Maybe. But if you're lucky you'd get a guy with a sense of humour.
Also, the stations should be closed due to overcrowding.
Also, the stations should be closed due to overcrowding.
Like it Gaz, good work!
In other news:
Two escalators including the one at the end of the sky walk on Tooley Street are out of order until after the Olympics.
In other news:
Two escalators including the one at the end of the sky walk on Tooley Street are out of order until after the Olympics.
Actually, you could change the Free Parking to a Westfield logo, with it saying NO PARKING instead. They clsoed the carparks for the huge shopping centre a few weeks ago and they won't reopen until september.
Also, was this idea prompted by this, or entirely coincidental?
Also, was this idea prompted by this, or entirely coincidental?
Interesting.
Craster wrote:
Interesting.
Oh, my!
HAHA!
Is that real...? Pfft.
I suppose the pavement's always an option (Occifer).
I suppose the pavement's always an option (Occifer).
I imagine they'll remove the bus lane when they activate the games lane, but it makes for an amusing picture.
Craster wrote:
Interesting.
Apparently they released a statement shortly after the first photo of that came out saying that the bus lane would be painted over but they just haven't got around to it yet.
Begs the question as to why they don't just use the bus lanes as Olympic lanes where they have them, though.
GazChap wrote:
Begs the question as to why they don't just use the bus lanes as Olympic lanes where they have them, though.
Depends on the direction you have to turn off that road to get to the stadium, doesn't it?
They're using the outside lane as the games lane as a matter of course. Probably to avoid people parking on the inside lane - though that would suggest that anyone overtaking a parked car would have to stray into the games lane.
Craster wrote:
They're using the outside lane as the games lane as a matter of course. Probably to avoid people parking on the inside lane - though that would suggest that anyone overtaking a parked car would have to stray into the games lane.
Which is punishable! Though not as severe as having to crush yourself into nothingness as per the road markings in that picture.
Grim... wrote:
GazChap wrote:
Begs the question as to why they don't just use the bus lanes as Olympic lanes where they have them, though.
Depends on the direction you have to turn off that road to get to the stadium, doesn't it?
I think most games lanes are on the offside, but some are on the nearside. From what I remember reading, cyclists are allowed to use the nearside ones but not the offside ones.
MaliA wrote:
Craster wrote:
Interesting.
Oh, my!
Thats not the best photo either. If you step back, there are merge left and merge right arrows pointing towards each other.
metalangel wrote:
London is cold wet and unpleasant says Chinese hurdler, who fucks off to Germany to train.
Thorough understanding of the need to acclimatise to the local conditions there. Idiot.Either that or we could've just paid everyones flights and not bothered with the Village and hotels.
I walk past there everyday, I'll check on my way home. ApplePieOfDestiny wrote:
Thats not the best photo either. If you step back, there are merge left and merge right arrows pointing towards each other.
Everyone's a critic.
huh I should have stuck with running.
Unfortunate shape for the bottle in an advert I just saw on that page:
Craster wrote:
ApplePieOfDestiny wrote:
Thats not the best photo either. If you step back, there are merge left and merge right arrows pointing towards each other.
Everyone's a critic.
Kinell. That's the biggest zip I've ever seen.
GazChap wrote:
Unfortunate shape for the bottle in an advert I just saw on that page:
MaliA wrote:
huh I should have stuck with running.
I know a girl that was there. And that's basically the story she told - everyone was fucking everyone.
Apparently a big joke was one of the US long-distance runners popped his cork within a minute or two with more than one of the nice ladies
Craster wrote:
ApplePieOfDestiny wrote:
Thats not the best photo either. If you step back, there are merge left and merge right arrows pointing towards each other.
Everyone's a critic.
The left hand arrow has been painted over now, but even with the huge sign saying the games lane is open to all traffic, most people are using the bus lane. I expect there will be a few interesting conversations when the fines come through.
Olympic visitor's guide to Britain, anyone?
