Unreported fatality

There was a death at Eridge, East Sussex last Friday (20/06/08) which has gone completely unreported.

The only record of this is on the national rail enquiries website:

"Train services are being disrupted between Ashurst and Uckfield due to a fatality at Eridge."

Only just realised...

Britannia Music Club no longer exists!

I was reminiscing the other day about their old five-CDs-for-99p* adverts in magazines.

pinkfishmedia.net: Britannia Music club in administration....

* Your only committment is to buy one full price CD once a month, for the rest of your life.

Email response from my local MP, Charles Hendry, about his expenses

Dear Mr Miscellanean

Thank you for your email request and I am sorry for the delay in responding. [Couple of weeks - Misc.]

Following the recent Court decision, the details of the expenses of all Members of Parliament, related to their constituency/second homes, are to be published later in the year. As you will appreciate, with 650 Members of Parliament this will involve a significant amount of work and my understanding is that this should be published in September.

From the start of this financial year, we are also publishing on a quarterly basis details of all expenses that which we have claimed.

Many of us have been appalled by the recent revelations of what it is permissible to claim. I have never bought anything from the so-called 'John Lewis list' nor have I ever claimed for anything which is not be backed by a receipt.

Yours sincerely

Charles Hendry

Member of Parliament for Wealden
Shadow Minister for Energy, Industry & Postal Affairs
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

www.charleshendry.com

Update following House of Commons vote

Dear Mr Miscellanean

Thank you for your email about how I voted in the recent "John Lewis" debate. I voted against the so-called 'John Lewis list' and in favour of greater transparency and external auditing.

As I stressed in my earlier response, I have never claimed for anything from the 'John Lewis list' nor made any claim without submitting a receipt. Having worked in the private sector for almost all of my life before being elected to Parliament, I cannot comprehend how any MP can think that we should have more relaxed rules on expenses than apply to our constituents.

I hope this helps to reassure you.

Yours sincerely,

Charles Hendry

Tes-go to Crowborough

The Focus DIY store is now half-dead, selling off it's odd ends of wallpaper and cracked toilets with a massive 20 per cent off. I made the mistake of visiting after being enticed by amazing offers in the local paper, none of which were in stock.

Don't go there, it's a waste of time.

Crowborough.biz: Another supermarket?

Why Southern Railway don't allow bicycles on all their trains

Dear Mr Miscellanean

Thank you for your email.

Firstly, I would like to clarify our exact cycle policy, which is as follows:

Ordinary cycles are not permitted on weekday trains travelling towards London or Brighton that are due to arrive at either destination between 0700 and 1000. Also, ordinary cycles are not permitted on weekday trains leaving London or Brighton between 1600 and 1900. This includes shorter journeys commencing or finishing en route on such trains. However, if the train does not fall into any of the above categories, then you can take your cycle on it at any time.

Standard-sized folding cycles are permitted on any train. By standard-sized we mean traditional folding cycles, with small wheels, that fold in more than one place to about the size of a briefcase when fully folded. We do not mean a normal sized cycle that folds in the middle so that you can get it in your car easily.

This policy has been in place for a number of years. Up until now, we had been happy to let the policy self-manage, particularly on routes where old slam-door trains with guards vans were present. However, more and more passengers are using our trains and we had been receiving complaints from passengers and staff that cycles were blocking access and egress and this position was no longer tenable.

Our predecessors made a policy decision several years ago to eliminate guards vans as such in favour of additional seating and we do not plan to reverse that judgement. However, before reaching a conclusion about cycle policy enforcement, we researched the issue and found that the number of cycles on our trains at the busiest times was impeding the free movement of both passengers and staff. Staff had been experiencing difficulty in walking through the trains which in turn had a negative impact on safety, security and revenue protection. We also found that as well as preventing disabled people accessing wheelchair spaces, the presence of cycles was causing occasional damage to vehicle interiors, and making it difficult for passengers to move through trains, causing unnecessary crowding.

With the completion of our new trains introduction programme last November, the increase in cycle storage facilities at stations (many provided through partnerships with local authorities), and the increase in the carriage of cycles, we decided to enforce our policy. In doing so, we accept that this will cause some inconvenience to cyclists, many of whom have taken their cycles on trains for many years. However, our assessment is that if we had not taken this action, the already significant problems I have highlighted would have worsened.

We have not introduced an outright prohibition because we only wish to prevent the carriage of ordinary cycles where absolutely necessary. This enforcement brings us into line with the policy adopted by most other train operators who provide commuter services including the neighbouring South West Trains and South Eastern.

With regard to users of folding cycles being asked to fold them prior to reaching the ticket barrier, our aim is to avoid congestion which might otherwise arise at the platform entrance. The related need to have them folded upon entering the platform is to try to make sure that they are folded before entry to the train and to avoid users being left behind when trains are dispatched. I am sure you will understand that we would not opt to make a train leave late in those circumstances. However, we’re not being absolutely rigid about folding and, where carrying a folding cycle presents the owner with particular difficulty, we will allow them to wheel their bike up to the train so long as they agree to fold it before they board.

Finally, I should make clear that we welcome folding cycles at any time. We are sympathetic to the aspirations of the cycling community. That's why we are only restricting cycles during peak hours when so many of our trains are already operating at full capacity.

Regards
Xxxx Xxxx
Southern Customer Services

Euro 2008 lookalikes II

Michael Ballack

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Matt Damon

Euro 2008 lookalikes I

Michael Hasselhoff

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Jens Lehman