Two TfL cameras have appeared nearby on a straight road which is one of the only means to leave our estate. Motorists often drive at over 50mph past this spot (a primary school), whilst every street branching off to the north is a cul-de-sac due to thousands of acres of arable land and forestry beyond. With no Boris Bikes, two buses both going in the same direction, the nearest train or Tube some three miles distant, no cabs passing displaying their for hire light and the Superloop bus an hour’s travel away, what is the point of the camera? It’s a rhetorical question, not being a speed camera, it can only be used to fill the coffers of TfL, the local cows around here produce more pollution.

As featured elsewhere on CabbieBlog, Clipper Automotive takes a perfectly serviceable second-hand cab, gives it a thorough overhaul, installs an electric motor and new drive train and replaces the dashboard. This work produces a much more economical vehicle with zero emissions.

Now that we realise the issues associated with waste, you’d have thought that re-purposing a vehicle recognised all over the world as London’s iconic form of public transport was to be commended.

Not so TfL and London’s Mayor who refuse to licence these vehicles, preferring to send parts of 12-year-old vehicles to landfill.

So much for their claims ‘Saving the Planet’.

TIt is now two weeks and two days since Ulez came into force and its purpose is commendable, you can certainly smell London as you approach the M25 from the sticks.

The main thrust of criticism is the lack of public transport on the outskirts of the capital. Mayor Khan claims to have solved this issue with the Superloop stating:

The Superloop is the jewel in the crown in our plans to strengthen alternatives to the private car ahead of the ULEZ expanding London-wide and is a game changer for outer London.

So given we in Havering have seen no new buses, I thought I’d compare Harry Beck’s early map that I grew up with the ‘improved’ network to see what additional rail links have been added some 70 years later.

1960

2020

No Victoria Line, Jubilee Line, London Overground, Waterloo & City Line, DLR, or Elizabeth Line, in fact, no new routes or extensions to existing lines, just the charging zones added.

Taking the dog for a walk in Romford’s most prestigious park, we left our car in the free car park. The space in the car park’s corner was tight, so I put the offside front wheel 2 inches up on the kerb, allowing more distance from the adjacent van and allowing my wife to get out. I come back to a parking ticket, I’m not parked on a disabled bay nor obstructing the entrance or pavement. No the parking bay had a 4ft fence on two sides and nobody could use the distance between the kerb and railings to walk around the car. And what is a parking warden doing walking around a free car park ¾ of a mile from the town centre?

My son ever anxious that my sedentary lifestyle will get the better of me (I keep reminding him that Jim Fixx who wrote an early best-selling book about running, ironically died of a heart attack at the age of 52 years whilst running), enrolled me at the local swimming pool. We oldies get ‘free swims’. The problem you need an enrolment card, an app to book installed on your phone (gone are the days of just turning up), a photo id and proof of paying local council rates. On the first attempt at a swim, I arrived to find the pool closed and they had phoned to tell me only 8 minutes before I was due to arrive. Now I’m finding that to use the other swimming pools in the borough I’ll have to register at each with id and proof of council tax. Gone are the days of just turning up at Wood Green’s pool in the 50s and proffering 6d. That was much too simple.