England and Wales by public transport
Oct 10th, 2016, 12:55 AM
#101
Nelson, having read their website [which makes on reference to seasonal problems] I suspect that they will say that they can't say it never happens, but that they wouldn't expect it to be a real problem.
Puffins in May sound perfect!
Puffins in May sound perfect!
Oct 12th, 2016, 05:37 AM
#102
Original Poster
Puffins in Pembrokeshire? Maybe I should add that to my tentative itinerary!
<b>August 30 - September 2, 2016: Checking Out Cambridge</b>
I had booked the Milton Keynes to Cambridge leg with National Express, the coach company, but noticed that the ride would actually be provided by Stagecoach. When my sister dropped me at the Milton Keynes Coachway stop, my bus was not on the departure board, and when I finally got a word with the ticket clerk, I was told they didn't list other companies. Great. The clerk was besieged, as the ticket machines weren't working. I was more than ever glad I had bought my ticket ahead of time. The ride was slow, as the bus morphed into a local after Bedford, but it dropped me in the center of town, quite close to Sydney Sussex, where I was staying.
Sydney Sussex, which I had picked because it was small, and likely to be less popular with tourists, turned out to be a disappointment. It's true that there was a gratifying shortage of tourists, but the chapel was closed for repairs, and I found the dining hall rather plain after Christ Church and Keble (the college's website claims it is "one of the great Rococo interiors of Cambridge"). Worse, my room was in a modern block, and the walk to the back of the site at night, dark. Whoever designed the block had some strange ideas, as all the rooms featured an unnecessary tall, thin, window, which in my case was opposite the bed and not curtained. A complaint to the porter did produce two men with a roll of black plastic and some tape, which fixed the problem, but why would anyone design it that way? The main, bay, window was perfectly adequate. I also had issues with the mattress, which should have been retired some years back.
Another time I would put up with the tourists and book with one of the colleges with "backs" (i.e. grounds running down to the river Cam), as the backs turned out to be off limits when I first wanted to visit. I did get to spend some time enjoying the river and the views after I bought my ticket for a guided tour of King's College Chapel. This is arguably the premier sight in Cambridge, with possibly the best fan vaulting in England. The product of the patronage of several kings, principally Henry VI, Richard III (yes, that Richard) and Henry VII, it was begun in 1441 but took nearly 100 years to complete. The fan vaulting, however, was completed in just three years, 1512 to 1515. Although the tour was delayed when the guide failed to turn up, it was worth waiting for. I would have liked to attend choral Evensong in the Chapel, but as with the four cathedrals I had visited, the choir was spending the summer elsewhere.
Having visited the Ashmolean Museum and the Botanical Gardens in Oxford, I now proceeded to visit the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Botanical Gardens in Cambridge. The Fitzwilliam featured a great deal of china, both Japanese and European, and had a temporary exhibition on illuminated manuscripts, but on balance I think I would recommend the Ashmolean. However, there was no question but that Cambridge's Botanical Gardens were bigger and better, with more varied and educational plantings.
Cambridge's train station was inconveniently situated out of the center, but the town had a good bus system. I ate a not very good dinner at Bill's - the chicken initially arrived undercooked - a quite good curry at Vedanta - for which a reservation is recommended - and a filling and delicious appetizer with a side of chips (fries) at Senate. I also drank quite a lot of coffee at various Caffe Nero's, a chain that knows how to make a proper macchiato.
<b>August 30 - September 2, 2016: Checking Out Cambridge</b>
I had booked the Milton Keynes to Cambridge leg with National Express, the coach company, but noticed that the ride would actually be provided by Stagecoach. When my sister dropped me at the Milton Keynes Coachway stop, my bus was not on the departure board, and when I finally got a word with the ticket clerk, I was told they didn't list other companies. Great. The clerk was besieged, as the ticket machines weren't working. I was more than ever glad I had bought my ticket ahead of time. The ride was slow, as the bus morphed into a local after Bedford, but it dropped me in the center of town, quite close to Sydney Sussex, where I was staying.
