Back to the Future

The north east of Scotland is a beautiful place to live. Out here in Deeside the scenery is fantastic, it's generally low in crime and a great place to bring up your family. The weather can be dire, but if you've grown up here you're used to it. But it doesn't come without it's drawbacks, mainly in the sphere of transport.

Beeching decimated the railway system. Here in Lumphanan you can see the old Deeside railway line clearly and it annoys me that I can't jump on a train to work every day. The bus is over £8 SINGLE into Aberdeen. And it takes 90 minutes to get there, in the car you'll be there in less than half that time. There are about 3 buses a day, all of which are at times to suit the bus company, not the public. And they wonder why no-one uses public transport.

There is no chance of the railway being re-opened. It would cost too much and much of the old line has been built over. The bus company isn't going to reduce their prices, speed up or increase their service any time soon.

That's why every time a politician whines about getting us out of our cars and onto public transport, my eyes glaze over and my blood pressure heads up a little more. Surely once in a while these clowns can get into the real world and see how we live - they could do it in their annual leave, which seems to be a little more generous that the 28 days per annum most of us in the revenue generating sector of the population receive.

Music for today - try Happy Hour by the Housemartins. Cutting satire about the 9 to 5 in a killer feel good melody.