Hello Help, This is London Calling. London Calling.

It’s the eve of Election Day in London once again.

Four years ago, no-one could have predicted that a Blonde Hairball from an uknown planet would emerge the winner of a strange Earth-Contest called the London Mayoralty. No-one could have predicted that the Blonde Hiarball would [...]]]>  

Hello Help, This is London Calling. London Calling.

It’s the eve of Election Day in London once again.

Four years ago, no-one could have predicted that a Blonde Hairball from an uknown planet would emerge the winner of a strange Earth-Contest called the London Mayoralty. No-one could have predicted that the Blonde Hiarball would go on to attempt to wave a flag for London to the world, followed by a slightly drunken speech, [it's the only explanation, surely?] made in a patriotic yet a Medieval way, about Wiff Waff Coming Home!

No-one could have predicted that the Blonde Hairball has another opportunity to be voted Chief Flag Waver for London to the World (well, via Athens).

Now, the options aren’t amazing. The top two contenders are Boris and Ken. Out of principle I had dismissed UKIP (xenophobic), the BNP (out of principle), and the Lib Dems (previous hung council in Camden saw them unite with the Tories who polled third).Siobhan Benita posed as a credible candidate, but I since discovered that both she and Brian (who?) sought Political Profit from the “Some People Are Gay, Get Over It” campaign by Stonewall.

I’ve felt impassioned by Jenny Jones, of the Green Party. Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, I’d see Green voters as hippies. Those days were the nineties, and I was new to politics.

My route into being interested in politics has been interesting. I have voted for the Labour party, the Liberal Democrats, and on one occasion I voted for a Conservative councillor. That was because I knew him, and I understood his politics.

But, for some reason, voting Green always felt as alien to me as voting BNP. The social stigma felt that if I voted green I would have to suddenly recylce, but EVERYTHING! I wasn’t sure I’d want my life on view via freecycle.

But now we have tactical voting. I can vote twice, and make my vote count.

I will be out on the streets of London before I’m awake. I’m voting Jenny Jones first and Ken Livingstone second. I know both my votes count. It may be an insignificant step towards green socialism, but it’s a step I’m making for the better.

The news was initally reported via Bike Biz, with a headline “Government joins #boycottaddisonlee“.

The UK Government’s Chief Procurement Officer John Collington has been reported as saying “We expect all private hire [...]]]> Yesterday, UK cycling website road.cc reportd that Addison Lee, a London minicab firm, had lost its sole contract with the United Kingdom Government.

The news was initally reported via Bike Biz, with a headline “Government joins #boycottaddisonlee“.

The UK Government’s Chief Procurement Officer John Collington has been reported as saying “We expect all private hire vehicles in London to adhere to the prohibition on using bus lanes. In regard to Addison Lee, the only existing government contract with the company will expire at the end of this month and is not being renewed.”

No-one can be sure of the size and nature of the contract, though rollkit.com intends to investigate via Freedom of Information requests on Tuesday morning (we’re having an early bank holiday to celebrate this wonderful news).

The cancellation of the contract comes despite knowledge that Griffin has donated over £250,000 to the Conservative party, the largest contingent in the UK’s Coalition Government.

John Griffin, chairman of Addison Lee, joined Sustrans’ Eleanor Besley for a debate on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme, where he tried to outline his gripe with cyclists.

Griffin wasn’t in the Today studio as originally planned. He joined the debate confirming he was stuck in traffic, and wasn’t using a bus lane to beat the queues.

Later in the Today programme, rollkit.com heard #boycottaddisonlee supporter John Prescott join in a debate about how the news agenda is increasingly being driven by social media, citing the Addison Lee ‘Ratner Moment’ as an example.

Now may also be a good time to criticise BBC London TV News, who were a pioneering stalwart of ‘travel news’ for their lack of understanding of the significance of this story, until late in the day. Travel Cams on Breakfast telly, unfortunately, are not quite an example of cutting edge travel reporting in a 21st century capital.

Liberal Democrat ministers have also been fairly relaxed toward the Addison Lee debacle, in recent news Nick Clegg, the UK Deputy Prime Minister, stated that he helped his party join the Coalition Government, because he did not want his party to be harmed by the unfavourable reputation the country’s Labour party had. No comment was passed about the damage his party may have sustained in the last two years since his party joined a Conservative coalition.

