Paula's Place

Paula's Place

Saturday 19 April 2014

Today we cue Q,

Lets be honest, I have been dreading today, not because it is Easter Saturday, that odd day in the middle of the Easter weekend which we can't quite decide what to do with.   Is it part of the religious festival?, is it still part of Lent? Do I garden or decorate? for me this is not a problem because today is a working day.   I have a couple of lawns to cut and then I am off to help a friend move.   No I have been dreading today because it is Q

Yesterday I mentioned on face book that I had no idea how I was going t deal with Q and had a few suggestions from friends.
Quislings
Questions
Quince

Queen [insert name]
Queens (other sort)
Quality of Life
Quantum of Solace
Quality of Mercy
Quincey Jones

Quintet; 
Quire; 
Query; 
Queer; 
Quavers; 
Quotes
Quatermass
Quarterstaff

Quartermaster
Quartermaster's Stores (all together now...)
Quartet (Trombone or Tuba I presume)
Query
Que sera sera
Quiet

and

Quite Enough!!!


However I am doing nothing with any of these, instead I will be sticking to my guns and ignoring
the whole A ~ Z thing and have a Rant that also qualifies as a Weekend Wobbly.

I do not possess a car (I have a van for work and tuba transport) when ever I am making a journey I start by asking myself if I can walk, or if I can use public transport.   If the answer to either of these is "Yes" then I do.   I do not use the van unless it is needed.   I walk to Church and the local shops (and indeed pub), I will catch the bus or tram into Croydon Bromley for shopping or "stuff" and will often use the train to go into central London.

I don't particularly like public transport but I am conscious of the saying, "You are not stuck in traffic, you are traffic"

So what is the object of my complaint? the state of the buses or trains? the stupid routes that take buses down roads that are too narrow for them? trains that don't run?, the stupid Oyster Card that works fine on Buses and trams but fails every time I use it on the train?

NO it's Bus Queues!   Why is that the people waiting for a bus feel they have the right to occupy the entire foot path, just because you are waiting it doesn't mean that other people are not walking!  Whether it is teenagers and young adults on the phone, middle aged women with shopping trolleys or older "Twirlys" ("Am I too early?") waiting till after nine to use their free pass it seems that every time there are more than two people at a bus stop they fill the entire pavement making it impossible to get past without employing the skills of an international rugby winger.   Just on my short walk to Church I have to negotiate three bus stops, they are fine on a Sunday Morning or late at night but often during the day I find that I am being forced into the road just to get past the throng of disorder that has now replaced the bus queue.

I do not object to queueing myself, but why, oh why can't we have orderly queues that form lines in order of arrival, rather than these disorderly melees which turn into un refereed scrummages as soon as the bus turns up.   Queuing used to be one of the few things the English were acknowledged world leaders in, but we seem to have abandoned that pre eminence in favour of selfishness.

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