Sydney Sussex, which I had picked because it was small, and likely to be less popular with tourists, turned out to be a disappointment. It's true that there was a gratifying shortage of tourists, but the chapel was closed for repairs, and I found the dining hall rather plain after Christ Church and Keble (the college's website claims it is "one of the great Rococo interiors of Cambridge"). Worse, my room was in a modern block, and the walk to the back of the site at night, dark. Whoever designed the block had some strange ideas, as all the rooms featured an unnecessary tall, thin, window, which in my case was opposite the bed and not curtained. A complaint to the porter did produce two men with a roll of black plastic and some tape, which fixed the problem, but why would anyone design it that way? The main, bay, window was perfectly adequate. I also had issues with the mattress, which should have been retired some years back.
Another time I would put up with the tourists and book with one of the colleges with "backs" (i.e. grounds running down to the river Cam), as the backs turned out to be off limits when I first wanted to visit. I did get to spend some time enjoying the river and the views after I bought my ticket for a guided tour of King's College Chapel. This is arguably the premier sight in Cambridge, with possibly the best fan vaulting in England. The product of the patronage of several kings, principally Henry VI, Richard III (yes, that Richard) and Henry VII, it was begun in 1441 but took nearly 100 years to complete. The fan vaulting, however, was completed in just three years, 1512 to 1515. Although the tour was delayed when the guide failed to turn up, it was worth waiting for. I would have liked to attend choral Evensong in the Chapel, but as with the four cathedrals I had visited, the choir was spending the summer elsewhere.
Having visited the Ashmolean Museum and the Botanical Gardens in Oxford, I now proceeded to visit the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Botanical Gardens in Cambridge. The Fitzwilliam featured a great deal of china, both Japanese and European, and had a temporary exhibition on illuminated manuscripts, but on balance I think I would recommend the Ashmolean. However, there was no question but that Cambridge's Botanical Gardens were bigger and better, with more varied and educational plantings.
Cambridge's train station was inconveniently situated out of the center, but the town had a good bus system. I ate a not very good dinner at Bill's - the chicken initially arrived undercooked - a quite good curry at Vedanta - for which a reservation is recommended - and a filling and delicious appetizer with a side of chips (fries) at Senate. I also drank quite a lot of coffee at various Caffe Nero's, a chain that knows how to make a proper macchiato.
Oct 12th, 2016, 07:50 AM
#104
Cafe Nero, a tax dodger of the highest sort, allegedly. Seems to only sell coffee in the UK but only make profits on the isle of man..... Presently on boycott>>
Bilbo - i and my family have been boycotting cafe Nero, Costa, Starbucks, McD for years. [really because we don't like them, to be honest].
It doesn't seem to have made much different to their profits though.
Bilbo - i and my family have been boycotting cafe Nero, Costa, Starbucks, McD for years. [really because we don't like them, to be honest].
It doesn't seem to have made much different to their profits though.
Oct 12th, 2016, 02:54 PM
#105
Original Poster
Well, I'm perfectly willing to boycott them if they are tax dodgers. Any alternative (NOT Starbucks) you would care to recommend? They need to make a good macchiato. Caffe Nero is not confined to the UK, although they have barely reached the US.
Oct 13th, 2016, 01:49 PM
#106
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 11,525
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
>>We went to Bodnant garden several times and it is my favorite garden ever.
We were there the first week in June and loved the spectacular laburnum arcade.<<
We visited at the end of May 2014 and thought the whole place was gorgeous. Here's my shot of the laburnum arcade.
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1Q...LWcwM_VsoC8tgE
Lee Ann
We were there the first week in June and loved the spectacular laburnum arcade.<<
We visited at the end of May 2014 and thought the whole place was gorgeous. Here's my shot of the laburnum arcade.
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1Q...LWcwM_VsoC8tgE
Lee Ann
Oct 17th, 2016, 01:43 PM
#107
Well, I'm perfectly willing to boycott them if they are tax dodgers. Any alternative (NOT Starbucks) you would care to recommend? >>
Thursdays - just to make it clear I've no idea if they are tax dodgers - it's their horrible coffee I object to. I put it down to [over] use of robusta rather than arabica beans, plus over-roasting, but what ever it is, it makes their coffee very bitter, IMO. I generally go to a local independent cafe, so my recommendation of them [no 108, Kenwyn Street, Truro] won't really help.
