Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> wrote:
> Tony Smith <agsmith578688@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Thursday, 24 August 2023 at 18:05:26 UTC+1, Sally Thompson wrote:
>>> Kate B <elv...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>>> On 23/08/2023 19:05, John Ashby wrote:
>>>>> On 23/08/2023 18:27, Sally Thompson wrote:
>>>>>> Am I right in thinking that some time ago Laura Spira mentioned the high
>>>>>> speed commuter bus between Oxford and London? I've asked Laura in the
>>>>>> other
>>>>>> place, but in case she doesn't see it or someone else knows, is it to be
>>>>>> recommended? I'm trying to find somewhere to meet my son. He's suggested
>>>>>> Oxford and that bus would be brilliant for him. I would probably get a
>>>>>> train. Also, does anyone know if the Oxford bus terminal is anywhere near
>>>>>> the railway station?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I thought I'd ask here on the grounds that umra knows everything.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> It's pretty good, I use it myself for preference.
>>>>> Oxford Tube from Victoria, Marble Arch, Notting Hill Gate, Shepherd's
>>>>> Bush or Hillingdon.The Oxford terminus at Gloucester Green is a five
>>>>> minute walk from the train station.
>>>>>
>>>>> Google maps will give the exact stops to board in London, the one I'm
>>>>> most familiar with is Marble Arch which is just outside Hyde Park by
>>>>> Speakers' Corner. Victoria is on a triangular garden.
>>>>>
>>>>> john
>>>>
>>>> There used to be two buses from Victoria, the Oxford Tube and the X90,
>>>> which now I look it up, seems to have been discontinued just before the
>>>> pandemic, just goes to show how long since I bussed from London to
>>>> Oxford... but the Tube is very frequent and reliable, it goes from
>>>> various stops from Victoria westwards, as John mentioned, and lands you
>>>> in the centre of Oxford (St Clements, Queens Lane, St Aldates,
>>>> Gloucester Green) rather than fifteen minutes walk (might be five if you
>>>> have long fast legs...) away. I'd always take the bus - it's much
>>>> cheaper and it doesn't even take that much longer on a good day,
>>>> particularly if you live in south or east London, ie the wrong side for
>>>> Paddington.
>>>>
>>>> Where in London are you coming from?
>>>>
>>> I'm not:-). Son lives in Gillingham in Kent and I live in Shropshire and
>>> son suggested Oxford as a meeting place. Having looked at trains, I think
>>> it likely that I will drive and use the park and ride and meet him
>>> somewhere. An electric car, so no fuel costs to consider. Car park and bus
>>> fees from the park and ride would be far cheaper than the train, too.
>>> --
>>> Sally in Shropshire, UK
>>
>> Before Lockdown I went to London via Oxford, now and then. Drive to a P&R
>> on the A40 eastward from Oxford and take the bus.
>>
>> Once I took friends' advice to drive to Oxford Parkway station to go to
>> Marylebone. But coming the other way I don't know how best to get from
>> Oxford Parkway to Oxford centre.
>>
>> I must get up to London again soon, before Those Marbles are sent to Elgin or stolen.
>>
>
> Shirley, you will be able to find the marbles running along the gutter?
>

Mine Dew, the strangest thing I have ever seen in the gutter was witnessed
one day when I was about 8 years old; coming out of school, several lads
were hunched shoulder to shoulder around a road gutter where there was
something silvery running along when poked with a stick - it was a quantity
of mercury and far too much to have come out of a broken thermometer. Never
did find out how it had got there - nor did any of us realise the toxic
nature of that silvery metal…

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On 27/08/2023 16:59, Mike McMillan wrote:
> Mine Dew, the strangest thing I have ever seen in the gutter was witnessed
> one day when I was about 8 years old; coming out of school, several lads
> were hunched shoulder to shoulder around a road gutter where there was
> something silvery running along when poked with a stick - it was a quantity
> of mercury and far too much to have come out of a broken thermometer. Never
> did find out how it had got there - nor did any of us realise the toxic
> nature of that silvery metal…

Numerous years ago I spent a short while in a hospital ward with a young
woman who was quite an attention seeker. One day she got rather more
attention than she had sought by saying that she had accidentally bitten
the thermometer and swallowed some of the contents ... but when she
discovered just how dangerous that would have been she changed her mind
and said she definitely hadn't swallowed anything.

