She Loves London

Tag: On the bus

  • Exit Olympics Stage Left. Normal Service is Resumed.

    Exit Olympics Stage Left. Normal Service is Resumed.

    The Olympic Games have finished, the tourists have gone home, the London 2012 volunteers have all put their uniforms on Ebay, and those weird one eyed alien mascot statue things have been carted off to the incinerator where they belong.

    FIREWORKS
    Wenlock the one eyed mascot getting incinerated / Closing Ceremony fireworks from my window

    But probably the biggest sign that the Games have officially waved au revoir wasn’t Sunday night’s Blitz-like show of fireworks which reverberated around the city for about an hour and a half, prompting everyone on Twitter to go “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? FETCH ME MY BATTLE SWORD” (just me?), but our journeys to work on Monday morning.

    Because I’m pretty sure I can’t be the only one whose bus – after two months of getting me to work at something close to London light speed (aka, normal time) – now diverts to what is basically Outer Mongolia before ending up 100 yards further down the same road in Moorgate.

    Then there’s all the people. Where have all the people come from? After a summer of happily having my pick of seats on the upper deck, this morning two buses went past before I could even get on – and even then I was consigned to standing. Below. Near the doors.

    And just when I thought things couldn’t get any more Business As Usual, my old mate Vern popped up in my inbox.

    If you’re a Londoner, you’ll know Vern. You know, Vern-a-roo. Vern-o.

    Vernon-the-Sermon. El Verno.

    Vernarini.

    Vernon Everitt, Marketing and Communitications at TFL. aka, THE VERNADOR

    It’s been a while since The Vernador has delivered me anything but excitement, good news, and the odd bit of travel advice that you didn’t need to pay attention to because everything was fine.

    But just when I thought it was safe to make plans for a Saturday night out, there it was: an email headed Weekend Line and Station Closures rising, Jaws-like, out of my Gmail inbox.

    The Return of TFL Engineering Works

    In short, the Olympic Travel Disruption has ended and normal service is resumed, which means you can’t use the Bakerloo line, Circle line, District line, Jubilee line, Northern line, or London Overground this weekend or ever again.

    However, I’m all about looking on the positive side of life.

    So…

    Instead of…

    …going across London to hang out with real life people at the weekend

    Why not…

    stay in, do a Twitter search for “I miss the Olympics” and make some new friends on your computer.

    There.

    You see, London? Every cloud.

     

  • Five Reasons I Don’t Hate the Olympics (Yet)

    This morning on the bus to work, a loud voice boomed out across the speakers.

    “Blimey” I thought, “This bus driver’s posh”

    Alas, not content with spreading the Olympic Message on London’s tube and trains (summary: you will be late, deal with it or walk), Boris Johnson is now helpfully warning us about delays we’re already stuck in on the 76 to Waterloo.

    Anyway – despite the travel disruption, threat of rain, 1 million extra people churning up the pavements, and the fact that most Londoners are being squeezed out of the Games, in terms of cost and literally on the tube each morning, I’m finding it hard to completely resign myself to completely hating the Olympics.

    Here are five reasons why.

    (more…)

  • This is the best thing to ever happen on a London bus.

    Of all the funny, weird and slightly mental things that have ever been rumoured to happen in London, this is the only one that I sincerely hope is true.

    via Zubin Jaffer on Facebook

    Brilliant.

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    (Thanks to my sister, @crook3rs, for the heads up)