Thursday, April 29, 2004
In the Papers
In the News (a few days ago)
At work to day while on my lunch break I came across a copy of The Times. Now I don't usually read newspapers as they are always full of depressing news like War, Plague, Terrorism and George Bush. Even stories about Global Warming depress me. I seems the world is going to come to an end in 2050. As it is unlikely that I will live to be 107 years old it would appear that I am going to miss the second most important event in the world's history. I missed the first by 4.5 billion years and now I am going to miss the 2nd by 25 years. It's not fair.
Any way the first story I read was about the Archbishop of Canterbury having a go at Dictator Blair and that cheered me up no end. Go for it Bish, but try not to end up like one of your predecessors.
The 2nd story was the one about the woman who managed to steal £4 million from her dead rich bosses. They were so rich that they didn't even miss it. What depressed me so much about this story is here was some one who found a way of turning her job into a complete gold mine but instead of hiding it in a garden gnome (Swiss veriarty), then going into work one day and telling everyone she had been diagnosed a Manic Depressive and were moving to Manchester (so her surroundings could match her mood) she all but told every one. Talk about Spend! Spend! Spend! It's no good doing something bold, imaginative and illegal and forgetting the 11th commandment. Don't wait about to get caught; move to some Central American country and then live in luxury for the rest of your life. Not in jail for the next 10 years.
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Stopping a bus from the outside.
IF YOU WANT ME TO STOP:- PUT YOU HAND OUT.
No, not you dear reader, the person at the bus stop.
I don't want to stop, I want to keep going so I can get to the terminus and have a smoke. Stopping means I face the probability of being asked hard to answer questions like 'How much is it to Brixham?' or 'What time is the last bus?'or 'Where were the last 3 buses?' The passengers on the bus don't want me to stop, they just want to get where they are going as quickly as possible without some vastly overweight person who smells getting on the bus and sitting next to them in the only empty seat on the bus. The car drivers behind don't want me to stop as they will have to check their mirrors, slow down, signal to the drivers behind and the pull out in the face of car drivers coming the other way who also don't want me to stop. The car drivers half a mile back down the road don't want me to stop as it means the will have to risk life, limb and the nearside of their car trying to get past me as I put on a right turn signal and pull straight out in front of them with total disregard for the fact that they have speeded up to 50 mph in a misguided attempt to get in front of me. Who can blame them, even I don't like travelling behind a bus?
So you are the only person on the face of the planet who wants me to stop. Put some effort into getting me to stop. Lie in the road, take all your clothes off and hold a big sign with 'Please Stop' written on it, or just put your hand out.
PS These methods of getting the bus to stop are not guaranteed. There are some bloody minded bus drivers out there who will find any excuse to stare in the rear view mirror from the moment they see you at the stop until they are well past you. Sorry about that.
Saturday, 1 May 2004
Wednesday, 28 April 2004
Stopping a bus from the outside.
Tuesday, 27 April 2004
IF YOU WANT ME TO STOP:- PUT YOU HAND OUT.No, not you dear reader, the person at the bus stop.I don't want to stop, I want to keep going so I can get to the terminus and have a smoke. Stopping means I face the probability of being asked hard to answer questions like 'How much is it to Brixham?' or 'What time is the last bus?'or 'Where were the last 3 buses?' The passengers on the bus don't want me to stop, they just want to get where they are going as quickly as possible without some vastly overweight person who smells getting on the bus and sitting next to them in the only empty seat on the bus. The car drivers behind don't want me to stop as they will have to check their mirrors, slow down, signal to the drivers behind and the pull out in the face of car drivers coming the other way who also don't want me to stop. The car drivers half a mile back down the road don't want me to stop as it means the will have to risk life, limb and the nearside of their car trying to get past me as I put on a right turn signal and pull straight out in front of them with total disregard for the fact that they have speeded up to 50 mph in a misguided attempt to get in front of me. Who can blame them, even I don't like travelling behind a bus?So you are the only person on the face of the planet who wants me to stop. Put some effort into getting me to stop. Lie in the road, take all your clothes off and hold a big sign with 'Please Stop' written on it, or just put your hand out.PS These methods of getting the bus to stop are not guaranteed. There are some bloody minded bus drivers out there who will find any excuse to stare in the rear view mirror from the moment they see you at the stop until they are well past you. Sorry about that.
