Wet and Wasted

It is hard to say which is the worst, the Highways Agency or Transport for London (TfL). The Highways Agency brings ineptitude and mismanagement to our roads but TfL are empowered to bring these 'qualities' to all forms of transport within their area. There was plenty of evidence in London today. The current euphemisms for disruption are 'improvements' and 'upgrades'. 'Improvements' are to be seen at every turn and feature prominently on posters advertising  a widespread lack of this, that and the other at weekends and evenings. I did notice one poster surprisingly referring directly to 'Tube disruptions'; I imagine that got past the TfL proofreading thought police. What amused and annoyed me simultaneously were two notices on the Underground which serve to illustrate the stupidity with which works are planned and the attendant publicity generated. On a Central Line train, Bank on the route map is appended 'Major escalator works. Avoid changing at Bank' - one of the system's busiest interchanges. Similarly, at Oxford Circus - probably consistently busier than Bank - where two entrances are already closed for escalator replacement, notices advise that (the remaining) entrances may be closed 'at busy times' to prevent overcrowding. How helpful can they get?

I was reminded on my arrival today at Tottenham Court Road of fears reported yesterday in The Standard that the Paolozzi tiles may not survive planned refurbishment of the station. If they do not, I shall not mourn them not because I especially dislike the art but on principle. I remember their installation and, at the time, they were a fatuous distraction from the fundamental inadequacies of the station which remain to this day. They are, chiefly, an unduly claustrophobic interior and persistently unreliable escalators in a deep station. During the years I worked at Centre Point (above) I corresponded frequently with London Underground (before TfL) on these and other subjects. Today, one escalator was behind hoardings; I don't think they have ever had them all serviceable. Eduardo Paolozzi is an interesting and proficient sculptor but the tiles were and are a propagandist misdirection.

Forecast rain set in even before we left our Bexleyheath hotel. Blackheath and its approaches, a notorious bottleneck on the A2 into London, have not improved at all. Changes to the New Cross one-way system are welcome and very effective. London Bridge presented a nightmare cacophony of noise levels significantly elevated by construction of The Shard. This was particularly unwelcome upon emerging from the increasingly scruffy Snowsfield car park into heavy rain. I saw my first gas bus and many possible architectural shots all of which could be photographed in more clement conditions. One should, I suppose, applaud developments but the problem for me is that they are never ending; there is always something going on. Crossrail, increasingly visible in, or I suppose under, Oxford Street will cause disruption for years.

I resent the time wasted at hospitals whether for myself or when accompanying Greg or Mum. Greg was at Guys today for a routine appointment and, almost inevitably, was seen 25 minutes late. There are so many clinics which just run later and later as they proceed. More consultant discipline is needed. With the hospital behind us and lunch ahead - important for Greg who had been fasting - and ignoring the rain, we headed for Oxford Street. Rasa Sayang Express offers an excellent selection of Asian food. The food was very good but they let themselves down on service. Greg tried to pay by credit card and the machine repeatedly 'failed'. I felt strongly that this was contrived by an outlet that did not really want to accept cards. I told them plainly that if they want to deal in cash only, they should do so openly. The rain was now making a protracted stay pointless but we continued to our main objective, a Mapplethorpe exhibition at the Alison Jacques gallery in Berners Street.

Jake Shears should have been more careful what he put his name to. Having used a Mapplethorpe image for their potentially controversial cover for the recent 'Night Work' album, the exhibition is curated collectively by Scissor Sisters. I must say I don't 'get' Robert Mapplethorpe whose work I find variously to be gratuitous or irrrelevant and usually lacking in any obvious photographic merit. In this exhibition, a variety of his works are interspersed with a few by other artists. Alison Jacques occupies two spaces in the same street with the exhibition in both. None of the work is labelled thus failing to distinguish Mapplethorpe from the others, or indeed to identify artist or work in any case. This is the failing of the exhibition which Shears promised to curate carefully. It appeared to me that it has not been curated at all.

As a parting shot, I noticed on our mercifully swift exit from the city via the A3 that so much has been spent on the blue paint about which I previously posted, that scant attention has been paid to the basic engineering of the roads it adorns. In heavy rain, there was substantial flooding.

This may seem a very carping post but the British remain inadequate at complaining, lacking either the courage or articulacy to do so. We should not accept the sub-standard or inept nor should we remain silent. A lot goes on around us which simply should not happen. Think about it and what you are going to do about it.