Transport And The Funeral (1)

 Irreverent?

We had been told by the Officiating person (or parson!) that the "service" would not be a religious event. In fact it was very religious - it just had nothing to do with God.

Strange?

What is the point of having a non-Christian secular funeral with all the trappings of a "normal" church service but without God. We had tributes, music, a Commital commiting the deceased to nothing and even a dismissal. We were even invited to say a personal prayer, silent of course!

It was held in the funebral ambiance of the Counties Crematorium ...

... which fbb attended last at his gran's "do" approx 60 years ago!

It was still gloomy and miserable! 

It was all the more miserable because it lacked the positive view of eternity that the Christian funeral service offers. As someone once said:-

For the heathen you go from life to death at a funeral; for a Christian you go from death to life.

What you think you believe is irrelevant, what matter is what IS or even what might be!

Anyway, what mattered (and would have been appreciated no end by Alan) was fbb's quick check on any remnants of St Johns Street station.

Occasionally, after being dragged to the Library with mum, fbb would toddle down the road to catch his Yorks bus from Victoria Promenade. The route took the two under the remnants of the station (yellow line).

The under bridge was spookily low and, even back in fbb's childhood, was closed to vehicles with substtial cast iron bollards. 

Well. the walk is still there ...

... although the bridge is long gone. BUT ...

... towards the bottom of todays rather posh path we find a clump of greenery between new buildings.

This is all that is left of St John's Street station.

In the aerial view above, the Premier Inn is top right and the former Cattle Market fills the bottom of the extract.

Yet there is still a memory. At the foot of Swan Street, where stands the Premier Inn, is a typically anonymous office block.

Adorning the nominal fence are repro station signs from the Northampton to Bedford line. They are cast, not stove enamel (shame) but the memory is good.

They are all there but fbb snapped just two for the blog.

Sigh!

But, there was a non religious non service to attend. So fbb toddled round to Cattle Market Road and settled on an uncomfortable post outside Morrisons mega-shop, which now occupies the once busy market site.

Only the old gateways remain (seen below from within) ..,

... and from todays Morrisons car park.

Thus it was that, just round the corner from the former entrance, fbb parked his posterior on that post ...

... In good time to (a) await his lift to the Crem and (b) to observe lots of Stagecoach buses ...

... on their frequent service, replacing UNO, carrying eager students to the University Campus.

Except they were carrying full loads of mainly fresh air. fbb spotted three buses passing and the total loading on all three was 6! This was at 0930 when you would have thought there would be some sort of nearly awake progress to lectures, labs and coffee bars.

But, precisely on time - the lift appeared.

More in tomorrow's mini blog.

fbb Is Baffled

When a youthful fbb first visited London with Auntie, he was sternly told the you had to stand on the right on an escalator, although the original poster had long since been consigned to history.

Despite the fact that a trial by the Underground showed that sdvising people to stand on both sides meant that more persons could be carried, the rule still holds good.

But at Paddington, the managers are concerned about potential (and actual) accidents caused by big luggage, push chairs and the like.

So, to "persuade" those so encumbered to use the lifts, the Underground (LU) is trying a subtle cunning plan.

They are making it difficult for everyone to get to the escalators. This is achieved by deploying a "Turtlegate" barrier at the top if the escalator.

Like fbb, you may not be at aware of the "turtle" barrier concept. So here's one by way of example!

Quite how blocking the access to escalators will reduce accidents is unclear. 

This is an LU example under test!

However, when fbb returned to the Ian Visits blog to recheck this oddity, Ian had amended the blog to report that LU were not using Turtles after all. 

Maybe a low brick wall to vault over?

Maybe not?

 Next Funebral mini blog : Sat 16th Nov