Welcome to my Friday Rants from the Soapbox in my Living room. I’m also linking up with MummyBarrow for her Ranty Friday. Feel free to join in, a good rant on a Friday is therapeutic!
I have 3 rants this week.
Rant number 1:
Dear TFL, London United Buses, Highway Maintenance and the Gas works people…
Thank you once again for messing up my travel plans and causing inconvenience.
On Monday night of this week, due to what seems to be a complete lack of organisation and communication between yourselves, and the general public, at 8pm, all buses going to Ham and Kingston from Richmond simply stopped running. A large number of people were left stranded at various points along the way, because no buses arrived, and apparently someone decided that the road works in Richmond, the Gas works being carried out in Ham and Kingston were causing a problem, and stopping the buses and leaving us all to either walk home or pay a fortune for a taxi fare was a much better option. The TFL website and help line had no information on what was going on, we waited for nearly an hour in the pouring rain, before giving up and making our own way home. I actually waited at a bus stop, with a very frail old lady, who hadn’t got enough money for the outrageous taxi fare home, and who was worried about how she would make it. She wasn’t able to walk that far. Her daughter braved the traffic and came and fetched her, thankfully. I also met an older couple were very concerned about myself and another lady walking home, in the dark and rain, and insisted on coming with us, on the 2 mile walk, and seeing us safely to our doors. There are nice people left in the world!
I have sent a stroppy complaint e-mail to the various parties involved in the transport fiasco of Monday, not surprisingly, I haven’t heard back. Why it’s acceptable to just stop buses with no notice, and not give anyone information, I don’t know. The poor planning on behalf of the other organisations involved, which has caused traffic chaos and delays, for days, is also not surprising either.
Rant number 2:
Dear mother of child on bus, travelling next to me and my 2-year-old, also on Monday (this week has not been a good week for me and buses) Your child had a torch, which was very bright, she clearly thought it was a fun toy, and that’s fine, my son likes torches too. He doesn’t however like being bashed by the torch, nor does he enjoy having it shined in his eyes, which she kept doing, despite him protesting, and when I asked your child (who was probably 4, so much older) to stop, by simply saying “sweetie, please don’t shine that in his eyes, he doesn’t like it, it hurts” I wasn’t being horrible, nor was I picking on your child. You cursing at me both in English and your own language, was pointless and rude. I don’t think you expected me to be able to understand you, and I think you got a shock when I gave you just as good back, in both. Maybe you were having a bad day, maybe you don’t like people talking to your kids, but your child was making mine distressed, we were on a crowded bus, I couldn’t move him, and you didn’t seem to be bothered. I try desperately not to judge other people and their parenting, we are all doing our best, but if my kid is being upset by someone else’s child and that parent isn’t going to stop them, you can bet I’m going to say something.
Rant number 3:
The BBC. I’m seriously considering boycotting it. Not only is their news repetitive, (why does a story need to be rehashed and hammered, like they’re desperate) sometimes banal, pointless, and even stupid, and but with the revelations coming out about Jimmy Saville this week, I’m wondering what the heck we pay our licence fee for? I’m starting to question why we have to pay? All the other tv channels rely on advertising, to pay their costs. Maybe it’s time for the Beeb to come down from its pedestal and for its fees to be taken away? I don’t think it has much to be proud of anymore, and I certainly don’t think we should be paying for it. I can’t be the only person who thinks this? With so many TV channels producing good tv, and most of us paying for Cable or Satellite as well as the licence fee, maybe the system needs to be reviewed?
Those are my rants for the week. Feel free to join in, or link up with MummyBarrow
Have a good weekend.
Loving your rant!!! And on point number 3 can we also ban Channel 4 showing Come Dine with Me? I am all for a bit of Lamby sarcasm in the afternoon but 130 of them in one week?
Your poor boy, I’d have said something, too. I can’t have torches shining near my eyes because it can affect my epilepsy so I don’t take any shit when it comes to ignorant people doing stupid things that might affect me or mine in any way. Good on you for speaking up. And shame on that woman for being such a cow.
And as for the BBC, I agree 100%. They are ripping people off, always have done.
CJ x
I’m growing even more anti the BBC by the day, as I hear more about Jimmy Saville and what went on! Horrible.
I don’t like telling other people’s kids off, but if they’re hurting mine, or the parent’s aren’t doing anything pro-active to help, then you can bet I will say something!
I am SO with you on rant No. 2, cross me and you might get away with it, cross my children and I have a tendency to go a bit mother lion!!