Lovely London covered in snow

I love London in the winter. I like getting warm and walking around Oxford Street then turning into Regents Street and walking to Trafalgar Square. I like going upto Westminster Bridge and then walking down the Thames. Its an amazing experience just walking past so many people with the ones you love and really enjoying the true feelings that this city evokes. Its a tough city, no doubt about that, but it has a warmth to it. I think winter more than any other time of the year really brings that out.

Unfortunately the city is also being run by an egoistic bastard.  Here is a link to a good article about snowy London.

Fight with yobs on a bus – Is this is what we pay for Ken?

Here is a picture which is not very clear but I think you can see a fool standing on the actual handrails of the double decker bus (his leg is on the left). He was a member of a group of complete idiots who kept running up and down the top deck of the bus and throwing things at each other which found their way down the stairway.

After the debacle last week with the poor man who was attacked, I was really pissed off now – really pissed off. So firstly I went to the driver and told him. Then he said: “what shall I do?” so I said stop the bus and tell them to get off. An old woman also came and supported me and the bus driver stayed at the stop and spoke into a mic and told them to get off. We stayed at the stop for at least twenty minutes. I kid you not.

Congestion Charge CON! Outrageous behaviour from the CC people

Nick, a reader, has just posted a comment with the following: “I met a man in London recently who’s job is to deliberately phase the traffic lights to cause congestion, then to readjust them when the charge goes up to convince us the charge is working”…

That is outrageous! I am going to write to CC and see what they have to say about that. Already the city is full of over-excited traffic wardens and speed cameras – now this?!

New Transport for London gripe!

I had to pay four pounds (FOUR POUNDS!) to travel simply two stops this morning.

Violence in London – Crime on the rise

I had a really bad experience today and it was something I hope won’t ever happen again. Basically I was waiting on a central London street for a cab when I heard two men shouting. I didn’t think anything of it as it was basically one man standing and shouting whilst the other would go up to him, shout at him then walk off. He did that a few times whilst I was about 70 metres away trying to find a cab. Then as I walked closer to see if there were cabs around the bend, I realised that it was a man of around 50 years old shouting out in a loud voice: “do not attack me” whilst the other person was a lanky teenager who basically kept shouting in order to try and provoke the man even more into saying/doing something which would warrant him hitting the man. I felt really ashamed of myself as I was stood there just staring when I was shocked into doing something. The stupid youth then hit the man really hard on his head and the man kept shouting don’t attack me. The force of the hit made a really loud noise. Just then I got a cab and I told him to wait and I ran across – i guess the cabbie also must have sensed something and began getting out. By then I had just barely seen the youth’s general appearance (not his face) and the man was trembling trying to dial the police. I also called the police and gave my details. Why? Because the bastards said they will not be able to come soon and unless he knows where he is, it’s better for him to come to the station.

Get Ken Livingstone OUT

Two excellent websites. Please visit them and tell everyone about them too.

Lets get London back from Ken.

www.kenlivingstone.org

www.mayor-of-london.co.uk/blog/

Travel fare increases

Why exactly am I being forced to pay an extra 33% on some of my journeys? I am telling you, London is fast becoming impossible to live in. The standard of trains hasn’t improved over the past five years – its been the same since their last major improvement. There are still delays on the overground rail which I use alot. Massive delays. There are still terribly staffed stations, unsafe parts of the transport system, kids burning the back of the seats with lighters, chewing gum all over the cushions and tramps making the place smell. The handlebars/poles/arm rest are filthy, they are never cleaned at all and old sweat and grime simply gets coated with new sweat and grime.

For this I have to pay extra. It must be a privilege that I am ignorant of. Thank you Ken.

Affordable housing for Londoners

I can’t believe the gall and self-righteousness that just oozes from Ken Livingstone. He has just criticized Hammersmith and Fulham council for wanting to cut low housing scheme development…WHEN HE HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF MAKING LONDON ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO LIVE IN! I need to pay to drive, I need to pay ridiculous prices to use public transport. The streets teem with cockroach-like traffic wardens. I need to pay to park. Council taxes go up at stupid rates. the city isn’t much cleaner. The congestion charge is increasing in value and area covered.

Why a conservative candidate cannot run against him with an abolish C-charge ticket is beyond me. The amount of money that it makes is incredible. The argument that it creates jobs and is put to good use is tripe. Any taxes/tolls will create jobs! You need people to collect and administrate them for heavens sake. And as for it being put to good use; I am really happy that now half of london is covered with bendy buses. My wish come true. Inner city schools and colleges, hospitals, nursing homes, training centres and business schemes could have all benefited. But they don’t because the Mayor would like to see a shiny red bus that bends in the middle.

Abolish C-charges, abolish traffic wardens shipped in from Senegal and abolish Ken.

The first post of many…

Qualities inherent in Londoners seem to find themselves within Arabs too. The constantly busy streets of London that filter out into less busy suburbs and areas full of terrible hospitals, overflowing schools, ethnic groupings that seem to pull their own kind closer together and 150′000 Poles; have so much in common with the Arab metropolis’ that count hundreds of terribly run hospitals (no superbug…yet), schools with demotivated teachers but no Poles – just constant rotational migration.

London is becoming more and more expensive – I remember when my daily 1-4 travelcard was under 3 pounds. Now its over five. I remember when food was cheap, when we could play football outside the house and my mother wouldn’t be afraid. Now my son would probably be fined for holding a ball outside the house after trying to dodge a paedophile. My car would be getting towed away as a result of an elusive west-African who now works from a moped that seems to have magical invisiblity powers and a super-fast tow truck driver.

It costs me money to leave my house and take my car to central London (where I was born). It costs me money to leave my house and take public transport to central London. It is cheaper for me to take the car. But there are those who want to make it more expensive for me. So If I do take the car, I have to pay a congestion charge. I have to find a parking space which will cost me a few pounds at least – and then I need to move the car after a maximum of two or three hours because I can’t get a new ticket.

It costs me taxes to live here. I pay more taxes than most other citizens in the developed world. So do about 40 million other britons who live and work here. But our NHS is really atrocious. It stinks. The waiting lists are ridiculous, waiting times are terrible – and now they are going to be made into private entities. Alot of my tax money goes there by the way – and now its going half private.

The education system is weird. Universities are rather atrocious when compared with universities around the world. Lecturers don’t get paid much – i would have liked to become one but I need money to live – students don’t learn much, and to be honest what I learnt at university (after going to three of the best in the country) is nothing compared to what people learn in the US or Germany.

But I love my country – and I love London. I love the cold during the winter, I like walking down cobbled streets and smooth modern ones. I like to speak with aged old war veterans and chuckle at their jokes. I love the summer when everyone walks around with a smile on their face and women who spent the year losing weight get the recognition/attention that they craved! I love the history of this old, die-hard city with its million stories of stubborn defiance, freedom loving people and history. I love London becaue it made me and made others far greater and far worse than me. It is a world of different people, languages and colours. It is my world. London.