Like most Londoners, I have never taken the Waterloo & City line. I must add it to my list.
Wow that’s surprising, because I’m one of those who’ve taken the Drain literally hundreds of times. (But I grew up awfully close to the main line from Waterloo out to Amazingstoke).
The only tube line with no intermediate stops.
Nothing wrong with the L&C, far from it, but is anybody mentioning the Rotherhithe tunnel? Engrs. M.Brunel et fils. It was converted to Underground use ages ago.
This is about the Get Into Teaching scheme bursaries.
Conservative government handed out taxpayers' cash with no due diligence to the benefit of fraudsters isn't news. Just surprising that it was only £196m unlike the £bns related to Covid.
Where were the Taxpayers Alliance when Covid PPE, BBL and "eat out to help out" were being roundly abused? Too busy filling out their online forms in their local restaurant no doubt.
Having just read Ed Miliband's speech from yesterday on nuclear power, I don't see anything particularly alarming. It's perhaps frustrating that the pace of decision-making on SMRs is a bit slow, but the intent to do the necessary things is there.
The nickname of the Waterloo and City line is The Drain.
What I find amazing is how they get the tube trains into and out of it. Originally there was a hydraulic lift; this was in the way of the Eurostar terminal and was removed. Now they just crane them in and out of a big shaft nearby.
Oddly enough the Glasgow system began with a crane till a modernisation some years back when they installed a proper ramp to the depot upstairs.
This islamist militia moving across Syria seems to be bad news.
According to the BBC, the genesis of HTS is linked to Al-Queda, Al-Nusra and Bagdadi.
That is their genesis, but I allow people the potential to change and judge them on their actions.
So far they've done quite well in negotiating with disparate communities within the area of their advance, and I haven't seen any evidence of abuse of minorities. It's early days, but it looks very different to the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan.
The Lizzie Line is in a deep-level TUBE, yes TUBE, line between just east of Westbourne Park sidings and just west of Stratford or Custom House, and again between just west of the site of North Woolwich and just east of Plumstead.
My favourite tube lines are the ones in Moscow. I wouldn't use them now but they really are very nice. i quite like Glasgow's too.
Gant's Hill is designed like a Moscow station. It is yards from Wes Streeting's constituency office. During the war, it was used as an underground aircraft electronics factory. Recently, altering the roundabout above the station was delayed by undocumented reinforced concrete to protect said factory. (That's enough Gant's Hill facts – Ed.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RJImB0Gjos (3 minutes)
My favourite tube lines are the ones in Moscow. I wouldn't use them now but they really are very nice. i quite like Glasgow's too.
Gant's Hill is designed like a Moscow station. It is yards from Wes Streeting's constituency office. During the war, it was used as an underground aircraft electronics factory. Recently, altering the roundabout above the station was delayed by undocumented reinforced concrete to protect said factory. (That's enough Gant's Hill facts – Ed.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RJImB0Gjos (3 minutes)
My local station, Gants Hill, glittering jewel of da North Ilford Ghetto!
Having just read Ed Miliband's speech from yesterday on nuclear power, I don't see anything particularly alarming. It's perhaps frustrating that the pace of decision-making on SMRs is a bit slow, but the intent to do the necessary things is there.
Ed Miliband disproves the Starmer/Cummings thesis that the Civil Service blocks action. Apparently all it takes is a minister with a policy, as opposed to a minister with a slogan. See also Louise Haigh. I'd back Ed to replace Starmer but no-one has priced up the former leader.
As opposed to Starmer who can’t even be arsed to go to Notre Dame tomorrow?
He has attended every foreign event he can and sends William in his place
Trump is attending as Macron's guest so looks as if he is avoiding meeting Trump
Forgive me for thinking that meeting with the US president-elect should be right at the top of the PM’s priorities right now.
The Mirror reports sending Prince William was a panic decision once they realised Trump was coming.
Prince William's urgent foreign trip to Notre-Dame after being asked by UK Government It has been announced that Prince William will be travelling to Paris tomorrow to attend the grand reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral, at the request of the UK government, which is also being attended by Donald Trump https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/breaking-prince-williams-urgent-foreign-34262607
As opposed to Starmer who can’t even be arsed to go to Notre Dame tomorrow?
He has attended every foreign event he can and sends William in his place
Trump is attending as Macron's guest so looks as if he is avoiding meeting Trump
Forgive me for thinking that meeting with the US president-elect should be right at the top of the PM’s priorities right now.
The Mirror reports sending Prince William was a panic decision once they realised Trump was coming.
Prince William's urgent foreign trip to Notre-Dame after being asked by UK Government It has been announced that Prince William will be travelling to Paris tomorrow to attend the grand reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral, at the request of the UK government, which is also being attended by Donald Trump https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/breaking-prince-williams-urgent-foreign-34262607
But is that a panicked decision to send someone, or a panicked decision to avoid the PM going?
Civil servants are furious with Starmer for this attack on them, and feel they’ve kept show on road in difficult circumstances over recent years. “There is a mood that we should pull the plug on him” said one. It is no coincidence therefore that Starmer has just made a statement about how much he loves Whitehall. This feels another unforced error
I thought Badenoch wanted to get away from the "offense" stuff?
It seems like it's fine to pull people up, as long as they are your political opponents.
Unless she starts pulling something out of the bag reasonably quickly, culture war stuff may well be all she has. I thought she may have something in her "conservatism in crisis" document, but she seems to have forgotten it.
I thought Badenoch wanted to get away from the "offense" stuff?
It seems like it's fine to pull people up, as long as they are your political opponents.