Typical British family:
Public telephone:
Modern rail service:
Waste receptacle:
Public toilet:
Taxi:
Typical British family:
Public telephone:
Modern rail service:
Waste receptacle:
Public toilet:
Taxi:
Interestingly, the sloped lower faces of the window panes in telephone boxes are desigend that way to allow urine to drain out. And there were something like 27 different varieties of call box in the mid 1990s.
Grim... wrote:
Apparently a big joke was one of the US long-distance runners popped his cork within a minute or two with more than one of the nice ladies
Going for his personal best in everything. A true champion.
Zardoz wrote:
Grim... wrote:
Apparently a big joke was one of the US long-distance runners popped his cork within a minute or two with more than one of the nice ladies
Going for his personal best in everything. A true champion.
Practicing his sprint finish.
MaliA wrote:
Interestingly
Citation needed.
Glad the stupid DLR has started its stupid Olympic timetable two weeks early, so we can stare at empty trains that only go as far as Greenwich. Thanks, wankers.
Better to get the Greenwich one and change than deal with the armpit hell of the following lewisham one the whole way.
Possibly another 2000 troops required to cover for G4
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/1 ... -shortfall
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/1 ... -shortfall
Quote:
Olympics security: MoD prepares to call up 2,000 more troops for G4S shortfall
Ministry of Defence makes urgent plans to mobilise up to 2,000 more troops if security firm cannot deliver target of 7,000 staff
The Ministry of Defence is urgently making preparations to call up as many as 2,000 more troops for Olympic security if G4S fails to deliver on its revised target of 7,000 staff in place by next week's opening ceremony, Whitehall sources say.
Fresh urgency was injected into the contingency preparations after defence officials started working with G4S in the last few days and gained a better understanding of the problems facing . Whitehall sources told the Guardian the contingency involved the possibility of calling up between 500 and 2,000 more troops.
The home secretary, Theresa May, who only last Wednesday authorised the call-up of 3,500 extra troops to bail out the private security company, has not made any further official request for troops and is working to avoid exactly that situation.
The chief executive of the London 2012 organisers, Paul Deighton, in effect took control of the G4S operation on Tuesday alongside senior Home Office officials, working through venue security rotas "line by line" in a desperate attempt to avoid the embarrassment of a fresh call-up.
This effort came as the G4S chief executive, Nick Buckles, admitted to MPs he couldn't guarantee to provide 7,000 trained and screened security guards by next Friday. Buckles has a list of 5,500 ready-to-deploy guards and is adding to them at a rate of 500 a day, but astonished MPs by telling them that even at this late stage he couldn't predict the scale of "no-shows" until recruits failed to respond to an email.
If G4S reaches its 7,000 target, the MoD will not be called upon again. "But it is a big if," said a Whitehall source. "The military would prefer the Home Office to make the decision on whether to provide more military personnel sooner rather than later." Commanders have asked for a "decision point" – a moment this week when ministers look at the actual number of security guards being provided by G4S, and mobilise the MoD to fill in the gaps. Though leaving the decision until next week will give G4S more time, it is a high-risk strategy that will make deploying more troops more difficult, the source said.
Sports minister Hugh Robertson admitted that there was a chance further troops would be required, and said there was no way of knowing how many G4S staff would turn up to work. "We're not absolutely sure of either of those two things. There is enough slack in the system to deal with some slippage either way. Nothing is certain, we keep it under constant review. We're confident that having had a problem presented to us last Wednesday, we've taken all the action we need to address that and build a bit of slack into the system."
Lord Coe, London 2012 organising committee chairman, again insisted that security would not be compromised. "My responsibility is to make sure that we get a Games that is safe and secure. We will do that, and it is to make sure that our teams, the Home Office and the military sit alongside G4S and mobilise and deploy exactly who we need to," he said.
An MoD spokesman said: "As the defence secretary made clear at the weekend, should there be a requirement for additional military personnel the MoD will do whatever possible to make them available. At the present time no further requests have been received but, as people would expect, an ongoing programme of prudent planning continues."
"If you are saying to me would I rather not be here, then the answer to that is of course. It would be ridiculous to say anything other than that. But my task is to deliver that. It was never about numbers, G4S interviewed 100,000 people, but it is about making sure they turn up."
