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!"

Safe & Sound in Egypt

I am currently in Egypt enjoying the last week of my spring holidays. Thankfully I am in Cairo, far away from the madness that is happening near Sharm el-Sheikh. I am due back on night shift again next week, so hopefully I will have something interesting to blog about. I have been having a few problems with my home PC so I am really tempted to splash out on a Mac.

I have been a PC user from the beginning and until very recently (ie now) have never used a mac before. Although some of the shortcuts etc do take a bit of getting used to they do seem to be more stable machines.

Back to work

I got back from Egypt on Monday night, only to find the picc line was suspended because of radio communication problems. Ah well, only had to take 2 buses to get home, so it could have been worse. Apart from the fact that I left my jacket at home and was bloody freezing on the way home.

I am currently hard at work on my last night shift for the week, with one day off then back on early turns. When I get the chance I\'ll post some pics from Egypt.

No work for 10 days

Off on a short 10 day trip to Egypt tomorrow morning, so no LUL for a while :) Nothing much has been happening at work with the exception of having very few staff since the introduction of the shorter working week. I think a few of our staff would probably prefer to go back to the old rosters as they seem to be working more hours than before.

I've finally got rid of the car. I was spending over £200 a month on petrol, insurance etc, which is a bit daft as I get free travel. Since I have to walk about 20 minutes to my local tube station, I should hopefully be losing a bit of weight.

Anyway take care everyone, and see you all in about 10 days. Don't work too hard either.

Best blonde joke ever ...

An oldie but hey who cares?:-

blonde joke

Shattered

Boy am I ready for bed. All of the evenings contractors have just booked off the station, after banging, drilling and cursing through the night, no doubt upsetting some of the local residents.

I have to give the OPO monitors a quick check, do a station check, do an emergency gate test, and then I can open the station to the public.

2 and a half hours until my relief turns up, then its a (hopefully) 30 minute drive home and straight to bed for about 4-5 hours before getting ready to pick the kids up from school.

Did I mention that I hate nights!!!

Strike action still on!!

At the present time, and to the best of my knowledge, the planned strike for NYE is still on.


The strike is due to commence at 12 noon tomorrow until 12 noon on New Years Day, what this means is that any staff due to book on BEFORE 12 noon on NYE should still book on as normal, and finish their duty at the rostered time. Any staff due to start work AFTER 12 noon are being advised by the RMT NOT to book on. Also on New Years Day, any staff who start work BEFORE 12 noon are advised NOT to book on, and any staff starting work AFTER 12 noon on New Years Day should book on as normal.

I suspect a few depots may have a picket line to persuade train ops NOT to cross the picket line in support of their comrades, even though the train ops are not involved in this particular dispute.

What really adds insult to injury though, is that according to my trade union rep. BC is currently on holiday in Egypt (schmuck!!!!)

Strike called for on New Years Eve

The RMT have announced strike action to take place from 12 noon on NYE until 12 noon on NYD. (link) In the ballot for strike action, there were 1,327 votes (84.6 per cent) in favour and 241 (15.4 per cent) against. In the ballot for action short of strike, there were 1,435 (91.8 per cent) votes in favour and 129 (8.2 per cent) against. I personally wasn't even ballotted but from the numbers above, it seems not even half of the station staff even voted (or received a ballot paper)

3 weeks of freedom

Just got back from escorting the Mrs. to Heathrow who should be about now boarding her plane to go and visit some of her relatives in Africa.

Whilst the idea of 3 weeks alone, sounds good, I'm already missing her. I suppose after 11 years of marriage, it feels really weird to have the house to myself for such a long time.