Cycling

I have managed to cycle every day to work for the last 2 weeks except for yesterday, because of the constant rain we have been getting. I was also thinking of complaining to my local council about the state of the cycle paths in the area, not that it will do any good. There are numerous pot holes, cars parked in them, broken glass all over the place, road works in the middle of the cycle path, and very uneven bumpy path where previous road works have taken place, and they obviously haven't taken care when resurfacing the path.

Ambient Music

We have a couple of stations on my group that have had ambient noise speakers installed to play classical music in the background. The idea behind this, is that some 'yoof' (with the exception of 3.1 et al) detest this kind of music and no longer loiter around the stations and cause trouble. Only trouble is that the two stations that are using it on my group don't really have a major problem with loitering youths. We do get the odd gang of them steaming through the station, but they don't generally hang around, they're in and out. Not sure if any other stations have the same scheme going, I think some stations on the East End of the District line have them also.

XDA'S

You may have seen some of the station staff using these recently, and some of my fellow bloggers have blogged about them. They provide real time information as to the whereabouts of the next trains, A-Z map of London, Journey Planner etc. Seems like a nice idea but half the time the staff can't get a signal or when they do then the page takes so long to load, then the information is no longer 'real-time'.

What is this?

Whilst on my cycle to work, I go through Chiswick roundabout and there is a strange structure near the B&Q. Anyone know what it is?

Currently Reading ...

Finished the last one, and just started this...

Spring Cleaning

Seeing as my colleague accidently deleted his old blog, I decided to amend his link, and add a couple of others that also link to my blog. If I have missed anyone, I do apologise, just give me an email and I'll sort you out.

Nice weather

Thought I'd take advantage of the nice sunny weather and my rest day by going for a cycle ride.

Left my house at 12:15 and got back at 15:15, so 3 hours riding aimlessy around. I'll probably regret it in the morning though.

Currently Reading...

I read about 5 or 6 books a month, normally on the way to work and back, and if I am lucky enough to get an uninterrupted meal break during it. I normally go for horror, sci-fi, and the occasional language book, but for a change I am trying something new, I'm about half way through and it's not too bad.

Only one more to go

Only one more night shift to go. Last night was the 3rd night in a row with the last trains more than half hour late. I do hope metronet pull their fingers out and get things back to 'normal'.

S.S.D.D.

Just getting ready for my penultimate night shift. Last night was another late finish, but thankfully, we didn't get many conractors. Had to deal with the usual drunken idiots at the weekend who for some reason find it rather amusing to hold trains, drop their belongings on the track and jump down to retrieve them, lean over the platform edge to urinate, defecate on the platforms, etc etc. Thank G-d the weekend is over.

Another late finish

Last night our last trains came through almost 45 minutes lates, due to what we were told at the time a SPAD (Signal Passed At Danger), when in actuality it was because of some drunken schmuck breaking the doors, and messing up the service.

Rant of the Day

I'm half way through my current week of nights, and one thing that contractors ALWAYS seem to do, is leave the boswick open whenever they leave the station. Not fully open, only about 8 inches or so, but for some reason, customers think this means the station is open and proceed to enter the station, climb over scaffolding, and go onto the platforms to wait for their non-existent trains. 20 minutes later they come back and complain that there are no trains. I probably spend about half an hour each and every night chasing customers out of the station.

Any contractors reading this: "Please close the gates on your way out!"