we all decline to give on the basis of the museum’s presumption). Here, we were pleasantly diverted for a couple of hours, before finding a kerb in ever-busy Covent Garden on which to sit and eat our home-made left-over chicken and stuffing sandwiches on home-made rolls.

After lunch, we split up and Gemma and I headed over to the shops around Neal’s Yard (which by chance features in the Palin Diary that I am currently reading – he and a couple of other Pythons bought 2 Neal’s Yard as a studio in 1975). A short hop on the tube took us to Embankment. We walked across the river to the Royal Festival Hall, where we took a polite look at a small organic food market and had an ice cream, before deciding that we were sufficiently hot and tired enough to return to base. Diner and a pint at the local pub saw the evening out, and we fell gratefully into bed.

Tuesday

First day back at work for our hosts. Tom started a new job today and was happy that his commute time was quartered from 2 hours to 30 minutes. We too had a reasonable early start, for we had an appointment with Parliament.

Anyone can pay to take a tour during the summer recess, but did you know that you can book a free tour any time of the year simply by writing to your MP. I did, and despite the best efforts of the District / Circle Lines we arrived promptly at the Wonkaesque time of 9.44am, as instructed on our Commons-headed invitation. The tour group was larger than I expected, and there were many groups being shown round this morning. Our guide was a kindly but extremely posy little lady called Malka, and she whisked us efficiently round the Houses Lords and Commons, the Queen’s robing room, the shelf of Hansard’s and other choice parts of The Palace of Westminster that you don’t normally get to see. I was happy to be taking a peek inside one of my top-ten favourite buildings, and it was strange to find myself standing where a few hours later Gordon Brown would be leaning against his dispatch box.

After dispatching a parliamentary muffin in the cafe, we headed back to the flat (after having a quick look round Brixton High Street). Newly enfreshened, we got to Regent Street a little ahead of schedule and called in for a few minutes at Hamleys, where a salesman asked me how old my child was. ‘It’s not born yet’, was my true yet satisfying sale-killing response Actually, I just remembered that I haven't posted here about our exciting news - this will be done in a few weeks after the twenty-week scan.

Just down a side street we found the Mason’s Arms, where we met up with Dan and Camille for a night of comedy. I am sorry to say I did not note the names of the fist six stand-ups (all bar one were pretty funny, notably the slightly overweight stockbroker who made good use of a bar-chart to help illustrate his points about Internet dating). The headliner was Richard Herring, who I thought would be on longer than his allotted 20 minutes; still, he was very funny and, following a bold statement about his knowledge of the Guinness Book of Records, coaxed Dan into confusedly asking him if he knew the name of the man ‘who ate the Eiffel Tower'. We all laughed.

Wednesday

So far we had gotten to wherever we were going using the Victoria Line from Brixton. This morning, we decided to travel overground, and caught the 345 Bus all the way to South Kensington. The 50 minute journey gave us time to eat our lunch as we weaved through the increasingly posh houses and shops of Battersea and Chelsea. We were soon at the Victoria and Albert and the Natural History Museums. Both collections are housed in amazing buildings, and, unbelievably, both are free. In the V&A, we took in the 20th Century rooms, and I saw the photography room and the current Chinese Design Now exhibition (while Gemma lay in the sun outside). Then we popped next door, where we had time to see the Dinosaurs and the Mammals, rooms full of massive skeletons of the extinct and even massiver actual specimens of Elephants and Whales. It was literally awesome, and I can only imagine what the pre-mass-media-and-Internet public made of these collections. You could definitely visit for days on end and not see everything.

We did not have days, for we had to get to the West End for a show. Avenue Q was my choice, and despite the front-row seats being stupidly close to the high stage and causing a little neck ache, we both enjoyed this funny, simple, adult-orientated puppet-based musical.

Thursday

To St. Paul’s Cathedral today, via train. I got confused by the discrepancy between the name of the nearest station in the A to Z (Ludgate Hill) and on the network map (Thameslink), so we got out at Barbican, and soon discovered that the two stations were one and the same. Ah London, you mysterious deceiver!

The steps of St. Paul’s were full of lunching office workers. We weaved deftly through the melee, and into the cool environs of the cathedral. Starting in the crypt, and momentarily eavesdropping on a guided tour, we worked our way up the 259 steps to the Whispering Gallery. Up here in the dome space, many tourists talked into the walls in the hope of experiencing the phenomenon of having their friends hearing that whisper on the opposite wall. It sounded to me like a whole lot of European snakes. I carried on to the Golden Gallery, a further 271 steps which take you 280ft out into the London skyline. Despite my healthy natural fear of heights, I loved it out here in the sun, with just a few fit brave tourists for company. I had been looking for an alternative to the Eye for getting a first class view of the capital, and I have to say this was it. Until I get a new copy of Photoshop, I can't stitch together the snaps of the wonderful 365º view, so you'll just have to make do with North, South, East and West instead (and in that order).