--
Jenny M Benson
Wrexham, UK

On 24 Aug 2023 17:05:23 GMT, Sally Thompson
<thompson.stonybrook@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:

>>
>> Where in London are you coming from?
>>
>
>I'm not:-). Son lives in Gillingham in Kent and I live in Shropshire and
>son suggested Oxford as a meeting place. Having looked at trains, I think
>it likely that I will drive and use the park and ride and meet him
>somewhere. An electric car, so no fuel costs to consider. Car park and bus
>fees from the park and ride would be far cheaper than the train, too.

Do you feel nervous going longer distances in the electric car. I've
got one too now and hate the possible miles to go under about 150. It
can do 300.

On 27-Aug-23 16:05, krw wrote:
> On 27.8.23 12:26, Mike McMillan wrote:

>> I was being told at school in the 1950’s that electricity would be so
>> cheap
>> to produce that it would not be economic to meter it and thus would be
>> free. (Mind that low flying porcine creature heading your way.)
>>
> I was never told that.  I was told that North Sea Gas cost nothing to
> deliver so would not be worth metering - merely a bill for a standing
> charge.  I failed to see how sending gas rigs into the North Sea and
> connecting them to the mains across the country was "nothing" so became
> an accountant to understand this strange meaning of "nothing".

I went to a fairly poor school, since they didn't tell me anything about
the economics of either gas or electricity.
For that matter, Candles and windmills never got a mention.

--
Sam Plusnet

On 27-Aug-23 16:46, Tony Smith wrote:
> On Thursday, 24 August 2023 at 18:05:26 UTC+1, Sally Thompson wrote:
>> Kate B <elv...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>> On 23/08/2023 19:05, John Ashby wrote:
>>>> On 23/08/2023 18:27, Sally Thompson wrote:
>>>>> Am I right in thinking that some time ago Laura Spira mentioned the high
>>>>> speed commuter bus between Oxford and London? I've asked Laura in the
>>>>> other
>>>>> place, but in case she doesn't see it or someone else knows, is it to be
>>>>> recommended? I'm trying to find somewhere to meet my son. He's suggested
>>>>> Oxford and that bus would be brilliant for him. I would probably get a
>>>>> train. Also, does anyone know if the Oxford bus terminal is anywhere near
>>>>> the railway station?
>>>>>
>>>>> I thought I'd ask here on the grounds that umra knows everything.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> It's pretty good, I use it myself for preference.
>>>> Oxford Tube from Victoria, Marble Arch, Notting Hill Gate, Shepherd's
>>>> Bush or Hillingdon.The Oxford terminus at Gloucester Green is a five
>>>> minute walk from the train station.
>>>>
>>>> Google maps will give the exact stops to board in London, the one I'm
>>>> most familiar with is Marble Arch which is just outside Hyde Park by
>>>> Speakers' Corner. Victoria is on a triangular garden.
>>>>
>>>> john
>>>
>>> There used to be two buses from Victoria, the Oxford Tube and the X90,
>>> which now I look it up, seems to have been discontinued just before the
>>> pandemic, just goes to show how long since I bussed from London to
>>> Oxford... but the Tube is very frequent and reliable, it goes from
>>> various stops from Victoria westwards, as John mentioned, and lands you
>>> in the centre of Oxford (St Clements, Queens Lane, St Aldates,
>>> Gloucester Green) rather than fifteen minutes walk (might be five if you
>>> have long fast legs...) away. I'd always take the bus - it's much
>>> cheaper and it doesn't even take that much longer on a good day,
>>> particularly if you live in south or east London, ie the wrong side for
>>> Paddington.
>>>
>>> Where in London are you coming from?
>>>
>> I'm not:-). Son lives in Gillingham in Kent and I live in Shropshire and
>> son suggested Oxford as a meeting place. Having looked at trains, I think
>> it likely that I will drive and use the park and ride and meet him
>> somewhere. An electric car, so no fuel costs to consider. Car park and bus
>> fees from the park and ride would be far cheaper than the train, too.
>> --
>> Sally in Shropshire, UK
>
> Before Lockdown I went to London via Oxford, now and then. Drive to a P&R on the A40 eastward from Oxford and take the bus.
>
> Once I took friends' advice to drive to Oxford Parkway station to go to Marylebone. But coming the other way I don't know how best to get from Oxford Parkway to Oxford centre.
>
> I must get up to London again soon, before Those Marbles are sent to Elgin or stolen.

