Things that annoy you ?

[LondonTom]

The fan is above you when you walk off the platform. Basically it's the weight of your body that drives the fan ie it offers resistance and this increases as you hurtle towards the earth because it's geared that way. If the fan were to fail then like a lot of systems it fails safe, meaning you would just be left dangling in mid air. Then I suspect there would be a way of lowering you down gently via a hand ratchet or something. At least those were the thoughts I had when I was standing on the platform.

[windy_miller]

If you get the chance to try a fan descender. Basically you walk off the edge of a platform at very high level and then, naturally enough, you go into free fall to the earth. However about half way down this fan kicks in and slows you down so you hit the ground at a pace you can handle. It's an exhilerating experience.

[kaosmark2]

Isn't this just a parachute, but with more moving parts that can go wrong?!

[eFestivals]

Virgin Trains losing the West Coast Main Line to fucking First Group.... A good service dies...

... and a thief has lost his income. It's not necessarily all bad.

While it's quite possible Worst Group might do the same thing, Branson added to his conviction for massive VAT fraud (which is the basis for all the money he's made; he got fined far less than he stole. It's handy when your family are judges) by making a bid for West Coast last time which he never fulfilled - so other fraud, and one which has cost this country billions.

The railways will only start to get decent again if/when they get re-nationalised with the same funding they're getting currently - which is a huge amount more (after adjustment for inflation) than the old BR used to get.

These rail franchises were the first implementation of the new post-Thatcher tory master-plan - because the public won't easily accept a massive spending reduction for public services, then the answer is to set up a system whereby that tax-payers money can be stolen by private enterprise.

[Rufus Gwertigan]

Virgin Trains losing the West Coast Main Line to fucking First Group.... A good service dies...

[eFestivals]

I think Virgin have done a really good job on the West Coast.

it's easy to run a better service when the amount of money the govt gives you is massively more than other franchisees.

And the reason they've given him that extra money is because his if last time turned out to be a fantasy, where he didn't pay the govt the money his bid said he would, and nor did he deliver on any of the major promises of that if (new rolling stock, 140 mph trains, etc).

As has been the basis of most of his career, it's all been lies and fraud.

The man is a charlatan. He is not a "self made man", his whole business has been financed by fraud. It's astounding how people keep falling for his blatant lies.

Edited August 15, 2012 by eFestivals

[Rufus Gwertigan]

it's easy to run a better service when the amount of money the govt gives you is massively more than other franchisees.

And the reason they've given him that extra money is because his if last time turned out to be a fantasy, where he didn't pay the govt the money his bid said he would, and nor did he deliver on any of the major promises of that if (new rolling stock, 140 mph trains, etc).

As has been the basis of most of his career, it's all been lies and fraud.

The man is a charlatan. He is not a "self made man", his whole business has been financed by fraud. It's astounding how people keep falling for his blatant lies.

[eFestivals]

Who is falling for his lies.

the govt (last time, but not this time thank fuck), and from that, you.

I dont really care about how the business is run or how they have failed to deliver. I rely on trains and I have very little, or no, choice in the service I use so I only comment on the quality of that service. From the stations run by Virgin to the rolling stock and the staff they have provided a good quality and efficient service bt a good price.

You are not comparing like with like, and you're certainly not properly referencing "at a good price" properly.

It's very easy to run a better service when you have massively more money per-passenger given to you than other franchisees - which is exactly what happened with Virgin compared to other franchisees (and that's because the govt fell for or chose to go along with his lies).

And of course, the ability to give better prices comes from that too.

It was no different around Branson's proposed "People's lottery". The label on the tin is very different to the contents on that tin - and that's because of an attempted fraud, no different to his successful fraud with the railways.

Edited August 15, 2012 by eFestivals

[Rufus Gwertigan]

the govt (last time, but not this time thank fuck), and from that, you.

You are not comparing like with like, and you're certainly not properly referencing "at a good price" properly.

[eFestivals]

All I can compare it with is against other providers along the same or similar routes. My idea of a good price is based on my experience of using the rail network on a frequent basis. That is all any service user can do.

true, but the price a passenger pays is not all there is to the pricing of rail tickets. The size of the govt subsidy is in the mix.

If the prices go up under Worst Group then - if everything else is equal - that's because the govt are paying a lower subsidy, and therefore it would be no different if it was still Virgin.

[lost]

got home to find I've left the skylight open in the gym, its a bit wet in there

[Rufus Gwertigan]

got home to find I've left the skylight open in the gym, its a bit wet in there

[doe]

All I can compare it with is against other providers along the same or similar routes. My idea of a good price is based on my experience of using the rail network on a frequent basis. That is all any service user can do.

[sifi]

Or First's services on the London to Brighton line. Horrible.

[eFestivals]

Having seen a long interview with beardy last night, it appears that his gripe with Worst Group winning is that Worst Group have done the exact same thing that Virgin did to win their existing franchise, and load the payments to the govt in the last years - which Branson clearly thinks they won't pay when the time comes.

And Branson knows all about that, because that's PRECISELY what he did himself (and fraudulently benefited by billions by doing it) with his existing franchise, but probably didn't do with this bid (I'm guessing cos it would have been laughed at, because of what happened before).

So.,.... the fraudster Branson has been out-frauded by a better fraudster. While it'll be bad for the railways, I still can't help but laugh at him being bettered.

Edited August 16, 2012 by eFestivals

[Rufus Gwertigan]

I am a little annoyed that I have realised I am a closet train nerd :-(

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I am a little annoyed that I have realised I am a closet train nerd :-(

[Rufus Gwertigan]

I got on a train once in Scotland and the whole carriage was full of train enthusiasts ( I have a feeling they called themselves bashers) who had come from all over to be there. They were, each to a man (note that), drunk as Lords. Apparently the engine that was pulling our train that day was going to be de-commissioned after that days run. This event is a big thing in basher circles. One bloke had a video camera taped externally to the window so that he got the whole of the external perspective of the journey on video. After talking to him for a couple of seconds he offered to make me a copy of the train on it's journey. I politely declined. Not a very interesting story, but that's trains for you.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

A few years back on trains were running out of Euston as someone had jumped on the tracks. People where starting to mill around in around information and I started asking folk where they wanted to be. It was the ultimate in nerdyness to them be directing them to St Pancras to get on the Midlands Line to Nottingham and change there. I ended us on a train from St Pancras and it was rammed. I got talking to a lovely woman and she mentioned she was going to a station near Warrington all on the same trains as me. But I decided to be a nerd and tell here she was best off changing at Derby for Crewe and them to her station. The look on her face just said it all. Talk about making her pants dry. :-(

[Rufus Gwertigan]

Damn my daughters seriously sexy 22 year old friend. She is staying over again and is hammered already. After a shower she has just walked into the living room naked to ask what knickers to wear on a night out.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Damn my daughters seriously sexy 22 year old friend. She is staying over again and is hammered already. After a shower she has just walked into the living room naked to ask what knickers to wear on a night out.

[kaosmark2]

I hope you had the fortitude to tell her that she should wear no knickers on a night out! Seriously though, is that normal for a 22 year old woman to do nowadays ie walk into a living room naked like that? Seems quite odd to me.

[Rufus Gwertigan]

I hope you had the fortitude to tell her that she should wear no knickers on a night out! Seriously though, is that normal for a 22 year old woman to do nowadays ie walk into a living room naked like that? Seems quite odd to me.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

She is pissed and we are very laid back here. I roam around in my pants all the time.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

My housemate last year didn't walk around naked, but she did walk around in a bikini or shirt+hotpants. Wasn't complaining!