Norwegian Tragedy

On Friday 22nd July 2011 a Norwegian Man set off a huge bomb in Oslo and then proceeded to murder numerous people at a youth camp on a nearby coastal island. So far about 95 people have been confirmed died at the hands of this deranged being.

My heart goes out to all those who have lost loved ones and the Norwegian people. The Norwegian people in general are a peace loving nation. I found them to be very nice people when I visited Norway in my youth. It is a truly beautiful county and the events of last Friday have saddened me greatly.

I cannot even begin to understand what drives seeming ordinary people to do such despicable things to their fellow humans. It is just beyond all reason and goes completely against the morals of right minded people anywhere. I don't care what his reasoning was behind this horrible crime, because there is just no way that what he did could possibly be justified. I refuse to even mention his name. That would be far more than he ever deserves.

My thoughts and prayers are for those innocent people & their families who have had their lives destroyed in such an unspeakable way by this hideous man.

Regards



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New Shoe Direct to the Door

I don't often buy shoes, but when I do I like to get good ones. I've found that Clarks shoe, although at little pricey, last far better than any other high street brand I've tried. The trip is to wait for a sale and then get them half price. Typicaly I pay around £40 for an £80 pair.
My current pair have lasted me somewhere between 3 or 4 years, but are looking quite tired now. The insoles are almost non-existant, which makes them quite uncomfortable to wear if walk any great distance. I can't really complain as I walk between 7 and 10 miles a day Monday to Friday. According to my pedometer that is. I feel I've had my moneys worth.

On Sunday I popped into Clarks as i noticed they were having a sale. They had the usual types of formal shoes I like, but none were quite right. However, they did have a very nice pair in a size 9 that I rather liked, but they were a but narrow and they had no 9 1/2's left. I was surprised to learn that i could order them in 9 1/2 and have them delivered direct to my door at no extra charge, while still paying the sale price. I was concerned there might be a problem if they didn't fit, but they told me to just bring them back. That's what I call service. Top marks Clarks. A lot of other retailers could learn a lot from them.

They arrived today and so far they're a great fit and I am a very satisfied customer. I think ill drop them an email to say thanks. 8-)

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What's That Smell?

I'm a fan of smelly cheese, as my wife like to call it. My favourite has to be good old English Stilton. My wife however is not a fan and the best she can manage is Medium Cheddar. It's a shame as she's missing out on huge amounts of flavour and enjoyment.

It does mean that there's more for me I suppose, so there is an up side LOL.

Sent from my HTC Sensation

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A Dull & Ordinary Week

This week, although only partially complete, has been rather dull & unexciting. Even the weather can't decide which way to turn. It started the week a little damp, warm up a bit & now it's overcast, with the threat of rain.

Work has been slow and moanful too. Last week I was busy, but now that has past. Tomorrow however promises to be much more exciting. It's the divisions annual Cricket match in Dorridge. Personally I'm not a fan of Cricket and I won't be playing, but it's a day off work, with free food & drink. On top of that, it's a chance to "Network" and catch up with people I rarely have a chance to meet. Many of my colleagues are voices on the phone or words in an email. It's time to meet face-to-face at long last.

The only downside is the early start to get there and the fact that I have a terrible memory for names. I have a photographic memory and never forget a face. Perhaps we should all wear name badges tomorrow. Lol


Regards
Chris
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Anonymous Commuters

I commute to work daily. Today however is a little different as I'm heading to London for a meeting. I've caught a train an hour earlier than normal and it's packed.

As I stand wedged in a corner I realise that I spend an awful lot of my time with people I don't know. There's a woman to whom I gave the last seat, reading an A4 document with all the Important bits marked with yellow highlighter. There are two women drinking hot liquids from stainless steal flasks. Many of us are listening to our favourite sounds through headphones. Most are small in-ear ones, but 3 of us have larger over the ear types, myself included. I find they shut out the noise far better and allow for lower volumes to be used. Loonies tend to leave me be too.

There are various mobile phones, Blackberry's, iPhones and one iPad in a fetching shade of white. There are suit wearer, tie wearers and 2 wearer of jeans.



All of a sudden we arrive at our destination, London Bridge. I'm surprised at the lack of urgency displayed by my fellow commuters to get off the train. But once off it was on with the mad dash to the Tube. I did this journey for two years in the early 2000's and I don't miss it one bit. The Tube from London Bridge is a nightmare of delays and Sardines. Not a nice experience and I'm in no hurry to repeat it daily. Once in a while is plenty for me.

I caught the Jubilee Line to Canada Water expecting it to be fairly lightly loaded. How wrong I was. It was obvious that this section of the tube is now just as packed in the rush hour as every other section.

From at Canada Water I caught the recently reopened East London line. I actually designed the control & indication system that controls the signalling for this line, but this was my first trip on it. I am happy to report that my design worked perfectly well today 8-)




I was surprised that so many people could fit on these trains. I thought they would never stop getting of the thing. Eventually they did stop and the reason why so many could squeeze on became clear. Very few seats. Most of the area was designed to allow maximum people to stand. It seems to work quite well to.

I arrived early for my meeting, which was all over by 10:15 and then it was time for the return journey.

Regards
Chris
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Pedestrian Warning: Please Look Where You're Going in Croydon!

There have be three pedestrians seriously injured in George Street, Croydon over the past couple of months and they have all been Women. This does actually surprise me, as statistically Men are more prone to risk taking than Men.

