After the DART opened I asked them what one should do if one had a flight likely to arrive at the airport fairly near to midnight as all indications were that tickets were dated and valid only on that date, and that arriving flights are often late.

It only took them two weeks to reply, and they told me something that I could not discover anywhere else: that tickets for a given date are in fact valid up to 4am the following day. That seems to be in line with standard UK railway practice, maybe also on mountain railways in the Alps for all I know.

But they clearly haven't quite got the hang of this new-fangled interwebby thing yet, the subject line of their reply was this:

RE: [EXTERNAL] http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=5774&d=4L215OwEgk4J6ouGzfCHx6uAxJRpFlNDGeiORmdraA&u=http%3a%2f%2fLutondart%2ecom website submission

--
Clive Page

In message <k9sshgF7ompU1@mid.individual.net>, at 12:42:41 on Fri, 14
Apr 2023, Clive Page <usenet@page2.eu> remarked:

>After the DART opened I asked them what one should do if one had a
>flight likely to arrive at the airport fairly near to midnight as all
>indications were that tickets were dated and valid only on that date,
>and that arriving flights are often late.
>
>It only took them two weeks to reply, and they told me something that I
>could not discover anywhere else: that tickets for a given date are in
>fact valid up to 4am the following day.

Yes, that's standard for National Rail and TfL, what we didn't know for
sure, is if it also applied to the Mountain Railway.

As it happens, for several functions airports/airpines also have their
'end of day' a 4am, simply because it's when they are the quietest.

For most practical purposes NHS has its end-of-day at 7am (see for
example when the current Junior Doctors strike begins and ends).

>That seems to be in line with standard UK railway practice, maybe also
>on mountain railways in the Alps for all I know.
>
>But they clearly haven't quite got the hang of this new-fangled
>interwebby thing yet, the subject line of their reply was this:
>
>RE: [EXTERNAL]
>http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=5774&d=4L215OwEgk4J6ouGzfCHx6uAxJRpFlND
>GeiORmdraA&u=http%3a%2f%2fLutondart%2ecom website submission
>
>

--
Roland Perry

On 14/04/2023 12:42, Clive Page wrote:
> After the DART opened I asked them what one should do if one had a
> flight likely to arrive at the airport fairly near to midnight as all
> indications were that tickets were dated and valid only on that date,
> and that arriving flights are often late.
>
> It only took them two weeks to reply, and they told me something that I
> could not discover anywhere else: that tickets for a given date are in
> fact valid up to 4am the following day.  That seems to be in line with
> standard UK railway practice, maybe also on mountain railways in the
> Alps for all I know.
>
> But they clearly haven't quite got the hang of this new-fangled
> interwebby thing yet, the subject line of their reply was this:
>
> RE: [EXTERNAL]
> http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=5774&d=4L215OwEgk4J6ouGzfCHx6uAxJRpFlNDGeiORmdraA&u=http%3a%2f%2fLutondart%2ecom website submission
>
> It's not unknown for a plane to arrive much more than four hours late.

Coffee <martin.coffee@round-midnight.org.uk> wrote:
> On 14/04/2023 12:42, Clive Page wrote:
>> After the DART opened I asked them what one should do if one had a
>> flight likely to arrive at the airport fairly near to midnight as all
>> indications were that tickets were dated and valid only on that date,
>> and that arriving flights are often late.
>>
>> It only took them two weeks to reply, and they told me something that I
>> could not discover anywhere else: that tickets for a given date are in
>> fact valid up to 4am the following day.  That seems to be in line with
>> standard UK railway practice, maybe also on mountain railways in the
>> Alps for all I know.
>>
>> But they clearly haven't quite got the hang of this new-fangled
>> interwebby thing yet, the subject line of their reply was this:
>>
>> RE: [EXTERNAL]
>> http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=5774&d=4L215OwEgk4J6ouGzfCHx6uAxJRpFlNDGeiORmdraA&u=http%3a%2f%2fLutondart%2ecom
>> website submission
>>
> It's not unknown for a plane to arrive much more than four hours late.

Not unknown, but pretty rare. After all, Luton mainly has short haul
flights.