The confidence of MPs at Westminster in the private company's ability to deliver even their revised target of 7,000 security guards drained away during the two-hour grilling of the company's chief executive before the Commons home affairs select committee on Tuesday.
Buckles was forced to agree the episode had been a "humiliating shambles" that had left his company's reputation in tatters. He said he regretted signing the £284m Olympic security contract, which had only been taken on to "boost the company's reputation". The potential £10m profit had turned into a projected £30m-£50m loss and the company had already dropped any hopes of bidding for the security contracts for the next football World Cup, or Olympic Games, which will be held in Brazil.
He to foot the bill for any extra military or policing costs, including funding a £500-a-head bonus for armed forces personnel who have to be brought back from leave, but outraged MPs when he insisted that G4S still planned to keep the £57m "management fee" for the contract despite a woeful performance.
Buckles also defied expectations by insisting there was no question of his immediate resignation: "It's not about me; it's about delivering the contract. I'm the right person to ensure that happens," he said.
Buckles said he was told about the recruitment problems when he was on holiday in the US on 3 July, and flew home the same day. The paper trail submitted to the committee makes clear Home Office ministers and officials, including James Brokenshire, and security supremo Charles Farr, were kept in the loop daily from that point. It was another eight days before the home secretary said the scale of the problem had "crystallised" to the point where it was apparent G4S could not supply its original target of 10,400 guards and she had to call in the extra 3,500 troops.
But Buckles did not blame Home Office officials or ministers, telling MPs that he was "100% responsible" for what had gone wrong.
The verdict from the MPs was damning. The committee chairman, Keith Vaz, said Buckles's evidence had given the impression of a company that was "unacceptable, incompetent and amateurish".
As it was being delivered, the defence secretary, Philip Hammond, confirmed that 2,500 of the additional military personnel are to be housed in an exhibition centre at Wapping in east London. Tobacco Dock is a grade 1-listed, converted 19th-century warehouse. The remaining 1,000 troops are to be housed in temporary accommodation in Hainault, Essex and on military bases.
Ministry of Defence makes urgent plans to mobilise up to 2,000 more troops if security firm cannot deliver target of 7,000 staff
The Ministry of Defence is urgently making preparations to call up as many as 2,000 more troops for Olympic security if G4S fails to deliver on its revised target of 7,000 staff in place by next week's opening ceremony, Whitehall sources say.
Fresh urgency was injected into the contingency preparations after defence officials started working with G4S in the last few days and gained a better understanding of the problems facing . Whitehall sources told the Guardian the contingency involved the possibility of calling up between 500 and 2,000 more troops.
The home secretary, Theresa May, who only last Wednesday authorised the call-up of 3,500 extra troops to bail out the private security company, has not made any further official request for troops and is working to avoid exactly that situation.
The chief executive of the London 2012 organisers, Paul Deighton, in effect took control of the G4S operation on Tuesday alongside senior Home Office officials, working through venue security rotas "line by line" in a desperate attempt to avoid the embarrassment of a fresh call-up.
This effort came as the G4S chief executive, Nick Buckles, admitted to MPs he couldn't guarantee to provide 7,000 trained and screened security guards by next Friday. Buckles has a list of 5,500 ready-to-deploy guards and is adding to them at a rate of 500 a day, but astonished MPs by telling them that even at this late stage he couldn't predict the scale of "no-shows" until recruits failed to respond to an email.
If G4S reaches its 7,000 target, the MoD will not be called upon again. "But it is a big if," said a Whitehall source. "The military would prefer the Home Office to make the decision on whether to provide more military personnel sooner rather than later." Commanders have asked for a "decision point" – a moment this week when ministers look at the actual number of security guards being provided by G4S, and mobilise the MoD to fill in the gaps. Though leaving the decision until next week will give G4S more time, it is a high-risk strategy that will make deploying more troops more difficult, the source said.
