Further on after Dawn

Well, there was something I forgot to mention in my last post, and that was the reason for the title. What I forgot to mention was that the train that I was trying not to miss at Clapham Junction was the last train of the day and,  therefore, should I miss it, I would indeed be travelling until dawn or, in fact, beyond.

And I can now reveal it was a close run thing!

There is a maxim in the armed forces that goes something like this: 

"No battle plan lasts more than 20 minutes after first contact with the enemy!"

The point is this, plan as much as you like, but you still have a situation that can play out in many different ways, and it is almost impossible to be certain which one of them will happen.

My train journey was nothing like that. Obviously, I am trying to make my tedious lifestyle seem more interesting to the casual observer than it really is. How is it working so far?

Where was I? Ah, yes, racing down to London on an LNER Azuma. I chose this particular timing because the train only stopped in York and then London. You would think that made it a quicker journey, but the vagaries of the network mean that the train was always getting caught behind slower moving traffic, etc. and this is reflected in the timetable. 

I am fond of the Azumas as they are built up here in the North East. They look pretty cool, too. The only problem with these is the seating. I have heard rumours that Hitachi (the train manufacturer) was somewhat taken aback by the Department for Transport's request. As the end customer, it was they who specified the seating density and therefore the seating design. I would not describe them as uncomfortable. They are, however, just a notch above that and a slight notch here or there, and they would indeed be unusable. Not quite as bad as the infamous Ironing Board trains of Thameslink, but close. The ride comes in for some stick to but, in my honest opinion, this comes down to the track as much as anything. People often compare these trains unfavourably with HST sets from the seventies. If my memory serves (not a given these days), these trains had far deeper cushions that absorbed an awful lot of the lumps and bumps. Todays Azuma seats are rock hard. I do love the at seat service though on LNER. 

My journey into London was as advertised and arrived into a humid Kings Cross as near as dammit on time. I often have trouble exiting Kings Cross with tickets printed before travel. Something seems to be awry with the as I can never get out of my platform at Kings Cross nor onto it. The former problem was negated this night as the ticket barriers were all open and we just wandered off. 

There is quite a stroll from Kings Cross Platforms to the Victoria Underground line. So much so that it feels like you might as well of walked all the way to Waterloo station than caught the underground. By the time you have walked back to the Underground barriers and headed down the deep escalator and along several small tunnels until you actually reach the Victoria Line platform, that is. It is only 1500 steps according to my step counterit just seems more.

Thus ended the easy part of my journey. Life was about to get a bit more complicated when I reached Vauxhall station. The online ticket seller had allowed a very generous hour and ten minutes for my trip across town to Clapham Junction. Just to be sure I was at Clapham before my last train passed through, I decided to hop onto the first train that was headed to Clapham from Vauxhall. I could arrive at Clapham in plenty of time to get around. It has a lot of platforms! Trains head off to Brighton, Portsmouth, Weymouth, and Windsor through this station. That is a healthy chunk of South East England covered from that station, so finding the right Platform was important.

I did indeed jump on the first train at Vauxhall heading towards Clapham Junction (Next stop). An announcement describing an apology for the late running of the service had me wondering whether this train was going to go anywhere or should I get off and await another? 

Just as the cogs in my brain were beginning to grind with all the different permutations that might be available to me, the train doors closed, and we set off. Clapham, here I come. Sure enough, I had done the right thing. I was at Clapham juntion and I discovered the correct platform for my onward journey and began to wait out the 20 minutes until my train was due.

It was from this point that the night may have turned ugly. It was apparent there was some kind of monumental hold up to all trains headed down the Woking to Weymouth section of the line. The train I had stepped onto was actually running half an hour late. What was happening in front of my very eyes was that delays were getting longer and increasing with every minute I watched. The announcement staff were caught in a horrible juxtaposition. They were desperately trying to advise delayed passengers that other services arriving at that moment would be a better bet than waiting for a delayed service. Unfortunately for the announcement staff, these trains were not arriving when they should have been or at the platform where they usually arrived. Chaos. I felt for them deeply, they were in a mire not of their making.

