grahame,

I'm a Lancashire lad. Notwithstanding their love of home, but what part of the word 'pretty' are you applying to the domestic settlements of Skelmesdale and Garstang? 

When you turn into Edgware Road on a 36 or 436, wait until 'George Street' before changing buses.  All buses use this one stop - the others are staggered, and the one at Marble Arch is semi-closed - seems to depend on who is driving.

I did my calculations on our stretch of the LTV^▸ (London [and] Thames Valley) and the threshold for delay repay comes to 50 delayed journeys annually - considerably more than I experienced in the last year (19).  Not forgetting that when it goes completely up the wall, I get a void day - I remember having eight one year!

My morning commute finishes with a bus journey from Paddington to Oxford Street and the Hopper Fare has improved the punctuality of my journey.  Since TfL^» (Transport for London - about) cut back the 159, now just the 7 and 23 make the direct journey, and as these routes start some way out (Acton/Westbourne Park) they can be quite episodic by the time they turn into Praed Street, with huge gaps in the service.  A 15 minute wait on a nominal 3 minute interval was not unknown.

With the Hopper, unless I can see one of the two direct buses, I will now board the 36 and 436 and change on the Edgware Road where a 6 or 98 can take me to my destination. And if instead a 7 or 23 come along I'll use them and I've lost nothing - neither time nor coin - but a 6 or 98 might have saved me some considerable time.

I have just checked my records (sad, I know  ) and 19 of my up trains were at least 15 minutes late (most recent being today) since this date last year, only one of which was more than 30 minutes late.  I've done the sums and 5% off my annual season ticket is still working out the better deal for me. I completely understand that this may not be the case for others similarly affected.

It appears from OpenTimeTrains that some up expresses are being talked past signal 534 (Slough Up Main Home equivalent?) rather than being diverted onto the Up Relief - though I notice that those that are diverted do a lot better time wise.

Looks like the same, or similar fault, has struck this morning's rush hour too. Temperature issues or things moving incompletely under possession upsetting the counters?

Unfortunately the computer way of observing the 'tail lamp' [a vital piece of railway safety equipment] and giving 'Train Out of Section' to the system.  I assume in the case today it was considered most expedient to close the line and repair immediately rather than continue to send every express down the Up Main under caution.  I got the feeling that the S+T man I saw this morning on his hands and knees in the four foot was looking for a damaged wire or connection.

Burscough Junction on the Ormskirk - Preston Line.

At seven o'clock this morning there was an S+T bloke scrabbling around in the four foot on the Up Main at Slough West.  Didn't fancy his job with trains continuing to run on the other three lines

No. 6 Blackpool Pleasure Beach - disused part of exant miniature railway.

... but then you clued that the town had already been guessed and I do not see that in previous posts.

I wouldn't go faster than 79 mph on the M4 in Wiltshire.  Their Chief Constable apparently has a thing about speed - even on motorways.

So that is nearly an inch in diameter.  How thick is the insulation wrapped around that for a 25kV service?

Me thinks that this will become a mighty cable - worthy of its own trough!

Thanks Tim, That was indeed very interesting and I did get to finally meet 'Uncle Olaf'. A well balanced article and I can now fully understand the old Ambassador's frustration.  No mention of him - and he was long gone by the time the programme was recorded.  It appears to have been driven primarily by the MAFF and not the FO. Couldn't find the bit about wanting to burning the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) embassy though!

Iceland is indeed a wonderful place notwithstanding I was there last 36 years ago. My university colleague who joined me on that scientific mission is half Icelandic and his retired father was the British ambassador to Iceland at the time of the Third (and last) Cod War. He [the father] took a pragmatic approach to the problem –  which did not please his superiors in Whitehall.  He too was a well-respected man in Iceland, as I personally observed. There are not many career diplomats that do not retire with a knighthood – he was one of them.  The Establishment is not easily crossed.

Reviewing footage of the conflict my colleague asked …

“Do you remember the Mad Axeman?”

[… a Viking captain of an Icelandic gunboat who famously, on TV footage, waved a double-headed battle-axe at a fully armed Royal Navy frigate shouting [in Icelandic] words to the effect of “come on, if you think you’re hard enough!”]

“Yes” I said.

“That's Uncle Olaf … !”