On 14/04/2023 15:59, Recliner wrote:
> Coffee <martin.coffee@round-midnight.org.uk> wrote:
>> On 14/04/2023 12:42, Clive Page wrote:
>>> After the DART opened I asked them what one should do if one had a
>>> flight likely to arrive at the airport fairly near to midnight as all
>>> indications were that tickets were dated and valid only on that date,
>>> and that arriving flights are often late.
>>>
>>> It only took them two weeks to reply, and they told me something that I
>>> could not discover anywhere else: that tickets for a given date are in
>>> fact valid up to 4am the following day.  That seems to be in line with
>>> standard UK railway practice, maybe also on mountain railways in the
>>> Alps for all I know.
>>>
>>> But they clearly haven't quite got the hang of this new-fangled
>>> interwebby thing yet, the subject line of their reply was this:
>>>
>>> RE: [EXTERNAL]
>>> http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=5774&d=4L215OwEgk4J6ouGzfCHx6uAxJRpFlNDGeiORmdraA&u=http%3a%2f%2fLutondart%2ecom
>>> website submission
>>>
>> It's not unknown for a plane to arrive much more than four hours late.
>
> Not unknown, but pretty rare. After all, Luton mainly has short haul
> flights.
>
>
But it also has WizzAir.

--
Clive Page

Clive Page <usenet@page2.eu> wrote:
> On 14/04/2023 15:59, Recliner wrote:
>> Coffee <martin.coffee@round-midnight.org.uk> wrote:
>>> On 14/04/2023 12:42, Clive Page wrote:
>>>> After the DART opened I asked them what one should do if one had a
>>>> flight likely to arrive at the airport fairly near to midnight as all
>>>> indications were that tickets were dated and valid only on that date,
>>>> and that arriving flights are often late.
>>>>
>>>> It only took them two weeks to reply, and they told me something that I
>>>> could not discover anywhere else: that tickets for a given date are in
>>>> fact valid up to 4am the following day.  That seems to be in line with
>>>> standard UK railway practice, maybe also on mountain railways in the
>>>> Alps for all I know.
>>>>
>>>> But they clearly haven't quite got the hang of this new-fangled
>>>> interwebby thing yet, the subject line of their reply was this:
>>>>
>>>> RE: [EXTERNAL]
>>>> http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=5774&d=4L215OwEgk4J6ouGzfCHx6uAxJRpFlNDGeiORmdraA&u=http%3a%2f%2fLutondart%2ecom
>>>> website submission
>>>>
>>> It's not unknown for a plane to arrive much more than four hours late.
>>
>> Not unknown, but pretty rare. After all, Luton mainly has short haul
>> flights.
>>
>>
> But it also has WizzAir.

Yes, good point.

Buying DART tickets is quick and easy online, so returning Wizz pax might
be wise to wait till their successful return before buying. I don't think
it changes the fare.

There must, presumably, be (simple) local TVMs, but I didn't spot any. I
plan a repeat visit, to catch up on the things I missed on my first visit,
and will look harder.

Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
> Clive Page <usenet@page2.eu> wrote:
>> On 14/04/2023 15:59, Recliner wrote:
>>> Coffee <martin.coffee@round-midnight.org.uk> wrote:
>>>> On 14/04/2023 12:42, Clive Page wrote:
>>>>> After the DART opened I asked them what one should do if one had a
>>>>> flight likely to arrive at the airport fairly near to midnight as all
>>>>> indications were that tickets were dated and valid only on that date,
>>>>> and that arriving flights are often late.
>>>>>
>>>>> It only took them two weeks to reply, and they told me something that I
>>>>> could not discover anywhere else: that tickets for a given date are in
>>>>> fact valid up to 4am the following day.  That seems to be in line with
>>>>> standard UK railway practice, maybe also on mountain railways in the
>>>>> Alps for all I know.
>>>>>
>>>>> But they clearly haven't quite got the hang of this new-fangled
>>>>> interwebby thing yet, the subject line of their reply was this:
>>>>>
>>>>> RE: [EXTERNAL]
>>>>> http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=5774&d=4L215OwEgk4J6ouGzfCHx6uAxJRpFlNDGeiORmdraA&u=http%3a%2f%2fLutondart%2ecom
>>>>> website submission
>>>>>
>>>> It's not unknown for a plane to arrive much more than four hours late.
>>>
>>> Not unknown, but pretty rare. After all, Luton mainly has short haul
>>> flights.
>>>
>>>
>> But it also has WizzAir.
>
> Yes, good point.
>
> Buying DART tickets is quick and easy online, so returning Wizz pax might
> be wise to wait till their successful return before buying. I don't think
> it changes the fare.
>
> There must, presumably, be (simple) local TVMs, but I didn't spot any. I
> plan a repeat visit, to catch up on the things I missed on my first visit,
> and will look harder.
>