IF YOU WANT ME TO STOP:- PUT YOU HAND OUT.No, not you dear reader, the person at the bus stop.I don't want to stop, I want to keep going so I can get to the terminus and have a smoke. Stopping means I face the probability of being asked hard to answer questions like 'How much is it to Brixham?' or 'What time is the last bus?'or 'Where were the last 3 buses?' The passengers on the bus don't want me to stop, they just want to get where they are going as quickly as possible without some vastly overweight person who smells getting on the bus and sitting next to them in the only empty seat on the bus. The car drivers behind don't want me to stop as they will have to check their mirrors, slow down, signal to the drivers behind and the pull out in the face of car drivers coming the other way who also don't want me to stop. The car drivers half a mile back down the road don't want me to stop as it means the will have to risk life, limb and the nearside of their car trying to get past me as I put on a right turn signal and pull straight out in front of them with total disregard for the fact that they have speeded up to 50 mph in a misguided attempt to get in front of me. Who can blame them, even I don't like travelling behind a bus?So you are the only person on the face of the planet who wants me to stop. Put some effort into getting me to stop. Lie in the road, take all your clothes off and hold a big sign with 'Please Stop' written on it, or just put your hand out.PS These methods of getting the bus to stop are not guaranteed. There are some bloody minded bus drivers out there who will find any excuse to stare in the rear view mirror from the moment they see you at the stop until they are well past you. Sorry about that.
Tuesday, 27 April 2004
Stopping a bus from the outside.
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
.
IF YOU WANT ME TO STOP:- PUT YOU HAND OUT.No, not you dear reader, the person at the bus stop.I don't want to stop, I want to keep going so I can get to the terminus and have a smoke. Stopping means I face the probability of being asked hard to answer questions like 'How much is it to Brixham?' or 'What time is the last bus?'or 'Where were the last 3 buses?' The passengers on the bus don't want me to stop, they just want to get where they are going as quickly as possible without some vastly overweight person who smells getting on the bus and sitting next to them in the only empty seat on the bus. The car drivers behind don't want me to stop as they will have to check their mirrors, slow down, signal to the drivers behind and the pull out in the face of car drivers coming the other way who also don't want me to stop. The car drivers half a mile back down the road don't want me to stop as it means the will have to risk life, limb and the nearside of their car trying to get past me as I put on a right turn signal and pull straight out in front of them with total disregard for the fact that they have speeded up to 50 mph in a misguided attempt to get in front of me. Who can blame them, even I don't like travelling behind a bus?So you are the only person on the face of the planet who wants me to stop. Put some effort into getting me to stop. Lie in the road, take all your clothes off and hold a big sign with 'Please Stop' written on it, or just put your hand out.PS These methods of getting the bus to stop are not guaranteed. There are some bloody minded bus drivers out there who will find any excuse to stare in the rear view mirror from the moment they see you at the stop until they are well past you. Sorry about that.
.
IF YOU WANT ME TO STOP:- PUT YOU HAND OUT.No, not you dear reader, the person at the bus stop.I don't want to stop, I want to keep going so I can get to the terminus and have a smoke. Stopping means I face the probability of being asked hard to answer questions like 'How much is it to Brixham?' or 'What time is the last bus?'or 'Where were the last 3 buses?' The passengers on the bus don't want me to stop, they just want to get where they are going as quickly as possible without some vastly overweight person who smells getting on the bus and sitting next to them in the only empty seat on the bus. The car drivers behind don't want me to stop as they will have to check their mirrors, slow down, signal to the drivers behind and the pull out in the face of car drivers coming the other way who also don't want me to stop. The car drivers half a mile back down the road don't want me to stop as it means the will have to risk life, limb and the nearside of their car trying to get past me as I put on a right turn signal and pull straight out in front of them with total disregard for the fact that they have speeded up to 50 mph in a misguided attempt to get in front of me. Who can blame them, even I don't like travelling behind a bus?So you are the only person on the face of the planet who wants me to stop. Put some effort into getting me to stop. Lie in the road, take all your clothes off and hold a big sign with 'Please Stop' written on it, or just put your hand out.PS These methods of getting the bus to stop are not guaranteed. There are some bloody minded bus drivers out there who will find any excuse to stare in the rear view mirror from the moment they see you at the stop until they are well past you. Sorry about that.
