John Paddington

@padders123.bsky.social

352 Followers 479 Following

Transport technology, Birmingham and some other stuff. Occasional photos of Travel Basil to promote St Basils homeless charity that works with young people in Birmingham.

Talk of how people go in to the station, fill up and then claim they're penniless to refuse to pay
Thefts have grown worse since the start of the war in Iran in February. In the first week of July, the station saw three fuel runners, and in June, 12 people drove off without paying. Across his six garages, says Parekh, fuel theft cost him more than £40,000 last year, and predicting who will drive off is becoming impossible.
The issue isn’t confined to Parekh’s garages. Petrol stations have seen a 23% rise in fuel theft since the start of the Iran war, with incidents soaring from 9,089 in January and February to 11,170 in March and April, according to Forecourt Eye, a company that collects payments on behalf of about 1,000 garages around the UK. The Times estimates that more than £1.2m of fuel is being stolen from forecourts each week. Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association, a trade body representing forecourts, says “first-time offenders” are becoming more common, with many “trying it on” due to a “combination of rising household costs and a bit of opportunism”.
Photo of the steps where a lot of the edges have fallen off or inconsistent
Photo of the urban realm with benches and plants but next to the A38
Photo of Ludgate Hill with wide road for cars
Photo of Atomium from Mini-Europe with a small Eiffel Tower beside it.
Photo of a house icon with water all round
Photo of a large yellow fan with Travel Basil teddy bear in front of it. Fan must be about a meter in diameter.
I got 0% on the right wing plot on all categories.
Screenshot of the Seatfrog page
Photo of a poster for a tram party with a tram with a DJ driving
Photo of the crowd waiting at the platform. There's very little space.
So we are changing that. We have started the process of bringing buses back under public control. We’ll see the first buses move over in 2027. That means we’ll have a system designed around passengers, with clear accountability for performance. It is a real change that people will see and feel in their day-to-day lives. It still takes too long though - two years is frustratingly slow but the legislation is set that way.
Sponsored post from Linkedin for "Chief Constable" recruitment
Photo of slide from presentation. Talking about FIA initiatives SafeForAll & For Life, Road Safety Index and Driver Safety Index.
Screen shot of the ratings and me showing as Eco-Socialist
View from the tower over the new station
Photo of Paddington Bear
Screen shot of the Cat Quest 2 Graphic with a cat and a dog on it.
Current map of Birmingham election results. Reform mostly in South-West corner, Greens in South, Labour /Indies in centre. Conservatives in Sutton Coldfield and Lib-dems having a small pocket around Yardley Wood
Photo of Travel Basil teddy bear in front of a portacabin with a "Polling Station" sign
Introducing a temporary energy price cap at £2,000 - designed to activate only in the most severe scenarios - to limit inflation while maintaining incentives to reduce consumption Implementing a temporary 10p fuel duty cut to offset rising oil prices Pairing support with measures to reduce energy demand, including lower speed limits Funding support through targeted, progressive tax measures, including strengthened windfall taxes on energy profits
Photo of the alternative ending from the Simpsons for Casablanca
Photo of my Lego Delorean from Back to the future
BBC headline UK seeks closer EU ties in volatile times - but at what cost?
First question on consultation has list of chapters in the consultation document, not very clear at all
Google satellite view with a sketch of a link between the A4545 East of JLR and Damson Parkway
Photo of a slide presented by Hackney with the stats and the town hall behind.
Screenshot from hotels.com with message "Birmingham awaits" with a hotel address in the centre of Coventry
Photo of Travel Basil on the train.
Photo of Travel Basil teddy bear with a tea pot on Avanti first class.
Screenshot from OBB website. Only shows the time of the train if you click "service and price details".
Screenshot from Wikipedia that suggested central government didn't fund the scheme in 1973 and then didn't provide funding in 1977
Photo of Paddington and Travel Basil teddy bears on an empty underground train coach
Screen shot of government guidance: If you own a new build property New build properties which the developer is still building are not eligible. If you move into a finished new build with a fossil fuel boiler, you may be able to get a grant for a heat pump under the scheme.
Email from Accor Live Limitless saying "New year, new app only offer coming soon"
Screenshot of the page what we believe: A country where success is celebrated and help is there for those who really need it A country where people are judged on the contribution they make, not the colour of their skin, their class or their faith Strong defence in an increasingly dangerous world, law and order, and secure borders Individual freedom tempered by social responsibility Respect for our institutions Protecting the environment for future generations The Union of our four nations
Photo of the A38 with the path being very icy but the road clear
Screenshot of the tender requirements.: "The BBC intends to procure a safe, efficient, and sustainable taxi service available when and where our travellers need it, with a digital platform that supports secure, frictionless booking, robust reporting and tax compliance, and effective contract management. We have built our requirement for taxi booking services to include the UK and overseas."
Photo of my housing estate. There's three houses in the background in front of an orange sky. There's a frozen lake in the foreground.
Screenshot from National Rail site lists a £14.00 standard single ticket. No indication of availability.
Screenshot of the minutes with names and companies blacked out
Photo of new Willenhall Station
Poster for Lethal Weapon 3. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are in front with Joe Pesci behind.
CulturalRoad banner saying "Help share more inclusive mobility solutions"
The study was carried out by Heineken to celebrate the launch of its new 'Could Have Been a Heineken' bot on WhatsApp, currently being piloted in Brazil and set to expand to more countries.
In general, Off-Peak times start at 09:30 from Monday to Friday in cities and large towns, and at 09:00 everywhere else. If your train's scheduled to depart after this time in the morning, you can usually travel with an Off-Peak ticket, although evening restrictions may apply. Weekends and bank holidays are Off-Peak all day. If you're travelling with Avanti West Coast, you can start your weekend early with Off-Peak Fridays - travel at any time Friday if you're departing or heading to London Euston (excluding journeys to or from Milton Keynes Central). Screenshot of the avanti website explaining "when can I use off peak tickets": The easiest way to find out if a train is Off-Peak is by searching for it in our online journey planner. If an Off-Peak ticket is available to buy for that service, it's Off-Peak. You can also download a summary of Avanti West Coast Off-Peak times here.
Screen grab of national rail showing a train fare for £45
Quick comparison (I think it's right but might have missed something). Someone earning £30,000 today pays 28% in tax, NI and repayments. If you took the equivalent salary adjusted for inflation in 2003, they would have paid 34%.
Graph of trade union membership. Looks like about 8 million when Thatcher left office compared to about 6 million in 2024. (And note the overall population has grown).
Plot from the social / economic axis on the graph, activist left scores 10 for economics
The leisure centre car park has a google reviews entry. One review - 5*
Photo of the cover of the Grand Theft Auto 3 box, which has a very similar layout
Photo taken from gates of a park. There's a pedestrian path to the end of a close. There's a pile of rubbish, bits of furniture next to a parked car. There's houses behind the picture.
Photo of a Paddington Teddy bear under a weighted blanket so you can only see his head. Nearby is my eye massager and hot water bottle
Headline that Badenoch is warning the Chancellor that pensioners would be forced to move if council tax doubles.
Photo of Travel Basil and Paddington teddy bears on the bus looking at steamed up windows.
Photo of cycle lane off Hingeston Street covered in leaves