My day is complete after seeing my site traffic hit the roof, I found that Going Underground had the honour of becoming one of FHM's top 100 websites



Words cannot express the pleasure of being in the "five minute fixes" section and being seen up there with Rate my Poo, Idiots on Parade, Tight Shorts, Porn Pranks and Foreign Filth

Puts on best Mr Burns voice and taps fingers together ......"Excellent".

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Friday, May 02, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Had another little trip (heavy sarcasm) on the Docklands Light Railway today. It's hard to know whether the DLR is part of the London Underground or not really. I spose real trainspotters would say no, because it's hardly underground. But I'm in two minds about it, as it starts underground at Monument/Bank. The thing that I find freaky about the DLR is that there are no drivers. So you can get on the front of the train and see the view the driver would see - you're sitting right at the front of the train. It's like when you were little and sat on the top of a double decker bus and pretended to be driving. Well just think of a whole load of city geezers doing the same thing every day as they head out to Canary Wharf and Heron Quays and Cutty Sark and places that sound as though they should be in Treasure Island.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Tuesday, April 29, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Sorry of the lack of posts over the last week - I have been carrying one crutch now, again to get the sympathy vote. I was fuming the other day as I was standing with two crutches for a whole two stops on a carriage on the District Line heading towards Richmond. So all you miserable gits who didn't give me a seat .....shame on you....I'll remember you when I next want to point out some idiotic tube behaviour on my main site. Also Metro newspaper have introduced a new section on Commuter saints and sinners where people write in to say who helped them and who pissed them off on their journey. Top idea.

Just signing off now with a pleasant little piece on this site on my blog:

"MIND THE BLOG , OR TRAINSPOTTING BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD SMELL LIKE SWINDON
Going Underground is the kind of blog that people in every city should have. It's all about the London Underground. The Tube. Ok, The Subway, but it's more than that. Using The subway as a metaphore has been done before, but not this well."

Nice one Jay!

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Saturday, April 26, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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I broke my leg by slipping on an icy slope outside a railway station so I can certainly sympathise with the following story of a woman who broke her hip in three places after slipping on pigeon droppings near an underground station. (see the Watford Observer) The thing I've found about claiming compensation for these sorts of things is that you haven't (excuse the pun) got much of a leg to stand on. I was told that the railway are not liable for clearing ice from pavements but the council are for clearing ice from roads (not too much difference to those like me who suffer and injury) You also need witnesses to help you with your claim - like the woman who slipped on pigeon droppings I was helped by a good samaritan, but I have no idea who she was.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Wednesday, April 16, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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I'm back - have one crutch - but back on the glory that is London's Underground. It will be quite a funny experience doing the tube as a "disabled" person - even if it's only temporary (to the unitiated I broke my leg at the end of January). But even though I will be carrying two crutches on the tube I only need one - two crutches act as a brilliant "seat getting" device. To be fair so far, everyone has been most kind to me and giving up seats (although I am trying to do non rush hour travel) and get on at 10am and try to leave the office as near to 4pm as I can.

Most noticeable things since I've been back is that the Cadbury's Chocolate vending machines seem to have been contaminated with massive promotions for Boost Guarana bars - which are quite frankly the most digusting chocolate bars I've ever had the misfortune to eat. Cadbury's chocolate is inferior at the best of times and the mix of glucose and Guarana adds to the general dirt like taste making it inedible.

C'mon Cadbury's it's virtually Easter - where's all the branding for the ridiculously sweet Cadbury's Creme Eggs?

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Tuesday, April 15, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Well big news is that the Central Line is more or less getting back to normal - which means apart from running from Marble Arch and Bethnal Green, 69 days after the service was closed - there's delays and late running. Great to see the tube running to normal timetable again. Apparently the London Underground are paying out �20 million pounds in compensation for the 9 week closure. To see how you can get your share visit Going Underground. It's money for old rope!

