Two days in a row now I've found myself in the trendy, well let's face it, only trendy cafe cum bar in town. It's unheard of; before I know it I'll be Lunesdale Valley barfly association. No, perhaps not, however it's remarkable that the coffee culture has pervaded even the deepest darkest recesses of Cumbria. £2 a cup for a mocha. Jolly fine stuff I'll admit, but around here that's like a King's ransom; in which case the King must be doing very nicely indeed. Not to rest on our laurels, or should that be coffee beans, the town has even gained a 'Fair Trade' status. Trendy coffee guzzling and with a 21st century sense of public conscience to boot. Remarkable.
Supping a cuppa also provides a particularly fine situation for people watching. The sceptical might falsely believe there's little of such a pastime of which to be indulged in a town of 3,500 people, but they'd be wrong. There's a full dichotomy of the rural classes on display for social commentators to analyse comprising a complex strata of aspirational and actual socio-economic placements.
My favourite specimens from the past couple of days have to be the aspiring county set. Now to explain for the more urban based readers of this blog, the county set are the often landed gentry demographic who seem to pull off living very comfortably while not appearing to actual work a great deal. Understandably this may be seen as something of an attraction for those of an appearance conscious nature and lo and behold if my cafe cum bar haunt wasn't full of a rowdy group of such county set wannabes. They dressed in a quasi-county fashion to fit the image, lacking though the two hundred quid wellies or saville row tailory that's reserved for the real deal. The conversation was exceptionally boisterous; they had a presence they wanted to be felt. What japes! As with so many things in life however there's no comparison with the real thing and their efforts felt strained rather than the effortless ya-hoos of bona fide country gents. Still, the world is full of images and if it keeps them happy then carry on, carry on. There's entertainment and show at every table!
Showing posts with label rural affairs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rural affairs. Show all posts
20070117
Yorkshire Dales history
While tracking down a book on google I was presented a link to the 'Out of Oblivion' website, which as the electronic version of the 'Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority Historic Environment Record' charts all facets of the area's history.
Some random browsing reveals all manner of historical nuggets. I never knew for instance that the Sedbergh Trust Turnpike was set up in 1761 to establish toll roads in the area. I suppose back in those days constructing a road would have required some considerable effort for which a financial return was sought.
KL is just off the edge of the map but as we venture into the Dales quite often it's good to discover what factors has lead to the area taking on its current form.
Some random browsing reveals all manner of historical nuggets. I never knew for instance that the Sedbergh Trust Turnpike was set up in 1761 to establish toll roads in the area. I suppose back in those days constructing a road would have required some considerable effort for which a financial return was sought.
KL is just off the edge of the map but as we venture into the Dales quite often it's good to discover what factors has lead to the area taking on its current form.
20070116
Busy skies over the lune valley today
Apache Longbow helicopter spotted heading down the valley
Various shots of Tornado aircraft and Apache Longbow helicopter
Some of Tuesday with recollections of Friday
Sunny again today. Readers not from the local area may be somewhat perplexed as to this apparent fascination of mine with the appearance of the glowing orb. I must admit the near perpetuity of rainfall recently has been perplexing me as even in this much watered corner of the UK is receiving a good deal more in the way of rainfall than normal.
As normal my late-night writing shift meant a late rise today, although I was awoken to the announcement that we were all going for a walk. A quick glance outside explained why: blue skies, broad sunshine and a continuation of the mild weather that's become synonymous with this winter.
Off to Barbon then; locally pronounced Baa-bun, although the 'Keeping up appearances' set prefer it by its upper crust title of Bar-bonn, which probably exists if you visit the correct German city. A trudge through a wood and along a fell side later and we were all feeling much the better for it.
It's raining now of course. We couldn't manage a whole day of fine weather, perish the thought, and the forecast is for more of the gales that so hampered my journey down to London last Friday. Just as well I'm not making weekly visits as I'd likely be facing a repeat performance.
