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| Bethnal Green Tube Station |
The underground railway in London is widely known as "The Tube". It has been moving Londoners and visitors around the city since the 1860's. An amazing 1.37 billion trips were made by tube travellers last year on 250 miles of track. The whole system is, in my view, amazing and a living monument to human ingenuity and teamwork. Okay "The Tube" has its problems - notably overcrowding in rush hour periods - but generally speaking it continues to work well, moving people around under the city's busy streets.
Nowadays if you have a debit card you can use it like a ticket to open entrance and exit turnstiles. No need to mess about buying tickets at counters or from ticket machines - just scan your debit card and pay later for no extra charge.
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| Historic plaque at Mile End |
One of the oldest tube stations is Bank in the heart of London's financial district. It is a very unusual station because the platform curves in an arc. This is an anomaly that dates back to the earliest days of the underground system. Now, normally when a train arrives at a station there is hardly any gap between the train's hydraulic doors and the platform but when a tube train reaches Bank pretty large gaps may appear because of the platform's curvature. At Bank, the warning "Mind the Gap" isn't only written in big letters on the platform, it also comes over the public address system.
On Sunday afternoon, Shirley, Frances and I were travelling on The Tube and had to change from The Central Line to The Northern Line at Bank. As we left the train we had to take big steps across the gap but as we moved along the platform we saw an older man fail to bridge the gap as he attempted to board the train He tumbled into the open doorway, smashing his head on the carriage floor as his legs threatened to slip down to the electrified track below the train.
People rushed to his aid including the three of us and the old man was pulled unceremoniously onto the platform. He was bleeding from a gash to the head and his glasses had fallen to a ledge just below the platform's edge. Frances rushed to the emergency phone and Shirley helped to lie the man down. He was clearly shocked. Fortunately the train lingered for quite some time. The driver will have seen what was happening on his CCTV system.
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| Ian at Tredegar Square |
We had been to Mile End to see our son Ian who has moved into an amazing house on Tredegar Square. He's living with two former school friends, one of whom works with him on their "Bosh!" plant-based cookery venture. Incredibly, a book is scheduled to come out next year and it can even be pre-ordered on "Amazon". Go here. Ian and Henry have had a big advance to get this book off the ground - hence the move to Mile End where the work on the book and the Facebook page continues.
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| By Regent's Canal at Mile End |
The poor man must have gotten a hell of a shock. I know I would have. Thankfully, those around him, including yourselves, hastened to his aid.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, Ian is a good-looking young man; and how wonderful it is that he and his mate Henry are having a book published.
I can imagine how thrilled they are (along with you and Shirley) over their hard work and achievement. Good on them! :)
I think Ian is better looking than your current pop hero - Harry Styles! Hopefully the book will be successful. It is so unusual for publishers to pursue people to produce a book but that is what happened in this case - not just one publisher but several. They seem to think that Bosh! can be the next big thing in the foodie world.
DeleteThat poor man who fell - it's a wonder more people don't fall, given your description.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your son! I have yet to try any of the Bosh! dishes, but only because I haven't been doing much cooking lately. It's on my list to try, though. Everything looks so good.
I meant to add to the first part of this comment how fortunate it was that your wife was right there - I think you said she was a nurse? And of course you with all the muscle to help pull him to safety. No doubt he is very thankful for the kindness of strangers.
DeleteThere were almost too many people willing to help the old man. Afterwards I laughed when I remembered Shirley being the first to say "I'm a nurse", then another woman said, "I'm a nurse" then a man said "I'm a doctor" and another man said "I'm a doctor".
DeleteThanks for coming to the old fellows aid. Now just imagine if old Red was in the tube? He'd be standing there all day trying to figure out which train He should take.
ReplyDeleteEvery tube line has its own colour and The Circle Line is Red.
DeleteI have been seeing BOSH pop up in my facebook feed quite often through various groups and pages, somehow I an has captured the imagination of vegans all over
ReplyDeleteWow! I shall tell him that Kylie. Could it be that Bosh! pops up because you had looked at it before?
DeleteI have looked at it but I have seen it posted independently by an Australian vegan group and a couple of other places (probably mums groups, I can't remember)
DeleteThese targeted pop up ads are a little spooky.
DeleteWhat really impressed me was that I didn't see Bosh through sponsored ads, it was organic reach
DeleteYou must be very proud of your son. Veganism seems to be gaining momentum with the younger generation and the publishing world have clearly realised the potential in this. Good luck to BOSH.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that he is on the threshold of a dream but I guess one shouldn't count one's chickens before they are hatched.
DeleteTredegar Square rang a bell with me. My Grandson shared a flat there when he was in London at Uni. I think the neighbours were glad to see him and his partners in crime move out, needless to say there were parties that the residents didn't take to.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Danny Boyle the film director has a full house there.
The next time you are there try the Lord Tredegar Pub for an excellent roast.
Briony
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We went to the nearby Coborn for Sunday dinner and yes, my son told me that Danny Boyle lives there. One of the other guys had seen him out and about. What a coincidence that your son also lived here.
DeleteGood job the train didn't start moving while all this was happening. The poor man! If it had happened to me, I would have probably too scared to ever use the tube again. Imagine my specs falling off, and possibly being smashed... I am helpless without them.
ReplyDeleteAll the best to Ian and Henry and their work on the book!
I saw his glasses on the little ledge but I was afraid to reach down for them. Instead I pointed them out to a member of the underground staff. I recognise that for people who have to wear glasses they are like an essential part of your body.
DeleteGod job you were be to help the old man. Even I have trouble sometimes negotiating the gap between train and platform on my overground commuter line. You would think they would have come up with some modern technology to solve that problem by now.
ReplyDeleteBeing quite old AND wearing glasses clearly confused this old man...but I must say I didn't feel too confident when striding across one of the big gaps at Bank.
DeleteYikes! I have never seen a mishap that severe on the tube, at least not that I can remember. Congrats to Ian on the book deal -- that's awesome! Is that artwork signed "Panal" or "Anal"?
ReplyDeleteP.S. -- I too admire the tube, but I gotta say it has one drawback compared to other mass transit systems -- it is relatively expensive!
DeleteIn London money is like water - it just runs through the holes in one's pockets... The expression on the cartoon character's face suggests "Anal"!
DeleteThat was an interesting post in so many ways most of which have been well dealt with by the comments already made. However I was also quite amazed by the fact that the first flying bomb arrived after D-Day (and after I was born).
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