Great Western Coffee Shop

Warning ... stoking the fire for a potential political thread.  From The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/16/corbyn-to-launch-transport-campaign-with-rail-pledges)


The illustration shows a group of demonstrators behind a banner - "Bring back British Rail" - with this logo:

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/reversedbr.jpg)

What do members think of this use of the reversed (starboard side of Sealink ships only) logo?

Is it a mistake, or is it clever because it signifies 'back'? I can't decide.

Also - puts pedant's hat on - wasn't the reversed logo on the port side of Sealink ferries, not starboard...?

Oops - yes.   From Wikipedia


If the banner is clever because it signifies "back" then it's also a mistake as even bright people may not 'get' the message.

Corbyn supporters "clever"?

The original logo depicts trains travelling on the left and the reversed one used by Corbyn supporters above shows travel on the right. This is symptomatic of the topsy-turvy times we live in, in which the left demands we switch to the right while the right goes on sticking to the left, and all the time the passengers are left right behind!

It's a better way to get away. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e74CtBOX6Yk) Simples!

From The Daily Mail (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3744697/Careful-wish-Jeremy-Corbyn-stuck-sitting-FLOOR-three-hour-train-journey-backing-walkouts-rail-workers.html)


From The BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37167700)

Now why would he want something so capitalist as a seat? Surely that would show possession of something on a personal basis that should be owned by the whole nation.

Tough on seats, tough on the causes of seats!

From that BBC article (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37167700) again:
How many people can you you fit into a Virgin khazi?

;D

See it's already being called Traingate.  ::)

Virgin have put out a press release: https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/about/media-room/#/pressreleases/virgin-trains-clarifies-labour-leaders-claim-of-ram-packed-service-1530005

There is an attached Word document containing several CCTV stills.  Mr Corbyn passes many completely unreserved seats.  After filming his piece, he is then seen to return to a seat.  So much for being seatless...

The BBC has suggested that this story may have been broken by Branson in order to distract us from the positive publicity BA, his old and bitter enemy, was getting yesterday thanks to flying the Olympians home. 

Corbyn supporters have put out a press release alleging that this was the true situation - as you can see JC managed to squeeze on, although it was a little cosy............

We've mentioned it before, but there remains the whole fallacy of passengers not taking the last (proper) seats even when they are available.  It's very common for me to count how many people there are on a train ... and come up with (say) 75 on a 79 seat train.  That's - err - 68 seated, 7 standing and 11 seats unoccupied.  "Full and standing" reports not really accurate in this case!  A good sanity check on numbers as it's hard to loose count if people stop and talk and move around is to count empty seats, standees, and do a bit of maths based on total seats. Understand some train crew do that!

Reasons can be various - "been sitting all day", "bags on seats", "don't like to push pass someone", "couldn't get seats together so one of us is standing", "person in adjoining seat to space is large and overflowing / smells / gives me the creeps / wants to talk / is my ex", "don't like middle seat of 3", "don't want to play footsie at table", "seat wet from previous occupant", "want to be near / within sight of my luggage".

That one doesn't wash - they flew home on flight BA2016, in a British Airways Boeing 747-436, G-CIVA. Not a Virgin to be seen in any of the pictures, of which we have all been reminded following the attempt to help us forget. And whilst it is not the confessional, Virgin risks being accused of political bias by releasing such detailed information and CCTV footage.


PMSL! Oh, hang on...

I don't doubt that there will be accusations of bias, however it was quite proper of Virgin to release the information & CCTV footage, it is clearly in the public interest to expose someone who aspires to the highest office in the land if he tells lies or half truths to further or promote his own ideologies.

I wonder incidentally if he and his cronies had asked permission before making films on the train?

I suspect a bit more thought will go into the next Corbyn PR stunt.

Yes, you are quite right. He is the author of his own misfortune.


I doubt it on past form.

From The BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37177261)


Long (magagize) article ... not sure I would agree all the facts - for example I thought that the UK had a 10 minute rule that you should take up your seat within that time of departure or forfeit the reservation.  I would also suggest that you can sit in a seat that states it's reserved at any time, provided you're prepared to move without fuss should the person who's reserved it turn up.  You can, of course, also sit in a reserved seat if it's your reservation  ;) - obvious ...

A strategy I have used several times with mainly success.

And taught me by my father who used it regularly as a National Serviceman coming home on packed trains out of Euston in the late 1950's.

That is my point, by generating their own story, the positive coverage of the BA Olympic flight is overshadowed.  I expect Virgin would have released the footage anyway (after all Branson and Corbyn have had run ins before over Branson being domiciled in a low tax Caribbean island), but they sat on the footage for a week, and the timing was perfectly co-ordinated with the Olympic story - I guess it depends if you believe in coincident. 