Although somehow I bet we'll end up paying for it next year. The MD of the tube Paul Godier reckons that the closure of the Central Line had cost London Underground a total of �40 million, including �12 million in lost revenue. Mmmm looking forward to buying my annual travelcard this year before it shoots up.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Thursday, April 03, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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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 Unknown 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 Unknown 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 Unknown 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 Unknown 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 Unknown Wednesday, March 05, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Ho, hum, leg still in plaster and will be for another three weeks so no tube journeys. I almost miss them.......almost. But in case anyone missed the Central Line closure and the fact that you can claim refunds on your travel card for the inconvenience even if you don't normally travel on the line, check out Going Underground. As someone said in an email that's doing the rounds, this is free money.

Had another weblog which mentioned my blog today. I initially read this as though my blog was banal, but can now see this wasn't the intention.

However, I often worry about the boredom factor of my blog - see entry below. Problem is travelling on the tube every day is boring, there's no two ways about it. Sometimes you see interesting things, most of the time you don't. My main site is all of the interesting and funny things - this blog was intending to be the whole kit and kaboodle, warts and all. So you have a choice as to what you want to look at.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Tuesday, February 25, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Sorry for lack of updates for the past week but I have a broken limb and therefore won't be much tube travel while I'm in plaster for the next five weeks. I slipped last Friday on some ice outside of a station (although not a tube station I hasten to add).

However in looking at my referral stats I came across another blog that gave me a good laugh today.

"I'd love to tell you about my delayed train journeys to and from London today, all the broken engines and so on but I came across the most boring weblog ever this week maintained by a woman who chronicles her journey to work everyday on the London Underground."

Cheers mate - watch out for more delayed boredom in the weeks to come.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Friday, February 07, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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Tube Crash at Chancery Lane

Fortunately, since I started GoingUnderground.net over four years ago now there has been no major crash on the tubes. We've had hideous loss of life on British Rail at Paddington and Potters Bar, but fortunately nothing on the London Underground. So I was quite shocked to hear today of a crash and derailment at Chancery Lane. Thank goodness there were no fatalities, but over 30 people were injured and the whole thing sounds like a nightmare. People were flung around the carriages, doors came off and glass was flying everywhere. Again in the troubled times we're living in at the moment, it was a relief to hear that it wasn't a terrorist attack and the latest theory seems to be that there was wheel or axle failure. More reports on my site - when I find out more on this.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Saturday, January 25, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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EVENING

Home at last - it's been a long day. Usual wait at Glamoursmith and the Gods were not with me today. Two Ealing Broadway trains before one came to Richmond. Sat in a daze really until the formerly pink haired busker got on with his dirge like rendition of REM's Losing My Religion. (the busker had pink hair a couple of years ago and it was a sort of flourescent pink that made him look a bit like one of those troll dolls that you stick on the end of pencils) Losing my Religion is his favourite number and today was performed particularly badly. He howled his was through the final chorus and then did a tune free cat wailing sounding bit of guitar strumming to finish. You feel like saying don't give up the day job at the end. But that probably is his day job.


MORNING

Had to buy a ticket due to last night's escapades - see below. Travelled in reading a report for the first of two meetings today (great day for two almost back to back meeting), swigging copious amounts of fizzy mineral water and nursing a large hangover and the beginnings of a heavy cold. Too hungover to remember much about that journey.

EVENING - 22nd January

OHMIGOD - Went out for drinks after work and got totally trashed along with several other people from the office. To cut a long story short, my friends had to escort a drunken colleague out of the bar we were in, as they had thrown up in said bar. I was in the toilet at the time and when I returned, they had all disappeared along with my coat. In my coat was my travelcard and my house keys - wonderful (it turns out that had just packed my coat up with a pile of others and bundled my pukey friend off too).

So I did the journey back on the tube in complete auto pilot. I had to buy a ticket as well for which I stupidly in my drunken honesty asked for the correct ticket. If I had been more sober I would have just asked for a ticket to get me through one zone, knowing full well that Kew Gardens Station is always unmanned with the gates open from about 10.30 onwards. Shows how drunk I was.

