I realise I have recently been what could almost be termed "optimistic" on this blog recently. However, I understand that this is not what is expected of me, so today I will endeavour to rant:
London bus drivers are, I have decided, the absolute lowest of the scum of London, so please view this as my tribute to those wankers. I apologise to the two or three drivers on the 24 route who are exempt from this. In fact, this post is dedicated specifically to 168 drivers, who have in my opinion ascended to new heights of tosserdom in recent weeks. Camden Council, in its infinite wisdom, and because it has money it hasn't managed to spend yet from our extortionate council taxes, have decided to close my bus stop and surround it with large holes and big red signs telling me not to fall into them. This has been going on for three weeks, which means I have to go (invariably this means "run") to the next bus stop, which involves crossing several roads en route. This morning I saw a 168 coming and managed to get there about 10 seconds after it did, and as it's doors were closing. I stood by the door and wave my card. The driver shook his head at me, closed the doors and drove off. Yes, it wasn't that he didn't see me, he actively chose to leave someone who had got to the bus stop in time for the bus stay, in the rain, at the bus stop for another 10 minutes. All I can say is I hope someone bombs your goddamn bus and you have to be identified by your dental records.
[And breathe...]
There is a long history to this, by the way. I'm not merely being vitriolic for fun. Well, not entirely. The 168 is renowned for not bothering to stop at busstops when you've rung the bell, ignoring you when you're trying to flag it down (this has happened to me three times) overcrowding the bottom deck and being particularly anal about the "buy before you board" rules (which other buses aren't). Then there was the experience I had when one driver claimed there was no money on my ticket. When I said I'd put some on that morning he replied "Oh, that's why it doesn't work, is it?" (ooh, well done, I can see that customer service training came in handy.) Almost a year later, if I saw him at the side of the road having, say, a heart attack, I would stop and have a good laugh before thinking long and hard about whether I could be arsed to get help.
I hate people.
Anyway, the upshot is that I was a whole 5 minutes later for work. As it happens this doesn't matter: it is now 9.30 and none of my colleagues have bothered to show up yet. (My boss is away this week, so maybe that's why.)
The only other news I have is that the Oldham Coliseum sent me the most damning critique I've ever had, calling "Graffiti" "banal", my characters "shallow", the dialogue "stilted" and saying "there did not seem to be any point to this play." After that tirade, the last paragraph began "I do not want to put you off writing plays" (you could've fooled me) and (get this) "with practice you may be able to produce good plays in the future." I should put them in touch with Hampstead. What's interesting about this sort of thing, though, is that I have sent the same play to three other theatres, all of whom said the dialogue and characters were good (Soho said "endearing", which is perhaps going a bit far) but criticised various other aspects of it. I think this is why I'll never be any good at theatre stuff - it's too damn subjective.
Have a good day :-)
London bus drivers are, I have decided, the absolute lowest of the scum of London, so please view this as my tribute to those wankers. I apologise to the two or three drivers on the 24 route who are exempt from this. In fact, this post is dedicated specifically to 168 drivers, who have in my opinion ascended to new heights of tosserdom in recent weeks. Camden Council, in its infinite wisdom, and because it has money it hasn't managed to spend yet from our extortionate council taxes, have decided to close my bus stop and surround it with large holes and big red signs telling me not to fall into them. This has been going on for three weeks, which means I have to go (invariably this means "run") to the next bus stop, which involves crossing several roads en route. This morning I saw a 168 coming and managed to get there about 10 seconds after it did, and as it's doors were closing. I stood by the door and wave my card. The driver shook his head at me, closed the doors and drove off. Yes, it wasn't that he didn't see me, he actively chose to leave someone who had got to the bus stop in time for the bus stay, in the rain, at the bus stop for another 10 minutes. All I can say is I hope someone bombs your goddamn bus and you have to be identified by your dental records.
[And breathe...]
There is a long history to this, by the way. I'm not merely being vitriolic for fun. Well, not entirely. The 168 is renowned for not bothering to stop at busstops when you've rung the bell, ignoring you when you're trying to flag it down (this has happened to me three times) overcrowding the bottom deck and being particularly anal about the "buy before you board" rules (which other buses aren't). Then there was the experience I had when one driver claimed there was no money on my ticket. When I said I'd put some on that morning he replied "Oh, that's why it doesn't work, is it?" (ooh, well done, I can see that customer service training came in handy.) Almost a year later, if I saw him at the side of the road having, say, a heart attack, I would stop and have a good laugh before thinking long and hard about whether I could be arsed to get help.
I hate people.
Anyway, the upshot is that I was a whole 5 minutes later for work. As it happens this doesn't matter: it is now 9.30 and none of my colleagues have bothered to show up yet. (My boss is away this week, so maybe that's why.)
The only other news I have is that the Oldham Coliseum sent me the most damning critique I've ever had, calling "Graffiti" "banal", my characters "shallow", the dialogue "stilted" and saying "there did not seem to be any point to this play." After that tirade, the last paragraph began "I do not want to put you off writing plays" (you could've fooled me) and (get this) "with practice you may be able to produce good plays in the future." I should put them in touch with Hampstead. What's interesting about this sort of thing, though, is that I have sent the same play to three other theatres, all of whom said the dialogue and characters were good (Soho said "endearing", which is perhaps going a bit far) but criticised various other aspects of it. I think this is why I'll never be any good at theatre stuff - it's too damn subjective.
Have a good day :-)
posted by RLS at 9:14 am
2 Comments:
It's those fucking northeners.
Bastards the lot of them.
I have come to the conclusions that Oldham Coliseum are tossers, not solely on the basis of the review.
Firstly, the can't spell Colosseum.
Secondly, they go through staff like nobody's business. There are technical jobs advertised there on almost a weekly basis. Now obviously, I may have to work there in future, so I must keep my identity secret, but how can tehy be hiring that many staff if there current staff aren't either leaving or getting fired.
Thirdly, their Northern. nuff said.
Oi! I'm Northern! (By an accident of birth.)
Talking of jobs, the job I quit at LSE is being advertised for the fifth time since I left! Now why has nobody stopped to ask why??
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