Damn This Traffic Jam...How I hate to be Late...
This morning I travelled the eight miles from my home to my place of work in 29 minutes. Now, considering my house sits within the outer ring of the proposed congestion charge area and my workplace is in the inner ring of the proposed congestion charge area I can, on this evidence, only come to one conclusion. Manchester is not very congested.Yes it gets busy at times - usually due to a breakdown, accident or - more often - a road closure or lane closure, but, on the whole traffic moves. It's not like that there London. The only time in the past couple of years that Manchester has been gridlocked was when bus companies flooded the more profitable routes into the city in an attempt to drive each other out of business. Yes it was public transport what did the damage m'lud, public transport.
So, what's it all about then? The congestion charge? At today's prices it would cost me £5 a day to drive to and from work - on top of petrol, insurance, tax and garage bills. £100+ a month for the privelege of not having to walk a mile to the train station to catch an unreliable train service into Manchester Victoria before catching a tram to Trafford Bar or Old Trafford station. £100+ a month instead of £27 a week for 7 day saver card that will allow me to travel via bus, train or tram: I make that £100+. No contest. Nice warm car with Radio Four, Five or music of my choice or a freezing cold slow and unreliable bus, train or tram with somebody else's tinny racket filtering through their MP3 player's headphones - if I'm lucky, more often than not - in my experience - they just play their music out of their pitifully inadequate mobile phones.
Oooops sorry...I nearly forgot, public transport will have improved that much by 2013 it will be unrecognisable. It will a pleasure to use. Fast, safe, cheap and reliable.
Ha ha ha hee hee hee hee ha ha ha ha ha hee hee hee ha ha hee hee hee hee ha ha ha ha ha hee hee hee ha ha hee hee hee hee ha ha ha ha ha hee hee hee ha ha hee hee hee hee ha ha ha ha ha hee hee hee ha ha hee hee hee hee ha ha ha ha ha hee hee hee ha ha hee hee hee hee ha ha ha ha ha hee hee hee ha ha hee hee hee hee ha ha ha ha ha hee hee hee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I predict massive losses by the Labour Party in the area come the next local elections and more importantly the next General Election. Not only is the Party unpopular on a national level, locally it has just put a noose around it's neck and the electorate are just waiting to kick away the chair. The argument in favour of the congestion charge lacks rigour - a charge that is supposed to be applied in order to cut congestion and stop traffic heading into Manchester is also the charge that will fund the improvements in the public transport system. Hmmmmmmmm.......Run that by me again.
I wonder what plans they have for those of us who live within the 'zone'? Prisoners in our own homes until 9:30am.
Pity the poor worker. Once again bearing the brunt while the hideously rich carry on just like before and the bone idle and feckless lie in bed.
Where's me tablets?
I'm off to Hamburg next weekend on my eldest son's stag weekend. I'll be the oldest there by twenty years or so and when I get back I'll probably be the oldest by 40 years or so. The things you do for love.
The Acoustic Festival was a good laugh - apart from the ever-present wind and the rain. We lost the gazebo on the last day, but that was better than losing the tent like a lot of others did The highlights for me were Glen Tilbrook, Donavon, Midge Ure (surprisingly good -Vienna on acoustic guitar anyone?) and the incredible Gordon Giltrap.
The beer tents sold Spitfire and Oranjeboom at £3 a pint and the food stalls were eclectic and reasonable.
Would I go again? Yes. In a Winnebago with all mod cons.
Piccy time.
Makes you feel safe doesn't he? Cameraphone.
Shed Door.
Donavon brings good vibes to the big tent.
Power mad.
Bin, chips, bike.
Spitfire sunset.
Sun, beer, music.
The tangerine cowboy hat.
Warm.
That's all folks.
6 comments:
Yet another way of squeezing money out of the poor, longsuffering motorist - innit!
"... just strap me in behind the wheel and bury me in ma Automobile."
To me here in NZ, 8 miles in 29 minutes seems a loooong time Steve! But I guess it's all relative.
I do enjoy your urban pics, though.
It's easy to avoid congestion if you have an early night and a good dose of Milk of Magnesia.
I've only ever voted Labour but even I find myself in a state of despair over the things they are doing - such as naming and shaming schools that serve deprived areas just because less than 30% are achieving five A-C grades including English and Maths. A load of Balls in more ways than one!
Jenny - It most certainly is. I wouldn't mind so much if they admitted it - but they try to dress it up as a 'green' initiative. Ggggrrrrrr.
Katherine - James Taylor fan? Thanks for the kind words about my photographs.
YP - Agree 100%. I used to be a card carrying member of the Labour Party but I can't handle this present lot. To be fair it's not just Labour, it's all of them. They all look the same, talk the same and, essentially, have the same policies.
And the vast majority of them have never had a proper job in their lives. Double Gggrrrrrr!
Steve
I got the bumpers tracks for you. But I cannot send anything to your gmail address - I keep getting a message that it's an invalid address. Can you give me an alternative
al
http://almax.wordpress.com/
Oooooh cheers for that. Try stevegarry100 at hotmail.com. Don't know why steve dot garry at gmail.com isn't working though.
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