Tuesday, August 28, 2007
A nice (I said NICE) brown Rover 2000
I haven't seen one of these beauties for a while. One of our family friends had a turquoise one. A P reg I think, back in 1980 or so. Went like a rocket, though to me, always felt old fashioned. This example was captured a street round the corner from where I work in Kings Cross.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
The end of the unrefurbished Ds is nigh
They're disappearing fast.
The unrefurbished D-stock trains on the District Line, that is. I took a picture of this silver beast against a suitably grey sky. While I shan't ultimately miss their old-style wooden slat flooring, horrible bright silver lighting, installed about 2002 - and what exactly was wrong with the pinky-peach fluorescents they came with? - and their garish "pizza topping" seat covers, I will miss their PROPER comfortable seats, which are not like tea-trays with a small amount of token padding and their quite seriously good heating which caused a wonderful dry, used smelling fug on cold winter days to fill the train.
I've been on these since 1980 or so, when they were first introduced to the tube and so I can't help but feel a little nostalgic about them passing. Another year or so and that'll be that for the unpainted silver tubes. Which were only introduced to save money on paint. Until then, most tubes were painted either red or white. The silver tubes, as can be seen here, were also a graffiti magnet, hence the re-introduction of painted bodies.
I'll miss their shabby comfort. But like ELO, a band I love to this day, am I glad we've moved on? To quote a certain nodding dog, ohhh yes.
And finally, these are by far the most reliable tubes on the network with old fashioned tried and trusted "garden shed" technology tucked beneath. I hope TfL think long and hard before replacing them technologically advanced depot-hogs. And while they're about it, get the dreadfully iffy signalling sorted out. I wonder, now Metronet is out of the way, whether we'll notice a difference in station and track refurbishment. After a promising start, it looks as though MN just gave up. So they deserved to not be handed over any extra money - they were not cheap and provided an inefficient, slow maintenance program. Anyway, we're drifting off elsewhere.
Inside....
...and out
The unrefurbished D-stock trains on the District Line, that is. I took a picture of this silver beast against a suitably grey sky. While I shan't ultimately miss their old-style wooden slat flooring, horrible bright silver lighting, installed about 2002 - and what exactly was wrong with the pinky-peach fluorescents they came with? - and their garish "pizza topping" seat covers, I will miss their PROPER comfortable seats, which are not like tea-trays with a small amount of token padding and their quite seriously good heating which caused a wonderful dry, used smelling fug on cold winter days to fill the train.
I've been on these since 1980 or so, when they were first introduced to the tube and so I can't help but feel a little nostalgic about them passing. Another year or so and that'll be that for the unpainted silver tubes. Which were only introduced to save money on paint. Until then, most tubes were painted either red or white. The silver tubes, as can be seen here, were also a graffiti magnet, hence the re-introduction of painted bodies.
I'll miss their shabby comfort. But like ELO, a band I love to this day, am I glad we've moved on? To quote a certain nodding dog, ohhh yes.
And finally, these are by far the most reliable tubes on the network with old fashioned tried and trusted "garden shed" technology tucked beneath. I hope TfL think long and hard before replacing them technologically advanced depot-hogs. And while they're about it, get the dreadfully iffy signalling sorted out. I wonder, now Metronet is out of the way, whether we'll notice a difference in station and track refurbishment. After a promising start, it looks as though MN just gave up. So they deserved to not be handed over any extra money - they were not cheap and provided an inefficient, slow maintenance program. Anyway, we're drifting off elsewhere.
Inside....
...and out
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
The great Cambridge Folk Festival Trip - part 3
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
Apart from being rained out on Saturday evening, the two remaining days were rather fantabulous. Musical highlights included guitarist Martin Simpson, the gorgeous of voice and body Kate Rusby and the UK Ukelele Orchestra who did covers of pop tunes on, not surprisingly, ukeleles, including a chord sequence from Handel where pop and rock tunes were superimposed - the dreadful I Will Survive, Hotel California, Love Story Theme, Killing Me Softly and about eight others. Movingly clever stuff. Toots and the Maytals put on a great party rocker of a show, headlining on Saturday. I wasn't so keen on Sunday's bill-topper, Nanci Griffith and was too wet to enjoy Joan Baez. I would hardly call myself a die-hard fan, but she IS a legend. But played the quite awful Imagine at the end of her set so loses Dukc street cred.
Toots and the Maytals. They were tootin'. Monkey Man - ya, go go go.
Now Lottie takes a chill pill and lies languidly in the sun.
The wonderful Rachel Unthank and the Winterset. They got a new fan today. Me. What a lovely tune the opener to their new Album is. Check their myspace site out www.myspace.com/rachelunthank and listen to Felton Lonnen Radio. Does that not sound like the Geordie Bjork? Lovely chappesses, entertaining, funny and by this track potentially quite dark. The album is mine.
Apart from being rained out on Saturday evening, the two remaining days were rather fantabulous. Musical highlights included guitarist Martin Simpson, the gorgeous of voice and body Kate Rusby and the UK Ukelele Orchestra who did covers of pop tunes on, not surprisingly, ukeleles, including a chord sequence from Handel where pop and rock tunes were superimposed - the dreadful I Will Survive, Hotel California, Love Story Theme, Killing Me Softly and about eight others. Movingly clever stuff. Toots and the Maytals put on a great party rocker of a show, headlining on Saturday. I wasn't so keen on Sunday's bill-topper, Nanci Griffith and was too wet to enjoy Joan Baez. I would hardly call myself a die-hard fan, but she IS a legend. But played the quite awful Imagine at the end of her set so loses Dukc street cred.
Toots and the Maytals. They were tootin'. Monkey Man - ya, go go go.
Now Lottie takes a chill pill and lies languidly in the sun.
The wonderful Rachel Unthank and the Winterset. They got a new fan today. Me. What a lovely tune the opener to their new Album is. Check their myspace site out www.myspace.com/rachelunthank and listen to Felton Lonnen Radio. Does that not sound like the Geordie Bjork? Lovely chappesses, entertaining, funny and by this track potentially quite dark. The album is mine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)