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Length Does Matter
Jan. 10th, 2007 09:23 amOne of the quirks of the UK train system is that, with so many branches, by-ways and spider-like criss-crossings, you occasionally get silly situations where a node such as Lewisham gets three trains arriving within five minutes, then none for a quarter of an hour. This is the situation I experience in the morning, when I have the choice of a 6.20 and 6.25 from platform three or a 6.22 from platform one, all of which go to Charing Cross.
For the past couple of months I have been forsaking the 6.20 in favour of the 6.22, solely because the latter was a longer train and I was thus guaranteed a seat. Maddeningly, of the three trains, the 6.20 was the shortest, at only six carriages. For some strange reason, it was also the train most populated with bicycles. Folding bikes, racing bikes, mountain bikes, you name it, the train as a concerto of helmeted traffic-light impersonators jumping up and down at every stop to move their bikes from one side of the carriage to the other, so that mere mortal pedestrians could actually get on or off the train.
Anyhoo, someone must have noticed the overcrowding, because they have made the 6.20 a longer train -- eight carriages instead of six and, yowza, seats are once again available.
+++++++++
Last night I watched the BBC 4 documentary on the LA Music Scene from the mid 1960s to the late 1970s. Synchronically Mr Van Dyke Parks turned up, a man whose influence on the music scene has clearly been underrated.
It was an excellent documentary, with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young featuring heavily (plus the Eagles, but we'll pass that by, shall we?). Jackson Browne, Gram Parsons, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King and Joni Mitchell were all given due credit. I'm sure I've missed off a few vital people, but it was interesting to watch. I don't think that David Geffen came out of it too badly, which just goes to show that you can't always take the word of successful musicians and their lawyers.
For the past couple of months I have been forsaking the 6.20 in favour of the 6.22, solely because the latter was a longer train and I was thus guaranteed a seat. Maddeningly, of the three trains, the 6.20 was the shortest, at only six carriages. For some strange reason, it was also the train most populated with bicycles. Folding bikes, racing bikes, mountain bikes, you name it, the train as a concerto of helmeted traffic-light impersonators jumping up and down at every stop to move their bikes from one side of the carriage to the other, so that mere mortal pedestrians could actually get on or off the train.
Anyhoo, someone must have noticed the overcrowding, because they have made the 6.20 a longer train -- eight carriages instead of six and, yowza, seats are once again available.
+++++++++
Last night I watched the BBC 4 documentary on the LA Music Scene from the mid 1960s to the late 1970s. Synchronically Mr Van Dyke Parks turned up, a man whose influence on the music scene has clearly been underrated.
It was an excellent documentary, with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young featuring heavily (plus the Eagles, but we'll pass that by, shall we?). Jackson Browne, Gram Parsons, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King and Joni Mitchell were all given due credit. I'm sure I've missed off a few vital people, but it was interesting to watch. I don't think that David Geffen came out of it too badly, which just goes to show that you can't always take the word of successful musicians and their lawyers.
