The expectation, as implied by the use of (Part 1) earlier today was, to carry on summarising this week’s Cabinet Meeting, but it is not to be, at least not today.
The planned three
hour round trip across the river to my destination less than four miles away -
thanks Bexley Tories, if it wasn’t for you I could probably have nipped across
on a bus in minutes - took nearly five hours. I managed to get entangled with a
broken Southeastern train on both the outward and homeward journey, although I
must make clear that the delay was only half an hour in total.
Unanticipated problems on the other side did most of the damage.
The broken down Barnehurst bound train had stopped short at Abbey Wood and
instead of limping to the Slade Green depot It was sent back to Plumstead on the
wrong track. Note the red rear lights in both photos.
One might expect it to be parked in the Plumstead sidings but my own train was held up
while the failed one was allowed to get in front, thereby maximising the delay
on the down side and introducing a new one on the up too. Excellent customer care.
Looking on the bright side I had plenty of time to look at
the new Crossrail
facility while waiting for a green signal.
I’m going to have to look seriously at saving time and I have made the first
decision. I am going to stop participating in Facebook.
I began only a month ago and I still haven’t a clue what it is supposed to do although
I did manage to use the Share button. It annoys me that it’s near impossible on a busy
site to find again a comment one has read earlier.
The last straw was encountered late last night when after a long tiring day I stupidly decided to counter a Facebook comment that said
councillor Peter Craske had been elected on 62% of the vote (implying he was
popular) and went on to suggest he had absolutely nothing to do with the funny business in 2011. All that
mucky homophobic hate crime stuff.
Obviously he is entirely innocent of all wrong doing and I wouldn’t dare say otherwise, but
the police did trace the naughty blog post to his telephone line and naughty
emails were signed off by Robin and Batman and came from Parsons Brinckerhoff
the company with which councillor Craske placed a £4 million contract.
The content of the blog post could only have been known to someone
holding an influential council position with intimate knowledge of car parks and
councillor Craske was in charge of car parks at the time. An incredible series
of unfortunate coincidences and Craske is innocent OK? Please remember that.
Despite councillor Craske being innocence personified I found myself arguing with a total stranger
who was absolutely sure of the same thing. How mad is that? I’m not going to waste time on Facebook again.
The 62% vote was an incorrect reference to the total for the Conservatives in
Blackfen & Lamorbey (councillor Craske's ward). The correct figure for the
successful Tories is 29% of which Craske obtained 14%.
Where do people get these strange ideas from? It just shows how far we have to
go to educate the apathetic and the gullible of this borough, but it is a weird
electoral system that allows the council leader to claim an overwhelming mandate when the
man planning to sell our parks would not be in office if fewer than 200 votes had
been carefully placed elsewhere. Arithmetically that man would have been Mick Barnbrook.
2014 Election results.
Far too knackered to listen to recordings and write a complex blog this evening and there is unlikely to
be time tomorrow. Maybe I should find something else to give up.