Diamond Jubilee Tube train was faulty

A London Diamond Jubilee train (one of the two trains with a special mark of the Queen Diamond Jubilee celebrations on it) broke down around 17:35 on the 24th of May, forcing 733 passengers to be led down the track.

The train malfunctioned between Baker Street and St Johns Wood, and although the London Underground Operations Director stated that they had tried moving the train, they had no success.

Due to the high temperatures, some people required medical treatment. 

TfL (Transport for London) has apologized and will compensate the people who go inconvenienced because of the incident; the people who got suck will get £40 and all the people who suffered from the disruption on the Jubilee line will be able to receive their train fares back.

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It's very unfortunate when a train breaks down but even more so when it's a special one to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee. I'm personally rather surprised to hear that they're compensating the people who got stuck. It's not something I could see our Dutch NS doing - they'd tell us we could just get our fares back while we should also be grateful that we could be on the move again ...


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Rabies case confirmed in London

A patient is being treated for rabies at the London's Hospital for tropical diseases, after he was bitten by a dog in South Asia. 

Dr Brian McCloskey, director of the HPA for London stated that there is no proof that rabies can be spread from human to human and the hospital spokes woman reassured  he patients, visitors and staff from the hospital that there is no risk for them.

More than 55,000 people die from rabies each year, of which the majority happens in South-East Asia. Only four cases of human rabies have been found in the UK since 2000.

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I understand that rabies can be a worrying thing for an island like England, simply because up until now they have managed to have animals without this disease. An outbreak like this always seems to go along with some wild flailing and sensational headlines (which make me sigh and shake my head). Unless the man has bitten other people - which he really hasn't - there is no need to  be worried.

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'Living carpet' at York Minster for Diamond Jubilee dinner

As part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee the York Minster has been fitted with a 1,500 sq m ‘living carpet’ of grass in order to protect the minster’s floor during a 900-guest dinner on Friday. The carpet is grown in felt made from recycled textiles and does not require soil.

The carpet should make the dinner a spectacular fundraising event which is needed to restore and conserve the historic fabric of the Minster.

Besides celebrating the Diamond Jubilee the charity was also held to celebrate the naming of a rose after the Minster. The Yotk Minster Rose was reveiled at the Chelsea Flower show in 2011.

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I think this is pretty darn cool. A grass carpet that doesn't require soil seems like something I would like in my house. Not quite certain how this thing fits in with the Diamond Jubilee but it's pretty cool, and I think that that might just be enough in this case. 

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London 2012: Olympic ticket sales slow as more released

Five out of six of the 300,000 Olympic tickets remain unsold. These tickets have been available for 12 days now, and the slowdown in sales is worrying, most of all considering these are tickets for what were expected to be the more popular sports like volleyball and boxing. At the same time this is rather surprising considering the tickets earlier this year were extremely high in demand.

In total there are another 550,000 tickets left to be put on sale, with an additional 1.23 million football tickets which area already available.

Locog stated that more than 8 million tickets have been sold for the Olympics and Paralympics, as well that about 3 million tickets remain to be sold for the Olympic football, the Paralympics and contingency tickets.

Ceremony tickets start at £995 while tickets for other sports can vary between £20 and £720.

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I'd be lying if I said if this news didn't make me giggle. The London Olympics has been a bit of a joke between me and my partner since England paid a small fortune for one of the worst logos ever designed. I see it as one big joke.

Of course the ticket sales not doing so well is troubling for the economy of the country, which isn't doing that great and the olympics going badly isn't going to do it any favours. So I still have my fingers crossed the (overpriced) tickets will sell.

I really don't care for the olympics - except for the bit where Doctor Who/Matt Smith carried the torch.

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Fat-eating bacteria put in Hull sewers to remove blockages

Yorkshire Water is deploying organically grown bacillus bacteria into Hull’s sewers to try and get rid of the fat blockages found there. This bacteria can normally be found in the human body and eats fat, oil and grease.  In the right environment the bacteria constantly multiplies, meaning it can continue to do its job all day and night.

The blockages are caused by people pouring cooking oils down plug holes. In the past 6 months maintenance crews attended 1700 jobs to remove blockages in local sewers.

Pollution manager at Yorkshire Water Patrick Killgallon says they will continue to look for new approaches to tackle this old fat build up problem. 

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I think this is a fantastic sollution already and it's a pity it won't be able to do the job on its own. It's nearly impossible to get people to stop rinsing their cooking fat into the sink so it's good to hear they keep on looking for other sollutions. 

Maybe it would be easier if we all switched to olive oil for most of our meals. It's healthier for us anyway.

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Tree roots and fat in sewers 'caused Cottingham floods'

Last year’s flash floods in Cottingham, Easter Yorkshire were caused by blocked sewers due to combination of a build-up of fat and tree roots and undersized sewers.

Yorkshire Water has been carrying out regular inspections every 3 months in the affected areas since the flood. By using computerised modelling  they will be able to tell if the sewers are undersized or not. The results of the research can be expected by the end of this month.

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Tree roots sound like a difficult object to prevent from going into the sewers and if all the stories I've heard about the English sewer system are true I can't see these floods stopping anytime soon. I honestly don't expect the councils being able to spare any money to improve the sewer systems considering those are often so old it'd be nearly impossible to replace.

A very sticky situation...

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The 80 limetrees which were planted on Bawtry Road in Tickhill to celebrate Queen Victoria’s 1897 Diamond Jubilee are to be felled over the next 4 years, an operation which will cost £20,000. According to the Doncaster council the trees show signs of ageing and would form a danger to the area.

