Shock news - advertising sometimes does work. Amazon just sent me a ‘reminder’ that there’s still time to order things before Christmas, a lo and behold, off I go to their site like a meek lamb, stocking up on books and CDs.. if only they did chocolates as well (maybe they do? - no they don’t, I just checked, but they do take you to the Thornton’s side).

Worth noting that online demand this year has exceeded supply with most supermarkets not taking any further orders from about the middle of last week. It’s not the shopping that I mind it’s the chronic state of transport which either means driving round in circles for an hour looking for an overpriced car parking space or enduring the misery of cancelled and delayed trains.

Up here in the north east the wizard of transport, Alaister Darling is proposing the closure of the line from Sunderland to Newcastle (which presumably means thousands of people either now have to drive to the Metro centre or not go at all because they don’t have a car). Along with the ‘reduction’ of services between Newcastle and Carlisle.

We were all talking about that the other night on the train as the two carriages putted along the Tyne Valley. There were at least 50 people standing so how reducing the service works I’m not sure.

We can only presume Darling, despite his name, is in fact a moron. And while I remember, this is another great example of ‘joined up government’ because a few days before the announcement of the possible closure of the line between Sunderland and Newcastle, this same A.Darling was talking about traffic congestion in Tyne and Wear…

More about railways at this railways resource website