Blog Surfing: Going Underground's Blog

This blog, also known as London Underground Tube Diary, is an interesting source of information regarding the going-ons in the London Underground Tube service. Judging from the sidebar, it appears this blog has earned several accolades.

Besides the wealth of info, this blog made me reminisce of the period when i used the Tube. Unlike the lrt or Komuter service here, the London Underground Tube service is an integrated service. In KL, one must exit the station of 1 service to get on the service of another via a different station. This can be a hassle during rainy days. In the London Underground, we just need to walk within the station or take a series of escalators to move from 1 service to the other. What more, the ticketing system of the Tube is centralised. Besides the prepaid Touch N Go card, the 2 lrt services & Komuter service in KL still maintain their separate ticketing system (if I am wrong, somebody please correct me as even the last time I took the lrt, I used my Touch N Go, so dunno of the pay ticketing system).

Scrolling to the recent postings on the blog, I came across a somewhat familiar sight - the Evening Standard newspaper billboard. That brought a smile to my face. While in London, the Evening Standard newspaper has been the main newspaper that I read, as I find it information & somewhat within my budget. The newspaper is printed several times a day ( the 1st print or edition comes out around noon) with the later editions having some updated news (rather useful when there's a hot topic with developments throughout the day). I usually buy the Final Edition of the newspaper which is out after 5pm. Hence, I'll time my evening walk to the nearby Evening Standard booth (there are dedicated booths along the main roads or near Tube stations selling the newspaper) for a copy together with a trip to Tesco Metro or Sainsbury's (for groceries), WHSmith or even the local kebab store (for days when I felt lazy to cook dinner). Ah, yes. I miss the somewhat healthier food there. Milk is cheaper & you can get cheese & mushrooms at more reasonable prices compared to here.

If you'd like to checkout the Evening Standard, do go to its website here. The site also has info on London Lite, which is essentially the free version of Evening Standard (less news, more adverts). London Lite has a rival publication (also free & with similar color scheme in its logo) whose name eludes me at the moment. It was launched mid-2006 around the same time when Evening Standard's pricing went up to 50p (from 40p or 45p) & at the same time when Lite Standard was rebranded into London Lite. You can see lots of people dressed in purple t-shirts distributing these free papers after office hours during the rush period. If any MOAM reader knows the name of the free newspaper I am referring to, please jog my memory by posting its name in the Comments area.

To digress, the tabloids are more interesting too. I of course, am interested in the footballing stories. :D

Anyhow, from the news printed in our local newspapers, it appears Will the 2nd in line for the Brit throne has broken off from Kate Middleton. Poor thing, I thought she was a pretty girl for the future king of England. Oh, well. To each his or her own choice of mate.

Perhaps I should ask anyone going to London to get me a copy of the latest free Tube map.

Here's to hoping for an improvement in the lrt & Komuter services in KL. Malaysia Boleh, if she wants to.

Till later, live long & prosper.