Got on at Piccadilly Circus, fell asleep in drunk manner, auto piloted myself awake at Turnham Green and amazingly (the Gods were with me last night) a Richmond train turned up within seconds. Auto piloted myself awake just as the train pulled in to Kew Gardens. I think my body must just naturally be able to recognise the distance, which is amazing cos the District Line is normally so rubbish and usually stops between stops. But perhaps my body even compensates for the rubbishness somehow.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Thursday, January 23, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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EVENING - Damn you blog, it was Monday 20th Jan when I started writing this

This evening I shall be mostly travelling by British Rail as the District Line was screwed. Quelle surprise.

MORNING - Damn you blog, it was Monday 20th Jan when I started writing this

Made it onto the District Line by the skin of my teeth this morning, but luckily got a seat so had time to catch my breath.

Dumped wet umbrella to the floor, did make up and then spent the rest of the journey reading about Alastair Campbell - Tony Blair's director of communications and strategy who's running the London Marathon in aid of the Leukeamia Research Fund as his best friend the investigative journalist John Merritt died of the illness in his mid thirties and his daughter also died when she was nine years old. Ali Campbell is said to be the 2nd most powerful man in the UK and is generally thought of a sleazemeister but I was actually quite touched by reading the feature in yesterday's Observer. Sort of made be bother less about all the rain and rubbish when I left Piccadilly Circus.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Tuesday, January 21, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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EVENING

Where do I know you from moment - London has 3 million people who travel on tube every day so it still amazes me when I bump into or see someone I know. I'm sure statisicians would say it isn't amazing as people you know tend to live or work near you, have similar lifestyles, therefore may be travelling at similar times etc etc, but out of all those people you still think...what are the chances of that happening?

Today I happened to be going home in a slightly different way so I left at Waterloo and was going up an escalator and on the parallel escalator going up too was a guy I used to work with called Robin Coates. Bumped into him at a New Media Awards ceremony last year as he was presenting an award and the compare (comic Never Mind the Buzzcocks TV presenter Bill Bryson) introduced him as an "anorak thief". Very quick and I was still giggling about it going through Waterloo mainline station to finish my journey.

MORNING

Result. Got onto crowded Piccadilly Line at Glamoursmith (Hammersmith) stepped over feet and bags to stand precariously in the middle of the train, stood in front of someone who got off at the next stop. Seat in one stop. Hoorah.

Leaving at Piccadilly Circus there seemed to be an extraordinary amount of people reading their books whilst travelling up the escalator. It's top how you can sometimes get so engrossed in a book you simply can't put it down. It's bottom when you're so engrossed in it that you miss your stop. Has happened to me on a couple of occasions and gallyingly I can't even remember the books that caused me to do it.

EVENING - 16th January (confounded blog it became tomorrow while I was making this entry)

Left work quite late tonight as morning meeting took a lot out of my day. Couldn't really switch off so was making lots of notes and listening to Massive Attack on my mini-disk. Seemed you work well and got so into their dark miserable moody tones, found it indistinguishable from life on the tube.


MORNING - 16th January (confounded blog it became tomorrow while I was making this entry)

Presentation in King's Cross this morning so had to walk through the station to get out at the Thameslink exit. It's one of those really really long walks when you wonder when you are actually going to reach the exit, or simply find you've walked out and have crossed a different time zone. Changing lines at Monument has a similar effect.

Top busker though while I was doing my trek through the corridors. I really don't mind those buskers that are stationary and just sit in the corridors as it actually brightens up a boring walk. I do object to the ones that move from carriage to carriage as there's no escape from them and they're more in your face.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Friday, January 17, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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EVENING

First time since doing this blog that I've been a night time commuter. Got on at 10pm and home at 11pm ish. Slightly wassed while doing this entry, so excuse any typos. On at Leceister Square which was surprisingly empty and managed to wake up in time to change at Hammersmith. Hovered around the doors at Glamoursmith though cos "late at night" (whatever that means) the Piccadilly line carries onto Turnham Green and stops there, which is sweet as you can sometimes pick up the District Line that you would have missed - God I'm going to have to revisit this. I know what I'm trying to say and it even sounds confusing to me now. Anyway, fortunately the mythical district line to Richmond reared its ugly head on the indicator board, so I boarded promptly fell asleep and then my sensors woke me at Gunnersbury, slept again for a minute and sensors woke me at Kew Gardens where I fell off the tube and zig zagged home.