I've never used an Oxford P&R (despite camping around 100 yards from one
of them).
However, when I use one for Cardiff, the main problem I see is that the
buses stop running far too early.
By the time the shops are closing you had better head for the bus stop
pronto, because the buses are about to shut up shop.

--
Sam Plusnet

Vicky <vicky.ayech@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 24 Aug 2023 17:05:23 GMT, Sally Thompson
> <thompson.stonybrook@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>
>>>
>>> Where in London are you coming from?
>>>
>>
>> I'm not:-). Son lives in Gillingham in Kent and I live in Shropshire and
>> son suggested Oxford as a meeting place. Having looked at trains, I think
>> it likely that I will drive and use the park and ride and meet him
>> somewhere. An electric car, so no fuel costs to consider. Car park and bus
>> fees from the park and ride would be far cheaper than the train, too.
>
>
> Do you feel nervous going longer distances in the electric car. I've
> got one too now and hate the possible miles to go under about 150. It
> can do 300.
>

Not these days. I have some good EV maps (such as ZapMap), and planning is
everything. For really long distances I would want to stop half way anyway.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK

On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 08:46:25 -0700 (PDT), Tony Smith
<agsmith578688@gmail.com> scrawled in the dust...

>I must get up to London again soon, before Those Marbles are sent to Elgin or stolen.

I sometimes think I'd like to go to that London again. I loved it in my
youth. I would travel around on the Underground for hours - all for 2d as
long as you got off within two stations or where you got on. And then I
remember how exhausting it could be to spend a whole day there, walking
around above ground, getting grimy from the air.

Now I no longer understand how the transport works. Possibly the last time
I was there, I arrived at Victoria Station and needed to get to St Thomas'
Hospital. Doubtless a bus could have taken me but I'd no idea what an
Oyster card was or where I could get one. People in London are not known
for being helpful... It's a long walk.

--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 15:59:57 -0000 (UTC), Mike McMillan
<toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> scrawled in the dust...

>it was a quantity
>of mercury and far too much to have come out of a broken thermometer. Never
>did find out how it had got there - nor did any of us realise the toxic
>nature of that silvery metal…

I was wondering earlier today, how one should dispose of broken mercury
thermometers. I have two :(

OTOH, I have a largish sealed test tube containing a quantity of mercury,
which belonged to my father and fascinated me as a child. It now lives on a
couple of chopstick rests in one of his bookcases (in my dining room) and
the metal seems to behave very much like water, in that, after sitting
still for weeks, with nobody disturbing it, I find it has deposited tiny
globs on the top side of the tube, as though it has evaporated and
condensed there.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 21:21:48 +0100, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> scrawled in
the dust...

>However, when I use one for Cardiff, the main problem I see is that the
>buses stop running far too early.
>By the time the shops are closing you had better head for the bus stop
>pronto, because the buses are about to shut up shop.

