Introduction

This is my first post on a blog, so I’m going to outline some of the subjects I’ll cover in later posts.
I have spent most of the last 40 years commuting to work. Whenever possible I use public transport, even though this can be challenging in East Kent where I live.
Many people have the benefit of 24 hour public transport, but this area is not that lucky. The trains run from 5 in the morning, until just after midnight, but the bus services are only available for about 12 hours, from 7-7. Sunday is even worse.
In this era of high speed trains, our train service averages around 40mph (65kph), because it stops so often. Rush hour trains make 15-17 stops between Deal and Charing Cross, or Cannon Street.
The press and politicians concentrate on the punctuality and reliability of the train service, but I’m more concerned about the hours I’ve wasted sitting on a hard seat in a draught. I suppose that I should be grateful that I can sit; many people have to stand, because of the overcrowding. I read today that one railway company reacted to this by cutting a service. How is that supposed to improve matters?
I also own a car, which I use as little as possible. I don’t enjoy driving as much as I used to. The roads are crowded with idiots, who think that they drive well, just because they have passed what is laughingly referred to as a driving test. I am not a fan of tests of any sort, passing a test only proves that you were lucky enough to know the answers to the questions posed. In the case of the UK driving test, I firmly believe that this is a political hot potato.
The government knows that it is to easy to pass, but they won’t make it harder because that would lead to delays and complaints. There are therefore too many people with driving licences and most of them insist upon using them at every opportunity.