Damaged overhead lines at Oxenholme station limited trains to a single track and in an area where points aren't too thick on the ground the delays quickly build up. My train had to wait for two north bound services to pass Penrith before it could proceed. The wasn't without entertainment. Two trucks with some special rail attachment slowly passed the station doing I'm not entirely sure what, while when an engineer presumably flicked a switch in a control box for the overhead lines there was a great flash and crackle as electricity arced across the gantry. It must be broken after all; at least they're not making it up.
As normal my late-night writing shift meant a late rise today, although I was awoken to the announcement that we were all going for a walk. A quick glance outside explained why: blue skies, broad sunshine and a continuation of the mild weather that's become synonymous with this winter.
Off to Barbon then; locally pronounced Baa-bun, although the 'Keeping up appearances' set prefer it by its upper crust title of Bar-bonn, which probably exists if you visit the correct German city. A trudge through a wood and along a fell side later and we were all feeling much the better for it.
It's raining now of course. We couldn't manage a whole day of fine weather, perish the thought, and the forecast is for more of the gales that so hampered my journey down to London last Friday. Just as well I'm not making weekly visits as I'd likely be facing a repeat performance.
Damaged overhead lines at Oxenholme station limited trains to a single track and in an area where points aren't too thick on the ground the delays quickly build up. My train had to wait for two north bound services to pass Penrith before it could proceed. The wasn't without entertainment. Two trucks with some special rail attachment slowly passed the station doing I'm not entirely sure what, while when an engineer presumably flicked a switch in a control box for the overhead lines there was a great flash and crackle as electricity arced across the gantry. It must be broken after all; at least they're not making it up.
20070115
Stranger in a strange land
There have been no blog entries in the past few days as I've been down south in the big smoke catching up with old friends during a long weekend. It's proven an odd experience. Having lived in London for two years before setting off travelling I return to find myself like a complete stranger there. Although I know all the places there's no sense of homeliness or familiarity with what I associate with normality. It makes me wonder that whether this has always been the case and that sharing a flat with a friend merely obscured the fact.
As one of my friends correctly noted "you have a love - hate relationship with London". It's true enough. London's a place that has repeatedly driven me away and attracted me back, although currently I don't feel at all compelled to return to live there. It's a place where I tried to lead a life of others' expectations but not follow my own way.
There is a certain pressure to move to London in that it's seen as the single place in the UK where it's all going on, and this is continually hammered home by the London-centric media which never ceases to extol the virtues of the capital and the glorious lives that each of its writers is living therein. I've heard of many from around these parts who have tried their luck down south and stuck it for varying periods before in many cases giving it up in favour of alternatives. London in some ways is an extreme option. There are a great many opportunities at hand but the sacrifices required in cost of living, quality of living and density of population around you aren't inconsiderable.
The process of self-discovery is proving to be a long one. I'd have thought that I'd have this all done and dusted years ago, however it wasn't to be. Exactly what it best intended for me is not yet entirely clearly but the fog seems to be gradually lifting.
As one of my friends correctly noted "you have a love - hate relationship with London". It's true enough. London's a place that has repeatedly driven me away and attracted me back, although currently I don't feel at all compelled to return to live there. It's a place where I tried to lead a life of others' expectations but not follow my own way.
There is a certain pressure to move to London in that it's seen as the single place in the UK where it's all going on, and this is continually hammered home by the London-centric media which never ceases to extol the virtues of the capital and the glorious lives that each of its writers is living therein. I've heard of many from around these parts who have tried their luck down south and stuck it for varying periods before in many cases giving it up in favour of alternatives. London in some ways is an extreme option. There are a great many opportunities at hand but the sacrifices required in cost of living, quality of living and density of population around you aren't inconsiderable.
The process of self-discovery is proving to be a long one. I'd have thought that I'd have this all done and dusted years ago, however it wasn't to be. Exactly what it best intended for me is not yet entirely clearly but the fog seems to be gradually lifting.
20070110
Sunshine - can it really be?
For the first time in what seems like weeks we've had a full on day of sunshine. Being pestered to go for a walk, not that I had any intention of missing this rare spell of good weather, I headed into town. Foolishly I didn't take my camera as sunny days are like a magnet the RAF. I had only been gone a few minutes when the roar of jet engines saw a BAE Hawk fly over, chased in a dogfight by Tornado. Later on a Chinook helicopter was doing the rounds. You win some, you lose some.