I was watching the screens and saw my train being delayed every minute. To the point, I wondered whether it might just be cancelled anyway, and I would be left in Clapham with no other train until 5:30 a.m. the next morning. 

So my choice seemed to be to sit tight and wait for my delayed service and hope it showed up. That might leave me stranded in Clapham for the night. About as attractive an idea as being trapped in Beirut for the night! In the end, I decided that progress was the name of the game. I would get on the next available train that arrived at my platform and was headed via Basingstoke. At least it was in the right county (Hampshire). And I may just make a connection to Portsmouth that came from Reading? A long shot but worth the punt. No matter how much my own distaste for Basinghole, sorry Basingstoke. It was a damn sight nicer than Clapham. It was conceivably within extended taxi range also. A stretch, but when allied to the cost of accommodation for one night, a taxi to finish the journey was possible

So I hopped on the next train headed to Basingstoke. It was full. So full. Sardines would have complained of the cramped conditions. That was bad enough, but the fellow traveller I was squeezed up next to was having a very personal call to an ex-girlfriend/ex-wife. I shared details (non sexual i might add) of his private life that were, in parts, fascinating, horrifying, and just quite laughable. In a nutshell, he was spending the weekend with his ex and his kids, and although he was cool with her dating other men, he ordered her not to bat so much as an eyelid at other men whilst in his company. His phone then ran out of power, and within moments, he was chatting up the women in the cubicle with us. They seemed to quite enjoy his attention. Wonders will never cease. They cannot have failed to have overheard everything I did and yet did not seem to be at all vexed that he was turning attention on them, having instructed another bretheren woman to forgo all such pleasures.

back to travel. I updated myself at regular intervals and noted that the train I originally wanted to catch had NOT been cancelled and had indeed set out from Waterloo station 30 minutes behind schedule, and I could have been on it. No worries, I was ahead, would reach Basinghole before it, and continue my journey as if nothing had happened.

The only concern was that the train was catching up, and I thought it would be just my luck that it would undertake me on a separate track and run through Basinghole before me.

I need not have concerned myself. 

The delays had all been caused by some damage to a track. It seems in all this dry weather, the clay around London shrinks, drops, and bends and takes track with it. Engineers had spotted potential problems and closed the line. After some sustained pleading, it seemed a line was reopened. But only one! All trains south of Woking had to go from dual running to single file and at reduced speed, so something of a bottleneck had been created. The upshot was I had an hour's wait on a pleasant, balmy evening at Basingstoke station. It was a better alternative to Clapham.

  

The rest of my journey was uncomplicated and routine, although an hour late.

As I took the 30-minute stroll to my destination from the station (too tight-fisted for a taxi!), I took time to ponder my quote from Robert Louis Stevenson, claiming that the travel itself was more important than the destination or reason for travel. 

Hmmm.... what do you think? 

Straight on until Dawn

 To travel in hope

AI image of "last man in"

Today I am taking a journey that I have taken many times. I am heading back to the south coast to see family. But I have spoken of Robert Louis Stevenson so many times (the man who figured the journey itself was the reason for travel not the destination), that I am going to put the quote to the test and see how I feel about it afterwards, when the dust has settled, so to speak.

Going to the coast from where I live is relatively simple: train to Kings Cross, tube to Waterloo station, train to the south coast. Seems simple? So, when I was booking my ticket this time around, I spotted a relatively cheap option. To leave later and arrive at the same time. How was this possible I hear you asking? Just me again? Well the only difference is a small detail. Don't go to Waterloo. Use London Transport connections and step onto the usual train, but at Clapham Junction. It just means staying on the tube a bit longer, getting a train from Vauxhall station, alight at Clapham Junction, and Bob's your living uncle. No biggy?

I will let you know. In my head, numerous things could happen. Of which I will not tell you now, as most of them exist only in my mind as opposed to actual possibilities. The change in detail was in itself interesting. I have not stepped on or off a train at Vauxhall since 1981

It was to mark the end of an incredible Ashes series. Known forever as Botham's Ashes. My father and I decided we would try to catch the first day of the sixth Test at the Oval. My dad said we should just show up and we would get in, as used to happen when my Father was the age I was at the time (15). Unfortunatley the first three days had completely sold out,t and there was no room at the inn.