I forgot to look at the airport station, but at the railway station there
were only railway-branded TVMs; I didn’t think to check whether they sell
paper tickets for the Dart.

Anna Noyd-Dryver

Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
> Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Clive Page <usenet@page2.eu> wrote:
>>> On 14/04/2023 15:59, Recliner wrote:
>>>> Coffee <martin.coffee@round-midnight.org.uk> wrote:
>>>>> On 14/04/2023 12:42, Clive Page wrote:
>>>>>> After the DART opened I asked them what one should do if one had a
>>>>>> flight likely to arrive at the airport fairly near to midnight as all
>>>>>> indications were that tickets were dated and valid only on that date,
>>>>>> and that arriving flights are often late.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It only took them two weeks to reply, and they told me something that I
>>>>>> could not discover anywhere else: that tickets for a given date are in
>>>>>> fact valid up to 4am the following day.  That seems to be in line with
>>>>>> standard UK railway practice, maybe also on mountain railways in the
>>>>>> Alps for all I know.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> But they clearly haven't quite got the hang of this new-fangled
>>>>>> interwebby thing yet, the subject line of their reply was this:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> RE: [EXTERNAL]
>>>>>> http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=5774&d=4L215OwEgk4J6ouGzfCHx6uAxJRpFlNDGeiORmdraA&u=http%3a%2f%2fLutondart%2ecom
>>>>>> website submission
>>>>>>
>>>>> It's not unknown for a plane to arrive much more than four hours late.
>>>>
>>>> Not unknown, but pretty rare. After all, Luton mainly has short haul
>>>> flights.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> But it also has WizzAir.
>>
>> Yes, good point.
>>
>> Buying DART tickets is quick and easy online, so returning Wizz pax might
>> be wise to wait till their successful return before buying. I don't think
>> it changes the fare.
>>
>> There must, presumably, be (simple) local TVMs, but I didn't spot any. I
>> plan a repeat visit, to catch up on the things I missed on my first visit,
>> and will look harder.
>>
>
> I forgot to look at the airport station, but at the railway station there
> were only railway-branded TVMs; I didn’t think to check whether they sell
> paper tickets for the Dart.
>

I'll check next time.

In message <u1bpo3$1j858$6@dont-email.me>, at 14:59:15 on Fri, 14 Apr
2023, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:

>> It's not unknown for a plane to arrive much more than four hours late.
>
>Not unknown, but pretty rare. After all, Luton mainly has short haul
>flights.

I got back to Stansted once (from Prague) about four hours late. By
the time we got to the departure lounge there, the shuttle-flight hadn't
even taken off from UK, although then it was bleeding edge to be able to
independently ascertain that.

Having finally got back, missed every last train, so taxi-wife was
summoned.

The airline should have been named "No-Go".
--
Roland Perry

On 15/04/2023 07:39, Anna Noyd-Dryver wrote:
> I forgot to look at the airport station, but at the railway station there
> were only railway-branded TVMs; I didn’t think to check whether they sell
> paper tickets for the Dart.
>
Well there are fares online for LTN to the airport, at the standard fare of £4.95, no discounts for Railcards as far as I could see.

So no reason why a railway TVM at the Airport, assuming there is one, won't sell such a ticket. There are at least two rail TVMs at the DART lower terminus between the gatelines for the railway station and the DART station. I'd assume they would also sell a DART ticket for anyone who didn't think to specify LUA as their destination rather than LTN.