It's been the first time I've tried my webcam in sunshine and it didn't take to it too happily. Even on the lowest settings it tended to overexpose. Never mind, it's unlikely to have to cope with these conditions too often anyway!
Although without the SLR I had by 2-megapixel mobile camera of pixelated mediocrity on hand to snap a few sights by the river. The Lune was well up but not in flood. As I reached the bridges a group of canoeists were just packing up. Rather them than me in these conditions, but I imagine they must have know what they were doing. In the light of the a recent canoeing death on the river the other week up at Sedbergh the dangers associated with the river have been brought to everyone's attention.
Without further ado here are a few of today's mobile snaps:
It's been the first time I've tried my webcam in sunshine and it didn't take to it too happily. Even on the lowest settings it tended to overexpose. Never mind, it's unlikely to have to cope with these conditions too often anyway!
Although without the SLR I had by 2-megapixel mobile camera of pixelated mediocrity on hand to snap a few sights by the river. The Lune was well up but not in flood. As I reached the bridges a group of canoeists were just packing up. Rather them than me in these conditions, but I imagine they must have know what they were doing. In the light of the a recent canoeing death on the river the other week up at Sedbergh the dangers associated with the river have been brought to everyone's attention.
Without further ado here are a few of today's mobile snaps:
20070109
The RAF is back!
I've hardly heard anything from the RAF since I returned a month ago but today they're back in the Lune Valley, or rather briefly *over* the valley. One Hawk earlier today and a couple of larger sounding jets just now. In the past I could have pretty much guaranteed that they were Tornadoes, but these days it might even be Eurofighter Typhoons. Here's to spotting one of those guys soon.
20070104
Edinburgh or Manchester for a quid
Following up from yesterday's comparison of rail fares; today's Guardian ran an article on finding cheap fares. This mentioned that Megatrain covers both South West and Virgin routes. I thought maybe this was where routes merge south of London but had a look anyway. To my amazement I discovered that Oxenholme is covered on a route that runs from Manchester to Glasgow and Edinburgh. I could travel to Scotland or Manchester for a quid! The routes are clearly designed to use lightly loaded services and I suspect the choice of using Oxenholme rather than Lancaster or Preston is that passenger numbers are lighter too from here. It's great news, and a service I endeavour to make the use of soon.
£70 return to the big smoke
The start of the working year brought with it the seasonal hikes in train fares. Over the past few years a return from my local mainline station Oxenholme to London Euston on the Virgin West Coast mainline has been rising through the 60s of pounds and as of Tuesday has broken through the £70 mark for a saver return. It's a 400 km journey taking 3 hours.
This struck me as a touch steep, so I set out to compare the price with other European countries. As a benchmark I'm using travelling on a Friday afternoon and back on a Monday afternoon which is a common weekend away option and likely to avoid rush hour periods.
First off we go to France with their wonderful high speed rail network. Let's start with an unfair comparison, that of time. From Paris to Marseille it takes a little over 3 hrs but covers 750 km. The standard price outbound is £68, and return £56 as this is classed as off-peak for some reason, making a £124 total. The return costs more than what I would pay, but the single costs a similar amount or less than the saver single for my route at £68. In addition discovery fares are offered by SNCF which are designed for a stay in the destination over a Saturday night. Using these fares brings the price down to £51 out and £42 back; £93 in total. More expensive, but covering getting on for twice the distance without costing anywhere near twice as much.
Time for a fairer comparison. Paris to Limoges is exactly 400 km as with my own route and also takes around 3 hours. The train is standard, not a TGV and costs either £31.50 or £35.50 each way, for a total from £63 to £71. These are comparable to the fares I'm facing on my route to London. The Discovery fare costs either £24 or £27 for a £48 or £54 total; considerably cheaper than my fares. It should be noted that the discovery fares were available from all services whereas cheap Virgin Value fares are much harder to come by.
