I had to go to London today for an annual pacemaker MoT. Took a sweaty forever to get there, 2hrs 20m when I had allowed 2 hours as ample. Slow coming back too despite 75 on a lot of A3.
I'd forgotten the holiday season though and spent most of the day mimsing incredibly slowly in long processions of stately holiday drivers. The sort of day when third gear feels like freedom. The jalopy survived my bored ratio-stirring, crawling in the bottom two gears a lot of the time.
The pacemaker girls said the device is still OK, although estimated battery life has dropped sharply from seven years to two and a half. It's working all the time now, they said (it used to be only 30% of the time).
After all that I need this drink, although I'm not sure it's a good idea.
The pacemaker place hasn't got parking, and the area near Paddington Station, off Praed St., is short of parking meter slots. There were some empty phone/text slots but they are too difficult for me. So I parked the jalopy on a fat single yellow in a street with ample kerb parking, just all illegal. Left the flashers going. It was still there, unmolested, ticketless, after the hour I spent waiting for the pacemaker chicks to finish their (very agreeable) faffing. That was today's good news.
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So I parked the jalopy on a fat single yellow ... Left the flashers going.
Once a minicabbist...
}:---€
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>> Once a minicabbist...
>> }:---�
Yer... stands to reason dunnit?
In truth I was greatly relieved. I'm terrified of London these days and toyed with the idea of not going at all. But Herself said that would be irresponsible since I had an appointment, and of course she was right.
I'm going to transfer to a hospital in a more convenient place.
If I live long enough the pacemaker or its battery will have to be replaced. I'm not looking forward to that much.
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Your days tribulations made me think of the movie "Batteries not included". :-)
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Maybe it's time to consider the benefits of the iron road for trips to the Metropolis, AC.....
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I can handle public transport in small off peak doses. We have excellent park and ride facilities for Edinburgh, free parking for all and free travel with my geriatrics bus pass. With that setup even I am not daft enough to brave the Edinburgh parking Taliban.
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>> I can handle public transport in small off peak doses. We have excellent park and
>> ride facilities for Edinburgh, free parking for all...
We had that too, but as of April they changed the free park bit so you now have to pay a quid.
To make sure you do that, the council put in a set of cameras that monitor entry and exit on each P&R. They also set up machines to queue at, that are apparently very hard to fathom - sufficiently so that the queues mean you miss your bus.
The alternative is to register your credit/debit card on the web with the parking company for them to take the money direct if you trigger their system.
The whole project was I believe somewhere in the 100k area, but at least they can now make enough money from the parking to cover the cost of providing it, because of course Stagecoach don't pay enough to the Council from their high fare to pay for it.
We have a P&R a mile from home - but the cost for us to park and two return tickets on the bus is now £12.50, whereas it costs me maybe a whole pound to drive in. As the queues are the same either way I might as well sit in my own car.
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www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33195093
Links in with this a bit. How many of the old geezers on here use the bus?
Pity the article never asked if people actually wanted to use it? I suppose it shows the value of it, even when it's free 1/3 never use it.
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The only time I use a bus is for rare visits to central Edinburgh. There are two park and ride facilities on the north side of the Forth road bridge, one new. The new one has been built to ease congestion during the road reconstruction for the new bridge and as the rail line to Edinburgh passes one side a station is planned. The motorway hard shoulders have been converted to bus lanes and as all buses must cross the bridge they all stop at the P&Rs
This is the new one.
www.halbeath.org/htmlpages/index.html
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 19 Jun 15 at 12:21
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I have had a bus pass for five years. I have used it once. I am fortunate that I only live just over two miles form the city centre so I usually walk.
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>> Pity the article never asked if people actually wanted to use it? I suppose it
>> shows the value of it, even when it's free 1/3 never use it.
They could pay old folks to use the bus and it'd still be no good unless the service as there when they needed it. 'Greater Northampton' has a population somewhere around 200k. There are reasonable services in town but practically all are hub/spoke operations to/from the Drapery bus station. Even from, say, St James, close to centre of town, you'd need to change to get to the General Hospital.
Those that do cross town are dedicated to serving the University campus at Moulton.
