Elections

After the last two weeks of political scandal over expense claims, the European elections in a couple of weeks are promising to be interesting. Labour is doing disastrously in the polls (17 percent), but other major parties have sunk dramatically as well.
Minor parties are placed to do very well, including the fabulously wacky folks at the UK Independence Party. If they gain as many votes as suggested, we can look forward to whole plane loads of MEPs heading over to the mainland to tell those Europeans to take their laws and stick them. And once the Conservatives win the national elections next year they say they will hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty. And all this should prove, once and for all, that Europe is a very, very, very long way away from here.

Trains

I went to Colchester last week for a workshop at the University of Essex. The workshop was interesting, but the train journeys were something else. I don't know what the prices for train travel were like here before privatisation, but the current prices are eye-wateringly expensive.

Colchester is an hour north of London, in Essex, near the sea. It is pretty much a commuter town for London workers, and several trains go every hour. The train leaves from Liverpool St station, and I travelled outside of peak hour (9.30pm), so I received the off-peak rate.... 20.30 pounds... one way! How much does it cost during peak hour?! Two one-way trips and a tube ride to Euston cost me around 45 pounds, for which you can travel from Manchester to London and back if you book ahead.

No wonder people from the south-east are always complaining about transport costs. I met a student from Sussex at the conference who lives in Brighton. I remarked to him that it must have been a quick and cheap trip. Wrong! It took himi four hours to get there because he had to go through London (my journey was quicker and probably twice the distance) and the return trip was costing him 70 pounds!

It is amazing that anyone can afford to go anywhere in this country.

London

Tripadvisor released the results of its consumer survey this week, detailing opinions of the best travel destinations. Among European cities, London did very well, of course. Heathrow airport ranked equal top of the worst airport list. And the largest proportion of respondents ranked it the most dirty and the most expensive European city, along with the most poorly dressed citizens. But you don't need a survey to tell you this - 5 minutes on London streets is all you need.