Sunday, 23 December 2001
Rock Walk. Stories from the Herald Express (1)
'GOOD WILL COME FROM DISRUPTION'
From the Herald Express
20 December 2007
Torquay seafront will be shut off to traffic for up to six weeks while £100,000 safety works are carried out at closed-off Rock Walk.A 65-tonne crane is being brought in to remove 35 trees, some weighing 10 tonnes, which have become unstable.It means that all lanes will be closed to traffic from January 28.Work is expected to take three weeks but could take up to six, depending on the weather.
Torbay Council decided to close the road after rejecting other options including flying in a helicopter to take out the trees.The council's senior tree man, Neil Coish, said: "We went to the RAF to lift the trees and fly them out but we would have had to close roads, footpaths and inner seafront up to half a mile out into the Bay and all of Torre Abbey Meadows and it was too expensive."
And despite efforts to shut just one lane, the 10ft base on the crane meant it was impossible, said Mr Coish.But councillors say that good will come out of the disruption with plans to restore the overgrown walk to the original Royal Terrace Gardens, a Victorian tropical garden since lost under the towering Monterey Pines and evergreen oak trees.Torbay councillor for transport and planning, Chris Lewis, said: "Out of bad comes good. It is a shame the trees are going but what we are going to have instead is tropical gardens that will be a highlight of the Bay."When the trees come down and work is done to stabilise the rock, consultants will be coming down to look at how the gardens should be restored. Then plans will be put forward and out to consultation," he said.
Ward member Cllr Jenny Faulkner remembers the former gardens as a child evacuee."I could not be more pleased. It has been a long time coming."Cllr Faulkner said that since the early 1990s, there had been trouble with anti-social behaviour and drug taking shielded from view by the large trees."The top part of Rock Walk was blocked off years ago because of vandalism and because it was not safe."These plans will make a vast improvement to the area. It will open it up and make it safe," she said.Cllr Robert Horne said that this was not a 'repair job but a complete restoration to bring back the gardens to the standard when they were first opened'.
Torbay Chamber of Commerce chairman, Cllr Robert Excell, said that all businesses will be made aware of the diversions during the works, scheduled after the panto season at the Princess Theatre.He said: "They will be informed of the new routes and when the best times are to have deliveries."I believe the benefits of this will far outweigh the disruption," he said.
A public meeting will be held at the Pier Point Cafe on January 16.
From the Herald Express
20 December 2007
Torquay seafront will be shut off to traffic for up to six weeks while £100,000 safety works are carried out at closed-off Rock Walk.A 65-tonne crane is being brought in to remove 35 trees, some weighing 10 tonnes, which have become unstable.It means that all lanes will be closed to traffic from January 28.Work is expected to take three weeks but could take up to six, depending on the weather.
Torbay Council decided to close the road after rejecting other options including flying in a helicopter to take out the trees.The council's senior tree man, Neil Coish, said: "We went to the RAF to lift the trees and fly them out but we would have had to close roads, footpaths and inner seafront up to half a mile out into the Bay and all of Torre Abbey Meadows and it was too expensive."
And despite efforts to shut just one lane, the 10ft base on the crane meant it was impossible, said Mr Coish.But councillors say that good will come out of the disruption with plans to restore the overgrown walk to the original Royal Terrace Gardens, a Victorian tropical garden since lost under the towering Monterey Pines and evergreen oak trees.Torbay councillor for transport and planning, Chris Lewis, said: "Out of bad comes good. It is a shame the trees are going but what we are going to have instead is tropical gardens that will be a highlight of the Bay."When the trees come down and work is done to stabilise the rock, consultants will be coming down to look at how the gardens should be restored. Then plans will be put forward and out to consultation," he said.