Five miles from the town, in what is effectively a dormitory village, we're part of an hourly service between Northampton and Daventry with infilling to a 30 minute frequency in peak times. Even then they don't go direct but loop through another village adding 10plus minutes to journey times.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Fri 19 Jun 15 at 12:26
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A conundrum. People too old or incapacitated to drive safely. If only someone could invent a vehicle that could have the attributes of a car but somehow magically drove itself.
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"20% of those aged 70-74 living in rural areas use public transport weekly, compared with 38% of those who live in an urban setting."
Which means nothing on its own. Now ask them how many people need to use public transport to get to their friends / corner shop / family etc. etc.
Ask those that don't use it, why they don't.
When I lived in London I used public transport all over the weekend. When I'm in a village I walk to the pub and the shops.
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>> consider the benefits of the iron road for trips to the Metropolis
I would always go by car for preference. I'd rather be in private. I can smoke if I want to.
That said, there are journeys that suit the railway and I use it sometimes. Oddly enough yesterday wasn't one of those, car was easier (anyway in theory).
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I literally cannot remember the last time I used land based public transport - unless you count the shuttle bus from the plane to the terminal at EMA.
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My mother used to have a pacemaker.Never stopped her having a drink of the Bols Genever.The pacemaker must have been working all the time she also smoked.
Still,she lived well into her eighties I miss her now we used to have a good old banter.
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I wouldn't drive to Paris these days unless I was going to stay there for a very long time and had free parking where I was staying. Eurostar and Metro every time for trips shorter than a fortnight.
Mind you rural France and Spain (and other European countries) are very pleasurable as a general rule. Not always of course, but you win some you lose some.
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Amazing not used a bus for ages then - Used a bus three times this week! Long term parking to terminal, From the Plaza de Campo Verde to Paseo del Generalife (it is an uphill slog) and terminal to long term parking.
Mind you there is 70 miles of uk driving, 2400 miles of air travel, and 1,200km of spanish driving in the mix. not to mention several tens of kms of shanks's pony
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 21 Jun 15 at 09:28
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I cannot wait to get my pass pass, but I think it is several years away. I'm the wrong side of 50 but think I shall have to wait until I'm 66? A friend of mine gloats all the time...we go drinking to Kirkby Lonsdale from Settle on t'bus and he gets there free.
Mind you, how we laughed last week in Jersey when he had to pay. He was ribbed mercilessly.
The train is far cheaper...a DalesRail Pass ( local residents only) allows a third off rail fares and only costs £12 pa. ideal for rail journeys to Leeds & Lancaster with Northern Rail.
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Maybe not so long LL, the qualifying age for us blokes was dropped to 60 for equality with the fairer mobs retirement age.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 21 Jun 15 at 17:57
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>> Maybe not so long LL, the qualifying age for us blokes was dropped to 60
>> for equality with the fairer mobs retirement age.
I thought they pushed the fairer mobs retirement age up to be with blokes?
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Maybe they have but I got mine at 60 for the reason stated. Things may have changed, I believe the state pension ages have changed. Not of interest to us, we have ours. It was only the bus pass age that changed for me not the pension age.
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The ole woman got her bust passed this year. She is 63 in July.
I have to wait another two years for mine. I am 63 in Sept.
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Bus pass is now aligned with ladies state pension age, which will shortly be identical to mens. I don't get mine till I'm 68.
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I used to have a bus pass. They are very useful and economical if you're old enough and live in London.
One day an ill-mannered asian s***ehawk in an underground station ticket office snatched it and wouldn't give it back. He was so damn rude that I couldn't make out why. I wanted to go in there and seize him by the throat. I hope someone has by now.
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Camera 3 & 4 back of the van, awning and the V70 parked at the side!
Pat
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>> Camera 3 & 4 back of the van, awning and the V70 parked at the
>> side!
Cracking view you have got there Pat ! Haven't been to Cornwall since last May and am "homesick"
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>> Cracking view you have got there Pat ! Haven't been to Cornwall since last May and am "homesick"
Praps we could do an owse swop Skippy. Wear a'boots in Kent do you live, like.
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Cracking view you have got spoiled there Pat !
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>> the V70 parked at the side!