Rather like the tube in London. If you're having a really good night out,
you can't get home at all.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On 27 Aug 2023 21:38:25 GMT, Sally Thompson
<thompson.stonybrook@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:

>Vicky <vicky.ayech@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 24 Aug 2023 17:05:23 GMT, Sally Thompson
>> <thompson.stonybrook@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>>
>>>> Where in London are you coming from?
>>>>
>>>
>>> I'm not:-). Son lives in Gillingham in Kent and I live in Shropshire and
>>> son suggested Oxford as a meeting place. Having looked at trains, I think
>>> it likely that I will drive and use the park and ride and meet him
>>> somewhere. An electric car, so no fuel costs to consider. Car park and bus
>>> fees from the park and ride would be far cheaper than the train, too.
>>
>>
>> Do you feel nervous going longer distances in the electric car. I've
>> got one too now and hate the possible miles to go under about 150. It
>> can do 300.
>>
>
>Not these days. I have some good EV maps (such as ZapMap), and planning is
>everything. For really long distances I would want to stop half way anyway.

Mine flags up nearest charging places on the main screen. I
thinkthatmakes me more nervous. :) Some would be very slow.

On 27.8.23 16:46, Tony Smith wrote:
> Those Marbles are sent to Elgin

Surely there is a shop in Elgin which still sells marbles or do children
not play such games any longer?

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics

On 27.8.23 23:27, Penny wrote:
> Rather like the tube in London. If you're having a really good night out,
> you can't get home at all.

That nice Mr Khan has invented the Night Tube - some lines have a
service all night.

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics

On 27.8.23 23:17, Penny wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 08:46:25 -0700 (PDT), Tony Smith
> <agsmith578688@gmail.com> scrawled in the dust...
>
>> I must get up to London again soon, before Those Marbles are sent to Elgin or stolen.
>
> I sometimes think I'd like to go to that London again. I loved it in my
> youth. I would travel around on the Underground for hours - all for 2d as
> long as you got off within two stations or where you got on. And then I
> remember how exhausting it could be to spend a whole day there, walking
> around above ground, getting grimy from the air.
>
> Now I no longer understand how the transport works. Possibly the last time
> I was there, I arrived at Victoria Station and needed to get to St Thomas'
> Hospital. Doubtless a bus could have taken me but I'd no idea what an
> Oyster card was or where I could get one. People in London are not known
> for being helpful... It's a long walk.
>
>

Guidance can be provided - if you decide to visit.

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics

On 28/08/2023 10:00, krw wrote:
> On 27.8.23 16:46, Tony Smith wrote:
>> Those Marbles are sent to Elgin
>
> Surely there is a shop in Elgin which still sells marbles or do children
> not play such games any longer?
>
I think they have an app for it.

--
Ric

On 27/08/2023 23:24, Penny wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 15:59:57 -0000 (UTC), Mike McMillan
> <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> scrawled in the dust...
>
>> it was a quantity
>> of mercury and far too much to have come out of a broken thermometer. Never
>> did find out how it had got there - nor did any of us realise the toxic
>> nature of that silvery metal…
>
> I was wondering earlier today, how one should dispose of broken mercury
> thermometers. I have two :(

Well, you could try handing them in to your local Police station as lost
property you found in the street.

Don't the council have a responsibility for handling hazardous domestic
waste? Or at least on advising.
>
> OTOH, I have a largish sealed test tube containing a quantity of mercury,
> which belonged to my father and fascinated me as a child. It now lives on a
> couple of chopstick rests in one of his bookcases (in my dining room) and
> the metal seems to behave very much like water, in that, after sitting
> still for weeks, with nobody disturbing it, I find it has deposited tiny
> globs on the top side of the tube, as though it has evaporated and
> condensed there.

Can't you just empty the thermometers into the test tube?

--
Ric

On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 23:17:10 +0100, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com>
wrote:

>On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 08:46:25 -0700 (PDT), Tony Smith
><agsmith578688@gmail.com> scrawled in the dust...
>
>>I must get up to London again soon, before Those Marbles are sent to Elgin or stolen.
>
>I sometimes think I'd like to go to that London again. I loved it in my
>youth. I would travel around on the Underground for hours - all for 2d as
>long as you got off within two stations or where you got on. And then I
>remember how exhausting it could be to spend a whole day there, walking
>around above ground, getting grimy from the air.
>
>Now I no longer understand how the transport works. Possibly the last time
>I was there, I arrived at Victoria Station and needed to get to St Thomas'
>Hospital. Doubtless a bus could have taken me but I'd no idea what an
>Oyster card was or where I could get one. People in London are not known
>for being helpful... It's a long walk.

