Sparky
Producer
Status? Would that be Credit or in Society?
Posts: 2,784
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Post by Sparky on Jan 25, 2020 10:15:15 GMT
Firstly, a bit of good news, I've got a job after being out of work for 12 months, this leads us into a room 101 topic. . I'm driving a van for a car parts delivery firm so I get to listen to the radio while I'm on my rounds, and is Smooth FM in here yet, because it needs to be. After two days I've had to stop listening to it as it's the same few songs over and over again and a lot of it is what I categorise as 80s dross, you know, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins and so on, endlessly. There's the odd gem on here and there but you have to wade through the same rubbish over and over again. Congrats!
Hope it goes well!
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Post by Sam Tyler on Jan 27, 2020 9:41:16 GMT
Mind you Sam Tylers take on the Test-Card might be slightly different to ours....
Hope she and the toy clown aren't still bothering you Sam?
Not so often these days thankfully. The last showing was Christmas Day afternoon when we were handing the presents out. She appeared sat on the settee next to Annie and I felt a twinge of guilt as if I should have got her a new toy clown, the old one is getting a bit shabby now.
Sam.
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Post by Sam Tyler on Jan 27, 2020 9:55:27 GMT
Firstly, a bit of good news, I've got a job after being out of work for 12 months, this leads us into a room 101 topic. . I'm driving a van for a car parts delivery firm so I get to listen to the radio while I'm on my rounds, and is Smooth FM in here yet, because it needs to be. After two days I've had to stop listening to it as it's the same few songs over and over again and a lot of it is what I categorise as 80s dross, you know, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins and so on, endlessly. There's the odd gem on here and there but you have to wade through the same rubbish over and over again. Congrats on the new job Carty, all jobs have their downfall but at least you're out and about as well as back earning a few quid.
Next candidate for Room 101:
The arse of a train guard on the 07:57 to Strawberry Hill from Waterloo this morning. I boarded this train this morning aiming to alight at Clapham Junction, as did around forty others aiming to alight at Vauxhall, Clapham, and Wimbledon. I'd been sat on the train for a few minutes without any announcement being made until the doors shut and then this bright spark announced that due to late running it was going non-stop to Norbiton. Cosmic! Why wait until the doors were closed? Why not announce it before to allow us all to alight and get another service out of Waterloo? Consequently he added around 40 minutes to everyone's journey time.
Sam.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Jan 27, 2020 10:50:17 GMT
Why not just put SWR in Room 101 generally Sam, they've become an absolute nightmare and not just due to the recent guard dispute either - whether you agree or disagree with that.
They're so crap at the moment I avoid using them.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Jan 27, 2020 10:53:34 GMT
Firstly, a bit of good news, I've got a job after being out of work for 12 months, this leads us into a room 101 topic. . I'm driving a van for a car parts delivery firm so I get to listen to the radio while I'm on my rounds, and is Smooth FM in here yet, because it needs to be. After two days I've had to stop listening to it as it's the same few songs over and over again and a lot of it is what I categorise as 80s dross, you know, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins and so on, endlessly. There's the odd gem on here and there but you have to wade through the same rubbish over and over again. Nice one on the new job Cartman hope it goes really well for you mate.
Smooth FM along with Heart FM used to be on at work in my old office, the radio stations of choice for Purgatory?
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Post by Sam Tyler on Jan 27, 2020 11:32:00 GMT
Why not just put SWR in Room 101 generally Sam, they've become an absolute nightmare and not just due to the recent guard dispute either - whether you agree or disagree with that.
They're so crap at the moment I avoid using them. Credit where it is due Dirty, I've not had major cause to complain about them even when the strike was on. Yes the trains were busy but we were kept updated well (on the route that I use at least, can't vouch for others) and the trains ran well to the revised timetable. My journey times were about ten minutes longer on the inbound commute due to additional station stops and unaffected on the return.
The main gripe for me when the strike was on was not with SWT but with the amount of space taken up by Brompton fold-up bikes and their associated saddle bags blocking the doors when people were trying to board. On one trip alone there were three of these bikes side-by-side, with the bags there was floor space for around four standing passengers consumed and you could see the frustrations of those passengers trying to board when there was no more room.
There's a lot of column inches regularly in the Metro about passengers with backpacks taking up space but nothing is said over these fold-up bikes. I realize it is supposedly 'green' to cycle but it is also selfish taking up additional space that prevents others from boarding.
Sam
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Post by Dirty Epic on Jan 27, 2020 11:52:38 GMT
True Sam, some of those bikes are almost motorbike size on there.
