Mornington Crescent

Another day dotting around London, this time on the tube, with a n extended stay in one area for a very long meeting.

A few of the stops included the predictable Waterloo, Leicester Square and Euston, with a side shimmy (allowed in the rules) across to St Pancras.

Since the bike scheme has been added to London, I'm not sure if it opens a few more legal moves in the well-known panel game which tracks certain parts of the Underground System.

Anyway, my second approach via Charing Cross landed me at...

You've guessed it...

Mornington Crescent.

the thames they are a changin'

I was about to open my norfansarf on this topic and then it all changed. The new tube maps for London have been streamlined for content and readability. Overall, this is a good thing and has decluttered the map considerably.

The two strangest omissions though, were the River Thames and the Zones.

I gather that Mayor Boris (Chairman of TfL) has belatedly twittered to ask for the return of the wiggly blue stripe to help delineate norf and sarf of the river. I muse that the potential continued omission of the Zones will be either a way to generate revenue from fines or a Good Excuse usable by tourists who stray out of Zone 1.

My forecast is that both the River and the Zones will return.

Next question, how much spent on the revision? I bet I know where to find out.

Meantime, londonist have an even simpler version for tourists.

walking around a slightly wet London

Instead of today's tube strike slowing us down, we all seemed to get to our various destinations early.

I had a pre-meeting rendezvous at a coffee shop and was around an hour early.

My colleague arrived about 3cms of latte later.

We were so early that we took a phone conference prior to our main meeting from within the coffee shop(different tables for this part because of the unfortunate echos and and delays delays delays when using multiple cellphones in one l-l-location-n-n).

Then on to our meeting.

Would our host be there?

We'd been checking our phones for last minute emails. Nothing to worry about. She was also early, although wanted to pop outside for a cigarette before the session started.

We waited and looked out to the streets. Solid masses of people wearing trainers and carrying backpacks.

London was walking.

backpackandtrainers cam

london tube strike walking and cycle routes

Tomorrow evening threatens the start of a London Tube strike, so I've been idly looking at some cross town pedestrian routes. These involve the somewhat inscrutable overhead walkways around the Barbican on the way to a couple of meetings sprinkled around the northern side of town.

I think both venues are quite walkable without too much trouble, so I may just start out a little earlier than usual with some string and breadcrumbs.

There's also some handy walking and bus guides from many main line stations here

Additionally, there's going to be a several BikeTubes which are processions of cyclists commuting along the tube routes.

And I've had them for a long time, but don't forget the rather useful free TfL maps of bicycle routes through London.

Mind the Gap.

i am welcomed back with tube, bus and road closures

Saturday's early morning cocktails supported overwhelming logic to stay at the Sanderson rather than crosstowning with limited direction finding faculties. The room was all a bit Philipe Starck, white box, stainless steel, electric voile curtains, deliberately offset bed and strange workout devices augmented with a ceiling landscape picture.

By proper morning the inadvertent jaunt to Berners Street seemed entirely logical, as did the very late breakfast considerately served until 11:30.

Then outside into everchanging London streets. Nearby Oxford Circus tube's big gates were pulled shut. Oxford Street had its usual roadworks. The easy 137 bus route to Sloane Square was cancelled because "A Night at The Museum 2" was sponsoring a pedestrian only day for the entire length of the shopping area.

Our simple resourcefulness found another route, but I feel sorry for the confused tourists arguing with the shouty man in the yellow jacket at the myriad non functioning bus stops.

I smiled to myself about this place called London.

hotel lobby

and today I was the loathsome traveller

There's a few rituals associated with regular business flying. Getting on and off planes speedily, not blocking the aisles, good baggage management.

The same as regular London commuters know about how to navigate pavements, the Tube and to avoid stopping in inconvenient places. The same sideways look when a Slow Moving Object interferes with the flow.

So I have this thing about phones on planes. The last call made just before the bing-bongs sound or the naff nokia tones at landing to show how many txt msg u hv rcvd bcs u cnt b out of cntct 4 vry lng. These things also get the sideways looks.

But today I must hold my head in shame as I walked all the way onto the plane whilst in a headset conference call, sat down at my seat and continued until I noticed the sideways glance from my co-located passenger. That sideways glance. Oh no. I had turned into one of them.

I shall try not to let it happen again.

cammuter cam Number 4 : Jubilee Line

Cammuter Nr 4 : Jubilee Line - another oldie but goody