Penny the Oyster card is easy to organise online
https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do
and you can find journey planners online too.

On 27/08/2023 23:27, Penny wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 21:21:48 +0100, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> scrawled in
> the dust...
>
>> However, when I use one for Cardiff, the main problem I see is that the
>> buses stop running far too early.
>> By the time the shops are closing you had better head for the bus stop
>> pronto, because the buses are about to shut up shop.
>
> Rather like the tube in London. If you're having a really good night out,
> you can't get home at all.

Or the mainline. Last time I looked, a day return was valid till 4am
next day. All day station parking expired at midnight,. You needed to
end your night out with time to get to the station and catch whatever
train would get you home before midnight, assuming it was running and
not delayed. So your night out becomes more of an evening out.

KRW may have more accurate and up to date information.

--
Ric

On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 23:17:10 +0100, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com>
wrote:

>On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 08:46:25 -0700 (PDT), Tony Smith
><agsmith578688@gmail.com> scrawled in the dust...
>
>>I must get up to London again soon, before Those Marbles are sent to Elgin or stolen.
>
>I sometimes think I'd like to go to that London again. I loved it in my
>youth. I would travel around on the Underground for hours - all for 2d as
>long as you got off within two stations or where you got on. And then I
>remember how exhausting it could be to spend a whole day there, walking
>around above ground, getting grimy from the air.
>
>Now I no longer understand how the transport works. Possibly the last time
>I was there, I arrived at Victoria Station and needed to get to St Thomas'
>Hospital. Doubtless a bus could have taken me but I'd no idea what an
>Oyster card was or where I could get one. People in London are not known
>for being helpful... It's a long walk.

Just checked and Camden Town tube to Hyde Park Corner tube cost £2.80
using the Oyster card. You can keep funds on it and they don't seem to
expire. You just top up as needed.

Vicky <vicky.ayech@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 27 Aug 2023 21:38:25 GMT, Sally Thompson
> <thompson.stonybrook@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Vicky <vicky.ayech@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 24 Aug 2023 17:05:23 GMT, Sally Thompson
>>> <thompson.stonybrook@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Where in London are you coming from?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I'm not:-). Son lives in Gillingham in Kent and I live in Shropshire and
>>>> son suggested Oxford as a meeting place. Having looked at trains, I think
>>>> it likely that I will drive and use the park and ride and meet him
>>>> somewhere. An electric car, so no fuel costs to consider. Car park and bus
>>>> fees from the park and ride would be far cheaper than the train, too.
>>>
>>>
>>> Do you feel nervous going longer distances in the electric car. I've
>>> got one too now and hate the possible miles to go under about 150. It
>>> can do 300.
>>>
>>
>> Not these days. I have some good EV maps (such as ZapMap), and planning is
>> everything. For really long distances I would want to stop half way anyway.
>
> Mine flags up nearest charging places on the main screen. I
> thinkthatmakes me more nervous. :) Some would be very slow.
>

ZapMap shows you which kind of charger.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK

On 28/08/2023 10:48, Vicky wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 23:17:10 +0100, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 08:46:25 -0700 (PDT), Tony Smith
>> <agsmith578688@gmail.com> scrawled in the dust...
>>
>>> I must get up to London again soon, before Those Marbles are sent to Elgin or stolen.
>>
>> I sometimes think I'd like to go to that London again. I loved it in my
>> youth. I would travel around on the Underground for hours - all for 2d as
>> long as you got off within two stations or where you got on. And then I
>> remember how exhausting it could be to spend a whole day there, walking
>> around above ground, getting grimy from the air.
>>
>> Now I no longer understand how the transport works. Possibly the last time
>> I was there, I arrived at Victoria Station and needed to get to St Thomas'
>> Hospital. Doubtless a bus could have taken me but I'd no idea what an
>> Oyster card was or where I could get one. People in London are not known
>> for being helpful... It's a long walk.
>
> Penny the Oyster card is easy to organise online
> https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do
> and you can find journey planners online too.