I couldn't get that link to work, Lee Ann, but I have seen pictures of it before - perhaps next year!
Thursdays - just to make it clear I've no idea if they are tax dodgers - it's their horrible coffee I object to. I put it down to [over] use of robusta rather than arabica beans, plus over-roasting, but what ever it is, it makes their coffee very bitter, IMO. I generally go to a local independent cafe, so my recommendation of them [no 108, Kenwyn Street, Truro] won't really help.
I couldn't get that link to work, Lee Ann, but I have seen pictures of it before - perhaps next year!
Oct 18th, 2016, 06:05 AM
#108
Original Poster
@ann - interesting. I find Starbucks' coffee far too acid, but I quite like Nero's - and getting a macchiato made correctly is not always easy.
<b>August 31, 2016: Enjoying Ely</b>
When I walked through the south door of Ely Cathedral, and looked up, I was completely blown away. I was facing the crossing, where the nave, running west to east, meets the north and south transepts. Completely normal, but the octagonal lantern crowning the crossing was not at all normal. It was a marvel of stone, wood, stained glass and paint that really needs to be seen to be appreciated, although I did take some photographs. If I had entered at the west end, which is apparently the normal route, I might not have been quite as amazed, but coming in from the south the Octagon was the first thing I saw. And although the rest of the cathedral was certainly worth visiting, I kept coming back to the crossing.
The main building was lofty and long, and there was an additional, huge, lady chapel. The volunteer who took me round told me that it had been founded in 763 as a dual male and female monastery, and there was still a shrine to the female founder, Etheldreda, a Saxon princess. The current building was begun in the late eleventh century when it served a Benedictine monastery*, although the Octagon was built in 1322 after the central Norman tower collapsed. Besides the Octagon the choir stalls were certainly worth a look, and the organ, in a case above the stalls, boasted gaily painted pipes. The cathedral even had a small labyrinth built into the floor, possibly Victorian, with very tight corners and not much respect from visitors.
Since Ely is so close to Cambridge - 16 miles, 15 minutes or so by train - and Cambridge is so close to Letchworth - 25 miles, half an hour by train - where I grew up, I am not sure why I had never been there before. True, it is one of the smaller cathedral cities (although St. David's, in Wales, remains the smallest). But it is a perfectly fine place for a day trip, with the cathedral soaring majestically over the flat fens, a house once occupied by Oliver Cromwell during the first stage of his rise from obscurity to ultimate power, and a rather nice canal.
I skipped the cathedral's stained glass museum, but I did visit the Cromwell house, of especial interest since I had just enjoyed the Civil War reenactment in Newport Pagnell. The tour ended with a request for visitors to vote on whether they now thought him a hero or a villain. During the tour, informational texts had reported on his reasons for rebellion, concentrating on Charles I's attempts to change church policy in a more Catholic direction, and trying to debunk the persistent tale that he had been responsible for banning Christmas celebrations. (Having just encountered the first Christmas tree of the 2016 season - in mid October! in Kyoto Station! I must confess to some sympathy for the ban, whoever was responsible.) In the end I voted for hero, although he has never been a favorite of mine.
*Note to flanner - another church that survived the Reformation.
<b>August 31, 2016: Enjoying Ely</b>
When I walked through the south door of Ely Cathedral, and looked up, I was completely blown away. I was facing the crossing, where the nave, running west to east, meets the north and south transepts. Completely normal, but the octagonal lantern crowning the crossing was not at all normal. It was a marvel of stone, wood, stained glass and paint that really needs to be seen to be appreciated, although I did take some photographs. If I had entered at the west end, which is apparently the normal route, I might not have been quite as amazed, but coming in from the south the Octagon was the first thing I saw. And although the rest of the cathedral was certainly worth visiting, I kept coming back to the crossing.
The main building was lofty and long, and there was an additional, huge, lady chapel. The volunteer who took me round told me that it had been founded in 763 as a dual male and female monastery, and there was still a shrine to the female founder, Etheldreda, a Saxon princess. The current building was begun in the late eleventh century when it served a Benedictine monastery*, although the Octagon was built in 1322 after the central Norman tower collapsed. Besides the Octagon the choir stalls were certainly worth a look, and the organ, in a case above the stalls, boasted gaily painted pipes. The cathedral even had a small labyrinth built into the floor, possibly Victorian, with very tight corners and not much respect from visitors.