Unless she starts pulling something out of the bag reasonably quickly, culture war stuff may well be all she has. I thought she may have something in her "conservatism in crisis" document, but she seems to have forgotten it.
I really want to give her a fair hearing as I am open to voting for them in 2029 assuming Labour doesn't overhaul planning or build some houses (my personal metrics for success) but she is making it very difficult, very early.
Civil servants are furious with Starmer for this attack on them, and feel they’ve kept show on road in difficult circumstances over recent years. “There is a mood that we should pull the plug on him” said one. It is no coincidence therefore that Starmer has just made a statement about how much he loves Whitehall. This feels another unforced error
Maybe the leftists who denied that the civil service think themselves to be the ones in charge will revise their positions. The Tories have contended with this attitude for 14 years, now Labour will have to deal with it and nothing will change, productivity will continue to drop and the country will decline further.
Civil servants are furious with Starmer for this attack on them, and feel they’ve kept show on road in difficult circumstances over recent years. “There is a mood that we should pull the plug on him” said one. It is no coincidence therefore that Starmer has just made a statement about how much he loves Whitehall. This feels another unforced error
LOL, so who’s actually in charge?
Cummings was right, and so is Ramaswarmy in the US.
Civil servants are furious with Starmer for this attack on them, and feel they’ve kept show on road in difficult circumstances over recent years. “There is a mood that we should pull the plug on him” said one. It is no coincidence therefore that Starmer has just made a statement about how much he loves Whitehall. This feels another unforced error
Maybe the leftists who denied that the civil service think themselves to be the ones in charge will revise their positions. The Tories have contended with this attitude for 14 years, now Labour will have to deal with it and nothing will change, productivity will continue to drop and the country will decline further.
If you think New Labour had SpAds all over Whitehall because they thought the Civil Service was leftist, well...
Both parties think Yes Minister was a documentary and the Civil Service is 50 per cent obstructionist and 50 per cent placemen from the previous government.
As opposed to Starmer who can’t even be arsed to go to Notre Dame tomorrow?
He has attended every foreign event he can and sends William in his place
Trump is attending as Macron's guest so looks as if he is avoiding meeting Trump
Forgive me for thinking that meeting with the US president-elect should be right at the top of the PM’s priorities right now.
Absolutely not. Stay well clear.
So the British PM should be avoiding the US president-elect, rather than speaking to him as much as possible?
Yes exactly. When you have a powerful malevolent bully on the scene it's best if people don't get pulled in. Each individual effort to suck up for influence can appear rational in isolation but the aggregate impact is negative for everyone but the bully.
Civil servants are furious with Starmer for this attack on them, and feel they’ve kept show on road in difficult circumstances over recent years. “There is a mood that we should pull the plug on him” said one. It is no coincidence therefore that Starmer has just made a statement about how much he loves Whitehall. This feels another unforced error
LOL, so who’s actually in charge?
Cummings was right, and so is Ramaswarmy in the US.
Civil servants are furious with Starmer for this attack on them, and feel they’ve kept show on road in difficult circumstances over recent years. “There is a mood that we should pull the plug on him” said one. It is no coincidence therefore that Starmer has just made a statement about how much he loves Whitehall. This feels another unforced error
Maybe the leftists who denied that the civil service think themselves to be the ones in charge will revise their positions. The Tories have contended with this attitude for 14 years, now Labour will have to deal with it and nothing will change, productivity will continue to drop and the country will decline further.
Pestin the client journalist just making himself look ever more stupid.
Some Civil Servants unhappy, some actually admitting they need a kick up the ass.
The experienced large Dept management experience he has will serve him well.
Sometimes playing bad cop works, the we'll show him attitude, if some throw their toys out of the pram, it's not as if there isn't slack.
Clearly some dinosaurs and prehistoric attitudes need to be obliterated.
It's a positive not a negative that he's kicking ass
I thought Badenoch wanted to get away from the "offense" stuff?
It seems like it's fine to pull people up, as long as they are your political opponents.
Unless she starts pulling something out of the bag reasonably quickly, culture war stuff may well be all she has. I thought she may have something in her "conservatism in crisis" document, but she seems to have forgotten it.
I really want to give her a fair hearing as I am open to voting for them in 2029 assuming Labour doesn't overhaul planning or build some houses (my personal metrics for success) but she is making it very difficult, very early.
She's fundamentally work shy, lazy and has a huge chip on her shoulder.
Those are the views of some Tories who gave refused to work with her.
Civil servants are furious with Starmer for this attack on them, and feel they’ve kept show on road in difficult circumstances over recent years. “There is a mood that we should pull the plug on him” said one. It is no coincidence therefore that Starmer has just made a statement about how much he loves Whitehall. This feels another unforced error
Maybe the leftists who denied that the civil service think themselves to be the ones in charge will revise their positions. The Tories have contended with this attitude for 14 years, now Labour will have to deal with it and nothing will change, productivity will continue to drop and the country will decline further.
Pestin the client journalist just making himself look ever more stupid.
Some Civil Servants unhappy, some actually admitting they need a kick up the ass.
The experienced large Dept management experience he has will serve him well.
Sometimes playing bad cop works, the we'll show him attitude, if some throw their toys out of the pram, it's not as if there isn't slack.
Clearly some dinosaurs and prehistoric attitudes need to be obliterated.
It's a positive not a negative that he's kicking ass
How many asses have actually being kicked?
He may talk a good lawyer’s game about kicking ass, nudge nudge wink wink, but actually kicking the ass is what’s important.
As opposed to Starmer who can’t even be arsed to go to Notre Dame tomorrow?