Mayoral Canidates for the London elections next week, Boris Johnson, Ken Livinstone, Brian Paddick, Siobhan Benita, Carlos Cortiglio, and someone for UKIP were fairly quiet on the matter. Jenny Jones, the Green Party candidate spoke out vociferously against the idea of Addison Lee cars breaking the law. Rollkit.com is forming the opinion that Jenny Jones would be our preferred candidate for Mayor of London, given other recent gaffes by candidates.

The ‘gay candidate’ for Mayor of London, Brian Paddick (in case you don’t know who he is, he is the Lib Dem candidate), has released a new advertisement…

Some people are not swayed by this type of bandwagon jumping, get over it?

Now, I [...]]]> I almost spat my teeth out. Thankfully they aren’t false.

The ‘gay candidate’ for Mayor of London, Brian Paddick (in case you don’t know who he is, he is the Lib Dem candidate), has released a new advertisement…

Some people are not swayed by this type of bandwagon jumping, get over it?

Now, I know he’s openly gay, I know he’s an ex-copper. I know it’s tongue in cheek, and I’ve just found out that Siobhan Benita, the independent candidate for Mayor of London has pulled off a similar trick.

Now, a Stonewall campaign with a serious message has been politicised, I am completely turned off by these two formerly credible candidates. Paddick is gay. I am gay. I don’t want a statement about gay equality being equated to a politics. For that reason Siobhan Benita has lost my first preference vote, and Brian Paddick my second preference vote.

Siobhan, in the BBC news piece, says she thinks people are turned off by politics. On the contrary, some people do care an awful lot. Especially when you mix politics with equality campaigns for your own gain.

I am not a Tory, but at this rate I may vote Boris (I have NEVER voted that way in my life). Get over it.

A few years ago a London minicab firm called Addison Lee asked if their minicabs could drive in bus lanes. The answer was “no”.

The firm instructed its drivers to drive in the M4 bus lane to Heathrow Airport. The Government changed, and the [...]]]> Multi-Millionaire Conservative Party Donor unclear of definition of “Bus Priotity Network”.

A few years ago a London minicab firm called Addison Lee asked if their minicabs could drive in bus lanes. The answer was “no”.

The firm instructed its drivers to drive in the M4 bus lane to Heathrow Airport. The Government changed, and the M4 bus lane, along with fines the company had built up, were both scrapped.

Addison Lee have since grown to be a large private company. They provide courier services using anything from a pushbike to a Caddy van and even Luton box vans. Their passenger division, besides 3,500 minicabs, also incorporates taxybikes, coaches and private jets.

John Griffin, chairman of Addison Lee

It all started with a letter to all 3,500 drivers, followed by a press release on their website.

John Griffin, the chairman of Addison Lee, made the first shot across the bough of London. Immediately a new split in the thinking of Londoners emerged. Unfortunately, for Addison Lee, the opposition were shouting louder.

The claims that the firm would ‘indemnify’ its drivers from any fines for driving in a bus lane – which could be up to £1,000 per offence, were met with wrath and rage on blogs and twitter.

Griffin’s argument, obviously financially motivated, was that the current Bus Lane laws, which allow buses, black cabs and cyclists to use them, with moped/motorbikes allowed on red-route bus lanes, are anticompetitive, and “unfairly discriminates against the millions of passengers tat use Addison Lee”.

Griffin went on in his ranting press release to claim that Addison Lee was instrumental in the scrapping of the M4 bus lane two years ago. That publicity stunt generated 216 fines and 130 court proceedings. The Conservative/Liberal Democrat Government scrapped the bus lane, and the CPS decided it was ‘no longer in the public interest’ to fine Addison Lee’s drivers. This year, Griffin has spent a whack of cash on a judicial review into the bus lane legislation, and believed his 3,500 minicabs should be allowed to use the bus lanes whilst waiting for a judge to preside over the matter.

The PR stunt progressed, with multi-national companies ready to line-up in support of Addison Lee. The firm’s freelance drivers were losing out on income because they were unable to take short-cuts through bus lanes.

John Griffin does not believe that black cabs provide a public service, and sees them as a business just like minicabs. Griffin’s bus lane stance was the first battle in a war on what he sees as an injustice.