--
Clive Page

In message <k9vgcgFj20jU1@mid.individual.net>, at 12:33:36 on Sat, 15
Apr 2023, Clive Page <usenet@page2.eu> remarked:
>On 15/04/2023 07:39, Anna Noyd-Dryver wrote:
>> I forgot to look at the airport station, but at the railway station there
>> were only railway-branded TVMs; I didn’t think to check whether they sell
>> paper tickets for the Dart.
>>
>Well there are fares online for LTN to the airport, at the standard
>fare of £4.95, no discounts for Railcards as far as I could see.

That's one reason why there's doubt expressed about whether other
aspects of the tickets conform to normal railway practice.

>So no reason why a railway TVM at the Airport, assuming there is one,
>won't sell such a ticket.

Back in the day there was one in the room where you waited (and waited
and waited) for your hold baggage to arrive.

>There are at least two rail TVMs at the DART lower terminus between the
>gatelines for the railway station and the DART station. I'd assume
>they would also sell a DART ticket for anyone who didn't think to
>specify LUA as their destination rather than LTN.
--
Roland Perry

On Sat, 15 Apr 2023 11:06:44 +0100, Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk>
wrote:

>In message <u1bpo3$1j858$6@dont-email.me>, at 14:59:15 on Fri, 14 Apr
>2023, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
>
>>> It's not unknown for a plane to arrive much more than four hours late.
>>
>>Not unknown, but pretty rare. After all, Luton mainly has short haul
>>flights.
>
>I got back to Stansted once (from Prague) about four hours late. By
>the time we got to the departure lounge there, the shuttle-flight hadn't
>even taken off from UK, although then it was bleeding edge to be able to
>independently ascertain that.
>
>Having finally got back, missed every last train, so taxi-wife was
>summoned.
>
>The airline should have been named "No-Go".
>
Someone has already (sort of) got that name:-
http://www.novaairways.com/

Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
> In message <u1bpo3$1j858$6@dont-email.me>, at 14:59:15 on Fri, 14 Apr
> 2023, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
>
>>> It's not unknown for a plane to arrive much more than four hours late.
>>
>> Not unknown, but pretty rare. After all, Luton mainly has short haul
>> flights.
>
> I got back to Stansted once (from Prague) about four hours late. By
> the time we got to the departure lounge there, the shuttle-flight hadn't
> even taken off from UK, although then it was bleeding edge to be able to
> independently ascertain that.
>
> Having finally got back, missed every last train, so taxi-wife was
> summoned.
>
> The airline should have been named "No-Go".

Well, it was soon Gone: I see it only lasted from 1998 to 2002:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(airline)

In contrast, your other old favourite, bmibaby, lasted an epic 10 years.
Curiously, they both used second-hand 733s during their short lives. I see
that the price BA paid Lufthansa reduced if the latter hadn't managed to
sell or close bmibaby first, and that's what happened. So bmibaby actually
had a negative value.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bmibaby

Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
> In message <k9vgcgFj20jU1@mid.individual.net>, at 12:33:36 on Sat, 15
> Apr 2023, Clive Page <usenet@page2.eu> remarked:
>> On 15/04/2023 07:39, Anna Noyd-Dryver wrote:
>>> I forgot to look at the airport station, but at the railway station there
>>> were only railway-branded TVMs; I didn’t think to check whether they sell
>>> paper tickets for the Dart.
>>>
>> Well there are fares online for LTN to the airport, at the standard
>> fare of £4.95, no discounts for Railcards as far as I could see.
>
> That's one reason why there's doubt expressed about whether other
> aspects of the tickets conform to normal railway practice.

As we've previously discussed, it's priced more like an add-on bus than a
train.

In message <u1fc4f$27d8o$5@dont-email.me>, at 23:31:27 on Sat, 15 Apr
2023, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
>Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
>> In message <u1bpo3$1j858$6@dont-email.me>, at 14:59:15 on Fri, 14 Apr
>> 2023, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
>>
>>>> It's not unknown for a plane to arrive much more than four hours late.
>>>
>>> Not unknown, but pretty rare. After all, Luton mainly has short haul
>>> flights.
>>
>> I got back to Stansted once (from Prague) about four hours late. By
>> the time we got to the departure lounge there, the shuttle-flight hadn't
>> even taken off from UK, although then it was bleeding edge to be able to
>> independently ascertain that.
>>
>> Having finally got back, missed every last train, so taxi-wife was
>> summoned.
>>
>> The airline should have been named "No-Go".
>
>Well, it was soon Gone: I see it only lasted from 1998 to 2002:
>
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(airline)
>
>In contrast, your other old favourite, bmibaby, lasted an epic 10 years.
>Curiously, they both used second-hand 733s during their short lives. I see
>that the price BA paid Lufthansa reduced if the latter hadn't managed to
>sell or close bmibaby first, and that's what happened. So bmibaby actually
>had a negative value.
>
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bmibaby

