Paddington is a dangerous place

Walking across the concourse I was concerned about what I could see. Everywhere there were small people carry what where quite clearly concealed machine guns.

It was like something from 1920’s Chicago.

Everywhere I looked there were more of them, all casually walking along, police ignoring them, swinging their cases of death.

Of course it could have been that they were all kids off to violin practice, but that would sound far less dramatic.

It’s still a little odd, the sheer number of them.

Perhaps we might have to demolish the Olympic stadium

There has been a row brewing in the regional press this week about what will happen to the Olympic Stadium once the 2012 games are over.

BBC News: IOC Chief wants running track left at 2012 stadium

One plan sees the site being remodelled slightly as an athletics and football stadium

The other plan sees the site being demolished and a new football stadium built. A much older athletics ground south of the river would be regenerated, so the Olympic park would be left without a stadium.

Personally, I think the idea of tearing down a brand new (tax-payer funded) stadium just 8 weeks after it has opened is wrong, not least of all for the horrific waste of money and resources.

However, walking between St Pancras and Kings Cross stations this afternoon my certainty about this has started to waiver.

St Pancras International station opened in 2007 after a complete refurbishment. The underground link from the domestic high-speed platforms to the tube station didn’t open until much later.

Today, walking along the passageway I was intrigued to see areas fenced off and signs reporting that “To help with the improvement of St Pancras International station this area is having new flooring installed”

Forgive my ignorance, but surely when you build a new bit of station you build it to last a good few years, not to have to close of bits for “improvement works” a year later.

But, on that basis, perhaps the best option for the Olympic Stadium will be to pull it down. After all, at the end of the six weeks of Olympic Games it will need to be closed for “Improvement works” to fix everything that’s falling to pieces.

When carol singers go bad

On the way up to the station I had to pass the Carol singers who have been standing outside East Croydon for the last fortnight or so collecting for charity.

They were singing the same part of a carol over and over again

“Let it snow, let it snow”

Well they got their wish

Within a couple of minutes of going past them it was merrily snowing.

And City Airport where I was flying from was merrily closing its runway.

Remind me not to give to Carol singers again…

OK, so it is doable in a day

I’ve always been a bit concerned by some towns tourist activities.

The main one I’ve always thought was a bit dodgy was Stratford-upon-Avon’s attempts to make itself a day trip from London for tourists staying in the capital.

Hampton Court is only 20 odd miles from the city centre, Windsor around the 30 mile mark, these are not massive distances if you set off early and make a day of it. But Stratford is well over 120 miles from London, it’s the other side of the two hour mark on the train, how can you do that in a day.

However, I will now willingly renounce my incredulity on Stratford being a day trip.

I caught the train from London just after 10 this morning up to Leamington, walked over to my hotel, dropped all my stuff off, wandered back out and then caught the round the houses bus to Stratford and still managed to squeeze in most of the major sites by 5pm (and they were still open for another hour).

So, using the open top busses to hop from one site to the next (assuming you do the sites in the order the busses serve them) and getting into Stratford earlier than I did it would be possible to do the whole “Shakespeare Experience” and be back on a train to London the same day.

On that basis, maybe Edinburgh isn’t such a silly idea for a day trip...