We had arrived at the Oval from Barnes, near where my old Nan used to live, and alighted at Vauxhall station, which was the nearest mainline station. Having found the ground unenterable, we hunted around for a plan B. Which turned out to be a trip to Lord's. a little bit further North but in central London. It was Middlesex vs Yorkshire. Not a very enticing offering as Botteams's star players were all involved with England at the Oval. However, a trip to HQ is always worth the effort. The last time I went to Lords was for a Gillette Cup one-dayer in 1977, Middlesex vs my beloved Hampshire. The ground that day was also packed to the gunwales. Today,y there were three of us.

The game was settling into a typical English first-class game. Tepid. Yorkshire had posted 264. Middlesex were a little shy of that 244 when their last batsman walked to the crease. A West Indian gentleman who was a bowler and not considered a batsman. So much so that the diesel heavy Roller started up even before he took guard, so convinced were the groundsman that it would not be long before their services were required between innings

What we were actually treated to was Wayne Daniel crashing the Yorkshire bowling to all parts, including a stupendous six that he hooked, and I can still see the dust cloud that arose as the ball struck the stand some thirty feet up and well beyond the boundary. 

Needless to say,y the Heavy roller fell silent after 20 minutes. 

And only watched by 3 people! 

Ah memories. The destination can be important, I guess. I don't remember any of the journeys I undertook on this day. I will let you know how this one goes.

The Electorate Have Spoken!

 Reform? Whats in a name?

Broken councils?

We in the UK have just "enjoyed" a bunch of elections to see who runs our local councils. The people that (don't) fix our potholes, run our education, fire service, police and not to mention pay for all our social care. 

Labour have taken a pounding, closely followed by the Conservatives (but who cares about them?). This has sent Labour into a spin. I am of mixed opinion on this subject though. I think from a national point of view it should be sending shivers down the spines of the Labour party. Reform have advertised themselves as the party of change. They will sweep out the old and bring in a breath of fresh air and solve ALL our problems. 

There are plenty of good websites out there that will explain in better detail just how this view is not true but will also point out it is almost but not quite deviously untrue. The issue is the same as the Brexit party. Nigel Farage does all the talking - and he is quite good at it, but scratch a little deeper and you start to find an unsavoury element lives within.

The major problem for me is that Reform is a right wing organisation. Funded by seriously rich right wingers. So right wing that Maggie Thatch might even wince. I am not sure that all the people who voted for it are aware of its true colours. How many people voted for Reform as a kind of protest vote? I am hoping that most of the previous Labour supporters did this. 

As I said earlier I have mixed feelings. I am not a Reform supporter but I do like the fact that councillors who previously took us all for granted are now seeking new employment. I have lived under several councils, red and blue who have thought they were untouchable. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is good to see the electorate giving 2 fingers to the incumbent rulers.

In my opinion though the electorate will suffer the consequences. By and large Reform have not had a great time in charge of anything. Kent county council appears to be a case in point. Most other Reform run councils have had to cut services and raise council tax. the electorate may just have shot itself in the foot. 

What this does point to though is that we have just had 15 years of bad luck/management economically. From Credit crunch, Brexit and Covid.  It has been a long haul for the low to middle incomes. 2 steps forward and one step back for the last 15 years. One thing the Labour government should be concentrating on is a small short term hit for consumers. A short VAT holiday worked quite well for Labour in 2009. Raising the tax allowance would also gift people some more of their hard earned cash. Thanks to Trump - not just in Iran  - with just about everything he touches, inflation is going up. Giving it back to people will stimulate the economy. We don't earn enough to hoard it. We want more holiday, beer and food and cars. In no particular order.

Ashes downunder

So the knives are out for England's cricketers and management. The only real fault had been raising our expectations for this tour. On reflection it has progressed in much the same manner as all but one of of the previous Australian series this century. 

