Quite a long article here, detailing how cycle lanes, road works, traffic and many other factors are slowing down buses in London and elsewhere:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2026/sep/23/london-buses-in-terminal-decline-why-public-transport-in-global-cities-is-slowing-to-a-crawl-visualised

 

During the railway privatisation process in the 1990's the word "tension" was used a lot.  The DfT / Treasury /Government / John Major belief was that British Rail could not get to the (eutopia) subsidy free position that politically John Major's Conservative government wanted because it lacked commercial / competitive "tension".

By breaking BR up into 100 business this would create market forces tension which in turn would generate completion thereby driving costs down and improving efficiency and because of the competition between TOCs this would lead new train operators entering the UK rail market hence more train services all competition with each other ................ (what could possibly go wrong!)

The same model was used for maintenance and renewals multiple companies all bidding for the work, cost being driven down and efficiencies and performance improved by competitive tender process, Railtrack would be according to the Government at time be in the Fotsi 100 companies.

The contracts did have wonderful clause that included "collaborative working" "required to work collaboratively with" etc

All of the above was the essence of the internal propaganda being feed to the staff within BR at the time.

What actually happened within UK rail the tension changed to friction because the eutopia of a friendly collaborative environment was ultimately trumped the companies share holder dividend and the salaries of the Chairmen and CEO's etc.  So yes the railways has been running for many years with a lot of friction.

It will be interesting to see if the performance of GWR / NR GW Route improves in the months after GWR is taken into public ownership when the commercial / contractual friction has been removed

 

...........and when you emerge, blinking into the horror of the aftermath, what then?

 

"More trees than usual needing repair at the same time"

 
Given the current state of the UK's education system I was surprised that the 'University of Central Mexborough' was a spoof. It could have been on a par with Gower Street Polytechnic. 

 

"More leaves than normal falling at the same time"

 
Excuses, excuses. I can't speak for the whole country but in this neck of the woods the prolonged hot and dry summer has already produced significant premature leaf drop which will reduce the effect of the main event when it happens.

 

A bunker is not only against a nuclear attack. Also useful in case of extreme weather, conventional air raids, or civil disorder.

And even a nuclear attack is worth surviving if too close. A basic shelter reduces the radiation dose received to about one thousandth of that in the open.

 
There is a comprehensive list here.

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/leaf-fall/

 
We have the South Western Main line slowed because the clay of the trackbed is drying out, but I haven't heard about leaf fall season timetables yet this year.  Have I been sleeping?


[url=https://www.facebook.com/dognamedstella/]Dog named Stella[/url] has 1 million followers!

 

That's an old image.  The white lines were recently refreshed (after we asked and were told no - funny how things happen sometimes.   Noticing TaplowGreen's comment about the picture of balloons near pylons in another thread)

The paintwork on the road that looked like this ... has I think gone.



The disabled parking space is still there. A luggage locker has appeared though I have yet to see anyone using it.  Swivel round on the Google view and you'll see the old cafe notices (view is July 2024) which could really do with an update. Station area "work in progress" in need of some TLC.

 

Seriously  ... no, and it's on my "must look at that" list.

The majority of coding I do is tweaking / adjusting and it's not been something that's pushed me over the edge to try - just yet.  And that from me who made a living / business of being ahead of the curve with innovative coding languages.

 
Episode 3 is available on YouTube, at https://youtu.be/j_C7ml7ZCIg?is=1xaa_R0j_nbcEVA3

 
... back to double deckers today.

 
From the Rotherham Bugle

 

cancelled "due to the train making extra stops because a train was cancelled"

 

I used to drink in the Cross Keys in Hammersmith where several of the cast members were regulars. It was more notable though for the quality of its Fullers "Chiswick" ale, never an easy one to find but well worth seeking out!

 

By a very minor coincidence, last night I was watching the 2001 episode of "The Bill" police drama featuring the retirement party of "old-school" Sergeant Cryer; he makes a moving speech about the change from "Police Force" to "Police Service" - a pointed dig at "new school" Superintendent Tom Chandler. Frustratingly the episode is missing from the Internet Archive but can be viewed here on u.co.uk  One has to register.

(I'm working my way through all 2,300 episodes, and the above is number 1,593. By 2001 it had started to get silly, with various combinations of relationships between the police and a high death rate among them. It does have the merit of many scenes being filmed in and close to Docklands as it was re-developed from docks to yuppiedom.)

 
That's not far right though: when people quote 'Weekly pro-Palestinian hate marches in London' it's more a repetition of various tropes, boosted in this age of generational trauma.

Mark

 

 

Are you sure it's not a typo? In the context of the way the railways are owned/run perhaps "fiction" was intended?

 

Absolutely. I have a lot of friends who are recently retired/still serving in the Police, and they find it endlessly frustrating in terms of the way their priorities have been changed - one common theme is that changing the name from the "Police Force" to the "Police service" had an enormous cultural impact beyond semantics, and by no means all positive.

For example the weekly pro Palestinian hate marches in London would have been policed far more assertively in the past, but now hands are thrown up in horror at the thought of causing offence to particular groups.  The clip of a Police officer glugging coffee whilst patronisingly explaining to a Jewish woman that a swastika flag should be taken "in context" lives long in the memory.

I struggle to remember shoplifting being a virtual free for all either in the past with few or no consequences for the perpetrators.

(I'd better leave it at that before I get accused of being "far right") 

 
Jeez you still write code? I haven't done that for months, not since I got my Claude Code license. And Claude reviews it as well. What could possibly go wrong?

Seriously, have you tried it? I'm (mostly) using Opus 5.5 in VSCode, and we have a very good working relationship. It really is amazing what it can do, and how little time it takes to do it.

 
I think 'forecourt' over-sells it
https://maps.app.goo.gl/daWCKW6BJWBULCfB6

 

I do know. They don't.