Public Transport and parking

14 January 2012

 Just to get the taste buds going ...

Yesterday I had an email come from Trip Advisor.  I used it to give a good report on a BnB I stopped in, in Blackpool last year.  Anyway, there's been a bit of fuss n bovver over the site last year.  It can be a useful site but it can be used to damage a rival business.  While I was in Blackpool I heard a story about one such hotel and the huge positive ratings it was getting on Trip Advisor.  The local TV station got to hear of it and did an interview with the owner who sat there with spread sheets and accounts and so on all supposed to be showing just how well he was doing.  A couple of days later he was called in by the local tax office and asked to explain why there was such a marked difference in the accounts he had filed with them and those he showed off on telly ... opps;-)))

Traffic chaos is high on the agenda in today's Dorktown Telegraph.  The Coventry City footy stadium is being used to hold some games during the Olympics.  In an attempt to try to the make the city look better for those fans who will be attending the games, the council is spending lots of dosh on doing up some the city streets.  This is causing a lot of chaos and lost trade for the shops and businesses on the roads affected.  it's claimed that 3 months of the works will kill off many shops who are already struggling because of the current economic situation.  The roads having the work done on them are Stoney Stanton Road and Holyhead Road.  OK, Holyhead Road is a major entry point into the city but it's hardly anywhere near arena.  Stoney Stanton Road certainly needed resurfacing but again it's quite some distance from the arena!

The other pinch point is the Walsgrave hospital.  For some time now the there has been major problems with parking on the site and getting worse now that cold weather is hitting the area and more people are turning up at A&E or getting ill and needing hospital treatment.  On Thursday security staff were seen turning people away and telling them to go home.  But what about those with appointments?  When will they be seen after they are turned away?  This hospital is one of those PPI funded things that were all the rage not so long ago.  However, it has certainly had its share of problems.  It was actually built on a flood plain.  The surveyors/designers made a bit whoopsy when the plans were drawn up.  They took into account the weight of the building but then forgot (or continently didn't bother), I don't know which, to add in the weight of all the equipment and people who would be in the building at peak times.  The overall result I am reliably informed is the basement can't be used because it's under water most of the time.  Oh dear ... ... ...

Metal thieves truck again in the city.  This time they pinched a length of copper pipe from a flat in a tower block which lead to flooding and a fire ... how flooding leads to fire I don't know.  Anyway, the residents had to be evacuated from the building the middle of the night while emergency.  It couldn't have been good for the residents having to be out in the freezing weather at night.  Friday 13th too ;-)))

I had a rant about HS2 the other day but there's a letter in the paper today about the current rail services.  As the writer suggested, what is really needed is more carriages on the current trains.  I used to travel regularly by train from Darlington to Brum and the trains were all 12 or 13 carriages long.  Very few if any people were forced to stand.  Why is it that the current owners can't see that.  It's a no-brainer to me - as some would say!  And here's a thing ...

Do you remember a few years back when there was a train crash and one of the carriages caught fire?  The fear at that point was that with the way that passengers are herded and packed into the into carriages these days no one really knew how many people were in there.  At least with National Express coaches, if you don't have a seat, you don't travel!  Why can't the train companies do likewise?  Cost, that's why!  Maybe we should rename all current our train companies with just one name ... Pack 'em in Anyways! 

The other major factor with rail travel for me is cost.  If Jan and I wanted to go to London for the day on a weekend we have to pay a minimum of £35 each to go be train.  For £25 in diesel we can both go, park in central London for nothing with our blue badge and have a good day.  Even if I go by myself its cheaper! 

Here's part 3 of the affairs saga from me old mate in Rochdale ...

A mortician was working late one night.  He examined the body of Mr. Schwartz, about to be cremated, and made a startling discovery...Schwartz had the largest private part he had ever seen!

'I'm sorry Mr. Schwartz,' the mortician commented, 'I can't allow you to be cremated with such an impressive private part.  It must be saved for posterity.' So, he removed it, stuffed it into his briefcase, and took it home.

'I have something to show you won't believe,' he said to his wife, opening his briefcase.

'My God!' the wife exclaimed, 'Schwartz is dead!