Sports minister Hugh Robertson admitted that there was a chance further troops would be required, and said there was no way of knowing how many G4S staff would turn up to work. "We're not absolutely sure of either of those two things. There is enough slack in the system to deal with some slippage either way. Nothing is certain, we keep it under constant review. We're confident that having had a problem presented to us last Wednesday, we've taken all the action we need to address that and build a bit of slack into the system."
Lord Coe, London 2012 organising committee chairman, again insisted that security would not be compromised. "My responsibility is to make sure that we get a Games that is safe and secure. We will do that, and it is to make sure that our teams, the Home Office and the military sit alongside G4S and mobilise and deploy exactly who we need to," he said.
An MoD spokesman said: "As the defence secretary made clear at the weekend, should there be a requirement for additional military personnel the MoD will do whatever possible to make them available. At the present time no further requests have been received but, as people would expect, an ongoing programme of prudent planning continues."
"If you are saying to me would I rather not be here, then the answer to that is of course. It would be ridiculous to say anything other than that. But my task is to deliver that. It was never about numbers, G4S interviewed 100,000 people, but it is about making sure they turn up."
The confidence of MPs at Westminster in the private company's ability to deliver even their revised target of 7,000 security guards drained away during the two-hour grilling of the company's chief executive before the Commons home affairs select committee on Tuesday.
Buckles was forced to agree the episode had been a "humiliating shambles" that had left his company's reputation in tatters. He said he regretted signing the £284m Olympic security contract, which had only been taken on to "boost the company's reputation". The potential £10m profit had turned into a projected £30m-£50m loss and the company had already dropped any hopes of bidding for the security contracts for the next football World Cup, or Olympic Games, which will be held in Brazil.
He to foot the bill for any extra military or policing costs, including funding a £500-a-head bonus for armed forces personnel who have to be brought back from leave, but outraged MPs when he insisted that G4S still planned to keep the £57m "management fee" for the contract despite a woeful performance.
Buckles also defied expectations by insisting there was no question of his immediate resignation: "It's not about me; it's about delivering the contract. I'm the right person to ensure that happens," he said.
Buckles said he was told about the recruitment problems when he was on holiday in the US on 3 July, and flew home the same day. The paper trail submitted to the committee makes clear Home Office ministers and officials, including James Brokenshire, and security supremo Charles Farr, were kept in the loop daily from that point. It was another eight days before the home secretary said the scale of the problem had "crystallised" to the point where it was apparent G4S could not supply its original target of 10,400 guards and she had to call in the extra 3,500 troops.
But Buckles did not blame Home Office officials or ministers, telling MPs that he was "100% responsible" for what had gone wrong.
The verdict from the MPs was damning. The committee chairman, Keith Vaz, said Buckles's evidence had given the impression of a company that was "unacceptable, incompetent and amateurish".
As it was being delivered, the defence secretary, Philip Hammond, confirmed that 2,500 of the additional military personnel are to be housed in an exhibition centre at Wapping in east London. Tobacco Dock is a grade 1-listed, converted 19th-century warehouse. The remaining 1,000 troops are to be housed in temporary accommodation in Hainault, Essex and on military bases.
G4S are too busy neglecting people in their custody to worry about the stupid Olympics.
Watching the news last night, I was interested to learn that many hundreds of thousands of Olympics tickets remain unsold (in fact, up to one million of them, depending on which statistic you look at/believe), despite their already having given hundreds of thousands of 'em away for nowt. Loads of stuff on the web about it, but here's a typical link:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 53201.html
I mean, fuck me. I well remember all the proud boasts about "chock full venues" and the like, but the reality is that they can't give 'em away, even after embarrassingly closing off half the venue capacities and all the rest in a frantic attempt to reduce capacity, mere weeks off the event itself? What a joke - speaks volumes about precisely how much we Brits actually give a fuck; we can't even be arsed to go for free, even when the venue is right on our doorstep. Yeah, I can just see this kind of thing happening with the Football Euro Championships, World Cup, Rugby World Cup, Six Nations, Cricket World Cup etc. if held in the UK - i.e. stuff that we actually do care about and as a consequence, able to stand on their own two feet as events.