(Source: raileurope.co.uk)
Next to Germany. Hamburg to Fulda (on the mainline to Munich) is 418 km, takes just over three hours by high-speed ICE train and costs €78 each way (£52) for a total of €156 (£105), although a return fare is offered for the same price for the single but not available for the sample dates I used. Going by the standard fare the price is cheaper for a single but a good deal more expensive for a return.
A second German comparison, this time with standard InterCity services between Frankfurt and Plattling (on the Passau mainline), some 404 km apart and a journey time of around 3 hours 40, costing €63 (£42) each way for a €126 (£84) return price. In this instance cheap return fares were available, making the return €63 (£42) in total.
(Source: deutsche-bahn.co.uk)
Finally to Sweden. Stockholm to Alingsas (on the mainline to Gothenburg) is 410 km. By high-speed X2000 train this takes 2 hours 35 minutes and costs 900 SEK (£67) for a standard ticket or 600 SEK (£44) for an advance purchase out, and 958 SEK (£71) standard and 538 SEK (£40) advance back, making a total of 1858 SEK (£138) standard and 1138 SEK (£84) advance return. Only the advance single works out cheaper than my route to London.
When comparing the Swedish Intercity trains on the same route the story is different. The distance is the same at 410 km but now takes 4 hours 25 minutes and costs 445 SEK (£33) both outbound and back, making a total of 890 SEK (£66). For the sample dates an advance price was only available for one return train, of 378 SEK (£28). Going by the standard prices the single fares are much cheaper whereas the return fares are very similar to my route to London, but a good deal slower.
(Source: sj.se)
What conclusions to draw from all of this? The main point has to the ridiculous pricing of single fares on many routes in the UK which cost only very slightly less (and on occasion a little more) than the return price. I can't see any reason for this other than encouraging travellers to make a return on the same route. However for those having to make a one-way journey the price is something of a rip-off.
If simply sticking to a comparison of return journeys then the price I'm paying doesn't compare too unfavourably with our brothers abroad in many instances. It's tricky to know where to place the Virgin West Coast trains as the journey time is generally slower than the high speed trains on the continent but quicker than their InterCity trains. There's also the complex issue of advance and discount fares which all have differing availabilities and conditions attached.
I had been expecting to discover that I was being ripped off compared to the continent, but this isn't the case, which is something. The situation might be different if I had to commute on the horrendously priced 'Standard Open' tickets, but for general travel we seem to be doing ok.
This struck me as a touch steep, so I set out to compare the price with other European countries. As a benchmark I'm using travelling on a Friday afternoon and back on a Monday afternoon which is a common weekend away option and likely to avoid rush hour periods.
First off we go to France with their wonderful high speed rail network. Let's start with an unfair comparison, that of time. From Paris to Marseille it takes a little over 3 hrs but covers 750 km. The standard price outbound is £68, and return £56 as this is classed as off-peak for some reason, making a £124 total. The return costs more than what I would pay, but the single costs a similar amount or less than the saver single for my route at £68. In addition discovery fares are offered by SNCF which are designed for a stay in the destination over a Saturday night. Using these fares brings the price down to £51 out and £42 back; £93 in total. More expensive, but covering getting on for twice the distance without costing anywhere near twice as much.
Time for a fairer comparison. Paris to Limoges is exactly 400 km as with my own route and also takes around 3 hours. The train is standard, not a TGV and costs either £31.50 or £35.50 each way, for a total from £63 to £71. These are comparable to the fares I'm facing on my route to London. The Discovery fare costs either £24 or £27 for a £48 or £54 total; considerably cheaper than my fares. It should be noted that the discovery fares were available from all services whereas cheap Virgin Value fares are much harder to come by.
(Source: raileurope.co.uk)
Next to Germany. Hamburg to Fulda (on the mainline to Munich) is 418 km, takes just over three hours by high-speed ICE train and costs €78 each way (£52) for a total of €156 (£105), although a return fare is offered for the same price for the single but not available for the sample dates I used. Going by the standard fare the price is cheaper for a single but a good deal more expensive for a return.
A second German comparison, this time with standard InterCity services between Frankfurt and Plattling (on the Passau mainline), some 404 km apart and a journey time of around 3 hours 40, costing €63 (£42) each way for a €126 (£84) return price. In this instance cheap return fares were available, making the return €63 (£42) in total.