He has attended every foreign event he can and sends William in his place
Trump is attending as Macron's guest so looks as if he is avoiding meeting Trump
Forgive me for thinking that meeting with the US president-elect should be right at the top of the PM’s priorities right now.
Absolutely not. Stay well clear.
So the British PM should be avoiding the US president-elect, rather than speaking to him as much as possible?
Yes exactly. When you have a powerful malevolent bully on the scene it's best if people don't get pulled in. Each individual effort to suck up for influence can appear rational in isolation but the aggregate impact is negative for everyone but the bully.
A Trump meeting might also be diplomatically awkward while Joe Biden is still President.
Civil servants are furious with Starmer for this attack on them, and feel they’ve kept show on road in difficult circumstances over recent years. “There is a mood that we should pull the plug on him” said one. It is no coincidence therefore that Starmer has just made a statement about how much he loves Whitehall. This feels another unforced error
LOL, so who’s actually in charge?
Cummings was right, and so is Ramaswarmy in the US.
That's a lot to read into a Friday night Robert Peston tweet.
Putin is recruiting agents in the UK — and security services are worried ... There is speculation from some experts that drones flying over US military bases, as well as a flurry of bomb threats across the UK could have also been the work of low-level criminals and individuals working for the GRU. https://inews.co.uk/news/putin-recruiting-uk-based-agents-security-services-worried-3416982 (£££)
As opposed to Starmer who can’t even be arsed to go to Notre Dame tomorrow?
He has attended every foreign event he can and sends William in his place
Trump is attending as Macron's guest so looks as if he is avoiding meeting Trump
Forgive me for thinking that meeting with the US president-elect should be right at the top of the PM’s priorities right now.
Absolutely not. Stay well clear.
So the British PM should be avoiding the US president-elect, rather than speaking to him as much as possible?
Yes exactly. When you have a powerful malevolent bully on the scene it's best if people don't get pulled in. Each individual effort to suck up for influence can appear rational in isolation but the aggregate impact is negative for everyone but the bully.
A Trump meeting might also be diplomatically awkward while Joe Biden is still President.
Why is Trump even there? Is Macron attempting that "butter up and impress" nonsense again? Are we going to see a rerun of the ludicrous marathon macho-man handshake contest? Oh god.
Tiktok ban upheld by US federal court. Hopefully we follow suit asap.
Would be a fairly hard blow to a London tech scene that's already not in great health - Bytedance are one of the very few big employers outside of finance willing to pay anything similar to Bay Area salaries.
Tiktok ban upheld by US federal court. Hopefully we follow suit asap.
Would be a fairly hard blow to a London tech scene that's already not in great health - Bytedance are one of the very few big employers outside of finance willing to pay anything similar to Bay Area salaries.
Terrible working conditions though, I've had two friends resign because of the stress.
I'm not some kind of sicko, so I'm obviously not going to click on that link, but when I was last in London at the beginning of November, it was significantly better than during the Summer.
Now, I should caveat this. My London flat is on Shaftesbury Avenue, so the London I see most is between Holborn, Covent Garden and Soho.
From 2022 to the summer of 2024, the area around my apartment was on a steady downward trend. The homeless heroin, crack and crystal meth addicts (who often also suffered from a whole host mental afflictions) proliferated. During the summer, leaving out apartment building, we'd regularly have to ask the crack smoking homeless to please move.
It felt increasingly unsafe.
Last month, it was like a light switch had been thrown. Never once did I need to step over a homeless person when entering the building. I wasn't aggressively hassled for money. The area had been dramatically cleaned up, and that had a knock on positive impact on the local pubs and restaurants where -despite the weather- large crowds milled outside.
Perhaps the homeless heroin addicts got moved on, and headed up to Sean Thomas's part of the world.
But irrespective, London felt to me safer and cleaner than it had done at any time in the post-Covid world. (And, of course, we now have the Elizabeth Line which whisks me to Heathrow in 35 minutes from Tottenham Court Road tube station, meaning I can leave my apartment just two hours before my flight to LA.)
Civil servants are furious with Starmer for this attack on them, and feel they’ve kept show on road in difficult circumstances over recent years. “There is a mood that we should pull the plug on him” said one. It is no coincidence therefore that Starmer has just made a statement about how much he loves Whitehall. This feels another unforced error
Maybe the leftists who denied that the civil service think themselves to be the ones in charge will revise their positions. The Tories have contended with this attitude for 14 years, now Labour will have to deal with it and nothing will change, productivity will continue to drop and the country will decline further.
Since when has UK productivity depended on civil service productivity rather then private sector productivity?
The top ranks of the civil service has always been full of Sir Humphreys
Like most Londoners, I have never taken the Waterloo & City line. I must add it to my list.
Wow that’s surprising, because I’m one of those who’ve taken the Drain literally hundreds of times. (But I grew up awfully close to the main line from Waterloo out to Amazingstoke).
The only tube line with no intermediate stops.
Nothing wrong with the L&C, far from it, but is anybody mentioning the Rotherhithe tunnel? Engrs. M.Brunel et fils. It was converted to Underground use ages ago.
I took that with my wife in the Summer for the first time in 25 years.
I'm not some kind of sicko, so I'm obviously not going to click on that link, but when I was last in London at the beginning of November, it was significantly better than during the Summer.
Now, I should caveat this. My London flat is on Shaftesbury Avenue, so the London I see most is between Holborn, Covent Garden and Soho.
From 2022 to the summer of 2024, the area around my apartment was on a steady downward trend. The homeless heroin, crack and crystal meth addicts (who often also suffered from a whole host mental afflictions) proliferated. During the summer, leaving out apartment building, we'd regularly have to ask the crack smoking homeless to please move.