Lyrca Mafia!
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Lord Emsworth
Director
Drive safely, we're walking or cycling...
Posts: 1,432
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jan 27, 2020 13:22:36 GMT
I used to commute from Brighton to London
When I started in the early 2000s I could take a full size bike and put it in the guard's van - along with anything up to about 20 other cyclists on the same train
Then the rolling stock was all upgraded to electric trains and cyclists could put their bikes in the sections near the toilets. Needless to say it was not very successful as there was just not enough space
Within a few years Southern Railways (another complete joke of a company) banned all bikes on rush hour trains but did allow fold up bikes. Many of the regular cyclists then had to incur the expense of buying Bromptons etc
Fortunately I stopped commuting a few years back but it was often, as Sam says, a source of tension for all concerned. Normally I'd try and get my Brompton into the luggage rack or near the doors but it was stressful because a Brompton is an expensive bit of kit and therefore very tempting if it's not near its owner
Bottom line, the railways have become so congested because so many people now live outside London and commute in, often because they can't afford to live in London due to property prices or, if they can, they get way more bang for their buck outside London - which is what happened to me when I moved from north London to Brighton.
Take a step back and various governments have a lot to answer for. Flogging off social housing and encouraging more people to buy their own homes has meant our kids have little hope of ever being able to afford their own homes. UK property is an investment opportunity for non-UK residents, hedge funds, pensions etc. Meanwhile we've gone from nationalised railways which were inefficient but were at least affordable, to privatised railways which are still inefficient but this time round shareholders and directors take a big slice of profit out of them and the tickets are now ludicrously expensive.
Oh to be able to turn the clock back eh?
All that from Sam's legitimate frustration at folding bikes clogging up aisles on busy commuter trains
Not sure who exactly should go into room 101 but let's start with every minister of transport, & housing since 1979
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Villain
Director
Nine Elms, 1970, looking for the loot...
Posts: 1,297
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Post by Villain on Jan 27, 2020 15:11:50 GMT
I used to commute from Brighton to London
When I started in the early 2000s I could take a full size bike and put it in the guard's van - along with anything up to about 20 other cyclists on the same train
Then the rolling stock was all upgraded to electric trains and cyclists could put their bikes in the sections near the toilets. Needless to say it was not very successful as there was just not enough space
Within a few years Southern Railways (another complete joke of a company) banned all bikes on rush hour trains but did allow fold up bikes. Many of the regular cyclists then had to incur the expense of buying Bromptons etc
Fortunately I stopped commuting a few years back but it was often, as Sam says, a source of tension for all concerned. Normally I'd try and get my Brompton into the luggage rack or near the doors but it was stressful because a Brompton is an expensive bit of kit and therefore very tempting if it's not near its owner
Bottom line, the railways have become so congested because so many people now live outside London and commute in, often because they can't afford to live in London due to property prices or, if they can, they get way more bang for their buck outside London - which is what happened to me when I moved from north London to Brighton.
Take a step back and various governments have a lot to answer for. Flogging off social housing and encouraging more people to buy their own homes has meant our kids have little hope of ever being able to afford their own homes. UK property is an investment opportunity for non-UK residents, hedge funds, pensions etc. Meanwhile we've gone from nationalised railways which were inefficient but were at least affordable, to privatised railways which are still inefficient but this time round shareholders and directors take a big slice of profit out of them and the tickets are now ludicrously expensive.
Oh to be able to turn the clock back eh?
All that from Sam's legitimate frustration at folding bikes clogging up aisles on busy commuter trains
Not sure who exactly should go into room 101 but let's start with every minister of transport, & housing since 1979
1949 more like...! A lot of ill thought out decisions with far reaching consequences were made when and not long after the railways were nationalised on 1st January 1948, some bold plans were brought in granted, but the one step forward / two steps back approach and several very costly u-turns meant investment was put back or even cancelled where it was needed the most. Villain
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Jan 27, 2020 15:25:24 GMT
Re Americanisation again, yesterday BBC News 24 had coverage of basketball player Kobe Bryant's death, even interviewing more than one person on the topic. How many Brits are familiar with Bryant? I only know his name from an Ali G sketch where he interviewed basketball players in the US. Would the main US news networks cover the death of a British footballer, cricketer or rugby player, tragic accident or not? Absolutely no.
Similarly I've noticed UK online news sites like the Mirror & the Daily Mail covering the deaths of US celebrities who are absolutely unknown in Britain like Rip Taylor. It's the equivalent of Sid Little's death making the New York Times.
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