I was expecting to post more frequently than this but....
I have just started a new temping job over in Stratford. This means an early start and a train from Sydenham to London Bridge, then Jubilee line to Stratford. This is the first commuting I have done for over two years. And I had totally forgotten how tiring and how frustrating it is, and how it adds hours to the work day. So I can appreciate that the weekend starts this evening. Hurrah!!!
Having heard the news on Sunday night and then again on Monday morning I was expecting a real struggle to get in to work. In fact, it was a real cinch and I got to Stratford at 8 AM and finding myself with an hour and a half to spare before I reported for work, having been instructed to turn up at 9.30. No! It was Tuesday which proved to be the nightmare journey, with engineering works 'overrunning' on the Jubilee which meant trhat the line was virtually closed down.
EEEEK!!! Panic at London Bridge briefly before realising that a dash across London Bridge to Monument for the District Line, then change at Mile End for the Central line to Stratford. Yep, I was twenty minutes late but I can live with that.
As an aside: if you require yet another reason NOT to vote for Mr. Livingstone, look no farther than the Jubilee line itself. Delivered several years late, and with an enormous overspend, the overspend would have been larger still but for Mr. Livingstone. He 'shaved' nearly £200 Million off the overspent budget by the simple expedient of scrapping the bespoke but highly expensive signalling system for the Jubilee - purpose designed and built, Ken told us he was doing us a favour by scrapping it. He sourced another signalling system, second hand, thirty plus years old from the Paris Metro.
So, next time you are on a Jubilee line platform when they announce yet another signal failure delaying your journey home, thank Mr. Livingstone.
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