It felt increasingly unsafe.
Last month, it was like a light switch had been thrown. Never once did I need to step over a homeless person when entering the building. I wasn't aggressively hassled for money. The area had been dramatically cleaned up, and that had a knock on positive impact on the local pubs and restaurants where -despite the weather- large crowds milled outside.
Perhaps the homeless heroin addicts got moved on, and headed up to Sean Thomas's part of the world.
But irrespective, London felt to me safer and cleaner than it had done at any time in the post-Covid world. (And, of course, we now have the Elizabeth Line which whisks me to Heathrow in 35 minutes from Tottenham Court Road tube station, meaning I can leave my apartment just two hours before my flight to LA.)
Starmer spent 250 million on homelessness in the Budget.
Like most Londoners, I have never taken the Waterloo & City line. I must add it to my list.
Wow that’s surprising, because I’m one of those who’ve taken the Drain literally hundreds of times. (But I grew up awfully close to the main line from Waterloo out to Amazingstoke).
The only tube line with no intermediate stops.
Nothing wrong with the L&C, far from it, but is anybody mentioning the Rotherhithe tunnel? Engrs. M.Brunel et fils. It was converted to Underground use ages ago.
Wrong tunnel!
The Rotherhithe is a road tunnel. The tunnel you're thinking of is the Thames Tunnel, between Wapping and Rotherhithe, built as a foot tunnel by the Brunels upon opening in 1843, but converted to railway use in 1869. For years it was part of the East London Railway and then the East London Line, now it's part of the Windrush Line.
Like most Londoners, I have never taken the Waterloo & City line. I must add it to my list.
Wow that’s surprising, because I’m one of those who’ve taken the Drain literally hundreds of times. (But I grew up awfully close to the main line from Waterloo out to Amazingstoke).
The only tube line with no intermediate stops.
Nothing wrong with the L&C, far from it, but is anybody mentioning the Rotherhithe tunnel? Engrs. M.Brunel et fils. It was converted to Underground use ages ago.
I took that with my wife in the Summer for the first time in 25 years.
The Waterloo and City line used to be peak queuing, at the top of British performance art.
I took it for a fortnight once when on a course in the City, and staying with my brother in Wimbledon. The commuters would line up on the platform at intervals, with gaps exactly where the doors would be when the train pulled in. The passengers would disembark, and the queue would enter in column in complete silence. It was like intuitive choreography, and pure Britishness. It was 25 years ago, so might not be like that now, but was my favourite at the time.
Tiktok ban upheld by US federal court. Hopefully we follow suit asap.
Would be a fairly hard blow to a London tech scene that's already not in great health - Bytedance are one of the very few big employers outside of finance willing to pay anything similar to Bay Area salaries.
Terrible working conditions though, I've had two friends resign because of the stress.
Yeah, and their pay for more senior roles isn't nearly so great.
But for people in their 20s who hope to be able to get on the property ladder, there aren't really many other options out there.
Like most Londoners, I have never taken the Waterloo & City line. I must add it to my list.
Wow that’s surprising, because I’m one of those who’ve taken the Drain literally hundreds of times. (But I grew up awfully close to the main line from Waterloo out to Amazingstoke).
The only tube line with no intermediate stops.
Nothing wrong with the L&C, far from it, but is anybody mentioning the Rotherhithe tunnel? Engrs. M.Brunel et fils. It was converted to Underground use ages ago.
Wrong tunnel!
The Rotherhithe is a road tunnel. The tunnel you're thinking of is the Thames Tunnel, between Wapping and Rotherhithe, built as a foot tunnel by the Brunels upon opening in 1843, but converted to railway use in 1869. For years it was part of the East London Railway and then the East London Line, now it's part of the Windrush Line.
Tiktok ban upheld by US federal court. Hopefully we follow suit asap.
Would be a fairly hard blow to a London tech scene that's already not in great health - Bytedance are one of the very few big employers outside of finance willing to pay anything similar to Bay Area salaries.
Because 1/3 of their workforce are Chinese spies, 1/3 are UK/US spies, and the other 1/3 are doing all the work?
I thought Badenoch wanted to get away from the "offense" stuff?
It seems like it's fine to pull people up, as long as they are your political opponents.
I think it shows how thin skinned she is. Not a good combination with her spiky nature.
She has now accused Starmer of mansplaining and now racism, perhaps she is afflicted by this "Woke Mind Virus" that we hear so much about.
The Prime Minister opened a big speech about his new direction for the nation with an inaccurate, dismally unfunny, and unnecessarily personal "joke" about her
As opposed to Starmer who can’t even be arsed to go to Notre Dame tomorrow?
He has attended every foreign event he can and sends William in his place
Trump is attending as Macron's guest so looks as if he is avoiding meeting Trump
G7 G20 Cop are important
Is the reopening of Notre Dam important?
He's met Trump recently.
Are you serious suggesting every time the Orange one lands on Europe that the UK PM should chase him like a fecking poodle.
NO NO NO
Macron and the French government are treating the reopening of ND as a big occasion, both domestically and internationally - hence all the heads of state being invited.
I'm not some kind of sicko, so I'm obviously not going to click on that link, but when I was last in London at the beginning of November, it was significantly better than during the Summer.
Now, I should caveat this. My London flat is on Shaftesbury Avenue, so the London I see most is between Holborn, Covent Garden and Soho.
From 2022 to the summer of 2024, the area around my apartment was on a steady downward trend. The homeless heroin, crack and crystal meth addicts (who often also suffered from a whole host mental afflictions) proliferated. During the summer, leaving out apartment building, we'd regularly have to ask the crack smoking homeless to please move.