 

Back on the ground, we lunched at Leon’s, before hopping on a tour bus. We usually take a guided tour in an open-top bus; it’s so touristy and tacky but you do get to see all the ‘sights’ whilst taking the weight off your feet. Due to toilet commitments, we experienced commentary in both an Australian and a Russian accent. We hopped off at Shaftesbury Avenue, and after a light dinner took our seats in the Lyric Theatre for Gemma’s choice of show, which was Cabaret. This production starred Alastair McGowan. Gemma did not like the show much (she claims to have seen better versions at her university in Newcastle), whilst I pretty much hated it. The story was slight yet very depressing and dark, the music and dancing corresponded exactly with the sort that I dislike, and the seats were uncomfortable. I was glad to eventually leave and head south on a variety of tube trains and buses.

Friday

A train and a tube took us to Tower Hill, where we boarded a big white boat which took us to Greenwich. A young crew member provided some genuinely interesting commentary as we headed east through the former dockland (now, inevitably, the river here is lined with endless soulless apartments). But I was excited to be showing Gemma one of the lovelier parts of the capital. The boat docked and we split from the real tourists by ducking into the market, before having lunch at an empty Spanish restaurant (weird prawns and patatas bravas for Gemma, tiny fishcakes for me). Afterwards we strolled up to the Royal Observatory, where we straddled the meridian and marvelled at the camera obscurer, before heading back down for an ice cream.

An alarmingly wobbly DLR train conveyed us back to town, and we decided that the above constituted enough for this week thank you very much. Back at Sarah and Tom’s flat, we had a bath (I enjoyed shedding a weeks worth of factor 50) and read the Guardian, before our hosts returned from post-work drinks to cook up a vegetable lasagna and discuss our week (for we saw nothing of them during over the previous few days – they always left for work before we woke, and we usually returned after their bedtime).

Saturday

I was sad to be leaving friends and also to be leaving London this morning. We got to Kings Cross in ample time to catch the 12.10 north. As we accelerated through Hertfordshire, I reflected on why I like, indeed love London so much. I find the place mysterious and confusing, exotic yet familiar. There is literally a limitless amount of amazing things to see and do, much of it, if not free, then at least reasonably priced. It’s so big, but very easy to get around. Its size works to pull entertains and comedians and musicians into the large arenas and small rooms above pubs and even the streets.

I reckon that if I put my mind to it, I could learn more of the city’s geography and cultures and customs, but I actually enjoy not knowing – it keeps the mystery going for me.

Fade to Green

We voted last night. As usual, I seemed to be the only person in my office who planned to do so. Actual turnout was a little better.

I wasn't sure who I would vote for until polling day itself. I certainly knew who I wouldn't be voting for. In the end, it came down to the Liberal Democrats or the Alliance for Green Socialism. We both chose the latter, and it turns out that each of our votes constituted more than 1% of the 92 votes received by Allan House.

I am so disappointed that the BNP candidate, Mark Collett, received over 20% (over 900) of the popular vote. His openly racist policies don't even seem to have any relevance to our area of Leeds.

Here comes the Sun

As someone firmly against the Death Penalty, I was horrified to see the front page of yesterday’s The Sun 'newspaper' claiming, screaming in fact, that ‘99% of you want this’, the ‘this’ being the reintroduction of capital punishment in the UK. The Biased propaganda was illustrated by a man posing as a judge wearing the black cloth, this traditionally signifies a death sentence is about to be passed.

In fact, the 99% is 95,000 out of 100,000 Sun readers who were moved to vote on their website (or via a premium-rate telephone number - more money to Rupert Murdoch). And if it was only this number who were in favour of the re-introduction of the Death Penalty in the UK, they would represent only 0.15% of the population. Actually, the current number in favour is less than 50%, and should clearly not be reintroduced. It anything lowers the standing of Man, it is this.

One area of concern about this story is that I believe that Sun readers in particular (though this is true of most newspapers) can be, and often are, easily swayed; they seem to move in an unthinking pack. One-sided hysterical ‘reporting’ of their owners views by the press, especially the tabloid press does not seem to me to lend anything useful to the debate; indeed, there is more often than not a clouding of the complex arguments involved with emotion and emotive language.

All of this reminds me why I can’t wait to get a copy of Flat Earth News , a book in which journalist Nick Davies exposes the poor standard of reporting and the dubious practises of the British press.

no change, please

we took part in the local elections last week. only one in three residents in the burmantofts and richmond hill ward bothered to vote. richard brett, the liberal democrat candidate, was returned to office, with 48% of the vote. mark collett, the newsworthy bnp candidate, attracted a rather shocking 18.5%, causing the conservatives to finish forth. labour was second; no other parties stood.

the results across leeds were good for labour. they gained three seats, and remain the largest party, but they do not enjoy a majority.

political incorrectness

local elections happened for many on thursday, including wards that make up leeds city council.

previously, no party held overall control, although the labour party had the most seats. the overall numbers have not changed; labour  hold forty seats, the liberal democrates and the conservatives have twenty-six and twenty-four respectively, and the green party still holds three seats. the BNP has gained a seat (morley south), at the expense of independents, who now share the remaining five.