You don't need an Oyster card to travel on the bus in London, your free
bus pass should work. Not on the Tube though, but if we need that we
just get a rail ticket that includes it.

On 28.8.23 10:54, Joe Kerr wrote:
> Or the mainline. Last time I looked, a day return was valid till 4am
> next day. All day station parking expired at midnight,. You needed to
> end your night out with time to get to the station and catch whatever
> train would get you home before midnight, assuming it was running and
> not delayed. So your night out becomes more of an evening out.
>
> KRW may have more accurate and up to date information.

SWR may have many other failings (such as an inability to re-instate the
pre-covid off peak timetable) but they have identified the nonsense in
that arrangement and now an all day ticket expires at some sensible time
after midnight.

I often used to buy a one day ticket (midnight expiry) but the train
back was often the one which arrived soon after midnight and I never was
challenged over the need to pay for a second day.

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics

On Monday, August 28, 2023 at 10:54:31 AM UTC+1, Vicky wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 23:17:10 +0100, Penny <sp...@labyrinth.freeuk.com>
> wrote:
> >On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 08:46:25 -0700 (PDT), Tony Smith
> ><agsmit...@gmail.com> scrawled in the dust...
> >
> >>I must get up to London again soon, before Those Marbles are sent to Elgin or stolen.
> >
> >I sometimes think I'd like to go to that London again. I loved it in my
> >youth. I would travel around on the Underground for hours - all for 2d as
> >long as you got off within two stations or where you got on. And then I
> >remember how exhausting it could be to spend a whole day there, walking
> >around above ground, getting grimy from the air.
> >
> >Now I no longer understand how the transport works. Possibly the last time
> >I was there, I arrived at Victoria Station and needed to get to St Thomas'
> >Hospital. Doubtless a bus could have taken me but I'd no idea what an
> >Oyster card was or where I could get one. People in London are not known
> >for being helpful... It's a long walk.
> Just checked and Camden Town tube to Hyde Park Corner tube cost £2.80
> using the Oyster card. You can keep funds on it and they don't seem to
> expire. You just top up as needed.

Is the price of travel around London the same whether you use your Oyster Card or just tap in and out with a bank card? I don't live in London but I've had an Oyster Card for years and always keep it topped up for my visits to the capital. But the trend seems to be towards using the ordinary bank card on public transport and I wondered if there is any price difference?

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca

On Monday, August 28, 2023 at 12:53:30 PM UTC+1, BrritSki wrote:
> On 28/08/2023 10:48, Vicky wrote:
> > On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 23:17:10 +0100, Penny <sp...@labyrinth.freeuk.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 08:46:25 -0700 (PDT), Tony Smith
> >> <agsmit...@gmail.com> scrawled in the dust...
> >>
> >>> I must get up to London again soon, before Those Marbles are sent to Elgin or stolen.
> >>
> >> I sometimes think I'd like to go to that London again. I loved it in my
> >> youth. I would travel around on the Underground for hours - all for 2d as
> >> long as you got off within two stations or where you got on. And then I
> >> remember how exhausting it could be to spend a whole day there, walking
> >> around above ground, getting grimy from the air.
> >>
> >> Now I no longer understand how the transport works. Possibly the last time
> >> I was there, I arrived at Victoria Station and needed to get to St Thomas'
> >> Hospital. Doubtless a bus could have taken me but I'd no idea what an
> >> Oyster card was or where I could get one. People in London are not known
> >> for being helpful... It's a long walk.
> >
> > Penny the Oyster card is easy to organise online
> > https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do
> > and you can find journey planners online too.
> You don't need an Oyster card to travel on the bus in London, your free
> bus pass should work. Not on the Tube though, but if we need that we
> just get a rail ticket that includes it.

