For Those About to Panic ....

... Cheadle Town beat Norton United 1-0 last night - and if I'd have gone I would have increased the crowd by - errr - one - from 53 to 54.

However I was doing strange taxi-type things as noted in previous blog - and ended up at Man Picc station at a quiet time .. viz ...



...and guess what - my train to Stalybridge (2012) was 5 minutes late - so it's always comforting to know that - even outside the rush-hour (am and pm) - the trains are still sh*te.

Let me expand further - this morning the 0724 once again left Mossley - EARLY - one person was left running onto the platform as we pulled out - and I was not the only person on the train checking timepieces - and coming up with the same answer. These Northern Rail guards were issued with nuclear watches - OK i mean "atomic" watches linked with the mighty "Timepiece Central" at Rugby (with BIG BIG publicity at the time). What's obviously missing is teaching the dozy gits to actually a) tell the time or b) synchronise numbers on watches with actual timetables.

It really beggars belief - when we have Northern Rail throwing money at a new Ticket Office in Mossley - and First Trans-Pennine throwing money at Stalybridge Station (Ticket Office, Waiting Room, Car Park and other useless sh*t) - all we really want is trains - more of them and on time - not late - and especially NOT EARLY - as that's even worse. When oh when oh when will someone in charge - or someone with clout get the message ???

I'm not holding my breath - this country's more interested in other crap (being a Muslim without due care and attention; binge drinking - personal responsibility - sorry no way !! ; banning smoking - and putting pubs out of business (read the story about the pub in Bacup - and more to the point read the Government reply - it's astonishing); speed cameras - easy money; huge profits (gas, elec, fuel) whilst hoiking up prices for us poor punters). Christ - be careful if you've got two mobile phones - you'll probably get shot.

We're being sh*t on from all sides really - so all I can do (this week anyway) is to reduce the train price from Mossley to Wakefield from £11-10 to £9-70 by shopping around - just hope we don't get a cut-price performance on Saturday from the football team.Oh I I like wind farms - and unlike David Bellamy - I live round here. I could go on - let's reopen Woodhead Tunnel; get that Manchester Congestion Charge in place asap (and maybe double it ?).

In 1979/1980 Thatcher's Tories brought about a new vision of self-self-self and rich-rich-rich - Blair began life in 1997 as a "new order" - it all went the same way as they moved further and further to the right - and now in 2008 we find ourselves with a Labour Government and people out there behaving in the same way as people did in 1980 - it scared me then - it scares me now.

Flipping heck - a cheap Thursday evening rant - going off in many tangents - whatever next ....