(Source: deutsche-bahn.co.uk)
Finally to Sweden. Stockholm to Alingsas (on the mainline to Gothenburg) is 410 km. By high-speed X2000 train this takes 2 hours 35 minutes and costs 900 SEK (£67) for a standard ticket or 600 SEK (£44) for an advance purchase out, and 958 SEK (£71) standard and 538 SEK (£40) advance back, making a total of 1858 SEK (£138) standard and 1138 SEK (£84) advance return. Only the advance single works out cheaper than my route to London.
When comparing the Swedish Intercity trains on the same route the story is different. The distance is the same at 410 km but now takes 4 hours 25 minutes and costs 445 SEK (£33) both outbound and back, making a total of 890 SEK (£66). For the sample dates an advance price was only available for one return train, of 378 SEK (£28). Going by the standard prices the single fares are much cheaper whereas the return fares are very similar to my route to London, but a good deal slower.
(Source: sj.se)
What conclusions to draw from all of this? The main point has to the ridiculous pricing of single fares on many routes in the UK which cost only very slightly less (and on occasion a little more) than the return price. I can't see any reason for this other than encouraging travellers to make a return on the same route. However for those having to make a one-way journey the price is something of a rip-off.
If simply sticking to a comparison of return journeys then the price I'm paying doesn't compare too unfavourably with our brothers abroad in many instances. It's tricky to know where to place the Virgin West Coast trains as the journey time is generally slower than the high speed trains on the continent but quicker than their InterCity trains. There's also the complex issue of advance and discount fares which all have differing availabilities and conditions attached.
I had been expecting to discover that I was being ripped off compared to the continent, but this isn't the case, which is something. The situation might be different if I had to commute on the horrendously priced 'Standard Open' tickets, but for general travel we seem to be doing ok.
20061217
Railways on track
They seem to receive a lot of stick but personally speaking I don't have many complaints with Virgin Trains. I took the train home from London when I arrived back from my trip and it was absolutely fine. Near enough on time and comfortable enough aside from facing backwards as did most of the seating in the carriage. Only the alarm from one of the toilets caused by someone pressing the ill-located emergency button rather than the flush button was cause for annoyance. I can't believe this problem still hasn't been solved. Surely someone could have concocted some extra labelling that would dissuade even the most unobservant from pressing the wrong button.
In any case, during my web snooping of the past few days I've unearthed some interested news and facts concerning the rail services to this part of the world. First off, a Department for Transport press release announces improved services on the West Coast Main Line (that's the London to Glasgow route) from the end of 2008. These include:
- 50% increase in frequency in London - Birmingham and London - Manchester services
- A further 30 minutes reduction in London - Glasgow journey times, so that travelling time is around 4 hours 30 minutes.
- London - Liverpool services will be 20 minutes faster than today and there with extra peak time services
- Hourly services all day between London - Liverpool; London - Preston and London - Chester
- Improvement in weekend services
Also of interest is a transfer of services 'between Birmingham - Scotland currently operated by Virgin Cross Country to Virgin West Coast from 11 November 2007. An enhanced timetable will also be put in place on these routes from December 2008 and journey times between Birmingham and Glasgow and Edinburgh via the West Coast line will be 4 hours', the likes of which will pass through Cumbria en route to Scotland.
This all sounds like good news. If the journey time from London to Glasgow is being cut by half an hour then in theory the journey times to Cumbria should become maybe 15 or 20 minutes quicker. Trips to Glasgow and Edinburgh will also be speedier. It's a couple of years away still but it seems to be movements in the right direction.
While browsing information on the local MP, who changed at the last election while I was living down south, I came across some figures for usage of Oxenholme station, given as a response to a parliamentary question by the MP.
Daily average of Cross Country Weekday Return Journeys originating at Oxenholme:
Preston - - - - - - - -60
Birmingham NS - 21
Bristol TM - - - - - 10
Plymouth - - - - - - 2
It's not terribly useful as by far the majority will use West Coast trains to Preston and London. It's intriguing that there's 10 people everyday wanting to go to Bristol.
