MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Reports are many are staying away; there is less traffic, and tube travel is down 25%, some peoples journeys to work slashed by 50% it is being reported. But so, so far at least is the hotel and restaurant / hospitality trade.
So it begs some question, did LOCOG / Boris go too far with thier warnings, and will the tax payer still be funding Tube and Bus driver bonus's - and indeed will they still be paid?
What's your view on the topic?
Well, if they're not paid (and I can't remember what the agreement was), I assume Bob will take them out on strike again. And he'd be right to.
Everything here is lovely and we're all having a terrific time. Couldnt be happier to be in London right now.
too busy, not busy enough
too hot, too cold
too dry, too wet
too busy, empty seats
too quiet, too noisy
whatever the BBC want to whinge about, London is a lovely place to be right now. 😀
I'm going to the Globe tomorrow to see Mark Rylance in Richard III.
Cost £5, though I hope it doesnt rain as it doesnt have a roof.
Is it me, or are there police on every other corner...
Is it me, or are there police on every other corner...
Good
And dont blame the cops. Blame the religious cup-cakes that would dearly like to spoil the party.
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[b]You what?![/b]
lots of plastic policeman on the beat and cops in cars/ vans/ motorbikes hanging around street corners
It's great, i've set some PR and KOMs on segments as the roads are so quite.
Tube wise doesn't seem any busier than usual, so I think people are actually staying away 🙂
I’d agree it’s really quiet.
I went to Fortnums for an Ice Cream on Sat just before the Mens Road Race and it was empty..normally on the ground floor it’s rammed to the gills with Tommy Tourist but there was no one in at all (except MrsBouy and I. The Strand had about 50 people on it, ok so that was closed to traffic but still it’s not often you can walk on the road (or cross) at the best of times.
I’ve been coming out of London Bridge the last two days and despite the “Londons gonna be hell, get ahead” shouting from Boris it’s been dead, far quieter than usual and I’d heard it was shut but it’s most definitely open folks.
Ok so the central line last night was rammed, but when isn’t it.
Canary Wharf station only has an entrance from Cabot Sq to funnel Tommy down into the tube and the exit is over by Waitrose..(FYI)
The DLR on Sunday when we went over to the Park was empty and that was 11am.
I’m off to LMNH for supper tonight, I’ll let you know what Spitalfields/Old St/Clerkenwell is like shall I?
Loads of games volunteers everywhere desperate to help any one,
Same with the stewards,
All seems well in London village, in all the times I have visited I don't think I've ever seen so many smiling people
Maybe they put something in the water 😉
not blaming anyone just an observation....lots of bored looking volunteers at Victoria. I do like the message from Boris that there playing at the station.....seems to have kept everyone away.And dont blame the cops
I "work" in Canary Wharf and travel in by train and DLR. Treveling in at the usual time is quieter than usual, however traveling in 2 hours earlier to arrive at work for 7am was rammed with commuters when its usually empty seats everywhere.
A lot of people on the 7 til 3 shift to avoid the rush hour.
August is always lovely in London - ALOT of people go on holidays and the lack of school run means the roads run better.
I think quite a few folk have the fear about the olympics and have stayed away.
I went to Tott.Ct. rd on Saturday after the road race and Oxford st to Camden was like 11 am Sunday morning!
Nothing to do with school / summer holidays at all then?
Its ace, my commute in is far more pleasant than normal, (even for august )
was chatting about it with some other cyclists its amazing how much less stressed we all feel after the ride in!
Stopped at HMV on oxford st last night and it was the emptiest id ever seen it!!
bearing in mind the amount of people that leave london on holidays in august are usually replaced with even more toursists- just doesnt seem the case this year
probably very bad for the economy (wasnt cameron talking about an olympics bounce) but its just peachy afaic
Gideon will have his latest excuse for the Q3 results lined up then.
Does seem quite.
I wandered through Covent Garden on Saturday & the place was empty!
Mind Central Line was fekin mare!
I predict it will be quite busy tomorrow
Very quiet at the moment. My commute in is the same. We have had to re schedule our deliveries to night but are now starting to re think as the roads are so empty!
Variable in my narrow experience.
Monday am was lovely and quiet, train actually ran on time for the first time this year. Monday pm was pretty busy, as was this morning. Tonight will be hell in a handcart as something's on at Wembley (my train goes through there).
much as I hate to link to the telegraph and this journo in particular
[url= http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/janetdaley/100173532/londoners-have-abandoned-their-city/ ]http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/janetdaley/100173532/londoners-have-abandoned-their-city/[/url]
I stopped reading after this:
So the Games have managed to achieve what even Hitler failed to accomplish with the Blitz
Lol @ Brakes - I now have images in my head with Boris as a bumbling Hitler and Seb Coe as his right hand man...
I'm working at the velodrome all this week. Travelled up there this morning from St Pancras on the Javelin which was fine - lots of magenta-clad volunteers chaperoning people along very efficiently.
Came back via Jubilee Line and London Bridge in spite of all the recommendations to avoid London Bridge at all costs. OK, they've closed off access to the station from the underground (you have to go out onto the street then round) but aside from that it was very quiet. Maybe everyone else had actually heeded the warnings and gone elsewhere...