Unfortunately the plain matter of fact is that Australia did the basics better. They took their catches and gave less ducks.

The first test was a bit of an outlier. The only person who batted in any sense was Head in the second innings and by all accounts it was a T20 innings. However England should of had a plan. But when you are defending 200 in a second innings you can't afford to let anyone get in. 

Their was an element of self sabotage in the second test. The 5 dropped catches allegedly cost 143 runs which does bring the 1st innings defecit down somewhat. Still would have left Australia around 200 to chase. Very achievable as the 1st test proved. So there were also 4 batsmen in the first innings that failed to trouble the scorers. Ducks happen especially in the tail. Even so it did put a lot of pressure on the rest of the line up.

In the third test England failed to reach 300 in the first innings. Had they achieved a higher first innings total they woukd not have left themselves so much to do in the last innings. And we gave a pretty good stab at chasing 430. A bit more application from the batsmen early on migjt of led to a closer result even a victory. 

So in summary Australia have obviously played the better cricket and they have done it by doing the basics better. 

The knives are out for the management team but I think it is premature. The ECB must not pay heed to folk that have played their cricket firmly in the past i.e. all the British press. Keeping Mcullum et al until the next visit of England, they would at least be run by a team that has experience of a tour. 

Economics and the art of dog walking.

 

In today's world of harsh economic realities, I have found myself behoven to create an elongated tale to explain to you, the general public, how our officials try and negotiate the world around us so that we may put artisanal lava bread on our expensivley polished oakwood dining furniture. 

All right I am being both patronising and sarcastic but bear with me. 

I was out with my dogs this morning and by the time I arrived home I felt that most walks I have with my canine beauties are of profound allegorical importance and I can extract life affirming lessons that would help the world to gain insight on the world we live in.

Aim high!

So my allegorical tale starts just before the front door . There are only 3 important financial forces (I made that up I just happen to have 3 dogs- just come with me on this).

The first force is the big one. It is the big dog! This one needs a firm hand and a strong leash for if you turn your back on it for one second it will disappear into the woods and run amok. We shall call this dog Inflation. Do you see where I am going with this?

This dog takes a bit of time to get it girdled up in its harness the other 2 dogs, lets call them Growth and Consumer Confidence are less difficult once this has been achieved. Growth is a little bundle of energy that pleases itself, starts fights with bigger and uglier dogs and only chases half the balls you throw for her. Consumer confidence is a shy little rescue dog that has probably been abused in a former life and is now scare of its own shadow, growls at all and sundry and will make a run for cover if any big dogs such as Inflation take any sort of interest in her. 

Once Inflation is shackled the other two dogs come to the lead more oblingly and Consumer Confidence does get excited at the prospect of fresh air and the chance to have go to the toilet. Growth doesnt care as long as it tastes of chicken.

And so our economy bounds down the avenue of possibility until we reach the park of harsh economic reality. Growth and Consumer Confidence can be let off leash soonest and can be trusted to look after themselves but Inflation must only be allowed out if the coast is clear and free from the tyranny of the St Bernard of Depression (Inflation goes to town on that one) and the Shitsu of Authoratative Regulation. A spoilt brat of a dog never let off its lead by its poorly directed owner who then tells you how badly trained all your dogs are. Inflation takes lumps out this one.

How am I doing so far

So Inflation can be let off to run as longas it takes growth with it but always under the control of the squeaky ball of Interest Rates. A few quick squeezes of this ball and Inflation returns to my side. all the while Growth and Consumer Confidence just trot about sniffing and doing all the other things dogs do in parks. 

And so as you meander around the park of harsh economic realities whilst keeping your charges in sight or at least able to respond you can then return home safe in the knowledge that your economy has progressed in a safe and orderly fashion.

Never relax though because you never know when the Staffordshire of chaos will erupt onto the scene. Allowing Inflation a little rough and tumble is all very well but when Inflation pisses off into the woods and Chaos turns its attention to Consumer Confidence you have to act quickly and leash Consumer Confidence because she will just bolt for home and cross the lane of Perpetual Jeopardy without a second thought.