Londoners have paid for the battle. First of all the cost for TfL to write to Addison Lee’s 3,500 minicab drivers, pointing out tht if they drive in a bus lane they are liable to prosecution, and repeated misdemeanours would show them unfit to hold a licence to drive a minicab.

The Real World View

The backlash to the bus lane fiasco was immediate, and strong. Cyclists who use London’s bus lanes were quick to point out that very few buses and taxis are as dangerous as the averge Addison Lee driver. Granted, I have witnessed some absolutely ridiculous stunts by Addison Lee drivers. Turning into a one-way street against the flow of traffic (seven times), and left-turns on Euston Road across the bus lane into the St Pancras Renaissance hotel (three times, one causing an accident between a cyclist and a taxi). I’ve also seen bus drivers behaving outright dangerously, other car drivers and cyclists too.

Motorbikers, who are allowed in bus lanes on red routes, said they would find the weight of an extra 3,500 UNLAWFUL vehicles unreasonable.

Bus passengers tweeted to say they would be delayed by this campaign by Addison Lee.

Cyclists, many of whom already consider Addison Lee to be the bain of their jouneys, were upset at what they saw as a blatant attack on their safety.

Some said that if John Griffin wanted to run a cab company, he should have purchased 3,500 black cabs. In reality, he has a minicab company, and minicabs operate under markedly different rules to black cabs. It’s generally the same in most areas. Sunderland City Council has introduced novel “No Car” lanes. Anything that isn’t a car (even vans, wagons and articulated lorries can use them, besides buses, taxis and minicabs.

Even the outcome of the Judicial Review was scrappy. Essentially TfL withdrew the request that Addison Lee withdraw its instruction to drivers completely, instead banning it from repeating the advice. Addison Lee hope for a Judicial Review into the matter will allow them to provide a “competitive transport service during the Olympic Games”.

Woe behold any bus users… you’d no longer be the priority.

Milti-Millionaire Conservative Party Donor wants to re-write the Highway Code

Step Two in John Griffin’s campaign against London saw an article in the “Add Lib” magazine, handed out to passengers in the capital.

The article contained phrases such as “Green Party candidates and others are up in arms over what they see as the murder of cyclists on London’s roads.” and “Should a motorist fail to observe a granny wobbling to avoid a pothole or rain drain, then he is guilty of failing to anticipate that this was someone on her maiden voyage into the abyss”. John Griffin, as well as being chairman, is also Editor in Chief of Add Lib magazine.

Within the day, a protest group had been set up, and a cyclist “Die-in” arranged for 6pm on Monday.

Cyclists Die-In outside Addison Lee's London Head Office

At 6pm, the cyclists arranged themselves in front of the office, and reconstructed a mass cycle accident.

John Griffin at cyclists Die-In protest

Afterwards, Griffin himself emerged from his own abyss, to confront the cyclists. Yes, under his left arm behind the pointy finger are a few copies of the “Add Lib” magazine that cause the furore. To his left and right were Addison Lee employees who were SIA trained in a previous life. One way to guarantee a crowd is riled and ready to massacre you, verbally of course. Tensions did run high. There was quite a media scrum, and Griffin, with his vast fortune, couldn’t afford a megaphone to allow the cyclists, rather than the media scrum, to hear him, despite repeated calls of “We can’t hear you!”

Not everyone chose to make their point verbally though. To this day, stood at the rear of the crowd as a pedestrian, I have no idea what Griffin himself said, though an article in the Huffington Post (where else are you going to go to get your voice heard with cyclists … of course!) gave me a clue.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/john-griffin/cycling-a-deadly-serious-issue_b_1440489.html?ref=uk

I think the statement that concerns me most is that Griffin has a “Boris Bike” key. So do I. I used it once. I still have the key, though!

Griffin is upset because cyclists don’t have to be fully trained or insured. In the Add Lib magazine he also claims his freelance drivers pay road tax, which was abolished in 1937, so I’m sure he’s keeping up with the times, and has kept up with the explicit statement in the Highway Code that cyclists, horse riders, moped users and motorcyclists are the most vulnerable on the roads.

It’s a safe enough statement to make, as a cyclist in London, I’ve taken the appropriate training, and I didn’t just dive into the busy roads on my first Monday-morning commute to work. That’s as it should be, but it’s not practical. It’s like saying that every uninsured/unlicenced vehicle should be removed from the roads immediately. There aren’t enough Police to catch just those drivers, and when they do they often face abuse along the lines of “shouldn’t you be catching terrorists/burglaers” etc. Who is going to fund the extra Police officers to identify and catch these untrained cyclists?