I both cases I flew with them by default when they operated the route I
needed from my nearest airport. Stansted when I was living in Cambridge,
and East Midlands when I was living in Nottingham. In both cases it beat
driving to (say) Luton to use Easyjet.

It was an amazing bit of luck bmibaby flew to Amsterdam, because the
next best option would have been KLM-UK from Birmingham, which was a
much longer drive and would have ruled out doing day-trips[1].

The icing on the cake was bmibaby also flew to my next two most popular
destinations - Geneva (for the UN) and Paris (for the OECD, and to
connect with TGV).

Today if I wanted to get to Peterborough, I'd have a choice of three
TOCs, and three types of train (of very mixed age). I wouldn't be
looking at the finances of the parent companies, or the condition of the
trains, although on other flows I might avoid Virgin Trains and Ryanair,
due to the persona of their figureheads.

Michael Bishop, on the other hand, I regard as a bit of a hero.

[1] Timing was perfect too, typically (local time):

EMA AMS

06:45 -> 09:05 {Aim for 45 min checkin)
19:35 <- 19:15 Winter {60 min checkin}
18:35 <- 18:15 Summer ditto.

With home <-> EMA, and office <-> AMS, both about half an hour.

And coming back from Geneva: depart local time 19:40 whereas
flights to London either meant leaving a meeting early, or not
landing until 11pm.
--
Roland Perry

In message <u1fccu$27eef$5@dont-email.me>, at 23:35:58 on Sat, 15 Apr
2023, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
>Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
>> In message <k9vgcgFj20jU1@mid.individual.net>, at 12:33:36 on Sat, 15
>> Apr 2023, Clive Page <usenet@page2.eu> remarked:
>>> On 15/04/2023 07:39, Anna Noyd-Dryver wrote:
>>>> I forgot to look at the airport station, but at the railway station there
>>>> were only railway-branded TVMs; I didn’t think to check whether they sell
>>>> paper tickets for the Dart.
>>>>
>>> Well there are fares online for LTN to the airport, at the standard
>>> fare of £4.95, no discounts for Railcards as far as I could see.
>>
>> That's one reason why there's doubt expressed about whether other
>> aspects of the tickets conform to normal railway practice.
>
>As we've previously discussed, it's priced more like an add-on bus than a
>train.

It's be a neat idea if Luton Plus-Bus was valid on the Mountain Railway.
--
Roland Perry

On 16/04/2023 12:19, Roland Perry wrote:
> In message <u1gclg$2frjf$1@dont-email.me>, at 09:46:40 on Sun, 16 Apr
> 2023, Graeme Wall <rail@greywall.demon.co.uk> remarked:
>
>> On 16/04/2023 08:50, Roland Perry wrote:
>
>>> Today if I wanted to get to Peterborough, I'd have a choice of three
>>> TOCs, and three types of train (of very mixed age). I wouldn't be
>>> looking at the finances of the parent companies, or the condition of the
>>> trains, although on other flows I might avoid Virgin Trains and Ryanair,
>>> due to the persona of their figureheads.
>>
>> Successful you mean?
>
> No, irritatingly self-publicist in-your-face.

As I said, successful.

>
>> How about Stagecoach who's founder backed homophobic legislation?
>
> Not that interested in dog-whistle politics.

Whatever that is supposed to mean.
--
Graeme Wall
This account not read.

In message <u1gclg$2frjf$1@dont-email.me>, at 09:46:40 on Sun, 16 Apr
2023, Graeme Wall <rail@greywall.demon.co.uk> remarked:

>On 16/04/2023 08:50, Roland Perry wrote:

>> Today if I wanted to get to Peterborough, I'd have a choice of three
>> TOCs, and three types of train (of very mixed age). I wouldn't be
>> looking at the finances of the parent companies, or the condition of the
>> trains, although on other flows I might avoid Virgin Trains and Ryanair,
>> due to the persona of their figureheads.
>
>Successful you mean?