I agree about the free bus pass but to be honest, after decades of using the tube to get everywhere when I had to pay for everything, I've no real sense of which buses go where and how often. I'm gradually remedying that but there are still times when a paid-for tube journey is more convenient than a free bus trip. And with the state of London traffic as it was when I last visited in June, it can sometimes take more than an hour to travel on the surface when diving down into the tube will get you there in about ten minutes.

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca

On 28/08/2023 12:28, Sally Thompson wrote:
> Vicky <vicky.ayech@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 27 Aug 2023 21:38:25 GMT, Sally Thompson
>> <thompson.stonybrook@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> Vicky <vicky.ayech@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On 24 Aug 2023 17:05:23 GMT, Sally Thompson
>>>> <thompson.stonybrook@gmail.com.invalid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Where in London are you coming from?
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm not:-). Son lives in Gillingham in Kent and I live in Shropshire and
>>>>> son suggested Oxford as a meeting place. Having looked at trains, I think
>>>>> it likely that I will drive and use the park and ride and meet him
>>>>> somewhere. An electric car, so no fuel costs to consider. Car park and bus
>>>>> fees from the park and ride would be far cheaper than the train, too.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Do you feel nervous going longer distances in the electric car. I've
>>>> got one too now and hate the possible miles to go under about 150. It
>>>> can do 300.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Not these days. I have some good EV maps (such as ZapMap), and planning is
>>> everything. For really long distances I would want to stop half way anyway.
>>
>> Mine flags up nearest charging places on the main screen. I
>> thinkthatmakes me more nervous. :) Some would be very slow.
>>
>
> ZapMap shows you which kind of charger.
>
Does it tell you if the charger is working? Quite a few don't seem to be.

On 28.8.23 13:35, Nick Odell wrote:
> On Monday, August 28, 2023 at 10:54:31 AM UTC+1, Vicky wrote:
>> On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 23:17:10 +0100, Penny <sp...@labyrinth.freeuk.com>
>> wrote:
>>> On Sun, 27 Aug 2023 08:46:25 -0700 (PDT), Tony Smith
>>> <agsmit...@gmail.com> scrawled in the dust...
>>>
>>>> I must get up to London again soon, before Those Marbles are sent to Elgin or stolen.
>>>
>>> I sometimes think I'd like to go to that London again. I loved it in my
>>> youth. I would travel around on the Underground for hours - all for 2d as
>>> long as you got off within two stations or where you got on. And then I
>>> remember how exhausting it could be to spend a whole day there, walking
>>> around above ground, getting grimy from the air.
>>>
>>> Now I no longer understand how the transport works. Possibly the last time
>>> I was there, I arrived at Victoria Station and needed to get to St Thomas'
>>> Hospital. Doubtless a bus could have taken me but I'd no idea what an
>>> Oyster card was or where I could get one. People in London are not known
>>> for being helpful... It's a long walk.
>> Just checked and Camden Town tube to Hyde Park Corner tube cost £2.80
>> using the Oyster card. You can keep funds on it and they don't seem to
>> expire. You just top up as needed.
>
> Is the price of travel around London the same whether you use your Oyster Card or just tap in and out with a bank card? I don't live in London but I've had an Oyster Card for years and always keep it topped up for my visits to the capital. But the trend seems to be towards using the ordinary bank card on public transport and I wondered if there is any price difference?
>
> Nick
> nickodell49@yahoo.ca

If you have an old gits railcard from National Railways and register it
on your Oyster card you get a 34% discount on standard fares for an
Oyster. You cannot register a railcard against your bank card and so
for most travellers the Oyster/ bank card charges are the same. When
Khan drops TfL out of the Travelcard settlement scheme it is unclear if
the railcard discounts will disappear - but I am guessing they will.

You have to re-register your railcard when you get a new one and not all
ticket office replacement staff on TfL seem to know how to do this.

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics