06 Jan 11 Raining In London
No surprise there you may say. London, and the UK has a reputation as a ‘rainy place’.
When I was in Charleston in South Carolina, on the east coast of the United States, I would often have people say to me that England is where it rains all the time.
Well, I used to put Charlestonians right and point out that the annual rainfall in Charleston is, at around 52 inches a year, a little over double that of London at about 25 inches.
The good people of Charleston were often surprised to hear about hose pipe and car washing bans in the south-east of England too.
Well, today in this part of London at least, it’s raining. Even so, it’s not raining heavily. No Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s not Charleston rain, when you get soaked through to your underwear dashing across the parking lot from store to car. No, it’s London rain, which is often not more than heavy drizzle.
It’s milder today anyway, so that was a bonus. Anyway, I had a doctor’s appointment this morning, so out in it I had to go.
I donned coat and cap, and set out. The surgery is only about 5 minutes walk from here in any case, and I am enjoying being able to walk to most of the local amenities once again. It’s not a mile and a half to the nearest 7-11 anymore!
Anyway, I’ve been in London now for six weeks, and in that time, it’s snowed twice for about four hours each, and there’s been just two rainy days. So much for it raining all the time!
Tags: amenities, annual rainfall, appointment, bonus, drizzle, east coast, England, hosepipe, ladies and gentlemen, london rain, parking lot, raining all the time, rainy days, reputation, six weeks, South Carolina, surprise, underwear, united states
13 Jul 08 Heard On The London Underground
The best notice I ever saw was at Putney Bridge on the District Line.
A board on the eastbound platform stated that “Trains were subject to late running due to defective weather”
Below are announcements made by train drivers. I can believe that they are true.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I do apologize for the delay to your service.
I know you’re all dying to get home, unless, of course, you happen to
be married to my ex-wife, in which case you’ll want to cross over to
the Westbound and go in the opposite direction.”
“Your delay this evening is caused by the line controller suffering
from E & B syndrome: not knowing his elbow from his backside. I’ll
let you know any further information as soon as I’m given any.”
“Do you want the good news first or the bad news? The good news is
that last Friday was my birthday and I hit the town and had a great
time. The bad news is that there is a points failure somewhere
between Stratford and East Ham, which means we probably won’t reach
our destination.”
“We are now traveling through Baker Street … As you can see, Baker
Street is closed. It would have been nice if they had actually told
me, so I could tell you earlier, but no, they don’t think about
things like that”.
“Beggars are operating on this train. Please do NOT encourage these
professional beggars. If you have any spare change, please give it to
a registered charity. Failing that, give it to me.”
During an extremely hot rush hour on the Central Line, the driver
announced in a West Indian drawl: “Step right this way for the sauna,
ladies nd gentleman… Unfortunately, towels are not provided.”
“Let the passengers off the train FIRST!” (…pause). Oh go on then,
stuff yourselves in like sardines, and see if I care – I’m going home….”
“Please allow the doors to close. Try not to confuse this with
‘Please hold the doors open.’ The two are distinct and separate instructions.”
Tags: bridge, ladies and gentlemen, london underground, mind the doors, suffering from, train delays, train drivers, trains, weather, westbound
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