No, irritatingly self-publicist in-your-face.

>How about Stagecoach who's founder backed homophobic legislation?

Not that interested in dog-whistle politics.
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
> In message <u1gclg$2frjf$1@dont-email.me>, at 09:46:40 on Sun, 16 Apr
> 2023, Graeme Wall <rail@greywall.demon.co.uk> remarked:
>
>> On 16/04/2023 08:50, Roland Perry wrote:
>
>>> Today if I wanted to get to Peterborough, I'd have a choice of three
>>> TOCs, and three types of train (of very mixed age). I wouldn't be
>>> looking at the finances of the parent companies, or the condition of the
>>> trains, although on other flows I might avoid Virgin Trains and Ryanair,
>>> due to the persona of their figureheads.
>>
>> Successful you mean?
>
> No, irritatingly self-publicist in-your-face.

It's cheap, effective advertising. Branson didn't even like doing it, but
the benefit/cost ratio was irresistible.

>
>> How about Stagecoach who's founder backed homophobic legislation?
>
> Not that interested in dog-whistle politics.

So you don't care about their actual policies and politics, but simply
didn't like their highly effective advertising?

In message <u1gokc$2hm0l$6@dont-email.me>, at 12:10:52 on Sun, 16 Apr
2023, Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> remarked:
>Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
>> In message <u1gclg$2frjf$1@dont-email.me>, at 09:46:40 on Sun, 16 Apr
>> 2023, Graeme Wall <rail@greywall.demon.co.uk> remarked:
>>
>>> On 16/04/2023 08:50, Roland Perry wrote:
>>
>>>> Today if I wanted to get to Peterborough, I'd have a choice of three
>>>> TOCs, and three types of train (of very mixed age). I wouldn't be
>>>> looking at the finances of the parent companies, or the condition of the
>>>> trains, although on other flows I might avoid Virgin Trains and Ryanair,
>>>> due to the persona of their figureheads.
>>>
>>> Successful you mean?
>>
>> No, irritatingly self-publicist in-your-face.
>
>It's cheap, effective advertising. Branson didn't even like doing it, but
>the benefit/cost ratio was irresistible.

It's certainly not effective for all demographics. Quite a lot of people
were rubbed up the wrong way by Ryanair's grandstanding.

>>> How about Stagecoach who's founder backed homophobic legislation?
>>
>> Not that interested in dog-whistle politics.
>
>So you don't care about their actual policies and politics, but simply
>didn't like their highly effective advertising?

I care to some extent about the policies of their companies (ie where in
the race-to-the-bottom they see themselves this week). And that includes
their policy on truth-in-advertising.

The policy of the figurehead - whether to work behind the scenes or
through a megaphone - yes that matters too.

Politics, this is nothing to do with a person's politics. Although I
was reaching a point with Wetherspoons that their pro-Brexit stance
was becoming tiresome. On the other hand, it's entirely possible that
there's a measure of "anything he is for, I'm against" to take into
account.

"Just so you know", I can't beleive I'm the only person putoff [oops
something went wrong] over-chirpy and sometimes quite frankly
condescending communication styles. Your posting is important to us, and
we are, just every single day, experiencing a higher than usual volume
of Usenet messages.
--
Roland Perry

In message <u1h0dn$2iqt3$1@dont-email.me>, at 15:23:51 on Sun, 16 Apr
2023, Graeme Wall <rail@greywall.demon.co.uk> remarked:
>On 16/04/2023 12:19, Roland Perry wrote:
>> In message <u1gclg$2frjf$1@dont-email.me>, at 09:46:40 on Sun, 16 Apr
>>2023, Graeme Wall <rail@greywall.demon.co.uk> remarked:
>>
>>> On 16/04/2023 08:50, Roland Perry wrote:
>>
>>>> Today if I wanted to get to Peterborough, I'd have a choice of
>>>>three
>>>> TOCs, and three types of train (of very mixed age). I wouldn't be
>>>> looking at the finances of the parent companies, or the condition of the
>>>> trains, although on other flows I might avoid Virgin Trains and Ryanair,
>>>> due to the persona of their figureheads.
>>>
>>> Successful you mean?

