Was just looking through the referral stats for my main site - goingunderground.net and I came across a German site that mentions my "London for free" or "London on the Cheap" page. My German is non existant so "trusty" Google Translate tool in hand - came to the following translation:

"London is a very expensive city. But who says that one must pay always and for everything? Who is been versed, which can save cash coin. ..

London on the cheap (engl.)
London from view of a Londoners with many Tipps for a discharge of the purse."

I can't believe that's a literal translation! Google we luv ya normally, but get some translaters in who aren't comedians.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Thursday, March 20, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Well we're at war by the looks of things and apparently some people are going out and buying gas masks to travel on the London Underground with. Ironically there was supposed to be a "mock major catastrophe" at Bank Station this Sunday to see what would happen and how the underground would cope if there was a terrorist attack......this has now been cancelled. It's almost funny, you can hear the announcement "the mock terrorist attack has been cancelled due to the fact that there may be a real terrorist attack". Anyway for more on this sad situation check out The Evening Standard.

Some lunatic (I had thought) had been posting stuff on my forum about rushing out to buy your gas masks. However Rueters have reported that 1,000 people have bought gas masks. This seems a tad premature to me. Yes, be vigilant, yes, watch out for unattended packages and bags, but gas masks, sounds like hysteria. Anyone who doesn't normally travel on the tube think about this. Over three million people commute on the London Underground everyday and only 1,000 people (reportedly) have bought gas masks.



(By the way gasmaskshop.com from which I borrowed the picture above has had only 1,342 visitors) Don't act like victims, just be vigilant at the moment.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Wednesday, March 19, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Plaster is off now, but still unable to put pressure on my leg and will be having weeks of physio. Will be interesting to see how rubbish the tube will be with my walking stick or one crutch which I'm told I will go down to in the next few weeks.

Will certainly be making use of my worn copy of The Way Out Tube Map. To those of you who've not come across this brilliant map I would say get one straight away. Basically it is a whole map of the tube but it tells you which carriage to sit in if you want to be nearest to the exit of the station you get off at. It is truly brilliant and has saved me walking half way or the whole way up a platform when I've been late for meetings. It is also highly impressive if you are travelling with someone and you say, "Oh let's just walk along a bit further up here, so we'll be near the exit on the way out", this only works if you've sneakily looked at the map beforehand and they will marvel at your knowledge of london and its tube exits.

Don't travel on the London Underground without it!

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Monday, March 17, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Got a request for a link swap today from Grumbletext - basically it's a site where you text (SMS) them all your moans about UK companies that have pissed you off or, generally you think give bad customer service, and have call centres operated by morons. You get chance to rave and rant, everyone else gets a chance to see them.

Then, apparently, when there's enough texts on a particular subject the guys at grumbletext create a news story about it and try to get it published in the wider media. So the company in question are shamed enough to reply or at least give and answer as to why they're so rubbish. Interesting concept. Let's see if we can make the London Underground the first Grumbletext success.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Thursday, March 06, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Oh the joys of not having to put up with tube travel. Thinking seriously about my last entry, I really don't miss not travelling on the tube. Particularly when you hear about stories like this:

"Rush hour London Underground passengers were trapped for over an hour this morning when a lift "spiralled out of control" on one of the network's busiest lines.

"Forty-five commuters packed into a lift heading down to the Piccadilly line platform at Russell Square were forced to switch to another lift when the one they were using became stuck at ground level.

"Tube staff herded 35 of the passengers into the second lift but that one also failed on its way down to the platform.

As the Piccadilly Line is my usual line, I'm really pleased to have missed this one. For more, check out today's Evening Standard

Nightmare!

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Wednesday, March 05, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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