i live in the crossgates and whinmoor ward, a traditional 'old' labour area which contains 16943 voters. only 6292 of these people bother to vote. i think i have mentioned previously that i feel compulsory voting should be introduced, along with the option of voting for 'none of the above' on the ballot paper. anyhoo, what has dismayed me the most is the percentage of the votes that the BNP got - 14.68%. this placed them third, ahead of both the lib-dems and the greens.

it is a sad state of affairs that have led to a far right-wing, racist political party should be able to attract such a significant share of the vote, and is a clear indictment of the failure of the three mainstream parties to address issues of immigration and integration. reports i have seen suggest that many of the BNP's voters are former labour and tory voters, for whom the above issues are the most important.

even though i am bound to say that these people are idiots, both for there political choice, and for there perception of what the most pressing political issues currently are, i can understand why supporters of the reds and the blues might feel that their parties have moved away from them at a national level.

tarmac love

37% - cost increase cited by the government as the reason for dropping the supertram (designed to reduce vehicle traffic).

70% - cost increase which hasn't prevented the government approving the temple sowerby bypass in cumbria, which will increase road traffic.

(via private eye)

locals

our local tesco store was feature on newsnight this week, in an article on whether tesco is getting too big.

tony blair was in town today, visiting a sure start scheme, which is run by gemma's aunt. she made it onto look north by guiding him though some children's toys.

notes on the leeds tram project

leeds should not have a tram. following a fifteen year campaign, alasdair darling, the transport secretary, has declared that the project is too costly and will not go ahead.

trams last ran in leeds in 1959 (which seems to have been the most newsworthy event between the worst wartime bombing in 1941, and the opening of the merrion centre in 1964), but since then road traffic has increased beyond the wildest dreams of city planners. and although growth has slowed (and bucked the national trend) in recent years, 2004 saw more than half of all peak journeys in leeds made by car.

responding to the news, metro chairman councillor karam hussain said 'this is a disgraceful decision which reflects the government’s lack of any clear policy on transport or on the development of the cities and regions outside london and the south east. in the light of this negative decision, what we need are some quick short-term benefits. we need park-and-ride schemes with bus and rail interchange and more bus quality corridors to transport people into and around the city'. no reference to the news is made on the department of transport website.

so does darling have a point? the idea for trams in leeds was proposed in 1990, and a sum of £355million was approved for the project in 2001. now, with the cost is around £486million, government funding has been withdrawn and the leeds tram project is no more. other areas of the uk that have tram systems include manchester, sheffield, nottingham, birmingham, and croydon.

'clearly it does not represent the best value for money for the people of leeds or the best use of public money,' said the transport secretary. instead, he is advocating a 'bus rapid transit' system, which is essentially a regular bus service that has the use some traffic-priority features.

this will be good news for firstgroup, who seem to be the bus operator of choice in leeds. by a happy coincidence, the company is currently hoping to cash in developing a new bendy-bus that could run in guided bus lanes. the vehicle is called the streetcar (don't call it a bus, it clearly is so much more than that), whilst the system in operates within is to be known as 'ftr' which apparently is texting shorthand for future, and presumably was chosen by a fifteen year old on work experience. said one alasdair darling, who launched the project; 'it is encouraging to see new types of public transport being developed - offering effective solutions to congestion problems. ‘ftr’ will give local authorities a new option when looking at transport issues, one which can provide a flexible service to meet passenger's needs.' the vehicles cost £320,000, 50% more than a regular bendy-bus.

given that one bus has space for between fifty and eighty passengers where a tram could easily fit in 200+, and given that 60-70% of the total operating costs of buses is the driver's wage (so the larger the vehicle the cheaper per passenger it is to run), and given that buses do less than 10 miles per gallon of increasingly expensive diesel (and generally cannot avoid getting stuck in rush-hour traffic), the best use of public money argument begins to look less watertight.

in his written statement to the house of commons on 3rd november, alasdair darling said 'we have always recognised that trams can be very effective in heavily trafficked areas. we will continue to be prepared to support trams, where they are the right solution.'  i wonder if he is referring to the planned edinburgh tram system (current estimated cost - £634million)? no, i'm certain that the new labour mp for edinburgh south-west will make an impartial decision.

it must be noted that even cyclists have reservations about the prospect of negotiating potentially slippery grooves in the road. i am a cyclist, and i share these concerns, but would argue back by pointing out that trams could actually reduce traffic volumes and local traffic pollution, making the overall journey cleaner and safer. also, what with the state of the roads in leeds, especially in the city centre, cyclists have plenty of opportunity to practise evasive manoeuvres.

trams are quiet, clean at point of delivery, accessible, reliable, and i think they could be part of the solution to today's transport problems in large cities.

confusion

we received the first of hopefully not many election flyers today. it is for george mudie, our local labour candidate, and asks that i help to re-elect him. interestingly, nowhere in the leaflet does tony blair's image appear, although there is a snap of george meeting likely future leader gordon brown.

meanwhile, the liberal democrats seem unsure who their candidate will be in our postcode area.

it's in the post...

gemma and i, others too, are getting worried about the non-arrival of polling cards. it should be ok, as you don't actually need the card to vote (i always thought you did), and it appears that the council are posting them this week.