Since Ely is so close to Cambridge - 16 miles, 15 minutes or so by train - and Cambridge is so close to Letchworth - 25 miles, half an hour by train - where I grew up, I am not sure why I had never been there before. True, it is one of the smaller cathedral cities (although St. David's, in Wales, remains the smallest). But it is a perfectly fine place for a day trip, with the cathedral soaring majestically over the flat fens, a house once occupied by Oliver Cromwell during the first stage of his rise from obscurity to ultimate power, and a rather nice canal.
I skipped the cathedral's stained glass museum, but I did visit the Cromwell house, of especial interest since I had just enjoyed the Civil War reenactment in Newport Pagnell. The tour ended with a request for visitors to vote on whether they now thought him a hero or a villain. During the tour, informational texts had reported on his reasons for rebellion, concentrating on Charles I's attempts to change church policy in a more Catholic direction, and trying to debunk the persistent tale that he had been responsible for banning Christmas celebrations. (Having just encountered the first Christmas tree of the 2016 season - in mid October! in Kyoto Station! I must confess to some sympathy for the ban, whoever was responsible.) In the end I voted for hero, although he has never been a favorite of mine.
*Note to flanner - another church that survived the Reformation.
Oct 18th, 2016, 08:04 AM
#109
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,922
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
>>I have always been a little conflicted about the Civil War. The Royalists (I knew them as Cavaliers, and the opposition as Roundheads, but the reenacters objected to those terms) seemed more dashing and romantic, and the Parliamentarians overly somber and puritanical, but intellectually, of course, I supported Parliament. <<
As they put it in "1066 And All That", the Cavaliers were Wrong but Wromantic, the Parliamentarians Right but Repulsive.
And you could say the Civil War finally reached its settlement with 1689, or the defeat of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Or even the completion of American independence (you could almost say the US Constitution is a second go at the issues that Cromwell and the Army could never resolve, though I suppose Cromwell would no more have settled for being a US President facing a recalcitrant Congress than Charles I!)
As they put it in "1066 And All That", the Cavaliers were Wrong but Wromantic, the Parliamentarians Right but Repulsive.
And you could say the Civil War finally reached its settlement with 1689, or the defeat of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Or even the completion of American independence (you could almost say the US Constitution is a second go at the issues that Cromwell and the Army could never resolve, though I suppose Cromwell would no more have settled for being a US President facing a recalcitrant Congress than Charles I!)
Oct 18th, 2016, 04:14 PM
#111
an issue regarding the royal prerogative and Brexit?>>
2 concerned citizens are taking the government to court to argue that in order to trigger Article 50, the government must have the consent of Parliament, rather than exercising the "royal prerogative" which is what Mrs May has announced she wants to do sometime before March.
This, and pressure in Parliament, has forced the government more or less to accept that before the UK could ratify a Brexit deal, Parliament would have to approve its terms, however the applicants in the court want to go further than that arguing that because of the terms of the European Act of 1975 it needs a vote of Parliament even to get the process started which is where the civil war comes in, as it established the supremacy of Parliament over the monarch.
One might think that that is what the Brexiteers would want, given that their campaign was [partly] based on taking back Parliamentary sovereignty from Europe but that certainly is not the government's position. Ironic, really.
A very high calibre court of 3 senior judges is hearing the case and whichever way it goes, it is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court and to be heard there before Christmas.
Watch this space!
2 concerned citizens are taking the government to court to argue that in order to trigger Article 50, the government must have the consent of Parliament, rather than exercising the "royal prerogative" which is what Mrs May has announced she wants to do sometime before March.
This, and pressure in Parliament, has forced the government more or less to accept that before the UK could ratify a Brexit deal, Parliament would have to approve its terms, however the applicants in the court want to go further than that arguing that because of the terms of the European Act of 1975 it needs a vote of Parliament even to get the process started which is where the civil war comes in, as it established the supremacy of Parliament over the monarch.
