Roundabout Way

[dotinthesky]

Mile End Tube station was closed this morning, with firetrucks and ambulances parked outside its entrance. Two underground staff members fended off people's questions, who typically tried to get into the station even though it was bleeping obvious it was closed. My immediate reaction, naturally, was to think "terrorist attack"; I called Kevin, who was still at home, and a few minutes later he let me know someone was under a train.

They really need to sort out the platforms on that station; it has been an accident waiting to happen (and, in fact, not too long ago someone did get pushed in front of a train). The problem is the Central line: too many people want to get on it, and the problem is exacerbated when the District line arrives and people from that train rush towards the other. If you are standing first in line, you suddenly feel the crowd pushing and pressing against you as the train arrives. However, maybe someone did jump in front of a train. Who knows.

I had to take a bus to Canary Wharf and join the Jubilee line there. I sat beside three children - two boys and a girl - who spent the whole time describing in graphic detail the pros and cons of pooing inside bowls and cups. They were having the time of their lives.

Comments

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I just avoid the central line nowadays. I'd rather leave home a bit earlier and take the District instead of fighting people in the Central line. That level of pushing and shoving just gets your day off to a bad start.

[iejw.livejournal.com]

Did you leave about 8:15? I heard the stair door slam and thought I might catch whoever it was, but the lift door closed just as I opened mine…

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I've been taking the stairs since my lift broke. I get nervous waiting for the lift on your floor. :-)

[iejw.livejournal.com]

You must be getting good legs!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I only use them to go downstairs, so no, my legs are still scrawny as ever!

[iejw.livejournal.com]

Oh. That’s cheating… I was nearly impressed!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

By the way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if the other elevator died as well and we had to use the stairs for coming and going.

[fj.livejournal.com]

And I thought I had a problem in Düsseldorf with my 6th floor walk-up...

[iejw.livejournal.com]

That has happened before. I seem to remember I wasn’t terribly amused.

[desayuno-ingles.livejournal.com]

Oh c'mon, you can do it! Within a few weeks you'll be totally used to it.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I should take up the challenge; I really want big, football-player legs!

[desayuno-ingles.livejournal.com]

There you go, best way to go about it. It will take a few more than 4 levels for me to get bigger legs, though. I've been riding my bike nearly every day to work, and they've begun to look real smooooooooth! Muscles starting to define where before I was like, "Hey, nice legs" now my friend said, "Hey, where ya goin' with those gams!?" haha. If I could only give up some fat-filled items I eat and drink, then they'd be super fantastic. Oh well, I like being a little bit fatty, girls should have some curves on 'em.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I work all my muscle groups at the gym but I'm having no luck with the legs. I think I need to put extra work into them but I'm always worried about hurting my lower back (with leg presses etc) after a scoliosis in the past... so biking or staircase climbing might be the way for me to go.

[desayuno-ingles.livejournal.com]

Errr...scoliosis doesn't just go away. It's a 2nd degree bony deformity. You won't hurt your lower back with leg presses if you do them correctly and don't overload. You're more likely to overtire it with biking than leg presses.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Yup, I do my leg presses very carefully and I never push myself, which is why I think I'm not getting as fast a result as I want. My scoliosis use to really affect me, but then I started swimming, doing stretches and strengthening my lower back, and never had a problem with it again. It does actually feel like I don't have it because it's been about 8 years now since it last hurt.

[desayuno-ingles.livejournal.com]

Awesome! Yeah, my ex-roommate (the nice one) has it, too, but she does a lot of very specific yoga she's learned about, remember she's a yoga instructor? to help her counteract the tendencies of the curves.

[tonight-we-fly.livejournal.com]

I left home for work at 8:20am this morning, checking the TfL website just before leaving (as I always do). It's useful to be forewarned, as if there are delays I can always just catch the Hammersmith & City Line to Farringdon and walk from there instead. The "service update" section of the website said that there were no problems on the Central Line.

I arrived at work at 10am, exactly one hour late (it's a half hour journey). The first thing I did when I got to my desk was to check the TfL website, which again insisted that here were no problems on the Central Line.

Ho ho ho...

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I never remember to check their website or even the radio. I'm usually a zombie leaving the home, and it's really no biggie if I'm half an hour late. Just too bad I have to deal with Mile End Tube station every day.

[kevyn-kronycles.livejournal.com]

For some reason, a large number of people have been jumping in front of our subway trains of late, screwing up service. It's very annoying when that happens.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

And tragic too. :-/

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

If was someone from that psychiatric ward that pushed another person in front of a train some years ago.

[desayuno-ingles.livejournal.com]

Ewwww!!

We have interruptions here fairly regularly by people who jump in front of the trains. I don't want to insinuate it's like, every day, but I hear it's kind of bad.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

It happens fairly frequently here too. Sometimes they announce it too in the trains - "train has stopped because of a passenger up ahead under a train" - which I think is crass and unnecessary.

[desayuno-ingles.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's totally unnecessary!

[fisticuff-s.livejournal.com]

i never cease to be amazed by the number of people fascinated with poo.

[rozallin.livejournal.com]

I'd feel a lot safer if Mile End was refurbished to include the glass doors that you see on the Jubilee Line between Westminster and North Greenwich.

I didn't hear about this morning's incident until I got to Redbridge station. I left home at 9.30am for my 11.45am interview but I ended up getting a minicab to White City from somewhere around Maryland, which was as far west from Ilford as I'd managed to get in 90 minutes and I ended up being late for my interview, although I was able to phone in advance. :(

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I'd feel a lot safer if Mile End was refurbished to include the glass doors that you see on the Jubilee Line between Westminster and North Greenwich.

That's what I was thinking too. It would really improve the station.

[amberholic.livejournal.com]

I just saw this on the Richard & Judy show and it made me think of your post:



At least they don't have staff doing that at Mile End (or anywhere on the tube here).

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Christ almighty!

[amberholic.livejournal.com]

I know! It's like they're sending them to concentration camps or something.

[rag-and-bone.livejournal.com]

at least the children provided some comic relief. my god. i hate stories like that.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the kids were very cute, in a gross kinda way. ;-)