On Tue, 15 Feb 2005 13:07:01 +0000, Dave Arquati wrote in
, seen in uk.railway:
Tom Anderson wrote:
[...]
And more importantly, it means they get your credit card number, which
contains SECRET SOLOMONIC KNOWLEDGE encoded by EXTRATERRESTRIALS working
for the GNOMES OF ZURICH, which they then use to get your address from the
SECRET GOVERNMENT MAINFRAME BURIED UNDER STONEHENGE and pass it on to the
MASONS so that they can keep you informed of EXCITING NEW PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES.

Damn... I wondered why I was getting leaflets in German offering me
tax-free baked beans.

Do you think, if I ask them really, really nicely, the gnomes will
allow me to use my Tesco Clubcard vouchers and my Nectar points
towards the cost of a Swiss Pass so I can actually afford to visit
Switzerland this summer?

Or maybe the extraterrestrials can create an extra-special,
personalised version with Clubcard, Nectar, Amex and/or Boots points?


--
Ross, a.k.a.
Prof. E. Scrooge, CT, 153 & bar, Doctor of Cynicism (U. Life)

On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 23:13:54 +0000, Dave Arquati wrote in
, seen in uk.railway:
Ross wrote:
[...]
As an irregular visitor, I like two things: the frequency and the one
day bus pass.

Three-squids-fifty ain't bad when you consider that here in Lincoln
the return fare on my local service from the city centre out to ASDA,
a journey of 20 minutes each way or so, is two-squids-twenty.

Three squids fifty? You're being overcharged mate :-) Even more of a
bargain at three squids.

Is it three squids? I remember it having gone up from two-squids-fifty
but couldn't remember what to. Last time I was in London I ended up
using a 3-day off-peak Travelcard as the underground validity was
useful.


The theoretical frequency of most services (practice is something
else) means I can do things without watching the clock, and compared
to the sort of timetables I've gotten used to out here in the sticks,
'tis wonderful.

In this bit of London, the practice seems to be pretty decent too. The
49 used to be a problem but since it went double-decker, reliability
seems to have dramatically improved.

It has to be much better that yesterday's womble on RoadCar: arrive at
Newark 15 minutes late courtesy roadworks in Grantham delaying the
incredibly infrequent 602, thus missing the bus back to Lincoln and
expecting to have to wait nearly 90 minutes for the next one, only for
the bus I'd hoped to catch to turn up 15 minutes later as it too was
exceptionally late for reasons unknown...

Travelling by bus in and around Lincolnshire is fun. As long as you
don't actually want to get anywhere at a given time!

Mind you that was an intriguing run back from Newark, if only because
the variation I was on (service 88) seems to have been scheduled to
*not* serve any of the villages it goes near.


--
Ross, a.k.a.
Prof. E. Scrooge, CT, 153 & bar, Doctor of Cynicism (U. Life)

Ross wrote:
On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 23:13:54 +0000, Dave Arquati wrote in
, seen in uk.railway:

Ross wrote:

[...]

As an irregular visitor, I like two things: the frequency and the one
day bus pass.

Three-squids-fifty ain't bad when you consider that here in Lincoln
the return fare on my local service from the city centre out to ASDA,
a journey of 20 minutes each way or so, is two-squids-twenty.

Three squids fifty? You're being overcharged mate :-) Even more of a
bargain at three squids.


Is it three squids? I remember it having gone up from two-squids-fifty
but couldn't remember what to. Last time I was in London I ended up
using a 3-day off-peak Travelcard as the underground validity was
useful.

Definitely three squids.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tick...bus-pass.shtml


--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London

On Tue, 15 Feb 2005 17:58:28 +0000, Dave Arquati wrote in
, seen in uk.railway:
Ross wrote:
[...]

Three-squids-fifty ain't bad [...]

Three squids fifty? You're being overcharged mate :-) Even more of a
bargain at three squids.

Is it three squids? I remember it having gone up from two-squids-fifty
but couldn't remember what to.

Definitely three squids.

Ah, well. I must have gotten confused.

Nothing new there, of course!