Busy in Westfield Shopping Centre and the Olympic Park as you'd expect but seemed quieter than usual in town.
But so, so far at least is the hotel and restaurant / hospitality trade.
That's because many tourists in general will avoid an Olympics city if they don't plan to attend any of the Olympic events; so they'll go elsewhere or delay their trip for another time. Fairly well established pattern, I believe.
re kimbers post, the 'lympics was supposed to be a trade boost was it not?
And weren't the Tube / Bus bonuses based on "London being busier than usual"?
So we are shelling out on a bunch of pre madonna's who are leaning on thier collective steering devices having a s**** at thier inflated wage slips, whilst some of London's honest family business people will be wondering where their wages have gone.
Put it back public transport drivers, you don't deserve it (overtime and additional hours etc not withstanding).
Or don't we care because we are all having such a jolly time? Remember this ^^ Londoners, when the current council tax freezes suddenly shoot up to pay for er, something..... you ARE all paying these people who held the city to ransom via your taxes.
Oh, I renewed my annual travelcard today. It went up £215 from last year - thats 11%. :-/
Kryton for Mayor? 😉
Its been great getting around town.
But thinks it will get worse when the Olympic finals begin to start
Also don't forget they do have a seating problem
so there are many people not there.
This happened in Vancouver two years ago, there were all these dire warnings then traffic was quieter than usual most places I went during the games. A lot of people were either avoiding the busy areas/times, or had taken vacation so rush hour traffic was much reduced.
It's great, I get to work in a regional office nearer to home, get up later and claim my petrol.
Ideally I'd work from home but none of our managers trust us to, even though my manager does when it suits her.
so I think people are actually staying away
That's because many tourists in general will avoid an Olympics city if they don't plan to attend any of the Olympic events; so they'll go elsewhere or delay their trip for another time. Fairly well established pattern, I believe.
I don't think people will have necessarily have deliberately chosen to avoid the olympics on principle, but hotels have been asking stupifying room rates for the duration of the olympics, so people like myself who had no thoughts about the games whatsover but had reasons to go to london anyway around this time have had to cancel travel our plans. Wasn't prepared to pay over £300 per night for a room in the battersea travelodge, which is what they were asking for rooms this week back in April. I'm sure rooms can be had for a song now, but its too late.
So while the hotel trade are grumbling its their own greed that they fallen victim to.
This happened in Vancouver two years ago, there were all these dire warnings then traffic was quieter than usual most places I went during the games. A lot of people were either avoiding the busy areas/times, or had taken vacation so rush hour traffic was much reduced.
So the dire warnings did the trick then! 🙂
I've been avoiding my usual London Bridge route to work because of the warnings and going in via Victoria instead. Generally pretty chilled, doesn't seem any worse than usual. If anything it seems less frantic.
May get busier as we get closer to the finals and big events of course
I caught a news item earlier today that suggested that all the hoteliers who trebled/quadrupled/whatever ed their prices for these two weeks are deserted. Gutted for them.
@ kryton - you may need to sort your spelling if you want to be mayor!
pre madonna - people who came along before madonna?
prima donna - "first lady" ie big show off
😀
We decided last night to take advantage of the cut price hotels and are off to that there London this weekend. 75% saving on a bog standard hotel family room for this Friday and Saturday night. Bargain.
Makes you realise how busy this place is normally.
So all the regular tourists are not here, replaced by it seems less Olympic visitors.
But traffic wise, remember schools are out and that makes a huge difference for commuters who are driving. My 15 mile car journey from wimbledon to heathrow decreases by about 30% in holiday times. Luckily I usually cycle.
Well folks as I said earlier..Old St and Clerkenwell area was just normally busy, LMNH was ok though I suspect today will be busier since it's Time Trial day and all.
London Bridge Station is back open again except the shops but all barriers were open.
Cycling through the west end was quieter last fri/sat/sun than I have known it for several months.
Up to a week before the 'lympics the Premier Inn website was giving all rooms in London at £199 a night, presumably in the hope that some visitors would be stupid enough to book at that price. Courier companies were warning about extra charges for London delivery and I'm sure loads of other people were rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of lots of extra profits so if London is empty it serves them all right.
We went down by train from Manchester for the men's road race and were very impressed at how smoothly everything went. Finished with an outstanding meal at Maroush on Edgware Road and went home contented.
...and not just London. I'm told that Weymouth is 'comin like a ghost town... as a result of the games. Do you remember when it was announced we'd first been lumbered with them how the local traders' organisations were almost wetting themselves with excitement?
MrsBuoy went to (Greenwich) market to buy supplies and said most of the traders were grumbling like stropy kids cos all Limpic tourists are being kettled into and out of the arena, she says its difficult for them to actually see any of the town. T'was dead she said....
We couldn't get into the 'lympic village but someone told us that John Lewis in the Westfield mall had a viewing gallery. So we trotted up there only to find it rammed with people and a lot of space taken up with piles of tacky Olympic souvenirs, JL management were standing around looking anxious as the Public flooded through without stopping to buy.
bregante - where would i find these bargains please?