As the week went on, it became more apparent that this was a PR stunt by Griffin. If I’d wanted to kick start such a debate, and was using a magazine available in only 3,500 locations rarely used by cyclists, I would be asking a PR guru for help. I wouldn’t use sweeping statements either, and I’d be ready to actually debate. I can’t say I’ve heard a lot more from Griffin this week other than in his battles against TfL and his battles to define the bollocks he was spouting in his in-house magazine.

Between 15:30 and 17:30 today the garbage compactor was running unattended. Every now and then a bag would catch, and the alarm noise would sound, the rubbish [...]]]> After chatting to someone nearby about my concern over the mushrooms at Premier Inn London Euston, I’ve been given a photograph of the previous time, but before that…

Between 15:30 and 17:30 today the garbage compactor was running unattended. Every now and then a bag would catch, and the alarm noise would sound, the rubbish would move slightly, and the alarm would stop.

“We really don’t need to keep the compactor attended when it’s being used, I mean, a child couldn’t climb up there and fall in.”
Stephen Luck, former Premier Inn London Euston General Manager

A subsequent manager confirmed to us that the compactor shouldn’t be used unattended. The problem is that since that assurance, there have been two managers!

Whitbread, whose profits recently soared thanks to the popularity of Costa Coffee, don’t seem able to spend money on the Premier Inn London Euston. Thanks Whitbread! You make such wonderful neighbours from hell.

But yes, the mushrooms..

Staff collecting mushrooms at Premier Inn London Euston

This photograph was passed to me, taken on 4 October 2011. That’s two occasions where we can confirm that the vegetables were taken inside to the kitchen area, but cannot confirm whether they were used in food for guests. The one thing that is for certain is that the staff did not put the contaminaited food in the bins just to the right.

Of course, I cannot repeat enough that the articles on this website aren’t aimed solely at the hotel’s management, though their incompetence is there for all to see through lack of sufficient staff training. In case you’re wondering, the remaining portion of incompetence is with Whitbread’s head office itself, Gerald Eve, Whitbread’s property specialists, and John Gaunt & Partners, their licensing ‘specialist’ who have successfully forced through changes to the way the Premier Inn London Euston is laid out and run, without ensuring that all of their t’s are crossed, never mind the i’s being dotted. Premier Inn London Euston is purely a money making machine for Whitbread, and as much as I know that those involved will contest it, there really is no concern for those around them. I’ve been asking them to fix basic faults for over six years now!

Several days ago one of my neighbours mentioned to me that he’d watched as the Kuehne & Nagel delivery truck dropped off the food delivery to Premier Inn London Euston. A box of mushrooms fell off the delivery, and scattered over the ground. Not [...]]]> I know, it sounds alarmist, but I am a little concerned.

Several days ago one of my neighbours mentioned to me that he’d watched as the Kuehne & Nagel delivery truck dropped off the food delivery to Premier Inn London Euston. A box of mushrooms fell off the delivery, and scattered over the ground. Not necessarily a problem if they are going to be washed and cooked.

The concern I have is that the area where I was told these mushrooms had fallen is the same area I have posted photographs here showing shards of glass littering the tarmac. It’s a problem I’ve been telling the hotel about for five years now. The chance of these mushrooms coming into contact with shards of broken wine/beer bottles is very high.

Then, over the weekend, I popped down to ask if a Kuehne & Nagel driver could turn off his engine, as the noise and vibration was affecting neighbours. After a few moments of abuse he turned his engine off. I turned round to find a Premier Inn employee picking up mushrooms again. Back in the box they went, so I wandered by to take this snap of them all snugly back on their pallette.

And just to clarify, here is a picture of what you’re likely to find on the ground in that area. I went back after the delivery people had left, and found glass on the floor. It was still there at 8am today.

Premier Inn London Euston were told, but I didn’t notice any mushrooms going into the bin. Enjoy breakfast!

The Travel Inn opened on this site in the mid 90s. After being rebranded to “Premier Travel Inn”, it’s now a Premier Inn. The hotel gets a new manager around once per year, but the problems such as noise, glass, and now food hygiene, don’t seem to be going away.