Campaigners have launched an online petition, hoping to convince the council not to remove all of the trees Tickhill Town council reported that they would plant oak trees instead.

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Cutting such an old trees while not even all of them are diseases is something that I strongly disapprove of. These trees are more than 100 years old and are part of the history of this street. I could understand it if the council wanted to only remove the diseased trees but this just sounds like they wished to get rid of the trees because they were too expensive to maintain and were looking for an excuse to do so.

I sincerely hope the campaigners are able to save some trees!

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Racist Tube rant woman Jacqueline Woodhouse jailed

Jacqueline Woodhouse, a 42 years old woman from Romford, East London has been sentenced a 21-week prison sentence and a five-year ASBO after spouting abusive racist comment at fellows passengers on the tube on the January 23. She will spend half her prison term behind bars, and is banned from using the Tube and the Dockland Light Railway while drunk for a five year period.

Woodhouse handed herself in to the police after her verbal assault was filmed and uploaded to youtube by Mr Juttla. Juttle commented to find the video extremely distressing; the train was full of people from various ethnicities, including children. Woodhouse targeted anyone who was not white with her racist comments. The video received over 200,000 hits.

Woodhouse told the police officers that she could not remember the comments she had made but did recognise herself on the youtube video.

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I'm one of those people who stumbled across this video and was absolutely repulsed by it, hoping this woman would get caught. It still shocks and repulses me to see how self entitled and insulting people can act simply because they have a white skin colour. 

The fact she is banned from using the tube whilst drunk amuses me but at the same time it confuses me as well. I mean, how are they going to check when she's drunk when taking the tube? Do they intend to make her do an alcohol test each time before she's allowed to go through the gates?

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Swindon toddler mauled by dog in garden

Keiron Guess, a two year old boy, is in hospital after he got attacked by a dog in Swanage Walk on Sunday evening.  He was found by his grandfather in the neighbour’s garden, then taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxbord and later transferred to the Frenchray Hospital in Bristol. He is now kept in an induced coma, while undergoing surgery to reattach part of his ear. His condition is stable but there remains concern about his eyesight.  A 49-years old man was also hurt in the attack and has been treated for an arm injury.

The owners of the dog (thought to be a Staffordshire Bullterrier) have been very forthcoming and have handed the dog over to be destroyed. There was already an incident on the property last year, when an officer got bitten.  However, the animal  was not found to be of a dangerous  dog breed and no further action was taken.

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Whenever I read headlines like this I cringe a little bit. I'm a big fan of rottweilers which are considered to be one of the dangerous breeds in England but so far have not made it onto the 'forbidden' list yet. Kids getting attacked by dogs will always put the breed of the dog in question while quite often it's the fault of the owner who raised the dog or, in some cases, the dog just attacked for an unknown reason.

In this case I wondered what the boy was doing in the neighbours' garden without his grandfather. I do think the dog is to blame in this case, but even so, I still wonder what the kid did to provoke the dog. Either way, I'm glad they're not blaming the bad behaviour of the dog on the breed but see it as a single case scenario.

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Stansted Airport flight delay after plane damaged

An airport worker crashed a set of steps into a Ryanair plane headed for Ibiza at Stansted Airport, causing it to be delayed by 90 minutes.  A spokesman said the man behind the incident was not part of the additional workforce that covers for the people currently on strike over the Jubilee Weekend.

Baggage handlers of the GMB and Unite unions employed by Swissport on strike during due to new rosters threatening pay cuts meaning they work extra days for free. The strike started last Saturday, and will end this Wednesday. 

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Somehow I don't think starting to damage property is the way to go when you wish to get a pay raise or better working conditions. I'm just glad the poor passengers didn't suffer too much from this stupid action. That's generally the issue I have with airport staff going on strike; it's really the poor passengers who suffer and that's not going to make people feel sympathy for your case.

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Bowling with cabbages in Lincolnshire

To celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Boston Borough councillor Mark Baker has come up with the quirky idea of Bowling Greens.  Cabbages will replace the bowls (they share their curved path design because of the cabbages’ cut side) and the jack will be replaced with a sprout.  The vegetables were chosen because they are typically grown in Lincolnshire.

The contest will be held in Central Park, Boston, as part of the jubilee picnic from 10:30 to 16:30 and the winner will receive a ‘world champion’ title, along with a trophy and a prize. If bowling greens becomes a success it may become a regular event.

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Renewing boring old sports by replacing things with vegtables? Count me in! It's a very silly idea (and something only someone with a council position would come up with) but I'm convinced it'll be a big hit with the drunken crowds. 

I do wonder what they'll do with the vegtables afterwards though. They appear to take so much pride in them; perhaps the winner's cabbages are turned into a feast? On a second thought though, that does sound a little bit morbid, it would be like eating a winning race horse... 

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Kids’ sunscreen row

St Joseph’s school has been under fire from Helen Reed because of the application of sunlotion. The parents were asked to apply the sunlotion before sending their children to school. While the students are at school, however the sunlotion is not reapplied resulting into Mrs. Reed’s son ending up with sunburn during a trip because he is too young to apply the lotion himself.

Headteacher Maureen Fletcher said that the staff can not apply the sunlotion because it could compromise the safety of the children.

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Personally I find this whole situation a little bit silly. I can't imagine it being that difficult for children to apply sunlotion themselves (I mean really, what are they going to do, eat it?). On the other hand, the school may claim that applying the sunlotion could compromise the safety of the children, but allowing kids to be in the sun, unprotected to the point they get a sunburn is also compromising their safety; it's terrible for their health. Applying the sunlotion before the kids go to school isn't enough after all - it'll wear off after a couple of hours so what the school is doing right now is pointless.

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