One might think that that is what the Brexiteers would want, given that their campaign was [partly] based on taking back Parliamentary sovereignty from Europe but that certainly is not the government's position. Ironic, really.
A very high calibre court of 3 senior judges is hearing the case and whichever way it goes, it is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court and to be heard there before Christmas.
Watch this space!
Oct 25th, 2016, 01:51 AM
#113
Original Poster
Final installment! (For the UK, that is - I continued traveling, with a couple of nights in Istanbul followed by a two week tour of Uzbekistan, which I'll cover on the Asia board, two weeks in South Korea, and Japan, where I am right now.)
<b>September 2-5, 2016: Last stop, London</b>
My journey from Sydney Sussex in Cambridge to LSE's Grosvenor House on Drury Lane went without a hitch - train to Liverpool Street station, add money to my Oyster card, tube to Holborn, short walk past the Freemason's Hall I had enjoyed visiting on my last trip to London. Check-in, somewhat later in the day, did not go smoothly, however. The room I had been assigned was on the ground floor facing a narrow alley, with mostly frosted windows and less room than I remembered from previous visits. I went back to the front desk to point out that it was too dark and too narrow for a multi-night stay. The second room was a big surprise - I was upgraded to a suite almost at the top of the building. I had a big sitting room with multiple views, a separate bedroom - and a narrow kitchen and tiny bathroom just like the regular rooms.
Having spent eight nights in London - in the same LSE student dorm - the previous year, I did not have an ambitious agenda this time. I had booked an architecture tour of the King's Cross area, reputedly much transformed, for the Saturday, hoped to join a National Trust walk from Richmond to Ham House on the Sunday with my younger sister and her daughter, and had a ticket for a Noel Coward revival at a tiny theater in Earls Court. On my last day, I would eat breakfast at Delauney and then for lunch try the food at the Indian YMCA much praised on Fodors.
Aside from the Indian meal, which I found very disappointing, everything went well. The architecture tour, arranged by Open-City, was sold out, but the group was small enough I had no trouble hearing the guide. The station itself had changed since I last saw it, with a soaring blue glass canopy over a pedestrian zone. And north of the station the transformation was remarkable. New buildings were still going up, and as Google was moving it's headquarters there, they will have input into future buildings. Prices will probably rise considerably as a result, although affordable housing was a feature of the existing developments. It had not previously occurred to me that Regent's Canal ran behind the station, although I had once enjoyed a boat ride on it from Little Venice to Camden, and there was now a stepped grassy terrace overlooking it. All-in-all, I was impressed both by the tour and the developments. After the tour ended I ate lunch in St. Pancras station before taking in a Shakespeare exhibition at the British Library.
Saturday night I took the tube over to Earl's Court and the Finborough Theatre, which occupied a room over a pub. I had had extreme difficulty hearing the actors at the National the previous year, and thought a smaller venue would be safer - besides, I have always enjoyed Noel Coward. "Home Chat" had not been performed since its first run in 1927, but the opening night had drawn a good review in the Telegraph. A biting satire on sexism, I found it thoroughly enjoyable as well as still relevant - and I had no difficulty hearing.
Sunday morning I took the tube still further out, to Richmond. I had renewed my membership in the Royal Oak Foundation, the US partner of the National Trust, and Ham House was one of the few London National Trust properties I had not seen. Plus, looking for activities in London, I had discovered a Thames River Festival, and the NT was offering a guided walk to Ham House on September Sundays as part of it. My concerns about possible rain proved unfounded, although the day stayed grey.
I met up with my sister and my niece in a popular coffee shop just outside the station, and then joined a handful of other people in front of the station to meet our two guides. We were introduced to some old buildings in Richmond itself, including the handsome Victorian public library, and the Gate House, one of the few remnants of the sixteenth century Richmond Palace, which was largely destroyed after Charles I's execution. We went down to the river, then climbed above it, eventually reaching a viewpoint where the river made a sweeping curve below us, fringed with trees and with cattle grazing in the water meadows. Turned out that this view was the only one in England protected by Act of Parliament, and we all enjoyed it. We finished by walking a long, tree-lined avenue leading to Ham House, first pausing to watch the start of a polo match. Although I am glad to have seen the house, it was not from one of my favorite periods, and I really preferred the walk. We walked back to the station as well, but we followed the river.