--
Ross, a.k.a.
Prof. E. Scrooge, CT, 153 & bar, Doctor of Cynicism (U. Life)

Mrs Redboots wrote:
Dave Newt wrote to uk.transport.london on Mon, 14 Feb 2005:


Paul Terry wrote:


You freeze [...] cheese ?

If it's cheddar-ish, rather than Brie-ish, then yes.


The Brie-type freezes very well - I buy Reblochon en masse when in
France & freeze it when I get home - lovely for tartiflettes.....

Oh hurray! Someone who's heard of tartiflette!

If you like stinky, try half Reblochon, half Munster!

Dave Newt wrote to uk.transport.london on Tue, 15 Feb 2005:

Mrs Redboots wrote:
Dave Newt wrote to uk.transport.london on Mon, 14 Feb 2005:

Paul Terry wrote:


You freeze [...] cheese ?

If it's cheddar-ish, rather than Brie-ish, then yes.
The Brie-type freezes very well - I buy Reblochon en masse when in
France & freeze it when I get home - lovely for tartiflettes.....

Oh hurray! Someone who's heard of tartiflette!

If you like stinky, try half Reblochon, half Munster!

Yum.... But right now, tartiflette is only served when I have guests, as
I'm losing weight! Gorgeous stuff, though....
--
"Mrs Redboots"
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/
Website updated 23 January 2005 with new photos

In article ,
says...
In message
Michael Parry wrote:

In message , Paul Corfield
writes
I acknowledged this point but if you have any memory of the Tube prior
to zonal fares and I just about do then the old set up had arrays of
free standing single fare machine with huge signs above them saying
which stations for that fare.

Are there really no pictures of the old machines anywhere on the web?
A Google and a look at http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk didn't turn up any.

IIRC, they had the fare in huge print and the stations served by that
fare on the sloping glass top.

That's how I remember them, the fare was in red and the machine itself was
painted blue. Fare bands were in increments of 3d (old pence). IIRC only
singles were available, no returns.



The increments were whatever applied at the time, probably was 3d at the
time of decimalisation.

Penny increments show in the LT Museum's 1948 photo.

View at http://makeashorterlink.com/?N3F63287A

Vaguely remember seeing an odd machine somewhere that wasn't just an
ordinary single, may have been a child single.

Jim Brittin wrote:
In article ,
says...
In message
Michael Parry wrote:

In message , Paul
Corfield writes
I acknowledged this point but if you have any memory of the Tube
prior to zonal fares and I just about do then the old set up had
arrays of free standing single fare machine with huge signs
above them saying which stations for that fare.

Are there really no pictures of the old machines anywhere on the
web? A Google and a look at http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk didn't turn
up any.

IIRC, they had the fare in huge print and the stations served by
that fare on the sloping glass top.

That's how I remember them, the fare was in red and the machine
itself was painted blue. Fare bands were in increments of 3d (old
pence). IIRC only singles were available, no returns.

The increments were whatever applied at the time, probably was 3d
at the time of decimalisation.

Penny increments show in the LT Museum's 1948 photo.

View at http://makeashorterlink.com/?N3F63287A

IIRC there are some at the LT Museum Depot (Acton Town). The next Open
Day there is 26/27 February. Not sure of the Museum itself has any.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

In message , Jim Brittin
writes
The increments were whatever applied at the time, probably was 3d at
the time of decimalisation.

Penny increments show in the LT Museum's 1948 photo.

View at http://makeashorterlink.com/?N3F63287A

Vaguely remember seeing an odd machine somewhere that wasn't just an
ordinary single, may have been a child single.

Oh yes, those are the ones, thanks. The tickets were green cardboard
when I first used them but soon changed to yellow with a magnetic
coating on the back that would operate the new barriers.

--
Michael Parry
'The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret'
(Terry Pratchett, The Truth)

"Michael Parry" wrote in message
...

Oh yes, those are the ones, thanks. The tickets were green cardboard
when I first used them but soon changed to yellow with a magnetic
coating on the back that would operate the new barriers.

AIUI the magnetic coating didn't contain any more information than 'This is
a ticket; gate, please open.'

Peter