Previously Posted: Slow boat from China

18 November, 2023 Gibson Square 2 Comments

For those new to CabbieBlog or readers who are slightly forgetful, on Saturdays I’m republishing posts, many going back over a decade. Some will still be very relevant while others have become dated over time. Just think of this post as your weekend paper supplement.

Slow boat from china (12.10.2010)

If ever evidence was needed to support the claim that London’s streets were paved with gold the place to find it would be Exhibition Road. This 3/4mile long road is undergoing a transition that in the words of Nick Paget-Brown, Kensington and Chelsea’s Cabinet Member for Transport will transform it into “the most beautiful road in London”.

Unable to source enough granite locally the Tory council has obtained enough stone to match the colour required from China and by using a slow boat from China the council claim the “carbon footprint” is much reduced. An alternative supplier in the north of England would presumably have parachuted in the granite sets by a gas guzzling Tornado jet.

The total project is estimated to cost £29 million which equates to £22,000 per yard; truly London’s streets are paved with gold.

When completed both drivers and pedestrians will share the same space in what is termed a “transition zone”. The most recognisable characteristic of shared space is the absence of street clutter, such as conventional traffic signals, barriers, signs and road markings. This according to the council encourages motorists to slow down, engage with their surroundings and make eye contact with pedestrians – resulting in a higher quality and more usable street area, with enhanced road safety.

When writing last year I described Kensington and Chelsea’s attitude to both pedestrians and vehicles sharing this road as:

“For most of us who use London’s roads encounter inappropriate speeding, overtaking on the nearside, rude and careless drivers, and a complete disregard of pedestrians and cyclists.”

But it would appear that The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s roads department don’t populate the world that I live in (or most accurately the world that I drive in).

Their world is akin to Camberwick Green when everybody is aware of other road users, greeting them with a cheery riposte, and continuing on their journey unimpeded. They help little old ladies cross the road and slow down for children.”

The Royal National Institute for the Blind have been objecting to the plan since its inception even resorting to 150 blind and partially sighted people campaigning outside the London Assembly. The western side of Exhibition Road is used by 19 million pedestrians a year visiting the many attractions in the area, surely there is still time to ban vehicles for most of the day and let everybody enjoy the space of “the most beautiful road in London”.

Puppydog tails

The Story of the Tube

17 November, 2023 Gibson Square 2 Comments

Nowadays we mostly read on our phones or tablets, and it’s easy to forget the pleasurable visceral experience that you feel upon reading a printed book.

London’s Underground: The Story of the Tube by Oliver Green

This large format book certainly doesn’t disappoint, written in collaboration with London Transport, giving the publishers access to the transport authority’s vast photo library to reproduce dozens of historic photographs and retro posters showing the development of the London Underground. Award-winning photographer Benjamin Graham gives this book its magnificent pictures of the modern Underground.

As a research fellow at the London Transport Museum, Oliver Green demonstrates his detailed knowledge of the subject. Unlike many academics, he can engagingly write about tunnel engineering, graphic design, station architecture and rolling stock design in an accessible style which moves you effortlessly through the history of the Underground.

This excellently designed book makes use of the Johnson typeface (the corporate style of the Underground). For the folios and the break-outs, an adaption of Beck’s coloured map lines is a clever device.

Frank Pick, who did more to unify the Underground to the transport system we’ve inherited today described the Tube as “the framework of the town”, this book brilliantly describes this framework.

Featured image: A 1992 stock London Underground train calls at the Central Line platforms of Oxford Circus tube station by J Cornelius under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Thinking allowed

Motoring madness

16 November, 2023 Gibson Square 2 Comments

I have recently received my car insurance renewal and was surprised to find that it’s risen by over 56 per cent. As you might imagine my domestic vehicle covers very few miles a year, and I’ve many years no claim bonus. So, like many, I asked a small South African mongoose to find me a cheaper deal. Curiously the ‘cheapest’ listed of any insurance company I’ve heard of was Churchill, the very one I’m with, but at nearly £18 dearer (that pays for the adverts and cheap cinema tickets). So what are the reasons given by insurers to justify increasing premiums? The excuses are many and varied to fleece you: Increase in vehicle claims; Increase in stolen vehicles; Parts are more expensive to order due to backlog; Parts are taking longer to order due to backlog, subsequently, customers are in courtesy cars for longer which costs insurance companies more; Cars are generally more expensive (both new and used); Insurers paid out more than they took in last year. So there you have it, since covid, when we all didn’t drive and stayed at home, costs have gone up.

Puppydog tails

Johnson’s London Dictionary: Twenty miles per hour

15 November, 2023 Gibson Square 2 Comments

TWENTY MILES PER HOUR (n.) Imposition upon our sedan chairs said to much given advice at saving the populace.

Dr. Johnson’s London Dictionary for publick consumption in the twenty-first century avail yourself on Twitter @JohnsonsLondon

Puppydog tails

Royal anniversary

14 November, 2023 Gibson Square 1 Comment

Today marks two significant royal anniversaries, so those of you with a Republican bent, look away now.

First His Majesty was born in Buckingham Palace exactly 75 years ago. Summer that year had been exceptionally warm, at Kew a maximum of 93°F on 28th July was recorded, with a minimum of 70°F on the following night, these were the highest on record for a July in 78 years of observations.

But for our day in question, 14th November 1973, it had a high recorded of only 62°F, with a low of 44°F, but luckily only 0.4 inches of rain fell when nearly 2 inches fell the next day.

So what happened in London 50 years ago today? Charles celebrated his 25th birthday whilst attending the marriage of his sister Anne to Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey.

This day also saw some other ‘firsts’. Anne was the first of Her Majesty’s children to wed, and to a ‘commoner’, an unusual choice in those days.

The wedding had another first, being the first Royal wedding to be televised.

Five months later on 20th March 1974, on Constitution Hill, Anne was nearly kidnapped when armed unemployed labourer Ian Ball attacked the car in which she was riding, wounding her bodyguard and the chauffeur. This was not a first as the same short stretch of road had seen previous attacks upon royalty.