Friday, November 30, 2007
Visit London?
I was listening to LBC and the Tourist Trash Industry and hype around London abounds. I was getting really pissed off with all the bullshit. I check out their web site and found this blurb
"...the world’s top city destination London offers an unrivalled choice of accommodation, attractions, tours, restaurants and events..."
There is something wrong with this statement, visit any major European city and you will find "an unrivalled choice of accommodation, attractions, tours, restaurants and events"
Now let's look at the facts
London's transport system is creaky and inefficient - trains and buses are packed to the capacity that would shame a battery farmer.
Public toilets, virtually don't exist in the capital - I'm afraid you will have to poop your pants or piss yourself before you can find anywhere to fulfull your bodily functions.
The streets are filthy and liberally spattered with dogshit.
So there you have it, London is not cracked out to what this hype makes it.
"...the world’s top city destination London offers an unrivalled choice of accommodation, attractions, tours, restaurants and events..."
There is something wrong with this statement, visit any major European city and you will find "an unrivalled choice of accommodation, attractions, tours, restaurants and events"
Now let's look at the facts
London's transport system is creaky and inefficient - trains and buses are packed to the capacity that would shame a battery farmer.
Public toilets, virtually don't exist in the capital - I'm afraid you will have to poop your pants or piss yourself before you can find anywhere to fulfull your bodily functions.
The streets are filthy and liberally spattered with dogshit.
So there you have it, London is not cracked out to what this hype makes it.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
London Loop
I know bullshit when I see it, I know bullshit when I have to pay for it. Because I pay council tax and have an Oyster Card, Transport for London publish this magazine at the expense of those who pay council tax and its passengers. Not only that, they shell out a horrendous amount of money on postage to send me its fucking rag "London Loop". What you get is this glossy extolling how wonderful London's transport is and the splendid job that Transport for London is doing to meet its passengers' needs. Propaganda! at our expense.
The magazine is like circus programme - full of face painting extravaganzas, unicyle, clowns etc. You just get the feel the feeling that your commodified and corporate leftist Ken Livingstone has complete editorial control over it - a mini-Murdoch
"Splash out on some 'Black Gold' without guilt - Caviar House and Prunier (What the fuck is a prunier?), sells farmed caviar saving the sturgeon from extinction"
The mag advertises gives write ups on restaurants where admission is only permissable on presentation of a bank statement indicating that you have £2 million quid in your current account otherwise fuck off.
Here is a splendid example of commidified and corporate leftism al a Livingstone - the magazine suggests a visit to the Marx Memorial Library - I don't know who funds this - is it a theme park?
Then we have the fucking "Day of the Bicycles" London goes traffic free - in order to allow cyclists to zoom down the road and mount the pavement and intimidate pedestrians.
Article on Marylebone, oh fuck - as if you could really afford to live there.
Then we have Borough Market - oh fuck off - what you get are these stalls owned by rich middle class people who import extra virgin olive oil from little village in Sicily at 1p a litre and flog 10 000 times that amount. What you are getting here is just another shopping mall that merely flogs images and gastronomic fashion accessories - exotic knick-knacks for display in the kitchen when people come to a dinner party or supper - "...that is a Patagonian bull penis salami, we bought when we were in Buenos Aires..." - not so much keeping up with the Jones's but grinding them into the dust. Borough Market just sells middle class style weaponry.
I get to the end of the rag and despair that my money, my council tax and my fares are spent on producing and posting out this shit.
You go to Paris - superb public transport - nice buses, nice metro
You go to Berlin - superb public transport - nice buses, nice U-bahn
You come to London - and you have a transport system that would not be fit for battery hens and a management that could not even run a kiddies' merry-go-round. Yet, we get this expensive glossy magazine mailed to us at expensive postage to tell us an awful lot of bullshit. Why?
The magazine is like circus programme - full of face painting extravaganzas, unicyle, clowns etc. You just get the feel the feeling that your commodified and corporate leftist Ken Livingstone has complete editorial control over it - a mini-Murdoch
"Splash out on some 'Black Gold' without guilt - Caviar House and Prunier (What the fuck is a prunier?), sells farmed caviar saving the sturgeon from extinction"
The mag advertises gives write ups on restaurants where admission is only permissable on presentation of a bank statement indicating that you have £2 million quid in your current account otherwise fuck off.
Here is a splendid example of commidified and corporate leftism al a Livingstone - the magazine suggests a visit to the Marx Memorial Library - I don't know who funds this - is it a theme park?
Then we have the fucking "Day of the Bicycles" London goes traffic free - in order to allow cyclists to zoom down the road and mount the pavement and intimidate pedestrians.
Article on Marylebone, oh fuck - as if you could really afford to live there.
Then we have Borough Market - oh fuck off - what you get are these stalls owned by rich middle class people who import extra virgin olive oil from little village in Sicily at 1p a litre and flog 10 000 times that amount. What you are getting here is just another shopping mall that merely flogs images and gastronomic fashion accessories - exotic knick-knacks for display in the kitchen when people come to a dinner party or supper - "...that is a Patagonian bull penis salami, we bought when we were in Buenos Aires..." - not so much keeping up with the Jones's but grinding them into the dust. Borough Market just sells middle class style weaponry.
I get to the end of the rag and despair that my money, my council tax and my fares are spent on producing and posting out this shit.
You go to Paris - superb public transport - nice buses, nice metro
You go to Berlin - superb public transport - nice buses, nice U-bahn
You come to London - and you have a transport system that would not be fit for battery hens and a management that could not even run a kiddies' merry-go-round. Yet, we get this expensive glossy magazine mailed to us at expensive postage to tell us an awful lot of bullshit. Why?
Labels: bullshit, London, transport, transport for london
Friday, April 13, 2007
Begging Ploy No. 958
I was subject to a new begging ploy today.
This bloke stopped me in the street brandishing five 10p coins in his hand and asked me whether I had 50p; I checked my pockets, found a 50p coin and was waiting for him to make the exchange. I checked that was what he wanted to change and he replied that "I was asking for 50p extra!". I told him that I needed this for my shopping which is true and walked away. This really pissed me off because there have been many occasions when I have asked to change coins and this can only lead to people being less co-operative.
This bloke stopped me in the street brandishing five 10p coins in his hand and asked me whether I had 50p; I checked my pockets, found a 50p coin and was waiting for him to make the exchange. I checked that was what he wanted to change and he replied that "I was asking for 50p extra!". I told him that I needed this for my shopping which is true and walked away. This really pissed me off because there have been many occasions when I have asked to change coins and this can only lead to people being less co-operative.
Labels: Beggars, Begging, London