The first, a pregnant woman in her 20's was hit by a Double Decker bus while crossing the road outside East Croydon station. She was also rushed to St George's Hospital in Tooting, suffering a fractured skull and her unborn child had to be delivered early. I understand that both mother and baby are doing well.

The second was about a fortnight ago, where a women in her 40's running for a Tram tripped in front of it and was carried about 10 yards into the Tram stop outside East Croydon station. She was also rushed to St George's in Tooting. I haven't heard anymore about her injuries, but I understand that they were described as "Life Changing" at the time.

Today slightly further down the road, opposite Boots, another Woman in her 20's was hit by a Tram. Apparently she was seen to be looking down at her mobile phone and just stepped out in front of it. She was also given a fast lift to St. George's.

The Trams in Croydon are big, bright green and come at regular intervals. They are very hard not to see as are the bright red Double Decker buses. So why are so many people not seeing them? Could it be a case of complacency breeding contempt?

Whatever the cause of these Women's ill attention and misjudged sense of immortality, I would like to appeal to all my readers (male, female or undecided) and the wider public to please pay attention to the world around you. It could just save your life!

Regards



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Remembering old friends

I met John about 20 years ago, just after I joined the Railway. At first glance you'd think he was just a grumpy bloke, but I got to know him better during a training course he ran at a Hotel in Derby. I learnt an awful lot from him over the course of the next fortnight. Information which I still use on an almost daily basis today.

He retired about 8 years ago and sadly passed away soon afterwards. Today would have been his 70th birthday. Many friends & colleagues of his will be travelling to London to attend a get together in his honour this afternoon. Not only will we be remembering John, but it will be a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends. Those whom my path has crossed over the years. After all, the railway industry is a close knit community and it seems to breed some very interesting characters.

As I've traveled through life I've learnt that the people you meet on the way often leave footprints on your soul. Some of those prints are huge and will stay with you forever.

Regards
Chris
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Spain: Train fares cut to save energy

This is an interesting concept which I would welcome here, especially if it reduces the cost of my daily commute. Here ia an outline of the Spanish Govt plans, as published by Railway Gazette,

SPAIN: Under a national energy-saving plan approved by the cabinet last month, fares on RENFE suburban and medium-distance services are to be cut by 5% to encourage greater use of public transport.

The Ministry of Development expects this to result in 22 million fewer car journeys into major cities over four months.

Along with a package of measures including a reduction in the motorway speed limit from 120 to 110 km/h, the plan aims to save 286 million barrels of oil and €23bn a year, cutting annual CO₂ emissions by 125 million tonnes.

I do however think their figures are slightly over estimated and a 5% cut is not an enormous amount. On my annual season ticket I would only save £100. Over the course of 12 months that equates to a saving of only £8.33 per month. I doubt that will change the world very much. A good idea? Yes, but could do better!

Original article - Railway Gazette: Train fares cut to save energy
Regards



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Strange Annoucements

I recently noticed an interesting announcement at my home railway station. It goes something like this,

"Please stand clear of the train at platform 2. It is ready to leave"

Not an unreasonable request you might think. However, it is very often used before the arriving train has even stopped. How exactly are we supposed to get on this service? Perhaps we are supposed to jump onto the outside and hang there like they do in India. That way Southern Railway can cram on even more people without spending any more money and still claim a capacity increase. Now there a bit of Blue-sky thinking for you.

Personally it's the poor ticket inspectors I feel sorry for. They will not doubt be expected to check the tickets of the hangers on. That'll be fun in the winter and I'm absolutely certain that Bob Crow will have something very loud to say on the subject.

Regards
Chris
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The Rise & Rise of Crawley Town FC

What a season it's been. The FA Cup took us to Old Trafford where 9,000 of us made more noise than the 67,000 Manchester United fans put together. When I watched the TV coverage the following day, I couldn't believe the volume of our chanting. It was simply an amazing experience. A shame they beat us 1-0, but they are one of the best teams in the world. There's always next season 8-)

From there we just kept going up the Blue Square Premiership, trading places at the top with (the Real) Wimbledon. Not that shower who All the time keeping an eye out for Luton Town, Wrexham & Kidderminster Harriers. Last Saturday we beat Tamworth away 3-0, which sealed our promotion to the Football League.

Last night we played Luton Town at the Broadfield. It would have been a sell out crowd if not for Luton not being able to sell their allocation of 600 tickets. Only about 200 of them turned up. The theory is that because we'd already qualified they didn't want to give us any more money for no reason. Sounds like sour grapes to me, but at least they should get the chance to go up via the play offs. Personally I'd like to see AFC Wimbledon come up with us, but Chunky prefers Kidderminster for some reason. It's all in the lap of the Gods now I suppose.

There was a great party atmosphere, despite the fact that we drew 1-1 against Luton. We all stayed on after the game as we were presented with our Champions Cup. There was Champagne, lots of jumping around and singing. Despite the chill in the air, there was great hope for next season in 3000 hearts.

Chanting,
"We are the Champions, We are the Champions.
No time for losers, cause we are the Champions.
Of the League."
(repeat until you are horse)

Life long fan & joint owner of the club, Bruce Winfield, sadly died just before we achieved the title. It was largley due to his support and financial management that we were able to reach the heady hights of the Football League. He would have been so proud.

Thank you Bruce, we won't forget you!