It felt increasingly unsafe.
Last month, it was like a light switch had been thrown. Never once did I need to step over a homeless person when entering the building. I wasn't aggressively hassled for money. The area had been dramatically cleaned up, and that had a knock on positive impact on the local pubs and restaurants where -despite the weather- large crowds milled outside.
Perhaps the homeless heroin addicts got moved on, and headed up to Sean Thomas's part of the world.
But irrespective, London felt to me safer and cleaner than it had done at any time in the post-Covid world. (And, of course, we now have the Elizabeth Line which whisks me to Heathrow in 35 minutes from Tottenham Court Road tube station, meaning I can leave my apartment just two hours before my flight to LA.)
Starmer spent 250 million on homelessness in the Budget.
And quite right too.
Leaving aside the "let's be nice to people" aspect, important though it is, having people visibly living on the streets is one of those signs of a state that has just given up. And the fix doesn't need that much money.
It's another of those markers that, however poor this government is, it's sill better than the last one.
Civil servants are furious with Starmer for this attack on them, and feel they’ve kept show on road in difficult circumstances over recent years. “There is a mood that we should pull the plug on him” said one. It is no coincidence therefore that Starmer has just made a statement about how much he loves Whitehall. This feels another unforced error
LOL, so who’s actually in charge?
Cummings was right, and so is Ramaswarmy in the US.
That's a lot to read into a Friday night Robert Peston tweet.
Well it is Pesto.
But I’ve encountered attitudes in people I’ve met at the Cabinet Office that are not far off that. They are the Government, and the politicians are there to get their policies through parliament.
Like most Londoners, I have never taken the Waterloo & City line. I must add it to my list.
Wow that’s surprising, because I’m one of those who’ve taken the Drain literally hundreds of times. (But I grew up awfully close to the main line from Waterloo out to Amazingstoke).
The only tube line with no intermediate stops.
Nothing wrong with the L&C, far from it, but is anybody mentioning the Rotherhithe tunnel? Engrs. M.Brunel et fils. It was converted to Underground use ages ago.
I took that with my wife in the Summer for the first time in 25 years.
The Waterloo and City line used to be peak queuing, at the top of British performance art.
I took it for a fortnight once when on a course in the City, and staying with my brother in Wimbledon. The commuters would line up on the platform at intervals, with gaps exactly where the doors would be when the train pulled in. The passengers would disembark, and the queue would enter in column in complete silence. It was like intuitive choreography, and pure Britishness. It was 25 years ago, so might not be like that now, but was my favourite at the time.
I've only done the W&C once. I was about 8. We were staying with my grandparents in Pinner, and my grandfather kindly condescended to take his geeky grandson for a day on the tubes. We did every line, including the W&C. We went right round the circle line. We changed at slightly obscure places outside the Circle Line like Stockwell and Mile End. We had Marmite sandwiches on the Embankment in our only bit of fresh air of the day. We returned to Pinner via the Piccadilly line, changing at Rayner's Lane and HotH. He was a great man. Anyway, the W&C was a highlight even then, and I recognise your description of the choreography.
Civil servants are furious with Starmer for this attack on them, and feel they’ve kept show on road in difficult circumstances over recent years. “There is a mood that we should pull the plug on him” said one. It is no coincidence therefore that Starmer has just made a statement about how much he loves Whitehall. This feels another unforced error
Maybe the leftists who denied that the civil service think themselves to be the ones in charge will revise their positions. The Tories have contended with this attitude for 14 years, now Labour will have to deal with it and nothing will change, productivity will continue to drop and the country will decline further.
Since when has UK productivity depended on civil service productivity rather then private sector productivity?
The top ranks of the civil service has always been full of Sir Humphreys
Civil servants advise, ministers decide - the third leg is civil servants action. It is this last element which is not working. Operational management is different from policy creation requiring separate structures, incentives, ways of working etc.
Whitehall as a system needs to change to reflect the importance of operational management.
The White Bear is a great little theatre. My wife and I staged a play we wrote with some friends there a few years back. Sadly the Guardian didn't review it.
Like most Londoners, I have never taken the Waterloo & City line. I must add it to my list.
Wow that’s surprising, because I’m one of those who’ve taken the Drain literally hundreds of times. (But I grew up awfully close to the main line from Waterloo out to Amazingstoke).
The only tube line with no intermediate stops.
Nothing wrong with the L&C, far from it, but is anybody mentioning the Rotherhithe tunnel? Engrs. M.Brunel et fils. It was converted to Underground use ages ago.
I took that with my wife in the Summer for the first time in 25 years.
The Waterloo and City line used to be peak queuing, at the top of British performance art.
I took it for a fortnight once when on a course in the City, and staying with my brother in Wimbledon. The commuters would line up on the platform at intervals, with gaps exactly where the doors would be when the train pulled in. The passengers would disembark, and the queue would enter in column in complete silence. It was like intuitive choreography, and pure Britishness. It was 25 years ago, so might not be like that now, but was my favourite at the time.
This was helped by the fact that very few non-commuters used The Drain. So 99% of the crowd would be expert Drain users.
Like most Londoners, I have never taken the Waterloo & City line. I must add it to my list.
Wow that’s surprising, because I’m one of those who’ve taken the Drain literally hundreds of times. (But I grew up awfully close to the main line from Waterloo out to Amazingstoke).
The only tube line with no intermediate stops.
Nothing wrong with the L&C, far from it, but is anybody mentioning the Rotherhithe tunnel? Engrs. M.Brunel et fils. It was converted to Underground use ages ago.