Pfft - feckin' Olympics, talk about an expensive white elephant. What an absolute sham/waste of money that we simply don't have. How much better it would have been if we could've added that £15 billion (plus whatever all the London disruption costs the country in lost work-days, probably a similar number again?), to George Osborne's £50 billion Keynesian infrastructural investment to kickstart our ailing economy, that affects everyone. What with this, and the whole G4S fiasco and no doubt much more embarrassment and failure to come.... What a joke.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 53201.html
I mean, fuck me. I well remember all the proud boasts about "chock full venues" and the like, but the reality is that they can't give 'em away, even after embarrassingly closing off half the venue capacities and all the rest in a frantic attempt to reduce capacity, mere weeks off the event itself? What a joke - speaks volumes about precisely how much we Brits actually give a fuck; we can't even be arsed to go for free, even when the venue is right on our doorstep. Yeah, I can just see this kind of thing happening with the Football Euro Championships, World Cup, Rugby World Cup, Six Nations, Cricket World Cup etc. if held in the UK - i.e. stuff that we actually do care about and as a consequence, able to stand on their own two feet as events.
Pfft - feckin' Olympics, talk about an expensive white elephant. What an absolute sham/waste of money that we simply don't have. How much better it would have been if we could've added that £15 billion (plus whatever all the London disruption costs the country in lost work-days, probably a similar number again?), to George Osborne's £50 billion Keynesian infrastructural investment to kickstart our ailing economy, that affects everyone. What with this, and the whole G4S fiasco and no doubt much more embarrassment and failure to come.... What a joke.
1996 Euros weren't sold out by quite a margin, IIRC.
But, yeah. And we weren't able to get tickets for the paracycling. FiL managed to get one by chance as someone wasn't going, so he's got a 'family pass' which, apaprently, also allows him into the irish embassy, somewhat bizarrely.
But, yeah. And we weren't able to get tickets for the paracycling. FiL managed to get one by chance as someone wasn't going, so he's got a 'family pass' which, apaprently, also allows him into the irish embassy, somewhat bizarrely.
I have to say, all the shocked surprise at the G4S stuff really does go to show that the switch from calling themselves Group 4 Security was one of the most successful rebranding exercises I've seen.
MaliA wrote:
1996 Euros weren't sold out by quite a margin, IIRC.
And weren't held in the UK, IIRC.
Craster wrote:
I have to say, all the shocked surprise at the G4S stuff really does go to show that the switch from calling themselves Group 4 Security was one of the most successful rebranding exercises I've seen.
Hahahah
Craster wrote:
I have to say, all the shocked surprise at the G4S stuff really does go to show that the switch from calling themselves Group 4 Security was one of the most successful rebranding exercises I've seen.
Wasn't it Group 4 Securicor?
Grim... wrote:
MaliA wrote:
1996 Euros weren't sold out by quite a margin, IIRC.
And weren't held in the UK, IIRC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_1996
EDIT, although at the weekends, the international cricket is often sold out, isn't it? The county games are often empty.
EDIT2: I've misread Cavey. I think he's saying we don't go and watch stuff. or something.
Okay, something serious has happened in the "sports" section of my brain.
Especially when Mali is involved.
Especially when Mali is involved.
Most of the unsold (and now cancelled) tickets are football which never sells out. Which draws you to the conclusion that A - Football is a shit olympic sport, and B- if it isn't popular they should scrap it.
However, thinking about it, Football is probably the most 'profitable' sport at these olympics. They don't need any new infrastructure, still sell 40,000 tickets for a game, and the impact of not selling out is that they close a tier of the stands that therefore means that they don't need security for that tier, which is helpful, given that there isn't any
It is also a sop to the regions that they get 'some' olympic sports.
I'm interested in the 200,000 tickets that haven't gone on sale yet from the returns from overseas olympics committees. These will sell, and it is really affecting my productivity refreshing the ticket site every ten minutes, as they don't ever announce when they have released new tickets. Currently, there are only about 5 event sessions with available tickets on the Olympic Park over the entire fortnight, and, annoyingly, nothing new coming up for wimbledon.
