Public transport and the Olympics
The meltdown of the public transport system that many (including myself) had forecast and feared for the Olympics hasn't occurred (I'll just add a 'yet' to be cautious). This is probably thanks to a combination of many people going away and of many sensible Londoners avoiding non-necessary travelling.
Indeed, many businesses in central London are complaining that people are staying away. Perhaps it was our Mayor's announcement broadcast ad nauseam on buses, trains and stations ("Hi folks! This is the mayor... London is going to be exceptionally busy... don't get caught out"), although it's not clear whether people stayed away because they feared Armageddon or they just couldn't face hearing his booming voice one more time.
But everything in life is relative. According to a News BBC article, these two Canadians had quite a different opinion
Cheryl and Barbara Anderson timed their trip from Montreal, Canada, to coincide with the Games, even though they have not managed to get tickets.
Cheryl, 51, says: "We saw on the news that traffic is supposed to be way down on normal and we thought, 'wow, how bad must it be normally?' But I suppose we don't have anything to compare it to.
"And we thought the Tube trains were busy. We had no idea that it can be hard to get a seat."
The only inconvenience that I have experienced so far (apart from having to come into work 90 minutes early - but that's a company decision) was yesterday when all the buses from Victoria were diverted via Sloane Square due to the triathlon event.
I should have remembered that Sloane Street is always a bottleneck and yesterday there were about 30 buses all stuck in one line.
So I got off and walked up Sloane Street to Knightsbridge past all the designers which of course made me think of Patsy's line
"These women shop for lunch! Labels are their only sustenance! Their skeleton legs in Manolos have worn trenches down the pavement of Sloane Street. Their arm sinews have just enough muscles left in their arm to lift up a credit card."
Needless to say it was way too early for Patsy or Edina or any other fashion vulture!
Indeed, many businesses in central London are complaining that people are staying away. Perhaps it was our Mayor's announcement broadcast ad nauseam on buses, trains and stations ("Hi folks! This is the mayor... London is going to be exceptionally busy... don't get caught out"), although it's not clear whether people stayed away because they feared Armageddon or they just couldn't face hearing his booming voice one more time.
But everything in life is relative. According to a News BBC article, these two Canadians had quite a different opinion
Cheryl and Barbara Anderson timed their trip from Montreal, Canada, to coincide with the Games, even though they have not managed to get tickets.
Cheryl, 51, says: "We saw on the news that traffic is supposed to be way down on normal and we thought, 'wow, how bad must it be normally?' But I suppose we don't have anything to compare it to.
"And we thought the Tube trains were busy. We had no idea that it can be hard to get a seat."
The only inconvenience that I have experienced so far (apart from having to come into work 90 minutes early - but that's a company decision) was yesterday when all the buses from Victoria were diverted via Sloane Square due to the triathlon event.
I should have remembered that Sloane Street is always a bottleneck and yesterday there were about 30 buses all stuck in one line.
So I got off and walked up Sloane Street to Knightsbridge past all the designers which of course made me think of Patsy's line
"These women shop for lunch! Labels are their only sustenance! Their skeleton legs in Manolos have worn trenches down the pavement of Sloane Street. Their arm sinews have just enough muscles left in their arm to lift up a credit card."
Needless to say it was way too early for Patsy or Edina or any other fashion vulture!