I took that with my wife in the Summer for the first time in 25 years.
The Waterloo and City line used to be peak queuing, at the top of British performance art.
I took it for a fortnight once when on a course in the City, and staying with my brother in Wimbledon. The commuters would line up on the platform at intervals, with gaps exactly where the doors would be when the train pulled in. The passengers would disembark, and the queue would enter in column in complete silence. It was like intuitive choreography, and pure Britishness. It was 25 years ago, so might not be like that now, but was my favourite at the time.
I've only done the W&C once. I was about 8. We were staying with my grandparents in Pinner, and my grandfather kindly condescended to take his geeky grandson for a day on the tubes. We did every line, including the W&C. We went right round the circle line. We changed at slightly obscure places outside the Circle Line like Stockwell and Mile End. We had Marmite sandwiches on the Embankment in our only bit of fresh air of the day. We returned to Pinner via the Piccadilly line, changing at Rayner's Lane and HotH. He was a great man. Anyway, the W&C was a highlight even then, and I recognise your description of the choreography.
One of my favourite games when young was "The London Game".
Like most Londoners, I have never taken the Waterloo & City line. I must add it to my list.
Wow that’s surprising, because I’m one of those who’ve taken the Drain literally hundreds of times. (But I grew up awfully close to the main line from Waterloo out to Amazingstoke).
The only tube line with no intermediate stops.
Nothing wrong with the L&C, far from it, but is anybody mentioning the Rotherhithe tunnel? Engrs. M.Brunel et fils. It was converted to Underground use ages ago.
I took that with my wife in the Summer for the first time in 25 years.
The Waterloo and City line used to be peak queuing, at the top of British performance art.
I took it for a fortnight once when on a course in the City, and staying with my brother in Wimbledon. The commuters would line up on the platform at intervals, with gaps exactly where the doors would be when the train pulled in. The passengers would disembark, and the queue would enter in column in complete silence. It was like intuitive choreography, and pure Britishness. It was 25 years ago, so might not be like that now, but was my favourite at the time.
I've only done the W&C once. I was about 8. We were staying with my grandparents in Pinner, and my grandfather kindly condescended to take his geeky grandson for a day on the tubes. We did every line, including the W&C. We went right round the circle line. We changed at slightly obscure places outside the Circle Line like Stockwell and Mile End. We had Marmite sandwiches on the Embankment in our only bit of fresh air of the day. We returned to Pinner via the Piccadilly line, changing at Rayner's Lane and HotH. He was a great man. Anyway, the W&C was a highlight even then, and I recognise your description of the choreography.
Your grandad sounds wonderful. When I was a kid my dad and I did the whole of the Tyne and Wear Metro for my birthday treat.
Like most Londoners, I have never taken the Waterloo & City line. I must add it to my list.
Wow that’s surprising, because I’m one of those who’ve taken the Drain literally hundreds of times. (But I grew up awfully close to the main line from Waterloo out to Amazingstoke).
The only tube line with no intermediate stops.
Nothing wrong with the L&C, far from it, but is anybody mentioning the Rotherhithe tunnel? Engrs. M.Brunel et fils. It was converted to Underground use ages ago.
I took that with my wife in the Summer for the first time in 25 years.
The Waterloo and City line used to be peak queuing, at the top of British performance art.
I took it for a fortnight once when on a course in the City, and staying with my brother in Wimbledon. The commuters would line up on the platform at intervals, with gaps exactly where the doors would be when the train pulled in. The passengers would disembark, and the queue would enter in column in complete silence. It was like intuitive choreography, and pure Britishness. It was 25 years ago, so might not be like that now, but was my favourite at the time.
I've only done the W&C once. I was about 8. We were staying with my grandparents in Pinner, and my grandfather kindly condescended to take his geeky grandson for a day on the tubes. We did every line, including the W&C. We went right round the circle line. We changed at slightly obscure places outside the Circle Line like Stockwell and Mile End. We had Marmite sandwiches on the Embankment in our only bit of fresh air of the day. We returned to Pinner via the Piccadilly line, changing at Rayner's Lane and HotH. He was a great man. Anyway, the W&C was a highlight even then, and I recognise your description of the choreography.
Reminiscing now. Have just worked out the route we took: Pinner- Baker Street (Met) Baker Street-Waterloo(Bakerloo) Waterloo-Bank(W&C) Bank-Mile End(Central) Mile End- Embankment(District) *Lunch* Embankment-Stockwell (Northern) Stockwell-KCSP (Victoria) KCSP-KCSP (Central) KCSP-Rayners Lane (Piccadilly) Rayners Lane-HotH (Met) HotH-Pinner (Met)
Tiktok ban upheld by US federal court. Hopefully we follow suit asap.
Would be a fairly hard blow to a London tech scene that's already not in great health - Bytedance are one of the very few big employers outside of finance willing to pay anything similar to Bay Area salaries.
Because 1/3 of their workforce are Chinese spies, 1/3 are UK/US spies, and the other 1/3 are doing all the work?
When I was contracting Douche Bank, in early 2014 and later, I told them what I thought their policy of setting up an outsourcing unit in Russia - the good developers will all be working for the FSB and the FSB works with the Thieves By Statute.
A few month later, Russia invaded Ukraine. For one project, QA team was in Ukraine, the developers in St Petersburg. On the morning call, the QA team announced that the next code version would never pass QA... Managers were trying to find out where the source code was physically - there was a possibility that the US would pull the plug on any connection with Russia. Which would leave them without even the source code!
Like most Londoners, I have never taken the Waterloo & City line. I must add it to my list.