Edging closer to Consumer Confidence with out her running away is quite a trick and might involve telling her that you are headed in a different financial direction and when she finally turns in you direction she can be leashed and brought to safety

Growth, meanwhile doesnt care what its doing as long as it tastes of chicken

However you sometimes have to grab what you can and hope as you run after Consumer Confidence that there is no object propelled to flatten her.

Did I tell you I had 3 cats?

It's at this point that the black cat called Assets decides that it wants to run alongside Inflation, Growth and Consumer Confidence and you must just leap across the Lane of Perpetual Jeoperdy and hope your Assets follow you and remain intact. 

There you have it. Economic and financial activity as seen through eyes of 3 canine lovelies!

Ancient antiquities and who owns them?

 The Victoria And Albert Museum

I have been out and about in the Great Metropolis that is London with my grown up children recently (or so they think). They don't think I have been out and about with them, They know that we have been to London but they think they are grown up. Just glad to get that sorted out !

We wanted a fairly easy afternoon as we all had long journeys to make to return home. Of all the big museums of South  Kensington it is the one I have been to the least. It is just not my thing.

Established in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert it is one of the foremost centres for the study of art, design and textiles. It houses many, many relics of past and present civilizations. Ceramics, Fabrics. What look like filthy rags was actually the oldest rug in the world. Something we took (WE as in the British) from our time trying to subjugate the middle East. 

There is a theme here. There are works of "wonder" that are from this country that we should have fair and square but there is also a bunch of stuff "We" collected as a result of being an Imperial Empire (To be fair we bought some of it.)

That's right,  we stole a huge bunch of stuff over the years

In fact I would summarise the major museums in London thus : 

British Museum -   Stuff we stole 

V &A Museum   More stuff we stole and some stuff we are lumbered with.

Science Museum -    stuff other countries' thought of but know presented as "British Know-How"(Marconi was Italian! Who knew? Isambard Kingdom Brunel was half French!)

Natural History Museum - Stuff we shot first then stole

Many visitors to this sceptred isle we call home do wonder why it is called the British Museum as much of the stuff is plainly come from somewhere else. A whole bunch of stuff is not British at all - Egyptian Mummy anyone? No? how about some Greek marbles? (we didn't steal these but we are definitely NOT giving them back). 

The British Empire has much to answer for. 

Still, having waved a white flag at the avaricious Victorian collecters of yesteryear, we did have an interesting trip around the Victoria and Albert museum.

My tip is that unless you have some prior knowledge of the museum, join a tour. There was a guided tour that was along the lines of the "10 antiquities in an hour". What made it all the more enjoyable was the guide had a genuine admiration for all the things he showed us and held the artists and artisans that made it in such high regard with genuine warmth. He seemed to convey the feeling of privilege at being able to share space with these items. The downside was that he would of preferred a smaller group of visitors and was continually trying to shrug some of us off. Me and my family are not good at subtle clues like "Oh you are all still here then?" and followed him with gusto. As a result of the large group I think he fell short of 10 objects, more like three or four.. We didn't pass comment as he could argue that on a technicality the Raphael Cartoons just got him over the line!

I have avoided the V and A for many years. Despite the fact that my mum has spent years telling me her cutlery was in the museum. I just assumed she had stolen it from the cafeteria over the years. What she meant was as a wedding present she was given a cutlery set that the design of which subsequently found its way into the museum archive. I have a nasty feeling it has some ivory in it.

The upshot was that once you put aside the way in which some/all of the stuff was aquired it WAS a decent way to spend an hour on a miserable wet Sunday afternoon whilst you are supposed to be somewhere else.

Plus ca change - Labour's Early Days

 Let there be light

This summer the UK made  a major change, Just as the rest of the western world seemed to be fighting off right wing idealists from power, The UK dumped its right wing grouping and took up with a more left wing group called the Labour Party. Left wing? Sometimes. This government is hardly distinguishable from it's predecessor however. 

The UK has (in my mind unbelievably) returned not one but 3 Conservative Prime ministers and that doesn't include the the two holders of office who didn't gain their position in a general election. They are good at that the Conservatives, changing governments without managing to go to the people for an opinion.