>> No, irritatingly self-publicist in-your-face.
>
>As I said, successful.

There's an old saying in the advertisting industry (as recounted to me
once by Nick Hewer, before he became famous: "There's no such think as
bad publicity".

But like all catchphrases, it's not true just because it's often said.
Gerald Ratner might disagree with it, as well as more recently a spare
Prince. (No, not the formerly-known-as).

>>> How about Stagecoach who's founder backed homophobic legislation?

>> Not that interested in dog-whistle politics.
>
>Whatever that is supposed to mean.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_whistle_(politics)
--
Roland Perry

On 17/04/2023 06:34, Roland Perry wrote:
> In message <u1h0dn$2iqt3$1@dont-email.me>, at 15:23:51 on Sun, 16 Apr
> 2023, Graeme Wall <rail@greywall.demon.co.uk> remarked:
>> On 16/04/2023 12:19, Roland Perry wrote:
>>> In message <u1gclg$2frjf$1@dont-email.me>, at 09:46:40 on Sun, 16 Apr
>>> 2023, Graeme Wall <rail@greywall.demon.co.uk> remarked:
>>>
>>>> On 16/04/2023 08:50, Roland Perry wrote:
>>>
>>>>> Today if I wanted to get to Peterborough, I'd have a choice of three
>>>>> TOCs, and three types of train (of very mixed age). I wouldn't be
>>>>> looking at the finances of the parent companies, or the condition
>>>>> of the
>>>>> trains, although on other flows I might avoid Virgin Trains and
>>>>> Ryanair,
>>>>> due to the persona of their figureheads.
>>>>
>>>> Successful you mean?
>
>>>  No, irritatingly self-publicist in-your-face.
>>
>> As I said, successful.
>
> There's an old saying in the advertisting industry (as recounted to me
> once by Nick Hewer, before he became famous: "There's no such think as
> bad publicity".
>
> But like all catchphrases, it's not true just because it's often said.
> Gerald Ratner might disagree with it, as well as more recently a spare
> Prince. (No, not the formerly-known-as).
>
>>>> How about Stagecoach who's founder backed homophobic legislation?
>
>>>  Not that interested in dog-whistle politics.
>>
>> Whatever that is supposed to mean.
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_whistle_(politics)

Ah, American, I might have guessed.
--
Graeme Wall
This account not read.

On Mon, 17 Apr 2023 06:26:11 +0100, Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk>
wrote:

>In message <u1gokc$2hm0l$6@dont-email.me>, at 12:10:52 on Sun, 16 Apr

>
>"Just so you know", I can't beleive I'm the only person putoff [oops
>something went wrong] over-chirpy and sometimes quite frankly
>condescending communication styles. Your posting is important to us, and
>we are, just every single day, experiencing a higher than usual volume
>of Usenet messages.

I nearly reached the air rage threshold on a Transatlantic Virgin
flight when a member of cabin crew said 'here you go' for the tenth
time as he handed me something.
Not as bad as Easyjet announcements that seem, as a matter of policy,
to consider reflexive pronouns are merely posh versions of ordinary
pronouns.

On 17/04/2023 06:26, Roland Perry wrote:
> "Just so you know", I can't beleive I'm the only person putoff [oops
> something went wrong] over-chirpy and sometimes quite frankly
> condescending communication styles. Your posting is important to us, and
> we are, just every single day, experiencing a higher than usual volume
> of Usenet messages.

I'm also irritated by the constant higher than usual volume, but there
may be some truth in it if I call at the same time as others do.
In the extreme, if everyone calls at 11am on Monday, that time will
genuinely have a much higher than usual volume, and it will apply to all
callers even though it can only apply to a small fraction of the week.

On 16/04/2023 08:50, Roland Perry wrote:
> Today if I wanted to get to Peterborough, I'd have a choice of three
> TOCs, and three types of train (of very mixed age). I wouldn't be
> looking at the finances of the parent companies, or the condition of the
> trains, although on other flows I might avoid Virgin Trains and Ryanair,
> due to the persona of their figureheads.

Successful you mean?

How about Stagecoach who's founder backed homophobic legislation?

--
Graeme Wall
This account not read.