Wow that’s surprising, because I’m one of those who’ve taken the Drain literally hundreds of times. (But I grew up awfully close to the main line from Waterloo out to Amazingstoke).
The only tube line with no intermediate stops.
Nothing wrong with the L&C, far from it, but is anybody mentioning the Rotherhithe tunnel? Engrs. M.Brunel et fils. It was converted to Underground use ages ago.
I took that with my wife in the Summer for the first time in 25 years.
The Waterloo and City line used to be peak queuing, at the top of British performance art.
I took it for a fortnight once when on a course in the City, and staying with my brother in Wimbledon. The commuters would line up on the platform at intervals, with gaps exactly where the doors would be when the train pulled in. The passengers would disembark, and the queue would enter in column in complete silence. It was like intuitive choreography, and pure Britishness. It was 25 years ago, so might not be like that now, but was my favourite at the time.
I've only done the W&C once. I was about 8. We were staying with my grandparents in Pinner, and my grandfather kindly condescended to take his geeky grandson for a day on the tubes. We did every line, including the W&C. We went right round the circle line. We changed at slightly obscure places outside the Circle Line like Stockwell and Mile End. We had Marmite sandwiches on the Embankment in our only bit of fresh air of the day. We returned to Pinner via the Piccadilly line, changing at Rayner's Lane and HotH. He was a great man. Anyway, the W&C was a highlight even then, and I recognise your description of the choreography.
Reminiscing now. Have just worked out the route we took: KCSP-KCSP (Central)
Like most Londoners, I have never taken the Waterloo & City line. I must add it to my list.
Wow that’s surprising, because I’m one of those who’ve taken the Drain literally hundreds of times. (But I grew up awfully close to the main line from Waterloo out to Amazingstoke).
The only tube line with no intermediate stops.
Nothing wrong with the L&C, far from it, but is anybody mentioning the Rotherhithe tunnel? Engrs. M.Brunel et fils. It was converted to Underground use ages ago.
I took that with my wife in the Summer for the first time in 25 years.
The Waterloo and City line used to be peak queuing, at the top of British performance art.
I took it for a fortnight once when on a course in the City, and staying with my brother in Wimbledon. The commuters would line up on the platform at intervals, with gaps exactly where the doors would be when the train pulled in. The passengers would disembark, and the queue would enter in column in complete silence. It was like intuitive choreography, and pure Britishness. It was 25 years ago, so might not be like that now, but was my favourite at the time.
I've only done the W&C once. I was about 8. We were staying with my grandparents in Pinner, and my grandfather kindly condescended to take his geeky grandson for a day on the tubes. We did every line, including the W&C. We went right round the circle line. We changed at slightly obscure places outside the Circle Line like Stockwell and Mile End. We had Marmite sandwiches on the Embankment in our only bit of fresh air of the day. We returned to Pinner via the Piccadilly line, changing at Rayner's Lane and HotH. He was a great man. Anyway, the W&C was a highlight even then, and I recognise your description of the choreography.
One of my favourite games when young was "The London Game".
I've got that! Also, from the same stable, the Great Game of Britain. The version I have (from about 1984) had a reversible board with one side set in the steam era and the other in the modern day. The modern one played better, in my opinion. "You are tired of the crowds. Go to John O'Groats and stay there for two turns. Station: Thurso."
Comments
Too busy filling out their online forms in their local restaurant no doubt.
The poll is out of date!
London Overground is now:
Liberty Line
Lioness Line
Mildmay Line
Suffragette Line
Weaver Line
Windrush Line
There’s very occasionally some times when government needs to pick winners, and this is one of them.
https://x.com/ibrahim_ghassan/status/1865071386596700245
Having just read Ed Miliband's speech from yesterday on nuclear power, I don't see anything particularly alarming. It's perhaps frustrating that the pace of decision-making on SMRs is a bit slow, but the intent to do the necessary things is there.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/nuclear-2024-conference-energy-secretary-speech
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/25/night-clubs-nightlife-britain-pandemic-close
Thats her 10 hours for the week
Off on a weekend jolly again
2 more conservative gains last night and Labour losing 31.1% of their vote in the local in Cardiff last night might tell you something
So far they've done quite well in negotiating with disparate communities within the area of their advance, and I haven't seen any evidence of abuse of minorities. It's early days, but it looks very different to the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan.
Trump is attending as Macron's guest so looks as if he is avoiding meeting Trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RJImB0Gjos (3 minutes)
Specially for @Luckyguy1983 - a play about Ms Truss' salad days. Sounds as if the playwright did a decent job.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/dec/06/the-last-days-of-liz-truss-review-white-bear-london
Prince William's urgent foreign trip to Notre-Dame after being asked by UK Government
It has been announced that Prince William will be travelling to Paris tomorrow to attend the grand reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral, at the request of the UK government, which is also being attended by Donald Trump
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/breaking-prince-williams-urgent-foreign-34262607
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/en/politics/uk-next-prime-minister/prime-minister-after-keir-starmer-betting-1.230434795
Very different optics.
Saw this. Thought of you.
The Cult of Failing Upwards | Better Offline
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQNO1h2ZCoo
Civil servants are furious with Starmer for this attack on them, and feel they’ve kept show on road in difficult circumstances over recent years. “There is a mood that we should pull the plug on him” said one. It is no coincidence therefore that Starmer has just made a statement about how much he loves Whitehall. This feels another unforced error
It seems like it's fine to pull people up, as long as they are your political opponents.
Cummings was right, and so is Ramaswarmy in the US.