Anyways...

There was little exuberance upon the election of this government compared to the advent of Blairite versions.  perhaps the world the Labour party exists in today is different to those times. The financial landscape is for definite. Tony Blair had a much better economy than Keir Starmer to play with. but the reason for the lack of enthusiasm was that it isn't very clear exactly what the incumbents philosophy s on how to improve the lives of its subjects. 

we haven't finished paying for the economic crash of 2008/09, Plus Brexit and now Covid.

Heads up, I am a remoaner at heart. I still cannot see what it is that the political Barmy Army of Johnson and Farage thought we would be better off with. All we seem to have done is reopen wounds in Northern Ireland and make it harder for food supplies to reach super market shelves

So what can be done?

Well infrastructure is always a good one. It is deemed acceptable by those that would lend us money to do so on the back of building things. Things like railways, bridges, improved public transport, communication/telecoms/internet. 

As a for instance going North / South in this country is quite good compared with anything that wants to go East/West. Upgrading railways between Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds would be my choice. If money can be found for one line in London (Elizabeth Line) surely the regions could be helped out too.

I am a proponent of hi speed trains but the current plan for the UK is beginning to look like a horse that the infamous committee designed. Not reaching anywhere and not long enough to make much difference to the travel time. The reason costs have escalated is largley down to the dozy Conservatives pandering to the Not in My Backyard Brigade and have had to use a heap more tunnels than was originally envisaged.

I know AI has been talked about. I am afraid I will have to investigate how that will benefit before I engage in pushing it.

Borrowing costs are going up across the world so better make sure it is for stuff we can use 

Governments like a little bit of inflation and a lot of growth. Inflation means that money borrowed becomes less challenging as its relative worth declines and growth means more tax income to pay for it.

So lets see what happens next  

What Happened Next

Rachel Reeves - the current incumbent for Chancellor of the Exchequer for the UK, delivered a speech in late January an analysis of this speech can be found here. It more or less makes my blog entry redundant. There are also links to some BBC articles pointing out the lack of obvious investment in the North East Of England. Also making my blog entry redundant.

So what can I add? 

Not much truth be told

I did do a blog which has links to a phenomenon called Zipfs Law. The law basically states that London is basically too big. Or rather the other cities in the UK are too small. London has become a super massive black hole at the heart of England as it just sucks in ALL resources, finance, agriculture, people - well almost everything.

The danger for the rest of the UK is that the rest of the country will effectively wither and die as London will gravitate EVERYTHING to it. 

It was one of the reasons used for NOT building HS2 as it doesn't bring The North of England closer to London more like the north becomes closer to London. Yes I know it amounts to the same thing but what I am trying to get at is that rather than giving the North access to London it gives better access for London to reach out and usurp local services and facilities and bring the work to London. 

As I said in the earlier blog was that the government is the only organisation in the UK capable of taking the UK in a different direction or at least negating the worst of the black hole effects. Better east west transport links of all kinds is a place where that could be applied. Better rail across the Pennines better communication between Manchester and Leeds. Better public transport provision in Leeds. The last city does not have a Tram Service for instance. These sorts of investments can transform cities if done right. 

I am not sure how Sheffield feels about it Trams. Nottingham works better and Manchester could not cope without their Trams. 

These programs are relatively cheap compared to 3rd runways

Mind you I support the 3rd Runway on the whole. Heathrow is a monster of a business and needs to grow to survive. Schiphol, Charles De Gualle and Frankfurt are all expanding and vying for superiority. To not recognise that Heathrow currently has the edge over the lot of them, it might not always be so if it is starved of investment.

But do not forget that relatively small investments in the North could lead to these areas improving their economic outlook.  

My final point is that Keynsian Theory argues that governments should spend when times are hard and pull back and tax when times are good. To even out the peaks and troughs in economic life so to speak.

What has been happening in the last 15 years is contraction. The governments in that time have sought to limit governmental spending as we borrow too much. But this sort of response is actually recessionary in a time of recession. 

Still what do I know