Ward member Cllr Jenny Faulkner remembers the former gardens as a child evacuee."I could not be more pleased. It has been a long time coming."Cllr Faulkner said that since the early 1990s, there had been trouble with anti-social behaviour and drug taking shielded from view by the large trees."The top part of Rock Walk was blocked off years ago because of vandalism and because it was not safe."These plans will make a vast improvement to the area. It will open it up and make it safe," she said.Cllr Robert Horne said that this was not a 'repair job but a complete restoration to bring back the gardens to the standard when they were first opened'.
Torbay Chamber of Commerce chairman, Cllr Robert Excell, said that all businesses will be made aware of the diversions during the works, scheduled after the panto season at the Princess Theatre.He said: "They will be informed of the new routes and when the best times are to have deliveries."I believe the benefits of this will far outweigh the disruption," he said.
A public meeting will be held at the Pier Point Cafe on January 16.
Sunday, 22 April 2001
From Herald Express 22 April 2008
STAGECOACH FORCED TO RE-JIG BAY BUS SERVICE
11:00 - 22 April 2008
Congestion on the notoriously busy Newton Road has forced Stagecoach to re-think the bus routes and services it provides in and around Torbay.Managing director Chris Hilditch has hailed the road a 'disgrace' and blamed constant traffic jams between Penn Inn and Riviera Way for an unreliable bus network.So from May 19, Stagecoach will reduce the amount of number 12 buses running between Newton Abbot and Torquay.
Instead it will increase the number of journeys between Torquay and Paignton.And it is ending the existing number 85 service from Torquay to Teignmouth and on to Exeter.Other changes in the South Devon network are to follow as a result, including the withdrawal of the 12b service from St Marychurch to Castle Circus, Torquay Seafront, Preston and Paignton bus station.It will be replaced by a new 12C service which will run every 20 minutes from South Devon College to St Marychurch via Goodrington, Paignton and Torquay.
On May 19, Stagecoach will also withdraw its number 85 bus which serves Torquay Harbour, Teignmouth, Dawlish, Dawlish Warren, Starcross, Exminster and Exeter. Instead, this route will be met by the 12A and the new 12C service.Mr Hilditch said a new Kingskerswell Bypass is needed if Torbay is to continue to be a viable place to live and work.
He said: "The Newton Road is unreliable. It has a huge volume of traffic on it that would not disgrace a motorway."It's constantly subjected to accidents, road closures and digging up, for hours at a time."Just last week a piece of road near the Penn Inn Roundabout was dug up and the queue went all the way back to Torquay."You cannot run a bus service on a road like that. It's hard for people waiting for a bus in Preston to appreciate the bus is late because of roadworks 10 miles away."We needed to make the network more reliable."He continued: "At the end of the day, the Newton Road is a disgrace in terms of living in a country like this. It's just hopeless."That corridor is absolutely vital to Torbay. You either take people's cars away by force or you do something to deal with the congestion there. You have to do something, you can't just grind to a halt."Newton Road is not going to get any better. I can't see how else it can be dealt with other than to build a bypass."I'm not a supporter of building roads particularly, but I don't see how it can be avoided if Torbay is to continue to be a viable place to live and work, because the congestion is going to kill it."
Other major changes to Stagecoach's bus routes include removing Newton Abbot and Brixham as destinations from the 12A service, and replacing the South Devon College and Brixham link in the 12A service with an extended 66 service.A new 12C service from South Devon College to St Marychurch via Goodrington, Paignton and Torquay will be introduced.The withdrawn 85 service from Torquay Harbour to Teignmouth, Dawlish, Dawlish Warren, Starcross, Exminster and Exeter will be replaced by the 12A and the 12C, both of which will run hourly services to Teignmouth.The 85A service linking Teignmouth and Exeter will remain, but will be renumbered 2.
Mr Hilditch said there will be more buses between Paignton and Brixham, and more linking South Devon College, Paignton and Torquay.He said: "Generally speaking the loop from St Marychurch through to Torquay and Paignton and then around Waterside, Roselands, the college and Paignton, is usually reasonably reliable."Therefore, we have made what will be the 12A and 12C very reliable and the number 12 will just have to take its chances as usual, because of the Newton Road."
We have kept the same overall number of buses and crews, but we are putting more buses where we are busy and fewer where we are not so busy. It's about adjusting the volume to the requirements."We think the system will flow better for people. There will be buses when they need them and a more reliable service."
For more information about the new timetable phone Stagecoach on 0871 200 22 33 or log on to Stagecoach Devon
11:00 - 22 April 2008
Congestion on the notoriously busy Newton Road has forced Stagecoach to re-think the bus routes and services it provides in and around Torbay.Managing director Chris Hilditch has hailed the road a 'disgrace' and blamed constant traffic jams between Penn Inn and Riviera Way for an unreliable bus network.So from May 19, Stagecoach will reduce the amount of number 12 buses running between Newton Abbot and Torquay.
Instead it will increase the number of journeys between Torquay and Paignton.And it is ending the existing number 85 service from Torquay to Teignmouth and on to Exeter.Other changes in the South Devon network are to follow as a result, including the withdrawal of the 12b service from St Marychurch to Castle Circus, Torquay Seafront, Preston and Paignton bus station.It will be replaced by a new 12C service which will run every 20 minutes from South Devon College to St Marychurch via Goodrington, Paignton and Torquay.
On May 19, Stagecoach will also withdraw its number 85 bus which serves Torquay Harbour, Teignmouth, Dawlish, Dawlish Warren, Starcross, Exminster and Exeter. Instead, this route will be met by the 12A and the new 12C service.Mr Hilditch said a new Kingskerswell Bypass is needed if Torbay is to continue to be a viable place to live and work.
He said: "The Newton Road is unreliable. It has a huge volume of traffic on it that would not disgrace a motorway."It's constantly subjected to accidents, road closures and digging up, for hours at a time."Just last week a piece of road near the Penn Inn Roundabout was dug up and the queue went all the way back to Torquay."You cannot run a bus service on a road like that. It's hard for people waiting for a bus in Preston to appreciate the bus is late because of roadworks 10 miles away."We needed to make the network more reliable."He continued: "At the end of the day, the Newton Road is a disgrace in terms of living in a country like this. It's just hopeless."That corridor is absolutely vital to Torbay. You either take people's cars away by force or you do something to deal with the congestion there. You have to do something, you can't just grind to a halt."Newton Road is not going to get any better. I can't see how else it can be dealt with other than to build a bypass."I'm not a supporter of building roads particularly, but I don't see how it can be avoided if Torbay is to continue to be a viable place to live and work, because the congestion is going to kill it."
Other major changes to Stagecoach's bus routes include removing Newton Abbot and Brixham as destinations from the 12A service, and replacing the South Devon College and Brixham link in the 12A service with an extended 66 service.A new 12C service from South Devon College to St Marychurch via Goodrington, Paignton and Torquay will be introduced.The withdrawn 85 service from Torquay Harbour to Teignmouth, Dawlish, Dawlish Warren, Starcross, Exminster and Exeter will be replaced by the 12A and the 12C, both of which will run hourly services to Teignmouth.The 85A service linking Teignmouth and Exeter will remain, but will be renumbered 2.
Mr Hilditch said there will be more buses between Paignton and Brixham, and more linking South Devon College, Paignton and Torquay.He said: "Generally speaking the loop from St Marychurch through to Torquay and Paignton and then around Waterside, Roselands, the college and Paignton, is usually reasonably reliable."Therefore, we have made what will be the 12A and 12C very reliable and the number 12 will just have to take its chances as usual, because of the Newton Road."
We have kept the same overall number of buses and crews, but we are putting more buses where we are busy and fewer where we are not so busy. It's about adjusting the volume to the requirements."We think the system will flow better for people. There will be buses when they need them and a more reliable service."
For more information about the new timetable phone Stagecoach on 0871 200 22 33 or log on to Stagecoach Devon
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