Both parties think Yes Minister was a documentary and the Civil Service is 50 per cent obstructionist and 50 per cent placemen from the previous government.
Some Civil Servants unhappy, some actually admitting they need a kick up the ass.
The experienced large Dept management experience he has will serve him well.
Sometimes playing bad cop works, the we'll show him attitude, if some throw their toys out of the pram, it's not as if there isn't slack.
Clearly some dinosaurs and prehistoric attitudes need to be obliterated.
It's a positive not a negative that he's kicking ass
Those are the views of some Tories who gave refused to work with her.
He may talk a good lawyer’s game about kicking ass, nudge nudge wink wink, but actually kicking the ass is what’s important.
No point again until February.
She has now accused Starmer of mansplaining and now racism, perhaps she is afflicted by this "Woke Mind Virus" that we hear so much about.
Is the reopening of Notre Dam important?
He's met Trump recently.
Are you serious suggesting every time the Orange one lands on Europe that the UK PM should chase him like a fecking poodle.
NO NO NO
...
There is speculation from some experts that drones flying over US military bases, as well as a flurry of bomb threats across the UK could have also been the work of low-level criminals and individuals working for the GRU.
https://inews.co.uk/news/putin-recruiting-uk-based-agents-security-services-worried-3416982 (£££)
One for @Leon
Trump is attending as he is US head of state elect
Now, I should caveat this. My London flat is on Shaftesbury Avenue, so the London I see most is between Holborn, Covent Garden and Soho.
From 2022 to the summer of 2024, the area around my apartment was on a steady downward trend. The homeless heroin, crack and crystal meth addicts (who often also suffered from a whole host mental afflictions) proliferated. During the summer, leaving out apartment building, we'd regularly have to ask the crack smoking homeless to please move.
It felt increasingly unsafe.
Last month, it was like a light switch had been thrown. Never once did I need to step over a homeless person when entering the building. I wasn't aggressively hassled for money. The area had been dramatically cleaned up, and that had a knock on positive impact on the local pubs and restaurants where -despite the weather- large crowds milled outside.
Perhaps the homeless heroin addicts got moved on, and headed up to Sean Thomas's part of the world.
But irrespective, London felt to me safer and cleaner than it had done at any time in the post-Covid world. (And, of course, we now have the Elizabeth Line which whisks me to Heathrow in 35 minutes from Tottenham Court Road tube station, meaning I can leave my apartment just two hours before my flight to LA.)
The top ranks of the civil service has always been full of Sir Humphreys
The Rotherhithe is a road tunnel. The tunnel you're thinking of is the Thames Tunnel, between Wapping and Rotherhithe, built as a foot tunnel by the Brunels upon opening in 1843, but converted to railway use in 1869. For years it was part of the East London Railway and then the East London Line, now it's part of the Windrush Line.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Tunnel
I took it for a fortnight once when on a course in the City, and staying with my brother in Wimbledon. The commuters would line up on the platform at intervals, with gaps exactly where the doors would be when the train pulled in. The passengers would disembark, and the queue would enter in column in complete silence. It was like intuitive choreography, and pure Britishness. It was 25 years ago, so might not be like that now, but was my favourite at the time.
But for people in their 20s who hope to be able to get on the property ladder, there aren't really many other options out there.
He's a Dalek Sergeant
From the pink line to the brown line
Leaving aside the "let's be nice to people" aspect, important though it is, having people visibly living on the streets is one of those signs of a state that has just given up. And the fix doesn't need that much money.
It's another of those markers that, however poor this government is, it's sill better than the last one.
But I’ve encountered attitudes in people I’ve met at the Cabinet Office that are not far off that. They are the Government, and the politicians are there to get their policies through parliament.
He was a great man.
Anyway, the W&C was a highlight even then, and I recognise your description of the choreography.
@PolitlcsUK
🚨 NEW: Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick is set to launch a regular GB News show
[@GuidoFawkes]
Whitehall as a system needs to change to reflect the importance of operational management.
https://x.com/PolitlcsUK/status/1865106097557717221?t=zPKy32WIkuvhikr9L1UE1g&s=19
A perfect Christmas present 🎁 for train fans.
https://amzn.eu/d/anqimMQ
https://x.com/PolitlcsUK/status/1865058835133550821?t=h3X1-lBFYIO5LS14hVhRnw&s=19
Just now our mobiles have rung with a red alert
I have never received anything like that before the
Pinner- Baker Street (Met)
Baker Street-Waterloo(Bakerloo)
Waterloo-Bank(W&C)
Bank-Mile End(Central)
Mile End- Embankment(District)
*Lunch*
Embankment-Stockwell (Northern)
Stockwell-KCSP (Victoria)
KCSP-KCSP (Central)
KCSP-Rayners Lane (Piccadilly)
Rayners Lane-HotH (Met)
HotH-Pinner (Met)
A few month later, Russia invaded Ukraine. For one project, QA team was in Ukraine, the developers in St Petersburg. On the morning call, the QA team announced that the next code version would never pass QA... Managers were trying to find out where the source code was physically - there was a possibility that the US would pull the plug on any connection with Russia. Which would leave them without even the source code!
BBC Wales are really triggering this storm warning
Russia fleeing like the US did as the Taliban swept Afghanistan near their departure date.
More fronts opening up as the Kurds gain ground in the north east new areas of resistance popping up in the south.
Will Iran reinforce him sufficiently for him to hang on?
"You are tired of the crowds. Go to John O'Groats and stay there for two turns. Station: Thurso."
I asked a Syrian colleague about it (no Assad fan - some of his cousins were gassed by Bashir), he didn't sound very keen on this rebel group either.