I disagree.  It was quite proper for Virgin to vigorously dispute Corbyn's story but CCTV is supposed to be used for public safety and crime prevention purposes.  Virgin used it for either political/commercial/entertainment ends and I happen to think that such a use is insufficient to justify the invasion of privacy that CCTV entails - we are told that we should accept CCTV to help defeat crime and terrorism and that is fair enough, but that is not what Virgin was doing here.

I'm no fan of Corbyn but I have to confess to a slightly irrational hatred of Richard Branson.  His business practices such as poor standards in rail franchises, his tax avoidance and tax evasion, his designs to get his claws on chunks of the NHS (Sirona Health in Bath for example) are no worse than many other businesses, but it is the fact that he combines it with a supposed social conscience and trendy lefty image that really grates with me.  Micheal O'Leary of Ryanair strikes me as fairly unlovable, but at least he doesn't pretend to be anything other than a ruthless businessman and I have a grudging respect for his honestly in that regard.  Branson on the other hand....

Never trust an ex-hippy.     

Like, gee thanks, man!

The ICO website suggests releasing CCTV footage clearly showing an individual to the media for entertainment purposes is a data protection breach. It goes on to say for crime purposes etc footage should only be released by the police.

The reason he didn't take a single seat was so that he could sit with his wife, who ironically isn't sitting with him on the floor in his video footage.

What are the rules regarding customers filming on trains without permission I wonder?

I know that filming on Network Rail property/stations requires an application and written permission.

I'm sure the dozens of peeps who film steam trains etc don't have (myself and others on this forum included)

"We have lots of chairs, but you can sit on the floor if you think it'll make people like you...":

http://www.bristol247.com/channel/news-comment/daily/news-wire/bedminster-chalk-board-sign-goes-viral

I think it refers to actual crews filming at stations (ie making films) rather than trainspotter activity but I'm happy to be corrected.....there are of course security implications as well as H & S etc.

https://filming.networkrail.co.uk/faq.aspx

I'm headed for Scotland tomorrow and don't have a seat reservation.

Which train does the panel advise me to catch if I wish to get a seat?  ;D

Travelling alone or with a companion who must sit with you except whilst you film yourself?

 ;D

Travelling with my trusty laptop, and without a film crew or a wife in this instance.

I was in Barcelona a few years ago when a young woman got on the metro with a wooden chair, sat on it and did some crocheting. That's a thought. For a less cumbersome option you could try a shooting stick or one of those cheap canvas folding chairs from Tesco.  ;D

Seats are bourgeois Grahame, I urge you to follow Comrade Corbyn's advice in sympathy with the workers and sit on the floor/stand all the way (or for at least 40 minutes anyway till the filming has finished)................to pass the time you could sing "The Red Flag", or perhaps more appropriately "Midnight train to Melksham" (in the Gladys Knight style, with dance moves!) and if you do that and produce video evidence, I'll pay your fare!  :D

Maybe, but they allow me reach destination in fit condition to work tomorrow.  So I'll be pragmatic


Virtually everything reserved but lots of open seats thus far (now at Preston).  I took a random seat with reservation earlier and got chucked out by soccer fans (or lads off on a party) at Warrington Bank Quay - so hope I'm doing my bit with everyone.


I would love to.  However, I've heard announcements this morning asking passenger to report strange behaviour to the police, and I don't want to risk it.

In which case, use the alternative words:


Etc.

Grahame I assure you it was all very tongue in cheek - apart from the singing of course!!!  ;)

Some people definitely aren't aware they even have reserved seats. On Monday I took the 1912 XC from Mordor to Temple Meads. The train was crammed and too short, as those services always seem to be; however, I had a reservation, so I found it and sat down. Somewhere after Cheltenham I got up to go to the loo and in the vestibule I encountered the ticket inspector chappy, telling a lad (early 20s or late teens) sat on the floor with several others that he actually had a reserved seat "but someone's probably sat it in by now."

From The Mirror (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jeremy-corbyn-ram-packed-virgin-8901399?)

The most important part of that article Graham, is that he was reading a railway magazine.  ;D

I'd have asked him to move frankly...in principle. Only the able-bodied, mind.

I think the reporter said that someone was sitting in his friends reserved seat so he moved so probably there was a reserved seat he was not using. 

You could have done what Corbyn himself did (with some help from his cronies), and turn it into a publicity stunt.............I'm sure you'd have made a better job of it than he did!!!  :D