Is that the unidentifiable black car Pat?
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It is AC but is a sort of dark grey! Never ceases to amaze us though with it's abilities.
We had a steady 30.5 MPG all the way down with a heavy van yet when we came up behind a cyclist on the single track by Hessenford it still picks up it's skirts and goes with the lovely sound of all 5 cylinders roaring away:)
The view has been magnificent all weekend with it being Looe Lugger Regatta and they've been racing in the bay just in front of us.
After celebrating the Summer Solstice at Duloe stone circle (on our own, not the Stonehenge crowd we saw on the news) and then managing to find Nuns Well and leaving a present for the spirits, it was a perfect way to relax for the rest of the day yesterday.
OS map out now to plan todays trip to discover parts of Cornwall so many other people never know exist.
Pat
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I envy you in a way, even in your caravan :) .. I used to love flying down to Cornwall every summer in my P6 via the M4/M5.
We lived in a one bedroom council flat on the 11th floor of the Heygate Estate in the New Kent Road at the time, and couldn't, in my wildest dreams ever imagine that I would one day be living in one of those Cornish cottages I so used to admire.
There are still plenty of places left to discover in Cornwall, but you do have to get off 'the beaten track' ;)
You might even see a bit of sun later on today (Monday) if you're lucky (and tomorrow!)
Last edited by: Dog on Mon 22 Jun 15 at 11:25
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Found the sun this afternoon on the Lizard peninsular and St Mawes after a ride on the King Harry ferry. We walked a bit of the cliff path and the views are spectacular but not quite remote enough for us...too many people even in June!
When we got back to the van tonight we were pleased to see the weekenders had all packed up and gone leaving us alone at the front and not having to be polite and considerate!
Love it when it's like this:)
Pat
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>>Found the sun this afternoon on the Lizard peninsular and St Mawes after a ride on the King Harry ferry
I'm going greener and greener !!
>>too many people even in June!
Ah, see ... The Poldark effect :)
Good day for the beach tomorrow (Tuesday)
www.cornwall-beaches.co.uk/north-coast/chapel-porth.htm
Some 'stuff' to read for when the rain raineth every day:
www.artcornwall.org/features/Paul_Newman_Unknown_Guest.htm
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The trouble with Devon and Cornwall is too many people. You should try the West coast of Scotland and its islands, better beaches, less people, and don't believe the weather stories of people who have only made brief visits, if any. I certainly don't belive it never rains in the south west.
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>> I certainly don't belive it never rains in the south west.
It's a warmer rain, though...
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>> >> I certainly don't belive it never rains in the south west.
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>> It's a warmer rain, though...
>>
Not always. :-)
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>> Not always. :-)
Try telling my wife that!
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>> >> >> I certainly don't belive it never rains in the south west.
>> >>
>> >> It's a warmer rain, though...
>> >>
>>
>> Not always. :-)
Yes, always. Doesn't make it any better tho.
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Scotland has many charms but the weather isn't one of them. You can't' get away from the fact that the Weat coast of Scotland is not the place for a sea, sand and sun family holiday.
It rains an awful lot there in the summer months and the midges aren't great either. And yes I have spent a number of holidays there, mainly walking in the Oban area, Loch Aweside, and on Skye and Harris.
The beaches look amazing but when it's 14c and the wind is blowing a steady 25mph you don't want to build a sandcastle and go for a paddle. The lack of people on them tells you something!
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>>The trouble with Devon and Cornwall is too many people
Not where I live guvnor
>>You should try the West coast of Scotland and its islands
Yep, I watched progs focusing on that area of Jockland, and it looks 'right up my street'.
>>I certainly don't belive it never rains in the south west.
The rain it raineth every day ... but not today :-)
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I spent most of last Saturday morning driving around south London. Three errands to run; two of which I've been putting off, the third had to be done that day and the fourth a bonus. Carshalton, Herne Hill, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Catford. Set off 8.30am, home after acceptable lunchtime. Number of unfathomable one-way systems: 1 - around Catford Railway Station
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Why don't they fit rechargeable batteries like in toothbrushes? Then you'd just have to sit on your recharging point for a while every now and then.
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A crap day's driving - WillDeBeest