In any case, during my web snooping of the past few days I've unearthed some interested news and facts concerning the rail services to this part of the world. First off, a Department for Transport press release announces improved services on the West Coast Main Line (that's the London to Glasgow route) from the end of 2008. These include:
- 50% increase in frequency in London - Birmingham and London - Manchester services
- A further 30 minutes reduction in London - Glasgow journey times, so that travelling time is around 4 hours 30 minutes.
- London - Liverpool services will be 20 minutes faster than today and there with extra peak time services
- Hourly services all day between London - Liverpool; London - Preston and London - Chester
- Improvement in weekend services
Also of interest is a transfer of services 'between Birmingham - Scotland currently operated by Virgin Cross Country to Virgin West Coast from 11 November 2007. An enhanced timetable will also be put in place on these routes from December 2008 and journey times between Birmingham and Glasgow and Edinburgh via the West Coast line will be 4 hours', the likes of which will pass through Cumbria en route to Scotland.
This all sounds like good news. If the journey time from London to Glasgow is being cut by half an hour then in theory the journey times to Cumbria should become maybe 15 or 20 minutes quicker. Trips to Glasgow and Edinburgh will also be speedier. It's a couple of years away still but it seems to be movements in the right direction.
While browsing information on the local MP, who changed at the last election while I was living down south, I came across some figures for usage of Oxenholme station, given as a response to a parliamentary question by the MP.
Daily average of Cross Country Weekday Return Journeys originating at Oxenholme:
Preston - - - - - - - -60
Birmingham NS - 21
Bristol TM - - - - - 10
Plymouth - - - - - - 2
It's not terribly useful as by far the majority will use West Coast trains to Preston and London. It's intriguing that there's 10 people everyday wanting to go to Bristol.
20061216
20061213
The north wind shall blow and we shall have snow
...because once again the local TV transmitter has gone belly up by today's wind and rain. It's not atypical weather for this part of the world but every year without fail our televisions will be reduced to snow and white noise, normally just in time to interrupt festive television. It rubs salt in to the wound that in addition to having only 4 channels which are grainy at the best of times we seem to be subject to the whims of least reliable transmitter in the country. It fits rather nicely with the previous post though. I wonder if after Monday we'll even notice the fluctuations of bog standard terrestrial analogue.
Digital living in a rural land
It wasn't so long ago that all this talk of going digital was wholly ignored around here, being something limited to the high-density living rat-racers in the cities. Internet was dial-up and there was no expectation of receiving digital radio or TV within the foreseeable future, if at all. Times are changing, although the move to digital is often thwarted by the geography of the area. Internet is now broadband and digital television is available from one of the local transmitters although it's available very patchily. Similarly digital radio is available from certain locations but in most cases it's having make it over some distance to reach here, meaning that signal levels normally hover around the threshold level for usability. We've long since tolerated a rather ropey analogue signal but for not much longer. There remains little or no possibility of receiving Freeview for now and even when it commences from our local transmitter in a year or two the signal may still not be up to scratch. This has left us with no option but to look up to the Sky, or to SKY, to be more precise.
I'm pleased to have finally convinced my parents to go down the good-picture-quality, multi-channel route, as for long enough they've been picking through the best of what the four terrestrial channels have to offer (no channel 5 of course), which is often somewhat limited. Even free to air satellite will help. I'm a big fan of BBC 4 as a source of decent programming many evenings and when I had Freeview in London last year even the likes of Sky Travel would occasionally bestow should gems upon us: an old Whicker's World or Ewan McGregor's 'Long Way Round' series.
The situation is even better than that though. The free to air price is some £150 which covers the equipment, installation and FTA decoder card. However for the time being Sky are also offering the same plus 2 mixes (a mix is a collection of their subscription channels such as entertainment, documentaries etc.) for only £120, which comprises a £10 monthly subscription charge with gratis installation and equipment. This means that for a year at least we'll also be able to enjoy the likes of Sky One, UK Gold and for my father more documentaries than it would ever be possible to digest. Most important though is the fact that for the first time ever at this house, that's a good 10 years or so, we'll actually have a good television picture. Is this going digital so much as catching up to what most people have had for many years? Rural life indeed.