MORNING

Stood from Kew Gardens to Hammersmith and from Hammersmith to Hyde Park corner - deep joy! What a difference trying to get to work for 9.30 makes. Look on the map to see how many stops that is. It's quite a lot, and bloody ridiculous when you get on the the penultimate stop on a line. What's the point in living in suburbs if not to get a seat on the train. Standing sucks.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Wednesday, January 15, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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EVENING

Back to the normal delights of changing at Hammersmith to get the District Line back to Kew. Whatever people in Ealing say, they are wrong there are DEFINITELY more trains that go to Ealing Broadway from Hammersmith. I would say at least two for every one that's going to Richmond. As you can tell I need the Richmond bound one and actually since I've been doing this blog today has been the worst time of waiting for a Richmond one. Ooops, boring journey alert, boring journey alert. Stop now.

MID AFTERNOON

Had another out of the office meeting at about 3ish and it was one of those auto pilot tube journeys from Piccadilly Circus to Holborn which I have no recollection of apart from a fleeting sensation on the way back to Piccadilly Circus of feeling the tube woud be the best place to be if there was a gas bomb or something in the streets of London. Escalator seemed so deep you just feel like you're really going into the bowels of the earth.

MORNING

Had the joy of a meeting in Victoria this morning so a straight journey on the District Line, no changes, nothing. Legged it onto the train and the only remaining seat had a massive blurt of what I hoped was tomato ketchup up the side. So I perched on the end of the seat until another seat became free. Perhaps I'm paranoid cos loads of other people sat down fully on the seat after me without either noticing or being bothered. I don't normally think about tube seat hygiene too much and in fact had outed an urban myth about the state of tube seats. But I do have a really wierd thing about dried on tomato ketchup or sauces. I'm perfectly happy with them on my own food, but don't like seeing tomato sauce stains or leftovers on other people's plates. Ugh.

Where do I know you from moment - Spooky someone sitting a few seats up from me. I almost went over and said hello Anton, because his eyes and eyebrows and hairstyle were almost identical to my friend Anton. The rest of his face was momentarily obscured by someone else's head, but "Jesus tonight" he could have been Anton's twin brother from his eyes and eyebrows. If you know Anton you'll realise how spooky this really is. Anton is the only man I know who has to comb his eyebrows into place and if he pulls them down to their full length they cover his eyes.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Tuesday, January 14, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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EVENING

Spied a hardly eaten Cadbury's Guarana Boost left on the section between two escalators at Piccadilly Circus. Brill. I had Cadbury's chocolate who unfortunately have the concession of all the chocolate machines on the London Underground. However one day I thought I would try a new Boost Guarana. It was the most vile chocolate experience in my life. It tasted of poison. I threw it away after two bites. It ought to be banned and whoever at Cadbury's who thought "I know lets mix up some of our dirt tasting chocolate with glucose and Guarana to give people an energy boost, never mind that it tastes like the scrapings at the bottom of a witches couldron. We'll put it in a trendy green wrapper (Hello - Green = mint on chocolate bars - do they know nuffin?) and sell it for loads". Whoever they were ought to be sacked. In fact sacking's too good for them. They ought to be force fed Boost Guarana's for the rest of their lives.

Anyway suffice to say I hate them and after seeing the left over one tonight there is another fellow sufferer on the tube.

MORNING

Uneventful, not that the tube is full of events. However was listening to Capital Radio this morning and a DJ was at King's Cross station in the control rooms making jokes about whistles and being given a signal man's hat and lo and behold driver announcement at Hammersmith - King's Cross station is closed. Why due to cheesy DJ jokes, due to microphone failure, due to skipping CD's. We the public should be told.

London Underground; Tube Posted by Unknown Monday, January 13, 2003 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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