Reading Roars!

Thames Valley Economic Partnership (TVEP) has suggested the following to reduce M4 congestion (”Businesses demand 21st century transport“):

• A motorway monorail linking Reading with Heathrow
• New toll lanes between the M4’s J4 and J13; and
• Underground busways on special tracks

TVEP’s Shaun Whitaker explains:

Our vision is for an integrated transport system that enables efficient travel by rail, bus or car across the Thames Valley and between the main towns in the region.  This will only be achieved quickly and effectively with close coordination between the public and private sector, and with the support of the Government to address these schemes of national importance.

Creative thinking is a must.  I stressed the new for big ideas in a previous post (”Awful traffic: Reading residents give their views“), even mentioning two new monorail systems deployed in South-East Asia. 

Of course, while it’s good to talk (and we do a lot of that), actually acting on these creative ideas would be even better and I strongly doubt that an integrated transport system can be achieved “quickly and effectively” in the UK. 

Consider Heathrow’s lengthy Terminal 5 project (the building’s architect was selected way back in 1989 and planning permission was granted 8 years after the first planning application).  In a Guardian article published today about the terminal’s disastrous first couple of days (”‘We can’t give you information. We haven’t got a Tannoy’“), passenger Anthony Horowitz forlornly comments that T5’s handling:

so obviously repeats the pattern of the Millennium Dome, Wembley stadium and the Scottish parliament which, you may remember, arrived three years late and 10-times over budget

Integrating transport in the South-East is a big job - a much bigger challenge, arguably, than erecting a large white tent in East London and constructing a stadium with a big arch.  However, fixing our transport woes is a job that we simply cannot ignore.  As TVEP’s Whitaker darkly says:

We are supposed to be the fifth or sixth wealthiest country with the highest GDP and yet we don’t supply a 21st century transport system.

How well do you know Reading, in Berkshire that is!!!?

I thought I knew a fair bit until I took this Facebook quiz created 30 days ago this afternoon - and scored just 83% (in a stuttering 3 minutes 18 seconds). Thankfully, I beat the average score (76%).

The highest scoring participant achieved a perfect 23 out of 23 in just 1 minute and 12 seconds.

I can’t help but feel that Reading deserves better on Tripadvisor. The town’s top-rated attraction is listed as Marks and Spencer, ahead of Silchester, Basildon Park and Mapledurham House (attractions that aren’t actually in Reading, but located just outside the town).

The M&S Broad St store has a TripAdvisor Traveler Rating of 4/5 and 3 reviews, including the following (possibly written by someone who works for them):

its an excellent store one of the best retail outlets i have ever shopped in it has just had a £10 million refit, and it certainly looks stunning, fabulous envirionment to shop in extremely friendly and helpful staff, nothing was to much for them, especially a few of them in homeware. nothing i asked was too much. just a totally amazing shopping experience definately reccomend it to everyone in the area.

The UK Wolf Centre, a place I’d not heard of located mid-way between Reading and Newbury, is ranked 6th ahead of genuine town centre attractions St. Mary’s Church, Kennet & Avon Canal and St. Laurence Church.

The Abbey Ruins lie further down the list. One traveller gave the attraction 4/5 and wrote in their review:

Sadly it hasn’t been exactly looked after

Less ruin-like ruins would be nice, I suppose. The same individual wrote scathingly:

There is also a plaque with a song which I think was the oldest song ever written down - though I’m not quite sure why they bothered since the song is pretty naff.

I’m tempted to share my knowledge about Reading on the site, but I guess that it wouldn’t be the right thing to do.

I have been reading the terrific book The Undercover Economist. In it, author Tim Harford writes:

When I am in Antwerp, sitting just off the Grote Markt and enjoying a Duvel, I cannot help but feel a little sad that this thrill has been cheapened by its ready availablity in my home city. Of course, when in London - and sober - I can only praise the noble and enterprising merchants who have brough exotic beers such as Duvel, Chimay and Maredsous 10 to my doorstep, and look forward to when they get around to importing Westmalle Trippel as well.

Fortunately, great Belgian beers can be enjoyed in Reading, too. The Retreat, a pub tricky to find and probably one of the town’s best kept secrets, offers the heavily marketed Leffe (an international brand now owned by InBev, who also own Stella, Beck’s, Murphy’s, Boddingtons, Staropramen…) as well as the superior, but less familiar, Trappist ales:

• Orval
• Rochefort 8o
• Duvel
• Chimay Rouge

All of the above come in a branded glass.

As far as I know, The Retreat does not provide chips with mayonnaise, but the crisps (posh and not-so-posh) are nice enough.

Mr Harford, if you are reading this (unlikely), you can have the glorious Westmalle Trippel at The Rake in Borough Market.

I popped into Workhouse Coffee this afternoon for a Brazilian (coffee, not bikini line treatment) and saw that they had a sign with the following profound Gandhi quote:

if you want to change the world, you have to be that change

Very inspiring and very true.

The picture below, snapped today, is of a sign prominently displayed inside Marks and Spencer’s Simply Food store at Reading Station. The message on the sign includes a glaring typo:

since 2002 we have only used free range in absoultely [sic] all our food

Astonishingly, this has remained on display since January (I’ve only just got round to taking a picture of it). With the proliferation of text speak and graduates leaving university unable to spell properly, this is perhaps a sign of the times.