I'm pleased to have finally convinced my parents to go down the good-picture-quality, multi-channel route, as for long enough they've been picking through the best of what the four terrestrial channels have to offer (no channel 5 of course), which is often somewhat limited. Even free to air satellite will help. I'm a big fan of BBC 4 as a source of decent programming many evenings and when I had Freeview in London last year even the likes of Sky Travel would occasionally bestow should gems upon us: an old Whicker's World or Ewan McGregor's 'Long Way Round' series.
The situation is even better than that though. The free to air price is some £150 which covers the equipment, installation and FTA decoder card. However for the time being Sky are also offering the same plus 2 mixes (a mix is a collection of their subscription channels such as entertainment, documentaries etc.) for only £120, which comprises a £10 monthly subscription charge with gratis installation and equipment. This means that for a year at least we'll also be able to enjoy the likes of Sky One, UK Gold and for my father more documentaries than it would ever be possible to digest. Most important though is the fact that for the first time ever at this house, that's a good 10 years or so, we'll actually have a good television picture. Is this going digital so much as catching up to what most people have had for many years? Rural life indeed.
20061211
The blog is back!
The attention all shipping blog has been in a hiatus for the past seven months while I'll been gallivanting across Europe, Asia and Australia (details of which could be followed on my travel blog). I returned to the UK on Thursday and having had a few days to get over the jet lag and caught up on seven months of news from friends, family and wider world it's about time the show got back on the road.
I arrived back in the UK amidst news of expected widespread Post Office closures. This makes my blood boil as many Post Offices are central to rural communities and it seems to be a further step that the government is either unaware or uninterested in the needs and workings of towns and villages.
One of the most glorious features of Post Offices is that they're the most local of services, residing often at the heart of village life. Despite previous closures Post Offices are still for many an easy walk down the street; a crucial factor for the sizable elderly population that exists in rural communities. If these were to go thousands if not millions would be faced with a substantial journey to the next branch, which in turn creates untold additional car journeys and yet further CO2 emissions at a time when the government is in theory looking at cutting this greenhouse gas. Closures will also rive the heart out of many small towns and villages and toll a further death nell at a time when community spirit should be being nurtured.
Particularly annoying is the fact that these closures are being announced with no effort being made to look into options for diversifying Post Offices' incomes. One particularly interesting suggestion I heard on the radio was to use the network of Post Office branches as collection hubs for the many couriered parcels that are undelivered each day. Currently these return to local courier depots, often scores of miles away and redelivery may be attempted another couple of times which on a national basis much constitute a huge number of needless road journeys and CO2 emissions. However more broadly there have got to be a number of avenues that can be tried to introduce new services to the Post Offices and boost turnover.
I arrived back in the UK amidst news of expected widespread Post Office closures. This makes my blood boil as many Post Offices are central to rural communities and it seems to be a further step that the government is either unaware or uninterested in the needs and workings of towns and villages.
One of the most glorious features of Post Offices is that they're the most local of services, residing often at the heart of village life. Despite previous closures Post Offices are still for many an easy walk down the street; a crucial factor for the sizable elderly population that exists in rural communities. If these were to go thousands if not millions would be faced with a substantial journey to the next branch, which in turn creates untold additional car journeys and yet further CO2 emissions at a time when the government is in theory looking at cutting this greenhouse gas. Closures will also rive the heart out of many small towns and villages and toll a further death nell at a time when community spirit should be being nurtured.
Particularly annoying is the fact that these closures are being announced with no effort being made to look into options for diversifying Post Offices' incomes. One particularly interesting suggestion I heard on the radio was to use the network of Post Office branches as collection hubs for the many couriered parcels that are undelivered each day. Currently these return to local courier depots, often scores of miles away and redelivery may be attempted another couple of times which on a national basis much constitute a huge number of needless road journeys and CO2 emissions. However more broadly there have got to be a number of avenues that can be tried to introduce new services to the Post Offices and boost turnover.
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