However, thinking about it, Football is probably the most 'profitable' sport at these olympics. They don't need any new infrastructure, still sell 40,000 tickets for a game, and the impact of not selling out is that they close a tier of the stands that therefore means that they don't need security for that tier, which is helpful, given that there isn't any
It is also a sop to the regions that they get 'some' olympic sports.I'm interested in the 200,000 tickets that haven't gone on sale yet from the returns from overseas olympics committees. These will sell, and it is really affecting my productivity refreshing the ticket site every ten minutes, as they don't ever announce when they have released new tickets. Currently, there are only about 5 event sessions with available tickets on the Olympic Park over the entire fortnight, and, annoyingly, nothing new coming up for wimbledon.
Grim... wrote:
Okay, something serious has happened in the "sports" section of my brain.
Especially when Mali is involved.
Especially when Mali is involved.
I'm in everyone's subconsious at the moment it seems.
Quote:
I can just see this kind of thing happening with the Football Euro Championships, World Cup, Rugby World Cup, Six Nations, Cricket World Cup etc. if held in the UK - i.e. stuff that we actually do care about and as a consequence, able to stand on their own two feet as events.
I'm not sure what you mean, Cavester. Are you saying we won't turn up to these things, or will? or, will the empty spaces at the Olympics impact on the UK's chances of holding such events?
What new event did England get to add to the Olympics?
Looks like women's boxing is the only new event. However, softball and baseball got dropped.
Jesus, looks like they shat a load of new tickets onto the site at midday. At 12:05, there were tickets available to 155 Olympic Park events. At 12:15, this had reduced to 90 events. The biggest effect these games will have on the economy is productivity due to the number of people who are sat at work waiting for tickets to go on sale and then jumping on anything.
Wimbledon came up, and went straight away
Wimbledon came up, and went straight away
Captain Caveman wrote:
Watching the news last night, I was interested to learn that many hundreds of thousands of Olympics tickets remain unsold (in fact, up to one million of them, depending on which statistic you look at/believe), despite their already having given hundreds of thousands of 'em away for nowt. Loads of stuff on the web about it, but here's a typical link:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 53201.html
I mean, fuck me. I well remember all the proud boasts about "chock full venues" and the like, but the reality is that they can't give 'em away, even after embarrassingly closing off half the venue capacities and all the rest in a frantic attempt to reduce capacity, mere weeks off the event itself?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 53201.html
I mean, fuck me. I well remember all the proud boasts about "chock full venues" and the like, but the reality is that they can't give 'em away, even after embarrassingly closing off half the venue capacities and all the rest in a frantic attempt to reduce capacity, mere weeks off the event itself?
Have they given tickets away to the general public? If they had, I didn't hear about it and I would have probably picked up a few in that case
They are reducing capacity because they can't sell them aren't they, not that they can't even give them away.
Don't forget, the Olympics is a business that is about making money, if they could get rid of all that sport crap that comes along with it, I'm sure they would
ApplePieOfDestiny wrote:
Most of the unsold (and now cancelled) tickets are football which never sells out. Which draws you to the conclusion that A - Football is a shit olympic sport, and B- if it isn't popular they should scrap it.
Maybe it would've sold better if they were staging the London Olympics Football in fucking London instead of fucking up hundreds-of-miles-away Manchester as well.The article, earlier wrote:
The chief executive of the London 2012 organisers, Paul Deighton, in effect took control of the G4S operation
This can only be a good thing, right? After all, he's done such a fucking glorious job with the rest of it. BikNorton wrote:
ApplePieOfDestiny wrote:
Most of the unsold (and now cancelled) tickets are football which never sells out. Which draws you to the conclusion that A - Football is a shit olympic sport, and B- if it isn't popular they should scrap it.
Maybe it would've sold better if they were staging the London Olympics Football in fucking London instead of fucking up hundreds-of-miles-away Manchester as well.Don't forget Cardiff. Used to handling big matches but with the added security and exclusion zones there's a whole new layer of hassle and inconvenience.
They should bin all the sports that aren't spectator friendly. Dressage, I'm looking at you, with your complete lack of action, and arbitrary winners and losers.