I sat as an observer a while back at a licensing application to allow the Premier Inn London Euston to have outdoor seating areas. This sentence still makes me chuckle today:

“It’s not a budget hotel, Premier Inn is a Premium Budget Hotel”
John Gaunt,
John Gaunt & Partners, a niche alcohol, entertainment and licensing practice.

When the noise goes off, the first thing the member of staff will do is turn it off and on a [...]]]> This is a recording of tone at 2kHz. It is very similar to one used by Premier Inn London Euston to indicate to their staff that their refuse compactor is in need of attention.

When the noise goes off, the first thing the member of staff will do is turn it off and on a few times, just in case, you know… Saves them changing the bag, I suppose.

That’s if they are there. If they’ve left the compactor running and gone away, we get the tone, either until they return or we give in and call reception.

This noise has been going off for longer than I can remember, and people have been actively complaining at the PILE for at least five years. The ten minute blast of noise on Easter Sunday really wasn’t appreciated.

I can’t say we were jumping with joy when we found out that Whitbread are finally taking the problem seriously, and have asked to re-site the compactor. The refuse provider wants to take Whitbread to court, so that it can carry on providing PILE with equipment which causes harassment to neighbours.

I fear things may have taken a turn for the worse though. This was how the area inside their refuse cage looked on Tuesday…

In fact, it was quite so full, the staff didn’t know where to put their rubbish. So it got locked outside the rubbish cage.

In case you’re wondering, the blue box there says “Whitbread Food Logistics”. Lets hope it gets binned rather than reused.

Does it smell? It mings. As soon as the temperature got about 10 degrees the flies were a major problem, things are obviously decomposing in there already.

Immediately to the right of those two bags is where Premier Inn store their towels and bedding. At other times of the day, the area marked “Keep Clear” can be the temporary store for their food delivery. Here’s a photograph two days later showing the towels and bedding:

Just don’t get me started on the car park. Oh go on then, just a quick one. Quite a few years ago, I passed some documents to the manager explaining that if his road markings and signs were the same as those used on the highway, people will understand them better. First of all they came along and painted some laughable yellow marks on the tarmac, and now they don’t even bother to police it.

That’s not necessarily a problem, but their delivery vehicles are rather large trucks, and they don’t have enough space to turn, creating excessive noise and nuisance.

Whitbread class Premier Inn London Euston as a “Premium Budget Hotel”. After quite so many years of Whitbread, owners of Premier Inn and Costa Coffee, to those living and working around this example, its Premium Fawlty Towers.

“It is very hard to know what the dispute is about. It is said to be about Health and Safety but actaully all Unite’s material [...]]]> To be a good politician, you have to be able to spin well. Frances Maude deserves a medal for the bull he’s just been spouting on the BBC news channel.

“It is very hard to know what the dispute is about. It is said to be about Health and Safety but actaully all Unite’s material suggests it’s about much more than that.”

Frances Maude, 10:57

Earlier in his interview, he stated the dispute was purely about pay.

“Tanker drivers work in an increasingly fragmented and pressurised industry where corners are being cut on safety and training in a bid to squeeze profits and win contracts. Drivers face growing job insecurity as a result of the contract ‘merry-go-round’ and a ‘beat the clock’ culture has flourished with drivers forced to meet ever shorter delivery deadlines.”

“This is not about pay – this is about ensuring that high safety and training standards are maintained, so that our communities are safe. It is about a simple measure, the creation of an industry-wide bargaining forum. It is about bringing fairness and stability back to an essential national industry.”

Unite Website – 11:00

I was taken by the look when I first saw it on TV.

But the mouthy gobshite who masqueraded as a ‘conductor’ on the 38 today, told me that there were ten buses still in production, and if Brois had his way we’d all be cycling.

Air Con set [...]]]> I was taken by the concept.

I was taken by the look when I first saw it on TV.

But the mouthy gobshite who masqueraded as a ‘conductor’ on the 38 today, told me that there were ten buses still in production, and if Brois had his way we’d all be cycling.

Air Con set to heating all day long? It’s not too bad at the back!

A bit off-message maybe?

Especially in the first month of service.

Yes, he’s wearing his toe protectors, but what about a sense of authority. If I saw this bloke on a bus I’d laugh at him.

Give the clippies their job back, and then give them their uniform.