Changing horses

In a 21st century parallel to the concept of changing horses at inns on long journeys, car manufacturer Nissan "is working ... to set up stations where drivers may be able to pick up another battery rather than waiting for theirs to be recharged".

If the problem of range of electric vehicles is to be solved, this kind of solution needs to be developed, but not just for Nissans. Standardisation of battery compartments and fittings accompanied by a rental or lease scheme for the batteries is what is needed, so that any electric vehicle can hot swap to full batteries and be on its way whilst the driver is having a cup of tea and a loo visit.

Gospel Oak Line NOT closed for engineering on Bank Holiday

Remarkably the Barking - Gospel Oak line is NOT closed for engineering works on Monday 31 August, but will be running a Saturday timetable.

That's just about the only bit of good news. According to the BARKING-GOSPEL OAK LINE USER GROUP

"the work on the Barking-Gospel Oak Line is running late and is now expected to end this autumn ... 'BGOLUG welcomes the work, which will provide signalling that can handle four passenger and four freight trains per hour but thanks to Network Rail’s inordinate delays, changing contractors at the last minute, instead of being finished this weekend we have another three months of weekend closures and replacement buses to endure. Meanwhile, our weekday trains are packed solid in the peak periods and the new trains and 15-minute frequency service promised by Transport for London (TfL) for September have slipped back into next year'.

Logic Busters

I have been inspired by TV's Benefit Busters to write to the Radio Times:

"It was good to see the more positive outlook that the course they were on helped the single mums featured on 'Benefit Busters' to develop, but I don't see what was gained over all by them getting jobs in a pound shop. I'm not demeaning their achievements as individuals, but society needs to be working towards improving the human lot - our survival and success as a species. There being jobs in a pound shop requires that people buy the poor quality goods sold in them. This in turn keeps others in work making the poor quality goods, but nobody really wants or needs these goods - they're just made, bought and sold to keep people in work in a rather ridiculous cycle of consumption - a job creation scheme generating landfill.

I don't know whether these particular mums were making a good job of raising their children, but investment in raising well nourished, educated, socialised, and otherwise cared for children, is good for the children's - and society's - future. Tax money well spent. Perversely, though, the government instead cajoles single mums to work in pointless jobs, selling pointless products - rubbish. Perhaps worse: The trainer emphasised that fast food chains often take on staff and the mums should be prepared to take those jobs. So: the government is paying a private company to train people to get jobs in fast food outlets whose viability depends on people buying the fast food, and presumably eating it, whilst that same government spends tax payers' money trying to persuade people not to eat junk food?

The trainer pointed out the social stigma of being on benefits - even though in effect the beneficiaries are being paid to raise children. The stigma should be attached to making, buying and and selling rubbish that's bad for us and bad for our planet."

Let's just spell this out. If you go and buy some rubbish in a pound shop you are helping keep people of benefits by generating a demand for goods that are probably destined to be landfill. If you don't buy fast food, you are not helping to create jobs in that trade, and therefore more people are on benefits. But the government doesn't want you to eat junk food, because it is bad for you.

To keep my letter short I omitted the irony of single mums going out to work to earn enough money to pay someone else to look after their children. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to stop people getting fulfilment from their lives through work, but what fulfilment is there in working in a pound shop or a fast food shop? It only feels better because of the stigma attached to being on benefits, but who attached this stigma?

Poly Polyclinics

Where the Plough stood in Ilford Lane now stands the Loxford Polyclinic. Wondering what it did, I Googled and found two separate pages within the NHS pages. This, the NHS tell me is because two different bits of the NHS provide services there.

Hands up all those who care which bit of the NHS provides them with a service. Noone? Quite. The reason I actually contacted the NHS was because this page:

http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/Hospital.aspx?id=5NA12&v=4

claims that Loxford Polyclinic is at 45-49 Cleveland Road, Ilford, IG1 1EE

whereas http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/hospital.aspx?id=RF4LP

says it's at

417 Ilford Lane, Ilford, IG1 2SN.

Neither of these pages gives much useful information about what services are provided by any bit of the NHS. This page

http://www.redbridge.nhs.uk/newsandpublications/content.asp?id=184

is essentially a news item from a Redbridge bit of the NHS saying (in the past) what will be provided there. Not to be outdone, this page http://www.bhrhospitals.nhs.uk/visitingus/loxford3.php gives another bit of the NHS's contribution.

Absolutely bizarre! Not een links between the pages.

Blake's Corner

Apart from some temporary signs forbidding it, which I imagine should go soon, it is now possible and legal (per the permanent signs) to cycle from Station Parade into Ripple Road through Blake's corner. The last time cyclists could legally do that was in the mid 1990s.

I look forward to cycling being re-allowed in many other locations