Monday afternoon I set off for Horley, where I would spend a night in my usual B&B before catching a flight from Gatwick to Istanbul for the next stage of the trip. So far, I had been fortunate in avoiding Southern Railways, which was suffering from strike action (and, perhaps, from inefficiency), but it looked like I would be safe taking an afternoon train from London Bridge station. Alas, no. I had to change trains on the way. Still, all my other train trips had worked well, and all but one of my bus and coach rides. I would have no hesitation in planning another UK trip using public transport.
<b>September 2-5, 2016: Last stop, London</b>
My journey from Sydney Sussex in Cambridge to LSE's Grosvenor House on Drury Lane went without a hitch - train to Liverpool Street station, add money to my Oyster card, tube to Holborn, short walk past the Freemason's Hall I had enjoyed visiting on my last trip to London. Check-in, somewhat later in the day, did not go smoothly, however. The room I had been assigned was on the ground floor facing a narrow alley, with mostly frosted windows and less room than I remembered from previous visits. I went back to the front desk to point out that it was too dark and too narrow for a multi-night stay. The second room was a big surprise - I was upgraded to a suite almost at the top of the building. I had a big sitting room with multiple views, a separate bedroom - and a narrow kitchen and tiny bathroom just like the regular rooms.
Having spent eight nights in London - in the same LSE student dorm - the previous year, I did not have an ambitious agenda this time. I had booked an architecture tour of the King's Cross area, reputedly much transformed, for the Saturday, hoped to join a National Trust walk from Richmond to Ham House on the Sunday with my younger sister and her daughter, and had a ticket for a Noel Coward revival at a tiny theater in Earls Court. On my last day, I would eat breakfast at Delauney and then for lunch try the food at the Indian YMCA much praised on Fodors.
Aside from the Indian meal, which I found very disappointing, everything went well. The architecture tour, arranged by Open-City, was sold out, but the group was small enough I had no trouble hearing the guide. The station itself had changed since I last saw it, with a soaring blue glass canopy over a pedestrian zone. And north of the station the transformation was remarkable. New buildings were still going up, and as Google was moving it's headquarters there, they will have input into future buildings. Prices will probably rise considerably as a result, although affordable housing was a feature of the existing developments. It had not previously occurred to me that Regent's Canal ran behind the station, although I had once enjoyed a boat ride on it from Little Venice to Camden, and there was now a stepped grassy terrace overlooking it. All-in-all, I was impressed both by the tour and the developments. After the tour ended I ate lunch in St. Pancras station before taking in a Shakespeare exhibition at the British Library.
Saturday night I took the tube over to Earl's Court and the Finborough Theatre, which occupied a room over a pub. I had had extreme difficulty hearing the actors at the National the previous year, and thought a smaller venue would be safer - besides, I have always enjoyed Noel Coward. "Home Chat" had not been performed since its first run in 1927, but the opening night had drawn a good review in the Telegraph. A biting satire on sexism, I found it thoroughly enjoyable as well as still relevant - and I had no difficulty hearing.
Sunday morning I took the tube still further out, to Richmond. I had renewed my membership in the Royal Oak Foundation, the US partner of the National Trust, and Ham House was one of the few London National Trust properties I had not seen. Plus, looking for activities in London, I had discovered a Thames River Festival, and the NT was offering a guided walk to Ham House on September Sundays as part of it. My concerns about possible rain proved unfounded, although the day stayed grey.
I met up with my sister and my niece in a popular coffee shop just outside the station, and then joined a handful of other people in front of the station to meet our two guides. We were introduced to some old buildings in Richmond itself, including the handsome Victorian public library, and the Gate House, one of the few remnants of the sixteenth century Richmond Palace, which was largely destroyed after Charles I's execution. We went down to the river, then climbed above it, eventually reaching a viewpoint where the river made a sweeping curve below us, fringed with trees and with cattle grazing in the water meadows. Turned out that this view was the only one in England protected by Act of Parliament, and we all enjoyed it. We finished by walking a long, tree-lined avenue leading to Ham House, first pausing to watch the start of a polo match. Although I am glad to have seen the house, it was not from one of my favorite periods, and I really preferred the walk. We walked back to the station as well, but we followed the river.
