Michael Hunter

A day off, and, of course, this means time to prepare a Lady Gaga banana for the kids packed lunch

@Nick_Metcalfe Ye Gods. I wish it was still on Wednesdays and watched surreptitiously in bettting shops by lord of the manor and larrikin alike. There was something very special about sidling out of the office to catch what was otherwisea society event.

@MJJHunter It’s racing that often stuns me. The 247th Derby is on the way.

There’s a great tradition of managers being told when their team has won the league title. Memories of, ‘Excuse me Mr Ferguson, you are the champions,’ on the golf course.

@Nick_Metcalfe Golf up and running way before the earliest known battles of the pig’s bladders it turns out

@MJJHunter That’s mean. Double the hurt when it comes from a mate.

@Se_Railway Many thanks — and that genuinely will help. And there is a clear sense of a genuine effort to do better and restored pride for staff to ne railway people. It is good to see that back. But wr need more hands-on reaction to get a grip on this vital detail

@MJJHunter Hi Michael . I understand your frustration . I am , however in a control centre at a different location. So would be unaware of this unless notified otherwise . Now you have notified us i will try to reach the station manager who would be the one to fault these issues out ^TB

. @Se_Railway These obvious problems are making the others running worse and deepening frustration. They also seem relatiey easy to manage (more actually useful station annos) and plain common sense at the barrier. A relatively small amount of empathy for customers would help.

@Se_Railway No. Too busy and too tricky. And a fractious atmosphere. On train staff are characteristically sympathetic and helpful. And we are now moving. But please, open the barriers when there is a build up under such circumstances.

@MJJHunter Hi Michael . Thank you for letting us know . Have you spoken to staff at the actual station about this ? ^TB

. @se_railway Are you aware at least two of the gates by platforms one and two are not working? For barcodes or paper tickets? Compounding delays with access problems to the platforms. And an unnanounced fault with the lower portion of one of the main dot matix signs is out

. @Se_Railway These info scree faiurs mean that at a time of unusual trai movements, the main means of clarity at your flagship London terminus is actively misleading thousands of passengers. As is the left hand “fastest train” dot matrix, which is flashing unreadably.

. @Se_Railway Greetings from a fraught VIC. It’s understandable things go wrong and when they do your staff are more affected even than passengers. But amid long delays, you really need to open ticket barriers so people can get on trains that are runnning.

@fugitiveink Oooh had not seen those. Next door at St Pancras there are similar ones for John Betjeman. “Impriosoned in a cage of sound, even the trivial seems profound”

I wonder whose idea it was to put these rather elegantly carved lines from Larkin on the wall at King’s Cross railway station? Well, I’m glad they did.

Beckenham, day 3 summary: NO PLAY. Kent 523. Durham 173-5. There was no play on day 3 of Kent’s Championship game against Durham at Beckenham. It was sunny most of the day, and dry all day with a bit of wind, but that wasn’t sufficient to dry out a damp patch on the pitch at the Northern End/City End, which was where bowlers would follow though on their run-ups. For the safety of the bowlers, the umpires weren’t able to let play begin. The umpires inspected every hour, but conditions didn’t improve enough and play was called off for the day following the 4pm inspection. Adam Hollioake explained: “It was wet. We’ve got the dome covers that get wheeled onto the main pitch, then sheet covers across the rest of the square and the bowlers’ run-ups. One of the covers has split, the water that was pooled on the covers has run onto the pitch and been concentrated in one area, which is quite a dangerous part of the pitch. Of concern to the umpires was the follow through for bowlers at that end. It’s the first stride after bowling, and if someone slips on that, which is quite likely, you are dealing with injuries, and the last thing anyone wants to see is someone getting injured.” Hollioake added: “It’s really frustrating, not just for us but all the spectators. The irony is that when we were at Durham first game of the season, they were on top, and then we had a similar cover leak.” Unfortunately it’s a bad look for Beckenham. As previous chairman Simon Philip frequently used to tell members, we’re a members’ club and so we’re guided by members in what we do. I don’t know many members who were looking forward to a 4 day game at Beckenham in May. If it rains, there is no shelter for spectators. If it’s boiling hot, there is a problem for spectators with little or no shade. As it is, we’ve had no rain between 11am and 6pm on the first 3 days, and it’s not been boiling hot. We’ve been very lucky basically. The pitch is good, and Kent had played superbly to get into a great position in the game. So the optics of today’s frustration is bad and members are not happy. Crowds have been low: 500 on day 1 (excluding the schoolkids), 750 on day 2, 300 on day 3. Takings have been low at the food outlets and the club shop, that has been obvious to see. I will be surprised if we return for a Championship game anytime soon. That said, a One Day 50 over game or two, perhaps on Sundays, seems to work well. Let’s hope we get plenty of play on day 4, that Kent can pick up two more bowling points, and maybe even put some real pressure on Durham by forcing them to follow on.

@legsidelizzy So it was a gap in the sheet covers. Poor show.

Perfect weather but Ben Stokes denied day’s play by gap in sheet covers thetimes.com/article/2b8da7…

@TLRailUK @Se_Railway And you — many thanks again

@MJJHunter @Se_Railway Totally understood and completely valid! Feedback like this also helps with future operations and hopefully it will work smoother next time! 🤞🏼 Have a lovely evening Michael 😊 ^Liv

. @Se_Railway Quick question again: please can you confirm rail replacement buses for Swanley are running from Beckenham Junction? Only ones for Orpingtin have called here in the last hour despite listings for Swanley on the concourse. There are confused passengers and no staff

@TLRailUK @Se_Railway Many thanks — and it was just a marginal operational problem. We just needed the info on the ground, that’s all. It was actually working quite well !

@MJJHunter @Se_Railway Thank you for the additional information Michael, I will pass this on to our bus suppliers so that this can be relayed to the bus co-ordinators. We are really sorry for the frustration caused by this. ^Liv

Write up here of County cricket’s driest ever washout

@TLRailUK @Se_Railway Thanks Wiktor. The red buses to Orpington were on time. The other ones to Swanley, some white some yellow, were not, at least between 1600 and 1700. That was the source of the confusion. And the red buses supervisor, from a different firm to the Swanley run, had no info on it

@MJJHunter @Se_Railway Our supplier has advised there are no reported issues and every scheduled bus is running with no cancellations. I have asked if there are any noticeable delays to let me know. ^Wiktor

@davidyelland @peterjukes Tombs a very serious character and well-informed commentator there, though otherwise the point remains

@TLRailUK @Se_Railway Many thanks — the delays are not top bad, it’s just causing a bit of confusion at the bus stop

Ah apologies, I've misread your original query. We have dedicated bus controllers at Swanley, Bromley South and Herne Hill. At other stations there are station staff available, and we have customer information posters, screens and announcements to keep passengers informed. We've not been advised of any issues on the route that would lead to late running but I will check in with our suppliers now. ^Wiktor

Glimpsed from the rail replacement bus window, and the only play seen today, alas