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chaletianWhen backed into a corner, I will concede that London's public transport system is actually pretty damn good. I mean, the Jubilee Line is more addicted to "signal failure" than I am to my hair, and South West Trains WILL ONE DAY BURN IN A HELL OF THEIR OWN MAKING, and I am still unclear on why it's going to take THREE YEARS to refurbish Blackfriars station, and the reason for the Hammersmith & Shitty Line always having to wait at Edgware Road station for about half an hour remains one of life's great mysteries, but other than that, it's not too bad.
Except, of course, when the RMT decides to strike. Because from now till Friday morning, London is going to be like some hellish medieval Hieronymus Bosch nightmare with people clawing at bus doors, desperate to get on, while City men hurl their own mothers out of taxis, twenty-three cyclists are mown down out of sheer jealousy over their independent transport, and the traffic grinds to a sullen and depressing halt.
I don't really know how I feel about "the unions" generally: I am too young to have been aware of their heyday. In history lessons, they always seem like a fairly good idea: protecting the voiceless workers from the capitalist scum breaking their backs in return for a few shillings. A few years ago, I seem to recall there was a strike on the Victoria Line over safety concerns. I can understand that. That, I said to myself at the time, with a philosophical shrug, is fair enough.
In the current instance, RMT is asking for (according to BBC News) a 5% salary rise and a guarantee of no forced redundancies. FUCK RIGHT OFF, RMT! NO-ONE'S GOT THAT! JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE POWER TO FREEZE THE BACKBONE OF OUR TRANSPORT SYSTEM DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD FUCKING GET WHAT YOU WANT! YOU SUCK!
Also, I bought tickets for the Bad Film Club at the Barbican tomorrow, entirely forgetting that it means we have to get right across London in the middle of the night with no tube. Rah.
Except, of course, when the RMT decides to strike. Because from now till Friday morning, London is going to be like some hellish medieval Hieronymus Bosch nightmare with people clawing at bus doors, desperate to get on, while City men hurl their own mothers out of taxis, twenty-three cyclists are mown down out of sheer jealousy over their independent transport, and the traffic grinds to a sullen and depressing halt.
I don't really know how I feel about "the unions" generally: I am too young to have been aware of their heyday. In history lessons, they always seem like a fairly good idea: protecting the voiceless workers from the capitalist scum breaking their backs in return for a few shillings. A few years ago, I seem to recall there was a strike on the Victoria Line over safety concerns. I can understand that. That, I said to myself at the time, with a philosophical shrug, is fair enough.
In the current instance, RMT is asking for (according to BBC News) a 5% salary rise and a guarantee of no forced redundancies. FUCK RIGHT OFF, RMT! NO-ONE'S GOT THAT! JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE POWER TO FREEZE THE BACKBONE OF OUR TRANSPORT SYSTEM DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD FUCKING GET WHAT YOU WANT! YOU SUCK!
Also, I bought tickets for the Bad Film Club at the Barbican tomorrow, entirely forgetting that it means we have to get right across London in the middle of the night with no tube. Rah.