Monday afternoon I set off for Horley, where I would spend a night in my usual B&B before catching a flight from Gatwick to Istanbul for the next stage of the trip. So far, I had been fortunate in avoiding Southern Railways, which was suffering from strike action (and, perhaps, from inefficiency), but it looked like I would be safe taking an afternoon train from London Bridge station. Alas, no. I had to change trains on the way. Still, all my other train trips had worked well, and all but one of my bus and coach rides. I would have no hesitation in planning another UK trip using public transport.
Oct 25th, 2016, 02:04 AM
#114
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,922
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Glad you enjoyed the view over Petersham Meadows at Richmond, always one of my favourites.
"Affordable" housing- hah! For some reason, the official definition of that is 80% of the market price - not, you might note, anything directly related to any real live person's ability to afford it. Make it 30% of average household income, and it might be nearer the mark, but there doesn't seem to be any chance of that. But that said, it does cost money to convert ex-industrial sites on heavily-polluted land.
"Affordable" housing- hah! For some reason, the official definition of that is 80% of the market price - not, you might note, anything directly related to any real live person's ability to afford it. Make it 30% of average household income, and it might be nearer the mark, but there doesn't seem to be any chance of that. But that said, it does cost money to convert ex-industrial sites on heavily-polluted land.
Oct 25th, 2016, 11:12 AM
#115
thanks for the update on the end of your UK trip, Thursdaysd. informative and entertaining as ever.
Can you post a link to the next one in Asia? I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd like to read it!
Can you post a link to the next one in Asia? I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd like to read it!
Oct 25th, 2016, 11:23 PM
#116
View protected by Act of Parliament, incase anyone wants to see it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Hill,_London
Costa, pays its taxes, part of the PremierInn organisation. Otley, my local town already filled with many non branded coffee shops, has just received its first Costa. As you can imagine it has joined my Boycott list.
London Protected Views are slightly different
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_view
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Hill,_London
Costa, pays its taxes, part of the PremierInn organisation. Otley, my local town already filled with many non branded coffee shops, has just received its first Costa. As you can imagine it has joined my Boycott list.
London Protected Views are slightly different
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_view
Oct 25th, 2016, 11:44 PM
#117
Original Poster
@Patrick - the guide said there was some housing that was cheaper than "affordable", but I couldn't remember the term she used. It may have just been for the "elderly". She also talked about disagreements over whether the affordable housing should be spread through a building, or confined to one area. Apparently some buildings did one and some the other.
@ann - thanks for the compliment and for asking! I have to do a blog post on Istanbul (not worth a Fodor's TR for just one day) , and I'm still traveling, so it may take a few days, but there is a summary of the Uzbekistan leg, to which I will add the TR, here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-samarkand.cfm
@ann - thanks for the compliment and for asking! I have to do a blog post on Istanbul (not worth a Fodor's TR for just one day) , and I'm still traveling, so it may take a few days, but there is a summary of the Uzbekistan leg, to which I will add the TR, here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-samarkand.cfm
Oct 26th, 2016, 01:44 AM
#118
I understand some large buildings now have two entrances, the tatty lift to the affordable housing and the posh lift for those paying the market rate.
I have a copy of "a modest proposal" somewhere, a Swiftian sense of humour is required sometimes when you just want to cry.
I have a copy of "a modest proposal" somewhere, a Swiftian sense of humour is required sometimes when you just want to cry.
Oct 26th, 2016, 10:49 AM
#119
the guide said there was some housing that was cheaper than "affordable", but I couldn't remember the term she used. It may have just been for the "elderly". >>
"Sheltered", possibly?
Thanks for the link, Thursdaysd - I'll come back to it when I've got a bit more time.
"Sheltered", possibly?
Thanks for the link, Thursdaysd - I'll come back to it when I've got a bit more time.
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
cpilgrim
Europe
16
Dec 13th, 2010 09:06 AM
